We hit 10 followers! Oh man! Thank you to all who followed, favorited and reviewed, it means a lot! Don't forget to check out the prequel to this story, I've got two chapters up now!
It was dark by the time they all reached the raptor paddock. Owen splashed through a puddle and slammed on the brakes. Emily's gashes throbbed again, though she managed not to hiss in pain.
Briana opened the door and jumped out of the truck, Claire and Owen having already done so, the former slamming her door. Ignoring the blood she could feel trickling down her neck, Emily jumped out after Briana, saying softly to Zach and Gray, "Stay in the car." She shut the door behind her and followed Briana around to the front of the vehicle.
A quick scan of the raptor paddock revealed that it was almost unrecognizable. Military vehicles, all with InGen printed on the side, were parked all over. Someone had set up even more floodlights, bathing the paddock, parking area and edges of the jungle in artificial light. They'd even turned the large storage tent into a base of operations. But there was no sign of Lizzy.
Hoskins was walking toward them, grinning, three heavily armed men behind him, "The mother hen has finally arrived."
But it didn't surprise Emily at all when the first thing Owen did was punch Hoskins in the face. The InGen security head stumbled back, clutching his jaw.
She stopped beside Owen; arms crossed. The raptor trainer's shoulders were tense as he seethed, "Get the hell out of here. And stay away from my animals."
Claire came up on Owen's other side, "Hoskins, you wanted this to happen, you son of a bitch."
"Aw Jesus," Hoskins dropped his hands to his hips, "How many more people have to die before this mission starts to make sense to you?"
Emily stepped forward, voice hard, "It will never make sense to me. This mission will not work."
"It's not a mission," Barry popped up by Claire, "It's a field test."
Hoskin's ignored both Barry and Emily, eyes on Owen, "This is an InGen situation now."
"Fuck InGen," Emily muttered, earning a chuckle from Barry.
"There are gonna be cruise ships," Hoskins ignored her again, "that show up here at first light. Everybody's gonna get off this island. You're gonna watch a news story tomorrow about how you all saved lives. No, no, no, better yet," Hoskins got up in Owen's face, "About how your animals saved lives."
Owen just turned his head and made exasperated eye contact with Emily and then Barry. Hoskins huffed in annoyance and turned away.
Barry gestured toward the paddock, "They've never been out of containment. It's crazy."
"Let's move it out!" Hoskins shouted to his men, then turned back to them, "This is happening! With or without you."
Owen stared at him for a moment, then huffed, "Fine. But I'm gonna have a couple of conditions."
"Go right ahead." Hoskins was grinning, probably because Owen had agreed.
Owen maintained eye contact, "One, Claire and the kids stay here and will be given a safe vehicle to stay in. Two, I'm in charge. And if I die, Barry, Grant or Lizzy are in charge. Three, what the hell have you done with my assistant raptor trainer Hoskins?!"
"She's locked in the office. Got a little too feisty."
Emily stepped forward so she was right in front of Hoskins, but said to Owen, "I'll let her out. Briana and I will need that first aid kit anyway."
Owen nodded.
Emily turned around, smiled grimly at Hoskins, said, "I hope you're ready for a whole lot of blood on your hands you bastard," and punched him in the face so hard he fell over backwards. She marched toward the office, grinning even wider as she heard Hoskins groan behind her.
Emily fished around in her satchel till she found the key for the office door. The paleontologist unlocked the door, opening it to reveal Lizzy, who stood rapidly. Emily immediately noticed the black eye the assistant raptor trainer was sporting.
"How'd you convince Hoskins to let me out?" Lizzy followed Emily toward the small bathroom of the office.
Emily grabbed the first aid kit from the shelf above the toilet, "Owen did the convincing, though I did punch him in the face."
Lizzy snorted a laugh, "Good. He had it coming."
Emily pulled out a large bandage, "Give that to Briana, will you?" She took out a second one for herself and tugged off her flannel.
