Amy watched the enormous, round-shaped aviary slowly disappear into the fog, the sounds of the Pteranodons already having disappeared into the evening air. After coughing up an entire river from her lungs and recovering from what she concluded must have been a mild panic attack, Amy retreated to the far side of the barge and sat on top a bench where she curled herself around her knees and covered her face, refusing to speak with anyone. She made no mention of her near death below the water's surface, nor did she acknowledge what had happened to Billy. His fate had gone completely unspoken among the group. Paul and Alan busied themselves with their next plan of action in terms of starting the boat's motor and reaching the coast while Amanda and Eric spoke quietly among one another about their home back in Oklahoma. Amy did not bother with listening to a word of what anyone was saying, and even if she had, she wouldn't have understood a word of it. She was lost inside her own mind. Amy simply allowed the hum of the motor to lull her into a state of numbness; no thoughts, no pain, just a tingling that filled her body much like TV static.
After a while, Amy noticed something from the corner of her eye. It was Alan, and he was pacing. He always paced when he had something he wanted to say, or when he had a lot on his mind. From his movements alone and the constant glances sent her way, Amy knew that he wanted to talk to her. Alan would take some steps towards her and opened his mouth, then recoiled with a small shake of his head and retreated again. This happened quite a few times before he finally gave up on his first tactic. Instead, he went to the ledge beside her and he leaned against the railing, his head ducked low as he fell deep in thought. Amy wasn't sure how long this new, gawky silence lasted. The atmosphere surrounding the two was thick and electric with apprehension and unease. Amy could hardly bear to look at the man, let alone say something to him. Her mind was still numbed and barren of proper thought. This was by no means her way of silently telling Alan that she had nothing to say, for her words were enough to fill a lifetime over again, but she simply did not know what to say now.
There were approaching footsteps and a new person appeared from behind them. Eric stood watching the two, quiet in his study of the situation as he weighed his options. The boy shuffled awkwardly and he nibbled at his lip, searching for some words to say himself. Alan let out a long, tired sigh, and Eric finally discovered his voice. "Alan, Amy?" the boy started, testing the waters. Alan spun around quickly, somewhat caught off guard by the kid's presence, but he played this off swiftly with a forceful smile.
"Hey, Eric, how are you doing?" he responded and took a seat upon the bench beside Amy, but not close enough to accidentally graze her. Seeing that he had not been rejected, Eric stepped off from his ledge and took a seat in the bench across from Alan and Amy. The kid's hands clasped around one another and he fiddled with his thumbs, not unlike a nervous Alan, Amy thought. Though this did nothing to move the woman, Amy did peak over her elbows curiously at the new situation. After a few moments, Eric looked back up to Alan with an almost heartbreaking look upon his sweet face.
"I'm sorry about Billy."
As soon as the name had left his lips, Amy and Alan both reacted. Amy felt her body tense greatly while Alan's shoulders dropped. Amy's muscles fought to take flight; to run away from both Eric and Alan and everyone else on this god forsaken boat and find refuge far away from everyone, though she remained. Alan leaned forward and he placed his hands on his knees as if reeling from some invisible punch in the gut. It was the first time in what must have been hours that anyone had dared mention Billy. Amy could see Alan's knuckles growing white and she thought his skin might break open from the force, though he suddenly relaxed.
Alan sighed again, his lips flattened and brows creased. Amy felt something touch her thigh and she nearly jumped at the sensation, though she soon recognized the feeling of Alan's hand, carefully sliding in place against her cold skin. It was almost instinctual, his touch. Like her, Alan always had trouble speaking of such heavy topics. His palm against her leg was his baring; his way of grounding himself enough to continue on. It made Amy feel warm. Alan shot a small glance her way and their eyes met and she understood him. After everything they had been through, Alan needed her help through this moment. He inhaled sharply and returned his attention to Eric. "You know what the last thing I said to him was?" he asked softly in a voice so filled with hurt. "I said, 'you're as bad as the people who built this place.' I called him a mess up, which wasn't true. None of it was." He shook his head, his handsome face filled with disgust at the memory. "Billy was just... young, that's all. And I got angry with Amethyst for trying to tell me that," he trailed off.
YOU ARE READING
Linger: Book 2
Akcja:Second book to "Trouble at Jurassic Park": :Alan Grant x OC: Eight years after the events of Jurassic Park, Amy and Alan find themselves in a peculiar situation. Not only has their funding gone down the drain with the public's discovery of dinosaur...
