Hide (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom)

Chapter 6

I wake up before my eyes open. I'm aware of the bugs chirping around me, of the hard ground below me. Slowly I force my eyes to open.

What the hell happened?

I look around at the foliage above me. I try to sit up, but I find that I can't move. My arms, my legs, everything refuses to move. Panic surges through me as I try to at least turn my head. Slowly, my neck starts to work, and I turn my head to the right. I see Owen lying next to me, unconscious, and everything comes back to me.

Oh, that son of a bitch is going to get it.

I put every ounce of concentration into moving something.

My eyes widen as my fingers start to twitch, then my toes. Slowly my hands and wrists start to move, and my elbows, and eventually my ankles. It takes about five minutes for me to gain basic movement back in my joints.

I groan loudly as I push myself into a sitting position. I take deep breaths as I figure out the range of motion in my legs, one at a time. My right leg has regained most of its movement. My left leg, not so much.

Good enough.

Slowly I manage to push myself to stand, exclaiming in victory as I do. I start kicking the ground with my left leg, slapping it a few times until it, too, has a full range of motion. I stretch and rotate each of my joints until I feel confident in my ability to move.

I take a step towards Owen and feel something crunch beneath my foot. I look down to see one of the little glass darts has shattered under my step. I kick it away, muttering to myself.

"Ah, fucker."

I gently nudge Owen with my foot, but he doesn't respond. I nudge him again, harder.

"Owen. Owen, come on. Wake up."

I kneel down and start shaking him.

"Babe, wake up. Waaake up, c'mon."

He remains unconscious, much to my dismay.

The sound of faint thumping catches my attention, but I don't see a dinosaur when I look up. Instead, I see smoke rising from the foliage about forty feet away, as bright orange lava starts inching towards us. My eyes widen as I start to panic. I shake Owen even harder.

"Okay, seriously, you need to wake up now. Like, now."

I grab his arm and start trying to drag him away, making it a few feet before my foot slips on a pile of leaves and I fall on my ass. I swear to myself as I get up again.

I grab his arm again, but I'm distracted by the thumping again, this time much closer. My head turns towards the noise, and my heart skips a beat as a triceratops emerges from the forest and looks right at us. I freeze. For some reason she takes this as an invitation and approaches us. Her footsteps are loud, and I stare at her in shock. I've never seen one this close before.

I drop Owen's arm and take a few steps back, not sure how to act around one of these. A part of me wants to touch her, to pet her, but another part of me remembers that lava is approaching and Owen is still unconscious.

The triceratops suddenly steps over Owen and stands there, and I can't do anything.

"No, no, hey!" I whisper-shout for some reason, I guess afraid that if I speak loudly she'll get spooked.

"Go away, come on!" I try to brush her away but she ignores me. All I can do is watch in disgusted amusement as she stares down at Owen and opens her mouth, brushing her slimy tongue over his face.

My eyes widen when I realize he's making noise. Her tongue pushes his head to the side and his wide eyes meet mine. Before I can say anything she roars and rears up on her hind legs, and for a split, panicked second I think she's going to crush him. But instead she just lands on the ground and walks away, pushing Owen over onto his stomach.

I panic again as I notice how close the lava is.

I rush back to Owen and flip him back over, meeting his eyes.

"I know you just woke up but I really need you to move." I watch his limbs as his fingers twitch. That's it. That's all he can do.

"Shit," I mutter to myself, and I grab his arm again, digging my heels into the ground. I pull, trying my best to get him away from the lava.

"Come on!" I shout, pulling him as hard as I can. It suddenly gets easier to pull him, and I notice him pushing himself with his legs. Yes, come on, now move the rest of your body.

I almost drop him again when my legs collide with something behind me. I glance down and see a log right in our way.

"Fuck!"

I take a deep breath. I see Owen trying his best to move his arms and stand, but it's not good enough. The lava is only inches away now. I grit my teeth and put all my strength into lifting him from under his arms, and miraculously it works. I manage to step over the log and drag him with me.

We both drop to the ground as I slide again, but I allow myself to take a moment to breathe, knowing the log will offer us a few more seconds. I push myself up again, about to drag Owen again, but I watch in relief as he unsteadily pushes himself up, using the log for help. He groans as he finally stands, facing the lava.

I sigh in relief, now knowing I don't have to drag him down the mountain. He turns to face me, and I can see the same panic and anger in his eyes that were in mine a few minutes ago. He takes a step towards me.

"Can you run?" I ask him, and he nods. I nod back.

"Then run."