Chapter 6: Companionship

Hello again, dear readers

This chapter is also a bit slow, but provides some necessary steps in the story. The next chapter will have a lot of action and will probably be longer, so I'm not sure if I will update in 1 week, as I've been trying to do. In all cases, I hope you enjoy this update and ask you to please leave a comment, as I love reading them.

-x-

Calmness was an unusual emotion for Samantha. After several days fighting for her life, having to struggle to fulfill the most basic needs and being forced to always stay alert for dangers, she had almost forgotten what it was like to not worry about something. Previously, the only moment where there was anything resembling some respite from her daily struggle was when she first discovered the emergency shelter back at the worker village. It had allowed her to finally slow down and assess the situation, and it served as a base for her to keep her belongings safe. From there, she had been able to search much of the abandoned infrastructure on the area, which provided just enough resources improve her chances of survival. That shelter had given her the chance she needed to escape the island.

At the moment, the situation couldn't be more different. In the last two days she had been attacked by multiple predators, almost died due to poisoning and used her shotgun more times than any other firearm on her entire life. There was no permanent shelter in sight, she was low on ammunition and still recovering from her last fight. Truly, her situation seemed grim, almost as bad as her first day alone on the island.

Yet, despite all that, Sam was completely calm. More than just calm, she was happy. It was the first time in days she felt happy, which felt almost alien to her. Despite all her current problems, all her difficulties and possible challenges ahead, she knew it was going to be okay, that she was safe. Her entire optimism came from a single fact, a single element that made things vastly different from those first days: Sam was no longer alone.

Several hours of work, while yielding few results, had been enough to prove what she had been suspecting this entire time: The raptor in front of her was vastly more intelligent than any scientist had predicted.

It's one thing to train a captive bird to repeat words and, occasionally, understand their meaning. It was a difficult process, especially the second part, that could take weeks, months or even years. Doing it with a wild animal should, therefore, be much harder. However, Chaser had proven himself not only to be a quick learner, but it was quick enough to show how much more intellectually capable he was than a simple animal.

The sight of his imposing shape no longer was a source of fear, but a beacon of safety. This time, Samantha didn't care about his sharp claws or teeth. No, she focused all her attention to his eyes, his mouth and, most importantly, his deep voice. "SssSaaamm" He was getting better at saying her name. His words were always a bit stretched, always carried a bit of a hiss. It was impossibly alien and yet so familiar at the same time.

After saying her name, he pointed a single claw at her, the intent clear on his face. He was picking up human gestures fast. Sam struggled at first. She closed her eyes and tried to focus. "C-Chasserr" It was his name in raptor. It sounded more like a bird call than an actual word, but it made sense given his nature. It seemed she was also getting better, as the raptor swayed excitedly at her answer.

His mix of brown and white feathers looked beautiful under the sun. There were few clouds in the sky, but that would probably change soon. Samantha, for her part, stayed under the shadow of a large tree, happy to be shielded from the receding midday heat. A small part of her still couldn't believe this was happening. She was teaching English to a raptor and he was teaching… something in return.

The woman knew, however, that there was a limit to what she could teach. This was an abandoned science facility, not a school. She didn't have the knowledge or experience in linguistics to properly teach him, no materials and no help. Chaser had enough problems saying words with multiple syllables and she didn't know if he was capable of saying full sentences. This, of course, would make it even harder to teach him (as if it wasn't enough).

Thinking about these issues made her frown. She wiped some of the sweat off her face and tried to figure out what to do next. There were no problems with continuing to try learning how to communicate with him, at least for today. After the shitshow from last night, a full day of rest was mandatory, as the last thing she wanted was to be caught tired and weak by another predator. Tomorrow would be a different story. If Sam wanted to escape, then she needed to reach the docks as soon as possible. The quicker she did that, the sooner she would be found (or figure out a way to leave).

