"No!" Darius shouts. The campers begin to run after the monorail. The rundown, creaking vehicle was slow, but it still shot off into the darkness, leaving the campers panting. "Come on," Darius sighs. "Perfect."

"...At least I grabbed the first aid kit?" Brooklynn says, holding up the pack.

"We could've caught it!" Sammy groans.

"You could've caught it," Yasmina says, wincing as she relies heavily on her right leg. "Now what, genius?" She turns to Kenji. "It was your idea to 'swim' down the tracks to Ben."

"We can climb down the ladder," Kenji points to the supporting poles of the track. "Workers use them all the time."

"All right, we climb down and walk on the ground," Darius says. "We'd be sitting ducks up here if a pterodactyl comes. We find Ben, and if he's dead, we follow the monorail tracks back to Kenji's condos."

The group climbs down the ladder, helping their injured comrade. Yasmina had given up on her tough-girl facade and gladly accepted the help. The five start walking for about a minute before Brooklynn stops. "I don't know about you guys, but I need to go."

"Go where?" Sammy frowns.

"Go use the facilities," Brooklynn rolls her eyes. "I think the last time I went was… probably before I found out my phone was missing. So after about two days, I need to go."

"Speak for yourself," Kenji huffs. Yasmina starts laughing. "No, I did not pee my pants like you think I implied," Kenji shakes his head and rolls his eyes. "You telling me you didn't go when we were at the lab with Eddie McCrazy?"

"Oh, yeah," Brooklynn says. "It's still been a while."

"I need to go, too," Yasmina says. "Since I didn't pee my pants."

"I did NOT pee my pants!" Kenji exclaims. "But I have to go, too."

"All right, potty break," Darius announces.

"You guys go that way, we'll head this way," Brooklynn says as she helps Yasmina from the other side.

"Meet back here at the tracks," Darius says.

The five separate. "All right, why do girls go to the bathroom together?" Kenji asks Darius, looking over his shoulder to make sure the girls didn't hear him.

"Because we're on Jurassic island?" Darius shrugs like it's the most obvious thing. "We're going to the bathroom together. Safety in numbers."

"Okay, but would you do that if we weren't on Jurassic island?" Kenji asks. Darius shakes his head. "Exactly! It's weird! Privacy, man!"

"I still don't see your problem," Darius shrugs.

"Do you have a sister?" Kenji asks. Darius shakes his head. "Did you have any female friends before those three?" Again Darius shakes his head. "So you don't know, I guess. Girls go to the bathroom in groups, and it has puzzled me for years! That would be so awkward!"

"You're serious?" Darius tilts his head. "I mean, maybe it's safety in numbers?"

"But what's so dangerous about going to the bathroom?" Kenji laughs. The two pause their conversation to relieve themselves. "Idk, bruh, safety in numbers doesn't sound right to me."

Darius shrugs. "You're the ladies expert."

Kenji cuffs him on the shoulder. "I'm not a lady whisperer, though."

The two boys arrive at the meeting spot underneath the monorail tracks and sit down on a rock to wait. "What's your life like at home?" Kenji asks. "Dino nerding with your family and friends?"

"Mostly family," Darius says. "The majority of my friends are online and play video games with me. I don't have close friends in school; I don't fit in with the cool kids or with the nerds. They're pretty polarized."

Kenji sputters. "Doubt it. You'd be able to flow between the cool boys and nerds. You got the facts to be a nerd and the awesomeness to be a cool kid."

"...Thanks, Kenji," Darius smiles. "You?"

"Eh, I compete with the other boys at my private school, but that's about it," Kenji shrugs. "And I try to date the popular girls, but the relationships never last long."

"You don't make friends with the other guys?" Darius asks.

"Nah, I never stay long enough to establish a relationship," Kenji chuckles. "Always trying a new private school. My father always affords the best private school for me. Says he wants the best for me. But his opinion about them changes every year, so the longest I've stayed in one school is two years. Life of a VIP."

"Oh," Darius says, looking at his mud splattered shoes.

"What's your family like?" Kenji asks.

"Fun," Darius smiles. "My mom's a lawyer, but she's really nice. She's a good cook, so we always have baked treats to eat or give away. I was known as Mister Cookie in middle school because of it."

