Keeping You in the Aftermath
Chapter 10
"What the f-…"
"Lowery, don't come in here!"
"Oops…too late…"
Owen glowered at Lowery who had just barged into the room, and the raptors had already begun to converge upon him with silent but quick menace. Lowery fumbled his way against the wall, and stood frozen with his laptop held in mid-air as if it was now a body shield, "What the hell…what are these things? Some baby raptor killers?"
"Lowery…calm down…and listen…" Owen enunciated with steady focus, "I want you to find any frequency in this entire damn building, and disable it."
"What…"
"Do it, now."
"Jesus…" Lowery nervously eyed the raptors seething around him, but at Owen's barking he snapped open the laptop with a bungling rattle, "How long do I have?"
"Two seconds…"
"Shit…" Lowery balanced the laptop on his left hand as he typed furiously using his right hand, and he dared not spend even a fraction of a second to wipe the glistening beads of sweat drenched upon his forehead. "Hold on…I'm almost in…"
"Lowery…your almost is about to get me killed…" Claire grimaced with a sharp intake as she felt the hot breath of a raptor at her knee, and didn't even bother to mask her fear as Owen looked on to her. And in reflex, he raised his rifle toward the raptor at her foot, but she held out her hand to him, "No…Owen, don't shoot her…"
"Claire…"
"I mean it…" She locked eyes with Owen and produced a weak smile to assuage his nerves, and although the smile changed essentially nothing about the situation, he lowered his rifle a slight at her request. She lingered over his face for a moment longer, trying her best not to let go of the strength that kept her legs upright, and keeping an assured front that only masked her frazzled nerves.
"Almost there…" Lowery mumbled as sweat dripped on his face, "There! That should do it…"
Claire held in her breath in anticipation at his words and froze in her stance, and maniacally scanned the raptors in the room. And as deranged as this ordeal had started, the raptors' eyes were just as abruptly erased of the hypnotic glare, and in a flash they were brought back to their beguiling and endearing curiosity. Some of the raptors even tumbled onto Claire's leg, and she couldn't help but to smile at the sensation, as they were babies after all.
"Good…now, get the monitors off their heads." Owen's gruff voice rang sharply in the room, and he was already at work yanking off the black bands strapped onto the raptors. The animals conceded to his touch with not a resistance or care, and even Lowery was busy with his lot of the raptors.
"Come here, baby…" Claire wasn't aware she was cooing, but as she grabbed a raptor, she gently stroked the animal's head before she unstrapped the monitor band. And it startled her that the raptor didn't flinch one bit under her grasp, but instead the animal nestled into her hands, as if it craved and savored the gentle touch. Claire whispered in midst of their croaking cries, "You poor baby…"
Few more raptors encircled around Claire, and as she stroked every one of them, they prodded into her and did not leave her. They were babies…they were really babies who needed to be held and made to feel safe and secure. She nimbly sat on the concrete floor and allowed the raptors to climb onto her lap, and she gently stroked their small bodies, even holding one in her hand as it cried a tiny wail against her thumb.
"Needless to say…Lowery, you're the real hero of this joint. We would've been raptor baby food if you didn't show up." Owen muttered with a slight smirk as he unstrapped the last of the monitor bands off of a raptor.
"I just saw Wu take off in his helicopter, and thought something happened to you guys."
"Well, something is about to happen…" Owen spoke quickly as he looked upon Claire with the raptors, "We have to get out of here…the buyers are coming in any minute now."
"I know…I was keeping the place monitored on the satellite radar." Lowery flipped open his laptop, "And there are several unidentified aircraft heading this way…and they should be here in about twelve minutes."
"Twelve minutes?"
"Approximately twelve minutes to visibility…" Lowery stammered nervously, "Our helicopter upstairs need to disappear before the twelve minute mark."
"We have to take the raptors with us." Claire stood up with resolve, "I'm not letting those bastards take them…"
"Claire, they won't all fit into the helicopter." Owen heaved a deep sigh, and didn't budge a muscle as few raptors climbed onto his feet, "There are twenty-four of them…I could only take half, at best."
"We're taking all of them."
"Claire, that's…impossible." His face softened toward her, "The helicopter just can't take the weight…"
"Then, we've got to do something else."
"Claire…in a situation like this, we gotta do the best we can under the circumstances."
