Please keep your arms and legs inside the tram at all times.
Welcome...to the Change
Chapter 17
Sing
"She is crazy."
Owen shrugs, but can't wipe the smile off his face for anything. "She might be, but you should have seen it, Barry."
"You want me to observe your death?"
With a glance around at the crowd, Owen leans against the glass and looks down at Blue. She's gazing at him with a slightly turned head. "It's a crazy idea, I'll give you that, but it worked. Blue didn't eat us."
"This time," Barry points out as he moves beside Owen. "You never know what will happen next time. Do not be foolish, Owen."
"What if you could place a hand on Delta without a muzzle or bars in the way? Just like old times." He looks at Barry. "What would you give?"
"Not a human life."
Somewhere inside, he knows Barry is probably right—the man has never lead him astray before. In this case, though, Owen doesn't agree. He knows the raptor looking at him can be vicious and has shown her cunning intelligence, but the baby that he took to the hockey game all those months ago is still inside.
"You're wrong, Barry," he whispers, "and I'll prove it to you."
Blue continues to gaze at him, head turning back and forth. He imagines she's probably wondering what last night was all about. He's wondering the same thing, to be honest. While Barry's warning snuggles into a spot in the back of his head, Owen's desire to touch Blue again far outweighs anything else.
Blue's gaze darts to her left, and she settles back on her haunches. Owen follows her gaze to see Echo charge and leap. She hits the glass, talons first, and the crowd shrieks. Blue's gaze glances to the people and back to Echo who's prancing toward the back of the enclosure. Once there, she charges the glass again, hitting it with her talons and landing on her feet. The people scream again and move further back.
Owen can't keep the grin off his face as Delta and Charlie emerge from the bush. They take spots next to Blue and watch as Echo continues prancing.
"They are dangerous, Owen."
He shakes his head and smiles at Echo. "She's playing."
Echo pauses to stretch her neck and make herself appear taller. In that moment, Owen sees she's no longer as brown as she once was. She's developed blue stripes along her body, and he would bet it's in response to her submissiveness to Blue.
He has to admit; the color looks nice on her.
And it's also another reason they can't kill her.
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Would he really want me? Can he really want me? Does he really want me? The look on his face is something I haven't seen since…
Well, many suns.
The look in his eyes and the way his snout slightly curves are things I haven't seen since I was in the Hatchling Territory. I'm hypnotized by my Alpha, captivated by his gaze—and terrified he'll leave me all over again. I'm terrified he'll harm my pack, terrified he'll kill Echo…
Shifting leaves catch my attention and I turn. Echo scratches the ground before charging the glass. I'm disappointed since she's done this before. She should know it's a ridiculous thing to do. It's surprising she hasn't learned her lesson.
When I look at her, though, she's not angry. There's a sly grin across her muzzle and a shimmer in her eyes.
Echo gains speed and launches herself at the clear rock. She shifts in the air causing her talons to hit her target. The fleshlings beyond the clear rock screech and back up. As she falls, she shifts again, landing on her talons. Head held high, she trots back to her starting point.
I can't stop my chest from puffing out. Her game with the fleshlings strikes fear and yet nothing about her is intimidating. Echo is enjoying the rise she gets, and there's not a hint of anger in her.
She's having fun.
"Is she causing trouble?" Delta questions as she takes a spot on my right.
Charlie settles on my left, chortling. "Blue, can I do that?"
I snort. "No, Char. Let Echo have her fun."
"Is it safe?" growls Delta.
"She's not hurting anything," I reply and my sister nods.
As Echo hits the wall again, I notice her skin gleam. There are now blue stripes across her body. I've never noticed them before. In fact, I know she was once all brown in color. The change must be similar to Charlie that as she grows her color shifts.
As she prances, Echo takes a moment to stretch and show her dominance over the fleshlings. I can't help but stretch and smile. She deserves this moment. She deserves to show off. She deserves to be happy.
I look to Alpha. He's watching Echo now. The look on his face is not angry. It makes me wonder what he thinks of Echo's display.
Echo's muzzle bumping into mine startles me. She moves in front of me and cocks her head softly to the right. "Are you mad?"
"At what?"
"Me?" she whimpers softly. "I know you growled not to, but the fleshlings were just staring at us and it's not like I would have actually ate them had the rock broken."
Glancing at the clear rock, I turn and trot to the leaves with my sisters in tail. "I think it was a clever move, Echo. Perhaps they'll stay away now."
Her teeth are bared in a wide grin and she chirps softly.
Once we reach the bushes, I find a cozy spot against the warm rock. Circling twice, I settle onto the ground. My sisters curl next to me and Charlie nuzzles her head into my stomach.
As we drift into short sleeps, a warm feeling runs through my skin. It's nice to have my sisters around me. It's nice that we're not fighting. It's nice to feel at peace.
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Hopefully, Kevin is happy with the large sandwich he was rewarded in exchange for his silence. Hopefully, he won't say a word about the asinine idea to go into the Raptor Paddock. Hopefully, his eye is turned to the frosty beer offered as an extra incentive.
Owen stands beyond the entry as the darkness envelopes him. He's about as excited as a kid on Christmas and yet he's terribly scared as well. What if Blue doesn't want to see him tonight? What if she wants to eat him? What if Elizabeth is wrong?
His foot taps impatiently against the dirt as he calls Doe again. He hasn't seen her all day. According to Barry, she called him and explained she had taken ill. Odd, because last night she had seemed fine—perhaps extremely tired when he dropped her off a few hours before sunrise.
