Ch 13:
The group made the difficult decision to make a stop in Maisie's bedroom before leaving. There was some worry and debate on the decision, considering what went down in that bedroom less than a couple hours ago. Claire was especially concerned that it might traumatize Maisie further to reenter the room. The only reason they even considered it was because they were essentially taking Maisie away from the only home and life she'd ever known. Owen wanted to make sure she had the chance to grab anything she felt she needed. Whether it was some clothes, photos, or toys. Whatever she felt she couldn't leave behind.
Owen and Sierra entered the room with her, and they kept watch as the girl hesitantly wandered around the room, filling up a suitcase and backpack of clothes and a few well-loved stuffed animals. She also grabbed a photo album and a couple framed photos of herself with her grandfather and the woman who Sierra figured was Iris. She also grabbed what looked like a round lamp or nightlight with stars on it, which Sierra guessed shone stars on the walls and ceiling when on. Considering what the girl just endured, a familiar nightlight would probably offer more comfort than anything.
Maisie shouldered her backpack, and Sierra grabbed the small, stuffed suitcase. But before completely leaving the room, Maisie pulled a worn, soft dark gray blanket off the destroyed bed. She held it to her face for a moment, breathing in the scent, before wrapping it around her shoulders and following them out of the room.
The group made the long, slow trek through the massive house; Owen taking the lead just in case they ran into anything. When they finally walked out the large front doors, Owen moved extra-cautiously. After all, who knew if any of the dinosaurs were still lingering around, like the T-Rex or the Baryonyx.
Sierra, Claire, Maisie, Zia, and Franklin hesitated in the doorway while Owen moved several steps ahead, everyone keeping a lookout as they took slow steps forward.
The silence of the night was broken by a very subtle stampede of footsteps, causing all of them to freeze for a moment. Then, four dinosaurs appeared from around the corner of the front steps, the one in front limping into view as she stared up at them.
"Owen." Claire murmured worriedly, pulling Maisie closer to her at the sight of the four velociraptors. The four raptors had saved the collective groups' lives countless times the last few years, but Claire was right to be worried. Owen and Sierra were pack, everyone else just kind of benefited the pack's protection by their close proximity to the Grady siblings.
Owen looked back over his shoulder at them and gently shushed them. "It's okay. They won't hurt us." As if they understood, the raptors all tilted their heads or chittered.
While Owen faced forward again, Sierra carefully set Maisie's suitcase down on the steps before slowly following her brother forward. She noticed Blue's limp was more pronounced then Delta's, but it likely wouldn't be permanent. She'd had a bullet cut out of her leg only hours ago, so it was likely just sore.
The four raptors waited several feet away from the bottom step, shifting their feet and chittering as they waited for Owen and Sierra to approach. Owen reached the pack first since he was much closer to them than Sierra was. He had his hand reached out toward Blue, almost touching by the time Sierra joined them.
Finally, Blue stretched her neck out until her nose touched Owen's palm.
Smiling softly, Sierra's eyes moved from the Beta of the pack to the others. Charlie, Echo, and Delta were either looking at Blue, Owen, or Sierra, or back and forth among all three. Sierra held her right hand out to the three, but made no other move toward them, letting them make the choice.
She shouldn't have been surprised that Charlie was the first to move. The green raptor stepped forward and sniffed at Sierra's hand. She wasn't expecting much else, so she was almost shocked when the raptor stepped past her hand and nudged the top of her large head into Sierra's stomach. She froze for a second before her left hand unconsciously fell to Charlie's head, gently stroking her head and neck. The raptor chittered, making an almost purring sound. Sierra let out a breathless chuckle at the sound, her eyes moving up to the other raptors.
Echo stepped up to Charlie's side, her head tilted as she echoed her sister's chittering. Sierra carefully held her free hand out to her next. Echo's crooked jaw made her expression a bit more intimidating than the others', but her posture wasn't threatening. She sniffed at Sierra's open palm before bumping it with her nose.
"Blue, come with us." Owen whispered to the Beta, making Sierra glance over at them. Owen was petting Blue's nose and her eyes were closed. It was the most at ease Sierra had ever seen her. "We'll take you all to a safe place, okay?"
