Once the team had gotten their laughter under control, they looked more closely at the bats hanging from the roof of the cave. Everyone except Eve shone flashlights up at the small creatures. There weren't too many, just a few dozen in all, but there was something about them that made them suspicious.
Shane spoke aloud to help him figure out what he was seeing. "Small, seem to have stubby noses, short pointed ears, wing span looks to be just over half a foot from what I can see, and they are in the darkest part of the cave," he muttered as he peered up the best he could.
"What kind of bats are those?" Eve asked. "I know there are things like fruit bats… we used to have some near the house at home when I was little. But I don't think I've seen things like these though. They do look cute, however."
Owen rolled his eyes at her. "You women and cute things! I don't understand it, and probably never will. Bats aren't my area of expertise though. I'm not sure what they are, other than that they are bats."
It was Emma who gasped aloud when she pieced the puzzle together. "Guys, this is bad. very, very bad." She pointed with the flashlight at a bat, who scurried further into the huddle to get away from the light, squeaking in annoyance. "Those aren't fruit bats. Those aren't fly bats either. Those are vampire bats."
Looking over at the woman, Eve seemed confused. "Vampire bats? Wait, are you saying that they…"
"Yes, they do. Their food is blood. I bet you all the money in the world that these are our carriers. It makes sense. They drink blood. They can bite any animal and transfer rabies. This colony looks small, but that's pretty normal. The colony numbers tend to range from the single digits to a couple hundred. They are native to Costa rica, and prefer dark caves like this."
"When they come out to hunt?" Owen asked her as he eyed the bats and every moment they made. He'd never admit it, but they gave him the creeps in the first place and now that he knew they were literal vampires, well, he'd like nothing more than to just leave the cave. Maybe torch them all first though.
Kyle jumped into the conversation and explained, "They don't come out until it's very dark. Like pitch black. which makes Isla Sorna a good place to hang out, because there is no electrical lights. I'd say from the amount of guano, the colony is still fairly new. So that's helpful. But I agree, these have to be our carriers. All the same, we need to capture one and test it."
That proved to be the easy part. Kyle had a net stored away in his pack, and with the help of Shane, he stood on the veterinarian's shoulders and was able to easily snag a bat. It squeaked loudly and the other bats started to flap about in panic at the terror stricken noises the captured bat was making. "Quick, get me down! I don't want them to move to someplace else!"
Shane made a smooth move and barely caught Kyle in his arms, though the weight of the man made them both collapse onto the ground. Emma stared at the sight, and had to burst out laughing at the situation. "Hey, Shane? Just so you know, Kyle is both straight and married. Get your own dude."
"That's not fair!" Shane protested with pink cheeks. "I was just trying to not have him fall." Thought he knew he was just being teased, it was still awkward. At least the bat was still inside the net. "Just for the record, I'm straight too. Sheesh. Minds out of the gutter, people."
Giggling, the team retreated to the opening of the cave where it would be lighter for them to work. Eve watched for a short time but soon grew bored and went out to see Silver Face. She plopped down next to the raptor and explained, We think we found what is causing the sickness. But they're making sure.
Good, Silver replied, nuzzling her while Tall One continued to poke at her.
Eve watched and smiled. How is it seeing your sister again? You must have missed her.
Purring, Silver glanced over at her sibling before answering Eve, I did miss her. We had fun as chicks. I was lonely for her when I left, even though I was happy to have my mate. We are fine. Not enemies.
I"m glad, Eve told her with a gentle stroke of Silver Face's muzzle. I'm… I'm starting to miss my family. I miss Dad. My mom, not so much. She left him, you know. But I was starting to be okay with it. But Dad didn't deserve it, you know. She tore our pack apart, and I think it was my fault.
Again the raptor poked her with an even louder purr, No. Sometimes it happens. Tall one blame me. She thinks I am prettier.
Here Snapp interjected rather unhelpfully, She is! My mate prettier than the other.
That caused a slight squabble among the repators, but Eve only giggled in amusement. Finally she interrupted, That's neither here nor there. You were saying?
Oh yes. I chose Snapp over sister. I wanted mate. It is only right to have mate. Sisters are family. But family doesn't always stay together. You have family, Eve. You not with them. That okay. You love anyways?
