Ch 7:
The next year and a half was somehow both eventful and uneventful.
As far as Sierra's personal life, her 15th birthday came and went, and her 16th birthday just passed. She was doing well with her schooling, actually managing above-average grades in some classes. She still worked at the paddock a lot in her free time, especially during school breaks. She was given more jobs, cleaning up after the raptors, preparing treats, and helping train the raptors.
At some point in his limited free time, Owen was somehow able to convince Claire Dearing to go out on a date with him. It hadn't gone very well apparently. She hadn't liked his choice in clothes and had the whole evening planned in an itinerary. Safe to say, there hadn't been a second date.
The raptors also celebrated their first and second birthdays. Owen celebrated their first by releasing something new into the paddock for them to hunt, a young deer. This provided them with a new challenge, something bigger and faster than pigs, which they accepted and excelled at. With Blue in the lead, the pack surrounded the deer, flanking the sides, while Blue came out in front and took the deer out.
The only disturbing part of that was how happy that made Vic Hoskins, who always seemed to pop up at the most annoying times.
And Barry worked just as hard as Owen when it came to training and caring for the raptors in the year and a half since he joined the project. To Vic's annoyance, Barry was of similar mind to Owen than Vic in regards to the raptors. He enjoyed the work and the studies and working with the animals, but he was against turning the raptors into weapons.
And surprisingly, Delta seemed to take a liking to Barry. At least, she didn't appear to want to eat him. When the raptors needed to be examined while in the chutes, Delta seemed more accommodating when Barry was the one doing it. At least, she didn't try to break her confines as much when he was there.
It's the total opposite when Vic comes around. The raptors tended to get snarly and snappy whenever the heavyset man showed up. Blue would narrow her eyes up at him as if plotting his bloody demise. She and Delta frequently chittered at each other while glaring up at Vic. It was almost amusing. Though, Sierra and Owen frequently debated whether they sensed he was a bad person, like with dogs, or if they could pick up on everyone else's feelings toward Vic.
"Good girl, Delta." Sierra praised, clicking the clicker in one hand while holding up a huge dead rat in a gloved hand. Delta, inside a small, individual holding pen could be heard sniffing and snorting at the familiar scent floating through the small opening. The process was repeated with the other raptors before Sierra hurried off into the paddock to hide the rat in some bushes. With that done, she hurried out of the pen to join Owen up on the walkway.
The raptors were released and they followed the scent to the rat, successfully finding it within minutes.
This was a scent drill they called Hide-and-Seek, which they started training on just before the raptors turned two. They'd picked it up fast and were getting better and better. Sierra and Owen needed to get more and more creative in hiding the food just to keep the raptors interested.
After finding the rat, the raptors came back into the clearing, looking all around in search for more food.
"Hold!" Owen yelled from up on the walkway, holding one hand up in the 'hold' signal and the other hand holding the clicker. "Eyes on me!" Owen commanded. Charlie and Echo lifted their heads, eyes eagerly looking up at him. Sierra, who had sat back on her chair a few feet away, was fairly certain they were just eager for him to give them more food. Blue and Delta, however, were still scanning the undergrowth for food. "Delta! Blue! Eyes on me!"
Sierra cleared her throat quietly, using her tennis shoe to nudge the bigger bag at her feet. Owen glanced back and narrowed his eyes playfully at her. The bigger of the two bags at her feet had venison jerky, which Owen had helped her make after hunting down a deer with Barry on their day off. The raptors had liked venison jerky since they were little, as it was one of the first training treats Owen started using, but Blue especially had taken a liking to it after catching their first live deer.
"I can't keep using their favorite food as an incentive." Owen pointed out quietly, eyes going back down to the paddock. "They need to start taking orders from me without the promise of treats. Especially when they're already training with food."
"Good luck with that." Sierra grinned, pulling a few pieces of venison jerky and stepping up to the railing next to him, a few feet away. She whistled and held her hand up.
She could see Blue's nostrils flare before her head jerked up. Her eyes instinctively went to Owen before focusing on Sierra.
"Show off." Owen smirked, shaking his head at her. But he relented, holding his hand out for the treats. Sierra relinquished them before reclaiming her seat to watch. The raptors were still a little uncooperative, but they behaved a bit better with the promise of some of their favorite treats.
After a few more rounds, the raptors were clearly starting to lose interest. Owen conceded that he was not going to get much farther today. Like kids, the raptors only had so much patience; a short attention span, if you will. And Owen had gotten pretty good at figuring out when they were ready to be done for the day.
So after a total of almost two hours of training, he released them to go about their day, running about the paddock and doing whatever they felt like.
"I was hoping I'd see some more progress." a familiar voice called, causing Sierra to mentally groan.
Vic.
Owen braced himself before turning to face Vic, who was making his way down the walkway toward them. Not wanting to be around the man, Sierra started packing up the bags of treats, sealing them shut to be used later.
"I've told you a hundred times, Vic. They're wild animals. They're not going to blindly obey my every command. They were getting bored and agitated, and I can't work with them when they're in that mood." Owen explained as patiently as he could.
