Jurassic Park Broken Lives
Chapter 11: Life on Site B
Disclaimer: I do not own Jurassic Park.
Author note: I hope you like this chapter and I hope to make others like it. As always, I would like to hear suggestions for improvement. Thank you.
Amanda slowly awoke to Silver Claw's gentle breathing, her head rising and falling with every breath. She gradually sat up, being sure not to wake him. Amanda looked to her left to Ellie were they had left her last night. Amanda quietly put her blanket away then walked around the bend in the cave and looked out the entrance.
The morning light shone into the cave, illuminating the walls. Amanda used her hand to block out some of the light until her eyes adjusted the brightness. Warmth from the sun engulfed her body as she slowly bent over and cupped her hand to get some water. Before long, Amanda walked to the entrance and scanned the surrounding jungle. An unnerving silence covered the area, not a single call came from the forest, the only sound, so faint that it was almost nonexistent, was the stream that had shriveled in size from three feet to only a foot across. The soft smell of flowers, carried by a gentle breeze, filled the air.
Amanda took in a heavy breath and sighed. This place is so beautiful, she thought. I cannot believe how rewarding life is without living in a mansion with lots of money although a pool might be nice. This is true happiness; I only wish my family could see this right now. Amanda slowly sat down in the entrance of the cave, being sure to keep an eye on the jungle around her.
Amanda inhaled deeply and let out a sigh. The wind died down and the scent of flowers soon faded. Amanda inhaled once more and noticed an odd smell in the air that steadily grew more prominent. She tried to wave the scent away but in stayed in the air around her. Suddenly she realized the source of the smell, her. She had not changed her clothing in almost a week, though up until they left the compound she kept her clothing relatively clean. Amanda blushed in embarrassment and quietly stood up.
She quickly walked over, grabbed her bag, and moved back to the entrance. Amanda set the bag against the wall and unzipped it. She proceeded to sort through the contents, gently placing them off to one side or the other. Finally, she found what she was looking for, shorts and a tan t-shirt. Amanda silently unbuttoned her shirt and set it on the ground. Next, she slipped out of the tattered jeans and slipped into the grey shorts. Amanda took this chance to wash her legs and body of the accumulated dirt and sweat from the last few days. She sighed when she happened upon a small cluster of bumps on her typically smooth back.
"Oh well," she sighed as she slid into the shirt.
Amanda placed the remaining clothing back into her bag and grabbed the dirt-covered garments. She bent down by the stream and tried to scrub the filth from them. The shirt tore down the back while the jeans where filled with so many holes that it was not worth the effort to clean. Amanda ripped part of the stronger section of the shirt and buried the rest under some rocks and dirt. She held back her hair and tied the rag around until she had a ponytail.
Amanda placed the bag next to Ellie's backpack, causing a small rock to fall, and walked back to the cave entrance. She sat down on a large rock and stared aimlessly at the horizon. She began to hum the tune Silver Claw did the night before.
Silver Claw slowly woke to Amanda's soft humming and smiled. He quietly stood up and looked around the corned. Amanda continued humming, unaware Silver Claw was awake and he let it stay that way. Gradually he turned to Ellie, her body lying against the cave wall. Silver Claw lowered his head and sniffed the air around Ellie. Well… she is alive, Silver Claw thought. That is a good thing.
Suddenly Silver Claw heard a small rock fall from deep within the cave. He cautiously stepped into the unknown, his eyes quickly adjusting to the light. Where a human might not see at all in this darkness, to Silver Claw it only seemed like dusk. As he approached the source of the noise, the ground turned to solid rock and the walls became wavy and smooth. He sniffed the air and snapped his head to the right just see a lizard scurry behind some rocks.
Silver Claw lowered his head and pushed aside some rocks to find a hole. He sighed and gave the rock a soft kick. The creature looked out of the hole and quickly pulled back. Suddenly the rock crumbled and broke free from the rock wall, exposing a semi clear blue rock and the lizard. Silver Claw smiled and snapped his jaws shut around the creature. Cold blood ran down his jaws and he quickly tossed back the lizard, swallowing it whole. Silver Claw licked his jaws clean of blood and soon turned his attention back to the stone. He examined the rock, its rounded sides and smooth texture intrigued him.
He smiled and picked it up in his claws. I wonder if Amanda would like this. He perked up his head and lifted his feathers. Silver Claw quickly turned towards the entrance and quickly walked in the direction. Amanda's humming soon filled the air and Silver Claw quickened his pace. Soon he rounded the corner and walked up to Amanda.
"I hope I can live here forever." Amanda softly said.
"Me too," Silver Claw said.
Amanda turned to see Silver Claw standing a few meters away.
"Good morning Amanda," Silver Claw said.
"Good morning Silver Claw," she smiled.
Silver Claw looked at Amanda awkwardly and walked up to her. He gently nudged her ponytail and took a step back.
"It's called a ponytail," Amanda explained, "Do you like it?"
Silver Claw looked at it awkwardly for a moment then shook his head.
"Oh ok," Amanda said, slid the band off and let her long dusty brown hair hang loosely at her shoulders.
Silver Claw let out a snort of approval and simply said, "Better."
"What's that?" Amanda asked and pointed to Silver Claw's hand.
Silver Claw placed the stone in Amanda's lap and stepped back. "Wow," Amanda said as she looked at the stone. "It looks like a sapphire, where did you find this?"
Silver Claw turned his head and looked toward the deeper part of the cave then turned back to Amanda. She smiled as she fiddled with the stone, its smooth surface shining in the light. Amanda sighed and looked at Silver Claw.
"Well, here you go." Amanda said and held out the stone in her hand.
Silver Claw shook his head and said, "Yours."
"You're giving me this?" Amanda asked, "Why?"
"Friend," Silver Claw said and pushed her hand away with his snout.
"Thank you," Amanda said for lack of better words and stood up. She wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug, "Thank you," she said again before sitting back down.
"You're welcome," Silver Claw replied.
"How's Ellie?" Amanda asked.
"Sleeping," Silver Claw replied and then slowly sat down next to her.
"I was just thinking how beautiful this place is," Amanda said while playing with the stone. "I love it here."
"Me too," Silver Claw said, "want to learn some more words?"
"Sure," Amanda said, "What about Ellie though?"
"Want to wait?" Silver Claw asked.
"Yeah, we better." Amanda sighed then quietly added, "We don't want her to get angrier with us."
"Yeah," Silver Claw sighed then rested his head on Amanda's lap.
"I was wondering… when might we be getting some food?" Amanda asked.
"Today," he replied.
"Ok, good," Amanda said, "I'm starving."
"I'm… I'm Alive," they suddenly heard Ellie loudly stutter. "Amanda? Amanda where are you?"
"Come towards the light," exclaimed Amanda.
"What happened?" Ellie asked when she rounded the bend and saw Silver Claw and Amanda. "Where was he last night?"
"He found this cave and dragged your unconscious body in here," exclaimed Amanda.
"Unconscious?"
"You slipped and hit your head on a rock," replied Amanda, "if not for our friend here you'd be dead."
"Well… ummm… thank you… I guess," Ellie finally said.