"But do you really want to leave this behind?" A small part of her mind whispered. Sam shook her head and closed her eyes. It's not like she had a choice. As amazing as this was, it would take too much time to reach anything conclusive, and she didn't want to be stuck on this island forever. A raptor repeating words or understanding basic commands wasn't enough evidence. It showed intelligence, yes, but not the unique sentience she knew he possessed. Only if she could prove everything that had happened to her, everything he did for her, would she be able to get some attention. Hell, even if the raptor came with her, it wouldn't be enough. Just because he was being peaceful around her didn't mean he would be the same around other people. The truth of the matter was that if she wanted to turn whatever the hell was going on here into an incredible discovery, she would require an equally incredible amount of evidence.

She looked at the Chaser again. He seemed to enjoy the sun caressing his feathers. The fear that once plagued her mind whenever she spotted him was gone, allowing her to appreciate his form in new ways. He was strong, she could see the muscle underneath whenever he moved. His feathers made him look healthy and clean, giving an aura of nobility very similar to an eagle and other birds of prey.

Past the raptor was the jungle and a few ruins belonging to the lab compound. Despite all the dangers inhabiting the jungle, Samantha had to admit it provided a calming atmosphere, especially the sounds of birds and other animals. If she closed her eyes, she could almost forget her current situation. Instead, she could picture herself resting in a nature reserve in South America or even an African safari. Those had been the easy days when she could combine her work with the pleasure of traveling.

A smile graced her lips as she remembered those fond memories. "Guess all good things must come to an end, right?" Sam thought sarcastically. Maybe this was the universe's karma trying to compensate for so many wonderful years. Although maybe throwing her into a dinosaur infested hell might had been too much for that. Having to run from poisonous dilophosaurus, hide from towering Carnotaurus and dodge bloodthirsty raptors seemed a bit exaggerated for her previous enjoyments.

Wasn't all in vain, though. She got to pet a raptor. How many people can say that?

Nevertheless, touching a raptor most definitely didn't compensate for all this shit, and she wasn't about to wait out to see how bad it could get. There were things to do, and Sam had waited long enough already.

First order of business would be to set up a fire to cook the small comp and boil some water. Her only water bottle was nearing the end and she needed a new source of hydration. The best she could do, sadly, was to dig a small hole next to a running river, hope the earth provided some filter, and boil the water in hopes of killing any harmful things inhabiting it. It wasn't perfect by any means, and Sam was well aware of other more effective means of purifying water. However, most of those required extra time, and she didn't have that luxury. Due to the constant danger of predatorial dinosaurs, she had to always be ready to run at a moment's notice. Having Chaser with her wouldn't change that, because even a full-grown raptor was no match to a tyrannosaurus or an entire pack of dilos.

As Samantha began to gather some dried sticks for her fire, she noticed Chaser looking at her with a familiar expression. Once again, he was analyzing her, trying to figure out what she was doing. "Now this is going to be interesting…" She thought to herself. How would the raptor react to fire? Probably not much different than most animals, but she was excited to find out.

Chaser, for his part, was once again puzzled. Everything the soft skins did involved using objects and tools of some sort. The more she did it, the more intriguing it became. It was as if they were gifted with unlimited creativity, always seeking ways of using the environment around them to augment their own limitations. To him, this was an alien concept very difficult to understand. As a raptor, his body was his only tool, not because it was perfect, but simply because it was enough to guarantee his survival. He was strong enough to hunt and defend himself, gifted with a nice coat of feathers to protect against cold and rain. His eyes, mouth, nose, and ears were more than enough to assess his surroundings. Quite honestly, he just didn't have a need for anything beyond his own body, none of his kind did.

His kind did, however, had a need for each other. While they didn't need tools, working as a group allowed them to overcome challenges a single raptor was unable. They could attack larger prey and organize against groups of predators. If a single raptor became injured, others could come to their aid. If they were too old or too young to take care of themselves, adult raptors would bring them food and look after them.

In some ways, he realized, working as a group allowed them to overcome their weaknesses just like Samantha did with her many tools. Soft skins also worked in groups, he knew it both from the elder's tales and from his brief experience when he first saw Samantha.

Meanwhile, Sam was busy placing her sticks in a cone shape. "Balancing sticks… what else can she build with those hands? What could a clan of soft skins build?" He wondered. Turning around, he looked at the massive structure they were using as shelter. Was this what a clan of soft skins could do?

