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Welcome...to the Return

Chapter 7

Without You Here

Echo is standing over Alpha. Her head snaps left, then right. A growl leaves her throat.

I can't move or breathe. I try to snarl. Try to move. I'm frozen in place as her teeth tear into the beating spot on his neck. Darkness then swallows me in sharp jaws.

A yelp escapes my throat as I crash into the walls of my cave. My heart is racing as if I've been sprinting for hours. I find it hard to breathe as my eyes adjust from one darkness to another. It's warm in the cave, but I shiver.

The world around me is quiet. The whimpers that escape my throat seem to echo around the cave. I haven't made those sounds in many suns, and I wonder if Delta can hear me. Swallowing roughly, I force myself to quiet. There is no place for sadness here.

My gaze settles on the top of the cave, and I wonder if Echo is okay. I didn't want her to kill Alpha, and I didn't want to kill her. It's an odd feeling since I normally hunt without care. Echo, though, she is one of us. If I'm responsible for her death—

The crunching of ground catches my attention and suddenly I'm on my talons. I sniff and wait.

There's a soft scrape against the back of my cave. A growl forms low in my throat, but I keep it from growing. I don't want whatever is out there to know I'm here. Instead, I look to the five circles on the back wall. Through them, I can see the moonlight. I can also smell a fleshling beyond.

It's vaguely familiar, but not one of the normal scents. I also smell fresh meat. The rich scent fills my lungs, and my mouth begins to water. I can't see much through the circles, but I can see a shadow moving and there's another scrape.

Meat appears at the bottom of my cage. Sniffing it cautiously, my tail begins to sway, and I devour it. By the time I move back to the circles, the fleshling is gone.

Curling in a ball again, I find myself staring at the wall opposite me as rhythmic growls bounce against the inside of my head. Who brought me meat? Is Alpha alive?

｡.•°•.｡ɹǝƃunH｡.•°•.｡

—14 Months Ago—

"Mr. Grandy, if you'll just initial on these lines, we'll get you all set up," says one, Abigail Willows, as she points, with long, hot pink nails to the bright pink post-it arrows on the document.

Owen's out of fight to correct his name as he finishes signing his life away for two years. He knows what the disclosures and liabilities mean, but once he finishes out his contract, he's absolutely free.

After spending the last sixteen years of his life in the Navy, he's really done with the idea. Not that they haven't been good to him between the schooling and the traveling, but he wants to move on. He's ready to do something else, even if that means he has to forgo his retirement—and nearly did.

But this opportunity came knocking, and they convinced him to join the reserves. If he gives them two more years, he'll retire with full benefits. So, he knows he has to agree, right? Opportunities like this don't happen every day.

After checking to make sure his name is spelled Grady on his papers, he hands them over to Abigail Willows and looks toward the door.

Is he done?

Can he leave?

He really is worn down from reading paper after paper consisting of "we will cover full burial costs should the issue arise" and "we are not liable to be sued if you sustain injury or death that may occur here". He understands the costs. He's used to them.

"Welcome to Jurassic World, Mr. Grandy," she says with a bright-white smile. Handing him a packet, she points to the door like she's sending a dog outside. "Out the door, you'll travel left down the hallway and find a circular desk on the right. Marsha Williams will have everything else you need, and she will assign you an apartment for living."

Grabbing the packet, he has to admire the process. Other than being long, it was very cut and dry. As he exits, he turns left and begins his trek to a new chapter of his life. Something in him builds, and he finds himself excited as if it's Christmas.

Owen doesn't find himself hopeful very often, and the feeling is a bit overwhelming. He doesn't mind it, though. Maybe it's just a part of this new chapter, but it feels bigger. Somehow, someway, this place is going to change his entire life.

And he doesn't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

"Owen Grady!"

Pausing, he looks to see he's reached the circular desk on the right. While he spots a brunette woman sitting behind the desk, his attention is drawn to the stout man in front of it. The man approaches with a large smile.

"Owen, my boy. Pleasure to have you on board."