"If you can't do it, maybe we got the wrong guy." Vic guessed pointedly, coming to a stop in front of Owen. "Maybe we should bring in someone else."
"You'll have even less luck with someone they don't know." Owen pointed out. "The only reason they listen to me at all is because they imprinted on me when they hatched. Anyone else may as well be a snack."
Vic almost backhanded Sierra as she passed them, seeming to gesture to her. "I've seen them listen to her, and she's just a kid."
Sierra turned around and grimaced at the man's back, briefly meeting Owen's eyes before continuing to walk away.
"I wouldn't say they listen to her, exactly. I can't read their minds, but I'm guessing they link her with food since she tends to bring them their favorite training treats." Owen explained briefly.
"I think you're all coddling 'em. Favorite foods and treats." he mocked. "Only working when they're in the mood for it. You ask me, you need to try some new tactics. Pain's a good motivator." he suggested knowingly.
"I start using that kind of motivation, and they'll never trust me again." Owen responded shortly, his jaw clenched and voice tight. "Then all the time and money you've put into this program will go down the toilet."
By this point, Sierra was far enough away that she couldn't hear their discussion. It had been so nice and peaceful when Vic wasn't around. They actually hadn't seen him around the paddock for a couple weeks now. Apparently he'd been too busy overseeing the parks newest attraction, only recently announced to the public.
The Indominus Rex.
Sierra didn't know much about it, only that it wasn't a real dinosaur. It was some kind of hybrid of several different creatures, dinosaurs and otherwise. They'd started developing it back in 2012, and she thought the egg hatched recently, in 2014. While they'd just announced it to the public, they wanted to wait until it was nearly full-grown before opening an exhibit to the public. She thinks someone mentioned there being two of them, just in case something happened to one.
Sierra didn't know why the head of security would be so invested in a new dinosaur, but she had her theories. It was probably similar to why he was so interested in the raptors; he wanted to turn it into a weapon.
Sierra made her way down a couple steps to the walkway that went around the outside edge of the paddock. She stopped next to a small stool by the railing, where an intern had been sitting and taking notes earlier. There was also a bag of other things that Sierra started packing away.
She stood up straight, a couple bags in her hands, as a few handlers walked past her on the narrow walkway. She squeezed closer to the railing to give them more room, as they were talking very animatedly about something.
The metal railings on the walkways that went around the outer edge of the paddock were a few inches shorter than the ones that crisscrossed over the paddock. So instead of pressing into her belly when she leaned into the railing, it pressed more into her hips.
So when someone came up behind her and barged past her, causing her to stumble over the stool at her feet, it was easy for her body to overbalance when the top half of her body practically flew over the railing.
It happened fast. One second she was tripping and stumbling, and the railing was shoved into her gut. The next second her legs were flying up while her head went down.
In her panic, her hands managed to scrabble for a hold on the railing, managing to grasp onto the bottom wrung. Her sweaty palms latched on, and she could hear herself screaming. There might have been other voices yelling, too, but her heart was pounding in her ears.
"Sierra!" Owen yelled, and she hoped he was running to get to her but she had tunnel vision. Her hands were slipping.
"Owen!" she screamed, panicked as she tried to get a better grasp and pull herself up.
She slipped.
The wind ripped her voice out before she could make a sound, her body plummeting through the air like a rock in a river.
Her back hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of her and jolting her body. Her ears were ringing, her head pounding. She couldn't move for a second.
When her vision and hearing came back, the first thing she saw was up. Up above her was the walkway, at least a dozen people running around or looking over the railing at her. She saw Owen and Barry, both looking horrified. Then, Owen yelled.
"Blue! Don't!"
Sierra turned her heavy head slowly, and there was Blue. And Delta. Blue was several feet away, approaching her with her head down, jaws parted.
Swallowing nervously, Sierra forced her aching body to roll over onto her front, making sure not to turn her back to the raptors, and ignoring the stabbing pain to push her hands and knees under her.
Delta crouched down, claws extended and muscles coiled, ready to pounce.
Blue turned and snapped at her, making Delta back off a bit and duck her head in a sign of submission.
"Hi Blue." Sierra whispered, slowly pushing herself up to her feet and raising her hands to show she meant no harm. "Please don't eat me."
Blue tilted her head curiously.
Something lightly bumped Sierra in the butt, making her flinch and quickly peak over her shoulder. Stupid. She'd been so focused on Blue and Delta she'd forgotten about Charlie and Echo. And she knew that was how they liked to hunt. You focus on Raptor One and don't see the others come at you from the back or sides.
Charlie nudged Sierra in the butt again, and she could hear the youngest raptor sniffing. Any other time this would be hilarious. A raptor was sniffing her butt. But this was obviously not the time to laugh.
"Charlie! Back off!" Owen yelled. "Sierra, don't move. Stay calm. I'm coming down."
