Chapter 20: Awake
"Here comes Shadow!" Owen shouts to the raptors. They were playing soccer just as Aurora promised him and he was enjoying every bit of it with fits of laughter.
Shadow steals the ball from Lightning, slipping it away with her muzzle, and then passes it to Moriko. The young female raptor pushes the ball to Blue who then delivers it to the goal.
"Score for the girls!" Aurora shouts and marks the tally. "Five against two," she adds. The male raptors snort in disgust, but Blue and Moriko lick the cheeks of Lightning and Hooper.
'Patience, you will get your chance,' Blue chirps to her new mate. Lightning then gently rubs his head against her. It had been a week since their victory over Hoskins and the dinosaurs were living in peace one again.
"Blue! Lightning! No making out on the field!" Aurora warns the two, "The same goes for you Moriko and Hooper!" she adds.
The game resumes and Blackjack steals the ball from Echo, who screeches out, 'Thief! Thief!' Echo's new mate ignores her and rolls the ball towards Viper, but then Delta pushes it away to Shadow.
'Cheat! Cheat!' Blackjack snorts and the male raptors go after Shadow. Then, Shadow passes the ball to Moriko, but then Lightning steals it, and sends it flying towards the goal.
Owen shouts, "Score for the boys!" Aurora tallies the score, the girls were the victors, but it was a good game.
"If the girls keep this up, they might qualify for the dinosaur companionship, unless there is one," Owen said to Aurora and she takes his bottle of beer. "Hey, get your own," he adds, but Aurora takes a sip.
She makes a face that shows disgust, "I guess I am not a fan of wheat beer," she said and gives back the bottle.
Owen was about to take a sip when he drops the bottle and he begins to groan in pain. He takes a handful of dirt and clenches his fist hard. "Owen, what's wrong?!" Aurora cries out and comes to his side.
He holds up his hands, they were becoming translucent, and Aurora shouts, "Ulyssa!" The big raptor comes over to them and looks at Owen.
"What's wrong with him?" Aurora asks.
'Nothing, he's waking up in the real world,' Ulyssa replies and Aurora looks at Owen.
"I am waking up," Owen said, he knew what Ulyssa said.
"I don't want you to go," Aurora cries and holds him.
"It'll be okay," Owen replies and kisses her, "I'm just taking a vacation from here," he adds.
"And how long will that last?" Aurora asks.
"Don't know, maybe years, depends of when I die," Owen said, but that made Aurora choke up in sobs. Owen's left hand disappears completely, but he cuddles Aurora with his right.
"It will be all right, you have your Velociraptor family, they will protect you until I get back," Owen said, his voice was becoming translucent.
"It's not that," Aurora replies, "What if you don't come back here? What if your soul goes some place else, like Heaven or Hell?" she asks.
"I doubt it, I know I will end up back here," Owen answers and his left arm vanishes, followed by his shoulder and his left leg. "Just be patient, I will come back," he said and then his right side begins to disappear.
"Owen, I want you to live your life to the fullest before you die. Live the way you want; become a husband to Claire, have kids, grow old and die in your bed. Live the way you want to be," Aurora said to him and he nods.
Aurora then kisses him, full on the lips, and they hold on until Owen vanishes completely. Blue comes to Aurora's side and the woman hugs the raptor's neck.
"He will come back, he will," Aurora said and the other raptors come to her side and gently caress their heads against her.
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The first thing Owen took note of was the white walls in the room and then the beeping of the heart monitor. Owen then begins to cry when he realized that he was back in the real world. "Aurora," he whispers.
A passing nurse notices him and calls for the doctors. They swarm into Owen's room, checking his vitals, and such.
In Claire's hotel room, the woman looks at a newspaper featuring the top story. It was about Dr. Wu's statement about reconsidering of not opening Jurassic World.
"The pursuit of genetics always has major consequences. It happened at Jurassic Park and it has happened to Jurassic World," Dr. Wu said in his statement, "Isla Nublar should be a wildlife reserve for the dinosaurs to roam and not be subjected to human entertainment," he adds.
Just then, Claire's cell phone rings, it was from the hospital. "Hello?" she answers. Someone on the other end said something and Claire's eyes widened. "I'm on my way!" she exclaims and decides to dress appropriately. She rushes out of her room and into an elevator.
She flags a taxi outside and it takes her to the hospital. Claire's heart was pounding hard when she arrived and she tells the driver to wait and she goes inside.
She was brought to the rehabilitation center where Owen was trying to regain movement in his legs. Claire begins to cry and Owen turns and notices her. "Claire," he said and she rushes into his embrace, but they fall to the floor.
They cry together, but Owen was crying mostly because he had left Aurora. He did feel sorry for leaving Claire and he holds her tight. "I'm here," he said and Claire kisses him.
The kiss was not the same as Aurora's and he continues to cry. "It's okay, you're awake," Claire said and holds him. Owen did not care about that, he wished he had not woken up, but now there was nothing to do but wait until he dies.
"Claire," he said, remembering what Aurora said to him, "Let's get married," he adds. Claire looks at him in surprise, but she didn't have to be told twice. She nods with a smile and they share a hug and a kiss.
From the author: Owen's awake! Just what does it mean for Aurora? Will Owen live a full life? We will see.