CHAPTER 372
Vulture led her pack along the outskirts of the concrete pad with the humans still riding on their backs. The raptors moved at a slow trot. Their attention to caution was obvious.
"They're nervous," Seth said.
Dr. Levine raised a brow at his comment. She could tell he was right. Their steps were too slow, their eyes too watchful.
Kyra remembered what Seth had said earlier, that Falcon was to blame for the blood soaked boats and luring Rebirtha. If it was true then Falcon probably wasn't far. A chill ran up Kyra's spine as she felt eyes in the jungle around her, and a realization set in that they were far from safe.
Vulture made an abrupt stop, and her posse did likewise. They turned their ears. They sniffed the air. Vulture took a step toward the jungle and peered deeply at it.
Kyra could feel her heart sinking. She knew something was wrong.
Vulture made a quiet trill to the other raptors and there seemed to be some brief deliberation. Vulture shook her head like there was no good option, and then all the raptors turned to the labyrinth of pallets. Nearby there was a path to its inner maze of stacks and narrow through ways. Vulture walked towards it, and the others followed. She stopped at the mouth of the path and everyone peered down into its long confines.
"This doesn't feel right," Kyra said.
"Nothing does," Seth responded.
Vulture crouched and turned her head, narrowing her eyeball at Dr. Levine. In a chilling whisper the utahraptor said, "Richard, get off."
Without hesitation Levine nodded and slid from Vulture's back. She turned and looked at the others.
Needles and Roadkill were now crouched and waiting for Kyra and Seth to dismount.
"Chop chop, you two," Levine motioned with her hands.
Kyra looked at Seth uneasily as she shifted her feet onto the ground.
"Did you really think this was gonna be that easy?" Seth said to her.
"I don't trust them," Kyra whispered.
"They don't trust us," Seth was standing on his own two feet.
Vulture started down the narrow path into the pallets, and Needles came up to follow her directly.
Seth, Kyra, and Dr. Levine saw that Roadkill and Ghost were impatiently waiting to take up the rear. With quiet growls they nodded their snouts toward the pallets.
Dr. Levine scooped up Seth and Kyra by the shoulders and directed them in line behind Needles. "Let's not keep them waiting," she said. "I think they want to get off this island just as much as we do, but they can't drive a boat. For now, that's what's keeping us alive, and they will protect us because of it."
Kyra looked upward at the only visible sliver of sky that remained as they became engulfed amongst the pallets. Though the sounds of the jungle rapidly muted the deeper they got, she could still hear muffled bellows and roars from the three battling super predators.