The Mighty Ducks and all related characters are the property 
of Disney. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is 
being made.

Jurassic Park is the property of Michael Chrichton. No 
copyright infringement is intended.

This story is the property of the author.

See Part One for further Disclaimers.

For Julie, Ty, Steve, Tazura and everyone else who's harassed 
me to finish the damned thing already! It's not there yet, but 
we're getting closer!
________

Terms of Survival
Part Three


Alan Grant was pretty much not what Wildwing expected.

But then, that had happened a lot that weekend.

The scientist was in pretty good shape, and didn't seem too 
much the worst for wear after his rough night. The two young 
children following him, Hammond's grandchildren, doubtless, 
also seemed healthy enough.

Wildwing had practically run into the man as he and the 
children rushed into the visitor's center. They seemed surprised 
to see him, but Grant recovered his equilibrium quickly. "Do I 
want to know why Hammond has a professional hockey player 
on his island?"

"No," Wildwing replied shortly. "How much do you know 
about what's going on here?"

"Not nearly enough," Grant grated. "I've found a radio and 
managed to contact some people at the lodge."

Wildwing nodded. "They just headed over there twenty 
minutes ago. Have they told you about the power?"

"Too much," Grant sighed. "We need to turn the main power 
back on so the raptors don't eat anybody."

Wildwing managed a wry grin. "That's the gist of it, yeah. I 
was just headed that way myself."

"Do you know computers?" Grant asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because I don't. Wildwing, I'll get the generator started, but 
there's no way I'd be able to get the computers back up without 
an instruction manual." Grant took the little girl's hand and 
placed it in Wildwing's. "Keep an eye on the kids. I'll be right 
back."

"Are you sure about this, Mr. Grant?" Wildwing asked. "I do 
have experience in this sort of thing. I should be able to handle 
whatever's out there."

"I know," Grant replied. His smile, when he showed it, was 
shaky, but determined. "But this is the best way. Just watch the 
kids for me, okay? And as soon as the power gets back up, get 
the fences running."

"All right," Wildwing agreed reluctantly. Grant's argument 
made sense. "Take this," he handed Grant the heavy flashlight 
he'd found upstairs. 

"Thanks." Grant hefted the light in one hand and the radio in 
the other. "Now get up to the control room. If the power 
comes back, you know what to do. Timmy," he added to the 
little boy, "tell him about the boat, okay? Then you and Lex 
can go downstairs and get something to eat. Sound okay?"

The boy nodded and moved to stand at Wildwing's side. 

Grant left.

***

"He wants us to what?!" Mallory asked.

"Distract the raptors so they stop trying to get in," Ellie said. 
"It makes sense."

"Ms. Sattler, with all due respect, sticking your hands through 
the fence so the raptors can try to get you is considerably more 
than dangerous!"

Ellie shrugged. "Beats having them eat us all."

Mallory admitted her point and turned a worried glance at the 
sky light. For the last ten minutes or so the two raptors on the 
roof had been chewing - actually *chewing!* - through the bars 
on the skylight. They didn't have much longer until they finally 
got all the way through and were able to get into the room. 
"Are you sure you want to do this? For me, pulling crazy 
stunts like this is in the job description, but you... No offense, 
Ms. Sattler, but I doubt this is the sort of thing you do on  
regular basis."

"I'll be fine," Ellie assured her. "Besides, I'll feel a lot better 
knowing you're here, ready to shoot anything that gets too 
close. Okay?" Ellie took a deep breath, then opened the door 
and stepped out. "Wish me luck." The door closed behind her.

"You're going to need more than luck," Mallory sighed.

***

'This must be what paranoia feels like,' Dive thought absently. 
'Jumping at every little shadow and sound. Course, like they 
say, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't 
after you. And someone is most definitely after us.'

It had been several long, tense minutes since Duke had dealt 
with the raptor that had attacked them, and so far nothing else 
had happened. No further attack. No sign of another animal. 
Yet Dive had the eerie feeling of being watched, stalked, 
*hunted* and he knew Duke felt the same. They didn't dare 
look for better cover. As soon as they set foot into the 
crowded confines of the forest they would be vulnerable. Here, 
out in the open, they could be easily seen, but at least they had 
the room to maneuver and fight back.