"You're welcome," Silver Claw replied though his head did not leave Amanda's lap.
"What's that?" Ellie asked and pointed to the stone in Amanda's hand.
"Oh this, Silver Claw gave it to me." Amanda said, "It's some kind of gem I think."
Ellie sighed then inhaled deeply. "What's that smell?" Ellie asked, "It's almost musty."
"Probably you," Amanda laughed, "You did fall and get wet yesterday. Then there is the fact that you haven't bathed in almost a week."
"I have to bathed, the day before we left." Ellie replied.
"How, we didn't have any running water," Amanda said, starting to get suspicious.
"That you knew about, I found a working tap outside near the back of the building." Ellie admitted.
"And you didn't tell me!" Amanda said furiously.
"It stopped working after used it the day before we left." Ellie tried to explain.
"But when did you find it?" Amanda questioned.
"Two days after you found me…" Ellie said and turned away, moving behind the bend. The sound of Ellie unzipping her bag echoed through the cave. "Don't come back here, I'm changing."
"Don't worry, I won't but Silver Claw might." Amanda joked, "He has the worst timing; he once walked in on me changing."
"Shut up," Ellie said and poke her head around the corned, "Don't either of you dare come back here." Before long, Ellie reappeared from around the corner in jeans and a green, short sleeved Ingen Construction shirt.
"What do you want to do today?" Ellie asked Amanda.
"Well we were thinking we could learn some new words then go hunting," Amanda replied.
"Let's get some food; I'm not in the mood to learn any new words right now." Ellie said.
"Alright," Amanda sighed then looked at Silver Claw, "do you want to go hunting now?"
"Ok," He said excitedly and almost immediately was on his feet.
"On sec," Amanda said, "I should change that bandage, it looks a little red."
Silver Claw watched as Amanda quickly went into her bag, retrieved some bandages and put the stone in her bag. Amanda quickly walked back to Silver Claw and told him what she did with the stone. When Silver Claw nodded Amanda slowly began to peel off the old bandage and looked at it with amazement.
"Raptors don't bleed much… do they?" Amanda questioned in amazement, "For this deep of a wound I would have expected a lot more blood."
"No," Silver Claw could only say due to Amanda's limited vocabulary.
"No sign of infection either… so that good." Amanda said when she finished changing the bandages and put the excess in her pocket. "Can you run without it hurting this leg?"
Silver Claw slowly put most of his weight on the one leg then nodded. "Yes."
"Ok how are we going to do this now?" Amanda asked, "Are you going to teach us about hunting soon?"
Silver Claw nodded and slowly walked out of the cave, sniffing the air as he went. Amanda then Ellie soon followed. Quietly they headed into the jungle and towards the lake. For half an hour, they wandered the dense jungle until they finally emerge from the jungle and onto a hill overlooking the placid lake.
A large grassy plain stuck out into the lake slightly. A herd of brachiosaurs gazed carelessly on the tops of trees nearby, their long majestic necks protruded above the trees. Large numbers of gallimimus and leptoceratops playfully ran through the fields near the lake. A few heavily armored ankylosaurus grazed alongside the tree line.
"I could watch this all day," said Amanda, "What are we going to hunt then?"
"Not yet," Silver Claw replied.
"What are we doing then?" Ellie asked.
"Watch," Silver Claw said.
Suddenly a velociraptor ran out of the taller grasses and towards the gallimimus herd. All the animals in the field began to stampede away when suddenly several more raptors appeared and charged at the fleeing animals, running straight into the herd. The gallimimus gracefully turn away from the main stampede like a flock of birds and towards the tree line. Three female raptors suddenly broke cover form the trees and ran into the herd of gallimimus. The females attacked two separate animals, easily bringing them to the ground. The rest of the pack quickly broke into two groups and helped bring down the struggling animals.
"Wow," Amanda could only say. The entire attack took less than a minute, she thought, that is amazing. Oh, I hope we do not have to try something like this.
The pack backed away from the carcasses as two animals, a male and a female, began to approach and soon started to eat. Within a few minutes, the rest of the pack joined in on the feast.
"Are going to hunt like that?" Ellie frowned.
"Depends," replied Sliver Claw.
"Depends? What do you mean by depends?"
"He means that if there is enough food left we can go scavenge off one of the kills." Amanda replied before Silver Claw could answer.
"Oh…" Ellie said, "How did you know that."
"It's a lot easier than having to find something and kill it." Amanda replied.
"Yes," Silver Claw smiled.
The wind suddenly changed and blew towards the pack, carrying the scent of Amanda, Ellie, and Silver Claw with it. Silver Claw became nervous as the pack of raptors began barking and chirping at him. All the raptors were finished their meal and quickly separated into two groups. They quickly moved along the edge of the lake and towards Silver Claw.
"Oh crap…" Amanda whispered, "Are they coming here?"
"Yes," Silver Claw said.
"This was your plan all along!" Ellie shouted, "now their after us and…"
"Ellie shut up, he was not planning this," Amanda said, though almost yelling at Ellie, "Now what is going to happen."
"Go into a tree," Silver Claw said, "then wait."
"Ok but what about you?" Amanda asked.
"I will wait here," replied Silver Claw, "I am out of their territory."
"Ok be careful though." Amanda said and quickly followed Ellie into a nearby tree on the southern slope of the hill.
Silver Claw hoped that what his father taught him about dealing with other packs out of territory was correct. Do not show fear, do not be nervous, keep your head high, always speak with authority and never run away when approached out of the other packs territory. Silver Claw smelt the air around the trees and quickly determined where the edge of the packs territory was, although the smell seemed very faint.
"Why don't we just leave?" Ellie asked Amanda.
"I don't know but those raptors would probably chase us if we ran and Silver Claw can't climb trees."
For a little under an hour they sat their on the hill until the raptors finally immerged on both sides of the clearing, though they did not surround Silver Claw. They stood in a loose group with alpha male and female in the front. The remaining animals scanned the jungle for more raptors but soon found Amanda and Ellie.
"Why are their humans in that tree," a young male hissed.
Suddenly the alpha male barked at the younger animal then turned back to Silver Claw. The younger raptor backed away, lowered his head, and flattened his feathers. "You'll have to excuse his manners, he is but a hatchling."
"What is it that you want?" The alpha female asked, her scales darker than the scales of the other raptors, showing her age. Several scars lined her snout, possibly from fights over the alpha position.
"I would like to let you know that the area neighboring your territory has been claimed by me and my pack." Silver Claw said, trying to have a tone of high authority, "And that we want nothing but friendship between our packs."
"Funny you should say this because it just happens to be that we claimed this area shortly after the last pack was killed." The male said and stepped past what Silver Claw thought was the territorial line. The male looked like Silver Claw but was slightly bigger, with a red stripe along his back instead of a blue one, and larger claws.
"Where is your pack?" The alpha female demanded, "Call them here at once."
"They are too far away…" Silver Claw replied, becoming increasingly nervous.
"The thing about that is there is only one raptor scent on you and that is your own," the male snickered, "I call you a liar." Silver Claw accidentally stepped back slightly. The male smiled. "How young are you?"
