Now, a little something you might not know is that characters tend to take on a life of their own. So while I may have created Blue and Co., I can't always control the choices they make. For instance, in this case Nathan popped his head up and demanded that I show his point of view. Then Robbie popped up and gave her opinion on her romantic life, and well… this chapter was born.
What! Oliver and Caleb want a scene, too! Oh for crying out… okay, okay fine.
Yeesh. Characters.
"Blue!"
Nathan made to go to her, to help her back up from where she'd fallen after slipping on the blood, but a huge raptor stalked forward. Its eyes were currently on the raptor eating the still-writhing Phil, but that could change at any moment. He wanted to risk it, he wanted to charge across the room and get to his sister, but he couldn't. He'd only die, and where would Blue be then?
Of course, there was also Robbie worry about. She was clinging to him, both of her arms wrapped around his left one, her entire body trembling like a thin leaf in a hearty gale, barely hanging on as it fluttered helplessly. He couldn't abandon her; he had to protect her.
But he couldn't abandon Blue.
Then fate made his decision for him, as a chandelier (was that where the raptor that killed Phil had come from?) crashed down on top of Blue, knocking her to the floor… and knocking her out.
Her head hit the floor with a sickening thud, and there was a tinkling sound as glass shattered and fell all around her. The chandelier landed on top of her, pinning her to the ground.
"Blue!" Her name was ripped out of his throat, an instinctive reaction that he couldn't control. The large raptor turned towards him. Shit.
Instinct tapped his civilized brain on the shoulder, clearing its throat and stepping forward to assert itself. Nathan's body moved, executing motions quickly and fluidly. It was almost as if he'd been preparing for something like this, and he supposed, in such a flight or fight situation, he had. Some part of his subconscious, an ancient, primal part of him long since forgotten and lying dormant had awoken and was now doing its best to keep him alive.
Nate grabbed Robbie tighter, whirling her in his arms but still shielding her from the large raptor. He then sprinted through the screaming, disjointed crowd towards the door, grabbing the nearest person and pulling them, practically throwing them behind him as if they were a hasty offering for the raptor – a last-minute sacrifice to the gods of the prehistoric.
He was running as fast as he could, Robbie at his side. She was clutching his arm, almost panting with the exertion… Nathan reminded himself, ruefully, that consuming alcohol and then undergoing an impromptu workout was not the best idea.
Crashing through the crowd, they reached the huge entrance doors surprisingly quickly. Nathan pushed them open, half dragging Robbie next to him. He was glad, although mildly surprised, that she'd managed to keep up with him in those high heels of hers. They did wonders for setting off her creamy legs, but he doubted they were of much help to her now.
Nathan led her to a small patch of undergrowth that was growing next to one of the low walls that flanked the stairs, ducking down and pulling Robbie with him. He allowed them one moment to catch their breaths, one moment to try and slow their galloping heartbeats down to a trot, before turning to her.
"Take off your heels." Nathan ordered. He was surprised at how his voice managed to sound authoritative; he'd been a little scared it would squeak.
"I'll have to go barefoot." Robbie said, reaching down and pulling off her strappy heels.
"You'll have to deal with it – I'd rather you be uncomfortable then break an ankle. We have to get back to the helicopter, and to do that we'll be on a dirt road. We might even have to cut through the jungle."
"Won't everyone else be thinking the same thing we are?" Robbie asked. She'd removed one shoe and was working on the other. They spoke in hushed, frenzied whispers, their faces inches apart so that they could be quiet and still hear one another.
"Maybe, if they're thinking at all." Nathan said. He dared a quick glance over the wall and saw that the strobe lights were still sending out their pulses of colored lights, framing the dark, faceless shapes of humans and dinosaurs through the broken windows. Nobody else appeared to have used the door for an exit yet – the outside plaza, driveway, and road were deserted.
"What about Oliver and Caleb? I know Phil was…" Robbie's voice simultaneously trailed off, choked, and squeaked, resulting in a strange strangled noise.
"I didn't see them anywhere in the club. I kind of assumed they'd found somewhere quiet to, y'know, knock boots or something." Nathan brought his left hand up and rubbed the back of his neck.
