In their cells, the raptors were allowed to smell the scent of their target through a tiny window crisscrossed with bars so that they could track the target down and lead them to its current hideout. Owen paced before every cell and clicked his clicker severally while holding the chunk of flesh, which the Indominus itself had clawed out from its own body earlier, with a piece of cloth and let them smell it. And at once, breathings of the raptors paced up and they growled, rumbled and snorted impatiently, ready more than ever to hunt down their first alive prey.
Owen, Kate and Barry mounted their bikes and started their ignition before setting off and soon, they picked up a decent speed. The silence of the night was disrupted with the loud whirring of the wheels, cutting ways through the thick forest in the dead of the night.
Kate took a deep breath to compose herself. The lurking disquiet was still there and the rush of adrenaline through the veins only added to her excitement building inside; her heart throbbed and her palm felt sweaty. But slowly, the cold wind that gusted against her face and tousled her already messy braided hair and caused her to squint to get a glimpse of the surroundings flashing past, felt fairly nice and also gave a strong sense of freedom and ultimately effected to subdue her fears. In a minute or two, she spotted Owen and Barry speeding on her sides once their speed had caught up to each other. Right behind them was a convoy of jeeps, following their lead. The raptors were still captive inside their cells and yet to be released in order to give them all a head-start as of a safety measure, in the event that they try chasing after them instead.
The junior staff member from yesterday, who had fallen inside the raptors paddock and saved by the Gradys, stood on a designated higher spot, waiting for a signal to release the raptors. And right on the transmitted signal, after the convoy had gained a reasonable distance, did he press the switch in his hand although he found it quite to his disliking due to his past experience of them. The alarms went off as soon as the gates of all the five cells separately holding the raptors were pulled up and they set out of confinement. They sprinted straight ahead into the forest and darted through the dense woods and thick bushes, heading for the convoy ahead.
The air filled with their screeches and growls as they picked speed not even in a minute, snarling viciously past the trees and bushes.
Claire sure had climbed in the van on the driver's seat but the brothers has no way to know, there was a partition in between the spacious back side of the van and the front which bore a small window but it was left closed for now.
Into the still silence of the night, unbeknownst to himself, Zach could only think of her. He was at unease in worry for her. Even so, the more he thought of her, he found himself in deeper admiration for her. Although they were the same in age, she was a lot more than he was; courageous, strong, skillful and a person with a beautiful personality.
But he could not stop worrying for her. Was it really going to be okay? Up against such a gigantic dinosaur, skillset like hers were sure to come handy but luck had much more role in survival. What if it took an unfortunate turn, if the plans fail? Was she going to be back alive?
The brothers were sitting at the back unmindfully when Gray flinched at the noise of alarm as soon as it set off, the screeches and growls of the velociraptors might not reach them but it was not hard to assume what it meant. He looked at his brother, trying to swallow down his nervousness. "Nothing's getting in here, right?" He whispered keeping his eyes on the window, fearing the raptors might hear him. He sure admired the velociraptors, but he already had enough of up-close-with-dinosaur experiences. "We're safe, right?" He sure had tried to keep his tone void of any emotion, but even a look at his face was enough to feel how scared Gray was again.
Deep inside, Zach felt quite the same. Alarms could never be not unsettling and add the release of those predatory animals into matters which it signalled, it was more than enough to make it more unnerving. Even so, he found himself wanting make him feel safe as he stared at his pale face. Just as he was trying to figure with words, his mind stumbled upon a past memory. He weighed for some seconds whether to bring it up or not recalling it, before starting with a light smile. "Hey... Do you remember that ghost at the old house? Remember, the one in the garage?" Gray finally took his eyes off the window to look at him, raking through his memories to figure about which the older was talking. "I had protected you, right?"
The youngest Mitchell now slightly snorted as the memory started coming back. "You made a battle ax...out of a ruler and a paper plate."
"Yeah," Zach chuckled, "See, nothing is gonna get you while I'm around, okay?"
Gray smiled at his words, but then remembering their family's issues, his smiled disappeared. "But you're not always gonna be around," he said in a heavy tone to look down at his shoes.
Zach found himself wordless for some seconds instead of finding consolation or anything appropriate to answer. "Yeah, well... Hey... We're brothers, okay?" He took him by his shoulders to make him look at him, "We'll always be brothers, and we'll always come back to one another. No matter what."
