Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot. Everything else belongs to their respective creators, owners and producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: She is not supposed to be there when the egg hatches. But she is the first thing it sees when the shell breaks. She never wanted to be a mother. Suddenly, she is.
A/N: Hey everyone, here's another chapter. Once more, it carried me away and ended up longer than expected. There's a guest appearance of sorts from another kickass redhead and if you liked it, please let me know! It was a last minute inclusion as I was sorting out plot details and I got so excited. Thank you to everyone who left me reviews! It makes my Muse feel loved and appreciated, and makes me endure crazy real world deadlines so I can write this. It also helps me keep tabs on what I'm doing right and that's just as important, so thank you to everyone who gave me details about those aspects of the story and writing.
Some answers to a couple of questions: Will Sarah live? Yes she will. Will she go rogue? No, but the movie is about the I-Rex escaping. So yes, spoiler right there. And that's all I can say without giving the whole game away. Timeline thingies? I thought Zach was 16 in the show; I could be wrong. But this is set about close to two years before JW. But you know, time is relative and I'll take Einstein's word on it. :P Did I do research about animal behaviour? I did read up some, yes I did, because I wanted to tell the best story I could.
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Sarah did not want to open her mouth. The gold of her eyes had deepened, intensifying around the slit ebony of her pupils; it looked almost red sometimes. The ridges on her snout and sides of her skull had grown higher and bonier; some of the angles on her face had deepened in response and there were two horn-like protrusions that were growing above the orbits of her eyes. Suddenly, under the clear white light of the lab, with Sarah's leash looped around her wrist and Henry standing about two feet away and keying information into his tablet, Claire realised that at three months, Sarah didn't look so much like the tiny little baby who had snuggled in her makeshift Hermes scarf sling, or even the two-month-old who trotted energetically after her, her round white rump swaying from side to side in a way that Claire privately thought of as being adorable. There was now a leanness that had arrived with the dissipation of most of the softness that babyhood lent.
Claire's first thought was that it was all too fast. Sarah reaching three feet in length and gaining four inches in two weeks; Sarah not being able to sleep in the hutch now because she was simply too big and preferred the couch after Claire made it very clear that she was not to share the bed ("Boundaries are boundaries," Owen repeated after she'd asked twice); Sarah refusing to open her mouth and looking at her and Henry in turns with sharp teeth that protruded from her mouth, a mesh of jagged white against pale skin that had begun taking on a tinge of grey. She was flexing her claws subtly as well; the middle claw was curved like an eagle's talon and when measured, was almost as long as her index finger.
"Try again," Henry urged and that's when Claire had her second thought: that was not a very good idea, to say the least. She knew her dinosaur and Sarah's face had taken on a very obstinate look. Her tail, which now could bruise a person if she whipped it too hard at them, was somewhat stiff as well. So was her neck as she lifted her head to stare up at them. When measured at the hips, she was just under Claire's knee and when she drew herself up, she was three inches past. Nowadays, Claire found carrying her an event that inevitably left her with a burn in her arm muscles and back if it went past fifteen minutes. None of those were factors that helped persuade Claire that trying to forcible pry open Sarah's mouth—not that she had ever had to—was probably going to end badly and messily.
Still, she couldn't let Sarah get away with outright defiance.
"Do you have any food?" she asked.
Henry didn't even have to do anything; one of the other doctors who was present to observe left and came back shortly with some meat. Sarah lashed her tail excitedly from side to side when she caught its scent. When the doctor handed it to Claire, she almost jumped but a sharp "No" followed by a warning hand held up kept her grounded. She barked impatiently instead, pacing around Claire in a way that reminded her of a cat stalking a mouse.
"She listens to you," Henry said, sounding pleased. "For a dinosaur like her, that's something, especially when you have food in your hand."
Claire ignored him, focusing on Sarah. Reaching for the clicker in her pocket was instinctive. "Sarah, open up." Rolling the meat between her fingers, Claire held it up, near enough to the Indominus Rex's nose for her to get the full bloom of its scent and far enough to preserve her own fingers if the dinosaur made a leap for it. "Open up," Claire ordered firmly again, pressing on the clicker once more.
Sarah growled and Claire could see the skin around her mouth and teeth rippling. "Stop that right now." She raised her voice slightly, clipped the words out to express her displeasure. The growl deepened. "Hey, watch it!"
