JURASSIC PARK
10 - A Pet By Any Other Name
A T-Rex roaring echoed through the forest and landed on the ears of the four disheveled travelers. Tim stopped in his tracks to stare nervously at his sister.
Lexi's heart seized in her chest. "Are you hearing this?" Her frantic gaze shifted between the strange hybrid and Grant.
The older man got up from his sitting down to stare through the mist-shrouded forest undergrowth in the direction where the roar originated. Never looking away, he questioned the hybrid coming up behind him. "Is, uh... that-"
"A Tyrannosaur?" Pet nodded. "Yeah."
"How far off would you say it is..." Their gazes momentarily locked.
Pet shrugged. "Roughly two miles, give or take."
"Oh." It didn't seem that was what Grant wanted to hear. Well, then what did he want to hear? That the beast was far, far away from them nowhere near a threat? The man made a beeline for the little boy and guided him towards a large tree not far from where they currently were. "Come on, Tim. Hurry up." He grabbed Lex by the arm in the process. "Let's, uh, get up this tree."
This surprised Pet. She figured the man to be a much more composed type, versus the easily spooked kind. But she guessed it made sense, given everything he had just endured. This was quite mild compared to some of the days she had experienced both in Kenya and here. She watched the three scurry to the tree's massive, entangled roots.
Tim started to whimper and even cry a little bit when being subjected to going to the tree. Grant tried to reassure the child the best he could, but the urgency in his voice overshadowed his intentions. "Come on, Tim, it's okay. Listen, try up here." The man guided the kids to what appeared to be the most accessible of the root system to climb.
"Oh man," Tim whined as he began to climb up the root. "I hate trees."
"They don't bother me," Lex stated. She was already well on her way up the tree before Tim could even get past the root.
"Yeah? Well, you weren't in the last one."
Pet rounded the tree base to where the people were and watched worriedly. Hopefully, someone wouldn't lose their grip or their footing and fall.
Grant looked over at the raptor-like woman. "Are you coming or not?"
Pet blinked in surprise at the question. She wasn't expecting to be allowed to take refuge with the others, given how uncomfortable the trio was in her presence. If anything, she figured she'd have to stay on the ground level and act as a guard dog.
Grant saw the wordless shock on the hybrid's face. Earlier she appeared a bit hurt by his rejection of her assistance. Such human emotions for something so inhuman. It made him wonder just how human she was. She previously stated being one of InGen's other experiments, which meant she probably wasn't allowed a lot of human interaction. The fact she was allowed any contact outside of a lab, seeing how he first saw her at the raptor paddock, meant she was fairly trustworthy.
"I imagine it would be safer higher up in a tree than on the ground." There went that conflicted look on her face, again.
Pet cocked a brow at the statement. 'It'll make the kids feel safer.' The kids, or him?
Sighing, the woman climbed the tree, too. She made it look easy as she crawled over and through the series of limbs layering over the next. The hybrid made her way to the top, followed by Lexi, Tim and finally Grant. Pet perched herself on a limb and was momentarily taken back by the view. Grazing on the treetops in the distance were several Brachiosaurus.
Suddenly, Tim had forgotten being in a tree again and blurted, pointing at the scene, "Look at the Brontosauruses. I mean, uh, Brachiosaurus!"
Moaning like sounds from the majestic creatures filled the air, Grant awestruck. "They're singing."
The four sat there, watching and listening to the more peaceful side of Jurassic Park. Lexi hardly blinked as a broad, ear to ear smile stretched across Tim's face. For the paleontologist, he was a mix of both. His eyes were fixated on the beasts and his expression something of a boy lost in a dream. It made Pet smile, watching him take in every detail of the scene. She couldn't help but feel a bit jealous and downturned her gaze to study her clawed hands and sickle-clawed feet. She sighed, knowing all she could do was accept what she was. An abomination, as Hammond had been known to say. It's how Lexi, Tim and even Grant saw her, if their cautious actions and constant stares were anything to go by.
Grant getting up got her attention as he made his way over to the tree limb she was sitting on. "Pardon me, a minute," he stated as he sat down in front of her.
