Nedry
The rain had lightened somewhat since they'd first arrived here, but Nedry still shook himself again as he carefully made his way along the north edge of the gorge, stepping lightly as his huge new eyes scanned up and down the opposite wall, looking up and down for any yellowish glint, a deep crevice that might hold that mystical amber key. It sounded like something from the movie The Dark Crystal, for Christ's sake. He wondered if like Jen, they had to use it to repair, to "heal," a larger precious stone or gem. Nothing was an impossibility back here anymore, frankly.
Lord knew his romantic pursuer looked creepily like one of the movie's hideous, vulturine Skeksis. The resemblance was especially heightened by that always thrust-forward, bobbing head, twinkling eyes, long, craggy clawed fingers, and the protruding teeth that filled her mouth. To be fair though, Nedry thought, I'm not exactly a beauty contest winner in this other prehistoric turkey's body myself, as he paused to regard his own claw-tipped witch hands at the ends of his wing-arms.
During the last forty minutes or so, Harriet had suddenly started to become a lot tenser, nervously scanning their surroundings more often, breaking off from her annoying behavior of following him like some dog to trot a few hundred yards in the opposite direction at a quick clip until stopping. Looking back over her shoulder, she'd then utter several urgent scraping clucks at her mate as she bounced about on her feet. An obvious "Come here, we've both gone too far," call.
At one point, she'd parked herself solidly in place and refused to move, insistently and repeatedly calling for him. Her grating clucks had soon receded behind them, and for a grateful few minutes Nedry had thought he was rid of the stupid turkey at last.
But then there'd been a now too familiar sound of light footsteps, and a rustling coming up behind them through the ferns. Just like her TV namesake, Harriet couldn't stay away from him.
If evolution had given Nedry's troodontid body complex facial muscles, he would've scowled in exasperated disgust. As it was, he hung his head and clenched his eyes shut, simply saying, (Oh goddamn it. I knew this was too much to ask for.)
He knew exactly why Harriet had become so tense. His other set of instincts and experience, the troodontid's, uneasily babbled at him that he'd crossed the border of the pair's territory, something it would only do in times of desperate famine. There were no more of their scent marks of ownership, and they were deep in someone else's territory now. If they were detected and caught by the resident pair, there would be hell to pay…
Nedry shook his head dismissively. He wasn't concerned about a couple cantankerous prehistoric turkeys. Not with the others to provide abundant backup and a leg to hide behind. And Harriet could take care of herself.
Every four dozen feet or so, he walked to the edge of the chasm and squatted birdlike down on his shins, grasping the edge of the cliff with his hands as he extended his neck and performed a visual sweep of both the near wall and the stream below before carefully backing away and standing up to continue with what he felt inside was a fool's errand. His body might now only weigh about forty-something pounds, far less than his human one-but it was still just as vulnerable to taking a fall.
As he made his way along the gorge's edge, Nedry wondered morosely, uneasily what his fate would be if they found this amber key, and used it to get back home at Ground Zero. If it turned out that it was one of those sci-fi scenarios where he, Rob, and Muldoon would be sent back to Jurassic Park at the same instant they'd been struck by the lightning, he could rest a bit and then take up where he'd left off with his impending plan to steal the priceless embryos for Dodgson.
If they got back and it turned out they'd been gone for the same length of time they were back here in the past, though…it would be a major bust, and Nedry would have to go through the hassle of setting up a second, highly risky under-the-radar appointment with Dodgson's lackey at a later date.
His dark mood wasn't helped by his increasing hunger. He hadn't eaten a thing since arriving here, and the troodontid's stomach was sending him a steady, swelling message of discomfort and tightness.
A few yards to his right, Harriet suddenly darted forward and dropped to her backward-facing knees in excitement, clawing like a dog at a burrow in the compacted soil under a scraggly conifer bush with her trident hands. A fist sized trapdoor spider, red-orange in color, desperately scuttled out, seeking escape.
Harriet flung out one of her hands and pitchforked it, waiting a few seconds for its struggles to weaken before tearing it from her hand claws and swallowing the oozing arachnid body with a sickening relish. Nedry could only stare and shudder in pure revulsion. He despised spiders, to say nothing of the idea of eating them.
