Dark Fangs: Forbidden Fugitives

Chapter Thirty-Two

[Important Note: The Chapter Art Isn't Mine This Time]

The dawn sky burst with colors as the sun climbed into the blue and fiery-shaded ether, the forms of fluffy white clouds scuddling along the skyline. There wasn't an ounce of evidence that the tempest had plagued the island. 

     Ellery and Victoria stared out the window together in complete silence as Dale worked on feeding Angel and Sofia in the kitchen.  

     Drake's parents--Donavan and Mary--and Jae's parents--Stephen and Cheryl--had left, along with Drake's older sister, Ray. Hal had apparently gone with them too, and a few guards from the transportation division on Sanctuary. They were searching for a very lost Drake, and a very much alive Jae, as well as the two hybrids, the Indominus Rex and the Indoraptor. 

     Ellery's mind couldn't rest with that knowledge. She hadn't slept at all last night, and she felt as if she never would again. Despite her old age, she wanted to run after Drake and Jae's parents and pound them into the ground with her bare fists. She was seething, and she knew Victoria could sense it. She didn't want to worry Jae's Grandmother anymore than she was aware she already had, but her fuming rage was barely able to be kept in with the little patience and self-control she had left. 

     From Victoria's tense frame, a shuddering sigh broke from her regular breathing pattern. "I can't imagine what you're going through...but I have an idea," she muttered awkwardly.

     Ellery blinked, her heart touched in a way she hadn't felt in years. Though she didn't turn her head to meet Victoria's eyes, her optics slanted towards the other elderly woman. Victoria was hurting, just like Ellery, if not in the same way.

     "I'm incredibly sorry about Drake." Victoria went on. "I can't understand why his parents and Jae's are acting like this. You're not a cruel woman, and my husband and I didn't raise Cheryl like this." She lifted a single, slightly trembling hand to her face, where a soft bruise marred her jaw. "Stephen's parents were kind and good, too. There is no reason, based on their upbringing at least, that they should behave like this..." She looked down, shamefaced, and continued to ramble, having Ellery's complete attention. 

     "I suppose there was a bit of neglect on Dale and I's parts....From ages eight to eleven, Cheryl and her siblings were left home for a long part of the day...we were extremely busy, but we kept them fed, clean, and entertained. It wasn't like we threw them in school and expected them to care for themselves. And when we came home, we always gave them the motherly and fatherly affection they needed, even if it was slightly less than they'd normally get."

     Victoria inhaled deeply and sharply, holding in the long breath for a while, her eyes gently closed. "I don't believe they could have been so affected by that. I just don't believe it."

     Ellery released a long, deep sigh. She felt Victoria's pain, as if their minds and emotions were connected. "...When my husband died, Donavan had already proposed to Mary. He was the same then as he was now...and he didn't even care that his Father was just...gone." Every word on Ellery's tongue was like a burning flame, enveloping her tongue and searing it with ancient longing and agony. 

     Victoria seemed to melt on the spot. "Oh, Ellery, I'm so sorry--"

     "No. That was Donavan's choice." Ellery cut her off coldly, not meaning for her tone to snap so abruptly though. "He didn't ever want a relationship with his Father, despite how much his Father loved him."

     Victoria blinked slowly, keeping her eyes trained on the window and the glowing sky. "I'm...so desperately sorry to hear that....Losing a loved one is...tormenting. Especially a partner....When was the last time you felt loved that way?" Victoria at last turned her glassy eyes to Ellery, and Ellery, with a prick of shock in her throat, swiveled her head to meet those dark golden eyes. 

     There was deep sincerity, and concern, and even more than that, empathy, if that were feasible. But she has Dale...how can she know what I went through? Ellery's throat felt tight, and her face suddenly hot. 

     "I..." Ellery stopped herself and thought for a long moment. Victoria was grieving, like Ellery. She still felt Jae's death heavily, even though Jae was clearly not dead. Her parents' nonchalant reactions proved that, easily. Not that they were concerned with her wellbeing, but that they were concerned with simply her. They needed her--and Drake--for some distinctly wicked plan. Something that had a great deal to do with their Bonds to the hybrid dinosaurs, the I-Rex and I-Raptor.

     I should tell her though, Ellery thought finally. Can I tell her? It is her granddaughter....Ellery stiffened. "Victoria,...Jae isn't dead." She apprised her gravely.  

     Victoria gasped and teetered suddenly, to which Ellery instinctively reached out and steadied her, wrapping a strong arm around her shoulders and one softly around her hip. Victoria grabbed Ellery's shoulders, her mouth still agape. Her jaw trembled, and her eyes were wide with a blaze in them that was only sheer revelation. 

     "You feel it, too..." murmured Victoria. She gripped Ellery's shoulders harder, and with the pressure, Ellery went rigid. 

     I'm not completely sure what that is supposed to hint towards, she thought hesitantly, worry present in her mind now, but if she's suggesting what I ascertained last night, then maybe Dale did too, and this all won't be so much of a shock to him when we discuss it.

     Victoria loosened her grip on Ellery and steadied herself, allowing Ellery to as well release the woman in sync. She reached a hand up to her head and her eyes darted back and forth from one corner of the window to the next as her mind worked. Ellery thought she could see the wheels turning in Victoria's mind, and she knew Victoria was coming to terms with the truth now.

     Ellery softly inclined her head. Good. Now we just need to tell Dale.

     I hope he doesn't have a heart attack over this.