The girl continued to set up her campfire. Once she had a decent group of sticks and dried leaves, she set out to pick up some large stones to place around it. She doubted the fire could spread under so much rain and humidity, but it was best to make sure. There were plenty of smooth stones near the stream, as this was a volcanic island. With the circle complete, she finished by dropping some alcohol she had acquired earlier inside the cone of sticks.

Finally, Sam opened her bag and snatched one of the most important items she had, her flint and steel. It had become a habit of her to bring it wherever she went, even if she didn't expect to spend the night in the wild. Of course, there was also a small box of matches, but she preferred to keep those as a backup.

Chaser's nose stopped her from continuing. Curious about the smell, he approached the small bottle of alcohol next to the campfire and smelled it once. The reaction was instantaneous. He quickly moved his head away in disgust and sneezed loudly.

Samantha chuckled at the sight. "Not much of a drinker, I take it?" The raptor simply stared at her with a puzzled expression.

After shaking her head in amusement, her hand began to slide the steel against the sharp edge of the rock, quickly giving out a few precious sparks. As it landed on the alcohol covered leaves in the center, it became a fire which quickly spread inside the small cone she had set up. Now it was only a matter of waiting it to get a hold.

If there was one thing Sam was excited about was seeing how Chaser would react to the fire. The raptor quickly went through a series of reactions. First, he gave a timid step forward and carefully lowered his head to watch the sparks flying out. Then, as the fire took hold, He backed away in fright, probably after realizing what it was. His attention turned to Sam, expecting her to back off as he did. When she didn't, he looked at the fire again, confused. As the seconds went by, he seemed to realize the fire was contained to the small circle of stones. However, he refused to approach it.

His reaction was understandable. The fear of fire is natural, and for a species that didn't tame fire the way hominids had, it was normal to avoid it like a plague. Still, Sam found it very amusing to see a big strong raptor afraid of a small campfire.

"Come on, it's not so bad!" She said in a mocking tone.

The small comp was already near her bag. Samantha carefully ran a stick through the small dinosaur and then placed it well above the fire. It didn't take long before the sweet smell of cooked meat began to rise from the fire. An emptiness on her stomach was enough to open her appetite, which slowly became stronger as the aroma spread.

First, however, she ate the older meat from her backpack. It was cold, but it was nutritious, and she didn't want to waste food.

Before her teeth sank into the small piece, she noticed the raptor watching her. He did that a lot. He didn't seem hungry, just watching her as he always did. Her eyes shifted to the meat on her hand. "uhm…" maybe this was a good opportunity to work on his vocabulary. It was best if she tried it with an example in hands.

Leaving the meat on her left knee, she turned to her bag again and picked a banana.

"Alright, here goes nothing!"

To start, she pointed at herself. "Sam" She said. Chaser was paying attention. Then, she pointed at him "Ares". He continued to look. Finally, she pointed at the meat "food" and then at the banana "food!". He looked at the two items and then back at her again.

For now, he remained silent, and she used the opportunity to make a better example. Picking up the meat, she gave a single slow bite and chewed it, making sure the raptor could see exactly what she was doing. Again, she said "food" while pointing at the remaining meat. Swapping it for the banana, she repeated the process of biting, chewing and then saying "food" while pointing. With some hope, the raptor would understand the meaning.

For the most part, he understood, but there were still some doubts. Chaser couldn't decide if she meant the act of eating or the items themselves. He also speculated she could be talking specifically about thing she herself liked to eat, and not necessarily anything that was edible. Still, he concluded (rightfully so) that this word most likely referred to food as a general term, and so he tried to answer accordingly.

He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to concentrate. "uuulldd" He almost cringed at that. Even he knew it sounded wrong.

"No, not like that" Sam tried to say it slower this time. "Food".

"oohhdd" Still wrong, but he knew it was getting better.

"No, not quite" It was a bit surreal. She was quite literally teaching a raptor how to speak. "foooood!" This time, she tried to emphasize the f sound, hoping he would get it.

Chaser listened to her carefully, trying to separate each individual sound. "Foohhd!"

Sam's eyes lit up in excitement. She couldn't hide her smile at his improvement. "Yes! That's it!"

