Chapter 48

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Caithlyn slowly walked to the car and jumped into the backseat.

"He'll be ready in just a sec." She said as she put her seat belt on.

"Okay." Claire answered nodding, smiling a bit softer than usual.

The tension was almost unbearable, as Owen finally jumped in to the passenger seat and Claire drove off.

Owen turned in his seat to look at Caithlyn, like he was checking if she was feeling okay, making her smile reassuringly at him.

Owen quickly grabbed Caithlyn's hand, as they got out of the car after arriving at the huge paddock. Caithlyn immediately felt Claire's gaze on them, before she quickly turned around and walked towards the stairs.

"We've been pre-booking tickets for months.
The park needs a new attraction every few years, in order to reinvigorate the public's interest.
Kind of like the space program.
Corporate felt genetic modification would up the wow factor." She explained, as they walked up the stairs.

"They're dinosaurs. Wow enough." Owen said almost mockingly.

"Not according to our focus groups.
The Indominus rex makes us relevant again." Claire answered walking further up the stairs.

"The Indominus rex?" Owen said laughing, in his mocking tone.

"We needed something scary and easy to pronounce.
You should hear a four-year-old try to say "Archaeornithomimus"." Claire said, turning around to face them, before she headed inside.

"You should hear you try to say it." He said in the same mocking tone.

"Owen, be nice." Caithlyn hissed quietly, trying to hold back a laugh.

"So what's this thing made of?" Owen asked as he looked into the enclosure.

"The base genome is a T. rex.
The rest is classified." Claire answered fixing her hair. Again.

"You made a new dinosaur but you don't even know what it is?" Caithlyn asked, almost sounding a bit shocked.

"The lab delivers us finished assets, and we show them to the public.
Can we drop a steer, please?" She said annoyed by Caithlyn's comment.

Caithlyn guessed it was a combination of her mocking tone and Owen's firm grip on her hand.

"How long has the animal been in here?" Owen asked.

"All its life." Claire answered like it was no big deal.

"Never seen anything outside of these walls?" He asked again.

"We can't exactly walk it." Claire said annoyed.

- "And you feed it with that?" Owen asked, pointing at the meat hanging down from a crane.

"Is there a problem?" Claire asked, even more annoyed this time.

"Animals raised in isolation aren't always the most functional." Owen said, almost angrily.

"Your Raptors are born in captivity." Claire said puzzled.

"With siblings. They learn social skills.
And I imprint on them when they're born. There's trust.
The only positive relationship this animal has is with that crane." Owen explained as he walked closer to Claire.

"At least she knows that means food." Caithlyn added quietly.

"So, she needs a friend.
We should schedule play-dates?
That sort of thing?" Claire said, as she tried to spot the dinosaur.

"Probably not a good idea." Owen added.

"Where is it?" She said confused, after she knocked on the glass.

"Is it in the basement?
Is there a downstairs?
Maybe it's in the rec room." Owen said jokingly.

"It was just here. We were just here." Claire said frustrated.

"Oh, shit." Caithlyn cursed as she noticed claw marks on the wall.

"That doesn't make any sense.
These doors haven't been opened in weeks." The security guard said, looking over all of the screens.

"Owen?" Caithlyn said waving at him, to get closer.

"Were those claw marks always there?" Owen asked, bringing their attention there.

"Do you think it...?" Claire said in shock as she saw the marks.

"Oh, God. She has an implant in her back.
I can track it from the control room." Claire said in panic, before she stormed off.

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