Gray stared into his eyes as his teared up and he whispered. "No matter what?"
Zach pulled him closer by his shoulders to rest his head against Gray's, closing his eyes as he whispered back.
"No matter what."
* * * * *
The instant the convoy came into their sight, the raptors squealed before speeding up. Blue took the front to lead her squad who were right on her heels. In spite of the whirring of the wheels, Kate's ears picked up their the growls and snarls. "They're right behind us and closing on," Barry shouted over the noises to warn them, who could track and monitor the movements of the velociraptors on the small tracking monitor set on his bike. A blunt nervousness jogged up her mind; it would not be long until the raptors would reach them... Just yesterday they had shown disobedience when a staff fell into the paddock... and this was a huge step... Yesterday, they had been showing almost different colours on them inside the paddock walls after she and her brother had intruded in the paddock to save the staff. Would they do the same again, right now?
But she knew better than to lose courage; to stay in control, there could be no room for doubt or nervousness or confusion.
Inside the van that was still in that paddock area, Claire, seated in the driver seat, was closely monitoring the progression of the troop in her device with utmost attention and nervousness. Dangerous as it looked, she could not help feeling worried for Owen and Kate and the rest of them. Owen had advised her that should the situation go out of control, she would drive her nephews to the control centre right away and get to somewhere safe. But she did not how she might leave without confirming safety of the Gradys, should the situation take a wrong turn.
So, as she was engrossed in the footages from the micro-cameras set on the head straps of the velociraptors, she barely noticed that from the back of the van, Zach and Gray were also watching opening that window.
The distance between themselves and the raptors were reducing. The squad sprinted past the convoy of jeeps and were closing on the trio on their bikes. Kate could now hear their squeals and growls loud and clear. She took a deep breath and waited to be greeted by them. She trusted them, she always had trusted them, and specially in times like this, the trust among each other was crucial.
With a cry, a raptor had appeared on their side. It was none other than Blue, the beta of the squad. She squealed turning at them, but it was a familiar call and still bore the sign of her loyalty and trust. She squealed twice more and the rest of the squad now spread around Owen, Kate and Barry. Blue zigzagged swiftly from the sides of Barry to Kate, taking couple of seconds on their sides and giving a faint cry which sure was enough to make them feel reassured of their trust, and sped up again after Owen who was now on lead.
Owen stole a glance as soon as Blue picked a pace with him. As impossible it could have been, they were now racing side by side with nature's one of the most vicious, witty predators; all it would take for any of the raptors was a single action, turn the jaws and take a chomp at them to finish them off and even so, his heart felt lighter and a smirk of confidence tinted his lips. Because when he looked again, Blue made a brief eye contact and greeted him with a soft growl, announcing the devotion, trust and respect they still shared and wished to protect, and soon, she was once again darting faster to take the lead of the hunt.
Violet had already zoomed to Kate's other side when Charlie came racing between Owen and her, as Delta and Echo took Barry's side and the rear respectively, showing they, too, were intent to kept the trust. Violet greeted lowering her head slightly when Kate's eyes met hers from up close. Kate could hear the sharp and rapid huffs from sprinting top speed, see the roughness of their skin, the scales that shined under the streaks of moonlight that slipped despite the dense forest above, from so close.... So close that, if she stretched an arm, she could touch or give Violet, a pat. She was still contemplating whether to hold in the urge to do so when Violet cut her short with a cry, as if scolding her, but also in ridicule, for not focusing on the path for long, and so she followed. Surpassing the thrill of navigating through the forest and uneven lands on a high speed in the dark of the night, it was a great deal of pride and a boost in confidence which she was now feeling.
When Blue called with several squeals from the front, the rest of the raptors responded with a unified squeal and zoomed past the human trio to join her ahead.
"Your boyfriend is so cool," remarked Gray while he was watching the footage along with his aunt.
Claire could not but smile shyly at his words, apparently forgetting that she had decided she would not allow them to watch any of these. The situation still looked under control, after all....
"And Kate, too," added Zach, who could not help but focus more on Kate in the footage, giving a nudge to Gray.
"Yeah, she, too, of course!"
