AN: Secret message answer at the bottom. Also, I edited the broken message from the previous chapter. Over.
"Seriously, Dad, you've got to see this!"
Darius burst into his room, pulling in his father, who just chuckled at his son's enthusiasm.
"Heh heh, slow down, kiddo, one day I might need to use this hand again," his father chuckled as he ruffled his son's curly hair.
"Someone just posted Dr. Grant's latest article to the Jurassic World forums. Apparently, there's a whole bunch of new evidence of cranial-facial bitings in theropods!"
In normal cases, this would be the moment where the supportive parent just nods and smiles, even though they have no idea what their Autistic/prodigy child is talking about. However, he was no ordinary dad, being a dinosaur nut himself.
"Well, that would mean that theropods didn't just fight to kill. They fought for...dominance! For power!"
"And for fun!" Darius chimed in, before clearing his throat. "It's the next paragraph down…"
"Darius, let your old man read," his father deadpanned, before spinning his son around with his chair, making him giggle uncontrollably. "Gotta sacrifice the hand for this…"
As his son recovered from the sudden amusement park ride, his father stared into his son's computer screen, reading the latest article.
"I mean, can you imagine two T Rexes battling each other? ROAR! RAWR!" Darius slid across his small room and back on his chair, before grabbing a book from his bookshelf. "I mean, I can't wait to see one T Rex in Jurassic World!"
"Hoh, we'll be there soon enough, kiddo." His father smiled as he grabbed his son. "And you'll get to see all these guys for real."
His son giggled again as his dad swung him around again, before they both sat on the foot of his bed.
"Okay. I was gonna wait 'till later to give you this, but, no time like the present for a present." Pulling out a small, white box from his back. Chucking at the dad pun, he accepted his gift as he eagerly opened it.
"Wow…" Darius breathed. In the small box was a set of two teeth necklace. But these weren't ordinary teeth, oh no. These weren't even exotic animal teeth. No, these were-
"Matching raptor teeth." Darius's face lit up like a Christmas tree as he lifted the twin necklaces into the air, staring at the old teeth in wonder. His father just smiled at his son's joy, before he put the necklace on himself, then the other around his son's neck.
CHK CHK CHK CHK CHK.
Their moment of happiness left the room when his father's hand began trembling, Darius's necklace moving around in his palm. His father cleared his throat as he let go of his son's necklace, but it was too late. The magical moment was gone, ruined by the grim reality they all tried to ignore.
"A-Are you okay?" Darius asked hesitantly.
"...I'm fine. Just a little tired." His son didn't look convinced. "...Hey, come here."
He pulled his son into a hug, which he happily accepted.
"We're going to Jurassic World...and it's going to be incredible. Not just because of the dinosaurs. Because it'll be the two of us there. Together. I promise."
He raised his tooth necklace to show his promise, and Darius did the same. The two tapped the teeth together, and just like that, a failed promise was born.
Darius stared down at the photo of his father and himself as he held the raptor tooth necklace in his hand. He smiled sadly at the memory of his father, his heart feeling heavy and his eyes beginning to water. It eventually grew too painful to look at, and he put the photo aside.
Just then, he heard a helicopter fly nearby, making Darius look.
…
"-Despite Mr. Masrani just now arriving, we have something we urgently need to discuss with you, Ms. Dearing. You see-"
"Don't forget to talk about the raptor pen!" Dave whispered loudly to her. Roxie shushed him angrily as she turned back to her phone.
"-Or the kids getting lost in the storm!" Dave continued quickly.
"The point is-"
"Or the life threatening stampede during the storm-"
"SHUSH!" Roxie hissed at Dave, making him retreat into their car.
"The point is, Claire - uh, Ms. Dearing...uh, we know that Camp Cretaceous is very important to Mr. Masrani and the kid, and you were thinking of having your nephews join us today, but we had two serious incidents over the last seventy-two hours. Dave and I need more staff immediately! Or we need to send the kids home ASAP!"
*BEEP!*
Roxie finally managed to pause to catch her breath.
["The mailbox you are trying to reach is full. Please try again later."] a friendly, robotic voice replied.