There was a slight pressure on his arm and he glanced behind 
him. Duke's hand gripped his arm just below the elbow and he 
tilted his head toward his right, toward the forest. 'He sees 
something...' Dive followed his gesture, straining to see 
something through the thick trees and brush, but without 
success. 'Concentrate,' he told himself firmly. 'Concentrate. Let 
your eyes adjust.'

Just as he was about to give up and admit that Duke was either 
Superman or seeing things, there was the faintest hint of 
movement - like black on black. 'Okay, there's definitely 
something there.' The size and shape were right for a 
velociraptor. 'And there are more where that came from.'

Oddly, frustratingly, ironically, horribly, the attack came from 
the two velociraptors they *didn't* see.

***

Her legs were beginning to ache from tension, the sweat 
running down her forehead was stinging her eyes and the 
muscles in her right hand were beginning to cramp. Yet 
Mallory didn't relax.

Ellie Sattler and Robert Muldoon - one a scientist, the other 
drunk - were about to try something most of Mallory's friends 
in the military would have balked at.

They were going to bait a man-eating saurian using themselves 
as the bait.

Mallory wasn't sure if they were courageous or just stupid.

Either way, it was her job to keep them alive. So she waited, 
tense and cautious, puck launcher at the ready for the first sign 
that they were about to be attacked.

Ellie was moving to the gate now, and Mallory bit back a 
startled exclamation as the older woman opened the gate and 
quickly closed it again. Trying to get the raptors attention? 
Mallory hoped it was worth the heart attack she was about to 
have.

A heart attack that seemed even more imminent when Ellie 
opened the gate again and left it open.

A heart attack Mallory was almost looking forward to when 
Ellie stepped through the gate and out of the relative safety of 
the lodge.

Mallory bit back a curse as Ellie walked a short distance into 
the trees surrounding the lodge. Technically, this was a good 
idea, and a brave one. If the raptors were as intelligent as 
Muldoon made them out to be then they'd recognize the sound 
of the gate opening. But Mallory couldn't protect Ellie while 
she was so far away and obscured by the trees. 

Muldoon shouted something and Ellie shouted back, but 
Mallory wasn't paying attention. She had spotted something a 
little off to Ellie's left. This was not a good situation. Mallory 
opened her mouth to call Ellie back.

Unnecessarily, as it turned out. Ellie was already turning back.

There was a flurry of movement as something lunged out of 
the bushes toward Ellie. Mallory raised her puck launcher, 
cursing the bad angle and the blocked view, and fired a quick 
shot. She didn't hit the thing, but she did startle it enough to 
give Ellie enough time to reach the gate and get to safety 
behind the fence.

Ellie and Muldoon closed and latched the gate, and Ellie turned 
to where Mallory stood, raising a hand in silent thanks. Mallory 
sighed. 'She's worse than I am!'

***

Wildwing herded the two children into the control room, 
closing the door firmly behind them. "All right," he said as he 
turned the radio to the frequency Grant was using. "What did 
he mean about the boat?"

The two kids, previously silent, now erupted into an unceasing 
flow of words. Wildwing held up a hand. "Hey, calm down. 
One at a time, okay? Tim?"

The boy looked to be about twelve, battered and bruised, dried 
blood on his hair and face. "We were in the cars and we were 
watching the boat, and we saw a dinosaur on the boat! Dr. 
Grant thinks it was a little velociraptor!"

Oh that was fantastic. "Are you sure? Where is the boat 
going?"

Tim nodded. "The mainland. I don't know where exactly."

"And we can't contact the mainland until the power comes 
back," Wildwing sighed. "Do you know how long we have 
until the boat gets where it's going?"

"Not long," Tim said. "Half hour, maybe."

"Okay, Tim. Why don't you take Lex down to the cafeteria and 
get some food? You looked starved." Wildwing smiled at the 
little girl's emphatic nod. "Be careful."

"We will," they chorused. Lex turned to Tim. "Race ya!" She 
tore off down the hall.

Tim sighed. "Lex! Don't go too far ahead!" And he took off 
after her.

Wildwing shook his head as he watched them go, then turned 
full attention back to the radio. Grant had made it to the 
generator alive and was priming the fuel pump. 

"Try the buttons again," Wu's voice came over the radio. The 
scientist had been talking Grant through the process.

Wildwing heard the chugging sound as the generator caught. 
"Go back to the control room," Wu continued, "and I'll talk 
you through restoring the systems manually."

