The Nightmare/Buns in the Oven

Everything was happening out of his power. He should be able to save them, but he couldn't. He couldn't get out, he couldn't find any help. They were going to die in front of his eyes.

Owen watched on as the fire grew in the Indominus paddock and heard the cries of Alice and Dom as the fire spread across the paddock. There were no handles on any of the doors, or even the window.

"As I said before Owen," said a familiar voice that was approaching from behind, "I will kill Alice, no matter what it takes."

It was Ortiz. How was he alive? Owen, Lowery, and Claire watched Josiah chomp down on the man.

"Ortiz? How are you-" Owen began.

"Look. My fire is spreading as I wanted it to. It will soon consume the Scarlet Heart and the Crimson Pearl," Ortiz interrupted, seeming to ignore Owen.

"Ortiz-"

"Owen, my boy, keep this in mind, won't you?"

"What?"

"I will never die, because I'll always be here waiting for you."

With that, the glass in the viewing room shattered and Ortiz simply walked out into the fire, with a sinister laugh following him along the way.

Owen needed to get out of here or else eh was going to get burned alive. But, there was no place in which Owen could exit. It was hopeless. Owen startled at hearing crying wails. He turned around and saw Alice and Dom, with severe burns.

"Owen, help us!" yelled Alice.

"I can't Alice, there's nothing I can do," Owen said weakly.

"Please Owen, don't let us die here!"

"I'm sorry..."

"I hate you!" yelled Alice with a ground shaking roar.

Then, Alice and Dom turned into ashes with fading screams, and the fire finally seeped into the viewing room. Owen backed up, but soon met the wall. He was going to die here. This isn't how Owen wanted to go. He'd rather be eaten by a T-Rex or velociraptor than be burned alive. The fire then tickled Owen's feet, and he could feel the heat entering his shoes. The fire then slowly crept up his body, and Owen let out the loudest yells he could muster. Before he knew it, fire surrounded his sight, and he gave one last yell.

Owen's eyes shot open and he quickly sat up, sweating and panting profusely. The first thing he did was feel his body. There wasn't a fire, there were no burns, he was fine. That was a very vivid nightmare that Owen didn't want to have happen again. But, the problem was that for the past few nights, he had been having the same nightmare, but this time it felt real.

Owen got out of bed and quickly cleaned himself up. He got dressed for the day and then checked his watch. He had more than enough time to stop by to see Blue and the others and then get to the Indominus paddock. So, he ate quickly and then got on his motorcycle and went off to the raptor paddock.

Ian stared at James, with a confused look.

"James, what is it that you're trying to tell me?" Ian asked.

"Oh come on, in all the years you've known me, you can't tell what I'm trying to tell you?" James asked.

"James, I've known you physically as a person and friend for about two years, then you left with Owen for the Navy. It's been a year since I've known you here on the island. So, I've only known you three years, that's not really long, James."

"What, oh, don't be like that Miguel, I'm like the uncle you never had."

"James, you know I don't enjoy it when you call me that, regardless of it being how to say my middle name in Spanish, you know that I don't like it. Second, that is kind of true. Though I have Ryan, Owen, and my Dad's brothers, none of them compare to you of course."

"Aw, come on, you tell me that you hate it when I call you Miguel, but I call you that every time and you don't always have a problem with it."

"You know what? Fine, call me that all you want, but anyways, we sidetracked. What was it that you're trying to tell me?"

"We're getting raptor babies."

"What?! Why the hell didn't you tell me that before? That's freaking awesome! Have you told Alexis yet?"

"No, because we got confirmation for it about an hour ago, and she and Casey don't come in until nine."

"Ah, well, I'm really happy for you and the others. So, will this be Alexis and Casey's pack?"

"Pretty much."

"That's freaking awesome. I gotta admit, I'm a little jealous."

"Jealous? Aren't you the one who imprinted on Dom when he hatched?"

"Yeah, but still, it's velociraptors were talking about here James."

"Very true."

"What's very true?" Owen asked as he approached the two on the catwalk.

"Hey Uncle Owen, James here just told me some awesome news," Ian said with a smile.

"What?"

"We got the approval to get four more raptors," James said.

Owen stared at James for a few seconds, letting the words sink into his brain. Then, Owen's face lit up and he said happily, "That's freaking awesome man!"

"I know!" James said back.

Ian smiled at the two and then pulled out his phone when he felt it vibrate.

"Uh, well, I gotta get going. Reggie needs me because apparently there are a few sick triceratops to take care of," said Ian, "I'll see you guys later."

Ian waved goodbye and then left.

Olivia stared at her phone as she sat, waiting impatiently for something to happen. Lowery and Vivian were waiting for the same thing. Vivian was typing at her desk and then turned her head when Lowery sneezed loudly.

"Bless you," she said to him.

"Thanks," Lowery said with a bit of a stuffy nose.

"Lowery," began Olivia, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine."

"Well I am."

