Hey, guys. I want to thank those of you reading this right now for taking time out of your day to read this. As always, remember to review and critique so I can go back and fix my mistakes. Jurassic World is owned by Universal Studios, not me. Self-harm/suicidal themes ahead. Enjoy Chapter 4: Restless Nights
M
When Orion woke up, he instinctively reached ahead of him for Jade.
But he didn't feel her there, which sent him into a panic as he shot up and looked around for her. He was in a place he didn't recognize, with a strange white substance on his crotch and the ground next to him.
But he felt the events of last night come back to him as he got up off the ground; he remembered that Jade had stumbled a few strides and had collapsed there.
He looked over to that spot, and, lo-and-behold, there lay a sleeping Jade. He decided to return to the clearing to see if there were any leftovers; he doubted it, but he might as well try.
And his efforts were rewarded with two still-hot pieces of Triceratops meat. There was a surprising amount of raptors still in the clearing; he counted at least three hundred, all of which were sleeping.
He brought the two pieces of meat back to where he and Jade woke up, only to find her gone.
"Jade?" he called.
He saw her footprints in the dirt, which circled around a tree, and were gone. She was hunting him. He smiled when he felt her presence behind him; she got caught in the act of trying to scare him.
He felt her come closer and closer, but he didn't decide to make it known he was aware of her until she was about a foot away from him.
At that point, he said, "You know, I've been told I have eyes on the back of my head." He turned around to look at her, and he burst out laughing when he saw her perplexed expression.
"I think we should head back to the nest," said Orion after he was done laughing. Jade snorted and said, "Yes, we should."
Orion and Jade gazed into each other's eyes for a while before he smiled and said, "You know, you have the most beautiful eyes? They compliment your hide." She snorted again and turned away smiling.
But Orion felt more off than ever; that weird feeling that something big was going to happen felt more intense, and he blacked out for a second, collapsing into a heap on the ground before his vision returned.
As soon as it did, he saw Jade over him, looking at him with those big, beautiful eyes, which were full of concern.
All he needed to do was look in her eyes, and his heart rate went down instantly as he was hit with a warm feeling in his chest; deep breaths didn't have shit on Jade's loving gaze.
He blinked once and groaned as he sat up. "Are you okay?" she asked hurriedly. "I'm fine; it's just something that happens every once in a while," Orion replied. Jade knew something was off about her lover, so she decided to push for answers.
"What really happened?" she asked. "No one just collapses for no reason when they're in a healthy condition…." She trailed off.
She realized what she had just said, and she recalled that Orion was an experiment; his DNA had been tampered with, and who knows what kind of side effects that could have on him?
But he didn't smell sick, and she had a weird feeling deep in her chest.
Feeling it, she figured Orion was feeling it as well, so she asked him, "Do you have a feeling that something big will happen?"
"Not will," Orion said mysteriously. "Something big is happening." He turned to her with wide eyes and said, "The InGen facility!"
"It's no longer able to be used; what about it?" asked Jade in a worried tone.
"Yes, we may have put it out of commission for its intended use, but in the need of shelter, a small brick building will do just fine for a group of ten."
"Why ten?" asked Jade.
"I don't know; just popped into my head," Orion replied.
"Lead the others back to the nest, and I'll go check out the facility." Jade nodded and ran off towards the clearing, with Orion watching her. When she was no longer in view, he started in the opposite direction; towards the InGen facility.
M
'What in the Hell?' was Orion's sole thought when he came to the clearing that the facility's entrance was located.
In that entrance, he saw a person walk through the door and light up a cigarette on the cement platform next to the stairs. A real human being! He almost called out, but realized that would probably only succeed in him getting shot.
Then, he saw the little patch on the man's vest. It said "InGen" in bright, bold letters.
'Oh shit, what's InGen doing back here?' he thought. He watched the man for a good forty-five minutes before the man looked in Orion's direction, opened the door and stuck his head in. Thanks to his enhanced hearing, Orion knew what was said by the man.
"Hey, Grady. You wanna take a look at this?" he didn't hear a response, but the man said, "Alright," before looking back in Orion's direction.
'Did he see me?' was his only thought before a familiar face came through the door to join the man, albeit a little older. Only then did he recognize the name "Grady."
Ex-Navy, animal trainer; one of the best. He trained dogs, dolphins, and anything else with a big enough brain to follow basic commands.
But Owen Grady had respect for every single animal he ever trained. He thought of them as more than simple, dumb, emotionless animals that followed orders for food; Owen thought of them as alive, intelligent, and able to feel emotions.
The man pointed in Orion's direction, and Owen turned and pointed on either side of him. They were going to flank him. But he wasn't gonna go down without a fight.
He needed to fight; for his pack. For his love. For his eventual children. He'll admit that he panicked when armed men flanked him, but when he heard the snapping of twigs and harsh whispering behind him, he turned around and burst into a sprint, hoping to escape before the men closed in around him.
It worked. Unfortunately, he heard the revving of several vehicles behind him, one of which was Owen's bike. He knew there was no way he would outrun a motorcycle, especially with how tired he was.
That was unless he ran into the lush jungle he had never been to, and he had been told to never venture there, as it was the edge of peaceful territory. He could run into the forest, but he'd probably lead them back to the rest of the sleeping raptors.
He didn't know what to do, until a single thought hit him like a brick in the head. 'Better me than them,' he thought, knowing his pack was above himself; he cared more about the 'savage beasts' than the monster he had become.
So he ran into the jungle. Ran for a half-hour, until he needed a break. He came to a small clearing to catch his breath. His heavy breathing was interrupted by a rustle in the bushes to his left.
He saw Owen emerge from the brush; just him and his gun, which was aimed directly at his head. Orion jokingly looked behind him in both directions, then back at Owen.
"Shhhhh… calm down, it's just you and me now," said Owen comfortingly. Orion took a deep breath and inhaled Owen's scents, trying to smell rotting meat.