Wildwing tuned them out. If the generator was back up then he 
needed to get the computers running, and he didn't need Wu to 
talk him through it. This setup was a toy compared to Drake 
One.

The actual set up was simple enough. Wildwing got the 
computers back up and began to search the menu for the 
command that would restore power to the fences, and, more 
importantly, to the visitor's lodge.

A sound from outside the control room froze him in place. He 
moved his head fractionally to the side so he could glance 
through the large windows that adorned the walls of the room. 
At first he saw nothing to explain the sound, then he caught a 
flash of green tail at the edge of the furthest window. 

Something was inside.

Allowing a momentary prayer of thanks that it hadn't decided 
to make him lunch, Wildwing drew his puck launcher and 
slowly made his way to the window. He pressed against the 
wall and peered through, straining to catch a glimpse of what 
creature was roaming the halls.

He saw only the briefest glimpse as the dinosaur darted around 
the corner of the hall and out of sight, but that glimpse was 
more than enough for him to recognize the giant lizard. A 
velociraptor was inside the control room, and the children were 
alone downstairs.

***

He had a choice to make, and it was a hard one, but Wildwing 
knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if anything 
happened to the two children.

He made his way down the hallway at a swift, yet silent, jog, 
puck launcher ready in case he ran into anything unpleasant.

Which, of course, he did.

The raptor stood still at the end of a long hallway. Wildwing 
caught sight of it and ducked back around the corner, holding 
his breath and hoping he hadn't been seen. He waited a long 
moment and carefully peered around the corner once more.

And found himself face to face with the velociraptor.

His startled shout was drowned out by the roar of the creature 
as it snapped at him with massive jaws. Vicious teeth snapped 
shut only a few inches away as he desperately pulled back. The 
force of his retreat threw him off balance and he ended up on 
the floor. Not waiting to see what the creature would do next, 
not giving it the chance to strike again, Wildwing brought his 
puck launcher up and fired straight at the raptor's face.

The beast screamed in agony and fell to the floor. Wildwing 
scrambled to his feet, knowing that the force of the hit would 
only keep a Saurian out for a few moments, he was certain that 
the raptor would recover equally quickly. Using the same  
metal restraints that had held one of the Saurians prisoner in 
the past, he quickly bound the raptor's feet several times over 
until he was certain that not even the beast's strength could free 
it. Then he resumed his heading for the cafeteria, and the 
children.

He heard animalistic grunts and calls coming from the floors 
above him, but he ignored them as a sudden scream echoed 
through the building. Distinctly human, and distinctly feminine, 
the scream had to have come from the young girl.

He hit the stairs running, taking them three and four at a time, 
nearly breaking his ankle twice before he hit the bottom. He 
burst through the door into the cafeteria.

Two raptors stood in the room, one of a table, the other across 
the room by the kitchen door. From inside the kitchen 
Wildwing heard thumps and crashes, and knew that the 
children were in there. And something else was obviously with 
them.

Two shots and both raptors were down for the count. 
Wildwing didn't take the time to restrain them as he had the 
other. Instead he rushed for the kitchen. He hit the door with 
his shoulder and entered the room to see nothing but two very 
frightened young children. "Tim. Lex? Was there another one?"

Tim nodded, his eyes wide, his face slicked with sweat. "In 
there," he gasped, pointing at the other side of the room. "I 
locked it in there." Wildwing followed the direction the boy's 
hand was pointing and saw the large meat locker. "Good idea, 
Tim," he congratulated sincerely. "Now come on, we have to 
get back upstairs to the computers."

Wildwing herded the two young children ahead of him as they 
hurried out of the kitchen. He paused at the foot of the stairs, a 
slight rumbling sound catching his attention. "Oh, shi-"

Lex waved a finger at him. "Bad language," she scolded. 

"Upstairs, now, both of you," Wildwing caught the hand Lex 
was pointing at him and urged her to start up the stairs. "Tim, 
go now! You go up to the control room and wait for Dr. Grant 
to get back, all right? You need to *stay there*, got it?"

"I don't want to stay!" Lex wailed. "Don't leave us here!"

"Tim, get her upstairs! Lock the door and stay there! 
Understand?"

