Return to the Mountain
By 18lzytwner
He had tried to convince them he should go alone. Claire wouldn't hear of it which in turn meant Maisie wanted to go too. They technically had two vehicles, Claire's car and the SUV they'd "borrowed" from Lockwood Manor. However with no title, they could not register the SUV as their own and they were halfway to Claire's before Owen realized the registration had lapsed the year prior. It was dangerous to use because if they got pulled over, the registration would come back to a dead man and be expired. They didn't really have a choice though as Owen's personal items wouldn't fit in the trunk of Claire's car. It was agreed that once they'd retrieved most of Owen's items, they'd dump the SUV in an empty parking lot, wipe it down to remove fingerprints, and scratch off the registration and monthly inspection stickers.
So, now as they made the drive to his trailer, they sat mostly in silence. It had only been a week since their escape from Lockwood Manor and there were reports of dinosaur sightings everywhere. Just the previous day, the news had shown someone using their cell phone to take a video of a flock of Pteranodons in Las Vegas. The report suggested that the video wasn't the first sighting of them as the Las Vegas Police had had their hands full trying to answer calls that they really weren't capable of handling.
Some dinosaurs had been captured by the National Guard, who had quickly been dispatched when Brachiosaurus wandered onto the highway. All of the captured dinosaurs were currently on lockdown at some military base but details were sketchy at best. Claire's connections through the Dinosaur Protection Group had alerted her to the situation but right now it was safer for everyone to have the animals no longer in the wild, the animals included. Zia had been trying to see if she could get into the facility and check on the dinosaurs' well-being but that was proving to be an uphill battle. Claire's next biggest concern was that the predators would be shot on sight and that included the T-Rex who had helped taken down the Indominus rex and of course, Blue.
The Velociraptor was the last of her kind and despite leaving them at the Manor; Claire knew that Owen was concerned for her. The T-Rex had busted through the fence at the nearby zoo shortly after her escape and challenged the senior male lion to a roaring match which she handily won. What had intrigued the zookeepers was that they basically only had a screaming match. Perhaps it was because the three female lions, which also lived in the enclosure, joined the male lion in defense of their territory. Perhaps it was because they had never met before and it was just a curiosity to each other. They challenged each other and that seemed to satisfy the dinosaur. More like she was full from eating those humans at the Manor, Claire thought inwardly, when she'd gotten a phone call from Zia. At any rate, the mountainous terrain of the lion habitat made the T-Rex leave and head in a different direction. The Army had been called in to chase the large predator and daily news reports were coming in on tracking the prehistoric animal's trail.
Owen had voiced his opinion that doing those reports were making the fear worse and that he worried that it seemed to be taking a long time to capture the dinosaur. It was a large animal that didn't have the ability to be stealthy like Blue could. Maisie had challenged him, however, that normal people had every right to be afraid and that maybe the Army was trying not to get eaten. They all knew what she meant by that. They had all spent time with the animals and while that guaranteed them no safety, they were better equipped to handle them than the average citizen or soldier, who would be afraid and probably react out of that fear.
"We're about an hour and a half out. Anyone need to use the rest stop? Last one before we get to my place," Owen announced, breaking all thoughts of other things.
"Too much coffee, pull over," Claire said.
"Well you did have three cups before we left," he pointed out as he took the exit off the road and pulled into a parking space.
"Too much juice!" Maisie practically leapt out of the vehicle and headed for the ladies room.
"You think she would have told us to stop if I hadn't mentioned it?" Owen asked, concerned.
"Tell you after I avoid wetting myself," Claire said, getting out of the SUV as quickly as she could with her still healing leg, heading after Maisie. Owen shrugged and got out of the vehicle himself, mostly to just stretch his legs. Maisie had been vocal on the trip down to Claire's about needing things but perhaps that had been because she felt she needed to clue them in. Despite only being a little family type unit for a week, they had all settled into a familiarity with each other. Of course, they'd also been pretty cooped up in the apartment too so they kind of had no choice. The only trips out they had made was for food and clothes. Owen was using this trip to grab as much of his stuff as he could seeing as they had no idea if staying up in his trailer was safe. The city offered more human comforts and a better chance of avoiding large dinosaurs. Out at the unfinished cabin, none of those things existed.
"Ready to go kiddo?" Owen asked as Maisie made her way out of the rest stop building.
"I think so," she smiled.
"You know if you needed to use the bathroom sooner, we could have stopped," he said.