God, no way, he thought, sickened. I am not eating bugs for dinner, no way in hell. I'd rather starve than ever do that, he firmly told himself, even as Harriet then dug a large scorpion out from under a log and attacked it, expertly nipping off the curved stinger. But the cool, rational part of his mind reminded him that he needed to eat something eventually. What could he stand to choke down though?
He remembered that London had said something about speculation that the prehistoric turkeys were able to eat plants as well as meat. But none of the vegetation really appealed to his senses.
Nedry was now drawing quite close to the bluff over which the large stream in its gorge suddenly plunged a good seventy feet. The end of the first gorge spread out to a width of thirty-five feet, a layer of dense igneous rock forming a seven foot lip over the softer stone that had been eroded away underneath, causing the water to spill over in a broad, sheeting veil that Nedry found quite pleasing to the eye.
If there were any caves or crevices behind or next to the falling water that might contain amber though, he couldn't see them from up here. He'd have to circle around the corner of the steep, five hundred foot wide bluff to sloping ground, then back to the lower gorge.
Glancing over his shoulder, he telepathically told Muldoon, (I'm going down around the bluff to check the lower gorge, okay?)
(Sure,) Muldoon replied. (Just keep alert.) As he turned away from the waterfall, Nedry idly wondered how congenial the head ranger would currently be with him right now if he knew about his plans for industrial sabotage.
When he'd already paced off a curving path of several dozen yards, his Troodont nose suddenly caught an enticing odor from ten feet off his right shoulder. From underground. And this one was plant based.
Dig-Succulent-Tasty-Rich, his dino mind urged in excited anticipation. What the hell, Nedry mentally shrugged as he trotted to the spot it was coming from. Why not?
A scraggly, spoon-leafed plant grew from the soil, only eighteen inches tall. Digging with his hands and feet, Nedry soon excavated a football sized tuber that looked something like a blocky yam.
Nedry hooked it out with his hand claws and then proceeded to rinse the soil from it in a nearby puddle before taking a careful bite.
(Wow! This is good!) he commented in surprise. It was rich and starchy, sweet to the taste and moist. Nedry happily took bites out of it as he made his way around the bluff, clutching it in his hands.
As he rounded the corner of the bluff, he abruptly saw a herd of about forty large dinosaurs, and recoiled briefly-but then relaxed as he recognized them.
Measuring five to twenty-three feet from their bronze brown beaks to the tips of their long whips of tails, they'd been seeing herds of these dinosaurs all the time as the afternoon wore on. According to the incapable of shutting up Mr. London, freely sharing information whether it was requested or not, they were known as Tenontosaurus.
The herbivores had an amazingly beautiful color scheme, Nedry thought as he approached them. The heads of the larger animals had a reticulated pattern of chocolate brown patches and white borders, like a giraffe's. Their necks were circled by two black collars, with a white ring between them, and the throat a vivid citron. The rest of their bodies were a stunning dark turquoise in color, with several blotches of maroon on their flanks. Broken bands of lemon yellow and white stipples circled their torsos to the hips. The front portion of each lengthy tail was teal green, the rear half banded with gray and dark orange and white.
The younger animals were a green-brown in color with dark green and cream blotches, and stayed close to the adults. He noted with interest that just like London's Hypsilophodon body, they were completely covered in a coat of stiff, hair-like feathers, while the adults only had a feather coat on their torsos. Five Iguanodon bulls peacefully cropped plants among their smaller cousins.
Still holding his tuber, Nedry briefly hesitated, holding up a foot. The largest of the Tenontosaurs looked to weigh around a ton and a half to a ton and three-quarters. Intimidatingly huge and imposing, even for a person. But they were also clearly herbivores, and his dino mind wasn't concerned by them in the least. So he strode in among the herd, the larger dinosaurs giving him and Harriet no more than a glance with their great pale blue goat eyes or a thoughtful snort before ignoring them.
He cleared the herd and trotted to the bottom of the bluff, where the waterfall splashed into a second gorge. After spending a few minutes admiring its beauty while he finished the tuber, Nedry licked his hands clean, then began to inspect the mist-slick rock behind and beside the cascade.
Then he saw it. A sort of alcove under the lip of stone, about the size and shape of a trash can. At its back, something embedded in the rock that shone golden, slick with the spray that constantly drifted inside.
An incredulous, ecstatic thrill swept through Nedry at the sight as he comprehended.