Tim nodded solemnly, eyes wide, but understanding. "I'll try to 
hurry back," Wildwing promised. He waited until Tim and Lex 
disappeared up the top of the stairs before he took of running. 
He wished he had the time to see them safely to the control 
room, but he didn't have a  second to spare if his suspicions 
were right.

He skidded to a stop just before the main door, noticing that 
the floor was slick with blood. He grimaced, the smell of the 
blood familiar - sometimes that smell was all he remembered 
from his time in the mines on Puckworld. He pushed the 
thought away, and tried to ignore the smell. There were more 
pressing concerns at the moment than his personal demons.

The rumbling sound he'd noticed earlier was slightly louder 
now, and getting closer from the sound of it. Wildwing 
cautiously opened the glass doors, vaguely surprised that the 
glass had not been broken, and slipped outside. He went down 
the steps until he stood on the dirt.

He could feel the rumbling now, not merely hear it. Something 
big was coming, something very, very big.

"*Big* surprise."

****

Duke felt the velociraptor's charge before he heard it or saw it.

The slight vibrations in the ground alerted him and he turned 
and ducked to the side a second before the creature would 
have had him. It flew past him, skidded to a stop and faced 
him, reptilian eyes seeming to study his every move. He stayed 
still, tense and ready to move if the thing should charge again.

For the rest of his life, the thing that would stand out most in 
his mind was that he forgot about the other two.

Another raptor charged, eerily silent. The only warning of its 
attack was a piercing shriek as it leapt at Duke.

The raptor hit Duke full on, slamming him face-down onto the 
ground so hard he lost his grip on his puck launcher. He fought 
back, getting in a few hard kicks to the raptor's body. The 
raptor hissed at him, a sibilant, snake-like sound, and snapped 
its jaws. With a triumphant cry it lowered its head toward 
Duke's throat to complete the kill.

Duke twisted around onto his back, barely managing to brace 
both hands against the raptor's neck, locking his arms to hold 
the creature away. It wouldn't last long but for now it gave him 
a few extra seconds.

But Duke forgot one thing.

The *talons.*

A searing, tearing pain dragged along his leg as the raptor used 
one of the massive talons on its feet ripped through Duke's 
flesh. The pain was intense and his hold faltered for a second, 
allowing the raptor to bring its head even lower, now only a 
few inches from Duke's throat.

There was a whining sound, vaguely familiar, and the raptor 
was suddenly jerked back. It screamed in rage and abandoned 
Duke to face whatever new threat it had noticed. Duke tried to 
get up, get way, take advantage of the distraction, but his body 
refused to obey. He forced air into his lungs, calming his 
desperate breathing and tried to take stock of what was wrong 
with him. His head was pounding, indicating that he wasn't 
quite over the concussion he'd received the night before - only 
that long, huh? There was a warm wetness spreading over his 
leg, and the rational part of his mind pointed out that if he 
didn't get up and *do* something, he'd bleed to death long 
before the raptors had a chance to come back.

But all that fled his mind when another scream broke the still 
air.

This one Duke knew.

*Dive.*

****

A fierce shriek was the only warning.

Dive saw the raptor leap at them an instant before its lashing 
tail struck him across the chest, knocking him to the ground.

The breath was knocked out of him, and for an instant, all he 
could do was struggle to breathe. After a second of eternity he 
struggled to his feet, puck launcher still miraculously still firmly 
gripped in his hand. The sounds of struggle filled the air around 
him. Duke lay sprawled flat on the ground, arms straining to 
keep the raptor from tearing his throat out. Dive cursed and 
raised his puck launcher. Carefully aiming, he fired off a single 
shot.

He was exhausted and hurt, poisoned, and his energy reserves 
were hovering somewhere below the 'E' mark, so he supposed 
he could be forgiven for not getting the shot perfect. The 
raptor turned on him with a keening cry. Dive held his ground 
as the creature approached, then fired twice, each shot hitting 
the raptor head on. It thrashed once, then hit the ground hard.

None of which Dive saw.

The third raptor hit him from behind, shoving him face down 
onto the ground. The weight of the raptor against his back 
made it nearly impossible to breathe. Sharp teeth bit into the 
flesh of his right shoulder and jerked, pulling his chest and 
shoulders off the ground. Dive screamed, one hand clawing 
desperately at the creature behind him while the right hand 
hung at his side, limp from the pain.