"A little over a year," Silver Claw replied.
"It shows in your inability to assert yourself as a representative of your pack and attempt to lay claim to this land," the male sighed, "now tell me, where is your pack really?"
"Dead," Silver Claw finally said and looked down, "the spinosaurus got them."
The pack looked back and forth between each other, mumbling comments and thoughts to one another. One of the males broke off from the group and quietly disappeared into the trees, unseen by anyone. Amanda slid forward on the branch she was on and let one of her legs daggle slightly.
"Now tell me why we shouldn't kill you now?" the female said and stepped forward, raising her killing claws.
Before Silver Claw could answer, a loud scream filled the air with a loud thud shortly afterward. Everyone turned to see Ellie still in the tree although trembling. The young raptor that had disappeared stood over Amanda, his jaws bloody in spots. Silver Claw's eyes open in fear and anger. He jumped at the younger raptor and in a second, the smaller male was on the ground several meters away from Amanda. Silver Claw then quickly turned to see Amanda crying and holding her bleeding right leg. He gently moved her hand to see several punctured spots bellow her knee. Silver Claw hiss in fury and turned back to the young male.
"How dare you touch her," Silver Claw roared, "I should kill you for this."
"Why are you protecting that…Human?" the male hissed back.
"She's my friend!" Silver Claw hissed then quickly turned around, "Amanda get into the tree."
"Amanda?" the alpha female questioned, "it has a name?"
"Yes," Silver Claw said and positioned his body between Amanda and the pack of raptors. His body trembled slightly in anger and rage. "What does it matter to you?"
"Why are you protecting them so fiercely?" The alpha male asked and raised his claws, "possibly at the cost of your own life."
"There're my pack," Silver Claw said and rose his head again to show authority.
"Pathetic," one of the females said.
The pack began to laugh until the alpha female finally could say, "such weak creatures humans are, of all the creatures to have a pack with, why them?"
"Hey we're not weak!" Amanda said as she tried to hold back the tears.
The alpha female nearly fell over in shock, "How much of our language do they know?"
"Not much…" Silver Claw sighed and calmed down slightly, safe in the knowledge that Amanda was safe in the tree.
"So you're teaching them how to understand us?" The alpha male questioned.
"Yes I am," replied Silver Claw, "I would be hard to have a pack that can't understand you, now wouldn't it."
"What's your name hatchling?" The female asked.
"Silver Claw," he replied, "why?"
"Where did you come from?" The alpha male asked.
"Why?"
"Just answer the question," the male barked.
"Southwest of here," Silver Claw replied, "but why does that make a difference."
"Who was your mother?" The female asked.
"Amber," Silver Claw replied and looked down.
"Daughter of Fang was she not?"
"How did you know that?" Silver Claw looked at the female in confusion.
"Simple," the female sighed, "she was my sister."
Silver Claw just stared in shock. How could this be, he thought, my mother never had a sister…did she? "How can that be? My mother never told me she had a sister."
"I am a year older than your mother was and she was only a hatchling when I left. By the way, my name is Sara and this is my mate Jack." The alpha female said.
"Why did you leave the pack?" Silver Claw asked.
The alpha female sighed, "The pack became too large to feed and fifteen members along with me left the area, eventually we stumbled upon this place."
"I never knew that." Silver Claw admitted then got an idea, "Maybe you and your mate could accept me and my human companions into your pack… since you and I might be related."
Jack turned to Sara and they began talking back and forth for a few minutes. Finally, Jack looked to Silver Claw. "We have decided that if you like you and only you may join our pack but the humans cannot."
"Sorry but I'll have to decline that offer, they are my friends and I would never leave them," Silver Claw immediately replied without hesitation.
Jack sighed, "That is the offer, take it or leave it."
"And what if I don't take it?"
"You will immediately be forced out of our territory by use of physical force if necessary." Sara said and stepped forward as did the rest of the pack.
"I have an idea…" Amanda reluctantly said as the pack became increasingly agitated with Silver Claw. Silver Claw turned his attention to Amanda and nodded his head. "Maybe we could just…live here and be left alone to live and uh… stay away from your pack… It was just a thought…" Amanda nervously said, not knowing if she made the situation worse.
Silver Claw looked at Sara and Jack as they again began to discuss what to do. After some time Sara finally said, "We have agreed to let you live here but be warned that if any of you are caught near our nesting site that you will be killed without hesitation." The rest of the pack hissed and growled in anger at the alpha's decision but shut up when Jack looked at them.
"Thank you." Silver Claw said.
"Thank you," Amanda growled. "Can we come down now?"
Silver Claw looked up to Amanda and nodded his head.
Slowly Amanda started to climb down the tree though Ellie did not move. Once she reached the bottom, Amanda quickly moved to stand beside Silver Claw but away from the young raptor that bit her leg. "Well if you are done here, I would like to go home and get a bandage for my leg," Amanda said softly.
"Ok," Silver Claw said. "Thank you."
"Are you coming with us Ellie?" Amanda asked.
"I'm not leaving this tree until they're gone, especially that one," said Ellie, pointing to the male velociraptor that had bit Amanda.
"Oh yes, there is one other thing I would like to do before we go our separate ways for the time being." Silver Claw said and turned his head to the young male, "The least you can do is apologize to Amanda."
Amanda recognized some of the words so leaned against the tree and looked at the raptor. Amanda placed felt some thing in her pocket and pull out the bandages from earlier. "Well?" Amanda questioned.
"No," he hissed.
Silver Claw bared his teeth a bit but knew he couldn't force the raptor to do anything. He gave a loud snort and turned to Amanda.
"Oh never mind him, he's not worth the effort," said Amanda. "By the way, we don't have to go back." Amanda added then showed Silver Claw the small bundle of bandage out of the pocket, "I forgot that I put it in here when we were leaving."
"Can we still go back," Ellie asked from the tree.
"No," Amanda replied as she put the bandage back into her pocket. "I need to wash my leg first then we can do what we came out here to do in the first place."
"What would that be?" Ellie questioned.
"Get food," Amanda said, "remember."
"Oh yes but we have to hunt now." Ellie said and pointed across the lake, "the spinosaurus is eating what we could have had."
"Crap… oh well," Amanda sighed, "Is their any streams nearby or is the lake the closest source of water?"
"Yes," one of the female raptors said. "Just a short run that way," she added and pointed northward.
"Thank you," said Silver Claw and soon began walking northward with Amanda. Just as they reached the tree line, Amanda stopped and turned to see Ellie frowning at her.
"Well are you coming with us or are you going to sit in that tree all day Ellie?"
"Those raptors are staring at me," Ellie replied, "Can you get them to go away?"
"Why don't you ask them yourself?" Amanda replied.
"It still feels weird talking to an animal," Ellie admitted.
"We're not going to wait all day Ellie, hurry up and get out of that tree or we'll go to the stream without you." Amanda said in an annoyed tone.
"…Fine… I'll get out of this stupid tree," Ellie finally said, "but if anything happens it is your fault Amanda."
