Hello everyone, sorry for the update delay. My computer broke down so I have been forced to write the upcoming chapters with my Kindle Fire. It proves a frustrating and long task, due to my fingers not cooperating with the tiny keys.
I would appreciate any reviews, as I greatly appreciate those already given by my readers. Your words are beyond encouraging and your criticism is helping me along to improvement.
In a recent review, one of you asked me if any stories about the Indominus might be in the future. All I can answer that with is maybe, I will have to see if I can take it up once my current fanfic projects are done. :) We shall see.
Good luck in the wild world of writing! Thank you all!
"Jurassic World: Why So Blue?"
Chapter 3
"These Last Blue Months"
Two Months Ago (during the incident of Jurassic World)
The air was alive with sharp roars that trumpeted like rolling thunder, followed by the sound of heavy bodies colliding with one another in fierce brutality. Buildings crumbled, fire burned in puddles of spilt fuel, and glass covered the pavement in a painful carpet.
Four small humans could only watch on like mice from a distance as a battle of giants took place. Hell had broken loose in the streets of Jurassic World.
Locked in raging combat, pitted two against one, a Tyrannosaur and Velociraptor worked together to defeat their foe. Talons slashed across glistening white scales and teeth sank deep into tender flesh that bled. The hybrid -the Indominus- was struggling with a newfound desperation and rage as it was knocked like a ragdoll across the courtyard.
Never before had Blue fought so hard in her life, yet she didn't dare stop. Too much had happened for her to give up now.
The raptor was like a mouse herself, compared to the massive carnivores she was currently leaping back to back as the battle provided new angles and opportunities. Riding upon the Tyrannosaur's shoulders she waited, then shrieked and lunged for the opponent's spine and inflicted painful stabs with her talons.
In her own body, Blue could feel pain burning deep. Talons slashed past her muzzle but her anger did not shy. Her determination of revenge drove her strikes hard into the Indominus' scales and the taste of blood was sweet upon her tongue. Her foe was bleeding heavily now, from gaping holes and slits through her sides. All three dinosaurs bore their wounds but the Indominus fared the worst of them.
Seeing the white beast shriek in agony wasn't enough however. Blue was willing to cast all exhaustion aside just to see the life light leave those cold amber eyes. She wanted her death to be swift and excruciating no matter how much her own body ached. It wasn't just in Blue's body. It was in her heart like a fire.
When she awoke from the darkness moments before, Blue was unaware of her loss. Disorientated all she could see when she lifted her head from the cold pavement was the Indominus as she pinned an unfamiliar dinosaur into the rubble. There were no sisters, no Delta or Echo. They were nowhere to be seen but Blue could smell the gut wrenching scent of burning flesh. Only barely was it familiar to her but it was enough to bring the realization in a heavy wave.
Her sisters were killed. It was all that she could assume as the Indominus prepared to take another life. The moment Blue saw the murder intent in the monster's eyes as she bent to remove the Tyrannosaur's throat, that same gleam settled in her own gaze.
Never in a million years, did the humans ever think that a raptor and T-Rex would come so close together without conflict, much less working in unison against a common threat. Pulling herself up from the ground Blue had fixed her eyes upon her target, then lunged foreword and called twice, before scrabbling up the Indominus Rex's back.
Calling out angrily, getting back up whenever she was knocked down, Blue clung to the hybrid's neck and attempted to bite at her eye. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her body ached with injury, yet her sisters deaths kept her going.
She remembered baby Charlie, the youngest, meeting her end in an explosion of hot flame cast upon her by the humans. Blue had seen her death and had struck out at all humans in retaliation, but the killer of her other two sisters was beneath her. She would not rest until the monster was quiet and death stilled her body.
Only vaguely aware of the humans struggling to remain out of the battle's destruction, Blue and the Tyrannosaurus pushed the white beast until she tumbled away from them, and her body slid to a stop on the ground at the water's edge.
