The gyrosphere lay in ruins under the trees. The glass had been shattered in several different areas, and the in-sphere monitor was broken with the video of Jimmy Fallon replaying over and over. Much to Claire's horror, there was no sign of the boys.
Before Owen could bring the Jeep to a stop, she had already flung the door open and jumped out. Owen hurriedly followed her toward the gyrosphere, gripping his rifle tightly. Claire gingerly touched the smashed glass with her trembling fingers before noticing something on the dirt. Oh, God. It's Zach's phone.
She collapsed to her knees and picked up the cracked phone. "No, no, no," she gasped. Her greatest fear had been confirmed. She dropped the phone and clutched her blouse in her hands as she bent down and let the tears rain down onto the dirt.
They were gone. Gone like the Apatasaurus, the ACU men, the two workers. Her nephews were gone and it was because of her.
What kind of aunt leaves her nephews with a stranger? What kind of aunt prioritizes Verizon Wireless investors over her own nephews? What kind of aunt doesn't even know her nephews' damn ages? What kind of aunt has to explain her nephews' deaths to their parents? God, what kind of aunt am I? I'm not even an aunt anymore. What kind of person am I?
Owen sank to the ground beside Claire and pulled her up from the ground. "Claire!" he said, gently shaking her shoulders. He had caught sight of something important that she had completely missed in her panic.
Two sets of footprints led out of the forest from the gyrosphere, and they most probably belonged to her nephews. But Claire couldn't hear his voice, couldn't feel his arms holding her. She felt like she was falling into a never ending pit of desolation where darkness prevailed.
"Claire!" Owen shook her harder. She refused to look at him as she attempted to shove him away.
"Stop!"
Owen placed his hands over her mouth to stop her from screaming in case the Indominus was still nearby. She struggled against his strong grip, her cries muffled. I'm not even human... I'm not even human...
"They're alive!" Owen half-shouted, his tone more aggressive than he meant it to sound. But he needed to calm her down before she ended up hurting herself or drawing unwanted attention.
As if someone had hauled her out of that unending pit, Claire's eyes snapped open and she ceased to fight.
"They're alive?" she gasped, her mind almost unable to process what he said. Owen's tensed muscles instantly relaxed when she lay limp in his arms.
"They made it out," he explained. He gestured to the footprints. Claire followed his gaze and sighed in immense relief, unable to hold back more tears.
Oh, my God. My nephews are still alive! I'm still an aunt. I'm still their aunt. She sobbed silently and buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she heaved great gasps. They're alive!
Owen kept his arms around her waist and let her sob into his chest. His heart ached to see her like this.
Claire wiped her eyes and could feel her cheeks burning. She didn't meet Owen's gaze out of shame. God, all I do in front of him is cry. No wonder I've been able to stay single all my life!
She lifted her face from his chest and, not knowing what else to do, whispered remorsefully, "I'm sorry, Owen."
He was appalled. Why is she apologizing to me?
"For what?"
Claire shuddered for a moment, trying to compose herself. "For putting you through all this. For making you come with me." She didn't even recognize herself anymore.
Owen stared at her. "Claire, you didn't make me do anything. I chose to come here."
"I did it for you."
Claire gazed into his eyes, ignoring the blush that was spreading rapidly on her cheeks. Nobody had ever talked to her in this way, touched her in this way. Owen leaned closer to her and traced her jawline slowly with his thumb. The butterflies in her stomach were torturing her as they fluttered wildly. Claire tried to calm her ragged breathing. Oh, my God. What is he doing to me? What are we doing? What if the Indominus is here?
Claire's worries were temporarily stalled as Owen bent down to her with his endearing smile and the soft twinkle in his eyes. The butterflies within her darted in an upbeat frenzy, their wings beating to the rhythm of Claire's thundering heart. And when Owen brought his lips tenderly onto hers, the butterflies took flight, touching her very soul as they glided away.
Owen felt her smile against the kiss and he shut his eyes to focus his senses only on the taste of her lips. He pulled away after a moment to find Claire breathing heavily, her hands still tightly clutching his vest and her eyes still closed.
He brushed a loose strand of her hair from her damp forehead and she snapped her eyes open. Claire blushed and ran her hands over the edges of his vest self consciously. They stared at each other, both of them unsure of what to say, until she blurted, "That was... new."
Owen laughed and agreed heartily. "You see, I told you I know exactly how to satisfy women."
"I never said I was satisfied. And was this your surprise?" Claire asked coyly. Because if it was, then maybe surprises are a lot better than I thought.
"I guess so. A surprise for both of us." Owen shrugged. Claire smiled and sighed. How the hell did we get here?
"We should find my nephews now. Before anything happens," Claire said. She climbed to her feet. Owen nodded as a cheeky smile appeared on his face.
"Before anything happens to the boys... or before anything else happens between us that would somehow delay us on our journey?" he asked innocently. Claire rolled her eyes and slapped his chest.
"Idiot."
Owen raised his hands in surrender. "Just asking because you know I can make anything happen." He winked at her flirtatiously and marched off, carefully following the footprints. Claire gasped and was too stunned to move for a second.
"C'mon, Dearing! Hurry!" Owen's call startled her for a second.
"Shut up!" She raced after him and out of the forest. There, a waterfall awaited them. Owen was furrowing his brow in concentration. The tracks had stopped right in front of the waterfall.
"The tracks are gone," he said gravely. Claire's eyes widened when she pieced everything together.
"Dear God, they jumped," she breathed. "They jumped to avoid the Indominus." Her heart pounded. Did they drown? Did they make it out alive? Where are they now? Owen turned to see the familiar panic rising in her eyes. He placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.
"The water isn't that deep. I'm sure they were able to swim to shore. We just need to get down there and see if we can find their tracks again." He explained calmly. Claire nodded. But there was an obvious problem.
How are we going to get down there? I am not jumping off this thing. And there's no other way," Claire said. She scanned their surroundings. Owen looked around helplessly. He tried to think of a way down, also not wishing to go down the waterfall. There's got to be another way. There's just got to be one.
He refused to give up, especially when he was doing this for her. Not for himself. That's when an idea popped into his head like a gopher springing up from its burrow.
"What if you call in a chopper? I bet Lowery doesn't have much else to do anyway back in the control room. And we don't really have any other way," he suggested.
Immediately, Claire's face brightened into a smile and she nodded. Maybe it wasn't the best plan, but it was a plan, and that was better than nothing. Owen grinned, too, not because of his idea but because it made her smile. Claire reached for her earpiece.
Thump.
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