Slowly Ellie reached for a branch and stood on another. Soon she was near the bottom when suddenly there was a loud snap. Ellie froze, she could not figure out where the sound had originated before it was too late. Her entire body suddenly dropped, the branch she was holding could not support her weight and soon gave way. Ellie quickly crashed into the ground at the base of the tree with a tremendous thud and slowly sat up, trying to hold back a wave of tears.
"Are you ok?" Amanda asked as she rushed over to Ellie's side.
Ellie could only nod her head in response, otherwise she would cry.
They pack became a little restless and several members walked towards the lake. Jake stopped one of the females and looked back at Amanda and Ellie.
"You need some help?" Amanda asked and extended her arm.
Ellie slowly stood up herself. Silver Claw moved next to Amanda. Ellie pushed past both of them and began to head towards the stream. Amanda and Silver Claw soon followed and quickly caught up to her with ease. They soon reached the trees and were about to enter when a voice called out from behind.
"Hey wait up," a young female shouted as she ran up to the group and stopped next to Amanda.
"Yes?" Silver Claw questioned.
"My father asked that I accompany you and keep you out of trouble." She said.
Silver Claw looked at Amanda and tried to think of words that she knew to ask her about this. "Can she… follow… us?" he asked although feeling weird.
"You mean can she come with us?" Amanda asked and Silver Claw nodded in response. "I guess she could as long as she doesn't cause us any problems."
"Hey, don't I have a say in this?" Ellie blurted, "I don't think she should, one velociraptor around me is enough."
"Is she always like this?" The female asked.
"You have no idea," Amanda replied, knowing Ellie could not understand some of the words because she had trouble with them.
"What's you name?" Silver Claw asked the young female.
"Sunayana," she replied, "What were your names again?"
"Silver Claw," he replied, "this is Amanda and the other is Ellie."
"Shall we be off then," Sunayana said and gestured to the jungle, her amber eyes glinted in the sunlight.
"Ok," Silver Claw replied and walked into the jungle, quickly followed by Amanda and Ellie.
"Silver Claw," Amanda started, "The thing you were doing back there, you know talking to the other raptors, was that some kind of velociraptor politics or something?"
"Yes," Silver Claw replied.
"Oh ok," said Amanda, "I was just wondering."
They walked quietly through the jungle. Thick cycads and ferns lined the forest floor while mighty redwoods towered overhead with a thick canopy that blocked out most light. A gentle breeze snaked its way between the trees, carrying with it the soft scent of flowers and damp plant matter. Occasional rotten logs lay strewn about; mushroom grew in great quantities upon the rotting wood though Amanda and Ellie did not want to take a chance of getting sick by eating them. Pockets of light that reached the floor exposed the dampened earth, covered in leaves and moss. The occasional, small piles of almost polished rocks lay about the ground, though they seemed out of place. Eventually the soft gurgle of the stream up ahead came into the already abundant sounds that filled the air.
"So how did you find these humans?" Sunayana asked.
"Well Amanda was in a building in my old territory and Ellie I found a few days later on a beach nearby," replied Silver Claw.
"We it's nice you found them, they seem nice."
"If not for them I might have died of hunger or Tyrannous might have got me." Silver Claw sighed and thought of how lucky he was to have them.
"Died of hunger? Who's this Tyrannous?" She looked at him with confusion written across his face.
"Well I was feeding Amanda and Ellie so they wouldn't die of hunger but I neglected to feed myself. Eventually I got really sick and they saved me." Silver Claw replied.
"How did they save you?" Sunayana asked.
"Well they went hunting and brought back a young gallimimus."
"Hunting is pretty easy though."
Silver Claw sighed, "They didn't know the first thing about hunting."
"Wow… and they got it on their first try?" She questioned and when Silver Claw nodded, she added. "And who is this Tyrannous."
"I don't really want to talk about him; he has caused my enough pain already." Silver Claw said and looked down.
"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know."
"That's ok." Silver Claw said.
Amanda tried to decipher what the two raptors were talking about but she did not know most of the words they had used. All she new was that the conversation was mostly about Ellie and herself. We it is nice he has someone to talk to now, Amanda thought. She pushed through a bush and froze instantly. Before her lay a large animal, like the one Silver Claw scared away once, with a domed head and thick muscles. It was sleeping.
Quickly Amanda turned around and stopped the group. "There is a sleeping dinosaur by the stream," she whispered.
Silver Claw smiled slightly, showing his long white teeth. Quietly and cautiously, they moved up to the sleeping animal. Amanda and Ellie watched as the creature took in a deep breath and snorted. Suddenly there was a loud snap and Ellie looked down.
"Oops," Ellie said.
The creature jumped to its feet and roared in furry. Silver Claw and Sunayana quickly jumped away as the pachycephalosaurus charged. Ellie fled towards the nearest thicket while Amanda tried to keep out of sight.
The pachycephalosaurus charged forward after Silver Claw, knocking over small trees and tearing up the underbrush. Silver Claw moved as fast as his leg would allow him to get out of the way then jumped at the creatures exposed throat. Sunayana hastily attacked the animal but quickly was thrown to the ground, landing a few meters away. Blood covered the thick dusty blue hide of the pachycephalosaurus as it called out in pain and for help. Soon the loss of blood was too great and the creature collapsed to the ground, twitching violently.
"Well they were a lot of help," Sunayana moaned as she slowly stood up.
"It's not their fault," Silver Claw defended, "They have nothing that can kill unless they use their tools."
"They can bite can't they?" Sunayana argued.
"Yes but I don't think they could do too much with those short teeth."
"Oh," Sunayana only said and stepped away from the kill.
"Amanda…Ellie," Silver Claw called and began to slice into the kill.
"Thank you," Amanda said in raptor before biting into a piece of meat Silver Claw cut for her.
"Why aren't you eating first?" Sunayana asked in shock, "Are you not the alpha of your pack are you not?"
"Yes," Silver Claw replied and gave a piece to Ellie, "I am the alpha but Amanda and Ellie know too little of our language for me to set up a pack order. And I don't see a need to set up one anyway." With that, he began to dig into the carcass.
"Well any good pack should have order." Sunayana said.
"We have order." Silver Claw said, starting to get uncomfortable, "please don't continue this any further."
"Ok," Sunayana said and walked to the stream.
Amanda and Ellie quietly finished their meals and followed Sunayana to the stream. The cold clear water quenched Amanda's thirst, washing the blood from her hands and face. Soon they were ready to leave when Amanda remembered her leg. Quickly she washed the dried blood from the wound and cleaned the saliva from the deeper wounds. Finally, she bandaged the leg and walked over to the group.
"Where do you want to go now?" Amanda asked.
"Home would be nice," Ellie replied.
"No," Silver Claw replied to Ellie
Ellie only frowned in response.
"I know where we could go," Sunayana said softly.
"Where would that be?" Amanda asked.
"There is a building not too far away from our nest that we could explore." Sunayana suggested.
"Ok, let's go there." Silver Claw smiled.
"Did she say building?" Amanda asked just to clarify if she heard it correctly.
"Yes," Silver Claw said.
"Ok let's go there then," Ellie said, "if it is better than our cave we could just stay there."
