Claire awoke in the early morning. She could see the last few stars peeking over the mountains, twinkling through the clouds like silver fireflies. As she shifted around to wake herself up, she became aware of a gentle pressure on her waist. Owen had both arms wrapped around her. A part of her didn't want to leave his warmth behind, but she had more important things to attend to.

"Owen," she whispered, "You're gonna have to let me go."

He groaned.

"Stay . . ."

She shook her head.

"I can't. I have to find June."

Owen kissed the back of her neck.

"But we're both normal now. We don't need anything else."

Claire frowned.

"What about Flower?"

Owen fell silent. Taking the opportunity to wiggle out of his grasp, Claire grabbed her tank top and slid over to the corner of the cave. When she was dressed, Owen stood up and laced his fingers through hers.

"Claire . . . Flower is gone. I hate June for what she did, but killing her won't solve anything."

Claire's face hardened.

"If we allow her to live, she'll kill again."

"You don't know that."

"I do."

Claire tugged her hand away from his and walked down a narrow tunnel. When she came out the other side, she found herself in the main cavern, where the others were sleeping. She tiptoed past them, not wanting to wake them up. Owen followed. When they were outside of the cave, he caught her arm and turned her around.

"Claire, please don't do this. I know this is hard for you, but we can get through it together."

Claire shook her head slowly.

"Owen, I can't let this go. Try to understand."

"I do understand, but we can't go on like this."

Claire stared down at the jungle below. Everything was covered in a light blanket of fog, and she could feel the moisture cooling her skin with each passing moment. When she caught sight of a small fire in the elephants' camp, she closed her eyes and placed her forehead against Owen's chest.

"I can't let them hurt another soul."

"If you let them get to you, you already have."

Claire looked into his eyes.

"Owen, you're not changing my mind."

Seeing that she was serious, Owen nodded reluctantly.

"Okay. We'll go down together. Before we do, I have to get something from Barry's old trunk."

"My shoes?"

"I'll get those too."

Owen jogged into the cave. Claire sat down on a half-interred rock and placed her foot on her knee while she waited for him to return. When she examined the sole of her foot, she realized just how much she had been through. Not only was she filthy, but she was cut and bruised, and yes, even slightly blistered from wearing heels as long as she did. Even so, she felt no pain. She didn't even feel numb. She felt like nothing. It was like she wasn't even there. She may as well not exist.

Owen returned with her shoes in his hand. Claire quickly concealed the wounds on her feet and stood up.

"Thank you."

"I still wish you wouldn't do this."

Claire said nothing. Instead, she marched down the mountainside and made her way towards the camp. Owen followed, but said nothing.

***TSJWFEW***

Zara yawned and stretched out her wings. She had had an inordinate amount of trouble falling asleep, as she wasn't used to her new body. She hadn't told Claire about any of her problems, because she probably had issues of her own. Of course, Claire didn't have to drag her belly across the ground, so it was doubtful that she'd be as damaged as Zara was.

Rolling onto her side, Zara craned her neck to look at her stomach. Dozens of red scratches lined her tummy, and some of them were caked with dirt. The worst injury had a stick protruding out of it. Zara winced as she touched it with her talons. It was like the world's worst splinter.

"Need help?"

Vivian rolled over and stood up, shaking the dirt from her side.

"My mother was a nurse, so I might be able to fix it."

She approached Zara's stomach and examined the injury. She wrapped her toes around the stick and looked into her eyes.

"I'm going to pull it out on three. One . . . Two!"

Vivian yanked it out. Zara whimpered, but quickly composed herself.

"Thank you. I'm sorry for trying to eat you yesterday."

Vivian smiled.

"It's not your fault. You weren't yourself."

Zara looked down in shame.

"I'm worried that I did bad things when I was under their control. I remember being very violent with people. I hope no one died."

Vivian didn't know what to say. She leaned against Zara in comfort.

