Sirens screeching. Footsteps stomping. People grumbling and groaning.
It was a dark, humid night on Isla Nublar. Normally at the docks, you could hear the waves crashing, the crickets chirping, and the brachiosaurs bellowing in the distance.
But not tonight.
"Alright, ferry number two is departing," Chris said, running towards Ryan.
"Good job. Now I need your help here," Ryan nodded.
Chris got next to Ryan and together, the two began to guide tourists towards the evacuation ferry, the last one still docked.
"Alright everyone, walk towards the ferry in a calm and orderly fashion," Chris directed.
Damn it. I enlisted into the ACU to take care of dinosaurs, not to be a tour guide, Ryan thought to himself.
Suddenly, a loud and bright explosion went off near Main Street, not far from the docks. In unison, everyone went silent and turned towards the airborne inferno.
Then, panic.
Screams erupted. A stampede erupted.
"Crap! What do we do?!" Chris shouted.
"Try to keep them calm! Just like with the gallimimus!" Ryan ordered.
Nervously, Chris nodded, and the two attempted to regain order.
But it was no use. Both Ryan and Chris tripped and fell to the ground. Ryan suddenly felt a strong and painful kick to the side of his head. Then, blackness.
Suddenly, he felt wet, and sat upright, gasping for breath.
Ryan and Chris were still on the dock. But the sun was up. Based on its position, it must've been eight at least.
The docks were silent. The tranquil of seagulls and waves returned. Trash littered the ground.
"No, no, no, no, no, no," Ryan muttered, slowly putting the pieces together as he stood up.
"Whoa, take it easy. You must've taken a hard hit," a voice said behind him.
Ryan looked behind and saw an African American teenage boy with a torn white shirt. He proceeded to put his shoulder and assisted him in walking towards the water.
"Thanks, kid. What's your name?"
"Darius. And yours?"
"Ryan. And the sleepyhead back there is Chris."
"Yeah, we read his name on his ID."
Chris, who was still unconscious, was being tended to by four other teens under the shade of a palm tree. Chris was an 18 year-old Asian American from California. He was five feet eight inches and had an undercut that was swept back. Ryan always referred to him as "a cross between Daniel Dae Kim and Keanu Reeves."
On his own, Ryan was able to look over the dock at the water, and his reflection of himself.
Ryan was a 20 year-old from Hawaii, half-German and half-South African. He stood at six feet three inches, and had a short blonde mohawk. Chris described him as "a mix of Chris Hemsworth and Trevor Noah."
"Well, nothing looks or feels broken, misplaced, so I think I'm good." Ryan inspected himself and his ACU uniform before giving the thumbs-up to Darius.
Together, the two walked back to the group. By then, Chris woke up.
"Let me introduce you two," Darius began. "This is Brooklynn."
Darius pointed to a girl with a pink jacket and pink hair, who waved.
"That's Kenji." Darius gestured to an Asian with a blue long-sleeve shirt, who was leaning against the palm tree and nodded.
"And those two are Sammy and Yasmina."
Behind Darius stood two girls, one wearing a white tank top with leaves and pink flowers and pink hairband. The other wore a gray and purple track suit, with long brown hair. Both waved, one full of energy, the other a bit timid.
"What are you guys doing here? Why didn't you guys evacuate on the boat?" Ryan asked.
Kenji got off the tree. "We were trying to, but were too late. We got here just before we woke you two. Aren't you guys asset containment? Shouldn't you be on the boat too?"
"Yeah, but when we tried to assist some of the tourists, they began a stampede and we were trampled underfoot," Chris groaned, stretching his limbs and neck.
"Now I'm starting to remember," Ryan said as he crossed his arms. "I heard radio chatter about six teens being lost from Camp Cretaceous. But there's five of you. Where's number six?"
The other campers suddenly had sad looks on their faces. A couple even began to shed tears.
"Ben… didn't make it," Darius replied after a couple minutes.
"Oh. I'm sorry," Ryan said, sounding sympathetic.
"C'mon. We best get moving, before the heat gets worse," Chris suggested, attempting to change the subject.
The other campers nodded in agreement, and the group of seven headed towards Main Street.