This Damnable Place

by seasidewriter1

After taking a proffered job at Jurassic World, Gwyn Grant finds herself thrust back into the world of living dinosaurs and paranoia. Throw in a raptor trainer, a full time job, a concerned father, and a brand-new dinosaur, Gwyn's got her hands full. Now she's got to strike the perfect balance between glancing over her shoulder and actually doing her contracted job Eventual Owen/OC

35. The Abandoned One

Disclaimer: I do not own the Jurassic Park/World franchise or any of it's characters; I only own the characters and plots of my own mind.

35. The Abandoned One

Five Minutes Ago

Owen was in a zone.

It was spurred by the gun in his hands, the men in formation around him, and the near desperate need to protect and survive. It was a familiar place for him to be; it was a zone that he'd been trained to fall into while he was in the navy. It had saved his life. It had saved the lives of his friends and comrades. It was hyper focused and narrowed down the sights of his gun. It kept his muscles defensively tensed. His ears picked up on every little sound. His eyes were peeled for aggressive movement. It was something that had saved his life and the lives of his friends and comrades. It was what Owen needed in this moment––because things had gone to shit.

Not once had he thought he'd ever been skulking through the jungle, gun at the ready, keeping an eye out for his Girls. He never thought he'd have to force himself to come to terms that shooting them was even remotely a possibility. It turned his stomach, squeezed his heart. He didn't want to pull the trigger, not on them. Owen held out hope that he could get the Girls to listen to him again; their bond couldn't have been for nought. It was years strong and rooted in loyalty and trust. The Indominus had nothing on what he and the Girls had. And while he couldn't necessarily rely on that––because they were, after all, wild animals with their own instincts––he could bank on it.

And it would seem he'd have to bank on it sooner rather than later. The man who'd taken point in their haphazard formation was taken out by a swift, dark shape. He was dragged into the underbrush, writhing and shouting in pain. Owen came to an immediate halt, adrenaline shooting through his system. Reflexively, Hoskin's men started shooting after their comrade and the velociraptor. The sudden rash of gunfire sent Owen's shoulders ticking up towards his shoulders. Instinctively, his hand shot backwards, seeking the woman who'd been right behind him. But his hand met open air. It wasn't stopped by a hip or a waist or an arm. His head whipped around, eyes blowing wide when he realized that Gwyn was not behind him. Panic joined adrenaline as his eyes searched the shadows of the jungle for any sign of her. It was then that he realized that, in focusing on what was ahead, he'd forgotten to check in on who was behind him. His heart dropped to the pit of his stomach.

"Gwyn!" Owen shouted over the cracking gunfire. Around him, the hastily gathered formation started to fall apart. Men scattered left and right, shouting and firing and running. "Gwyn!" But his voice blended into the snapping of bullets and the shouting. "Shit." With the gun clenched tightly, the butt of it pressed into the fleshy part of his shoulder, Owen tried to retrace their steps.

The path he took wasn't exact. He wasn't even sure if he'd gone in the right direction. But he still moved backwards in the hopes that, maybe, she had fallen behind by accident. Each step Owen took, however, rendered no sign of Gwyn. It would be bad if anyone got split up––but for her, this was a waking nightmare. It was a fear that had plagued her for twenty-some years. It was why she'd been so skeptical of getting close to the Girls; because what was the point if this was the inevitable conclusion? Owen had been there for her when she'd had the night terror, he'd comforted her as she cried and shook in his arms. But that seemed inconsequential compared to now. Now was the real thing, and he'd messed up. He wasn't there for her now, and the guilt was already gnawing away at him. He had to find her.

Some cruel, bitter part of his head whispered that, if he found her, he might not like what he found.

And Owen's stomach turned at the fleeting––though disturbingly possible––thought.

After that thought moved through him like a shockwave, a rustling sound met his ears. It was accompanied by the wet sound of teeth gnawing into something soft and meaty. Owen turned the sights of his gun and his body towards the noise. He was greeted by the sight of one of the Girls' tails wobbling through the air, whipping at the blades of the tall grass that concealed her. For a brief moment, he considered the terrible possibility that Gwyn could be whoever was being snacked on. His fingers tightened around the barrel of his gun, nose starting to burn. If she was dead, if this raptor had killed her––that would mean there was no bringing them back. That the seeming loyalty that had been built meant nothing. That it had all been an illusion that Owen had tricked himself into thinking was there.

No sooner than that thought had crossed his mind, his foot knocked into something on the ground. A heavy, thick black helmet. The chin strap was torn apart and glistened with blood. Owen's shoulders drooped in macabre relief––it was one of Hoskin's men that the raptor had got. But that relief quickly clicked back into defense mode. The sound of the helmet skittering caused the velociraptor to whip around. Only Charlie's head and neck were visible over the top of the grass. She cocked her head to the side, tittering a little upon seeing Owen. His arms tensed, preparing for the worst. He prepared for the possibility that he might be attacked. But as he and Charlie stood at an impasse, he started to lower his gun. There was recognition in the tilt of her head, in the way her eyes shined in the moonlight.

Owen knew, with a swell of hope, that Charlie was not going to attack him. She'd been one of the two that hadn't initially seemed to question the Indominus' authority. But here she was, gently blinking back at him, as though waiting for command. And that meant it was entirely possible that they could get the Girls back on their side.

But before he could do anything to tempt Charlie towards him, to urge her back to his side, there was a bright flash in the distance. That flash of flame grew larger till, in a split second, the ground under Charlie erupted in an explosive force of flame and dirt. The force of the bazooka blast threw Owen a good ten feet back into the jungle. The impact knocked the air out of him, his ears were ringing––but he was quick to sit himself back up. His eyes panickedly searched the smoke for any sign of Charlie. But there was none. The air carried the smell of burnt grass and charred skin.

A sharp pain slashed through Owen's heart. Whoever had fired that bazooka had aimed true; one of his Girls was gone. There were three more out there, all under the violent scrutiny of Hoskins' men. And then there was Gwyn––his girl––and she was bound to be under the violent scrutiny of one of the creatures she'd finally grown to trust. The sound of yelling finally overcame the buzzing in Owen's ears. He recognized the timbre of that voice. It was Barry. More voices joined his, panicked and forceful, echoing between the trees.

