It was dead within the fog.
As was the world, so to speak.
Only a silky gray wisp remained, alive yet dreadful. She lurked through the silver threads of the speckled night, eating up the sky as she did the ground. But her touch was soft to me; laying warm tears against my whitened scales for it to meddle upon the road. And every breath made my tail shiver, persuading me to look beyond her lens.
It scared me, to feel her presence once more. But she longed for me to look beyond what she was to a truth hidden in the womb.
Beyond the grave of a long-lost nightmare. If that is what this is.
The backroads had returned to me, just where I had left it. With a familiar haze of red silk churning above, and the scentless asphalt trailing below, I was left to stand frozen in the past, unable to believe and unable to think. Thankfully, the shoe and lamp post no longer stood before me in this dream.
But something else did.
I started to stumble toward an overturned figure ahead, my speckled claws raking the earth as a hissing cry grew near. The closer I walked, the warmer the earth became -- sheltering the rumbling tremors that lurked a few inches ahead. And then, as the fog started to clear, the object decided to unveil itself.
And I froze upon the spot.
A strange-looking car laid before me, overturned and shattered from front to base. Oil spots and flame, littered around its underside, took to the air, a rotten stench that forced my lungs to shrivel and my snout to wrinkle. Still, my nares flared on, swollen with interest at the sight of this damaged beast, and a little roundabout across its burning surface allowed me to study every fragment of its corpse.
As well as its hidden surprises.
To my horror, two massive holes had been stabbed into the front window of the vehicle, too large to call a bullet, too small to substitute for a claw. And, here, just past the window marked a splatter of blood upon the front chair, bearing no scent, and no taste to the tongue.
Nothing for me to work with-
"Beep... Beep..."
My tail lifted in interest. The noise came from within the vehicle. A noise I found familiar, and yet haunting all the same.
A call that beckoned for me.
"Beep... Beep..."
I leaned in close to the flames, my pale snout dipping low to peer deep into the glow. Here, the inferno grew firm, burning the skin of its frame (and the scales of mine), yet invisible to the naked eye. But beyond the flowers that bloomed and hissed, there laid a white shoe, sizzling like flesh in the sun.
Burning away into the night. Bloodied. Bent. Broken. Burning...
"Seven!
Dead. All dead.
"Wake up!"
Beep! Beep! Beep!
An erratic cry rattled my body back to the living world. It wasn't strong enough to deafen everything -- I could still very much hear myself talk and move. But there wasn't much to disdain because of it.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
"...What?"
Through a mild moan, I rolled my head to the left. My body still buzzed in the aftermath of the fight, if that's what I should call it. I must've gone into shock afterwards, a sickness the humans dictated as a 'concussion'. Hopefully I could shake mine away.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
If not for the noise. There wasn't much I could do about that. So, I rolled my head to the right. Here, through the blur of trickling raptor blood, came a flickering red light, spinning about like a carousel in a cage, and blinding me every so often in patterns of two. The human symbol of danger.
A warning of what had yet to come.
My quills twitched, erecting off my spine and quivering with adrenaline. The tickling sensation was enough to rouse me from the ground as a form of encouragement. But I didn't think they were enough to prompt me to fight, let alone walk.
There were worse issues at bay.
My head bowed. Beyond the massive gash that split the flesh from my bone lived a mind-splitting headache, robbing me of any chance to think. The blood that seeped from it leaked over my left eye, blinding me every so often when I failed to rub it down. From there I turned to the second injury at my hip; the bone had, indeed, been ripped out of place -- a means to subdue me. The skin around it was bulging, tinted purple to mark the damages. And just further than that was a mark: a row of scabs from where I was bitten.
"Blink," I snarled. The Scorpios Rex had to be rampaging through the facility by now -- it didn't take long for a hybrid to find his or her prey. With me out of the way, he was free to do whatever he so pleased, even if it ended in bloodshed. And, with the added sirens blasting about, INGEN's plan was also in function.
And Indy was right back in danger again.
But I couldn't deny that promise I made to her. Not after so many nights of arguing and hate and anguish.
Not after coming so far.
Growling, I twisted my body, just enough to push up on three limbs and fumble back in balance. A first thought ordered me to walk off into the darkness, but survival wouldn't be so kind to a predator on only three limbs. My chances would be slim to none against any gun-bearing human. Which meant I had to...
I shuddered. I didn't want to think about it. Do it, a voice growled into my mind. It'll only grow worse if you wait. Jaws tightened, eyes sealed, and lips wrinkled upright, I slowly sank the dislocated leg to the ground, already sensing a spike of anguish shooting up my tail.