When she doesn't answer, Owen slips the flip phone into his pocket and opens the first door to the cage, which he closes behind him. He's locked away his other three girls for safety reasons, but he can feel his heartbeat increase. Beyond the safety of the bars lurks a dangerous predator.
Perhaps there's a reason God decided to wipe them off the Earth all those years ago.
The buzzer sends his muscles into momentary panic as he tenses. He doesn't understand why. He's never been afraid of the paddock. He's always been able to walk in. He's always been able to look death in the face. Now, though, he seems glued to the spot. If Blue is close to the gate, she has an easy meal. Despite his brain shouting signals to his limbs, they prefer to stay as stiff as the Greek statues—except he gets to keep on all his clothes.
Before his brain can take command, a blue snout emerges from the bushes, followed by the rest of the body. Big, amber eyes focus on him; head turning side to side. Slowly, the raptor studies him, lip slightly lifted to reveal gleaming teeth.
Her attention is pulled from him to something behind him, beyond the gate. She straightens up and trots over with a soft chirp.
"Odd your brain would choose now to be fearful. Maybe you're now realizing after Echo you're not as invincible as you thought? Or is InGen controlling your logic?"
Owen turns to see Doe holding out a white rat through the bars to Blue who takes it and chomps away. "You think I'm scared?"
"I think you're uncertain. The excitement has passed and now you realize how stupid this seems." She moves towards him and holds a rat out.
Owen takes a breath as he reaches for the white dead thing. Holding it, he looks at Blue who's watching him.
"She hasn't killed you, yet."
Holding out the rat, he watches as her amber eyes flick between him and the food. She takes a step closer, nostrils flaring. A soft hiss escapes her as she stretches forward and grabs the rat before retreating to the other side of the bars.
His brow rises. "She didn't do that with you."
"I've been a constant source of food," Doe replies.
"But yesterday she asserted dominance."
"She still recognizes you as Alpha. And… you have been a source of confusion. She probably isn't sure what's going to happen tonight. You're rarely this close to her."
That's something he can't deny. Owen has been nothing but confusing. No wonder Blue swallows the rat from a spot near the bushes and watches him. He finds himself pulling a jerky stick from his pocket and unraveling it. Blue's tail swishes and she takes a few steps forward before stopping.
"You now seem like a tease."
With a shake of his head, Owen huffs a sigh and continues to hold the jerky out. "So, where were you today?"
"Didn't feel well."
He can hear it in her reply. It's too quick, too calculated. She's lying, and he isn't sure how much longer he can take it. "Funny. You were fine last night."
She crosses her arms. "I had one of those lack of sleep migraines I couldn't shake. I don't think it would have been wise for me to work considering we deal with deadly creatures."
Owen looks at her and bites the inside of his cheek. He knows she's dishonest and yet, he doesn't necessarily think she's untrustworthy. She seems to have Blue's best interests at heart, even though he still can't figure out why. He can't understand why she wants to help the dinosaur.
In this world, he's met very few people who actually care for the raptors—and by few, he means himself and Barry. Everyone he's come across are after two things: the money from working with these creatures, or the military applications.
Doe doesn't seem to fall into those categories and that worries him.
He clears his throat. "I don't need to lose another employee because they were careless."
A soft smile appears on her face. "Calling the kettle black now, are we?"
Owen turns back to see Blue at the gates. As soon as she makes eye contact with him, she flees to the bushes.
He throws his head back with a growl. "Damn it."
"You raised her, correct?"
Owen looks at her. "I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter—not that I would change it for the world, though."
"Did you ever call her something or say something to her and her only?" Doe asks and leans against the fence. "Do you have a certain voice you spoke to her with? A sound you would make?"
"Why?"
"Velociraptors are intelligent and do remember things. If you said things to her while she was a hatchling and you repeat them, she might come back around. She needs to know that you care. She needs to know that you still love her."
Owen can hear the reasoning in her words. He can hear some form of higher education learning. He wonders if she trained in psychology or perhaps biology. There's something hiding under her faux glasses and demeanor that hints she knows a lot more than she lets on. The longer he spends around her, the more that fact becomes apparent.
At the moment, though, things are about the raptor hiding in the bushes. Turning, Owen sees Blue poking her head out of the bushes. She looks adorable with her furrowed brow.
After wetting his lips, Owen softly starts in on a tune. "Oooh, oooh, child, things are going to get easier…"
Blue emerges from the bushes and trots over. She stops several feet from him, head now bobbing up and down.
"Oooh, oooh, child, things'll get brighter…"
The raptor snarls and charges him.
Owen swallows roughly and plants his feet. "Some day, yeah, we'll walk in the rays of the beautiful sun…"
Blue skids to a halt and snorts at him. There's an irritated growl before she headbutts him. Owen stumbles backward. When he looks up, she's coming toward him again. This time, she snatches the jerky out of his hand and swallows it before settling back on her haunches.
The standoff that takes place puts Owen at peace oddly enough. He doesn't see anger in his little girl, he doesn't see dominance. Instead, she chirps at him with a nod of her head as if she's waiting for something. When he doesn't move, she snorts again and chirps, this time leaning forward.
Doe chuckles softly. "She wants you to keep singing."
He rubs the back of his neck and gives a nervous laugh. "Is that what you want? Do you want me to sing to you?"
Her brow lifts as she stares him down.
The grin that blooms on his face is one that hasn't been there in a long time. As he starts singing, Blue's muscles relax as she leans back on her haunches. He can almost see a smile on her face as her tail swishes forward around her talons.
Owen's shocked. Doe might not be honest, but she understands Blue—and probably him as well.
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