"Ugh!" Both Roxie and Dave groaned. "Fine! We do this in person!"
"Mm, wait a minute." Dave frowned as he scratched his temple. "Are you saying we leave the kids here alone?"
"I left Naruto in charge. He's the most responsible one, even if he's jumpy," Roxie reminded him. "I'm not an idiot."
"Oh, right." Dave blinked. "Still, though, are you sure he could handle them? I mean, we are talking about the kids that seem really determined to be trampled or eaten."
"Dave, if Naruto could take a Dilo's spit to the face and still be able to kick the shit out of it, I'm sure he can handle a few impulsive teens," Roxie shot back. "Besides, we won't be gone long. If we're lucky, we'll only be gone for like an hour or so. Now get in!"
Her partner just let out a groan/sigh, before he walked to the car.
BANG!
The doors suddenly slammed open as Darius slid into view.
"WHAT UP, CAMP CRETACEOUS?!" He greeted everyone cheerfully, before letting out an excited whoop.
"Not in a whoo-hoo mood this morning, Darius. Not after yesterday!" Kenji snapped. He was leaning on a chair against a small, stone wall, turning around to glare at his fellow camper. "Trekking through a rainstorm will do that to ya."
Over on the couches Sammy, Jess, and Yaz were talking, while on the other couch Ben was drawing a picture of him and Bumpy playing chess with crayons. Naruto was nowhere to be found.
"We only had to walk in the rain because you crashed our Gyrosphere," Ben responded through gritted teeth, his eyes narrowing at the richboy. Kenji returned the glare with his own, causing him to gulp and lean back behind Darius.
"But today's a new day, and-and it's Kayak day, since they got the ride fixed! Who doesn't want to kayak alongside dinosaurs? It's going to be awesome...right?" Darius's words trailed off as he finally realized who else was missing from the room.
"Wait, where's Dave and Roxie?" he asked.
"The babysitters took off early and left this," Kenji huffed, pushing off the wall on his chair to hand Darius the note.
"BRB, gotta go boss talk, BB. Later. Smiley Face...PS, Big Guy's in charge." Darius squinted, trying his best to decipher the messy handwriting. "...Is that a dinosaur emoji giving a thumb's up?"
"It's Dave-speak, Roxie translated on the back." Kenji pointed out, lazing back in his chair.
Darius flipped the note over and began reading what Roxie wrote out loud.
"We have to go talk to our boss. Stay inside until we return. Draw, bond, whatever. The radio is set for Channel Six in case you need us. Naruto's in charge. Stay inside. Do NOT leave, or blondie will get you. Sorry for the kid's menu, it's all Dave had." Darius then turned around to see a green radio, a box of crayons, and some childish activities to do on some of the paper place mats on the ping pong table.
"Don't they understand how old we are? I mean when was the last time you even saw a crayon?" Kenji threw his hands up in disgust. Just then, Ben had finished his drawing, holding it up proudly.
"Hmm, I have notes," Yazmina said, going into art critic mode.
"Yasmina!" Sammy giggled as she gave her a light nudge to her shoulder. Jess, meanwhile, just snickered quietly.
CRASH!
The doors suddenly flew open again to reveal Brooklynn, who did not look happy. Crossing her arms together, a shadow loomed over her face as she stared at everyone accusingly.
"Heyyy, Brooklynn. What's new on the internet, superstar?" Yasmina raised an eyebrow at the pinkette.
"Well, I wouldn't know, because when I went to get my phone from its charger, it wasn't there! Someone. Stole. My phone!" Brooklynn nearly yelled as she walked into the room, her arms still crossed.
"Brooklynn, who hasn't had your phone?" Yasmina pointed out, a little miffed at the silent accusation.
"I needed to check the weather last night," Ben answered meekly, shrinking under her glare.
"Dr. Sattler posted a new column on microfossils yesterday…" Darius confessed with a sheepish smile.
"The lighting this morning was too good to miss a selfie opp, but I haven't used it since, then I swear!" Kenji chimed in, his words mixing in with Darius's..
