Maisie jumped onto the platform of the cabin. She caught sight of the damaged doorway, but moved on to the worktable Owen had set up; plank of plywood across the back of two sawhorses. Owen looked up, face shadowed by the lantern he had out. He looked ominous, unsettled. He'd gone into town by himself and come back with bags and backpacks, then traveled into the woods alone, leaving Claire one of the walkie talkies. The whole time his face had looked like that. And despite the chill setting in, he still wore a short sleeve T-shirt. Like whatever was boiling beneath the surface kept him warm.
It spooked Maisie, seeing this side of Owen. But she gave him a hopeful smile anyway. "We saved dinner for you."
Owen drew another line on the paper he had spread out. "Not really hungry right now."
Maisie wasn't convinced by that. She stepped closer until she could make out what was on the table. A map of the property, complete with the lake, the meadow, and the woods. There were three red Xs arching around their location, as well as two green squares Owen had colored in. Both far back through the trees. Maisie ran her fingers over the closest one. "What're you planning?"
Owen paused, eyeing where her finger rested. "Plant motion sensors at a one mile radius around the trailer."
Maisie's brow furrowed up at him. "You mean the cabin... right?"
"That'll have to wait." Owen shook his head, voice going tight. He pointed to the two green squares. "I'm gonna build deer stands. In case one of us is 'out' and needs a hiding place."
A deer stand didn't sound like something that could protect them from dinosaurs. Course, if it was just a sinoceratops they needed to worry about... no, it wouldn't be. Maisie recalled the pteranodons she'd watched flying over the Pacific Ocean. And she'd seen the news on Claire's phone, when Claire wasn't looking. The pteranodons terrorizing Las Vegas, a carnotaurus caught just outside Sacramento... caught and killed, but not before it had caused the deaths of eighteen people. And then there was the T-rex, lurking through a national park after devastating a zoo.
But, they're far away from here. Maisie told the fearful pit in her stomach. She hadn't meant to learn all this; only to find information about Blue, thinking it might make Owen feel better. And, maybe, he'd tell her about Blue like he'd promised. No such luck though. There was much about the other dinosaurs, the investigation into Eli Mills- who had disappeared- and the auction, and... Grandpa's death.
Maisie looked at her hand in the gentle light of the lantern. It wasn't the hand of a granddaughter, but she couldn't call Benjamin Lockwood anything other then Grandpa. Either way, he was dead. And it hurt. Maisie moved her hand and picked up a sheet of paper. Another list. It would distract her. She leaned closer to the lantern, squinting over Owen's wide handwriting. Sniper scope, camp mesh, 2'' and 4'' nails... The list went down the front and onto the back of the paper. Maisie watched Owen, now fiddling with the wiring inside a small cube box... the motion sensor? Maybe he'd teach her, just like he'd been doing with the cabin.
"Is all of this necessary?" Maisie asked, eager to understand.
Owen stopped, thumped his palms on the table, and glared down at her. "Yeah, it kinda is. You made a decision and now 'we'" he gestured between them and to the trailer. "have to live with it."
Maisie's mouth fell open. The guilt from earlier returned, turning the pit in her stomach sour. Owen picked the sensor back up, along with a screwdriver. "Choices have consequences, Maisie. Try and think about them next time."
Maisie stepped back, chin quivering. Why was he suddenly mad? At Grandpa's mansion, when she had wanted to explain, Owen had told her not to worry about it. She waited for him to say something, anything to counter what he'd just said. He didn't, working on like she wasn't there. Maybe that was what he wanted. Maisie ran off the platform, fighting back tears.
}{}{}{}{
Claire looked up as she spritzed the counter. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she was impressed to hear the door and fully expected to see Owen trail in with Maisie. Just Maisie entered however, tears down her cheeks. She pushed past Claire and into the bedroom. The door slammed and Claire stood, confused, with her sponge and spray bottle. Her phone rang after a few absorbing seconds. Claire passed stiffly to the door and tapped on it. "Maisie?"
All she got were sniffles. Claire moved back to where she could peer out at Owen. She couldn't miss the rigidness of his muscles, the extra jerk to all his movements. Claire's phone continued to ring and her leg cramped. She bit her lip, ignored both, and got herself out the door; only to grab her phone before making it down the metal step into the meadow. "Owen!"
Owen looked back, but returned to his work. Claire's face flushed in fury. She made it to the platform in record time. Only there was no way for her to climb up and yell at him eye to eye. Ok, he was too tall for that even if she could get up there.
"What happened?" Claire demanded. "OWEN!"
"Nothing, Claire." Came his automated response.
Yeah, right! Claire pointed in emphasis at the trailer. "Maisie's crying and you're mad!"
Owen tilted his head at her, shrugged. "Looks that way."
Unbelievable! Claire resisted the urge to throw her phone at him. Instead, she leaned on the brace for the middle of the wall, before her leg gave out. "Seriously, what happened? Talk to me."