Looking at her brother's face, Sierra followed his gaze to one of the large cargo cages the dinosaurs had been kept in. She knew what he was thinking, and when Blue turned her head to follow his gaze, she was sure the Beta did, too.
Franklin's words from back on the boat floated back to Sierra's mind. That she couldn't hold onto the raptors forever. Not without putting them in another cage. Even if they could get the raptors to a sanctuary, or Owen's cabin, they would probably still need to put them in a cage just to get them there.
And Blue clearly wasn't onboard with that idea.
Her bright amber eyes met Sierra's for a long moment before looking at Owen. She maintained eye contact with her Alpha as she took a few steps back. With a screech to her sisters, Blue turned and ran off into the night, her sisters falling into formation behind her.
Sierra's heart clenched as she watched them run off. She only looked away when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Maisie must have run down the steps, because her blanket-covered arms were wrapped tightly around Owen's middle, and he wrapped his arms around her in return.
Looking ahead again, Sierra saw that Blue had stopped in the headlights of a wrecked car, looking back over her shoulder at them for a moment. The other three mimicked their Beta, looking back or looking around in the surrounding darkness. With one last screech, they disappeared into the darkness.
A hand touched Sierra's arm and she glanced over, meeting Owen's green eyes. Maisie was still clinging to him, and he had his left arm around the young girl. But Claire had now joined them, one hand on Owen's back and the other on Maisie's.
Sierra blinked her eyes a few times to clear away the tears that blurred her vision. Stepping toward her brother, she let him wrap his arm around her shoulders while one of hers slipped around his back above Claire's. Her other hand came to rest on Maisie's back, below Owen and Claire's hands. When Sierra looked down at Maisie, the girl had her head resting on Owen's chest, eyes staring out into the darkness.
They all stood in silence for a long time. They weren't sure what to do, other than try to process everything that had happened the last couple days.
It was finally agreed they should leave before authorities descended on the property. They found a couple cars that weren't too damaged to run. Zia and Franklin took off in one, while the others climbed into the other, heading their separate ways for the time being.
Owen took them to a nearby small town to get rid of the car, trading it in for a rental car to get them the rest of the way to the cabin. They also stayed the night in a hotel there to catch up on some much-needed sleep. It was of course broken by nightmares, not just Maisie's but the whole group. The next day, in the late morning, they got back on the road and headed toward the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where Owen's cabin was.
It was a long drive, which took them along the coast. It was a long, quiet, contemplative drive. Sierra tried to keep her thoughts quiet, tried to keep her mind empty. There was so much she needed to think about and contemplate, but she was just so mentally and emotionally exhausted. She knew she had plenty of time to try and wrap her head around what had happened and what would happen. There was no way she was ready to think about it all right now. But it was literally like being told not to think about something. Once you're told not to think about it, it's suddenly all you can think about.
She was staring blankly out the front windshield of the station wagon Owen had rented, sitting in the back seat with Maisie while Owen and Claire sat up front. Claire turning her head is what finally pulled Sierra from her swirling thoughts. Her eyes went to Claire's face, where she saw the minor shift in the redhead's expression when she stared to the left. Sierra turned to stare out the left window of the car, noticing that Owen and Maisie had done the same.
It was a beautiful view. The sun was low in the sky, turning it gold as it neared the endless ocean below. But what they were all staring at were the three pterodactyls silhouetted by the sun, flying alongside the very coast the group was driving on.
It was simple, yet symbolic. They were now living in a new world. Dinosaurs and humans were now being forced to coexist. Who knew how that would end up?
Sierra turned forward again, dropping her head back against the back of the seat, letting her eyes close. They were in for a long journey.
AN: Let me know what you thought of this short chapter. Sierra finally seems to be accepting the fact that she can't realistically hold onto the raptors forever without putting them in a cage, and that there are bigger things to worry about.
Next is the Epilogue! Let me know if there's something specific you want to see. This story will basically wrap up with a short chapter of Sierra and everyone going back to the cabin and trying to figure out their next moves, as well as some insight into what the world is going to start looking like with dinosaurs roaming free.
Thanks!