Chapter 1

(Amelia)

The clacking of my heels as I walked between the rows of cages alerted my babies to my arrival. They hissed and honked, alerting the other that I was here. I smiled as my savage little babies pressed themselves to the bars of the cages. Before I entered my office, I blew them kisses. I sat at my desk and quickly tapped the button to give my babies a little snack. They would appreciate some prime rib. I was good to my babies. Nothing but the best for them.

Alarms sounded as fresh meat was dropped into their feeding troughs. The noisy sounds my babies made while eating filled my heart with joy as I reviewed the demonstration with Mathis's men. My babies did so well. But the equipment needed to be fine-tuned.

There was a 15-second nerve gap. Imagine waiting fifteen seconds to snap your fingers. We needed to fix that. My babies needed their extra limbs to respond as fast as their beautiful minds needed them to. I wasn't unreasonable. I realize cybernetics was still a growing technological field and there was plenty of fine-tuning left to be done. That was no excuse not to better. I never stopped doing better. This next batch of babies would be the best yet. Their Genomes would be 90% pure and with the splices I was giving them, they would have twice as many natural defenses. By the time their Genomes were pure, they'd be the ultimate predators. Even more so than when they used to rule the world.

I remember some time ago when I sat in the audience of Dr. Alan Grant. I'll never forget what he said. "Were it not for the cataclysmic events which overtook them, Raptors, rather than humans, would have become the dominant species on this planet." His words that day sparked something in me. Since then, I have feverishly been working to restore the rightful rulers to their world.

But they would need more to survive than their fangs and claws. That's where I came in. I'd give them all they'd need to take back their world and rule it as they were meant to. I was distracted from my thoughts when my desk phone started ringing. Annoyed, I answered it. "Amelia Kirk speaking."

"I'm sorry to bother you mam, but we have a situation." I recognized the voice as one of the MPs in the control room.

"What kind of situation?" I asked him.

"The hostile kind, mam. The docks are under attack. They're jamming our communications. I need you to get to the emergency bunker with the others. All security forces are en route to secure the facility."

Damn it! "On my way," I told him before hanging up the phone. I grabbed my tablet and ran out the door. Damn it, this was not good. Who were these people? This facility was known only to a select few. If they were attacking the docks, then they must have come with a full arsenal.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

West Dock/Isla Matanceros

(Island Security)

"Hold the Line!"

Gunfire rang in my ears. My body moving on instinct and years of finely tuned reactions. I broke cover, fired, and took cover again. This was supposed to be a simple assignment. I was already on the last stretch of my tour. A month from now, I was supposed to be going home. Getting back to my old lady and saying hi to our kid. She just turned one. An explosion sent me sprawling. Cursing, I flipped over and crawled behind a new position. Nate, a good kid who had just arrived on the last boat, helped me to cover.

"You alright sarge?"

I gave him a thumb up, still winded from the RPG that nearly cooked me. He gave me a thumbs up and broke cover, laying down a stream of suppressing fire. I had just gotten to my knees to help him when his skull exploded in a spray of blood and gore. His body slumped to the ground. His face and most of his upper skull gone. Soon after I heard the thunderous roar of a 50 cal. as the crates I was hiding behind were ripped to kindling.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" I repeated as I scrambled away, desperately looking for some cover. Around me, I could see the bodies of my friends and brothers in arms. Their bodies littered the ground. I felt a stabbing pain in my right shoulder as a bullet tore through it, followed by another that tore my knee apart. I crumpled to the ground, trying to lift my gun to get off at least one more round. But it was too late. The last things I saw in this life were the long black iron of a rifle barrel and the face of my baby back home. Her smiling face and hazel eyes were the last things in my mind before the bullet tore through my skull and I lost the ability to feel anything.

Main Corridor/ Isla Matanceros

(Amelia)

I was being escorted by three men to the Emergency bunker when gunfire sounded up ahead, baring our way. The men were forceful as they turned me and urged me the other way. I was grateful for their protection and tried to move as fast as I could. I had already chucked my heels, so I wouldn't slow them down.

It was all in vain as in the next instant; I felt a sharp pain in my stomach as the sound of gunfire echoed in the surrounding hall. The other men fell, clutching at their wounds, trying to fire on their enemy even as they fell. One brave soldier threw himself atop me to shield me from the worst of the gunfire.

His attempt to save me was in vain. I was shot and rapidly bleeding out. I turned on my tablet and quickly released the locking mechanisms on all the cages. My babies would avenge me. They'd rip these bastards apart. I turned to look at the man who had tried to save me. His face looked youthful. He was handsome. He looked like someone who should have been playing soccer or baseball, not dying here. For the first time in my life, I actually felt retched that I didn't know his name. As my vision blurred and my body grew cold, I planted a kiss of gratitude on his cheek for trying to save me. If reincarnation was real, maybe I'd have the chance to make it up to him in the next life. If it wasn't real, then I hope he would get to see the pearly gates.