With a curt nod, he extends a hand. "Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Sir."

"Call me Vic." Instead of shaking his hand, he places a burly arm around Owen's shoulders and leads him toward the door. "So, what attraction do you want to see first?"

Owen looks back at Marsha. "Shouldn't I be getting stuff from her?"

"We'll have it sent over," Vic says and leads him outside to a Polaris RZR. "Hop in, I'll show you around."

The ride is a blur. They drive past so many places and see so many things, Owen worries he'll never know where to go. Also, he's heard that men only have a daily vocabulary of around seven thousand words. However, Vic floods him with so much information, he's absolutely positive that statistic is wrong.

What finally catches his attention, though, is when they stop on the beach. The ocean is an indigo and as endless as the sapphire sky above. It's tranquil, and he feels at peace. He feels as if he can breathe for the first time in his life.

"So, should we find you an apartment now?" questions Vic.

His lips purse momentarily before he looks at the man. "Can I request to have a bungalow out here?"

Vic grins. "We actually have one. I'll show it to you."

And Owen starts to think maybe he'll have this job for more than two years.

｡.•°•.｡ɹǝƃunH｡.•°•.｡

—Present—

I'm barely out of my cave before a loud shriek startles me. The cave that sometimes appears between ours and the metal jaws begins to open. Quickly, I duck into the cover of bushes. Delta and Charlie greet me with a nudge before we stare into the darkness.

A pit forms in my stomach as a brown snout pokes into the light.

It's been five suns since I've returned, and the suns and moons seem to blend together. I don't have the strength to fight the emerging Echo. While I've gotten extra meat every night, it's not enough to chase away the fact my eyes feel as if they're going to close.

Turning, I head for water. Delta and Charlie emit a click in surprise, but they follow.

The waterhole has changed a bit since I've been lost. Now there are two parts. One is higher than the other, and the higher pours water into the lower. We normally drink from the higher, and Charlie plays in the lower one.

Today, I want to rest in the lower.

"Blue," Charlie growls as she follows me into the water. She settles on her haunches as I lay in the water. "You're not going to growl anything at Echo?"

She receives a look from me, but I offer no answer. Echo's death will be one less thing I see at night when I normally sleep. It still won't stop the fact I'll see Alpha's.

Delta stands at the edge and from her raised tail, I know she's bracing for Echo's appearance.

And it's only a few heartbeats before she does appear. Her eyes dart between Delta and Charlie before settling on me. She takes a step forward and Delta growls a warning. Echo hisses back but takes another step toward me. When she reaches the edge of the water, she lowers her body slowly to the ground and turns her head revealing her the beating side of her neck.

"I'm sorry, Blue," she whimpers.

Rising, I approach. She doesn't move as I circle her and sniff.

I see marks on her skin that are similar to the ones on me where claws and talons slashed through. Pausing in front of her, I notice her jaw is slightly off. My chest tightens. I must have done that in the fight.

What surprises me though, is her eyes. They're not angry like before. Instead, they seem sad. I exhale and give her a nod. "You can get up."

She moves into a standing position. Charlie splashes behind me and turns to her with a soft growl as Delta braces for any sign of attack. Clearly, they can tell I won't win a fight.

Echo lowers herself onto her haunches, and her gaze drops toward the water. A whimper escapes her throat. "I'm sorry…"

Taking a few steps toward her, I sniff. There's something changed about her, and I don't know if that's for the best. If she's not herself, she can get us killed. It's then I pause.

The only one here who's capable of fighting at the moment is Delta. Charlie's hiding behind me, Echo's whimpering before me, and I can't bring myself to do anything except stare into the world around me.

I take a breath. One thing at a time, I suppose. I can't do anything about Charlie, or myself, but perhaps something can be done about Echo. I can feel fear coming from her. Part of me thinks it's always been there, just hidden under all that rage. I don't know why she would be so afraid, though.

"Why are you scared?" I growl softly.

She looks up at me, wide-eyed. "I…"

"I know you are. Why?"

