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Welcome...to the Mystery

Chapter 14

Little Toy Guns

My stomach hasn't been this plump since the Hatchling Territory. It's a nice feeling. One that allows me to snooze without the animal in my stomach snarling since it no longer controls me. A soft growl emanates low in my throat. My tail gently knocks against the rock I'm lying on. For the first time in a while, I'm content.

There are hisses and growls from the ground beneath my rock. Every few minutes, one eye slides open to make sure that Echo hasn't harmed Charlie. It's no surprise that the younger is constantly on the ground; that's to be expected with inexperience. The fact Echo is teaching Charlie to fight makes my insides warm and puts a smile on lips.

"You don't just roll over," Echo chides with a snort and flexes her claws. "Use your claws."

"But you already pushed me over," Charlie gripes and stands up. "You said to go belly up."

"Not when you're fighting for your life, furry-brain."

"That's not a nice word!" There's the scratch of talons and a shadow covers my face. "Bluuuuueee…"

The mewling causes me to look up at the green raptor.

"Blue, Echo said a mean word!"

"It's not mean if it's true," Echo retorts from below.

Rolling onto my back, I yawn. "Why aren't you down there fighting her on it?"

I receive a quirked brow as confusion spreads across her young face.

"Don't complain to me. Go beat her up," I explain.

Charlie hesitates and looks down at Echo. After a breath, she lowers her snout to my face. Her growl is quiet in my ear. "Can I do that?"

"You're a hunter, aren't you, Char?"

She nods.

"Then go," I growl and shove her off the rock.

Tumbling to the ground, there's a squeak from Charlie. She rights herself as Delta emerges from the leaves. With a huff, the youngest lunges at Echo. The two begin to snarl and squabbling, kicking up dirt. Delta leaps onto the rock next me.

"They practice how we used to," she growls softly as she lays down.

I roll onto my back and stretch my talons toward the clear blue sky. "It's endearing."

"How long has it been since we've been allowed to be normal?"

I glance at her. "What do you mean?"

"Do you ever get the feeling they're trying to make us into dimwitted furries?"

Lowering my talons, I scratch my chest. "We can never be furries. We hunt them."

"Yes, but you heard from Echo and Charlie their hatch mates were very different from us. The red fleshling allowed Echo to be attacked. Fox told Charlie she was not what she was meant to be," she hesitates and lowers her voice as if she's growling to herself, "Probably because the fleshlings growled her to."

"I doubt Fox could understand what the fleshlings growl."

"I can."

My brow rises.

Delta bites her bottom lip as she takes a deep breath. I can feel her nervousness wash over me. "I don't just understand pieces of what they snarl. I can understand everything Kind Hand growls. I know the growls Alpha sings to you. I can understand their growls, and if I can… Who's to snarl Fox couldn't understand? What if she could and that's why she constantly berated Charlie?"

"Berated?"

She shakes her head. "Berate, the fleshlings use it. It means to hatefully chide."

My lip rises a bit, allowing my teeth to peek out of their home. The fact Delta seems to use the fleshling terms in order to make a point has put me on edge. I want to pretend I don't understand why I'm mad, but it's obvious.

I'm angry she can understand Alpha and I can't.

"It's like they want us to be these creatures," Delta continues, "who are a pack, but divided within. They release Echo into here, fearful and angry. They force Charlie into this territory without knowing how to hunt. They extend our territory, but only so more fleshlings can view us with their flashy lights. And they intentionally keep us starving. I think it's to keep us dimwitted since we don't think as well when our stomach animals are snarling in our ears."

I watch as Echo and Charlie trip over each other, onto their backs, and burst into laughter. If what Delta growls holds any truth, would the fleshlings be angry that the two youngest get along now? Are they purposely trying to keep us hungry? Do they want us dimwitted?

"I don't think we fully understand what's going on," Delta growls softly. "I think there's something they're trying to hide."

｡.•°•.｡ɹǝƃunH｡.•°•.｡

Her eyes are wide, and he can just about hear the pounding in her chest.

"Open the door," she manages to choke out.

"Answer the question."

Nothing about his posture is threatening, and he makes sure to keep it that way. While closing the door probably wasn't the best idea, he doesn't need anyone prying in on the conversation. Especially since Owen suddenly doesn't know who to trust. Are others lying to him as well?