"I only sent a message to my folks, saying hello and what not...and I know Naruto didn't even touch it, since he doesn't use cell phones," Jess said, defending herself and the blond.
"Wait, Naruto doesn't use cell phones? Why not?" Brooklynn asked, genuinely confused. The picture of him swinging around in a loincloth alongside dinosaurs suddenly popped into her mind.
"He said that since he lives on the island, there's no need to own one, since there was always a landline nearby, or he'll just go talk to someone face to face if needed," Jessica just said with a shrug of her shoulders. Considering how spotty cell reception was at times, it's not like he was missing out too much.
"Huh, I guess that does make some sens- wait a minute, we're getting off topic! Look, I know someone took my phone," Brooklynn continued, before glancing at Sammy, who let out a gulp.
"I...haven't seen it either/," Sammy said nervously while brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.
"Really?" Brooklynn squinted.
"Hey, hey, it's okay! Since we're not kayaking until later, we'll have plenty of time to look for the phone" Darius says, interrupting a potential argument and trying to play the role of peacemaker.
"Oh I think I know exactly where to look. I also think that whoever took the phone might be trying to hide some of the things that are on it. What do you think Sammy?" Brooklynn asked as she walked up to her. Sammy, meanwhile, was trying to imitate a turtle by trying to hide her head inside her body.
"What's your deal? Sammy said she didn't touch it! Ever think you might have just lost the stupid thing?" Yasmina quickly stood up, getting in Brooklynn's face.
"Hmm, well, then let's check her bags and test that theory out," Brooklynn countered, and made a move to walk off towards the bunk rooms, only for Yasmina to step in front of her.
"You do not get to go through anyone's stuff. I don't care how famous you think you are!" the athlete says hotly while glaring at the superstar.
Sammy opens her mouth to say something, but Darius cuts her off.
"Brooklynn, guys come on! We can't be this upset over phones. Let's make the most of this incredible opportunity! This is Jurassic World! It's...It's…"
But before he could say any more, a loud roar echoed throughout the forest, making them all turn around.
"W-What was that?" Brooklynn asked a little timidly. The roar was loud enough for them to hear from all the way to the camp, and as faint as it was, something about it sent chills up their spines.
"Um, a T-Rex?" Kenji suggested rather lamely.
"No, I don't think so. Jurassic World only has one T-Rex and we wouldn't be able to hear her roar from here. Besides, it sounded...different," Darius inputted his thoughts as the campers headed out onto the balcony.
"Then what sort of dinosaur did it sound like? Friend-ish...or foe-ish?" Ben asked timidly, trembling a little.
"Where's it coming from?" Sammy wondered out loud, lifting her hair from over one of her eyes as she tried to determine that for herself as they continued to listen to the roars.
"Can't see anything from here, the trees are blocking everything," Yasmina noted while still looking around.
"Maybe they're moving a new dino from the lab to another enclosure. We could probably see it from the observation tower! Could be cool," Darius suggested, still trying to discreetly put an end to the previous conflict.
"I'm not really sure about that, since that roar definitely sounded like a carnivore, and they always sedate them heavily before transporting them," Jessica frowned.
"Wow, that's a great idea Darius! What are we waiting for?" Sammy said suddenly, ignoring Jess's comment as she begins pulling Darius by his arm, leading the group towards the elevator.
"Hey, we're not done talking about this yet!" Brooklynn yells, chasing after the rest of the group following Sammy and Darius.
"But guys, it's Indoor Arts and Crafts Day until Dave and Roxie get back! We need to stay and wait for Dave and Roxie, right Kenji?" Ben protests from the couch looking back at Kenji and back outside nervously.
"If you want to stay here and draw you and your dino-crush, go for it. As for me I'm going to go see a T-Rex or a girl-fight. Either way, I win. Ka-ching!" Kenji yelled with a fist pump, excited to see either scenario play out.
"Fine, go then! I'll just stay here where we're supposed to be, wait for who we're supposed to wait for, and be right where we're supposed to be!" Ben huffed, before turning away from the elevator. His moment of bravado faded when he dared to open his eyes, glancing at the skelton of the T-Rex in the room, before letting out a whimper. He quickly grabbed the map of the island and folded it up, before stuffing it into his fanny pack before yelling, "Wait guys, I'm coming!" as he ran towards the elevator.