That had been pure Owen, the result of frequent visits to the raptor paddock to watch him train and put the raptors through their paces. And whether it was her voice or the fact that even balking raptors tended to listen to Owen when he had to get firmer with them, Sarah stopped at once.
Mutual respect. Sarah had done something Claire had wanted and Claire needed to know when to back out of a situation where she wouldn't win if she continued to push her luck. "Good girl," she said. "Henry, you're going to get just one shot."
The geneticist fumbled with his tablet before moving it into place. Claire tossed the meat high, Sarah leapt, her mouth wide open and there was the distinct sound of a camera click just before the hard snap of dinosaur jaws and teeth.
"Looks like she has her first full set of teeth," Henry muttered, fingers gliding over a screen that Claire couldn't see. "All seventy-four of them." He looked up at her before he went back to his tablet. "She's never been that stubborn."
Sarah nosed her hand for more food and Claire decided that she was not going to pick at a thin shred of meat hanging from one of Sarah's teeth. "She's never been stubborn," she countered. At least not in front of Henry. "Except for not letting the doctors touch her. I did tell you no needles."
Henry's discomfort showed momentarily on his face but he tucked it away smoothly, the way a magician made cards disappear into air and up his sleeves. The wizard of Jurassic World, that was corporate's unofficial nickname for Henry Wu. He raised dinosaurs from the dead and made new ones. "Speaking of needles, I want to run a series of tests on the Indominus."
"I already said—"
"Not blood. I want hers, not yours," he cut her off wryly. "She's a hybrid and I want to know what her exact capabilities are."
"I've put everything in my report."
"Only details about her food, eating habits, behavioural traits towards you and other factors in her immediate environment." He made a face. "You're not going to try the nursery paddock again, are you? I did tell you it wouldn't work out."
It was a subtle prod meant to remind her that he knew better. Bolstered by raptors' receptiveness to Sarah, Claire had arranged for a private visit to the baby paddock. She had persuaded Luis Zimmerman and Ben Diaz, the head supervisors who oversaw the handlers and the various babies inhabiting the paddock, to let her and Sarah in. She still shuddered when she recalled the experience. The Gallimimus babies had banded together in a flock that, in one fluid and noisy swoop, made for the furthest end of the paddock, which meant that they had run outside into the great outdoors screaming about the white dinosaur that had actually jumped so high her head just breached the top bar of the paddock stalls. Sarah had been supremely excited, peering through the spaces in the bars and clawing at them, even attempting to stuff her snout in between. At first Claire had thought it sweet; Sarah seemed eager to meet new dinosaurs. Then the Indominus Rex roared and Claire realised it wasn't an invitation to play. It was frustration at not being able to get at the dinosaurs inside. A lone Gallimimus appeared—Claire figured that in the wild, that one would be the first to die—and Sarah had gone eerily silent, inching back and forth along the paddock stall bars. Luis and Ben looked at her and they all stared at Sarah, who was trying to find a way in.
"Maybe we'll have better luck with the other babies. Like the Triceratops or Stegosaurus." Ben was tall and on the thin side, dark haired and dark-eyed and he had ten years of experience in zoos and sanctuaries. He was also being very kind, Claire realised as she dragged Sarah away from the Gallimimus pen. This visit was doomed to failure but she would see it out as graciously as she could.
There had been a bellowing contest between Sarah and a couple of Triceratops who looked frightened but stubbornly stood their ground while the rest ran away. The Apatosaurus babies, so used to craning their long necks to peer over the stall bars, had seen Sarah coming and lowed in alarm before lumbering away as quickly as they could.
It had taken a superhuman effort not to blush or look down or behave as though this was her fault. "I think we have enough information now," Claire had thanked Ben and Luis graciously. "I do apologise for the commotion." She opened the door to the jeep and told Sarah to get inside. The Indominus Rex hesitated, looked longingly at the entrance to the paddock and then acquiesced. It had been slightly mollifying, to see the amazement on the two men's faces when they realised Sarah not only understood commands, but could obey them. Still, it hadn't been enough at all to erase Claire's embarrassment. The closest analogy she could find for it was bringing your child to the playground to make friends and realising that in spite of your best efforts, your child didn't want friends; your child had loftier ambitions to be the neighbourhood terror.
