Chapter Six

"Stop running!" the British chick (Zara) yelled, trying to chase after us. I just grabbed Gray's hand, and ran faster, taking out any dinosaur that came near us with a well-aimed dart. We stopped in the middle of a crossing, looking around, and trying to find a safe place to wait until this was over.

"Don't just stand there-!" She was abruptly lifted into the air, and carried off, so fast that I didn't have time to shoot the Pteranodon that snagged her. We quickly sprinted along, following the giant dinosaur, and watched with horror as she fell into the water. We ran up to the guard-rail, to see several Pteranodons snapping around in the water, fighting over Zara, while she screamed bloody murder.

They were too far out for me to do anything, and she would drown more likely than not, even if I could take out the winged predators. I gaped when the Mososaurus leaped from the water, its jaws closing around Zara and the Pteranodon that was about to take off with her.

"Go!" Zach urged, pulling Gray and I away from the railing. "Get inside, now!"

We sprinted along the streets, until I made out a female voice, yelling for Zach and Gray.

"Claire!" I gasped, pulling the boys around the corner with me. I saw a group of men lined up in the street, firing at the rogue dinosaurs, my dad heading them. Claire was standing on a fallen food stand, making sure she could be seen, but also making herself a huge target.

"Aunt Claire! Claire!"

"Dad!"

The boys and I screamed together, sprinting down the road, and away from a Pterodactyl chasing us. I saw my dad open his mouth to say something, and start to bring up his gun, when a small, large headed dinosaur landed on his back, digging its claws in, and sending him to the floor.

"DAD?!"

The Pterodactyl behind us clipped a hot-dog cart with its wings, and came crashing to the floor, sending the boys and I flying in two different directions. I quickly got to my feet, looked right to see that Zach and Gray were safe, before charging over to Owen, who was struggling with the scrawny Dimorphodon, trying to keep its teeth from his face and neck.

I ran up, and punted the dinosaur in the head, sending it flying off my dad, before putting two darts into its neck and torso. Claire helped my dad to his feet, while I winced, the fading adrenaline finally revealing a nasty cut just under my bust from a rogue Pteranodon's beak.

"Gray! Zach!" Claire rushed past me to get to the Mitchell's, and my dad quickly reeled me in, and crushed me in his arms.

"Alexandra Michelle Grady, you are so grounded," he mumbled into my shoulder, and I patted him on the back, trying not to gasp in pain.

"Nice to see you too!" I said in a strained voice, and he let me go. His eyes immediately went to my left side, fingertips brushing at the bloodstained fabric there. I hissed, and he pulled away, asking a nearby staff member for a first aid kit. They tossed him one, and my dad whipped out a bandage, quickly lifting up my vest, and wrapping it around my middle, a large piece of alcohol soaked gauze pressed over the wound.

"Who's that?"

I turned around, to see Claire, Gray and Zach standing there, the latter squinting at my dad. I cleared my throat, and slid my gun into its holster.

"Zach, Gray, this is my dad, Owen."

"Hey, come on, we gotta go." Owen said brusquely, jerking his head back towards the resort. Claire fussed over Gray, and Zach came to walk next to me, helping to keep me upright if I stumbled.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, spotting my bloodied tank top. I nodded, and kept close behind my dad, as he led us away from the masses, and into a sheltered part of the park I'd never seen before.

Claire was speaking into the phone, and I was ignoring her for the most part, until one sentence caught my attention.

"What do you mean, use the raptors?!"

My dad and I looked at Claire, before anger bubbled up inside me, and I growled,

"Sunnuvabitch!"

"You shouldn't say bitch," Gray stuttered, and Zach and I shot him a withering look.

"Take the kids, and get 'em someplace safe," my dad ordered, and Claire was about to comply, until the groaning of the doors behind us caught our attention. We started to back away, just as the large metal doors gave way, spilling people into the tight passage we occupied.

We all scrambled into a Jeep, Zach, Gray, and I squished into the back, while my dad reversed hurriedly, trying to get safely away from the people without running anyone over. We backed into a dead-end, and sighed in relief, while we watched the people surge past in front of us.

"This does not feel safe," Zach commented, and I nodded in agreement, slightly out of breath.

"Can we stay with you?" Gray asked, and Claire turned around to answer him.

"I am never leaving you as long as I live-!"

"No, no, not you," Zach said hurriedly, giving her a strange look. "Them." He pointed between my dad and I, while we shared a look, right eyebrows raising in tandem.

