Eye of the Serpent
By
Haley Burns
In a futuristic world where dinosaurs walk alongside humans as partners, an anxious, young velociraptor waited in his house for his family to return. His crystal blue eyes stared at the door like it was a predator, waiting to lunge at whatever opened it. He was waiting to pounce on his human boy and play with him until sunset. His family had gone to the beach that day since he and his owner Jeremy had the day off from their job as police. Jeremy had given the raptor the simple name of V-Raptor the day he received him. He was always quite fond of original names.
V-Raptor wished he could have talked to his family and told them that he wanted to go to the beach as well. If only humans could understand dinosaur talk, they would know so many more things, like the fact that V-Raptor didn't mind the water. Most raptors in this time era took the place of household dogs, even in the fact that they adapted to being a quadruped.
V-Raptor moved to the window where he would be able to see his family coming back. His blue claws clacked against the wood floor as he trotted his white body across the room. The blue stripes on his back glimmered in the sunlight coming through the window. The tags on his dark blue collar jingled as he sprung onto the desk in front of the windowsill. Jeremy had put the desk there so V-Raptor could look out the window.
Meanwhile, Jeremy, his wife Martha, and his son Tommy were having a blast at the beach. The three of them were splashing in the waves when Tommy felt the sun beating down on him hard.
"I better go get some more sun screen," the eight year old said to his parents.
"Okay. We'll be up there with you in a minute," his mom replied to him. With that, Tommy raced up to their beach chairs, which held a volleyball and his buckets and shovels that he could use to build a sandcastle if he wished. They also had a bag that held their towels.
Just as Tommy reached for the sunscreen that was on top of their towel bag, something caught his eye. He looked to his left to see what looked like a baby velociraptor lying on the sand.
"Mom! Dad! Come here!" Tommy yelled. Jeremy and Martha came to his side. "Can we keep it dad? It doesn't look like anybody owns him and he certainly doesn't have a collar." Tommy pleaded to his dad. "I don't know son. Is it even friendly?" Tommy walked slowly toward the baby velociraptor. It looked up at Tommy anxiously with its sea green eyes. Its muscles tensed under its dark green skin. Tommy proceeded cautiously to scratch it under its chin. The baby then cooed happily and let Tommy pick him up. Jeremy and Martha agreed to let Tommy keep the baby velociraptor.
Back at the house, a bored V-Raptor had fallen asleep in front of the window. He was awoken by sound of keys poking into the lock on the door. V-Raptor jumped down from the desk and ran in front of the door, ready to greet his family. The sixteen-year-old raptor was as happy as a little puppy at that moment. As soon as the door started to open, V-Raptor started to sprint and was ready to tackle Tommy, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Tommy holding another raptor.
"Hi, V-Raptor! This is Jack and he is our new family member! What do you think?" An excited Tommy asked his old buddy. V-Raptor looked at the baby raptor as it met eye contact with him. The look of this baby sent a chill down V-Raptor's spine and a growl started to rumble in his throat. V-Raptor's glare intimidated the baby who whimpered and buried its face in Tommy's arms.
"Hey! Be nice V-Raptor!" Tommy shouted at him. Tommy then followed his mom into the kitchen where they could give the baby food and water. V-Raptor stood tense, watching Martha and Tommy walk into the kitchen. He jumped when he felt his master's hand touch him behind the shoulder blades. His glare then turned to a worried expression and his tail drooped between his legs as he looked up into his master's eyes.
"What's up with you, boy? I knew you would be a little jealous, but why the growling?" Jeremy questioned his partner. All V-Raptor could do was whimper. If Jeremy could have understood dinosaur talk, he would have heard, "There's something about that kid that creeps me out. I don't think you should let it in the house."
That evening when V-Raptor was in his backyard, he saw the baby holding his favorite ball in his mouth. "Hey, that's my ball!" V-Raptor shouted to the small-dog sized raptor. The baby just gave him a sly grin. Tommy came running around the corner of the house and started playing with the baby raptor. "But that's my ball…" V-Raptor whimpered to himself.
The clock struck at ten o'clock, signaling that it was Jeremy and V-Raptor's bedtime. Jeremy and V-Raptor had to go back to work the next day. "I hope I can still sleep with Tommy. Probably not though, now that Jack is in the house." V-Raptor said to himself as he walked into Tommy's room. He sprang up onto Tommy's bed only to find a dark green lump on the bed. Jack picked up his head and growled at V-Raptor. Falling backwards off the bed, V-Raptor was shocked that this baby was that aggressive already.
