Jurassic World: Reign (Completed)

Chapter 18: Dodgson's Inferno

Claire felt like she has been walking in circles. She thought she would be at the facility by now, but she was still in the forest with no clue as to where she was going. Because night has fallen, it has gotten harder to navigate the valley. Along with that, Claire was getting tired. And getting tired is the last thing she would want to happen right now, knowing what was in this valley.

But a silver lining was about to present itself. Just as she was walking aimlessly thought the forest, she could see a structure nearby. She rushed to where it was and once she got out of the foliage of the forest, she understood what she was looking at.

It was a watch tower, used to observe the animals. It had a platform on the top that had railing on the edges and some kind of room as well. There also seemed to be a small elevator that would take people to the upper floor along with a ladder on the side. And it was near some kind of slope.

Claire knew she had to get up there. If there were any supplies inside that room or whatever it is, she needs to get them now. Especially if there are weapons in there. Not only will she be able to protect herself from the animals in the valley, but she will be able to fight off the Biosyn guards as well until she gets to Maisie.

She went over near the elevator, the actual elevator was still on the top floor. The tower was about 25 feet tall so the only thing that would be able to reach her is a mega theropod and she hasn't seen one since she saw Cutter earlier.

There was a control panel near where the elevator would be once it hit the ground floor. Claire went over to it and pressed on a button that had an arrow that pointed downwards. The elevator then started moving, it slowly made it's way down as Claire patiently waited.

It's possible she may need to stay inside of here until morning. If she continued at the state she is in right now, she might pass out so it's best for her to get some rest.

But Claire forgot one thing. Because she was so relieved to have found a place of safety, she didn't think to look behind her.

Rustling in the bushes could be heard as something was running through them. What caught Claire's attention wasn't that though, she expected it to be nothing more than a Compy or a Microraptor.

But then she heard a growl.

This made her turn back as she tried her best to find out what it was that was stalking her. Was it Owen and the others? Did they somehow make it off of Kayla's plane before it crashed?

"Owen!" Claire shouted. She didn't even think it through. She just hoped that it was him. Because she didn't want Maisie to grow up without Owen. Especially since he still hasn't told her how much he loved her.

Silence befell the area. The elevator was already down but Claire wanted to check to see if it was Owen and the others. She closed in on where she heard the growling from. Maybe it's just Ripper growing in frustration because he must be tired of this by now and she couldn't blame him if he was.

"Blue, Delta, Echo, Charlie? You guys there?" Claire called out.

Still no response. Maybe she was just hearing things. Perhaps because she was just really tired, coupled with the notion that Owen maybe dead, she might have just imagined hearing growling and rustling bushes.

Claire sighed, maybe she was the only one left. If she was, at the very least, she'll tell Maisie about how much of an effort Owen made to get here to save her. It may not be as nice as Owen letting Maisie know how much he loved her, but it should suffice.

But just as Claire was about to turn, a chill went down her spine. It was as if something was behind her. She hesitated to turn her head at first, but then she felt a warm breath behind her back.