Had his back not been turned away from her, he'd have seen her expression of shock and fear. She dared not move and began digging her claws into the tree bark. He was much too close for her comfort, and it made her considerably uncomfortable. Here she was, unafraid of challenging an animal several times her size, but terrified to be so close to someone she admired.
The scientist began to howl into his folded hands to make a series of sounds much like the Brachiosaurs'. Lexi grabbed onto the man's leg to stop him. "Won't the monsters come over here?"
Grant grinned down at the antsy teen. "They're not monsters, they're animals. These are herbivores."
Tim giggled and nudged his sister in the side. "That means they only eat vegetables, but for you, I think they'd make an exception!" He snickered again.
Even Pet had to smile a little.
"I hate the other kind," Lexi continued.
Satisfied at the result of his little playing around, Grant climbed down off the limb. He could see the hybrid seated with her back stiff and as close to the tree trunk as possible. She looked a bit on edge. "You alright?"
Pet nodded and swallowed the rising nerves in her throat. "Oh yeah," she choked out. "Couldn't be better." She forced a sharp-toothed grin. It was enough to make the man recoil a little.
Grant nodded in acceptance and returned to where he'd been sitting. Pet facepalmed herself, not sure how much more of an idiot she could make herself look.
Disgruntled, Pet laid across the tree branch on her stomach and rested her chin on her arms folded in front of her. She blanked out what the three talked about as she didn't care. Her mind was full of her own thoughts, such as what was in store for them later on in their journey. Pet absentmindedly watched the herd of Brachiosaurs feast on the vast selection of leaves, hoping for the best until all of this could be over.
Lexi questioned. "What are you and Ellie going to do, now, if you don't dig up bones anymore?"
It was a good question and something the scientist hadn't thought of. "I don't know." He shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to evolve, too."
Tim tried to lighten the mood by making jokes, but Pet didn't find them all that funny. If anything she more wanted to facepalm than anything.
Lexi timidly questioned, "Alan?"
"Yeah?"
"What if the dinosaurs come back while we're all asleep?"
"Heh." Now that was something he'd thought of since taking to the tree. His eyes rested on the stretched out hybrid. Perhaps it would have been best if she did stay on the ground to warn them of any impending dangers. Possibly even fight them off. She held her own pretty well against the Tyrannosaur, after all. What else was she capable of fighting? "I'll stay awake."
"All night?" Surely he wouldn't, would he? He had to be just as tired as them.
Grant nodded and answered, "All night." Pet's thoughts were broken, however, by Grant trying to get her attention. "Miss?"
Pet sat up to and looked over her shoulder at the man. Nestled against him on either side were the kids. "Hmm?"
"What's your name, by the way? I don't believe I ever got it, before." Grant's eyes were sincere and his question innocent enough.
"Pet," answered the hybrid, looking down at the tree limb.
What? Grant studied the slightly saddened woman. "No, I mean your name. Not your nickname. Your name."
"That is my name." Pet refused to look at the man as though ashamed of herself.
"Is that short for Patricia or-"
The man's question was cut short by Pet interrupting him with a snarl. "No! Pet IS my name. My full and only name, okay?"
At first, Grant was annoyed at the tone in her voice, but that quickly changed to sympathy when hearing the hurt. "You weren't given a real name were you?" She shook her head after a moment. "Why not?"
His questions were starting to stab at a scar long healed and one she had come to accept, for the most part. "Why? Look at me. I'm not a person." Pet flinched at her answer. "I'm a...a thing created in a test tube..."
Her words were starting to hurt the others, the kids frowning. Lexi softly spoke. "You're not a thing. You are a person, and you deserve a name, just like anyone else."
Grant continued. "Haven't you ever wanted a name? Surely you've thought one up for yourself..."
Pet shook her head. "Actually, no, I haven't. I've always believed a name to be given to someone from someone special. So, because of, I never really thought about one."
Which was a lie. She had always wanted a real name and hoped one day, Hammond would soften up enough to give her one. Guess Pet was as good as it was going to get for her. At least it came from someone close to her and not something she got stuck with from someone she didn't like.
"You don't want a full name..." Grant furrowed his brow in confusion and question.
"I didn't say that!" Pet snapped back. She frowned at her short temper. "Sure, I'd love a name, but I wouldn't name myself. I'd let someone special do that, instead. It'd mean more." She glanced back at the man, traces of tears evident in her raptor-like eyes.
