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Welcome...to the Shift
Chapter 21
The Hands Dealt
The choice should be easy.
Owen's girls mean the world to him—his Blue is his world. Despite everything InGen has done to separate them, that fact has never changed. His Blue is the only thing that ever matters.
She's always been the only thing.
But if he has them, has her, his hands turn red. Redder than an apple. Redder than a rose. Redder than a dying sun.
Then, everything he touches will be blood red. And by extension, even Blue will turn red—or maybe purple given her coloration.
Owen wrestles back and forth with possible outcomes. He'd never make it to Haven in time to warn her—not that she would have a chance of getting off the island, anyway.
If he trains the raptors, and they're sent into the battlefield, it's only a matter of time before his girls are killed.
InGen has forced his back into a wall, and they are painting his hands with thick, red blood.
Haven wasn't lying when she called this place a prison for everyone here. And he now fully understands her comment about if you enter maximum security there's no hope of escaping.
He'll only leave in a body bag.
What's more, she predicted exactly what would happen. Once you believe you're safe, they rip the carpet out from under you.
It's then his mind skirts across the glaring truth: either way, there will be death.
He can't breathe. Lungs won't expand. And this time, there's no mosasaur-infested water to fall into. He's distant from the world as if he's watching this tragedy play out from afar. There's a strong buzzing in his ears. The edges of his vision whiten.
No.
Owen blinks.
No, this will not happen.
Not again.
He forces in a breath, then another, and another. His vision clears, hearing returns.
Mind spinning faster than the teacups at Disneyland, Owen works on quickly lining up facts. InGen's been controlling him, and his emotions since day one. They've made sure he's remained a mess and unable to find his footing. They want these raptors for war. That's why they were created. InGen leaves no survivors.
And that infuriates him.
If InGen thinks he's going to lie down and accept defeat, they're wrong. He looks at Vic as a new plan begins to form.
"I'll train them."
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Delta's gaze is on Alpha and the fat fleshling. I've never seen such intensity in her eyes. From her stiff tail to flexing claws I can growl things aren't good.
Glancing up at the new fleshling, I watch him walk the top of the stone. Echo and Charlie are following him in hopes he'll fall in.
We should be so lucky.
With the three of them busy, I shift from talon to talon. I want to ask Delta what's being growled, but she needs to be able to hear. I want to follow Echo and Charlie, but then Delta would be left alone. There is no dominance in this situation.
My talon taps against the ground, and I rub my claws gently against each other. There's little feeling to it, nothing that sooths me at least, but Alpha's done it on many occasions when he's been anxious. Rubbing his claws always seems to sooth him.
Without a direction from Alpha, I'm simply left to wait, feeling like a dead-eyed meat, which does all of us little good.
We're so closed in with these tall rocks. We can't get up them nor around them because of the jaws. We can't assist Alpha as he speaks to that fleshling nor if he's attacked.
I don't like being a dead-eyed meat.
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The mud doesn't waste a moment dirtying anything it touches. It isn't long before Haven's going to need a nice hot shower to wash away the grime—if she could be so lucky. There's just some muck that never comes off. It's that type of thing that makes her shoulders slump as she brings the vial to her face. Even with squinting, she can barely see through her glasses. Why she still wears them is beyond her.
Perhaps she's subconsciously attempting to keep up appearances.
Lifting her fake spectacles, she sees the little indicator clearly. The water's fine—just like she knew it would be. InGen takes good care of their assets. A sick apatosaur doesn't make it rain cash. Healthy herbivores are prized possessions.
The flutter of wings brings her to her feet. Haven doesn't move as she watches the birds take flight around her. The hair on the back of her neck begins to rise. If there was a Stegosaurus or an Apatosaur she would hear them. Triceratops you couldn't miss.
Only the carnivores spook the natural wildlife without a sound.
But they aren't allowed to wander the paddock at night. Only herbivores are permitted since there isn't a chance they'll eat the staff during their nightly routines. What's more, no one would cover their rounds if they had to tangle with a T-Rex while washing the gyrospheres.
Still, she can't help the chill that runs through her bones. The idea that she's being watched overwhelms her. The sooner she gets back to her apartment, the better. With the sun nearly gone, she isn't fond of being in the middle of nowhere alone. Even though she has an idea of how the creatures act, they aren't caged like the raptors, nor has she spent much of her time studying them.
As she starts back for the Polaris, she glances over her shoulder. Across the darkening water, up on the hill, there's a soft glow of eyes in a bush staring straight at her. It's quickly followed by a flash of red and yellow.
Her brow scrunches.
