Alpha's Girl ~ Owen Grady

|Thirty Seven|

Owen retrieved his bike from the bungalow and had given a briefing to the the squad of ACU soldiers that will be accompanying him into the dense, dark, wilderness of Isla Neblar. 

Darkness of the night was surrounding us, heightening our senses to every rustle of the trees and amplifying the cries of the hundreds of animals that are hidden in the deep shadows. One of those animals, a blood thirsty Indominus- Rex . 

Here we are, about to unleash four Raptors. Carnivorous Raptors.  Who won't give a second thought to rip the flesh from our bones when the time is right. Who will tear through the undergrowth like fish through a water. Who could kill us all before we even know it.

I do love the girls. But I don't trust them. 

Owen might. When he's high above them on the walkway, bribing them with food, they trust him to give them a snack. But would that loyalty last once they get a taste of raw freedom. How the wind is more unpredictable through the trees; how the smells they could only dream of will now guide them through a brand new, nonrestrictive, world free of cages and commands. 

"See! Totally Safe!" Claire grimaces as she opens the back of the truck, attempting to convince herself more than the frightened teenagers, "All right, get in. Come on," Helping young Grey into the back, I try to stop my nervous hands from shaking as I give the boys a small smile and motion for Solo to lunge in after them. The huge dog sitting proudly beside the terrified boys. As Claire consoles her nephews, I make my way round to the cab and jump into the passenger seat. A few anxious moments later, Claire joins me, taking her place behind the wheel.  I stare down at my boots, noticing a jacket that I had managed to get tangled around my feet as I had climbed in. 

"Who's going to tell her fiancé?" I whisper.

"Who was engaged?" Claire furrows her thin brows at me as she gets a tablet out of the glove compartment and begins to sign into Jurassic system so she could watch what was happening on the expedition to hunt down the Indominus. 

"Zara. She had her wedding in a few months..." I trail off as I bite my lip nervously. Zach and Grey having had explained on the drive over to the enclosure that Zara had been taken by a Pteranodon up into the skies before tragically being caught in the humongous jaw of the Mosasaurus. More terrible news would have to be delivered in the morning. Hopefully, mortality could be reduced, 

"A college of mine was a good friend of hers and was always talking about how excited she was to be her bridesmaid," 

I placed a clammy hand onto my hot neck in hopes of preventing the lump that had formed there from effecting my speech. My voice having raised a small amount in sorrow with my raging emotions. Someone had died. People had died. The number of innocent bystanders, families, hurt would be astronomical. 

"Oh...I didn't know," Claire looked down at her lap solemnly. Pausing her inputs on the tablet in her slightly shaking hands, "She was my assistant, possibly someone I should have taken the time to get to know, and I didn't. I was too selfish with my board meetings and project presentations that I couldn't even take two minuets to ask how she was doing,"

I took a deep breath to build up some courage to place my scraped and filthy hand on Claire's exposed shoulder. Her vest top ripped and barely recognisable as part of the crisp suit she had donned this morning, oblivious to the terror that would accompany today. 

"It's okay," I whisper so quietly I'm surprised she heard me, "I'm sure she knew... how much you appreciated her," I poorly offer. My shy nature troublesome to help console the usually head strong woman sat beside me.