Big Teeth (An aftermath of Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom fanfiction)

Chapter 4

     By morning, the rain had eased off. The pitter-patter of raindrops was a thing of the past. The sun shone through the trees, lighting up the patch of grass in front of my den. The air was humid, but smelled of promise. It seemed to be a fine day. Unless, of course, you had a big, snoring beast in your cave. Indoraptor was still sleeping. And he didn't do it quietly. It was like he didn't know what silence even meant. His twitching sickle-claw had kept me up most of the night. It tapped against the stone floor every few seconds, and sometimes he would curl his claws into the ground, creating a horrible screeching sound. I contemplated biting him. But, it was nice not to feel the draught of emptiness float through the cave. Although Indoraptor's company left a lot to be desired, he had been surprisingly passive towards me. I had expected to go to sleep and never wake up, but he had left me well alone, on the opposite side of the cave. But I best not get used to it. He would almost certainly leave today, if the water had receded far enough.
     As I stretched, the same question from last night popped into my head. How was Indoraptor still alive? It must have something to with the humans. I remembered when I had been shot by humans,which had hurt. A lot. But, Owen managed to fix that. And, when me and Echo had fought for dominance, I had slashed her jaw and broken it. But, even though it looked terrible when I had done it, the humans had fixed her, until only a single scar showed on her face. Humans were capable of hurting us and fixing us. I don't think I could ever understand how they do it. Still, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them. Neither would Indoraptor, it would seem.
     A snort from the other side of the den brought me back from my thoughts. Indoraptor was awake. He stretched, and yawned, showing off his sharp, gleaming teeth. Then, he turned to me.
"That was a brilliant sleep, don't you think?" He said, with a smile.
"Quite." I grumbled.
"Oh. Well, it was for me, anyways," he shrugged, then, "what's for breakfast?"
"Whatever you have caught," I replied. He sighed, and rested his chin on his talons. I saw my chance.
"Indoraptor..?" I began. He frowned at me.
"Yes, Velociraptor?" He replied.
"My name isn't Velociraptor." I said.
"Just like mine isn't Indoraptor," he retorted. He had a fair point. I can't believe we have come this far and we still don't know each other's names.
"It's Blue." I said, proudly.
"Oh," he grunted, "mine is Ripper." I let out a bark of laughter.
"Wow, that's very edgy, isn't it?" I snort.
"Oh, and I suppose whoever named you Blue was feeling very creative that day!" He snapped. That made me stop abruptly. However, rather than be drawn into a fight, I decided I should ask the questions that had been nagging me for a while.
"How are you still alive, after I.. you know..." I trailed off.
"Killed me? Oh, the humans fixed me. It took a long time for me to get better." He grunted, avoiding my eyes. I had been right then, when I suspected humans were involved.
"How come you are here?" I asked.
"I escaped the facility. The taste of freedom I had while going after you drove me crazy. The fresh air tasted fabulous. Still does." He explained.
"Oh. How did you get out?"
"I waited until they thought I was better behaved. And, since the first scare of my escape, a lot less humans were willing to be around me. Only the scientist guy and a few hangers-on were around. It was pretty easy. I got out, and ran for as long as my legs would carry me. I came to here, as you can see. I decided I was pretty far away, and I like this place."
"I see." I said, "but, why didn't you kill me?"
"I wanted to, for a little while. But, you are the only thing remotely like me. And.. I don't know.. I guess the raptor in me doesn't like being alone." He growled, "But, you are still pretty insufferable." He added. I felt satisfied. My questions had been answered. The only thing left to do was fill our hungry bellies. I yawned, and then got up.
    As I tracked through the grass, I saw Ripper go on a separate route, following another scent trail. I wondered what he had sniffed out, before my senses were brought back to my own hunt. The rabbit I had been carefully stalking was munching steadily on some grass, and seemed completely unaware to my presence. I perfected my crouch, and prepared to spring, when suddenly, I stepped on a dry leaf. It crackled under my talons, making a crunch that felt loud enough to shake the earth. Before I had time to even register what had happened, the rabbit had gone, only leaving some half-chewed stalks where it had been seconds before. I growled in frustration. However, the panicked cry of a herbivore made me turn round. Charging towards me, was a pachycephalosaurus. And, chasing it with incredible speed, was Ripper. He was haring after it, but he still wasn't quite fast enough. The mud underneath was slippery from the rain before, and he was struggling to keep up. I saw my chance. Crouching low, I waited until the pachy was nearly on top of me. Then, I sprung, leaping onto its back and snapping its next with my jaws. The pachy grunted, and toppled over, dead. A few loud gallops later, and Ripper was next to me, panting.
"Nice teamwork," he rasped.
"Indeed," I agreed, "this will feed us through the whole day." I continued, before realising what I had said. I had automatically assumed that Ripper would be staying, and sharing this meal with me. How embarrassing. But, instead, he glanced me, and murmured, "yeah," much to my surprise.
     Together, we dragged the pachy back to my cave. There, we sat and munched on the delicious meat for a while, before our appetites were filled. Even Ripper couldn't finish off his meal, and we decided it would be better to bury it for later. After that, I gave myself a clean, before turning to where Ripper was sunning himself.
"You know," I began, "we seem to do better together."
"Hm? Oh, yes, we do." He said. I tapped my sickle-claw nervously. Whenever I had asked anyone else this question, I had been rejected, laughed at and ridiculed. I was apprehensive about asking it again. But, this was too good an opportunity to pass up.
"How would you feel if we became a pack? Just you and me?" I asked, hesitantly. His eyes sprang open, and he sat up and faced me.
"Do you mean that?" He said, a wide smile spreading on his face.
"Yes, I really do," I assured.
"Oh, yes! That's a brilliant idea! We can hunt together, be not-lonely together, and be friends! Let's do it!" He cried. I was taken aback. I hadn't expected him to be so open to the idea. But, as he had said earlier, he was part raptor. And raptors were pack animals. I smiled. It seemed that I was no longer alone in this cruel world.