Chapter 3 was gonna be recap of Owen's first raptor shift and then recap of him with his four raptors. Then chapter 4 was gonna be Zach and Gray. Buuuuut that's not happening now. XD So it sucks. Because that just makes it longer before they get to the island and meet the Alpha. XD But I'll try to keep the chapters shorter. Because that means I can update more often. I hope.

Raptor
Chapter 3: Skin

He remembered… black. That was the first thing he remembered when he became aware. Black.

Numb.

Pain.

Burning, fear, terror.

Then peace. Calm, black.

Pain again.

Burning, like his veins. Every vein in his body was on fire, burning him from the inside out. Liquid fire just melting every fiber of his being.

Then it was gone again, like someone poured ice water into his veins. And he could almost cry out in relief.

But it was still black. Everything was black. He couldn't see, he couldn't talk, he couldn't move, he couldn't feel… he couldn't… he just couldn't...

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

There was a loud voice. Somewhere. A voice. In the back of his mind, he knew this voice. This loud, annoying voice. That was calling his name. That sounded like it was on a speaker or something. Something with a bad, static sound that was grating on his nerves.

"Mr. Grady." The voice continued.

Some formal asshole calling his name. How many times had he asked these fuckers to call him Owen? Did he look like the formal type? No. He didn't. Fucking hell! Just shut up and let him rest. He was exhausted and he was sore and he just wanted to sleep!

"Mr. Grady."

He tried to roll over but stopped before he even really started. Pain shot through him at the first movement. He sucked in a breath and that hurt worse. Why did breathing hurt so much more than moving? Why did moving hurt at all? Why did breathed? What was wrong? What had happened? He opened his eyes and that hurt too. He snapped them shut. What the fuck happened? Dr. Wu. He remembered Dr. Wu. What the fuck had that sick fucker done to him? He was gonna kill him. Yep. Owen was contemplating murder. Throw the doctor into a dinosaur pen somewhere. Death by dinosaur. He could pretend it was an accident.

"Mr. Grady."

Just as soon as he could move. Or think. Or… fuck… anything! He really just wanted to sleep. Right now, he just wanted to curl up and sleep.

"Mr. Grady." The voice came loudly. "I highly recommend getting up now." The voice said. "Rexy will be here in a few minutes. You really don't want to be lying beside those flares."

Flares? What… wait… what had the man said? Rexy? As in the T-Rex? Owen's brain felt foggy as he tried to process what the deranged doctor was saying.

Wu's voice went on. "Twenty years ago, a pack of raptors gave her the scars on her neck. She's not fond of raptors."

Raptors? What the hell was the man going on about? Owen tried to shift his weight again. There was significantly less pain that time. That was good. Because if he really was somehow in the T-Rex paddock, he needed to get up. And run now. Or stand still. First though, he really needed to open his eyes. They felt… funny. Too slow, too big, his lids felt odd. They snapped open. And something wasn't right. His line of vision was off. He tilted his head to the left and then to the right. That felt wrong. Off center, off balance. He lifted his arm to rub at his forehead and drew back fast. Something long and sharp scratched his nose. He blinked both eyes and shook his head.

The ground beneath him suddenly trembled. That was bad. He stopped moving and looked up. He couldn't see anything. He felt another tremor and jumped up, not paying attention to the feel of mud beneath his feet or the weird feeling of his toe hitting the ground. He had no time to think of the weight behind him or the limited range of motion in his arms.

The large trees in front of him had started shaking, the leaves dancing above his head. He had a matter of seconds before the large head broke the line of trees. He could stay put and see if she gave him a chance to run. Or he could just run. About five yards to the left was a row of bushes. Could he make it? Seconds ticked by as he thought about it. Shit. He turned and sprinted towards the brush and bushes. He dived in a mere second before Rexy's head peaked out from the trees. Owen pressed himself to the ground, ignoring the odd angles, and didn't breathe.

Rexy stepped out slowly. Her elegant head swayed a bit as she bent down and nosed at the flares on the ground. The dancing lights caught her attention. But they couldn't hold it long. She let out a snort and stood back up. Then she turned and began retreating back into the trees.

Owen breathed out a sigh of relief and blinked his strained eyes. The immediate danger gone, he quickly became aware of a couple things. His feet were bare. His eyes were definitely fucked up. His head was too heavy. And he could distinctly feel the brush and leaves against his skin. He glanced down and saw the giant claws. His first thought was that he'd backed up into a dinosaur. Something was sitting right behind him. And instinct said run.

