Prologue:
"No, please, just listen." Sierra Grady urged into her cell phone as she paced around her small living room. "I will be more than happy to pay double your normal rate. And I will provide all the equipment I need, and I will be the one to actually catch them. All you have to do is provide the boat and means to get them into the country."
"I am sorry, miss. But I can't help you." the man answered on the other end, his voice thickly accented. "It is too risky, with the volcano and the dinosaurs. I can't help you."
With a click, the call ended. Sierra stood there for a long moment before lowering her hand from her ear. Slowly, she turned and flopped back on the lumpy sofa against the wall, slouching in defeat.
The man on the other end of the line had been, she was sure, her last chance of saving her raptors. She'd contacted no less than 19 people, some shadier than others, in an attempt to hire someone to help her. But for one reason or another, they all fell through. There had been a couple that had seemed eager to help her, but her gut had told her they weren't in it to help her. They likely would have double-crossed her and taken the pack for themselves.
That line of thinking had Sierra turning her head tiredly to the side, eyes going up to the collection of framed photos hanging on her wall. There were a few of her and Owen, a couple of her with Claire, her and Gray and Zach, and even Barry. And of course, there were a handful of the raptors, ranging from the day they hatched to when they were fully grown.
It had been a long three years. And eventful, of course. Sierra graduated high school several months after the whole disaster with the Indominus. During that time, her and Owen had rented a small house on the mainland. As an employee, he'd been given a decent chunk of money in the settlement.
But when Sierra went on to college to pursue a veterinary degree, choosing the University of California-Davis, Owen bought a van to live in with Claire, who he'd obviously been dating since the whole near-death experience stuff.
But Sierra was currently on a short hiatus from college, even though she continued living in her small apartment near campus. She'd finished her first year of college when reports were announced that Mount Sibo, the volcano on Isla Nublar, had become active after years of being dormant. And it was continuing to get worse. It was clear now that the volcano would erupt at any time, destroying most of the island and anything living on it. Including the dinosaurs.
If Sierra couldn't get her raptors off that island, now, they wouldn't survive much longer.
Movement on her small, muted TV screen caught Sierra's attention. Her eyes focused, and she instantly leaned forward to snatch her remote off the coffee table to turn the volume back up. Her elbows propped on her knees, she leaned forward to listen intently. This breaking news announcement could make her day better, or so much worse.
"After thorough deliberation, the committee has resolved not to recommend any legislative action regarding the de-extinct creatures on Isla Nublar. This is an act of God and, while of course we feel great sympathy for these animals, we cannot condone government involvement on what amounts to a privately-owned venture."
Sierra had started feeling numb about half-way through the politician's speech, but now it was almost a feeling of defeat, of grief. The way he spoke about the dinosaurs like they're just mindless animals,…it made Sierra sick. They weren't just animals. Blue, Charlie, Echo, and Delta were what was left of Sierra's small family with her brother. She needed to save them. She couldn't lose them. The last few years had driven her crazy with that one goal in mind. She hated how they'd left it, the uncertainty as the raptors ran off into the jungle. Constantly wondering if Delta's leg was okay, if she'd wrapped it correctly, if it healed right…
Sierra's spiraling thoughts were cut off by her phone ringing on the couch cushion next to her, where she'd dropped it. The caller ID was an unknown number, but she answered it anyway, figuring she could use a distraction.
"Hello?" she asked tiredly, raking her other hand through her dark auburn hair, likely turning the still-damp, mild curls into frizz.
"May I speak with Ms. Grady?" a woman's voice asked in response.
"Um, this is Sierra Grady." she confirmed, figuring it was a telemarketer or something equally annoying. She was half-tempted to hang up then and there.
"Good morning, I'm calling on behalf of Benjamin Lockwood's estate. Would you mind holding for a second?"
Sierra's brows furrowed, racking her brain to try and place why that name sounded familiar. 'Lockwood…Lockwood…Hammond and Lockwood.'
Her eyes went wide at the recognition and she stuttered a response, "Um, sure, yes, I'll-I'll hold."
Why would John Hammond's old business partner, the man who helped create Jurassic Park, be calling her? Well, she sure as hell was about to find out.
AN: The sequel is here! Let me know what you all thought of this brief prologue and what you hope may come!