Free Jurassic Park^TM III Novelization by Scott Ciencin

Eric, pointing toward the murky water. Just below the surface, a shimmering wave of silver passed beneath the boat. A single fish jumped from the water. Then another.
    “Bonitos,” Alan said.
    “Something must have scared them,” said Eric, tensing. He met Alan’s eyes. Eric had learned the hard way that nature had many warning signs. They were seeing one now.
    Thunder sounded again. This time, much closer.
    “Get the motor going,” Alan called to Paul, who nodded and tried to start the engine. It sputtered but would not turn over.
    The phone beeped to indicate that the battery was getting even weaker. Alan closed his eyes and made a decision, then quickly dialed a familiar number.
    “Who are you calling?” Amanda asked.
    Alan ignored the question. The line rang three times. Four. Finally, someone answered.
    “Hewwo?” a little boy said.
    Alan knew the voice. “Charlie, get your mother. Right away!”
    A long silence followed.
    “Charlie, are you there?” Alan asked. He looked around anxiously.
    “Hewwo?” Charlie repeated.
    The phone beeped again. The battery was dangerously low now. Behind Alan, Paul continued to struggle with the motor.
    “Charlie! It’s the dinosaur man!” Alan cried into the phone. “Go get Mommy, okay?”
    “Okay,” said Charlie. The sound came of the phone being dropped onto a table.
    Amanda and Eric watched Alan. They all knew their lives could be riding on this single phone call.
    Suddenly, something distracted Eric. As he looked toward the bow, his body tensed and he called, “Dr. Grant!”
    The phone pressed tightly to his ear, Alan turned and saw a gigantic fin rise from the water fifty feet behind them. It was heading right for them!
    “Charlie? Charlie!” Alan yelled in desperation. “Are you getting Mommy?
Charlie!”
    With shattering force, the boat was rammed and everyone was sent tumbling! Alan slammed against the wheelhouse support bar. The phone slipped from his hand and fell to the deck, landing on the “end call” button. The connection was severed.
    As lightning flashed and thunder roared, the Spinosaurus rose out of the dark water, its massive form towering over the barge.
    RRRRHHH-AWWWHHHRRR!
    Long crocodile-shaped jaws lunged toward Alan, who had only one thought before leaping away with all his strength—
Never underestimate the reach of a superpredator!
    He got clear, just barely.
    The massive jaws connected with the barge instead. Then the Spinosaurus ripped the entire wheelhouse from the deck.
    It started on the stern next, puncturing the fuel tank, clearly enjoying its little destructive fest. Fuel leaked into the river, spreading into a large slick.
    Alan rushed toward the front of the craft. He herded the Kirbys into the dinosaur cage that had been left on the barge. He jumped in, too, and closed the door.
    With any luck, the cage’s bars would be strong enough to protect them, like a shark cage in unfriendly waters.
    But the Spinosaurus’s rampage near the stern made the entire craft unstable. When the dinosaur lifted the back of the boat from the water, the cage slid across the deck and slammed into the bow.
    Alan realized that the cage door was pinned shut. They were trapped. Debris and pieces of abandoned equipment slid forward as the Spinosaurus lifted its end of the boat even higher.
    Alan gasped as he saw the phone among the junk sliding toward oblivion—and heard it start to ring!
    Reaching through the cage bars for the sliding phone, Alan strained until his arm felt as if it might tear from its socket.
    The Spinosaurus dropped the barge and the phone slid back toward the stern again!
    Alan saw the dinosaur’s jagged maw approaching. The cage was their only protection now. The dinosaur’s teeth fastened on it, lifting it a few feet from the deck. Alan and the others were knocked around like rag dolls as the cage was smashed back down.
    The ringing phone flew through the air. Alan lunged for it, shouting in triumph as his fingers closed