Jurassic Park Broken Lives
Chapter 37: Complications Arise
Disclaimer: I do not own Jurassic Park
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Author Note: Sorry for the long wait but I've been really busy with school and other related things lately. I would like to let you know that a new female human character will be introduced sometime in the near future and that a new poll has been posted about the kinds of relationships that you, the reader, would like to see more of in this story. I did not write the scene at the end any longer or descriptive because this story has a T rating.
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Silver Claw let out a breath, long and deep. Amanda was ok; she had only been kicked by Sophia and nothing more. One of her claws must have caught the shirt as she ran to the hall. His mind settled and calmed though he was angry with Sophia for what she had meant to do. What if she had wounded Amanda fatally? He did not want to even consider that possibility.
"Amanda," Silver Claw said softly as he nuzzled her neck. Amanda's arms gasped him tightly and he laid himself by her side. She began to cry.
"I-I-I thought she would, I thought she was going to kill me!" Amanda wept.
"I did to my love," Silver Claw purred softly and sorrowfully. "I thought she hurt you badly." Amanda pulled back slightly and looked deep into his eyes. She tried to speak but only a gentle breath could escape her lips. Amanda placed her head against his and continued to cry softly. The long beams of radiating light from the sickle moon shone down over the carcass of the spinosaurus casting long shadows that slowly crept closer to Silver Claw and Amanda as they remained unmoved in the ruin of the building's entrance. Silver Claw stared into her eyes. They glistened with tears of pain. "I will not allow her to touch you again," Silver Claw spoke at last.
"I know… I…I almost wish we were alone again, just you and me in a cozy nest somewhere in the jungle. No packs, no rank, nothing but us and a quiet place to live, alone but together."
"I wish that too some of the time. What it would have been like if we were never disturbed in the building back in our old territory. Perhaps we could rebuild it someday, I mean the building. Make it our own, a perfect home for the perfect mate." Silver Claw nuzzled Amanda gently. "If you want, we can leave everything and just go home. I would do anything for you."
"I know you would." Amanda began to massage the muscles under his eyes after she wiped the tears from her face. "I know you would do anything for me. I would do anything for you and if we get out of this mess, I hope you know that I will go anywhere you want to go."
These words brought a smile to Silver Claw's snout, though it looked to be more of a grin. He gently began to lick Amanda's neck out of respect and love. She giggled slightly as it tickled her and the sorrow she felt seemed to fade away by just being close to Silver Claw and talking to him.
"Stop it," Amanda playfully pushed his head away. She was about to say more but a low, angry hiss drifted from outside the structure.
A long shadow cast down from the carcass. Next to the body stood a lone creature with long legs and arms tipped with blackened claws, its head was triangular in shape with long feathers at the back much like Silver Claw's but much longer, and a small crest on the tip of the snout. The scales glinted lightly in the moonbeams, its hide lacked pattern except a few peppered spots and several large scars. Its eyes glowed in a dull yellow hue in the light but had a murderous aura about them. It was an ornitholestes, a small hunter that traveled alone or in rare cases in packs.
It made several threatening hisses and barks aimed at Silver Claw. The feathers atop its head rose and straightened. The ornitholestes leapt forward baring its teeth and claws in a show of force. Silver Claw was quick to jump to his feet, ready to protect Amanda. Just as Silver Claw readied himself to attack, several more shapes appeared beside the carcass, it was not alone.
Silver Claw became hesitant. He was too weak to take on several ornitholestes at once. He stood his ground however, hoping that that would deter them. It did not. Three ornitholestes moved to the side of what appeared to be the leader and continued to advance on Silver Claw. They seemed almost ignorant of Amanda's presence and took little to no notice of her. The creatures began to spread out to enclose a circle around Silver Claw.
"Get out of here!" Amanda shouted as loud as she could in raptor which sounded like a very loud roar followed by a bark and then a growl. It startled the closest ornitholestes so much that it jumped back several feet but quickly moved back to the side of its leader. The ornitholestes returned their attention to Silver Claw.
Silver Claw's attention darted back and forth between the four ornitholestes. Then something caught his eye. Another one was walking out of the shadows of the hallway to his left. Silver Claw hissed and angled his body so that he could see all the predators at once.