V-Raptor walked back to the family room where he would sleep on the couch. He just couldn't fall asleep because he felt uneasy having Jack in the house.
An idea came to his mind just then. Sliding off the couch, V-Raptor reached for the flashlight that Jeremy kept underneath it. He then went over to their bookshelf and grabbed a book titled "Legends of Vivosaur Island," which was the island they lived on. Just like a human, V-Raptor sat himself down in the wooden chair that was to the side of his desk. He opened the book and clicked the flashlight on. V-Raptor knew the legends in the book actually existed because he had actually met two of the legends in the book. He had fought alongside the t-rex born inside a volcano before. V-Raptor helped the t-rex, named Ignosaurus, fight his archenemy, Frigisaurus, the brachiosaurus that was born in the icy regions of the island.
He carefully turned the pages so he would not tear them with his claws. V-Raptor was about to read a story about a sea serpent when he felt something bite his tail. He had to hold his breath to keep from yelping in pain. Turning around, he saw Jack had clamped his jaws down on his tail. V-Raptor bared his teeth like was going to growl, but put his items down. He came down from his chair to face Jack. Intimidated by their size difference, Jack turned and started to run away. He didn't get far before V-Raptor put his teeth around Jack's tail. Jack turned around and swiped his claws across V-Raptor's nostrils. V-Raptor whimpered and let go of Jack's tail. The baby then fled back to Tommy's room, leaving V-Raptor the only one in the family room again. V-Raptor then put his items back where he found them and tried to go to sleep once again, for he knew that he would be tired at work if he didn't get any sleep.
Jeremy and V-Raptor had to be on their way to the police station by six in the morning. On their walk to work, V-Raptor happened to notice a sign for a missing raptor. As he studied the paper stuck to the light pole, V-Raptor became convinced that the paper was describing Jack. V-Raptor ran up behind Jeremy and tugged at the back of his shirt.
"We don't have time for any delays today, V-Raptor. We were a little late getting out of the house today, so we have to move it unless we want to be late." Jeremy explained to his partner. But V-Raptor continued to tug at his shirt, desperate to get the little menace out of his house. "V-Raptor, quit it!" Jeremy yelled sternly at his partner who now cowered behind him. They continued their walk to work and V-Raptor became discouraged that his partner wouldn't listen to him. All through his workday, V-Raptor was distracted and concentrating on how to get Jack out of his house.
On their way back from work, V-Raptor happened to see that missing raptor paper again. He went to study the paper more. The thing that surprised V-Raptor was the fact that the reward money was one million dollars. "Why pay all that money for a regular old raptor? There must be something special about Jack if his owners are willing to pay that much." V-Raptor thought to himself. "Come on, V-Raptor. Let's go home." Jeremy called to him. He reluctantly pushed himself away from the paper and followed his master.
V-Raptor felt uneasy to go back into the same house with Jack. Tommy greeted his dad with a big hug. V-Raptor could only hope that he would get the same treatment. He caught sight of Jack peaking his head around Tommy's legs. Jack gave him a devilish smile, which made V-Raptor wonder what he was hiding.
"Hey, V-Raptor," Tommy said to his old pet as he let go of his dad. "Come say hi to Jack." The baby then slunk around Tommy's legs so V-Raptor could get a good look at him. His eyes bulged with shock as the baby had nearly doubled in size since he last saw him. "Look how big he grew overnight!" Tommy said marveling at the baby.
At ten o'clock, V-Raptor slumped back onto the lumpy couch, as he knew that he would have no chance at sleeping with Tommy. He laid there listening carefully to his family, making sure that there was no trace of them being awake. As soon as the house was silent, V-Raptor slid off the couch and started walking slowly toward the bookshelf. He was determined to find out what Jack really was.
Just then V-Raptor felt something jump on his back. It pushed him down, knocking the wind out of him. Jack then jumped in front of him and made a hissing sound at V-Raptor. "It's like he doesn't want me to read that book." V-Raptor thought to himself. With that, Jack sprinted back to Tommy's room. Wanting to read that book more than ever now, V-Raptor reluctantly went back to his couch to sleep.
