It had been months since everything had changed. The call came out, as well as the clicker and I stood stepping forward to see what he would think up today. The others. My ‘sister pack’ rose up as well looking toward me as I stepped out of the small jungle area into the midst of the cage. The call came out again. An acknowledgement of me appearing at his call and then a food is thrown the little creature is swallowed quickly, it was a little cool but it felled my hungry belly and helped control the instincts.

I looked up at him, as he clicked once more gathering my sisters attention a few calls and ‘bark/names’ that they each responded too and received a treat as well. Then it was time, He focused us, barked out the word he used for ‘hunt/pig’ and my pack was off, the squealing bloody thing would taste amazing I knew, and I didn’t intend to allow it to escape. I had already figured out the escape hatch location so I as I honked out, directing attention I went the opposite way.

I could feel him watching me. I was doing something different, something wrong, he knew but he couldn’t control me now. My instincts hammering he had long ago learned then when my sisters and I are like this control is far more difficult. Besides, I could smell his curiosity as I wandered away from my treat. If my Pack caught the pig I would get less, but as I expected, they had trouble they were young, eager, far too quickly they allowed openings for it to zip past. In a few more months, maybe this wouldn’t work, but my expectation worked.

As the pig slipped past the opening for the pig was opened and it ran, right into my waiting teeth. My claws ripped its belly open as my teeth hooked behind its head, snapping its neck and killing it swiftly. I pulled away with a Cry that echoed around the enclosure. My sisters hurried to my side eager and hungry but they stopped as I warned them. They stopped pacing. I waited a moment before bending down and tearing a piece from the pig still warm and dripping I flung it to my sister the smallest, the flighty one. She was sweet eager to please. And my call of her name/sound perked her up as she swallowed the bit happily, Then again. And again.

Each of my pack got a big piece until there was only a little left for me. But that was okay. Just as I finished the last piece swallowed it down looked up to meet his eyes. Leader?/Owen. Stared down at me. I could see his face a mixture of shock/fear and awe. He was scared but pleased just like any scientist would be. After all I just copied what he had been doing, passing out food to my sisters as if I was the leader of the pack not him.

I honked at him. The noise of amusement I had taught him over and over when I was younger, when I still rested in his shirt as a hatchling. Now though I was months old. The time passed me bye without me being able to keep track and since there wasn’t a ‘winter’ here on the island I had no sense of time.

“Ho Blue” He called, I understood that. He had repeated it enough and I recognized my name by now that I turned. He looked… Gentle. As I looked up to him, I stared for a while I don’t think he even knew what he wanted from me as eventually after a few moments I turned and disappeared into the jungle.

That was my life now. Reborn as a Velociraptor on an island that would eventually erupt, or get attacked by a bio-engineered super Raptor/t-rex hybrid. I settled down in the jungle in my nest area and let out of a huff. What the hell was I supposed to do?

Days later. I was once more playing a game Owen thought up. We were chasing after a scent trail the handlers had set up, going from space to space as we searched for the hidden nook they had levered a shirt or a toy into hidden from us. But I was getting bored. Out of the others, only Charlie was really interested the youngest of us, she was eager to please and earn her place among us.

She was sweet.

I stopped though, fed up with this game. I had already found the item a stuffed T-rex of all things hidden in a bush. But I wanted the others to try, it wasn’t really as fair. I for whatever reason still had human reasoning and even knowledge if not language. Which made most of these games boring.

And as anyone who watched Jurassic Park would attest too. A bored Raptor is dangerous. I moved away from the game ignoring Owens clicks or calls to get me back into it, he eventually gave up on me, and I watched my sisters parse it out and eventually find the T-rex.

They called happily as they ripped it to pieces and then lined up for a treat. I ignored them. I knew what would happen next. Owens was obviously concerned about what I was doing, but I knew he would enter into the little enclosure and put away a few things. That was when I would strike. He did calling out a few more commands before heading away and then down the steps, I followed him with my eyes or ears when able before he stopped inside the little gated enclosure, it was where they would have us lock in for treatment sometimes. But I had been watching and I knew where the button was.

Barry was off somewhere else, so it was just Owen in the space. I stood up and stalked. You wouldn’t believe how fun it was to move near silently as a killing machine. But I stopped to do something none of the handlers would have expected.

I picked up a stick. My three fingered clawed ‘hands’ weren’t the best at grasping something, but it was enough. And then I slipped an arm through the gate as Owen was focused on putting away some gear and stretched my arm out. The big red button was hard to reach and took a good amount of force but after a few moments of soft *click* *click* *click* of the piece of wood bouncing off the button I managed to get the right angle and It pushed in.

Immediately alarms went off, and I could hear Owen jerk up knocking his head against the shelves above him before turning. Just in time for me to release my stick and slip through the opening gate on my belly, he rushed to the button but I was through and inside as his hand slammed on the button as I just barely whipped my tail through the air away from the closing gate. He realized instantly that I was there. His hand went up in his focus stance and he called out his attention call as I stared.

