A/N

Hey guys! How's life?

Guest, I am leaving out those two dinosaurs because I like sticking to the ones I can spell; if the story needs it, I'll add them.

OREO, I missed you! Good to hear from you! I got aggressive raptors here just for you.

xxXScotsbritXxx, a PM is a personal message. If you create an account you can basically give messages to others with accounts that way you don't have to hold a conversation in the reviews for everyone to see.

Matt, that is not the pair as I feel like they would be too old to breed. I am really humbled you feel I write like Mr. Critchton; I loved both his novels.

IsDeltaAlive, I have no idea; I'm not very creative like that. I'm an old soul, though not an old person, who is perfectly fine with the regular dinosaurs. The Indominus is the only hybrid I like so far.

Regina, Bullet, I hope you get your AC fixed because it is terrible to just sit in the heat. I work in it, I can't imagine my house being it.

Lithornlant, thanks for recommending this; I'm happy to know you love it that much.

I don't own the lyrics to 'Take Me To Church' by Hozier

Thank you much and mighty for your reviews! I read all of them! I have no idea what my role in this family is. Entertainer? The Story Teller? It doesn't matter to me; we're just family.

*We have a warning for a dark chapter, and death. It gets graphic at the very end with Blue.*

----------------------------------

"Judge."

Owen smiled as he watched his girl try to solve their toughest puzzle they had set up. He was amazed by how Elise had blown through all the overlapping trails like they were nothing. She didn't follow every single twist and turn like he thought she would. Whenever she came to an overlapping scent, she would raise her head, smell the air carefully, tilt her head, and follow the right way.

But now they were at the large river; not terribly far from where Elise had fought ACU, but Owen and Blake had been careful about not going in that direction.

It was just the respectful thing to do.

Elise was currently walking up and down the river as she tried to find Derick's scent again; water seemed to really stump her, but Elise sat up once more to taste the air around her. She continued to take deep, slow breaths in hopes of catching the smell before she suddenly turned her head towards some thick brush. Owen raised an eyebrow; he didn't recall going here, but he rolled his eyes when Elise managed to dig out the shiny paper.

A Snickers wrapper.

"It seems we found a litterer, Elise. I'm glad you found that, I don't want an animal to accidentally eat that; it'll kill them."

Elise startled at that; she didn't want an animal to die, and she inhaled the scent before handing the wrapper over to Owen.

Derick was a litterer, and his scent was still fresh on it. Elise wasn't happy with his carelessness; an animal could have died. It was her job as an Alpha to help Alpha Claire when she could. She now understood the workings of Jurassic World after more observation. Claire was the main Alpha of the humans, and Rexy was her partner; the Alpha over all dinosaurs. Claire had humans who she put in charge of other things, like Betas, but she didn't have to worry about them. Dr. Gerry was the Alpha over all the healers in Jurassic World, but Claire was his Alpha.

Elise was an Alpha pair with Owen; they were part of Jurassic World, and they did their own jobs to make sure Alpha Claire could deal with other things. Elise helped make sure the girls stayed in line and didn't hurt any guests; that would cause people to be afraid to come here. The dirty paper wouldn't come in as fast.

A small breeze danced through the lush jungle, and Elise followed the helpful guidance. She loved the wind; sometimes she liked to pretend wind was a person all her own. It was odd to see humans so out of touch with nature; Elise felt she was becoming more human the more she learned, but she didn't want to forget the world her dinosaur blood knew and loved. Were there humans who stayed in touch with the earth? Did they listen to the wind too? Elise liked to pretend she could tell stories to Wind, her stories, and then Wind would go tell the stories to people who couldn't come here.

Elise knew it was a silly idea, but it gave her something to do. It was a habit to talk to herself when she wasn't talking with Small One.

Elise paused to stare at a bold blue beetle, and a bittersweet happiness filled her. She remembered before she had met Owen, and long after Small One stopped moving. It had been a long week of terrible nightmares that had left her shaking, and she thought the bad thoughts of hurting herself.

