ALONE TOGETHER I OWEN GRADY

Archaeornithomimus

Archaeornithomimus

"What was with all the phone calls?" Owen asked abruptly as Claire led them across the car park towards the primary containment facility, Cassandra limping behind.

"There are problems with the perimeter fences," Claire snapped over her shoulder, "amongst... other things."

"What other things?" Cassandra said, suddenly suspicious.

"Just... things," Claire said, not quite meeting her sister's eyes, before sashaying ahead, her heels clicking across the gravel.

Cassandra slowed to an almost stop, eyes widening, some unknown fear seizing hold of her. "It's not the boys, is it?" she said, panicking. "Is it!?"

"Of course not!" Claire retorted. "Why would it be the boys!?" She then marched into the building, Owen hesitating, glancing between the door and Cassandra, the latter turning her back on him, deciding Owen there and then.

Shaking his head, he stalked into the building after Claire, leaving Cassandra on her own. She stood there for a long moment, trying to calm herself down, but no avail. She remembered her wry predication about having a nervous breakdown, the words now pathetically prophetic. But a car park was the last place she wanted to lose the last of her dignity in, so she went inside, taking several deep breaths as she did. She'd had no desire to return back to the primary containment facility where Masrani's monster lurked, but it was on the way to the hotel and made no sense for Owen and Claire to make a double journey.

As Cassandra made her way down to the lobby to the viewing room that overlooked the paddock, she slowed to a stop at the sound of raised voices coming from within. Predictably, Owen and Claire were arguing again, making Cassandra roll her eyes for the umpteenth time. Shaking her head, she reached for the door handle, but Owen's next words made her freeze, his concern catching her offguard.

"Maybe you should ease up on your sister, man."

"Maybe you should stop trying to jump into her pants again."

"Oh, so she told you, huh?"

"Of course she did, she tells me everything."

"But you don't tell her everything, right?"

Claire scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"That's just the vibe I'm getting here, honey."

There was a long silence. "I... okay, fine, you got me," Claire then said, voice cracking, sounding like she was trying not to cry, making Cassandra stiffen further, "we have another sister - Karen - she caught me on the hop and gave me both barrels. I've been avoiding taking her calls all day because I was supposed to meet Cass and the children off the boat and I didn't, so Cass tattle-tailed on me to Karen, and here we are, not that you care."

"Try me."

"Yeah, right."

"Well, for starters, what did your sister say on the phone?"

Claire exhaled sharply, before giving in again. "I - I - I tried to brazen it out by pretending Cass and the children were with me, and we were all having a great time, yada-yada, and I was spinning her this whole story that I thought she was swallowing, but it turns out Zach – my nephew - had just told her they weren't with me at all and I had taken Cass off on what was probably a wild goosechase. So Karen went off on one and then she started crying and quoting our mother at me. It's exactly the last thing I need right now on top of everything, what with the fences, the problems with the guests and everything inbetween, and Cass falling into the enclosure and all these bombshells she's been dropping on my head"-