I could hear Barry and the guards running around alerts going up as everyone realized that I was now standing in front of Owen. Owen spoke slowly softly to me, the same way he did when I was a hatchling trying to calm me and get me to remain at attention and not eat him alive. I could smell it his fear, which amused me. As I could hear calls to him and guns raised but I turned to stare at them instead and Owen after a moment did the same with his hand. Calling them off.

I could feel the tension in the men outside but after a few more calls from Owen the guns lowered but didn’t go away and eventually I turned my head to my prey. The call from Owen went ignored as I turned away from him and went to the cooler he had been rummaging around inside before I snuck in. The look on his face as I easily used my two clawed hands to catch on the cooler and pull it open. Was priceless and I gave him a honk of amusement as I sniffed. The cooler was full of dead rats that were our treats. I happily shimmied as I grabbed the bucket that he had been refilling carrying it to the gate before and trying to push it through to no effect. Part of it an act, the other part a problem I had been dealing with for some time.

Instincts of a velociraptor were not the same as a humans. And sometimes it was just too sudden too shocking before they took over. Like when someone does something you absolutely hate and you get angry. It makes you go from 0 to 100 in a second, but if you know what makes you mad you can stop take a deep breath and let it go. Instincts were like that except. It wasn’t always anger, and you never 100% knew what your instincts wanted you to do.

The confusion of not being able to push the pail through had done something and I found myself hyper focused on the act of trying to get the pail through the bars despite knowing it wasn’t going to work. And my body turned and gave off an annoyed plaintive whine at Owen to make it work before I could really stop myself.

He wasn’t where he had been before. Apparently in my focus he had been slipped along the wall towards the door. Which I could allow. I honked at him for attention dropping the pail which had the effect of focusing all of his attention on me and away from the door he had been creeping too, and causing the guards to raise their guns a little before I turned.

He was trying to escape! He wasn’t supposed to do that, if he did I wouldn’t be able to mess with him! I whined at him focusing my full attention back to him as I stomped over. I could feel how frustrated I was at him for trying to ruin my fun! But I also had already prepared myself for the feelings I might have towards him as I prepared for this so instead of attacking I threw a temper tantrum like a baby. I’m not proud of it, but if I direct my instincts into something like whining to a parent figure I wouldn’t get aggressive.

So after a few moments of him staring at me in horror as I screeched again and again and bounced up and down and even hissed and nearly yowled at the gate that blocked me he stepped closer shushing me bringing me to focus on him as I whined and begged for help. It would be embarrassing if I was a human but I was still a baby raptor so I allowed it the frustration and grievance to fill me before eventually the soothing words of Owen broke through and I felt myself stomp over and rub myself against him demanding attention.

Eventually his warm hands stroked me in a less terrified way, soothing away the frustration and reminding me of how it was when I was still small enough for him to carry around. I had liked it then, peeking out of his shirt and scaring people was always fun.

I chirped as I felt normal again and pulled away from him, his call ignored as I once more grabbed the pail, it had fallen over rats were spread across the ground but I quickly snatched up a few before instead whipping them out of the gate into the enclosure, my sisters happy barks as they grabbed rats. I ignored Owen as he let out a sigh and said something as I once more opened the cool and grabbed another pail full.

His annoyance at some point must have over ridden his concern as he barked out a short “Blue! Eyes up” And used his clicker causing me to turn staring as I swallowed the rat in my mouth. He reached into the cooler for a moment showing me the rat before calling out “Delta” And tossing it out. Causing the sister to chirp happily, he did this a few more times before calling me and tossing me one. I snacked it happily chirping out at the taste and the way it filled my stomach.

I realized that I was getting sleepy, probably his intent. Had be drugged the rat? I wondered as I felt something like a yawn escape me. Yeah definitely drugged I realized as I tottered a little. Sneaky human I honked at him before stepping in, despite his back peddling and curled up against him. He oomphed as I knocked him against the wall. I could feel my eyes closing as he slid against the wall, semi supporting my weight as I settle against him snorting lightly as I fell asleep.

When I woke up I was once more in the enclosure, I stepped to my feet the ground swaying just a tad as I yawned a bit more my sisters were still tired as well most of them napping on a few rocks we had. I instead looked around seeing Owen behind the gate I walked over. I could see they were installing a guard over the buttons that I would have to flip up before I could push the button. None of them had realized I was awake yet so as a raptor I had a job to do.

Owen noticed me first as I popped up beside the technician doing his work on the wall. The startled yell as I exhaled over his neck had screeching as my instincts told me to attack. But it didn’t last long a moment later I ignored him and turned towards Owen. Honking a greeting as I bumped my snout against the gate. He gave me a look I couldn’t translate before sighing out and giving a smile. I honked at him again and headed off. It was too bad.

The work they were doing to stop me was just putting a plastic cover over the buttons.

I could get through that, maybe tomorrow.