I'm back!

This is it, the sequel to Before Jurassic (insert dramatic music here). If you haven't read Before Jurassic World or the follow-up in Owen's POV I would recommend reading those first.

This sequel will take us through the events of the movie, but in our own little (slightly crazy) alternative universe that includes none other than Josephine King :) I hope you have half as much fun reading it as I've had writing it.

Let me know what you think!

Prologue

~ Jo ~

What had started out as another beautiful Montana summer day was quickly deteriorating into what promised to be a fantastic summer storm. The air was thick with unnatural humidity for this part of the country as the ominous, black clouds in the distance were temporarily held at bay by the snow tipped covered mountain range. The sun, once prominently displayed overhead, was now obscured behind sheets of clouds that blanketed the enormous sky. They didn't call this part of the country "Big Sky Country" for nothing.

Closing my eyes I inhaled deeply, welcoming the scent of rain already saturating the air. The fresh, earthy smell reminded me of grass clippings mixed with a faint floral aroma I couldn't put my finger on. The depressing turn in the weather was appreciated, at least by me. Bright, sunny, endless summer days should be reserved for happiness, and memories you tried to hang onto with both hands.

Like your kids riding their bikes to the neighborhood pool, eating watermelon outside on the curb as the sugary juice coated your hands and face, or backyard BBQ's with friends.

Not this.

Not days like today.

Days like today deserved the rain. The weather matched the despair running through my body that I'd been unable to shake since the events of that day. It was funny how the weather made sense to me when I couldn't say that about anything else in my life at the moment.

The sky suddenly opened up, small droplets of water falling in waves before steading out into a constant pattern, producing a light mist that appeared more fog than rain. Sighing, I let my head fall, my eyes drawn immediately to the all too familiar rectangular shaped hole in the ground. Swallowing thickly I glanced to my right, unable to keep the tears at bay as I took in the pile of dirt that would spell the final chapter in a life cut tragically short. I knew the cemetery personnel were lurking nearby; anxious to complete the task at hand and be gone from this retched place, but I couldn't get my feet to move. I was as rooted to this spot as the coffin lying at the bottom of the hole.

Grief, regret, and guilt threatened to choke me as I gasped for air, unable to get enough and at the same time taking in too much. The pain was tangible, like an imaginary friend from the deepest pit of Hell I couldn't shake. A constant reminder of my failures.

I didn't need any more proof of my shortcomings, but here it was, right before my eyes. It was my responsibility to ensure this very scenario never saw the light of day. In the event I was unable to prevent the danger it was my job to contain the threat as quickly as possible to limit the loss of life. I wore the failures like shackles. A testament to the untold story locked inside of me, stoking the fire of my hollowness.

I'd lost count of the funerals I'd attended, the burials I'd witnessed, and the distraught faces of loved ones as they were forced to face their new reality.

I was broken.

I was ashamed.

I'd been called "one of the lucky ones", a "hero" in some stories. I felt like neither. I felt like a cheat. If I couldn't save them shouldn't I at least be among them? The irony wasn't lost on me that the person tasked with keeping them safe was the one overseeing their burials. The others insisted I forgo attending the funerals. They said I'd done enough, that everyone would understand if I wasn't there, but I couldn't. I didn't deserve an easy out. I deserved nothing less than the all-consuming agony each and every goodbye cost me.

This, I thought as I looked around the desolate cemetery, was my penance. My torture, my burden to bear. I needed to live in the firm knowledge that I'd created orphans, widows, and shattered families. My failure had ensured those touched by this tragedy would never see a reprieve from the heartbreak.

Every soul that coated my ledger in red steeped me deeper into a place I once thought I'd left behind. A place I wasn't sure I could come back from.

I was lost.

Adrift at sea, hoping the ocean would devour me into the blackness below.

Every memorial service had been horrendous, but today, today the loss hit so close to home it rocked my foundation to the core.

I'd had few friends in my life. Fewer people still I could count on no matter the situation, but the man I said goodbye to today had been one. Long before I'd found myself inexplicable surrounded by the people who I'd come to think of as family he'd been there. I'd once promised his wife I'd make sure he found his way home to them. I made good on that promise years ago.

Today I fulfilled that promise once again.

The only problem was I'd brought him home in a box.