The leader prepared to pounce when the creature exiting the hall was suddenly thrown back into the darkness. Its screeches and yelps came to a quick and abrupt end as blood fanned outward from the black of the hallway. A low rumbling growl reverberated from the dark and a pair of glowing eyes could be seen as clear as day but what the creature was could not. The ornitholestes quickly turned to face this new threat but as it revealed itself, they scrambled for the doorway, though they did not make it far before the creature was on them ripping flesh from bone. Before long, the carcass of the four lay in a growing pool of blood. The creature that had killed them slowly looked from body to body to ensure they were dead before turning its attention to Silver Claw and Amanda. It gave a low, delighted hiss as the blood dripped from its jaws.
The creature hopped closer and became immersed in the pale moonlight. It was a velociraptor, tall and sleek in design standing a little over six feet tall and fifteen feet long. Its body was solid muscle from head to tail. The hide of the creature was a dark crimson color, darker than Silver Claw's eyes, and peppered by hues of dull yellow, green and black. Its head was much like Silver Claw's save the predominate crests above the eyes and lack of feathers. Bright blue eyes stared at Silver Claw, inspecting him.
Silver Claw hissed as loud as he could and stepped between Amanda and the raptor. His tail sat only inches above Amanda's head. His feathers raised and straightened, his claws were readied and his teeth showing. The raptor laughed at him.
"Don't even bother hatchling, if you try anything you'll only get hurt." The raptor's voice was distinctly female.
Amanda's eyes widened. "Tessa…is that you?" she questioned with a shaky voice.
"It is," the raptor responded. She moved her head to the side to see around Silver Claw who remained ready for a fight. "I thought you said he was strong, he does not look it. It seems he is mostly scales and bone."
"He…" Amanda could not think of a way to explain what happened that was short.
Tessa stepped forward but Silver Claw hissed. "Take another step and I'll kill you!"
"Silver Claw, she helped us. At least you could show a little kindness to her," said Amanda.
"I remember her, she was a spy sent to watch us."
"What are you talking about?" Amanda questioned.
Tessa's eyes lit up in recollection. "You were that little hatchling who bit me." Tessa gave a long laugh. "I remember you. You had wandered away from your pack when they was resting and stumbled upon me nearby, you thought you could fight me and make your family proud. I didn't notice you until you actually bit my foot. Still over zealous I see." Tessa laughed again.
"You told of our approach," Silver Claw hissed.
"I didn't kill, you should be happy about that." Tessa's voice became tempered. "Now tell me where my son is, I need to get him out of here."
"So there are others coming?" Amanda asked.
"Three of the strongest, much stronger that myself," Tessa said then added, "They'll be here in a day or so."
"Why so long?" Amanda asked.
"They leader of our pack sent a scout to search for the closest tunnels so that the hunting party could be sent through them. He found none and is now dead, the closest a day away so I must get my son and be gone tonight. Now enough questions, where is he?"
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Ellie looked at the star filled sky. The moon cast shadows around her. It had been a few days since she had begun her camping experience with Sandy and all had been going well until the other day when they were attacked by a large mountain cat. It pounced on Sandy while they were hiking down a trail through the woods, the damage it did was minimal however. It would have been much worse if Sandy had not ensured Ellie brought her firearm with her, a small caliber handgun. She killed it on the first shot. The experience she had gained from being on Isla Sorna had helped much in rid her of the hesitation she might have had before as well as the guilt.
Ellie chuckled softly to herself. The things she had heard in the building where she now worked sounded like something out of a James Bond movie. In all her life she never thought she would be doing anything close to the line of work she was now doing and she liked it. It gave her such a thrill to be involved in secretive things that no one else knew about, though she sometimes found it hard when her parents asked what she was doing, lies could be so hard to keep at times. At least it kept her out of her home most of the time and engaged in something she loved doing. And she thought she was going to become an office manager when she was out of school. She chuckled again.
A small comet shot across the sky above and Ellie smiled. She missed Amanda, her and that raptor. Her smile lengthened. The fun they had had together was not something she would easily forget. Though there were the few incidents that made her question Silver Claw's intentions. Now she might like being in the jungle with them, something she had grown to miss was the quiet calm of the trees, the heavy air, and gentle breezes. Sure it was nice enough in the forests under the mountain's shadow but it was not like Isla Sorna. There was not much a thrill anymore.
A small snap caught her attention immediately. Her eyes darted back and forth scanning the creeping darkness around her. She caught a slight glimpse of movement and quickly drew her gun which she kept at her side always. A voice called out from the woods and Ellie holstered her gun. It was Sandy.