The next day at work went very similar to the day before. That evening when Jeremy and his partner were walking home, V-Raptor decided that Jeremy was going to see that missing raptor paper that night. As they passed by the light pole with that paper, V-Raptor gently used his teeth to take it off of the light pole. He then rushed ahead of Jeremy and stopped dead in his tracks.
"What do you have there, pal?" Inquired Jeremy. The police officer took it from his partner's grip. V-Raptor waited anxiously as his human studied the paper. Jeremy bent down and put his hand on V-Raptor's head. "You're right, boy. I'll call Jack's owners tonight and he'll be out of the house in the morning." With that, V-Raptor smiled joyfully.
Jeremy stepped through the door to his house with V-Raptor trailing behind him. "Martha. Tommy. I need to talk to you, " Jeremy called to his family. Feeling good about himself, V-Raptor headed toward his couch to lie down for a little. Just then, Jack crawled out from behind the couch. Standing up as tall as he could, Jack had grown to be a little bigger than V-Raptor, both in height and muscle. V-Raptor was now the one intimidated by size difference. A growl started to rumble in Jack's throat as if he knew what V-Raptor did. V-Raptor backed away a couple of steps.
"Jack! Come here boy!" Came Tommy's voice from the kitchen. Right before leaving, Jack gave him a sly grin as if to say, "This isn't over. I'll be back for you later." V-Raptor breathed a sigh of relief as Jack left the room. He hopped onto his couch and listened to his family's conversation going on in the kitchen. The last thing he heard was Jeremy's voice saying. "His name's Kai-ken and he'll be here in the morning. Sounds like a Japanese name if you ask me." "That doesn't even sound like a real name" V-Raptor thought to himself.
That night V-Raptor was happy knowing that it was his last night that he would have to sleep on the couch. He didn't even wait to hear if his family made any more noises before going to get that book again. This time V-Raptor just sat on the couch with his book and flashlight. He started to read that section about a sea serpent that he didn't get to the other night. According to the book, the sea serpent was the smartest and strongest creature on the planet when fully grown. It also said that the serpent could develop the ability to morph into different creatures.
V-Raptor continued to read that section when an enraged Jack pounced on him, knocking V-Raptor off the couch. Now lying on his back, V-Raptor was susceptible to attack. His flashlight had rolled back under the couch and his book landed a couple of feet to his right. V-Raptor reached for the book, thinking he could stun Jack long enough to get out from under him. Jack thrust his hand down on the book, so V-Raptor couldn't pick it up.
"No one can help you now." Jack hissed at V-Raptor in a sinister voice. He bared his teeth like he was going to bite V-Raptor, but something seemed to distract him as his gaze went to the window. Jack then sprung up onto the desk and opened the window. V-Raptor took this moment to stand up and turn toward Jack who was now looking back at him. "See ya, pipsqueak!" He hissed and took off, laughing maniacally. V-Raptor jumped up on the desk and was ready to chase after Jack. He was now convinced that if he let Jack go, he would become the world's strongest creature. V-Raptor couldn't allow that to happen. He sprung from the windowsill and followed after Jack.
That morning when the family woke up, they searched the house for the two raptors. Jeremy saw that the window had been opened. "V-Raptor, I hope you know what you're doing…." Jeremy muttered to himself. A minute later, the doorbell rang with Jack's owner behind it. Jeremy opened it and grinned a little when the tall man with dark hair standing there did look like he was Japanese. "Good morning. My name is Kai-ken. You said you have my raptor, good sir?" Kai-ken greeted Jeremy. Jeremy tried to hold back a confused face when he heard the man trying to hold back what sounded like a terrible lisp.
"I did, sir. I did." Jeremy replied. "What do you mean, you did?" Asked Kai-ken in his terrible voice. "He was with my son last night, but this morning I can't seem to find Jack nor my own raptor." Jeremy continued. Kai-ken made a face like he was disgusted. "Do you have any idea where your raptor may have gone?" Jeremy asked the man. Kai-ken hesitated before responding to Jeremy. "Yeah, I do. My raptor would have gone to the old ruins on the cliff, overlooking the beach. Follow me." "Why there?" Asked Jeremy. "I'll tell you on the way. If you must know…" Kai-ken muttered seeming unhappy.
