The 2nd Indoraptor

Chapter 18

--Ebony's POV--

Water crashed around me and my lungs screamed for air. I finally broke the surface and gasped for air. Thunder rumbled in the sky. I swam against the current, my claws slicing through the water. I growled as the water whipped my sides, dragging me away from the bank of the river. I reached for it, but I couldn't grasp for the pebbles or sand. Don't give up, my mind screeched. 

I roared and leaped from the water, my talons sinking into the sand. My hind legs scrambled at the sand in the water and I propelled forward, getting farther on the bank. Feather and Cilo raced towards me, their eyes wide. "Ebony!" They cried. 

I felt my eyes closing. I was so tired. I couldn't move. I couldn't say anything. I lay there, helpless, and the last thing I saw before the darkness took me was lightning ripping the sky and striking the lone tree on this side of the river. 

I woke up in the white void again and saw Ripper in front of me. He looked disappointed, his eyes shimmering. He lashed his tail, his claws sinking into the whiteness. "Wake up!" He hissed.

I glanced at him, feeling guilty. "I can't," I whined. My tail drooped and I hung my head, feeling weak. 

"You're a disgrace to me, Ebony, you really are. Do you really want to throw away your life? Do you really want to be known as the Indoraptor that drowned?" Ripper asked, moving closer. He walked around me, his tail sliding under my chin. 

"N-no," I growled. "But I'm...." my voice trailed off. "Life is too hard," I sighed.

"Don't we all think that?" Ripper growled. "You know, Ebony, you have a sibling," Ripper suddenly said, curling his lips to a smile.

I glanced at him, gasping. "What?" I gasped. "No, you're lying! I don't believe you!" I growled.

"But you should," Ripper cackled. His eyes shimmered with amusement. "Everyone thought that you were the perfected Indoraptor, but it was actually your sibling. That night, they shipped the two eggs on a truck, but one flew from the truck, and that was you," Ripper explained, flexing his claws. "They raised your sibling exactly how they raised me, meanwhile you were being taken care of by that stupid girl," he snarled.

I glared at Ripper. "She's not stupid! You're just jealous that you never got a great life!" I yowled.

Ripper's eyes flashed with anger. He raised his claws and brought them down towards my face, scratching my snout. Blood spattered on the ground and leaked from the fresh wounds. I stumbled.

"But you can guess what happened next. They took you away from that girl. They raised you away from your sibling, and soon realized that your sibling was the perfect creation," Ripper continued.

I glared at him, holding my claws on my scratches. "What are you saying?"

Ripper smiled cruelly.  "What I'm saying, is that you're actually a prototype. Your sibling is the perfect one. Henry Wu 'accidentally' forgot to add a few touches to your dna, and messed you up. He liked the white beast better since it reminded him more of the Indominus Rex," Ripper explained, clicking his talons on the floor. 

Before I could ask something, Ripper began to fade in front of me, and I found myself falling through a void of darkness. A very large creature appeared in front of me. It was white with blood-red eyes, and a blood-red stripe ran from its eyes all the way down to its tail. It then roared, making chills crawl up my spine like millions of spiders.

I woke up, gasping for breath. I coughed out water, but my lungs filled with smoke. Lifting my head, I noticed that that tree was on fire. Flames ate at the bark and steadily climbed down towards the grass. Smoke filled the air and hung above the tree like a dark gray cloud.

"Ebony, you're awake!" Feather gasped. He was curled against my stomach, fear clouding his eyes. Cilo was beside him.

I then scrambled to my feet and my body finally went into the realization that there was fire. "Feather, Cilo, get on my back," I pleaded quickly. They climbed on my back and I rushed to where the higher part of the bank was. I could feel the heat of the flames against my tail and back. I bunched my muscles and leaped, soaring across the small river. I landed on the other side, my claws sinking into the grass. Feather and Cilo crawled off my back and leaped on the safety of the grass.

I stumbled and fell, panting. "W-we made it," I whispered.