"To the vehicles now!"

"Fall back!"

An idea pinged to the forefront of Owen's mind. If he could get back to his motorcycle, he could lure the Girls away. They associated the revving of that engine with him. The almost painful need to protect his family––human and dinosaur alike––crashed over him again. He sprung to his feet and started to chase after the voices. They disappeared, eventually, and upon returning to the small clearing this hell had started in, Owen realized why. The other vehicles were gone, and the jungle had gone disconcertingly quiet. He slung the gun across his back and quickly got himself astride the Scrambler. Just as he slammed his foot back into the kickstand, as he started up the engine, he heard a cry.

"No!" It was Barry. Owen's head snapped in the direction of his friend's voice. He spotted a velociraptor viciously clawing away at a hollowed out log. "No! Blue!"

The sound of her name echoed out, and it froze her.

And that was when Owen revved the engine, his jaw going tight. Blue's head whipped up and around; he whistled at her, revved the engine a few more times, and swung the bike around. As he peeled off into the jungle, he left a silent apology behind him. It felt like he was abandoning Barry. Abandoning Gwyn. But if both of them had been set upon by one of the Girls, this was the only way he could try and do them a favor. And as Blue screeched behind him, as the jungle foliage whipped at his arms––he could only hope that he'd made the right decision.

OOOO

Gwyn stood in the middle of a dark, misty service road, chest heaving and knees wobbly. She had run for what felt like an hour, but had probably only been a handful of minutes. She had chased the sound of the motorcycle till it disappeared, and then hoped beyond hope that she was running in some kind of comprehensive direction. She'd known there was no chance she'd catch up to Owen; but there was still a chance that she'd run into a road. The things cut and curled across the island like man-made veins. And when she literally stumbled onto one, Gwyn had never been so relieved to see pavement in her life.

It was so quiet. It hadn't been quiet for hours. There had been roaring and screaming and gunfire. The absence of sound was spooky in contrast to the hellscape of noise that Gwyn had just endured. She pitched forward and braced her hands on her knees, audibly huffing as she tried to catch her breath. It felt like the universe was allowing her a moment––just a moment––to collect herself. Sweat glazed her skin and glued her clothes against it. The rifle slung across her back was an uncomfortable added weight. Her hair was a tangled, humidity-curled mess. The dimorphodon scratches throbbed under their bandages. Her knees and feet ached. Her lungs burned from the rapid intake and output of air. All-in-all, her body felt on the verge of collapse; but it couldn't. Gwyn wouldn't let it. She wasn't out of the woods yet. Those woods still surrounded her, and they were filled with nightmare fuel.

In the distance there was a sound. Gwyn started to straighten up, wincing at the way the muscles in her back pulled. It was the sound of an approaching vehicle. It wasn't the drone of the motorcycle––it was the sound of something larger and sturdier. It wasn't long before headlights broke from around a bend in the road. The brightness of the unexpected light blinded Gwyn. With eyes squinted, she started to shuffle backwards, a hand thrown up to block the light. It sounded like whatever vehicle was approaching was coming fast. Fast enough that there was concern that they wouldn't be able to avoid her, the idiot in the middle of the road. Just as she prepared to leap into the grass, the sound of breaks being engaged squealed into the air.

Gwyn stopped shuffling as the large van came to a jerky halt.

"Get in!" Claire practically screamed.

A relieved groan pulled from Gwyn's mouth as she bolted to the passenger side door. She pulled herself up into the cab, and was only half seated when Claire hit the gas. The tires spun out for a second before the vehicle jolted forward. Gwyn slammed her door shut, wobbling precariously as they sped off. With one hand braced against the dash, and the other against the back of the seat, she realized that there must have been a reason for the erratic driving. The driver's side window was smashed, and pieces of glass were strewn across Claire's lap. The woman's eyes were glassy, her jaw shaking, and her hands tight around the wheel.

"Everything alright?" Gwyn panted, the question almost too casual.

"We fought a raptor!" came a call from the back.

There was a divider that separated the cab of the van from the back of it. It was slung open, and through it, Gwyn could see Zach and Gray collapsed back on a bench, wild eyed. Gray had been the one to speak, voice both shocked and excited. She gaped at them openly, at a complete loss for words. The back doors of the van were open and swinging wildly. And through those back doors, another vehicle rumbled suddenly into view.

"Owen!" the boys exclaimed excitedly.

The exclamation of the man's name sent a wave of relief over Gwyn. She slouched sideways against the seat, head thunking against the back of the cab, eyes closed. The sound of the motorcycle had made her privy to his escape; but its disappearance had left her in the dark, wondering whether or not he'd made it out of the jungle. One hand, smeared with flakes of dried mud, rose to clasp her forehead. He was safe. Claire was safe. The boys were safe. They were all, miraculously, safe.

"We gotta get indoors; follow me!" his voice carried through the driver's window.

Gwyn's eyes flicked open, but her head remained tiredly reclined. She watched as Owen pulled in front of the van on his motorcycle, his tail lights their guide towards safety. Beside her, Claire snatched her phone off the seat and hit a number on speed dial.

"Lowery, we're headed your way––call in a chopper!"

OOOO

In all of the time that Gwyn had been on Isla Nublar, she had never seen Main Street so empty. Not even when it was sheeting rain, or when it was the absolutely ass-crack of dawn. All the lights were on. Park maps, trampled and creased, blew across the damp concrete like tumbleweeds. Garbage cans, chairs, and tables lay overturned. Palm fronds rippled peacefully in the breeze. It was hauntingly empty. It was silent. No excited chatter, screaming children, or reminders of when the next t-rex feeding was. But through the shattered driver's side window, Gwyn heard the silence broken by one final PA announcement, played at the park's closure for the day.

Thank you for visiting Jurassic World. We hope you enjoyed your adventure. Don't forget to visit the gift shop, and remember––it's always happy hour in Margaritaville.

There was something that felt so final about the announcement. It sent chills down Gwyn's back, which turned into a full-body shudder as it hit the base of her spine. The van jerked to a stop, and with a steeling exhale, Gwyn popped her door open. The minute her feet touched the ground, it was go time. There was no time to waste, now––every second counted, every movement mattered.

"Let's get this over with," she muttered.