"So they're either oblivious to what's going on or they heard and got out already?" Robbie guessed, following his train of thought.
"It's the only thing I can think of. But I wouldn't trust my brain right now. I'm still kind of…" Nathan shook his head. He moved his right hand to cover his eyes so Robbie wouldn't see his tears, but realized they were still holding hands. He didn't want to let go of hers; he'd waited five years to hold Robbie Everson's hand, and he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to make it last as long as possible. So he left it where it was, and Robbie got to see the tears well up in his eyes, flushing the skin around them, rimming them in red.
"God, Robbie, she better be dead because if she's alive and I just left her I never…" Nate couldn't finish the sentence. His throat was closed up, unable to make any noise, and a few determined tears overflowed and ran down his cheeks.
In all the years he had known her, Robbie had only had one expression on her face: mischief. Joyful mischief, angry mischief, vengeful mischief, casual mischief, loving mischief… no matter what her emotion, her face had always shown some variation of that natural tease and good-natured scheming that was Robbie. But in the course of the last few minutes, Nathan had seen shock, fear, horror, sadness, and now concern etched onto her pale, elfin features.
Tentatively, almost as if she were unsure how he'd react, Robbie reached up with her right hand – the one that wasn't holding his – and place it on his cheek, cupping it, using her thumb to wipe the tears away. Her left hand squeezed his reassuringly.
"There was nothing you could do. That chandelier was huge, I'm sure…" Robbie hiccupped from trying to keep in her own tears. "I'm sure she'd want you to be safe."
Robbie then blushed, and shifted her gaze from his eyes to the ground. "And I know I'm grateful that you saved me." She looked up at him again. "And I know that you would have saved her if you could."
Nathan nodded dumbly. It was just beginning to sink in, now that the adrenaline rush had subsided, that Blue was gone; dead from a blow to the head or by raptors. His sister was dead, and it was because of him. Because he'd lied and brought her along instead of keeping her somewhere safe. Why didn't they drop her off at the Hamptons, for fuck's sake? She'd have been fine there on her own for the weekend before he arrived.
"I'm going to keep protecting you, Robbie. We're going to make it out of here." Nathan assured her. He hoped that Blue would forgive him, wherever her soul was now. He knew she'd appreciate his escorting Robbie to safety.
But there was a stone forming in the pit of his stomach, growing and settling in like it was going to be there a while. Nathan swallowed hard to try and dissipate the lump in his throat.
Blue was dead.
And it was his fault.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"You have got to move your leg."
"Would you mind shifting a little?"
"Seriously, I am not that limber."
It wasn't their first time, and both Oliver and Caleb liked to think that they were getting pretty good at sex – both in general and with each other. They were starting to find a rhythm, learn what worked and what didn't, and how to please each other while also getting off themselves.
However, while they had been sexually active for a good month now (and only with each other, thank you very much), they still hit the occasional snag.
Trying to have sex against a tree, for example.
Oh, sure, sex in the great outdoors sounded fun and romantic, and it certainly was something to brag about with your buddies or smugly admit in a game of 'Never Have I Ever', but the reality was definitely not living up to expectations. Honestly, if they'd known it was this much trouble they would've just gone up to the boys' hotel room instead of out here.
The spot they had chosen was to the left of the building, more towards the front of the huge complex than the back, in a particularly thick clump of trees that completely hid them from view if you were outside of said clump.
"Wrap your legs around me."
"Lift your butt a little and I'll lift my hips."
Finally in a position that they were both comfortable with, Oliver began to thrust. Their bodies, now well acquainted with how they worked together, quickly picked up speed and soon they were panting and crying out into the darkness, just two animals adding their cries to the night.
Oliver climbed off of Caleb, unsheathing himself and helping her up. They adjusted their clothes and made sure the other looked presentable. Oliver suddenly snaked an arm around Caleb's waist and pulled her close, pecking her on the lips.
"You know you're gorgeous, right?" He asked, smiling.
"You're just cocky because you made me come." Caleb responded, lightly teasing him.
Several crashing sounds broke through the darkness, shattering the silence just like the windows the raptors had burst through. The sound was quickly followed by several piercing screams. Caleb gripped Oliver involuntarily, the screams shooting through the air like arrows to plunge into her, hitting her in the gut. Oliver swallowed hard, his blood freezing and chills chasing each other up his spine.