The raptors sprinted on, tracking the scent of their target, with the Grady siblings and Barry on their trail and the convoy at the rear. On the attached monitor Barry was constantly checking to keep up with the speed of the raptor squad. The raptors were often growling as they sprinted on, but soon, they were starting to fall silent. They were barely growling anymore, occasionally Blue communicated with her sisters to guide them, but that, too, stopped a minute later. Aside the whirring of the wheels, there was only silence in the forest; even the crickets seemed to be scared to make sound. The growing eeriness of the atmosphere was slowly starting to affect them the further they were driving into the forests. Kate kept a careful eye on the raptors as her heart beat started to quicken. Blue now made a different call from the ahead, and Kate noticed how the distant blurry figures of the raptors started growing closer.
"They're slowing down!" Barry warned the Gradys checking the monitor.
"They got something!" Owen quickly informed through the comms to notify the soldiers in the vans.
Kate gradually released the throttle and the speed started climbing down, until they saw the raptors to pause in their tracks before spreading out into a vast glade ahead. She pulled up and started surveying the surroundings cautiously in keen eyes, when Owen pulled up on her side, and next came Barry.
Sliding the strap from her shoulder, she grabbed her rifle as she glanced at her brother. Both Owen and Barry, too, already had their rifles at ready. They waited till the jeeps slowly pulled up, then Owen shared a look with her before cautiously heading into the glade on foot, with her and Barry on his heels. The raptors were slowly advancing ahead, their eyes fixated at a definite direction in the tall trees not so far ahead.
"There," Owen whispered and signalled pointing to a fallen log of a huge tree ahead half way through the glade for their hide. And so the trio cautiously marched to take positions while they were also trying to keep as low as possible, eventually taking to crawl to that log only to stay unnoticed from the Indominus Rex wherever it might be hiding. It was surely here somewhere if their raptors tracked its smell to this place, only the exact location was yet to be figured.
Drawing their weapons, the troop of soldiers were spreading out to take positions in pairs and groups as well. The lieutenant and a pair of soldiers came to take position along with the trio, propped with their arms. The raptors were now moving about slowly and rumbling intimidatingly, as they started to spread out in an arc in front of the tall trees on the other side of glade.
There was an absolute silence in the air, so silent and still that as if they had forgotten to breathe. Kate did not dare to even blink her eyes, she was growing uncomfortable as the moments ticked by. Blue had finally come to a stop in her tracks, and so did her sisters, except for Violet who still surveyed for seconds longer before coming to a standstill.
The silhouettes of the velociraptors were now almost invisible in the dark which had thickened near the trees. There was some mild rustling in the leaves but the raptors did not inch away a bit, and although they were far away from them, Kate was sure to have heard some indistinct growls and squeals among the squad.
One of the silhouettes, whom she assumed to be Blue, stepped forward and growled facing the mass of darkness ahead. But there was only silence in response. Blue growled and squealed again. This time, there came an rumbling growl from behind the trees ahead and it certainly sounded different from that of the raptors. Kate recognized it at once, the Indominus, it had to be. Her stomach lurched as her finger firmed over the trigger of her rifle which was aimed at the dark mass of tall trees.
Blue was furious to squeal back. There was that rumbling growl again and the leaves rustled, from behind which emerged the horrific monster. The Indominus Rex, or, I-rex, as the soldiers now called it, in short. Whether it was the dark or its camouflaging was not clear, but it did not look so white anymore. All the lasers were at once pointed on it from all the guns and rifles.
It made a low rumbling sound taking notice of the lasers, then looked at the raptors who looked little before its enormous size. This time the whole squad squealed furiously. Instead of attacking anyone or the raptors, the I-rex rather growled again; it seemed it had no intention of attacking the raptors, instead it was more like communicating with them. The rest of the velociraptor squad had joined in squealing back and forth by now, as if they could understand each other. Kate could not understand what was going on. How could it be possible? It was not like the raptors and the I-rex belong to the same species so that they would be able to communicate...
"Why aren't the girls attacking already...?" She whispered in disbelief. Owen and Barry, who could hear her, glanced at her momentarily.
"No," Owen shook his head, "The question is, why on earth the I-rex haven't tried to take out to the raptors already? Why...is it taking time? What for....?" His voice toned down to whispers at the end, as his perturbed mind raced at the unknown possibility.
It was totally unsettling to see neither the raptors nor the I-rex making any move. Something felt off, no, something was terribly wrong...