Then a little beetle had caught her attention. It was such a little thing that she had almost crushed it out of rage, but she had been lonely. She started talking with the beetle, and the insect had seemed to listen. It made Elise feel better, and she name the bug Friend. Friend was good and kind who liked to sit on a large leaf near the stream in her old paddock. Elise talked to Friend a lot; he listened because he was kind.

Then another insect had flown in; Elise had liked the beautiful wings; Owen called them butterflies. The butterfly had knocked Friend into the stream, and Elise never saw Friend again.

So she had eaten the butterfly. She ate all the butterflies she saw; they were not kind. Owen would always give her weird looks when one was murdered, but Elise did not care.

Owen had never met Friend.

Elise startled from her thoughts when Owen gently patted her as he said, "Baby? You kind of zoned out there. We need to rescue Derick."

Elise garbled in agreement as she followed Wind's kind help; she carried Derick's scent. Elise followed the sweet candy easily; ignoring all the other scents, and paused when she heard a guttural growl. Owen raised an eyebrow when he heard it and shifted around to look for the source. He didn't think there were any dinosaurs over here, but he still jumped when another snarl was heard. Elise shifted about as she flickered her vision. She didn't see anything and quietly moved around.

Derick really could be in trouble; this creature sounded very angry.

Owen pressed himself closer as he kept a careful hand on the pistol strapped to this thigh. It wasn't the comforting, heavy weight of his shotgun, but it was something. He didn't want to always depend on Elise to protect him. A gun was useful when wielded with the right attitude.

Elise would paused with every snarl that drew closer, each step silently pressing into the lush floor. Owen had never heard a dinosaur like this before, and they both froze when the snarl made a harsh sound next to them. Elise blinked at the thick tree, and she wondered if this was a nervous mother trying to deter her from a full nest. Elise didn't want to anger a mother, but she paused when the sweet, kind scent filled her nose.

She remained very careful as she brushed the branches aside; she could feel Owen tensing with the snarl sounded again, but they blinked at the sight.

Derick had fallen asleep. He had managed to climb a tree, find a cushy spot in the moss, and fell asleep. Elise tilted her neck when the mouth opened wide as Derick made the snarl again, and Owen rolled his eyes.

Elise didn't understand these sounds. Owen made soft sounds when he slept, not this snarl. Maybe it was a human's way of trying to scare predators away. The snarl had certainly startled Elise. She shifted around until Owen could clamber onto the tree before he shook his head at the sleeping trainer. He scratched at his jaw before suddenly smiling at Elise.

Elise loved that smile.

It was their ornery smile.

--------------------------------------

"Derick! Derick!"

The man snorted awake at the rough shaking before quickly looking around. He startled at his name being desperately hissed again, and paled at the sight of a bloody Owen.

"What the fu-"

Owen quickly clamped a slightly trembling hand over the mouth as he clutched his red-stained side before quickly looking around. Derick didn't see Elise, and Owen grimaced in pain before whispering, "It's bad, Derick. R-Really bad. We have to be quiet."

"Where the hell is Elise?!"

Derick swallowed when Owen immediately shushed him. The man was breathing hard, and he looked like he was in a lot of pain. Owen was even sweating as his limbs seemed to tremble just the slightest. Owen quickly wiped his lip, blood smearing over the mouth before he hoarsely said, "She's down. She slid in the river; she couldn't get back up, Derick. It's a nightmare; I lost the radios."

"W-What?!"

Owen hissed in pain again before adding, "I don't know what happened; the little bastards just swarmed her; I think they were poisonous. She just stopped moving."

Derick paled into a gaunt grey as he quickly glanced around. He stumbled onto his knees, but Owen yanked him back down as he whispered, "That's not the worst part."

Derick nervously swallowed, and Owen shivered before saying, "Rexy busted out of her paddock. She heard Elise crying for help, and she's pissed. I had to run, I-I just had to!"

