Owen didn't know how best to feel about this… today extracted a heavy cost, both human and dinosaur… part of him grieved the human lives lost… but that part was only a passenger. How did he feel about them? He didn't know humans well enough… the only human he knew was Barry… the rest he knew were memories.
And here was Barry again, with that damned shotgun pointed at his stupid head… he'd be lying if he said that the betrayal hurt more, though, than seeing a packmate crumpled against the wall, calling out for her alphas. Not alpha — singular — but alphas. That meant both him… and Barry.
He tried to reason, to dare to keep Barry close in her dying moments. He needed him to see this… to know the cost from the side of the animals. He almost seemed willing, Owen crooning quietly in pleasant surprise… until the gun came back up to him. Delta moaned out for her alphas again, and here he was about to meet his fate at the hands of his friend.
"I'm sorry…" The resignation hurt, and Owen's muscles instinctively tensed. No, no!
Bang! The sound echoed loud and clear as a piercing, quick shriek took to his senses. Owen had closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable… only to open them to find the gun aimed again at him, barrel smoking. Blue was hissing now in warning toward Barry… Delta was silent.
He'd put Delta out of her misery… The kindness alone was worth more to Owen than just letting her suffer there, but he couldn't help but think that it was a warning. Barry said nothing, tears running down his cheeks as he looked on, now aiming the weapon to Owen and Blue. Blue was beside herself, grieving the loss of her packmates.
It was just him and her now… alone. He couldn't be heard by Barry… he was seen, but not heard. Life for him would be dangerous with him. So he did them both the kindness. He started backing away, clicking his tongue to Blue. His beta turned to him with a pitiful croon, and he gave one last look to Barry before he began to start running. Run… it's all he and Blue could do.
There was always the bungalow, or perhaps further north. But for now? All he wanted to do was run… run away from humans… run away from his dead packmates before he'd even had the chance to properly be around them… just run.
The further from the lights they got, the more Owen would be at ease.
Ed waited patiently inside with the others. Everything was shut down in Control beyond necessary automation systems. Vivian was busy talking with someone on the phone, likely a loved one or coworkers.
'Maybe she's trying to get her insurance payout now.' Ed thought toxically. What a mess this was. Lowery was busy back up at Control, setting up the automated systems. As soon as everyone was off the island, gates were going to be opened. It was the best that they could do in this situation.
But it wasn't what Ed thought was best. It was what Barry thought was best… what everyone but him thought was best. Vivian, Lowery, Barry… they outnumbered him, and Ed Regis was nothing if not tired of being the one in control. The park was closed, after all. What could they do? It wasn't like the government would allow this atrocity to reopen. No matter how much Ed wished that John Hammond could've been around to see this, to vindicate all this work. But he knew more than enough to know that Hammond would've agreed, and resigned this park to the wastebin of history. These animals, this park… it was too much of a risk to let it remain in human hands.
"Alright Mister Regis… I'm on my way down. Any idea when we're getting picked up?" Lowery's voice came through the walkie. Ed sighed and shrugged.
"I dunno… a few minutes maybe. I'll tell 'em to wait up if there's anything else you need to do."
"N-no. No Mister Regis. I think we're all set up here. When human counts reach zero, everything should go hunky–dory." Ed shrugged and didn't answer back, instead heading out into the nighttime air.
Main Street was a mess. Even if they were guaranteed a reopening, the park was going to cost millions to fix. All the paid sponsorships would be gone, there'd be no green to back it all. At the very least though, without the sounds of screaming rexes, or the panic of hiding from dinosaurs… it was rather… peaceful. The tropical air of Nublar gave a distinctly heavy feeling though. He could see the clouds just across the lagoon, covering the tops of the hotels.
And there was Barry, sat next to the dead raptors, using one of the unbroken chairs from the Starbucks to keep pressure off his leg. Both he and Barry had hurt themselves pretty bad. A hospital visit would set everything right though.
"Hey," Ed awkwardly greeted. Barry didn't even respond. He was busy looking over his gun, and then back to the two animals that had since passed. "How… how's everything out here?" The Frenchman shrugged, distinctly quiet.