He snorted, moving the lantern closer to his work. "There's a switch. Claire Dearing letting others talk."
Claire rolled her eyes. "Nice. All those times you preached to me about being open and trusting-"
A lazy groan- distant, yet still distinct- sounded from across the lake, giving Claire and Owen pause. They looked out for any movement in the gathering shadows. The sinoceratops had to be back. She'd been listening to it through the woods all afternoon, always coming back to the lake when thirsty. It seemed to like the area, with the nearest neighbor three miles away. The logical step would be to call the national guard, let them know that the sino had been found. But Claire knew that would be superfluous, with all the calls flooding the congressional offices right now. Plus... ugh she didn't know why, but it would feel like a betrayal to Maisie when they did.
Claire was so intent in her thoughts, she jumped when Owen came down beside her, rifle in hand. He watched the waterline, but addressed her. "You wouldn't get it."
"You don't know that." Claire said, hurt by his abrupt lack of confidence in her.
Owen leaned in, his scent grabbing at her heart in the easy way it did. "If you got it, then you wouldn't have dragged me back to that island in the first place."
Claire stared at his rigid tone, absent of its easy-going flow. It scared her a bit. "Owen, please. This isn't like you."
He raised a sarcastic brow. "What, I don't get angry?"
"You don't play the blame game," Claire raised her voice, her fear giving way to frustration. "And you definitely don't yell at scared kids."
Her phone rang out again, the same number as the last two times. Owen eased off the rifle, folding his arms. "Your extra appendage, I see."
Claire set her chin and put her phone on silent. She recognized the number anyway. "We're NOT done talking about this... but Senator Sherwood left me two emails and three voice messages today."
Owen looked at her blankly. Claire huffed. "The representative of Northern California. Congress is holding a meeting in Palo Alto in two days. He's asking us to attend."
Every word out of her mouth was making Owen coil like a snake. "Why would he want us there?"
"The same reason Congress is asking Zia and Franklin." Claire told him. "They were on the island, at Lockwood's estate. They're hoping to simultaneously shut the investigation of the auction, and contain the dinosaurs."
"Contain?" Owen echoed, his eyes narrowing. "Why not kill?"
"They can't just blow them up in a residential area-"
"Really." Owen dropped the rifle and rubbed a hand on her forehead. Why did he say it so cynically?
"Owen, this isn't a solution they can come to overnight." Claire reasoned.
"Meaning that they're considering more the one." Owen shook his head, leaning against the frame. "And, what, you're going to help them brainstorm?"
"I might... have a few ideas." Claire swallowed. Owen gave a helpless laugh. "Ready to take charge like always."
Claire blinked. "That's not what I'm-"
"You want a hand in controlling a situation that has no hope of being controlled!"
"I refuse to accept that." Claire huffed. "Or to ignore that it's happening, like you are."
He tossed the rifle up on the platform emphatically. "I'm making sure that we have a sustainable home."
"Going to this meeting can help us accomplish that."
"They don't need you to tell them to nuke 'em." Owen gestured out to the lake. "Going wouldn't even be an option if Maisie hadn't-"
Claire slammed her hand on the wood, at her limit with this alien Owen. "DON'T finish that sentence."
They stared off, Claire spotting some flecks of familiarity in Owen's eyes. That calmed her because, despite her boiling anger, she needed him. She took a full breath. "Is that going to be her mark now?"
"Among others." Owen backed up , pinching the bridge of his nose.
He'd just made the conversation ironic. The decision to leave Lockwood estate so abruptly had been his. No one- not even Maisie- knew what the fallout of her existence would be with Benjamin Lockwood dead. She was a clone and vulnerable to whoever knew that. What else could they do but remove her, get her somewhere safe? Too bad the word 'safe' had changed.
"Are you coming to the meeting or not?" Claire asked, preferring to close one argument at a time with him. Owen turned back to his cabin. "I don't do courtrooms... unless you wear one of those tight skirts."
Claire wanted to claw his eyes out. "Can you act serious for two seconds!"
"STOP IT!"
Claire started, turning with Owen to see Maisie a few feet from the trailer. Her eyes were teary and afraid as she looked between them. "I don't want you arguing over my decision!"
"Maisie," Owen sighed. "Go-"
"I didn't want to be alone." Maisie rushed to explain."I don't know where I fit and neither do they."
"You don't have to-" Claire tried to sound soothing. But Maisie stepped closer to Owen, eyes furrowing in anger. "I'm scared and confused and you're not allowed to tell me not to feel that way!"
Owen didn't say anything, which angered the girl more. She looked like she wanted to run, but knew better and disappeared back into the trailer before Claire could hope to comfort her. She was amazed, if not scared, at how quickly her maternal instincts were growing toward Maisie. She looked at Owen, his face as weary as hers. "If this is going to work, we need to be on the same page."
To her surprise, he nodded. Claire set her chin. "Starting with you apologizing."
Owen looked at her, their opposite position clear. Claire cemented the fact in, walking away. "Hopefully it happens before I get back.