This made Eve think about that deeply. She had to admit, Yeah, I do. I didn't think about them at all for the first while because I felt free for the first time in my life. I didn't have to hide who I was. I could talk to you without worrying about what anyone else thought. Mom thought I was crazy. Dad was indulging, and only told me to not say anything to anyone. But I don't think he really believed me that I could talk to animals. Not even my best friend knew, though I wanted to tell her so many times. I really should have told her, you know. But now it's too late. But you know what? If it hadn't been for my gift… I know I wouldn't have survived. And now… she smiled at the small "pack" of raptors. Now I know there are people out there who don't care about my gift. I mean, they see it as something normal about me. Owen, Kyle, Emma, and Shane… they've all accepted me without question. And I like that. I feel normal around them. The first time ever that I have felt like that.
Tall One spoke for the first time to Eve, Then it sounds like they are your pack. I think you belong to them. One should stay with one's own kind. It is the way of things. Raptors mate with other raptors. The long necks the same. The roarers too. All things need their own kind to feel complete. You need yours.
Eve stared at Tall One. She was right. And she was almost as wise as Broke Fang, though Broke Fang understood her better than any other raptor she had ever met. Of course, the one who understood best of all was Momma the Brachiosaur. Whom she hadn't chatted to in some time. She should do that, really. Maybe after all this was over. She knew that there was some sort of vaccination dump the team wanted to do, after they figured out if the bats were the correct source.
At last Shane came out of the cave and looked at the raptor-and-Eve huddle. "Well, we were right. The bats are carrying the disease. We're gonna kill this colony, and we know that it looks fairly new. These should be the only ones. But just in case, we're going to order some poison that only affects bats and clear them out of here. There's always the risk that we missed one but it means that the chances of more animals getting sick are drastically reduced.
"Sounds good," Eve replied with a smile. "That makes me feel much better. And my friends will be safe. That's good news." She stood up and watched the rest of the team come out.
Owen explained, "We are going to kill these bats, then we need to get back to the home cave so we can call our boss and explain everything. They have some work to do before we can finish ours. Perhaps you can move the raptors away from here, just to be sure they stay safe. Eve agreed and explained to her friends and tucked out of sight from the cave. She didn't mind, she'd rather stay with the pack for now anyways.
When it was all over, the four raptors started to head back along the broken path they had made on the wah here. At last, they came to the clearing where the two pairs had met each other. Tall One glanced over at her sister and purred mournfully. After all, they really had missed each other and were loathe to leave one another. Eve suggested, Why don't you visit one another once in a while? There can't be any harm in that? I"m sure Broke Fang wouldn't mind, and I can always talk to her if she does.
The raptors looked at each other. The thing was unusual, but they liked the idea. Yes, would like to see sister again, Tall One agreed. She nuzzle Silver Face once more, but still ignored Snapp to Eve's amusement. So the raptor would carry that grudge, but at least she would not attack Silver's mate. Still, it was kind of funny.
Yellow Pack came to peer at the two Red Pack raptors, but did not pursue anything. They watched closely and in curiosity the team and raptors walk off. There was one male raptor who looked more interested than the rest and started to follow them but his brother called him back. Huffing, the male nipped at him, then a play fight broke out, and everyone scattered once more into the shadows.
It was a very long walk back. The team camped out overnight by the creek, seeing as too much daylight had been lost. They were well out of Rex territory and Silver Face and Snapp would serve to be their watchers. When one slept the other was awake. So the team were safe to sleep unworried.
Morning dawned bright and fair, and the team made their way back to the cave quite nicely. The two raptors were met rapturously by the rest of the pack, though they got lots of curious sniffs from the chicks, since they were doused in Yellow Pack's scent. But Eve explained everything to Broke Fang calmly, since the Alpha was disturbed by the scent of another alpha. But upon hearing that it was Silver Face's sister, she calmed down, saying, I remember Tall One. She challenged me once, but backed down pretty quickly. Yes, they are sisters like Long Fang and I are. That is fine.
Smiling. Eve left the team to do whatever they needed to do with their science stuff and phone calls and what not. She remembered that she wanted to do yesterday and made her way to the Brach Meadow to see Momma.