For a single tense moment, the three dinosaurs faced off. Their roars and snarling challenges filled the air like thunder as they prepared to fight for life and death. Just one move and they would latch onto each other again. But, before anyone could make a move, the water bubbled from behind. That bubble progressed to a boil, then a cascade of water that burst upwards like a geyser as a great beast lunged up from the depths. Positively massive it was a creature Blue had never seen before, with flippers and a sloping muzzle gaping wide for a strike.
Its sheer weight shoving the Indominus to her belly, the water beast's jaws snapped closed in a vice grip. Teeth plunged into windpipe and life vein. A cry rose in agony, which gurgled and broke as the Indominus struggled like a rabbit in a wolf's jaws. Her feet struck at the water beast's face, her eyes widened with horror, and her body flopped back and forth uncontrollably.
Forced to step free of the attack Blue curled her lips in distaste as the beast began to drag its catch back into the water. It was stealing her revenge, yet she could do nothing but watch as the Indominus continued to fight in desperation. She rose up into the air, then plunged into the lagoon.
Finally, that shrill evil voice became quiet, and Blue knew her death was reached beneath the suffocating waters. For a moment she watched the surface roil with froth, while the enraged glow began to melt from her eyes and her pants rose in exertion. Her body complained of pain and begged for rest, but with a twitch of her tail Blue remembered she was not alone in the street. Beside her she could hear the Tyrannosaur's rumblings breaths and feel eyes fall upon the back of her skull.
When they turned to face one another, Blue could only raise her head and go wide eyed with awe.
In all her life, the raptor had never seen such mighty creatures as these. The walls of her enclosure were the boundaries of her world and she was never aware of what lay beyond. She did not know of white hybrids, water dwelling Mosasaurs, or short armed giants.
She only knew her sisters.
Remaining still, concerned for herself, Blue tilted her head and stepped back from the Rex as if to question her intentions. Would she attack her, as she had attacked the Indominus?
Equally silent, the Rex stared back at Blue. She stood with a weak position, favoring one side that slumped in visible discomfort and pain. One arm dangled limp at a fractured bone, and her hide was littered with deep wounds as well as old pale scars.
Blue saw her strength behind those eyes, yet there was no aggression. If they fought now it would only spell more effort and pain to already weakened bodies. They both knew it wasn't worth it.
Slowly, loosing interest in Blue, the Tyrannosaur released a heavy sigh and shifted upon her hindquarters. Her movements remained stiff as she turned away and her gait picked into a painfully slow stumble that nearly dropped her to the ground with each stride.
The Tyrannosaur's footsteps fading with distance, It was then that Blue turned and saw the four humans standing very still behind her. The female and young's gazes were cautious, but the raptor's eyes fell and fixed on only one human in particular. Green eyes stared back, calm and dark in a way Blue usually found comforting.
But, pain resisted in her heart, and a gentle whimper escaped her at remembering what happened to her pack. What manner did they meet their end? Was it quick?
The smell of burnt flesh on the air was sickening, to think it was Echo or Delta whom met the fire, similar to Charlie. She wasn't awake to help them, nor did she think she could do anything for them now.
Softly, Blue caught movement from ahead and her eyes again lifted to lock with the human male's, the man they called Owen, and the person she had called Alpha. She didn't care to give the others much attention. Her alpha was her only interest.
Standing protectively before the others, Owen let them hide behind him and hang upon his arm for comfort. Very faintly Blue felt a pang of jealousy, but it was a feeling drowned out by guilt. She felt guilty for attacking them, and even more so for turning on her alpha.
She had betrayed her pack's leader, and had failed to protect her sisters as a consequence of falling for the Indominus' deception. Blue could have retaliated the white beast's challenge and ordered her sisters to hold fast to their loyalties, but she was so caught up in the excitement, the freedom from the cage, and the bloodlust she felt radiating off the Indominus in waves. Blue had fallen victim to her gentle cunning voice even if she hadn't wanted to admit it until now.
