A/N: Currently re-writing and reposting my old stories, so long-time users might have read this before. But: a lot has changed in it ;-)
This was written a looooong time ago, just after the first Jurassic World movie came out.
This story is an AU for Jurassic World 1, after the raptors are used to try and kill the Indominus Rex. It will be a multi-chaptered fic. Will feature Claire, Zaxh and Gray in later chapters.
All favs, follows and reviews are highly appreciated ;-)
It was a stupid plan to begin with. Owen had known from the start that setting the raptors loose wasn't the best idea, but for lack of anything better, he had, albeit reluctantly, agreed to it.
But as soon as the raptors started communicating with the Indominus Rex, he knew the situation was about to escalate. And it did indeed. Very quickly…
"This is not good…"
Owen had barely uttered the words, or Blue, Charlie, Echo and Delta turned around and menacingly locked their gaze on the troopers. Where the raptors had been iNGen's secret weapon against the Indominus, they now turned against them, and the animals wasted no time in preparing their attack.
For a few moments, the four raptors simply stared at the troopers in front of them. The tension was palpable as men and animals were locked in a staredown.
Owen studied the animals he thought he knew so well, but in this moment he recognized nothing of the pack he had spent so many hours with.
Suddenly, as if an invisible force commanded them to, the four raptors scattered in different directions, disappearing into the bushes and low foliage.
"Watch your backs!" Owen shouted. He knew the raptors would make their move soon now and were most likely to attack from behind.
He held his rifle at the ready, finger tensed around the trigger. Shooting his raptors was the last thing he wanted to do, but he might not have a choice. If his predictions for this situation were even close to becoming a reality, this place would soon be a war zone.
The rustling of leaves and the rapid footsteps on the mossy forest floor were their only short warning that the attack had truly begun. The raptors seemed to come from every direction and they were fast, clawing and biting at everything in their way.
The iNGen troopers fired at anything that moved. They tried to eliminate the Indominus by burying it in bullets and grenades, but it only caused the large dinosaur to flee away from them, apparently not harmed even in the slightest.
The raptors, on the other hand, were too fast to get a good aim at and the animals continued to wreak havoc. In only a short period of time, they killed or severely wounded many of the iNGen troopers. It was rapidly turning into a losing battle for the soldiers.
Owen managed to fight the animals off himself and those surrounding him for a while, but he wasn't sure for how much longer he would be able to. With every taste of flesh and blood, the raptors got more fierce, their natural hunting instincts surfacing with haunting and deadly accuracy. Owen knew damn well that escaping from here with his life, would be a mean feat.
Suddenly, one of the raptors popped up from behind a bush only a few yards in front of Owen, and he immediately realised he had walked straight into the trap these animals were only too good at setting up.
Owen froze. He stared intently at the animal in front of him, doing his utter best to read its expression to try and determine when the attack from behind would be coming. Because he knew the raptor in front of him was only a decoy, and the real danger was probably already creeping up his six.
"Easy, Blue…" Owen mumbled, never breaking eye contact with the dinosaur in front of him. The beta raptor cocked her head to the side and growled softly, flashing razor-sharp teeth.
Owen cast a careful glance over his shoulder. The movement in the bushes behind him was unmistakable. "Easy…"
He slowly took a step to the side to see what Blue would do with that. To his horror, he saw her copying his movement. Shit… killing mode was definitely still full on.
A minute movement from Blue's head gave Owen just a split-second to react. He dived forward, throwing himself onto the ground for the attack he knew was coming from behind him. He prepared himself for the deadly bite, the teeth sinking into his flesh to rob him of his life. But it didn't…
Instead, Owen felt one of the raptor's heavy paws land on his back as the dinosaur ran over him. His muscles and bones groaned under the animal's weight.
As the raptor put her full weight on the paw, one of its talons sank deep into Owen's back, right between his shoulder blades. The pain was intense, close to unbearable, but still nothing compared to what followed next.
The raptor set off, keeping up its stride. The motion forced the talon backwards, and tore Owen's flesh open to leave a deep laceration which stretched to halfway down his back.
Owen immediately felt hot blood spill from the wound. An involuntary scream in pain tore from his lips.
The raptor that had wounded him stopped to look back at its victim. It was Charlie.
Owen glanced up at the animal he once almost trusted. Hazy with pain and already starting to feel the effects of blood loss, he knew this situation was dire.
He slowly came to terms with the fact that this animal would soon kill him, especially now it had smelled his blood. Owen's rifle had fallen to the ground, out of his grasp, and he knew he would never be able to grab it before Charlie would reach him. He was simply defenceless.
"Come on, just do it…." Owen whispered more to himself. All he wanted was to be killed quickly, and not some dragged out, extremely painful mauling.
To his surprise, Charlie cocked her head to the side and made a noise that almost sounded like an apology. Their eyes locked once more, human and ancient being, before Charlie took off into the jungle at full speed. Blue quickly followed her sister, and in the distance the other raptors could be heard doing the same.
Owen blew out a deep breath, though his relief was only short-lived. The few troopers that had managed to survive so far had fled the scene in the trucks and with Owen's motorcycle. He was all alone now, in the middle of the jungle, bleeding, severely wounded and with dangerous dinosaurs on the loose. He was lucky if he survived the next hour…
Now that the adrenaline of the fight was wearing off, the pain from his wounds took an even stronger hold on Owen. He could feel his clothes stick to parts of his flesh that should not be exposed. Blood drenched his shirt and jacket and was soaking it even further with every passing minute.
Owen carefully tried to move, but quickly seized his attempts. Even the slightest movement hurt him unbelievably much, and he found that his muscles would not cooperate with carrying any kind of weight. He slouched back to the ground, lying still on his front on the muddy grass. Black spots blurred his vision as the pain became more and more intense. His wounds stung, bit and seared all at the same time.
Slowly, Owen came to realise that, if nobody found him soon, he would probably die right here. And the chances that anyone would come back for him were very slim.
He thought about what Zach and Gray would think when they found out he had died. He was a hero in their eyes, and heroes were not supposed to die. He thought about how he regretted not getting a second chance at a date with Claire. And finally, he thought about what an idiot he had been to let himself be talked into participating in Hoskins' plan.
Owen realised only too well that he had helped set the raptors loose on the island, which had now resulted in the slaughter of nearly the entire team of troopers. And there were probably many more victims to come once the dinosaurs reached the park's resort…
Owen felt responsible for it all. The weight of every lost soul pressed down on his shoulders and tried to squeeze the breath out of him.
But mostly, Owen felt guilt. Guilty about betraying his raptors.
They had been a pack, and he had been their alpha. It should have been his responsibility to protect them from people like Hoskins, but instead he had participated in leading the animals straight into their almost certain death. And even if, in the slightest possibility that they survived, they would be scarred for life.
"I'm sorry…" Owen whispered into the grass. His muscles lost all their strength and his vision blurred even further.
One single tear rolled down his cheek as he lost himself to unconsciousness.