I don't know if anything in this chapter is feasible. Pretty much what I had planned since the beginning of it and I don't want to think about the logistics. So let's just pretend I know EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!
Raptor
Chapter 27: Smoke
"He's what?" Claire snapped over the line, inadvertently slowing. There was no way she heard that right. Because there was just no way. He had to be mistaken or something. Because it wasn't possible.
"He's flying the helicopter." Lowery repeated again, for the third time, sounding slightly irritated because of it.
Claire's eyes widened, shaking her head. "Mr. Masrani... is flying the helicopter... alone?" She asked slowly. She glanced around and suddenly realized Owen was gone from view. "Damnit!" She started running again. The man was just too fast and too good at this.
"Sorta." Lowery answered over the line. "He's got two ACU guys with him."
Owen doubled back and stepped out from behind a tree. He frowned at her and rolled his eyes. "Gotta keep up." He said, waving at her.
Claire pulled the phone away from her ear, ignoring his comment. "Owen, Simon's flying the helicopter with the ACU guys."
Owen nodded once and motioned her forward again. "Alright. Let him know we're chasing Ida out into the valley. He should have a clear shot of her."
Claire nodded and put the phone back to her ear. "South of the Gyrosphere valley." She said as she started running away. "Between the old park and the aviary."
Lowery breathed out loudly. "Man. Can't believe you're just out there chasing her."
"Well yes, we are." She said.
"Awesome." Lowery said. "You're like totally my hero. Well, Owen more. You're like second. Maybe third. Flying the helicopter is pretty awesome, too."
Claire rolled her eyes and pulled the phone away from her ear. They didn't have time for this. She needed to keep the line clear in case someone called. She switched it off and caught up with Owen.
"This way." Owen darted through the trees and suddenly came to a stop. They reached the top of a large bluff, overlooking the wide valley. "There." He pointed. He could just make out Ida emerging into the valley below them. She was getting too close to the aviary. And they needed to stop her before she reached it. They needed to hit her now. He glanced back at Claire. "Stay here. Get them back on the phone. They need to hit her before she gets to the aviary. Tell them."
Claire nodded and pulled her phone out again. "What are you going to do?" She asked as she pressed it to her ear.
Owen shouldered the rifle and glanced over the edge of the little cliff. Trees. Lots of trees. That was good. Maybe. He didn't want to think about what he was about to do too hard. He didn't want to think at all. "Try to get in between her and the aviary." He took a deep breath and stepped back several steps.
"How are you..." Claire started.
Owen ignored her as he ran forward, as fast as he could. He didn't think. He leapt off, practically flying through the air for a moment. And then he was falling. And he collided with a branch. Several branches. But they slowed his descent enough and he landed with a thud on the ground. He scrambled back up, not even sparing a second to think about the pain, and sprinted towards the aviary. He could hear the trapped dinosaur bat things inside. He could hear Ida, too. And the helicopter. Ida heard it too, he guessed, as her movements had slowed.
Owen emerged from the cover of the trees and Ida was under the helicopter, looking up at it in confusion. She tilted her head and opened her jaws to whine at it. "IDA!" He screamed.
She turned to look at him, her attention on him and not the helicopter above. The helicopter turned and suddenly bullets were flying in her direction. She let out a roar and then turned and darted back into the trees.
"Damn it!" Owen snapped.
The helicopter moved, pelting the trees as it went. But they went in the wrong direction and were shooting in the wrong spot. Owen tried to wave but there was no way he could communicate with them. He didn't have enough time. He saw a flash of white behind the helicopter. And then suddenly, Ida sprang up from the jungle floor and grabbed the tail of the helicopter. The man operating the gun fell to the ground. Ida shook her head, trying to bring it down, and the second ACU guy slipped out. She shook it harder and clamped her jaws tight, the metal snapping.
