Read Online Jurassic Park^TM III Novelization by Scott Ciencin - Free Book Online

corroded latch, trying to open the rusted gates.
    At the same time, Alan waded to shore and scanned the canyon, searching for Billy. It didn’t take him long to spot his student.
    Above, as Billy struggled with the harness, a huge Pteranodon lunged at him. He dodged as best he could—and the Pteranodon’s bite severed part of the harness!
    Billy wriggled free and dropped into the water.
    Eric and his parents were pushing the second gate open when they heard Billy’s cry. They turned and watched as Billy hit the water and sank—then quickly bobbed to the surface!
    “He made it!” shouted Alan with relief.
    Billy looked their way as a flock of Pteranodons circled above.
    Alan was overjoyed to see Billy swimming toward him, safe and sound. But as Billy waded to shore, Alan’s smile quickly faded. The entire flock of Pteranodons was diving down from above in pursuit of their lost prey.
    “Billy, look out!” Alan yelled.
    Billy glanced behind him. Then he raced forward, motioning for his companions to turn and run.
    “Get back!” Billy called. “Get back!”
    The giant Pteranodon’s beak struck Billy with a calculated and brutal blow. Billy stumbled and fell to the ground.
    Alan rushed forward, with Paul right after him.
    Billy screamed as the entire flock of Pteranodons swarmed around him, picking at him with their beaks and claws.
    “Billy!” Alan shouted.
    He was about to race forward, but Paul held him back.
    “It’s no use, Dr. Grant. No use. They’ll just attack you, too.”
    Suddenly, three of the Pteranodons broke away from Billy and headed toward the other humans.
    As difficult as it was to leave Billy behind, Alan and Paul made a run for it. They raced for the birdcage’s double-gated portal, where Eric and Amanda had just escaped, but the Pteranodons were too close. Alan knew they could never make it through the gates in time.
    Just as the reptiles were about to swoop in for the kill, Alan and Paul dove back into the freezing water of the river.
    Taking deep breaths, Alan and Paul dove down just as the terrible beak of the lead Pteranodon knifed toward them.
    Alan’s lungs burned as he swam under the mesh line with Paul. When he resurfaced on the other side of the birdcage, he began gasping for air.
    Suddenly, the mammoth Pteranodons crashed into the mesh behind them, screaming in rage through the bars.
    “Over there!” Paul yelled. He and Alan swam to the dock up ahead. Amanda and Eric were already on the rusty barge.
    Alan and Paul climbed on board; then Amanda and Eric pushed them away from the dock.
    As the current drew them downstream, Eric took his first look at the incredible aviary and gasped with awe. It was a vast domed mesh structure that spanned the entire canyon. Eric saw the others catch their breath as they looked at the cage from which all but one of them had just escaped.
    Shaking his head, Alan clenched his fists in anger.
    What kind of mind would try to put Pteranodons in a birdcage?!
Alan railed to himself. It was hubris, pure hubris. Pride so excessive that it failed to see the recklessness of its acts. And because of that recklessness, he had lost his apprentice and friend.
    “Good-bye, Billy,” Alan whispered, sadly looking to the horizon.
    “Good-bye, Billy,” Eric echoed beside Alan. “Thank you.”
    Turning, Eric saw Alan looking his way, his eyes wide as if something were only now occurring to him.
    Then the scientist quickly turned away. He heard the angry cries of the flying reptiles echoing off the canyon walls.
    The giant Pteranodon who had been cheated of the prize she had taken to feed her young stood on the shore, staring at the iron gate.
    She stalked toward it slowly, some instinct telling her that this familiar section of her world had changed in some small but vital way.
    She nudged at the gate and heard a sharp, tinny sound that startled her. With an angry caw, she leaped back, her wings striking the gates as she fought to keep from falling.
    Then she saw