"Mister Sembéne… I want… I —" Ed sighed as he tried his best to form some conversation between them.
"I'm sorry… f-for everything."
"Mmm…" Ed didn't really understand the response. He'd expected Barry to say it was okay, or to just not say anything at all. But the hum implied he was thinking on something.
"I–I mean… I'm sorry about your animals. That probably wasn't easy…"
"As hard as putting down a dog you've loved," Barry responded simply. Ed cringed at the analogy. These animals… they weren't simple numbers like InGen had tried to make them, like Dearing had tried to make them, like Hoskins or Wu had. They were just as much to their handlers companions as they were wild.
"Yeah… I bet." Ed took a moment to lean himself against the wall, looking at the one with the hole blown into her side. "Were they… were they ever an issue?"
"Not really… not until today," Barry answered simply. "They were always such good girls… except Blue and Echo." Ed sighed as he looked at the corpses now.
"What was a 'good' girl for them?"
"Can't really say what was or not… they always had a way about them that made them good girls to Owen and me."
"Did you ever find out what happened to Owen?" Barry looked to Ed with an almost frustrated expression.
"Yes… he's gone."
"Oh… I'm… sorry. Again." Barry shrugged.
"He was a good man… but at least he was here, protecting us all while you and your boss were trying to field test my girls."
"Hey, that's not fair!"
"Fair?" Barry stood up now, leering over Ed as he cringed. "Fair would have been treating these like animals, and not like sideshows or tools! All of this is because of unfairness!"
"Oh yeah, blame the money hungry execs! Do you think we wanted to do this?!"
"Yes!" Ed reared his head back at how quickly Barry had answered. "It was always about the money… you people… you never learned from the first time, did you?! Charge whatever you want, show people what they want to see, making monsters in your labs!"
"Monsters?!"
"You know damn well that whatever your scientists were making with the Indominus and that raptor? They were breaking every moral, ever code! Why?!" Barry was now aiming the gun at Ed, utterly repulsed by his presence. Ed didn't have an answer… but he knew that if he was in charge, he would've been rightfully upset by these practices too. These were never what Hammond envisioned.
"This is my notice. I've spent more than enough time in the company of death." Barry then took his seat again, sighing and bringing his hands to his head. The man was probably tired of everything… tired of InGen, tired of Masrani, tired of the park. Even as the sun had started to rise, creating a beautiful blue twilight over the morning sky, the day didn't feel like it was going to bring much promise.
"I understand Mister Sembéne." Ed's tone was meek, utterly without authority now… what could he tell him other than sorry?
"Somehow I doubt that."
The truck came as the sun had begun to peak behind the mountains to the west. Barry had spent the rest of the night thinking on the implications of what he'd witnessed that day. The horrors that InGen was capable of making. There was some good here. But what he was leaving behind felt more or less a nightmare. Barry held a brief, quiet service to himself for the fallen; the fallen people, the fallen dinosaurs, everyone that had managed to die or fall in those moments of chaos.
Barry didn't bother thinking too much about it on the drive over to the East Dock… not until they passed by the bungalow. His eyes scanned quietly for the Indoraptor; he had a feeling it'd call Owen's old home its own. But he saw nothing. Nothing caught his gaze. No brown hide, no green eyes that stared from the opened door, nothing.
When they got to the East Dock, though, the toll of the past day's events seemed distant, in the past like much of the historic sector's buildings. Old, rusted corrugated steel warehouses for supplies had since been converted into makeshift medical facilities as the last boats showed on the horizon; people had already been leaving. Simon Masrani and the Doc were still there, still helping everyone that was still there as best they could.
Freedom from this godforsaken place seemed in reach, tangible beyond a shadow of a doubt. But for Barry, his mind kept on roaming back to the jungles of Nublar, covered by early morning cloud cover. He thought he could hear the mournful wails of the brachiosauruses beyond the fences, crooning out their morning trumpeting to usher in a new day.
For Jurassic World, it was as though nothing had happened… no disaster, no unethical experiments, no monsters. Just animals living peaceably. And when the last humans would be gone, they would remain.