Meanwhile, Jack ran up the front steps of the old ruins. V-Raptor followed behind, keeping a safe distance and eyeing the old ruins that looked like they had been brought up from the sea floor. At the top of the steps, Jack stopped and turned around to face his follower. V-Raptor had stopped at the bottom of the slimy green stairs. The whole building had the same slimy green look to it.
"So you've come to stop me?" Jack hissed. "Yes. You won't be the most powerful creature on earth as long as I live." V-Raptor said with confidence. With that, Jack turned and ran into the ruins. V-Raptor followed a few feet behind. They ran down a long hallway of the ruins. At the end of the hallway was the entrance to a large square room. Jack stopped short just before the entrance and turned around.
"I don't know what you're seeking in here, but you will never have it." V-Raptor said, panting a little from the run. Jack raced toward V-Raptor who dodged his charge. V-Raptor then sunk his fangs into Jack's back. He roared in pain, but swung his head around and grabbed V-Raptor's arm, flipping him onto his back. Jack was about to bring his claws down on V-Raptor's face, but he rolled out of the way. Before V-Raptor could do anything, Jack pinned him to the ground. V-Raptor used his legs to thrust off the hissing beast and sent him crashing into the stonewall.
Meanwhile, Kai-ken walked to the entrance of the ruins followed by V-Raptor's family. "Why did your raptor come here?" Martha asked Kai-ken. "Because he seeks power," Answered Kai-ken. "The energy of ancient water beasts flows through these ruins. Jack absorbs that energy and becomes more powerful by the minute." Jeremy and Martha exchange worried glances. The four of them walked down the hallway and found the two raptors in front of the entrance to the main room.
Jack dashed into the square room with V-Raptor right behind him. The four humans ran after the raptors. Jeremy watched as the raptors got in their battle stances. Jack stood there for a second before spitting acidic water at V-Raptor, who dodged the water. The acidic water hit the stonewalls of the room, weakening the structure. Rocks started to fall from the ceiling. V-Raptor now had to dodge both the rocks and Jack's acidic water. He hadn't jumped far enough out of Jack's range to avoid his tail getting burned. The stinging sensation V-Raptor felt stunned him long enough for a rock to fall on his hand. Two seconds later the rock avalanche ceased.
The four humans watched as Jack roared in delight and sprouted fins on his arms, legs, and back. "Mr. Kai-ken, you can take Jack back now." Tommy said to the eerie man. "Very well." Replied Kai-ken. "Come here, boy!" Jack obeyed the man without question. Kai-ken continued to talk to his raptor as he showed him some affection. "You've grown so fast. All that power feels good doesn't it, boy?" "Yesss, I feel so alive!" Jack hissed. Kai-ken seemed like he understood what Jack had said and continued to talk to him like a he was a human. "I thought so. Let's test the extent of your power. For your first test I want you to kill this family's raptor." The three of them gasped at this man's command. "Too easy." Jack hissed.
With that, Jack turned around and raced toward V-Raptor. Jack started beating V-Raptor with punches and scratches all over his body. The weight of the rock on V-Raptor's hand limited his movement and made him susceptible to any and all attacks that Jack unleashed. V-Raptor could only scream in pain as Jack's claws raked against his sides.
"V-Raptor!" Tommy yelled starting to dash off to help his friend. His father caught him by his shoulder though. "No, Tommy! If you go out there you will get hurt, too!" Jeremy told his son. Tommy turned toward Kai-ken. "Please stop this!" He pleaded with tears starting to well up in his eyes. To everyone's surprise, Kai-ken obeyed Tommy. "Jack, stop!" Confused, Jack stopped and turned to his master. V-Raptor laid there with blood dripping down his sides. "The boy's right….it's not agonizing enough! Make V-Raptor suffer before you kill him!" "You're sick!" Jeremy yelled as he punched Kai-ken square in the jaw. Soon the two men were in a fistfight.
Jack turned back to V-Raptor and kicked him in the stomach. Martha and Tommy knew that they would be killed if they went out there. Martha shielded her son's eyes from the terrible beating that V-Raptor was receiving. Jack then raked his claws across V-Raptor's chest. Martha, who was still watching, gasped and covered her own eyes. The pain in V-Raptor's chest was so intense that he almost fainted. Jack then winded up and struck V-Raptor across his face with his claws so hard that his hand came out from under the rock and flung V-Raptor a couple feet away.
