It's Not The Raptor DNA

Chapter 6

"For Whom Shall the Bell Toll For?"

Owen gave a shaky sigh as he rocked in his hammock. Burying Charlie had been a lot harder than he thought. He was glad he had already given himself permission to cry because he had cried whether or not he wanted to.

He hated funerals.

He had only managed to gently toss one pile of rich, brown earth on her wooden coffin before the first sob had just burst from him. It startled him because he thought he was fine, but all of a sudden the tears were rolling down his face, and the ache in his chest made it hard to breathe. It seemed like he was the one to break the dam, because Barry was the next one to start crying softly. It was a sad, watery chain reaction after that.

He was almost ashamed of himself for having to hand the shovel over to a sniffling Scott, and Owen had simply leaned on Barry for a little comfort. Owen appreciated how Scott had tenderly placed each pile of dirt over the coffin, never rushing nor throwing the soft earth. He knew someone precious was in the coffin. Others had even gone out of their way to bring large, smooth stones from the river to line her grave so even visitors knew something special was there; the stones would sit there for a very long time.

It was almost late afternoon now, and he knew he needed to go see Elise pretty soon or she'd get worried. He just needed a little longer to get his bearings about himself before going up there; she couldn't see a weak leader.

Lowery had been keeping tabs on her, and it seemed she had simply slept the day away in her little clearing. She hadn't moved at all, not even to eat the dangling steer. Owen wondered if it was because she was upset or exhausted. Regardless it had given him to time to refresh himself on his sign language. He would teach her the basics first, maybe even how to spell. That would be incredibly helpful in case she was ever around people who didn't know sign.

Owen turned in his hammock again as his thoughts wandered over to what Elise could possibly be hiding in that little cave. Lowery had given a small description of it, and it was clearly too small for Elise. She wouldn't stray from it though, and had almost curled up as close as possible with her nose touching it.

She had to have a something in there, not a someone. Lowery hadn't been able to detect any heat signatures aside from Elise's. He had even gone through the security camera footage, and nothing ever left that little cave.

What could be in there that was so precious to Elise that she willingly went back into her paddock? Granted she had jammed the door first, but she was back in there. She had even gone out of her way to make sure no one else touched it.

Owen probably could have handled that situation differently, but she needed to know there were lines that couldn't be crossed. This was only the second day with each other, and Owen was actually amazed by how wonderful she had been with them. He knew it had helped tremendously to have her away from people, but she had still been fantastic around him.

He just needed to make up with her tonight, and things would go more smoothly.

Content with his decision, Owen relaxed into his hammock. His girls had been lazy today, sad about the fourth, empty nest, but he was sure they would get restless for another run soon. He wondered if he could somehow get them their own attraction. He didn't want people's attention, but he could convince Claire that it would be amazing to see Velociraptors running at full speed. Maybe some kind of racetrack, and people could make bets on it.

He wasn't sure how to fit Elise into that equation though. He didn't know what to do with her. She was just as smart as he was, but she was humongous. What could he do with a giant like her? People wanted something to press their faces against the glass at, not be uncomfortable with seeing something as intelligent as Elise.