𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 ▸ Lowery Cruthers [1]

EPILOGUE

The television had been on for such a long time, that the set had started humming quietly a couple of hours ago and the screen had actually become hot to the touch. The two people watching it had not noticed this however, in fact, neither one of them had moved from their spot rooted to the sofa for the past twelve hours. The news channels were all broadcasting the same thing, the Isla Nublar disaster. The coverage was much more than it had been in the 1990s, although that being said the island was still a well-kept secret from the public the first time chaos had reined on the small land mass 250 miles off the coast of Costa Rica. Images flashed on the screen, live feeds from helicopters flying as close as they were legally able to around the island, showing the rest of the world the mass evacuation.

Large cruise liners pulled out of the docks, carrying thousands upon thousands of people, holiday makers and park workers alike. Some were injured, others much worse. The news channels didn't show their faces, but they were all much the same, solemn, shocked and many of them grief stricken. No one would forget the events of the day in a hurry, no matter how much they wished that they could.

"Have you heard anything?" It was the first time that either one of them had spoken in a number of hours. Her husband actually flinched at the sound of a voice that wasn't coming from the television set. Without taking his eyes off the screen the elder man shook his head, no.

"Not since I called her yesterday." He responded quietly, after a moment's thought. "I should have known something was wrong."

"You couldn't possibly..." His wife took his hand in her own, stroking her thumb gently across his palm. The skin of his hands had always been rough, it came part and parcel with a lifetime of working in the outdoors. "There was no way anyone could have predicted something like this."

He looked at her pointedly, a frown momentarily flashing across his weathered features. He had predicted this, the moment they'd opened the damned park he'd protested, citing that it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. Noticing his expression, his wife stood up from the sofa. She stretched her limbs, which had gone stiff from sitting in the same position for such a long time, and moved to the other side of the room. She glanced out of the window of the trailer, at the vast expanse of the Montana Badlands. Their entire family had lived here for such a time that she'd forgotten how beautiful the Badlands were, and for a moment she was silent. She pictured their family, years ago, when their daughter was much younger. She'd run happily around the dig sites, proudly wearing one of her father's old plaid shirts, not caring that it was far too big for her. She also wore his patterned red neckerchief. She'd started off wearing it around her neck, as her father had done, but soon took to wearing it either wrapped around her wrist, or tied tightly to the waistline of whatever pair of shorts she was wearing that day. There was never a day she'd been without it after that, and her mother didn't doubt that she still had it with her now, wherever she may be.

Natalie Grant smiled at the memory before she turned back to her husband, who had torn his gaze away from the television set to look at his wife. For a long time they simply watched one another, their expressions identical, terrified.

"They're saying everyone should wait to hear..." Natalie said quietly.

"To hell with what they're saying." Alan Grant stood up, leaning down to retrieve his hat from the coffee table in front of him. "I'm phoning Masrani's people, we're going to find our daughter."

It had taken hours, most of which consisted of Alan Grant being put on hold as Masrani Global operators desperately tried to find 'someone in charge' to put him through to. The news that Simon Masrani was one of those that had lost their lives on the island had yet to break, and no one wanted to be the whistle blower on something as big as that, and so Dr Grant was passed from pillar to post as he tried to find out exactly what it was that had happened. His position in the world of palaeontology, and his past affiliation with InGen and the original park was the only reason that Alan Grant eventually found himself on the telephone with Richard Weisner, the Chief Operating Officer, and currently the highest ranking employee of Masrani Global. Their discussion had been a long and heated one, and had ended with Weisner reluctantly agreeing to fund a private flight for both Alan and Natalie Grant to travel to Costa Rica to find their daughter.