Echo hisses softly and seems to shrink. She gives a cautious glance to Delta before dropping her gaze to the water again. "I… I killed my hatch mate…"

"I knew you were no good!" Delta snarls.

Echo winces.

"Silence!" I snap and bare my teeth. Delta slightly lowers herself to the ground and quiets. However, her narrow stare is fixed on Echo. Charlie nuzzles into my side as I look back at the brown. "Why?"

She doesn't immediately respond but instead blinks. I don't know that she's making up a reason. I think she's hidden the reason for so long, and she's afraid to growl. I settle onto my haunches. If she needs suns, I can give that to her.

Echo notices my movement, and her nose twitches as she studies me. Finally, her gaze settles on me and when she growls, she's nearly silent. "It was…kill or be killed." She swallows roughly. "She wasn't like me… or any of us. She had these things poking out of her skin similar to the flying meat we see."

"You killed her for being different?" Delta growls. "That's—"

I silence Delta with a stare before turning back to Echo. "Explain."

"That's not what happened," Echo growls and her tail curls to the side. "She… Yes, she was different, but I didn't kill her for it. I didn't…" She silences again before looking at me. "She was bigger than me. Stronger. Her idea of playing was pouncing, pinning me to the ground and biting me. Alpha and Kind Hand weren't around often. I saw the red fleshling mostly, who did nothing. Sun after sun, my hatch mate attacked me, and each was worse than the last. I couldn't sleep, she took my meat… There was nothing I could do to stop her. I did everything I could to survive."

Echo's gaze drops. "She knew when the fleshlings weren't watching, and one day, when they weren't, she came after me. It was different this time. She hid in the tall brown bushes and jumped down, pinning me to the ground. She slashed at me and when she tried to dig her teeth into the beating in my throat, I knew she wanted to kill me.

"If I didn't fight, I wasn't going to make it. Something in me changed. My body grew hot, and I snarled at her. I just wanted her to stop, but she wouldn't. It was by luck she showed her beating neck and I… I… Suddenly there was blood everywhere."

Echo blinks. "It took me a while to realize she had stopped moving, and when I looked up, Alpha was watching with Kind Hand. I know they didn't like what I had done, and they've never trusted me since.

"And who could I trust? I might look like you, but Delta and you were close. I was an outsider. I was just trying to survive. And then when that one—" she gestured her snout to Charlie. "came along and you accepted her so readily… Even fought me, knowing we don't receive enough meat here, and she would be just another mouth to feed. I…

"I didn't know what to think. It grew worse with the creatures' roars beyond the territory. Who do I trust? What do I believe? The red fleshling had left me in that territory with my hatch mate. When Alpha started talking to her, what else was I supposed to do? She had already shown she didn't prefer me and caused Alpha to mistrust me. I thought he was here to kill us on her demands."

Echo turns away. "I didn't know… I didn't realize it was another territory until it was too late."

Delta makes no move to snarl as she watches wide-eyed. I'm not sure what to say to her. It's Charlie who actually makes the first move.

"Hatch mates… They're not always the best," she growls softly. "And you did what you had to. You needed to survive."

Echo's brow rises as she looks at the youngest.

"We're all just trying to survive," Charlie continues. "Maybe we can… we… Maybe you won't attack me anymore."

With a blink, Echo gazes at the youngest. "I can try."

Charlie smiles before sighing and falling over with a splash. "What if we were water meat-eaters instead of…of…not water?"

"You mean ground meat-eaters?" questions Echo.

With a nod, Charlie laughs. "Yeah."

I nudge Charlie before glancing at an approaching Echo. She looks at me, wide-eyed and muscles tense. I nudge her as well, and her brow pulls together. She moves away to splash in the water, which draws Charlie, and soon, they're squawking at each other.

"She doesn't know how to play," Delta's soft growl grabs my attention.

"No, she's not like us. We were lucky." I look at her. "However, at least Charlie can teach her. She has enough energy for all of us."

Delta nudges me. "I was wrong about her."

"We were wrong about her," I respond.

