Holy hell this is a long chapter. I probably should have mentioned earlier that this story contains profanity. I'm a big fan of it.
Waking up and getting ready for the day was a difficult task for Erin after her night out. The closer she got to 30, the rougher her hangovers got. After a quick shower, Erin pulled on cuffed khaki shorts, thick socks and her work boots, her comfiest sports bra, and a loose slate blue button up. She knew better than to bother with makeup, and honestly couldn't remember the last time she had worn any. On her way out the door, Erin grabbed her backpack and wide brimmed hat, and slipped a hair tie onto her wrist to tie her hair up after it had air-dried.
She stopped at the staff cafeteria for her go-to hangover breakfast of watermelon chunks and a blueberry muffin. The water content of the melon helped her dehydration, and the muffin soothed her stomach. On the way out of the cafeteria, she filled up her lime green water bottle and went straight to the lab, hoping Emily had remembered to set her alarm, or wasn't going to call in sick.
Once at the lab, Erin got to work on reports while waiting for the lab reports on the samples she had turned in the night before to be ready. She was torn between hoping the results would take a long time to be ready, and the results being done as soon as possible. If they took a long time, she could spend even more precious time indoors, in the air conditioning. But if they took a long time, it would delay the rest of her schedule, meaning she would get home even later.
Only thirty minutes late, Emily walked into the empty workroom at 8:30, hair a mess and still wearing sunglasses.
"Look who decided to show up," Erin laughed. She had been forcing herself to drink water, and was already on her second refill of her bottle. She was already feeling better. Emily on the other hand, looked like death warmed up.
"Wednesday nights, man," was all Emily could manage to say as she dropped down on a stool across the workbench from Erin. "Labs in yet?"
"They said hopefully around 9," Erin answered. She continued on with her paperwork as Emily scrolled through her phone.
"By the way, that guy from last night texted me this morning," Emily said after almost five minutes of silence, as if she had just remembered.
"No shit," Erin laughed. In her experience, it was a 50/50 chance of the guy from the bar texting the next day, if at all.
"Yeah, he's actually pretty cool. I'm stalking him online right now," Emily answered.
"You're already friends with him on Facebook and stuff?" Erin asked, impressed.
"Nah, he just has no privacy settings," Emily explained. "Where did you do undergrad again?"
"UT Austin, why?" Erin answered.
"Oh, never mind. He went to Texas Tech," Emily said as she continued to scroll through what Erin assumed was his online profiles.
"Gross," Erin laughed.
After a little while longer, Erin checked her watch to see that it was 9:03 and sent Emily to the lab to check to see if their results were in. She came back to the workroom ten minutes later with a folder.
"You're going to hate me, but I need you to file these and put them in the database," Erin said, taking the folder from Emily's hands, switching into work mode.
"Fine by me. I'd much rather sit in the office in the AC all day than be in the sun today," Emily replied.
"I had a feeling," Erin smirked. She parted ways with the vet tech, heading off to make her rounds as Emily went in the opposite direction towards the offices.
A few more weeks had gone by since Erin's first Margaritaville outing. Each Wednesday night, Erin found herself either still out in the field, or holed up in a workroom trying to finish paperwork. Emily hadn't been around much, either. She was technically just an intern, and where she worked wasn't up to Erin. They texted constantly, but Emily couldn't ever manage to get Erin to come out with her.
It was Wednesday again, but it didn't look like Erin would be making it to the bar. She would be lucky if she was even back at base before dark. The labs had issued a new set of vaccines and supplements to administer, and Erin had been handed a clipboard outlining all the stops she had to make that day, and the keys to a Jeep with a trunk full of coolers containing the new meds.
The list of paddocks and animals she had to visit was long, and there were some animals on it that she had never worked with, or even seen, before. The list had her making a wide loop around the island, going through the Cretaceous Cruise area, Triceratops Territory, Tyrannosaurus Rex Kingdom, and a few paddocks off limits to guests, including some adolescent baryonyx and the raptors.
