~ I do not own Jurassic World or any of the characters ~
*Gray's POV *
"Zach! Gray!"
I heard the names of my brother and I being called by a familiar voice. I turned around to greet our panicked aunt. Aunt Claire looked around after hugging us and finally said "Where's Zara? Wasn't she with you?" My heart sank, as I knew that I was about to give her some very bad news. "Aunt Claire she... I'm sorry." was all I could get out, so Zach took over. " She's dead..." I immediately saw tears in Aunt Claire's eyes as she was bent down to my level. "What happened?!" she hysterically asked. "She got picked up by a pteranodon, they fought over her, then the mosasaur ate her..." I replied, trying to keep my voice from breaking. Aunt Claire turned pale and I could see her about to cry. I moved closer to hug her but she beat me to it; she clung to me and sobbed. I then felt my own emotions break lose and I cried with her, as did Zach. After crying for a long few minutes, Claire let go of me and threw herself onto the pavement, slightly resembling a child throwing a tantrum. I could tell she hit her hip very hard on the hard ground; the pain broke her emotional dam further and she sobbed harder. "Zara! No! Please, Zara! I need you! Please don't leave me! I'm sorry!" she yelled as sobs wracked her body. By this point she was trying to find any excuse possible to cry; she was losing it. "I'm such a mess!" she wailed, gesturing to her messy, yet adorably curly hair. I walked over and tried to fix her hair as much as I could, then wiping some dirt and tears from her face with my sleeve. "Better?" I asked, patting her shoulder. She nodded. She leaned into me again and I rubbed her back. "I never got to say goodbye... she's gone, and the last thing I did was order her around!" with that statement, the tears began again. I started to cry too, as I too had lost a good friend before, I knew how she was feeling, and I knew it felt awful. I played with her pretty red hair while she cried into my chest; this seemed to soothe her to a small degree. Eventually, I broke down too. I cried for my mother, for all the fear I'd felt in the last few hours, for Aunt Claire, and for Zara. I knew if Zach and I hadn't run away she'd be safe indoors somewhere; but no, she was dead. She died a horrible, painful death. I'll never forget how she screamed, how she cried, and most of all, the last thing I was able to hear her say before the monster closed its mouth around her, ending her life. "Claire! Help Me!" When I heard her heart wrenching last words, the fact that her last words were a terrified call to my aunt, I knew they were close, and I dreaded telling Claire. The redhead screamed and bawled hysterically, calling desperately for her friend. I cried too, as did Zach and Owen, although Owen tried to hide it, he tried to be strong for us. I suddenly noticed the strange feeling I had as I looked at Aunt Claire in her vulnerable state; I felt protective. She needed me right now and I felt like I should protect her, starting with helping her to a more comfortable position. I helped her lie down, allowing her to lay on my lap and supporting her back with my arm. I knew in the back of my mind that I'd be sore from holding someone much heavier and bigger than myself like that, but I didn't care. I rocked her as best I could, shushing and cooing to her until she cried herself into a restless sleep. Owen gave me an admiring look and said "You've gotta teach me how to do that, buddy." I smiled then turned my attention back to the woman in my arms. She moaned a bit and I rocked her, shushing her once again until she settled. I chuckled as I realized I was treating her like a baby, and that she'd probably be all "That never happened " about it later. But for now, it helped her, so it was exactly what I would do. I knew it'd be a long time before she got better, it'd be a long time for all of us actually. But at the time, all I could think about was Zara, and how badly I wished she was ok, that she'd just crawl out of the water and be fine, or randomly show up and that person had been someone else, but I knew it wouldn't happen. Zara was gone, and there was nothing we could do except hurt. I remember her fiance, and what he must be feeling right now. It was all just so painful. Over the next few months, my only escape from the hurting was helping Aunt Claire, and boy she needed it. She cried almost nonstop some days, she'd made herself sick several times, and she really missed Zara. Not to mention her PTSD, she often was too afraid to sleep, so I stayed with her. Most people would hate that kind of thing, they'd even say it was a burden, but for me, it was an amazing distraction from all my newfound problems. I felt grown up and mature with Aunt Claire being so dependent on me. One night, as I sat in the bedroom watching TV, Aunt Claire called me from her own bedroom. I went to her quickly to find her crying in fear. I crawled onto the bed with her and held her against my chest. The next words I heard from her made my heart stop. "We're going back to the Island. "
*to be continued ~ please review *