Chapter Thirteen

Four Weeks Later

"Good night, Owen," Marianne flopped the tan-colored wide-brimmed hat back onto her head, probably destroying what was left of her wild curls from a hot, muggy day's work outside. Exhausted, and in dire need of a drink, she'd opted for a night in the resort and in Margaritaville instead of sitting home browsing Netflix-again. "You thinking six tomorrow to round the new meds or earlier than that?"

Owen paused the winding of a rope around his arm to cast a look at her, standing in the middle of the staircase, backpack draped over her shoulder. She fidgeted with a loose curl which had fallen out of her hat, and licked at her lower lip, where beaded sweat had made itself more than welcome on her skin. A recent sunburn, which had been blazing hot the day before, was peeling, making her somewhat self conscious. He nodded slowly, returning to winding the rope around his arm, the back of his shirt wet with sweat and his mustache slick. "Well, I think it'll be fine-Delta's pretty good about new meds, as long as we give 'em the regular way. I think six is ok." The corner of his lips lifted in a smile, and he tossed a wink at her, "Or, if you're dying to come in earlier than that, I can find stuff to do."

She rolled her eyes, puffing out a breathe. "Don't you wish." Tromping down the rest of the steps in her heavy hiking boots, she reached up and clapped a hand on his shoulder and patted it, kicking a stone with the foot of her boot as she sashayed past him, "See you tomorrow. Sleep well."

"Yep. See ya later," he called after her as she dug her keys from her pocket, "Sweet dreams, Annie." He said lightly after her. She stopped, simultaneously rolling her eyes as she spun around to face him. Giving him an annoyed look, she scoffed.

Oh they'll be sweet alright. "Good night, Owen."

He beamed. "Night, Annie."

Narrowing her eyes at him, she started back for the car. Popping open the door and tossing her backpack inside, she watched him work under the floodlights a few moments, replacing the rope in the storage shed and crossing the yard without a care in the world. Marianne started the car and pumped the engine, him spinning around and grinning at her like a schoolboy, before waving her off. She couldn't contain a smile and flicked the lights on, shifting out of park, and peeling out towards the resort-just to make him angry.

The last four weeks had went decently, smoothly. Marianne had spent a lot of the four weeks in the field with Owen, doing routine skin checks and food journals and inventory, as well as documenting an entire veterinary call that happened once every few months spontaneously. The computer work she'd promised Owen had gotten done her first week, winning over the crew in short order, sooner than she'd anticipated. Actually, she'd gotten to know the crew somewhat well-Briggs, Silas, and Barry-and as far as she could tell, had established her place among them strongly.

Her attraction at Owen had dimmed somewhat as she found him to be a fun type of guy-immature, but fun nonetheless. He took pride in his job and found any and every way to make it fun. A good teacher, she'd enjoyed his explanations and his teaching. It was easy to learn with someone willing to take the time to understand and work hands on with, and it was interesting to see his development as they went along-Marianne got the notion he was learning just as much as she was. He picked on her and egged her on, as well as antagonized the living daylights out of her over their workdays-and when he wasn't, Owen was continually challenging her and pushing her to do better, to think quicker, to move stronger. And, when he wasn't playing teacher, she got to show him a few things here and there about his office and how to understand what he was writing. It was a mutual understanding they shared, and she'd enjoyed the time to get to know him. For the most part, she felt comfortable around him, like an equal, and like they were moving on as friends-not as much as acquaintances as they both opened up.

Overall, Jurassic World wasn't bad. Paddock Six (or, as they had deemed it, the Pit), was secluded from the main area of the park-intricate, and built for research and development of the Raptors more than an attraction. Marianne had taken her time to get to know the resort and it's people-as well as its schedule, which was almost as grueling as the layout. Just as she had spent her time in Snakewater and the Badlands with Alan, she'd learned the atmosphere and acclimated to it, understood it, and became part of it. She'd integrated and, she would admit, it wasn't bad.