Sandy was a kind enough person and a great boss if you did not anger her. Her personality was ok though she was seem a little dominating at times, though it could have been her military background coming through. She had served in several classified operation in her time though it was not something she discussed openly and some of the time it seemed to haunt her. What ever it was she had done, it was nothing good. Another thing Ellie had noticed was that she had some ill content towards John Hammond. Ellie did not know exactly why but suspected that it had something to do with the fact he was becoming senile in his old age.
"I could have shot you," Ellie said as Sandy grew closer so that she did not have to yell.
"You're not that good yet," Sandy replied. "Anyway, I have some news you might like to know."
"Oh, what might that be?" Ellie crossed her arms and lay on the ground so that she was staring at the stars again.
"We've been recalled." Sandy stood looking down over Ellie.
"That's not something I wanted to hear," Ellie sighed, "I like it out here."
"We've been recalled because there has been and incident at Isla Sorna, or at least there will be."
"What!" Ellie sat up. "What happened?"
"You remember the attack Biosyn did to that building before you joined our little group?"
"How could I forget?"
"Well it seems that man responsible is headed to Sorna in the next few days. He's part of an 'off the records' section of Biosyn that is responsible for the Nublar incident it seems. It also seems that he is planning to pay your favorite island a little visit very soon."
"So we're going there?"
"No."
"What, we have to!"
"You're going. I have to stay behind to work on other…business."
Ellie jumped to her feet. "When do I go, there is no time to waste." A low whirling sound rumbled out of the distance. The lights of a helicopter became clear as it rose over the trees and hovered over where Ellie and Sandy were standing. A large rope ladder dropped from the helicopter and Sandy quickly began her accent. Ellie soon followed and soon she was in the belly of the copter. Soon they were off.
"You're going to need a few things before you go," Sandy shouted over the roar of the blades.
"Like what?"
"For starters a tranquilizer gun…"
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Sophia raced down the winding passage ways. Anger pulsated throughout her entire body. Her vision seemed blurred from the hate she felt towards Amanda, every fiber of her just wanted to kill the thing that caused her so much pain. Sophia leapt over a fallen table and continued onward. The desperate calls of Zenith were distance echoes to her. She had retreated too far inside her mind to take much notice to him.
At last, she turned sharply, almost falling in the process, and disappeared within a room with the slam of a door. A low bang came from the latch inside being forced shut to lock the door. She had learned how to do it while she was in her old home to escape Silver Claw when she was playing games or just angry with him. She heard the thud as Zenith hit the door only to find it locked. Sophia turned away.
The dimly lit room was next to empty save a few overturned tables, chairs and a couch. Stained sheets and other material covered the chairs and couch while a clear plastic cover, worn and broken with age, lay draped over the tables. Leaves lay scattered on the once polished tile floor and vines crept from crumbling walls. Mold fanned out from areas where the roof had leaked on the ceiling and clusters of mushrooms grew in the resulting puddles. The air seemed to be unmoved and stale though a small draft swirled past Sophia.
Sophia headed towards the far corner of the room where the leaves had gathered most. She only wanted to be alone with her anger. Outside the room, Zenith persisted in his pleas for her to come out or at least let him in. She ignored him. At last she stopped, looking over the leaf pile. It was rather shallow but it would do for a small nest, at least for now. She could always gather more some time later. Sophia began to scratch the leaves in the shape of a nest when she noticed the droplets of blood beginning to pool under her tail. Her upper lip twitched with a furious cocktail of rage and hatred.
How could she even have considered a human mate? Humans are weak, pathetic creatures that should only be viewed as prey and nothing more. Silver Claw was wrong in his choice of mate. It would have been her, it should have been her. They were as close as they could be without actually being lovers and then he just went and fell for something as feeble as Amanda. Curse her name.
"Sophia, please talk to me," Zenith said almost in a whimper. "Please Sophia."
Sophia snarled halfheartedly. At least he did not have a human mate, Sophia though angrily. A thought crossed her mind on whether or not to allow him to be in the same room with her. She shook her head but the thought persisted. He was the one who saved her when the spinosaurus had her by the tail. He risked his life to save her by clawing the snout of the spinosaurus and was lucky to escape with only a minor wound on his foot. Sophia sighed, if it weren't for Zenith, she would be dead by now. Sophia stood unmoved for some time, lost in a train of thought. Finally, she decided with great reluctance to let him in.