He dashed forward, jumping from the safety of the brush. He tripped over himself and rolled. Something sharp caught his ankle. He opened his mouth and something inhuman was ripped from his throat. He glanced back but whatever he'd seen hadn't followed him. He tried to roll over and sit but he was stopped. He looked back and saw… a tail? A long, scaled tail. He jumped up and it moved with him. He twisted around in a circle. And it followed him still.

He stopped, feeling very much like a dog chasing his tail. Because, he realized slowly, it was his tail. It was attached to him. He had a tail. He had a tail? He had a fucking tail. He shook his head. His too heavy head and his too long nose. He looked down. The shorter, clawed arms. The larger, clawed legs. The overly large curled claw… raptor. Oh great. Wonderful. Perfect. He was having a sick, twisted nightmare about being a raptor trapped in the T-Rex pen.

"Mr. Grady, you seem to have attracted the attention of Rexy again." Wu's voice called over the intercom. "I suggest heading towards the employee door. You should be able to squeeze through."

He turned. The small door opened seconds before the ground shook and he heard the loud roar of the T-Rex. He ignored the pain in his ankle and ran for the door. It was tight but he squeezed through and found himself in a cage. He turned as the door he just squeezed through closed.

"Remarkable."

He turned. Dr. Wu was standing, a few feet from the cage, studying him. Owen pulled his lips back into a snarl, exposing the rows of sharp teeth he now owned. Pristine white teeth that were itching to rip into his throat.

Wu smiled. "You may be smarter than the normal dinosaur." He said, tilting his head a bit. "But you still can't get out of there. Not like that."

Owen opened his mouth to yell at him but human words didn't come out. The loud roar surprised him and he snapped his jaws shut. What a fucked up dream.

"Sorry. Don't speak raptor." Wu was still smiling.

Owen lunged forward, snapping at the bars. He stepped back and threw all his weight against it. Of course it didn't budge. These cages were built to house dinosaurs. But the bars rattled a bit.

"Owen." Wu used his first name. He didn't do that often. Owen stopped and swiveled his head towards him, listening as the doctor when on. "Calm down. Take a deep breath."

Owen growled and snapped at the bars again. He twisted his head to the side and grasped one of the bars between his teeth. He pressed down hard and scratched the metal.

Wu rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Owen, if you calm down, you should be able to change back."

Owen growled and threw himself at the bars again. Then he snorted and shook his head. It wasn't doing any good. He breathed out and nodded his head.

"Calm down and think about it." Wu said softly. "Think about changing from one form to another. Think about the tail you have now, the claws, the teeth, the long snout. Think about them going away and your human body coming back."

Owen still wanted to claw, bite, attack, chase, and whatever else a raptor could do to Henry Wu. What's wrong with a little dream violence and murder? Because he loved those images. But he listened to Wu's words. He imagined not having a tail. Which was easy. Because he didn't have one. And he didn't have claws. He took a deep breath. And flinched when the first prick of pain shot up his spine. He gasped out and fell to the ground when the second hit, harder and longer. He let out a groan and tried to roll into a ball. But his new appendages wouldn't allow it.

For a few minutes, he blacked out from the pain. He slowly became aware of the hands, his hands, gripping his hair. He let go and rested his head against the cold metal floor of the cage. The cold was good. Very good. His whole body was overheated. He was covered in a thick layer of sweat and he was shaking violently.

"Put these on." Wu stepped close enough to drop a stack of clothes at the edge of the cage.

The man moved so fast that even if Owen had the energy or will at that moment, he still doubted he'd been able to grab him. Owen slowly reached out and pulled the clothes to him. The movement hurt and took way more energy than it should. His fingers gripped the fabric and for a moment, he hugged them to his body. This wasn't a dream, was it? This wasn't… a dream… this was... a nightmare... and it was real...

"That was remarkable." Wu said, shaking his head. There was a smile on his face and excitement in his voice. "I'd love to get a recording of the change, to better study it."

"Fuck… you…" Owen breathed out. He pulled on the clothes, ignoring the way Wu watched him. The guy was beyond creepy. Mega creepy. He could feel… something… beneath his skin. Power, aggression, anger… the raptor. He could feel the raptor under his kin. It gave him sudden energy, like a shot of adrenaline. He jumped up and grabbed the bars hard. He growled and narrowed his eyes. "You dropped me in the T-Rex paddock!" He screamed, practically foaming at the mouth in anger.

"Yes I did." Wu said evenly. "But you were completely safe. I had a team with tranq guns on her the whole time. I had everything under complete control."

Owen rolled his eyes and shook his head. He released the bars and pushed away. He paced across the cage, still shaking his head. "Oh yeah. Completely safe." He mumbled.

"I wanted to see if you could retain control over your animal brain." Wu continued, tilting his head. "Fight or flight."