"Oh, Christ..."

Owen nodded in agreement; they both froze when a thudding footstep was heard. Owen shivered again, and almost whimpered, "Shit; she probably smells the blood. She nipped me, but I got away. The old lady hates me, I accidently broke her nest, and she never forgot that."

Derick snapped his gaze back down to the blood soaking through Owen's shirt. He nervously licked his lips before saying, "It'll be fine, we can get through this. I'll help you down, okay? Rexy is a loud walker, we can sneak around her, and get to ACU."

Owen nodded in agreement before wincing as Derick nudged him closer to the edge. Derick cautiously peered at the far away ground, and he wondered how Owen had managed to climb the tree. It was a hard climb.

Another branch snapped before Owen suddenly shrieked fearfully. Derick whipped around to see the forest scaled, wide open jaw full of daggers gaping at them. He barely processed the stench of meat, and he couldn't stop himself from screaming with Owen. Derick continued to scream until Owen's scream turned into breathless laughs. Derick held his mouth open as he glanced at the injured man desperately trying to catch his breath in between the loud laughs. Tears were streaming down Owen's cheeks, and Derick turned his gaze back to Rexy.

Derick had no idea what to do when the massive jaws quietly shut before the innocent, crimson eyes regarded him with fond amusement. The scales shook off the forest's colors in favor of the sparkling white.

"E-Elise?"

Elise made a warm croon as her lips pulled up into a ferocious smile, and Owen finally fell onto his side as he howled with laughter. Derick blinked when Elise began to make her sucked in laugh.

"O-Oh my, God! Y-Your face, man...! My ribs! Oh, God, my r-ribs hurt! You s-screamed so l-loud!"

Owen burst into another fit of laughter as Elise's laugh grew louder and faster. Derick watched the white dinosaur slowly sink onto the earth as her mouth hung wide open with the gasping laughs. He could see the crystal tears falling from the crimson eyes, and Derick finally snapped, "You assholes! Jesus H. Christ!"

The two only laughed harder, and Derick huffed as he flopped onto the moss. He clutched his thumping chest and growled, "You two pricks are a damned pair, do you know that? You two deserve each other!"

Derick gave a slight jump when his radio crackled; he forgot he had one. He wiped his face when Sam's amused voice said, "I should dock Elise for screwing around, but I might give bonus points if you shat yourself. Be honest, Cowboy, you gonna change your pants when you get back?"

"Oh, piss off, Old Man."

Derick heaved a sigh when he heard the bear laughing, and Sam said, "I will take that as a yes then. Bonus points for Elise."

Claire covered her mouth as she started to laugh quietly; she just couldn't help herself when she heard Elise's laugh. It was the funniest thing in the world, and so warming to know the dinosaur was laughing.

Elise was happy.

And so was Claire. She was much more relaxed now even though she had more responsibilities. It was nice to have Owen right by her side, and she knew she could count on Elise. Elise had made Rexy feel younger, and that meant the world to Claire.

Life was good at Jurassic World; Claire was happy.

There was a healing peace settling in, and peace was good.

----------------------------------

The sickle claw tapped in thought as Blue carefully inspected the large fence. This was in White One's territory, and she didn't smell anyone on the other side of the fence. That was good, but she didn't understand why White One didn't want to expand her territory. The pack was very strong right now; it was time to expand.

But Blue still hadn't memorized all of this territory yet; she knew Stern One's territory better. Blue liked Stern One; she was not an Alpha, but she was to be listened to. Echo and Delta were still wary of the old dinosaur, but Blue had figured her out. They had bonded very well, and Blue couldn't imagine sleeping without Stern One; she was a comfort.

Blue felt much calmer here; things were much nicer, and the bad people did not linger here. Hardly any humans lingered here, and that made Blue happy. Humans made her agitated because she knew they were smart even if they were stupid. She had to always be suspicious of what they were plotting.