"What the fuck is that?" He asked.
A faded snippet of memory floated to the top of Caleb's brain. "Hey… you remember those InGen rumors? And that San Diego stunt they pulled?"
Oliver nodded slowly, vaguely recalling hearing something about it. He'd been in his early teens at the time, not really paying attention to anything going on outside his own little part of the universe.
Caleb swallowed a few times – her throat was so dry it had closed up. "Maybe it was all true. Maybe this island really is home to…"
Both of them looked behind and around them, trying to see if there were any ancient eyes staring out at them from the darkness. Suddenly, their tiny tree grove no longer seemed so safe and private. They could be sitting ducks out here.
"We have to find the others." Oliver said. He took a few steps forward, pulling Caleb by the arm, but she was frozen, just staring at the converted InGen building.
"C'mon, Caleb. We can't stay here, and we can't leave Nate and the others." Oliver said.
Caleb seemed to snap out of it a little, and she followed him towards the building obediently. "Oh God, Blue!" She moaned. "We brought Blue and she's just a kid…"
Oliver would've smacked his forehead if he hadn't been so panicked. They'd brought a teenage girl into this too… ah, shit.
As they got closer to the building, they could see through the windows (the strobe lights helpfully illuminating the scene) the most gruesome scene either young adult had ever witnessed. The dinosaurs attacking the helpless partiers looked a little familiar… what were they called? Velociraptors? No… close, but no cigar. What were they?
It didn't really matter what they were called, though, because they were tearing into the guests, shredding their guts like they were made of paper. Oh God, they were eating them alive… they were still screaming…
Caleb trembled. "They're still… oh my God…"
Her stomach suddenly pushed everything back up her throat, and Caleb half-knelt as the remains of her Cosmopolitan and her Lemon Drop made a less-than-glamorous reappearance on the jungle floor.
Oliver rubbed her back soothingly, helping her keep her hair out of her face while she retched her guts out. Her digested food and drink were long since disposed of, but Caleb kept dry heaving, her throat constricting and stomach twisting almost painfully.
After a few moments, her body stilled and her trembling ceased. Oliver helped her stand back up while she sucked in great gulps of air. Every bit of oxygen burned her throat, every swallow of saliva like a drought of liquid metal, searing her esophagus.
"I'm okay now." She said after a minute. She wiped away the tears that had leaked out her eyes when she'd thrown up. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure, babe?" Oliver asked, concerned.
Caleb nodded resolutely. "We have to find Robbie and Nathan, and his sister."
"And Phil." Oliver added as an afterthought.
"Oh, yeah, him too." Caleb nodded.
They started forward again but Oliver stopped them after just a few feet. The screams were louder now, and more had joined in – it wasn't just a few people now, the entire room of patrons was shrieking.
"We can't." Oliver realized. "We can't go in there."
Caleb looked at him, her eyes wide. "What? We have to! They're our friends!"
Oliver's features were contorted with pain. "We can't go after them. What are we going to do? We'll just get eaten ourselves."
Caleb's face was a mask of horror, almost waxy with sweat and lack of blood. "I can't leave them." She said hoarsely.
Oliver tried to speak, but found he couldn't. His voice had abandoned him. Caleb searched his face as if she could find the answer somewhere in there. Oliver always knew what to do, and she'd come to depend upon him. But now, she saw that he was just as lost and afraid as she was. That scared her more than any dinosaur.
Tears trickled down Caleb's face, quickly becoming a flood and she gave in to the need to cry. Oliver pulled her in for a hug, holding her as she shook and sobbed in his arms. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the grisly scene only ten feet away from them, watching as blood was splattered across the few window panes that still remained. The drops slid slowly down the clear glass, looking like a form of macabre raindrops, and Oliver had to swallow down the bile that rose in his throat.
He didn't want to go into that room – every bit of him screamed in protest against the idea. He wanted to stay alive, and staying alive meant staying away from the predator-infested building. But beyond the simple survival instinct, he knew that they couldn't go in there. There was nothing they could do to stop the carnage or assist their friends. If there was, Oliver would have done it that second, his own survival be damned, but there wasn't. If they went in there, they'd only die as well and for no reason.
