Jurassic World
"Pack Blue"
(Disclaimer: I own no part of the Jurassic Park franchise, any part of Universal Studios, or anything belonging to Steven Spielberg, nor do I intend to make any profit from this fan fiction. Obvious spoilers in here for people who haven't seen the Jurassic World movie yet.)
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Each day, Blue's eyes scoured the pen for her squealing prey: sometimes pink and curly-tailed, sometimes pale, tan, or dark, two-legged, and without tails or claws, though those latter, mostly rare meals seemed little more than flailing, clumsy, clawless limbs attached to masses of hot, juicy innards.
But of all the clawless two-legs that walked above and sometimes entered her pack's pen, Blue never forgot the mottled eyes of her first alpha. They reminded her of the damp undergrowth within which she and her nest-mates lived every day. Gentle, firm, welcoming, and immovable at once, those jungle eyes guided her and her three siblings from their freshly cracked eggs to his warm hands and soothing croons. There and then, her alpha gave her the name "Blue".
Blue soon ruled over her sisters, "Delta," "Echo," and "Charlie," always commanding their submission. Of course, they dared snapping or clawing at her if they thought they spied a chance for dominance, but none of them overcame her retaliating fury – Echo in particular bore the scars of her many failed challenge attempts.
Excepting one dark-skinned male that spoke softly and tended to the pack's wounds and sicknesses, those of the alpha's kind acted with hardly more courage. Of them, Blue absolutely despised the burly male who strutted about and looked at her, her siblings, and her alpha as if they meant nothing to him.
She wondered often if he knew his round, thick, so-superior body always set her and her sisters' maws watering with hunger.
But her alpha carried himself in no way like him or the other clawless two-legs; as Blue grew, he always met her stare dead-on, his unyielding gaze reinforcing the taut readiness of his body. Blue knew she could tear him limb from limb and rip open his soft belly easily – perhaps she would, one day – and she knew he knew too. However, the strong eyes that remained with her since birth, the depths of those eyes that made her feel neither inferior nor arrogant, always stayed her teeth and claws for a little while longer.
For now, he was her alpha. She was his beta. He led her and, by extension, her sisters. They were Pack; they understood and respected one another enough for that bond.
But that bond came before Blue and her sisters met the White One.
Before their alpha released them to hunt alongside him in the jungle, Blue and her sisters caught only a faint scent of the unseen, unheard stranger lingering on some of the clawless two-legs. While the pack always smelled other animals from different places, something…odd set this stranger apart from the rest. It seemed an unbalanced mix of scents unlike any they ever encountered: an unnatural mix carrying a cold, acrid tang that stung Blue's nose and made Charlie, Delta, and Echo hiss and shift from foot to foot uncertainly. Only their respect of their alpha's command set them on the hunt that fateful night.
At last, enshrouded within the darkness of the trees, they beheld the stranger, the White One. Actually seeing – looking up at – her and taking in her giant, awesome presence left Blue no doubts that another alpha, more powerful than the pack and Blue's alpha's kind by far, stood before her. The White One's eyes burned red in the lights of the clawless two-legs' machines, and Blue could not help but step back when those eyes flashed down at her.
The giant rumbled, hissed, and growled, asserting her dominance…and a persuasive suggestion of turning upon the clawless two-legs – "men", she called them. After all, men were weak, stupid creatures that caged other animals for sport. Though, they could not hold the White One; they fled her strength, their delicious, fear-sweetened flesh and blood bathing her claws and teeth. Why should Blue and her pack not partake of such bounty, especially since those same men kept them prisoner for amusement's sake?
Echo, Charlie, and Delta needed no further convincing, and Blue could deny neither the White One's power nor her own desire to taste more man-flesh. Her pack turning as one and facing the men, primal satisfaction thrilled Blue at the terror saturating the air. Only her former alpha still met her eyes, his own betraying his fear…and something else.
What was it?
One man cried out, and the pack darted into the undergrowth, shots, flashes, and booms filling the air around them. An eruption of flames caught the White One on one leg, but she roared her contempt, regained her footing, and crashed off through the trees.
Among the chaos, Blue and her sisters followed their instincts, taking advantage of the jungle's shadows to further confuse and scatter the panicking men. In mere moments, men died by twos, Blue herself pursuing the dark-skinned male while, out of the corner of her eye, seeing her former alpha catching Charlie's attention.
The dark-colored man dived into a hollow log, and Blue jumped atop it to begin tearing through the wet, rotting bark.
"Blue!"
Blue paused. There came a rough roaring noise, and her former alpha's whistle shifted her attention from her immediate prey. The jungle-eyed man sat poised on the machine he rode at the beginning of the hunt, unspoken challenge enveloping his whole body – a challenge Blue intended meeting.
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They stood on a path lined by silent, gloomy buildings. Recovered from the blows they received chasing their targets, Blue, Echo, and Delta penned four men: two juvenile males, one female, and the male who was once Pack. He stood directly between Blue and the other three men, who cowered behind him like hatchlings – like the stupid strutting man did not have the intelligence to do before Delta ripped him apart.
