It came out as only a whispered gasp, Claire had really no idea exactly who was in paddock 11, logically it could be any one of the security team, but she knew for a fact she'd left Mr. Grady behind and knowing that man ...
"NOW!"
The redhead listened as Control radioed security of the urgent need to evacuate, she could only imagine the level of fear that must have ignited for those inside the death trap.
Biting her bottom lip, Claire pressed the gas pedal to the floor, she has to get to command, see for herself exactly whome was in life threatening danger.
"GO!" Declares Owen's static voice, followed quickly with rushed footsteps and pelting leaves telling Claire the man is running, her fears were now confirmed that Mr. Grady was in fact inside Paddock 11 along with the Indominus Rex.
Next came the deadly crunch and terrified male scream, Claire remained frozen as she listened to the unknown man be eaten alive, all she knew was that wasn't Mr. Grady's voice.
More talk of closing the doors, the automatic refusal of not locking him inside. Claire's gut told her the very him they were discussing was one Owen Grady.
"Somebody talk to me, what is happening?" She has to know if her teams condemning the raptor expert to die.
"Hello? Someone talk to me!" The only response Claire's given is the tone of the phone hanging up or losing signal.
"Damn it!" Angrily Claire tosses the device, brushing away stray tears, hands clenched as the building finally comes into focus.
In a few moments she'd have all the answers, who was in Paddock 11, who had she listened to die, who had they locked inside with The Indominus Rex ... If Owen Grady was still alive.
Owen was only there because of her, she'd driven him and then left, Claire hadn't thought anything like this would ever happen, only here it was before her.
The entire park was in danger, all the tourists, her employees, her nephews she'd rarely ever taken the time to see. Claire was losing everything she worked towards and all those she held most dear.
Flashbacks of her and Mr. Grady's disastrous first date played through her mind, all ending with her abandoning Owen just as the Indominus Rex rears her ugly head.
The elevator dinged as the redhead made her entrance, hardly anyone on the team could bare to look upon her, heads kept down with a sad tint in their eyes.
She didn't have to be told no one had survived, she was responsible for those peoples deaths, she got Mr. Grady killed.
All typing and talks cease, finally gazes turn to her for help and in uncertainty. Claire couldn't break down here, she wouldn't let her team see her fall, they needed her to be as concise and clear as they believed her to be.
"Everyone ... Remain calm." Taking a deep breath, hard-working, no tequila drinking or Owen Grady loving Claire was back.
Plans of ACU handling the asset were made, the Indominus Rex was too valuable to lose, even at the threat of everyone's lives.
Claire knew she should have fought the issue, no dinosaur was worth anyone's life, but fear of losing the last thing she had took over her entire being, all rational thought decreasing.
He was gone, Claire hadn't realized until it was too late what all he did for her, how his presence kept her in check, on track and most importantly he showed her the true way of the world, not everything or everyone is just an asset or numbers on a spread sheet.
She had to once again fight against the oncoming tears threatening to fall, body beginning to tremble and legs were seconds from giving away underneath her.
Owen was no longer there and it was all her fault, the suave brunette was literally the only thing she could think about, their last conversation, the way he joked around with her ... It was all gone.
The elevator ringing didn't draw her attention, what did was the security officer in charge demanding to see a clearance badge. Whoever was here wasn't meant to be, that was a small amount of suspects.
Slowly, the redhead turned to see the newcomer, hope rising at the thought of seeing Mr. Grady casually stroll inside as if he hadn't just about been killed by a rogue dinosaur they'd created from a test tube.
"What the hell happened out there?" Questioned a very much alive and angry Owen Grady "There are thermal cameras all over that paddock, she did not just disappear!"
Her world stopped the moment she registered his voice, all Claire wanted to do was hug the man, never let Owen go ever again, but then the guilt settled in, she'd abandoned him, hurt him, belittled him and all for what?
Claire can't bare looking at him, she'd condemned Owen to a brutal death, just left him there without any second thought. The relief of seeing him alive slackened her resolve, she hadn't gotten the only man to have ever broken through her rough exterior killed.
Blue eyes close as Claire turns away to face the screen tracking their lost dinosaur, all the while running numbers through her head of what to say, the chances and percentages of them making any difference in how she or Grady felt regarding the subject, if it could or would make a difference in their relationship or lack there of, how she could show him how much she really cared.
Then came the cold hard truth, she didn't deserve Owen, he was too good for her, it wasn't the other way around and now she saw it. Claire knew Mr. Grady was watching her intently, waiting for an answer or an apology or really just any type of acknowledgement whatsoever.
Her fear and pride ruled out all her factors and hopes of reconciliation as she finally turns to address Owen, she was thorough, precise and articulate in all her answers.
She couldn't let Owen see just how scared and desperate she truly was, cause she didn't need him, couldn't want him as anything else, he was just Mr. Grady to her.
Owen Grady was an employee at her park, he worked with the raptors, he meant nothing more and that's exactly what Claire Dearing was going to keep telling herself over and over ... She doesn't need, want nor love him.