Chapter 79 — Searching for Erik
Dante walked alongside Bella through the forest, observing the surrounding vegetation as they continued in the direction from which they had heard the screams. After a few moments, he shook his head and commented,
"But honestly, people really do have stupid ideas. Coming to an island full of prehistoric killing machines... Seriously, they have absolutely no survival instinct."
Bella looked at him and replied,
"Dante, maybe it was an accident or something important happened that left them with no choice but to come here."
Dante fell silent for a few moments, thinking about her words.
Well, it's true that, in the original story, they risked their lives to rescue their son, Erik. But honestly, she was also at fault for allowing her son to go on an illegal parasailing trip near Isla Sorna.
The boat pulling them was attacked, and they were forced to let go, ending up in the middle of an island full of dinosaurs.
Honestly, if I had a child and knew they were asking for permission to go somewhere full of deadly creatures, I would never let them go to a place like that if I were an ordinary person. After all, you only have one life.
His thoughts were interrupted by Bella, who called his attention.
"Dante!"
He looked at her and then followed the direction she was pointing. A little farther ahead, he spotted a blonde woman desperately shouting Erik's name.
After noticing the situation, Dante approached her and spoke in a serious tone.
"Woman, be quiet! Do you want to die? You're shouting that loudly in the middle of a jungle full of deadly predators!"
Hearing that, the woman looked at Dante and Bella with a shocked expression.
"Who are you?!"
Dante was about to answer when he noticed that her husband and Dr. Alan Grant's assistant had also arrived.
Seeing that everyone had gathered together, he decided to introduce himself.
"I'm Dante, and this is Bella. We're here to take care of some personal business, nothing important. Then we heard the screams and came to see who the idiot making all that noise in this place was."
Billy Brennan frowned upon hearing his answer.
"That's really strange. Why are you here? And armed, on top of that? This isn't a vacation island. It's really strange for you to be here."
Paul looked at the two of them and partially agreed.
"Yes, it's certainly a little strange. And you both look far too young to be here."
Hearing that, Dante smiled.
"This is a forbidden island. In other words, what I'm doing here and what you're doing here doesn't really matter, because, according to the law, none of us should be here. And honestly, asking what I'm doing here is kind of pointless. After all, nobody would reveal their secrets to strangers they just met, right?"
Upon hearing his response, the three fell silent for a few moments.
Dante took advantage of the opportunity to continue.
"And honestly, from what I can see, you're looking for someone. If you tell me what happened, perhaps I can help. After all, I'm willing to bet that finding the person who got lost is far more important to you than standing around discussing why each of us ended up on this deadly island."
Billy Brennan thought for a few moments before answering.
"Well, I think you're right. Standing here suspecting one another isn't going to accomplish anything."
Realizing that everyone had calmed down, Bella decided to ask a question.
"So, who are you looking for? Why were you shouting?"
Amanda Kirby began to cry upon hearing the question.
"We're looking for my son! He ended up here by accident. We came by plane, but after we were attacked by dinosaurs, we lost the plane and got separated. Now, even the doctor who came with us has disappeared."
Dante frowned slightly as he processed the information.
"Well, so you're looking for a child who disappeared days ago on a deadly island, huh? The chances are pretty slim, but there might still be a possibility. It all depends on whether he was smart enough."
Billy looked at Dante, intrigued.
"What do you mean by that?"
Amanda Kirby also stepped closer, showing a mixture of hope and concern.
"Yes, what are you saying? Do you think my son is alive? Where is he?"
Dante thought for a few moments before answering.
"If this were a normal island, meaning a truly wild island, he would already be dead. But since this island served as a facility for InGen, that means there are plenty of abandoned places and buildings scattered around. If he's alive, he must be in one of those locations, because they're the only places that would allow a child to survive. In the wilderness, he wouldn't stand a chance."
He paused briefly before concluding.
"So, if he's alive, he's probably inside one of those buildings."
Billy slowly nodded, beginning to understand his reasoning.
"Of course! If he wants to survive and find food, he'll need to find one of those places. So, if he was lucky enough to find a building like that and stayed inside, there's a chance he's still alive."
Paul became excited upon hearing that.
"Then my son could still be alive!"
Amanda Kirby tightly grasped Dante's hand, her eyes filling with hope.
"Then where is that building? We need to go there immediately!"
Dante looked at her and replied,
"And if the doctor is also alive, he'll be looking for a way to get off the island. The only place where we can find that is in the island's abandoned facilities. Therefore, he should also be heading there. In other words, that's where we need to go."
Billy looked at the others and suggested,
"Then let's do this. Let's head to that location. Do you know where it is?"
Dante nodded calmly.
"Yes, I do. So, you can follow me. I'll take you there. Just don't get separated. After all, we already have two missing people. We don't need any more. Besides, you're just civilians and don't know how to protect yourselves, so it's better if you stay together."
After giving them that advice, Dante began walking toward the abandoned InGen facilities, with Bella following beside him.
As they walked, Bella noticed that Amanda was thirsty because of the island's intense heat. Without hesitation, she opened her backpack, took out a bottle of water, and handed it to the woman.
"Here, you need to drink something, or you might end up feeling sick because of this heat."
Amanda took the bottle and smiled gratefully.
"Thank you very much. I really needed that."
Watching the scene, Dante discreetly shook his head.
Even after becoming a half-dragon, she's still shy and speaks so softly.
He continued walking, occasionally observing the path ahead as he reflected on the situation.
But honestly, I'm really excited to see the Spinosaurus! After all, even though I'm a dragon, that doesn't change the fact that I really liked it when I watched the movie. It only comes second to the Indominus on my list of favorite dinosaurs.
A smile began to appear on his face as he imagined the possibility of encountering that creature in person.
So, it's going to be really cool to see one alive!
With that thought in mind, Dante continued leading the group through the forest, heading toward the abandoned InGen facilities.