Prologue
A/N: Ok, so, if you are reading this right now I want you to know that this chapter has been reuploaded. I realized that I had uploaded it way too fast and needed to go back over it. With the gracious help of Fanfiction user Pudong who has helped me rewrite this chapter I hope you enjoy our combined effort. Go send them some love as well they have a great fic posted. A very good author. Now I reiterate for those of you out there that are much like myself. This story will delve into things that if thought about would ruin the joy of the story. I hope that you can suspend your disbelief long enough to enjoy the story along with me. I hope to bring this idea within my mind to life in such a way that you all will find something to love about it. So, without further ado, I bring you New Life's Prolouge
"Blue,"
His voice was soft, almost pleading, as he gazed at his beta in the eye. She hesitated for a moment, but as she glanced to her side and noticed the cage, she shook her head ever so slightly.
It was as if she was speaking out loud, 'No, Alpha, not this time...goodbye'.
She turned and slipped away into the underbrush, nowhere to be seen in the darkness of the forest. His face was one of stone, but his emotions underneath were nothing but a torrent of sadness and pain. Surrounded by his grief, Owen could hardly notice Maisie running up to him and throwing her arms around his middle holding him tight, and nor did he pay any heed to the sympathetic Clair stepping by his side.
Zia and Franklin stood shoulder to shoulder atop the steps to the mansion, still trying to make sense of what had just happened. The five of them stood as rigidly as statues and stared into the distance, almost praying for the dinosaurs return. When it had become extremely clear that would not happen, Owen cleared his throat, and with a heavy heart, swept those emotions away.
He needed to be strong right now. He stepped away from Maisie and Clair turning to address them all.
"It's not safe here anymore. We need to find a way out before InGen storms this place," he looked skyward, almost expecting heavily armed soldiers to drop out of the smoky black sky. Taking a deep sigh, he continued.
"I think there's an armored truck, or maybe a car by the loading bay-but keep your eyes sharp. Any sign of danger and we take a run for it. No one gets left behind." Grady motioned with his hand for everyone to move on, and without hesitation, they all fall in behind him as he led the way.
The small group slipped around the side of the mansion, keeping close to the walls covered with ivy. All five pairs of eyes were staring keenly upon the forest surrounding them, and every small noise made them jump. A roar in the distance froze them in place. It was the echoing wail of the T-Rex calling out for its pack, no different from that of the call of a lone wolf. The specimen was alone in this world now, having long since lost its hunting grounds, it's only home-this new land was completely foreign to it. The absence of a mate and prey led it to hunt further into the woods, and the echo of its footsteps subsided as it marched steadily away from them.
After danger had brushed them by, the small group finally spotted the large loading bay where hundreds of dinosaurs had previously stampeded out to the freedom of the world. Owen held up a fist, and they all came to a stop. His daunting eyes scanned the area, and he immediately located it right across the wide, openly-lit area-a small sedan hidden in the darkness, having been pushed out of the way and concealed behind the underbrush.
Turning around, he softly began to stake out a plan.
"Ok-Clair, I need you to take Maisie. There's a car right over there, and Frank and I are gonna push it back over here. After that, we're all gonna hop in and take off," he turned to Zia, " I need you to keep an eye out for anything big and with fangs. Franklin, are you ready?" A quick nod affirmed that.
Zia raised a hand timidly, "So what happens if something comes burling out of the forest? It's not like we have anything to hit it with."
Grady scanned the area again and noticed a box that tipped over off a crushed truck bed, filled to the brim with flares. He gestured at it, "A few of those will buy us enough time to get out of here. Just keep your eyes alert at all times and we can all make it out of this alive."
"Gotcha," she quietly moved towards the box, keeping her head low. Once she was in position, all the others began to spring into action.
Owen and Franklin made a quick dash across the loading area-thankfully, no enraged dinosaurs crossed their paths. Once they had reached the car, Owen approached the driver's door to find it ajar, a man violently crushed underneath the front tire. His arms were stretched upwards, but his hand was still clutching the door handle. His formal business attire blatantly hinted at why he was here. Owen pried his hand loose from the door handle and peered inside. The keys hang limply from the visor, clinking quietly as they dropped into his hand. He held them up for Franklin to see and received a thumbs-up in return.
He shifted in and slid the keys into the ignition, cranking it until it turned on only the auxiliary power. He leaned over to Frank, whispering, "You ready? We need to do this in a hurry-no one knows what could come crawling out of the forest," he kept his voice hushed, and Frank nodded in response.
