Owen watches her go, then turns and looks back out the window. By the rear door of the paddock, we can see numerous deep scratch marks in the concrete going up very high. His fingers suddenly grip mine almost too tightly but I don't want him to let go as I glance fearfully into his face hoping to see reassurance but only seeing my own fear reflected back at me.
"We need to go check it out," he whispers and I choke out a laugh of incredulity at his words.
"You must be joking Owen, out there?" I exclaim fearfully and he simply gives me a wry, tightlipped smile.
"No choice T, we need to work out what's happened,"
"And if it's still in there? What then? It's not one of your raptors Owen, it won't hesitate to listen to you" I growl at him as I pull him round to face me trying not to be too aware of how close we are standing and how he towered over me in a way that made my body tingle ever so slightly.
"It's going to be okay, you saw those monitors there's nothing in there, we're perfectly safe," he murmurs his hands holding my face gently and I snort a little at his comment even as I lean into the warmth of his touch.
"I think we are the furthest thing from safe right now," I whisper and he just huffs out a chuckle as he gives me a quick kiss that causes heat to flash through me, still unused to any of this, the affection the contact, it was intoxicating and distracting.
Three minutes later despite me repeatedly saying that I don't think this is a good idea, Owen and Nick enter the main area of the enclosure through a side door, with me just behind them. Warily, we walk through the jungle like foliage to the back wall, where a worker, who I don't recognize, is inspecting the claw marks. Owen is alert and Nick looks nervous, but they make it over to where the worker is without incident, I on the other hand am stumbling all over the place my legs are trembling so much and Owen has to turn back to steady me more than once and it is a testament to how serious this is that he hasn't even teased me about it.
Once we reach the wall I feel my stomach lurch as I realise just how high it is and just how high up those claw marks are. Owen feels the deep grooves with his bare hand and the four of us stare up at the massive wall looming over everything and casting shadows that blocked out all sun and made me shudder slightly.
"That wall's forty feet high. You really think she could've climbed out?" Nick asks skeptically,
"Depends," Owen answers,
"On what?" Nicks asks glancing at him,
"What kinda dinosaur they cooked up in that lab..." I answer and they all look at me until Nick's radio suddenly crackles and a garbled voice comes through.
"...area... ...Paddock 11... ...dock 11, do you copy..." Nick answers the message lazily. He doesn't seem concerned, although Owen is already glancing around, suddenly uneasy and panic is settling in my stomach and chest again.
"Yeah, what's the problem?" Nick asks in a nonchalant voice,
"It's in the cage! It's in there with you!" Nick looks confused as if not understanding what has been said I feel like every ounce of blood and energy is still drained from me as I freeze completely, while Owen springs into action.
"Go!" he screams already holding my hand and pushing past Nick as he begins to run dragging me with him, towards the door we had come through. I turn briefly and see Nick dart off in a different direction whilst the other guy is still behind us. Suddenly Owen skids to a stop holding me to his back as the Indominus Rex emerges from the jungle and blocks our escape. It bellows forth a mighty roar that makes my blood run cold and every nerve in my body sing with terror. I had never seen anything like the creature that stood before us and I can feel the fear rolling from Owen into me which just served to terrify me more. I think I scream but I'm not sure, I don't seem able to focus on anything much other than the almost painful awareness I have of my own unadulterated terror.
We turn and run back the way we came, but the guy with us isn't fast enough. The Indominus snatches him up in her clawed hands. He screams. I scream, panic the only thing I am aware of as Owen pulls me even faster, my legs burning and my breath rattling in my lungs, his fingers around mine the only thing grounding me at this moment. I can see Nick ahead of us opening the door and glancing back at us as and I scream again, tears by now blurring my vision as I see him turn and run through the door
Suddenly, the door begins to slowly close as Owen and I run towards it, with the huge predator gaining on us from behind.