* * * * *
The obnoxious feelings had reached the occupants of the van, too. Claire suddenly started doubting a possibility of an eminent danger. This was the moment where everything could go wrong... She suddenly remembered her nephews who were watching with her and instantly turned to face them. "You know what? You're not watching anymore, boys," she made to reach to shut the window in between them.
"Hey- no! Please-" Zach had desperately pleaded but in utter vain.
He grunted staring at the closed window, then glanced at Gray who gave in sooner and sat down with a sigh. Still frustrated, Zach followed and leaned into his seat. Subconsciously, he crossed his fingers as he closed his eyes in anxiety. Kate was out there.... and if Clare was scared enough to not let them see, the situation was as bad as it could be. No... he just needed to trust Kate, and her brother, Owen. She did say if her brother was with her, she ought to be safe. And he did seem like he knew what he was doing. They should be okay.... Taking a deep breath, he turned to see how was Gray holding up only to see him staring at him. So he waited assuming he had something to say.
"Zach?" whispered Gray.
"Yeah?"
"What do you think will happen to them?"
Zach stared at him, thinking what he could say. Something that would not appear a lie or unconvincing, but at the same time could assure him.
"Well... you see, they're trained people....all of them. They handled those flying ones pretty good," he shared a glance with him, "Besides, now they've got Kate's velociraptors, so they should have an advantage, right?" Although he made it sound quite confident, he was not sure whom he was actually trying to convince— his little brother or himself.
"Maybe..." Gray faintly nodded, worrying if it would turn out for the best or worst. None of them said anything for another few minute, but it was Gray once again to break the silence with a question Zach thought was entirely off-topic.
"Do you like Kate?" asked Gray.
When there was only silence in response, Gray's eyes seemed to be sparkling in triumph. "You like her, don't you?"
Zach, apparently befuddled, found himself unable to deny it. Feeling his face heating up, quickly he shifted his gaze.
Now that he thought about it, he really did not know how exactly he felt for her, to be honest. Yes, he cared for her, he worried for her, yeah, a lot. Was it very normal on his part to be so concerned for her? When she smiled it would make his heart the warm and smile... but was that... how falling in love supposed to feel like? He had not loved anyone before her, so he did not know how he was supposed to know it. Love is said to make people go crazy, but was whatever he felt in her presence or at her smiles, or, perhaps, the time he had held her hand, the rush he had felt... would those be considered going crazy or was he doing perfectly sane? But whether he was in love or not, should he not have known himself? Then why was he unable to simply deny and in confusion, instead?
They sure had gone through things more than many friends go in a lifetime. And, in the process, they forged some sort of... connection? Yeah, a connection. Friends, it might be? Was it something more? He was not sure... Could it ever be? Or, was it what he wanted? Again, he did not know the answer.
The only thing he was certain about was that he definitely wanted to see her return alive and safe.... and... and after all of these might end, maybe stay in touch with her. He might have not known her ever before today and it had not been an entire day yet, either, but he certainly could not think of not seeing her ever again.
"I don't... know..." whispered Zach slowly with his eyes focused on his shoes, as if there had been nothing more important than to stare at the dirty marks all over; he did not just want to meet Gray's eyes now.
* * * * *
They were still waiting for the raptors to initiate the attack, otherwise there was a risk of shootings at the raptors and it would only worsen things: causing the velociraptors to turn against them by disqualifying their trust and bondage would in a single moment. But Kate was not liking this anymore. She observed the scene ahead the eye piece of the rifle. For the distance, they could not hear much but there often low growls and rumbles from both sides. It was odd....
The raptors should have attacked already. It was what the squad had always wished and waited for, a chance to finally chase in the open and hunt down a live prey...
Something was not adding up....
She really was not liking this at all.
"Something's wrong. They're communicating," whispered Barry sounding confused and concerned.
And it suddenly clicked. Of course, they were exchanging growls in response to one another, they indeed were communicating, although it seemed untrue due to the variance in their species, unless... Kate, horrified and shook at the realization, looked at her brother with dilated eyes who, too, had turned to her with the look of realization. What Barry had said....
"Now I know why they wouldn't tell us what it's made of," Owen started in whispers, suddenly getting furious at the new realization.
"Why?" Barry asked although he might not like the answer and took a glance at him by the corner of his eyes.