Except for Barry; Barry was there to soothe wounds and bring forth Oreos. Stupid Alpha was pack, and White Alpha needed to find a smarter partner; Blue liked White Alpha though.

Blue paused from her inspection of the fence; she hadn't had an Oreo for a few days. Such madness was not something she wanted to delve into. She would find Barry later, and entice an Oreo out of him; maybe two Oreos.

Blue glanced at her sister when Echo made a soft chirp. The other two followed her gaze to catch sight of an animal grazing through the fallen fruit from a lush tree. It hadn't seen them yet, but Blue thought it looked similar to their pink prey.

She flexed her claws; it had been too long since they had hunted something down like pink prey. Pink prey could run, and it was tasty. The bleating prey in Stern One's territory did not run fast, and Stern One always made the kill.

But Blue was intent on killing this prey. It had been too long since they had really hunted as a pack.

The Beta made the low growls to her sisters before they carefully took off into the thick jungle. Blue waited a few minutes before she began to stalk her prey. The pig was rooting through the fruit obliviously, and Blue had to remind herself to stay calm.

She would force the pig into the thick jungle where it would get confused. It didn't know that jungle, but her sisters did. Echo was incredible with ambushing; Blue and Delta would bring the pig to her. Blue lead the hunts, but Echo was most important when it came to this kind of hunting.

Where the prey would never see it coming.

Blue almost shivered in anticipation when the pig saw her. It flicked an ear before immediately trotting into the thick jungle. Blue followed at a distance just to keep the pig going.

It had no idea what trap it was walking into.

----------------------------

Bridges cracked his neck before walking into the moldy, damp, and silent warehouse. This building had been abandoned after it was deemed unfit for housing animals.

But Bridges never had a problem with putting pests in here.

Filthy no good pests who burrowed into his damned island. Pests that were no better than a squirming maggot, or a swarm of buzzing flies on a sick animal.

Filthy, filthy, no good-

Bridges blinked as he paused to calm himself. He had to be careful of that red rage; that little flame of his temper had a tendency to scoot closer to the gasoline in his train of thoughts. It wasn't good, not one bit; his temper was not a good thing.

But it certainly got him where he was right now.

Bridges didn't acknowledge the small puddles of water that made soft splashes by his polished shoes. He did eye the hanging moss from the ceiling and the vines reclaiming the building. No one else was in here.

No one aside from some filthy pests.

Bridges couldn't help but to pause when the rotting corpse of a dead mouse caught his eye. Mice were not pests in the right setting; he used to have a pet mouse. A smart creature who was always cleaning himself.

Mice could burn.

Bridges sniffed as he pushed that thought away. The skeleton was being reclaimed by the earth; the hole in the concrete. The body was in the good hands of sweet, Mother Earth.

But Bridges liked fire a little more.

He fumbled with the lighter in his pocket as he sang in a hushed voice; even a man like himself didn't care for the painful silence here.

It helped to ignore the almost hunched over, a little too tall shadow walking alongside him. He swore it wasn't his shadow, but it was always with him.

Was it robed? No, no, that was crazy...

Bridges questioned his sanity once; a mistake he would never make again. It was easier to accept himself as is, and not go to a therapist for help. They didn't understand anything. They were the most aggravating people in the world; asking about feelings as they pretended to care. They didn't care until the damned bill didn't get paid; then they were suddenly too booked to see him.

"My lover's got humor, she's the giggle at a funeral..."

Bridges snorted to himself; he could ask people how they felt too, and then he'd slap a three figure bill on them for an hour of his time. If they didn't like that then he could prescribe them some addictive pills to poison their system, fog the mind, and reap havoc on the stomach.

Did they ever intend to prescribe stomach ulcers? His therapist had insisted it was his stress.

He insisted she was flammable.

But she left before he could find out.

"Knows everyone's disapproval, I should have worshipped her sooner..."

Bridges knew he wasn't sick. He was perfectly healthy; healthy as a God-dang horse, damn it.