The raptor released him, dropping him back to the ground. 
Dive twisted himself around until he lay on his back, a 
strangled moan bursting free of him as the wounded shoulder 
touched the ground. The raptor stood only a few feet away, 
watching him warily. Dive wondered why it hadn't finished him 
off. 'Just saw me take down two of its buddies,' he thought 
hazily. 'Probably waiting to see if I'm going to hurt it.'

The idea that he could actually move, let alone pose a threat to 
anything, wrested a rasping laugh from him. The raptor cocked 
its head at the sound, a keening sound coming from it as it 
watched to see what Dive would do next. "Don't worry," he 
rasped. "If you have... no objections... I'm just... gonna lie 
here..." He closed his eyes and gasped for breath. He 
remembered what Tanya had said, about the raptors eating 
their prey alive. It didn't disturb him as much as it had just a 
few minutes ago. Hell, at this rate he'd be unconscious by the 
time the raptor got around to chowing down. He chuckled 
weakly. 'Funny. Of all the ways I'd thought I'd die, this never 
even entered the picture.' He heard the raptor shift restlessly at 
the sound. 'Sorry Duke. Looks like we get t be the main 
course. All I have to do is pick up the puck launcher and shoot, 
but I *can't.* I'm sorry.'

Something moved - the raptor, coming closer. The raptor 
prodded him slightly with its snout, tearing a choked cry from 
him as he ribs flared with new pain. The raptor jerked back and 
roared at him, startled by the sound. "Shut *up*," Dive gasped. 
"I'm really... starting to... to get... get tired of you..."

Something hard shoved against his side and he was sent rolling 
until he lay sprawled on his side a few feet away. He forced his 
eyes open as the raptor approached again. One nudge sent him 
onto his back. His injured shoulder, already a source of agony, 
blazed with even more intense pain, and Dive gratefully 
allowed the pain to steal away his consciousness.

The last thing he saw was the raptor looming over him.

'Stars, I'm sorry, Wing.'

****

Wildwing could feel the ground shaking, every bone in his 
body reverberating with the vibrations. The trees a short 
distance down the road from the lodge suddenly started 
swaying, and he could hear branches breaking and being torn 
away.

The trees closer and closer began swaying until, just a hundred 
feet away, they parted and a long, skinny neck protruded out 
into the road.

A bulky, ungainly body followed and Wildwing found himself 
facing a smaller version of the brontosaurus he had faced last 
year. 'A baby,' he realized.

But no less dangerous. The bronto was heading straight for the 
visitor's center, and even though a baby, it could still do some 
serious damage. He'd have to lead it away from the building, 
without hurting it, if at all possible. Somehow...

He couldn't hurt it, but he could distract it. Taking careful aim, 
Wildwing fired at a tree beside the bronto. The truck snapped 
and the tree came crashing down directly in the dinosaur's path. 
The bronto panicked, rearing back, then tried to go over the 
tree. Wildwing fired again, sending another tree crashing down, 
almost atop the animal this time. The bronto has apparently had 
enough as it turned and ran back in the direction from which it 
had come, it's trumpeting cries ringing through the air.

Wildwing lowered the puck launcher in relief. One disaster 
averted. He was turning to go back into the visitor's center 
when his communit sounded. 

****

Grin burst through the trees into the clearing, not stopping to 
plan. He took in the situation in a single glance, then dealt with 
it. 

He held no puck launcher, and really it wouldn't have done him 
much good anyway. The raptor was too close to Dive, and 
Grin was too far away to risk making a shot. So instead he did 
what he did best.

He got hands on.

The raptor reared back, teeth showing in a deadly display, then 
lunged forward, intending to tear Dive's throat out. It didn't 
quite make it.

One desperate lunge brought Grin close enough to wrap his 
hands around the raptor's tail and he pulled. The raptor roared 
in rage as it fell forward. Grin winced as the creature landed 
across Dive, and there was the sickening sound of breaking 
bones. The boy was going to have broken ribs when this was 
over.

The raptor was deterred only for a moment, and regained its 
footing easily. It turned on Grin, temporarily abandoning 
Nosedive.

Which, of course, was all Grin needed.

"Tanya! Now!"

A puck launcher fired, twice, three times, and the raptor jerked 
as the shots hit. It bellowed one last terrific roar and took a 
faltering step toward Grin, then collapsed.