"At least you know how high her prey drive is, even if she's still a baby." Even kittens could hunt grasshoppers; baby crocodiles went after tiny fish and frogs. In order to learn to hunt, animals played. It was driven by curiosity of what the other creature was, the discovery of what they were capable of, learning how to grab, to bite, to pin down another in order to make a kill. It was the same instinct at work in Sarah, born of nature but enhanced by Henry. She seemed to have bypassed the play stage or gone through it with extraordinary speed; what Claire had witnessed was an animal in full-blown hunting mode. She knew prey when she saw it. "What did you put inside her? What kind of capabilities are you talking about?"
"You know that's classified InGen intel." Henry locked his tablet and set it down, watching as Claire rubbed the heel of her palm against the top part of Sarah's snout. "How intelligent is she? How many commands can she process? We combined several genomes from various dinosaurs and it's worth exploring."
"This is not Sea World and she is not a dolphin or whale to perform tricks. You wouldn't have any use for knowing how smart she is." She stared calmly at Henry as she rose to her feet.
"It might help with making alterations to the paddock. You need to make sure the public is safe when you start showing her."
"Those walls are forty feet high and stronger than the ones we built for the Tyrannosaurus Rex. I'd say the public is safe enough."
"Claire—"
"If you want to run other kinds of tests on her, you tell Mr Masrani and then he and I can discuss it in a video conference." Claire tugged on Sarah's leash and the dinosaur came willingly enough. She had never liked the lab anyway. "Good day Henry."
... ... ...
Something was wrong.
It was a feeling she couldn't shake even as they drew up to the raptor paddock. Sarah had recognised the route by now and once they passed a certain cluster of trees and had taken a right turn, she had barked and warbled loudly, jumping excitedly at the window until it was smeared with some saliva and the condensation from her breath.
She had missed something.
Owen was already up on the walkway, so it was Barry who opened the gate for her and stayed with her because once they had tried leaving her alone inside and Claire's tension had been so palpable that it had drawn the raptors like a beacon and Sarah had been torn between making placating chirps and issuing tiny growls that made Blue press up against the bars and show her teeth to put the baby in its place.
"She's gotten bigger," Barry commented as he studied the Indominus Rex. Sarah regarded him warily, but as long as Barry never came into her space and Claire's—touching either of them was completely out of the question— she accepted him. Claire suspected this was again because of the raptors' influence. Perhaps with more visits, Sarah might mellow. "And look at that." He pointed to the teeth that had sprouted farther along her upper jaws. That had happened two days ago.
"She has a full set of teeth now. Henry says there are seventy-four of them."
Barry let out a low whistle and Sarah cocked her head at him. "Except for the Mosasaurus, she has more teeth than any other animal on this island."
"She was designed for that." To her ears, it sounded more like an indictment rather than a fact. Sarah was sniffing around and when she got too close to the bars, Claire tugged her back. She was getting bigger, but the space in between looked like a snug fit and even though the raptors seemed fine with Sarah, Claire would not let her in the paddock and Owen had seconded that opinion. "That's their territory and while they know she's a baby, they're also very aware that she's not part of the pack. I'm their alpha and they know you're Sarah's."
The sound of a pig's squealing cut through her thoughts. The leash snapped taut as Sarah lunged for the bars and pulled her off balance. Barry grabbed her, saving her from getting better acquainted with the leaf-strewn floor and then he let her go almost as quickly as he had leapt to her aid because Sarah pivoted, her shoulders hunched, neck lowered as she hissed at him, warning him away from Claire.
"Stop that." Claire stepped in front of her, blocking Barry from Sarah's view. "Barry's okay. Everything's okay." Sarah looked at her and Claire could practically see the dinosaur thinking about what she'd said. Then the pig squealed again, closer this time and Sarah forgot about everything else when that pink noisy body of blood and meat burst through the thick foliage and trees, grunting and shrilling loudly as it ran for the safety of the small passage built into the wall. The Indominus Rex let out a shriek of her own as she ran towards the end of the bars, pulling herself as upright as Claire had ever seen her stand, her entire head through the space between the bars as she snapped her jaws.
"Sarah!" This was the second time Sarah had seen a training session involving a pig run. The first time, she had done nothing but sit very still beside Claire, those huge eyes taking in everything. Obviously, things were vastly different now. When Sarah completely disregarded any commands to back up from the bars, Claire had to haul her away with both hands wrapped around the leash. A quick look above revealed that Owen was watching them. The sun was burning bright overhead so she couldn't quite see his face but she knew he was concerned. "What is wrong with you?" she muttered in frustration. "You usually aren't this stubborn."