The tall dinosaur saw her and purred loudly in happiness. Hello little one. How are things going?
They're going pretty well now. We found the bats, they're the ones spreading the crazy disease. Now the humans are going to do something to fix it. I'm not sure of the whole thing myself, but they seem confident that it can be fixed. How are you, Momma?
The brach lowered her head slightly and seemed to smile. Well I am not getting any younger, but that is alright. After this is over, Eve, are you going home with the humans?
You know, the raptors asked the same thing. I think I will. I probably should. I had lots of plans in university, but I don't know what I want to do with my life. As I told the raptors, I felt like my true self, and I like it. But I see now that running away probably wasn't the best thing to do. I mean, I didn't mean to run away, we didn't know that the accident would happen. But I was happy here, Momma. But I see what they say. I do belong with my own kind. But somehow… I don't want to leave.
The gentle giant agreed, I know you don't. We animals take things moment by moment. You humans worry about the future. We do not. But you can do that too. Take things one day at a time when you return. See what is best for you. Here, every animal has its place. Even the Roarers do, right down to the smallest dinosaur. You just need to find your place. And there is one for you. Just let it happen.
Eve pondered this, and knew the the wise Momma was right. She smiled and went back to the pack and spent the day with them, leaving the team along for the time being, knowing they would be busy. Though that evening, Emma came to tell her, "Everything is all set! The team back home are working overtime and should have the supplies we need tomorrow, the day after at the very latest. They'll drop in the Brach Meadow again and once we sort it all out, Isla Sorna should be protected."
Glad about that, but still having mixed feelings about what that would mean to her, Eve retreated back to her back. She looked at them all carefully. Broke Fang and her mate Rip Maw, Long Fang and Sharp Claw, Silver Face and Snapp. Then the three young ones. THey were all family to her. They'd been closer to her than her real family. Deciding that she'd thought thing sover quite long enough for one day, she snuggled into the raptor pile for the night.
The next morning, her eyes blinked open and saw that it was not quite light out. A few streaks of red flame was just beginning at the horizon. There was something stirring and she wasn't sure what it was. Sitting up, she saw that Long Fang and her mate were not in the pile but nosing at the nest site. Oh! Were her babies hatching at last? She scrambled up and approached the nest quietly, the two raptors glancing at her briefly before looking at the nest. That's when Eve saw a broken shell and at first she thought that a raider had come and killed the eggs. But then something moved and a tiny peep sounded in the early morning air. No, not broken eggs from an intruder. But hatching babies!
You've got babies, Long Fang! How wonderful! How many? Eve tried to keep her excitement down, not wanting to alarm the pair. She got permission to come close to the nest and see the babies, who looked adorable. She snorted mentally at that adjective… hadn't Owen ragged her and Emma both about that yesterday? But babies always looked cute. One, two, three, four babies! One egg that didn't hatch, or hadn't hatched yet. But she could tell by the parents' mournful poking of that egg that it wasn't viable. She felt disappointed, but she knew it happened. And four chicks were good news. How many boys and girls, Long Fang?
Nosing the little ones, Long Fang replied, Two of each. A good hatching.
Smiling, Eve retreated to let the new parents have their babies. She went back to the huddle and watched for a long time. At last Sharp Claw rested nearby, and let his mate coo over the babies and this made Eve chuckle. He was acting like a typical human male, content to let the females do most of the work and watch the babies. She dozed off to the peeping noses of the babies. When it became a little lighter, Eve happened to glance at the sleeping Sharp Claw, and noted that he had a small bloody patch on a hind leg.
She sat up to take a better look. Had he cut himself on something? Scrambling over but careful not to wake him, Eve peered at the wound. Sure enough, there were two puncture holes in Sharp Claw's scales. She gasped lightly, then looked around quickly. If he'd been bitten…
Sharp Claw grunted and rolled over in his sleep to his side. That's when Eve saw a small furry lump of something on the ground. Looking closely, she realized that it was a bat that had the unfortunate experience of being squashed by a restless dinosaur. That decided her next action, and Eve grabbed two sticks and gingerly picked up the dead bat which still had blood on its face, and ran to the home cave. "Wake up guys! I just found this! And Sharp Claw has been bitten!"