Just as the elevator doors slid shut, Naruto had just walked into the room, having just gotten dressed after taking a shower a bit late due to having slept in.
"Where is everybody-?" he began to ask, before he heard the elevator go down. "Ugh, not again!"
He let out a grumble as he ran towards the stairs. Flinging the door open, he let out a curse as he flung himself down the stairs.
As soon as the door closed, it was then that the radio on the ping pong table crackled, uttering its first and only warning to all of the staff that the campers would never hear.
["Warning! Asset out of containment! I repeat, asset out of containment! EXTREME DANGER! Stay indoors! ACU is responding!"]
"Ugh! Mmph!"
"Urf! Come on!"
Kenji and Yasmina grunted as they tried to push and pull open the door to the Observation Tower to no avail.
"Dammit! It's locked!" Kenji groaned.
"Oh, well, that's a shame! Guess we should go back in," Ben chuckled nervously. "You know, before we get into more trouble…"
He glanced back at Naruto nervously, who was giving them "the stare," as they all decided to call it. To make a long story short, Naruto had caught up to them at the bottom floor, and Darius pleaded with him to let them at least try to view the scene from the Observation Tower, and he surprisingly let it happen.
He clearly wasn't happy about it, but they were just glad to get to stretch their legs at least.
"Wait...where is everybody?" Kenji suddenly asked. This got everyone to stop what they were doing to look around, finally noticing the silence. Even Naruto followed suit, obviously just as puzzled as they were about the strange situation. "I mean, isn't there usually someone around?"
"There should be, yeah," Jessica agreed. "Did they all go on a holiday or something?"
"Well, if we're doing this…" Brooklynn sighed, reaching for the back of her head. "Then we might as well do this."
Before Naruto could say anything, she used her hair to swiftly pick open the lock.
"Ta-da!" All (but Naruto) looked visibly impressed/worried at her swift lock-picking skills, with the blond just looking more worn out by the minute.
"...What? You all didn't see my 'Unboxing Kathmandu' video, 'Hacks For When You Lock Yourself Out of Your Hotel Room?"
"...Last to the top is a rotten egg!" Sammy suddenly said, before making a break for the stairs.
"Later, rotten egg!" Yasmina said as she passed Brooklynn, much to her annoyance. This prompted everyone else to race to the top, especially before Naruto changed his mind.
The said blond just looked at the pinkette, who gulped at his deadpan stare, before she made a break for it too.
…
"You guys are weak," Naruto snorted as he made it to the top.
"Speak-*huff*-for yourself, Rotten Eggman," Kenji gasped, panting for air. "You walked all the way up here!"
"Power walked, and I still made it right after you guys," Naruto corrected. "And call me that again, and I'm gonna feed you a rotten egg."
He then glanced at the beautiful horizon. While the lush greenery and the clear, blue sky was a sight to take in, there was nothing out of the ordinary for them to justify their curfew violation.
"Well, this is lovely and all, but looks like there's noth-"
He stopped as the ground shook. Everybody clammed up as they felt something large heading their way, quietly making their way to the railing to get a closer look at the trees.
Is that...no. Naruto frowned as he squinted at the trees. Mom's footsteps are a bit heavier, and not to mention a lot slower when walking. So what could this be?
The others looked just as confused and frightened as well.
"There's something out there," Brooklynn whimpered.
"Something big," Darius agreed.
They looked on into the trees, and to their horror, they realized that something was walking through the trees in front of them. It wasn't large enough for them to see, but it was definitely large enough to push through the trees with ease.
A large foot stepped into view- and let out a gentle bellow as it munched on some leaves.
"Oh~" They all let out a sigh of relief. "It's just a brachiosaurus."
"Well, mystery solved now," Ben sighed in relief. "C'mon, let's get back now."
"Wait," Darius frowned. "That doesn't make any sense. Brachiosauruses don't roar like that."
He then proceeded to do a poor imitation of one of their bellows to try to prove his point, making everyone sweat drop.
