Please obey all park rules.

Today is National Don't Put all your Eggs in One Omelet Day. In celebration, please visit Jurassic World's Hungry Caveman's Grab and Go for your complimentary omelet.

In the meantime, if you would please look to your left, we've arrived at our next attraction.

Welcome...to the Cheeto Gate

Chapter 3

City of Safe Harbors

The roars sound louder than ever as I circle the territory. I fear it won't be long 'til there's a fight on our hands. Delta's been ready for several suns now, and Echo's constantly on watch. It's the youngest I'm worried about.

How do you fight and protect a hatchling?

I've come to the conclusion you can't, and that's why we train nonstop—or try.

Charlie's doing her best to keep up with the trot around the paddock. Since she only comes up to my chest, it's no surprise she has to practically sprint to keep up. By the time I stop, several laps later, she collapses to the ground.

"I think I'm going to die," she gasps.

Delta growls Charlie dramatic. I'm inclined to agree. Even now, she rolls at my feet making gurgling noises and kicking her feet up in the air as her tail lashes.

"Good, more to eat," I growl, and the animal in my stomach snarls a little louder in response.

She's on her feet in an instant and looks up at me. "You wouldn't eat me, would you?"

"I might." I nip at her and trot toward the water. "If you don't stop with the antics."

"But, Blue…" she mewls, causing me to stop and glance at her. With a slight wag of her tail, she blinks those odd eyes at me. "You run so fast."

Turning, I continue my trek to the water. Charlie falls in line at my left haunch. She has this annoying habit of nudging me or getting too close in which I'm either forced to halt or stumble. I've warned her numerous times to stop, but she doesn't seem to pick things up very quickly—Delta wonders if she even wants to.

At the watering hole, I catch a glimpse of Echo dozing in the shade. Like the rest of us, she hasn't slept much either. In some ways, I just want that beasts to attack.

Leaning down to drink, I'm interrupted when Charlie splashes in. A snarl promptly comes from Echo, who apparently chose this exact breath to suddenly hate water.

As Echo begins to rise from her spot, Charlie leaps out. She doesn't quite land on her feet, and she tumbles to a spot behind me. When I make eye contact with Echo, she looks away, shielding the eye I scratched.

With a glance back to Charlie, I growl her to drink. Apart from the lapping of water, there's a silence between us. I know it's supposed to feel uncomfortable, but it causes me to puff my chest out a little. Something about the act seems familiar; I can't quite place it.

A crinkle sound in the distance makes my mouth water. I am drawn to the noise. The smell doesn't have to reach me for the animal in my stomach to know what's coming. In moments, I'm through the bush, pausing just before the fleshlings can see me.

It's there, I stop because it suddenly dawns on me why the chest-puffing is familiar. As my gaze settles on Alpha just beyond the metal jaws, I'm reminded it's him who's done that in the past, and my eyes close.

Suddenly, I'm not in my territory anymore. I'm in Hatchling Territory where the bushes aren't large enough to hide in, and the animal in my stomach is silent. Alpha and Delta are there, and he keeps growling us "eyes on him" and every time we do it, he throws us the small, white creatures I enjoy.

And after Delta wanders away, it's just him and me, and he's growling softly at me, like when I first saw him. He's growling me things I don't understand, and despite the many times I've nipped him, and he's bled, his fingers are still running over my head, which makes me happy because I like the feeling and the closeness.

Suddenly, he's pulling a crinkly sound from inside his color-changing skin and holding out an orange thing that tastes crunchy but fluffy. I lick my lips and growl for another, which he gives me and laughs like Delta after I've just run into a tree because I was klutzy. I know it's not malicious by the feeling he gives off.

Whimpering snaps me from a place of peace.

When my eyes open, I am back in my territory.

My muscles stiffen, and my tail is straight. The ground around me feels unbalanced because it's in the Hatchling Territory where I would see Alpha puff out his chest. He'd look at me with a sparkle in his pupils—round pupils that I now realize are similar to Charlie's, in a way—and bare his teeth in what I thought was a smile.

Blinking, I see Echo at the gate, snarling and sniffing at Alpha. Perhaps Delta is right, and he will look to Echo. If he does that… where would that leave me? Would I even care? Things between us are so different now. Is he still Alpha? Should I bother to fight this?

The whimpering catches my attention as it growls this time.

"Daddy?"

It feels like there's something stuck in my throat, and I do my best to swallow it down. The roars are loud in my ears and my breath comes in pants.

"Blue?"

It takes me a beat to realize it's Charlie's voice. Blinking, my gaze focuses on her. She's crouching next to me and trembling as her coloring turns grey.

"You're… You're all grey and black… Are… Are you okay?"

I snap my jaws at her and realize she's shivering with wide eyes. Taking a deep breath, I snarl off the forgotten suns that don't matter anymore and realize something new.

I can train Charlie from sunrise 'til sunset, and she's not going to learn everything Delta, Echo, and I know by the time the creatures get here. She's not old enough. And just like it had taken me suns to stop crashing into trees, it's going to take her time to learn anything I teach her.