Caleb knew it, too, no matter how much she hated it, and she continued to cry, her sobs becoming so violent that she hiccupped and had to interrupt her crying to suck in deep breaths. In between each lungful of air, she'd let out another choking sob.
As Caleb slowly calmed herself down, Oliver ran through their options. The minute there was trouble Nathan would have one thought: get to Blue. Blue was upstairs in the girl's hotel room, so that was where Nathan would lead the others. They would most likely hole up there until the carnage was over, and then try to think of a means to get off the island.
Oliver knew they couldn't do anything now, but maybe if they waited it out, stayed hidden out here until dinosaurs had left, they could enter the building and find the others. Or, even better, camp out and wait for the others to reappear outside the building. But what if they were too scared to leave? Okay, so wait until the dinosaurs left and then search the building.
Gently, Oliver led his girlfriend back to the clump of trees. They were completely shielded from sight here, as he'd noted earlier when choosing this spot as their impromptu bedroom, and so the dinosaurs shouldn't see them. Besides, he was pretty sure they'd come from the opposite end of the building, or they would've passed right by them on their way to their prey. Oliver was certain that he and Caleb wouldn't be standing there right then if the predators had stumbled upon them on their way to the main course. Can you say appetizer?
Sinking down to sit with his back against a particularly large tree, Oliver continued to hold Caleb. She had quieted down enough to notice her surroundings again, and looked at him questioningly.
"There's nothing we can do now, but if we wait it out we can go back in and look for them, after… after it's all over." Oliver tried not to think about what they'd find when they went back into the building. He shuddered slightly. "Nathan might not have grown up with Blue but the two are close; he's going to want to get to her."
"And she's up in the room." Caleb finished his thought. "But once they get her, won't they try to leave?"
"Would you want to go back down there after you'd just escaped?" Oliver asked.
Caleb's face, which had begun to regain its normal hue, went white again. There was no need to answer him.
Oliver took a deep breath and went on. "Once they get to the room, they're going to want to stay there. It's relatively safe – I don't think those, those things are going to go searching the place. I'm sure the, um, they'll get their fill… fuck, I hate even thinking about it… they're going to leave once they tear open enough stomachs and I doubt they'll need any more after the fucking feast they've got going on now. So they'll stay in the room until the creatures leave, and then…"
"They'll hightail it for the helicopter." Caleb finished.
Oliver looked at her. That hadn't occurred to him. "The helicopter?"
"Yes. They'll want to get off the island. Don't you want to get off? Are you telling me you want to spend one more minute on this fucking place then you have to? There's only one way off that I know of, and that's the helicopter pad. So that's where they'll head."
Oliver closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the tree, groaning a little. "And the only way to that is along that dirt road; nothing but jungle on either side. We'll be a walking lunch for a passing Spinosaurus."
Caleb shuddered in his arms, but didn't say anything. What could she say? He was right. "We'll have to risk it." She said finally. "It's our only hope."
"Once we get there, how are we going to even get the thing off the ground? I can't fly a helicopter." Oliver said. He looked at her. "Are there some flying lessons you were taking without my knowing?"
Caleb shook her head. "The helicopter isn't there right now. It took off after we loaded everything into the jeep, remember? We'll have to radio it for the pilot to come and pick us up."
"Did you see a radio tower or anything at the pad?"
Caleb thought for a moment before shaking her head in disgust. "No, damn it. We have no way of contacting the pilot that I know of."
"So once we get to the landing pad we'll just have to wait." Oliver said. "He might not come."
"Yes, he will. Don't you remember? There are scheduled pick up times for those leaving the island. He'll arrive at those times." Caleb reminded him.
"Do you know when those times are?"
"Well we were scheduled to be at the helicopter pad at 11:00 the morning we were leaving." Caleb pointed out.
Oliver nodded. "So that's most likely the pickup time." He said slowly. He looked at her. "We'll have to wait here until later then."
Caleb nodded, settling down so that she was curled up into his arms. "One of us will have to keep watch." She said. She hated to admit it, but between the sex, the fear and the crying, she was exhausted.
"I'll take first watch." Oliver said, a thin, tiny smile stretching his lips slightly.
