Claire steadily aimed the laser straight at Owen's chest. He already knew what the plan was, he saw what it could do when that trigger was switched on. A good plan, a smart plan that could work. Well, that is if he was fast enough to slide under a genetically engineered dinosaur that was twice his size and faster than a car.
But, it was better than nothing.
He spread his arms out, muttering, "Come on you bastard…", while offering his entire figure to the black hybrid that snarled and lurched towards him.
Claire's finger was placed on the wet red button, but she didn't press it yet, not until she was sure. She needed the damn bastard to keep its eyes on Owen so nothing would go wrong.
The glass creaked and split under the Indoraptor's talons as it slowly climbed its way to him.
She braced herself, expecting it to launch itself towards Owen.
But it didn't.
Instead, it lurched a few more steps before stopping its menacing advance. The Indoraptor's growls and chitters stopped, leaving only the sound of the rain pattering against the roof and the inconsistent roars of thunder.
She saw the Indoraptor looking around slowly and cautiously, with a slight hint of curiosity in its movement, Owen could see it too, as if the rain was something entirely new. It glanced once or twice at Owen and Maisie but its head constantly turned left and right at the trees and horizon.
And then, it stood on its hind legs, looking straight up. Eyes stared deep into the night, at the moon and the misty clouds, with groups of blinking white stars peeking though them.
Owen slowly relaxed his arms, but still stood in his place just in case. Was this really the first time the hybrid left the place? He heard it scale the rooftop and screech into the air a few minutes prior, but it climbed back in trying to kill him, Claire, and Maisie. It wasn't even a roar like a T-Rex would make, more like a vocal cry with no direction and order in it.
He guessed that things were clearing up in its mind now and was more self aware of where it was. Because from what he was seeing, it was basically marveling at the stars and moon.
Owen tensed up again as it dropped on all fours again and stared at his general direction before climbing to the side of the glass roof, ignoring Claire.
Hesitantly, its claws clutched onto the edge of the roof before it launched itself onto the ground.
It splashed into the gravel, which made the Indoraptor snarl and screech in confusion. It flailed its legs around due to the chaotic surface that softly grinded against its skin. Its talons had only ever felt the cold stone floors that it constantly walked/slept on. To feel wet minuscule pebbles squish between its talons and claws was eccentric and odd, but both relaxing and new.
"What the hell?" Owen murmured, watching the black beast jump around the ground.
It cautiously steadied itself as soon as it got used to the gravel.
Claire finally came by Owen's side with Maisie and stared at the hybrid doing its thing.
"Is it hurt?" She asked.
"No… it's… playing?"
That's the only answer he could muster, because whatever it was doing looked exactly like what Blue, Charlie, Echo, and Delta did when they were young.
It gawked curiously when it splashed pebbles and dirt into the air. When it could, it would sprint back and forth from the walls of the mansion down to the tall grass that it avoided for a time. Hell, Owen almost smirked when he saw it chase its tail in a circle. It, no, he felt… free.
The world beyond the iron bars carried an ethereal essence to him. So much room and space, so much that he could run in any direction without slamming his snout into hard stone and steel. Even if it was colder than his cage out here, it gave him a feeling of anemoia. The hard drops of rain that pattered against his scaly skin were smoother, softer than the needles that pierced his skin when he was smaller. The wind cooled him down and felt free and loose. He could even make things fly! His tail would slam against the ground and the pebbles and dirt would dance under him.
"It's the first time its seeing all these things." Owen said, "Whatever they did to keep it living under there… they didn't do it right."
Wow… was he really gonna feel bad for this thing? It literally tried to maim his body and eat Blue not too long ago. Owen could swear it was playing games with them when he found it slowly unraveling the blankets Maisie hid under. It was sadistic, brutal, and full of malice… wasn't it?
Speaking of Blue, where was she?
Then the three heard her shout, the same shout she used to fight the I-Rex alongside the T Rex. She appeared from the other side of the roof, already bracing herself for another brawl with the Indoraptor.
Instantly, the hybrid whipped its head towards the three and growled at them, already baring its teeth at them. It looked as if it wanted to defend the newfound territory.
Owen frantically raised a hand at his last raptor while putting himself in front of Claire and Maisie, "No Blue stop!"
He didn't wanna see them fight. Blue was already hurt enough to the point where she could die by a single swipe from the Indoraptor's claws. He also wasn't looking towards the Indoraptor running off into the forest unseen.
And that's exactly what was going to happen. The last he saw of the Indoraptor was him staring at the three of them. But Owen noticed a little glint under its red eye. He squinted his eyes to get a clearer sight. A tear. It stepped back slowly before swiftly darting into the dark foliage, blending into the night easily.
"…Shit." He swore through the rain.
And so the little guy gets to explore the world beyond his cage, away from the electric-sticks, needles, and bright led lights that tormented his days. Will he terrorize some unlucky groups of humans? I don't know maybe? One thing fore sure is that he hates any kind of person who provokes him. I like to think he just hunts in the forest, free, and happy. This is a one-shot chapter but it doesn't have to be one, just let me know what you guys think and I might write a sequel. You can also find this on Ao3.