Bridges didn't take the Lord's name in vain, that was a no-no. He would not encourage any lighting to smite him; the Good Lord was patient enough as it was.

He could function just fine; that was the health bar set up in the good ol' U.S.A. You're weak if you're sick in the head. If it ain't bleeding, broken, or bruised then you're perfectly fine.

Can you eat, sleep, and bathe? Hold a job?

Yes, sir.

Then you're perfectly healthy. Mood swings are your own problem so long as you can push the damned pencil.

A little laugh escaped Bridges; he was perfectly fine.

So what if he liked to burn things for no good reason?

Was it a good reason just to see if it could burn? That could be a science if he really wanted; it was good to know what would burn or not.

Houses burned.

But Bridges never told all those details to his mother before she had lost her mind to the disease; she had been sick.

Bridges gave himself a brisk shake; he needed to snap out of it. He was perfectly fine. He was just stressed from Sobek being sick, but Sobek would be fine. He would have to be.

Because Bridges didn't want to admit how much of a crutch the dinosaur was to him. Sobek was imperative in helping Bridges stay balanced on that fine, little line. On one side, he could get along just fine. His thoughts were normal and he didn't need to hold his lighter. That side was fine, and he'd even step over to that side once in a while.

It was nice; that side of the line was very nice.

"Every Sunday's getting more bleak, fresh poison each week..."

Then there was the darker side of the room. The not so nice side. He got a little irrational; it was his emotional side as his father had called it on more than one occasion. He liked to burn things to keep that side lit; he wasn't afraid of the dark. The creatures inhabiting that side scared him sometimes.

The little demons in the dark; those little bastards had to be watched at all times. Grady thought his raptors were cunning? They needed to meet the one who goaded Bridges into making Mr. Iudex his solution to pests. Iudex was fair in dealing with pests like these; Bridges liked Iudex.

Bridges straightened his tie; he would deal with the pests, and then go check on Sobek again. Sobek would make it. Maybe he could catch Elise before her last show.

"We were born sick, you heard them say it..."

Bridges had spent a lot of time trying to get ahold on his damned demons in the dark. Smarmy pricks never missed an opportunity to kick him while he was down.

But he would never deny they had some good ideas once in a while.

It was almost six; people had left to go home already, and Security was at its sleepiest. When the day-dwellers were headed home, and Night's sweet children were still dreaming of her caressing cloak.

No one knew Bridges relied on Mr. Iudex to deal with the pests; they didn't need to know. Bridges took care of it; things were fine. He didn't need others to know, they didn't think like him, and they would get in the way.

"Evening, gentlemen. I apologize; I have been busy."

The two poachers jumped at the broken silence, and Bridges was glad to see they looked like hell. He already didn't like the smarmy looking blonde with a rugged, thick beard. Bridges was still deciding with the other one.

He internally sighed; he never had major problems with the Costa Ricans. It was the damned rich, thrill seekers who paid the Costa Ricans to bring them to his island. These two had probably grown bored with hunting animals in Africa.

Giraffes weren't exciting and elephants were off limits. Wildebeests were just funny looking cows.

"So, do we pay a fine before leaving? I don't want to miss my flight back home."

Bridges ignored the snippy tone as he opened the loud, protesting door before stepping inside. He didn't feel like sitting, but he put on his most polite smile as he purred, "I am curious as to why you think you had the right to hunt my Spinosaurus. He's important to me."

The younger man seemed to feel guilty, and Bridges made a note of that. But the other man snapped, "Look, we're just looking for a good hunt. We were doing you a favor, we know that one is old. It's time to make room for the next generation."

"The next generation stays in captivity. He's not going out there, and I don't think that is a good excuse for hunting Sobek."

The bearded man was a rich thrill seeker at heart. Bridges knew hunters had their place in the world. He would never nay-say keeping a population down, or hunting for food and clothing. Even the rich hunters who hunted for sport, the ones who did things correctly were good. They put the kill to use, and Bridges was fine with that.

