Owen hadn't been lying when he told Dr. Wu they were starting their plan in the middle of the night. It wasn't the same plan InGen heard over the bugs, but it started at the same time.
The crew napped on and off all day as best they could. After their therapy session, Owen and Claire were pretty wired, but they knew they had to sleep if they wanted to find Blue and Maisie. They managed to get a few hours of fitful sleep.
Karen and the boys arrived at the trailer at two in the morning as agreed upon. The five of them were groggy, but the adrenaline would wake them up completely soon enough.
"Are we ready?" Claire asked. Like Dr. Anderson suggested, Owen put her in charge of Operation Find Blue. The velociraptor would likely only come to Owen, but Claire was calling the shots. Owen felt a small amount of relief just watching Claire ask the simple question.
The boys nodded. Karen looked hesitant, but the sight of Maisie's empty corner of the trailer pushed her over the edge. "Let's do this," she said.
Claire drove the van back to the state park. They wore black burglary clothes without the face masks so that they'd blend in with the darkness of the night. Most dinosaurs had incredible senses of smell, so the visual camouflage would only go so far, but it made them all feel better to have a level of protection.
"Here we are," Claire said when she parked in the same lot she'd been in with Owen the day before. She stared at the forest in front of her half expecting the t-rex to come running towards them and finish off what she started.
The forest remained still.
After their therapy session, Owen had a better understanding of the crippling fear plaguing his girlfriend. He sensed her apprehension looking at the forest and squeezed her arm. "The t-rex is gone," he reminded her. "The most dangerous thing in the woods right now is Blue and she would never hurt you."
Claire hoped he was right. Would Blue sense the harm Claire had done to Owen and Maisie and come after her for it? A part of Claire wanted the attack if only to prove to herself and everyone else what a burden Claire was.
"Everyone remembers the plan?" Claire asked as the exited the van quietly. She couldn't let her fear stop her from leading the team. They were counting on her.
"Got it, Aunt Claire," Zack said. He held up the backpack of supplies he brought. Gray and Owen had identical ones while Karen was to stay with the van. They had Army-surplus grade walkie-talkies in case InGen – or Biosyn – decided to show up. Karen was the lookout and the getaway driver.
"Let's fall out, then. Owen, you take the lead. You'll be able to track Blue's most likely location."
Owen nodded and headed for the woods. He had to force himself not to give orders and take control. Claire could handle it. He knew she could.
They arrived at the part of the stream where Blue's footprints ended. Owen held up a fist to stop the group.
"What do you see?" Claire asked in a harsh whisper. Owen nearly laughed. The woman was terrible at whispering. He'd noticed it on the island and at the estate.
"We need to follow the stream against the current. That's where she would have gone if she were in danger."
"Upstream we go, then," Claire said. Owen continued on, following the flow of the river. He spent enough time with Blue from the time she was born to the incident on Jurassic World to know her instincts. He held a degree in animal behavior that helped him understand the decisions creatures make, especially in danger.
"Are you okay, Aunt Claire?" Zack asked. Claire's face had become paler the longer they stayed in the forest. Owen's reassurances helped, but not enough. She still expected the t-rex, or Blue, to jump out and attack her.
Claire shook her head. "Not really. I… I haven't been totally okay since Jurassic World."
Zack patted her back. "Neither have I. Gray, too."
"Did you see someone, when you got back?"
"Absolutely," Zack told her. "We couldn't have handled it if we didn't. I stopped going last year and Gray still sees a therapist once a month."
Claire wanted to feel better that she wasn't the only one still suffering, but she only felt worse. It was her fault that Zack and Gray had to see therapists. She added that to her long list of reasons she deserved to be punished.
"Gray mostly goes for other things, but he told me he talks about the dinosaurs a lot. You know he still collects fossils and figurines? The whole thing on the island didn't change his mind about dinosaurs."
"It didn't!" Gray added. "They were just doing what their instincts told them to do. Kind of like what we do every day, or what we're expecting Blue to do."
Claire envied his resilience. She still believed in the miracle of the dinosaur, but her desire to be near them waned. She would gladly observe them from afar, especially the skeletal versions, but being in a forest teaming with the creatures caused her heart to race and her palms to sweat. She would have to bring that up in therapy next week.
"I still get nightmares sometimes," Zack continued. "Not as often as that first year, but every once in a while. I don't know if they'll ever go away completely."
The thought terrified Claire. Would she be scared for the rest of her life? She didn't want that.
"This can't be helping," Claire said. "Being out here, looking for Blue. Why are you doing it?"
Zack looked confused. "Why wouldn't I? Why wouldn't we? We love Maisie. Blue saved us on the island. We would do anything to help them both."
Gray nodded in agreement. Claire stopped to scoop both of them in her arms. "Thank you, boys."
They didn't know what they did, but they hugged their aunt tightly. The human contact felt good for all of them.
Owen heard the group stop and glanced back. He had been so focused on tracking Blue that their conversation didn't register. Were they okay?
There wasn't time to ask. He'd found Blue's tracks again, on the other side of the stream. It only took a mile of walking to find where she exited the water.
"Here," Owen said. "Across the stream. Blue got out there. No one has tracked her since then, so her shelter is likely in this area."