But Kate had already figured out, and she answered instead. "That thing is part raptor."
Barry sure looked shocked at her words as he connected the dots in his heads; everything was making sense now.
"What now?" She whispered again. "This... this definitely can't be good, we gotta stop them—" But she was cut short as soon as the velociraptors suddenly make a motion altogether. All five of them had turned around and now looked straight at where all of them had taken cover, and Echo gave a void snarl as they all positioned themselves before the giant monster, as if they also wished to defend it.
That did not make it any sense. What was going on? Kate was in utter loss of words and wits as much as Owen and Barry, even though some of them might have been fearing such a possibility from the beginning... was it happening for real? A chill ran down her spine as an incredulous, however, not so impossible, thought occurred. They, by any chance, were not planning to switch sides, or, giving away their positions to their enemy, now, could they?
Kate peered through the lens of her rifle for a close look at their faces to affirm that her concerns were completely wrong and groundless, but all she could see was their unsteady figures and unreadable emotions. More than hostile, they seemed confused as they shifted with unease. Their eyes, which glinted in the moonlight as it shone on their faces, did not looked hungry to prey, either. Finally Blue made a move: she shifted to stand erect on her hind legs and made a call, staring right at their direction. Kate immediately removed the lens off her eyes and lowered her aim to look at her in plain eyes; she could not see her well from afar, but Blue sure did not look so hostile. Same was about the rest of the squad, none of them looked so intent to start a ruckus.
But not everyone was thinking along her, specially after having sensed a possibility of eminent danger."What are they waiting for?!" Hoskins voice came through the comms, "Light it up!"
"Fire! Fire!"
"No, wait-" Kate cried in vain as the lieutenant next to them shouted orders on top of the voice and at once, the air was filled with the sound of gunfires. Kate, Owen and Barry were stoned once again, utterly clueless of their next action at the turn of events. None of them could actually take a shot at the raptors, or so they felt. Even if the situation demanded, even in the face of death, just to defend own selves, could she ever pull the trigger on them? But that was going to be committing an unfixable breach of their trust, a full fledged betrayal. They might be mistaken, but how could she do the wrong knowing all along?
As soon as the gunfire started, while the Indominus backed off behind the trees, the raptors shifted into attacking mode and pounced at the soldiers. Blue, at first, only tried to strike off the weapons in their grips but when the soldiers fired on her and her sisters on free will, there was no holding them back. In matter of a few seconds, the silence of the whole island felt to be disrupted with the noises of gunfire, growls and roars of the dinosaurs.
In complete incredulity, dismay and horror, Kate watched from their hide as the soldiers fired at all the dinosaurs in sight. Neither her brother or Barry had come out of their hide of the bushes, all three of them were just too startled and at loss of action and out of wit as the scenes kept unfolding before their eyes. Right before their eyes, the plan was thrown into astray.... The soldiers, they had not respected their words about not hurting the raptors or opening fire only on Owen's command at all. Did men always have to be like this?
A missile shot across the air and flew straight at the I-rex making the raptors squad scatter away hissing and snarling. A huge explosion followed and sent thick smokes and flames of fires spread out.
The I-rex, although it was barely affected, roared as it fled to the back. The iNGen troop had immediately come out of their positions to close on the fleeing hybrid dinosaur so they could have better aims and take it out once and for all, but it disappeared so fast. The flames on the trees and bushes caused by the explosion were slowly diminishing as the battle scene had come to an abrupt stop. The troop started to spread around slowly and cautiously, looking for any sign of the dinosaurs.
Kate, quickly raised from a crawling position and looked for the raptors, but they had already disappeared into the forest, possibly, during the explosion. "Brother! The raptors!" She cried looking at him, but he, too, had noticed by now.
Had they fled along with the hybrid? She quickly glanced around as she thought. Or, they could have taken cover in the wild and unkempt long grass fields surrounding the glade, which was safer in one sense, unless they were provoked to adopt some different plans. But it was not the time to hesitate, if they wished to take down the Indominus, they needed to be quick to pick its trail before it might get away again and in the given circumstance, they could only hope that the raptors would not feel threatened by any of the aggressions they might have to carry out... Losing sight of the raptors was certainly enough to dampen their confidence, even so it was possible to complete their task unless they decide to intervene and that was the only thing which might push everything downhill real quick, that is, if the raptors, even in this very brief period of communication, had already taken the hybrid giant as one of their own irrespective of their differences... Because then, taking measures against the Indominus would appear the likes of making an attack on any one of the original squad of five.
