Chapter 7: Battles
A/N: I know I'm a bit overdue, some of this was difficult to get from my mind to words. Hope you enjoy.
A massive clap of thunder shook Ben from his slumber. The storm outside sounded severe enough that he wondered if it could have been a hurricane, even in the control room, Ben could hear and feel the old building creaking and groaning with the force of the wind. As he lay there in bed, listening to the storm, he felt uneasy. He wasn't sure why, just a growing sense that something was wrong. Ben hadn't really been anxious since his fall, so the fact that anxiety was building in him now was a bit unnerving.
"Why now?" he wandered. Why now in the middle of the night, while he was safe and warm?
"Could it be the storm?" he thought. "An after effect of the spider venom maybe? The problem with that was that he wasn't really afraid of the storm, he was safe from its fury and he knew it. As far as being related to his bite, delayed onset of extreme anxiety was not a symptom he'd read about. Oddly, he hadn't even felt like this when his own survival was in question after the bite. After the initial shock, it had been more of a "well that happened, I'll either make it or I won't" kind of feeling, more acceptance than anxiety. Ben closed his eyes, trying to force the feelings out of his mind. Without a better explanation, he decided that it must just be an after effect of the venom, maybe the trauma too, he had no way to know. He tried desperately to go back to sleep, telling himself it was nothing. Ben prayed hard the God would take the anxiety and restore his peace. Eventually he again drifted off, but his sleep was anything but peaceful.
The cold wind ripped at Ben's clothing as he dangled from the monorail, desperately clinging to Darius' hand.
"Darius, help!" he called, "don't let me go" Ben could see the determination on his friends face as he gritted his teeth in exertion, trying desperately to maintain his grip on his friend. As Ben's hand inevitably slipped free of Darius' grasp, the whole world switched. Suddenly he found himself in Darius' place, only instead of himself or Darius, to his horror, it was Yasmina who dangled beneath him. His heart skipped as they made eye contact, part of him excited to see her again, the other part horrified at the position she was in.
"Ben!" she cried. "help me!"
"Don't worry Yaz, I've got you!" he called back to her. He tried to pull her up, but it was as if some unseen force was pulling her down, harder and harder. Panicking Ben looked for his friends to help, but they were alone on the monorail, only him and Yasmina.
"Don't let me fall" she pleaded, fear filling her normally confident eyes.
"I wont!" Ben grunted, pulling with all his might. Yasmina cried out in pain as the flesh around her wrist tore and separated, sending blood spilling down her forearm. In a millisecond of panic at seeing her blood, Ben released his grip. Suddenly the world flashed again. Ben was on the ground beneath the monorail, up ahead he could see Yasmina falling, flailing in the air. He ran to get under her, to catch her, to break her fall, anything, but in was no use. She hit the ground in front of him with a sound that shook his very soul. He dropped to his knees at her side. She wasn't moving, her eyes were open and distant. Blood pooled around the back of her head.
"HELP!" he screamed desperately into the jungle, but there was no reply. Gently he pulled Yasmina's head into his lap, cradling her as he sobbed. Suddenly his friends were there, walking slowly towards them.
"She…she fell…I tried to save her…..but I couldn't." Ben sniffed. His friends silently gathered around Yaz's body, ignoring Ben as if he didn't exist. Gently Kenji, Darius, Sammy and Brooklynn picked up the broken girl and held her over their heads.
"Wha…what are you doing?" he asked in confusion. Finally Sammy turned towards him with her signature warm smile.
"Help us lift her" she urged sweetly.
"What do you mean? Lift her where? I don't understand! Sammy, what do you mean? He cried.
Suddenly the world flashed again and he found himself alone in bed, sitting up straight, soaked in sweat. Ben took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself before flopping back onto his pillows.
"That's it…no more compy meat before bed." He said to himself. Still breathing heavy, he got up and checked the rotunda, before sighing in disappointment. He had hoped the storm would drive Bumpy back to the shelter of the visitors center, unfortunately there was no sign of his little ankylosaur. Shaking his head and rubbing his eyes, Ben tried to go on about his daily routine but the nightmare had unnerved him, it had been his first since being on the island. Doing his best to push his odd anxiety and his awful dream to the back of his mind, he climbed up to the lookout. The storm really had done some significant damage, trees were uprooted, limbs and leaves and other debris littered the entire area, even the three predators had left the pipe. That realization made him stop.
"Okay, where'd they go?" he asked himself out loud as he scanned the roads and tree lines. Finally he saw them, disappearing single file, into jungle, close to a mile up the road. Ben's curiosity was piqued. Had their prey finally come out? Had it escaped in the storm? The questions dug at him till finally he couldn't take it anymore….he had to go check it out. Grabbing his knife and checking the chamber of his SPAS-12, he slipped out the back of the building, headed towards the pipe. The short trip through the jungle was thankfully uneventful, save for a small group of compys exploding out of a bush and scaring the heck our of him. A few moments later he arrived at the drain pipe. Cautiously he stepped out of the jungle, the ground all around the pipe was torn up from days of clawed feet moving around it. Slowly he looked in, as his eyes adjusted to the dark, he could see a dead pachycephalosaurus at the end of the pipe, up against a grate.