Grant was silent a moment, feeling guilty for even bringing it up. He didn't mean to upset her. "Do you at least have some idea of what type of one you'd want?"
Pet heaved a sigh and returned to watch the grazing Brachiosaurs. "It's silly."
Lexi cut in. "I want to hear it."
Tim nodded. "Yeah, yeah!"
"Well," Pet started, uncertain if she wanted to admit what she'd kept secret almost all her life. She hadn't even told Muldoon because she thought he'd find it preposterous. "I wanted it to be something with the initials V and R."
Tim tilted his head to the side. "Why V and R?"
"Like I said, it's silly." Pet wiped at her eyes and sniffed back her self-pity.
Grant spoke. "I'm sure it's not."
The woman knew the topic wouldn't be dropped until she gave them what they wanted. "V because of Veloci and R because of Raptor. There, I said it. Happy?" Pet laid back down on the tree limb, resting her cheek against the damp cool of its bark.
The scientist watched her. It was all making sense now, at least from his point of view. He could be wrong, though. When he first saw her at the raptor paddock, she appeared very much human be the way she was dressed and with her knowledge of the animals. But things were much, much different. Seeing how she didn't have a real name meant she wasn't regarded as a person, a human being. She was just as she stated, an experiment. Scientists didn't give guinea pigs or lab rats a first, middle and last name. A specimen number at the least, maybe a single name at most. With how she battled the T-Rex with no hesitation made him question the true nature of her creation. Was it to be a type of dinosaur wrestler, should the animals get out of hand? How expendable did they treat her? It's no wonder she was so sensitive and even expressive with emotions at times.
After all she had done to help them, Grant wanted to do something in return. "Mind if I pick a name, then?"
His words stole the hybrid's breath from her chest and her inability to think. She laid there, rigid and motionless. Then, as though an invisible force had ripped her off the limb, she sat up to stare wide-eyed at him. "Really?"
Grant nodded. "After all, you did save not only the children's lives but mine as well. Not to mention you're helping us get back to the visitor center."
"You're serious..." Pet's voice was distant and disbelieving.
"I am." Grant smiled at her and in doing so, watched the hybrid figuratively crumble. Since the incident with the T-Rex attack, he'd come to see this wondrous creation as a lithe killing machine with a bit of a sensitive side. Now, here she was with all guard down and in just as weak of a state as them. "That is if you're alright with it."
Pet couldn't believe what she was hearing. She wasn't immediately aware she was nodding stupidly. "Absolutely!" Her favorite person she'd grown up following and watching in his excavations throughout the years was wanting to name her!
"Okay, then. Let's see..." Grant slimmed down his visual examination of her and thought. "Valerie? No...you don't look like a Valerie. Vickie, Vanessa, Virginia, Victoria..." All his suggestions were drawing grimaces from the woman. "Violet, Vivian, Veronica-" The hybrid perked up. "Veronica?" She nodded. "Now for a middle name. Rs and something that sounds good with Veronica..." He was quiet as he thought. "Renee. Veronica Renee."
Tears pooled in Pet's eyes. "I like it." So much for resisting an emotional attachment.
"There you go," Grant praised, smiling broadly at the hybrid.
Pet softly laughed. "And it even has a cute little nickname, too." The man raised a brow in question. "It's something else I wanted was a name with a little nickname, too. Like Meg for Megan, Tim for Timothy." She motioned to the little boy.
Lexi was confused. "What nickname are you referring to?"
"Nica," Grant answered, wearing a proud expression. Pet nodded in agreement. He could see the level of excitement in her features and was taken by surprise when watching her eyes shift from the golden yellow of a raptor's to a normalized blue-green color. "Your eyes," he stated in amazement. "They changed."
Pet quickly looked away from the man and hoped he hadn't seen her blushing, too. "They do that sometimes." It felt like her heart was about to explode out of her chest, and she nervously dug at the tree bark with her claws. "You three should get some rest. It's a long walk to where we need to go and who knows what lies between the visitor center and us."
Tim nodded in agreement. "Good idea."
"Agreed," replied Lexi.
Grant kept his attention on the hybrid when he spoke. "It's best if you do the same for yourself."