Her mouth opens several times resulting in soft gasps, but she keeps shaking her head. With glossy eyes, she remains silent.

"Who are you?" he questions, his tone firm.

"Elizabeth," she manages between gasps. "My name is Elizabeth Doe."

"Who are you really?"

She begins backing away. "That's my name. I-I swear it."

Owen doesn't move from the door. However, his blood is beginning to heat. She continues to lie in the face of everything he's said to her.

"P-please leave!"

"Not until you've told me the truth," he growls and attempts to curve his anger.

"I'm telling-I am telling you the truth!" she exclaims as she continues to back toward her bedroom.

Despite her words, Owen can see the look in her eyes. There's an underlying defiance there. Through the tears, her gaze is hardened. Her words tremble like a man on a tightrope, but it's choreographed all the same. The shudder in her hands is too practiced, too controlled. Her fear is too forced.

These things add to his boiling blood and his growing fear about her being allowed around his girls. Owen finds the words flying out of his mouth in a snarl that would impress Blue.

"You tell me right now what your play is!"

"I don't have a play!"

"I fired Tanner for mere words! I can have you thrown into jail for whatever your gimmick is!"

"I promise you—"

"Those are my girls you're around!" he bellows. "Those are my little ones, and I will not have the lying likes of you around them! I want the truth!"

The well-placed mask shatters as her eyes widen. Tears stream down her cheeks. She's doing her best to stop the little gasps coming from her trembling lips, but she can't begin to form words through chattering teeth.

"Tell me!" He snarls, and somewhere inside he knows he should calm down, but his Blue is in danger. His daughters are in trouble and nothing will keep him from protecting them. "Those are my girls you're messing with!"

She terrified, but he doesn't care. He'll be damned before he sees anyone else bring harm to them. Especially some filthy liar.

"You give me the truth or so help me God, I'll throw you in the raptor pit and we'll see how Blue protects you then!"

Owen winces as the words cool his boiling blood. He doesn't really mean it. He wouldn't throw her in there, but the damage is done. She's dashed into the bedroom faster than an antelope fleeing a cheetah.

God, he's a jerk. A really big jerk. Probably an asshole for what he just said. He knows that she's wrong for lying to him, but his mother always told him 'you catch more flies with honey than vinegar'. This is just another time where his mom's words prove true. Perhaps if he hadn't accused her from the get-go, he'd have his answers.

With a sigh, Owen walks to the bedroom and looks around.

The room is empty.

Moving to the bathroom, he finds that unoccupied as well. He then enters the closet. It takes a few moments to see the trembling in the clothes, but he looks down to see her hands over her ears with her knees pulled to her chest.

Owen breaths out and kneels in front of her. "Doe?"

When he receives no answer, he places a hand on her ankle. He clears his throat. "Elizabeth?"

The word tasted about as weird as it sounded coming from his mouth, but it's enough to get her attention. She looks up at him. Her hands lower slightly.

"Care to tell me the truth now?"

She wipes at the endless stream of tears on her face. "My name is Elizabeth Doe. I dropped out of high school. I worked two dead-end jobs in a small town. I have no family."

Rehearsed. He's about to make another comment about her having a longer nose than a certain wooden puppet, but she continues.

"I noticed the raptors weren't being fed." Her teary-eyed gaze is on him. There's something different in her look, something innocent in her glossy eyes that show she's being mostly honest. "So, I brought them meat. I used to deal with people who had low blood sugar and I saw that in you."

Owen's brow quirks. "Why didn't you tell me yourself?"

She huffs a soft not-so-funny laugh and shakes her head. "I'm a high school dropout. No one is going to listen to anything I say. Benji has all these degrees—"

"Benji?"

Doe nods. "Well, you call him Ben. But, Benji's finished school, gone to college, and everything I haven't. What he says has merit. What he says… matters. Like I said, no one is going to care what a high school dropout says, especially if I'm a girl. Most people assume I got knocked up anyhow."

"Why did you take care of me when I was injured? How did you accomplish that?"

She takes a soft breath and wipes away any remaining tears. "InGen needed someone. Mr. Durant had a lot on his plate, so they asked me."