"Kept it trapped till it died of thirst, poor thing." Ben sighed sadly. "What a waste of meat." A thought that he had the night before suddenly came to the forefront of his mind. Last night while he was cooking the compy, he had entertained the idea of building an improvised smoker, that way he would be able to preserve meat for a longer period of time. It would be simple enough to stab some holes in a large metal cabinet and install a rack, and honestly this was a golden opportunity. The pachy had at least a couple hundred pounds of meat on it. At least this way it wouldn't be going to waste. The more he thought about it, the more he couldn't pass it up. This was survival, and in survival you never pass up a free meal. Moving quickly, he entered the pipe, and used his knife to remove about twenty pounds of meat from the dinosaur's left thigh, then hurriedly made his way back to the visitors center. After stashing the meat in one of the kitchen cabinets, he climbed back up to the lookout, still no sign of the trio. Ben made two more trips to the pipe, salvaging around seventy pounds of meat. The rest of the carcass he dragged out of the pipe, leaving it for the trio in the hopes they would be more focused on it than his scent trail. The whole plan wasn't without heavy risks, along with the possibility of being caught at the pipe, there was also the strong possibility of them following the scent of the freshly cut meat, and even Ben himself back to the visitors center or even more likely, of them smelling it cooking when he smoked it. Still the prospect of having a steady meat supply without having to constantly kill compys, was worth the risk in his eyes. As soon as he'd returned from his last trip, Ben set to work. With luck he'd have the meat smoked and everything cleaned up before the trio came back his direction. He already had a cabinet in mind, one he had searched when he first found the kitchen, it was the the perfect size, and material, stainless steel, about five feet tall by three feet wide by three feet deep. Ben made several holes along the bottom to allow the fire to pull in fresh air. Next he cut a couple of holes at the top to allow some smoke to vent, while keeping most inside. Finally he poked a few small holes it the very top so he could use his leftover wire from the extension cord to tie his oven rack in place. When finished he stepped back and admired his handiwork.
"A little crude, but it should work." He said to himself. Using some of his leftover firewood, he started a small fire in the bottom of the cabinet and then sliced his meat into thin strips, placing as much on his rack as he could while still keeping each piece separated. He closed the door and grinned as smoke built and bellowed out the holes in the top.
"And now, all that's left is to wait." He thought.
Hot breath tickled Brooklynn's face, waking her. She tried to pretend she was asleep, refusing to open her eyes. The next breath came with a low growl, triggering a horrible realization….it wasn't Darius' breath she was feeling. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes. Two rows of sharp, wicked looking teeth were exposed by snarling reptilian lips just inches from her face, yellow eyes glared at her from the other side of the security gate as clawed hands wrapped around the bars. Shock and terror shot through Brooklynn's body as the animal hissed. Finally she found her voice.
"RAPTOR!" she screamed, shaking Darius violently. The group instantly became a wiggling mass of arms, legs, and weapons. Taking advantage of the confusion, the velociraptor locked eyes with Brooklynn, staring straight into the girls soul, the message was clear, it was coming back, and she was its new prey. With one last Snarl, the raptor turned and disappeared down the tunnel. Seconds later the campers had formed a protective circle around their still unconscious friend. Electricity crackled at the end of Darius' prod, Kenji and Sammy's rifles were shouldered, safeties off, sweeping everything around them.
"WHERE!" Kenji shouted.
"B..behind the gate!" Brooklynn stuttered. All weapons trained on the empty tunnel behind the security gate.
"There's nothing there, Brooke." Darius said softly.
"It was there, it ran when I screamed." She assured him.
"You sure you weren't dreaming?" Kenji asked, skepticism edging in his voice.
"It was there." She insisted.
"Ya know, we've been through a lot, haven't got much sleep, maybe…Sammy tried to suggest.
"I know what I saw!" Brooklynn snapped, cutting the Texan off.
"Alright guys enough" Darius spoke up, raising a hand to silence them. "If Brooklynn says she saw a raptor, then she saw one. We can't start second guessing each other now. Besides we should get moving anyway, we've gotta get Yaz back to the hotel." Darius and Kenji worked together to carry Yasmina as Brooklynn led them back to the command center, Sammy kept her tazer rifle ready, just in case the raptor Brooklynn saw found another way around the gates. By the time they finally reached the stairs to the command center, the boys were exhausted. While Yasmina was certainly nowhere near overweight, she wasn't light either. Due to her rigorous training, she was nearly all muscle, making her small, but densely packed.
"Alright, you guys rest." Brooklynn instructed. " I'm going to go up and write down directions on how to get to the hotel exit from here, probably not a good idea to carry Yaz down main street with Rexy out there."
"Okay, good idea." Darius panted, "we'll wait here." Quietly, Brooklynn ascended the stairs, slipping through the door into the command center. Everything was just as they had left it. Staring at the map, she pulled her own map from her pocket and began to add on the directions she needed. Once finished, she headed for the door. As her fingers touched the doorknob, she stopped, an idea forming in her mind. Stepping away from the door, she again stared at the map. Finding what she was looking for, she grabbed another piece of paper and jotted down some more directions, quickly stuffing the new paper into another pocket, then headed back down the stairs to her friends.
"Alright guys, it's not too much further." She said. "Whenever you're ready." Darius watched Yasmina's chest rise and fall as he stroked her hand.
"Your gonna be ok Yaz, we're almost back." He told her.
"Yes, she will." Kenji agreed, placing a hand on Darius' shoulder. "We didn't come this far just to lose her now. Come on, let's get her home."
