Shadows and Hope: An Indoraptor Story ✓

Alone

Days had passed, and our relentless search for Blue had yielded no results. Doubt crept into my mind, whispering that perhaps we would never find her. But just when I was beginning to lose hope, a haunting screech pierced the forest's silence.

Red and I exchanged a swift glance, our instincts kicking into gear. Without hesitation, we sprinted in the direction of the blood-curdling sound. As we arrived at the scene, an overwhelming scent of death hung in the air. I barely had time to stop before the ground beneath me was splattered with blood, a horrifying tableau of carnage revealed before my eyes.

Blue lay at the center of it all, her once vibrant and determined spirit extinguished. Dead humans lay strewn about, their lives snuffed out in a gruesome display of violence. This was not the Blue I had encountered on that rooftop moons ago. This was not the raptor who had aided me in Palo Alto, refraining from killing InGen soldiers who would have shown her no mercy.

I snorted, holding Red back from charging at her. "That's her," I grunted, my voice heavy with disappointment and regret. Red's eyes widened in disbelief. "Seriously? That killer? She's not at all like you described her."

I blinked, unable to comprehend the stark transformation that had overtaken Blue. "She...she's changed, it seems," I muttered, my thoughts swirling with unease as I confronted the shocking reality before me.¨

Suddenly, the gray raptor whirled on us, her teeth bared, and then I saw it—her eyes. They were no longer the kind, yellow eyes I remembered. Instead, they were cold, black voids, as if something had taken complete control over her. Fear gripped me, and I instinctively backed away. Red mirrored my actions, his wide-eyed shock mirroring my own.

"Ugh, Ripper, that's not Blue," Red muttered, his voice filled with dread. I hissed in agreement before urgently calling out, "Run!" And we ran, faster than I had ever thought possible.

The deafening screech that emanated from Blue's throat echoed behind us, chilling me to the bone. Her piercing cries rattled my very bones, but we didn't dare stop. Red effortlessly outpaced me, his powerful legs carrying us farther from the monstrous creature we had once called an ally.

Before I knew it, I was hefted onto Red's back, our desperate flight continuing. I offered a silent prayer to any higher power that might be listening, pleading for a chance to survive the night. Deep down, I knew it was futile; death seemed inevitable, and Blue would never have the opportunity for redemption, nor would I achieve the revenge I had sought for so long.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, the words heavy with regret, as we raced into the unknown, leaving behind the nightmare that Blue had become.

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We ran long into the night, driven by sheer instinct and desperation, just as we had when we fled from InGen. Eventually, our exhausted bodies could carry us no further. Red came to a halt, plopping down heavily, and I tumbled from his back, landing with a painful thud against the stony ground. Needles of pain rattled up my body, but I hardly registered the discomfort. I lay on my back, gazing up at the stars that twinkled in the moonlit sky, silent witnesses to our harrowing journey.

"Let's just rest for a moment," Red puffed, his enormous bulk providing a welcome shield from the biting winds of the cold night. I could no longer hear Blue's ear-piercing screeches, and the acrid scent of blood no longer tainted the air.

In the stillness of the night, I closed my eyes, my mind heavy with the weight of our near-fatal encounter. The world seemed to hold its breath, as if even nature itself were pausing to contemplate the tumultuous events that had transpired.

"Sleep. I'll take the first watch," Red grumbled, nudging me onto my stomach. I didn't protest; sleep descended upon me like a comforting blanket, wrapping me in its embrace. Before I knew it, I was back in the void where Indy often resided. But today, there was no white Indominus, no comforting growls, no warm embrace—just coldness, enveloping me in its eerie emptiness.

"Indy," I croaked out, my voice nothing more than a whisper in the desolation that surrounded me. But there was no response, no reassuring presence to answer my call. Despair washed over me, and tears welled up in my eyes, their salty trails tracing a path down my scaly cheeks. Alone in the void, I wept.

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