The whole lot of us follow Hammond out of the board-like meeting room connected to the restaurant and into the lobby of the visitor's center.
We start down the stairs, and I find myself staring at the dinosaur skeletons again.
"You five are going to have a little company out in the park, and you Alec get to spend a little time with some people your own age…our target audience…if you will, maybe they'll help the others get the spirit of this place."
"I don't particularly care for people my age…or younger…" I grumble.
"Target audience." Dad snorts in agreement, getting a hurt look from Ellie.
Hammond throws his arms out expansively, "KIDS!!" Hammond bellows making the…kids?... standing in the doorway to the center break of the room into a broad
smiles.
'At least Tim fits the movie and looks to be around nine years old…Alexis…his sister on the other hand is a redhead…who looks to be sixteen going on twenty and looks like Katherine McNamara, during season 1 on Shadowhunters.' I gulp as I start at Lex.
Tim and Lex shout in sheer unadulterated joy, "Grandpa!" And then they race across the lobby and into Hammond's arms, knocking him
over on the steps.
"We miss you." Lex murmurs as she squeezes the old man tightly.
"Thanks for the presents." Tim adds quickly Ellie is smiling at the kids she turns to look at Dad who has a disgruntled off put expression on his face and her smile falls again.
"Did you like them?" Hammond asks but it's not really a question the man probably bought them exactly what they asked for.
"We loved the presents." Lex says as she kisses her grandfather's cheek.
Hammond laughs happily, "Good, good, but you must be careful with me…I'm old, Did you like the helicopter ride?" He says partially in seriousness, partially teasing.
"It was great! It dropped, we were dropping really fast and then we stopped!" Tim says all hopped up on adrenaline.
Dad looks on, his expression souring even further, 'Was I really so bad, or is it just other kids you dislike so much?' I wonder as I comb through my memories trying to isolate just the ones as Alec Grant is impossible because they fused with my memories as Shane.
"Come along, everyone, let's begin the tour." Hammond cheers as he rights himself on the stairs.
Hammond is side hugged by his two grandkids as he leads the way outside and I have a very hard time taking my eyes off of Lex, especially in those tightly hugging tan pants.
I hear Ellie snickering behind me and feel a poke in my ribs, "You should try to talk to her, not just stare at her butt." Ellie teases me with a sly little smirk at the corners of her lips.
I turn my head in her direction, partially looking over my shoulder, "Yeah, cause flirting is so my forte." I grunt in annoyance.
"You just need a little more practice, just smile a lot and keep those baby blues locked with her eyes, and she'll definitely give you a chance." Ellie says in such a way she comes off both as a teasing but also maternal big sister who starts trying to stealthily fix my hair that she seems to think is messed up.
'Okay, I guess I can forgive her for going all gaga over Ian Malcolm…but I won't trust her implicitly, that's for sure.'
"Thanks, Ellie…" I thank the woman and she makes a little cooking/swoon sound that makes me feel a complicated slew of emotions, sure she's no Megan Fox, but I may have a teensy tiny little crush on her left over from when I watched Jurassic Park as a kid.
Once outside I see the two iconicly modified Ford Explorers leap up out of an underground garage beneath the visitor's center.
'Okay, that's way cooler than in the movie where they're just parked there out front sitting…Hammond, you're definitely a showman.' the suvs move with the faint electronic hum of electric motors as, they straddle a partially buried metal rail in the
middle of the road.
"Wait, not too close to the cars." Hammond hollers at Tim and Lex
The suvs pull to a stop in front of where our group has gathered, Ellie drags me over near Alexis, "Hi, I'm Ellie Sattler and this is Alec Grant."
Ellie introduces us both to the pretty…okay gorgeous girl warmly.
I can hear Hammond talking up the suvs calling them glorious multiple times.
"Hi, I'm Alexis, I prefer Lex though…my grandpa owns this place…" Lex introduces herself and I can tell that there's an instant friendship formed between the two women but Lex doesn't seem all that interested in me.
"John, I really don't think having kids here at this time is appropria-" I hear Gennaro lodging a complaint and Tim and Lex's presence on the island.
"Have a heart gentlemen, their parents are getting a divorce and they need a diversion." Hammond says and waves off any continuing concern about his grandkids being here.
"Hey, Where are the drivers?!" Gennaro shouts as he inspects the suvs.
"Driver's? No-no, no drivers here, they're completely electric cars, guided by this track in the roadway, and totally non-polluting, top of the line, spared no expense!" Hammond proclaims.
Lex walks off and gets into the suv in the lead, "Whoa, it's got an interactive CD-ROM, look, see…you just touch the right part of the screen and it talks about whatever you want.
"Lex you'll be alright there, Alec, why don't you ride with Lex and Tim." Hammond says to me and smirks as he winks at me.
'Oh my god is the rich old man trying to set me up with his granddaughter???!' I wonder as I pull open the driver's door and slide in behind the wheel.
"Have fun kids." Hammond jokes and even Ellie shoots a sly grin my way before giggling before prancing off to the rear car, looking to my right I see a slightly flushed Lex who looks like Katherine McNamara from her time in season 1 of Shadow Hunters before the tattoos.