A soft hoot, like that of an owl, drifted through the forest. Silver Claw and Sunayana both became very nervous and stepped back slightly.
"What was that?" Amanda questioned.
"Danger," Silver Claw replied and quietly walked into the jungle. Sunayana passed him and headed towards where she new the building to be. Amanda and Ellie quickly followed and within several minutes, they were far enough away from the carcass to slow down.
"What was back there?" Ellie asked, "It sounded like an owl to me."
"Probably some kind of carnivorous dinosaur or something…" Amanda replied. "What a minute, I know what those are," she then added, "they attacked us the day we found you, remember?"
"Oh yeah, with the crests or something," Ellie said.
The jungle began to thin as they closed in on the lake. The tall redwoods turned into smaller more tropical trees, thorn-ridden bushes with sweet smelling violet flowers replaced the ferns, and cycads disappeared completely. Soon the soothing swash of the lake waters reverberated through the air, creating a serene feel to the island. The long calls of the brachiosaurus echoed across the lake and through the jungle. Soon Amanda, Ellie, Silver Claw and Sunayana pushed past the last set of bushes and gazed at the beautiful sight before them.
What fear once gripped the herbivores had disappeared completely. The spinosaurus was nowhere in sight and the fields surrounding the lake were full of life once more. Young animals frolicked in the sun-drenched grasses while the adults grazed nearby, triceratops females fought amongst each other for higher positions in the social stature, and herds of smaller animals grazed on the tougher plants destroyed in the path of the Stegosaurs.
"Like I said before, this is the most beautiful place," Amanda smiled. "Can we stay here for a bit? I just want to rest for a bit before we walk any further, ok?"
Silver Claw nodded and sat down in a small grassy patch. Amanda soon sat next to him and Silver Claw immediately placed his head on her lap. Amanda smiled slightly and before long began to pet his head. She noticed the ridges above his eyes were more of a red instead of the blue as when she first met him. Silver Claw soon began to purr softly and curled his tail around Amanda until he could see its tip in front of his head.
At the sight of this, Sunayana shook her head in disapproval and quickly turned away. Ellie rolled her eyes and turned her gaze elsewhere. Sunayana muttered something before lying down a few meters away from Silver Claw and Ellie soon sat down next to her.
Amanda gazed across the lake at the carefree animals. Gentle gusts of wind cooled the hot midday air and insects began to become active. Before long, the group had to move or disappear within a swarm of mosquitoes. The shoreline became increasingly rocky as they progressed along the waters edge, small minnows darted about the shallows, and soon reeds began to stick out of the water. The soil turned to a spongy mixture of dead plant material and saturated soil as they reached the southern edge of the lake. The reeds skyrocketed in size, easily surpassing most humans in height. Finally, after several hours the group passed back into the jungle and towards the building.
"How much longer," Ellie whined, "My feet are killing me."
"We're probably less than an hour away by now." Amanda reassured.
"I hope your right," Ellie sighed.
"Sooo…" Sunayana started, "how is your relationship between yourself and Amanda."
"Fine," Silver Claw replied then asked, "Why?"
"Oh I was just wondering because you seem pretty close to her." Sunayana replied.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Silver Claw asked with a hint irritation in his tone.
"Oh nothing…" She replied in an almost joking tone. For several minutes, they passed through an unending wall of bushes, ferns and cycads. Then at last, Sunayana pushed through a bush and said, "We're here."
The group stopped. Before them lay a massive valley, dense with jungle and shrouded with mist. At its center, the northern side of a large building complex surrounded by a barely visible fence, broken and consumed by the jungle. A flock of birds suddenly shrieked somewhere in the distance towards the lake then passed overhead. They turned around to scan the jungle but could see nothing beyond a few feet. A wave of smell meandered through the trees and Ellie nearly gagged at the pungent odor of rotten flesh.
"Run," Amanda whispered as the smell became stronger. She turned first and began down the hill into the valley. Ellie quickly followed along with Sunayana and Silver Claw. The dense jungle engulfed them and slowed there movements. A thunderous roar shook the jungle and suddenly a tyrannosaurus burst from the trees at the top of the hill. It roared in furry and began crashing through the foliage after the small group. Because of the dense foliage, the tyrannosaurus quickly caught up, easily stepping over whatever lay in its path.
"Look out!" Amanda screamed as a tree toppled over in front of the group and another tyrannosaurus burst from hiding. Sunayana and Ellie were forced off in one direction while Amanda and Silver Claw in another. Now both tyrannosaurs turned and followed Amanda and Silver Claw.
Why are they following us? Amanda thought to herself and then she realized it was her leg! The tyrannosaurs probably had a good sense of smell and could have been tracking the group for a while now. If only she had something to mask the smell of blood.
Amanda quickly jumped over what seemed like a fallen tree and continued onward. Suddenly a loud metallic twang filled the air, quickly followed by a deafening roar. Silver Claw cleared the bushes first and found himself in front of a large structure, though he did not stop. Him and Amanda quickly climbed the flight of stairs in front of the building and pushed through the heavy doors. Amanda suddenly found herself unable to move ahead anymore. She turned her head and to her horror, a tyrannosaur had her shirt in its mouth…
Meanwhile Sunayana and Ellie slowed their pace. The tyrannosaurs had not followed them in the chase and they now felt safe enough to rest. Ellie leaned against a tree while Sunayana panted nearby.
"That was too close." Sunayana sighed.
"Yeah, I can't believe we made it out of that alive." Ellie sighed then sank to the ground. Suddenly Ellie realized that she was alone in the jungle with a velociraptor that could kill her if it wanted to. Ellie suddenly began to shake slightly and her muscles became tense.
"What's wrong?" Sunayana asked, lowering her head and approaching slowly.
"Uh…nothing…" Ellie said, "Stay away please."
"What?" Sunayana questioned and tilted her head, "What's wrong."
"You may not have noticed but uh… I am not the most comfortable with… raptors." Ellie replied.
"Why?" Sunayana questioned. "But is Silver Claw not your friend?"
"Yes… and no." Ellie admitted, "I don't trust him completely."
"Why, you've been with him a very long time haven't you?" Sunayana again question.
"Well I…" Ellie started to say but a loud scream interrupted her. "That was Amanda!"
Ellie hesitated for a moment then ran past Sunayana and towards the scream. Sunayana quickly caught up and ran along side Ellie, staying close to her side. A loud roar suddenly shook the jungle and suddenly Ellie found herself thrown back…
Amanda struggled to free herself as the tyrannosaurus slowly began to drag its head out of the doorway. Amanda lost her balance and fell to the ground, cutting her left leg on a shard of grass. She screamed in pain as the blood began to seep out over the floor. Suddenly Amanda heard a loud rip and turned to see her shirt torn and the rex reaching once more for her.
All of a sudden, Silver Claw leapt past Amanda and onto the snout of the rex. He began to kick ferociously and blood streamed from the gaping wounds. The rex roared in agony and attempted to grab a hold of Silver Claw's tail. Amanda took this opportunity to move out of reach.