He didn't smell it, so Orion relaxed and started to walk over to Owen. But Owen raised his gun and said in a commanding voice, "Stand down." Orion didn't know how to communicate with Owen, but he figured at least trying to write in the dirt.
The hard part would be getting Owen to his side. So he beckoned for Owen to come stand next to him, forgetting for a second that he was a raptor. Owen just stared wide-eyed at the raptor before cautiously making his way to Orion's side. As soon as he deemed the raptor safe for the moment, he lowered his gun down before Orion bent over to write in the dirt.
But before he could, a noise from the left startled them both. So Orion grabbed Owen and flung him on his back, nearly buckling under Owen's weight with how tired he was. He then ran back to the jungle border as fast as he could. He heard the sounds of the foliage behind them to let multiple bodies through.
'Damn it; I probably could have lost InGen in the forest,' he thought as he ran the fastest he ever had in his entire life, despite the near crippling weight on his back.
He figured he must've been going at least 55 mph, but he didn't let up on his mental gas pedal. If anything, he went faster, eventually losing their pursuers, and he didn't notice he was in the forest until he saw his nest come into view. He sat Owen down and made a gesture for him to stay as he alerted his packmates to his presence.
"Hey, guys!" he yelled. As he entered the nest, he saw Jade run out of the brush and tried to bite at Owen's head. But before she could close her jaws, Orion yelled, "Jade!" She was millimeters away from making the kill, and she looked at him with frantic eyes.
And she was speaking way to fast. "Woah, Jade, calm down. Take it easy," said Orion.
It was then that he noticed the tears accompanied by her louder-than-normal voice.
"They took everyone!" was the only thing Orion could make out.
Because it was all he heard her say before he looked off into the distance, only hearing the rushing blood in his ears as his vision turned red. But he was interrupted by a voice. A soft, calming, soothing voice only an angel could possess.
"Orion…" was all he heard.
He turned to the voice, only to see a stunning set of amber eyes gazing into his mind, his thoughts, and his soul as the red crept out of his vision; he liked it. He forgot about every emotion besides love, because that was all he felt at that moment.
"What do we do?" she asked quietly.
'Oh yeah… that's right; the pack's in trouble,' thought Orion as he started to pace back and forth.
But his problem-solving was interrupted by a loud, "FIRE!!"
It came from the left, but as he felt the pricks all around his body, he felt his vision turn red again, before turning black. The last thing he heard was, "Let the rest go; we have what we need."
M
"What the fuck?" groaned Orion as he started to wake up.
He fought the sedatives that kept him asleep for however long it was, and as he woke up, he saw a jungle. And Jade. 'Is this a dream? What're Jade and I doing in a jungle?" he asked himself.
Then, he looked to his right and saw the answer; a solid cement wall. They were in a paddock. He remembered seeing a couple of them in the InGen facility through windows, and he didn't like the looks of them; they looked small and uncomfortable.
"Jade?" he asked the sleeping form next to him. He got up with a groan and crawled way over to Jade.
"Jade, wake up! We're in some deep shit right now!" he whisper-yelled. She groaned and sat up. When her eyes fell on the wall, her eyes grew wide with fear as she asked, "Where are we?"
"No clue," responded Orion. "Intruders!" came a screech from their left. "What the hell?!" yelled Orion as he got up and stood between Jade and the voice. Maybe he had blacked out and murdered everyone but Jade, and ran into the jungle with her, and the cement walls were from an old research facility.
Out from the brush came two female raptors. One had a grayish hide with two blue stripes running from her eyes to her tail. The other was a dirt brown, but with a scar and a crooked jaw.
"You shouldn't be in here!" screeched the brown one.
Behind them came two more screeches. Orion turned around and saw two more female raptors. One had a green hide with a blueish-green stripe running the length of her spine, and the other had a light green hide with "tiger stripes" on her back. The one with the blue stripes was the only one who hadn't threatened him and Jade in any way.
"Who are you two?" she asked curiously.
He felt like he could trust her, since he could be a formidable force by himself, but as a raptor with a companion, no one stood a chance but these walls. But this blue one… she seemed more curious than anything.
"The name's Orion. This is Jade. Now please, leave us alone, mostly me because I got tranqed and dropped in a strange paddock with four strange females, so I feel the compelling need to slash something down." The blue one smirked, and the others relaxed.
"Are you a male?" asked the tiger-striped one.
"Yeah; what's the big deal?" he asked.
"Oh… it's just… none of us have seen a male before!" she said. She seemed more like a hatchling, despite looking like an adult.
"Which is why we can't trust it!" yelled the scarred one. "Why not? He doesn't seem a threat." said the green-hided one.
"What're your names?" asked Jade, relaxing a little as Orion did.
"I am Blue; the Beta. That one is Delta; my… well, Delta!" she chirped happily as she pointed at the other blue-striped raptor. "That's Echo; the Gamma, and that one's Charlie; the Omega and the youngest," said Blue, pointing at each raptor respectively.
"Alright, Blue, Delta, Echo, Charlie. Blue, Delta, Echo, Charlie. Blue, Delta, Echo, Charlie. 'Kay, I think I got it, though I might need a reminder every once in a while," said Orion. But he noticed a key member missing in her introduction.
"Who's the Alpha? I want to speak with him," said Orion.
"Alpha doesn't speak our language; he just speaks gibberish like everyone else that comes here," said Delta.
"What?" asked Jade, clearly not catching on, unlike Orion. "Your Alpha's a… human?!" he screeched.
"Girls!" yelled a voice Orion recognized as Owen's. They ran out of view, with Charlie casting one last look of childish curiosity at him. This allowed Orion and Jade to follow them.
They ran into a clearing that made the cement walls even more clearly visible, as well as a gate. He looked up when he heard a click, and saw Owen standing on a catwalk with a clicker in hand.
