Disclaimer: Jurassic World/Park or any characters, plots or similar dialogue isn't mine. However, I do own my OC, Clarissa Young.
A/N: As much as I love Clary, who was my first published OC and is very close to my heart, and Jurassic Park/World, this story isn't the best it could've been considering my writing has improved lots since I first started this, two years ago. I will not abandon this story but I feel Clary's story wasn't developed enough before I started writing. If I feel compelled to in the future, I may rewrite this story but as of now, I am just trying to get to the end without it feeling like a duty rather than an enjoyment.
According to the internet, when we suffer a catastrophic loss or event, we progress through five distinct stages of grief. First is the denial because the loss is so unthinkable, we cannot imagine it to be true. This was Clary's personal favourite; pretending the said event never happened? Perfect. Then we get angry with everyone - the survivors, ourselves, mainly the ones closest to us. We hurt and we get angry because they don't seem as affected as you are. And it's not fair, it's totally and utterly unfair. We bargain next. We would offer up our souls in exchange for just one more day if that is what it took. Then when that has inevitably failed and the anger is too hard to maintain, we break. We cry, scream, fight back until despair consumes us and there is no choice but to accept there's nothing left to do. We have to let go and move on. But that doesn't ever stop that one word from repeating itself in our heads over and over until you think you'll go mad. That one word, a question, that no one has the answer to: why?
That's how it started. Clarissa Young suffered a catastrophic loss. She couldn't help but feel that grieving for her mother was no use in their current situation, which was still life threatening. Lots of people were dying or had died that day, it wasn't just her who'd lost someone. This thought forced Clary to push forward. Ignore her mother's death, pretend it never happened. Go into denial. Stage One. There wasn't much time now. Now, here Clary was, ready to die fighting. It's not right to grieve when something so good has to come to an end. However, Clary was an expert in grief.
The world, despite the screams, was dull to Clary. She'd forced everything to the back of her mind, the only thing in her head was to find Owen, the only person she had left. Then she had a thought. A thought that changed everything. Owen could be dead too. This realisation was like a cold shower had plummeted onto Clary, seeping from her head down to her toes. The ice cold feeling created a numbness and it seeped into every pore of Clary's body until it was deathly cold. She couldn't move. She was frozen. She was frightened and there was nothing she could do about it. Owen was all she had left, but what if he was taken from her too? It felt like an eternity until Zach then tugged on her arm again, pulling her this way and that, her feet tripping over each other. The park she knew like the back of her hand was now a foreign land, every face the same, every tree unfamiliar. Zach worried for the younger girl whose face held a vacant expression as she stared straight ahead. He understood why she was like that, her mother was not only dead, but she'd seen it with her own eyes. As much as he regretted it, she needed to snap out of it if she didn't want to die. This girl was strong and a survivor - she'd make it through this.
"Clary?" She had been so determined to get moving moments ago but now it seemed as if the weight of the world had crushed her. No response. Pterodactyls were still flying everywhere, picking and throwing visitors whenever possible. The crimson blood from their victims stained the paved floor and Zach had to hold back his rising bile. Zach panicked, he didn't know what to do. He did the first thing he thought of to get Clary's attention. An instinctive action. A kiss.
His lips pressed against Clary's and he felt her stiffen under his grasp. At least he got a reaction out of her. Clary felt a wave of peace fill her up that felt odd in their circumstances. He wasn't tender and caring and loving. This was desperate, as if Clary was about to disappear from his strong hold right then and there, which if fate was against them, could've happened. Their time was running out and they were slipping away from each other. It wasn't how Clary imagined a proper kiss would be like but it felt perfect, like they melded well together. The thought terrified Clary as she began to move her lips with Zach's. As much as Zach was enjoying the kiss, never feeling anything of the sort with his kind-of girlfriend back home, he had to break it off now that Clary was reciprocating. It meant she was paying attention and she would listen to him. He pulled away, taking a quick glance at the slack jawed Gray who'd forgotten all about the carnivorous birds.
"Clary, let's move." He looked into Clary's eyes, that clouded over in confusion turning from their usual sea blue to a stormy grey. "Okay?"
"Okay." Clary nodded, regaining a grip on her mental state as well as the rifle that was slung around her shoulder. Clary lifted her rifle and scanned the area for any immediate threats but found that the Pterodactyl's had found their way to other people. They began to run as they swarmed above their heads, circling.
"Run! Go, go!" Gray screamed as he caught a glance of a dinosaur pursuing its prey ie. the trio. Clary halted to a stop when she realised what she held in her hand, she lifted the rifle and shot it in the head.
"I was aiming for the neck. The head will do." She muttered before realising the bird, although dead, had fallen to the ground and was sliding towards Clary, Zach and Gray, who'd stopped a few paces behind to see what she was going. Clary shuffled backwards before falling backwards onto the boys who also fell to the ground shuffling backwards until their backs rested against a building, pulling at Clary's hoodie as the razor sharp beak slowly moved closer to Clary's neck. Pressed against Zach's chest, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"That was awesome!" Gray smiled at Clary.
"Thanks." Clary gave him a smile, weak but a smile nonetheless.
They helped each other up and paused as they saw two familiar faces in the midst of all the chaos. Owen and Claire. Claire stood proudly, her hair messy and face dirty, a massive change from her usual pristine attire, as she shot down a smaller Pterodactyl that was trying to make Owen its dinner.