"Come," I growl softly. "Alpha…Daddy, he's busy right now."

Her chest heaves a sigh as she turns and follows me back to the water. She's upset now, but at least she won't be in pain later.

｡.•°•.｡ɹǝƃunH｡.•°•.｡

There's a loud crackle as the puff Cheetos are opened, but when it only brings Echo to the gate, he knows it's worse than he thought.

Blue's avoiding him like he's got the plague, and he isn't sure what to think. He's forced to give directions to Echo since she's clearly the only one who will sort of tolerate him for an extremely short amount of time, and that's only if they've all gotten rats first.

Owen had known that adding to the paddock would upset them, but he never imagined Blue's reaction.

Part of him wants to think that's a huge female issue in some way. They're always saying one thing than thinking another, and nothing you can do is ever right because, hell, they're not even sure what they want. Like when they're begging for a ring, and you give it, and suddenly, they're sleeping with your Commanding Officer, O'Reilly, but that is neither here nor there and probably a bad example.

Claire Dearing is probably a good example, he thinks. She hounds him and stands around, barking orders at him, and the way she treats his girls is despicable at best. She talks about them like Delta can't understand what she's saying, but he knows for certain Delta can comprehend. It angers him in a way because once, just once, he wishes he could know without a doubt that Blue understands him, too.

And then he stops and remembers Blue isn't like the human race. Her motives are led by nothing other than her thrill of the hunt and the promise of a meal, whether she can understand or not. It's been so long since he's gotten to be around her without the gates, and he almost wishes he could have been in charge of training the baby triceratops since at least he could have been around them and touch them without fear of losing a hand.

But he wouldn't trade his time with his girls for anything in the world, even though it had to end.

"Where have the girls been?"

He's pulled from his thoughts by Barry, who leans on the wall and overlooks the endless sea. The man's gaze is distant, and it seems like he needs a vacation as well.

"Well, Mr. Durant," Owen says, taking on his most Dearing-like impersonation. "These assets just don't understand what it is we're trying to do for them. They'll understand shortly though since the fences are almost completed and ahead of schedule, I might add."

The man laughs. It's deep and comforting, causing Owen's shoulders to relax in a way he hasn't felt in quite some time, which means he's laughing as well.

When Barry quiets, he clears his throat. "You are tense, Owen. Relax a bit. At least we got them to add the training paddock."

With a tilt of his head, Owen has to admit Barry's right. With Blue ignoring him, he's been out of whack. Not to mention the fact that he's now piled high with responsibilities he'd never dreamed, and he has to make sure the raptors don't eat visitors.

He can't help but be irritated since he was hired to train them, not turn them into flying monkeys for huge crowds.

On the bright side—if there is one—they'd received approval to give the girls an area to run in. At least, Blue will be allowed to sprint again without fear of running into walls when he gave them a scent to chase. Perhaps it would also give him an excuse to get out of those pointless meetings.

"I must say though," Barry continues, "Delta does not like all this noise."

Owen looks at him, and he's confused. Blue will barely look at him, but it's like Barry's out having dinner with Delta every night discussing life. "How do you know?"

"I see it in her coloring. She has been turning grey since this project began. Also, I see it in her eyes. When she looks at me, her gaze is different. She seems fearful, defensive, and protective."

"Of Charlie?"

"Of the pack," Barry answers. "Do you not see Delta and Echo taking watch while Blue is with Charlie?"

Owen feels as though he's been caught with his pants down as he realizes his attention has slacked lately. He'd failed to see that his girls would perceive this as a major threat. He'd known they wouldn't be happy, but he'd gotten too caught up in so many other things to understand how they would truly view the construction.

But, of course, Barry sees it. That's his job. He'd been brought in to monitor the raptors' status. While his degree isn't in dinosaurs, he does know a lot about animals in general and has already proven to understand how it affects their health when it comes to these types of changes.

"Do you think it's becoming a major concern?" Owen questions as his attention is pulled toward an arriving van. It's an odd thing to see through the haze of dust, and he wonders what's going on as twelve people step from the vehicle, since he hasn't been told about any arrivals.

"I think we need to continue to monitor the situation closely," Barry replies somewhere in the distance. "Dearing would like you to interview those people. She demands we choose seven to add to our staff since she believes you do not have adequate coverage."

Owen's eyes widen like quarters, and he looks at Barry like the man just told him he's going to live on Jupiter from now on. Owen's already struggling with the twenty-four people he's in charge of, but making it a solid thirty-one?

His girls won't settle for this.

"When was she going to tell me?"

"I thought she already had." Barry gives Owen a pat on his shoulder as he sighs before putting on a smile and walks to the twelve confused-looking people. "Welcome!"

Owen's rubbing his face as if he's just been spit at by the dilophosaurus, and his skin crawls like he's covered in billions of ants. If he makes the wrong choices, it's not only going to cost him time but lives.

With a deep breath, he joins Barry near the group.

He stiffens up and looks into each face of the…hopefuls? Internally, he winces. It's not a feeling he wants to show, nor does he want these people to realize how stupid he thinks they are for applying to such a dangerous job.