I wasn't ready for this.
"Easy now..." I huffed through my fangs. "Three, two-"
Twist.
I still wasn't ready. The moment a pop snapped the bone back in place, rounds upon rounds of liquid fire suddenly erupted into my poor body, as if doused with flames. I barely managed a whimper when it happened, trembling on all fours as my tail lashed from behind. Even amidst the pain, I faltered back to the memories of that explosion long ago, the one that dragged me into this nightmare. The one that ruined everything.
"Rrr..."
Like an earthquake, my muscles spasmed, trying desperately to hold fast against every tremor. Four claws stabbed the floorboards, even after my underbelly tensed up. But, a couple seconds was all I needed, nothing more.
And, just like that, it was over.
Blinking back tears, I forced out a weak breath, relaxing my quills and tail in sync with the withdrawal. Although there was no way to make the same progress with my other wound, the pain was needed for what had yet to come.
The madness... yet to come.
"Indy first," I huffed, eying the injury at my hip. "Then I deal with that idiot."
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Hissing through the pain, I limped out of the doorway, ignoring the shrill wail of the alarms above as a means to focus. The halls were quiet otherwise, just a line of blinking fluorescent lights stretching in two finite directions. Thinking back, I remembered the place Indy pointed me to, hidden somewhere on this very floor.
My nostrils twitched. The aroma was lacking once more, just a distant haze to me because of my head injury. And with the flickering atmosphere and the injuries I sustained, it wasn't going to get any easier. Still, I figured I could hobble my way to the gate above Paddock 4, slam my tail into a couple gears, and release my terrified friend. Seemed easy enough.
But, fate felt that to be too easy. And rather than a free walk to freedom, I rounded a corner and stumbled head-first into an INGEN soldier.
And the crowd of pedestrians he was escorting.
I knew one thing above all else: within this animal kingdom, prey always reacts first. They understand danger far greater than the rest of us, even if our means to slay them are as close to simple. We slither through the dark, hunt in the shadows, and feast on the feared... but nothing's justified. Nothing's predictable, not even them. And my prey didn't even think, not like I did. Without a second to waste, or a thought to disdain, the soldier ripped a matted gun hanging from his neck, reared it up, and fired.
BANG!
I squealed when the first shot struck me, doubling back around the corner to reel in the pain. A wave of blood struck my snout about my shoulder blade, where a thickened red began to flow. It stung, burning a new scar in my body.
And jump starting an annoyance in my chest.
"There's another hybrid in here!" the man called to the crowd. "They're killing everyone- Get to the south stairwell, I'll hold it off!"
Killing everyone?
I growled even louder. How pretentious of him. Even if prey flourished in speed and response, they were all stubborn. They believed that their methods are best, that a simple successful response to any threat could lead to another.
Greed. They thrived in it.
But greed was a flaw in war. And once that modest soldier came barreling around the corner, gun ablaze, and eyes glistening of joy, he was met with three talons slashing down upon his hide, ripping straight through his armor and deep into the bone. He jolted in place, clutching his squirting inners for a moment before a second claw slammed his body to the ground. Without a second to waste, my jaws found his head, and snapped his neck.
He was dead after a second. All that remained became the wrinkling of his skin in the wrong direction, and a splintered piece of bone that stabbed outside his neck. I urged myself to move on, to continue forth.
But I couldn't move.
The sudden warmth that struck my underside suddenly awakened a part of me. A part that I had almost forgotten. The sweet taste of blood, the adrenaline of the hunt, even the sheer pleasure of towering over one's kill... it robbed me of any interest in the plans I set for myself. And as I stood there above the torn human, satisfied, and enjoying the stench of the dead, I began to wonder. I began to drool. My attention suddenly set upon the fleeing humans ahead, a froth gathering around my maw.
Kill them...
My eyes started to dilate.
Feast. It's your freedom now.
My heart began to thrum. The hunger was growing inside me. It wanted out. Another massacre of the human world. Another vengeful day to show that hybrids are above all else, predators with no purpose, waiting to sink their fangs into the fearful. Like Jurassic World. Like Lockwood.
Like here.
Just one pounce, my brain hissed, forcing my focus to lock on a couple potential victims. To split their flesh in two. To relish in their screams. To feel the silent beating of a dying heart they do not deserve.
Kill! Kill!