"Didn't quite catch that," Kenji stifled a snort. "Uh, one more time?"
"...!"
They blinked, and they realized that there were people at the bottom. Looking down, they noticed two Jurassic World staff members running up to their tower, yelling at them about something.
"What are they saying?" Darius asked the others. Naruto, however, frowned at this.
"They're saying there's an asset out of containment."
"Wait, you can hear that?" Sammy asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I can hear a lot more if you guys quiet down." Naruto said, narrowing his eyes slightly.
They all hushed up and allowed Naruto to listen to whatever they were saying.
"Oh, great! They look mad. I told you we'd get in trouble."
Naruto looked like he was about to snap at the timid boy when he froze. His eyes slowly looked to the side, and he slowly began to back up.
"Naruto? Is something wrong?" Jessica asked. "What did you hear?"
"Stay quiet!" he hissed at them, making them jump. "And don't look down, no matter what!"
"What are you talking abo-" Kenji was about to ask when suddenly, a loud roar pierced the air. The group screamed as something took down the Brachiosaurus, dragging it out of view. That something then began to walk towards them, its stomps growing louder by the second.
"Get back!" he hissed at them, and they scrambled backwards just as something large entered their area. They heard the dinosaur let out an ungodly roar, before it began to chomp down on something.
They heard a few screams that were quickly cut off as the sounds of flesh tearing and bones crunching replaced them, and with a chill, they realized the fate of the two men below.
"What the hell was that?" Kenji whimpered.
"Dr. Wu's lab!"
Naruto turned, and to his horror, he saw Brooklynn, Sammy, and surprisingly, Ben, looking over the edge, staring at the newcomer in horror.
"The Indominus Rex," Sammy breathed in horror.
"Get back!" he hissed, but it was too late.
CRASH!
They all tumbled as the Indominus Rex easily broke through the metal fence and rammed into the Observation Tower.
Naruto gritted his teeth as he fiddled with his knife. What should he do?
"Naruto! Do something!" Ben wailed. But the blond stood still as a mannequin, even as the Indominus Rex began clawing at the steel beams.
CRASH!
They screamed as the tower shook again. Ben nearly slid to his death, but managed to hang on behind the railings.
Sammy, however, wasn't so lucky.
The tower leaned forward, and so did the farm girl. She screamed as she fell over, falling to her doom-
"Gotcha! Argh!" Naruto had snapped out of it, and had caught Sammy in time before she could fall to her death. He hissed as he held back a roar of pain due to the sudden weight and jerking of his still sore shoulder from yesterday.
"Naruto!"
"I'm...FINE!" he roared as he pulled the farm girl up with one mighty tug, sending her flying back to safety.
"Woah," Sammy blinked, having just realized what had happened.
"The zip line!" Everyone turned towards Darius, then towards the zip lines, which was, thankfully, on their side. "Go, go, go!"
They all scrambled towards the zip lines, and in a strange moment of unity, they all managed to silently agree that Ben was going first.
"I can't!" Ben whimpered as he frantically tried to put on his seat belt.
"Ugh, here!" Kenji quickly clipped Ben's safety belt together, before he gave him a big kick. Ben let out a large yell as he slid down the line. The rest quickly followed suit, and within no time at all, they were on their way to safety.
If they had bothered to look back, they would've seen Naruto locking eyes with the Indominus Rex. If they had bothered to look back, they would've seen the look of fury in the creature's eyes, and the look of sorrow in their friend's.
But just before anybody could do anything, a new problem had just sprung up. Without warning, the zip lines began to grind to a halt, with half the group now stuck in the middle.
"Why aren't we moving?"
They looked around, dangling helplessly in the air as they desperately tried to get their ride moving.
"Ben, what did you do?" Kenji demanded
"I dunno, it just stopped- AH!" the timid boy yelped.
The zip line suddenly bounced up and down, and their hearts stopped when they saw the Indominus Rex tear out a steel beam from the observation tower with its jaws.
Yasmina, Darius, and Naruto were the last ones left on the tower, looking helplessly from behind.