And that was when she had it. She's never been that stubborn.It had always been a point of pride for Claire that Sarah was as good as gold in the lab. She had been as docile as any pet, so much so that Claire had to warn a few staff and doctors from getting too close and from petting her. After that debacle with the aborted blood test, she didn't have to but still she'd behaved, as long as Claire had handled her.
She's never been that stubborn.The only behavioural traits Claire had included in her reports to him had to do with things like aggression, levels of playfulness, Sarah's intense attentiveness to anything that moved or swayed in the wind, her increasing appetite. She had left out as much as she could that would give away Sarah's intelligence levels, stating only the basics. She had certainly left out any challenges she faced training Sarah.
So how would Henry know?
In the background, she could hear Owen calling out instructions to the raptors but his words barely registered above the loud buzz of her own thoughts. Adrenaline under her skin made her hair stand. Perhaps the better question that needed immediate answering was this: How did Henry know? Because Claire was suddenly sure as hell that he did know. The bastard knew much more than he was letting on and he had slipped up in the lab. That was why he had looked so uncomfortable. She had assumed it was her reference to the blood test and that had been her mistake.
She needed to make a call and she couldn't do it here with the two discretely placed security cameras positioned at the diagonal left and right corners. "Sarah, come on." Claire bit her lip and stopped herself from cursing aloud when the dinosaur dug in her clawed feet and absolutely refused to leave the paddock. She barked at Claire when she tried again and there was an answering call from the raptors, all of who were now staring at her like she was a particularly tasty dessert.
"Hey!" Owen hollered and she heard the sharp sound of the clicker pierce the air. "Eyes on me! Blue!"
The beta raptor turned from her with a snarl. "Watch it!" Owen corrected sharply. Charlie hissed in support of her beta. "Charlie, don't give me that shit! Delta, lock it up."
Echo was the only one who remained quiet. She stole a quick look at Sarah, then Claire, and went back to looking at Owen.
"Good." Owen lifted his hand. "And, we're moving."
"If you want to leave, now's your chance," Barry said quietly. "I doubt she will mind if you want to step out for a minute." He indicated to the titanium halter. "You could tether her to that. I'll watch her."
"Thank you. And for just now too." She looped the end of the leash securely to the halter, double-knotting it. A quick but hard tug ensured that it stayed in place. Claire stepped out of the paddock and closed the gate. Sarah chirped and warbled, calling to her but lost interest when the raptors started leaping in the air for the treats that Owen tossed at them.
The raptor paddock was situated near a particularly scenic part of the island: a cliff's edge lined with palm and coconut trees and grass with the sapphire blue ocean beating itself into glistening foamy waves against the high jagged rocks. Here the wind was wild and it tore at her, whipping her hair into her mouth and eyes as Claire walked towards the trees.
Taking out her phone, she began keying in Lowery's number before she deleted it. No, not Lowery. She had no doubt he could probably locate how Henry was keeping tabs on her—he was the surveillance and tech expert on the island—but he wouldn't be in a position to help solve it for her. Doing so might get him into trouble; she couldn't conceive of how but he worked on the same location as Henry and for the same company and if she could keep him out of it, she would.
There was one other person she could call. Claire could count the number of people she trusted that much with one hand and she had always been one of them. It had been years since they'd met at Harvard and it had been a friendship that had continued in spite of their hectic schedules. It also helped that they had, until Claire's move to Isla Nublar, been involved in the same social scene as well. Yes, she might be able to help, Claire thought as she keyed in the numbers and hit the call button.
She picked up on the fifth ring. "Hi! Oh my goodness, where are you?"
"Hi Pepper. I'm on the island, where else would I be?"
"Sounds like you're near the beach. Are you finally getting some sun?"
Claire snorted. "Are you kidding? Congratulations on being CEO of Stark Industries, again."
It was Pepper's turn to snort. "Thanks, I suppose. This really should be Tony's job but..."
"But you do it better than he ever could and he realised that?"
"You think?" It was noisy and she'd had to turn up the volume of her phone but Pepper's doubt came through quite clearly.
