Author's Note: Sorry everyone that just got a notification. I accidentally published chapter 5 before this one. Here's Chapter 4 properly. Please drop a review!

Chapter 4

Memories

Ms. Moynihan glanced up at the noise the teens were making as Rodger pouted and Fiona laughed at him.

"So uh…are those kids…?" Aaron started, whispering.

"They are," Ms. Moynihan confirmed.

"Wow. Shit. Sorry uh…"

Ms. Moynihan chuckled. "I don't mind a little language Aaron. You aren't in my class anymore."

"I know! But wow. It's extraordinary. Impossible even."

"It is, isn't it? You haven't told anyone. Even in passing or as a joke?"

"N-no. Never," Aaron vehemently denied. "I can keep a secret. You've known me for twenty years, Ms. Moynihan."

"That I do."

"And you've barely aged a day Ms. Moynihan. You don't look a day over 63 million."

"You flatter me, dear. Now about these raptors of yours…"

Aaron shifted. "I mean… I acquire the meat for them. But, well, they aren't, you know, like you. Sentient? Sapient. At least I don't think so. They're very wild. The park puts out merch for them but they're too dangerous for public display. They're only for research."

Ms. Moynihan nodded. "And you got me permission to see them?"

"Yeah. I had to pull some favors. Pretty sure some of my coworkers think I'm weird for wanting to show the raptors off to my high school teacher. But I got you the clearance. I couldn't swing anything for your students though. Sorry. Mr. Grady drew the line there. He, and I quote, 'didn't want a bunch of stupid kids near his animals'. I got a tour in one of the labs arranged though."

"This Mr. Grady? High strung?"

"No, not at all. He's just the raptor trainer and he takes his job seriously. He's good at what he does. They actually listen to him." Aaron walked. "Damn you should have seen when they were babies. There's this one. Blue. She nuzzled him. It was fucking adorable. Oh, language. Sorry."

"It's alright, Aaron."

"You…just want to see them, right? You aren't going to get me fired trying to climb into the pen are you?"

Ms. Moynihan chuckled. "Don't worry."

"I'm serious when I say they're dangerous, Ms. Moynihan. We're already lost two people this year."

"Really? Oh dear." She didn't sound very surprised though.

"I mean, they didn't die, but one guy got clawed standing too close to the gate and got his arm chewed. Then one of the vets didn't check that Delta, that's the green one, was fully tranqed when he was checking her teeth. He lost a finger."

"… and they didn't ki—put Delta down?"

"Well, some wanted to since they were worried about her tasting human blood. But Grady decided against it and they were too expensive anyway."

"Hm."

Aaron's cell phone started to ring. "Shoot. I have to take this." He fished out a folded package of papers from his lab coat. "This is the non-disclosure agreement. You gotta sign it to see the raptors." He turned away and walked toward the driver's area for a little privacy. "Oh hi, Ms. Dearing. Yes, I've already sent the truck to Paddock 11. Sorry for the delay. Yes, I know. Oh uh while I have you, I got another email about negotiation from the supplier. Mr. Gutierrez said— Yes ma'am. Yes, I'll forward…"

Ms. Moynihan waited until he was out of earshot before she began reading through the paperwork. She tried not to think about "after." Did she really want to just see the raptors? Or was she hoping for more, whatever that is? It was a painful hope. The type where she couldn't afford to offer much emotional weight. She and the kids were only here for a week and she was only given one chance to see the creatures. Even if they weren't "real" raptors, they were surely close enough to bring up long-ago memories she thought she had forgotten, even without feathers. Memories of a pack. Of a clutch of hatchlings. Of long dormant memories of maternal instinct. The green one in particular made her anxious. The coloring wasn't exact of course. Her and her long dead hatchlings' scales were a brighter green than that and there were no purple in the scales of these clones.