What she really couldn't stand though was the control aspect-these people had no care in the world what they were doing. From what she could tell, is they either disregarded, ignored, or simply were unaware of the fact that this place-this "park"-was not a park at all. It was a living, breathing time-bomb, like Alan had said once in a lecture at Yale University: it was only a matter of time before everything went south, and the screams replaced the laughter. Marianne had realized her first week, after walking around on eggshells and eyeballing the security as she passed by the Mosasaur paddock, that these people really had no idea. Literally everything around her was alive, and progressing, and learning. It wouldn't take long for the T-Rex to realize where its food was coming from-or that it was bigger than where it's food came from. It wouldn't take long for that swimming nightmare attraction-Mosasaurs-to realize that little podium Kathy, the announcer, stood on was made of cement and would snap without an effort. And likewise-it wouldn't take long for everything in this place to shut down and go to hell in a hand-basket. It had happened with John Hammond, and it could happen here.

But, Marianne had learned quickly to keep those thoughts to herself, as in the wrong crowd they struck nerves and tended to bring out the bad side of employees. So, she'd reserved her thoughts and quietly listened on her days in the resort, when she had Owen had to run reports with ACU and Claire Dearing. Listening had actually gained her a lot of knowledge and know-how, as well as information which she could draw her conclusions, arguments, and suspicions from.

The latest being the I-Rex, or better known around the staff garden as the "Indominus". Rumored, she'd guessed, at being almost fifty feet long by maturity and having the intelligence that would match the Raptors, it was almost hard to believe it could actually exist. Marianne understood it as Jurassic World's first genetically modified hybrid, designed and bred by none other than Henry Wu, famed geneticist and scientist of Jurassic Park. Not yet ready to be presented to the public, it was in talks to have a safety session addressing new additions to the park sometime this week. Marianne had asked Owen if they'd ever had them before, and he'd nonchalantly replied that they only did when something was really big, really dangerous, and really expensive. Which had piqued her curiosity all the more, and sent warning bells through her head.

Genetically modifying dinosaurs? What more could they think up? Marianne couldn't imagine anything greater than seeing real, living dinosaurs-she was in awe as she looked up at the Brachiosaurus and watched the graceful grazing of Triceratops in the Valley. All of it was a mess of nature, science, and chaos-as well as pride and greed, and perhaps vision tossed in their somewhere. It reeked of man's inability to be satisfied, and mystified, as well as their satiation for control. It wasn't good enough that science and humanity had done this once and achieved success, no. Now we had to drag genetics and modifications and really push the maximum this time. Blur the lines a little more. Take the chance just a bit farther. It made her stomach sour with rage, flip with curiosity, and sink with terror.

She was beginning to wonder if Alan had been right.

. . .

"But I'm bored, Zach."

Zach rolled his eyes and set his phone on his lap the next morning, feeling the radiating heat of the day burn away at his skin. Already as tan as he could imagine himself getting, this was the third day they'd spent at the waterpark off the resort. Gray, always a fan of swimming, had gotten bored yesterday, but Zach had convinced him off finishing off the day to get a complete and even tan. Now, he guessed, he'd never hear the end of it.

Watching the water cascade down into broiling waves and pools, he envied the children and adults and families having a good time here. The two of them had been here four weeks and had seen Claire a handful of times-never really succeeding to do anything besides eat meals and talk about plans. She'd visited one attraction with them-the petting zoo-and had been on her phone the entire time. Zach thought she was a drag while Gray couldn't get enough of her.

Which was probably fine. He needed someone to latch onto these days besides him. Gray had mentioned to Zach on more than one occasion that he was worried about their parents getting a divorce and their family splitting up. Zach, unsure how to process such feelings from his brother, had tried to play it cool and uninformed by pretending Gray was watching too much TV or listening to too many of his friends at school, insisting their family was fine-when in reality, it wasn't.

Zach knew the signs, hadn't been stupid these past few years. His parents' marriage was failing, and he had a feeling it had a lot to do with Gray. Not that he was a bad kid, no; but by the fact that they were separated by quite a few years. Gray had been unexpected and unplanned in his mother's mad world of control and stability and future organization-Gray's birth had almost sent her into a mental breakdown. Zach knew his family struggled with OCD and control, sure; but he hadn't expected it to reek this much havoc on his life. He wasn't sure how to feel or how to respond, as his parents tried to get him to mediate and be the middleman of their failing, messy marriage. He hated the idea of turning the one against the other, and vice versa, but what was he to do? He was sixteen-not even licensed to drive, much less qualified to keep his family together.