It wasn't long before Lowery woke up. He had been sleeping in the crook of Humphrey's trunk, and Mr. Masrani was supposedly resting on the rim of his glasses. He forgot this fact when he reached up to rub his eyes, and was met with a slew of barely-audible yelling. When the men were awake, they moved to the mouth of the cave, presumably worried that Zara and Vivian were talking about "woman issues" or some such. They peeked into the mist-covered valley and took a collective breath. After a few seconds, Lowery caught sight of something troublesome.

"Oh my god . . ."

There was an imposing figure moving through the mist, and it was headed straight for them. As it slithered through the fog, Lowery wrung his hands.

"Um, guys. I know spinosaurs are supposed to be big, but that looks a little . . . too big."

The animal was deep purple with emerald-green eyes. She had a tall, concavely curved sail and menacing claws. She walked on all fours, swiveling her head from side to side like a snake. Lowery stepped back, his breath caught in his throat, and pushed the others deeper into the cave.

"Go. Hide in the other room. She won't fit there."

Zara whimpered.

"Neither will I."

Vivian placed her front foot on Zara's wing.

"I'm not going to leave you."

Humphrey squeezed between them.

"Maybe you can't leave me either? . . ."

Lowery and Mr. Masrani moved into the smaller cave where Owen and Claire had spent the night. Zara wrapped her wings around her friends protectively.

It wasn't long before they heard the sound of the monster nearby. She grunted and hissed like a crocodile. All three of the cave's occupants shrunk back in fear as the silhouette of her head became visible through the mist. To their horror, she slowly stretched her neck through the mouth of the cave.

Zara, Vivian, and Humphrey all believed that it was the end, but instead of going after them, June prodded at Barry's old car-body. She bashed her head against the side until it tipped over. Gasoline began to pour from the wreckage, and she snorted in disgust as she caught its scent. With a shrill roar, she slid out of the cave and disappeared into the mist, leaving the three potential snacks shivering in terror.

"Why didn't she attack us?" Vivian whispered.

"Maybe she didn't see us," Humphrey muttered.

"No, no . . . She would have to be blind," Zara reasoned.

"That makes sense!" Humphrey laughed, "No wonder she only noticed me when I was talking! Gosh, I could have saved myself a lot of trouble."

Zara and Vivian gave him an incredulous look, then snapped back to attention.

"We have to find Claire and Owen," Zara asserted, "That thing could very well eat the both of them, even if she's blind."

Vivian held her back.

"Oh, no you don't! You're injured. Stay here. I'll get them."

Humphrey held Vivian back.

"You can't go either!"

Vivian blinked.

"Why not?"

"Zara's gonna try to leave, and I don't have the courage to stop her."

Vivian cocked her head and frowned.

"Fine. Go find them, Humphrey."

He trumpeted in panic.

"Are you crazy?! I can't go out there with June running about!"

Vivian snorted.

"Well someone has to go, otherwise Claire and Owen are-"

"On a sticky wicket?" Zara suggested.

"Sure, if you want to be British about it," Vivian sassed.

Humphrey peeked out of the cave timidly.

"Guys . . . If we go into the mist, we may never come back."

Zara slid over to the entrance.

"If we stay here, Claire and Owen won't come back for sure."

***TSJWFEW***

Claire stumbled over a tree root, scraping her leg on a leafless bush. Owen ran to help her up, but she pushed him away.

"Stop it. I don't need your help."

Owen frowned at her sternly.

"Claire, this has to stop. You can barely walk, let alone-"

He grunted as a high-heeled shoe hit his head. Claire pushed the other shoe against his chest impatiently.

"Carry them. I'm going barefoot. I have to change, anyway."

Owen watched her limp away with an expression of concern. Not wanting to spark another argument, he placed his arm around her hip gently and tried to filter the harshness from his voice.

"Claire, I know you want to get revenge, but this is not the way to do it. If you really want to stop June, we'll call the police-"

"And tell them we need help fighting a dinosaur? Good luck with that."