Hiding the soreness in her muscles, the raptor inched foreword with cautious steps and expressed her apologetic concern with an inquiring chirp. Her neck lowered in submission and her eyes sought any form of forgiveness in his own. Would he still accept her as his Beta, after all the wrongs done on her own park?
The Alpha, Owen, was all Blue had left. To think that hurt her, but as she neared the humans she saw something change in his eyes.
She saw relief, amongst a hidden sadness and inner conflict that caused her to click her teeth anxiously. Ignoring the other humans staring uneasily at her Blue's stance softened and her head tilted. Confusion wrought a tense squawk and she dared to inch one last step before Owen. Her eyes searched for some form of an answer within his eyes and body language.
Instead, the male just exhaled roughly, before Blue caught the vague shake of his head. She was a smart girl. She could tell something was wrong. Too much had happened that night for everything to just go back to normal. She was foolish to think that. Humans had died and the calm order of all their lives had been shattered.
Owen was not rejecting her, but he was not taking her back.
Blue parted her jaws in an effort to chitter at him, but she was incapable of sound. Her talons clicked on the pavement and her muscles bound with realization.
Since Blue and her sisters were born Owen was always there. Not quite a father figure he took care of them, yet he was not of their kind. He was not raptor.
Being young, Blue had been quick to trust her caretaker. He showed them confidence and gazed upon them freely, while others shied away and looked to them with fear in their eyes. She had accepted him as her alpha because he accepted them. He was different but she trusted him.
Now their bond was shaken. Blue knew he wanted to let her go so that he could remain with his fellow humans. Thinking of it made her snort softly, but she did not challenge him. Alpha didn't want her any more.
She needed to get out of there.
Turning on her hind legs and slinking off down the stone pathway through the rubble, Blue focused her mind on a matter more pressing. She passed one of the human's restaurants and shied at the sickening scent of burnt flesh, glancing momentarily to its window side grill that flamed and spat violently. The charred body splayed over top was unidentifiable, but a little part of Blue knew the truth and she had every intention of sparing herself the heartbreaking sight.
One death confirmed, one still yet to be found.
Amidst the silent night, Blue's cries rose up lonely and distant as she pulled away from the one human she had allowed herself to trust. Owen Grady.
~...~
Hours passed, as Blue proceeded to scour the park's courtyard for any sign of a surviving sister. Amongst the abandoned buildings she maneuvered through piles of rubble and items dropped by fleeing guests, stride broken with a limp caused by the soreness in her body. She called often and fought to pick up a scent, but the air was thick with scents that made things all the more frustrating.
No scent was of interest to her, until the raptor came to the edge of the courtyard and picked up an aroma most disturbing.
Blood.
At first, Blue cast it off as human and made to begin another sweep across the courtyard. Turning with a pained grunt she was going to head back the way she came, when the scent continued to tickle at her nostrils with an almost pleading urgency. The smell of it was bittersweet and she realized there had to be a large amount, for it to have been so heavy upon the air.
Then, Blue picked up a scent tag that made her freeze upon the pavement. Her eyes went wide and her body stiffened, as she detected familiar things which only made her heart race.
Familiarity, in the form of a sibling she knew well. Echo.
Releasing a tense warble Blue wasted no time sprinting in the scent's direction. Doing such an act put pain into her body but there was no time to let it phase her, she had found her sister and all she wanted at that point was to make sure that she was safe. Her own physical state did not matter.
She ran for endless minutes along the paved roads and walkways, until the scent trail led her to the entrance of a dark alleyway. She was going so fast sliding to a stop nearly sent her face into the ground. Her limbs burned and her heart pounded in her skull with exertion, and fear of what she was going to find at the end of the darkness.
From first glance, Blue assumed the ally was closed off, yet it was so dark one could not see her own muzzle. As she stepped in with cautious baby steps her nostrils burned with blood scent. There was no light, and no sound to spare her from a single horrifying clue. The moon was shy and hid behind the clouds as though it too were scared to find Echo.
Blue made it halfway before her eyes caught something within the dark. Just a vague discoloration she thought nothing at first, but with each step foreword it cleared and she realized what she was looking at.
