Falcon || Jurassic World

Six

I hear the challenging roar ripple threateningly through the trees long before I feel the thump of feet.

I go still, letting the rustle of the bushes cover my own natural trembles and hold my breath as there's another screech from a different dinosaur. There's a distinct sound of battle, grunts and growls rumbling through the air before there's a victory cry and the sound of shattering glass.

My head twitches as I hear human screams. Children are screaming.

Slowly, I creep through the shadows, blending in seamlessly with my surroundings. There's a trail of footprints pressed into the ground and I follow them soundlessly, senses in overdrive. There's an unnatural smell in the air, a blend of terror, hunger, and mixed breeding that doesn't go together.

I snarl quietly as I teeter in the edge of a waterfall, claws sliding on the slippery edge. The acrid scent of fear tumbles over but as I glance down at the water, there's nothing to show me where to go from there.

The scent of wrongful mixed races is thick in my senses; I nearly sneeze on it. The other hybrid had been here and recently.

For a moment, I contemplate jumping down the short waterfall and trying to track the two children, but then I am turning away and slipping away. Maybe I can find Owen and understand what is going on. There is a small part of me that is heavy with guilt for leaving the children, but I do not wish to risk my life for people I don't know.

I run into Owen and Claire ten minutes after I leave the waterfall.

They're walking away from a field of dead dinosaurs, faces ashen and dull with grief and fear. I move forward slowly and chirp. "Owen?"

His head snaps up and his rifle is cocked and aimed at me instantly. I squawk and shuffle back in alarm. "Falcon," he breathes, lowering the weapon. "You're okay!"

"You nearly shot me!" I huff indignantly but then Owen is approaching me with his hand out and I'm dipping my head to nuzzle into his palm.

"Hey baby," he whispers, smoothing his hand over my neck. A small purr builds in the back of my throat. "You had me worried. Vic took you away and I didn't know where you were."

The woman, Claire, clears her throat. "Owen," she says hesitantly. "Who's ... this?"

Owen steps back a little but I follow him. Claire flinches away from my curious nose. "This is Falcon," Owen introduces. "She's one of my raptors. She's the one your scientists tampered with."

"The one with human DNA, I remember."

I whistle at her, sniffing the air around the two of them carefully. "New dinosaur?" I ask. "Owen, you smell terrible."

He chuckles. "I've missed you too girl."

I hate that he can't understand me.

"Do you think she can help us find Zach and Gray?" Claire asks Owen quietly and I chirp loudly. The two boys! I nip at Owen's hands and he swats me away gently.

"I think that's a yes," he says, resting a hand on my flank briefly. "Lead the way, Falcon."

I move quickly, keeping my senses focused on the forest around me in case the other hybrid decides to return. Owen and Claire follow clumsily, Claire's heels catching obnoxiously on leaves and small twigs. Each time I hear a noise, I wince.

Finally, we make it to the waterfall and I stare over the edge and whine. "They jumped," I tell them. Owen looks over too.

"My god," Claire whimpers. "They jumped.

"Smart kids," Owen mutters.

Claire yells into the trees and I snap my teeth at her, listening for the telltale signs of the other hybrid. Owen hushed his companion, girlfriend, whatever quickly as I scent the air and wait for a moment. After two minutes of nothing, I turn back to Owen with a small puff.

"Listen," Owen says harshly. "Those kids are still alive, but you and I will not be if you continue to scream like that."

I tune out their bickering, opting to investigate other pathways down. I estimate that the two boys couldn't have gone far, maybe to the nearest place with shelter. That's good, if they can tuck themselves away, maybe the hybrid will leave them be.

There's a flurry of movements from Claire that draws my attention back to the conversation at hand, and I'm in time to see her mess around with her clothes and fold her arms. Owen raises an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I chuff a laugh. "She's ready to go. Ready to go get eaten."

"It means I'm ready to go," Claire echoes.

Owen blinks. "Okay," he says. "Lets get one thing straight. I'm in charge out here. You listen to me and you do everything I say, exactly as I say it. Falcon will be our eyes and ears, so if she freezes up, stop moving and shut up."

"Excuse me?" Claire splutters.

"Just relax," Owen assures her. "It's just like taking a stroll through the woods. 65 million years ago."