I see Hammond turn and head back towards the Visitor's Center entrance.
In the rearview I see Malcolm following Ellie to the rear vehicle, from his posture I can tell Dad doesn't like that one bit…
Dad starts to follow, "So is Ellie…your girlfriend…?" Lex asks me and I'm genuinely thrown for a loop.
"Huh?" Is my unintelligent response, Lex rolls her eyes at me exasperated, "I saw her fixing your hair earlier and she dragged you over to me to show you off…so is she your girlfriend?"
I shake my head from side to side and blink to try and clear the stupid from my head but it doesn't work, "Uhh no…Ellie and my dad are a couple…" I finally answer Lex's question, and she has a little smile on her face, like she finds me stumbling over my words, funny or cute…most likely funny.
Looking back into the rearview mirror I see Tim following/fanboying over Dad.
"Poor Tim…Dad is one of his heroes isn't he?" I ask Lex while continuing to watch the interaction.
"Yeah, why?" Lex immediately answers making me sigh in amusement, "My dad is not the most child friendly man in the world…" I groan as I watch Dad slide out of the backseat of the rear car but Tim follows him.
"He'll hit Tim?!" Lex asks in worry, and shock.
"What no!" I shout and round on the girl, "Why would you think that?! He just doesn't like kids!" I quickly say never once has Dad abused me or any other kid, scars them and cause them to have long lasting mental trauma by telling them how a raptor would eat them alive after making it so that they couldn't run away on the other hand is his favorite source of amusement on volunteer assisted digs.
"Oh…sorry…" Lex apologizes and looks down at her feet, "It's alright…if you have something you can't talk to anyone else about…maybe abuse at home or school you can tell me about it." I offer because usually if someone's head immediately goes to a kid being abused it means they're being abused or has been at some point.
"Uhh…thanks." I can tell I've weird Lex out by my offer.
'Good job, weirdo!'
Dad stops walking, turns to face Tim and leans down slightly, not liking the answer he received, Dad heads to mine and Lex's car, "Having fun Dad?" I ask and he shoots me an unamused look through the side mirror making me chuckle, as he opens the rear door, and holds it for Tim, who climbs in the back seat, rattling on and on, thinking Dad will climb in after him.
I tune the kid out immediately but am slightly jolted by how hard Dad slams the door in the kid's face before he turns around, and…bumps right into Lex.
'Holy Shit, how'd she do that? She's a fucking ninja!' I think and see Lex pointing in Ellie's direction, "She said I should ride with you because it would be good for you." Lex says lying through her teeth, 'I…I think I love this girl…' I see Ellie giggling in the front seat of the rear suv biting her thumb nail with a smile on her face.
Tim throws himself back in the seat, hard, "Hey, Tim right?" Tim ignores me and looks out the window, before finally nodding.
"I'm Alec Grant." "I know I've seen your pictures in your Dad's book." The kid turns his head to look into the front seat, "Yeah, look…my dad he's not really good with kids…trust me, but just give him a little time to warm up to you, then he'll talk your ear off about all sorts of things…especially Raptors…"
"Okay…." Tim says back to me but I can tell he's disappointed, after a few seconds, "Thanks Alec, would you want to talk about the extinction or evolution theories?" Tim asks and Lex climbs into the back seat beside her little brother and starts tickling his sides making the kid squirm and giggle.
Silently the Explorers start to move forward along the electrical pathway.
It's Tim, Lex and me in the front vehicle.
While Dad, Gennaro, Ellie, and Malcolm are all in the rear vehicle.
"Whoa." All three of us murmur in awe at the two enormous, primitive gates that have torches blazing on either side.
"Oh, no we're gonna crash!" Lex cries out, but the doors open just as speaker blare with the sounds of
trumpets, and the interior video screen flashes "Welcome to Jurassic
Park." A familiar voice comes over the speaker, "Welcome to Jurassic Park. You are now entering the lost
world of the prehistoric past, a world with creatures long gone from the face of the earth, which you are privileged to see for the first time.
The cars come to the top of a low rise, where a break in the foliage
gives them a view down a sloping field that is broken by a river.
The electronic tour guide voice continues, "To the right, you will see a herd of the first dinosaurs on our tour, called Dilophosaurus." I smile as Tim and Lex practically slam their faces up against the windows, to get a good look…at the vegetation.
"I can't see anything, but trees and leaves!" Tim complains.
"Based on fossilic evidence Dilophosaurus…are nocturnal…so seeing them at this time of day…is as likely as winning the powerball." I grumble as even though I know from the movie that I wouldn't be able to see them right now it's disappointing.
The tour voice starts up again after the short pause, "As the earliest carnivore species resurrected here at Jurassic Park, we now know the Dilophosaurus is actually poisonous, spitting its venom at its prey, causing blindness and eventually paralysis,
allowing the carnivore to eat at its leisure. This makes Dilophosaurus a beautiful, but deadly addition to
Jurassic Park." The voice explains before transitioning into playing
corny as all hell "scary music."
Tim sighs, "I think you're right Alec, there's nothing to see here, right now!" The kid's disappointment is tangible.
"Damn, sorry Tim." Lex curses and apologizes to her little brother before reaching out with her lift hand to ruffle his hair.