"Sure," Lizzy took it, "Are we going along with his crazy plan, or not?"
"Yes," Emily sighed, her hands stilling, "We are."
Lizzy lingered for a moment but left with a sigh.
Emily peeled the backing off the bandage and carefully covered the still bleeding gashes on her neck. It would have to do for now.
Her hands fell to rest on the sides of the sink basin, and she locked eyes with herself in the mirror. She looked surprisingly calm, though she could feel herself getting increasingly more nervous at the thought of having to be out in the jungle with the raptors loose. There was dirt flecked all over her face, and Emily could see dried blood all over her neck as well, from the gashes. Her hair was falling out of her previously neat bun, and there was another smattering of dirt on her fedora.
"Dr. Grant?"
Emily turned from the mirror to find Zach standing in the middle of the office, Gray behind him.
The older boy spoke up again, "Can I, uh, use that bathroom?"
"Sure, go right ahead." Emily forced a smile as she stepped out of the bathroom.
Zach stepped into the bathroom and shut the door, leaving Gray and Emily standing in the office. Emily tugged her flannel back on, wincing as the collar rubbed on the bandaged gashes. The office fell silent, save for the familiar hum of the air conditioner. Emily let her eyes rove over the messy office, hand unconsciously finding the scar on her forearm.
"Dr. Grant?"
Gray said it this time, causing Emily to jump a little.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you…"
"It's okay."
Gray looked nervously at the ground, "So you're Emily Grant? The paleontologist?"
"Yeah." Emily smiled a little, happy to be recognized for her work, and not her past.
Gray's face lit up, "I can't believe I'm meeting you!" He rocked forward onto the balls of his feet, "You're, you're Emily Grant!"
"And?"
"You're the paleontologist!"
Emily felt a smile creeping across her face, "I don't think I'm the paleontologist." If you'd asked her, she would've said her father, or maybe one of her college professors, like Jack Horner.
Gray blushed, eyes on the ground again.
Emily cleared her throat, "But I'm flattered you think so."
Gray looked back up, grinning, as Zach came out of the bathroom. The office fell silent yet again, until Barry opened the door and stuck his head in, "Your aunt wants you two in the big, armored truck over there. Emily, we're about ready to let them out."
Emily nodded, well aware that most of the color had drained from her face. Gray let Zach lead him out, calling, "Good luck!"
Emily approached the four-wheeler Lizzy was mounted on, having been told by Barry that she would be sharing it with the assistant raptor trainer. And honestly, that was probably wise, because the closer they got to releasing the raptors, the more nervous and shaky Emily got. Barry had given Emily a gun as well, though she didn't have a great idea of how to operate it.
Near them, Briana was seated on what looked like an InGen issued bike. Owen was seated on his Triumph Scrambler, Barry behind him on another four-wheeler.
"This is a terrible idea," Briana rammed her pistol into a holster.
Barry nodded in agreement, "You can say that again."
Emily hopped on behind Lizzy, who asked, "You ready?"
"Hell no," was the only response Emily could muster.
Lizzy glanced over her shoulder, "Well, that makes two of us."
Owen started up his bike engine, and the rest of the group followed suit. The raptor trainer then looked over his shoulder to Barry and Briana, who both nodded. He looked the other way, and Lizzy nodded. But Owen waited.
Emily let out a breath and nodded to him.
Owen turned his head toward the worker who had fallen in the paddock earlier and nodded. Emily felt like she could hear her heart beating as the worker nodded back and pressed the button he was holding.
Immediately, the four raptors burst from their holding stalls, camera equipment attacked to their heads. Blue let out a screech that sent chills down Emily's spine, and raced into the woods, her pack following her.
Owen shot after them, engine revving. Lizzy floored it after Owen, and Emily could hear Barry and Briana behind them. It took them only a few seconds to reach the jungle, and one of the raptors screeched again. Emily flinched, holding tight to Lizzy to avoid falling off as they swerved around a log, following Owen.