How the hell did the Dilophosaurus get out?
She honestly shouldn't be surprised. It found its way into the cage earlier, so why shouldn't it be able to get out? She's just grateful there's a decent amount of water between the two of them. She's also fairly certain she can make it to the Polaris before it makes it down the ravine and attacks.
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The dust has barely settled from Hoskins and O'Reilly's departure before Owen enters the guard room. With a nod to Kevin, he picks up the phone, skin burning from over sensitive nerves, and dials Haven. She's barely said hello before he's telling her they need to meet now.
The question is where.
He knows that Hoskins and O'Reilly are watching, and should they meet anywhere within camera sight… He's certain they'll be right there.
When she suggests an abandoned building in the restricted area, he can't say no. Owen doesn't think the new park is keeping tabs on whatever's out there, and after some basic directions, he heads out.
It takes him roughly an hour to find the place it's so well hidden. Between the trees and overgrown bushes, not to mention the scratchy vines, there could be a dinosaur hiding in any of these leaves and he'd never know.
Entering the main building, Owen picks his way among the rubble and shrubs, pausing to look down at a covered sign. Kneeling, he picks it up. As he continues to the kitchen, he looks over the vinyl banner piece.
The red and yellow colors remind him of something he's seen long ago. He can't quite place them, but he assumes this place once hosted lodging for employees. He knows the apartments are relatively new.
It isn't until he reaches the dining room and sees a brown raptor painted on the wall, that he realizes how ignorant he's been.
The original park…
"They know I'm here. It won't be long before they check every employee and guess who else is hiding a past?"
Owen walks around the corner to see Haven sitting on a metal kitchen counter across from a dark-haired man. He's seen the man at meetings before and thinks his name is Crovers or Croutons, though he isn't sure. He feels bad he hasn't paid much attention to the man. Perhaps he should work on that.
"Come on in," Haven says as if she's hosting an open house while twirling her shoulder-length golden hair into a bun.
Owen walks over and gives a pointed look at the dark-haired man. Why this relative stranger was invited is beyond him and given the uncertainty of the situation, should he be trusted?
"This is Lowery Cruthers. Works the control room." Haven explains with a look to the dark-haired man. "Lowery, Owen Grady."
"Everyone knows who he is," Lowery says with a wave.
Owen gives a small nod in return, face shifting into irritated confusion. At no point, can he connect the dots between her life being in danger and her giving an open invitation to a park worker. Has she suddenly lost her mind? "You invited another employee?"
She leans forward, hands in her lap. "Lowery here, who was a big enough idiot not to change his name, designed the controls of the park. Not to mention most of InGen's inner processings. When we worked at the lab together, he was responsible for all the programming."
"Hey, I don't look the same."
"No," she deadpans. "Not at all. I mean, the glasses and goatee are a total disguise."
"I thought it was a good look." He runs a hand over his beard.
She rolls her eyes, but there's a smile ghosting on her lips.
Owen looks between them. Haven settles back against the wall, dangling her feet, and she's more relaxed than he's ever seen her. Lowery's leaning back as if this is break time with a laptop nestled next to him. Neither of them seems concerned InGen will hunt and kill them. "Is everyone as insane as the two of you?"
Lowery shrugs. "Most everyone's dead, so it's hard to tell if we're certifiable."
Shaking his head, Owen startles when he hears a scratch. Turning towards the door, he pales. Two vibrant yellow eyes observe him before taking off into the darkness.
"Don't mind her. She followed me here," Haven says as if a dangerous carnivore is no more than a stray dog looking for a warm home.
His eyes widen. "That's a Dilophosaurus."
"Yep." She nods, slightly popping the 'P'. "I fed her, she escaped and decided to come on this jaunt, apparently."
"Is she…?"
"Hasn't eaten us yet. Lowery disabled her tracking, so they won't hunt her."
Confusion runs thick as molasses through Owen's veins as he looks between the two of them. "Neither of you are concerned about…any of this?"
"Here's the funny thing," Lowery says, foot tapping to an imaginary beat. "We had a discussion while waiting for you. See, we're both living past our expiration date. So, is there any point in caring?"
Owen looks to Haven who gives him a nod. However, upon taking a closer look, there's a sadness in those hazel eyes, hidden just below the surface. For all of her ease, she's not really keen on death staring her in the face. Scared even by the way she works keeping her expression neatly poised. She might be telling Lowery she's fine with everything, even playing the part, but there's a piece deep within that is as sad as the day is long.
A pit forms in his stomach because there's one other place he's seen that look.
On Blue when they're apart.
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