But there was no use for Sobek's carcass. No one knew what Spinosaurus meat tasted like, and no one knew how to use his skin nor bones. Did anyone know how to cook a Spinosaurus loin? Bridges didn't think so, and his temper was scooting close to that gasoline again.

These men, pests, had no good reason for hunting here.

Bridges leaned against the bars as the man coolly said, "I don't expect a suit like you to understand, but I'll do my best. Humans have the right to hunt too. Animals hunt each other all the time, so why can't we? I think it is an exciting challenge to play that game with something like a Spinosaurus. There's a bond between hunter and prey."

Bridges had seen their guns; he was willing to bet this man was just compensating for his incompetent size. He could feel his eyebrows shadowing over his eyes as he turned to the other man, and asked, "Is this your view?"

The man twiddled with his thumbs as he quietly mumbled, "I...didn't shoot at him...I wanted to see if I could get a Velociraptor...but the pack is too small I think..."

The bearded man glared at his companion before snapping, "You did kill one; it was why we got caught!"

Bridges raised an eyebrow, and the younger man quickly said, "He was sick, Sir! He was already down and foaming at the mouth...I didn't want him to suffer..."

Bridges nodded. This was a good hunter who got caught with the pest. He could reason with this younger man. Bridges fumbled with the lighter in his pocket for a few seconds before sighing, "I suppose I can't change your view of hunting down my Sobek, but he is very important to me. He saved my mother from a Tyrannosaur."

"I don't care; I want to go home. I didn't get my hunt, and all my damned money was wasted."

Bridges didn't need to hear any more than that; this man was not willing to cooperate, and he quietly said, "Very well. Allow me to escort you to my partner, Mr. Iudex. He can sort you out."

The blonde glanced at the younger hunter as he added, "You can leave on tomorrow morning's boat. I would fine you, but you did me a favor by putting that raptor out of its misery. Security will come escort you out tomorrow."

The younger man licked his lips nervously, but Bridges ignored him; he would go home tomorrow after a long, dark night in here. The compys would provide a good scare in the middle of the night.

The bearded man gave a harrumph before standing; he gave a look at his companion before following Bridges out. The door slid shut with an unforgiving slam, but Bridges didn't notice; he wouldn't be staying here anyways. The good hunter would learn his lesson and never come back.

"So what kind of a name is You-dex?"

Bridges rolled his eyes; he despised uneducated, pompous pricks. He only replied, "It's Latin, but you can ask Mr. Iudex himself."

"Do I get to go home with my friend?"

"That depends on Mr. Iudex's mood. I suggest you use your manners around him; he's much less forgiving than I am."

The bearded man grumbled to himself, and Bridges glanced around him. He didn't see anyone; not that he expected to. Everyone was gone, and he was left to roam the silence alone. They walked without talking before coming over to the towering Office building. The man raised an eyebrow when Bridges opened the steel door and gestured inside.

"Your buddy doesn't get a nice office like yours?"

Bridges shrugged nonchalantly as he peered into the door before answering, "Mr. Iudex keeps his office at the end of the trail; he likes to be closer to the wilderness; he's braver than I am."

The man stepped inside, blinking at the decorations alongside the think trail, and Bridges said, "Mr. Iudex keeps a key to this door in his office. If you can convince him to give you said key, I will be more than willing to fly you home. Be polite."

"Why are there so many Tyrannosaur skeletons here?"

Bridges smiled, "Because they are poor kings."

He shut the door before the man could reply, and he sniffed as he locked it firmly. The cuffs were straightened as he walked back to his own office.

The idiot had no idea what he was walking into.

"I was born sick, but I love it..."

Bridges wondered why the Latin language had died out; it was a wonderful thing.

At least it provided for obviously blunt names without having to give away anything. Bridges was sure no one actually knew what Iudex Carnifex's name actually meant.

