Owen stepped out of the car, taking a look around. He was alone, although not too far from civilization, as he had just turned in at the end of a street at the edge of town. Down that street somewhere, Claire was still at the motel. Resting, or so she'd said, he wasn't really sure. Maybe they both needed to take some time right now, after everything that had happened. Maybe it was his fault. Perhaps it was, for putting himself in that situation.
Even after two sleeps, he was still sure that it had been the wrong thing. Hindsight was twenty-twenty of course, and he couldn't change the past- he could only go forward, as he stepped aside from the jeep. He had his phone in one hand, as he leaned forward, turning off the car radio as he did so. This time, he kept the keys with him. One close call had been enough for him. He didn't really need another. Not yet anyway, he thought with a sigh.
The town was right on the edge of some smaller woods, nothing very large, but enough to have him scanning the area. Just always being on the lookout, as he sighed, stepping a bit further down the trail. He glanced at his phone which had the public service alert, specifically for the area. 'Predatory dinosaur seen in area, please use caution and do not go outside at night unless necessary'. Something to that effect anyway. These alerts were useful, people really had managed to make something of technology in an attempt to try to make communities safer.
Not that he was worried...he knew from the past that the Mesozoic project had alerts in and of themselves that tied into these databases. That was how they had gotten to the scene of dinosaurs sometimes quite quickly. However, most of the time they didn't show unless it was called in. America was a large place, and although there had been plans to expand their base from what it was originally...the Raptor Squad could only be so many places at once. Sometimes Owen wondered if it had really been such a good idea, to have such a small containment team...
As he started along the path, he could see the trail was well defined. It looked worn, and he could see trash on the ground, signs that people often came through here. Not terribly surprising given how close it was to town, but what he was really looking for was any sign of footprints. Plenty of mixed sign here, dogs, squirrels, maybe even the odd deer. What he wasn't seeing was any sort of large footprints, even smaller... These animals left very tell-tale signs, even the larger ones. Owen had originally been hired by Masrani for his experience as a tracker.
He kept on the path, until turning a corner he thought he saw what he was looking for. A large footprint, three clawed, askew in the center of the path. He turned and looked immediately to his left and right, there was silence from both sides, and he had expected that. Most people might take that to mean he was alone, but Owen knew better. He glanced down at the print again.
From his experience in dealing with the mainland dinosaurs, he understood that some could be skittish of people. It depended with the species, that was a large reason for the Mesozoic project in the first place. To help deal with potential conflicts between people and dinosaurs... At least, they had been the first ones to convince the Government to allow them to do this. Not an easy task, hence why it had taken a few years. From what he'd heard, Mexico and the Central American governments had been slightly faster in deciding what to do.
It was a raptor print, Owen was convinced of it, as he veered off the main path now. He was now among the trees, as he studied the ground, looking for any sign. It would be along this line, he knew, as he was still careful, keeping an eye out, as he was acutely aware that he was unarmed. Vulnerable in that sense. But that had been a conscious decision on his part, as he knew just how intelligent the raptors were. They were so much more intelligent than most people gave them credit for. There was a reason that he'd always kept his guard up when dealing with the raptors originally, but now...this was different.
He'd always known it was different, as he kept on. He was confident he was following Blue's track after all, as he placed the phone in his pocket carefully. He didn't need to be losing it now, plus he wanted his hands free if he absolutely had to. She was different from the other raptors, he'd seen that before when working with them. Velociraptors were one of the most dangerous dinosaurs that had been recorded ever since the public disclosure of InGen's activities all these years ago.
Stepping to the right, he approached a clearing, and suddenly, she was there, right in front of him. Owen froze as the raptor was sniffing the carcass of a dead possum. It had been killed recently, most likely a few minutes ago. However as she heard him approach, Blue looked up and snarled. Owen didn't move, as he knew that right now was a critical moment. He'd thought about what he'd do if he saw her again last night...but here in the daylight, it was a lot different.
"It's me," He said, feeling silly, and questioning himself almost immediately. It had been foolish to come here, especially after the close shave. But he had to know. That description of the animal so close to town had tempted him...but he hadn't seriously thought it was Blue. Dinosaurs were still more than a bit spread out, so it had been an even chance that what had been reported was a stray Gallimimus or something. Perhaps. But he couldn't take that chance.
Leaving the rabbit, Blue stepped forward, and she began to approach Owen. He didn't break her gaze as she kept on watching her. The raptors were intelligent. Almost as smart as primates, or so it had been speculated. He remembered how before he'd started work with the raptors, they had tried to reach out to survivors of the Sorna and Nublar incidents. Few answered their calls, but one thing in particular stood out to him from the ones who did. They were smarter than primates. She was staring at him, sizing him up, as she continued to growl. Owen kept his hands in plain view, showing clearly that he didn't have anything in his pockets.
Probably smart. He knew how their last encounter had ended, but he didn't know what she'd do now. As she circled him, he would keep pace, making sure that he didn't show his back at any point in this. That was important, these animals weren't stupid, they had observed humans now for some time, despite their brief lives in this world. Especially Blue and the rest of the raptors in the Mesozoic project. They had spent much of their lives in close proximity to people.