"Home" Darius thought with a chuckle. This was nowhere near home, but then again, the hotel was warm, safe, comfortable, and most importantly, they were together. Honestly it was probably the closest thing to a home they could ask for. The boys got to their feet and picked up Yaz.
"Ready" Darius nodded. Brooklynn led them through the tunnel system once again. After about thirty minutes of travel, Brooklynn stopped at a ladder.
"I'll see if the coast is clear." She said, climbing up. And opening the hatch. The tunnel came up about fifty yards to the east of the hotel.
"All clear" she called down to her friends who, working together, managed to wrestle Yasmina's dead weight up the ladder and out the hatch. With the finish line in sight, they hustled more than ever, Brooklynn leading with her cattle prod, and Sammy watching their backs with her tazer rifle. Soon they were again bursting through the hotel doors. Panting with exertion, the boys headed for the elevator. Moments later they were hurrying down the fifth floor hallway to their suite. Once inside, Sammy flung open the doors to the second bedroom.
"Here" she ordered, pulling the blankets off the bed. Kenji and Darius gently laid Yasmina down on the clean white bedsheets. Immediately transforming from rear guard to doctor mode, Sammy pressed her ear to the girls chest.
"Kenji, I'm getting low on bandages, see if you can find us another fist aid kit, Maybe behind the front desk." She ordered.
"On it" he nodded, heading for the door.
"Oh, by the way." She called after him, "knock before you come in, I've gotta get these damp clothes off her and clean her up."
"Yes ma'am" he nodded with a slight grin, disappearing out the door. For some reason Kenji loved it when Sammy took charge.
"Darius, I need you to find hair trimmers or a beard trimmer, something of the sort. I need to shave around this gash on the back of her head so I can clean and stitch it." She explained.
"I'll see what I can do." He answered, hurrying off.
"Brooke, I need a pot of hot water and a wash cloth, and if you wouldn't mind, could ya fix a pot of coffee? I've got a lot to do here." Sammy said, pulling Yaz's t shirt over her head.
"Of course, no problem." She said, heading for the kitchen. A few minutes later she returned, with the hot water and rag.
"Coffee's brewing" Brooklynn announced.
"Thank you" Sammy said, taking the rag and gently washing Yasmina's face. "Here, can you start her clothes in the washer?"
"Oh" Brooklynn remarked, looking down at Yaz, who was now beneath a sheet. "I didn't realize you already stripped her."
"Yeah, I'd like to get at least her undies back on her before she wakes up, otherwise she's gonna have a whole lot of questions." Sammy laughed.
"Oh gosh, wouldn't you?" Brooklynn giggled, stepping out with Yaz's clothes. By the time Kenji and Darius returned, Brooklynn and Sammy had finished washing Yasmina down, and were replacing the torn stitches in her wrist.
"Perfect timing Kenji, thanks." Sammy said, grabbing the first aid kit from his hands.
"Found a beard and mustache trimmer." Darius said helpfully, handing the trimmer to Brooklynn.
"Thanks Darius, just what I need." Sammy said gratefully, as she finished rewrapping Yasmina's wrist and forearm.
"Um guys, I appreciate the first aid kit and the trimmers, but I've got to roll Yaz on her side to get to her head wound, and she's kinda naked right now sooooo I kinda doubt she wants you guys to see her butt…."
"enough said, I'm out!" Darius said, throwing his hands up and making a bee line for the door.
"No way, do not need to see that!" Kenji shouted closing his eyes tight and sticking his arms out in front of him, feeling for the door.
Brooklynn and Sammy giggled to each other.
"I guess that's an effective way to get rid of them" Brooklynn pointed out.
"I know, right?" Sammy agreed. "help me roll her on her side" with Yaz on her side Sammy got her first chance to really inspect her head wound.
"Clippers" she said, reaching out her hand.
"Clippers" Brooklynn confirmed, handing them to Sammy. The wound was a two inch gash on top of a large knot, Sammy shaved the wound and another two inches around it.
"Think she'll be mad about her hair?" Brooklynn asked.
"I'd be fine if she was." Sammy said with a shrug. "That would mean she was awake."
"Good point" Brooklynn agreed. Sammy soaked a cotton ball in iodine, pressing it tight into the gash. Yaz's breathing noticeably quickened.
"She felt that..that's a good sign." Sammy reassured Brooklynn. The cowgirl closed Yaz's wound with five x shaped stitches and bandaged it with gauze and tape. Gently, they rolled Yaz onto her back, so that Sammy could tend to her ankle, as she worked, Brooklynn held Yasmina's good hand and stroked her hair.
"You're gonna be fine Yaz." Brooklynn told her, trying her best to fight back tears. "You have to be….your the strongest out of all of us, and if you don't make it…..what chance do the rest of us have."
"It's possible she can hear you, just not react" Sammy said softly. "But no way to really know."
"I've done pretty much all I can do for her now." Sammy said, finished rewrapping her ankle. We should probably let her rest and let the others know how she's doing."
"Yeah, I know, I'm just kinda scared to leave her.. what if….." Brooklynn started.
"Whatever happens next is beyond our control." Sammy said, cutting her off. "It's up to her now." Brooklynn turned at the door, giving her friend a long last look, hoping it wouldn't be the last time she saw her alive.
"How's she doing? Darius asked. "Any change?"
"Unfortunately no" Sammy sighed, sitting down on the couch with the boys.