All of sudden, I found myself a couple feet forward, my claw pinning a random INGEN woman by the leg. My throat shook with desire as I felt her shriek and scramble, tears rolling down her face. Blood clotted around my talon, oozing across the bone and fueling my lungs with a precious scent. My eyes dilated even further.
One pounce... to start a massacre.
But in the haze of a primitive lust came a second thought. Another memory that sought me out, and pinned me to the floor as my prey rushed away.
Click.
I thought of Click.
And I found myself back there in that lost memory, feeling his pale hand press against my blood-soaked snout. Tending to me as I reveled in his embrace. I shuddered softly, as if apologetic of a wrong I had no part in. But he wasn't scared or upset. He was smiling.
"It's alright..." he muttered to me. "Tsk, tsk... hey, I won't hurt you. I'm not like them. And neither are you..."
And I snapped out of it. I found myself alone again, the crowd having dispersed into the blackness of the facility with nobody to run from. The woman beneath me had fled. And, for me, nobody was there to chase. A second breath steadied my heart.
And a third made me snarl.
Don't think about it, just get to her! I cursed myself, stepping over the body and limping on. Control your impulses like Click taught you to do. Get to her, get to Blink. Then you can find him.
We're not like them. We're not monsters... It's the only way.
After licking my bloodied chops, I hastened my stride throughout the ruined halls of the facility, back to the room to free my friend.
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"Indy!"
The white indominus rex's head swiveled on a dime the second I arrived at the control bay. Still limping through an earlier inconvenience, I stumbled up to the lower deck, focusing upon my friend's terrified eyes. Even through a concrete wall she could hear the subtle echo of the sirens wailing in her ears.
Just that alone was any means to worry.
"Seven?" I heard her muffled voice from the other end. "What happened? What's going on?"
I growled softly, pressing a claw over the wound above my eye. The blood was unrelentless, flowing freely down the left ridge of my bone and coating my vision in a constant state of red. Wincing through a half-stare, I shifted to the control panel, trying to read the human text marking each button. But I couldn't manage a word. Not that it was foreign to me, the blood on my eye blocked out most of the words.
"Your eye," Indy gasped. "Did Blink-"
"It doesn't matter!" I snarled aloud, my growls growing louder. "I'll find that prick in a moment. I just... ngh..." I rubbed the wound again, coming back with another clot of blood. Once more the words mushed into squiggly lines, indistinguishable from any other sentence.
PD3... PD1... PD9... PD...
I snorted. Screw it.
With my upper body lowered and my rear-end lifted, I wavered my tail to the ceiling, briefly forming a half question mark before slamming down. The entire frame dented upon impact, sparks bursting from the dying machine and drenching the tiles from a single effort. Behind Indy, the small gateway she once motioned to began to groan, slowly creaking outward upon rusted hinges. Indy's nares flared; she wheeled around a second time, staring out at the glowing pine forest sparkling right before her. A cool wisp of freedom slithered into her prison, nuzzling her scales and tickling her claws as an autumn sun radiated against her scales.
Nature was embracing her with open arms. All she needed to do was accept it.
"Seven, I-" she swallowed, taking a step away from the opening. "I-I don't-"
"Stop thinking about it," I hissed to her, brushing my wound a third time. "Run deep into the forest and don't look back. Camouflage if you hear anything suspicious. Got it?"
Indy fell quiet. Her scales were already trembling, synced with a thrumming heartbeat that could not be tamed. I exhaled softly, pressing my bloodied snout against the warm window pane, puffs of warm air fogging the screen in two round marks. Indy moved in close to do the same, reaching up on two toes to meet my embrace. Even from above I could see the terror scarring the poor hybrid to the edge of tears.
"I'll come back for you when this is over. I promise," I cooed. Indy rumbled with a relieved nod.
"Find me" she croaked. Drawing away from the window, Indy took another deep inhale, stalking through the crack of the gateway I opened.
And vanished with a flicker of her tail.
My stomach writhed twice. Seeing my friend take off into the forest, into freedom, was nothing short of perfect. Lowering my tail, I took a step away, trailing back to the exit, and turned my limp into a sprint. I needed to find a way out of here, a way to keep my promise to the indominus rex. But, as I scrambled through the facility, leading off of scent and sound to the promised lands ahead, a part of me feared what I'd find -- whether another fight, another feast, another moment to leave me in shambles. But I was unaware of what laid before me. Unaware of what my actions have done to endanger us all.
And unaware of the horrors that were unraveling below.
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All Paddocks Are Open.