The two chuckle. "My brother, Brandon, is pretty good," Darius says. "Most of the time."

"What's it like to have a brother?" Kenji asks, his smiling fading slightly.

"Fun, half the time," Darius says. "Annoying the other half. We have two modes. The I'll-help-you-bury-the-body mode, or don't-even-breathe-in-my-direction-or-I'll-kill-you mode. There isn't much in between. I think most of the time he's just overprotective, but it can come off as annoying. He's a good guy, though. Brandon really stepped up when… we needed him."

Kenji sympathetically claps his hand on Darius's shoulder. "Do you have siblings?" Darius asks.

"A step-sister," Kenji says. "She was nice. Ditsy, but nice. Our parents divorced after two years, though. She moved back to Korea with her mother. Sometimes I'll talk to her, but for the most part we're not connected."

The girls arrive in time to hear Kenji's part of the discussion. "Korea?" Yasmina asks.

"Yeah, our parents met on a business trip," Kenji explains. "To be honest, their entire relationship was just a business relationship. But I liked Jiyoung; I'd actually call her mom. Alas," Kenji says before anyone can ask about his mother, "the relationship didn't last and I'm left to watch my step-sister through the TV."

"Is she famous?" Sammy asks.

"Eh, she's a K-drama actress," Kenji shrugs. "I dunno if you'd actually know her."

"What's her name?" Brooklynn crosses her arms challengingly.

"Choi Hayoon," Kenji says, planting his hands on his hips.

Brooklynn gasps. "No way! Hayoon? You're related to her?"

Kenji nods. Brooklynn squeals. "Oh my gosh, I love her work. I adore her dramas! I can't believe you know her!"

"Is it that surprising?" Kenji grins, smoothing back his hair.

"When we get back, you'll have to introduce us," Brooklynn smiles.

"I might be able to arrange that," Kenji shrugs. "She loves to meet her fans. Hayoon might play a devious jerk in most of her dramas, but she's actually the most adorable person ever."

Brooklynn squeals at the thought of meeting one of her favorite stars.

"I didn't know you were into K-drama," Kenji says, then gets distracted.

"I like a lot of things," Brooklynn chuckles. "I'm into so many different genres, it's hilarious—what are you doing?"

"Yeah, what are you doing?" Yasmina asks as Kenji gets down on his knee in front of her.

"Get on my back," Kenji says. "I'll give you a ride so that you don't have to hobble around all the time."

"I think I'm fine," Yasmina quirks an eyebrow.

"Come on, you're the piggy," Kenji says. "I'll give you a piggyback ride."

"I'm flattered," Yasmina says, rolling her eyes with a smirk.

"Come on, Yaz," Sammy says. "You need to stay off your foot as much as possible." Yasmina still hesitates. "I mean, it's not like you're that heavy—" Sammy starts to say.

"I'm not heavy!" Yasmina sputters, and wraps her arms around Kenji's shoulders. He hoists her up onto his back and still manages to give Sammy a fistbump. The two snicker evilly. "Jerks," Yasmina rolls her eyes and blows a wisp of hair out of her face. She only protested when Kenji started jumping up and down to prove how light she was.

The five set out to find Ben. After five minutes of silence, Sammy broke it. "Where do you live, Kenji?"

"Japan?" Yasmina guesses.

"Nah," Kenji shakes his head. "I've visited distant family members in Japan, though. Very distant."

"California?" Brooklynn guesses. "Or LA?"

"Nope," Kenji grins. "New Jersey."

Darius laughs. "I was thinking of New York or Washington DC."

"No, rich people can live in any state," Kenji sputters. "Where are you from, Darius?"

"Virginia," Darius says.

"I was so sure you were from Ohio for some reason," Kenji mutters under his breath. Darius laughs.

"We only live a state away from each other," Brooklynn says, bumping Darius's shoulder with her own as they walk. "I live in North Carolina."

"What?" Darius shakes his head. "I was sure you lived in New York!"

"Me, too!" Kenji exclaims.

"NC? Seriously?" Yasmina laughs. "I was convinced you lived in New York!"

"Why does everyone think I live in New York?" Brooklynn laughs, and looks at Sammy.