Gwyn practically leapt out of the van, heart thundering in her chest. She wrenched the gun off her back and tucked it into her shoulder. Briefly, her eyes met Owen's. The two of them were the defensive for this group, now. The both of them shot their eyes around Main Street, keeping a keen eye for any of the Girls. They'd be the first line of defense if they showed up, no matter how much neither of them wanted to have to fire a gun at their Girls. But if it came down to it and they had to… they were the ones that had to do it.

"Come on––come on, come on!" Claire urged as she rounded the front of the van. The sound of the boys' shoes scuffing along the pavement entered the soundscape. "Go inside!"

The five of them scrambled the short distance to the Innovation Center stairs, which they bounded up two at a time. Owen threw his body into the door and propped it open, allowing everyone to spill in before him. The boys headed the group, now, nimbly scrambling into the spacious, distractingly empty, lobby.

"Where are we going?" Gwyn asked. She had the rifle hugged to her chest, the strap swinging wildly as she ran. Ahead of her, Claire thrust a hand forward, pointing at the long hallway behind the statue of John Hammond. The sound of her heels clicking against the floor were louder than they'd ever been.

"Control room! That way!" Claire instructed.

The statue of Hammond beamed benignly down at them as they jogged by; and Gwyn couldn't help but stare at it and frown. The poor man would be rolling in his grave if he knew what was transpiring. Her eyes started to sting as the kindly old man's visage just smiled and smiled, presiding over the world that he had created.

The group became flanked by windows that peered into the labs, which were perfectly deserted. Gwyn's brows pinched as she noted that the work surfaces were clean. The incubators were empty. The shelves had been cleared. It wasn't the sight of panic, which she would have expected. There was no evidence any of the laboratory workers had fled in a rush. Not a single paper sat scattered across the floor. No tablets were tossed aside carelessly. It was as though everyone had calmly packed their bags and left for a long weekend. It was such a juxtaposition to what the park looked like outside that it twisted her stomach. The spotless laboratories felt nefarious. And what felt even more nefarious was the clattering sound that came from inside Wu's office––from behind a slightly ajar secret door that had been hidden in the paneling of the wall.

"They evacuated the lab…" Claire exhaled as they all stuttered to a stop.

"Of course they did," Gwyn panted. She gestured at Wu's desk, where a pot of amber colored tea sat cold. "InGen protects their interests no matter how they can. I bet the minute everything went sideways they were packing everything away."

Claire, almost dazedly, entered Wu's office. The boys followed, sticking close. Gwyn lingered in the doorway, eyes casting a look back the way they had come. The hallway was empty, and the only sounds that met her ear were the automated PA messages in the lobby. A memory suddenly ricocheted to the forefront of her mind––a dark kitchen, cold metal against her back, the sound of a door handle turning. Instinctively, Gwyn curled her fingers tighter around the gun. Her shoulders squared. Her chin lifted.

A hand appeared at her elbow and startled her a little. Her eyes immediately shot to meet Owen's, which peered at her, concerned.

"Y'alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, just…" She glanced around his shoulder at the lobby. "Keep a weather eye. The Girls probably have the intelligence capacity to know how to operate a door. And now that half of them are automated…" Gwyn arched her brows pointedly.

Owen nodded, hand still lingering at her elbow. "Will do." His hand jumped to the small of her back, where he pushed gently to usher her into the office. She didn't miss his defensive glance back towards the lobby or the way his lips pursed.

"I, uh… I think we can get them back," she admitted.

"Huh?"

Gwyn stopped walking, and brought a hand up to halt him as well. She turned to face him, a pointed rise to her brows. "The Girls, I think there's a possibility we can get them back on our side. I don't wanna…" She raised her gun a little and grimaced at it. At the thought of how the barrel of it had been pressed against Echo's chest. She shouldered the strap and let it hang there heavily. "Echo listened to me."

"Pardon?" came the near immediate response. Owen's eyebrows had rocketed towards his hairline, and his lips remained parted in shock.

"She listened to me. Actually listened. She showed… affection, reassurance… I don't think they're totally lost."

There was a contemplative beat before Owen started to nod. His face sobered up, expression smoothing into something more serious.

"I saw that in Charlie, too. Just before, uh…" his voice wavered a little and he sniffed. His eyes were unfocused and directed at nothing in particular. Gwyn watched as he quirked his head to the side a little, and as his Adam's apple bobbed. "She's gone. They got her."

It took a moment for Gwyn to register what 'gone' meant. It meant that Charlie was dead. And the news of that suckerpunched her straight in the chest. A breath fled her mouth, disbelieving almost. She turned away from Owen slightly, and a hand rose to press up against her chest, palm skimming over scar tissue. Of the four Girls, Charlie had always seemed impartial to Gwyn; there was no hatred, but no particular interest either. But she'd gotten to know the raptor. Know her quirks, her little personality, the unique sound of her calls. And as she absorbed the information of this loss, Gwyn was genuinely surprised when her eyes started to sting.

"Shit…" she breathed.

Both of them were quiet for a moment. And then Owen cleared his throat, shuffled his weight around a bit.

"Hey, I'm, uh… I'm sorry."

"What for?" she asked.

"Leaving you back there."

Gwyn's attention shifted back to Owen, who was frowning guiltily. His whole expression dripped with it. She started to shake her head, brows furrowing, lips parting.

"Owen, I got lost, I wasn't paying attention. That's not on you, that's all me," she assured.

"I should've been paying more attention," he replied. Gwyn reached out and placed a reassuring hand on his chest; he clasped it there, fingers curling around hers tightly.

"I should've, too. But I'm here. I'm okay."

"Gwyn, I abandoned you in a jungle to the mercy of a pack of velociraptors." His tone was almost one of disbelief; disbelief that she was okay for being trapped in the hellscape of her nightmares.

The corner of Gwyn's mouth twitched a little, hiked up slightly at the corner. "And what relationship doesn't start out a little bumpy?" she tried to joke. Owen fixed her with a wry look in response, so she did away with the light-hearted strategy. "Look, even though Echo listened to me, you still saved my ass. Luring the Girls away with the motorcycle gave me a chance to get out of there. They weren't the only threat. You did what you thought was right, and it was right. Okay? You didn't abandon me." His grasp on her hand tightened. "And, if I'm being honest… if I'd ended up down for the count… I'd much rather you had gotten out of there safe than come looking for me."