Gray begged on his arm, "Zach, come on. Let's do something fun! Like, like go into the Innovation Center and do some research, maybe go up to the labs? Aunt Claire said we could if we went with Zar."

Zar. The assistant. She'd been as useless and unengaging as Claire was. Paid exorbitant amounts probably just to do nothing but watch them, she had the personality of a drowned rat and the capability of a mud fence. Addicted to her phone and with nothing other to talk about than her engagement plans-to Jacques, a French pilot-she strutted around in Vera heels and an outfit so unpractical it made an Ommpaloompa look put together. He couldn't stand the idea of being drug through another day with her.

Zach let his fall back onto the plastic beach chair, the material rubbing against the bare skin of his back. Really all he found enjoyable would be to sleep in his bed upstairs, but he knew that was impossible. He gave his brother a look and sighed. Maybe if they went into the Valley in the Gyrosphere's it'd keep the kid occupied.

But, the look on Gray's face told him it wouldn't cut it. It would have to be something amazing, something to keep him entertained. He closed his eyes and thought for a minute, trying to think of anything that would keep Gray occupied for a few hours. The phone on his lap jingled and he noticed it was his girlfriend, Riley. He groaned.

"Hold on a second," he grumbled to Gray, moving some of the hair out of his eyes, "it's Ri-"

"Your stupid girlfriend," Gray mumbled, crossing his arms and plopping down into a soggy heap on the beach chair. He brought his legs up under him Indian style and frowned at his brother. "You've spent more time talking to her than you have to me."

He huffed, texting rapidly, not believing he was having this conversation with a nine year old. "Don't be stupid. I have not-"

"Gray, Zach!"

Both of them look up across the kid's pool, where a figure in lime-green and white was waving at them dramatically, red hair striking against a sea of turquoise water. It was Claire, and she was stepping carefully around water spots, dodging exuberant children running in wet swimsuits, a look of disgust, distain, and horror on her face. She approached then wedge shoes, phone at hand, sunglasses on top of her head. He thought she looked ridiculous.

Shielding his eyes from the sun, he looked up at her. "Aunt Claire,"

Gray said nothing, just glared at him.

"Hello boys," she looked between them, that sick-and fake-tone in her voice, "I was wondering if you'd be able to help me with something."

Zach shrugged a shoulder, pulling out the earphone he had in his right ear. He swung his legs over the side of the chair and stood, stretching out his back. Gray sat, folded like a wet towel, glaring at him and staring with a frown at their Aunt. Feeling nothing like helping, he forced himself to be a good nephew, "Sure, Aunt Claire. Whaddya need?"

She smiled at him. "Marvelous." She gave them a weak smile. Claire turned on her heels, perfectly trimmed hair swishing around her shoulders. Moving around Gray's chair, she motioned with her hands at all their things and gave another weak, somewhat pathetic, smile. "Once you two get cleaned up, come find me at the Center for dinner," she referred to the Samsung Innovation building, "There's a veterinarian team going out to a very special part of the park tomorrow, and I'd like you to tag along wtih me. Of course, we'll have to talk about the precautions and everything over supper, but I thought you two might be interested." She then pointed a finger at Gray and made a fake-serious face, "Very VIP and on the down-low. You guys are interested-" She looked down at Gray, "-right?"

The kid was nothing if not excited beyond belief. He looked as if he'd pee his pants at that moment. He quickly gathered up his towel and that ridiculous pouch, nodding his wet head as if he were incapable of saying anything else. Zach set to getting his things in order slowly, Claire watching them carefully, until she responded, "Great. I'll be there tonight." She wiggled her fingers at them in a good-bye wave, "Bye!"

She then left as quickly as she'd come.

Gray spun around, droplets of water smacking Zach in the face. He gave his brother an annoyed, disgusted look, and sighed. Glancing around the area, they began walking back towards the resort, Gray all smiles and skips. Zach felt as if he could crawl under a rock and die there. He wanted nothing more than to go home and sit with his girlfriend and ride his dirtbike. He was tired of his aunt's fake attitude and rules.

He was just sick of pretending things were under control when they weren't.