(No way!) he shouted in amazement, his dinosaur jaw dropping as Harriet looked at him in surprised befuddlement. (You've got to be kidding me! It can't be that easy!)
(What?!) he heard Wu "shout" in turn from upstream. (What did you find?)
(I know you guys won't believe this, but-I'd bet my right leg that I just discovered the amber key!)
(Really?! That's great Nedry!) Muldoon congratulated.
(Way to go!) said Zane.
(Good work! We're coming right over Dennis,) Wu said.
As the others appeared in view, coming around the corner of the bluff, the Tenontosaur herd went spastic at the sight and smell of Patience, calling out with slide trombone groans and bunching together before wheeling and stampeding off through the rain, trampling plants underfoot as they ran on their hind legs. The five Iguanodon bulls did the same, rumbling and bunching together, none of the herbivores stopping until they were a mile and a half away.
Nedry noted Wu watching them in his own Iguanodon body with intense interest, obviously taking mental notes. Then he dropped back to all fours and strode over with the rest of the group to join the troodonts at the cascade, a blimp compared to a helicopter. It made Nedry sulkily wish once more that he could've been the Iguanodon or Acrocanth. Yeah, especially the acro.
(There,) he told them, gesturing with a plumed arm. (Inside that little cave.)
Ever mindful of his great weight, Wu gingerly walked to where Nedry was standing and laid down, peering intently at the recess in the stone with his long camel head cocked.
(Yes,) he confirmed in pleasure. (That's a big piece of amber back in there. Hopefully it's what we've been looking for.)
(Good show Nedry,) Muldoon said, waving his bony tail as Wu drew back.
(It's not in the most convenient spot to be reached though,) Patience grunted. (There's only a seven, eight foot gap between it and the falling water, and that stone is pretty slippery.)
(We need to get to it fairly quick, however we're going to manage it,) Muldoon said. (It'll be dark soon.)
(Maybe one of us heavyweight dinos could stretch our necks into the gap,) Zane suggested, (and then either Mr. London or Nedry could "walk the plank" to reach the amber.)
(Um, how about Mr. London does that?) Nedry said.
(What! Have you lost it?) Patience asked Zane. (That's a fifty foot drop into either churning water or onto rocks! Are you seriously saying that someone should climb on someone else's head and then-)
(Do you want to have to wait around all night?) Mr. London asked.
(Especially when time is of the essence,) Muldoon added.
(Of course not,) she sighed.
(It's dangerous,) Wu agreed, (but if one of us could make a safety tether for whoever's going to do it, the risk of a fall should be minimal.)
(Well, great,) Nedry replied sarcastically. (As long as the risk of Mr. London or I falling to our deaths is minimal. That makes me feel so much better.)
(You'd better go find some long roots or vine and get started making a tether,) London told Patience.
The Acro lightly showed her teeth, her quills rising as she turned away. It was plain as day to Nedry that like him, she had little tolerance for being ordered around.
Soon enough, Patience and Wu, working together, had dug out and exposed a length of thin, but strong conifer root as London watched them. Patience cocked her enormous grim predator head, then severed the root in two places with a hooked hand claw. London then grabbed one end of the twelve foot length of root in his powerful beak, and dragged it back to the gorge.
With his long telephone pole of a neck, Zane was the self-evident best choice for their living cherry picker. Now it was time to choose who'd be using it, Nedry or Mr. London.
To the programmer's dismay, they chose him. Terrified by the idea, he protested against it.
(No. I am not entrusting my life to a scraggly piece of root. No way on earth,) he told them, backing away. (Get him to do it instead,) he pleaded, gesturing to London. (He has the five-fingered hands here. And your body can jump pretty well, I know that for a fact.)
(Yes, it can,) London agreed. (But you have longer, sharper claws that can be used like climbing crampons to secure a better grip on the slick rock Dennis, and longer arms to reach inside. And your extraordinary plumed arms could potentially be used to provide an assist by gliding.)
(Besides, you're the one who discovered it,) Patience commented. (Why not impress everyone by being the one to snatch it for us too?) An obvious appeal to his ego.
Going back over to the cliff edge, Nedry felt his body tremble as he laconically replied, (I'm less concerned with impressing everyone than I am with dying.)
(You're not going to die,) London assured him. (This root can support your body weight easily, and I'll tie it very securely around both you and Zane's neck so that there'll be no chance of falling.)