Owen shook his head, lips thinning out into a firm line. "Don't you dare put my life before yours," he murmured.

Gwyn quirked a brow in response. "But you'd do the same for me."

A heavy exhale left Owen's nose. He shook his head again, but he couldn't seem to help but smile. Just a bit, the slightest quirk to the corner of his mouth. An acknowledgement that, yes, he'd do the same. It's what he had done by jumping on that bike. And there was no way, in this moment, that she could properly convey her thanks for that. Because necessity saw that this conversation needed to be cut short; there were a pack of dinosaurs hunting them down, after all.

"Hey," Claire poked her head out of the secret room, catching the pair's attention, "you should see this."

Upon entering the room, Gwyn was struck by how much of an 'evil scientist' vibe the place gave her. It was dark, almost unnecessarily so. At the back of the room, there were tubes filled with bubbling liquids, and contained chunks of spinal columns. Racks with terrariums littered the room; they contained lizards and snakes and reptiles of all kinds. There were even a couple with aquatic creatures gently swimming about. Monitors were alight, and equipment still ran. Just as Gwyn approached one of the computers, on which a diagram of the Indominus was pulled up, a door on the opposite side of the room hissed open.

A group of men dressed in black wheeled in a large crate; when it was opened, fog started to pour out of it. The men started to grab embryonic samples out of an industrial refrigerator unit, and then placed them inside the crate. It was labeled with a bright red sticker that said 'severe cold.' A storage unit to keep the samples alive.

"What are you doing?" Claire asked.

"I'm afraid that's above your pay grade, honey," chimed Hoskins. He strolled into the room casually, chin raised in an almost triumphant manner. Gwyn's mouth twisted into a displeased snarl, eyes narrowing.

"I told you," she muttered, "InGen protects their interests."

"Where's Henry?" The inquiry from Claire was shaky and worried.

"Wu works with InGen, he's always worked with them. If you wanna talk about protecting interests, he's the man that wrote the book. He's been involved with every iteration of this park, and he always turns tail and runs at the first sign of danger," Gwyn drawled flatly.

Across the room, Hoskins shook his head. He waggled a finger in the air. "Actually, he just left. Tried to… stay till the very end. He's a dedicated man, you've gotta give him that."

Gwyn snorted and muttered something very unkind under her breath. A hand curled around her wrist and tugged; it wasn't until Owen tried to get her to hang back that she'd realized she had started to advance on Hoskins.

"That's not a real dinosaur," Gray piped up. He, like Gwyn, had been staring at the Indominus' digital image. Alongside the rendering was what appeared to be an x-ray of a cuttlefish and a frog of some kind. Major parts of its make-up she had to guess.

"It ain't, kid," Hoskins confirmed. "But somebody's gotta make sure this company has a future."

"Maybe this company needs to die," Gwyn posed. "Maybe it needs to go extinct, did you ever think of that? It's only ever birthed pain and suffering, Hoskins. Let it go."

Hoskins stared at her flatly for a moment. And then, frighteningly sudden, he grinned. He laughed. Both hands found their way to his hips as he just chuckled to himself. Gwyn's hand tightened into a fist, and Owen's fingers tightened around her wrist. Hoskins waggled a finger at her.

"You shouldn't be vying for it's death, Dr. Grant. Paleontology is on its way out; imagine what you could do with us. You've got a future with us! I saw what you did out there… how you got that thing to listen to you." Hoskins shook his head and started to chuckle a little louder. Gwyn ground her teeth together, repulsion painted vilely across her face. "It's just like I've told you––you've got a gift, sweetheart. You had that thing in the palm of your goddamn hand. It was beautiful. Think of what you could do! Imagine being in charge of something more powerful. Imagine working with that one," he nodded to the Indominus' image, "fraction of the size––deadly, intelligent… able to hide from the most advanced military technology. A living weapon unlike anything we've ever seen." He started to advance on the group with slow steps. "You see… millions of years of evolution, what did we learn? Nature is just the gift that––"

There was a growl, and everyone whipped their heads towards its source.

None other than Delta leapt into the room, knocking the door wide open with her body. With a hissed swear, Gwyn lurched backwards, an arm flying backwards to keep Zach and Gray behind her. Owen had thrown both his arms out, barring anyone from moving forward. Taking on a slightly hunched stance, he started to back up, and the group followed suit. Hoskins, on the other hand, leapt in the other direction, swearing at the velociraptor's sudden appearance. Gwyn's heart started to climb up into her throat, throbbing as she watched Delta pay them no attention. Her attention was wholly fixated on Hoskins, who was suddenly very scared of the creature he'd wanted to exploit.

"Easy!" he tried. He continued to back away as Delta kept up her advances. "Easy, boy! Easy!" Hoskins found himself backed up against a glass wall. He started to slide down against it in the realization he had nowhere else to go.

Gwyn turned her head over her shoulder, but kept her eyes trained on Delta. "Don't look," she whispered to Zach and Gray.

"What?" Zach asked shakily, as both of Gray's hands rose to grasp her wrist.

"Don't. Look."

She knew how this was going to end; and neither of them needed to see that.

"Hey, hey!" Delta seemed to acknowledge she was being spoken to and stopped her advance. "We're… we're on the same side, right? Right?" Hoskins tried. "Easy." He shakily started to raise a hand in a feeble attempt to imitate the way both Owen and Gwyn had gotten their attention before. "Easy…" Delta, for a moment, seemed to consider his hand. She sniffed at it, head craned forward and tilting curiously. A half-relieved, half-terrified smile flickered across Hoskins' face. "I'm on your side!"

A fraction of a second passed before Delta's jaws snapped open and clamped down around Hoskin's entire hand and forearm. Blood spurted back against the glass as he screamed in agony.

"Go, go, go!" Gwyn muttered, urging Gray and Zach towards the door. She let both the boys and Claire rush out before her, her hand shoving their backs as they went. And before she left the room, she cast a final look back at Hoskins, and was greeted by the sight of gore spattering back against the wall. He had finally gotten his.

