Way Back into Love ↪ Owen Grady

thirty ↪ outlook not so clear

    The outlook looked kinda scary. All the dinosaurs were loose, carnivores and herbivores. In addition to that, there were four or five oviraptors and a whole pack of pteranodons. InGen was up to something, they had some great plan, we just couldn't figure out what it was. Michael was involved, that was enough for me to fear for the worst.

    Owen's green eyes bored into my own at the exact moment I glanced up. His lips curved up into a small smile. "So what now?"

    "I don't know" I sighed. "You think Blue and Echo are against us now?"

    "Unlikely" the raptor trainer took a careful look around, so he led the way into the park's now empty lanes. "If they were, we would be dead by now, they had their chance"

    I unsurely nodded and followed him outside. "So the oviraptors are with us?"

    Owen looked over at me for a brief second, dismissing me with a shrug. When Clare and Nick met us halfway through the main street of the park, we exchanged information and plan ideas. There wasn't much we could do at that point. Evacuate, maybe. Leave the island, just like that. Every boat packed with visitors had cruised at that point, only one left for the staff. Evacuation time was in four hours and, after that, we would've been stuck on the island now owned by dinosaurs.

    The original plan was to hunt and lock the carnivores, considering the herbivores were definitely easier to lead back to the paddocks. What we knew at that point was that the only species on the loose on the island were Raptors, Carnotaurus, and Baryonyx. At least the T-Rex was still locked, for now. Not to mention the new creations made by doctor Henry, Michael, and Hoskins.

    "You need to leave with dad" I nervously stared at Nick. The last thing I wanted was to put my family in any more danger.

    Nick scoffed. "There's no way"

    "I'm being serious. Dad can't stay on this island any longer"

    "If I'm leaving, you're coming with me" my brother challenged.

    I didn't need to look at Owen to know his eyes were on me. Clare, on the other hand, flickered her gaze in between us and the shops nearby. A loud thud made us jump and turn to the souvenir shop, where a giant head snooped out. The creature was one of the tallest, with the ability to stand on both two and four legs at its liking. Baryonyx. We took a few steps back until there was no more room for us to move, a wall trapping us with the dinosaur.

    I grasped Owen's hand and squeezed it slightly before I looked up at him and took in his appearance. He sure looked tired, stains of dry blood and mud covered half his face, but he still looked good nonetheless. His green eyes bored into my own when he squeezed my hand in return. Feelings were all over the place. I was scared, tired, but also grateful. It wasn't the time to be bittersweet, at all, yet I couldn't help myself.

    The raptor trainer was probably going through it as well, his gaze was steady on me as he carefully studied me and tiredly smiled. "You're it for me"

    "What?"

    The Baryonyx roared and the ground under our feet trembled. Owen reacted quickly by pulling me out of the way, Nick did the same with Claire. We hurriedly ran back to the visitors center and climbed the ladder to the roof. Good idea for escaping earth dinosaurs, bad idea for hiding from the ones that could fly. The strong smell of wet grass traveled all the way to my lungs, it had started raining. Claire nervously shoved her hand on her face and squeezed her eyes shut. Roger, Dyson, and Lowery, let us know they had managed to get to the cruising point unharmed.

    The redhead and Owen shared a look. "They think it's best if we just leave"

    "Just like that?" I frowned.

    Nick tried to put some sense into me. "Unless you want to get eaten, you know"

    "But.. Pachy" I felt a lump form in my throat. "And.. Blue, Echo. We can't just leave like that"

    Owen slightly nodded in our friends' direction and softly grasped my hand, intending to walk me close to the edge of the fence that surrounded the roof. I let him and sadly looked up at him. His attentive eyes studied me for a moment before he spoke. "One last attempt and we're off, okay?"

    "But Claire said-"

    "I know what Claire said" the raptor trainer cupped my cheek in his hand and brushed his thumb against my skin. "She never said we can't take the long way"

.

    What Claire and Nick didn't know was that walking through the Valley wasn't exactly the safest way to get to shelter but, at that point, it didn't really matter. There was no way of knowing, or even predict, where the loose dinosaurs would be. In the Valley? Most likely. In the park? Also possible. I wasn't sure if Owen had a plan of some sort, to keep my stygimoloch and his raptors safe. But also, well, keep us safe. Mostly that.

    The ground under our feet got softer and covered in mud and dirt the more we walked. The air was cool and it was currently pouring. We were surrounded by herds of Brachiosaurus, Triceratops, and Parasaurolophus. They didn't mind us, at all, preoccupied with their own safety. I smiled up at the view in amazement, trying to print to my memory every single detail and feeling of the moment.

    "You really love dinosaurs, huh?" Owen let out a stifled laugh.

    I eyed him with a grin. "You say?"

    Nick, walking parallel to Claire, rolled his eyes. "How can you still like dinosaurs after they tried to eat us all?"

    "They do need to eat to survive, you know"

    My brother shrugged, dissatisfied with my answer. Claire eyed me and Owen with a small suspicious smile. "You two are just made for each other. Same reckless beliefs and unconditional love for these creatures. I must admit I'm a little jealous"

    "I actually dislike you both" Nick mocked.

    Before I could even roll my eyes along with my brother's words, Owen pointed at something ahead. "Hey, look!"