"There's no way I'm leaving…half…of these raptors, for any circumstances. That's cruel and inhumane…you have no idea what's going to happen to them…"
"Claire…" Owen picked up a raptor in his hand, "We have to work with what we have. The helicopter can take up to five adults, that's approximately six-hundred pounds, give or take. Now, each of these raptors weigh about forty, fifty pounds. That means I can only take…"
"No, that's not an option."
"Claire, you have to be reasonable."
She fixed her eyes squarely on him, "I am being reasonable."
"Jesus Christ…Claire…"
"OK…both of you guys need to shut the hell up and agree on one thing." Lowery nearly screamed in midst of their heated argument, "Because we now only have six minutes to come up with a plan, and faster the better."
"Here's what we're going to do…" Claire turned to Owen with a rigid countenance, "You take Lowery, and get the helicopter out of here. And I'm staying on the island with the raptors."
"What?" Owen objected with a deep scowl, "And you're staying on the island?"
"I'll lead the raptors out of the building…we'll hide out until the buyers leave."
"And then what?"
"You can come get us when it's safe."
"No…absolutely not." Owen shook his head with determination, "There's no way in hell I'm leaving you here."
"Owen, this is our only option." She laid her hand on his chest, "This island is safe…I'll be fine."
"You have no idea what's out there on the island…"
"It'll be fine…I'll stay by the shore."
Lowery stepped in closer to them in a jittery shuffle, "Guys…we have to get going, like now."
"Alright, alright…" Owen placed his hands on her arms, "Claire, keep to the north coast…do not go deep into the island. I'll circle around and try to land somewhere, and I'll come find you. Got that?"
"OK…"
"OK…" There was pain and regret in his eyes, but he produced a small smile as he leaned in and kissed her, "I love you…"
"I love you, too…"
Then Owen turned to Lowery as he swiftly opened the door, "You're staying with Claire."
"What…?"
"And I'm placing you personally responsible for her safety, so don't fail me, Lowery."
"Wait a minute…" But Lowery didn't get a chance to protest as Owen disappeared quickly behind the door, and he was heard running down the hallway toward the staircase. Lowery then turned to Claire, "Didn't you just say I should go with him?"
"Give it up, Lowery…" She rolled her eyes, but promptly returned her attention to the large room, scanning the walls for any door that would lead them to outside. Then she spotted a large metal door toward the far wall, "There…let's hope that door opens to outside."
Claire walked quickly to the door, and already the raptors were following her in a pack. She pushed out the door, and by the swish of cool air that greeted her face, she was relieved to find that the door did indeed lead them outside, onto the salty night breeze of the island. She turned to face Lowery, "You take the tail end…make sure all the raptors stay together…no stragglers…"
After his quick nod, she ventured forward. She had no idea where she was headed, but it didn't matter as long as they were out of the building. The air was humid but with a lace of chill from the ocean, and the ground was soggy with a layer of damp condensation upon the lush grass. Then at the sound of the helicopter engine roaring above she looked up at the sky, exhaling in relief at seeing Owen safely flying away with time to spare. She glanced back behind her, at Lowery who was fumbling along the dim trail, with twenty-four baby raptors mindlessly walking along in between.
Claire eyed the blinking lights of Owen's helicopter heading toward the shore, knowing that it'd be hard to find leveled ground to land the damn thing, and even the haphazard plan to meet up, if that was actually feasible. But she shook her head, deciding not to focus on those details but rather to concentrate on the task ahead: getting as far away from the building, and as quick as possible. And in the pitch darkness of the thin crescent moon, it was nearly impossible to gauge just what direction she was headed. But the responsibility fell upon her, and she was determined to lead these raptors to safety, and to survive this eventful night.
. . . . . . . . . . .
"OK…so what do we do?"
"I don't know…" Claire scanned the area as she stood on the sand, with the raptors circling around her, as if afraid to venture out of the pack. They had made the trek to the north beach, just as Owen had told her to, and they stood there with only the sound of the crashing waves yonder and with not another soul stirring about. "I guess we wait…"
"Do you think Owen found a place to land that thing?" Lowery scratched his head and pursed his lips, "I mean, good luck trying to land a helicopter on an island…"
Claire bit her quivering lip, not wanting to give in to the dread that waited at the threshold and threatened to overtake her heart. She looked up at the night sky of spotty white clouds, and as far as she can see, not a light emanated from the endless stretches of ominous darkness. She looked along the coast one more time, and saw nothing but shallow strip of sand glistening against the dim moon with ghostly grey tide. Owen had said he'd land the helicopter…but even to her estimation it'd be nearly impossible to land on that soft sand beach.