Owen watched at the helicopter spun out of control, missing part of its tail. Then it was out of sight and he heard the crash and saw the smoke. He swallowed and watched as Ida quickly outpaced the ACU man running on the ground. He was headed towards the aviary. She caught up with him and crashed right through it.
"Shit!" Owen pulled out his phone. "Claire!" He pressed it to his ear after dialing her number.
"Oh god, Owen..." She sounded on the verge of falling apart. "Simon..."
Owen let out a sigh. "Suck it up, ain't over yet." He said rather callously. But he needed her to focus.
She sniffed. "What do we do?"
"I don't know." Owen breathed out. "We need more firepower. We need..." He didn't know what they needed. "I'm coming back to you. Call control, tell them to get everyone inside now. She's breached the aviary. The fliers are gonna get loose."
"Alright." Claire answered dejectedly.
He hung up and headed back up the valley to Claire.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
"Zach!" Gray was turned around in his seat, his eyes back on the line of jungle. They'd heard the gunshots. "Stop, stop!" He said, reaching over to pat Zach on the shoulder. "Stop!"
Zach slammed on the breaks and threw it into park. He turned to look over the seat. "What?" He asked, his eyes searching.
Gray strained up against his seatbelt, trying to look higher. "Did you hear that?
Zach nodded. He had heard the gunfire and the crash. "Yeah."
"There!" Gray pointed.
Zach turned around farther and squinted his eyes. He could see the billowing smoke.
"It was a helicopter." Gray said. "I think it crashed."
Zach turned back around in the seat. "So?" He said, putting the jeep back into drive. He really wanted to go. He wanted to get back to the resort and find a phone and find Owen and aunt Claire and get Gray someplace safe. Then he wanted to throw his arms about the raptor alpha and never let him go.
Gray turned back around in his seat and grabbed Zach's arm. "I think I saw someone flying from it."
"From it?" Zach glanced over at him.
"Falling from it maybe." Gray shrugged, letting him go. "We should go back. Please, Zach!"
"Shit." Zach gritted his teeth and put the jeep in reverse. Then swung around and gunned the engine, heading towards the smoke. It felt wrong, driving in the wrong direction. He needed to get back to the resort. He needed to get Gray back.
"Over there!" Gray pointed. "I think I can see someone."
Zach squinted in the sunlight and maybe Gray was right. It looked like there was a man walking, stumbling more like it. They got closer and Gray undid his seat belt. He stood up and started waving and yelling. Zach reached over and pulled him down. "Stop yelling." Zach snapped. "She's probably close."
"Gray!" The stumbling man stopped and turned towards them. "Gray's brother!"
Gray's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. "It's Mr. Masrani!"
Zach rolled his eyes. What were the chances? Claire's crazy ass boss had fallen from a helicopter and Gray just happened to see it as they were fleeing. Zach slowed the jeep as they got closer and pulled it to a stop.
"Are you okay?" Gray asked, looking at him.
The man smiled and nodded. He was scuffed up pretty bad, his shirt and pants ripped and torn in places and covered with dirt. He was bleeding was a cut on his forehead and one of his cheek. And several small abrasions dotted his exposed arms. But he was smiling. "Just fine, my boy. Just fine." He said as he reached out to grip the side of the jeep. His hand wavered a bit and he leaned against it. He looked close to passing out but there was still a smile on his face. "I'm lucky you two were out for a drive."
There was a loud crash, like shattered glass. They all turned to stare in the direction. Zach swallowed and turned back around in his seat. That sounded way too close. He shifted the jeep back into drive. "Get in. We need to go."
Simon nodded and reached for the door handle. He fumbled for a moment before finally yanking it open. He climbed in the back seat and collapsed back against the seat. "Where did you find this?" He asked, breathing in deeply and looking around.
Zach shifted it into gear and turned the jeep back around. "Part of the old park." He said he pressed on the pedal.
Simon scooted forward in his seat and leaned towards them, against the back of the seat. "Are you old enough to drive?" He asked, looking over at Zach.
