Won't Let You Go | Owen Grady

Chapter Seven

Present Day

"Close the gate!" Owen shouted over the radio as he took off towards the large cement doors, legs and arms pumping as he glanced up at Charlie in the glass prison above him. They needed to get the hell out of here, their only hope was trapping the beast lumbering behind him inside its containment gates. He glanced over his shoulder at the beast that was chasing him and the guards across the ground between him and freedom. It was almost like a T-Rex. Almost, but more...catlike? It had spiky osterderms covering it's back, tiny horns above its eyes, and was at least twenty feet tall. It's arms were much longer than that of a T-Rex, and more well-formed, with long, terrifying curved claws. And she looked hungry. She lashed out with one of her front claws and scooped up one of the guards running behind him, stopping to drop the man into her mouth with a sickening crunch.

Charlie was seeing all of this from above, and was almost frozen in fear for a second. Then, she was slamming down the emergency 'gates closed' button and sprinted for the stairs, throwing open the door. Instead of even wasting time taking the steps, she placed her butt on the railing and slid down precariously, practically running into Owen at the bottom of the stairs. His hand wrapped like a vice around her wrist and he yanked her forward as the sprinted towards a vehicle. Charlie glanced behind them just in time to see the Indominus Rex shove her way between the almost closed gates, grinding the gears, stopping the closure, breaking the cement into pieces. She was out...for real this time. Charlie let out a short scream as Owen pulled her forward, shoving her to the ground and dragging their bodies beneath one of the jeeps that sat outside. Owen pulled his coworker on top of him, pushing a finger to her lips, ordering her to be silent. Then he reached up up behind her, small pocket knife in hand, and sliced at one of fuel lines above them, dousing their bodies in gasoline.

The thunderous steps of the I-Rex halted beside them. As Owen held Charlie close to him, neither of them dared to breath. Turing, they could see the security guard from earlier hiding behind one of the trucks, quivering and whimpering. He saw them, but didn't move. He couldn't move. There were tear-tracks down his cheeks. Suddenly, the Indominus swiped the vehicle that he was hiding behind, tossing it away as if it were nothing but a toy truck. It leaned down, its mouth wrapped around the guard before he could even scream. Charlie squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to watch. This. This right here. Was her absolute worst nightmare. Owen's grip around her waist tightened as the Rex turn and walked slowly, purposefully, towards the vehicle they hid beneath.

Her head lowered down the the edge of the Jeep, rows of teeth only a foot away from them, nostrils flaring as she breathed in, smelling for them. Thankfully, Owen had thought quickly with the gas. The two reeked of it, and of nothing else. As the giant lizard breathed in, it could smell nothing but fuel. The lips on the dinosaur pulled back, revealing blood and saliva, dripping gobs onto the ground. Thank God it was too low for its eye to peer under and see them. Charlie thought she might faint from the lack of oxygen when finally the Rex lifted her head and stalked off, footsteps echoing in the distance.

Finally, Charlie was able to let out a sob. She buried her head into Owen's chest, his warm skin that peaked out at the crown of his v-neck gentle against her wet cheeks. He held her, tightly, brushing his hand gently over her hair, down her back, keeping her safely next to him.

"Shh, Saunders. We're okay. Everything is going to be alright. We got where we needed to be," He whispered in her ear as the emotions overwhelmed her. Yes, they worked at Jurassic World. But it wasn't every day the were faced with literal death. They could have died. Both of them. Two guards had. This was not normal. "We're going to be fine, you and me. You just need to trust me."

"Trust you?" She managed to spit out, pulling her head up to look at him, nearly banging her skull against the floor of the jeep. "We don't even know each other anymore, Owen. How am I supposed to trust you?" her voice came out in a whisper, still worried the Indominus was out there somewhere, lurking in the trees, waiting for her to give away their hiding spot, so she could eat them both.

Owen sighed, "I'm not getting into this right now, Charlie. You're the one who fucking disappeared on me. One day, everything was good, next day, it was like Charlie Saunders didn't exist anymore...." he sighed, running a hand over his face, then looking back up at her. "Listen, we can't be fighting right now. You need to just trust me, as difficult as that apparently is for you. I won't let you go. We're going to get through this. We just need to get back to HQ. I'm sure Claire has already lit a fire under everyone's asses to get this handled. And if not, we sure as shit are about to."

Charlie rolled off of him, sliding out from under the Jeep, rolling her eyes to herself at his comment on Claire. Of course he'd be thinking about her right now. Charlie hated that stupid jealousy was still at the forefront of her mind when she had almost died. It was stupid and petty. For now, she'd stick with him. Until everyone was safe. "Fine," she said, opening the door to the Jeep and climbing inside, as he clambered into the driver's seat. "Also, thank you," she said begrudgingly. He had saved her after all. He deserved that much.

Owen looked over at her, silent for a moment, which was a first. Looking as if he was about to say something, but the words never formed. Finally, he started the car, and the two drove off silently, into the woods where the Rex had disappeared.