Grin edged around the fallen creature, watching it warily to 
make sure it was completely disabled, then hurried to Dive's 
side. Quickly, his eyes scanned the boy, taking in the injuries. 
"Tanya, I could use you over here!"

"I can't!" Tanya called back from where she knelt at Duke's 
side a few yards away. "Duke's down hard! I have to get the 
bleeding stopped!"

Grin shook his head. "We have to get this bleeding stopped, 
too," he murmured softly. With no other option, he 
unhesitatingly pulled off his shirt and carefully pressed it 
against the bloody wound in Dive's shoulder. It wouldn't last 
long, but it would at least slow the bleeding.

He didn't dare move the boy until Tanya had checked him out, 
especially since Grin was certain that at least one rib had been 
broken when the raptor fell on him. The risk of punctured 
lungs and internal bleeding was greater than the threat of the 
dinosaurs at the moment, so he waited, contenting himself with 
trying to slow the bleeding and keeping an eye out for further 
trouble.

It was several long minutes before Tanya finished bandaging 
Duke's leg and rushed toward Grin and Dive. She grimaced at 
the sight of the torn and bloody shoulder. "It bit him?"

Grin nodded. "So it appears."

Tanya laughed darkly as she quickly began checking him over. 
"Oh, Wildwing's gonna like that one. 'Hey, Wing, did I mention 
the raptors took a bite out of the kid before we got there?' The 
look on his face would be precious. Of course," she added in 
an absent voice as she tried to clean some of the dirt and blood 
away from the shoulder, "he'd probably kill me. You can tell 
him, Grin."

"Thanks," Grin replied dryly. "I really think that is Duke's 
place, though."

"Hey!" Duke's objection was weak, barely heard. "Haven't I 
suffered enough? Tanya, what's happening? He okay?"

Grin left Dive in Tanya's hands and moved to Duke's side. "He 
will be fine," he assured the older man, hoping as he said it that 
the words were true. There was enough bad karma in this place 
without adding an untruth between friends. "Relax. We'll get 
you out of here."

The words were apparently what Duke wanted to hear. "Oh, 
thank the stars," he murmured. "Oh man, did Tanya say that 
thing *bit* him?!" His eyes, which had started to drift hut 
suddenly snapped back open and he fixed Grin with a hard, 
almost panicked gaze. Grin nodded reluctantly. "Great Mother 
of Ducks," Duke whispered softly. "Holy shit."

"He will be fine," Grin repeated patiently. "He will not 
surrender easily."

"No," Duke agreed softly, voice trailing off as sleep once again 
started to claim him. "No, he won't..." Almost holding the 
reassurance those words offered him.

Grin looked up from Duke's still form to call to Tanya. "Duke's 
out of it again."

"Good," Tanya said. "Maybe it won't hurt so much when we 
drag him out of here." She froze and stared at Grin. "How are 
we going to get them out of here?"

"We will carry them."

Tanya shook her head. "No Grin. You can't carry them both. 
Dive's ribs are broken. We're going to have to be very careful 
with him. You can't just throw him over your shoulder. And I 
can't carry Duke by myself. Even if I could, that would leave us 
with no one to watch our backs. And we both know perfectly 
well what's out there, Grin."

"I had not considered that," Grin admitted. "We'll have to 
contact the others, get them to bring the Aerowing."

"It's our only chance," Tanya agreed. "Grin, call Wildwing 
while I finish here." She bent back over Dive.

Grin activated his communit. "Wildwing, come in."

Wildwing's face appeared before him, tense and tired. "What's 
the matter, Grin?"

"We need the Aerowing," Grin said flat out. "Duke and Dive 
are both down and Tanya and I can't risk getting them out of 
here ourselves."

"I'm on my way," Wildwing promised. "Give me a few minute 
to get to the landing strip. Leave your communit on so I can 
track your location."

"Understood."

Wildwing hesitated before cutting the connection. "Grin?"

Grin knew what he was asking. "It is not pleasant, but they will 
both recover."

Wildwing nodded curtly, and the connection was broken.

Grin looked up at Tanya. "Wildwing is on his way."

