Run (Jurassic World: Owen Grady)

Chapter 2

"I don't know what to do." I'm currently sitting on the railing of the deck in the T-Rex paddock, talking to Bella. It's been a couple days since Claire's offer, and I'm a bit ashamed to say I've considered doing it. Then I feel ashamed for feeling ashamed. So here I am, telling my problems to a dinosaur. "I can't believe I'm talking to a dinosaur." I say to myself.

"Me neither." I hear a voice come from behind me. I turn around and see Owen standing in the doorway, staring at me. I turn back around and I watch Bella walk around the enclosure. I feel someone sit next to me, so I look over and I see that Owen has also taken a seat on the railing. I sigh. "So what's up?" He asks me.

"What do you mean?" I ask him nonchalantly.

"You're sitting here talking to a dinosaur like it understands you. Clearly something's wrong." He chuckles. I take a deep breath.

"I don't know what to do about the whole I-Rex thing. I kind of wanna do it, but at the same time I don't. And I devote all my time to this; I don't think I'd be able to make time for a new dinosaur, at least to make a strong bond with it." I explain. He takes a deep breath too.

"Well, I think it's too late to make a decision now." I look at him confused.

"Why not?"

"It hatched this morning." I look back at Bella.

"Oh," is all I say. Bella notices the new person and she comes over to us. I see Owen tense up, and I smile. Bella stops when she's a few feet in front of us. She gets really close to Owen and starts sniffing him. She grunts a little, and he leans back. She gets closer. A little too close.

I whistle, and she looks at me. "Hey! Back up!" I tell her. She looks back at Owen. "Bella! What did I just say? Back up!" She looks at me again, and I give her a stern look. She shakes her head and backs up a little. I reach my hand out and she leans into it. I stroke her head. I glance over at Owen and he still seems a little tense. I smile and grab his hand. I guide it over to Bella's head, and I gently put his hand on her nose. She blows on us, blowing my hair back. I giggle, and Owen smiles a little. Bella snorts and backs away before walking off into the woods. "I think she likes you," I say to him, still smiling. He just takes a deep breath. Suddenly my stomach makes a loud grumbling sound. I look at Owen. "Time for lunch."

Owen accompanies me to the little café where I usually get my lunch. I order what I always get and Owen gets something too. I start walking away, but he stops me. "Where are you going?"

"I usually eat at the T-Rex paddock." I explain.

"You're not really a people person, are you?"

"Nope." He sits down at a table, not really giving me a choice. I sigh and sit down across from him. "So what do you wanna talk about?" I ask.

"How about why you named a T-Rex Bella." He says. I look at him.

"I thought it fit. She's a gentle giant." I take a bite of my sandwich. We spend the next thirty minutes eating lunch and talking in the little café. I throw away my trash and walk outside. "So there's a feeding for Bella in twenty minutes. Care to join me?" I ask Owen, who is walking beside me.

"I was actually gonna go to the raptor paddock, but I guess I could watch a bit of it." After about fifteen minutes we reach Bella's enclosure. I grab a flare and get ready to spit out T-Rex facts to the public. I open the door and step out onto the deck. I expect to see Bella walking around the woods, but what I see is far worse. Bella is lying on the ground, breathing heavily.

I drop the flare. "Bella!" I yell out. I jump over the railing and quickly climbing down the ladder. When I'm about ten feet off the ground I jump, hitting the ground with a thud. "Sadie!" I hear Owen yell from the deck. I ignore him and run over to Bella. I slide to a stop and kneel down in front of her face. "Bella?" She groans. I gently stroke her head. She feels hot, and she's panting. "Oh, baby, you're dehydrated." I say sadly. "You gotta stand up. Come on." I stand up and motion for her to do the same. She lifts her head up off the ground, and the rest of her follows. She struggles, but she manages to stand up. I whistle and she looks at me. I start backing up towards the pond she drinks out of, and she starts following me. I can see the crowd of people in the tunnel staring at us in amazement, wondering how I haven't been eaten yet.

We reach the pond and she immediately leans down, lapping up the water to become hydrated again. I take a deep breath and wipe the sweat off my brow. She's okay. Bella's okay.

I walk towards the ladder and climb up it. I swing my legs over the railing and pick up the flare. "Are you crazy?" Owen asks me.

"Stop worrying. I do it all the time." I enter the little storage room and put the flare back. I grab my microphone and go back out onto the deck. "Sorry ladies and gentlemen. The feeding has been canceled due to the T-Rex not feeling well. Sorry." I turn it off and put it back in the room.

"You willingly go down into the paddock, and she lets you?" He asks in shock. I nod.

"You don't do that with the raptors?" He shakes his head. "Well, you said you were gonna go down there, right? Let's go," I say, before exiting the enclosure.