Sophia held her head low as she moved quietly to the door. She was doing this out of obligation for saving her life and nothing more, or at least that is what she convinced herself to believe. Sophia reached up slowly and pulled open the latch so that Zenith could enter. Once he had entered, she closed it once more and locked it. Sophia turned to see the puppy eyes of Zenith staring at her in sorrow.
"What?"
"You're hurt," he gestured to her tail.
"It'll heal," Sophia walked past him and quickly curled up in her makeshift nest. She placed her head on top of the largest rise in the leaves.
"Sophia, are you sure you're going to be ok? I don't even want to think what could happen if you're not."
Sophia's head rose and stared at him. "I only let you in because I felt obligated to. You saved my life and this is how I'm thanking you. Enough with the questions, I'm ok, end of conversation."
Zenith lowered his head. "Could I lay with you like we did in the cave? I've never felt that safe and comforted since my mother left. Please."
Sophia turned her head away and remained quiet for a few minutes, "Fine, but don't bother me."
Zenith quickly curled up behind Sophia and gently pushed up her tail with his so that is was not lying on the ground. He set his head under her neck and gently nuzzled her chest. Sophia snorted and looked down at him. Why was he acting like this, she pondered. She knew he liked her but this was too much and too direct for her tastes. Even if she had feeling for him, which, she deigned to herself, was only because she was in season and needed a mate.
Sophia sighed. Her anger was wavering as her attention became more on Zenith, though her hate lingered like a cloud in her mind but for now subdued. What did he see in her that made him like her? She could not figure out why after all she had done to him that he could have any possible reason to like her. She had been aggressive towards him and at times threatened his life for following her around. She pushed his head away only to receive a saddened look. Sophia remained silent for a moment but at last spoke, "What is it that you like about me, I mean, I've only been…angry and mean towards you. What is it you could possible see in me?"
Zenith stared almost in a daze at her. It hadn't struck him that she would as such a question. He pondered for a millisecond and then answered. "You're the most beautiful female I've ever seen. I think you're fun and smart and…" Zenith turned his head with embarrassment, "Very attractive. Being close to you makes my heart race. When I saw you from the log, I felt the same way. My mother told me that I would know what love felt like if I found the right female and I think I found one, you."
"You don't love me," Sophia sighed. "I'm in season, that's the only reason you are attracted to me."
"No it's not," Zenith responded quickly. "I did not know you were until now."
"You must have smelled it," Sophia turned her head to the door as if expecting there to be a sound.
"I thought that was how you always smelled," said Zenith. "Anyway, I did not smell it until we were together in the cave."
"What?"
"I was a little ill recently and my snout was stuffed up a bit," Zenith placed his head against her neck. "See, I liked you even when I didn't know you were ready to have hatchlings."
Sophia turned her head away and exhaled heavily. She did not know what to think. If he was telling the truth that meant some one actually cared for her and that felt, strange. She had not felt this way since the day she became an adolescent. She felt warmth deep inside her. Some one actually cared for her again and not like those hormone driven males of the southern part of the island. Sophia turned her head back to see Zenith had turned his gaze downward and was eyeing a leaf, reddened by her blood. She realized that she had some feelings towards him and no matter how much she tried, they would not go away. She gently placed her snout against his and nuzzled him slightly. She felt warmth and confusion. He was a green but yet he was different than one. Perhaps it was the fact he was alone for so long that he did not end up like the others. There were things she did not like about him but she could help him change.
Zenith looked to Sophia and showed his teeth in joy. "You like me too?"
Sophia took a breath, "I don't know. I'm confused right now."
"Why are you confused?"
"I don't know. I felt alone for so long that I don't know what anything means to me any more." Sophia laid her head on the leaves. "My life is a sad story you should know. I once thought I loved Silver Claw and he loved me but things have changed so much this past while. My pack was killed and I forced to flee our territory thinking I was the only survivor, and then to top it all off, I was abused by the pack I sought refuge in. Then Silver Claw came, I thought all was going to be alright but…, he had a mate, a human to make things worse. Though he thought she was dead but when he found her my world came crumbling down on me, what hope I felt, left me completely."