Tanya had finished bandaging Dive's shoulder while Grin 
spoke, and now she rested back on her heels. Red splattered 
the front of her purple uniform, and streaks of it had smudged 
her feathers and gotten into her hair. She probably didn't even 
know it was there. "I hope he gets here soon. They're both 
losing too much blood. And God only knows what else has 
happened to them out here. Did you get a look at Dive's back? 
Looks like some kind of infection. And Duke's arm is in pretty 
sorry shape." She sighed and grimaced. "Even with the 
equipment at the Pond it'll take a while before they're back on 
their feet."

"We just have to hold on a little longer," Grin reminded her.

Tanya sighed again and closed her eyes. "It's only been what? 
Two days? Tops." She opened her eyes, unusually serious. "If I 
hadn't pushed Wing into letting me check this place out-"

"It's not your-" Grin's interruption was interrupted as his eyes 
caught something moving at the edge of the clearing. He gazed 
at it, and froze as a greenish brown lizard burst out of the 
woods. "Tanya! Get down! It's another raptor!" He lunged to 
his feet, determined to meet the creature head on if he had to.

Tanya scrambled to her left and grasped something. The puck 
launcher, Grin saw. She fumbled with it for a second nearly 
dropping it. By that time the raptor was nearly on them.

Finally she got a grip on the weapon and fired a series of shots 
quickly. She wasn't bothering to aim, Grin realized. Just firing 
in the creature's direction and hoping to catch it.

But who cared as long as it worked. One shot caught the 
creature on the leg and it dropped to the ground just a few 
yards from Grin and Duke. It snarled and twisted, throwing 
itself back on its feet, only to have its leg go out on it again. 
Grin watched warily. "Tanya, do you have a grappling puck on 
you anywhere?"

"Uh... yeah. Right here." Tanya loaded the grappling puck into 
the launcher and hurried to Grin's side to hand it to him.

"I'm going to tie this thing up," Grin told her. "Try to see if you 
can find Nosedive's puck launcher or Duke's Sabre."

Tanya did as he asked and returned in just a few moments with 
both the requested items. By then, Grin had managed to secure 
the raptor, despite it's furious struggles. "Keep ready," he 
instructed. Tanya nodded once and returned to Dive's side, 
while Grin, after dragging the raptor a distance away, returned 
to Duke's. He watched the woods around them warily, 
dreading what else may decide to make an appearance. 
Wildwing would be there in a matter of minutes, but until then, 
they were still very much on their own.

****

Wildwing clenched his fists tightly as he cut the connection 
with Grin. 'Not pleasant? OH stars, *how* not pleasant?'

He had to get to the Aerowing, but he couldn't leave the kids 
alone, and he had to get the power restored. Without it there 
would be nothing to keep the animals under control. But damn 
it, he *had* to get to the Aerowing!

"Wildwing?" 

Wildwing turned, startled. "Grant?" Alan Grant stood behind 
him, looking a little shook up, but none the worse for wear. 
"Did you get the generator started?"

Grant nodded. "I did. I overheard your conversation. Go. I can 
get the computers going."

"Grant, you said you didn't know computers," Wildwing 
pointed out. No matter how much he wanted to take the man 
up on his offer, there was no way he'd leave these people with 
no way to defend themselves.

"It's all right. I've got the radio. They can direct me through 
that," Grant pointed out. "Wildwing, go. Your friends need 
you. I can get the computers going, and once they're up we'll 
be set to handle this mess. Now go. Hurry."

Wildwing hesitated for all of a second. "The kids are in the 
control room. There's a raptor trapped in the meat locker."

Grant blinked, but didn't ask. "All right. Good luck."

"You too," Wildwing said. "And Grant? Thank you."

Grant waved the thanks away as he hurried back into the 
visitor's center. "Get out alive. That's all the thanks I need."

Wildwing switched on his communit again. "Mallory, come in."

"I'm here, Wing. What's up?"

"Trouble. We need to get to the Aerowing. Dive and Duke are 
both down and Tanya and Grin need help."

"Understood. Should I meet you at the landing pad? - Hold on 
a second." She vanished from the screen for a moment and 
Wildwing could hear muffled conversation. "Wing? I can get 
the Jeep to you and pick you up. Cut our time by 75%."

"Do it," Wildwing ordered. "Hurry. And Mallory? Be careful."

"Will do. Hold tight, Wing, I'll be there in a second."

