CHAPTER 14: New Evils

AN: Thank you to all of my amazing readers! All of your guesses were really close...but not exact! I now know exactly how I'm going to end this, and who knows...maybe I'll write a sequel if you guys want! I'm also beginning to write an original story, so do any of you know a website where I would be able to post it so that people can read it?

Dustchu: I can't thank you enough for your continued support! You're reviews always make my day and ypu're a lifesaver with the corrections :)

cartec667: Amazing guess actually! And thank you so much, you don't know how much I appreciate your reviews! :D

old chuck: Thanks, I'm glad that I've established the depth to my characters that I intended for them! And yes, this is the chapter with Chayton (finally xD). We should try to correlate our stories again!

Lelle-Smile: I apologize for the slow updates-I really have no time whatsoever haha. But even if I update at a snail's pace, I promise to get this story finished! :D (Eventually)

Grace's POV

"I should've walked past the café along with the rest...And I never should have mixed blue jeans with your red and black dress...champagne in fancy glasses don't go with my cowboy hat...you told me off a million times, now I'm gonna tell you back," I sang, recalling the lyrics of my favorite song. It calmed my mind to think of the simpler times, like when I first heard this song. It was nearly 7 years ago. I saw the man on the street, strumming his guitar as people threw money at him as they passed by. I remembered standing there for over an hour, humming along. A lot of things have slipped my mind, but the words from Chayton's song had stayed stored in my memory all this time.

"What is that sound you're making?" Adalinda asked me. This was the first time she had spoken while on our walk, since she had not wanted to bother me before. I had sort of been in my own world, submerged in thought over the previous night's events.

"It's called a song," I replied. "A bunch of sounds and words strung together to form a sort of short story. For instance, this one's about-" I cut off abruptly, noticing the connection between the song and my current predicament.

"What is it? You know you can tell me anything," Adalinda purred comfortingly. I sighed, knowing what she said was true. I could consult with Adalinda about anything; I was closer with her than any human friend I've ever had.

"Relationship troubles," I mumbled, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh," Adalinda said, regretting asking. She hated putting Grace in this position, but she needed to understand what the human was experiencing. "Like you and Caspian?"

I stared at her in shock. "Caspian? No, it's nothing like that, we just..."

"Yes?" Adalinda prompted.

"It's hard to explain," I managed, withholding my actual thoughts. However, as nice as Adalinda was, she was persistent.

"Don't think you can fool me, Grace. I know you've been troubled for some time now. I just want to help."

I sighed, giving in. "Have you ever fallen in love, Adalinda?"

She pondered over the question or a moment, scanning her brain for an answer. "I suppose I have...a long, long time ago."

"And did you ever have doubts, ever think that you may love two raptors equally?"

At this point Adalinda understood where I was coming from. I couldn't decide between Gryphon or Caspian even though I would die for the both of them, no questions asked. But the fact that I was leading both of them on when I could only end up with one of them...it chewed at my heart every time I thought of it. I sniffed half-heartedly, only to gag as a mysterious scent washed through my nostrils. It smelled familiar, similar to the smell from the labs where I used to work. Chemicals, blood, and some other foul odor that I couldn't recognize. I cringed my nose, attempting to block the smell.

"I believe," Adalinda began, ignoring the smell, "that things like this take time to sort out. You can't simply choose overnight. And the choice definitely won't be easy for you...or for either Gryphon and Caspian."

I started, thrown off guard by the fact that Adalinda could read me like an open book. Was it that noticeable that I was torn between the two raptors who were battling for my affections? I didn't know how to reply. "I-Is it really t-that obvious?" I stuttered.

Adalinda returned my shocked expression with a warm smile. "I know that you're extremely close with both of them. And I know that both of them have feelings for you. The question now is if those feelings are required or not."

"But...how could I simply choose one or the other? It's been almost half a year now, and they've both done everything for me. Taught me how to hunt, fed me, comforted me...saved my life." I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath as I said the next part. "I love both of them equally for different reasons."

"Well, let's go over those reasons. What makes Gryphon and Caspian likable in your eyes?"

"I guess...Gryphon was the first raptor to prove to me that the entire species wasn't a pack if cold-blooded killers." I looked up at Adalinda apologetically. "No offense."

"No, go on," she replied warmly.

"He saved me, gave me a place of refuge. A place with friends and a new family who actually looked after me like I was their own...a home." I couldn't continue, afraid that the memories of my days on the street might come streaming back into my thoughts. It wasn't a topic that I preferred to think about.

Noting my hesitation, Adalinda moved on: "And Caspian?"

"I first met him when he...stopped Gryphon from..." I gulped. "Killing me."

"But remember why he wanted to-"

I burst. "What? Because I, his little trophy of war, ran away? He would kill me over that?!" My mind went blank, filled with utmost rage. Every thing that this pack had done for me forgotten, replaced with a sudden anger that overpowered my senses. It was almost like I couldn't control myself, but deep down I knew that I had buried this conversation for much to long.