"On the plus side." Sammy started, "She's breathing well, her heartbeat is strong and steady, her pupils dilate with light, her reflexes are working right, and she's showing pain response."
"So how long before she wakes up." Kenji asked.
"Well it depends." Sammy answered. "Best case scenario, she has a bad concussion and a ruptured ear drum. If that was the case I would think that she'd be awake by now, but then again, maybe with how exhausted she is, it's taking more time."
"And what about worst case scenario?" Darius asked hesitantly. Sammy couldn't meet his eyes.
"Worst case scenario" she said, "Is that she's bleeding from the ear because she has a fractured skull, and she's not waking up because her brain is swelling. If that's the case, there's nothing we can do, ad if her brain continues to swell…..I doubt she'll make it another night. The mood in the room crashed.
"Which do you think it is?" Brooklynn asked quietly.
"judging by her head wound, I think she landed on a rock or a root, something hard. I think she's got at least a severe concussion, and I think that she's got some brain swelling, not a lot, but some." She explained. Everyone was quiet for a few moments.
"But she's gonna be fine…….right?" Kenji asked, desperation edging his voice.
"I hope so" Sammy said sadly, "I think her body kinda slipped into a coma till her brain can heal, she seems like she's on the verge on consciousness, but she's still not waking up." Again there was silence.
"What if…..what if she's stuck like this, for like…a long time?" Brooklynn reluctantly asked, still unable to lift her eyes from the floor.
"Then she won't make it." Sammy stated.
"But.. you always hear stories of people waking up from comas after like ten years and being fine. I mean I know we'd have to like bathe her and change her and all that, but it's not like we really have a choice." She argued.
"Brooke, those people were at hospitals, where they had IVs and feeding tubes and round the clock care, we've got none of that. Yes we could take care of her bodily functions, and I know a way I could get some water in her…not exactly pretty….or dignified, but I could do it, but if she can't swallow, she can't eat….eventually she'll starve to death." Sammy explained as gently as she could.
"Even if we could feed her…….she would never want to live like that." Kenji added solemnly.
"What are you trying to say?" Darius asked, anger creeping into his tone.
"Look" Kenji sighed, "all I'm saying is that every one of us would rather die than burden the rest of us that way, especially Yaz." Nobody disagreed.
"Oh, got it, so if she doesn't wake up in a few days, I guess your gonna walk in there and hold a pillow over her face till she's gone, is that about right?" Darius snapped, jaw set, fists clenched. Kenji looked around the room, everyone's eyes were filled with anger, all but Sammy's. He guessed she had already had the same thoughts. At least someone understood.
"No" Kenji said sadly, "I could never do that, even knowing that it's what she would want. And I know none of the rest of you could either. And it's not a bad thing…..it's just the fact of the matter is…."
"If she doesn't wake up then there's only two options…she either dies slowly of starvation….or…some other way." Sammy finished, tears rolling down her cheeks. Darius' anger retreated as Brooklynn buried her face into his chest sobbing for their friend, his own tears falling on her as he held her close. Kenji shot to his feet and walked to the window, holding his head in frustration.
"WHY?" he yelled, "WHY DID SHE HAVE TO TAKE OFF ON HER OWN LIKE THAT? WHY DID THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN?" With his frustration vented, Kenji collapsed on the couch next to Sammy, who immediately wrapped him in a hug.
"I just…don't wanna lose her, I don't wanna lose any of you….you guys are the first real friends I've ever had….the closest thing to family I've ever had." He cried.
"We're not going anywhere Kenji, your stuck with us now." Sammy said.
"We didn't expect anything to happen to Ben, we didn't expect Yaz to sneak out and basically get herself killed. Anything can happen at anytime here. If we hadn't closed that security gate last night…the raptor Brooklynn saw could have killed all of us before we could even react." Kenji argued.
"I know" Sammy admitted, "But that's just part of being stuck here. We don't know what's going to happen, but as long as we're breathing, we're gonna be here for each other. I believe Ben is still with us too, watching over us. And Yaz, she hasn't left us yet, but if she does, I believe she'll be right there next to Ben."
"Yeah I guess." Kenji relented. "I just wish there was something I could do to help her."
"There is." Sammy said softly. "We can pray, all of us, that's the absolute best thing we can do for her now."
"Uh, I'm not really a praying kinda person." He protested.
"I'm not either." Brooklynn said speaking up, "religion has never really been a top priority, but for Yaz, I'm down."
"Yeah, can't hurt to try, I'm in too….for Yaz." Kenji agreed. With that the four of them bowed their heads.
Ben watched as smoke filled the kitchen. That was one thing he had been concerned about. The cabinet was bolted to the wall, so moving it wasn't an option, and without power, there was no real ventilation in the kitchen. This was absolutely the most dangerous part. It would take hours to smoke seventy pounds of meat, that meant hours and hours of smoke filling his makeshift home, and drifting in the winds to the nostrils of every predator on the island. Soon the smoke was drifting out into the rotunda. Fortunately the building was big enough that the concentration of smoke stayed fairly low. Returning to the gift shop, Ben looked through the books that they had stocked. Most were dinosaur themed children's books, but one book in particular, caught his eye, "The Photographic Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs."
"If I'm planning on being here a while, it would probably be a good idea learn a bit more about my adversaries." He said to himself. Grabbing the book, he went back to the kitchen to check his fire. After adding another chunk of wood, he took his book and shotgun and climbed up to the lookout. Looking back at the pipe, he could see the pachycephalosaurus carcass just in front of the pipe, a couple of compys had found it, but the trio had yet to return.
