Chapter 1 - A Fatal Paradise

*cruise horn blows*

*everyone cheers and laughs*

 

"mommy?! mommy?! this is going to be the best trip ever", tina screams with excitement. Ellen looks towards tina and smiles. "I'm glad you think so darling" *few hours later* "this is the captain speaking...we have spotted a beautiful island off the coast of Costa Rica, and we will be docking soon" *5 minutes later* *boats stops* Tina rushes off the boat, running onto the sand. "tina...darling...don't wander off", ellen exclaims. "You worry too much", tina rolls her eyes and storms away. Mike looks at Ellen irritatingly. "Leave her alone ellen" "But there are bugs..." "For the last time, ellen, we are on vacation..." Tina grabs a tuna sandwich and skips around. *bushes rattle* Tina stops and looks over towards the bush.*bushes rattle intensely* Tina looks over towards the adults and looks back at the bush. Tina slowly gets low towards the bush. *compy jumps out* Tina jumps back. Tina looks at the tiny bird figure curiously. "what are you?" *compy screaks softly* "you must be hungry" Tina breaks off a piece of her tuna sandwich. *compy stares intensely* Tina tosses the piece onto the sand with excitement. "Eat up...it's tuna...mmmm" Before tina could break a second piece, several more compys rushes out of the bush gobbling down the piece. Tina starts to slowly back away. *compys screaks loudly* As tina backs away, she loses her balance and falls onto the ground. *compys starts charging* *tina screams* Tina throws her sandwich. *compy eats angrily* As she tries to get back up, a few compys manage to jump onto her and begin biting at her face. *tina screams loudly* Mike looks around. *tina's screaming in the background* "Mike did you hear that?", ellen taps mike. "Tina?" *screams gets louder* "Tina?!" Mike begins to run towards tina. The crewmen follow mike. Mike manages to grab tina from the pile of green creatures and rushes back towards the ship. *compys runs away* Tina cries and shivers. "My baby...thank heaven you are alright", ellen cries while hugging tina. Mike paces back and forth angrily. "Does anyone have a clue what the HELL those things were?", mike yells. "Mike...all that matters is that we have our baby girl, safe, sound, and aliv..." Ellen pauses as she looks down towards tina. As she looks at tina, she notices that tina is covered in breakout bumps and fever rashes. Ellen touches tina's forehead. "Mike...something is wrong", ellen cries out in concern. "tina?" *Tina doesn't respond* "tina??" Ellen notices that tina is sweating really bad. "Mike...we need a hospital" Mike looks around. "who knows this part of Costa Rica?" A local, who overseen what happened, comes out from the jungle and says, "there is a hospital not far...not far... I take you and girl" Mike scoops up tina. Ellen grabs their stuff and follows mike. They follow the local towards his jeep. They enter the jeep. *jeep starts* The local begins driving. The local gives mike an ice bag from his pocket compartment. "here...place on the forehead for cool" "t..thank you" *20 minutes later**arrives at Puntarenas hospital* Mike exits the car, holding tina. Mike rushes inside. "help?!" The workers begin to assist tina, taking her into a room. A worker stops them from entering. "please...wait" *room curtain closes* Mike walks towards the local. "thank you" The local nods his head. "do you know what those things were that attacked her?" "our people calls them "las pequeñas muertes" "las pequeñas muertes?...what's that" "the little deaths..."

 

(Three weeks later) 

(Somewhere in New York City)

 

*Door opens**intense footsteps increase towards the front desk* “good morning Mr.Gennarro...Mr. Hammond isn’t expecting you until next week”, Mr. Johnson exclaims. Mr. Gennarro shakes his head. “Is he in his office?”, Mr. Gennarro asks with frustration. “Yes, he is, but...” “that's all I needed to know...” “but you can’t just...” Mr. Gennarro ignores the receptionist and heads towards the elevator. *Elevator floor rings* Mr. Gennarro enters the elevator and presses Mr. Hammond’s floor. *Foot taps impatiently**looks at his watch**elevator door opens* Mr. Gennarro storms out the elevator, and heads to Mr. Hammond's office. Before Mr. Gennarro opens the door, he takes a deep breath. *Opens the door* “I told you that I need more time to observe the animals in their natural environment as agreed...” *voice over the phone* “okay so what’s the problem?” *Voice over the phone* Mr. Gennarro clears his throat. “M... Mr. Hammond?” Mr. Hammond signals him to wait. “Mr. Hammond?!” “I’m going to need to call you back” *hangs up* “Can you believe they are telling me that they don’t want to continue to creating animals without the guarantee of safety?” “Mr. Hammond...a little girl was attacked by several of your animals three weeks ago while on vacation with her family...” “is she...dead?” “No, she’s alive...her father managed to get to her on time” “do you know which one it was” “we aren’t exactly sure, but we do know that it has a nasty bite...Ingen is planning to use this case against you...I suggested that I, as your lawyer, do a deep investigation into the seriousness of the matter...but I must warn you if they see any sign that they are in any way dangerous...they will remove you from the chair and take over from this point” “do as you must...but also do as I paid you to do.” 

Impressum

Lektorat: Jolynna Jean-Pierre
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 27.04.2021

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Widmung:
To my friend, Markell Klein