"Pepper, please. You ran in six-inch heels from Obadiah Stane and his behemoth suit and helped your boyfriend put that mad man down. I've been reading the news. Stark Industries is doing better than ever. There's nothing you can't do."
"Except lure Tony away from his workshop. But that's another story entirely. So what's going on with you?"
She hesitated.
"Claire, are you okay?"
She could picture Pepper, with her red hair pinned back in the slick ponytail she preferred, with that slight concerned frown and the ramrod straight posture she always adopted whenever something came up, an unconscious response that signalled her readiness to tackle whatever problem it was that arose. "I think I have a problem."
"How can I help?"
"I think someone's spying on me and I need to find out how. I'm not sure if it's my phone, or my computer or..." Or cameras in her apartment. That was the part she couldn't bear to say out loud, not yet. "I can't tell Mr Masrani because I don't have any evidence and I honestly don't know who else I can talk to about this."
"Okay, okay. But if I manage to find out who's spying on you, you do realise that you couldn't use that information because we got it for you and your boss is probably going to be very concerned that I basically hacked into the systems on Isla Nublar? Plus I'm sure that violates almost all the confidentiality clauses in the contract you've signed with Masrani Global."
"There is someone here who could find out for me but I'm afraid he might get into trouble and I wouldn't be in a place to help him. This is InGen we're talking about here and if what I think is happening really is the case, then it specifically involves InGen's Security Division."
"Victor Hoskins. I met him. All right, I'm going to put Jarvis on it right now. He'll be able to help you. He's the soul of discretion and I'm going to authorise him not to tell me anything unless you say so. In fact, this phone call never happened on your network or mine, or any other networks for that matter."
"He can do that?" Claire's eyes widened. "Who is this guy?"
"Basically the god of the cyber world and then some. There's a lot Jarvis can do. Claire, do you still have that pepper spray?"
"No, but I've been thinking about it."
"You should start carrying some since Vic Hoskins is involved. Promise you'll call me if things get...complicated."
Claire smiled. "Are you going to ask Tony to come visit in his nice suit? He might be too busy saving the world."
"Maybe. But I might visit in one of his nice suits. I'm sure he could configure one for me."
"I'll have a whole new category created for that: Superhero visitors. Just don't bring the Hulk. Thanks Pepper. I owe you."
"No you don't. Although if you could somehow help me avoid meeting Aldrich Killian within the next hour, I would be in your debt."
Claire could hear the face Pepper was pulling. "Sorry Potts, I'd serve him to Rexy if I could but no one opens Paddock Nine unless...well, maybe if it were a life or death situation but that's never happened. And Owen would kill me if I gave something as slimy as Killian to his raptors."
"Who's Owen?" Pepper pounced.
"I'll tell you more about him next time. You should know that he wore board shorts to our first date."
"And you let him live?"
"Well, I made an itinerary and actually brought it with me so..."
"Dearing, there's organised and then there's organised."
"I know, I'm learning."
"Miss Potts, I have the information Miss Dearing requires. And you're going to have to leave in five minutes if you wish to get to your appointment in time."
"Great. Jarvis, please help Miss Dearing with anything she requires. Claire, I have to go. Don't forget, call me."
"I will. Good luck with Killian. And thanks again, Pepper."
"Don't mention it." And then she was gone.
"Miss Dearing?"
For a tech geek, Jarvis had a wonderful voice and the loveliest crisp accent. He also possibly worked faster than Superman could fly. "Yes Jarvis. Firstly, thank you for helping me out with this."
"Miss Potts thinks very highly of you Miss Dearing so it's my pleasure. I'm afraid your suspicions are right. I have detected surveillance feeds in your apartment and they lead back to an InGen Security server."
At first Claire felt cold. Then, she felt so furious that at that moment, she would have opened Paddock Nine if it meant she could throw Hoskins and Henry inside. "Where are the cameras?"
"In the hall and kitchen."
Oh thank God, Claire breathed silently. She had some shreds of privacy left. But her momentary relief was completely drowned out by the blazing anger she felt at Jarvis' next announcement.
"I also detected some suspicious activity with regard to your handphone and have blocked these accordingly for the duration of this call. How would you like me to deal with this situation?"
If she physically took out the cameras, they would just put new ones back in different places. "Jarvis, what are the chances of InGen or any of the park's online security measures detecting your presence in the system?"
"None. I'll be able to elude them with ease."