Getting through all of the triceratops was a team effort. The large but gentle creatures didn't mind the shots from the long, scary looking syringes, but there was only one Erin and many, many triceratops. A few handlers had to help Erin, or else she would have spent all day there going through each animal.
The Cretaceous cruise was a similar experience, but with even more animals. Luckily, due to the size of the attraction and the sheer number of animals, there were plenty of qualified handlers to help Erin.
The T. rex was just far too large, and far too dangerous for anyone to give it a shot. There was no way to contain the animal, but she had her own special treatment. The lab had given Erin a series of syringes full of the T. rex supplements, meant for normal animals. Behind the scenes of the attraction was a holding pen for goats used during feeding demonstrations. She the goat meant for the 2 o'clock feeding and left to go to the next animal on the list.
Erin was done with all of the animals part of public attractions. Attraction attendance spike in the early afternoon, so getting everything done in the morning meant getting to avoid guests, and getting out of the direct sun before the temperature peaked for the day.
The baryonyx and velociraptors were held in secure paddocks at their own compounds, meaning Erin wouldn't be out in the Valley in the full sun.
For adolescents, the baryonyx were quite a bit bigger than Erin expected them to be. Full grown adults reached about 30 feet, and the three animals in the paddock were all 18 to 20 feet. They had outgrown their means of containment, meaning she had to use the same treatment used for the T. rex.
Finally, at 3:30, there was only one cooler left in the back of the Jeep. Maybe if she was lucky, she really would get to go out that night. After a long nap, though.
The drive out to the raptor paddock was long. They were very isolated, but the road was scenic.
After a bend, the lush tropical foliage gave way to a compound set up around a paddock with high walls. There were several buildings clad in corrugated metal, quite a few pick-up trucks and Jeeps covered in dirt, and a few men walking around, from one building to another.
Erin parked her Jeep at the end of the row of other Jurassic World vehicles. Before getting out, she gulped down what was left of the water in her bottle. She then grabbed her clipboard, turned off the Jeep, and stepped out. She opened up the trunk, swung her kit over her shoulder, and pulled out the last cooler. After slamming the door down, Erin turned to look at the compound, wondering where to go to get started. She had had the same problem at all of the other paddocks, too. In the areas restricted to guests, things weren't marked quite as well.
At the entrance to what seemed like a barn stood a group of three men watching her, as another man made his way over towards Erin.
"Can I help you?" he called as he and Erin walked towards each other.
"Just your friendly neighborhood drug peddler," Erin answered, holding up the cooler stamped with the Jurassic World logo on the side and sealed with yellow security tape.
"Oh yeah, heard we were getting some new sups," the man laughed, leading Erin over towards the paddock.
She had heard that the raptor paddock actually had containment equipment, which would make the whole process quick and easy.
"We're in the middle of some drills, but I'll make sure we get 'em done right after," the man said, moving to take the cooler from Erin. Confused, Erin turned away from him, moving the cooler out of his reach. She vaguely registered the sounds of whistles and a clicking noise, followed by the distinctive snorts of frustrated animals.
"They told me you guys don't have any vet handlers out here," Erin said, holding up the clipboard that had been turned to the page detailing the raptor regimen.
"Don't need 'em," he answered, going to take the cooler again. Erin turned away from him again.
"Who's in charge out here?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at the man.
"Grady, but he's busy. Just give me that and I'll tell him A-S-A-P," he said after a frustrated sigh.
"I can wait," Erin told him. She wasn't going to just leave the supplements and leave. She didn't know how long it would take these guys to get around to administering them, and she didn't trust that they would do it correctly.
The man rolled his eyes and huffed, but finally held his hands up in surrender. "Fine, whatever."
Erin smiled at him smugly as he walked off to rejoin his colleagues at the barn who had been watching them the whole time.
Knowing it would probably take a while, Erin placed the cooler on the ground, dropped her kit next to it, and sat atop the cooler. She had sat next to the double gated entrance of the paddock, she realized. However, she couldn't really see inside of it very well. The vegetation was lush, blocking her view. But she had other means of entertainment. She felt her phone buzz a lot throughout the day, and this was her first chance to finally check it.
