Clawen ♡ Second Time's the Charm

Chapter 23: The First Best Thing

With nothing else to do, Zach and Gray were sitting silently on a small wooden bench. Gray flinched at every loud noise coming from the raptor paddock. Zach stared off into the distance, twiddling his thumbs. They too had been completely consumed by the darkening mood. Both brothers were thinking about the same thing, though neither of them wished to speak about it.

In front of them, Claire was pacing back and forth. So many thoughts were racing in her mind; it was difficult to calm down and focus on just one. She glanced at the raptor paddock worriedly. Owen had gone there in an attempt to convince the InGen workers that Hoskins's plan wouldn't work. But they both knew that the chances of InGen backing down were small.

"Aunt Claire?"

Claire turned to Gray. "Yes, sweetheart?"

"Is holding each other's hands something that couples do?" Gray couldn't help but ask this. When he was nervous, he tended to ask random and, often times, strange questions.

Claire stopped pacing and stared at him in bewilderment. This kid asks the strangest questions. "Well, I suppose so," she answered unsurely. Why does it matter to him? He doesn't have a girlfriend at this age, does he? Karen wouldn't be very happy about it.

"So does that make you and Owen a couple?" Gray asked innocently.

Claire reddened. Damn it. I should've seen this coming. "Well... you see..."

Gray looked at her expectantly. Zach, who had tuned in to hear his aunt's reply, snorted at her sudden speechlessness.

"Duh. It only makes sense that way, Gray," the older nephew quipped. He flashed Claire a triumphant smirk. Thankfully, Gray changed the topic before Claire's embarrassment could blossom.

"What's gonna happen to the raptors? Are they actually gonna be let out of their enclosure?" Gray asked anxiously. His eyes were wide with terror at the thought of having four raptors loose on the island along with the Indominus.

"I don't know, sweetie. That's why Owen is in there right now. He's trying to get them to call this whole thing off."

Gray nodded, still unconvinced. "What will Owen do if they set his raptors loose?"

Claire felt a cold fear in her heart. Oh, dear. What will he do? There's not much he could do, is there?

"Aunt Claire, I'm asking you. What will he do if they let his raptors out?" Gray repeated insistently. Claire was about to reply with another one of her 'I-don't-knows' when a gruff voice rang out behind her.

"I'll go with them, easy as that."

Claire spun around to face Owen, who was standing inside a gated extension of the paddock. The four raptors were in their cages behind him with their heads barely sticking out between the bars. They were restless and obviously knew that something was about to happen.

"What?" Claire cried. Her heart began to race. Surely, he wasn't going out there in the dark with four raptors. God, he isn't that idiotic, is he?

"You heard me," Owen answered, sounding exhausted and short-tempered at once. "They've decided to release my raptors, and if they're out there, so am I." He hoped that Claire wouldn't object because he was too tired to bicker with her anymore.

"You don't have any other choice, do you?" she asked quietly. There was a hint of regret in her tone.

"I don't. I'm sorry." Owen winced inwardly at her melancholy tone. He felt, once again, that he had somehow let her down. There was a heavy silence until Zach spoke up.