Olivia turned to look at Vivian, who responded by giving a simple shrug. Olivia let out a sigh and then said, "I'm gonna go and get some medicine for you Lowery. I'll be right back."

"No, Olivia, you don't have to do that. I'm not sick!" exclaimed the tech geek.

"Are you really gonna fight this?"

"I'm not sick. Being sick is for the weak!"

"Lowery, no offense, but you're not super strong."

Vivian chuckled at Olivia's words and hid her face behind a magazine.

"Wha-Hey, that's cold," Lowery said.

"Lowery, you're sick. Let me go and get some medicine for you," Olivia said.

"Olivia, I'm telling you, I'm fine."

"Tell that to the drooping snot coming out of your nose right now," Olivia said with a bit of disgust.

Lowery sniffed really hard and then grabbed a nearby tissue and blew his nose into it.

"Is there a main reason why you don't want to be sick?" Olivia asked, crossing her arms.

"What? No, I just know that I'm not sick," Lowery responded with a bit of confusion.

"Claire doesn't allow you to work when you're sick, doesn't she?" Olivia asked with a smirk.

Lowery and Vivian looked at each other and then looked at Olivia.

"Please, don't tell her," said Lowery.

"Don't you think you need a day off Lowery? You've been working non-stop for the past few days now. I think you deserve a break."

"I love what I do and I will always enjoy doing it. I can't stop working because it's my hobby, too."

"You don't read?"

"Of course I read."

"Play videogames?"

"I'm a gaming master."

"Interesting. Well, I won't get the medicine. But, if Claire comes in here and sees you like this, then don't say I didn't warn you."

"Duly noted."

Then, as if barely on cue, Claire came into the Control room and stood behind Olivia, Lowery, and Vivian. Lowery slightly turned his head and then tensed a bit and began to type furiously. Olivia wanted to just smile hard and tell Lowery that she told him so. Vivian wished that Lowery had taken medicine before leaving to Control earlier in the morning.

"How's the park today you three?" Claire asked.

"Four kids in Lost and Found, a fraternity decided to visit today and get wild, and a few of the pterosaurs cracked some of the glass in the Aviary. Repair is already on the cracked glass. Security is after the fraternity," replied Lowery, trying his best to hide his affected voice.

Claire looked down at Lowery and then asked, "Lowery, correct me if I'm wrong, but are you working here, while you are sick?"

Lowery froze and felt all the hair on his body stand right up.

"Uh, no, I'm not sick," he said anxiously.

Claire stared at him with a slight shake of her head and then said, "You know that you're not supposed to work while sick Lowery. I don't want everyone here at Control getting sick. You know that since you live in the complex here that you get sick days and paid leave."

"But, Claire, I-"

"I'll let this one slip by Lowery. But, take this as a warning, got it?"

"Uh, well, yeah okay."

"Good. If it happens again, I will make sure that Alexis drags you back to your apartment and watches over you until you're better."

"Yes, ma'am."

Claire nodded her head and then stared at the screens. Everything was going well so far, even with Smaug on the island.

"That's enough for today Alice," said Lopez as he stood up from the floor and grabbed his things.

Alice thanked the man for the session and he responded with a smile and a gentle wave of his arm.

"I'll be back tomorrow at around the same time. You're making some progress already."

Alice smiled as Lopez left and once the door closed, she plopped down on the ground and let out a tired sigh. She had been chasing Dom around all day and hadn't gotten the chance to take a nap due to her clunky schedule of shows. But, since it was near the end of the day and she didn't have another show until tomorrow, she deserved the rest.

Josiah watched from a distance as Alice lied down and began to sleep. He would make sure Dom knew to not bother her for a few hours. Josiah went in search of the little ball of energy until he found Dom sitting on his haunches next to the pond. Josiah asked Dom what he was doing, and the little guy replied that he was just staring at the sky. Josiah looked up to see if Dom was staring at something in particular, but it was just the clear blue sky. Maybe Dom was daydreaming. Josiah turned his attention back to the smaller Indominus and told him that Alice was resting right now and that she wasn't to be bothered. Dom then said that he wouldn't bother her until she woke up. Josiah was content with hearing Dom complying to actually not bothering Alice, even when she's taking a nap. Josiah then decided to give Dom some company and lied down and curled himself around the year-old hybrid.

"Who'd have thought that one of the triceratops was pregnant?" Ian asked Reggie as the two headed back to Reggie's office.

"And I've been keeping a close eye on the triceratops for months now. I can't believe we didn't get a notice that the Alpha male decided to mate with another female. Last time that happened was a few months before you arrived on the island," replied Reggie.

"Maybe they got busy at night. During that time, there are few Security guys running around and like, one or two people at Control. It's the perfect time to do it."

"Ian, you and your theories sometimes. But, I will say that it is possible that they mated during the night hours. I'll have to run some tests to see around what time they mated."

"You do that Reggie."

"Right well, I'll head over to my office first before heading to the lab."

