Smoke (currently under editing)

4 · The Raptor Paddock

"They're lethal at eight months, and I do mean lethal." - Robert Muldoon, Jurassic Park (1993)

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I walked through the Park, taking most of the shortcuts, as I wanted to avoid as much of the crowds as possible. Zach and Gray looked around with wide eyes, trailing close behind me. They seemed surprised to be getting the V.I.P. treatment but honestly, I was a little shocked that they were still following me. As we turned the corner, I couldn't but smile at the familiar homemade sign that marked the paddock as "raptor territory."

I pushed open the nearby wooden door, holding it open for the boys, before I slipped inside myself. "Boys," I declared, as we walked up the stairs to the Bridge. "Welcome to the raptor paddock."

As the words left my mouth, Gray looked up, his eyes full of excitement. "Raptors!" He exclaimed, bouncing. "Real raptors! Right there!"

I smiled down at him, chuckling softly; he reminded me of how I was at his age. I looked over in Zach's direction, rolling my eyes. The boy was leaning over the rail, attempting to get a picture.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." I said, crossing my arms as I leaned against the rail. "The last guy who did that ended up in the cage; had to fish him out myself. You wouldn't want to suffer a similar fate, right?"

Zach paled, shaking his head as he backed away from the rail. As he put his phone into his pocket, I smiled to myself. "Thought so." I muttered.

"What are their names?" Gray asked, tugging on the end of my jacket. He was clearly unfazed about how reckless his brother was being. Honestly, he was probably used to it.

I turned around, looking down at the raptors. "We've got Delta and Echo," I answered, motioning to each of the beasts as I spoke their name. "And that one over there is Charlie."

"What about the one with the stripe?" Zach asked, looking down at the raptors.

"That's Blue," I replied, "Owen mainly works with her, but I've done a little bit with her. She's pretty fierce, and you can't turn your back on her for a second, but she's an amazing hunter."

"Sounds like you really love your job." Zach said, glancing in my direction.

"Yeah," I smiled, "It's pretty amazing, being able to work with these guys every day." I leaned forward, resting against the rail. "There's another raptor, Mist, but she's currently in the other cage. While Owen had Blue and the others, I was lucky enough to have her imprint on me at hatching."

"Wait a second," Gray chimed in, working out my words. "Are you saying... you have a raptor?"

"I guess you could say that." I replied, smiling to myself. "Maybe I'll take you to see her later, okay?" Gray nodded, obviously excited.

"Izabelle?"

"Barry!" I beamed, turning around and smiling at the familiar face. "What's up?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," Barry replied, "Who's this?"

"This is Zach and Gray," I said, pushing the two boys forward. "They're Dearing's nephews."

Barry nodded to himself, as if deep in thought. "You know what?" He asked, smiling. "It's noon and the girls need to be fed; would you boys like to help?"

Gray nodded enthusiastically, a large smile on his face. Zach nodded too, but it was less energetic.

"Iz, how about you go check on Mist while the boys and I feed the girls?" Barry asked. "You can check the gate while you're at it."

I nodded, already hurrying down the stairs. I did a quick checkup on the gate, making sure that it was secure, before I started walking over to the other cage. Everyone had always referred to Mist's space as a cage, but in reality, it was more like she had an entire paddock to herself. The space was huge, and since Mist was the only raptors in it, it looked even bigger.

As I began opened the door to her cage, I caught sight of someone I was hoping not to. "Shit." I muttered under my breath, pushing the door open fully so I could get through.

"Wait, Izabelle!" Hoskins yelled, running over.

He must of scrambled through just before the door closed, because he was on the same side as me when I heard the door slam shut. I walked over to where Mist stood by the gate, cawing happily at the sight of me. The gate in Mist's paddock was a lost different than the one for the other raptors. It could only be opened by Owen, Barry, and I, due to a special engraving on our keycards. It could also open from both sides, which meant that we were never trapped inside.

I pressed my keycard into the gate's slot, happy to hear it click, signaling that it was unlocked. I slipped through, knowing that it was securely locked by a second, slightly louder, click.

"Izzy, just listen to me." Hoskins pleaded, leaning against the metal bars on the gate. "It's important."

"First of all, don't call my 'Izzy', I hate being called that." I growled in reply, shooting the man a glare. "And secondly, I'm not in the mood to talk about making the raptors military weapons. I don't care how many times you bring it up, but I'll never agree to it. The idea itself is stupid, foolish, and going to get someone eaten."

"Speaking of which," I continued, "It's noon, which is usually lunchtime for Mist and the other raptors. You see, I was originally planning on feeding her pork but now," I paused, walking forward to lean on the gate. Mist was beside me, licking her chops. "Now I'm wondering if they'd like something with a little more meat on it's bones."

Hoskins flushed, hearing the sincerity in my words, and took a step back. "Exit's that way." I said, motioning to the door he had originally come in. "Feel free to let yourself out."