New Beginnings - Chapter 7 - New Insane Plans

Previously…

He dug in his pocket some more, and pulled out his ring, still smiling. The animals peeped happily at his smile.

Owen thought of Wu's threats of harming Claire, and instantly grew worried.

God, please let her be okay…

...

"Hey, we'll find him, okay?" Karen reassured.

"I hope," Claire whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek.

Owen, you said "Together, for survival."...but where are you when I need you most?

A few years later…

Charcoal clouds drifted across the sky, obscuring the sun from view. It's probably going to rain…, Owen thought dully. He leaned on the railing, above the dinosaur enclosure, and glanced down at his girls, who were prancing excitedly around the cage. Owen had been reduced to interacting to them like this, after some idiot walked into the habitat by mistake, and almost became dino-dinner.
Owen had tried to get more people to interact with the dinosaurs, trying to prevent the events at Jurassic World from happening again, but no one was willing to jump into the cage with him (except Wu's assistant, but the dinosaurs didn't really like her anyway).

Also, to add onto the employee almost being eaten, the dinosaurs had grown to almost their full size. They were now, at least, a head taller than Owen. Dr. Wu warned Owen to stay away from the dinosaurs once they became his size, as they could easily devour him, if they so pleased, with their size. Owen wouldn't have even noticed the animals' sizes, if it weren't for the fact that one day Gamma tackled him to the ground, attempting to receive an embrace from him. Has time really passed that quickly? Owen had wondered to himself.

After a while, Owen had given up on trying to keep track of time. He had hoped that the dinosaurs would grow quickly, and that Dr. Wu would just send him away once they were fully grown, but obviously, that wasn't the case. Wu had explained, after Owen had grilled him about how much longer he'd be kept on this island, that the dinosaurs were not engineered to grow quickly. Essentially, in trade for greater intelligence, the dinosaur's growth rate would be curbed.

Owen pulled out the now wrinkled photograph of him and Claire. Nearly everyday he had thought of her. I wonder if she's moved on with her life...Will I even get to see her ever again?

"Ah, Mr. Grady, there you are." Owen could recognize that voice from anywhere now. He stuffed the photo back into his shirt pocket.

"What do you want, Wu?" Owen said, staring off at the clouds, not bothering to turn towards the doctor.

"I want many things, Mr. Grady," the scientist responded, almost jokingly, "But I'd like you to come with me to my office. I have to discuss something...very important with you."

"Discuss? More like order," Owen said under his breath, "How long is this going to take? It's almost feeding time." For a few seconds, Owen thought of throwing Dr. Wu down to the hungry dinosaurs.

"That will depend. I'll have someone come to oversee the enclosure while you are away, to make sure the specimens don't do anything...unfortunate."

"Better make it quick," Owen scoffed. He finally turned towards Wu. "Lead the way, Dr. Wu."

Owen sat down in the black leather chair in front of Dr. Wu's desk, and rested his muddy shoes atop the spotless white desk. Wu eyed the feet with disdain, but didn't say anything.

"Well, Mr. Grady, I'll cut to the chase, for you said to, ah, 'make it quick'," Wu began, "This entire operation is very expensive, as you know. Our funds are dwindling, as we have under the radar for a long time, and, thus, are unable to receive donations from supporters. So, we decided we need to get funding back as soon as possible. We also agreed that it's time that we become...known for our work: to disseminate across the globe, and spread our creations anywhere and everywhere." Wu's eyes glinted slightly. Owen took his feet off the desk, and sat up straight.

"And what do you plan to do exactly?" Owen asked, his suspicions sneaking into the back of his mind. They can't be serious...There's no way...Owen thought to himself. Wu stood up, and walked to the large window to the side of his office.

"With the last of our money, we constructed an area for our assets, to be put on display...a...park, if you will," Wu said, looking out the window. Owen stood up.
"I've said this a million times: you all never learn. This shit's gonna fail, and you know it," Owen said angrily. He thought of the previous incident- all of those lives ruined by it.