Each of the twelve carries a manila folder which Owen assumes holds their resumes—all of which are probably filled with skills irrelevant to this job. Most of them are well-dressed which won't get them anywhere here because it doesn't matter what you're wearing, his girls are not discerning and will eat them, hide, suit, and all. They're predators, plain and simple.

He wonders if any of these people actually understand that.

"Well," he says as he runs through a few options of what to say next in order to wean out those who would be eaten first. "I don't know what you were told about these job openings or what you think you're getting into, but I can assure you what lies beyond those walls doesn't care about your skill set, what colleges you attended or degrees you have. They will still kill you given the chance. Your flesh will be ripped from your bones, your innards go next, and hopefully, you'll be dead before any of that starts, since it's a very agonizing process."

Several of them blanch like a ghost just wandered through, but everyone knows Casper's friendlier than the sharp teeth behind the metal bars.

Owen squares his shoulders. He wants them scared, he wants them terrified, he wants them to run because dealing with his girls is not an easy job and the mortality rate is higher than the promotion.

He then forces himself into a smile that he thinks probably looks fake, but he can't help that. "Who wants to go first?"

Several of them volunteer, and Owen picks a random man wearing a dark blue suit and a red and grey striped tie. Leading him to a small office trailer Dearing has supplied them with until the new paddocks are finished, they climb up the squeaky steps and enter.

While it's new, everything within seems to have been purchased from Craigslist, since it's all rickety and mismatched. Owen thinks it might fit his bungalow, but for an office, it doesn't give high hopes, and he wonders what happened to the "spare no expense" slogan. Pointing to a wooden chair that rocks when the man sits in it, Owen moves toward his seat in a swivel chair, which appears to have been torn apart by his girls first.

"I'm Benjamin Sháo, Ben for short," the man says blurts out and holds out his resume.

Owen keeps his face calm and is suddenly glad of the three-legged desk between them because he's sure Ben would have gotten in his face like an excited puppy. Taking the resume, Owen glances over it before looking up again.

"So, Ben, what—"

"I graduated from Harvard with a Master's Degree in Animal Science. I also majored in Paleontology and was on the Speech and Debate team," Ben gushes and runs a hand through his dark hair. "I can be a valuable asset. I am able to speak to big groups and can do so when the new paddock opens."

"Wow, you're ready to go." Owen takes a breath as he contemplates if the man has just had six cups of coffee or is normally that hyper. "I was actually going to ask what makes you want to risk your life daily?"

"Sorry." Ben chuckles and breathes out as he slows down. "I've worked at several zoos with the higher-risk animals, and I come with great recommendations. I found that those animals, while interesting, lose my attention after a while. I want to work with animals the public doesn't fully understand."

"These aren't lions," he says and runs a finger over a soft scar on his left wrist. "You can't escape once they attack. We've already lost several members—and there is no open casket option."

Ben smiles. "Well, apart from being the coolest thing ever, it's something worth dying for. Very little is understood about the creatures made here, and I would love to be a part of that discovery."

Owen doesn't agree with Ben or the next six people who think the job is the "coolest thing ever". Things take a slightly interesting turn when he interviews Mandy, but that's because she's dressed as if this is an interview for an escort service instead of Jurassic World.

Mandy chews her gum and leans slightly forward as she points to a job on her application. There's a slight purr in her voice as she says, "Right there, see? It says Silver-Fox Palace, so I have worked with dangerous animals."

He's pretty sure that a real fox and the silver fox she's worked at are two very different things, but he doesn't question it and simply nods as Mandy continues on about things that don't pertain to live animals. The words "peep", "live", and "show" are all mentioned but in no particular order, and he's suddenly wondering if she thinks the raptors are stuffed or extremely docile, but he's afraid to ask what she's done with the real animals she's mentioned.

When Owen dismisses her, she's batting her eyelashes and giggling which shouldn't be making her breasts jiggle that way, but it does.

Tanner Poola is the next one. He explains how he's worked with birds prior, and Owen's heard that dinosaurs are either from birds or lizards, depending on the day, so Tanner might be a good fit, just to have his bases covered. With another glance over of his portfolio, it shows he's also a hard worker. Tanner's not only managed a few businesses but worked at the local zoo all at once.

By the time the last girl arrives, Owen's bored and finds himself unable to keep his attention until he gets to the last question. The only thing he's noticed is that she fidgets more with the dark-framed glasses in her hands than wears them, causing him to wonder if they're prescription or those hipster ones he's heard of.

"Why, Miss Doe, would you want to work with such dangerous creatures?"

This draws her attention to him, and suddenly, she's as calm as an apatosaurus. "There is a saying: 'a ship is safe in the harbor, but that is not what a ship was built for.'"

It isn't the first time he's heard that saying and probably won't be the last. It's a good one he admits, but it's foolish in this context and he opens his mouth to tell her so when she continues.

"Plus, I have no family, so who's going to miss me if one of these things gets me?"

And he's left contemplating if that's a good qualification or a sad existence.

For your convenience, please click the follow option below and we will alert you to the next event.

Please fill out the comment card below.