In this case...they had spent their whole lives in close proximity to him. Four raptors. Blue, Charlie, Delta and Echo at first, and then that had seemed to go well. Then Beta had been discovered, one of the only wild raptors that had so far been tracked down... honestly, that fact bothered him a bit more than he admitted, but he had just gone with it at the time. Figuring he'd had enough of a bond with the others. But as Blue circled him, Owen could feel the doubts creeping in his mind.
The way she was staring, he couldn't help himself, he stepped back, as she snorted, stepping forward. Matching his pace, step by step. Blue. She was staring right into him, he could feel it even now the intensity of her gaze- as she would be watching him as he stepped all over ,and now he was sure of it. That she was looking for any sign of weakness. Smarter than primates indeed.
He breathed in, forcing himself to try to remain calm. Something that might be considered impossible as the Raptor followed him. He knew that he had been lucky that day. Maybe. Maybe. Just the other day Blue had spared him, but now he was testing something out, determining if all his theories about the raptors were true, as little time as he'd known them, it was clear that it was now or never.
"Blue. Remember the other day? You're free now," he said, as he pointed with his finger, over to her leg. Time to see just how smart they were. His hands were open, nothing in them, no dials or remotes, and Blue would see that. He'd also come alone...by himself. That was important too. By himself with no backup. Just the two of them together, as he had seen over the past few months.
She craned her neck briefly, following where he'd pointed, then she turned back as she growled. Again, she advanced, pushing him back step by step. Owen didn't realize until she was pushing him, that he was pushing him right back onto the path. He swallowed, as she would continue to walk him out of the clearing, and he would feel the perspiration running down his face then. Yes, she was pushing him... pushing him in more than one way. He'd comply though, as he couldn't think of another way. It did remind him of how she'd herded him the other day.
"Blue. Listen. Listen-" he gasped, as she stepped closer yet again, her breath hot as she came up close, inches away from his face. Owen felt the perspiration slick down his face, as he knew that he was gambling here. "I'm not here to hurt you. No more cages." He said at last, as something had weighed heavily on his mind. When they'd last seen each other, she'd let him go, backed out right when she had him dead to rights, and he believed that it was-
No time, he thought, but again, time for him had really run out since he'd chosen to walk right in to the line of fire. Right into danger. He felt a thud, and realized that he was backed up against a tree. Nowhere to go. Blue right in front of him. He looked to his left and right, and as he did so, he noticed that Blue seemed to be almost swaying alongside. Challenging him. At that moment, he thought he understood, despite the gap in separation between man and dinosaur. He held out his hand tentatively, in the same way that he had earlier. The last time, a few days ago- she'd attacked him because she was prodded by the chips. Now? Why now? One thing did stick out at him, as he placed his hand out...
Breathing in and out, but more confidently this time. She was staring at him... looking at him, and he knew the question was there in her eyes. Why? He couldn't answer that. The separation between their kinds was too vast. Sixty-five million years of evolution. Suddenly thrown back into the mix. How could they possibly have any idea of what to expect? As he saw she was leaning back, teeth bared, he tensed up...just then at the last possible moment...
"Hey, you!" He turned and looked down the path, and so did Blue, so sudden was the surprise, as he saw Claire standing there by herself. She was also unarmed, much to his shock. For a few seconds there was silence, birds chirped overhead as both parties stood there, weighing each other, as Blue seemed to make a snap decision. She turned from Owen, growling as she started to approach Claire. For Owen though, there was no need to think. Running as fast as he could, he dove in front of Claire, his body blocking the way.
Blue growled. Rushing up to the pair of them, she skidded to a stop, suddenly, right in front of his face. He controlled himself, breathing hard as he did so. He silently wished he could be able to see Claire's face. But that wasn't relevant now. Not when he was aware that their lives could end in a second if Blue was in the mood. "I said I would make things right," he said to Blue, as she glared, her heavy snorts hot against his face, as she was now growling louder.
But Owen knew what to do now, as he held his hand forward. Pleas and entreaties hadn't worked. Because that was not how Raptors operated. Last time it had worked- only because he had helped her. "Blue. No." He said calmly, all traces of fear out of his voice now... if this was it, he was going to die on his feet, because he knew Blue, or at least he thought she did.
She snarled again, her muzzle inching closer and her teeth bared. She never let her eyes off of his, and Owen could feel Claire gasp from behind him. It was very difficult to resist the temptation to turn and look around. The seconds felt like an eternity as he stared her down. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest as he continued, and she stared... Finally, she backed up, but Owen felt himself forced to remain calm as she continued to back up. There was another growl, but she backed up further. Then, she would turn, looking back at the woods, and then growled again with one last head tilt towards him.
After what seemed like forever, Blue ran back into the woods. "Is she-" Owen held up a hand, as he would hear the sound of her rustling in the underbrush. Still somewhere close, but she wasn't coming back. At least he hoped not, he thought, as he would wait a bit longer. Another full minute dragged by, neither of them speaking, until he finally relaxed. He placed his hand down, as she was absolutely sure.
Claire relaxed behind him. "I came when you didn't respond, you said that you'd be gone a half hour at most." She was clearly rattled, and Owen couldn't blame her. That was a close call. Close for the both of them, and they'd already run into a few close calls since they'd been together.
"Sorry about that, but I found the answer I was looking for," Owen said as he started walking down the path. He looked back at the trees, but there wasn't any more noise. Absolute silence. He thought he knew why he was still alive, however he was also determined to get back to the city before he stretched the raptors generosity.
"She was testing me."