"Let's cross the stream, then," Claire suggested, attempting to stay in control, despite the fact that Owen was more experienced and knew Blue better. She plunged first into the frigid water, thankful for her rain boots. All four of them wore water safe footwear for that reason.
Across the stream, Claire saw Blue's footprints clear as day. The dinosaur was within a few miles. The thought both excited and terrified her.
"If we do it here, she'll find us. We're close enough."
"Are you sure?" Claire asked. She wasn't sure herself. Perhaps their plan was a bad idea…
"Positive," Owen said, pulling off his backpack. Gray and Zack did the same. Reluctantly, Claire followed suit.
They slowly put on the thick safety pants and jackets they had purchased at a military store. The clothing would protect them from the inevitable attack they were about to bring on.
This part of the plan had, ridiculously, been Claire's idea. After the morning session, she went over their idea in her head and realized Blue wouldn't fall for fake danger. They had to be in real danger in order to lure the dinosaur out.
"Is everyone protected?" she asked as quietly as she could. She checked her nephews' gear and they looked safe. Would it be enough to fend off the small dinosaurs they were about to attract? She could only hope. "Okay, she said. Let's do this."
Before she could change her mind, Claire opened the scent-proof container in the bottom of her backpack and pulled out slimy raw chicken breast. It was the same food they kept on hand to feed the compys on their land. The plan was to draw the compys in, let them attack, and hope Blue would hear their fear and come to the rescue.
The small dinosaurs arrived almost instantly. Claire's hand shook as she hand-fed the creatures. Zack, Gray, and Owen did the same.
It was all calm until Gray ran out of chicken. He had fed his group of dinosaurs too quickly.
"No!" he screamed. Six of the Compsognathus lunged at him. In his surprise, Gray stepped back. He tripped on a rock and fell to the forest floor. More dinosaurs tackled him, searching for food.
Claire sprung into action. This was not supposed to happen; no one was supposed to actually get hurt.
"Help me!" Gray screamed. "Get them off!"
Claire used her backpack to swing at the creatures while Zack and Owen attempted to lure them away. For every one dinosaur Claire knocked out, two more would jump on the struggling boy.
"Gray, just hang in there," Claire told him. "I won't let them hurt you."
"Get them off!" he repeated. It didn't look like they were biting him, just trying to find where he kept the chicken hidden. It wouldn't be long before they realized he didn't have any more food and started attacking more aggressively.
A scream from behind them brought everyone to a halt.
Claire nearly cried from happiness. She would recognize that scream anywhere.
Blue bounded from her hiding spot in the trees and attacked the Compsognathus that were on top of Gray. She was careful never to hurt the young boy. Owen had been right, she recognized them!
At the sight of the giant velociraptor, most of the small dinosaurs fled. Blue chomped down on the last few. The six of them were finally alone, and safe. With Blue around, Claire knew no other dinosaurs would mess with them.
Claire, Owen, and Zack collapsed to the floor beside Gray. In tears, Claire asked if he was okay while checking his body for injuries. His protective gear was tattered and his face had a few scratches, but he looked otherwise unharmed.
"I'm okay," Gray finally said, his voice shaking. "I'm okay."
In his face, Owen saw the same fear he felt in himself. Gray might be okay physically, but mentally, this would take a toll.
"Good thing I'm still in therapy," Gray added, hoping to make everyone laugh. No one did.
"Thanks, Blue," Owen said. The velociraptor accepted his touch gratefully. She nudged at his side, then pointed behind her. "I'm sorry, Blue. We can't let you roam around. There's a safe place for you to go. Dr. Grant is going to help…"
Blue repeated the motion more frantically this time. Her darting eyes met Claire, Zack, and the now-standing Gray.
"Blue, this won't hurt," Owen said. He reached into his backpack slowly to retrieve his gun. Blue continued to nudge him. She started running a few paces away, looking back, and returning to their circle, only to repeat the movement again.
"Owen, stop!" Claire shouted. "Don't shoot her!"
"We talked about this," he said.
She put a hand on his shoulder. "No, watch."
He did as Claire told him. He'd barely been paying attention to Blue's frantic behavior, but now he focused on it. What was she doing?
"Owen, she wants us to follow her," Claire said. "She wants to lead us to something."
He looked confused. "What could she possibly want to show us?"
"I don't know," Claire admitted. "But we have to follow her."
"Let's go," Zack said. Gray steeled himself beside his brother.
Claire admired their bravery, but they couldn't come. She wouldn't be able to focus on anything if they were in danger. "Boys, you need to go back to your mom and tell her what happened. We'll keep the lines open and our GPS trackers on. As soon as we know where Blue wants us to go, we'll call you."
The boys hesitated, but finally agreed. Claire refused to leave until the boys were out of sight. Blue continued her attempt at getting Owen to follow her.
"Okay, Blue," Claire said when the boys were gone. "What do you want to show us?"
Blue made a low sound and trotted in the direction she had come from. Claire and Owen hoisted their backpacks onto their shoulders and followed the dinosaur.
Neither had any idea where they were going, but they trusted Blue. She was on their side.
And she was about to take them somewhere they never could have expected.