Watch Your Back
The parents arrived that early afternoon with Zach and Malcolm.
"See I told you it wasn't him." Zach said.
"Yeah that's great and all but we're going to need a suspect here." Malcolm pointed out.
"But Lowery can be released." Zach said.
"It can't be done by any of us." Owen said. His mother was holding his head into her chest slowly patting him as if he were a little boy again.
"Why not?"
"Because," Keira started, "the guards know we're all friends with Lowery, they're not going to release him because they'll think we're just doing it as friends. Your aunt needs to release him. Why didn't she come over?"
"I haven't seen her, she was gone before I woke up this morning."
Keira grabbed her cellphone and called Claire's cellphone but it went straight to voicemail. She reached for her radio and radioed her but there was no response.
She radioed Doug.
"What's up Chief?"
"Can you go to the Dearing household and see if Claire is there? If she is, tell her to call me."
"You got it Chief. I'm on it."
"That's odd." Malcolm said stating the obvious. "Where is she?"
The group waited until Doug called her back.
"Hey Chief, her car is here, but she isn't."
"Not good."
Zach stood in the Bungalow trying to keep calm that his aunt had just vanished especially with suspicions running high. Keira was calling in all over but no one had seen Claire Dearing.
Keira and Owen stood apart from the group as the older adults attempted to comfort the teenage boy.
"This isn't really looking good on Claire's part." Owen said before rubbing his face.
"I know it doesn't but I don't want people to start accusing with Zach in the room."
He nodded. "Let's head to the main building."
The couple left the group at the house and drove off in silence.
"Do you think Claire is..." Keira began.
"Capable?"
She nodded.
"At this point, I'm so damn confused. I don't know what to believe. It could be freaking Dino at this point."
Keira let out a light chuckle. "That would be a story and a half."
When they arrived, they reached the room Lowery was in. Owen spoke with a guard as Keira walked in.
"Keira!" Lowery said in relief. "Did you figure anything out?" he asked.
"I did." she said going over to him. "Some messed with the system so that when other people logged in, it looked like you."
"What?"
"When I signed into the plains' gate, it showed your numbers."
"But how?"
"I don't know I'm not the technical expert here Lowery, I deal with the dinosaurs remember?"
He gave her a faint smile. "So you believe that it wasn't me?"
"Yes, and I'm really sorry Lowery, for everything."
"No, don't apologize. I understand. I mean, everything was pointing to me."
She frowned.
"What?" he asked.
"I'm so lost right now Lowery. First Jack, then you, and now Claire-"
"Wait, what about Claire?" he asked.
"She's been missing since we made this discovery."
"You think she set me up?"
"I'm not accusing anyone else until we get all the facts right now Lowery. I don't think I can handle it."
He only nodded. "Uh Keira?" he said.
"Yeah Lowery?"
"Since my name has been pretty much cleared, can you uh, let me go?"
"Oh! Well, Owen's trying to convince the guards right now to let you go."
"Trying?" Owen's voice rang over them. He held up the keys to the handcuffs.
The two friends smiled as Owen walked over.
"Alright, we need to find Claire. Get the whole sanctuary involved." Keira said.
"I can try and get the cameras working." Lowery offered.
Keira turned to them. "Okay."
When Keira returned to the Bungalow with Owen to pick up Zach to help with the search for his aunt.
"I'm going too." Alan said.
Everyone turned to him.
"I think I still know my way around here." he said placing his hat on. Keira smiled. Owen headed towards his bike.
"Keep your radio on." he told Keira.
"Will do." He went to leave but Keira grabbed his hand.
"Be careful." she told him.
"Don't worry babe, I'm Owen Grady, remember?"
"How could I forget?"
"Any luck?" Keira asked Lowery. She waited for his response.
"Not yet." he said. "I'll keep you updated."
They headed into the plains area calling out for Claire. The dinosaurs watched in curiosity. Alan stood for a moment, remembering when he had first seen the dinosaurs out in the plains with Ellie. He shook his head as he continued looking around.
Keira walked through some triceratops grazing, Alan felt his anxiety soar through the roof as his daughter walked through them as if they were just a flock of geese.
"I don't think she's out here.' Zach called out to her.
"Neither do I." Keira said back.
"Well we ca-"
There was a loud call as a stegosaurus lifted it's head and wailed. The others followed. Alan's eyes widened as the dinosaurs panicked.
"Keira get out of there!" he yelled. The dinosaurs began slamming into each other as they went to run away from some unknown and unseen force.
Keira dodged several of them before she fell to the ground after being slammed into.
"Keira!" Alan ran over slipping past the dinosaurs over to his daughter's side helping her up to her feet. He brought her back out of harms way dragging down Zach with them.
"They're doing it again." Zach said. He tried his radio.
"Radios are down again."
Lowery worked frantically at his computer when he finally made a breakthrough, he stopped when he saw what was happening in the hacked system.
"Shit." he said. He grabbed his radio and greeted with the static confirming his suspicions. "There's a blocker!"
He jumped out of his chair and ran out of the control room. He jumped into his vehicle and made his way to the plains.
"There is something they can sense, that we can't." Alan said.
"Just like the storm." Keira said under her breath. She pushed herself up.
"Keira what are you doing?!" Alan said.
"There's something out here in the plains . Whenever the system goes down, they freak and run to the center!" she said.
"The center?" Alan repeated.
"They did it here and in the carnivore territory, even the raptors."
Alan wracked his brain. "Well, that would be the center is the furthest point they can reach to get away from whatever it is."
"But what is it? We can't see anything or hear it." Zach said.
"Hear it!" Alan said. "They can probably hear something we can't!"
"Dad, you're a genius." She said.
"KEIRA!"
The three turned to see Lowery at the entrance waving his arms frantically.
"Let's go." Alan said leading the way holding both his daughter and Zach's hand.
"Lowery!" Keira nearly ran into him. "What?! What did you figure out?"
"There's a blocker, well, there's several throughout the park." he said. "It's what's cutting through our radios when the system is shut down, they turn on."
He walked over to the gate box. He pulled at his but it didn't budge.
"Here. Allow me." Alan said before lifting his leg and kicking it busting it open. The four looked down to see foreign pieces fall out. Lowery picked them up.
"What are those?" Zach asked.
"This is the blocker." Lowery said holding one piece up. 'I don't know what this is."
Alan grabbed it. "I do, it's a ultrasonic repeller." he said. "We used versions of one at dig sites to keep animals away."
"Someone planted all of these, in each gate box." Lowery said.
Back in the main building, the search was still on.
"Hold on," one of the workers said. "I gotta make the bladder gladder." he told his co-worker before going into the bathroom. He stood at the urinal ready to relieve himself when he heard a groan. He turned around.
"Hello?" he said.
He heard another groan. He bent down to see legs in one of the stalls wearing a pair of heels.
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