"Blue, Delta, lock up," he said.
"Watch your tail!" Echo snapped at Charlie. "Sorry!" she said as she looked back at her sister. "Charlie, Echo! C'mon, eyes on me," said Owen.
'I swear to God… if he named me Foxtrot…' thought Orion, noticing his girls' names followed the NATO alphabet, save for Blue.
"Now, you will be Golf from now on." said Owen as he pointed at Jade.
'Don't you fucking do it, I swear to God Almighty on his golden throne! Do not name me Foxtrot!' Orion mentally screamed.
"And you will Foxtrot," said Owen, pointing directly, almost teasingly, at Orion
"FUCK!!" he bellowed. "You motherfucker, I'll have your head on a fucking pike before I let you call me Foxtrot, you fucking cunt! That's a shit name and you're a shit person for naming me that you stupid motherfucking piece of shit!"
After his little rant, everyone's eyes were on him, and Owen said, "Well, guess you don't like that name."
"What was your first fucking clue, dibshit?!" yelled Orion. Owen hummed as he thought for another fake name for Orion.
"How about Frost? You know… for the little spots on your back?" he suggested.
"Nope. Think harder," said Orion, forgetting that Owen couldn't understand him in any way besides body language.
"Well, you gave him a new name now, great job!" said a bald man next to Owen, flashing a white smile that contradicted his skin color.
"No, that's stupid… maybe…" Owen then mumbled every word starting in 'f' that sounded like a name.
"Maybe… no, that's stupid, too," said Owen before descending further down the list.
Then, a kid piped up, "How about Orion?"
All eyes turned on him as he shrunk under their gaze. "I-I mean, l-look at t-t-the dots o-on his back; t-they almost look like l-little stars!" he squeaked. The other men currently there all nodded and murmured in agreement.
"No! I gotta keep to the NATO alphabet, Stanley!" said Owen.
"You can take your little NATO alphabet naming system and shove right up your ugly ass! At least the kid gets it!" yelled Orion as he nodded in the kid's direction.
"See? H-he likes it!" said the kid.
Owen sighed in defeat and said, "Fine; your name's Orion now."
"Hell yeah! No fake name!" screeched Orion happily.
And now, since they didn't have an 'f' in their NATO alphabet system, they started to find a new fake name for Jade.
Owen turned his attention to the men, long enough for Orion to whisper to Jade, "Y'know, I really hope they get your name right; fake names are a hassle! You gotta respond to a name that you know isn't yours, but you don't want to respond because it's not your name."
Just then, a guy on the other side of the paddock said, "Her hide kind of reminded me of this jade jewel my mom used to carry around."
"So… what's that got to do with her name?" asked another man. "How about Jade?" he asked, completely oblivious to the fact that he'd struck the nail right on the head.
"Well, now I won't have to use a fake name, so you won't need to call me anything else," said Jade quietly.
"I wouldn't call you anything but your name; it's who you are, and I don't want to change a thing about you," replied Orion warmly.
Owen huffed and said, "Whatever… Jade, Orion, girls, eyes up! And we are moving!" He walked on the catwalk before clicking again, making sure he had their attention.
Then, he stuck his hand in a bucket and said, "Good job, see? That's what you get! Charlie?"
He then threw a piece of meat in Charlie's direction, who swiftly caught it in her mouth. He called Echo and Delta next, before tossing a small mouse at Jade, who swallowed it whole with gusto.
'I don't know why, but that's hot. Imagine if that was my –' "Orion?" asked Owen, pulling him out of his dirty fantasy.
He looked up just in time to see a piece of meat flying in the air straight towards him, which he caught in his mouth.
He then held up a large rat and said, "This is yours, Blue."
When it was thrown at her, she caught it in her mouth like the rest had.
"Eyes up," commanded Owen once more; Orion only listened to amuse the man who thought had control over a former assassin. "Go," he said, at which the raptors ran under the catwalk and proceeded to just do whatever.
But Orion just remembered something very important. "Jade! I forgot to tell Victor that he was the Beta!" Orion exclaimed wide-eyed.
He could tell this attracted unwanted attention, but he didn't care at that point; his pack could be crumbling down right now, and it would be his fault.
But Jade stared back calmly and said, "That's why I did." Orion just stared back in shock.
"Don't look so surprised," said Jade smugly, "I've been Alpha for a little over two years; it really helps your memory."
"Hey, it's not my fault I'm forgetful!" he whined.
"Wait, you're an Alpha?" asked Charlie. The rest of her sisters were now facing Orion and Jade. "We both are," said Orion.
"But we'd rather not tell you why," Jade added.
"Why not? You can trust us now; it's not like you two are going anywhere any time soon," said Delta.
"Believe me, I've tried trusting people before, and most of them ended up literally trying stabbing me in the back," said Orion. The sisters looked at him in shock.
"How? Why?" asked Echo.
"I'd rather not talk about it," said Orion.
"But –" began Echo, but was cut off by Jade saying, "If he doesn't want to talk about it, he won't; you prying won't do any good if he's made up his mind."
The others looked at Orion inquisitively, and he just nodded his head. "We won't be able to trust you if you keep things from us," said Blue. "Well too bad for you, then," Orion retorted.
Jade snorted and asked, "Is there a place to bathe?"
"Follow me!" said Charlie enthusiastically, not realizing the dirty joke well-hidden behind the statement. It seemed no one but Orion did, so when he snorted, Blue and Delta looked at him with confused expressions, and Echo snarled.
"What's so funny?" asked Delta.
"It's an inside joke," he explained. Echo snarled again.
"What's. So. Funny?" she demanded, almost threateningly. "I told you; inside joke," Orion replied, not even fazed by her tone; if he can deal with about ten angry, buff, seven-foot Russians, he could for sure deal with this tiny raptor.
Echo stomped and roared, "I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!!" "Echo!" snapped Blue. But Echo didn't respond. Orion didn't even flinch; in fact, he was smiling, amused by the raptor's sudden outburst.