Caleb's body appeared to recognize the invitation, and she immediately slipped into slumber.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"How will we get to the helicopter?" Robbie asked.
Nathan considered this a minute. He didn't want to just strut down the road to the helicopter pad, but he didn't feel comfortable in the dense vegetation, either.
"Do you think we could swipe a jeep?" He asked. There were no cars outside the building, so he assumed they'd parked them in a garage somewhere or something; a garage that was, most likely, locked. Great.
Robbie must have had the same thoughts he did, because she shook her head tightly. "They'll be locked up, I'm sure, and we don't even know where to find them. We can't waste time looking for them."
"My thoughts exactly; so we'll have to walk. We'll stay under the cover of the trees but along the road so that we won't get lost." Nathan decided.
"When should we head out?" Robbie asked. She glanced back towards the building, where screams continued to emanate… although not as many as before.
Nathan could picture the scene in his head with unsettling clarity. Most people would be dead by now, their half-eaten bodies littering the floor. The survivors would be cowering, hiding behind overturned objects, praying that they wouldn't be found. There might even be a few that had raced back up to their rooms and locked themselves in.
"Now, while they're still distracted." He decided. Gripping Robbie's hand tightly, he stared into her great green eyes. "On the count of three, okay?"
Robbie could only nod.
"One…
"Two…
"Three!"
Nate jumped up and leapt over the low wall, Robbie doing the same, and they tore across the open area towards the cover of the jungle on the other side of the wide steps. The trees seemed impossibly far away, and they ran for all they were worth.
A few impossibly long seconds later, they reached the jungle, entering it and almost collapsing on the ground from exhaustion. Nathan's heart was beating so hard and fast he thought it would burst out of his chest with the strength of its pounding. Robbie was next to him on all fours, breathing deeply. Her shoes were still held, tightly, in the hand that wasn't holding Nathan's.
Neither of them noticed the shadow approaching them.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
He was almost full, but 'almost' was good enough. Just one or two more should be enough to make him sated. Then he wouldn't have to hunt for the next couple weeks. They were quite lucky they'd stumbled upon such a nest of easy prey.
The remaining animals were hiding. Not very well, he might add.
There was movement out of the corner of his eye, and he turned.
Ah! Two animals running in front of the cave-not-cave! He could smell their fear and panic. They'd be easy pickings.
Crouching down, his tail swishing, he stalked them as they ran across the hard stone clearing into the nice, dark trees.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"I never realized how out of shape I was until now." Nathan mumbled.
"I think it's just the stress. You've got plenty of muscle." Robbie commented absentmindedly.
Nathan looked at her. She admired his muscles? Robbie blushed.
The shadow grew closer.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
They were lying on the ground. The fear was still there, but it was a little stale now. They were calming down.
Silly animals.
In just a few steps, he'd be close enough to pounce.
He decided he'd take down the smaller one first, the female.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"Why do you still have those ridiculous heels with you?" Nathan asked, trying to deflect.
Robbie seemed grateful he'd changed the subject. "Do you have any idea how much these cost? Besides, I like them and who knows – I might end up needing them."
Nathan opened his mouth to retort that it was ridiculous and sentimental and what the hell was it with women and shoes when he saw a shadow moving behind Robbie. He turned towards it, his mouth dry. The shadow was shaped just like a raptor.
He only had time to yell Robbie's name when the raptor leaped towards her. Nathan also moved, grabbing Robbie and pulling her towards him, thinking to cover her with his body, but the raptor was faster, landing on Robbie with one massive foot firmly on Nathan's outstretched arm, pinning it down and preventing him from moving to help her.
Robbie screamed. Panicked, with flight not an option, a surge of adrenaline came to her rescue and her entire mind shouted fight!
Bringing her right hand up, the one Nathan had been trying to grab, she held one of her shoes like a weapon, the heel pointed firmly at the raptor. At the same time she brought both her legs up, tucking them up against her stomach and preventing the raptor from slashing at her abdomen. Frustrated, the raptor brought his head down to snap at her, and as his jaws opened, Robbie plunged the heel of her shoe into its open maw, embedding it in the top of his mouth.