"Come on!" Owen urged, urging her through the door. As they bolted from the secret lab, she yanked the gun off her shoulder and scrambled to get it back into her hands.

"No, boys! Boys!" Claire cried ahead of them. Zach and Gray had turned to make for the lobby, and they skid to a sloppy stop at their aunt's cry. She gestured in the other direction, and then scrambled to grab Zach's shoulders and urge him on. They all seemed to be silently agreed that the boys were to be put first in this situation. That their safety was paramount. "This way! Come on, come on!"

No sooner had they all started to move––glass sprayed through the air as it shattered. Delta had crashed through one of the laboratory window walls, effectively blocking their path. She sprawled out across the floor, trying to gather herself, head shaking; and it gave Gwyn enough time to reach out, grab Zach and Gray by the backs of their shirts and yank them back around. The boys stumbled, but used the momentum to start sprinting in the opposite direction. Gwyn threw a glance over her shoulder as she started to run, and found Delta gaping after them, hissing as she slipped on pieces of glass.

They bolted back through the lobby, the sound of heavy foot-falls pounding behind them. But Gwyn caught sight of Gray hit the holoscape control panel––and glowed to life just as they passed it by.

"Smart!" she commended, voice breaking from exertion.

They were outside in a matter of moments, the humid air hitting them like a brick wall. All they had to do was get down the steps and into the van. The docks were far enough away that if they booked it there, they'd have enough time to figure out some kind of defense strategy. They weren't going to be home free anytime soon; in fact, it was shaping up to seem like it was going to be a very long night. Gwyn, who had taken up the rear, had thrown a glance back over her shoulder. The ornate doors to the visitor's center had fallen closed, and Delta seemed to be somewhere behind them. But as she turned her gaze front again, she nearly lost her footing on the steps.

Blue was waiting for them.

And as they all fumbled to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, Delta burst through the doors behind them with a screech. Gwyn twisted around and kept her eyes trained on the raptor approaching from behind. She darted down along the handicap ramp, swooping in to corer them in from the left.

And then, from the right, came Echo, hissing upon her approach.

They were being herded, Gwyn acknowledged, stomach dropping. Her heart beat so hard that it almost hurt. She had researched these hunting techniques for years. She'd lectured about them. And now, for the second time in her life, she was experiencing them. But this time, there was no hiding behind kitchen counters. No locking a raptor in a walk-in freezer. This time, Gwyn was facing it with her jaw set, her chin held high, and her shoulders squared.

"That's how it is, huh?" Owen murmured to Blue. He wasn't pointing the gun at her. He wasn't trying to treat this moment like a training exercise. The quiet croak to his voice admitted a kind of humility. A recognition that, in this situation, he––they––were not in charge. They were not an authority.

Beside them, Delta hissed lowly, the sound spital filled as it left wide-open jaws. Echo had started to close in, just as her sisters were. They'd all been shuffled into a little huddle, with only Owen standing a little more forward than the rest of them. Claire was gripping Zach and Gray's hands in her own, trying to suppress her erratic breathing. The boys were keeping terrified eyes locked on the Girls to their left and right. And Gwyn––she had locked eyes with Echo, who chuffed quietly.

Owen, very pointedly, kept his eyes locked with Blue as he lowered his gun to the ground. With a slow breath, Gwyn began to sink into half a crouch; Echo watched her every move. Once the gun clattered against the pavement, she raised her hands, and tired to soften the look on her face. Tried to convey, silently, that she didn't want to do the Girls any harm. Echo tittered lowly in her throat, rumbling contemplatively. Gwyn cut her eyes towards Owen, who was almost nose-to-nose with Blue. Despite the knowledge that it was possible that they could get the Girls back on their side, they couldn't rely on it. It wasn't a give-in. This whole situation could still end with all of them being torn apart and left on the pavement in bloody ribbons.

Gwyn watched intently as Owen endeavoured to raise his hand. The movement was slow but deliberate, and Blue snarled a warning sound, baring her teeth. Immediately, Gwyn's breath caught––but he knew what he was doing. He stopped moving. Then, after a moment, he started to inch that hand towards Blue's head, which led her to snap her jaws threateningly.

"Easy," Owen murmured gently, quietly. "Easy." He started to inch his whole body closer to her, moving only a hair faster than a snail's pace. "Easy…" His hand hovered alongside Blue's mouth, and it crept steadily further past it till he found the latch that strapped the camera atop her head. With a click it was loose. Owen's hand dropped away, and Blue tilted her head to let the rig fall to the ground. The way the muscles in her face had tensed started to soften. The sounds she was making were lighter, even edging on friendly. "That's it."

That was when the Indominus Rex's terrible roar pierced the air.

The ground trembled as it lumbered into view, jaws gaping, teeth glinting.

It startled everyone, including the raptors, whose heads whipped towards the cry. Gwyn stumbled a step back instinctively, her shoulder knocking back into Zach's. His hand shot out and grabbed hold of her wrist with shaking fingers. Their eyes briefly met, and the terror scrawled across his face very well might have echoed the one across hers. But the simple touch of his fingers against her arm reminded her of the advice her father had given all those years ago––stick together. If they stayed at one another's sides, they might just get through this. So she steeled her expression and turned it back towards the Indominus, who had tromped onto Main Street to stare them down.

The Indominus opened its jaws wide and growled, before doing so again three short times.

Blue hissed quietly and twisted back around to face Owen. There was a tense moment where Gwyn registered what the Indominus must have communicated––a death sentence. Blue was contemplating the order. This was the moment where all of the work that Owen had done, that Gwyn had assisted with was tested. They were about to discover whether or not the complexities of the Girls' loyalty could shake them from the Indominus' sway. Gwyn waited, holding her breath, as Blue's lips pulled back over her teeth. As contemplation flashed through her golden eyes. And then she chattered an acknowledgement to Owen, bright and lilting. A relieved breath fled from Gwyn's mouth as Blue turned around and screeched at the Indominus Rex.

