#prattpack

The island was humid and misty. Your eyes kept watering from the threat of a storm in the air and your clothes stuck to your sweaty skin. It was a slow day compared to the middle of the summer. Vacation days were winding down, visitors were many but yet still few. Screaming little kids were already strapped in on their planes and on their way home to suburbia. 

The walkie-talkie strapped to your khaki shorts vibrated and gurgled. You reached down for it and kept your eyes glued to the throngs of tourists grazing through the streets.

“Come in, Y/N. We’ve got an irritated triceratops down here, scaring some of the guests. We think she’s getting sick. Might wanna come check it out.”

You laughed to yourself as a little kid jumped and pointed at the giant science building at the end of the road.

“On it, I’ll be there in ten,” you said, clicking the walkie back into its place.

The island itself was large, but the area really used by the park was small. The ride would have been quicker had you not had to fight for space on the main roads.

When you arrived, the guests had been lead away, and there were two other people there. One them was your friend- he worked mainly with the babies, and they probably called him since he cared for her when she was young and wanted to try bringing in a comforting face. The other was a usual ranger, somebody the rest of the staff would consider a passing-by face. He smiled a handsome crooked smile and waved as you approached.

“What’s going on?” You asked, your hands finding a spot on your hips. You squinted against the heat and the humidity.

“She’s been acting up lately. Go bad today, she tried attacking one of the spheres. Of course, the people inside were fine, just afraid.”

“Could be natural behavior for an animal,” you said.

“Or she could be sick,” your friend shrugged with a sigh. “Wants to be left alone.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to take a look,” you said, rolling up your sleeves so they rested just above your forearms. 

You slid through the gate into her enclosure, the other two men trailing behind you. She was big now. She rested on the ground in the shade, her breathing hard and heavy. Foam bubbled at the corners of her mouth, her pointed snout dug into the cool dirt.

“Hey, girl,” you whispered, kneeling beside her.

She let out a weak groan which turned into a muted roar. She huffed, the air leaving her nose like wisps of smoke. 

You frowned, reaching out to rub her head. She flinched away at first, but gradually the trust she held a few days ago at her last check-up returned.

“She might have a little passing bug,” you said, “if she has it, chances are its going around between all of them. We’ll wanna check them all.”

You turned your head away from her and squinted back at the guys, their hands in their pockets. Your friend frowned and began to make his way over.

“Hey, baby girl,” he said as he neared, “you’re not feeling well?”

She cried out again and began to throw herself up to her feet.

“Woah, woah there,” you said, standing up slowly and holding your hands out, “it’s alright, nobody gonna hurt you.”

She stomped her front foot into the dirt, a cloud of dry dust rising around her. She snarled and huffed, the air from her nose warm and wet. You held up your hands still.

“Shh, shh,” you tried, “it’s alright.”

Your friend held up his hands and reached one out for her, his lips parted and head tilted back uncertainly.

“Hey, just leave her for now. It’ll just-”

In all happened within a second. He inched forward another step and the dino grunted and reared back her head, horns shining under the yellow sun. He dove to the right to escape her path and rolled down over a small hill.

You back up towards the other guy, your feet moving quickly and steadily away from the upset triceratops.

She huffed again and rubbed her foot in the dirt like a bull. She bowed her head and grunted, almost howled, in your direction.

“Go,” you said to the man, “go help him.”

He moved slowly and carefully towards the trainer, lying there clutching his wrist and panting. You held your hands up and breathed slowly, cautiously.

“It’s okay,” you whispered.

She reared up again and charged. You waited as long as you could and then leapt in the other direction, towards the two men limping for the exit. At first it was fine and you scrambled to your feet, unaware of the damage.

As you tried to straighten yourself out, a stabbing pain ran down through your side and across your stomach. You collapsed into the dirt. A drizzle began to fall.

“Shit!” You yelled, “fuck!”

You clutched your side in a frenzy and pulled your hand away, your fingers covered in slick red blood. Your breathing fastened and you glanced back at the dino rearing and roaring.

“Dammit! Dammit, get out!” You yelled, struggling to your feet and holding onto your side, bloody and torn. You limped quickly to them, the new guy reaching out to help you.

“Go, go!” You yelled, grabbing onto his shoulder, your weight falling against him. Black spots danced in your vision, but your tripped along, towards the door.

She began to huff again. She reared and ran towards the both of you, head down, horns at the ready.

“Go!” You screamed.