The blonde sighed as he sank into his chair; all was quiet outside. He would take a few minutes to get the red rage out of himself before going to Sobek. The older Spinosaurus didn't take kindly to any visits from anyone who wasn't in their right mind.

He rested his head back while clicking the flame into life; the thudding behind his eyes slowly went away, and he was feeling better. He cracked open an eye to glance at the photograph of smiling, older woman.

"Don't worry, Mama; I'll make sure I do Sobek justice. He's good."

Sobek was good. Bridges sighed as he remembered the first time he saw Sobek up close and personal.

When he was forced to acknowledge that his mother was sick with a real disease, and not a harmless case of bad memory. He had been pushed to put her in a home where she could be taken care of, but he was stubborn.

He hadn't wanted to acknowledge it.

The fence was still being built, but Bridges had hired someone to look after his mother in a secure home. It was the safest spot on this island; it still was, and it was where everyone was to go in disastrous situations. It was the safe house. He thought the air would have been good for his mother; she loved the tropical world.

But she had her bad days where she would wander around when the helper was resting. Bridges would usually escort her back before anything could happen; he just didn't want to believe his mother was sick. He just had refused to comprehend the days where she wouldn't recognize him.

Until she decided she wanted to go for a walk. It was normally fine on her good days, and Bridges would go with her because they stayed inside the fence.

But she had forgot what was on the island.

And she had walked past the fence before Bridges could stop her.

Bridges pinched his nose at the memory. It was so clear in his head.

-----------------------------------

Run faster. Run. Faster.

For once, all the damned demons in his head were screaming the same thing. Run faster because Mama is going to get eaten. He yelled her name, but she had probably forgot to put in her hearing aid. He could just tell it was another bad day.

He could see her shoes weren't matching.

Why the hell hadn't anyone stopped her? Bridges was so scared that the red rage wasn't even factoring in his head.

"Mother! Stop!"

A worker snapped his head over before paling at the woman speed walking away. Bridges wasn't going to acknowledge that she was walking a little funny. She was on uneven ground. The worker darted out, but yelped at a loud thudding. He fell backwards in his haste to get away.

The bellowing, injured Parasaurolophus burst from the trees. It tripped over itself, and Bridges ran faster when his mother stumbled back. The bleeding herbivore shoved itself into the line of trees before the furious roar made Bridges' blood freeze.

The Tyrannosaurus let out another furious roar when it realized its prey had vanished into the trees. Bridges prayed his mother would have the sense to stay still; he prayed the massive carnivore would move on after the injured herbivore.

His mother let out a soft yelp when her ankle gave out on her, and the Tyrannosaurus snapped his gaze onto her. Bridges continued to run, but the dinosaur didn't think twice about charging the elderly woman.

The gaping jaws opened wide to chomp the easy kill whole, and Bridges stumbled in his running. He looked up just in time to see the massive, rusty grey scales burst from the trees as a shrill, echoing roar made his ears ring. The charging Tyrannosaurus gave a pained shriek when the hard skull bashed into his shoulder, and the powerful force knocked him onto his side.

Bridges slid next to his mother before he held her protectively, but he never took his eyes off the mighty carnivore.

It was a Spinosaurus; an actual Spinosaurus. He had known there was one, but he didn't actually believe it.

Bridges believed it now; and he was in awe of this massive beast who was larger than the Tyrannosaur. He had to be around twenty feet at the peak of that proud scale, close to fifty feet from head to tail; sapphire O's handsomely decorated it, and strong, ebony talons raked through a forest hide. Bridges swallowed when the throat was ripped out by sharp teeth.

What the Spinosaurus lacked in bite force, he made up for with slashing.

A massive tail swung over them as the beast circled victoriously over his dying prey. He gave a sharp bite at the throat for extra measure, and Bridges was overwhelmed by the furious, emerald fire. He had never seen a dinosaur with green eyes before.

The Tyrannosaur gave a final kick, and Bridges blinked in shock.

Did he just witness the slaying of the Tyrant King?