The raptor made a strangled scream, blood pouring from its mouth onto Robbie, who wriggled desperately to get out from underneath. Nathan scrambled into a slightly upright position, grabbing Robbie's other heel and ramming it into the foot that was pinning him down. The raptor made another sound of pain and moved its foot, and Nathan jumped up, giving the raptor a hockey check that managed to set it a bit off balance.
Holding the shoe firmly in his hand, Nathan checked the raptor again, making it stumble. He brought the shoe up and plunged it into the raptor's stomach, making it howl. More blood poured over Robbie, but she was able to scamper to her feet and get away. The raptor stumbled, the first shoe still in its mouth with the other embedded in its chest. Nathan helped Robbie to her feet and they backed up slowly, eyes never leaving the predator.
"Remind me never to complain about your heels again." Nathan breathed.
"Remind me to thank Steve Madden." Robbie shot back.
The raptor appeared to decide that dying quietly was better than trying to fight again, and it stumbled off into the jungle. As the raptor stumbled off, two other figures hurried towards them. Robbie scrambled back towards Nathan, clutching at him with abandon. He made a mental note to hold this moment over her the next time she declared she didn't need a man.
"Robbie?" It was Caleb.
"Cal?" Robbie responded.
"Robbie!" Caleb burst out of the trees, Oliver right behind her.
"Nate? What the hell are you guys doing out here?" Oliver asked, grinning as he clapped Nate on the shoulder. "We thought you'd be in the building."
"Where's Blue and Phil?" Caleb asked, after she and Robbie had hugged fiercely. Robbie seemed unaware of her blood-spattered state.
Robbie made a choking noise and looked at Nathan, who swallowed down the lump in his throat. "Phil was attacked by a raptor and didn't make it." He explained. "Blue was… she…"
Nathan blinked a few times and looked down at the ground. Robbie reached out and put a hand on his arm, and Caleb looked at him sympathetically.
"I'm sorry." She said quietly.
Oliver nodded seriously, unsure of what, if anything, to say.
Nathan looked into Robbie's eyes, devoid of humor. They almost glowed with emotion. The hand on his arm tightened almost imperceptivity before releasing him and dropping her arm back down to her side.
"I guess we'll have to move sooner than we thought." Oliver commented to Caleb.
"We were thinking the helicopter pad." Nathan said.
"That's what we decided on." Caleb confirmed.
"I feel like we're in Lost." Oliver remarked.
"If that's true then Nathan's Jack." Robbie said.
"If I'm Jack, then who's Sawyer?" Nathan asked absentmindedly.
He looked back towards the building where the body of his sister lay. He wanted to go back so badly, if only to say a proper goodbye. He was going to leave, not even able to bring back her body for burial.
He'd never been one for ceremony or going to church, but he suddenly felt a great sadness that Blue wouldn't get a proper funeral.
It's always the little traditions that end up surprising us with their importance.
"Nathan?"
Robbie had stepped closer and was scrutinizing him gently. Nathan faked a smile, which she saw through. She gave him her classic 'suuuuuure' look, and a shadow of her formal twinkle appeared in her eye for a moment. Nathan hoped that by the end, that twinkle would be back in full strength.
"We have to get moving." He said curtly.
Oliver slipped an arm around Caleb who, like Robbie, was barefoot. Nathan winced inwardly. They'd have to fix that, or the girls were going to have some wicked cuts and blisters by the end.
Instinctively, he reached out and grabbed Robbie's hand. It shouldn't have been instinctive, as they'd never held hands before this night, but after all that had happened, he just needed to feel connected to her. Robbie seemed to appreciate the gesture, and she squeezed his hand.
With a collective deep breath, the four started out. Nathan knew that whatever happened next, they would either live or die within the next twenty-four hours.
He also knew that he was determined to live, if only for Blue.
His sister.
Well, that's those characters out of the way for now! And just so you know, for those unbelievers among you… never doubt the power of a four-inch spike heel. Honestly; my friend once seriously injured her hand when she was at a party and another friend stepped on her hand while in stilettos.
I hope you guys are enjoying this story so far – if you are, please be so kind as to let me know! Reviews are like crack… ha ha, I love it when people who have clearly never done crack say something's 'like crack'… me being one of those people.