He tried it again. "Ffoodd".

"Yes, well done!" Part of her wanted to get up and hug him, but she wasn't sure how he would react. It was a silly idea, hugging an adult raptor, but she was really happy with his progress.

Her thoughts were interrupted by him making a raptor sound. She looked up and saw him pointing at comp meat on her knee.

"Food" Chaser repeated himself in his own language. It was best to use this opportunity to see if she could also understand and pronounce his words. "Food" he said once more while pointing to the tiny piece.

The soft skin took a few moments to understand what he was trying to do. But, after some hesitation, she pointed to the meat and try to repeat the sound. "fffaaasss" It came out horribly, but hatchling steps, she could do this.

"Food" He said again, slower.

"Fffooss" Like him, she was having some trouble, but there was also progress.

His next word shocked Samantha to her very core. "Nnoo" He said in English. "Food".

What he just did was unprecedent. He had learned and spoken a word without any guidance from her. Not only that, but he understood the meaning enough to use it in the appropriate context.

While it was indeed shocking, it had also the desired effect to encourage Sam to try harder.

"Ffoodd" She said hesitantly. Once she realized her pronunciation was mostly correct, she looked up at the raptor, who once again shocked her.

"Yyyess" He answered in English. "Food".

Another step had been achieved. The two of them were closer to mutual understanding. Now, after seeing Chaser learning and using words at his own will, Sam was finally convinced that he truly was sapient, likely just as smart as herself. There was no way this was all just an exaggeration.

These conclusions were something she wondered about as she ate the now well-cooked comp. A growing part of her was beginning to wonder what to do. Simply escaping the island, as it was her original goal, didn't seem so simple anymore. If she left, she would be leaving behind what could very well be one of the greatest discoveries of all time. Her desire to learn more about this, about him, wasn't about personal pride and gains, but because she knew this could change the world for the better. It could be humanity's first contact with a new sentient species, and it would change our perspective of the world. It could also change the way we saw the past, as there was no way to know if this level of intelligence was an original part of the raptors or a consequence of the genetic manipulation necessary to create them. Nevertheless, whatever the case may be, this wasn't something she could simply forget about.

But then, what the hell was she supposed to do?

She couldn't stay alone on the island. Even with a raptor helping her, it was only a matter of time before she made a mistake, was attacked by a larger dinosaur or ran out of supplies. What would she do when she got an infection? Or a period?

If Sam truly wanted to take these discoveries serious, she would need to figure out a way to get help. With more people and resources, not only would she be able to continue to research, but she would be able to properly record everything, which in turn could be seen as a real discovery and not the talks of a girl gone insane.

Alas, that was all in the future. At the moment she could only hope to get in contact with other people and ensure her own survival.

The rest of the day went by without any big changes. Sam finished her meal and went on to complete other tasks, like taking stock of all her items, reloading her shotgun, cleaning it and other boring but necessary things. Meanwhile, Chaser managed to kill two other comps that got too close to her little camp. It had been a bit disturbing to see him suddenly jump into action, but at least Sam could stay calm with the knowledge that such aggression wasn't going to be aimed at her.

As all of this happened, the two of them continued working on communication, teaching one another little things and slowly improving.

A further scouting of the surrounding buildings revealed another vehicle garage and a small habitation block, likely for the scientists who used to work here. Surprisingly, it was the most preserved of all buildings in the lab complex. It wasn't perfect, as 20 years of neglect still took its toll, with plants covering most of the walls, dust filling the inside and plenty of fungus growing on old wooden furniture.

One of the apartments, however, was better preserved than the rest. Having all its windows closed and a locked door, it wasn't reclaimed by nature or destroyed by humidity and rain. There was dust, sure, but after searching for spiders, snakes and other dangerous creatures, Samantha concluded it would be an excellent place to stay tonight. It just needed some cleaning here and there.

It consisted of two rooms, a bedroom and a small bathroom. The first had a single window that could be blocked by the large wardrobe next to the bed. The bathroom's window was much smaller, so it wasn't a security risk. The bed itself, while covered in dust, was fairly comfortable, which lifted Sam's spirits. She hadn't had a decent night of sleep in a long time. There was a small table as well, and it looked sturdy enough to block the door, which would hopefully make her little piece of heaven impregnable.