"Grace, I know that it wasn't appropriate for Gryphon to have acted like that, but now that you know his past-"

"Yeah, his past of murder! He killed Caspian's brother! How can you justify that, even if you are his sister?" I screamed, the strange smell of chemicals making my head spin.

Adalinda looked appalled at my sudden outburst. "Grace-!"

"Shut up!" I barked, inadvertently pulling my knife out and holding it back, ready to strike.

Adalinda looked more startled than afraid. "What is going on? Not a moment ago we were calmly discussing your troubles and now-!"

She never got to finish. A muddy brown colored raptor tackled her to the ground, ripping into her flesh with a sickening sound of tearing skin.

"ADALINDA!" I hollered at the top of my lungs, beginning to run to her side. I stopped short when I felt a sudden sting of pain as an unknown attacker whacked the back of my head. I fell to the forest floor, face planting into the ground. I was flipped roughly onto my back and got a look of my foe for the first time. The sight made me whimper pitifully.

"Why hello there," the disfigured raptor cooed. "If you don't mind, we're going to take you with us." He slid his claw down my cheek, leaving a shallow streak of blood in its wake. I hissed in pain, struggling against his hold.

A cry pain echoed through my ears. I craned my neck to find the source even through I recognized its creator the moment she uttered the scream. The sight made my throat clench.

The other brown raptor was tearing bits of meat off of Adalinda's body, digging to the bone. Her torturer cackled gleefully as Adalinda bellowed furiously. I couldn't even begin to imagine the pain she must be experiencing.

I turned back to my attacker, who was grinning down at me. "You know, my scouts were right...you really are a beautiful specimen."

I held back the desire to vomit. "Leave her alone you son of a-!"

My world became engulfed by the black sea of darkness as the enemy raptor knocked me out. The final thing I saw before I blacked out was the two raptors sinking their teeth into Adalinda.

Adalinda's POV

The pain was unbearable. This raptor was eating the pieces of skin that he ripped from my body. The louder I cried, the more pressure my attacker applied to my open wounds.

I wanted to help Grace, who had been pinned to the ground by the other raptor. She appeared relatively unharmed, yet I was not one to determine how much she could handle. For all it knew she was in as much pain as I was.

The raptor that had attacked Grace pounded her head with his own, knocking her out cold. I winced, fearing more for her life than my own. The raptor then ambled casually over to me, towering over me mockingly. "How do you like it down there, Adalinda?" he asked, smirking.

I spat at his feet with the last ounce of strength I had. "Go to hell, you bastard," I hissed, too weak to question how he knew my name.

"Aw, now is that any way to treat your superior?" The raptor replied, bending down so his eyes were parallel to my own. "I would recommend that you show some respect."

That was when I got a close up glance at his distorted features. His eyes were glazed over as if he was blind, but clearly he wasn't. Various scars ran down his face, neck, and body; I couldn't find a spot that wasn't either burned, scarred, or discolored. I could barely make out the dirty camouflage color of his scales. His blemishes simply aided to his horrific figure.

I growled. The other raptor that was on top of me placed its foot on my head and wrapped his claws around my skull, awaiting orders from his leader.

"Now for the real reason for our confrontation. You're going to tell me everything that you know about Gryphon and his pack," the raptor in charge whispered to me. "That is, if Delgado here hasn't carved out your vocal cords by now."

"Never!" I shrieked, almost inaudibly.

Signaled by a curt nod from his leader, my torturer dug his talons into my left eye. I screamed, trying to avert my attention to anything else as the left side of my world went dark. I would not break under the pressure of these terrorists.

I finally felt the pain slightly ease when my eye socket was completely torn out and the nerves there died, and I sighed heavily. I narrowed my remaining eye at the two raptors. "W-what do you want?!"

"I want to know about Gryphon and his pack!" the lead raptor roared. "Do not make me repeat myself again if you want to keep that other eye of yours!"

In to much pain for my brain to properly function, I began to laugh noisily. "If you believe that I'm going to tell you that kind of information after a little bit of torture, then you've got another thing coming."

Seething, the raptor clamped his jaws around my belly and pulled a chunk of flesh off. Blood streamed down my side; I writhed painfully. All five of my senses wailed in distress. I couldn't stop myself from crying out. "STOP!"

"This will all go away if you answer his damn question!" the brown raptor bellowed.

"No! I won't...I won't betray..." I began to feel dizzy from the loss of so much blood. I registered the dark shadows of both raptors passing over me. I felt a sharp slap on my face from one of the raptors.

"Try to stay awake, darling! Don't want to miss the best part!" The camouflage raptor chuckled malevolently, his white eyes cutting into my very soul.

"And what would the best part be?" I questioned, barely focused. "I'm not going to tell you anything, you bastards."

The two raptors exchanged malicious glances. "Let's just say that we're going to put on a show for your brother."

Grace's POV

It must have been several hours before I came to, because the sun had set behind the dense outline of the forest, paving the way for the thick darkness of the night. The faint scent of chemicals like the one before stung my nose. I resisted the urge to sneeze.