"I already answered it twice, and I hate repeating myself," Orion said.
"That's it! I've had enough!" yelled Echo as she charged him.
But she stopped in her tracks when Orion said, "Ah ah ah, I assert dominance over you; I'm higher up on the food chain than you, so to speak."
"Not anymore," said Echo cooly. "Fine, charge me; but don't hold it against me when I kick your ass," said Orion, trying to push Echo's buttons.
And it was working.
She charged him with a loud screech, and Orion sidestepped. 'This seems all too familiar,' he thought as she sidestepped Echo a second time, grabbing her leg and pulling her down to the dirt ground, proceeding to bite down on her neck as she got up, not being able to control himself.
"Stop! Please!" yelled Delta.
He pushed Echo over again and pinned her under his foot, making direct eye contact. "Not until the little girl submits," he said without breaking eye contact with Echo.
He moved to bite down on her neck again when he heard, "Orion!"
He turned to see the source of the voice, and was met by a gaze filled to the brim with disappointment.
"If you like fighting so much, why don't you go back to your old life," said Jade before she could stop herself.
Orion looked right back at her with eyes full of hurt and betrayal, for some odd reason. He looked down at the raptor he was pinning down and slowly let her up.
"I'm sorry, I…" Orion trailed off before he trudged into the forest with his head and tail hung low.
'So much for looking like an Alpha,' he thought as he passed the treeline. When no one made a move to follow him, he ran. He pretended to be running away from his problems, which he technically was; an emotional relationship.
It's been his dream to have that kind of connection with someone.
He ran until he came to a little clearing; it had a small waterfall and pond, and he was instantly reminded of Town.
This is why he became an assassin; it allowed him do completely disconnect emotionally, which is what he really needed to do, or he would've just ended it all a couple years ago. That's when he met The Suit.
M
"Dylan J. Smith, am I correct?" asked the man in front of him.
He had long brown hair that was slicked back with gel, and he wore a gray suit and a white undershirt with a black tie. In any other instance, the color combination would've been revolting, but the man somehow made it work.
And Dylan sat across from him; Megadeth shirt on, baggy jeans, a crappy sweater, and, to top it all off, a flat brim baseball hat.
"Who the fuck are you?" he asked.
"Me? I've not used my real name in what seems like ages; for now, you can call me The Suit. I trust you can tell why," said the man, gesturing to his expensive-looking attire.
"132 IQ, very impressive, yet, you live in the slums, working three back-to-back jobs, getting roughly two hours of sleep each day. Why is that?" asked The Suit.
"What's it to you?" asked Dylan. "I'm in need of a very smart… person, for lack of a better word, to employ," said The Suit.
Then, he leaned closer to Dylan over his mahogany desk and whispered, "So I'll ask again; why do you live in the poorest part of town when you are clearly very smart?"
Dylan paused before saying, "Couldn't afford college. Without it, I couldn't get a decent job, and I have to work the three jobs I do just to keep out of debt."
The Suit hummed and said, "I have a proposition for you, Dylan."
"I'm listening," Dylan said warily as he arched an eyebrow.
"$160 million dollars for one job," said The Suit, leaning back in his office chair. Dylan didn't even consider his options before saying, "I'll do it." The Suit smiled and said, "Alright, no backing out now, or something… unfavorable will happen to you."
"Well? What is it?" asked Dylan impatiently.
The Suit pulled out a file folder and threw it on the empty desk. Dylan opened it to reveal the file for a man. "What do you want me to do, stalk this guy?" asked Dylan. The Suit smiled patiently and said, "I want you to kill him."
This is it; this was Dylan's chance to escape the world! Earth's overcrowded anyways, what's one life to the world?
He accepted the job without question, and The Suit said, "One of my men will lead you to your new weapons designer; he'll make all of your weapons from scratch, so you won't be able to be traced by a bullet."
"Thank you, sir, for a chance," said Dylan.
"Don't thank me until you get your money," replied The Suit, flashing a brilliant white smile. Dylan smiled as well and nodded.
He was restless that night.
M
"Whatcha doing?" piped up a voice from behind Orion, snapping him out of his thoughts.
He turned to see Charlie standing there with inquisitive eyes that thirsted for information.
"Nothing, go away," Orion grumbled as he turned back to face the waterfall.
"Why?" asked Charlie as she cocked her head to the side.
"Just go away!" Orion snapped harshly as he turned to face her again. She flinched and bowed her head submissively before running off into the woods.
Granted, he felt bad yelling at her; she just asked two harmless questions, both of which he could've covered up pretty easily.
But he was just so frustrated, angry, hurt, depressed; all the emotions he felt before The Suit were surfacing again, and he could feel his claws twitching urging him to paint the ground red with his own blood.
After all, he was just a mistake; he wasn't even supposed to be alive right now, and he would just be finishing one last job.
One more….
He held his middle claw over his throat, but before he could drag it across his skin and rip it open, one word floated in his mind. 'Jade…' he thought. And he was then hit by a list of people he had promised to live for.
That list included every single one of his victims. That was another thing about him; before he let them scream, he promised he would live as best he could for them. But one victim will always stick out.
M
"Xeno," said Dylan as he looked at the brown-haired man kneeling in front of him.
"Scream One," he replied. That was Dylan's codename; no one used their real name in the biz, so they came up with codenames. Xeno let out a hollow laugh.
"Of all the people who I thought would kill me, I expected you least," he said. "But you did expect me?" Dylan replied with a slight smile.
"C'mon, buddy; you gotta be prepared for anyone to kill you. Never trust anyone in the biz," said Xeno.
"You trusted me," said Dylan, finger already on the trigger of his pistol.
"That was before I lost my eye," Xeno retorted.
And it was true; one of his vibrant blue eyes was missing, his left one to be exact, which he had an eyepatch over.
