Prehistoric Times (Henry Wu Fanfic)

Change In Perspective

Alexandra's P.O.V.

"You can't stay in your office all day, Alex."

"Go away, Owen."

"Come on. Let's head out for some food or something. Get off of the island for a while."

"I said go away!"

I slammed the door in Owen's face, immediately regretting it as my arm throbbed, the tightly wrapped bandages already stained red. I opened the blinds that covered the single window into my office to find that Henry stood on the other side, speaking softly with an incredibly upset Owen. He glanced at me, and I quickly turned away. I moved to sit at my desk, the torn remains of pictures still pinned to the wall. I had been sketching in one of my many notebooks, depictions of my experience of fear and near death filling several pages.

The light tap on my office door caused me to jump, and I hesitated before I got to my feet and walked to it. I opened it enough to see outside, being met with Henry's warm smile. I moved to close the door once more, but he grabbed onto the door to stop me. He stayed silent, simply pleading with his eyes as he looked at me. I took a deep breath before I stepped back and let him inside. I closed the door behind him and locked it to prevent anyone else from trying to step in. The silence that followed was eerie yet peaceful.

Henry never said a word as he examined my unorganized desk, and the gentle look in his eyes as he turned to me nearly made me break down. He crossed the space between us in four quick strides, and he caught my injured arm with ease, only lightly holding it and avoiding direct contact with my wound. He noticed the red stains and raised an eyebrow at me. I pointed to a bag that was sitting on my desk, and he looked over his shoulder. I closed the blinds as he stepped over to the bag, retrieving fresh bandages and a bottle of disinfectant spray. I let out a small hiss as I unwrapped my wound, the sound of the skin stuck to the cloth material peeling up with the bandage almost ringing in my ears.

His touch was still gentle as he took my arm in his grasp once more, his thumb brushing the skin just beside the start of the deepest claw mark. He shook the disinfectant bottle quickly, and I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from screaming as he sprayed it over the wound. The sound of the can hitting the table behind me echoed in the room as he unraveled the fresh bandages. His eyes met mine as he wrapped the bandage around my arm, and I realized he had refused to look directly at the mangled flesh of my arm.

He bit off the end of the bandage before he wrapped it too close to my arm, and he used the same safety pin I had put on the other bandage to fasten it in place. I took a deep breath as he ran his hand over the bandage, being careful not to press down too hard but still sending pain rippling through me. I kept my arm at my side as he pulled me closer, pressing me into his body as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and waist. I laid my ear against his chest and listened to his erratic heart beat.

He lightly tapped my shoulder a few times, and I stepped back. I lowered my head as he moved toward the door, unlocking it and stepping out without a word. My arm began to throb once more, the faint feeling of his touch irritating the wound as if he was still holding onto me. I took a deep breath before I walked over to the door and pushed it so it would close.

~

My new routine since losing the pack of Velociraptors was the same as it had been when I first started working at the park. I'd clock in for the day, take whatever reports that needed to be sorted out and submitted, and hide in my office the entire day. It had been approximately three days since I had spoken a single word to anyone in the facility, and that included Henry. He'd try and get me to speak, but I would sit in silence until he'd sigh and leave.

"Do you want to join me for lunch?" Henry asked as he stood in the doorway of my office.

I turned my chair to look at him, and I noticed he had his arms crossed as he leaned against the door frame. He had an eyebrow raised as he stared at me, waiting for some kind of response. I looked at the stack of papers sitting on my desk before I set my pen down and stood up. I walked up to Henry and tilted my head.

"Are you just going to remain silent the entire time you work here?" He asked.

I shrugged, and he sighed before he turned and walked away. I closed my office door and locked it before I followed him, my arm throbbing slightly. We passed by the nursery, and I looked inside to see several Triceratops and a few Allosaurus. I paused to look at the carnivorous creatures, and Henry stopped to look at me. My wounds throbbed once more at the sight of the tiny creatures and their sharp claws.

"Alexandra?" Henry's voice sounded miles away despite him standing in front of me.

I couldn't take my eyes off of the claws, and my heart started beating rapidly. Henry hardly touched my uninjured arm, and I let out a cry of fear and stared at him as I jumped back. My entire body began to tremble at the sight of the pity in his eyes.

"You've been experiencing PTSD all on your own, haven't you?" He whispered. "That's why you won't leave your office. Wherever you go, there's something that reminds you of Midnight and the attack."

I absentmindedly chewed on my lip and scratched at the bandages on my arm. Henry closed the gap between us, gently brushing my hand away from my arm and making me look at him.

"Relax. That one is just an infant. It's not capable of attacking you, and I'm not taking you anywhere near anything that can." Henry placed a hand on my neck, and I leaned into his touch. ''I'll keep you safe."

"That statement makes me laugh, coming from someone terrified of his own creations." I mumbled.

He chuckled and held his forehead to mine for a brief second before he stepped away. I hurried to keep up with him as he started walking down the hall once more, quietly taking his hand and giving it a soft squeeze.

"What do you think of dinosaurs now?" Henry questioned.

"What do you mean?" I replied.

"During our trip off of the island, you eluded to them as nothing more than glorified house pets. What do you think of them now?"

I took a deep breath. "I still think of them as glorified house pets, but I don't think they should be on the planet. They went extinct a long time ago for a reason. It should have stayed that way."

"You still see them that way? Even though you've nearly died? On multiple occasions, I might add."

"You see them as money bags considering it's you're entire job to create them yet think they are monsters. It's no different to that. It was my job to control and manipulate the behavior of dinosaurs in person. Being attacked by one did make me realize that they're dangerous, and I do need to work on getting over that fear that it has set in me, but I'll be alright."