"I was fine until you said something, to be honest," the young girl admitted.
"That's usually Claire's problem," he teased and they both laughed.
"What's so funny?" The redhead asked as she approached them. Her limp was almost gone and the wound was almost sealed shut, the medical glue had done its job.
"You," Owen teased and Claire feigned hurt.
"I see how it is," she said as they all climbed back into the SUV. They all laughed a little before once again settling into silence. The rest of the trip was spent with Maisie enjoying the scenery and Claire holding onto Owen's unoccupied right hand. He could tell she was nervous about being out in the wild and he didn't exactly blame her for it. Before the worst things he might run into out at the trailer were mountain lions or bears, now whatever was out there was larger and had more teeth.
"I know it isn't much but here it is," Owen announced as they pulled up in front of the cabin. He stopped the vehicle and killed the engine. The Navy veteran turned to both women and said,
"Stay here and let me check out the area first. If there is even a hint that something large and in charge has been here, I'll buy new everything, ok?" Claire didn't like this plan but she agreed, mostly because she wasn't about to have Maisie traumatized twice inside of a week. Maisie just nodded so Owen opened the car door and quietly shut the door. The sounds of the forest quickly reached his ears.
Owen went to one of the compartments that were built inside the trailer, fished his keys out of his pocket, and opened the panel. Inside he had a hunting rifle and handgun that he'd kept with him in case of the bears and mountain lions he'd been thinking about earlier. The weapons pulled out of the compartment, he grabbed the only remaining item inside, which was his duffel full of ammunition, weapon cleaning equipment, and other hunting and camping gear. Claire pressed the unlock button on her door panel and Owen popped the trunk before dropping the duffel inside and quietly closing the hatch. The handgun then went to the back of his waistband and the rifle was on his shoulder.
Slinging the rifle out in front of him, he quickly scoped the rest of the site. There had been animals through but they were not dinosaurs. He easily identified rabbits, squirrels, a fox, and mountain lion tracks but they were all heading from the trailer to the other side of the clearing away from where the cabin was being built. Satisfied that the grounds were safe, he went for the keys and unlocked the trailer. The exterior had shown no damage but he wanted to make a quick sweep in case some rodents had decided to get curious. Finding nothing, he returned to the doorway and quickly motioned for the two to leave the vehicle and head inside the trailer.
"Everything looks pretty good. Let's grab the essentials and get out of here," he said, setting the rifle down on the kitchen counter.
"I wish we could take the trailer with us," Claire frowned.
"If we had somewhere to park it, we would. Besides somebody has to keep my house company," he chuckled at his own joke. They quickly went to the bedroom where Owen grabbed up some duffel bags and he told Maisie to help Claire with his clothes while he grabbed personal items from around the rest of the trailer. He didn't have much considering that most of his personal belongings had been left on the island in his home. When they evacuated after the death of the Indominus rex, he was only allowed one duffel bag.
"How's it going in there?" Owen asked, poking his head into the bedroom, after about thirty minutes.
"Well not all of it fits into duffels but we made piles to take out to the SUV," Claire said.
"I think I've grabbed everything that I feel can't be replaced. Let me make sure it's still clear out there and we'll start making trips to the trunk," he told them. Quickly, he went to the door and peeked out through the window. He saw nothing and the forest seemed calm. Slowly, he opened the door and stepped out. Then he made for the trunk and popped it open.
"Ok, let's get a move on," Owen told them. The three moved as quickly as they could. Just as the last pile of clothes was being loaded into the trunk of the SUV, the forest suddenly went silent. The ceasing of the birds and insects made Owen's stomach drop through his feet. However, they heard no stomping and did not feel the ground move. Quickly, he wondered what was safer – the SUV or the trailer. He didn't have a lot of time to think as Claire grabbed Maisie and pulled her inside the trailer. Owen backed inside, the rifle, still on the kitchen counter, was in his hands after locking the door.
What is it? Claire mouthed. He just shrugged and made for a curtained window. Slowly, he pulled back the curtain but he saw nothing. Frowning, he was about to move from the window when a face appeared the window causing his heart to almost leap into his mouth.
It was Blue. Not wanting to lose eye contact with the dinosaur, he stared her down and wondered how the girls had remained quiet behind him. The Velociraptor screeched at him and that's when he knew that she was confused, which made for a dangerous animal. Blue took off for the side of the trailer and Owen rushed to the door, setting the rifle down on the counter. If she saw him with that, he'd be dead before anything could be done about it.