"Maybe he went back…" Lowery was also looking up at the sky, "Let's be realistic…there's no way a helicopter can land on this beach. I'm thinking he went back, and probably will come back in the morning."
"You underestimate him…" She snorted lightly, "He is way too stubborn to give up like that…if he said he's going to land, he'll land. And he'll come find me…"
"Of course…he did say the L-word to you…" Lowery snickered and playfully poked her arm, "So…what's the deal between you two? Getting serious?"
"Really, Lowery…?"
"What…after all that we've been through for the last three hours…after I basically saved your ass back there, I don't even get an insider's scoop on these things? Jeesh…I feel so appreciated…"
"Give me a break…"
"So…you guys now officially girlfriend boyfriend kinda thing?"
"Can you sound any more like high school?"
Lowery chuckled into the chilly air, "Alright…I get you…you don't have to spell out everything for me, I know how to read between the lines."
"There's nothing to read between the lines…"
"Fine…then, I guess congratulations are in order. It's about time you two get your shit together and finally act like adults."
"Wow…this is great…you are telling me to act like an adult." Claire decided to change the subject all together, "Anyways…Owen said to go to the north coast, so we're here. Let's just wait it out a bit…"
"If this is the north coast…" Lowery opened his laptop, and fumbled with it before shutting it with a quick snap, "Yup, just as I thought…the laptop fizzled out of battery."
"Great…" Then Claire pulled out her cellphone and roughly pressed on the power button, but to no avail. "My phone's dead, too."
"Nice…" Lowery nodded his head, "This is precisely the moment when everything goes horribly wrong, blood and death everywhere."
"Shut up, Lowery…"
"And just our luck, we're probably at south coast…wouldn't that be funny if Owen is on the other side of the island? Really, how much you wanna bet?"
"Shut up, Lowery." She punched his arm with a mean lick, "Your Mr. Fatalist act is not funny."
"I wasn't trying to be funny…"
"If Owen said he'll find me…he'll find me."
"That sounds romantic and all, but let's be real now, Claire." Lowery nursed his arm where she had punched him, "Look around…there's nobody here but us. And most likely Owen flew back because he couldn't land. You know what that means, don't you?"
"What?"
"We're stuck here for the night, so we should figure out some kind of a sleeping situation." He looked down upon the raptors at his feet, "And figure out what to do with these guys. What if they get hungry? They're carnivores…and there are twenty-four of them…and only two of us. Are we sure they're not gonna band together and take us down…or something nefarious like that?"
Claire looked down upon the pack by her feet, at their darting eyes reflected from the moonshine upon the ocean. Each of the raptors remained by her and followed her every movement, as if they were waiting for her to do something. Their rapt attention to her was a bit unsettling, as Claire was never an object of such focus from an animal, let alone an entire pack. But their still spotlight upon her struck an eerie resemblance…of Blue when she remained fixated upon Owen for a signal before feeding. Perhaps Lowery was right…these raptors may be hungry and were waiting for her to feed them.
"Fine…let's figure out where we can spend the night." Claire pointed toward the shrouded trees up ahead, "How about over there?"
"As good a spot as any."
"Let's go…kiddies…" Claire started on the path, pushing away at the raptors gently with her hands, "Come on, now…follow me…"
"You talk to them as if they can understand you." Lowery shook his head at Claire's melodic tone at the pack, who had begun to follow her steps with certain guileless and natural devotion.
"Of course, they understand me…"
"Sure, Claire…sure…"
"Lowery, I wouldn't underestimate them if I were you…"
"Well, they might be half human so I guess anything's possible…"
"Raptors are already very smart animals…being half human might actually work against them…"
"If they got the Wu DNA, then these guys are obnoxious know-it-all dip shit like their daddy…"
"Girls…they're girls…" She led them to a flat clearing in between three large eucalyptus trees, "Let's just hope the raptors got the smarty DNA, and not the maniacal, crazy, and mad lunatic DNA."