Blue felt Echo and Delta preparing their leaps, but she knew her remaining sisters would not attack before she gave the command. Yet, the command came not; though she hissed and growled and tasted blood, her former alpha did not back down, locking her in place with a too-familiar gaze. They floated up from the depths of her memories: those mottled green eyes that helped bring her and her sisters out of their eggshells.
Speaking in a quiet, steady tone, never once taking his eyes off of hers, he reached out one hand slowly, and Blue let him touch the side of her face. With steady movements, he undid the straps that the men she and her sisters killed had wrapped around her head earlier, and the bands slipped off onto the ground.
Then, the White One reappeared, her footfalls shaking the earth, and Blue, Echo, and Delta assumed submissive postures before her. Taking one look at the men, the giant snarled at discovering their prey still alive. Echo and Delta chirped nervously, and Blue tried to placate the White One, to abate her killing intent. However, the White One roared, and her enraged red eyes focused on her pack like they were unworthy, like they were prey.
At that moment, Blue understood the stinging coldness tainting the giant's scent. It came from more than a simple hatred of men. This creature did not and, more, would not recognize or respect Pack.
With a shriek of defiance, Blue made her decision, called her sisters into battle formation, and charged with them against the White One. Their first rush seemed to catch their opponent by surprise, but Blue soon suffered a blow that tossed her through the air. She crashed against a building, the impact stunning her and cracking bones. So little breath remaining within her, she could do no more than croak upon hitting the ground.
From that point, the battle blurred. Sounds echoed strangely, but they masked not the death cries of Blue's sisters. She never saw where Delta met her end, Delta's screams of agony piercing the air, but Blue could not tear her eyes away from watching the White One's powerful jaws crush bold, fierce Echo.
After casting Echo's corpse aside like a chunk of befouled meat, the White One began hunting the men hiding somewhere nearby.
Then, amidst the juvenile males' panicked wailing, a bright red light blazed out of the darkness leading toward the jungle. The ground trembled beneath Blue at another set of booming footfalls, and with her nostrils filling with a familiar, musky scent, she knew the newcomer, old but mighty without question. Soon, a shadowed shape came into view, silhouetted against the light and looming high above Blue and the men but standing even and proud with the tops of the buildings.
Thus, the White One rose to meet her next challenger: another giant, dark and scarred and with a roar that made the air quake.
The White One and the Dark One slammed into each other, resounding force bursting through the air, collisions of light and dark rolling like thunder. Blue sheltered herself when the Dark One's tail knocked and shattered man-made things all around, but Blue's strength remained yet beyond her reach. She could do nothing but hope neither of the giants would break her body like poor Echo's.
Lashing out with violent, bloodletting blows, the White One began overcoming her elderly enemy. Bleeding and battered, the Dark One took a brutal hit over which she stumbled and fell at last, letting out a groan of defeat...
...and Blue rose, knowing she would rather face death in the manner of Delta and Echo: fighting against that false, traitorous, bloody-eyed alpha who would've probably eaten the four sisters fresh from their eggs. Launching into a headlong run straight down the path, she leaped with every bit of her strength, her claws and teeth stabbing into the White One's pale, stinking neck-flesh.
The world around Blue jerked and spun with each movement the White One made to dislodge her, but, wriggling, jumping, and swinging, Blue maintained her grip for most of the fight. Once, she fell and slid inside a building, her sight catching the men fleeing for their lives, but she paid them no more mind and sprang back into battle while the Dark One, no longer beaten, rammed into the White One, knocking her off-balance, pushing her toward the path's end. Her strength and her ally's renewed, Blue heeded not the pain and exhaustion trying to wrack her own body; she continued striking alongside the Dark One until their enemy lay beside a large expanse of water and held no more ground to lose. Outnumbered and outmatched, the repulsive, fallen alpha roared at her opponents, but she did not get the chance to attack again.
Blue smelled the large amount of salty water before she, Delta, and Echo entered this part of the men's territory, but she ignored the enormous pool during the hunt and the fight. Then, before Blue's eyes, an enormous, long-bodied creature exploded from the water. The beast's tapered jaws, which could have engulfed Blue and her sisters in one bite, clamped across the White One's body with a squishy crunch; and the White One, her moment of triumph stolen, let out a yowl half-choked by blood as she struggled only to be dragged under.
Neither one surfaced again.
Hurting, weary, and wary, Blue swiveled her head to look at the Dark One, whose eyes appraised her, and silence passed between them while the water grew still.
Finally, the Dark One let out a satisfied 'whuff' of breath and dipped her great head. Humbled, Blue crouched and returned the gesture, her body remaining motionless until the giant strode away, disappearing into the jungle. In the Dark One's absence, the four men, all alive and whole, moved cautiously from their hiding places, Blue and the green-eyed man exchanging gazes for the fifth time that night.
Disappointment. Betrayal. Sorrow. Blue saw these things in her alpha's eyes when she and her pack turned on him. She knew that now. Yet, despite every blood-soaked, fear-filled event that took place through the night, the man's mottled eyes now shimmered with full, glowing pride.
They would not go back to being a "pack" – certainly not without Charlie, Delta, and Echo – but Blue still dipped her head at him before loping away. After all, she knew Pack, something more powerful than body and blood, and she would always remember the eyes and the man who taught her that.