The response was immediate. The Indominus roared and then swept one unnaturally long arm forward. The movement was so swift that Gwyn had barely blinked before she registered that Blue had been batted aside. She watched, mouth agape in horror, as Blue's body met the wall of the Starbucks. The stone cracked and crumbled under the force of the hit, and the window shattered as her tail whipped into it. Blue plummeted to the ground motionless, and something constricted tightly in Gwyn's chest. She whipped her attention around to Echo, whose lips pulled over her teeth in a snarl. She––and Delta––screeched angrily, their heads ducked, their claws flexed. They faced the Indominus, their decision made; they were part of a pack. And that pack included every single human that they currently flanked.

With both hands extended towards the last two Girls, Owen locked eyes with the Indominus and whistled. Both raptors charged forward, jaws gaping, screeching and scoffing their war cries. Echo was the first to leap. She leapt and sank her teeth into the Indominus' neck, and used that as leverage to haul herself onto its back. Delta followed suit, the two avenging their sister by mauling and biting and scratching. The Indominus started to whip around and writhe, attempting to throw the Girls off her back.

That proved to be a perfect distraction to allow them all the chance to run. As Gwyn started to run, she fumbled to snag the strap of her gun. It scraped across the pavement as it was scooped up. They all narrowly avoided getting whacked by the Indominus' tail, which whipped out and shattered a decorative glass display. Pieces of blue glass kissed the backs of Gwyn's legs, and the ground shook under her feet as the Indominus stomped around.

"Kiosk!" Owen shouted, coming to a stop. He started to fire on the Indominus, moving with the group to cover them as they ran. When Gwyn started to skitter to a halt to help him, Owen shook his head. "Gwyn, get in the kiosk!"

There was really no way that, this close, she'd be able to miss hitting the Indominus. She'd never fired a gun before, but she was sure that this was a target that she could hit. It would be perfectly reasonable for her to be out there and help him. But self-preservation kicked in and spurred her back into a jog. As she scrambled to get over the counter, Claire reached out, grabbed fistfulls of her tanktop, and yanked her into the souvenir kiosk. Gwyn jerked her head in a thankful nod, half reclined against a pile of stuffed apatosauruses.

Both Gwyn and Claire craned their heads up to peer over the kiosk counter. They looked just in time to see Echo get hurled off the Indominus' back. She skittered across the ground, groaning, and wound up on the opposite side of the street. There had been a––rather ugly, and rather tacky––display of faux amber situated on Main Street, and it was behind that that Owen was crouched, reloading his gun. Gwyn hugged her own to her chest, ready to shoot over the counter like it was some kind of fair game.

"Twenty-four… fifty…" Gray muttered. "We need more?"

"More what?" Claire whispered.

"Teeth. We need more teeth."

Gwyn's brows pulled together as mulled over Gray's suggestion. The Girls couldn't do it alone. They were fierce, but they were small. Their claws did damage, and so did their teeth, but it wasn't enough. They needed something bigger. Stronger. It didn't take long for her to run through the index of dinosaurs on the island, and land on which one had enough teeth to do the job. Her eyes snapped to Claire's and an understanding passed between them––they needed a t-rex. Claire's eyes widened in question; and Gwyn tipped her chin in a nod. Claire was quick to rise to her feet and grab an emergency flare and a walkie-talkie off the wall. She dropped back to her knees and twisted around towards Gwyn. She held the flare and walkie-talkie out to Gwyn. The sweaty and bloodied paleontologist looked from the red stick to the woman who held it; Claire was staring at Gwyn with an intensity that took her aback slightly.

"Go," Claire insisted. Her voice was hushed but pointed. It held a tone of belief––she believed that Gwyn could do what needed to be done. "I can't leave them, not again. Get a hold of Lowery, he'll open the paddock for you."

Gwyn took a steeling breath and nodded. She took the proffered objects, which felt like they weighed a ton in her hands.

"I've got it. Here."

Gwyn pushed her gun into the other woman's hand; Claire nodded and took the weapon. She held it with much more confidence than Gwyn probably ever had; and then, with a determined look, she jerked her head at the kiosk window.

"I'll cover you." It was a confident statement, briefly followed up by a slight wince, as though she wondered if that was something people really said.

Gwyn nodded again and reached down to clip the walkie-talkie to her waistband. Owen had started firing again, and a quick glimpse bared the image of Echo's prone form, still splayed across the ground. With her heart throbbing, Gwyn sank back down below the counter and pressed her back against it, eyes falling shut. It was a short run. A straight shot once she jumped out of the kiosk. This could be their ticket out. So long as Rexy didn't make a meal out of her first, this could save them. Or, she supposed, it could still be the ticket out, even if she was chowed down on. The thought made Gwyn grimace, and she shook her head to banish it. When her eyes opened, they immediately alighted on Zach and Gray, who stared at her wide-eyed. Her hand curled around the flare tighter, knuckles going white. In their terrorized faces, she saw herself. She saw Tim and Lex. If anything, she had to do this for them. And so that no child ever had to deal with this again.

"Here we go," Gwyn breathed.

She rose to her feet, grabbed hold of the counter, and dragged herself over it. Her feet knocked a package of dino-skull shaped Peeps off the counter, her hands scattered a stand of park maps. But all that mattered was that the minute her toes touched the pavement, she was sprinting. Three more gunshots pierced the air. Gwyn cast a glance towards the Indominus, she couldn't help it. And she looked just in time to see it sink its teeth into Delta, pull her off its back, and toss her body down Main Street. Delta's body very nearly collided with Gwyn, who yelped and dove to the ground to avoid getting it. She hit the deck hard, knees scraping across the wet pavement.

Half-way through her scramble to get back to her feet, Gwyn became keenly aware of a presence looming over her. She could feel breath, hot and heavy, fanning across her exposed skin, ruffling her hair. As slow as humanly possible, she shifted onto her knees and raised her head. She came face-to-snout with the Indominus, whose whole focus had landed on her. Her breathing quickened as Ingrid's nostrils flared; her hair fluttered as a hot puff of breath washed over her face. The snout drifted closer to Gwyn's face, the jaw dropping open a little to bare bloodied teeth.

Too many times had she been in such a position, at the mercy of a creature far more powerful than her. Gwyn's eyes slowly rose, gliding up the length of the Indominus' snout, till they met with one narrow, red-orange eye. There was a low clicking in the dinosaur's throat, and Gwyn could see recognition in its eyes. A disbelieving breath puffed out of her chest. Her eyes blew wide, locked with those of the Indominus. This wasn't just the Indominus Rex. This was Ingrid, the name that Gwyn had given her. This wasn't an 'it,' this was a 'she.' This was the dinosaur that she'd help hatch. This was the dinosaur that had watched her from the other side of the glass.