"Smart and crazy girls…sounds like a sure recipe for very bossy raptors…"
"Anyways…" Claire dismissed Lowery's guffaw laugh and looked about the flat dirt patch, which may be just about a good size for the group, "I think this space works…don't you think?"
"Yeah…let me just pull out the futon."
"Lowery…" Claire shot him a sharp glare, but in that pitch darkness it was a crapshoot of whether he saw anything at all. She kicked away dried twigs and rocks, until only soft damp dirt and grass remained. Then she corralled the raptors with her hands, "Come on…get in here…"
The raptors again followed her leading without a sliver of resistance, and even some of them clung onto her arm like a child would to her mother. Claire giggled at the sensation, finding them quaintly endearing and enchanting, and she wouldn't deny that in many odd ways, she felt overwhelmingly maternal with these raptors. Claire was never one to desire having children, as she had cringed at the mere idea, especially seeing Karen with her kids and knowing how much hard work was involved. It didn't help that she had not once felt maternal inclination, but in fact the opposite…Claire loved pursuing her career and relished in her independence, so much so that she had vowed never to have kids. But, at this most unfortunate night of desperate situations, she cooed at the raptors as if they were her children and vowed to herself to protect them with everything she had.
"Wow…look at you…you're the regular raptor mom…"
"Haha...real funny…"
"Just a heart warming picture of a perfect family…except the daddy Wu skipped town, that selfish bastard."
"That's really not funny…"
"He should at least pay child support…"
"Lowery…"
Claire was able to gather the raptors into a haphazard circle on the dirt patch, and she looked down upon them with bewildering quandary. What did Owen say about the raptors? Do they sleep at night, like humans do? And how do they sleep? Do they lie down? Or maybe the better question was, how does she make them lie down? She really should've listened to Owen when he rambled on about them.
Lowery came to stand next to her overlooking the brood, "Speaking of Wu…I can't help to wonder…wouldn't it be just easier if Owen shot him when he had the chance? Owen just let him go…"
"Owen wasn't going to shoot him…"
"Why not? I mean, he was right there…"
She heaved in a lung full of damp air, "Lowery…Owen is not the man to shoot anyone, not like that."
"You mean in cold blood…"
"If you know him, you'd know that Owen would never consider executing someone for their crimes, even if he had the chance."
"So, he just let Wu go? You do realize that sick lunatic is out there, most likely making more of these hybrid wrecks and selling them for a price…"
"We will get him…that much, I know."
But just when Lowery was about to say something, the ground beneath their feet shook with a faint tremor. Claire froze in her stance, not sure of what was happening, if it happened at all. But the ground shook again, and this time with a low rumbling sound of earth trembling from somewhere deep within. Lowery muttered under his breath, "What the hell was that?"
Claire hadn't a chance to reply as the ground shook again and again, as in rhythms steady and forging. The raptors must've sensed something troubling as they started to wail and croak, and Claire crouched next to them and stroked those nearby, "Shhh…it's alright…it's alright…"
"Claire…something is happening…I don't like this…" Lowery came to crouch next to her, as the tremors increased and just about every tree and its branches shuddered in its path. The rumbling sound was now becoming louder…as if a herd of large animals was sprinting toward them. "Claire…something is coming this way…"
She kept her eyes wide and focused upon where the trees were violently shaking, and indeed it did sound like a herd of buffalos were galloping toward their direction. And in the dimness of the disappearing moon, all she could do was remain calm and steady…and fix her eyes to face whatever may appear from behind the shrouded darkness of the forest.
And they appeared. The herd of about twelve animals huddled together and emerged from the thick foliage, and ran past them along the coastline with a plume of dirt behind them and thundering vibration upon the earth. In the greying darkness Claire could only make out some barest of details, that they were about as large as a full grown raptors, but they ran four-footed and their backs had spikes and plates, much like triangular armor of a stegosaurus.
"What the hell…" Lowery coughed at the unsettled dirt in the air, "There are other animals on the island?"
"They looked like stegosaurus…"
"No way. They were way too small to be stegosaurus, plus they moved way too fast."
"But they had spikes on their backs…"
"Claire…I could tell you, those animals were most definitely not stegosaurus. I saw the spikes, too…but the body of a stegosaurus, even for a baby one, would never be able to sprint like that. It's impossible…their body mass and the limbs just don't allow it."