"Right, see you later Reggie," said Ian as he turned and walked away from Reggie and headed to Rexy's paddock.

On the way, Ian ran into Casey, who was on his way to the same place. Ian didn't know whether or not Casey knew about the raptor babies, so Ian decided to not say anything until Casey told him about them. The two arrived inside of the false log in Rexy's paddock and Casey went over and greeted Tim. Tim told Casey that he needed to go and check the platform and chain for the goat. Rexy had one more show left today, and it was congruent with her final feeding time for the day. Casey nodded his head and then went down to go and check on the platform and chain. While Casey was getting that done, Ian stepped up to Tim and greeted the caretaker.

"How's it going Ian?" Tim asked.

"It's going good. How about you? Any news or something lately?" Ian asked.

"Well, I don't know whether you know or not, but, Rexy is old."

"I had no idea!" Ian exclaimed sarcastically.

"Anyway, she's the only T-Rex here, and not to sound prideful or anything, but she's probably the best attraction that we have here, even with Alice and the other Indominus here. So, in order to try and bring in a new T-Rex that would be in her place, we decided to give Rexy a hatchling to take care of until she passed. But, the old lady knows how not to die, but sadly, I can't exactly say the same for the hatchlings that she's come into contact with."

"The other hatchlings died?"

"Every. Single. One. Rexy would disappear in her paddock for a few days when one died. Recently, for about two years, we stopped giving her hatchlings because the experiments were always going to end up going wrong."

"Wait, but what about the T-Rex hatchling that Alice ate when she hatched?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that one. Except, I didn't fully know that they were going to try and give her another hatchling until Claire came in and told me when they found out that Alice ate the T-Rex hatchling."

"How'd the other hatchlings die?"

"Some of them were sick when they were born. Others died in their sleep. One drowned. And another was eaten."

"Eaten?"

"It was a terrible accident."

"Don't even tell me about it."

"So, I'm considering trying to give her at least one more hatchling. If this one dies, then getting a T-Rex like Rexy is going to be hard in the future."

Ian looked at Tim with a serious look and said, "But, that's just the thing Tim. No other T-Rex will be like Rexy. She's made her mark, and everyone has seen it. The least they can do is to try and carry on her massive legacy."

"That is true."

"So, when will she be getting the hatchling?"

"Probably in a week or two."

"Awesome. Man, you know, James and Owen are going to get raptor babies, Rexy's going to get another baby. All that's left is for Alice to have a baby and then we can rename this place, Toddlerassic Park."

"Don't you mean-Wait, what?"

"Oh, did I not mention? They're getting raptor babies."

Tim's face lit up as he said, "That's awesome! And, don't you think the place would be called, Hatchling Park?"

"Oh, that sounds nice!"

"Doesn't it?"

Tim and Ian continued to converse, as Rexy slowly walked by the log and then went in search for water.

"What is it that you two need to tell us?" Alexis asked as she and Casey leaned up against the rails with their arms crossed over their chests.

"Well, prepare to get super happy," began James, "because I spoke with Claire and the board and they agreed that we should get four raptor hatchlings!"

It took a few seconds until the realization hit the both of them. Alexis smiled widely and gave a squeal that sounded like a raptor screech. Casey smiled and gave a light laugh. They couldn't believe it. They were going to get raptor babies!

"That means that they'll be Casey and I's pack?" Alexis asked excitedly.

"Exactly," replied Owen.

Alexis then jumped on Owen and exclaimed her joy with lots of words. She spoke rather fast, so it wasn't wasn't easy to understand her.

"Glad to see that you two are up for getting a pack of your very own," said James with a smile.

"Who wouldn't be?" Casey asked.

"Well, just wait and let them grow up a bit. You'll soon realize how hard and sometimes patronizing it can be to raise velociraptors."

Casey and Alexis didn't really listen to James' words, they were too happy at the moment.

Smaug could smell something. Something familiar. It wasn't human. It was a dinosaur. He sniffed the air and then knew what he could smell. It was the pathetic scent of a Tyrannosaurus. Why would the humans keep such a weak species of dinosaur on this island? Perhaps it was a reflection of the humans. Weak, stupid, and reckless. Smaug remembered the day that he killed the last T-Rex on the island. It was when a group of humans were stranded on the island. It was a juvenile T-Rex, but even so, he'd killed a few fully grown adults, too. One more thing on to-do list for when he escaped this hell. Kill the T-Rex.

Smaug then sensed something. A presence. Human. He sniffed the air to try and pick up their scent and then turned his head to the farther viewing room. It was her. What was she doing here? How was she still alive? He was sure that she was dead. But, it seemed like she had returned from the dead.

Claire shifted uncomfortably when she saw that Smaug was looking directly at her. The side of the glass on the inside of the paddock was reflective. The dinosaurs aren't able to see the humans. But, Claire knew that Smaug knew that she was there. She knew that he remembered her. He knew. He always knew.

She would be the first creature to die when he got out. He would be sure of it this time. She had to die. She just had to...