There was something… sad about that. These animals were created by Man, brought back to life by scientific wonders beyond his comprehension. Barry could respect them though as animals. But the world wouldn't. They would never permit these creatures to leave the islands they called home. Sorna, Nublar, even the Jurassic Parks elsewhere… they were permanent curios, where these animals would live and die.
"Barry!" called a voice. The Frenchman turned to see Simon Masrani hobbling up to him. "Mister Regis says that you're turning in your notice… we don't even know if the park's going to be permanently closed."
"With all due respect, sir… it's not about that." Simon seemed clueless, or at the very least naïve to the devastation wrought.
"Jurassic World will live on, you know… it was John Hammond's dream." Barry didn't seem to have the heart to tell Masrani about just how much devastation had been wrought to his dream. "It can still be your dream too."
"It was never my dream. I only came because of Owen." Simon sighed and patted the man on the shoulder.
"I heard… I'm sorry that more couldn't be done to save him."
"It's fine… if anything, Owen died where he loved to be. Every time I saw him working with those girls, he was always in a better mood. He knew Hammond's dream probably better than your shareholders." Simon sighed and nodded.
"He did. It's why I wanted him to take a closer look at the Indominus. If I was more aware, I would have maybe been able to prevent all of this." Barry took a few moments to think before realizing that he needed to tell Simon.
"Simon… there are things that your company is doing that are unethical… that are immoral… inhumane. This was InGen's fault more than yours. You should keep your company under your direct control. Let the Old Man's dream be a fond memory; don't come back here." Simon seemed… appalled by the revelation before he cleared his throat.
"Ask your last man from InGen remaining."
"Doctor Wu?"
"No… Regis. He's a good man, but he's too… corporate. Place him where he can do more good." As the boat docked, people were beginning to get up from their beds and shuffle out of the warehouse.
"Barry… I hope you manage to find your footing. Give my regards to Doctor Monroe. He also gave his notice." Barry grinned as he began to follow the crowd, hobbling along as he gave the jungles beyond the East Dock one last look. He'd get plenty more of that view on the way back to Costa Rica.
"Alright! Three lines! One, two, three! Elderly and children go in Line One! Line Two, adults who don't work with Jurassic World! Line Three, workers! We have enough for three–thousand! Let's go, let's go!" Up the steps Barry went, following into the workers' line. He could see that the first to leave were the remaining ACU and ranger groups. As Barry came onto the boat, one of the sailors started taking account of him.
"Name?"
"Barry Sembéne."
"What did you work for?"
"InGen Security, IBRIS."
"Who's in charge?" Barry thought for a few moments, remaining silent as the man attempted to question him.
"Señor? Is there somebody in charge?" Barry, again, remained quiet, as though the shock of it all finally came crashing down onto him.
"No," Barry responded quietly. He thought about who was really in charge of the IBRIS Project… Owen was dead… Ed Regis wasn't involved at all… Vic Hoskins was dead… anyone involved with the project besides Wu was dead… he didn't know if Wu was even alive, or if he was even off the island.
"Is there anybody in charge?"
"No one… no one is in charge," Barry said. The man looked puzzled for a few moments before shrugging. There was no one in charge… none that could tell the story of what had happened, anyways.
"Alright… Señor, please move along. Find somewhere to stay. We'll be back to the mainland soon." The sailor then took to the next person behind him: a poor teenaged kid who was probably underpaid for a situation like this. Barry took to heading down to the bow of the ship, wanting to get one look at the island as the vessel began to pull out. The remaining people had boarded rather quickly, and were now just idly chatting between themselves.
Some of the conversations were dull, tepid trash. Some complained about being forced to leave before they'd even started doing anything on the island. Others complained about the service. Children were crying that they wouldn't get to see a real dinosaur. The only ones that Barry felt any sympathy for were the kids, but they were spoiled rotten by their parents, it seemed. And then there were those who'd gotten hurt. There was talk about how the pteranodons had swooped down and stolen friends off the ground. There was talk about how an animal had stampeded their grandpa. He wasn't on the boat. There was even talk about Owen. He could hear a pair of kids talking with their grandma about how he'd managed to save them from the "new dinosaur that they were making." The thought made him sick, and he began to tune out the conversations in favor of the view.