"Then…what did we just see?" She gulped down hard, feeling her own words get caught in her dry throat, "I've never seen animals like that…"
"I have no idea…something strange is happening on this island…" Lowery turned to face her, "And it's not good…"
And it was at that precise moment when a loud deafening roar vibrated throughout what seemed like the entire island, and the raptors around her bleated like a herd of sheep gone frenzy. Claire laid her hand upon them as best as she could to assuage them, but then another roar reverberated into the sky, deafening her every thought and reducing her to utter fear.
"Oh, shit…" Lowery gasped with his hands to his ears, "That's definitely an animal…a very large animal."
Then she knew…she knew why the herd of those mysterious stegosaurus was sprinting out of the forest. They were running away…from that animal. She focused her eyes upon where the herd came from, and saw that the tall trees were moving and shuffling, as if a large animal was breathing behind them. "Something is over there…"
"Yeah, well, we're staying put right here."
"Lowery, this is gonna sound crazy, but…" She breathed in a shot of air, finding herself startled at even entertaining the idea, "I have to go find out what's over there."
"Nope, that doesn't sound crazy…that sounds absolutely insane. Have you lost your mind? Or do you have a death wish I need to know about?"
"Lowery…I need to find out just what the hell is going on in this island…"
"If you get chomped…well, there goes your research…"
But Claire was determined, and to give some credit to Lowery, she was even feeling every bit crazy. She got up from the ground and out of habit, dusted off her skirt, "Lowery…stay here with the raptors…"
"What? Claire…" He attempted to hold her down, but she didn't budge. "Claire…can we just relax here…nice and easy? Why you gotta complicate things?"
"I'm just gonna take a peek."
"You can't…you can't leave me behind with these raptors. They like you…and they hate me. They're gonna eat me alive if you're not here…"
"They're not going to eat you…" She started her walk toward the tall trees, "I'll be back in two minutes…"
"Claire…come on, you can't be serious…"
And those were the last words she heard as she made her trek upon the lush grass, toward the swaying trees that surely housed the large animal, if she could even call it that. The ground was uneven and uncharted, and without Lowery and the raptors, she felt absolutely alone and forsaken. This was not like her to do this…to choose to walk in the forest alone, in pitch darkness, and toward an unknown object of a fairly large and most likely a ferocious animal. But she had to do this. It wasn't just a mere curiosity, but of resolute conviction that instead of hiding in fear, she had to find out the mystery that was lurking on this island. And in a strange way she couldn't explain, even to herself, why she felt a sense of responsibility for this island…as if it was her obligation to preserve it somehow, and to keep it protected from someone like Wu who had most likely played a part in the enigmatic downfall of it.
Then the animal roared again, and the trees swayed violently, looking as if every limb of its branches would come crashing down at its appearance. She froze in her steps, feeling her own legs rattling in terror and her ears ringing from the deafening cry. But she took a brave step forward, while the entire idea just got a bit crazier than she had initially thought.
But in an instant, someone grabbed her arm from behind and spun her around, and in the darkness she reacted with a scream, but a rough hand quickly covered her mouth. "Claire…shhh…it's me."
It was Owen. And in an overwhelming rush of relief, she threw her arms around his neck for a tight embrace, "Oh, my god…Owen…oh, thank god…"
"It's gonna be alright…" He held her warmly and comforted her with his hand caressing her back, "I got you…you're safe…"
"What happened?" Claire loosened her arms and faced him, "Where's the helicopter?"
"I had to land it toward the east…the north coast was too shallow." He cupped her face with his hand, "By the way, where were you going just now? Where's Lowery?"
"Owen…something's not right with this island."
"I know…"
Claire pointed at the swaying tall trees up ahead, "There's something behind those trees…and I'm going to see what it is."
"Are you out of your mind? You don't know what's two feet ahead of you."
"Owen…"
"You're not going anywhere…and definitely not toward those trees."
"Owen…"
"Claire…" He leaned into her and even in the dimness, she could see his eyes unwavering in searing focus, "I saw what's behind those trees…and we have to get off this island, now."
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
A/N: Thank you for reading this story! And school starts next week...BWAHHHHHhhhhhh...summer went by so fast *tears*