Through that recognition, Gwyn could see something else burning in those red eyes. Anger. Tears started to well up in Gwyn's eyes at the realization that the Indominus was angry with her. It was the kind of festering frustration held by a child abandoned by their parents. Owen had been right, she realized; Ingrid had imprinted on Gwyn. There was an unbreakable connection between them that hadn't been fostered, and the Indominus acknowledged that. Must have taken that as elected negligence. But none of that mattered. Because Ingrid was going to kill Gwyn Grant because she could, and because she was angry with her.

It was then that the Indominus' mouth sprang open to roar at her, her clawed appendages flexing in preparation to grab. When Gwyn closed her eyes against the roar, a stream of tears rolled down one of her cheeks. The force of it blew her hair back and caused her ears to ring. Gwyn's eyes opened and darted over to the display of fake amber, and the man who'd hidden behind it. Owen and Gwyn's eyes met. He started to shake his head––a denial of what was about to happen. He started to shift his gun into his hands, prepared to take aim. Gwyn gave as much of a smile as she could as, from the corner of her eye, she saw Ingrid's jaw unhinge and hang open. No amount of gunfire could get her out of this. A raised hand and a spoken plea wouldn't stop it.

So Gwyn turned her head to meet Ingrid's eyes as fearlessly as she could manage. Because if this damnable island was going to take her life, she was going to look what did it in the eyes. And those eyes, fiery red and burning, stared right back.

A high-pitched screech sliced through the air, sounding somewhere just beyond Gwyn's left shoulder. It was a familiar cry. Wheezy and cough-like, it was one that had once sent chills of terror down the paleontologist's spine, but now––now it was a godsend. Gwyn, disbelieving, whipped her head around just as Echo darted past. She watched as the velociraptor launched herself at the Indominus, arms outstretched, head low, mouth dropped open. The Indominus reared her head away from Gwyn, roaring angrily as claws tore into her flesh, and teeth bit angrily.

"Gwyn, run!" Owen cried out, his voice soon followed by gunshots.

The fight-or-flight instinct that Gwyn had been suppressing suddenly kicked into high-gear. She scrambled to her feet, snagged the flare off the ground, and tripped towards the other side of the street. Her knees stung, the skin there fresh abraised. Her heart beat erratically and fiercely, acknowledging that she'd been a hair away from death. But, despite that, she had to keep moving. Keep running. Because this was their last chance to get off this island alive. Twenty-some years ago, Gwyn had been running away from Rexy.

Now, she was running right for her.

Afterword: I… didn't want to stop there, but this chapter would be over twenty pages long if I kept on. But this feels like an alright place to hit pause. A lot of today was spent staring at this word document going 'shit, I can't believe we finally made it.' I've had that Ingrid-Gwyn interaction stored away for years and it feels insurmountably surreal that I'm finally posting it. This is also the first chapter in a while where I feel decently nervous about posting it. But, I"m pretty pleased with it, so I hope y'all enjoyed it, too!

Review Replies!

TenebrisSagittarius: Thank you! It's nice to finally be done with school, and have the chance to focus on myself for a bit while I try to figure out the rest of my life. Congrats on your graduating in December! I did some finagling with the raptors and where they were at the time of the final fight. Canonically, Echo gets merced by the bazooka. But I had to have Echo out there to save Gwyn's hide when the Indominus decided it was chow time. We'll see if she makes it to the end with dear Blue… When Gwyn and Owen get the chance to finally really talk about what happened in the jungle, it's gonna be funny––'cause both of them fell victim to the same thing. They were too focused on being vigilant that they lost each other.

I see Ingrid, very much, as a tragic character. Because I think if she'd been given the chance to be interacted with the way the Girls were, things could have been different. But, instead, this incredibly intelligent, feral, caged creature is now filled with disdain, hate, and too much killer instinct. And, yes, here's to the start of the rest of our lives! May the drama of it die down and figure itself out, so we might be able to begin to navigate it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!

AlchemyWriter: I will admit that, looking back, I wish I'd added more moments with Gwyn and Ingrid, even with the glass separating them. I cut out a lot of what I wanted to do when I realized that I needed to focus in on what was really important to the story. But the distance between them was also important; because, as we see here, it's… kinda one of the factors that got Ingrid out of the paddock. I fully believe that the Girls and the Indominus have got the ability to feel emotion––and that Ingrid is pissed about the way she's been treated.

And thank you and congrats on your starting college! It's a long ride, but I hope it's a fun and fruitful one! Times are tough right now, but it'll just remind us how resilient we are. Enjoy your break and stay healthy!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!

Saitama-sama: Thank you so much! And congrats to you and your sister; toasts around indeed! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

rainstormslove: The moment with Echo was a blast to write; it had only just come to me, so I was really feeling it when I got to write it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!

supboyyyyy93: Ahh, we love growth! She's definitely, like… gonna be a whole new person coming off this island. She set out to do what she wanted to do by coming back; just… a little more dramatically than she would have liked. A lot of what she realized in the last chapter was challenged in this one, which was fun to write. I'm glad that you've been enjoying reading Gwyn's progression as much as I have fun writing it! I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!

xenocanaan: Thank you! I hope that you enjoyed the chapter, just as you did the last!

god of all: I'm glad you've been enjoying the story; and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!

NicoleR85: The Indominus very nearly got to have Gwyn as a snack! I'm very happy I finally got to get that little chunk posted. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!

ZabuzasGirl: AHH, THANK YOU! Echo's lasted this far, where, canonically, she got lit up by the bazooka! She's close to making it out alive, but we'll have to see… I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!

Lmv16: I stared at the screen for a good three minutes trying to figure out which of the Girls were which in the side-swapping scene. It's so dark I could barely see any of their markings, aside from Blue's––and it just so happened that, like Blue, one of them seemed to be a little wary, so, boom, there's Echo! Gwyn definitely never thought she'd have a raptor listen to her; she never particularly wanted a velociraptor to listen to her. Until the last handful of chapters, any acknowledgement by a raptor was bone-chilling. Wait till Alan gets a load of what happened, that's gonna be quite a conversation. And I had to throw in that dude calling her a crazy bitch again, it seemed like the perfect button. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!