She yanked herself out of his grasp and marched away stubbornly. Owen clenched his teeth and pursued her.

"Claire! Claire, wait!"

"I'm not listening."

"I know! But you should!"

"Why?"

"I love you."

"I know, but that doesn't change anything."

"You can't do this."

She froze. Owen slowed to a stop as she turned around deliberately, giving him a menacing stare.

"What did you say to me?"

Owen reached for her hand.

"Claire, that's not what I meant. You can't do this because you're not a murderer. You're kind and gentle and-"

"I can be fierce when I want to be!"

"I know, I know. I've seen you when you're fierce, but . . . this isn't you. You're not a murderer, Claire. You're not."

As she looked into his eyes, Owen tried his very hardest to channel all of his sincerity into their shared gaze. He reached up and put his hand on her cheek, stroking it gently with his thumb. Claire leaned into him ever so slightly before completely tearing herself away.

"Go back to the cave. You're of no use to me anyway."

Owen felt tears stinging at his eyes as she disappeared into the mist. He stared at the place where she had been standing for a long time before turning to leave. As he made his way back to the cave, he looked down at her high heels. Her feet had been bleeding, but he already knew that she was willing to lie about anything to get her way.

Especially the part about loving him.

***TSJWFEW***

Claire climbed over a fallen branch, tearing her sleeve away as it snagged on the uneven bark. She lifted her foot quickly as she stepped down, for she had cut her heel on a twig. Of course, it was just another injury for the collection.

Claire had a sneaking suspicion that the blankness of the mist was causing her mind to wander, because she kept picturing the hurt look on Owen's face. It was the same look he'd given her at Alfonzo's. He knew that she was never coming back, and he was very upset by it. Only . . . she was coming back. Claire made a U-turn and started jogging towards the place where she had last seen Owen. She decided afterwards that she was subconsciously trying to get a better sense of her surroundings, because that explanation made perfect sense.

She saw him through the mist, dragging his heels dismally. Claire felt her stomach twist when she realized that she had caused his misery. Quickly, she dashed through the trees in order to meet up with him.

'RRR-RRR-RRR . . .'

Claire froze when she heard a menacing sound coming from behind her. She turned and saw a massive spinosaurus nearby, at least four times the size she was expecting. The creature had unfocused eyes, and seemed to be relying on smell to guide her to her prey. It didn't take a genius to figure out who she was tracking. Slowly, Claire backed away to find Owen.

When she once again spotted him through the mist, Claire dashed forward as fast as her battered legs could take her. She leapt upon Owen as he turned, kissing him full on the mouth. He seemed shocked by the gesture, and promptly fell over. Claire didn't let go.

"Mph!"

"I'm sorry, Owen! I didn't mean it! I'm so lucky to have you!"

He placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away.

"Ick! Claire, I know. I'm glad you're safe. Come with me. We'll grab the others and go."

Claire looked at him sadly. Before he could question her odd reaction, she pressed her lips against his, making a point not to forget her last moment of happiness. When they parted, Owen gave a half smile.

"I'm glad to see you too, but we should really get going."

Claire slid off of Owen and let him stand up. She stood up too, fully aware that the sound of the spinosaurus' hissing was growing ever closer. Owen's back was turned to her. She sprouted horns.

"You know, things are gonna be different when we get back."

Claire continued to change.

"Mhm."

"We're gonna have to decide what to tell the press."

Claire landed quietly on all fours.

"Yeah."

"As long as we back each other up, I'm sure they'll believe our story."

She was almost done.

"Sure."

"I suppose we could always show them Vivian or Zara. Then they'd have to believe us."

Claire took a deep breath.

"Owen, I'm sorry."

He began to turn around.

"Claire, you already-"

She cracked her horn over his head, knocking him unconscious. She caught him as he fell, then leaned him against a tree trunk, touching his cheek gently.

"Goodbye, Owen."

Before she could doubt her decision, Claire galloped into the mist, clapping her plates together noisily to draw June away from her friends.