"Blue!" He called to the dinosaur as he stood in the doorway. She screeched again but stopped trying to figure a way inside the trailer. Slowly, carefully, Owen opened the door, one hand outstretched like so many times before. Blue looked at him, and the recognition was there.
"I'm glad you're safe," he said. She looked him, as if to say "why wouldn't I be?". Owen smirked before carefully reaching out. Blue let him place his hand on the side of her face. It seemed like she leaned into his touch.
"I've missed you too," there he said it. Blue growled a little, her way of saying the same.
"How are we going to protect you?" Owen didn't know what to do. While Blue had been trained in a controlled environment, the forest was not such an environment. She seemed to sense his concern and cocked her head to the side.
"I'm playing daddy to a dinosaur," he chuckled. There was movement behind him and before Owen could do anything Blue had gone around him to see who was there. That's when he heard Claire shout,
"Maisie!" The girl must have slipped out of the redhead's grasp. No way would Claire let her outside with a Velociraptor out there. Owen whirled around. He expected to see something horrible but instead Blue was sniffing her. The young girl stood stock still, barely breathing, at the bottom of the stairs that exited the trailer. That's when Owen realized she probably smelled like him. She'd been handling his clothes out of his closet.
"Blue…" the alpha was attempting to rein his beta back in. The dinosaur didn't listen to him, instead she narrowed her eyes at the little girl and Maisie held firm. Not many stared her down and lived to tell the tale.
"Blue…" Maisie started. There was a look of recognition or at least that's what the young girl thought. She'd watched all of Owen's videos of training the Velociraptors, while that hardly made her an expert, it was worth the risk. Blue chirped. Owen smirked. That was a good sign.
"Claire, we're all good out here," he said in a nice even tone.
"Should I come out?" she asked. Owen whistled and Blue returned to his side.
"All clear," he said. Claire cautiously stepped outside and looked at Owen and Blue. Another chirp from the dinosaur.
"It would seem that you two have replaced her siblings," Owen said.
"Well we're going to have a serious talk on the way back into the city," the redhead looked at Maisie, whose cheeks were turning red. Owen heaved a sigh. They did need to return to the city. Maisie needed to go to school and the wilderness was not safe unless they kept Blue nearby. He couldn't ask that of her. She needed a chance to be free.
"You guys go. I have to stay here. For Blue," he said.
"We're not leaving you here," Claire argued.
"I can't leave her here and have some overzealous army guy shoot her. I let her go once but I have a chance to change that now," Owen told her. He wasn't wrong. They worked so hard to save her; to have her get hurt now would just be terrible.
"Look, let me call Franklin and Zia and see how their progress on Maisie's paperwork is going. She isn't going to school this year but we need to be ready for the fall. That buys us some time," Claire said.
"Time for what? We only have a couple of months until she has to go to school. The world is freaking out right now and solving the issues in front of us right now is going to probably take longer than that," he pointed out.
"You let me worry about that. Why don't you worry about what we're going to do for food while we're out here," the redhead gave him a look and pulled her phone from her pocket before quickly punching in the phone number she needed. Heading back inside the trailer, she was already talking to someone.
"Thinks she can boss me around? You see that?" Owen asked Blue. The Velociraptor gave him a look and it just made him chuckle.
"Now young lady, you and I need to discuss your little stunt," Owen now turned his focus to Maisie. The young girl looked ashamed and Blue chirped seeming to sense that someone was in trouble. She caught a whiff of something and left the group for a minute or two.
"You never try to do that again. If Blue wasn't as trained as she is, she might have attacked and just because she is trained, doesn't mean she wouldn't attack. Luckily, she could smell me on you and that made her pause. Leave the raptor wrangling to me ok?" Owen gave her a stern look.
"I'm sorry. I…" there might have been something she else she wanted to say but she stopped when she heard a growl.
"Owen…" her voice was small. It wasn't Blue's growl and he slowly turned his head. Coming out of the woods was a mountain lion. It looked like it was angry. Before anyone made a move it charged at them. That's when Blue intercepted it, her teeth sinking into its midsection. Owen rushed Maisie back inside the trailer as mountain lion tried to fight back.
"What's going on?" Claire asked, off the phone by now but she seemed to be poised to make a second call.
"Blue is fighting a mountain lion. You know, the usual stuff," Owen said, keeping his focus outside the trailer.
