𝙏𝙀𝙉𝘼𝘾𝙄𝙊𝙐𝙎 » 𝙅𝙒: 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙙𝙤𝙢 ✓ [2]

XIII

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE BASEMENT BARGAINERS

'Do you remember the first time you saw a dinosaur?' Claire asks us.

Her soft question echoes in the now silent basement, with all of the dinosaurs having settled into uncomfortable, miserable sleep. I lift my head up from Alex's shoulder as he continued to doze, staring at the redhead gazing out of the cell. Owen gave her a sympathetic look, twirling a piece of straw between his fingertips.

'First time you see them, it's like a miracle,' she says. 'You read about them in books, see the bones in museums, but you don't really believe it. And then you see... the first one alive.'

Opposite our cell, a triceratops was the last dinosaur to settle to sleep, its baby wailing in content having been so close to its Mother. The baby muzzled into its Mother's side, huffing out a breath as it fell into sleep beside the gentle giant. Claire smiles sadly at the animals, dropping her head in shame.

'This is not your fault,' Owen tells her.

She looks up at him, eyes glazed over with tears. 'But it is.'

'No,' Owen says, shaking his head. 'This ones on me. I showed them the way.'

'You were just trying to make a change, Claire,' I pipe up gently, remembering the words Winnie had passed onto me when I was completely against joining Claire on her mission proposal. 'You risked everything to save these animals. And even though they're not in good hands right now, they're still alive. All thanks to you.'

She presses her lips together, looking back down at her feet.

'Now listen,' Owen told her as he stood. 'You and I are gonna have plenty of time to talk about this later.'

'If there is a later,' Claire mumbles, shaking her head.

'Yes there is,' Owen says sternly, peering out of the bars. 'I've got a cabin to finish.'

Claire looks up at him, smiling warmly.

A hard jolt vibrated through the wall I was resting against directly into my shoulder blades. I frown, scooching away. Alex was dragging himself out of sleep, wincing in pain as he slowly peeled away from the bricks. A wailing sound came from the other side of the wall.