"Remember that job, Scream?" he asked. "Singapore, 2011," replied Dylan, smiling at the memory.
Yes, Xeno had lost an eye, but they left Singapore uninjured besides that. Plus, it had been a fun job, as well as their last contracted job together. After that, they had exchanged a "hello" every once in a while, but never really spoke to each other.
Until now.
"That's right," said Xeno with a hollow laugh. "I know you don't wanna kill me, Scream, but let's face it; you have to if you want to live. I would do the same if I was in your shoes, and you know that. Just promise me the same thing you promise everyone else; that you'll live for me."
"Why would I live for you if you can live for yourself?" asked Dylan.
Xeno perked up. "You're not gonna let me go, Scream, are you?" asked Xeno, confused. Dylan breathed deeply; the rich, earthen air of Saudi Arabia.
"I've had enough of killing for money, and I sometimes think, 'Maybe I should be punished for my crimes against humanity.' I should pay for what I bought, reap what I sow."
Xeno stared at him wide-eyed as Dylan continued. "The nightmares don't stop; all I hear is screaming now; all I see are the petrified faces of those I've taken from God-knows-who. Money doesn't satisfy me anymore. Food's long since lost its taste, water its soft touch. It's Hell on Earth; and I feel like this is God punishing me for my sins. I don't care what waits for me on the other side; maybe I'll finally be able to be punished for my sins and burn in the real Hell for all eternity."
"Scream, you can't seriously think The Suit's actually gonna kill you; he's just gonna torture you until you die, force you to kill. Is that what you want?" asked Xeno. "C'mon; do this for me, if not for anyone else; I want you to live, and if that means I die, then so be it. Just know I won't hold it against ya," he added.
Dylan nodded and walked a few paces, closing the distance between him and Xeno. As he held the gun against the man's head, his mind flashed back to all the memories they had shared since he got in the biz seven years ago, and he had no doubt in my mind that Xeno was going over the same memories.
But one memory stuck out to him. "You know, this reminds me of that one scene in The Alamo," said Dylan jokingly.
Xeno smiled and said, "I'm warning you; I'm a screamer."
He let out a defiant scream and Dylan pulled the trigger, silencing the cold room. As soon as the body of his friend, his Brother in Arms, hit the ground, Dylan turned away with tears in his eyes. He knew that he had used a recycled 9mm to put the hole in Xeno's head, and he knew the authorities would be able to trace the bullet, but he didn't care; this was his last job anyways.
He was restless that night.
M
As he recalled all the good memories him and Xeno had together, tears filled Orion's eyes and spilled down his face. When the teardrops hit the pond, they sent ripples through the water and distorted his reflection.
'No…' he thought. 'This isn't me.' He turned away from the pond and let out several loud sobs that echoed in the jungle, which was slowly getting darker as night crept in over the horizon.
"WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO CRUEL?!" Orion bellowed at the sky.
But he already knew the answer; he was a monster, and deserved no better. He deserved to be punished for his committed atrocities. There was another memory, one of the last truly happy memories he'd shared with people he trusted. Back when he actually trusted people; that was years ago.
M
"Hey, honey!" said the woman sitting on the couch in front of him.
She was smiling and watching TV with a guy who had his arm wrapped around her in a loving manner.
"Whatcha need, champ?" he asked cheerily.
"Where's Tim?" Dylan responded.
The woman, who he barely recognized as his biological mother, smiled warmly and looked behind Dylan. Dylan didn't have any time to look behind him before he was attacked by a monster.
"Rahhh it's the brother monster!" yelled Tim before picking up the squealing and laughing Dylan and swung him around before plopping down in the couch next to their parents, both of them with stupid grins on their faces.
Their parents laughed as they watched the whole thing, and Dylan's dad asked, "What do you guys want for desert?"
"Ice cream!" exclaimed Dylan immediately.
His father looked to Tim for approval, then his wife, both of which nodded. They left him alone in the house to watch TV, and that's just what he was doing before the knock came. He got up and ran childishly to the door, opening it when he got there. But he didn't expect to see a police officer standing there.
He didn't even know what was said by the officer, something along the lines of, "Your family's not coming home, come with me, we'll put you with people who will care for you."
The officer granted him one night under his supervision, and let him enjoy the last of his happy childhood. But he didn't. He spent most of the night in his room, away from the police officer, bawling his eyes out.
He was restless that night.
M
"Why…?" said Orion in a voice barely above a whisper.
He knew, he just… didn't. Why didn't God just hurl a lightning bolt at him, burn him to a crisp? Why didn't God let him drown in that storm? Why didn't God let him get eaten alive by that Carno when he first arrived? Why didn't God just end it for him?
'Because I made a promise,' he thought, which seemed like the only reasonable answer; for him to live out the rest of his pointless days in solitude, for those he made a promise to.
Those he killed.
And now, Jade was seeing him for the monster he really was; he loved a good fight and it took a lot of effort to control himself during said fights. In fact, he almost killed a kid when he got in a fight at one of his schools.
Was this what he wanted? Did he really, truly want to be alone? Did he want to push away everyone that's close to him?
The answer was yes. Yes, he wanted to avoid all emotional connections, no matter how badly he wanted one; all they ever seemed to do was get him and them hurt. His family, his friends, Xeno, and now Jade.
She had hurt him more than any bullet, any explosion, any physical wound could've.
Did she ever really love him? Or was it just comfort for a still-grieving man? Xeno's death couldn't have been less than three months ago, but his body was still fresh in Orion's mind.
He didn't care about his promise now; he wanted to get the memory, as well as all others that plagued him, out of his head. And the only way to do that was pull them out himself.
It started with simple scratching with both claws, hoping he could extract it that way. But when that didn't work, he dug a little deeper, drawing blood. And when that didn't work, he dug deeper.