"Yes!" Zach snapped, turning the wheel and putting them back on the road he hoped lead back to the resort.
"He's old enough." Gray said with a smile, turning sideways in his seat to look at Simon. "But he failed his driver's test."
Zach rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Just the driving part!"
Gray laughed. "That's the important part."
"I got this!" Zach said, veering around a fallen tree.
Simon smiled and leaned back in the seat. He breathed deeply in and out for a moment. But a noise caught his attention and he glanced back. And his eyes widened. "Zach... you should go faster."
Gray looked back and gasped.
Zach glanced in the rearview mirror. He could see the flying dinosaurs in the sky. "Shit. Hang on." Zach shifted the gears and pressed harder on the gas pedal. They sped down the makeshift road and out of the line of trees. A gate loomed ahead.
"There's people on top." Gray said, pointing.
"Guards." Simon said with a nod. "They'll be armed, watching for Ida."
"Hey!" Gray shouted, waving.
Simon stood up and started waving as well. "Open the gate!"
"They're coming!" Gray pointed behind them.
The gate opened and Zach pressed on the pedal again, as hard as he could. The old jeep squealed in protest and it lurched through the doors. They pulled to a stop as the doors closed. Zach put the jeep in park and unbuckled his seatbelt.
"We need to get everyone..." Simon started to say as he climbed out and stopped.
"Attention." A voice came over the intercoms. "Due to a containment anomaly, we need everyone to seek shelter right away."
"Yeah, I'm with her." Zach said, pointing up. He got out and ran around the jeep towards Gray. He grabbed his brother and pulled him along behind him. Simon pulled ahead of them and the brothers followed close as they weaved through the people heading towards the resort building.
"Zach? Gray?"
They all stopped and turned as the dark haired woman ran towards them. Simon stepped forward to meet her. "Claire's assistant?" He asked, tilting his head for a moment. He'd never met her but he recognized her voice from their various phone calls and voice messages. Her name escaped him for the moment.
Zara let out a sigh of relief and nodded. "It's Zara. Claire and Owen asked me to find you."
Zach's eyes widened and he stepped closer to her. "You talked to Owen? He's okay?" He asked frantically. He tried not to worry, but he had been worried, the whole time.
"Aunt Claire, too?" Gray added.
Zara nodded again, a smile on her face. "They were tracking the Indominus for the ACU."
Simon shook his head. "I was flying the ACU. Things... didn't go well." He added slowly.
Zach's eyes widened. "Owen and aunt Claire are still out there?" He turned back to look at Simon. "We gotta go back and find them!"
Zara shook her head. "No. We have to get inside. I promised I'd keep you safe. They'll be fine..." She trailed off as her phone rang. She pulled it out quickly and pressed it to her ear. "Claire? I can't hear you..." She stepped away from them. "If you can hear me, I found them! Hello?"
Zach watched her for a moment and turned to Simon again. "We have to go back! Zara said they were tracking her! That means there were back where your helicopter crashed!" He couldn't believe it! They were just there! They were just there and Owen was there somewhere and they just left!
Simon glanced away for a moment, thinking.
Gray turned and pointed to the sky. "Look!" He shouted. The fliers had finally caught up with them. People around them started screaming.
"Sorry, Gray's brother. But we need to run. Now." Simon said, reaching for Gray.
Zach turned and looked for Zara. She'd wandered off farther, standing near the railing above Moe's tank. "Zara!" He yelled, waving to get her attention.
Zara turned and suddenly she was gone. She was swept up as a large winged dinosaur flew by and snatched her right off her feet. A scream erupted from her throat. Her phone slipped from her hand and clattered on the ground.
"Zara!" Gray yelled and the brothers ran forward. They hung over the edge of the railing and watched as the thing flapped it's wings hard, trying to gain altitude. But Zara was flailing and she was clearly too heavy for it. It dropped her and she fell into the Mosasaur tank.