WaywardandWarnderlust: Gwyn and Echo––move over Owen and Gwyn, there's a new dream team in town! I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
msbeku1: That moment of the photographs… big moment for them. He went a whole ten minutes out of his way to get those for her, even though time was of the essence. That's something that Gwyn is gonna remember for years to come. And the instructions with the motorcycle… killer cute, 'cause he's helping her, but also knows she can figure it out; we love respect!

As you said, Gwyn is definitely her father's daughter. She's also been working with the raptors for so long that her perspective on what they were doing was an important reason for her to be there too.

That moment for Echo is the defining moment of their relationship. It's been building to a moment like that since Echo first took an interest in Gwyn standing up on that catwalk. It's almost the 'come to Jesus' moment for Gwyn regarding whether or not she can trust a velociraptor. It was a delight to write, because it shows growth––in both Gwyn and Echo.

Thank you for granting permission! I've had stories stolen from me before, so I always make sure that, if someone offers an idea, I ask to use it before I do. I'm also a huge lover of collaboration, so I love getting to chat about ideas like Eric being a relief worker and getting to actually incorporate it!

And I feel you on not doing well with online classes; I came to the realization last year that they're not for me, and then the world went 'well, now your whole final semester is online, have fun.' I'm also a very hands-on person (I act, so there's a lot of working with other people and collaborating and such) so I get the struggle. I can't imagine what it must be like studying for pediatric dentistry online (which, by the way, good on you for wanting to make dentists less scary, I've had awful dentist experiences). Again, thank you for allowing me to utilize your idea, and thank you for leaving such lovely reviews! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

passion4christ: Thank you so much!

AmericanNidiot: Yeah, that dude had it coming; his fate was sealed the moment he decided to be an ass. And then further sealed it when he was an ass to Gwyn in front of Echo. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!

DrWandel: There's definitely very definitive behavioral shifts in the Girls depending on who they're listening too. Because whenever we see them obeying their instincts (or the commands of another dinosaur) it's very much what Gwyn and Alan lecture on. But when they're listening to Owen, is organized in a whole different way. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!

Makokam: As for Blue acknowledging Owen on the bike ride in the movie––that doesn't happen. I thought it would be a nice touch to add for Echo to acknowledge Gwyn, because their relationship is coming to fruition. Echo can sense Gwyn's apprehension and fear, and the acknowledgement was a way to assure her that it was all okay.

And I always thought Blue responding to Barry made sense; because he, like Owen, had so much of a relationship with the Girls. It's always made sense to me that, in that moment, the sound of her name would give her pause.

I think it sounds like a cool idea, for the story that you've got! 'Cause we don't really see a lot of stuff from any of the dino's POV. I wanted to try to do so in this story, but it never ended up working its way in (I wanted to do a chunk following Ingrid, but I couldn't find the right place to put it).

I do have Lowery's POV of watching Gwyn through Echo's cam pov written. It was, originally, gonna be posted at the top of the chapter, but it just didn't fit. Which is really upsetting because there's some stuff in there that I really, really liked in regards to his view on the park and how it's fallen apart.

And Gwyn finally accepting that she doesn't have to live in the past anymore was liberating to write, I was like 'yes! We love growth!'

Thanks again; I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

kelsi106: Ahhh, I'm so flattered that this is your favorite Jurassic fic! It makes my Jurassic Park loving heart swell happily! And, yes, Ingrid did imprint––but, unfortunately, it wasn't fostered properly. They've remained connected, but it's fractured. We've seen Ingrid do things to impress Gwyn (like killing Irene), only to have Gwyn disappear. I had always wondered why the Indominus chose that day to break free; and I thought, hey, maybe she's sick of not being acknowledged. I hope that you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!

Guest: Echo really does care about Gwyn! And she's probably so happy that Gwyn's finally like 'yeah, okay, I can work with that.' So she had to go out there and save her from Ingrid, 'cause that's what friends do. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!

Angel JJK: We're gonna get so much more of sweet Owen once we get into the post JW stuff. Get ready, 'cause it's gonna be so sweet and so cute. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!

MageVicky: Gwyn has truly come into her own as a badass, and I love it so much. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!

AkariWolfPrincess: Ahhh, I'm so happy you've been enjoying the story! I've been working really hard to keep Gwyn as a balanced character––making sure she's got that Grant brand stoicism, but still giving her heart, giving her flaws to work with, making sure she's got defined relationships and ideas. I'm glad that the romance side of this story reads well! I've had so much fun writing flirty Owen, a side we only see mere glimpses of in movie canon. And we're gonna get so much more of that once they're off the island. Also, Tim and Lex (and Alan) are so near and dear to my heart, that I would be bereaved if I didn't include them!

There's gonna be a lot of contemplation from Gwyn about what could've happened if Ingrid'd had a hands-on trainer. Because it's become clear, as of the end of this chapter, that maybe if that connection had been allowed to be fostered, a lot of shit could've been avoided. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!

CJ/OddBall: Gwyn really did just have to live out her own nightmare, didn't she––and she handled it far better than I would've. We got a wee glimpse into Owen's head when he realized Gwyn had gone missing, and that boy was ready to do whatever he had to to get her back. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!

Raider-K: I had been searching and waiting for the right moment for Gwyn to finally face her fears––and the last chapter ended up being the moment. It was a moment where I really went 'shit, she's grown so much as a character.' I've written a lot of stories, and Gwyn really, truly is one of the characters that has had the biggest journey. And it really was a long time coming… but it paid off so well. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again (and thanks for the graduation well-wish!)

And thank you to those that have added this story to their follows/favorites; it means a lot!
ALSO––thank you to everyone who congratulated me on graduation. I've been writing this story in conjunction with going to school, and a lot of you have stuck with me through most of it. Thank you, all!

So, we're finally here. At the culmination of the first film. A couple of people have asked whether or not I'll continue into Fallen Kingdom, and the answer is yes! There's gonna be a chunk of chapters in between (there's, like, three years to fill), and I've got some Owyn goodness! And a lot of appearances from our original film favorites! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!

~Mary