Maybe the hole wasn't big enough…. So he started to violently tear at his own head with his claws, ignoring the pain of his daggers ripping into his flesh and scales; it was better than the emotional pain that had been tormenting him for twenty-five years.
He tore into his own head without a sound, not stopping when he heard his name called. It was that exact voice he wanted to forget. So he doubled his efforts, throwing himself against trees in the process, and into the pond eventually.
He heard his name called a second time, and he tripled his efforts when he found he could still remember her name. It was a comforting name for a while, but now, it caused him pain, knowing that she probably never cared for him. She probably just didn't want to see her handiwork undone, or the body.
No… no, he wouldn't go as far as killing himself, he just wanted to pull out all the bad memories, and if that was by his own hand, so be it.
He saw the water around him turning red, but he didn't care. All he cared about was getting those bad memories out of his head. All he cared about was forgetting. Then, he was on the ground, his arms pinned to his side. But not his legs.
So he slashed up with his killing claw, and hit his mark as it tore flesh. It wasn't more than that, but it was enough for the attacker to let him go and continue.
By now he could feel bone, and he was almost there. But he stopped when he heard a very weak, "Orion…."
He stopped and looked wildly for the source, and his eyes stopped on Jade. She had tears in her eyes and a shallow gash on her right side.
He had hurt her.
Now he really was contemplating suicide. Without taking his eyes off the gash, he held his middle digit against his throat. 'Sorry, guys,' he thought as he began to drag the claw against his throat.
"NO!!" yelled Jade as she tackled him.
Orion didn't even fight it as he was knocked to the ground. His arms were once again pinned, but he didn't struggle in case he hurt Jade again.
There was a small chance that she would end it for him. That was fitting; the one he loved most doing the thing he couldn't.
But now, he felt the pain. He felt his head explode into pain he was previously numb to, and he couldn't stop the tears as he yelled out in pain.
It was like his head had been shoved into a bucket of molten metal, impaled, and shot with a 12 Gauge, all at the same time.
All the while, Jade was whispering comforting things to him. But she soon fell to the ground with a tranq dart sticking out of her back. And soon, he was knocked out as well, once again numb to the pain.
M
"Alright, I think he's stable," said someone off to Orion's left.
He was splayed on his left side on a cold metal table. He groaned as he tried to lift his head, but he was eased down by a disembodied voice.
"Hey, hey, take it easy; quite the injury you got there," said the voice.
"Do you think he's good to take back to the paddock, Dr. Gerry?" asked another voice, which he recognized as Owen's.
"As long as he takes it easy," said Dr. Gerry.
At this, Orion nodded. Owen's form came into his line of sight, and he knelt down and asked, "Do you think you can behave yourself enough to lead you back to the paddock without a truck or restraints?"
Could he walk? Probably not. Could he behave? Without a doubt. He nodded his head, and Owen smiled. It reminded him of… no, no need to dwell on bad memories.
"Alright, well let's go. Up and at 'em," said Owen as he turned around. Orion groaned in protest, but got off the table; it was pretty cold anyways. He followed Owen through a series of hallways when a map caught his attention.
Well, more like two words; Isla Nublar. Above it were more words that made him even more anxious. "Welcome to Jurassic World!" the sign said. He shook his head, which hurt, and caught up to Owen. Owen turned to him and laughed.
"Y'know, you look pretty silly with all those bandages on your head," he said in a cheerful manner. Bandages? They passed a window that was a bit reflective, and he saw that he did have a bunch of red and white bandages on his head. He knew they could be a pain to deal with.
"C'mon, Orion. Hurry up," called Owen from down the hallway.
Orion turned from his reflection and hurried back to Owen's side. He led them out of the building and into broad daylight, which had no mercy on either of their eyes.
"Goddammit!" they both said at the same time, except Orion couldn't speak English, so it came out as a screech.
Owen chuckled and said, "You, too, buddy?"
Orion snorted and nodded. But maybe he could… speak to Owen in some other way? He knew Owen was taught sign language in the Navy, and Orion had taught himself. He racked his mind, trying to figure out how to start a conversation with Owen.
Then, once he did, he tapped Owen on the shoulder, and signed, 'Hey.'
Owen raised an eyebrow and said, "You're not a normal raptor, are you?"
'Far from it,' signed Orion.
Owen didn't look fazed, but he knew the man was freaking out; he could smell it. "Well, I guess should ask for your real name," said Owen dryly.
'It's actually Orion; your guy hit the nail on the head with his comment,' he signed. "Really? And what about Jade?" Owen asked.
'Got that one right, too,' Orion signed. Thank God for his five fingers.
Owen smiled and huffed before saying, "Well, if you can speak raptor, maybe you can be my… translator?" Orion snorted and signed, 'Well, why not?'
Owen smiled, clearly a little less freaked out now, but he said, "You know that I'm still Alpha, right?"
Orion snorted and signed, 'Ever try doing stand-up comedy?'
Owen suddenly got real serious. "Really, I'm supposed to be your Alpha. If I'm not, I get into real trouble," said Owen grimly.
'How about it's just between you, me, and the raptors, then? Three Alphas,' Orion signed. Owen sighed and looked away, but Orion snapped to get his attention back, not knowing what else to do.
Once he had Owen's attention, he signed, 'I'll still listen to you and follow your little commands; you can be top dog if you want. But when you're not around, it's me and Jade giving orders.'
Owen nodded and said, "Alright; but only when I'm not around."
Orion smiled and nodded, which felt weird given the bandages around his head. Owen smiled too, and they headed back to the raptor paddock.
M
"Orion!" yelled Jade as he stepped into the paddock.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder. "I'm so so so sososososo sorry! I didn't know what I was saying! I couldn't stop it! I –" she said in between sobs before Orion cut her off.
"It doesn't matter if you said it; you thought it," he said as she looked at him with tears in her eyes.
"I know, and I'm despicable for doing so," Orion huffed and turned away, playing hard-to-get, even though he knew he'd never be able to keep away from her.