"I thought so, too, at first," Sammy giggles. "Cause of your name."

"So you're telling me you don't live in Brooklyn, New York?" Darius asks, playfully bumping her shoulder with his.

"Ha ha, hilarious," Brooklynn rolls her eyes and bumps him back.

"Where do you live, Yaz?" Darius asks.

"North Dakot—stop jumping, Kenji!" Yasmina squeaks.

"Stop squeaking, you're gonna attract something bigger than Toro!" Kenji whisper shouts.

"Stop jumping!" Yasmina hisses, swatting him on the back of the head. "North Dakota."

"Nobody cares about the Dakotas," Kenji snickers, purposefully cracking his voice.

"If I didn't know where that was from, I'd smack you," Yasmina laughs.

After gently scrubbing his wounds, Ben lays back against a snoring Bumpy. The little ankylosaurus twitches in her sleep and snorts. Ben sighs. His wounds were at least cleaned of dirt and unnecessary blood scabs, and he was hydrated. But his stomach was growling and some of his wounds were bleeding slightly.

His big grey eyes scan the area around him. The moon was starting to dip down behind the trees. That didn't stop all the bugs and critters of the night from making sounds. Occasionally a brachiosaurus or other herbivore would moan or call out to it's herd, causing Ben to jump slightly. "Jesus, Mary, Joseph," he would say every time, making the sign of the cross.

Ben looks down on his wounds. He can feel his heartbeat pounding painfully in the long gashes. He checks them again for signs of blood poisoning, desperately wishing he could sanitize them.

The injured boy sighs for what feels like the one hundredth time. "What would the others do?" he wonders. Ben thinks back to the second day of camp when they were driving back to the treehouse. Brooklynn had been wishing that they had seen a scary dinosaur with long claws and teeth in the lab. Ben was glad that they didn't, scared of their long claws and sharp teeth. "Do you know what kind of damage those dinos could cause?" he had told them.

"My dad got mauled by a bear as a kid," Yasmina had nonchalantly remarked. "Almost took his life. He had gotten lost on a trail alone when it happened. I can't imagine what a dinosaur would do."

"What did he do?" Ben asked, concerned.

"He got to a stream and carefully washed off the wounds," Yasmina said. "Then he took handfuls of moss and applied pressure to the wound. For the marks on his arm, he tied a piece of rope tightly around his upper arm to slow the blood flow to the wounded area until the blood clotted. After the wounds stopped bleeding, he applied moss to his side and tied his shirt tightly around it as a bandage. He didn't have anything to wrap around his arm, which almost killed him when he fell and reopened the wound. Rescuers found him before he died. There's probably a more professional way to survive, but he did what he thought was best at the time and survived."

"Your father is incredibly brave," Ben said in awe.

"Yeah," Yasmina smiles. "He is. He's one of my role models."

Ben's head snaps to attention. He looks at his right arm. It was still oozing blood slightly. Thinking, he takes off his watch and pulls it tight beneath his elbow. He can feel his arm start to go numb, but the bleeding starts to stop. He nods, satisfied. Ben decides that he would wait a little while before taking off the watch, to give the wound time to clot.

Ben then grabs handfuls of moss near him and gently presses it onto the wounds on his torso. He winces as it stings, but continues to apply pressure. After replacing the moss a couple times, the wounds stopped bleeding completely. The blonde boy takes off his shirt, applies fresh moss, and ties his shirt carefully around his waist to keep the moss in place. Ben shivers as a small breeze tickles his exposed skin. He feels self-conscious about being shirtless, then remembers that the only one seeing him was Bumpy. Besides, was modesty worth it if you bled out?

Ben looks around and finds a large leaf and wraps it around his arm with moss; using his shoelace to tie it in place. He looks over his makeshift bandages and pride swells in his chest. Never would he have thought that he could accomplish something like that. The fact that he had survived an entire day without the campers was a huge accomplishment.

Ben reaches for his fanny pack before remembering it was gone. "And I've done it all without my 'dork pouch,'" he says proudly.

His stomach growls to remind him that he's hungry. Ben sighs and looks at the dark purple, blueberry-like berries next to him. Bumpy had been munching on a couple during the day, but Ben had been wary of them. He wasn't sure if they were safe to eat or not. But hunger had finally won out, and he carefully picks one. The berry seems fine, but he is scared that it was deadly poisonous.