The more they pulled away, the greater it looked. In the morning sun, Barry could see birds flying overhead, searching the sea below for anything that would be a worthy breakfast. As they flew overhead, Barry couldn't help but smile a bit. The world's only real dinosaurs were those flying overhead right now. Even he knew that the animals on Isla Nublar weren't real dinosaurs. They were chimerae, amalgamates of various DNA strands until they got as close as possible. And InGen's monsters? They weren't even dinosaurs. They were something entirely new.
If these kids wanted real dinosaurs, Barry could have very well pointed them out on the ship. But he knew what they really wanted. So he watched as Nublar slipped away, looking back to the Old East Dock. It was the only trace of civilization he could see on Nublar from this angle, and even then, the buildings had been swallowed once by the jungle.
They would be again.
Owen watched from the treeline as the last boat had already begun to leave. He didn't want to leave Barry like that… but there was something to be said for how much Owen wanted to be there, around, in case something else happened.
Of course he wouldn't admit it to Blue. Blue was beside herself, on the prowl and looking for traces of their one last packmate. Echo and Blue had fought before this, before they found him at the bungalow. The first time he saw them. He'd almost thought that Echo was just done and left the pack on her own.
No… Blue and the Indominus had forced her out. Echo was, in spite of being disdainful of him, willing to put up with it because it was all she knew. The Pack was all she knew. Owen knew much more than the pack… but the pack was all he had now. When he'd be feeling better, he'd help Blue go hunting for her.
He could hear Blue's calls in the distance for him; the fear was palpable in her tone. Owen's attention was taken away from the leaving vessel toward the jungle, and he hobbled his way back over to her. He understood she didn't wish to be alone. Not now. It made sense as he followed back into the jungles, only to get pounced on by her.
She barked in his face for attention. She was upset that he'd left for that long. After all, he was still hurting.
Owen chittered to Blue, shoving her off of him. He crooned his apology, attempting to playfully press his flank against her. The velociraptor hissed and swiped at him with a claw. She deliberately missed, but it was a clear warning. He needn't "run off" for a while. She guided Owen back to the bungalow, to the place that he'd taken her after their fight with This One.
His thoughts couldn't escape thinking about her. How different things could have been had he managed to talk to her just a little more; there was a real possibility that he could've stopped any more death. But he knew that was a pipe dream. He knew that this place, the Park, would have forced her to become dominant over the food chain or die.
And he also knew that there would have been no satisfying end for her. She was angry, she was furious. Rightfully so. The more he remembered, the more he came to realize that the humans that were here, the humans that made him and her… they were to blame for all of this. The name Hoskins rung in his head like a death knell.
Hoskins and Wu. He knew that the good doctor had something to do with this. He had everything to do with the Indominus, and the more he looked at his reflection in the light, the more he saw the Indominus in him. Part of Owen wondered that, if the Indominus hadn't come and united their interests… what would've happened? Would it be Owen lying dead?
The human passenger in him thought that it might've been better had he been shot at. It might've made it easier to survive for him had Barry burned all the bridges that they had. Now he had to live with the guilt of what could've been. But at least there was an upside: the view by the lake was beautiful.
The voice in his head reminded him of two kids he showed off the beauty of Jurassic World to. He hoped they were okay. The trumpeting cry of a large flying dinosaur took his attention. Two of them glided through the air, circling around each other in a dance that seemed beyond what this Earth could give. They reminded Owen of massive birds, and while he was lying down, he could only think of something funny: a man that once told him that six foot turkeys were some of the most dangerous predators on planet Earth.
End of Second Iteration
"The system was doomed to failure, regardless of what was to happen to save it. Whether human or natural, complex systems shall refuse to bend to the whims of those who attempt to enforce more complexity upon them. The sudden and radical changes that affected Jurassic World created the conditions for the greatest ecological catastrophe since Chernobyl. It was only up to desperate, power–hungry executives with big bucks to determine whether or not its effects would be far reaching or localized to the Island. In this case, I again reiterate what I said in my book; life finds a way, it shall break every barrier conceivable and reorganize itself into functional chaos, bereft of human condition, and enforce onto us its own will." Dr. Ian Malcolm on the events of the Third InGen Incident: the Jurassic World Disaster.