"I'm safe!" Amanda almost screamed to get her voice over the commotion. "Get away from it before you get hurt!"
Silver Claw jumped off the tyrannosaurus and landed close to Amanda. He winced in pain but shook it off. They watched as the tyrannosaur struggled to free its massive head from the doorway, roaring in anger and snapping several metal door beams. Finally, the rex managed to get free and a second tyrannosaur roared in fury that they now had no food. Both tyrannosaurs were a brownish green in color. One of the tyrannosaurs was obviously taller and seemed more aggressive while the other, nervous and cautious around the large animal. Amanda immediately recognized the smaller animal with the long gash down one side of its face.
"That smaller rex is the one that attacked us in the jeep and last night." Amanda pointed out then turned to Silver Claw. "Are you ok?"
"Yes but you are not…" Silver Claw said and lowered his head to examine Amanda's leg.
"Oh… I'm out of bandages though…" Amanda sighed, "Maybe there are some in this building."
A loud roar turned there attention back to the rexes which had nearly disappeared into the jungle. The large tails swung over the lot but soon too disappeared into the jungle.
Amanda and Silver Claw began to search the old building. They quickly walked down one of the filthy halls to the left of the doors. The only sources of light, holes in the roof with heavy iron bars barely lit the old building. The hall gradually widened and soon they were in a corridor that opened into several more passageways, each with a labeled sign. Amanda turned down the hall labeled "Medical Department" and before long stopped at a door labeled Storage.
"Maybe we'll find some thing in here," Amanda said and opened the door. She screamed…
Ellie found herself thrown to the ground. She screamed and tried to free herself but to no avail. A hot putrid breath covered her face and Ellie looked to see a drooling, gaping maw filled with long sharp teeth hovering over her. Again, she screamed and tried to push the creature off her but it was no use. "Help me!" She screamed and attempted to push the animal off once more but the weight was too much. Suddenly the creature lifted its head and Ellie immediately recognized it as the raptor that bit Amanda. His red eyes stared straight into Ellie's eyes. She suddenly felt sick.
"Get off her Talon." Sunayana hissed.
"Why should I?" He hissed back, "I should have killed both of the humans when I had the chance."
"I order you to get of her," Sunayana growled.
"Your father isn't here to make me do anything," Talon snapped.
"As a higher ranking member of the pack I order you to get off her immediately!" Sunayana snapped.
"No," Talon only replied and turned back to Ellie. He raised his claw above her stomach and was about to dig it in when a sharp pain coursed through his neck.
"Get off… or I will kill you," mumbled Sunayana, keeping her jaws tight around his neck.
Talon tried to pull away but Sunayana only tightened her grip. He hissed in protest and tapped Ellie's skin with his claw. Reluctantly he stepped off the trembling Ellie and stood quietly until Sunayana released him. "Why are you protecting her?"
"She seems nice and I would like to know more about humans." Sunayana replied, licking the blood from her lower jaw. "And anyways, my father, the alpha male if you've forgotten, said that we were to let them live here unless they came to close to our nest."
"I think that this is too close to our nests," Talon smirked and prepared to pounce.
"Go home Talon before I tell my father." Sunayana hissed.
Talon hissed and quickly disappeared into the jungle. Sunayana let out a satisfactory snort and turn to Ellie. Slowly she reached down, grabbed a part of Ellie's shirt, and lifted until Ellie was on her feet. Finally, Sunayana did a quick inspection to check it Ellie was wounded.
"Thank you…" Ellie nervously said, trying to keep here balance as she was shaking so much. "I guess I owe you one."
"You're welcome Ellie," Sunayana said softly, "Let's hurry and find Amanda and Silver Claw."
Ellie quickly followed Sunayana into the jungle. She kept a constant eye on the jungle to make sure that nothing else jumped out at her. Before long, the jungle thinned and a large concrete barrier slowed Ellie down while she had to climb over. Soon they emerged from the jungle beside the complex. A single rusty door hung loosely from the wall and an old iron set of stairs lead up to the open door.
"Should we go inside?" Ellie questioned.
"I guess we could." Sunayana replied and cautiously stepped over to and up the stairs. She peered around the corned and into the poorly lit room. "It's safe to go in."
"Ok," Ellie said and quickly followed Sunayana into the room. "Wow it is dark in here."
They walked further into the room, tall shelves, stocked with boxes, stood in rows, long florescent bulbs lined the roof, and a draft came from small ventilation ducts. Ellie was about to open the door at the end of the room when the handle started to move. Ellie quickly moved behind Sunayana. Sunayana tensed her muscles, lowered her body, and prepared to pounce at what ever came through. The door soon opened and before she even saw what it was Sunayana let out a terrifyingly loud roar. A scream filled the room. Silver Claw bound around the corner and just stopped short of biting into Sunayana.
"Amanda you're ok!" Ellie shouted and quickly embraced Amanda in a hug.
"Yeah I am thanks to Silver Claw," Amanda explained although still trying to catch her breath, "he attacked the rex before it grabbed me."
"Thank goodness you're alright," Ellie sighed then felt something trickle down her leg. "You're bleeding!"
"Yeah, I fell and cut myself." Amanda explained and added, "That's why I came here to find some bandages."
"We came here looking for you when we heard the scream." Ellie said, "We would have been here sooner but I was attacked by the raptor that bit you."
Silver Claw growled in frustration and anger. "How dare that hatchling!"
"What?" Amanda said in shock "But we are allowed to stay her unharmed aren't we?"
"Yes you are." Sunayana sighed, "Though some of our members think otherwise."
"They don't know that many words yet," Silver Claw admitted, "Though they should learn them soon."
"Oh," Sunayana replied.
Amanda took this time to walk slowly along the rows of shelves until soon found a box of bandages. Amanda cleaned the wound of any remaining debris and quickly bandaged the cut. "Ok we can go if you want."
"Can we stay here the night?" Ellie asked, "It would take too long to go back to that cave."
Amanda looked at Silver Claw. "Can we stay? It is getting late."
"Ok," Silver Claw replied.
"Thank you," Ellie and Amanda both said in raptor.
"I should be going," Sunayana said and turned to the exit.
"If you want you can stay here the night," Ellie said.
Amanda and Silver Claw both looked at Ellie in surprise. "You've never like to have a velociraptor around, even after several weeks. What makes her different?" Amanda asked in complete surprise.
"She saved me from that other raptor," Ellie replied, "and she is very kind."
"Well I guess I could stay the night if it's ok with you." Sunayana said although surprised by the offer by Ellie.
"Yes, you can stay the night," Amanda replied.
"Thank you," Sunayana replied, "I just have to tell my father."
"Ok," Silver Claw said and watched as Sunayana walked to the exit.
Sunayana tilted her head up and barked several loud calls into the air. Soon a replied drifted from the south and Sunayana walked back to the group. "My father said that I can stay the night."
"Um… I don't want to intrude on anything but do you know where the bathrooms are?" Ellie asked and blushed with embarrassment.
"I think I saw them on the way here." Amanda said and gestured for them to follow.
"That's good." Ellie said and quickly followed.