"Shit!" I hear the panic in his voice as he bursts through the door as it is closing nearly ripping my arm out of its socket as he continues running before skidding to the ground pulling me with him and under the crane, where I come to rest on top of him, his arms locked around me tightly his breathing just as labored as mine as another roar echoes around us.
I can hear the workers rush around shouting and screaming in a wild panic, trying to escape, as the Indominus gets halfway through the door before breaking free completely rubble and concrete crashing in great lumps all around the area like thunder breaking over and over again. I turn my face slightly from where it is buried against Owen's shoulder and watch, wide-eyed, as the Indominus stomps over to where Nick is sitting in front of a pickup truck. She walks around the left side as Nick, mustering his courage, peers around the right front bumper. He whimpers and sobs as he sees the huge tail disappearing around the rear of the truck, then turns back around, trying to hide. He clutches and kisses a crucifix and my heart breaks for him even as further panic wells up within me a tiny whimper of my own escaping causing Owen's arms to tighten around me. I didn't want him to die, I knew him, I liked him, we were friends.
Suddenly, the truck is violently knocked aside, flying through the air and crashing noisily to the ground upside-down, leaving the supervisor sitting out in the open completely exposed. He meets my eye for a long moment and I try to communicate some comfort to him as the moment seems to stretch on forever. Suddenly, the jaws snap down, grabbing Nick and lifting him up out of view and I turn my face back into Owen's shoulder trying to stop myself from screaming, fresh tears welling as I try to comprehend that I had just watched him die, I wasn't prepared for this, I wasn't ready for anyone else in my life to die and I was now even more scared, was that about to happen to us?
Acting more quickly than I could imagine, Owen draws the survival knife from its sheath around my waist, where he had fastened it less than an hour ago and, reaching up, he grabs the crane's fuel line and hacks desperately at it with his blade until he finally slices through it, rupturing it and spewing gasoline down onto both of us. Hurriedly, he smears it all over me and then him in an effort to mask our scent.
Having finished eating Nick, the Indominus now approaches the crane and crouches down on all fours, sniffing. Owen lies back, perfectly still, holding me tightly to his chest as the dinosaur's bloodied, gore-encrusted jaws inch closer and closer, I can feel my breath rattling in my lungs as I try to keep silent and still... until finally she withdraws, rising up out of view, and walks away.
Slowly, Owen lifts his head, watching her go, her thudding footsteps retreating into the distance. Shivering, he lies back down and exhales in relief.
"It's okay baby, it's gone," he whispers, his voice shaking slightly in relief and the remnants of the adrenalin.
"I…" I can't speak, I don't know what to say, instead I just cling to him and cry as he holds me just as tightly, kissing every inch of skin he can find.
"I'm sorry, oh God I'm so sorry," he says over and over again until I move a little and take his face in my own shaking hands.
"You saved my life," I whisper giving him a tiny smile before leaning forward to kiss him and show him just how thankful I was.
"I could have got you killed," he mutters into my lips when we break apart, "we need to move," he says then dragging himself out from under the crane and pulling me up with him before checking me for injuries.
"I'm okay, I promise," I say as I take his hand in mine, "listen you need to go to the control room and sort this whole mess out, I'm going to head back to the girls and check they're okay," I say and he shakes his head stepping closer to me.
"No way, I'm not leaving you T, not with that thing out there," he says and I smile gently at him.
"I'll be okay Owen, and I'll be with Barry and the other guys, I'll be more worried about you, will you be safe… promise me you'll stay safe," I say my arms once again around his neck, his hands gripping my waist tightly.
"You go straight back to them baby, and then you get to somewhere safe and wait for me to find you, promise me T," he says so earnestly that I don't have it in me to point out that he hadn't answered my question or confirmed that he would stay in any way safe.
"I promise," I whisper and he kisses me again before pulling me towards my bike,
"Take your bike, it'll be quicker, I'll take one of the trucks here," he says making sure that I had my gun strapped to my back and my knife back in place, giving me one last kiss before he rushes towards a truck and I am speeding in the opposite direction.