Jurassic Dead by David Sakmyster, Rick Chesler Page A

it.”
    “Like what, Doctor ?”
    “Well, this is an unusual case since I've never treated anyone who was bitten by a dinosaur before, but—”
    “Look, I don't have time for this bullshit. Do you have any broad spectrum antibiotics in here? That'll at least take care of the bacterial stuff. I hope.” Clearly, if he was going to survive this, he would have to take matters into his own hands.
    “That's just it, Mr. Ramirez. We…”
    “ Doctor Ramirez.”
    “What?”
    “I’m a Ph.D.”
    “Oh. Right. Doctor Ramirez, my bad.”
    Marcus sighed. “So at least there's one actual doctor in the room, right?”
    She blushed, but chose to ignore the accusation by continuing the conversation. “As I was saying, Dr. Ramirez, whatever came out of that ancient lake wasn't meant to interact with modern biology. I have no idea what to treat it with. No one does, how could they?”
    “Consider that later. Now, let's start with the antibiotics. Where are they in here?” He looked around the room as his son had done, reading the labels on the cabinets. Only he found that his vision was failing him. He could still see for the first few feet, but beyond that, everything got blurry. While Veronica walked to a cabinet and opened it, Marcus continued.
    “Setting aside for the moment the era of the biology that's infected me, what I want to know is how could any era's biology explain how a complex, multi-cellular animal could not only be alive after all this time, but alive without major organs?”
    His excitement at the uniqueness of the situation proved too much for his frail body and he vomited down the side of the cot—a yellow substance streaked with green, so foul-smelling it caused Veronica to retch.
    “Here! I found some!” The degree of surprise Veronica displayed at actually finding a common medicine in her own infirmary only solidified Marcus' fears, but right now, he needed antibiotics.
    “Great. Bring them here, please.”
    She brought him two bottles of pills, presenting them both to him so that he could make his own choice. Marcus read the labels and picked one. She opened it for him, gave him a cup of water and he downed twice as much as the recommended dosage.
    Then he lay back on the cot again, the exertion of sitting up for the pills having worn him out. He looked over at Veronica, who was staring at the streak of weird-colored puke dripping onto the linoleum floor, but all he could think of now was one thing.
    “Where's my son?”

 
    17.
     
    Aboard Oil Tanker Hammond-1, En route to Adranos Island
    Alex backed away from the porthole above the cargo hold, which afforded him a position to look down on his father and Veronica. He waited until the men arrived with the stretcher, and then he stepped away, further out into the bitter wind and the cold.
    He stood there on the deck, shivering, unsure of what to do next. He felt change in the air temperature though, just enough. It had warmed slightly as they escaped the frigid Antarctic zone, but now the winds swirled angrily and collided with a warmer front from the north. The stars were swallowed up with a thicker darkness and ribbons of lightning streaked in the distance.
    Storm coming , he worried. Still hesitating, he pulled up his hood, glanced around, and ducked farther into the shadows, behind an exhaust vent, and waited.
    He didn’t have to wait long, as Xander emerged shortly, carrying a small leather bag. Inside, Alex knew, were the blood samples from the T. rex , and from his father.
    Follow the blood, or follow his dad?
    Alex shivered. The fake doctor—as much as he didn’t trust her skills—at least was on the right side of this mess. He could trust her with his father, but this Xander…Alex needed to know what he was really up to, and why he wanted to test that blood. Certainly, it wasn’t out of concern for his father, so there must be something more sinister and far-reaching at work. Alex needed to find that out, and fast. His time was running