"Hey I wander if they are in here." Ben thought, flipping through the pages.
"Here!" he said out loud. Baryonyx." It felt good to actually have a name for them after all this time, that was one great thing about Darius, he always knew what dinosaur they were facing. Ben dug into the book, trying to learn all he could, after all out here, knowledge was power. He spent most of the day up at the lookout, occasionally taking a brake from his reading to watch the brachiosaurs herd, or add more wood to his fire. The smoking was coming along too, it was going faster than he had thought it would, but still was taking forever. Ben had successfully turned about thirty pounds of pachycephalosaurus meat into about twelve pounds of dino jerky. As the last of his meat smoked, he sat at lookout, reading about the characteristics and hunting behavior of the baryonyx. The book was wrong. It said that the baryonyx was a solitary animal that stocked riverbanks feeding primarily on fish.
"They're not solitary!, that trio looks like a family group, and they eat whatever they can catch." He half shouted at the book. No doubt it had been based off of paleontologist theories, not actual observations. Of course it was probably written when dinosaurs were still extinct.
"Gah! I'm starting to sound like Darius." He laughed out loud. Suddenly a shrill, terrifyingly familiar cry erased the smile from his face.
"Pterosaur" he whispered to himself. Ben scanned the skies, knowing if there was one, there were more. He couldn't see them, but he could hear them. Soon he could hear the calls of several different species, maybe ten pterosaurs in all…..maybe more. As he leaned out the window trying to catch sight of the flying reptiles, movement at the tree line caught his eye. A small theropod about three feet tall, maybe ten feet long, was cautiously stalking its way toward the open wall at the back of the rotunda. Ben didn't need his book to recognize it.
"Troodon! He muttered to himself. "super intelligent, venomous bite..that's just awesome." Troodon was one of the species on the island that he had read about, one he specifically wanted to avoid. Ben watched as the dinosaur entered the visitors center, slowly making its way toward the kitchen. Quietly he slipped the SPAS-12 off his shoulder, unfolding the stock, he shouldered the weapon, taking aim at the animal though the ghost ring sights. All of Ben's focus was on the shot he was about to take, unfortunately that meant he had turned his back on the open window, a mistake he was about to regret. Ben clicked the safety off, his finger slowly moving to the trigger. Just as he was about to fire, a shriek behind him shattered his concentration. Realizing his mistake he spun the barrel back towards the window, but it was too late. A weight slammed into his side, nearly knocking him over the railing of the catwalk. The impact sent the shotgun sliding across the metal floor, and the chaos that followed completely disoriented him. Toothy jaws snapped at his face, while leathery wings beat all around him. In a State of panic, he grabbed the animal by the head and threw it off of him over the catwalk. It fell only a few feet before unfurling its wings and taking flight. Able to see his attacker clearly for the first time, Ben recognized it as a dimorphodon, immediately he spun to close the window, preventing more of the pterosaurs from joining the fight. Unfortunately the commotion had alerted the troodon, which had already climbed the stairs and was now snarling at the base of the ladder. It's prey distracted, the dimorphodon seized its chance and dove, slamming into Ben's back and sinking its teeth into his left shoulder. Crying out in pain, he desperately tried to pry the pterosaur off of him, but like a frenzied weasel with wings, it continued to sink bite after bite into Ben's shoulder and upper arm, all the while, the troodon was slowly and clumsily climbing the ladder. Finally, the dimorphodon clamped down on his elbow, presenting enough of the animals head for Ben to land a desperate right hook into the pterosaurs snout, stunning it enough to send it flapping away, shaking its head. Ben's eyes darted to the shotgun, but to his horror, just ten feet beyond the weapon, the troodon clawed its way onto the catwalk, snarling and crouching to pounce.
"Not today" Ben growled, diving for the firearm. His fingers closed around the cold steel as he came out of the dive in a roll, at the same time the troodon pounced. With no time to aim, Ben swung his gun like a baseball bat, connecting solidly with the venomous dinosaur and sending it over the catwalk to the rotunda floor. With no time to relax, Ben's eyes locked on the circling dimorphodon. The pterosaur dove at him again, this time Ben's reflexes were faster, rolling out of the way at the last second. As the dimorphodon looped around for another pass, Ben shouldered the weapon. Ben took a deep breath and brought his eye to the sights.
"You've got this Ben" he thought to himself. "This is no different than shooting clays with uncle Larry, Judge speed….lead the target….squeeze the trigger….follow through." He set his sights just in front of the flying reptile, aiming not for the animal, but for where it would be when the bullet reached it. Gently, Ben squeezed the trigger. Fire erupted from the barrel of the SPAS-12 as an ounce of lead went airborne. The dimorphodon jerked violently and its wings folded, sending it nose diving to the rotunda floor, crashing in a heap only fifteen feet from the lifeless body of the troodon. Ben stood on the catwalk in shock, weapon still shouldered, smoke curling up from the barrel.
"OW!" he cried, collapsing on the catwalk, rubbing his shoulder. "Way more recoil than my 20 gauge." He said to himself. He breathed deeply for a few moments, trying collect himself from the events of the past few minutes. Only ten minutes ago, he'd been reading away to pass the time, uneventfully smoking pachycephalosaurus meat for later. Then without warning he'd been attacked by not one, but two different predators at the same time, now both lay dead on the rotunda floor. Once again the island had tested him, and once again he'd survived, albeit mauled and bloody. He chuckled at the thought of himself alone, fighting off two dinosaurs at once.
