Utter Chaos (IAN MALCOLM X OC)

CHAPTER THREE: Life Finds A Way

"There it is," John mocked quickly, staring at him in disbelief.

"You are implying that a group composed entirely of female animals will...breed?" The doctor blinked, attempting to process his way of thinking. Now that he put it like that, I doubted myself a little.

"No, I'm simply saying that, uh, life finds a way," Ian said slowly, and I smiled to myself a little, knowing that my uncle won't be convinced by his words at all.

Alan took the little dinosaur in his hands, staring down at it with slightly widened eyes as it cried out, wiggling around a bit. The squealing made him look up, his mind clearly working by the look on his face. Putting two and two together, he looked at the doctor, his features filled with a mixture of fear and doubt.

"What species is this?"

"Uh, it's a velociraptor," He responded, guarded.

"You bred raptors?" Alan deadpanned, his eyes jumping over to John dangerously.

The doctor nodded hesitantly, and I looked down at the fidgety creature, freshly out of the egg, yet with an intelligent glint in its eye. Most people around me liked raptors and thought they were cool and dangerous, but I never shared the same view as them. It wasn't that I was scared of them per se, they just unnerved me to the point that I didn't want to learn more about them than what I already knew. I was one of those basic people who favored the t-rex over these guys.

After John told Alan that the raptor cage was nearby, the baby was out of his hands a moment later, and he was hurrying out of the building with Ellie closely behind him, making my uncle sigh a little with frustration as he tried to catch up to them. I gave one last look to the little babies, then stepped after Ian, who still seemed unconvinced with all the answers he got. Couldn't blame him for that.

It was true, the raptor cage wasn't far, so we got there on foot pretty fast, especially because of the others' excitement. I should have been thrilled to see some raptors as well, but I knew that they would be worse live than in all the recreations and documentaries I've seen about them.

Just as we approached the cement cage, there was a cow in a holster that was about to be lifted in there. I stopped dead in my tracks, watching as the poor animal was lifted into the air, mooing aimlessly. The others continued walking until they reached the stairs at the side, and my uncle was even cheery that we came just in time to see the feeding. Ian noticed that I stopped and turned around, looking at me questioningly from his tainted glasses.

"Are you okay?" He asked, and for a second he truly seemed concerned, even though we only met a couple of hours ago. I nodded weakly as the cow was slowly lowered into the cage, where the raptors were already growling.

"Yeah. Just not a fan of what's about to happen," I answered with a shrug, trying to play my little fear off. He smirked.

"Vegan?"

"No," I chuckled, not expecting his question. "I just don't want to hear a cow being torn apart."

"Talk about hearing, those guys are about to see it live," He pointed up to where Ellie and Alan were standing with another man I haven't seen before.

"You can join them," I smiled politely. "I will put some distance between me and the cow's deathbed."

"Fair," Ian nodded, then took a step before turning to me again. His dark eyes bore into my bright blue ones. "Sure gonna be okay? Um, you look like you are about to faint."

"You didn't get out of the car when we checked out the brachiosaur, now I won't go to see the raptors' lunch with you," I explained my newly made-up reasoning. It seemed to convince him.

"Just scream or something when you hit the ground."

"Sure will."

He slowly walked up the stairs while I looked around for a better place to be, noticing a bench underneath a nearby tree. I sighed, gritting my teeth as I started hearing what I feared; the cow's cries along with the tear of meat and the splash of blood. It was the kind of thing you could hear in movies, but in real life, they were much less fun. I was sure that would haunt me a little tonight.

The bench was warm from the sun, but cool enough that I didn't feel like I was burning alive, which felt like a blessing in the heat. I undid a few buttons at the top of my white shirt, letting the sky-blue tank top show underneath. Originally, I wanted to wear the shirt undone, but it was still a bit cool in the morning when I left my house, and I just didn't bother to unbutton it ever since. It was still tucked into my jean shorts, which felt tighter now that I sat down, trying to contain my thighs. I wanted to go home. The experience wasn't bad so far, but I knew that once everyone went to do their own things, I would be left alone with my not-so-favorite relative.

"You didn't miss much," Ian spoke beside me suddenly, causing my heart to skip a beat. I hoped he didn't notice how I jumped. I was too lost in thought to even realize he was coming. "It was all hidden by a bunch of trees."

"The sounds were still somewhat severe."

"Can't wait until they use these guys for, um, war reasons," He looked back to where the others were standing, while I grimaced. I didn't even think about that. I just certainly hope my uncle isn't stupid enough to sell them for a bunch of money.

"Imagine a velociraptor coming after you," I shuddered. "I'd shoot myself before that would even happen."

"Aren't you a paleontologist?"

"Yes, but I'm no survivor specialist," I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "You think I would survive a direct meeting with one of those little shits?"

Ian didn't reply, merely smiled a little. His answer was clear, and even though it was expected, I still let my mouth fall agape as if he offended me. I narrowed my eyes playfully as I tried to stare through his glasses, wondering how he wasn't hot in all those black clothes.

"Come on everyone! The food is ready!" My uncle yelled over, stopping me from saying anything else and causing Ian to start walking back to them.

I got up and stretched just as Ian looked back to see if I was coming, not missing the way his eyes ran up and down my body. His shades weren't exactly high up on his nose, and I could clearly see the movement of his eyes which wasn't very subtle. I held back my smirk as I walked after him, a bit too happy that I got a reaction out of him.

My uncle stared me down with a weird look in his eyes, but I ignored him as I followed him back into the building. Even though I wasn't very hungry.

If only I knew how much I'd need the energy later on.