****

Muldoon was all but dragging Mallory toward the door by the 
time she shut the commlink. "The Jeep ain't going to give ye a 
lot of protection, girl. So go fast and be careful. Don't go off 
the road if ye can avoid it, cause by the time ye got back on it, 
ye'd be lunch to whatever t'was what ran ye off in the first 
place. The raptors jump, and they're bloody smart, remember, 
so avoid them, even if it means ye have to go out of yer way. 
And the Triceratops like to charge the Jeeps. Be careful about 
that. They issna so easy t'out run. Ye got me, gel?"

Mallory nodded, hoping she did, in fact, understand. The 
drunker Muldoon had become, the thicker and more 
unintelligible his accent had become. "I understand. Are you 
sure you can spare the Jeep?"

"We'll manage," Ellie told her. "Be careful."

"I will." Mallory paused at the from door, taking a careful look 
around. She waited until Muldoon reached the gate and 
gestured to her, before making a rush for the Jeep. She didn't 
bother to open the door, vaulting directly over the door and 
into the driver's seat. She shoved the key into the ignition, 
shoved the car into gear, and hit the gas. Muldoon opened the 
gate at the last possible moment, and slammed it behind her as 
she sped through.

Mallory didn't look back. "Good luck," she muttered.

The visitor's lodge wasn't far and she reached Wildwing's 
position in only a few minutes. She slammed the brakes, 
screeching to a halt directly in front of him. He pulled the door 
open and jumped in. Mallory hit the gas again before he could 
even close the door. There were no words spoken between 
them as Mallory pushed the car as fast as it could safely go.

They reached the landing pad almost five minutes later. 
Wildwing keyed the access command from his communit and 
the entrance opened even as they exited the Jeep. They rushed 
for the Aerowing, not seeing anything that might pose a 
danger, but not willing to take a chance on what they didn't 
see.

"I'll take the controls," Wildwing ordered. "Get the medical 
supplied ready. We're probably going to need them." He got 
the engines started and move to take-off.

A thud on the roof of the Aerowing froze him in his 
movements. He paused for a long moment, listening. He'd 
almost convinced himself he hadn't heard anything when the 
raptor slid down the glass.

"Oh give me a break!"

The raptor hissed at him and clawed at them window, seeming 
almost put out when the thick glass didn't shatter on impact. 
Wildwing glared at the creature. "This is getting old," he 
growled. He grabbed the controls and sent the Aerowing into a 
speeding take-off. The raptor screamed as it tried to grab a 
hold of something. The smooth surface of the Aerowing 
offered no hand holds, however, and the raptor disappeared off 
the side, dropping the forty feet back to the ground.

"Wildwing?" Mallory called. "Did I hear something?"

"No," Wildwing said cheerfully, "Just dumping some trash."

"Ah."

****

"There here." Tanya was watching the sky as she spoke, and 
the relief in her voice was almost palpable. "Talk about the 
longest ten minutes of my life."

Grin stood as the Aerowing began it's decent. The engines 
remained running as the ramp was lowered. Before it even fully 
reached the ground, Mallory and Wildwing were rushing down 
to meet the other four members of their team. Mallory paused 
at the bottom of the ramp, a puck launcher in her hand, 
obviously keeping watch. Wildwing kept running.

Grin carefully hefted Duke, trying his best to hold the older 
man's injured leg steady, and to avoid putting too much 
pressure on his arm. Walking slowly and carefully, he headed 
toward the Aerowing.

Tanya stepped aside as Wildwing rushed to his brother's side. 
Eyes taking in everything, he knelt beside Dive. He said 
nothing, only gently eased his brother into his arms and stood. 
Tanya didn't bother to tell him to be careful. he didn't need her 
to tell him that. She merely kept pace as he headed back to the 
Aerowing.

They made their way up the ramp, and joined Grin, who was 
settling Duke in the back of the Aerowing. Wildwing eased 
Dive down where Tanya gestured. "Mallory, Grin, you two 
take the controls. Get us back to Bahia Anasco."

Tanya nodded her agreement. "Bobbie Carter and Dr. 
Huggerman are the closest help we'll find."

Mallory and Grin hurried up front and only seconds later the 
Aerowing lifted into the air.

Wildwing closed his eyes, silent gratitude and relief filling him. 
They'd made it this far. He tightened his grip on his brother's 
hand. 'We'll make it the rest of the way.'

****

Continued in Terms of Survival: Epilogue