V-Raptor tried to stand up so he could fight back. Jack came up behind him, grabbing V-Raptor's tail in his jaws. Jack picked up his light body and slammed him into the ground a couple times. Finding the strength to fight back, V-Raptor used Jack's own movements against him. He used the lifting motion to push himself close enough to bite Jack. V-Raptor sunk his fangs into Jack's skull. The mutated raptor let go of V-Raptor's tail and screamed in pain.
V-Raptor knew that he had weakened Jack's skull. He couldn't help but turn around when he heard Jeremy and Kai-ken fighting each other. Little did he know that Jack recovered quickly from his tantrum and raced towards V-Raptor once more. Jack clamped his jaws down on the unsuspecting raptor's neck. The mutated raptor picked up the white raptor again and started shaking him like a dog that would violently shake its toy. Jack threw V-Raptor away from himself.
At that moment, Kai-ken punched Jeremy back to his wife and son and turned to Jack. "Kill him, boy! Make him no more!" He commanded. V-Raptor struggled to stand up when his neck once again became the victim of Jack's jaws. His knife-like teeth cut deep into V-Raptor's neck. "No more." Jack hissed under his breath. Using the last ounce of his strength, V-Raptor jumped up with Jack still hanging on tightly. Twisting so that Jack would be the one to hit the ground, V-Raptor aimed Jack at one of the boulders on the ground. Jack's head made contact with the rock and it instantly split his weakened skull.
V-Raptor backed away a little to see what was left of Jack's body. His lifeless body lay in his own blood. "Noooo!" Kai-ken yelled and ran to his raptor's dead body. V-Raptor put his own bloody body in attack stance once again. "You're next." He said to Kai-ken who looked angry. "This isn't over." Replied the man who tried to kick V-Raptor. The rage blinded his aim and V-Raptor was able to avoid it easily. "You missed me, serpent boy." V-Raptor taunted. "You have not seen the last of me, young one, and my name isn't serpent boy or Kai-ken…it is Kaishin!" The man said before morphing into a giant sea serpent almost as tall as the building itself. It had six spikes that grew from its face and had flippers where its arms and legs would be. Most of its body was light blue, but had two dark blue stripes going down its sides. The dark blue color also covered its face and spikes. It glared at V-Raptor with its piercing red eyes. "You have killed my son. I will never forget that!" It threatened V-Raptor. The serpent roared in agony and smashed through the side of the ruins, going back into the sea from which it originally came.
As soon as the serpent was out of sight, V-Raptor collapsed onto the floor. His family came rushing to his side. "Will he be okay?" V-Raptor heard Martha ask Jeremy. "I think so, but we need to get him to the hospital right now!" Jeremy replied, almost panicking. The little raptor breathed heavily, trying to stay conscious. He knew that if he let himself be unconscious, he might never be able to wake up.
Jeremy slid his arms under his bloody partner and gently picked him up. They rushed V-Raptor to the hospital as fast as they could. Martha and Tommy stayed in the waiting room while Jeremy insisted being next to V-Raptor the whole time. The doctors tended to V-Raptors wounds for about two hours and then told Jeremy that he needed time to rest. Jeremy still stayed in the room keeping an eye on his partner, who was sleeping.
Jeremy finally decided that he should at least take his wife and son home as it was getting late. He came back to the hospital after doing so to find his partner awake. V-Raptor was still weak and couldn't move.
"I'm so sorry, pal," Jeremy apologized as he put his head in his hands and started to cry. "If only I had listened to you in the first place, none of this would have happened. I don't want to lose you. Life wouldn't be the same without you. You're my best friend."
"You're my best friend, too." Jeremy heard a voice say. He looked up and saw that he and V-Raptor were still the only ones in the room, so the voice had to have come from V-Raptor. Just then the doctors came in and told Jeremy that he could take V-Raptor home, but that he had to rest for two weeks.
Jeremy was overjoyed and carried his partner home immediately. He told his family that V-Raptor had to rest because of his severe blood loss. Jeremy also told them that he heard V-Raptor talk to him. They believed him, but nobody else on the island would. Jeremy slept on the hard couch with V-Raptor for the next few nights. "I can see why you don't really like the couch." Jeremy said to V-Raptor who smiled as big as he could. V-Raptor could only think about the difficult task ahead of him if Kaishin was truly going to come back for him, but in the meantime he was just going to enjoy life as it was.