Hooray for chapter two! I'm actually really excited about this one. Thank you to everyone who's favorited and followed so far. And to my one reviewer, you absolutely made my heart sing. It's nice to know that someone likes your stuff. Anywho, on to chapter Two!

Welcome to Jurassic World

Two weeks.

It had taken two incredibly long weeks for everything to fall into place. As promised, InGen sent over an advance that Liz used to book a flight to Costa Rica and, through Jurassic World's website, preemptively get a ferry ticket to Isla Nublar. All the belongings she wished to take with her were packed into an army green duffle bag she'd had since basic training. Her truck would stay behind, safely in the hands of her father. Liz had been staying in her old room with her parents for the last month or so as she (once again) tried to get back on her feet.

They had seen her off at the airport with hugs and well wishes. Her father, a burly man who was probably 100lbs too heavy with a grey beard down to his chest, had wrapped her in an enormous bear hug.

"I've sent you off to war once, and that was enough for me." He had said, eyes the same steel gray as Liz's misty. "I hate sending you off again."

Liz pulled away and swung the duffle up onto her back, tightening the shoulder straps so it didn't slip. "I'll be fine! They've got the best technology running this place now."

Her father made a noise in the back of his throat. "Yeah, they said that 20 years ago."

"Dad," Liz sighed, hugging her mother. "You're going to freak Mom out. I'm going to try and make it back for the holidays, but no promises." She released the stout woman and headed toward the terminal doors, waving behind her. "I miss you guys already."

The captain's voice announcing their arrival to Isla Nublar pulled her from her thoughts. She stood from her seat and slung her bag over her shoulder and tried getting as close to the rail as she could to take in her first look of the island. It was absolutely stunning. The mass of people pushing toward the exit didn't take away from the experience of stepping off for the first time. The island itself had an energy; excitement, thrill, wonder. She watched the tourists get swept up in it as they shuffled off the dock toward the monorail. Every couple of feet, an employee was there to greet guests, smiling and shaking hands as if they were welcoming them home . Liz took the opportunity to show one the packet she had been instructed to print off before leaving. It detailed her status as a new employee and gave her instructions on where to go.

The welcoming employee smiled brightly, "Oh how exciting!" She chimed. "Welcome to the family! Just follow that path there." She motioned with three fingers. "It'll lead you to the employee gate. Congratulations!"

Liz gave a forced smile, trying desperately to be nice before heading off in the direction Miss Congeniality had pointed. Yikes. If she had to be that chipper all the time then she was doomed to fail already. She used the inside of her t-shirt to wipe the sweat already forming on her face, cursing herself for not changing out of jeans and boots before getting on the ferry. She came to a large steel double gate with a guard post just outside it. The guard who popped out seemed much less cheery than the woman on the dock, for which Liz was slightly grateful.

He was slightly overweight, dressed in navy blue pants with a light blue top and a navy blue ball cap with the Jurassic World logo on it. He had an advanced looking rifle slung over his front. "Can I help you, miss?" He spread his stance, obviously trying to look intimidating. Liz rolled her eyes but let him have his macho moment.

"Yeah," she wiped the sweat off her face again. Lord, this heat would be the death of her. "I'm supposed to start work in a few days." She opened the packet and flipped to the page that showed her security clearance. The guard gave it a quick once over and motioned for her to follow him back to his post. "ID please."

Liz swung her bag off her back and grabbed her passport and military ID out of one of the side pockets and handed it over. The guard seemed to compare it to a list on a clipboard before highlighting something on it and handing her back her ID. "Shuttle should be leaving in just a few minutes. There's a couple more coming on." He unceremoniously pushed a button and the gate swung open. "And Specialist," he called as she passed through, obviously noting her rank on her ID. "Welcome to Jurassic World."

After 3 grueling hours of orientation, she finally had a lunch break. This gave Liz just enough time to grab a coffee from a Starbucks she could see just outside the backlot gate. She had asked the girl behind the counter what the strongest coffee she could make was, and when the girl shot back an evil grin and rang Liz up without telling her what it was, she knew she was in for a ride.

"Venti Double shot on ice for Liz!" The girl called, sliding the menacing looking concoction over. "That bad boy has FIVE shots of espresso in it, so stay hydrated."

Liz took a sip and hummed appreciatively, "Oh hell yes. Thanks," she looked at the girls name tag. "Shelby. I'm sure I'll be ordering this from you again."

"No prob! Hey," Shelby noticed the sparkly new Jurassic World ID tag clipped to Liz's belt. "Are you new?"

Liz took another long, appreciative sip of her coffee. "Yep. Just got in today. I'll be in security somewhere. My people skills aren't up to par for something like this." She gestured around the Starbucks.

Shelby laughed. "That's awesome! A couple of us are going out tonight to Margaritaville if you want to stop by. I remember not really knowing anyone when I first got here, it sucked. We'll be there at 9." She didn't give Liz a chance to respond before she scooted back to work.

Liz raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I will!"she called. Shelby waved a hand in farewell as the other tapped away on a screen, simultaneously taking an order from an incredibly fast talking patron.