The passed several room and soon came upon the men's room. Ellie glared at Amanda. "I thought you meant the lady's room not the men's room, I don't want to go in there." Ellie said.
"Oh well then," Amanda said and walked in and within a few minutes walked out. "There is toilet paper and running water in there just so you know."
"Really," Ellie said in surprise, "…I'll be right back then…" She quickly walked into the bathroom and all became quiet.
"So…" Amanda said to break the awkward silence, "Should we sleep on the roof tonight or in a room."
"Not the roof," Sunayana quickly replied, "There are creatures that soar through the air like birds but attack anything in sight. They showed up last year in the northern part of our territory and have spread south ever since."
"So are we going on the roof?" Amanda asked.
"No," Silver Claw replied, "Dangerous."
"What are you talking about?" Ellie asked as she walked out of the restroom.
"We're trying to decide where to sleep tonight." Amanda said.
"Maybe we should have a look around before we decide that." Ellie said and started down the hall.
Amanda and the two raptors soon followed Ellie. Before long, the group reached the main entrance overlooking a darkened parking lot. At the rooms center, a large reception desk with papers strewn about, a computer, office chair, and a phone. Several labeled halls went in separate direction, Medical Center behind the group, Factory to the left, and Storage and Animal Control at the far end of the room.
"I wonder…" Ellie said and stepped over to the phone. She took in a deep breath and picked it up… nothing. "Well this is one less way we're going to get off this island," Ellie sighed and hung up the phone.
"Well it was worth a shot," Amanda said, "I think we should go to the storage area."
"Ok," Silver Claw said and stepped passed Ellie. Amanda, Sunayana and Ellie quickly followed behind.
Ellie yawned slightly and rubbed her eyes. Suddenly she felt something hit her and looked at her waist. A large black substance of a sickly looking liquid with a foul smell covered part of her shirt and shorts. Ellie reached for the liquid but Sunayana grabbed her hand. Ellie looked at Sunayana fearfully when another black ball of the same substance flew pass Amanda followed by a soft hoot.
"Run!"
Suddenly there was a loud snap and a single dilophosaurus burst from the trees. Ellie was the first to flee down the hall, followed by Amanda, Silver Claw then Sunayana. They turned corned after corned in an attempt to escape the dilophosaurus, though it was never far behind. The quickly climbed a small stairwell but the hall at the top stopped and a large metal door was the only exit. Amanda ran ahead and pushed on the lever to open the door but the hinges were heavy with rust.
"Ellie could you give me a hand with this?" Amanda said as she struggled to move heavy door.
Ellie quickly rammed the door and winced in pain. Both she and Amanda put their full weight against the door, causing it to move slightly. The loud clicking of the dilophosaur's claws quickly grew louder. The door suddenly gave way and swung open. Amanda and Ellie quickly entered the room on the other side, Silver Claw and Sunayana had not noticed but were preparing to fight.
"Get in here," said Amanda just as the dilophosaurus reached the top of the stairs.
Sunayana and Silver Claw darted into the room and Amanda and Ellie pushed the door shut. Amanda swiftly slid a metal bar across the front and sighed. Bang! The door shook with a tremendous force as dinosaur smashed into the door. After several more failed attempts, the dilophosaurus roared in anger and walked away.
"That was close…" Ellie sighed and looked at the black blob on her shirt, "Now what is this?"
"Dangerous," Silver Claw said.
"What is it, a poison?" Amanda questioned.
"Yes," Sunayana replied.
Ellie's eyes went wide. "Poison…" her lips trembled. "Get it off me!"
"Calm down Ellie," Amanda said, "you're just going to have to be careful and take the clothing off."
"No!" Ellie shrieked, "I'm not standing in my underwear."
Amanda sighed, "We're going to find you some cloths."
"I don't care! I am not taking my cloths off."
"Yeah we got that," Amanda said, "Wait here while I go and get something."
"From where, if you haven't notice this place has no gift shop that I can see."
Amanda turned around. They were in a long hallway linking two large structures. The walls and roof of the hall were solid glass while the floor concrete. Amanda walked over and put her hands on a rail that ran the entire length of the hall. She looked at the ground several meters below. Large vines crept their way up the walls from the dirt and towards the roof. Amanda turned her gaze upward and saw only jungle at either end of the space between structures.
"We it could be worse." Amanda admitted, "Maybe there is some storage over here."
"I hope." Sunayana sighed.
Amanda was the first to walk down the hall and soon the four reached the other end. A sign at the top of the doorway read "Animal Containment and Storage Warehouses." Amanda pushed open the door with relative ease and walked through.
The hall beyond was dark, the only visible light, a small red light at the far end of the hall. Cautiously they made their way down the hallway until they reached the light. Ellie reached out and felt around, finding a control panel. She pressed a button and a loud hum filled the entire hall. There was a loud clink and a large angled metal sheet began to lift upward, slowly exposing the remains of a window. After several minute, the metal stopped with a loud thud.
"Wow," Ellie said as she stared outward and the room beyond the broken windows.
The room beyond was half the size of a football field. Large trees grew along a small stream that meandered its way through the room, long grasses filled the space away from the water, and several large boulders lay scattered about to fields of grass. The roof of the room allowed light in through massive sheets of glass; a large set of pipes ran along the center of the roof and spread out every few meters along the edges of the glass sheets. The walls were solid concrete and smooth, the only change was on the far side of the room where a massive closed door sat and a pipe that allowed the stream to flow into the area.
"What do you think was in here?" Ellie asked, awestruck at the sight.
"This is probably one of the warehouses where the kept dinosaurs before moving them, I think there are four others like it." Amanda replied.
"What do you think happened to this window?" Ellie asked.
"I don't know. It looks like something broke into the room and not out." Amanda replied and stepped forward. A snap sounded from under Amanda's foot and she look down. Amanda could not see what it was so lowered herself to get a better look. She felt like throwing up at what she saw, underneath her foot was a watch and the bones from someone's hand.
"What is it?" Ellie asked then she saw the bones, "I think I'm going to be sick."
"Those are just bones of a human, what's the problem?" Sunayana asked Silver Claw.
"I don't know but they don't like seeing the remains of other humans." Silver Claw replied.
"Oh," Sunayana said and walked over the window frame and looked down. "Well they won't want to look down here then."
"What's down there?"
"Several bodies and the remains of a raptor," Sunayana answered.
Silver Claw quickly moved between Amanda and the window. Amanda and Ellie did not head towards the window but instead back towards the link between the buildings. They quickly walked two the center of the hall and Amanda sat down, staring at the jungle.
"What are we going to do?" Amanda sadly asked, "that black stuff might be able to absorb through your skin and if that happens…"
"I know… I know…" Ellie sighed and sank to the ground next to Amanda.
"Do you think we should open that door?" Amanda asked. "And hope that the dinosaur is gone."
"I don't know," Ellie sighed and rubbed her eyes, "I'm too tired to do anymore running."
"Yeah I know what you mean; I don't think I could run away from anything else tonight." Amanda sighed, "Are you sure you don't want to just take it off and we could get something for you in the morning?"
"Yes I'm sure!" Ellie said.
