Aqua (Jurassic World)

Chapter 8

I brought some toys for the boys this time, once they finished eating I introduced them to the toys.

There was a big thick rope with the ends tied that Berilo took almost immediately and dragged it off to chew on it. Kori got curious and nipped the end and it somehow resulted in a full on tug-of-war until I was able to distract Kori with a big rubber bounce ball.

Even Kori was letting loose and chasing around the toys.

I placed some meat into a rubber chew toy and kicked it towards Kori.

He tilted his head at it and picked it up in his mouth, chewing down on it but when he realised he had to get more creative with figuring it out, he spat it out and nudged it with his nose, then used his long claws to push them into the gaps of the rubber and pulled out the treats.

He was very smart!

Luckily I had more toys to help develop his wonderful mind, so I bought a big button and a meat dispenser.

I put them down in front of him and he sniffed them, let out a click of curiosity and moved his claw over the treat dispenser. He figured out where the treats were and where they came from pretty quickly. He could have bit it open but instead he very gently pressed the button and watched as a teat fell out.

Instead of eating it, he continued pressing the button and trying to figure out how it worked.

When he got a bit frustrated he clawed at it and the top came off, all the treats in it fell to the ground and he let out a click of curiosity followed by a chirp of pride.

I moved on, while they were distracted, to tie meat up in trees for them to try and reach or hide it in places. I tried to keep away from the lake though to avoid alligators.

It took a while but eventually the boys came and found me and nudged me to the lake under a tree that I could tell they used a lot because of how torn up and smashed the grass was.

Berilo still had his rope and has started dragging it with him everywhere.

I rested in the shade with them and showed Kori some tricks I could do with my hands. He watched intently, making clicking sounds of curiosity. It was kind of scary because he had the same look he had with the taser.

It was peaceful despite how close we were to the lake, if anything happened it would happen in a second and that thought was scary. I did not trust the lake.

"Kori," I cooed and gave him a chin scratch to distract myself from the fear that was building up.

He tilted his head understanding his name as I coo it over and over. I moved up to his cheek and gave him a massage and his eyes started rolling back in enjoyment.

Berilo got up and waded into the water, his scales disappearing beneath it, he had definitely become a better swimmer in the past few weeks.

Kori then stood up and followed, suddenly, the empty space around me felt unusually cold. I remember the alligators and stood up, tensing ready to run but somehow my feet stayed in place curious about what Berilo and Kori were doing.

A few moments passed before Berilos head poked out of the water and he took a deep breath before he dove back in, his tail splashing up in the air and then disappearing behind him.

I wondered what was happening below the water, whether they were as graceful under the surface.

They looked like little sea monsters. Aww!

Suddenly, there was a commotion, the water stirred violently and Berilo and another body surfaced for a few seconds before going under again. Kori's tail flapped on the surface for a moment and then disappeared.

I gasped, fear setting in deeper than it ever had before, I wasn't afraid for myself, I was afraid for my boys.

I pushed through the shallows of the water, not caring about alligators,

If my boys were dead they may as well take me too. I can't live without my precious little sea-monsters.

"Kay? Bear!" I called out their nicknames trying to make myself feel better but when they didn't resurface I felt a deeper sense of dread.

Angry and sad tears pour down my face as fear overwhelms me and my heart hurt, remembering how kind they were to me, how they could have ended me in a second.

Why did it have to end so unfairly.

If I had just stopped them from going into the water, I could've but I didn't.

I wondered what had happened under the water, were they outnumbered? What was the creature? Are they still alive?

I dug my fingers into the sludgy ground of the lake and threw the sludge into the water out of anger. The water stirred as if the sludge had touched something.

I stood up, quiet in fear, and slowly stepped back, my breath trembling.

"Berilo?" I hoped it was him against all the facts presented to me that it was him being his usual playful self.

Then Berilo and Kori emerged, Berilo had a wound on his left leg and Kori seemed to have a wound on his side but Berilo held up the body of an alligator, its lifeless form limp in his jaws.

I gasped when I saw it. My fear of the alligator vanished and now I was scared for my boys and their wounds. However they walked onto shore and I followed them where they put down the carcass and began eating it.

I went to the mouth of the alligator, looking at its sharp teeth and feeling its smooth and rough scales. It was the first time I had felt comfortable near a Crocodilia since the accident.

I stepped away and let Berilo and Kori finish up eating.

I decided I should head back anyway, it was getting later in the day.