Sophia felt Zenith's touch against her neck and then he shifted to be right against her body. Zenith began to purr softly, a soothing and deep tone that could calm most uneasy minds. "Mine is sad too. My mother left, I nearly died many times of starvation in the first while. My friend, the winged one, made her nest in the structure nearby. She dropped fish all the time and I survived on that for the most part. After her mate died in a storm and her eggs were eaten by the mean creatures that attacked me the day my mother left, she discovered me and took me in as her own until I got too big. I wandered the forest for most of the time, alone. I was so scared. The dark frightened me the most and I tried to be home before dark all the time. When I saw you from that tree, I felt all the fear leave me. That's why I stayed instead of returning home."
Sophia lifted her head and look directly into Zenith's eyes. She saw her reflection. He was like her, a sad soul in the wide, cruel world. Sophia could not help but feel saddened by his life. Thoughts and memories stirred in her of her home and how it nearly destroyed her in the wake of their death. Sophia gently licked Zenith's snout and then wrapped her neck around his. He purred loudly.
"I'm not confused anymore," Sophia whispered. "I think we could try being together and see how it works." Zenith was speechless. "I want you to know I will never forgive you if you break my heart or let me down though."
"I won't," Zenith replied simply. "I won't."
Outside the building there was some commotion, footsteps and quiet growls, but they paid it no attention. Zenith brought himself as close as he could to Sophia and began to clean her scale. Sophia purred; something she had not done out of joy in some time. It felt wonderful to have someone she could trust and who cared for her. She no longer felt angry but happy. She had found someone she cared for, maybe even loved, maybe a mate. Only time would tell what could become of it.
Sophia inhaled deeply and her whole body shuddered. In the breath, she caught a heavy aroma, distinctly male and deeply intoxicating to a female in season. It was Zenith; his body was producing the scent. Sophia felt confused all of a sudden and had no idea of what to do. Her mind was becoming clouded again, not with anger but with Zenith's scent. She felt something deep within awaken, an instinct she had not felt since the incident with the plant where she nearly courted Loki. Zenith felt it was well. His movements became slower and unsure. His body shuddered with each breath and though he tried to, he could not keep himself cleaning her scales. He found himself nibbling on her and she began to nibble back.
It seemed to be an eternity that passed before Sophia pulled away and stood up. Zenith stared at her, confused but soon stood as well. Sophia's mind became completely clouded and she felt as if she no longer had control of her body. She brushed against Zenith provokingly. Zenith seemed confused at first but soon his instincts kicked in and he began to rub against her. Sophia pushed his side and made a low, whimpering growl. He responded by nipping at the underside of her jaw. They made low growls and chirps to each other. They could not stop themselves.
Sophia turned away from Zenith and raised her tail. She had no idea why she was doing it but Zenith seemed to know. He approached her from behind and then Sophia felt a weight on her back. His teeth became locked on the back of her neck. She felt a sharp pain and let out a low whimper. Some time passed before the weight lifted off her and then Sophia realized what she had done. She had mated with Zenith.
A furry of thoughts swirled in Sophia's mind. How could this have happened? Was she going to be with eggs soon? Did he actually mate with her? She looked at Zenith. He seemed almost as shocked as she was. His expression was nearly blank as Sophia turned to him.
"I didn't mean to," Zenith said suddenly, "I don't know what came over me. I couldn't help it."
"So we did…" Sophia trailed off. Zenith nodded. "We can't tell anyone."
"I know," Zenith seemed to be shaking slightly. "Are you…"
"Am I what?"
"Are you with egg?"
"I don't know." Sophia replied quietly. She felt her legs trembling. It was like she was a hatchling being caught doing something it was told not to. She was beyond nervous.
"I really didn't mean to," Zenith lowered his head. "It was an accident."
"I don't know what came over me either Zenith," Sophia admitted. "It's not just your fault, it's mine too. I won't know if I'm going to lay eggs or not for a little while so let's just keep this our secret. Ok?"
"Ok," Zenith said nodding.
A loud bang came from the door. Sophia jumped and faced the door. It had startled her so much that her heart was racing even more than she thought possible. A bang came again from the door but this time a voice followed.
"Sophia, are you in there?" It was Silver Claw.
Sophia hissed. "What do you want?" She tried to hide the fact her voice was a little shaky.
"Is Zenith with you?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I have someone with me who would like to speak to him."
"Tell Amanda that we don't want to speak to her or you Silver Claw." Zenith said before Sophia had a chance to speak. "You hurt Sophia, go away!"
"Zenith honey, it's me, your mother."
Zenith froze in place, "Mom…"