Simon picked up the dropped phone and quickly dialed the control room. "Lowery!"
"Oh my god!" Lowery gasped over the line. "You're alive! What..."
"Later!" Simon interrupted him quickly. "Lowery, can you operate Moe's feeding crane?"
"Yeah." Lowery answered as his fingers tapped away at his keypad. "Just a second... oh shit!" He gasped. "Is that Zara?"
Simon moved in behind the brothers, his eyes on the flailing woman in the water. "Can you get her out?"
"I think so." Lowery answered after a moment.
"ZARA!" Zach screamed.
"Look!" Gray pointed in the water and they could just make out a gray blob. It was moving slowly towards the surface.
"We got movement in the tank." Simon said into the phone.
"Hurry!" Zach snapped loudly.
"I'm trying..." Lowery answered. Way too slowly, the crane started moving down the line. It stopped above Zara and again too slowly, started lowering. It finally reached her and she grabbed it.
"Yes!" Simon pumped his fist in the air in front of him. "Go, go, go!"
"Calm down, dude." Lowery said, a hint of a laugh in his voice. "It's like a game of claw. Don't wanna drop her."
Suddenly, the shadow below the water got closer to the surface. "Moe's coming!" Gray yelled.
Zach gripped the railing tightly. "Hang on, Zara!" He yelled.
The crane swung out of the way just as Moe breached the surface and snapped at a flew flying dinosaurs. Zach breathed out loudly and let go of the railing. He stepped away. "Come on. We gotta get her." Zach took off running. Gray and Simon followed and they weaved through the people, into Moe's amphitheater.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
"Something happened. I heard her scream..." Claire was shaking as she pulled the phone from her ear. She looked up at Owen, sitting on a 4-wheeler just in front of her. "I think the line's busy... it just keeps ringing... but... she was screaming..."
"Hang up and get on." Owen said softly. "We'll find them." They'd made it back to the resort in one piece and Owen had stolen the 4-wheeler the second he spotted it.
Claire glanced down at her phone. She swallowed as she heard the scream replay in her mind, over and over. Zara, her unwavering assistant, who knew Claire better than she knew herself. The woman anticipated her every thought, her every needed. And she was so much more! Zara was the love of her life! She was something that just snuck up on Claire. And Claire had never had the chance, or the courage, to tell her sister. If she never got the chance... Claire pushed the thoughts away, nodded her head, and climbed up on the 4-wheeler behind Owen.
"It'll be okay." He said as they sped through the crowd. And he hoped those words rang true. They dodged the fliers and veered through the people. Finally, they made it to the central plaza. Owen climbed off and held up his rifle. He shot at a few of the fliers, getting too close to some of the panicked guests. His eyes searched as he did so.
"Where are they?" Claire yelled over the shrieks of the fliers.
Owen shook his head. "I don't know." There were too many people and too many dinosaurs. He aimed and dropped a few more from the sky. Then suddenly stopped. The raptor brushed up against his mind and told him to turn. Zach. Across the center, moving away from Moe's exhibit. Owen spared a glance to take inventory of the people around moving with him. Gray looked okay, Simon was somehow alive, and Zara looked wet and shaky as Simon held onto her, but okay. They were okay. Owen started forward. He heard Claire behind him, heard her call his name. But he had one single thought on his mind, one focus, one direction. Zach.
Zach looked up for a moment. And stopped. "Owen..." He breathed out and Owen could hear him.
Gray looked over and turned. "Aunt Claire! Owen!" Gray ran forward, his arms out stretched towards Claire.
They were closer now and Owen could feel Zach in the air around him. Like some kind of static electricity alight on his skin. Zach stepped towards him and stopped, hesitating. Zach bit his lip and looked at the ground. Owen quickly stepped towards him, closing the distance between them. He bent down and wrapped his arms around Zach, pulling him close. Zach threw his arms around Owen's neck and buried his face against his neck. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Zach mumbled against his ear. Owen held him tighter for a moment. Then cleared his throat and let him go.