Silver Claw sighed and walked to the door at the far side and listened for any noise on the other side. He tapped the door with a claw and suddenly the door shook in a thunderous crash. A loud hoot followed by a hiss sounded from the other side and silence overcame the area again.
"It's still their!" Ellie said in shock and looked down, "I'm going to die aren't I?"
"Don't talk like that Ellie, you're going to be fine, let's see if there is a light switch for the room over there."
"Go ahead; I'm just going to sit here."
"Why didn't we bring the bags…?" Amanda mumbled, "Silver Claw could you come with me for a second?"
"Yes," Silver Claw answered and quickly caught up to Amanda.
Once both Amanda and Silver Claw were in the room, Amanda searched around for a light switch. Once she found the light switch, she flicked it on. The lights turned on without a problem and Amanda closed the door.
"What are we going to do?" Amanda said and pulled on her hair slightly. "I'm so frustrated with Ellie right now."
"I don't know," Silver Claw replied and tried to comfort Amanda. He gently nudged her chin slightly and sat down in front of her. Amanda sank to the ground as well and started to cry.
"Is that black stuff lethal?" Amanda asked.
"Yes," Silver Claw sadly replied and lowered his feathers.
"I don't want to lose anyone else," Amanda cried and wrapped her arms around Silver Claw.
"I know, I don't either," Silver Claw sighed and gently rubbed his head against Amanda.
Amanda let go of Silver Claw and said, "Ellie's so stubborn that she won't get rid of the cloths even if she's going to die because of them."
Silver Claw placed his right hand on Amanda's leg. Silver Claw hated to see Amanda like this but what could he do to help. I feel so helpless right now, he though, Ellie could die and I cannot do anything to help. He lowered his head, resting it on Amanda's lap.
Amanda suddenly got an idea. "Silver Claw, how warm are you during the night, by that I mean your body temperature."
"I don't know," replied Silver Claw as he stared at her in confusion. "Why?"
I was thinking… since Ellie is too stubborn to get rid of her clothing without a replacement," Amanda said although she knew she would regret the rest. "Maybe I could… uh give her mine… and um… uh… you could keep me warm because it… is getting a little cool out..." By the time she finished Amanda was glowing cherry red with embarrassment.
Silver Claw stared at Amanda for a moment and nodded. He gently licked the side of her face and she laughed.
"Thank you Silver Claw," Amanda said and embraced him in a hug again. "I just hope it doesn't get too cold tonight."
"I do too."
"Where do you think we should sleep tonight?" Amanda asked, "in that hall would be nice, we could see the stars but it might be colder."
"Where ever you want to." Silver Claw smiled and rubbed his head against Amanda.
"If it gets too cold out there we could come in here, though by the feels of it, it might not make a difference."
"Ok," Silver Claw said and stood up as did Amanda.
"I'm just going to tell Ellie first," said Amanda then she opened the door.
"I was wondering what you two were doing in there," Ellie said, "Why are you so red?"
"Silver Claw and I have made an agreement and we have some cloths for you Ellie." Amanda said.
"Where did you find the cloths?" Ellie asked but before Amanda could answer Ellie added, "They aren't off some dead body are they?"
Amanda shook her head, "No, they're mine. Silver Claw has agreed to try and keep me warm tonight."
"You're going to be naked?" Ellie said, sickened at the idea.
"No!" Amanda said defensively. "I don't see you coming up with anything better anyway!"
"Well I guess not." Ellie sighed, "I guess so…"
Amanda and Ellie quickly when into the room and closed the door.
"That was strange…" Sunayana said, "So what exactly are you doing?"
"I'm just going to keep her warm for the night until she can find some cloths tomorrow." Silver Claw replied.
"Oh… what would happen if she got cold?" Sunayana asked.
"Amanda would get sick I think but I don't want to risk that." Silver Claw replied before lying down on the floor.
Sunayana sat down next to him, "So what was your home like before you came here?"
"Before the spinosaurus attack or after it," Silver Claw questioned.
"After, what is it like having humans around instead of other raptors?"
"Well if first found Amanda we traveled around in different areas until we ended up back in the building in my territory. She did not trust me at all then; it was funny to see her reaction to whatever I did. Then we found Ellie," Silver Claw smirked. "She didn't trust me one bit. Amanda was constantly standing up for me. She even shot one raptor. Eventually then fence surrounding the building was destroyed so we came up here."
"She shot one of our kind… who was it?" Sunayana questioned.
"She shot…" Silver Claw started then turned his head and hissed, "Tyrannous."
"This Tyrannous sounds really bad, what did he do?" Sunayana asked, "Please answer this time."
"You know about the territorial battles," Silver Claw questioned before continuing.
"Yeah, shortly after the humans left all the packs of the island fought with each other for control of the biggest territories, right?"
"Yeah, well the territory I tried to claim earlier was the one my pack once tried to take because of its better nesting areas. We left my father and a young female back in our old territory to guard the eggs that had not hatched yet while the rest of the pack moved off to claim the new area for our own. Tyrannous was a traitor in the eyes of his pack and banished from the territory. Unfortunately, we found him and offered him a home if he helped us take down his old pack. For his help a female of our pack offered to be his mate if everything went according to plan." Silver Claw sighed, "We were winning the battles time after time until we reached the cliffs on the other side of the lake. Tyrannous showed his true intentions then; he slit the throat of the young female that offered to be his mate and blamed it on the enemy. Next he pulled my mother away from the main group to talk with her in private, my sibling and I followed our mother…"
"Take your time," Sunayana comforted.
"Tyrannous showed her a spot by the cliff and made sure my family was watching when he… he… sliced my mothers leg down the center. She fell to the ground and nearly fell off the cliff. Tyrannous took this chance to kill my sibling in front of my mother and eat some of them. Luckily, I managed to hide before he got me. My mother screamed but we were too far away for any help to arrive in time. He pushed her off the edge of the cliff but my mother got one kick in before she fell, scarring him over one eye. Later, the carnotaurus got Tyrannous's pack but he blamed us for it. When we returned to our nests, our eggs were gone and my father and the female were dead. Tyrannous had beaten us back, killed them both and eaten our eggs."
"I'm sorry; I'm so sorry Silver Claw." Sunayana whimpered, "I didn't know that it was that painful for you…"
"Well I'm happy to be rid of those cloths," Ellie said and stretched her arms. She quickly sat down near Sunayana and soon fell asleep.
Silver Claw looked up, "Amanda?"
"I'm here, it's just so cold with out anything but my…" She trailed off.
Silver Claw watched as Amanda walked out from behind the door. Amanda's arms crossed her chest and she was shaking slightly. She quickly moved over to Silver Claw and laid down next to him, gently resting her head on his stomach. Silver Claw curled up, placing his head on her stomach and his tail over her legs. Her shivering soon stopped and Amanda slowly drifted of to sleep. Silver Claw hummed softly until he too was asleep.
Sunayana looked at the two; she must really be something to make him that happy. She soon turned her gaze to the sky, the stars were out in full bloom, lighting up the night sky in millions of tiny lights like fireflies in a field. Sunayana felt her eyes become heavy and soon fell asleep…