Reaching beneath him, Grady thrust the clutch into neutral. Once he crawled out of the car they both threw their weight against it. A sickening slurping noise could be heard as the body underneath unstick itself from the underbelly and tires. Once they had made it halfway across the bay, a whistling noise brought Owen's attention to Zia, who was waving her hands and beckoning for them to get down. A heavy growling filled the air as they all dove for the cover of darkness.
Maisie and Clair concealed themselves behind the bushes whilst Frank and Owen crawled into the car, closing the doors quietly and reaching for the floorboards. Zia ducked behind the overturned boxes. A Carnotaurus slinked out of the forest with heavy steps and incessantly sniffed at the air. It had smelled its prey-their sweat filled the air, but it couldn't see any within its sight. Heavy breathing took over the silence as it inhaled their scents, beginning to stalk around the loading bay. The predator swiveled its head left to right, taking in the other smells of the area, but it just couldn't pinpoint their location. It stepped around the car, only giving it a passing sniff before the smell of fresh meat filled its nose. Quickly lumbering over and picking up the body of the businessman, it carried its newfound snack off back into the safety of the woods. The sigh of relief was almost audible as they all relaxed.
Crisis averted, Owen and Frank were able to push the car all the way back and park it next to the rest of the group. Clair and Maisie climbed into the backseat while Zia slid in next to them. Franklin called shotgun, plopped himself next to the steering wheel. Owen stood by the driver's door, ducking down to survey his passengers.
"Ok, everyone settled in?" he looked at each and every one of them. Clair and Maisie are huddled together, as silent as can be. Zia nodded when his eyes lock with hers, whilst Franklin returned him a shaky smile. Owen was about to get in when a hand grabbed onto his shoulder, and his heart nearly leaped out of his chest. An elderly woman was standing behind him, her face pale and gaunt from all the danger she must have survived.
Maisie stirred at the sight of her.
"I-Iris?!" she was almost in disbelief, having believed everyone she loved had died. If it weren't for Clair holding onto her, she would have hurled herself out the door and into the nanny's arms.
"Geeze, don't sneak up on me like that," Owen couldn't help but let out an exasperated sigh.
"I...I do apologize. I barely m-made it out alive. I was packing my things when that...that monster attacked. I made it out of the garage, but was almost killed by all those creatures that came running out of there." she looked at the bay doors. "Please take me with you."
Owen rested his hand on the back of his neck. There just wasn't enough room. "Sacrifices have to be made," he murmured to himself, and turned back to everyone "Zia, take the driver seat, Miss..."
"Iris Carroll," she replied, slightly stumbling over her words.
"Miss Carroll, my compadres here will take you to safety."
"What about you?" they all questioned in unison.
"I'll find my own way out-There has to be another car around here somewhere," he looked down at Clair and she gave him a look of pure worry, "You're fretting over nothing. I'm the master tamer, remember? I can handle anything."
He stepped out of the way and helped Iris around the car, fitting her into the backseat where Maisie threw her arms around the old nanny. Owen smiled, "Stay safe...and Zia," he leaned down and made eye contact, "Don't loosen your foot off that gas pedal. The car's definitely gonna attract a lot of attention- those dinos won't have made it far." Zia grinned in return, and Owen stepped away from the car. The engine turned and came to life. Within seconds they had all sped away, leaving him on his own to make his way into the shadows again.
From inside the labs, a certain scientist was regaining his consciousness. Sitting up, Dr. Wu's head felt as though he had been hit with a sledgehammer. He looked around to see the charred remains of a soldier who had barely blocked the doorway from an explosion. His own body no worse for wear, he stood up on his pair of unsteady legs, feeling a sharp pain in his neck. He'd been tranqed, though by merely a small dosage, but nonetheless, his head rang and the world spun ever so slightly. He took shaky steps forward and glimpsed at the weapon the soldier had been grasping when he perished. A simple pistol, but he grabbed it anyway and held it out warily as he moved forward.
He noticed what remained of his lab, poisonous gas spewing out of canisters and flowing with the wind, out of the bay doors that now stood wide open. He could barely breathe, but he struggled to make his way down the scaffolding into the holding pins. And that was when he saw them, Owen Grady and the boy who had jumped him, pushing a car outside in the loading area. He had hidden and waited as the Carnotaurus came and went, and then he caught the car start, watching it speed away as he waded out the bay doors.
The scientist glimpsed movement to his left and Owen came around the corner, unsuspecting for any human presence. Barely hesitating, Wu aimed the gun at the hid target and squeezed the trigger. The shot rang through the air and Owen slumped to the ground. Wu stood there, shaken, but a ringing from his phone soon drew him to his senses, and he pulled it out of his jacket pocket.
"N-No assets survived...the project is still underway...switching focus to project Hijack...no sir...yes sir...awaiting Heli pick up."