A dark form, splayed over the ground like a ragdoll. The sight of it sent her into a panic but wouldn't it be her luck, that the moon would choose that moment to shed its light.
Scarlet blood was the first to appear shining upon the pavement, followed by the outline of a dark body colored with a mixture of brown and grey scales. At the sight of it Blue whimpered sharply and quickened her steps, but what she came to see was sickening.
Echo lay spread about in a pool of her blood, back turned and limbs stretched out from her body. As much as Blue begged for it to be, her sides did not rise and fall with life breaths, nor did it appear that her ribcage was whole. The skin was stretched unnaturally and in some places pale bone protruded into the open air.
No. Echo had to be alright. She was the only thing she had left!
Approaching with a deep terror Blue called out sadly. She begged her sister to respond, to answer her calls and bring a final relief to the pain of that night. The closer she got the more desperate her cries sounded, until they were broken by the sound of her quivering jaws clicking together.
Echo failed to lift her head as the moment went by, but it wasn't a surprise. The raptor's mouth was gaped open and her spine visible broken, while across her back were rows of bloody pits Blue could only guess were teeth marks from the Indominus.
Echo's spine had either broken by the fall, or between her jaws. Their crushing force would have done terrible things to the raptor's insides, if not kill her instantly.
Echo was dead as her fears predicted. Her pack was gone and she was alone.
Whimpering sadly, Blue stepped closer until she stood over her sister's broken body. Her tail flicked with agitation and her eyes gleamed with the pain of it all.
Things between her and Echo had never been easy. While Charlie was their ball of enthusiastic energy, and Delta her second in command, she had been the sister Blue clashed most with. She was a stubborn female, with an attitude and a tendency to challenge her place as Beta.
Blue could remember the time they fought over beta title. Both had come out bloody but she was the winner, whom gave the loser a scar across the side of her face and a permanently offset jaw.
They may have had their disputes and squabbles, but Echo was a sister and as the rest she was important, no matter how many times she snapped at Alpha or Charlie when they got on her nerves.
Whimpering, Blue leaned her face in close to Echo's and chitter softly, as if she were only asleep and she was to wake her. When she nuzzled her cheek affectionately and felt her cold scales, her voice choked into a high pitched whine.
All of her sisters were dead now because of her. She wasn't strong enough, and when they needed her the most she failed.
Blue had never felt her heart break before, as she curled up beside Echo's body and just laid there, eyes staring blankly into the opposite wall. She remained there for the night in the cold, then retreated to the forest with the rising of the sun. There was no use going back to find alpha, so Blue turned to the last place she could find as a comfort. The raptor enclosure.
Present Day (two months after park incident)
Two months passed from the night Blue began her life as a loner on Isla Nublar. While the loss of her pack deeply effected her emotional state, her lifestyle was dramatically altered. As expected it was not easy.
From working with her sisters to bring down a kill within the enclosure, to the wide open spaces of the jungle, what was once considered easy pickings of prey became dangerous and difficult to take down. Sometimes they outran her, sometimes they took advantage of her and fought back. She was competing against a whole new world against all new competition.
No longer was she squabbling with her sisters for a share of pig or dead rats. Now she was struggling each day to survive, sometimes against foes ten times her size.
After she was given free reign of the park the Tyrannosaurus's territory had expanded dramatically. While she and Blue had indeed united against the Indominus, that did not mean their truce had lasted. The moment the larger carnivore was healed and capable, she made it well known to the raptor where their boundaries were set. Driving her away from the hunting grounds and one of the last remaining food sources on the island, she was going to protect her kingdom at all costs and wouldn't risk having even a single raptor enter its domain.
This, along with the few other carnivores that the park had within its care, caused a bit of a void in Blue's feeding habits. It was starting to show. Where once was taught muscle, the raptor was unfit and underweight. Her body grew lean and her scaly hide lost its luster. Energy only came in spurts which worsened her chances of scoring a meal.
However, with the loss of weight Blue experienced a new odd sensation.