Occasionally, the park survivor would catch glimpses of the raptors racing through the foliage ahead of them. Owen pulled even further ahead, till he was driving right in the middle of the pack. Lizzy pulled up almost right behind him, Echo screeching at Lizzy in a way that Emily could've sworn was friendly. As if to say hello. Or, knowing Echo, maybe something along the lines of, "This is awesome!"
And despite Emily's fear of the raptors, it was fascinating to see them hunting, working as a group to track down the Indominus. And they looked like they were having fun.
After a few more minutes, Barry called forward, "They're slowing down."
"They got something," Owen spoke into the radio attached to his shirt pocket.
Lizzy murmured, "Here we go…"
The whole group came to a halt as the pack slowed, screeching to each other as they came into a clearing with several fallen logs strewn across it. Owen hopped off his bike, as did Briana, Barry following them, all three with guns raised. Emily hopped off, unslinging her gun, and Lizzy followed. Hoskins' men streamed out of the truck. They all followed Owen's lead, crouching behind one of the fallen logs as the raptors lined up in the middle of the clearing, tails waving back and forth.
Hoskins' men began to turn on the laser that Emily assumed helped them aim. The lasers trained on a curtain of vines, which was what the raptors had focused on. A branch snapped from beyond the curtain.
Thud.
Emily raised her gun.
Thud.
The vines shook.
Thud.
Charlie made a keening noise.
Thud.
More branches snapped and the Indominus Rex pushed its way between the vines, growl rumbling in her throat.
The gun in Emily's hands began to shake, so she aimed higher, where she wouldn't hit the raptors.
The Indominus and the raptors faced off for a few seconds. Then, the Indominus did something Emily would've never expected. It made some sort of higher pitched, short roar at the raptors.
And Blue screeched right back.
Emily raised her head, hands shaking even more. They were communicating.
On her left side, Barry murmured, "Something's wrong."
"They're communicating…" Lizzy spoke up from Owen's far side, gun still trained on the Indominus.
The raptors and the Indominus continued communicating, the raptors screeching, sending even more chills down Emily's spine, and the Indominus doing that half roar thing.
"I know why they wouldn't tell us what it's made of." Owen's voice was steady.
Barry looked up, glancing at Owen, "Why?"
Emily spoke for the first time, some of the terror running through her veins leaching into her voice, "Because she's part raptor."
Adrenaline joined the terror as the Indominus shifted its gaze to Emily and her friends. And the raptors followed suit, eyes fixed on Owen.
A murmured swear escaped the park survivor's lips.
Briana lifted her head just long enough to yell, "Engage!"
Gunfire erupted, all of it focused on the Indominus, who roared and turned to flee into the forest. Emily fired off a round, wincing at the kickback from the gun. Right as the raptors peeled off into the jungle, two of them going right, two of them going left.
One of Hoskins' men fired a rocket after the Indominus, causing an explosion. The Indominus roared, but Emily knew it hadn't been killed, mostly because it moved off into the trees with one last roar. They all stood moving around the log to follow.
"Watch your six!" Owen moved forward, "Raptor's got a new alpha!"
Emily added, "The raptors peeled off to the sides!"
"They'll try to single us out, so stick to being in groups!" Lizzy jumped in, moving to walk beside Emily.
"You heard her!" Briana took the lead by Owen, "Keep your eyes on the move!"
Their group kept moving, past the trees still burning from the explosion and deeper into the jungle.
Something flashed past in Emily's peripheral vision and she froze, grabbing at Lizzy's arm.
"What?" the assistant raptor trainer murmured.
Emily's voice shook, "The raptors are hunting us."
Lizzy turned, putting her back to Emily's, "Let's hope they go for Hoskins' guys first."
They both stood there for a long moment, the jungle silent saving for the burning trees and some distant insects.
Something flashed in Emily's peripheral vision again and she turned, breaking away from Lizzy. And Echo leapt out of the jungle, right at Emily.
There you go, more raptor drama. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, feel free to leave a review and check out the prequel!