"Nobody's even going to believe this." He thought as he inspected his wounds, "but I need to sterilize these, heaven only knows what kind of bacteria dimorphodons carry in their mouth." Ben could still hear the flock of pterosaurs circling the visitors center, but fortunately with the window now closed, the flow of scent was stopped, keeping anything else from attacking the windows. Carefully, he made his way down the ladder, heading for the genetics lab in the righthand side of the building. Typically he stayed away from this half of the building, something felt creepy about the old genetics lab. Maybe it was all in his mind, maybe it was because this was where it all started, maybe the place was just outright haunted, either way he didn't like it, but he figured he was most likely to find sterilizing alcohol there somewhere. As he searched, his anxiety returned, and with it, the memory of his nightmare. Every time he closed his eyes, all he saw was Yasmina's lifeless open eyed expression staring back at him from the pool of blood. It was torture, he would of much rather have faced an entire pack of troodons than have to keep seeing that horrible image, but no matter what he did, he couldn't shake it. Suddenly a new thought dawned on him.
"What if it wasn't a nightmare?" Ben thought, anxiety kicking up into overdrive. "What if it was a warning, a warning that something bad was about to, or maybe already had happened. If that was indeed the case then Yaz was certainly the one in danger.
"But Yaz should be safe at home by now." He thought. "Unless maybe….there was a car accident, or maybe her plane went down, maybe she fell off a ladder, there was no way to know, but he was sure of it now, something must have happened. Ben wanted to help, to spring into action and help rescue his friend, but he was stuck here, in the old visitors center of Jurassic Park. He didn't even have a clue what part of the world Yaz was in right now. So he did the one thing that he could do, dropping everything he dropped to a knee and bowed his head.
"Father in heaven, please watch over Yaz, keep her safe from harm. If she's hurt, I ask that you would heal her. Whatever she is facing, physical or spiritual, I ask that you go before her, guard her and restore her. These things I pray in Jesus name. Amen." Almost immediately the terrible image in his mind began to fade. Slowly he opened his eyes, anxiety beginning to melt. Ben took a deep breath and resumed his search, eventually coming across a bottle of hydrogen peroxide.
"It's not alcohol, but it'll have to do." He said to himself. Taking the bottle, he slipped into the nearby bathroom to use the mirror. Painfully, he pulled his shirt off. Most of the bleeding had stopped, fortunately dimorphodon teeth weren't huge, still he had well over a hundred puncture wounds from his left shoulder to his elbow. There was simply no way that he could dress them all, most of the wounds on his back, he couldn't even reach. Ben poured the hydrogen peroxide down his shoulder and back, trying to let the liquid flow over every puncture. By the time he had finished, his entire left side was a foaming mess.
"Well, not the best way to do this, but it's the best I can do." He thought, leaving his shirt off to allow the wounds to breath.
"Instead of alcohol and bandages, I've got a hydrogen peroxide shower and scabs" he laughed to himself, slowly sneaking back towards the rotunda. Fortunately It looked as though nothing else had snuck in while he was away. Moving across the rotunda to the kitchen, Ben held his wadded up shirt to his mouth, the smoke was so thick he could barely find his way to the smoker. Fortunately, the last of the pachycephalosaurus meat was done. He extinguished the fire, and loaded all of his dino jerky into a backpack, he guessed the seventy pounds of meat yielded maybe thirty pounds of jerky. Enough to last him quite a while. Quickly he retreated back to the control room locking the door behind him. Once there he collapsed into his bedding pile in the corner. Ben breathed a big sigh of relief, the meat was done, his feeling of anxiety had melted, he knew the the smell of the smoke and meat would bring nocturnal predators into the visitors center, but he felt safe in the control room. The only two worries he still had on his mind were Yasmina's condition, and his bite wounds. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, he was in quite a lot of pain. Unable to lay on his back, he was forced to lay on his right side only, any other position just hurt too bad. He was going to bed pretty early tonight, the sun was still up. However with the smell of meat everywhere, there really wasn't anything he could safely do. Aside from that, his body needed to rest after his attack. Ben closed his eyes and again prayed.
"Father in heaven, thank you for delivering me from the dimorphodon and the troodon. Thank you for providing me with the blessing of all this meat. Thank you for keeping me safe from harm, as I pray you will also do for Yaz. In Jesus name, amen.
Yasmina found herself floating in a sea of reddish orange light, like she was trapped in an eternal sunset. Below her stretching from horizon to horizon, was an endless network of neurons and pathways, synapses fired, as millions of orbs of electricity traveled the paths.
"HELLO?" She yelled. "hello, hello, hello." Came the echo.
"CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME?" she tried again. "hear me, hear me, hear me" was her only response. Fear washed over her, it didn't feel like a dream. No, she was too conscious, too aware, for this to be a dream. The last thing she remembered was falling from the trestle and watching one of her friends die.
"Oh God, am I dead?" she panicked. Though she didn't see any flames, this certainly didn't look like heaven….and if it wasn't heaven….Terror gripped Yasmina's heart. As her fear grew, the activity of electrical orbs increased, nearly doubling in speed and frequency.