Getting up on their feet, Owen and Barry exchanged glances before Owen took the lead. "Stay close," he whispered to her keeping his rifle at the ready. Behind him, huddled Barry with her so he could watch her back if something went awry.
"Watch your six!" Owen warned aloud.
"The raptors might as well have...got a new alpha," added Kate, uttering the words to her dislike, while scanning the surroundings sharply for any movement. All of them headed through the glade and further into the woods beyond through where the hybrid was seen escaping. Everything was quiet and still except a few occasional pitapats of dying flames here and there. The tense atmosphere was settling in, as all of them now cautiously ventured through the unkempt wild grasses so long as the length of a human.
So whenever there was a rustling of the leaves or slight movements in the bushes, they jolted to check if it was the raptors but there was no sign of them. Although everyone was trying to cluster together, because of the long grasses constantly they had break into small groups, even so they tried to remain in close bounds. Once they had heard a very distant roar of the I-rex from their right and accordingly they changed their course in pursuit of it. It was all quiet for another few minutes, then there was one or two very indistinct whooshes from the bushes here and there and the next second, a man's scream cut through the eerie dark night. Everyone jumped to turn around. A few feet to right the bushes were bustling violently as the screams continued. At once, a few soldiers marched to help him when there came another cry for help from a different direction. And more screams and cries were coming... The raptors had started attacking. There was no sight of them yet the desperate soldiers started shooting assuming their positions from the movements of the grass to save themselves but in vain. The raptors were appearing out of nowhere, taking the soldiers by surprise, killing and injuring anyone who tried to take a shot at them.
There were gunfires and screams and yelps filling the air around....
The situation was slipping out of control....just like the Gradys and Barry had feared and warned Hoskins earlier.
* * * * *
"No!" Claire cried out covering her mouth seeing one after another getting killed by the raptors. Her eyes fluttered over each of the vital signs of the soldiers on the screen as one by one started declining and their footages getting distorted, while she desperately was hoping for this to stop somehow. This was bound to happen with the raptors on loose, after all; if that stupid Hoskins had not gone crazy to this extent-
She jumped at sound of opening of the window, shut the laptop instinctively and turned back. Zach and Gray had appeared with dilated eyes. Although they were not watching the footage, they could hear the distant screams and random shootings from the footage and Claire's cries. They could not stay put after that; numbing horror had started to cloud their mind.
"Is everyone dead?" cried Gray in shaky voice.
"What?" Claire was taken aback, but she could not possibly tell him the truth. She quickly shook her head although tears were brimming her eyes, "N-No, no! Everything is fine, everyone is fine-"
"Don't lie to him!" protested Zach, "We know something bad has happened! We were hearing it!"
"He's scared! It's okay to lie if people are scared!" She retorted unable to help her words before covering her face in panic. "What do I do?!"
Zach's heart was racing seeing her react like that. Worst possibilities were running across his mind. "Kate- Is Kate alright?" He desperately asked taking his aunt by the shoulders, "Is she safe?"
"I don't know... but I hope so," Claire sobbed recalling what she had been watching, and hung her head as the tears threatened to escape.
"Owen? Is he alive?"
"I don't know that, either..." whispered Claire shaking her head. She made to open the laptop to check the footages again but the connection with all of them out there had been distorted, none of it were broadcasting any footages anymore. "No, no, no!" She desperately taped on a few keys hoping to reconnect, but nothing worked. Gray's gasp caught her attention and she looked back again. It was evident he had caught up on what could have happened; he looked so horrified. Zach disappeared from the window as he slouched down into his seat, gripping his hair in despair. And it made her heart ache even more. No, she had to be strong for them.