"...Guys, get on," Naruto suddenly said.
"What?"
"Get. On."
Deciding to not ask anymore questions, they quickly strapped into their seats. Darius had just fastened his seat belt when he paused.
"Wait a minute, what about-YOU?!" Before Darius could ask why Naruto pushed him away, sending his seat sailing down the zipline towards the others.
"Don't you dare push me as well!" Yasmina yelled at Naruto who was about to send her seat down the zipline as well.
"I need to get you and the others down line so I can distract the Indominus and buy you guys time to get away," the blond said grimly.
"What are you going to do, fight it?" Yasmina demanded, causing Naruto to look at her in the eyes
"For a bit yeah..." he responded. He closed his eyes as he began taking deep breaths to steel his nerves.
SLAP!
Naruto blinked as he realized that the girl had just slapped him. It didn't really hurt, but it did startle him.
"You are not sacrificing yourself for us!" Yasmina said, holding onto his arm. "We're all getting out of this, you hear me?!"
Before Naruto could say another word, he eyed Darius as he reached the others, only for his emergency brake to kick in, stopping him in the nick of time from colliding into the others. Looking back at Yasmina, he suddenly had another idea.
"Alright, new plan. Hold on tight!" Naruto yelled as he broke out of her grip. Before she could protest, he charged towards her, leaping onto her as he pushed their seat with all his might. Wrapping her arms and legs around his body in time, they barreled down twice, if not three times the normal speed they were supposed to go.
"Heads up!"
CRASH!
When Yasmina's eyes finally opened, she realized that they were still going. Their weight and force was enough to override the emergency brakes, forcing the others to keep traveling down the line.
"Holy shit...that actually worked!" Naruto suddenly laughed.
His laughter stopped when he dared to turn his head, and his heart sank as the Indominus finally tore down another steel beam. It was enough to make the first tower wobble, before it fell forward.
"Oh damn," he breathed as the tower crashed to the ground and the zipline cable collapsed, and they all fell down into the trees below.
Tumbling painfully through the branches, he saw Yasmina screaming as she desperately tried to grab onto something - anything. Without thinking, he snatched her arm, pulled her in closer, and held her tight as he spun them around.
The last thing he felt was his shoulder crying out in agony as he hit the soft ground, the pain causing him to black out.
It was dark. He couldn't see.
Naruto tried to open his eyes, but found that he saw nothing but darkness.
Everything hurt. His arms. His legs. His shoulder. His head. Especially his shoulder.
"Get up."
He blinked as he heard someone speak.
"H-Hello?"
"Get up, son. Your friends need you."
"...Oh, right," Naruto finally remembered. "...This is gonna hurt."
And just like that, he felt something grab onto him, yanking him out of the darkness as he returned to the painful light.
"-get up!"
His head felt like a rock. A broken rock.
"Please! Get up!"
Shit, everything hurt. His head. His back. His shoulder. Dying suddenly felt much more preferable than this.
"Naruto! Please!"
He felt something wet fall onto his face, and his eyes finally began to open.
"Y-Yeah?" he managed to groan out.
"Oh thank God you're okay!" He felt someone gently lift him up, and after a minute, he realized it was Yasmina.
"How long I out?" his voice slurred.
"It's fine, just a few minutes," Yasmina chuckled, hugging him tightly.
"Back," he groaned, and she immediately loosened her hug.
"Christ, man, you really had us worried," Jessica breathed. She didn't look that much better than Naruto, but at least she was up and walking about. "You alright, dude?"
Before he could give a half-hearted remark, a loud, familiar roar echoed throughout the forest.
"Oh no…" Ben whimpered as he inched closer to Kenji.
"Where the hell is it?" Kenji looked around nervously, his teeth chattering.
"Dunno," Naruto groaned, his hands trembling as it took out his knife, "but we gotta get back...to camp."
With Yasmina and Jessica helping him up, they ran/hobbled their way towards the safety of camp - or so they hoped.
"This way…" Naruto slurred, his eyes struggling to stay open as he pointed North East to their direction. They all looked at him, then shrugged, before they turned that way.
…
Good news: Naruto led them straight back to camp.