(It's always after someone says that sort of thing that a terrible accident happens,) Nedry said pessimistically.
(Well you have to,) Muldoon urged. (Everyone's waiting for you. So buckle down and do it.)
(Okay,) Nedry sighed in defeat. (Looks like I have no choice here.)
Soon he found himself grasping Zane's triangular banded neck with his arms and legs, feeling the short, blunt iguana spikes on the sauropod's neck pressing against his belly and the pressure of the hip harness London had made for him from one end of the conifer root against his flesh.
Zane had the other end tied around his lower jaw, gently biting down on it for added security as he carefully shuffled forward on his elbows like a trained circus camel, his massive butt still raised in the air as the long neck slid out into space, Nedry clutching it like a terrified child and hoping for the best.
As Zane's head got closer to the waterfall, spray covered both of them, forcing Nedry to shake his head and blink that creepy, milky nictitating membrane over his eyes in a sideways motion to wipe them, in the same manner that owls would later blink theirs as they waited for just the right moment to plunge down on an unsuspecting mouse.
(Okay, this is as close as I can safely get you,) Zane told him. (You'll have to jump for it.)
(Yeah,) Nedry said unhappily. He could see that now the alcove was just six feet away from Zane's lips. To him, it seemed like the Grand Canyon. But there was no choice. This was their ticket back home, to everything they knew and that was sane.
Fighting his fear, Nedry shakily stood up and picked his way down Zane's neck, gently grasping with the toes of his feet as he moved sideways like a crab until he was standing on the astro's broad shovel of a muzzle. He could think of a dozen different things he'd rather have been doing at that moment.
(This is just like one of the adventures in the Land Before Time, isn't it?) he asked Zane nervously.
(Exactly like one,) Zane agreed. (Terrible danger and all,) he gulped.
(Remember, use your arms to glide and your claws to hook onto the rock!) London called from behind him. (Your body is built for leaping and climbing!)
(You can do this Dennis!) Wu encouraged.
Even Harriet gave a sort of hopeful croak, as if also spurring him on.
Here goes nothing, Nedry thought as he crouched and gathered his powerful legs underneath him. I can't chicken out now.
(Jesus bless my little broken body!) he squealed desperately as he extended his arms out to the sides-and pushed off into space.
Patience
Nedry was the most despicable of all the characters in Jurassic Park, Patience knew. A traitor. A thief. A selfish slob.
But for all that, her heart was still in her throat as she watched him leap into the misty air like some bizarre eagle, gliding for the crevice.
(Oh man, all this spray is playing ha-ha-havoc with my nos-nost-) Zane suddenly said as he began to pant helplessly.
(Don't-) Muldoon began.
Too late.
A sound like a cross between a whale spouting and a pig grunting as Zane sneezed! Nasty clear and banana yellow mucus sprayed from his nostrils. His great body jerked, and sent Nedry, who'd just grabbed the bottom lip of the alcove with his hand claws, falling into the gorge!
Patience could only gaze helplessly as the feathered theropod plummeted, squealing as he dropped nine, ten feet.
(No!) he shouted. Then the safety tether caught him, jerking Nedry to a stop.
(Thank God,) he said in shaky relief as he dangled under Zane's jaw, swinging back and forth like a pendulum as his body faced downward at a 45 degree angle. Looking as sheepish as his stone faced visage could look, Zane lifted his head up and backed up. When his head got close to the cliff, Nedry swung forward and grabbed the stone with all hands and feet, Patience hearing them click against the rock as he climbed back up over the edge.
(See?) he told them in agitation. (This won't work!)
(Yes it will,) Muldoon insisted. (You just have to get back on the horse and try again.)
(You okay Dennis?) Wu asked.
(Considering, yeah,) Nedry replied as he shook himself. (That fall was totally terrifying, but the rest of it was oddly exhilarating, like something out of an adventure story.)
(I used to read those,) Mr. London reminisced. (I loved them so. And now-)
(Ah-hem,) Patience cut in neutrally with a forceful snort. (We're wasting time. Take two everyone.)
Mr. London nodded, and inspected Nedry's hip harness before the troodontid got back in the saddle.
Once more, Zane got down on his chest and elbows and got Nedry as close to the alcove as he safely could.
(Here goes nothing.)