She had a few notifications that some lab work she had been waiting on was finished and ready for pickup, some boring looking emails that looked like they could wait, and about ten texts from Emily.
Even though she was almost 6 years younger than her, Emily was definitely Erin's closest friend on the island. She wasn't looking forward to the end of the vet tech's internship when she would leave the island to start graduate school.
10:14 AM: It's my most favorite day of the week! Please tell me you're coming out tonight!
10:16 AM: Eric and I will be at margsville waiting for you!
11:01 AM: I am sooo bored.. Dr Stovall is the human equivalent of drier lint
11:22 AM: How's vax day? You need to check your phone more often.
12:43 PM: What kind of freak puts cheese in their salad? SERIOUSLY Jurassic World?
12:45 PM: SCORE ONE FOR EM! The caf has pudding today :]
12:47 PM: I just saw the hottest guy going to town on some pudding. Do you think Eric would mind if I made out with pudding guy in a broom closet ASAP?
12:49 PM: Speaking of Eric, and speaking of making out with people, and speaking of you coming out tonight, have you talked to that hottie with the arms?
12:50 PM: You know Eric works with him? Say the word and I can make shit happen!
12:51 PM: You're probably going to see him anyway when you're at the raptor pads. AWKS!
As soon as Erin read Emily's last text, her head shot up and she searched the surrounding area, hoping Emily was wrong. She wasn't a stranger to running into old hookups. She could handle it pretty gracefully. But she had never experienced that at work.
With no sign of Owen, Erin put her attention back on her phone.
'If I see him I'm going to shove a needle IN MY EYE. Ughhh,' Erin texted Emily back, exaggerating immensely. Barely a minute later, Erin's phone buzzed from a new message.
3:44 PM: Whyyyy? He was CUT. Maybe he'll be up for a round two.
Erin rolled her eyes. Of course She expected Emily to say something like that.
'Gross. I'm at work ya perv,' Erin sent back. Almost immediately, Emily texted back about six winky faces and nothing else. Erin rolled her eyes again, and let the conversation drop. She opened up her email and started sifting through the junk and the one she should probably at least read.
At 4 o'clock, Erin noticed the man from before start to make his way across the lot, heading to the left of Erin. On her way in, Erin took note of a metal staircase leading up to a catwalk that was out of her view due to the curve of the paddock. She could hear the man walk up the metal steps, though. Five minutes later, she heard several sets of footsteps descending the staircase. She put her phone back into her pocket and looked up, waiting for the man and whoever was following him to come into view. She noticed the sounds of the drills had stopped, and assumed that they were finally ready for her.
Erin stood as three men rounded the corner. The one she spoke to earlier peeled off from the other two, jogging back to the barn, leaving who Erin finally recognized as Barry and Owen. She registered their surprised expressions as they approached her, taking note of the cooler at her feet.
"Well, long time, no see!" Barry laughed, patting a confused looking Owen on the shoulder. He then moved to shake Erin's hand.
"Um, yeah. You too," Erin smiled at him awkwardly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a group of men coming their way.
"You got a special delivery for us?" Owen asked, nodding towards the cooler.
"Jurassic World's finest," Erin replied with a friendly smile. She was determined to not let things get awkward. Barry watched the two interact with interest apparent on his face, as the group of men entered the first gate to the paddock to start getting the four raptors into their restraints. She recognized Eric as one of the men.
Barry bent down to pick of the cooler as the first raptor was locked into place, her head locked securely into a muzzle, the rest of her body hidden behind a metal wall.
"Well, thanks for the drugs. You gonna hustle anyone at pool tonight?" He asked, switching his attention from the paddock, to Erin, and back to the paddock.
"It's only hustling if I get money out of it," Erin laughed. She stopped short, though, when she realized Barry had taken the cooler into the holding area. A frown formed on her face as the second and third raptor were locked into place.
Barry knelt on the ground in front of the cooler to rip off the security tape from the top of the cooler.
"What's he doing?" Erin asked, though mostly rhetorically as she moved towards the gate.