"Can you at least forgive me?" she asked quietly.
Orion then turned around suddenly and yelled, making Jade shriek in surprise and lose her balance. When she landed on the ground, he chuckled and said, "Now I do."
She stared back up at him with sadness still evident in her eyes. "Hey, c'mon. I would've forgiven you anyways! I don't care if you thought it, you had every right to," he said as he stuck out a hand for Jade to grab.
She did and he pulled her off the ground with a grunt.
"No I didn't, especially not in front of everyone," said Jade sadly.
Orion just grunted. "Speaking of… where are they?" he asked.
Jade looked up, and some of the sadness in her eyes went away as she said, "I think they're by their nest, talking."
Orion smiled and mischievously asked, "Wanna go crash their party?" She nodded and said, "Follow me." The two ran into the jungle, and they were in the nest in seconds.
The conversation didn't seem normal, though; it seemed Delta was helping Blue through a "tough time."
'If only had their own males…' Orion thought. Delta then caught sight of them, not even bothering to ask Orion if he was okay. Instead, she asked a much weirder and infinitely more personal question.
"Do you masturbate?" she asked the pair. Jade seemed put off by this, but Orion instantly replied, "Nope." Everyone but Blue gawked at him.
"How? It's mating season, it's a good way to relieve stress, and it feels so good!" said Delta.
"You said it's mating season, hence why I have a mate," said Orion as he looked at Jade to back him up, which she did.
"Orion and I please each other, but before that, yes; I did used to please myself when mating season came around." Delta looked at him expectantly with her large eyes.
"Used to do it almost every day when I was younger," he said. The group gasped, even Jade.
"Even when it wasn't mating season?" Charlie asked, clearly perplexed and surprised at Orion's strange ways.
"Why are you asking these questions anyways?" Orion asked.
Delta harrumphed and said, "We're trying to convince Blue that everyone masturbates, but she won't listen! She too stubborn and hard-headed!" Orion smiled and said, "Leave it to the stubborn to convince the stubborn."
He didn't want to say, "A hard head makes for a soft ass." Jade would get the wrong idea and get upset at him again. So he made his way past Delta and to a sulking Blue, not caring about personal boundaries as he stepped into the nest. Blue growled, but didn't move to attack him.
"Hey, suck it up and stop your sulking! Everyone does it because not everyone has someone! Everyone's done it at least once in their lifetime!"
But he stopped lecturing her when he heard her sob. He looked into her eyes and saw hurt, fear, and a want he used to see in the mirror everyday.
"Why are you crying?" he asked her.
"Because I don't have someone! You're right, but it just feels so… wrong without a male! I've never even seen a male besides you, and you already have a mate! It's… it's…."
She trailed off and started to sob again. He wished he could made her happy, but he had Jade, and there wasn't a chance in the world she would let him be with another female! Or so he thought.
"Well, I'm more than willing to share if it makes you girls happy," she said, which made everyone turn their eyes on her.
"But it has to be just that; sharing. Sharing equally with everyone, including myself. And it can't be emotional; friends at the most. Remember; he's still my mate."
He was going to drag her off somewhere and lecture her on the concept of faithfulness. But Blue shot up and wrapped Jade's neck in a tight hug.
"Thank you so much!" she said. Jade smiled warmly as she returned the gesture. "You're welcome," she said.
But Orion's eyes were locked with Charlie, who was looking at him in a way that made him more than uncomfortable. She licked her chops and he turned away to hide the blush that was more-than-likely on his face, which made her snort.
"Share?" asked Delta with a mischievous gleam in her eye and a devilish smile on her face.
"Yes, share," said Jade as she bore the same expression as Delta.
Soon after, Blue's mouth twisted into the same wicked grin Jade and Delta bore, as did Charlie's and Echo's.
"Uh, guys?" he asked when they started to stalk towards him in a semicircle. "I thought it would've been one-on-one, not a full-on orgy!" he exclaimed.
He didn't see another way out; he turned bolted the other direction. But before he could make it more than five strides, he felt something tackle him from behind. When he tried to get up, he was pushed down again, and he heard Echo's voice say, "You owe me this."
He knew he did, but he didn't care. At this point, he was desperate, so he rolled away like he would if he were still human, and it worked. He was free and he ran out of the jungle and into the clearing.
"Help! Help! The girls are gonna get me!" he yelled before said girls came out of the clearing.
He ran right into a guy who was changing the water, and he looked so panicked and startled; just how Orion felt right now. Then, he realized the gate was wide open, and he took his chance. He grabbed the guy and scrambled into the cage, pushing the close button.
He saw the girls rush to the closing door, and for a moment, he thought it wouldn't close in time. But it did, and he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Jade closed her clawed hand on a bar on the cage, and Orion waved in a teasing manner.
"Please don't eat me!" yelled the guy, who Orion now recognized as Stanley; the one who nailed his name on the first try. The two were rather close, so Orion nudged his leg in reassurance, then plopped his head down in Stanley's lap.
"Uh, h-hey, big guy, s-sun's getting real low!" Stanley squeaked out.
Orion lifted his head and snorted, amused that this kid would use something like that to calm him down. When he plopped his head back down in Stanley's lap, he heard a voice say,
"Wow, someone must really not like girls!" Orion looked up to see Owen standing outside the cage. 'They tried to get me to fuck them!' he signed.
Owen looked confused, then doubled over laughing, to which Orion responded with a growl. Once he regained his composure, he asked Orion, "All of them?"
'At the same time!' Orion quickly signed. At this, Owen's face dropped. 'Plus, it's mating season, and that's not something I really go by,' he added.
"Do you think we should get them mates?" asked Owen.
"No, please no more raptors!" said Stanley.
Orion snorted and shook his head. "Well, you're gonna have to get back in there; we got someone coming in a few."
'Who?' Orion signed.