She made her way back to the gate she came out of and pulled up her badge. Just like they had explained in orientation, she gave the security reader a swipe then pressed her thumb to it. It made a noise and flashed "DENIED" across the screen. Liz grumbled under her breath and tried again, only to get the same result. "The fuck?" Now she was downright pissed as she tried again and for the third time was denied. Frustrated, she smacked the side of the reader, willing it to work. She hadn't even gotten through orientation and already she was going to be late.

"You gotta love on it." Came a voice from behind her. Liz whirled to see a man behind her, patiently waiting with an employee ID in one had and an enormous soda cup in the other. He was around 5' 10" with an all over disheveled look that was either from the amount of work he took on or just his style. Liz wasn't sure which. "See this one's a bit finicky." He brushed past her to swipe his ID, giving it a little wiggle at the top. He stuck his thumb onto the reader and the machine dinged, making the gate crack open a bit. He opened it a bit more and motioned for her to go first with his massive cup. "You must be new." He said after they'd passed the gate.

Liz bit her tongue to keep from rolling her eyes. "You're the second one in about 10 minutes to say that. Is it that obvious?"

The man laughed a bit. "It's pretty easy. You've still got that 'holy shit' look on your face. It'll pass. I'm Lowery, I'm up in control."

She held up her coffee in greeting. "Liz. Security. I think, anyway. They haven't gotten to the breakout for official job titles yet."

"Ah, orientation." Lowery said wistfully. "I remember that. Such a long, miserable, drawn out thing." He hopped up on one of the extended go-carts used to shuttle employees through the backlots labeled "control." "Until our next meeting, M'lady."

Liz rolled her eyes. "Oh, Lord. Don't tell me that actually works. But it was nice meeting you, Lowery. Thanks for the tip on the security reader." She trotted off in the direction of orientation feeling pleased with herself. Two interactions and she had actually been polite. She might have even found a friend in Shelby. That was more than she could say for back home. She had drinking buddies there. People to have around when you were cocked up to make sure you didn't do anything too stupid. Not alone, at least.

She pulled the door open to the enormous conference center and praised the Lord for the blast of air conditioner that rushed out to greet her. Her packet said they would be done by five, which gave her plenty of time to get settled into her new living quarters AND enjoy a first night out.

Things were looking up, indeed.

By six that evening, Liz had gained access to her little hut. They weren't on top of each other like the picture in the brochure Michael had shown her. Each hut had its own space on the northeast side of the island right on the waterside. During orientation they had split those who were hired directly by Jurassic World and those who were scouted by InGen. Those who were scouted were given their own hut, the rest received small apartments on the northwest side. There was a 24 hour monorail that zig zagged all over the part of the island designated specifically for employees. The closest station to her was about a 10 minute walk. Liz was allowed to bring in her own mode of transportation if she wished, which made her long for her truck. Just one thought of the cost of shipping it out to the island burst that idea bubble quickly.

She dropped her duffle on the couch and surveyed what would become home. Though sparse, it was already furnished. With only three rooms, there wasn't much space for extra. It had a full sized kitchen, complete with a stove, fridge, and microwave. A breakfast bar separated the kitchen from the living room, which contained a small sofa, a coffee table, and a brand new Samsung TV. A small bathroom was just off to the right. Liz realized that the three room floor plan she had originally suspected was actually four. A loft was overhead, the narrow stairs built into the back wall of the hut and offered storage underneath. In the loft was a brand new memory foam mattress already made up with crisp white cotton sheets. A simple wooden sign that said "WELCOME" sat on the bed with a note.

Elizabeth,

Welcome home! We are so glad you have chosen to work with us here at Jurassic World and we cannot wait to see what opportunities are in store for you.

Sincerely,

Simon Masrani

CEO, Masrani Global

Liz wrinkled her nose at the note, trying to ignore the warm feeling it had started in her chest. It was obvious this was something they put out for every new employee, as it was typed without a signature. But it still managed to give her the warm fuzzies just a bit. She trotted back down the stairs and opened her duffle to grab her hygiene kit and make her way to the bathroom for a shower. A long day of travel along with being out in the heat had left her feeling gross, something she didn't want to be when meeting new people. There were two crisp white towels hanging on a rack when she walked in, along with a small wash cloth and two hand towels. Damn, they really had thought of everything. The shower was a stand-up stall with no tub, which didn't surprise Liz given the space. She hummed a nonsense tune while she showered, letting the warm water ease muscles that ached from travel. She took a comb to her rat's nest of curls, trying to gently ease the knots out, rather than ripping.

She sighed. On a good day her curls would behave into a shoulder length, thick mane of auburn. On a bad, she looked like she had stuck a fork in an electrical socket. Less than 24 hours into the Central American humidity and it seemed like there would be more days that leaned on the bad. She made a mental note to buy some extra leave in conditioner at the employee commissary after her first paycheck.

Flicking the water off, Liz snatched up one of the new towels and wrapped herself in it before stepping out of the shower. She threw some oil and gel into her hair, plopping it on her head to dry with a microfiber head wrap she had brought from home. She padded to the living room, pulling clothes out of the duffle in heaps, promising herself she would organize sometime tomorrow. She hadn't expected to need nice-ish clothes so soon, so they were farthest at the bottom. Clothes were thrown this way and that as she dug, Liz giving an "AH HA!" Triumphantly when she found some of the items she was looking for. She padded back to the bathroom, pleased with her decision, to start on makeup and try and tame her mane.

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