Bad news: the camp was in ruins.
They stared in horror as their once glorious camp was in ruins, torn apart by the angry beast. As they looked at the bite marks and the claw marks, they realized just how lucky they were to not have followed directions for once.
"...Dave, Roxie, the other workers," Sammy finally said. "They must've gotten away."
"...! Not all of them," Ben gasped. He then walked away from a nearby overturned jeep, trying to erase the sight of a man torn in half from the window out of his mind.
"Hello? Hello!" Yasmina had found a spare walkie-talkie - the same one meant for them in case of emergencies. She desperately tried to call for help, but it remained silent. "...I guess we're on our own."
"...Give me my PHONE!"
"W-What?" Sammy stuttered as Brooklynn suddenly appeared in her face.
"I don't care about you sneaking into Dr. Wu's lab. Hell, I don't even care about whatever you did with the skin samples you took from the sinoceratops-"
"What?" everyone asked, looking at the two in confusion. "Skin samples?"
"-and I don't even care that you stole it now! All I wanna do is call for help! So where is it?!"
"I-I-" Sammy's fingers grazed her pocket, which suddenly felt a dozen times heavier. "...I don't know what you're talkin' about."
Sammy then walked away as she scoffed at Brooklynn's accusation.
"Skin samples? Sneaking into labs? You made up some weird thing in your own dang head."
"Hey, back off!" Yasmina shouted, stepping towards Brooklynn. "Not everything revolves around you and your stupid phone! It's not Sammy's fault you lost it!"
"Heh...this reminds me of Blue and Charlie…" Naruto giggled, before letting out a painful cough.
He sat there for a minute, hearing the others escalate into an argument.
"Keep it down…" he muttered, his head still pounding, but none of them heard it.
"-and you're always a big-mouthed jerk!" Ben yelled in a moment of anger-filled bravery.
"Give it back!"
"Back off!" Yasmina snapped at the pinkette.
THUNK!
Something whistled in between them, making them jump a foot in the air. They looked to the large tree to their right, and gulped at the sight of Naruto's knife buried deep within it.
"You guys...shut the fuck up," Naruto growled. "My head hurts, Darius's necklace is missing, the fucking Indo got out, people are dead, and you're arguing like babies instead of getting me some goddamn ice."
He hobbled towards them, his left arm raised outward like a zombie. The group parted like biblical waves as he shuffled past them to retrieve his weapon. He grunted as he gave it a few tugs, before it finally popped out of the bark.
"...I think all the ice melted by now," Ben muttered weakly.
"Look, we're in some deep shit right now, but we're still alive." Naruto paused to clear his throat. "Don't forget that I'm still responsible for keeping you guys alive, and that's what I'll do. So, after we take a short break and look for some ice or literally anything that'll help me forget the pain, we're gonna see if the park is still occupied. Got it?"
He glared at the group, who gulped at his bloodshot eyes. They all nodded quickly as they gazed at his dirtied knife.
"...Oh yeah, move to the left."
"Huh?"
CRUNCH! CRASH!
The group let out a small yelp as a large, broken plank fell from the sky, landing inches away from Naruto.
"...I'm gonna go make a spear out of this," he grunted as he ripped it off the ground, shuffling out of the line of fire. The group looked around at each other awkwardly, before they began to spread out, searching for whatever supplies might've survived.
After twenty minutes of scavenging and crafting and recovering, they stepped back into the forest.
- End of Chapter 5 -
AN: (here's the complete message from before and its hidden message, which are the missing letters)
["**i* is Vict*r Danie* speaking, c*me in! *e can't h**r you, *oxie, what *one **e you in? You need to *** *** of here! *he st*** ** ******!"]
["This is Victor Daniel speaking, come in! We can't hear you, Roxie, what zone are you in? You need to get out of here! The storm is coming!"]
GET OUT T ORM IS COMING
AZRAEL IS COMING TOMORROW. GET OUT.
[We lost our notes on what the message actually was (LOL) so after much blood sweat and migraines we managed to piece it together as best we could. Rip XD. Special shoutout for KuronoDono12's patience! . ]