Jurassic World (#Wattys2015)

27

"Talk to me, Lowery" said Owen as he placed the phone between his shoulder and his ear while he checked his gun, Claire standing next to him looking around the deserted main street of the Jurassic Town.

The sun had finally disappeared a few minutes ago and the automatic street lamps had turned on, illuminating the street and its shops and restaurants; and what usually would have been a beautiful night was nothing but a terrible nightmare.

"So they are on their way back" said Owen, Claire turned to look at her and he mouthed "They are fine" she smiled and nodded "Great, now can you see the girls on the grid?"

But before Lowery could answer, Claire grabbed Owen's arm painfully, her nails digging into his flesh; Owen turned to look at her, ready to complain when he saw what she was looking at with such horror.

"I'm going to have to call you back" whispered Owen as he put down his phone and pushed it inside his jeans.

Behind a few fallen chairs and tables from a restaurant Owen could make out a pair of black cold eyes looking at them, the streetlight barely illuminating the greenish skin, the eyes blinked but the creature didn't move; Owen noticed that Claire was barely breathing. A three fingered hand appeared slowly and with strength shoved away one of the chairs that rolled away from the raptor as the head started to emerge fully from behind the table.

"Delta" he whispered.

The raptor was crouching, walking slowly with her eyes still over Owen and Claire, Owen saw dried blood over Delta's shoulder; where he had shot her a few hours back when she had tried to kill him.

"Where are the others?" whispered Claire.

"Here too" he answered, he couldn't see them, but he knew they were there. 

"Where?" sobbed Claire, her nails digging further into Owen's skin, but he could no longer feel the pain as adrenaline filled his body.

"Watching us" was all he could answer.

Gently Owen started to back down, walking slowly away from Delta and dragging Claire with him; they weren't far from the "museum" part of the town, if they could make it inside before Delta or any of the other girls attacked them; he was pretty confident that they could avoid being killed by the raptor squad.

A hissing sound came from their left, Claire's eyes darted towards the sound but Owen was reluctant of leaving Delta unwatched, besides he knew that sound; he knew who it belonged to.

Echo.

"Don't get your eyes of her" whispered Owen.

"Are they going to kill us?" asked Claire, she was having trouble keeping her eyes over the raptor but she forced herself to do it.

"They will try" said Owen, with his free hand Owen clutched his gun harder; he loved those raptors like they were his kids, but if he had to shoot Delta again or any of the other three, he would do it.

The back of Owen's feet bumped against cement, he glanced rapidly over his shoulder and saw that they had reached the steps that lead to the museum building; he smiled to himself, he was confident they could make it inside.

Owen gently climbed over the step behind him when they both heard a pair of jaws snapping; Claire gulped as she pressed her back against Owen who was now just a few inches above her.

Delta who had been walking by their right side released a hissing like sound and turned to look over her shoulder; Echo that had been in hiding leaped over a piece of roof from a shop that had fallen when the Dimorphodons and the Pteranodons had created chaos; Claire sucked in all the air she could as Echo jumped and landed close to them.

But Owen knew they were waiting for orders, maybe the I-Rex wasn't there at the moment to tell the raptors to kill Owen and Claire, but the second in command was there and she snapped her jaws as she appeared from behind the amber sculpture; hissing and snapping and ready to kill.

"Blue" said Owen as he stepped down from the step.

"No" said Claire "They are going to kill us"

But Owen pushed her words out of his brain, Owen had imprinted on her since she had hatched from her egg, she knew him; and suddenly he wasn't so sure he would be able to kill one of his girls if the moment came to do it. Yes, he had shot Delta, but he hadn't killed her, he hadn't even intended on killing her.

Blue cocked her head to the left as the three raptors started to approach the humans, their threat still beaming out of their bodies like heat, but Owen kept walking towards his girls with Claire petrified behind him.

"Come on girl" whispered Owen "It's just me"

Blue snapped her jaws and growled as she showed Owen her sharp teeth.

"Here" he whispered, he slowly extended his hand towards his baby girl, towards Blue; the raptor growled again but did not move. As Owen stretched his hand towards Blue's head, he was completely aware that the raptor could easily rip his arm off and then proceed to kill him and Claire, but he didn'r back down, "It's ok, girl" he whispered.

And suddenly against all odds, Blue leaned her head forward and Owen gently touched the left side of her head, his hand moving gently up towards the machine that had been attached to her head, his fingers rapidly took the camera off and he stepped back.

Blue looked at Owen and let out a strange bird like noise he had heard thousands of times and he smiled, he knew what it meant.

"What's happening?" whispered Claire "What are they doing?"

Blue turned to Echo and Delta and they hissed and made noises as Owen looked down at the camera in his hands and then rapidly looked at Echo and Delta; it was only then that he noticed that Blue was the only one that still had the camera on her.

"They lost theirs during our chase" thought Owen, Delta had probably ripped hers off her head the second she stopped chasing Owen, she was always such a rebel, and Echo must had lost hers when Claire hit her with the car and she rolled away and Blue had just gotten hers off but...

"Where's Charlie?" asked Owen, his heart stopping for a second.

"What?" asked Claire, the raptors had turned to look at them but Owen knew he had gotten Blue's trust back and with Blue on his side the others followed.

"We are missing Charlie" explained Owen "Where is she?"

But before Owen's brain registered that Charlie was missing just like his sister was, there was a loud thumping noise that made the ground below them tremble; Claire dove for his arm and clutched to him as they looked up the road. Blue, Delta and Echo turned around and cocked their heads simultaneously as an enormous grey like dinosaur appeared before them.

The I-Rex pushed herself to her hind legs and looked at the raptors and at the humans; Owen saw her yellow eyes shine against the streetlights, they looked cold and unemotional, just like she had proven to be.

"Oh shit" whispered Owen.