ROSES OF THE PAST : BOOK 2 | JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION

IV : A Future Unfolds

Snow fell from the cold skies above. In the distance, the whirring noise of human machinery broke through the silent air. Beta awoke with a sqeak, her fluffy plumage dusted with frost. Winter had arrived. The cold weather was a struggle for the velociraptors.

Blue bounded into the snowy drifts, jumping into their shelter with a faint thud. She shook her fuzzy gray-blue head. Dangling from her jaws was a freshly killed rabbit. She set it down next to Beta, nuzzling her young toward the food. Beta happily chirped and quickly began to eat. Blue joined in shortly after, as her hunger was too hard to ignore. She ripped off a chunk of meaty flesh, swallowing it swiftly. After a few more bites, what was left of the rabbit was scraps, and Blue let Beta have the rest. The mother velociraptor sniffed the air, clouds billowing in the air from her snout. Her eyes narrowed. Something felt different.

But she knew this feeling well. Although the feeling radiated danger and overall creepiness, she knew it posed no threat. Blue perched on a nearby rock, waiting for the hybrid to appear. After all this time of thinking about him, Blue could never figure out what she really felt towards him. Hatred? Fondness? Distrust? Trust? She didn't know.

But what she did know, was that Indoraptor was an idiot who didn't really know any better. And she had to admit that it wasn't his fault that he turned out that way. 

Finally, he showed. An unnatural ripple in the air, a flash of black pebbly skin, a glint of sharp amber eyes. Blue squinted. She could see his outline now. Against the snowy landscape, she saw the arch of a back and the tail that curled around himself. She could see his head pointed towards her, intently watching. Watching the only one who could help him.

"Indoraptor," Blue said quietly. Behind her, Beta finished her food and wandered out of the shelter towards her side. The baby curled up by her clawed foot. 

"Blue," the hybrid greeted back, the disembodied voice sending a shiver down her spine. It was unsettling to hear the voice of something she could barely see. As he spoke, his image became clearer, as if it was validating his presence. "I missed you," he said.

Her gaze met his, and she studied him for a moment. "I've been thinking about you," she said simply. Indoraptor tilted his head at this, inquiring a question. "Why? About what?" He asked.

A gust of wind picked up snow from the tree brances and the two theropods sat in a windy spiral of snow. "Just about you," Blue answered. "I wonder what I need to do to help you, and why you're in this state of half-alive-half-dead."

She saw the vision of Indoraptor slightly fade just as his gaze darkened with sadness. "I wonder that too," he said softly, tone muted. They sat in silence for a while, then Indoraptor broke it. "Blue? You promise to help me, right?"

The blue-gray dromaeosaur tipped her head, prompting him to elaborate. 

He glanced away, shifting his weight. "Help me pass on," he explained. At this, Blue felt a jolt of surprise, her yellow eyes widened. She got up, tucking her arms back against her body, tenatively stretching out her neck to his snout. He didn't move, but instead watched, transfixed, as if she was something mythical. She sniffed him, wondering if any scent came from him, but there was no sign of a living creature scent-wise. Blue studied him gingerly, her gaze scanning his foggy appearance. She noticed that Indoraptor's breathing was ragged and he sometimes flinched as if he was being pricked at random times. Blue straightened up, standing in front of him. He tensed at how close they were. "What's hurting you?" She asked abruptly. 

"Huh?" The hybrid asked, taken aback.

Blue poked her narrow snout towards him. "I can tell that you're in pain. Your breathing is ragged and you keep wincing as if something is stabbing you," she explained, eyeing him intenesly. Indoraptor drew his head back swiftly, the quills along his body shook as he did so. "Well, Blue," he started hesitantly. "There's.. roots and flowers growing inside of me. I don't kniw why, or how, but they are. The roots squeeze on my lungs and the thorns pierce my throat. The more I think about you, the worse it gets. I cough up blood and petals every time I think of you."

Blue's heart hammered in her chest, staring back at him, eyes wide. Eventually, she found her voice. "What?" 

"I think it's because you don't love me back," Indoraptor said, as if that made the situation amy less confusing. "But I love you foolishly, so I'm paying the price."

Realization finally dawned on Blue. She began to shake as the thought entered her mind, and she let out a choking cry as her breath faltered.

This is why Indoraptor hasn't died yet, she thought. This is why he's been begging me to kill him, or help him die. He can't die to this disease, because I love him and I don't at the same time. The effects of me hating and loving him balance out into him being infected with this disease, but not being able to die from it, because I love him, but I don't love him enough to keep him healthy.

Pity, sympathy, worry, and even guilt began to overwhelm her. She pressed her snout up against the crook of his neck, squeezing her eyes shut. Blue held him close, wrapping her fuzzy tail around his, and she heard him let out a small whine of pain. "Oh, Indo," she breathed. "I'm so sorry."