"Vic Hoskins, head of security at InGen," said Owen through gritted teeth; he clearly hadn't had the best experiences with InGen either. But he knew how InGen could be, so he pushed the button to open the door, and slunk back into the all-too-quiet paddock. By then, Owen had already stepped inside and pushed the button to close the cage.
Once it was completely closed, Owen said, "Just go somewhere isolated; I know there are a couple spots in that place that are secluded enough to hide you."
Orion nodded and darted into the lush vegetation, running to the small pond.
When he was within fifty feet, he heard the moaning.
"Oh, yes! Yes, give it to me!" moaned the voice of Blue.
He continued silently, his feet not making a sound. When he came into view of the pond, he saw Blue sitting there on her back, thrusting her index and middle finger into herself, chirping and moaning like crazy. But he stiffened when he heard her utter one word; a name.
"O-Orion!" she moaned as her juices shot up in the air. It was then that he decided to make his presence known.
"Yeah?" he asked.
She turned around quickly and jumped up, muttering vulgarities and cursing her insolence. It was pretty funny to watch; he loved it when people scrambled to cover their tracks when he caught them with themselves, and Blue was no different.
But he felt kind of bad about it at the same time; he knew people should be entitled to their own privacy. But all pity went away when he heard her shout, "Now!"
It was a trap. A trap he had walked into without a second thought. He heard the rustles behind him, to his left, and to his right; Blue was already in front of him.
'C'mon, you did this in Budapest; this isn't much different,' he thought as he heard someone charge him from behind. "Sloppy," he said as he jumped up, just out of reach from the charging raptor.
He did a flip and landed perfectly on his feet. Jade looked beyond baffled. The two other raptors, Charlie and Delta, circled him once and charged him. He noticed that they would converge if he weren't there. And in a second, he wasn't. Delta and Charlie collided with each other, but Jade had gotten over her shock and charged him again, along with Blue. They tried to confuse him by attacking separately, but he dodged Blue and sidestepped Jade, then ran into the forest.
"Girls, Orion, come on!" yelled Owen. Saved by the bell.
Orion sprinted to the clearing, the girls hot on his heels. He had just cleared the treeline before Echo tackled him again. He kicked her off and stood at attention, looking at Owen.
The girls circled Orion and got ready to pounce on their distracted prey, but before they could, Owen yelled, "Girls! Be nice to Orion!"
Blue responded with, "We are; we'll show him a really good time," as she turned to him with a half-lidden expression and licked her chops. But Orion was still paying complete attention to Owen, and the girls did the same with some hesitation.
But when the man stepped next to Owen, all six raptors immediately growled.
They all thought he smelled weird, but other than that, they didn't growl at him for the same reason; the siblings growled at him because they were too close to their Alpha, Jade growled at him for the sake of growling and showing her dominance, and Orion growled at the InGen logo on the man's shirt.
But, nevertheless, they were all growling, which meant all of them hated this man.
"Tranq them all, but get that one out of here and back in a lab," said the man as he pointed straight at Orion. At this, Orion and Jade growled louder, but the girls stopped and stared at Orion.
"His name is Orion, and you can't take my raptors away from here without Masrani's permission," said Owen. "InGen works under no jurisdiction; we do what we want," said the man.
"InGen's corrupt!" yelled Orion.
This caused the man to look down at him, but Owen kept his eyes on the man and said, "I don't think he likes that idea very much." Orion curled his lip up and flexed his fingers to show off his talons, his killing claw tapping at the dirt below.
"Damn straight," he growled. "It doesn't matter if he wants it; he's now InGen's property and we will deal with him in a lab where he's not a threat," said the man. "He's not a threat, though; he walked the streets of this place unbound and unrestrained," said Owen.
"Do you know who that is?" asked the man loudly. "That is contract killer Dylan J. Smith, better known as Scream One; the guy who killed your brother!"
Owen stared down at Orion with tears formimg in his eyes. "Don't tell me it's true…."
'I didn't want to, I swear! He was my Brother in Arms, and I loved him; he was the only family I had for a while!' signed Orion.
Owen pushed past the man and walked down the stairs, opening the cage and getting right up in Orion's face. Jade growled at this, but Owen snapped, "Shut up!"
He turned back to Orion and said, "He was my only family period. And you took him from me."
'Do you have any idea how hard it was to pull that trigger? I didn't sleep for a whole fucking week because every time I closed my eyes, I saw him hit the ground!' signed Orion.
"If you had any sort of balls on you, you would've shown up at his funeral," said Owen. 'I did, I just didn't make myself known,' Orion signed.
"The funeral was two-and-a-half months ago!" Owen yelled.
'I left the U.S. right after the funeral.'
"You ran like a fucking coward!" It was true; he had run from death and judgement, just like a coward. Orion dipped his head sadly as the tears started to flow from his eyes. He sobbed as he ran off into the jungle.
"Stop that raptor!" he heard the man shout before he disappeared from view.
He ran into the little clearing with the waterfall and unwrapped his bandages. He gazed into the water to get a good look at the damage.
It was horrific; several large gashes, five of them exposing bone. They were all at least and inch wide, but no scale on his head was spared; he clawed at every square inch of the top of his head, exposing red muscle tissue.
As he continued to stare at his reflection, he noticed that his eyes had lost a lot of their normal vibrance, and were instead very bland and generic, as well as filled with tears, which is all the livelihood his eyes had at the moment.
Just then, he heard a gun being cocked, and he braced for the bullet that was sure to follow. But it never came; instead, he felt the cold barrel of a gun against the back of his neck. 'Do it,' signed Orion, 'no one's really gonna miss me anyways; just tell Jade that I love her.'
He felt a pinprick on his neck before the world went dark.
M
Again, if you're reading this and are struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts, please get the help proper help you need; no one should have to go through that. Anyways, thanks for reading, and remember to review and critique. Have a good day/night.