With each time that she went days without eating an illness came over her, one that seemed to suck the energy from her system and send her into a state of near death. She'd stumble around for awhile, desperate, before becoming lucky enough to come across a leftover carcass. It would be that one small meal, that would lift her Lysine count and get her by until the next chance of food. It was rough. Hard on her system. Hard on her emotional state. Today was the third day passed since her last meal, and already Blue could feel the edges of her illness touching her senses.
It was warm in the trees. The sky was a bright blue, and the sun shone down with such a strength that it would cause discomfort if stood in for too long. Blue made sure to walk slowly, stopping ever so often to rest beneath the shade of the canopy.
Walking along the jungle trail the raptor kept her head high and golden eyes alert. Ever watchful for danger and prey her jaw clicked shut with an audible snap, while the sparse muscles in her neck flexed and talons wriggled in the dampened excitement of the hunt. She hadn't found anything yet, but she would. She had to if she wanted to avoid the pains of another Lysine attack.
Blue's eyes dropped to the ground for a moment. Pain. She knew it well, but not simply the pain that talons or teeth could bring to flesh. Since the night of her sisters' deaths she was tortured with a constant ache in her chest that she had never felt before. It was like a talon, always dragging ever so slowly, across her underbelly and straight into her heart. Not enough to kill her but close enough.
Like wolves, the death of members in a pack brought great grieving to the survivors. Blue whom lost her entire pack within hours, experienced such grieving ten fold. She no longer strode with pride and confidence, flaunting her stature as Beta to those that gazed upon her. There was no one left to boast to, and no pack to call her Beta. What was the point?
On top of it all she missed her Alpha. She missed the treats he fed her and missed his commanding voice even though she never truly understood his words.
"That's my girl, Blue.", as he'd say when she would do something that pleased him, then he'd toss her a nice tidbit. Rats and mice, pork dices, and on occasion a fresh beef cut. Food.
Suddenly, almost cued by her fantasies Blue sensed a scent on the wind and stiffened. It was musty and smelled primarily of dirt, but such was the aroma of a herbivore. Never before was the raptor so relieved to breathe the scent of live prey...maybe a Gallamimus strayed from the nearby grass plains.
So few were these chances the last few weeks. The other larger predators made sure nothing lasted long in the jungle.
Nevertheless, Blue flicked her tail and a growl edged up her throat. Her teeth bared, and she stepped foreword into the trees after the source of her prey's scent. The hunt was on and all success depended on her ending it before a rival predator beat her to it.
Traveling slowly but surely through the forests Blue tried to remain as undetectable as possible. Without a pack hunting was made more difficult, and in order to sneak up on her prey close enough to strike she needed to be as silent as the very air.
Despite her thin appearance, she was a thing of fierce beauty as she slid through the trees. The light bounced off the blue scales running down her side, while her eyes held a glaze of cold hunger and she came to the edge of a small clearing. She crouched on her legs to peer through the underbrush, and immediately her eyes fixed on a place ahead. There was nothing to see but what cannot be seen can often be heard, this time by the snapping of twigs and the rustling of leaves. When Blue heard a quiet chitter she had to hold back her own hiss urged on by the moment's tension.
There. Just visible in a ray of sunlight was a golden tan back, a young Gallamimus. Ostrich like with two long bipedal legs and a thin neck, it ate on the nearby bushes with its beak like mouth, squawking from time to time with a routine glance for danger.
The prey was alone, probably one of the last surviving of the herd due to continuous strain put on by the carnivores.
At the beginning development of Jurassic World, when Dr. Henry Wu was hired as lead scientist, he was required to reconfigure the genetic makeup of their...original...dinosaur attractions. In the first park mistakes were made and mistakes led to chaos, so before anything was to begin he had to get to work. The recipe needed tweaking.
Originally when the dinosaur blood was discovered and attempts at cloning were made, scientists found that the codes were incomplete. The DNA strands from within the blood were only partial, and you cant create something out of nothing. So, in order to connect the dots and continue the process, science improvised by transfusing DNA of a frog into that of the dinosaur coding. The complete codes were them implemented into an infertile egg, and baby dinosaurs were created.