"Yeah, definitely them," Gray said quietly, and I chortled under my breath.

We pulled up in front of the raptor paddock, and I was out of the Jeep before it even stopped. Owen and I walked side-by-side, striding up to where Hoskins was coming to meet us.

"The mother hen has finally arrived-!" My dad punched him square in the jaw, and Hoskins did a 180.

"Get the Hell out of here; and stay away from my animals." Dad fumed, and I crossed my arms over my chest, glaring at Hoskins.

"Hoskins, you wanted this to happen, you son of a bitch!" Claire hissed, standing on Owen's other side.

"Jesus! How many more people have to die, before this mission starts to make sense to you?!"

I stepped forward, and punched him hard, a bone in my little finger shattering on impact.

"You bastard!" I spat on him, and stared him down when he turned his gaze on me.

"This is an InGen situation now. There are gonna be cruise ships that show up here at first light, everybody's gonna get off this island, you're gonna watch a news story tomorrow, about how you all saved lives- No no, better yet: about how your animals saved lives..!"

"They've never been out of containment," Barry urged, staring at my dad's stoic face.

"Lets' move it out!" Hoskins bellowed, and I sighed, closing my eyes briefly. "This is happening," he said, getting right in my dad's face. "With or without you."

"We know she's in Sector 5," my dad said, pointing to a spot on the map in front of the troops. "This is a game called Hide-And-Seek: it's a scent drill, we've done it about a thousand times with these animals."

"When they get on target, and they will get on target, wait to engage." I stressed, meeting the eye of every male there. "Velociraptors are pack hunters, they like to herd the animal into a kill-zone."

"That's when we get a shot; we get a clear shot, wait on my command, and give her everything you got. We've got one good target gentlemen-"

"Do not shoot our raptors!" I finished, glaring at several of the more trigger-happy men in the bunch. "Please."

"Hey, Zee," I crooned, stroking along the raptor's pale head. "How you doing there, girl? Relax for me..." I briefly examined the equipment strapped to her head, and made a rumbling noise when she growled at me. "You aren't scaring me, honey."

"Alex?"

I turned to see Gray and Zach leaning against the fence, watching me interact with Zee.

"What's up, little guy?"

"Are they safe?"

"No, they're not." I shook my head, and grinned at Gray.

"What're their names?" Zach asked, looking at Zee in particular.

"At the far end you have Nika: skittish little bugger. Next to her is Georgie, she's the only red raptor here." I informed them, pointing out her reddish grey hue. "Then we have Rogue, the blue-green one, and the albino one closest to you is Zee; the beta of the pack."

"Who's the alpha?" Gray asked, looking the other raptors, as if trying to pick a leader. I clicked my fingers, and his eyes fell on me again.

"You're lookin' at her."

Gray smiled, and Zach just nodded, looking impressed. I had an idea, and then looked around, making sure Hoskins was nowhere in sight.

"You wanna come talk to 'em?"

"Hell yeah!" Gray and Zach said in tandem, and I grinned, opening the side door, and locking it behind us. I set Gray in front of Georgie, the calmest of the group, and Zach stood in front of Rogue, the largest.

"Alright, so you need to be careful, and move slowly. Just put your hand on the side of their head, and speak nice and calmly to them, alright?" I demonstrated, murmuring words of comfort to Zee. "Got it?"

The boys nodded, and I walked up next to Georgie, laying my hand on her, beckoning Gray to do the same. I stroked her while Gray was touching her, and when she was calm enough, I stepped away, letting Gray take over. I did the same for Zach and Rogue, before taking a few steps back, watching them pet the raptors, while I smiled fondly. They were just starting to make some progress with them, when Claire turned up, and was calling the boys away.

"I'll see you two later, okay?" I said when I finally pulled the two away from the Velociraptors. I smiled sadly at Gray, and hugged him tightly. "You stay safe, little guy!"

"You aren't coming?" Zach asked in a serious voice, locking eyes with me. I shook my head, and straightened up.

"No. I have control over four of the eight raptors, so I have to help. Without me, who knows what they'll do..."

"Fine." Zach exhaled sharply, and looked at the ground, while Gray walked over to Claire. "Just look after yourself, alright?"

He looked up, and stepped forwards, cradled my face in his hands, and put his mouth to mine. We kissed for a few moments, lips moving in perfect synch, until Claire was pulling him away, rounding the corner, and stalking into the night, snatching both Gray and Zach from my view. My lips still tingled furiously, long after he was gone.

"Alright..."