With the night fast approaching, Samantha transferred all her belongs into her new safe house and began to prepare it for the night.

Chaser, the ever watchful, understood what she was doing. She was making a temporary nest. While raptors didn't have to worry too much about fortifying their homes, it was wise to settle somewhere with a minimum of natural defenses such as a high ground, fallen trees, large rocks or cliffs, anything that would make an attack by a large predator or a rival clan more difficult.

As sunset approached, an alien sound broke through the jungle.

Samantha stopped what she was doing as a single memory burned in her mind. This wasn't an unknown sound; she had heard it before. It was the same type of sound she had heard back when the raptors were chasing her. This was a raptor call.

Looking at Chaser, she saw him standing at attention, with his head held high and scanning the jungle. He obviously knew it as well.

The sound repeated itself, this time a bit louder.

Chaser became agitated. His tail snapped like a whip and one of his killing claws began to tap on the concrete. Sam's past experiences and the raptor's reaction made her assume the worst. For all she knew, this could mean there was another group of raptors hunting on the area. Looking inside the small bedroom, she spotted her shotgun against a wall. There wasn't much ammo left, only the eight shells loaded and three slugs she kept on her pockets.

Meanwhile, Chaser began to shift his eyes between looking at her and staring at the jungle. She understood it for what it was: indecisiveness.

For him, this wasn't a random howl, it was a call. Not only that, but it was specific to his clan. They were calling for him. His clan was calling. This put him in a terrible situation, because it forced him to choose between seeing his clan (something he hasn't done for a few days) or ignore it and continue to watch the soft skin, the center of his attention.

He continued to move his head, looking at Sam and at the jungle. It could be nothing, maybe they just wanted to make sure he was well, or it could be something serious. Either way, it was important to go. If he chooses to ignore it, assuming it was just a routine call, it could make his clan launch a search party to find him, and he didn't want to make them waste time and energy because of his selfish interests. Even worse, they would eventually follow his scent here, putting the soft skin in danger.

"What do I care about her?" He thought to himself, not understanding the sudden worry he felt for her.

The truth, he realized, was that he was starting to see her as a companion. She wasn't just a prey or a curiosity anymore, not after she learned to speak words in his language. She could speak! He could teach her his language and they could communicate. This was something he couldn't do to any other beings on the island. Most important, she wanted to learn as well. He could see she was trying to be friendly towards him, in her own weird soft skin way, and was actively trying to suppress the fear she felt. Like it or not, Sam was quickly becoming something of a friend to him.

However, even when taking all of that into consideration, he couldn't really ignore the calling. As much as he wanted to continue what he was doing, he had duties to his clan. He wasn't about to break elder rules for that.

Samantha, for her part, understood what was going on. This was probably the rest of his pack calling. It had been stupid of her to forget he was part of one. Of course he had a family waiting for him. Not only that but considering how long he has been following her (both for hunting and now as a companion), it doesn't surprise her they were calling for him.

Taking a deep breath, she spoke to him in his language. "Ch-Chaser" The raptor quickly met her eyes. She didn't know how to say the next words, so she decided to say them in English and hope he understood her tone. "It's okay, you can go."

She placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling his soft brown feathers, and pushed slightly, to emphasize what she was trying to convey.

Her small gesture was enough for him. He gave one step forward, glanced back at her, and then marched on.

As he left, Samantha felt a tiny stab at her heart. This had been the first time she wasn't alone in days. The first time she was able to actually relax. Hell, she had even spoken with him! A dinosaur!

Those precious hours they had shared created a bond between them, especially Sam. She realized with growing frustration she didn't want him to leave, not just out of scientific curiosity, but because she genuinely wanted company, even if it was of a velociraptor.

But… maybe he would be back, right? He seemed eager enough to learn from her, so maybe he would just do whatever the hell raptors did and then come back!

The woman let out a frustrated growl. "Look at you, Sam, wishing the raptor that almost killed you came back!" Truly this island was driving her insane. "Are you going to hug and kiss him when he's back? Jesus…"