Of course, mistakes began to show at the worst of times.
Under strict control by the scientists, the dinosaurs created through Ingen were to be nothing but female. During development within the egg, the chromosome for male gender was denied to ensure that all specimens on the island were female, thus incapable of breeding with one another. If reproduction was possible, then the population could not be regulated as easily.
The research however was incomplete, and a fault in the frog DNA slipped past anyone's notice.
Some species of frogs in the world are capable of altering their gender in a single sex environment in order to produce young. So, when a space of land held only females, a spare few would transform into males to ensure that young were produced. The dinosaurs could only do what they were programmed to do, and during the fall of the island if was discovered. Not all of them were female, and they were breeding.
In order to succeed, Jurassic World had to mend those mistakes.
Using this chance to venture into a new method of genetic splicing, Dr. Wu used the DNA of birds and lizards to complete the data strand of his dinosaurs. While it altered their behavioral and appearance only slightly, it ensured that reproduction problems would be avoided. To strengthen that security, the eggs were also put into regulated incubation stations and kept under the required temperature for females to develop. (When applying to lizard DNA dominant specimens of course)
Now what this change meant for Isla Nublar, was without a way for the prey to have young and replace those whom died, they would continue to die until none remained. Without prey the carnivores would eventually share that fate.
Of course being a dinosaur herself, Blue was unaware of the eventual extinction of her kind on the island. She kept her eyes fixed ahead and inched closer through the brush, tongue darting out to lick her chops and belly pressed into the ground to hide her body. Being a 6 foot tall raptor can have its disadvantages.
Laying there in wait, luck was on Blue's side when her target once again squawked, then stepped to one of the bushes close to where she was hiding. Its back was turned to her in the perfect opportunity. Now her victory depended solely on her strength and speed.
Like lightning, the muscles in Blue's legs bound together and she growled from her gut. Lunging up like a leopard her talons and teeth were poised for a quick kill, but too late to flee the Gallamimus could only screech in horror. 300 pounds of hungry raptor slammed into its shoulders and Blue latched on for the scuffle that followed. Her talons dug into her prey's back and her jaws locked over its slender neck. Fragile bone and flesh was crushed beneath her powerful bite and cries began to soften to gurgles, as a windpipe and jugular vein were destroyed. Its frightened jerks slowed, then quivered and went still within its own pool of blood on the ground.
Victory, the first fresh kill she had taken in weeks.
Making a low growl Blue pulled back and released the limp body. Her face and her feet were glistening red with the blood of her fallen target, but the mess could wait until after she ate. Her stomach was writhing with a growing severity as she tasted the metallic juices on her tongue. She stepped over the kill with a purr of satisfaction, then she leaned down with intentions of digging in.
Tender, bloody, fresh meat...
Suddenly, a sound rose up over the trees like the scream of a siren, making Blue squawk and look up with wide eyes. It was short and shrill and cut off as quickly as it began, almost as if it had never been in the first place.
Had she imagined it?
However, Blue tilted her head as a slight recognition spurred in her brain. It wasn't dinosaur. No...it wasn't a vocalization. What was it called? A whistle? Was that what the humans called it?
It was a sound she heard before, back during her time in the pack enclosure. The humans could make it when they put their fingers to their lips, or sometimes just by making a weird face and blowing air. She had tried to imitate it once when she was young, but physically incapable she just made a fool of herself with her sisters.
Her alpha had used it later on as a call, however. It sounded exactly as the whistle she just heard.
Raisin her head Blue looked about with a growing interest that bloomed into bubbly confusion. It was impossible. Alpha left the island months ago, and she had seen nor smelled hide or scent of him. He was gone. She never expected for him to come back after what happened.
But then, the whistle again rose up over the trees and the raptor's heart began to pump. It wasn't a trick of the wind after all. It was human, on her island and in her hunting grounds. Had he come back? Alpha Owen?