That was frightening to know, but reassuring too. "Could you block any and all surveillance of me in the apartment, including any new cameras they set up?"
"Done. Is there anything else you require?"
Basically, Pepper had handed her the cyber equivalent of a skeleton key and told her she could do whatever she wanted with it. She'd done that precisely because she knew Claire was the kind of person who wouldn't go wild with such power. There was just one other thing she needed to know. "Jarvis, could you find out exactly what Sarah's made of?"
"The Indominus Rex...designed to be eighteen feet tall, fifty feet long... lifespan estimated at an average of forty years..." She would be on the brink of her seventies then. "Designed using genomes from the Giganotosaurus, Majungasaurus, Carnotaurus, Rugops, Therizinosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Velociraptor. She also has genetic strands from tree frogs, snakes, cuttlefish and primates."
"What? Primates, as in monkeys?"
"And apes. A mix of capuchin and chimpanzee to be precise. Do you want the specifics of the other species?"
"No." Claire reminded herself to breathe in and out, and to loosen her grip on her phone before she cracked it. While she knew that there was a need to fill in the gaps in genomes, she couldn't understand why the hell Henry had added snakes and frogs and cuttlefish to the mix. And monkeys. What the hell was going on?
"I want to run a series of tests on the Indominus."
"Is there any information about..." she groped for the word, "about hypothesised abilities of the Indominus Rex?"
"Dr Wu hasn't very much in his database about this. InGen Security Division servers may yield more information."
"No, I think we've gone through enough backdoors for today." To be honest, Claire thought she had heard and done too much, period. "Thank you Jarvis. That's all I need."
"Very well Miss Dearing." There was a pause and she thought he'd hung up. "Do take care. I highly recommend Miss Potts' suggestion of pepper spray. You could consider a taser as well. An acquaintance of mine swears by it."
"I'll think about it. Thanks."
"Good day, Miss Dearing."
She was going to have to tell Owen. Claire slipped her phone back into her pocket, shuddering at the thought of eyes that had watched her and Owen and Sarah in the apartment, of ears that had listened to every conversation they shared. She wondered what Henry and Hoskins would do when they discovered they could no longer spy on her. In spite of the warm sun, she wrapped her arms around herself as she trudged back to the paddock.
Sarah was curled up on the ground with her back to Barry while he stayed on the other side of the enclosed space. The raptors were gone and at first Claire thought she was sleeping. But Sarah never slept during the day. She squinted against the bright sun, walked faster. As she got closer, she saw what Sarah was really up to.
She had snuck part of the leash into her mouth and was very quietly and furiously grinding her jaws over it. Claire started running. "Stop her! She's biting through it."
On that count, she was wrong. Sarah had bitten through it and Barry found that out when his attempts to grab the portion of the leash still attached to her harness buckle met with teeth that had opened leather. He dodged Sarah's bite as Claire flung open the gate and both of them realised the attack for the feint it had been when Sarah rushed for the bars that stood between her and the paddock.
"Sarah!" Claire screamed as they both ran forward but it was too late. There was a slight squeeze and Claire had had enough time to brush her fingers against the end of Sarah's tail when the dinosaur popped through the space and tumbled out into the paddock.
There was shouting above. In the distance, a pig was squealing and Sarah leapt to her feet with an excited bark. Claire looked at the button to open the gate and felt Barry's hands close over her arms. "No," he said, looking about as horrified as she felt.
The pig came bursting out through the grass and never saw the Indominus Rex barrelling towards it until it was too late. Claire could smell blood in the warm air as her Sarah sunk her claws into the fleshy sides of the small pig and opened it up. She struck for the throat. She missed once and ripped its snout. The pig screamed then stopped as Sarah's second attempt succeeded.
That was how the raptors found her. Sarah crouched over her kill, white and ruby red, her tail lashing. Blue stood in front of the group. She barked. Once. Twice. Sarah growled and shook the carcass. She didn't want to give it up.
Blue stepped forward with an angry snarl, the others following behind her in a loose circle.
She was suffocating; everything had turned ash grey as she watched the raptors close in on the Indominus Rex. "Oh God," Claire breathed, prayed. Not again.
She was not thirteen. This was not her mother's car. There was no truck with a driver who'd slept too little. This could not be happening. But it was. Everything was spinning out of control as it had that day and she was helpless. Again. Claire gasped and tasted the warm salt of tears on her lips.