"Wait!" she thought. Yaz closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down. The energy beneath her slowed as well.
"It's responding to my thoughts." She thought. "No, wait, it IS my thoughts, I'm looking at my own mind." Confirming her theory, a little ways in front of her was a darkened area. Pathways were broken, neurons bent and damaged, the orbs of energy stopped and fizzled out at the synapses, unable to carry their messages.
"That's why I'm here" she said to herself. "I….I..can't wake up..not till that's repaired" Yaz stared at the spot. She could do nothing but float there in the light. She tried focusing all of her will on healing that spot. The damaged neurons shuddered, energy crackled, the whole area shook, but it was no use, not a single synapse fired back up.
"UUUGGHH!" she groaned in frustration. Looking out at the horizon, in the distance she could see a darkness coming. The darkness took the form of a swirling cloud, like a slowly spinning tornado. As it approached, Yaz could see it disrupting the energy beneath it, causing the synapses to misfire. Unable to get out of the way, the darkness closed in around her. In a flash she was back in the common room at camp, Ben and Kenji were there with her.
"BEN!" She screamed, her heart inexplicably doing a summersault at his sight. "Your alive!.but how?"
"But we're not alive Yasmina." Kenji corrected. "You killed us….remember?" Yasmina's heart shattered.
"But…no, that's not true….I…didn't mean it." She stuttered.
"You were right there!" Ben snapped, "you could have saved me but you chose not to. I thought we were friends Yaz, were you really that mad at me for bringing Bumpy? Mad enough to kill me?"
"NO, that's not right!" she sobbed. "I was in shock, not an hour has gone by that I haven't thought about you, I risked everything to find you."
"Yeah, you sacrificed me to the allosaur to find him." Kenji added.
"What? No that's not right either!" she cried. "I left a note, I said not to follow me, I said to go to the communications building."
"You knew we'd follow, unlike you we were loyal, but you've killed two of us now, who's next?" Kenji taunted.
"Will it be Sammy?" Ben hissed. "You've never forgiven her for Mantah Corp.
"That's not true!" she wailed.
"Or maybe Brooklynn, the whole internet thing annoys you." Kenji added.
"But she's a good person, I don't hate her, I'd never harm her." She protested.
"Or maybe even Darius…tell us, who's your next target?" Ben prodded.
"None of you are targets, I love all of you, I'd never hurt you." She sobbed.
"Actions speak louder than words Yaz, you've already killed two…you're a murderer, you'll always be a murderer." Ben pointed out, an evil gleam in his eye. Yaz only sobbed, broken, she had nothing left to say. Kenji kneeled before Yasmina, lifting her chin to look her in the eyes. She let out a small gasp, his eyes were black, no color, no life, only black, the emptiness in his eyes sent shivers to her very soul.
"If you really loved them you'd show it. Stop fighting, just let go, before you kill anyone else." He said softly. As soon as he'd finished speaking, he and Ben disintegrated into black dust, the darkness drifted away from her, again leaving her in the red/orange sea. She was broken, bitter tears slid down her face. She watched as the darkness descended on the damaged part of her mind, causing the damage to spread. She knew if it continued to spread, she'd never wake up, but honestly, Kenji was right, if she loved them, she wouldn't stop it. Suddenly, an orb of brilliant white light drifted up from the expanse, heading straight for her.
"Oh no…what now?" she sobbed. The light swirled tightly around Yasmina, in it, she could hear a voice, Brooklynn's voice.
"She's praying….for me..."she realized. "Since when does Brooklynn pray?" As soon as Brooklynn's voice had finished, the light drifted up, circling above her head. Another light popped up and swirled around her.
"Darius…" she cried, hearing his prayer. Darius' light joined Brooklynn's above her. Two more orbs appeared, following the others, one was Sammy's voice, the other Kenji's.
"This has to be a dream" she thought. this proves it, Kenji couldn't pray…he's dead." Yaz stared and the four lights circling above her. Almost as if on cue, a fifth light appeared, swirling around the injured athlete.
"Ben!...how!" she cried. His voice was soft and gentle, nothing like the voice in the darkness. The sound of this voice soothed her, where the other had cut her. Ben's light joined the others as the five of them sped up, becoming a solid spinning ring of light above her. Yaz watched in amazement as the glowing ring got faster and faster, tighter and tighter until it became a single ball of energy. Without warning the ball exploded like a supernova, instantly evaporating the darkness leaving a glowing cloud of white light in its place. The light sank into the damaged area where the darkness had been. Only where the darkness had destroyed further, the light healed. She watched as bent neurons straightened, broken pathways mended, synapses began firing again. With the damaged are restored, the light began to grow. It got brighter and brighter until Yaz was completely blinded by it. Moments later the light faded and her eyes snapped open.
Yasmina stared at the hotel ceiling, confused and in pain, she tried to make sense of her jumbled mind. Obviously she had been rescued, the last thing she remembered was falling, and seeing someone die. No matter how much she tried to forget that part. Then came her crazy dream, and now, here she was in what she assumed was the extra bedroom of their suite back at the hotel. Yaz reached back and gently touched the back of her head, feeling the fishing line stitches.
"That's Sammy's work." She thought. "At least she made it." Yaz shifted in the bed, a new sensation catching her attention.
"Wait" she said, lifting the sheet and looking down at her body. "Why the heck am I naked?"
"Sammy?" she called. There was no response.