Memories of past moments with the human returned to Blue's mind and she bobbed her head as her excitement grew. All thoughts of the dead dinosaur beneath her vanished, and she found herself taking a stiff step in the direction of the shrill whistle. After all this time of hoping. Looking for his return. Eventually she had just given up and lost hope, but now.
There was a human on the island, calling her as Owen had once called her pack.
Blue snorted softly and her legs itched to charge foreword. She felt an urgency. Would she risk staying, and miss the chance to reunite with Alpha? Blue had to remember to be cautious. Any human could whistle if they sought to trick her. She knew their guns and the damage they could bring. They had killed her sister Charlie...and they could kill her, if she went to find this human and it wasn't Alpha.
A frustrated growl rose from her gut and Blue clicked her teeth, but for a third time the whistle begged her. Her eyes softened, and a harsh doubt came over her.
Go and risk danger. Stay and risk missing alpha.
She knew the answer a moment after her body moved of its own accord, complying with the call her ears received. Her talons scraped along the ground and inched into the brush, then began to pick up pace. Anticipation setting in she lunged foreword into the jungle.
Like a dog tracking scent Blue glided through the trees and brush; abandoning her meal like a murder scene in the dirt. Like globes of anxious hope her eyes gazed in the direction she had last heard the human whistle. Her hope that this was Alpha grew with each step and pumped through her with each breath.
Energy seemed to have returned in waves as well with her hope. Swiftness was sharpened and muscle hardened even if she was on the brink of illness. She was reminded of herself before all this...when she did not have to fight for survival or death with each day, or live within her loneliness.
Blue chuffed and clicked her teeth together as she came to the edge of a small clearing. It was near to where she suspected the human to be. She was in its path if she judged correctly from its current rate of travel. She had not heard a whistle for some time and it was difficult to estimate.
Sucking in a breath the raptor slowed to a stop and flicked her tail. Her chest was tight. She wanted this to be Alpha more than anything...if it wasn't...
Taking cover in the brush Blue once again crouched down to take cover in the brush. A cooing huff escaped her.
If this wasn't Alpha, she would have more to eat than Gallimimus.
~Owen's POV~
It was hot, air choking thick as droplets of moisture clung to his forehead and his breaths were fought to remain regulated. It had been nearly an hour since Owen entered the forest, and he hadn't found any sign of his Blue. He hadn't seen sign of any dinosaurs.
Around him the cries of birds and various other jungle creatures came in a thrum, dulling his ability to sense any sounds that may be of his interest. He had hoped his own calls carried out above the noise so that Blue could hear him. If she could hear him and respond it would make his search plenty easier.
Sighing Owen paused on the weak game trail he had been following for the search. He still held the rifle in his hands ready for anything, as his dark eyes surveyed the world around him with vigilance. Green filled his vision, which only rustled with the passing of a small bird. They constantly swooped in and out, chittering at him as if he were the most interesting thing in the world.
Huffing softly Owen raised his fingers to his lips and once again whistled. The call rose, then fell away and went silent behind the jungle life. He waited a moment and did a quick glance over the brush, waiting for something to happen, then tightened his shoulders when he was disappointed. Nothing happened, so he moved on.
As the minutes passed he continued this routine. Walk, stop, observe, whistle, and wait. The first two tries were uneventful and damaged his hope for mission success, but the third...
Owen had come to the edge of a small clearing of long grass, and had reached the end of his trail where he suspected was just over a mile from the raptor enclosure. He was about to lean against a large tree trunk for rest, when he realized something.
The once thrumming air full of birds, animals, and insects was deathly silent. Through it the wind cut and rustled the leaves with an eerie whisper that sent shivers down the human's spine. He could hear his own breath as he gazed about growing concerned. It was as if he was suddenly the only being left on the island.
But then a bush to his right rustled and that fact was denied. He was certainly not alone, but in this situation that wasn't a comfort, and his hands gripped the stock of his rifle tightly. He was being watched -or, more likely seeing where he was-, hunted.