He swallowed when the emerald eyes snapped at him, and Bridges realized his mother's sobbing had grabbed the Spinosaurus' attention. The massive beast gave slow, calm breaths through long, slightly parted jaws. The Spinosaurus wasn't even out of breath. He seemed to regard the sobbing woman for a few moments, that emerald fire flickering about dangerously, before he glared at Bridges.

Bridges felt like he was being scolded, and he glanced down at his mother. She was frail, old, and scared. The blonde slowly glanced back at the Spinosaurus, and the dinosaur seemed to give another scolding snort before thrusting his snout into his kill.

Bridges understood.

His mother wouldn't do well here.

And she was too sick to be eaten.

She was sick.

--------------------------------

Bridges sighed as he pressed the balls of his hands into his eyes. Sobek was a picky eater; he had learned that afterwards, but it made more sense. His mother was too sick to eat. Bridges had finally caved in, and sent her to a good home.

She had died a few weeks later. She never forgot Sobek; she had actually named him. She had always called her son to ask how Sobek was doing, and it made Bridges feel a little better.

The disease had never robbed her of that memory, and it had given her something to do. His mother had been a talented artist; she had made a stunning portrait of Sobek. Bridges was always grateful to Sobek for that.

For saving his mother.

For forcing him to realize his mother was sick.

And giving his mother one memory that couldn't be forgotten.

His mother had been gone for almost fifteen years now. Bridges believed Sobek was in his early to mid-thirties, and Carnifex was ten years old.

A shrill roar from outside the window started Bridges from his thoughts. He walked onto the platform to see some trees knocking over in a straight line. The bearded man burst from the tree line, wide eyed, and he darted to under the platform.

"Help! Oh, God, help me!"

Bridges sniffed as he called out, "I take it you didn't use your manners. I told you Iudex was unforgiving; now you get to deal with Carnifex."

The man made a blubbering plea that sickened Bridges. This was a relationship between hunter and prey. If the man had really believed what he said, then he wouldn't act so scared. He was prey now.

The fire colored Spinosaurus maliciously parted from the tree line with saliva dribbling from the parted jaws. The emerald fire burned just as brightly as his father's, but this was all Carnifex. Bridges sniffed again when Carnifex lunged forward with gaping jaws.

He knew Iudex Carnifex was the same Spinosaurus; it was his full name and purpose. When Bridges couldn't deal with a pest, the Spinosaurus became Iudex; he was their iudex. When Iudex had made his ruling, which was always guilty, he turned into their carnifex.

This Spinosaurus was a multitasker; the judge and executioner.

Bridges sighed as he went back into his office.

No one knew Latin anymore, and the pest had been so focused on him that he hadn't seen Carnifex coming until the jaws snapped.

-----------------------------

The pig made a nervous sound when it came to a brush too thick to walk through. It snorted a few times before turning around, and freezing. Blue was right there; keeping its attention. It wasn't sure what to do because Blue wasn't doing anything.

She was just distracting.

Blue continued to stare at the tense pig; it made to move to the side only to catch a glimpse of Delta sliding through the brush. Another nervous snort was made, and Blue shifted to catch the pig's attention again.

It was so focused on her that it never saw Echo smash into its back.

The shrill squeals filled the air as the other two raptors immediately tackled the pig in a fury of slashes and bites. Blood splattered as intestines spilled. Blue yanked them out with a sharp tug, Echo tore a large chunk from the meaty leg, and Delta had simply torn off the front leg. They ignored the dying squeals and feeble kicks.

Prey always tasted a little better when it was still kicking, and that blood was still pumping. Even a good Oreo couldn't compare.

-------------------------------------------

Another A/N

Just in case I wasn't clear, Iudex is Carnifex's first name. It's pronounced You-dex. I hope this story wasn't too dark with Bridges there, but that's how he is. I hope I didn't offend any therapists; I know there are sincerely kind, caring, and good ones out there.

I hope you all have a good/day night!