Thank you to those that have read the first chapter! I come with Chapter 2! This one takes place right after Eli Mills and Claire are in his office talking about Blue. Next chapter will be up soon! I want to make sure people actually like this story before I continue lol. Next chapter will be a part 2 of this one. It will be leading up to when Claire meets up with Owen. Don't forget to review! Thanks for reading!
"Blue" My knees wobbled and I gripped the desk in front of me, hoping Mr. Mills didn't notice me falter.
Luckily Mr. Mills continued without hesitation, "I didn't know she had a name, but Blue is potentially the second most intelligent piece of life on this planet. She must be preserved."
There's only one man on this planet that can get anywhere near her and that wasn't the guy standing in front of me, or anyone on his team. "She'll pick up your scent a mile off. You'll never capture her."
"Well," There it was. This wasn't going to be a mission I could do on my own. Of course they would need Owen to help find Blue. I wanted to cut him off and wish him luck. Even I didn't know where he was. Driving along the coast somewhere. He liked chasing the sun. "We thought there might be someone you know who could help. Maybe you can convince him."
Me? Why do I have to convince him? I couldn't convince him to settle in one spot. How the hell was I going to get him to follow me back to the island. I knew he wouldn't do it for me, but maybe I could convince him to do it for Blue. She'll die without him.
Mr. Mills leaned forward, his knuckles cracking against the desk under his weight. "Can you do this for us, Claire?" He leaned back, going through the images of dinosaurs waiting to be rescued, "Can you do this for them?"
I swallowed hard. "Yes." I half hissed. I was angry at him for making me do this, but I understood. I was the only one for two years who had ties to Owen. Until almost a year ago we were both off the grid. I was going to need Franklin's help for sure.
Mr. Mills cleared his throat, pulling me out of my thoughts. "I have a charter plane set up to take you to the island first thing tomorrow morning. We mustn't waste any time getting these animals to safety."
"Tomorrow?" I half gasped. How was I supposed to find Owen before tomorrow morning?
"Is that a problem?"
"No," I answered a little too quickly, "no that's no problem."
"Great, I will show you out." He gestured towards his office door and I followed.
He reached his hand out and I took it, shaking it slowly. "Thank you again, Mr. Mills. Please give Mr. Lockwood my greatest appreciation."
He waved his hand absentmindedly, "Don't mention it. We are on the same team, Claire. We will save them." I gave him a tight nod and turned to walk back to the car.
Taylor had his head down, kicking stones with his shoe. His back leaning against my door. The sound of my heels on the rocks caused him to snap his head up. "Good news?" He asked as he opened the door for me.
"Better than good." I smiled and slid into the back seat.
The ride back to San Fransisco seemed to go by a lot quicker than the ride to the estate. Mainly because I was dreading my next task. Halfway through my trip back home I dug my phone out of my bag. "Taylor, I have to make a phone call—"
Taylor's hand shot up. "Say no more." He pressed a button on the center console and a black wall rose up to give me some privacy. Why couldn't he have done that on the way to the estate?
I quickly scrolled through my contacts until I found Franklin's number. He picked up on the second ring. "Hey, Claire!"
"Listen, Franklin I need you to do something for me." I spoke softly into the phone, not sure how private that wall really was. I knew what I was going to ask Franklin to do was not quite legal.
"You got it, boss."
"Stop calling me that!" I hissed.
"Ok, sorry. What do you need?"
I took a deep breath, "I need you to track someone down for me."
"Like FBI tracking or google tracking?" Franklin asked, his voice sounding intrigued.
"FBI"
"Wow, who are we looking for?"
I bit my bottom lip. "Owen Grady."
"Owen? Like the Owen?"
I clapped my hand to my forehead. "Yes, Franklin! Can you please just do this without asking questions. I'll fill you in when I get there." Before he could say anything more I hung up and threw my phone back in the bag. Leaning forward, resting my elbows on my knees, I massaged my temples. This was going to be a long afternoon.
The silence in the back seat made my ears ring. I contemplated on pushing the speaker button and telling Taylor to lower the barrier between us, but decided against it. Instead, I reached for my phone once more and this time searched for Karen's name.
"Hi, Claire Bear." I rolled my eyes at my childhood nickname.
"Hi Aunt Claire!" I heard Gray yell somewhere in the background.
I decided to get right to the point. "Listen, I'm going out of—" I paused for a moment, trying to find the least alarming word, "town tomorrow. I'm not sure when I'll be back."
There was a long pause. "Claire?" I knew that tone. She knew I wasn't just going out of town. "How far out of town are you going? Listen I'm sorry to hear about the government not getting involved, but please don't do anything heroic. You can't save the world on your own."
"I'm not doing this alone. There's a sanctuary, Karen. We are going to get them off the island."
"Claire!" I pulled the phone away from my ear as my sister screamed at me. I was sure Taylor could hear. There's no barrier in the world that could keep Karen's voice out. Not when she knew she needed to be heard. "You listen to me! You did your duty on that God forsaken island! I stand behind you trying to save the dinosaurs. I get it, that's who you are— who you've always been. Don't you dare ask for my blessing to step foot on an island that's going to explode and killer animals running loose."
"I'm not asking for your approval, Karen. I'm telling you what I am doing."
I could hear her laughing on the other end. "Oh, Claire… I give up. There's no way I can convince you not to go, but I will be really mad at you if you come back dead!"
I snorted, "I'm not going to die. They need me to get into the tracking system. I won't be anywhere near any of the dinosaurs. I'll be hidden away in one of the safety bunkers." I breathed in preparing for the only thing I knew would calm her fears, "Owen will be there, too. So you know I'll be safe." It was only half of a lie. I was hoping he would end up coming, but I knew it was a long shot. I squeezed my eyes shut when I heard her breath hitch.
"Owen? Are you two… finally talking things out?" Karen's voice was low and eager. I knew she liked Owen. Without him Zach, Gray or myself would have never made it off the island alive. Karen will always feel like she owes him the world for bringing hers home.
"Not exactly," I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. My seatbelt suddenly felt like it was trying to choke me. "I'll call you as soon as I get back home. Maybe I'll plan a visit once things quiet down."
"You better not be just trying to shut me up."
I couldn't help but laugh. "I'm serious, I'll come visit," glancing out the window the familiar buildings finally came into view. "I'm almost home. I have some things to take care of before tomorrow."
Karen fell silent for a moment and I could hear her stifle a sob. "I love you, Claire. Please be safe."
I opened my mouth to speak, but I had to hang up. Hearing her upset brought my own tears spilling over. She was right. This was more dangerous than before. Who knows what dinosaur roamed out of their enclosure. What if we are too late and the volcano erupts before we can do anything.
"You still with me back there?" Taylor's voice rang through the speakers. I jumped, yelping in surprise. My phone falling to the floor.
I scrambled to push the talk button. "Yes, sorry." I gripped my chest trying to calm my heartbeat.
The barrier was lowered just as Taylor pulled the car over to the curb. I glanced out the window and realized I was in front of my apartment building. I quickly thanked Taylor for his time and all but sprinted into the building. There was no time to waist.
Fumbling with the lock, I cursed under my breath and threw my shoulder against the door. It flew open, slamming into the wall behind it. I kicked off my shoes and stripped as quickly as I could. Yanking my hair out of the neat bun I let it hang in a ponytail. Standing in my closet I reached for my jeans I had on earlier and a new shirt. Then I slid on my boots because I didn't know how long I would be in the car when I went to find Owen.
I threw myself into the car and raced towards the DPG headquarters to see what Franklin could find out about Owen's current location.