This was really a predicament he was hoping to avoid.
Movements slowed and fingers tightening, Owen positioned his finger to the side of the trigger and brought the gun to his shoulders. Glancing about with tension in his body he waited for something to happen, yet the moment dragged on.
Well on the bright side it wasn't the Tyrannosaur. By then she would have shown herself and he would have already been dead. This was the stalking qualities of a smaller predator.
What if it was his raptor?
The though of that possibility brightened the man's eyes, and he turned to examine what surrounded him. Was she hiding in there somewhere? Watching him?
For the first time since entering the jungle Owen cleared his throat and spoke, "Blue?"
Of course he denied he feeling of fear threatening to crawl into his chest. Fear meant vulnerability, and the raptors could sense it off you. If whatever was waiting for him in the bushes sensed he was afraid it could mean life or death.
Owen grit his teeth. No. Blue wouldn't attack him.
Suddenly, a glimpse of movement caught out of the corner of his gaze, and he turned in time to see one of the nearby ferns shake softly. The silhouette of a tail whipped about like a shadow, then looking back at him was a pair of intense golden eyes. They latched onto him with an unmoving gaze that seemed to burn into his own eyes.
Blinking Owen made a small step back as he forced himself to remain calm. Part of him was having a hard time distinguishing excitement from fear, as he nodded gently. The eyes appeared to be raptor, but he could only assume.
"Well you've got your eyes on me. Care to step up?"
A moment of wait produced no obedient squawks much less challenging warbles. The creature was silent and he stared back at it with confusion. Blue was never this quiet. She was always so vocal, whether that vocalization be gentle or dominant.
He knew his visitor wasn't Blue, when it finally did respond with a low menacing snarl. More like a cackling hyena it rose and shook the bushes, as well as Owen's confidence. He could tell just by the tone this wasn't any raptor.
Exhaling loudly, the man shifted back and pressed his rifle against the pit of his shoulder. In that moment a screech erupted from the brush and his breaths hardened. Definitely not Blue.
Following his movements a scaly black snout poked out of the leaves. Nostrils widened in big puffs of air and his scent caused it to snort. When it stood, a dark scales chest broke free followed by the body of a slender dinosaur.
Owen found himself facing a 6 foot tall Dilophosaurus, a venom spitting carnivore with capabilities to blind and paralyze its prey.
No. Thank. You.
Bobbing its head and flicking its tail the Dilophosaurus hissed and Owen continued to stare. Around its neck he could see the outline of its specialized fans as they flexed a brilliant array of yellow, orange, and green. On top of its head were to bright red crests flushed a similar color pattern.
It was all an act of intimidation, but an act the dinosaur could back up. Owen couldn't risk that. He had to think quickly, as his foe imitated his move and opened its jaws to snarl viciously. From its neck sprung up the massive fans.
Incoming.
Making a small grunt Owen lunged back and reached to tear the vest away from his shoulders. The Dilophosaurus cackled, and his movement quickened. His survival depended on his reflexes and he took the piece of clothing and held it up before himself.
There was the gurgling hiss, just before the jerk and sharp splat jarring his arms. Black venom like tar globbed onto his vest and oozed down.
Too close, but it wasn't over.
Rushing his movements again Owen kept his shield up with one hand, as the other drew his pistol. He had to be quick and at the moment his rifle was at his feet. He couldn't run. That would be suicide.
The man was about to jump back with gun raised, when he looked up. Teeth filled his vision and he was slammed by the overwhelming scent of decaying death. A snarl met his ears, and his weapon was knocked away along with his chances of survival.
The Dilophosaurus became a blur of movement, rearing back then lunging foreword in another strike that made him squeeze his eyes closed. He expected the tearing teeth into his flesh and the pain associated with such wounds, but something caught his attention.
There was something erupting along with the Dolophosaurus cackle. A sharp snarl...
Opening his eyes he was just able to see the flash of grey and hear the raptor's cries.
Blue.