"We're gonna give 'em the shots," Owen answered, moving quickly to step between Erin and the gate. Erin stared him down, at a loss for what to say. She was confused. The lab told her nobody out here was a vet, and she was to administer each supplement. She had hoped the guy from earlier was just confused.
"Who's gonna do it? You?" Erin asked, raising her eyebrows, doubtfully staring at Owen.
"Well, yeah," he answered, as if it were obvious.
"You went to vet school? Because the lab told me nobody out here was qualified," she challenged him.
"No, I didn't go to vet school, but I've been doing them myself for forever," he answered defensively.
"Literally for forever? What, are these the original raptors?" Erin mocked.
"Look, out of everyone here, I'm the most qualified," he said, moving to open the gate. The last raptor was now securely in place.
"And I'm what?" Erin said angrily, grabbing the gate before Owen could close it behind him. She pulled it out of his grasp and stepped into the holding area. She moved to take the cooler from Barry who had removed the lid.
"You're gonna do it?" Owen scoffed.
"Well I didn't go to school for seven years just for the hell of it!" she shot back, trying to keep her volume down, mindful of the raptors. She could hear them snorting and huffing frustradedly, trying to move around in their confines.
"You're a vet?" Owen asked disbelievingly. The rest of the men in the holding area stood around awkwardly, watching the whole exchange and wondering who would win the argument.
"Is the Pope Catholic?" she retorted, grabbing the handle of the cooler. "Do I go through here to get to the other side?" She asked, pointing at the gate leading into the paddock.
"No, you're not going in there," Owen moved to stand between her and the final gate. "They know me, just let me do it."
"I want to make sure this gets done right, frat star," Erin said, ignoring his hand reaching out for her to hand over the cooler. He narrowed his eyes at her at the insult.
They may have gotten along really well in a bar three weeks ago, but in that paddock, it was like that had never happened.
"Perhaps you could both do it," Barry offered, stepping up to disarm the argument.
Owen briefly turned his glare towards Barry at the stupid suggestion, then settled his untrusting gaze back on Erin.
"If I do it from the other side of the wall, they won't even know who did it," Erin offered, trying to be civil about explaining her side.
"So why not just let me do it? This isn't my first rodeo," Owen continued to argue.
"Look, you care about them right?" Erin asked. He rolled his eyes, as if to say obviously, and nodded.
"So do I. I'm not gonna fuck this up. I'm a trained professional." Erin glanced off to the side at the raptors lined up. In all of the bickering, she hadn't paid much attention to them. The restraints and muzzles hid most of their bodies from view, but Erin could clearly see their large, intelligent eyes. Up until then, she had only seen pictures and security footage.
Erin pulled in a deep breath and exhaled through her nose. She lifted up the cooler, holding it out between her and Owen.
"I'm gonna watch you like a hawk," she warned as he took the cooler from her. His expression softened and Barry breathed out a sigh of relief.
Erin followed Owen through the final gate, around the other side of the wall, and through another gate leading to the backside of the raptors.
"They're labeled," she said as Owen set the cooler on the ground and knelt beside it, picking up a syringe and examining it. The one he held labeled for the raptor on the far left.
"Echo's first then," he said, standing up and uncapping the syringe. He moved to the right side of the smallest raptor. Erin walked up next to him.
""You wanna inject it here," she said, reach across him and pointing to the thick group of muscles on the side of the animal's neck.
"I know what I'm doing," Owen muttered, defending himself and his abilities as he swiped a disinfecting wipe across the area and angled the syringe. The animal, Echo, bristled, pulling at her restraints and emitting a low growling noise, anticipating something bad to happen to her. Erin softly placed her hand on her back, slowly running it down the length of her spine in a soothing gesture as Owen administered the injection. As he slowly pressed down on the stopper, he watched Erin slowly and softly petting Echo's back out of the corner of his eye.
The next two animals, Charlie and Delta, went the same way with Erin micromanaging, and Owen barely tolerating it but being silently impressed by how she was handling the raptors.