"I'm sorry... what am I even saying..." Claire hid her face in her palms momentarily to collect herself, then looked at them, "Don't be disheartened. Even if terrible things are happening, they're...going to be..safe, they will be, okay?" But it was as if her nephews were not listening to her anymore. She leant forward and reached through the window to take them by the shoulder. "Hey, hey, look at me, both of you." Gray looked at her as she asked but Zach barely even moved. "Listen to me- there have been casualties, unfortunately, but before the broadcast cut off, the vital signs were showing some of them were still alive. There was no vital trackers on either of the Gradys- I mean, Owen and Kate, but they too will surely make it out of there... I know it! The raptors are imprinted with them, remember? Hypothetically, no, I mean truly they cannot just attack Kate or Owen like they did to the others, okay? Okay?"
Both Zach and Gray looked hopeful remembering that part; Kate did say something about imprinting earlier. "They should be okay, right?" asked Gray trying to reassure himself and Claire nodded promptly.
"Yes, they will be... they have to... and they will come back, as soon as they can... and, and... you will be going home..." she tried to smile to comfort them, "Tomorrow morning, your parents will come to pick you two up." She nodded to assure them, and the possibility of seeing their mother, who was her sister, relieved her but saddened her nevertheless. "And your mom...will never let me see you guys again." Her whispers were barely audible, when all of a sudden the window on her left was thumped with a bloody hand, making her and the boys to scream in horror.
"Drive!" A man screamed as he dashed to come round to get in the back of the van, and without any delay Claire hurried to start the ignition of the van.
The back door opened as Zach and Gray backed away against the wall, their muscles tensed from the look of the man who looked quite disheveled; evidently he was among the troops and managed to make an escape to here. But Zach's eyes noticed movement behind the man and he screamed in fear, "Behind you!"
Had the man barely climbed in just when a velociraptor jumped on him from the back and grabbed him by his neck; he jostled under the raptor as he screamed, but Claire on the front seat, apparently oblivious of the situation back there, had stepped down on the accelerator.... The man along with the raptor slipped out of the van as the van drove away and the speed started climbing.
Utterly shook and devastated, Zach and Gray clinging onto each other for dear life, could not even utter a whimper, lest a scream, as they were left frozen to their spots.
"What happened? Boys, are you alright?" Claire's voice came in through the window in between her and the brothers while she drove through the road leading out of the forest.
That brought Zach to his senses and he looked back. "Just go! Go, go, go!" He yelled thumping against the separating wall between themselves. As the van gained more and more speed, the brothers sat huddling closer, their legs still trembling as they kept watch on the road through the opened dandling doors.
* * * * *
The start of the attack had soon drove the whole cluster apart and everyone had scattered away, and soon enough they lost contact with each other since many of them had turned off the comms, finding it very disturbing as the screams of the attacked and terrifying snarls of the raptors rang on the transmission.
Kate had wished hearing all the screams from right and left to try to find the raptors and intervene their attacks, until Owen had stopped her grabbing by her wrist; when they briefly looked at each other, he had shook his head at her conflicted self. But Owen had looked resolute; he was sure, even if a single raptor came into sight and appeared hostile, none of them were, at the moment, would be mentally capable to pull trigger on the raptor in time. Call it cowardice, but after all, the raptors were like their children; it had been themselves who had raised the raptors since birth and loved them dearly even after being familiar with their gruesome ways. Before their consciences might be convincing enough to pull a trigger if so the situation demanded, the raptors would have taken them down. So, like the others, they were also trying to get out of here as soon as possible, until the siblings realised someone was missing.
"Barry— Where is Barry?!" muttered Kate in a hushed tone when she noticed that he was not with them; she would have felt safer with him around.
"Damn it, when did we lose him? But he's gotta be around here somewhere," murmured Owen quickly looking around for him, sure to have seen him around even a little ago, but in vain. "Let's not lose each other, too. Stay close," He said when they figured it was best to keep moving. He was trying to lead to a clearing, at least in that way they would see them coming if the raptors did choose to attack, declaring nullification of their loyalty.
"Barry? Barry, do you copy?" Owen was trying to reach him via the comms which was being met with silence only. "Do you copy, Barry? Damn it..." he added a mutter under his breath, then looked at Kate who only looked more anxious. "His comms must be off for all the noises," he sighed. "He should know to go back as well. Let's just focus on getting to our bikes and get the hell out of here. It's not a big place, after all, I think we are bound to find him by then."