Groggily, I attempted to rise from my resting place only to be rendered incapable due to the restrains around my wrists and ankles. It was then that I realized that I was inside; the darkness that I credited to the setting of the sun was actually artificial darkness created by the structure I was in. I pulled at my restraints fruitlessly, trying desperately to shake then off but to not avail. Beginning to panic, I hollered into the darkness: "Hello, someone please!"

I almost had a heart attack when a voice to my right answered me. "Yes, Miss Grace?"

I recognized the voice immediately. The memories of before I blacked out came flooding back. "It's you," I said in a whisper. My tone escalated dramatically: "What have you done with Adalinda?!"

A bright light filled the room, temporarily blinding me. As my eyes adjusted, I found that I was in the medical ward of an abandoned InGen laboratory. I looked down to see leather straps pinning me to a large chair that looked like it should be in a dentist's office. "How...?"

"Evolution's a funny thing, you know. Opening doors, managing the machines here, strapping you to that chair...it's all so simple now."

I turned towards the sound of the voice-resisting the desire to admit to myself that the voice soothed my chaotic thoughts-and hissed at the scar covered, camouflage-spotted raptor from whence the voice was produced. "What did you do-" I was chocked into silence as the chemical smell plugged my entire sense of smell. "W-what-?"

"Please excuse the smell," the strange raptor purred. "It's just a small test my pack and I have been running. Did you know that certain gasses can evoke anger in a living organism?"

My cry of distress nearly caught in my throat. "Y-you...you drugged me?!"

"Fascinating, is it not? Humans developed some of the greatest inventions of all time." With every word the raptor got closer until he was looming above me, mouth ajar and white teeth gleaming. His breath almost overpowered the anger drug that floated around the room. For the first time I noticed his eyes: they were a milky white color, the irises a faded and barely noticeable shade of blue. Scars crisscrossed across his face. I would have felt pity for him if I wasn't his prisoner.

Ignoring his deformations, I mumbled, "No...the founders of Jurassic Park would never develop something like that here...it would be insane!" I argued frantically. "That would be just asking for a security breach!"

The raptor smiled, running his claws down my arm. I struggled desperately, wishing to be anywhere but here.

"I suppose that the creators of your Jurassic Park wanted to please the tourists rather than protect their employees," he laughed, white eyes inspecting my face with both curiosity and ill intent.

"Adalinda," I whispered, putting the past behind me and looking to the present. "Where is she?!"

The raptor tapped his claws against his thick jaw pensively. "Well, about now I'd say she's in a lot of places. Smeared on the ground, flung in the trees, in my stomach..."

A new anger attacked my senses. "NO! WHO ARE YOU YOU SICK SON OF A BITCH?!"

He cackled. "Feisty and to the point? I think I'm going to like keeping you around." Taking a mocking bow, he mused: "My name is Lucifer. And this is your new home."

I couldn't speak. My expression must have betrayed the horror I was experiencing, because the so called Lucifer grinned, obviously enjoying my confusion and fear.

"Oh, don't worry, child. As long as you behave, I won't hurt you. In fact, if you continue to impress me, I may just make you my queen."

"Save the sweet talk. I don't want your crown," I hissed through clenched teeth.

"Now, now! Let's not get off to a rough start. I'll make you a deal: if you agree to tell me everything you know about Gryphon and his pack, I promise to not harm you and one other pack member of your choice." He cackled. "So? What'll it be? Your death as well as the inevitable deaths of the rest of the raptors you've come to love, or...you can escape with the raptor you truly love."

"No!" I gasped, appalled at the suggestion. "You'll have to kill me a thousand times before I'll ever tell you anything! Too bad I can only die once," I spat.

Lucifer clicked his tongue in disproval. "Too bad. I actually thought you'd save yourself for a second there. Guess you're more..." he paused, gagging, "virtuous than I thought." Grabbing my throat, he whispered, "However, that doesn't mean that I won't have a little fun with you before I get what I want, whether that's you or your death. I haven't really decided which one I'd prefer. Maybe both."

"Both?!" I chocked, struggling against my restraints to warn him that I was running out of air. His white eyes pierced my own blue ones, and he began to laugh. As he released me from his grip, I breathed a sigh of relief and tapped my bruised neck delicately.

"I think you'll find out soon enough." And then he was gone, switching off the lights as he left. I smelled the thick odor or chemicals once more, and realized that it was the anger gas again. I began pull furiously at the straps that held me down, roaring into the darkness after Lucifer.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the drug finally wore off. A sickness washed over me as I thought my predicament over. And then I noticed them. The first set of eyes. I recoiled in shock. Another set appeared, then another, and another, and another...the entire room was filled with eyes, all turned to face me. I let out an ear-piecering screech: "HELP!"

But no one came. I fell into an uneasy sleep, the numerous pairs of eyes still glued to my place in the restraint chair.

AN: Oh, the awful cliffhanger! I'm so evil :) Anyway, I'm starting to get the feeling that Grace is becoming the helpless damsel in distress. Should I make her more badass and independent, or is it more reasonable to keep her where she is? (Since she is a human living in a raptor's world, after all.)