The man ran and lifted you, nearly tossing you through the door as he tripped and fell down onto the other side of the gate. Your friend hurried to your side as the door dropped from above, slamming against the ground with a shake.

“Y/N!” He yelled as you laid on your back, gnawing on your lower lip to stop the pain.

“I’m fine!” You said, “I’m fine, just call for help. I’m fine. I’m fine.”

The other man grabbed his phone and began speaking, his words rushed and panicked. Your friend pressed his hands against your would, already covered in a fresh layer of blood. More people ran in around you, having heard the screams. You let your head fall back despite your will to stay awake. But you were tired.

So you went to sleep.

When you woke up everything was fine. You were sitting up in a hospital bed, your stomach wrapped up with fresh white gauze. You looked around, mouth dry and lips chapped.

“Y/N?” Owen asked, pulling the curtain around your bed open.

You smiled, “hi, Owen.”

He sighed and hurried to you, his hands grabbed your cheeks and pulling you in for a long, sad kiss.

“I thought you were going to die,” he said.

“I’d never,” you teased, laughing. But he didn’t laugh. His hands dropped form your face.

“It was stupid, what you did. You should’ve waited for more people or even just- just-”

“Owen,” you said, “I did my job. Nobody could’ve-”

“You could’ve gotten hurt so much worse,” he said.

“From the looks of things, I can probably leave soon. What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal?” He shouted, standing up and running his fingers through his hair. He turned back to you, his face red with rage. “The big deal is that you make dumb decisions! You don’t think about me, or the people who love you! You only think about yourself! You could have died! Do you know what that means? You’re so immature and irresponsible and- and-”

Your mouth fell open and your eyes stung. You tried to shake your head, but your neck was sore, and the movement seemed impossible. You watched him. Watched his eyes, watched his face shift an his lips turn down into a frown.

“Owen, what the hell?” You asked, your voice breaking.

“I just-” he tried, sniffing and rubbing his hand across his stubble. He looked down and squeezed his eyes shut. When he looked back up, he was angry again.

“Owen, it was an accident. They happen.”

“You don’t get mauled-” he stopped himself, held his breath. You looked on at him, watched his hands clench into fists.

“Owen-”

He turned away from you and walked out. He left the curtain open. Claire was approaching with a vase of fresh flowers and stood, watching him go. She turned to you, eyebrows crooked and mouth parted. You pressed your lips together and looked up to try and force the tears back down.

But it didn’t work. You cried.

A few days later and you were home sitting on your couch watching Friends but not really paying attention. Your face was sore from crying.

Could he have been right? Should you have waited? Should things have gone differently?

Your side still hurt, but it was stitched up well and you had plenty of medicine to dull it out. What hurt the most was the memory of Owen standing there, so upset, so angry. Medicine couldn’t numb that pain. You knew that fact well.

Your cellphone buzzed but you left it where it was, focusing emptily on the screen in front of you. Your legs were covered in a soft blanket and an empty carton of ice cream was strewn out on the other side of the couch.

The doorknob turned and pulled. Probably claire checking in on you again. She had brought you home the first day. She brought you dinner, then breakfast, then lunch. Then just dinner. She had called and texted you over and over again to see how you were feeling. Asking when you wanted to jump back into work.

You grabbed for a tissue and wiped away some stray tears that had fallen without you realizing. The door closed softly.

“Claire, I’m not hungry. You don’t have to keep taking care of me. I can take care of myself.”

“Like you did last week?” Owen asked, his voice gentle.

You turned to him, the blanket slipping from your legs with the motion. “Owen?”

He looked down and shrugged. “Y/N, I...”

You shrunk in on yourself, tears bubbling up at your eyes.

“I didn’t mean any of that. I didn’t.”

Your lower lip began to quiver and a tear dropped down and skipped along your cheek. You looked up at him, and he looked down at you.

“Y/N,” he said, walking over, “I don’t want to leave you. I don’t-”

You ducked your head, your shoulders bouncing as you cried. He made his way around to you and sat on the couch.

“I’m here now. I won’t leave you again. I was dumb and stupid and cruel and wrong.”

You fell over into his chest crying. He wrapped his arms around either side of you and pulled you close, into his warmth. You could hear his heart racing under his skin. You closed your fingers around his shirt and held onto him, crying in pain because of your wound and because of the hurt in your head from the last few days. He pulled you in closer and leaned backwards, bringing you on top of him.