"Is that Aunt Claire?" Zach asked rhetorically, surprised. They watched as Claire helped Owen up who quickly pulled the lady in question into a kiss.
"How is she still wearing her heels?" Clary had to give the woman some credit. That was when Claire spotted the three youngsters watching the adults.
"Zach! Gray! Clary!" She ran to the three, still in her heels and cupped Gray's face muttering about where the three had disappeared to.
"Thank God! What happened? What is this? Are you okay? Where did you go? Why didn't you come back? I was so worried about you."
Zach just looked up past Claire and asked, "Who's that?"
Owen had walked up behind the group but his eyes were fixed on Clary, who looked worse beyond wear.
"We work together."
Without a second thought, Clary dropped the rifle and ran into Owen's arms. Owen clutched the girl tightly despite the grime that covered the both of them.
"Where's Zara? Where's your mum, kid?" Owen asked. Clary pushed herself further into Owen's chest, shaking her head.
"She, she didn't-" Clary's voice broke and she couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence, knowing it would make it all too real. Owen didn't reply. He understood what she was trying to say. In the corner of his eye, he saw Zach and Gray whisper to Claire, making her eyes go wide in pity at the explanation of the young girl's actions.
"Hey, we gotta go. You'll be okay, right?" Owen pulled Clary away. His heart clenched in sadness for Clary but unless they wanted to end up dead too, they needed to move.
"Yeah." Clary lied but walked forward nonetheless.
They followed Owen and Claire through the park, Owen kept a constant hand on his gun ready for a surprise attack. Claire was on the phone to Lowery, who Clary was relieved to find out was okay. Zach kept a tight grip on Clary's hand and Gray lingered between them and Claire.
"What do you mean use the raptors?" Claire exclaimed. Owen paused and locked concerned and angered gazes with Clary who frowned.
"Son of a bitch." Owen muttered as Clary nodded in agreement.
"Never liked Hoskins." Clary replied, immediately knowing it was him in charge, especially since their previous conversations.
"You shouldn't say 'bitch'." Gray said. Clary couldn't help but smile at his uncorrupted innocence and the irony of his statement.
"Take the kids, get them somewhere safe." Owen said, as the big metal gates were on the edge of bursting open. The five of them ran backwards, just in time to see hundreds of people flocking towards them, Pterodactyls on their tails. Luckily, a jeep was parked close by and the keys had conveniently been abandoned inside. They all jumped in, Claire and Owen in the front, Zach, Clary and Gray in the back.
"Owen, move!"
"Go, go, go!"
"Damn it, drive!" There was a lot of shouting from the three teenagers as Owen backed the jeep into a small alcove. After a moment's silence and heavy breathing, Zach said, "This does not feel safe." Clary nodded in agreement.
"Can we stay with you?" Gray asked, his voice small.
"I am never leaving you as long as you live." Claire replied but the pessimistic part of Clary's mind taunted her, saying that might not be for very long however Clary laughed out loud as Zach and Gray protested together.
"No, no, no. Him!" They both point to Owen who suppressed a smug smile due to the serious situation. "Yeah, definitely him." Gray stated, ignoring the offended look on Claire's face and Clary's badly hidden snickers.
By the time, they got to the raptor paddocks, it was dark, the night sky thick with fog reflecting the tension that evidently lingered throughout the park. Owen jumped out first, Claire following giving the three kids a look that obviously said 'stay here'. Although they couldn't hear the conversation, the arrogance wafted from Hoskins as he strutted up to Owen, arms wide. Owen threw a fist to Hoskins' face before he could even finish the sentence. Clary cheered along with the other two boys. Owen always had a good left hook. Owen and Hoskins were face to face in a heated argument and Clary heard Hoskins shout "Let's move it out!"
Owen looked back at the car and seemed to reluctantly nod towards the man. Clary jumped out of the car following Owen as he and a bunch of soldiers gathered around a map covered table. She hovered behind the group as Owen explained his plan to the group of men.
"We know that she is in sector five. This is a game we call hide-and-seek. It's a scent drill. We've done it about a thousand times with these animals. When they get on target, and they will get on target, wait to engage. Velociraptors are pack hunters. They like to herd the animal into a kill zone. That's when we take our shot. Get a clear shot, wait on my command, and give her everything you got. We got one good target, gentlemen. Do not shoot my Raptors. Please." The men nodded before dispersing.
"Owen?" Clary called, the said man turned to his sister figure. "What's going on?"
"They're using the raptors, as soldiers, like Hoskins always wanted. We have no choice in the matter. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Owen shrugged, defeatedly but his stance gave away his determination.
"Right. Can I see them, before they go?" Owen hesitated but nodded, they were contained and they were used to Clary by now, it would be fine.
"Sure, I was just going there anyway." Owen purposely avoided any talk of Zara, knowing it would just anger and upset Clary now. When Clary was in one of those moods, she was blinded by her emotions and usually acted on impulse rather than thinking it through and Owen had enough to deal with at the moment. All they had to do was get through the next 24 hours.
A/N: I've been writing furiously for the whole weekend so I am hoping to have finished writing this fic by next week! Do you want me to publish all the chapters at once or would you rather me leave a few days between? Let me know, Lotty x