Once more, Nedry leapt from the muzzle. This time, he landed two feet beneath the bottom edge of the chamber, climbing up the wet rock and then pulling himself as everyone cheered. Except for Patience. She knew that it wasn't over until the amber was in hand. But it was a great start.
Nedry's lithe muscles coiled as he worked to pry the amber out of the rock with his hand claws.
Patience then heard thumps behind her and turned to see Runt rushing Zane's flank!
Oh no. He thinks it's all a weird game-he's going to ram or kick Zane!
She opened her mouth to give a warning and scare Runt at the same time.
There was a scraping POP! at that moment then, and the precious piece of amber was free in Nedry's taloned hands.
(Whoo! I've got it! Got our ticket home baby!) he yelled jubilantly.
Patience shut her mouth. She knew how easily both Zane and his sauropod body could be startled, and she didn't dare risk making him jerk. If Nedry fell again, he could drop the all-important amber.
Muldoon thankfully intervened at that point, jogging forward and getting between Runt and his big brother. One look at those spikes caused Runt to draw up short, look around vapidly like he hadn't been planning any mischief, and lope off in another direction.
Looking at Zane's granite wall of a flank, she saw that the astro was trembling. It came to her that he wasn't ill, but deeply frightened.
(Okay, here we go,) Zane said with a forced joviality. (It's time for you to jump back onto my face Nedry, and then I'll back it up, nice and smooth. Nothing wrong here. Yeah…)
(Have you been reading Cujo by any chance?) Nedry said in puzzlement, already standing at the edge of the little cave, cocking his bird head. (Cause that's what the Sharp Cereal Professor says in that book.)
(Zane?) Patience said quietly. (Is something wrong?)
(If you need to sneeze again, that's fine,) Nedry said as he shook his feathers. (I'll be patient.)
(I ever mention I have a fear of heights?) Zane said thinly.
(Oh, seriously?!) Nedry cried.
(You're handling it quite well then,) Muldoon encouraged from beside him. (Remarkably well.)
Yeah, you have a fear of everything, Patience scornfully thought. But she kept her mouth shut.
At the back of his snaggle toothed mouth, Nedry clutched a lumpy strip of amber, roughly twice the length of a banana and gently curved at the thicker end. It formed a somewhat carrot like spike, but with a blunter end, and she estimated it to on average, be about as thick around as a large dog's leg. Three vaguely rectangular two-inch long protrusions jutted out from one edge. It truly did look very much like a key.
Zane's head was bobbing and weaving as he fought his fear.
(For Pete's sake, don't pull this on me now!) Nedry screeched desperately. (At least hold off on going to pieces until I'm back on your face!)
(Close your eyes,) Patience snapped. (Get it together.)
(Think of something pleasant,) Wu suggested in a slightly harried tone. (Music, birds, flowers.)
(I'm trying,) Zane whimpered.
(Do it!) she commanded.
He did so, the muscles in his shoulders and neck continuing to quiver as Nedry took another leap of faith, flinging out his arms and legs. To Patience's-to everyone's-relief, he stuck the landing, grabbing Zane's nasal crest with his hands.
(Ow!) Zane cried, head twitching. (Those claws are sharp!)
Patience came forward, putting her shoulder against his side and beginning to shove at an angle. (Well he got the job done, didn't he? Now back up!) she ordered.
(But what-if it-ma-makes-me-)
(You're doing just fine,) Muldoon coached.
Patience was less tolerant. She did the only thing that made sense to her. She stepped back and kicked him. (Get up, you wuss!) she literally snarled.
(For the love of God Patience!) Wu shouted in shock. (There was no need to-)
(Ow!) Zane said, head snapping up sharply.
(Wahhhh!) Nedry shouted-screeched, holding on.
(Come on, keep moving,) she grunted as Wu grasped Zane's tail and began to gently pull backward.
Zane managed to raise himself into a crouch, then backed up. In seconds, he was completely over solid ground once more. And once more he squatted as Wu, shooting Patience what seemed like a disapproving glance, went over to his head and carefully used a thumb spike to sever the loop wrapped around Zane's lower jaw.
Nedry scurried down the long neck, then easily jumped to the ground, running fifty feet before leaping onto a stumpy termite mound and spreading out his plumed arms, lifting them in a sort of victory salute.
(Whoo!) he cried. (I did it! Amber key level completed!) he boasted.