"Fight? Fight!" He screamed again. He was suddenly on the bars again, gripping them so hard his knuckles were turning white. "You wanted me to fight a giant ass fucking dinosaur?"

"She's old and half blind." Wu said.

"She's like a million feet tall!" Owen snapped. "I've seen that bitch run."

Wu shrugged a bit. "It was a vital experiment."

Owen's eyes narrowed more and he growled again. "I'm going to kill you!" He spat.

Wu smiled smugly. "You do that and you'll never get control of yourself."

Owen glared at him. "If I can put these new claws through your throat, I'll take the risk."

Wu smiled again, the smug bastard. "Yes, Mr. Grady. Excellent reaction." He said excitedly, clapping his hands together. "Kill me and go to jail. That'll turn out good. Or kill me and leave the island. Where else are you going to be able to get a job? You leave this island and you'll end up killing people. Stay here and you can help them learn not to kill people."

"Are you threatening me?" Owen asked loudly. "Now?"

Wu smiled yet again. And boy did Owen want to claw those lips off. "Not a threat. Just speaking the truth." The man said smugly.

Owen turned away slightly. He really wanted to kill the man. He kept visualizing it in the back of his mind. And watching it play out felt great. That realization scared him a bit. He wasn't a violent man. He'd never been. He was always calm and level headed, even in a crisis. It's what made him an excellent soldier. He took a step back and leaned against the bars at the back of the cage. Wu was still in his peripheral vision but was on the back burner. Owen thought of his life before coming to the island. He really wasn't losing much with Wu's threat that he couldn't leave the island. He really didn't have much to go back to anyways. His family was all dead or gone. His uncle was still around but Owen never had a good relationship with him. He had a few friends from the Navy but he really didn't have ties to anything concrete.

The minutes ticked by and Henry Wu was silent. Whether it was out of respect for Owen's confusion or something else, he wasn't sure. Owen was sure it wasn't the first. Actually, he would bet anything Wu had exactly zero concern for Owen's cognitive wellbeing.

"Just come see them." Wu finally said, breaking the silence.

Owen turned his head towards him and frowned. "Them?"

Wu nodded. "They should be ready to hatch in a week."

Owen turned his body towards him and leaned all his weight flat against the bars. He took a deep breath and breathed out slowly. He tried to calm himself before he lashed out again. "We do this my way." He said solidly. "I do this my way." He repeated, emphasizing.

Wu watched him for a moment and tilted his head a bit. "What way is that?" The doctor asked curiously.

"I want full control." Owen said quickly, pushing off the bars. "I want some place, my place, away from everyone. I want them completely to myself."

Wu pursed his lips for a moment, considering. "For how long initially?" He asked.

Owen thought for a moment. "How many eggs?"

"Four." Wu answered.

Four tiny raptors would be a lot to care for, he knew. Taking care of one for four months was hard enough. But with isolation and siblings and someone to parent them, maybe it wouldn't be so hard. "Six months." He said finally. "Six months, alone, with me. Then if I think they're ready, we can discuss other human contact and moving them to the raptor paddock."

"Would you agree to documentation?" Wu asked.

Owen stepped closer to the front of the cage. He leaned a bit against the bars. "Like pictures and stuff?" He asked.

Wu nodded. "And video surveillance… once a week?"

Owen glared at him. He turned sideways and leaned his shoulder against the bars. He wanted to argue. But he nodded. He could agree to that. It sounded reasonable and to be honest, he'd probably be taking pictures and videos anyways. "Okay. I can do that."

Wu continued. "I'll need measurements on everything. Size, weights, how much they eat, how fast they are. It would be a lot of data collecting."

Owen nodded again and pushed away from the bars again. He turned towards Wu and narrowed his eyes into a glare. "But I'm talking total seclusion. Some shack in the woods. Away from you."

Wu nodded. "That can be done."

"No one bothers me." He said loudly, shaking his head and waving his arms. "No one finds out about me."

Wu nodded again. "Of course."

He took a step forward, standing inches from the bars. "Let me out."

Wu nodded and pulled out a small remote. He pointed it towards the cage and hit a button.

The door slid open slowly. Owen stepped out. And then he stepped forward towards Wu. In a single, fluid motion, he pulled his arm back and sent his fist flying towards the doctor. Wu flew back and fell hard on his ass. Owen smiled. "That felt good." He turned and started walking off. "Call me when you got it set up."

Wu rubbed at his cheek as he stood up. "You don't want to see them?"

Owen laughed loudly. He paused and turned back for a moment. "You're not getting me back in that lab of yours so easy. You bring them to me." He said. "When you have everything ready."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Author's Notes: Stay tuned for the next chapter! There will be tears and there will raptors. And junk. And stuff.