Dark Fangs: Forbidden Fugitives

Chapter Seventeen

Drake nosedived into the front doors of his house, slipping from the race to the manor.

     "Drake?" Ellery coughed, opening the door with wide, stern eyes. "Where have you--"

     "Grandma! Jae--She's--the Indoraptor--" Drake sputtered.

     Ellery grabbed the muddied boy and hauled him up, grinding her jaws. "Speak up and stop mumbling, boy; What happened? Jay? Who's Jay?"

     Drake choked on his own words. "The Firestorm's daughter! She--I-I watched the Indoraptor escape after I left the beach--but-but it was trying to get--"

     "Drake! What do you mean you were at the beach?" Ellery growled. 

     Drake tore away from her, dusting himself off in vain. "I went to the beach because I needed to--I mean, I went to Jae's house first because I wanted to talk to her about something. Then I went to the beach to...see the Indominus." He admitted with a slightly aggravated sigh. 

     Ellery's gaze was like chips of ice and steel. "And is Jae dead? Did the 'Indoraptor' kill her? How did it even get out?" 

     Drake dissolved into tears. "I don't know! One moment I saw it caged, the next, it was running after me in the undergrowth...." He trailed off, burying his face in his dirty hands as he crumpled to his knees. "She's gone, and it's all because of me!"

     Ellery's eyes brightened. "You just said it was all because of you. What did you do, Drake? Did you let it out?" 

     Drake's mind swam. No, I didn't! he thought hurriedly. He remembered so clearly, running from both cages, and the next thing he knew, he was in the jungle, bolting for the road with the dark-scaled hybrid on his tail. He did nothing. 

     It was all a trick of guilt. "No, I didn't mean that! I swear I did nothing to the cage! I wasn't even near enough to open it!"

     Ellery clenched her jaws, closing her sharp eyes. "...Come inside, Drake. Now we have to decide how to tell the Firestorms this..." Ellery walked stiffly into the house, expecting Drake to hurry after her, but he did not. Drake kneeled sobbing on the porch, his head pounding. 

     She's dead! She's just dead....His tears felt too large and painful to slip out of his eyes. They were like a flooding torrent in his skull that was pounding at his eyes to drain through the small pores. 

     Ellery frowned sympathetically at Drake, reaching a hand out to him. "Come on," she whispered.

     Drake coughed and his stomach wrenched violently. 

     He'd killed her. He'd killed a human without even trying.

     I'm sorry, Jae...

     I'm so, so sorry.

"Wow, you've really messed this up." Ray muttered sassily.

     Drake couldn't care what she had to say. He lay on the couch in the family room, his face red and tear-stained. Ellery and Ray were on chairs surrounding the couch, and Sofia was asleep in her room. 

     "Ray, shut your trap, now." Ellery snarled at Ray. 

     Ray rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, making an ugly face at Ellery.

     Drake rolled over so his face was against the back of the couch. Silent tears began to trickle from his cobalt blue optics once again. He couldn't stop them, nor did he try. They reminded him of the rain outside; the rain in which Jae had perished under the sadistic claws and fangs of that black raptor hybrid. 

     Ellery dialed the Firestorm's number on her phone. "...Oh, Drake. I just can't--I don't know what to say." She sighed.

     "I know what to say," Ray mumbled.

     Ellery shot her another vicious look. "You can excuse yourself to your room."

     "Finally." Ray said with a snarky expression.

     Drake closed his eyes and shut out their voices. 

     He knew what to do. He'd Find that hybrid and he'd do everything in his power to murder it. Jae wouldn't be the beginning of his killing spree. She'd be the end of it, and Drake was going to make sure of that.

     That Violent Creature is dead.