Zane stood back up-and then, suddenly, the nervous tension overwhelmed him. He dropped back onto his uninjured flank.
The impact shook the ground and once more, toppled Patience. Oh God, not this shit again, she thought. Nedry sunk his foot claws into the mound's hard clay, windmilling for balance. Rubble fell into the gorge. Zane moaned.
Patience rolled over and got back to her feet, quills bristling. She walked around Zane's enormous body, stepped over his tail, and walked the length of him to stand near his head.
(He couldn't help it Patience,) Wu said in his defense. (You never know when-)
She cut the geneticist off, ignoring him as she spoke.
(What was that all about?) she asked. (A while ago you went to the top of a steep hill, and reared up to see what you could see.)
(The bear went over the mountain, the bear went over the mountain…) Nedry idly sang.
(You didn't spaz out then. Care to explain that?)
Zane had had the wind knocked out of him, and his breath was raspy, tearing as he moaned, (I meant to do that,) he lied. (Had solid ground underneath. No worries about something giving way. Nobody's safety to worry about. Owww. Neck sore. Chest feels all filled with steel wool.)
(Are you all right?) Mr. London asked in grave concern. (You've already been hurt once-)
(I'll be fine,) Zane wheezed. (Give me a few. Nothing's broke.) His large eyes slid open then, and he raised his tree-trunk neck to look at Patience better, teeth seeming to form a smile. (Denny and Zany got the amber key though. Shows I'm not totally useless.)
She had to admit that was true. (Almost totally useless, but not completely.) But she said it good-naturedly. She glanced at Wu, wondering if he'd heard. But his attention was completely focused on the piece of amber.
(Wow,) he said in impressed awe. (I've seen and handled quite a few pieces of amber since I began working for John, some rather large. But never have I seen or even heard of a giant like that.)
The blackness of night was now coming down like a lid. The rain had slowed to patchy showers, and a few stars could already be seen though the gaps in the clouds.
Nedry now had switched the piece of amber to his hands, and making the long trek around Zane's recumbent body with a curious Harriet in tow, he held up the key to her, motioning to squat down. (Touch it,) he breathed out in soft wonder.
(Why exactly?)
Nedry shook his scarlet-plumed head. (I just can't describe it. All I can say is that it truly does feel magical. You should see-feel-for yourself.)
Puzzled, Patience sat down on her forward-facing pubic bone, bird like, and took the piece of amber between the fingers of one wickedly clawed hand. At first she felt nothing special. It was small, rough, and brittle. Her heart began to sink as she began to wonder if this was even the actual key at all.
Then her eyes widened as she perceived, was flooded by, a sensation. One unlike anything she'd ever experienced. Comforting. Warm. Half-familiar. A pleasant electrical charge surged through her, and she shut her eyes for a few moments in bliss.
(It really does feel like something from The Legend of Zelda,) Nedry said. (No, wait,) he amended. (More than just that. It feels like where we belong. Like home,) he finished, voice infused with disbelief and wonder.
Patience's eyes snapped open. And she dropped the key. Nedry gave a knifing screech, flinging out his arms as Harriet leapt in the air at the sound and everyone else gasped in helpless fear, catching it before it hit the ground.
(What the hell Patience?) he cried as he incredulously stared daggers at her. (I went to a lot of trouble to get this, and then you just drop it?)
(Christ,) Muldoon shakily breathed out. (That was too damn much like that scene in Cinderella.)
(Yeah!) barked Nedry. (And unlike the glass slipper, we don't have a backup key if someone turns out to have butter fingers-and I don't mean the candy bar!)
(Then you lug it around!) she shot back.
(My pleasure.)
She imperiously turned her attention away from the fuming turkey, and met Wu's gaze. He said nothing, glancing at her, the piece of amber, then back to her. She thought briefly then of how he'd helped her dig out the root under the conifer tree. The soil had been hard, but he hadn't complained at all. And then she remembered how he'd spoken in Zane's defense when he'd collapsed from nerves, and reacted before that with outrage when she'd kicked him. In the novel and the movie, he was a very studious, coolly intellectual and professorial type of guy.
But here…well, his actions reminded her in some ways, of like-like a dad's.
She tore her gaze away from him to look up at the stars, thinking of the emanation from the key and what Nedry had said. That wasn't what home felt like to her. Or a dad, for that matter. Except, sometimes…in her dreams.
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