Suddenly a man emerged from the long grasses, screaming and running straight towards them, after whom followed the undeniable rustling noises. At once, both turned on their heels and made a run through the grasses realizing what was coming. They were running while making sure to stick together so they could watch out for each other, but were forced to take different directions when the man ran past pushing them aside, causing them to get separated. She quickly looked around for him until she figured it was pointless to look for him like this in the long grasses, so she decided to head to the clearing far ahead where Owen was supposed to take her. But just as she started, she was not so sure if she was hearing right but some rustling noises started to chase after her. Consumed by fear all on a sudden, she ran without a sense of direction, without looking back for once. She was not sure if she had really heard something, perhaps, her panicked mind playing tricks on her, or was it the loud beatings of her heart that was blocking her from hearing further noises, but she ran and ran all the way until she felt drained. Still with no more noises on her trail, she finally stopped to bend over knees and gaped for air while she was keeping an alert watch on her surrounding. Fortunately there was no one after her, but now she had stranded herself.
Now as she judged her action, she found it too foolish of herself to have run like that. She should have checked whether there had been any noises for real or not, she should have confirmed whether it was his brother, perhaps, Barry or any of the soldiers, or if it really was the raptors... And it would be a graver mistake to have run away if it really had been the raptors... All her life she had known to face them and deal with them with trust and courage, without showing them any fear. The raptors feared their strict boldness and were loyal to their trust but if she failed to show them now, what was they to learn from it? If they had already seen her weak and fearful, would they really fear or abide her anymore? She did not know what to think anymore other than feeling an outrage at herself. Her courage was already diminishing... what was to be her next step? How was she supposed to find Owen or Barry? Should she just try to leave assuming they would know where to find her? But how could she go without knowing they were unharmed? How was she even supposed whether the raptors had not rounded up on any of them already? With all the questions and no answer in mind, Kate felt at loss and distress. She felt like crying out loud.... No, no, she needed to get herself collected and look for them cautiously.
"Owen—" Kate called out forgetfully but was quick to hush and cover her mouth; it could give away her position to the now hostile raptors and she did not need that. But then, how was she supposed to look for them? She thought for some seconds; she did not dare to go the exact way she just came from, so she chose to follow the closest path and kept her rifle at the ready, desperately gripping onto the littlest of hope that either she or her brother would find the other eventually as they moved about. That was when she remembered the comms; yes, the comms! If she and Owen were separated, he was bound to be looking for her as well, he sure ought to have turned on the comms. Quickly she switched on her comms and called in.
"Brother?" She waited for a second and called again. "Owen? Do you hear me?" But with nothing from the other side, her tone was growing stern and desperate. "Please, can you hear me, brother, respond! ...Owen? Barry? Anybody?" Kate sighed wearily assuming their comms were still switched off. Taking a deep breath she tried to calm down her mind; she needed to if she wanted to stay alive.
The air had grown comparatively eerily silent aside the sudden rounds of gunshots and bloodcurdling screams. Barry, Owen... anyone, she needed to find anyone of them, then she could try finding the other one together... There was rustling and shuffling among the grasses but she could not figure out the direction. She swallowed hard.
"Owen...?" She whispered in a quivering voice, her heart racing. But there was no response. Bitting her lips to hold in a sob, she started to back away; everything was so messed up. That was when a bloodcurdling scream sent chills down her spine and she froze. It definitely did not sound like Owen, but that was not the point. Her grip on the rifle clenched, undeniably the source of the scream was way too close. There were growls and gunshots going on... Her legs did not want to move knowing what she was going to do but she dragged them on; she needed to intervene... it was a crazy idea and she was definitely getting herself killed... but she had to try.
Just as she saw it, her face drained of blood. There was a man, just a few feet away, on the ground trying to defend himself with his bare arms only as his gun lied out of reach while the raptor on top of him was nonstop trying to maul at his face.
"No!" Kate had habitually shouted and the raptor instantly turned her gaze at her. Even if it was dark, she had no problem to recognize Delta. Her eyes glowing in the moonlight was definitely unnerving, but Kate knew better than to show that before her.
"Delta, don't," she said slowly, keeping her tone as composed as possible. "Don't do this."
But Delta showed no sign of standing down. Her hands felt sweaty... It was just a matter of seconds before Delta could attack and kill the man- or even attack her, too, before she would even get to take a shot, which, only if she could master the courage of.
Delta was looking dead into her eyes...
authors' note : A cliffhanger? [ > ᴗ ● ] happy reading & Assalamu alaikum.