"The sooner we get this figured out the better," Claire swallowed. The fight was over almost as soon as it had begun. Owen told them to stay inside before he carefully ventured out.
One year later….
"It is my privilege to announce that the opening of the dinosaur preserve will take place tomorrow morning. I want to thank you all for your dedication and for your hard work. Most of all, I want to thank Maisie for her generosity," Claire announced to the people of the Dinosaur Protection Group, and the employees of preserve who gathered inside the new building. The crowd cheered and Claire continued,
"Now everyone please enjoy the party." The music came back on and food was laid out in a buffet style setup. The redhead wound her way through the crowd until she reached Owen and Maisie. It had been a long year but finally things were set for everyone to begin anew.
Zia and Franklin managed to get Maisie's paperwork in order and then Claire and Owen petitioned for legal guardianship of the young girl. While they worked on that, the legal experts at the Dinosaur Protection Group petitioned the state to turn over the entire Lockwood Estate to Maisie. Since she was the only living relative of the Lockwood family, the state sent investigators to search for a will. The house had been trashed by the Indoraptor and the weather had gotten inside from the broken glass skylights. Despite this, the investigators found nothing. They searched for bank safety deposit boxes but found nothing in them noted as a will. It was odd to not find anything but both Claire and Owen wondered if Eli Mills had swiped it in an attempt to prove Maisie an illegitimate heir. However, the law firm that represented Benjamin Lockwood stepped forward and said they had a will in their possession. They had wanted to make sure they were not breaking the attorney/client privilege before they came forward. Luckily, the senior Lockwood had made sure to change his will once the cloning worked.
The last hurdle was the birth of Maisie after her parents had been killed much before she was actually "born". Lockwood had filed documents with the lawyers stating that Maisie was the result of in vitro fertilization and a sperm bank donor. Conveniently, the nanny, Iris, was the surrogate. Claire and Owen heaved a big sigh of relief and the state relinquished the property to Maisie.
The large manor was demolished and in its place was the welcome center they stood in now. Claire had successfully petitioned Senator Sherwood so that the estate could be turned into the dinosaur sanctuary where all the captured dinosaurs could be relocated. The greasing of the government wheels allowed plans to go through much quicker and it meant getting the captured dinosaurs off of the military base where they'd been caged. With construction beginning as quickly as possible, the work was done in three shifts, six days a week. The entire property was fenced in, so no animal could escape and the predators were separated from prey animals and a large aviary was built for all captured flying dinosaurs. The welcome center was a chance for people to come and learn about the dinosaurs and get tours through the prey enclosure and the aviary. It would also be what kept the preserve in the black, financially.
"So are you ready for tomorrow?" Claire asked Maisie. The redhead absentmindedly put a hand on her stomach and Owen saw her do it.
"I'm very excited. I'm glad that we finally were able to give Blue a home," she said.
"Trust me, she likes it. I visited her up there this morning," Owen smiled. Since the mountain lion incident back at the trailer, Owen had stayed out there with the Velociraptor until it was time to move her to her new home. Needless to say, he thought she'd hate him once she got tranquilized and loaded into a cage but once she woke up in her new habitat, she seemed happy and he'd be seeing her everyday so she would not get lonely.
"We're almost done moving into our new place too. It's been a busy year," Claire smiled. They had bought a house in the town where they'd passed through after escaping the Manor that night over a year ago.
"Yes it has," Owen gave her a look and she pretended to ignore it.
"Maisie!" A set of familiar voices called out and the young girl ran over to her friends who had come to celebrate as well. She'd been going to the local school and had made friends with their neighbors' kids.
"Now that we're alone, how are you feeling?" He asked.
"Nervous. I mean technically I guess this is like what we were doing before except now it's here on the mainland," Claire admitted.
"That's not what I meant. We all know that you're going to crush it here. I'm thinking more like you've put your hand on your stomach like five times today," Owen pointed out.
"I…." Claire gave up trying to hide it.
"I'm pregnant," she blurted out. Owen's eyes grew large.
"Really?" He asked.
"Well I have an appointment at the doctors in two days so I guess we'll find out," suddenly instead of being brave and confident Claire, she seemed to be the opposite. Taking her in his arms, he whispered to her,
"I love you and that is not going to change. You're a great mom to Maisie and you'll be a great mom to whomever we happen to be having."
"I love you too," she said, feeling him kiss the top of her head.
THE END