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—10 Months Ago—

Owen watches as Delta and Blue chase each other around the Hatchling Paddock. None of the ferns are large enough for them to hide in, so he can usually keep track of them. Several large trees dot the area, mostly blocking out the sun. Blue likes the trees. She will often hide behind one and jump out to surprise Delta when she trots past.

Grabbing a silver bucket of rats, he enters the paddock, Barry in tow. Blue has disappeared, but Delta bounds up to them. Her eyes are on Barry. Despite the fact she saw Owen first, he knows she smelled Barry first since she'd hatched the night Blue entered ICU—a night he doesn't like to remember.

"I almost wish they did not have to grow up," Barry comments and grabs a rat. He tosses it to Delta.

"They want these vicious beings to hunt down Al Qaeda. I'm sure the terrorists will be quivering when they come up begging for a rat," Owen laughs. Putting the bucket down, he scans the territory. Blue is behind a tree, he's just not sure which one.

Pulling beef jerky from his pocket, he slowly maneuvers through the enclosure.

While his girls learn many things on their own, hide and seek came from him. He would hide behind the trees and jump out in surprise. More than once, it cost him a trip to the emergency room, but it was worth it when Blue started mimicking him.

Now, as he looks about the paddock, he's proud to see she's learned so well.

"I know you're here," he sing-songs and turns just in time to see her pounce on him.

Owen finds himself on the ground with Blue stabbing her snout into him as she inhales him. Laughter bursts from his mouth as she grabs the jerky and collapses on him.

Pushing off his girl, he admires she's the size of a Great Dane. She seems to be growing like a weed and growing more intelligent by the day. He isn't surprised when she's shoving her snout into him, looking for more jerky.

Pulling out another piece, he unwraps it and gives it to her. She's munching on it when he runs his hand down her spine, causing her to look at him.

"I love you, Blue," he whispers.

Her head snaps to the right, and she sniffs him before nudging him and giving off a soft shriek.

｡.•°•.｡ɹǝƃunH｡.•°•.｡

—Present—

I curl up under my rock to hide from the mrahs. As long as they can't see me, I feel alone. In such a confined territory, every breath by myself is worth something.

I exhale slowly. Echo returned three suns ago, and at this point, I don't think Alpha ever will. Fleshlings are not as tough as we are. Their skin shreds easily, as proven by the two other ones we've caught foolishly entering the territory.

Since Echo's return, she has apologized a thousand times. She'll probably growl a thousand more at least. Despite snarling at her to leave me alone earlier, I know it's not her fault. She was fearful. She was protecting her skin. I understand that.

The hurt comes from the fact we are without Alpha. I can tell them where to go or what to do, but he's not there for me. I suppose I shouldn't feel this way because he's been absent for a while. But he was never dead.

The sun is getting low. They'll want us in our caves shortly. Taking a deep breath, I force myself to a standing position. The scent of Alpha's stick meat reaches my nose, and my brow rises.

I sprint to the bushes by the main jaws. I know it's foolish, but I can't stop any part of me. I keep hoping he'll be back. Echo made it, injured jaw and all, so why couldn't he?

I peer through the bushes and watch the jaws. The sun is directly behind them, and I have to squint. There's a shadow at the jaws, but I can't make it out. I wonder if it's Kind Hand. He normally comes and growls to Delta.

However, it doesn't smell like him. I vaguely remember the scent. It causes me to think of the hurt, cold, and bright lights. I snarl softly. I don't like it.

The smell of the stick meat, though, makes me curious enough to see who brought it. I wonder if this is the same person that gives me meat during the moon. Walking to the jaws, my head drops with a hiss in hopes that I can get the sun out of my eyes.

It doesn't work, and I don't know whether to back away or see who it is. After a breath, I continue toward the jaws.

It takes until I'm right next to them for me to see who holds the stick meat. At that point, I don't care about the meat anymore, not that I'm sure I ever did. I place my claws between the teeth and rest my head against it as I bark softly.

"Alpha…"

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