"We're not going to let it fail." Wu turned towards Owen. "That's why we need you, Mr. Grady. The specimens you control are the only assets we have on hand that can show the world their potential."

"So what? You want to put on a show with me and the dinosaurs?" Owen mocked. Wu didn't shift.

"That's exactly what I want you to do," Wu confirmed. He turned back towards the window. "You will demonstrate how you and the dinosaurs can cooperate, disproving all the theories of how man and dinosaur cannot coincide. This will inevitably lead to the demand of more research and such, which is where InGen will come in." Owen stared at Wu's silhouette against the window. As much as Owen didn't want to go through with this crazy plan, he had to. If not, Dr. Wu was just going to force him to. Owen walked to the door, his hand on the knob.

"When do we start?" he asked dejectedly.

"Tomorrow," Wu said cooly, "Today we announce it to the world."

A little child stood in front of a television that flashed bright colors and projected various images of animated characters. Then, the kid began dancing around and singing, imitating the actions on screen. Hearing the ruckus, Claire walked into the living room, and watched her little toddler twirl around. Catching sight of his mother's wide smile, the child's bright blue eyes lit up, and he began to giggle uncontrollably.

"Mama!" he shrieked as Claire picked him up.

"Having fun without me, Nicolas?" Claire teased. Nicolas shook his head spastically in response. Claire smiled, ruffled his brown hair, and set him back down on the ground, where he began playing with his toys. Claire sat on the couch, flipping through the TV channels until she reached the evening news. Becoming disinterested, she turned her attention to her child, watching him as he happily slammed toy trucks into each other.

It had been hard on Claire, trying to raise a kid essentially on her own. Karen had stuck with Claire through it all, but Karen still had her own life to live. Somehow, Claire managed whenever Karen wasn't staying with her.

When Nicolas was first born, Claire was afraid- afraid of motherhood, afraid of raising him alone, afraid things would go wrong. But the moment she held him for the first time, nothing else in the world seemed to matter. ("See?" Karen had said, "When you have kids, not if.")
It soothed Claire to have something of her and Owen's, but at the same time, it pained her. The child had inherited Claire's eyes, but everything else reminded her of Owen.

After a while, the investigation to find Owen was suspended, and he was presumed dead. As much as Claire hated to admit it, there were no traces. Everyone had tried to convince her to let go, and move on, but she couldn't; she had a gut feeling that he wasn't gone.

"Mama!" Nicolas suddenly shouted. Claire blinked a few times, slowly coming out of her thoughts.

"Yes?" Claire answered. But Nicolas didn't respond.

"Mama!" he repeated. Claire then realized he wasn't directing his attention towards her. Instead, he was pointing at the TV.

Images of the old Jurassic World flashed across the screen. Claire stood up, watching the broadcast with wide eyes. Video of her, years ago, talking to the press was being shown. Why are they bringing this up now?! she thought frantically. Then, she read the words scrolling along the bottom of the screen: New Jurassic Park coming soon?

A million memories flooded through her mind, and she collapsed onto her knees. Tears pooled in her eyes.

"Mama?" a small voice echoed, pulling Claire out of her thoughts. She looked at her child and, overcome with emotion, embraced him. In her arms, he reached up, and touched her cheek, messily wiping away the tears.

"Be happy!" he said, throwing his arms up. His grin made the corners of his eyes crinkle in a familiar way, just like a certain raptor trainer. Claire looked back at the news.

She didn't want anything to do with dinosaurs anymore. But she couldn't shake off a certain feeling. There was something about this whole thing that seemed off, and she needed to check it out. An absurd plan formed in her mind. She looked her son in the eyes, with a small smile.

"Nicolas, would you like to go see some dinosaurs?"

a/n: mmm that time skip tho lol sorry but i had to

i should mention there was no particular reason why i named the kid nicolas...it just sounded right to me lol (nicolas grady/dearing?)

thanks for reading! see you soon!