Owen finds himself skeptical at that one. Why would InGen send her? However, she seems to be open to telling him things now and he doesn't want to ruin that.

"Then, last night I went to the raptor paddock, and you were there," she says. "Very drunk."

His brow rises. This is news. He doesn't remember being there and doesn't know if he wants to believe what she says. "What?"

"You were at the raptor paddock late last night. I'm pretty certain you were Tequila."

"I was Tequila?"

She nods. "You didn't just reek of it, but it seemed like it was radiating from every part of your body. It was horrid and made it hard to get you home."

Owen doesn't know what to make of this revelation, but it's clear something happened. He's slightly overwhelmed by the things she's told him. They sound true enough.

Well, except her name. He doesn't believe that for one moment, but he knows how to take care of that.

｡.•°•.｡ɹǝƃunH｡.•°•.｡

—One Night Earlier—

The soft, rich dirt more muffles the footsteps than anything.

The night air is cool and refreshing. It caresses the face, somehow weaving its way into the dark fabric causing goosebumps to appear on smooth skin. The moon has disappeared leaving the stars bright in the sky while signaling that dawn is only a few hours off.

There's a silent question that seems to be screaming how the raptors are managing their first night out of the cages.

The cows delivered earlier were done grudgingly so; she knows that much. In light of her past, she knows InGen exceedingly well. She knows Hoskins will not be happy with the cattle developments.

However, the raptors will, and at this moment, that's what's most important. If it spares lives later on down the path, that's what truly matters.

Benji was foolish, stupid even. How many times did Owen Grady reiterate that they needed to stay away from the fence? It wasn't that hard to comply with. It was protecting them. While she likes Benji, if he dies that's not on her. She did everything she could to pull him from Echo's claws. In fact, she hurt herself in the process. If—when—Benji returns, he owes her big time.

As she nears the raptor paddock, she notices a figure at the gate. Panic chills her bones in ways that the cool night air never could. With a heart racing as fast as a sprinting quarter horse, she ducks into the shadows. If it's InGen, she knows the trouble it could bring.

The pounding in her ears softens enough that a drunken lullaby can be heard. The lyrics are clearly from The Five Stairsteps' famous song. The melody, however, is clearly from a karaoke bar.

She begins her approach again. The area is dark, but the swaying figure, when paired with the voice, is certainly Owen Grady. He's singing to the blue-grey raptor on the other side of the fence.

Blue sneezes; an odd sound, not unlike that of a…human? She thinks that's crazy but the truth. It makes her wonder what other DNA they added into the poor creature's makeup.

The raptor shakes her head and looks at her alpha. He reaches toward her and says he's sorry for not being there. The ache in the depth of his voice is heartbreaking. He explains how InGen gives him no choice. He wants his Blue, his baby girl, to be free.

There's a good chance when considering the amount of Tequila he's clearly had he might let all four of them out. Before that thought crosses his mind, she reaches him. He turns to her and squints. Of course, he's unable to see her, and she counts her lucky stars. Even if he could see beneath the dark hood, she wonders if he would recognize her with his blurry-eyed stare.

"Let's go, Mr. Grady," she says softly and leads him from the paddock. There's a glance that she gives to Blue who seems relieved someone is taking care of her alpha.

"It's my fault…" he whimpers.

She leads him to a golf cart. Normally, she'd take a faster vehicle, but she doesn't want to be caught by loud engine noises. It's also probably best that no one discovers just how drunk Owen Grady is. A deep breath fills her lungs and she chokes down the scent of Tequila. "What's your fault?"

"The attacks. Ben's injuries. This paddock," he says. "If I had just said no, if I hadn't taken the job, people wouldn't have died."

"That's the funny thing about this purgatory. It doesn't stop if you say no," she says and she's certain she's talking more to herself than the drunk man next to her. How many times had—has—she said no? How many times did they track her and throw her back into hell? How many times did she have to play dead in order to escape, only to get sucked into the fray?

But that's just it.

Even if Owen Grady had told the Navy no, that wouldn't have stopped InGen. At most, they might have found someone else, but that's not how they operate. No, they stacked the cards from the beginning. They make sure you're primed and ready. They make sure the only answer you'll give them is yes.

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