When they got to the last and biggest of the group, Blue, she was vocalizing quite a bit. Blue hissed and snarled, trying desperately to break free from her constraints.
"Hey, easy girl," Owen cooed, placing a protective hand against her side in an attempt to calm her down. She always made the biggest fuss about supplements, and she especially didn't like strangers around her.
Erin placed her hand along Blue's spine, like how she had for the rest of the raptors. However, the action only seemed to upset the animal more, instead of soothe her like it had for the others. Blue became more vocal and started to jerk her body around. Erin immediately pulled her hand away as Owen continued talking to her.
Blue suddenly jerked her body hard towards her caretakers, hitting Erin with the side of her body. Before she could crash into Charlie's side, Owen grabbed onto her, holding her in place.
"Hey! Cut the shit, Blue!" Owen scolded, still hanging onto Erin.
"She's not happy, bother!" Barry called from the other side of the wall.
"Just pump and dump," Erin said suggested. Owen smirked at her word choice. He resituated himself at the base of Blue's neck. He spoke to her in a comforting voice as he braced his free hand against her side to steady her as he quickly finished the injection.
He patted her as he finished and quickly led her out of the enclosure so the raptors could be let loose and rewarded with food.
"Told you I could do it," Owen said proudly. Erin rolled her eyes and turned her gaze into the paddock where the four raptors were tearing into pig.
Owen glanced out as his newly vaccinated raptors, then turned his gaze to Erin who was watching them with interest. He was a bit surprised to see that she wasn't visibly disgusted by the violent feeding.
"Is this how you normally feed them?" Erin asked, ignoring Owen patting his own back.
"Yeah, plus rats when we do training exercises," Owen answered.
"Echo's lowest on the totem pole, isn't she? She's underweight," Erin guessed, turning her attention back to Owen.
"How'd you know? Her position, that is," Owen asked, impressed that she could tell so quickly.
"They push her out and she takes it. It's normal, just make sure she's getting enough. If she falls too far behind they'll destroy her," Erin warned. Owen nodded, taking in the advice.
"They don't freak you out?" he asked, leading her through the first gate and locking it securely behind them. He was impressed with how she practically demanded to give them their shots, didn't hesitate to get close to them and touch them, and didn't even flinch when Blue knocked her over.
"They're hardly the scariest thing I've visited today. Before this was a group of adolescent baryonyx. And before that was the tyrannosaurus," she answered with a shrug. Owen let out a low, impressed whistle.
"Damn, girl," he said, walking Erin across the lot towards her Jeep.
Owen opened the trunk door for her, and she dropped the empty cooler and her kit. He propped his forearm against the edge of the open door and leaned against it, cocking his hip to the said and resting his fist against it as he watched Erin jot down quick notes on the clipboard.
"You going out tonight?" he asked, watching Erin write. She smirked and glanced up at him quickly.
"I don't know, this major asshole at the raptor paddock really threw me off schedule," she joked, interested to see where he was going with that question.
"What a jerk. I'll have a word with him, don't worry," he said, going along with the joke, a boyish grin spreading across his face. "I hear your friend and my friend are going out tonight."
"So you're gonna third wheel it?" Erin laughed, clicking her pen and securing it under the clip of the clipboard.
"Well, hopefully not," Owen answered as Erin tossed the clipboard on top of her kit, stepping away from the trunk so Owen could swing the door closed.
"I'll see how I feel later," Erin shrugged noncommittally with a smirk. Owen returned the smirk and nodded as she climbed into the driver's seat of the Jeep.
"Fair enough," he said, back out of the way of the Jeep. Erin turned to him and winked as she slammed the door shut. She started the Jeep, and without giving the AC time to cool off, she shifted into reverse and back out of the spot, then turned back towards the road. She watched Owen walk back to the barn where the rest of the guys stood through her review mirror as she drove off.
It wasn't even 5 o'clock yet, and she was done with her fieldwork. She had two options. She could go back to the lab and get some a head start on paperwork and avoid a stressful weekend. Or she could clock out early, go back to her apartment and take a shower, and get ready to go out.
"If You Wanna" by the Vaccines