Zach ambled back, already sad for the loss of contact with the man, and Claire stepped forward to pull him into a hug. Owen turned as Gray wrapped his arms around his waist. Owen smiled and ruffled the kids hair. He gave him a quick hug.
Claire smiled and looked over at Zara and Simon. Her eyes widened and her smile immediately fell. "Zara. What happened?"
Simon shifted his hold on Zara gently as Claire moved closer. "She's in shock, I believe." He answered softly.
"She fell into Moe's tank." Gray explained.
Claire's eyes snapped over to Gray and her mouth fell open. "She fell into the Mosasaurus tank?" She repeated.
"Dropped, actually." Zach correctly. "One of the flying things grabbed her and dropped her."
Gray nodded. "Simon called Lowery and he saved her with the feeding crane."
Claire pulled off her jacket and wrapped it around Zara's shoulders. "We need to get you to medical." She said. "Right away."
Zara lifted her head and shook it slowly. "No... I'm alright." Her voice shook as she spoke.
Claire shook her head. "Zara, I really think..."
"No." Zara said louder. She detached herself from Simon, offering him a smile. "Thank you." Then she straightened up. "I'm fine." She repeated, turning back to Claire. "I'm not leaving you."
Claire still looked concerned. But she smiled slowly and reached out to pull her assistant into a tight hug.
Owen's phone rang suddenly, shattering the little reunion. He pulled it out quickly and turned around. "Barry?"
"Owen!" Barry snapped over the line. "Where are you?"
"Central plaza." He answered.
"You need to get here." His friend said gravely. "Fast."
Owen frowned and glanced back at Zach and the others. He did not want to leave. "What's going on?"
"Hoskins arrived ten minutes ago." Barry said softly. "He's put himself in charge of everything and he's planning on using the raptors."
"My raptors?" Owen snapped. "To what?"
"To track and kill the Indominus."
"What?!" Owen snapped again. "He wants my girls to fight Ida?" He shook his head. "Oh fuck no. I'm on my way." Owen turned around and stepped closer to the group. "I gotta go."
Zach's eyes widened and he shook his head.
Simon stepped closer to Owen. "Hoskins wants to release the raptors."
Owen nodded. "Yeah."
"I told him no." Simon glanced away. "Can they do it?" He asked after a moment, his voice soft and full of doubt.
Owen opened his mouth. Then he closed it. He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah... maybe." He shrugged. "I don't know. None of our work or drills have ever been about killing. Hunting and tracking... self defense..." He turned, thinking, and rubbed at his chin. "Maybe... we can track her... herd her out into the open... maybe ACU can hammer her again." He turned back around. "But... that's all theoretical. They've never done anything like this before."
Simon stepped closer to him. "Do you think you can do it?"
Owen sucked in a breath and nodded. "Yeah, I think it's worth a try. But only if I'm in charge, not Hoskins." He added quickly. Because if they were doing it, they were doing it his way.
Simon nodded. "Deal. I will head to control to prove I'm still in charge and call Hoskins." He turned to Claire. "Claire, there's another helicopter here, right?"
She frowned. "Yes... we have a second..."
"Get control on the phone and have them ready it."
"Sir, I don't think..."
"I'll be more careful this time." Simon said.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Author's Notes: November's probably gonna be sketchy for me. Starting my manager training and even though I know like 95% of the job already, I still have to go and do all the stupid training classes. And live in a hotel for a week. Ugh. That I'm not looking forward to. Good news is chapters like 30 and 31 are about done (because I wrote them last year) and just need final tweaks (to make sure they still flow). Bad news is I've barely started 28 and 29. 8D
THE POINT OF MY ABOVE RAMBLINGS IS... between now and the end of the year, I'll be pretty busy work and family wise. And it makes me sad. Less time to write about my favorite boys and their dinosaur friends.