Sierra didn't respond, focusing on the four raptors instead. Echo had come up on her right, so she was effectively surrounded. But a quick glance showed Echo almost agitated. She was shifting her feet and glancing from Sierra to Blue, as if she didn't know what to do. Or she was waiting for permission to attack. She had, after all, learned the hard way not to steal Blue's snacks.
A firmer nudge on her backside sent Sierra forward a step, a jolt of panic shooting through her chest. But that nudge also…made her feel something familiar.
Slowly, Sierra lowered one hand and brought it around to her back pants pocket, which Charlie kept nudging. Sure enough, there were some pieces of jerky in there. She was always putting some in her pockets and forgetting them there until days later, after the pants had been washed. These ones, luckily were from earlier in the day.
Very slowly, she grasped some of the jerky and pulled it out of her pocket. Bringing her hand around, she held it up for the raptors to see. Charlie was shifting excitedly on her feet, tail swinging like a dog. Blue, Echo, and even Delta's nostrils started flaring with the familiar scent.
Charlie squawked something, and Blue snapped her jaws, resulting in Charlie calming down.
"It's your favorite treat." Sierra pointed our unnecessarily. "If you let me live, you can have some."
Blue chittered, watching as Sierra tossed one piece to her. The Beta snatched it from the air. Sierra then tossed one to Delta, then Echo, and finally Charlie, making sure to follow the hierarchy to avoid pissing any of them off too much. Charlie usually didn't care when she got fed, as long as it happened.
The familiar sound of the doors raising drew all their attention. It was only a couple feet up when Owen basically slid under it. Barry was behind him, stopping the gate about halfway up so it would close faster.
The raptors turned and screeched at Owen, their stances changing almost instantly. They were all like Delta was a couple minutes ago, coiled and ready to pounce.
Owen slid to a stop after practically racing into the paddock, both hands up in the usual signals he used with the raptors.
"Blue, stand down." Owen ordered tensely. Blue snarled at him, snapping her jaws. "Hey, I said stand down!" he repeated loudly.
Sierra, who'd been glancing anxiously between Owen and Blue, tensed when a different raptor head appeared out of the corner of her eye. She glanced over to see Echo stepping up next to her, but was focused on Owen.
"Eyes on me." Owen ordered and even though he was likely talking to the raptors, Sierra found her focus back on him. He was stepping slightly to the side, drawing the raptors' attention and leaving the path to the door more open. Blue and Delta especially were focused on him, both taking slow, stalking steps toward him. Echo and Charlie did the same, but more of a slow, inching movement. When Charlie had basically moved from Sierra's side to being partially in front of her, Owen spoke again. "Sierra, slowly move toward the door. No sudden movements."
Sierra nodded subtly, keeping her hands up as she started doing as Owen said. She had to carefully move around behind Charlie, wary of her swinging tail. This didn't go unnoticed, of course, as Charlie turned her head to watch her. Sierra met her amber eyes anxiously, but she could've sworn she saw no hostility or any sign that Charlie wanted to attack. She just seemed…almost curious? She probably just wanted more food, Sierra assured herself, continuing her slow trek around Charlie and backing toward the door.
It felt like it took forever, inching across the ground to the door. When she was close enough, Owen backed toward her, too. When they were still several feet from the door, Owen reached one hand back toward her.
"Barry, close the gate." he ordered.
"What?" Barry demanded, probably unsure if he heard right, but Sierra thought it was actually smart. That gate moved slowly. If they only started closing it after they were out of the paddock, the raptors would probably follow them through the gate before it closed.
"Do it." Owen ordered. When they heard the gate start closing, Owen ordered, "Go."
Sierra turned and dove back through the gate. She heard a few distinct screeches, something landing right next to her, and the familiar slam of the gate shutting.
Having landed on her front, Sierra slowly rolled over onto her back, wincing at the shooting pain going up her spine. Now that the danger had passed and the adrenaline was likely to start leaving her body, she was sure she would be in a lot of pain soon. She glanced around and found Owen crouched next to her and the raptors all just on the other side of the gate, snapping and pacing.
"Sierra, can you stand? Do you need a stretcher?" Barry asked worriedly, looking down at her.
"I can-" Sierra started to sit up, wincing but forcing herself to sit all the way up. "I'm fine." she swore.
"We're getting you to the infirmary." Owen decided firmly, reaching down and helping her slowly stand up. She winced a few more times, but allowed herself to be helped up. She glanced back toward the paddock and noticed none of the raptors had left yet, all staring intently through the bars. Charlie and Delta were pacing back and forth, and Blue's eyes were fixed intently on both Sierra and Owen.
Owen wrapped an arm around her waist, taking practically all her weight as he helped her out of the small holding cage. She felt herself blushing as they passed the massive crowd of onlookers, made mostly of handlers and interns. She was also keenly aware of Vic Hoskins' eyes burning into her as they walked away.
AN: Whoo, finally some action! I tried to make this different from the scene in the movie, as we're not at that point yet. Let me know what you all thought of the raptors' reactions to Sierra falling into their paddock.
