Disclaimer- I only own Javelin. Jurassic Park is not owned by me.
Chapter 1: Nightmares
He wanted to wake up, but it felt like he couldn't. The same three images kept playing over and over in the darkness. Guilt forced him to watch, as if he had a choice.
The first image saw his squadmate, Candle drop to the ground after taking a sniper round to the head. The scene pulled back and he could see the sniper about two seconds before he fired. Why did you not call him out until it was too late?
The second had his leader, Oscar, being blown to nothingness from a rocket launcher. As with the first, it reversed to where he could clearly see the soldier raise the heavy weapon. You saw him and could've told me to take cover before it was too late. Why didn't you?
The third and final one was the worst. He could see Drake, his closest brother, shooting valiantly into the mists, despite having took multiple rounds to the chest. When he turned his head to yell "Go! Run!", a shot forced him to drop to his back foot. A round found its mark when Drake returned his gaze to the approaching enemies. He fell onto his back and breathed his last. You never returned for my body. Why?
All three of his brothers, his squad, his family, rose from their dead formations and stared at him. Candle with a cracked hole in his helmet's forehead, Oscar in pieces, and Drake with all the rounds on his chest and the killing shot between and under his eyes spoke in unison. Why did you fail us?
Javelin finally woke from his nightmares with tears in his eyes. He wept for his brothers, telling himself what they said was true. He was a failure that failed his family in protecting them. The only one he protected was himself, and now he was paying the price for it.
Survivor's guilt, they called it. One person is the only survivor out of everybody that was close. The mind saying for that event, I should have died if the others could have lived. His mind was saying that now, when it was shattered and mending itself after roaming the subconscious.
Javelin climbed out of his bed and walked to his dwelling's bathroom. He scrubbed his face with water before looking at the mirror. He wondered why there was nothing before his healing mind remembered the light was off. The man reached over and flipped the switch.
Bg mistake. He was blinded by the sudden recession of darkness and pressed on his eyes. After his vision cleared, Javelin looked at his reflection. Short, black and brown hair waved over towards his ears, a few strands curling against his forehead. His chestnut eyes screamed of fear and need for comfort. His clean-shaven face began to relax after multiple deep breaths.
Need something to calm me down, he thought to himself. He reached over for a pill bottle and brought up to his eyes. He squinted to identify the contents before anger flooded his mind for several seconds. The bottle was dropped into the trash can. Those things don't work anymore.
He turned on his main room's lights before turning the bathroom's off. He sat down onto the couch facing the large window that revealed only a cloudy night. After pressing on his sinuses to relieve the pressure building up inside him, Javelin directed his attention to the wall clock.
3:00 A.M.. Ugh. Can't go back to sleep, too early for work. What to do, what to do? He got up and walked to the fridge. The only thing that appealed to him this early were the grapes. Taking a handful of the plump fruit, he closed the door and moved back to the main room. Chewing his favorite foods always helped him calm down.
Except for now. He allowed his mind to wander and it fell back to the nightmares. Those same three images have been drifting for a year now, taunting him. A flow of anger caused his hand to squeeze, but a wave of sadness quickly replaced it, the single remaining grape dropping to the floor.
That's it! Time to see the raptors, he ordered himself. After picking up the grape and expertly tossing it in a trash can, he went back to the bathroom and took a shower. He dressed in his Asset Containment Unit uniform and picked up his rifle. After getting some meat patties and turning off the lights, he moved outside to his jeep. Javelin got in, started the vehicle and set off to the raptor paddock.
The drive was long and uneventful, although the clouds did let up and show the stars. As Javelin pulled up to the compound, he saw the night shift guards that stood off next to the gate. He shut off the engine and climbed out, remembering to grab his weapon.
"Morning, Ramirez, Anders," Javelin greeted the two bored men. As he approached them, he could see nothing had happened this night.
"Morning, sir? It's 4:15," Anders stated, checking his watch while trying to stay awake.
"It's still in the first ten hours of a day, so technically it's morning," Ramirez replied with a bit of humor in his voice. His friend groaned in response. He looked over at his CO. "Sir, you slept in? That's a surprise." Javelin shot him a look that told the man that subject was the line. "Sorry, sir."
Javelin relaxed his face. "Pack's asleep?"
"They aren't making any noise, sir," Anders responded.
"Hmm. You two are relieved. Go get some rest."
"Thank you, sir," The night security said in unison. Ramirez stayed behind to ask, "You sure, sir? I can stay until 6:00."
"No, it's fine. Go get some rest."
The man nodded in acknowledgement and walked off to join his buddy. Javelin waited until they left before leaning his rifle down against the wall. He went over to the jeep and took out the patties. After putting them in the office freezer, he strolled to his position in front of the gate.
Javelin turned his head to look at the chutes before squatting down to reach the dirt. He extended his right arm and held it still as his hand pressed against the ground. Closing his eyes and turning his head again, he could see the rhymic forms of the sleeping raptors. After a scan of the area and the nearby jungle, he stood up and opened his eyes. I love my job.
Started to write this after watching Jurassic World. I almost cried when the squad turned, the feeling of betrayal just flew through me. I currently have this on hiatus, but I needed to convey what Javelin's nightmares were.