So, this story is getting close to being done. This chapter starts the big fight!
Lightning lit up the sky in a spectacular display of white light, and the moment it disappeared the creature was gone. She was nowhere on the deck now amongst the shipping crates. She had simply vanished with the lightning.
"You okay, McGee?" Tony asked as his partner stumbled back into him. "I didn't think you were afraid of lightning and thunder."
"She was looking right at me," Tim whispered, his heart pounding within his ribcage. "It's like she knew I was in here."
"Is she still out there?" Tony pressed his face against the glass. There were no living beings, save for the seagulls, on the deck. Everything was as lonesome as when they had first arrived on the Black Raptor. "I think you're just getting paranoid."
"I'd be too if that thing attacked me," Allan piped up, leaning over in his chair and resting his chin on his folded hands.
"You," Tony pointed to him, "be quiet."
"It is your fault that she attacked us and even got on the ship in the first place," Ziva stated as she paced behind Allan.
"I know, I know," he cupped his face and took a deep breath. "I don't know if you believe me or not, but I am truly sorry that all of this happened."
Gibbs shook his head, crossing his arms. They had to figure out what to do next. If they docked that creature would most likely jump onto dry land the first chance it got. That would put several civilians in danger. If they did not put that thing out of commotion while they were on the ship then all hell would break loose.
"We have to kill it," Gibbs spoke finally, stating what was on his mind.
"Yeah, good luck with that," Allan glanced up. "She has super stiff armor plates beneath her hide that are practically bullet proof."
"That's why she did not drop when I shot her earlier," Ziva's eyes lit up. "But you managed to hit her beneath her eye."
"I can't believe that you guys actually were able to get a few hits in while she was attacking you," Allan raised his brows.
"It was not as easy as you are assuming," Ziva commented as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps, if were able to get a direct shot through the eye that would kill her."
"Have to be one hell of a shot, Ziva," Gibbs pointed out. "She moves her head too fast to get a clear lock on."
"Maybe a trap would take her out?" Ducky suggested. "If you could set up a trap to either kill her or at least keep her still while you put her down then that might be an effective method."
"What kind of trap would you set?" Tony inquired as he joined the conversation. "I just saw that thing, and she is a true blue, straight from the movies monster."
"A net trap may catch her," Ziva glanced at Tony and Gibbs for approval.
"Nah, she'd rip out of one of those with her claws easy," Gibbs shook his head. "I think that I might have an idea, but it means going outside down to the cargo hold."
The creature stopped and sniffed the air, her nostrils flaring as the scent of humans entered her sensitive nose. Her claws clinked quietly on the grating as she stalked down to the cargo hold where the scent trail was leading her. Something seemed wrong. The humans would not have come out of hiding since they now knew she was prowling in the bowels of the ship. Something was wrong indeed.
Unnatural light glinted off her dark red and black feathers as she lifted her head higher. Stacks of crates formed a maze around her, and her senses were pounded with the mechanical smell of the ship around her and the parts being delivered in the great wooden boxes.
A quiet moan to her left brought her closer to the man that had been hiding in the cargo hold earlier. The scent of blood flooded her nose, but by now it was something that she was used to. As she came closer, her eyes dilated to adjust to the dim light. Shadows cloaked the badly injured man, but her nocturnal eyesight could see him just fine. Tipping her head to the side like that of a bird, she analyzed the wounds she had caused in her first attack on him. There was a gouge running from his shoulder clear down to his hip that was still partially bleeding. One of his legs was broken, with the white bone sticking half way out through the muscle. Three identical scratches ran across his face and across his now missing eye. All in all, he was in great pain.
"No…no…get away from me…." He mumbled as she came closer, her scythe-like claws tapping curiously on the metal floor.
She dipped her head down next to his head, sniffing his hair and wounds. Lifting her head again she decided that he had not been around her eggs. Her eyes narrowed into slits as her temper flared. Those eggs had belonged to her; those were her chicks inside of them. She had to find them before one of the humans hurt them or they hatched. Tapping her killer claws in frustration she returned her attention back to the human lying at her feet.
"Please…don't hurt…me anymore…." He groaned as the raptor set a foot on his back. When he expected her to stab him with the claw on her foot, she did nothing. Instead he felt the creature's hot breath on the back of his neck as she slid her jaws around his skull. With a quick twist of her head, his neck snapped and ended his misery.
Standing up and not paying any more attention to the dead man, she stalked away to the heart of the cargo hold. Blood ran from the corners of her mouth as did a sticky concoction that made her saliva. Her lips pulled back from her multiple serrated teeth, revealing them to be of all sizes rather than all uniform like the raptors from dinosaur times had.
A familiar scent entered her nose. Immediately she turned towards the opened crate at the end of a row. Inside was a backpack that was bathed in the scent of the creature's eggs. Before she entered, however, she lifted her muzzle to collect the scents that surround the edges of the box. There was the smell of humans everywhere. Something was wrong and she knew it. Cautiously, she prowled towards the black bad. With her teeth she started to pull on the zipper, gradually unzipping it. Inside was one of her eggs. Without hesitation she turned to go find the other but the door slammed shut, efficiently locking her inside.
"We got her!" Tony called out. He snapped the locks in place and jumped down to the ground, landing neatly on his feet. With the help of Allan, he shoved an empty crate in front of the locked one and braced his body against it. "I can't believe that actually worked."
"Me neither," Allan huffed, a smile plastered across his face.
"Okay Boss, you can take the shot," Tony nodded to Gibbs who climbed on top of the crate with his SIG cocked and ready to go.
They had found a crate that had a small hole in the top of it big enough for the muzzle of a gun to fit through when they had decided to set this trap. Tim and Ziva were perched on boxes at the end of the rows with their guns at the ready in case the creature did manage to break out. Ducky was in the bridge for safety, just in case this plan went downhill.
"Ready!" Gibb stood above the small hole and aimed down. In the dark he could catch flashes of dark red feathers on her body and vibrant green on the creature's feathery crest. When he saw the gold of her eye he took the shot.
"Did you get her?" Tim called out.
"I don't know," Gibbs could not hear her anymore but that did not mean anything. He peered down through the hole, careful not to get too close. If he did get her, she must have dropped down in the dark shadows.
"Well, how can we tell if she's dead?" Tony questioned, standing back to stare up at his boss.
Before he could answer, there was a shrill screech and giant crack as the creature rammed into the door with her full two thousand pounds of muscle. The crate blocking the door moved back, nearly crushing Tony and Allan if they had not jumped out of the way. They looked up in horror as the creature stood and shook herself of wood splinters. In the dim light, they could clearly see her in her full glory.
She held a couple scars on her hide. Three ran across her left eye as if she had gotten into a fight with another creature; one tore across her right thigh; and the freshest of them all was the deep score under her right eye from the first time Gibbs had shot her.
"Get out of here!" Gibbs yelled at his frozen agents. "Lock down the cargo hold and get back up to the bridge now!"
Please remember to R&R! Thanks for reading! :)