"SAMMY?" she tried again, loader this time. After a moment of silence, it sounded like someone released a herd of elephants in the next room. Suddenly Yasmina's door burst open, with Darius, Sammy, and Brooklynn all slamming into the doorway at once, momentarily wedging themselves.
"Yaz! Your awake!" Sammy shrieked in happiness.
"I told you I heard her!" Brooklynn half yelled at Darius, who leaned against the door frame, tilting his head back and sighing in relief.
"thank you!" he said looking up. The three gathered around Yaz's bedside, Brooklynn holding her hand.
"I thought we were gonna lose you." She croaked out, happy tears running down her cheeks.
"No, not quite yet superstar." She chuckled, giving the pink haired girls hand a squeeze.
"Yasmina Fadoula!" Sammy growled, "this is the second time in three days I've had to stitch you back together, next time I'm taking the arm off...and then I'm gonna beat you with it!...what the heck don't you get about "take it easy and heal?"
"I'm glad to see you too, Sammy." She laughed weakly.
"how's the hearing on your right side? How do you feel?" Sammy asked, slipping back into doctor mode.
"Hearing on my right is muffled, kinda like my ear's full of water, it's ringing a bit and hurts too, I'm dizzy as heck, weak, and have a splitting headache." Yaz admitted.
"Concussion and ruptured ear drum." Sammy smiled. "Just what we were hoping for."
Darius looked down at her with concern and immediately she was swallowed in guilt. Unable to meet his eyes, she looked down.
"I'm sorry Darius." She said sadly, "it's all my fault, I never should have left." She was painfully aware that only three of her friends were there, proving at least part of her dream right, it was Kenji who had lost his life to the allosaur.
"Why did you leave?" he asked quietly. "We were all going in the morning, why didn't you wait?"
"You were only going because I couldn't let go. It wasn't fair that you all had to risk your lives so I could move on." She explained. "So I went on my own, my plan was to find his remains and at least burry him. I planned on being back before you all woke up. Once I realized that wasn't going to happen, I left you that note, I told you not to follow me."
"If we hadn't, you wouldn't have made it." He pointed out.
"Maybe, but at least Kenji would still be alive!" she sobbed. Brooklynn, Sammy, and Darius all shot each other confused glances.
"Yaz.." Darius said slowly. "Kenji is…"
"I know!" she wailed "I saw it happen, right before I passed out. I'm sorry, I'm so, so, sorry, it should have been me, he didn't deserve that."
"Oh, here you guys are, got back from the bathroom and everyone was gone." Kenji said, walking through the door. Darius stepped aside, allowing Yaz and Kenji to lock eyes, both turning white as a sheet.
"You're awake!" Kenji said in disbelief.
"You're alive! She countered in equal shock. Kenji rushed forward, leaning over the bed as she reached for him, wrapping her tightly in a long hug.
"I thought you were dead." She whimpered.
"I thought you were dying." He answered. The two embraced for a long moment, each weeping with relief.
"Um Yaz?" Kenji started.
"Yeah?" she answered.
"Can we like finish this hug later, like after you have clothes, this is nice and all, but this sheet is really thin and I can totally feel your…."
"Eww, get off me!" Yaz laughed sheepishly. "Naked, forgot, sorry."
"Oh my God!" Brooklynn blurted out, bursting into laughter, with the rest of them following suit.
"In case you're wandering, your clothes are in the dryer." Brooklynn announced with a laugh.
"Okay good, I was wandering what the heck was going on." Yaz admitted. "But there's still something I don't understand."
"What's that?" Sammy asked.
"Right before I passed out, I saw the allosaur grab someone and throw them, it was whoever was shooting at it, since your all fine, who was it?" she asked in confusion.
"That's not what happened." Kenji answered, "I was the shooter, I slid down the ladder at the last second. What you saw was the allosaur grabbing the hatch cover and ripping it off."
"The hatch cover?" She asked in disbelief, "so nobody died? Nobody was hurt?"
"Nope, just you, track star." He replied.
Yasmina heaved a sigh of relief as thankful tears rolled down her cheeks, if felt like a car had just been lifted off her chest.
"Okay guys, one more question, and we need to let her rest." Darius announced. Yaz looked up at him expectantly.
"Did you find any trace of Ben?" he asked gently. Yasmina sighed and looked down.
"Darius, I walked from the wrecked monorail to the hill where we jumped, probably twenty times. There was no blood, no bones, no ripped clothing, no anything. Not even the smallest trace of him." She answered sadly.
"Hmm, the allosaurus probably found his body the first night, it would probably just swallow him whole, wouldn't leave anything to find." Darius guessed.
"Yeah, that's probably exactly what happened." Yaz agreed sadly, "I just wish I could have found something, something that we could burry, ya know?"
"Yeah, I know, I get it, I feel the same." He sympathized.
"Alright guys, we've bothered her enough, let's let her rest." Darius called.
"I'm really glad you woke up, you had me really scared." Brooklynn admitted, stroking Yaz's forehead, before heading out of the room.
"I'll be back with your clothes when they're done." Sammy smiled as she left.
"Just concentrate on healing up, so you can kick my butt when I step out of line, okay?" Kenji teased as he followed Sammy.
"If you need anything at all, we're just in the other room, just yell for us, we'll be right in." Darius promised, standing in the doorway.
"Thank you, all of you." She said.
"No problem Yaz." He smiled, closing the door.
.