He recalls a conversation with Brooklynn as they were getting ready for bed one night. "Yeah, there are edible berries on this island," Brooklynn said to Yasmina. "I saw some acai berries. They look like dark blueberries and grow on trees in South America. They taste pretty good."

"How do you know?" Yasmina asked, quirking an eyebrow doubtingly.

"Because I got to try them when I traveled to South America," Brooklynn shrugged.

"You got to go to South America before?" Ben asked.

Brooklynn nodded. "I collaborated with an animal Youtuber and we traveled there two years ago. It was fun. We got to stay there for a couple weeks, and I learned a couple survival tips. Not that I'd ever use tropical survival tips."

Ben laughs at the thought. Oh, if only she knew then what she knows now. Ben is sure that the berries are safe now and eats some. As he eats, he wonders what he should do, as he needs shelter and better food and water. "Kenji mentioned his father owning condos on the island," Ben frowns. "Several times. They'd probably be the safest place to heal up. I might even be able to call for help."

The injured camper thinks about where the central park would be. He had memorized the evacuation plan, but not exactly the map. "The monorails connect everything in the park, so if I follow the monorail back, it would lead me to the park," Ben reasons. "All I need to do is get there."

Ben looks at Bumpy. He swears that she was bigger since that morning. "If she keeps growing like this, I might be able to ride her all the way back to the park," he thinks. "I can wait a couple days and lay here while she grows bigger. It would be better for my tailbone, too. Probably shouldn't be moving around a lot and let it heal as much as possible before moving."

"Yep, I'm going to live on Acai berries and unsanitized water until you're bigger, girl," Ben says quietly, rubbing the anklysoaurus's head with his left arm. She snorts in her sleep and resumes her slumber. Ben can't help but smile. "She trusts me, right? If she didn't trust her Daddy human, she wouldn't be sleeping, right? To protect herself? I'd have to ask Darius when I get back."

Ben looks up at the stars. "When I get back?" He thinks for a moment and smiles. "This island has changed me so much. I've faced my fears, I've survived against the odds. I've decided that I will get back instead of being sure that I'm doomed. The others would be proud of me."

He chuckles. "Kenji would be happy that I'm not a dork anymore. Darius would be proud. Sammy, too. Brooklynn would try to interview me about my experience and brag about me on her channel. Yaz would try to drag me into crazy sports and dangerous situations because I'm 'brave enough now.' I guess I'd be honored if she did, that'd mean she saw me as an equal. They'd all see me as an equal. I'd have proven myself to be strong and brave, instead of some wimp they constantly had to monitor on this island."

Ben sighs wistfully. "What would the others be doing? Let's see, Kenji would be dragging the others to his mansion and showing off his wealth. Sammy's probably super happy to be around her family again. She's probably showing Yaz and the others their cattle. Brooklynn's back on Youtube and sharing the story of her survival. Maybe even paying a tribute to me… Yaz is trying to get back to training way too soon, even if her leg is burning. Champ," Ben rolls his eyes at the thought, smirking. "Darius has probably engulfed his family in a hug, and telling them how much he missed them. He's probably telling his father about his Jurassic experience."

"Wait, his father's dead…" Ben thinks sadly. "Poor Darius," he says out loud, feeling terrible for his friend. "I know he hid his sadness, but I can tell he feels awful."

Bumpy sneezes.

"Is that what my family feels like?" Ben wonders. "I hope my mother isn't hurting too bad. I promise, Mom, I'll come back to you."

Ben rests his head on Bumpy and tries to sleep, feeling depressed.

The sobs of the families broke Dave and Roxie's hearts. "Excuse me," a voice said behind them. The camp counselors turn around. A tall, slender man of Japanese heritage stood behind them. His business suit was awry and he adjusted his glasses. "Are you two the heads of Camp Cretaceous?"

"We are," Dave says, placing his hand on Roxie's shoulder sadly.

"Where is my son?" the man asks. "Where is Kenji?"

"He… he didn't make it to the ferries in time," Roxie says quietly.

"What?" Mr. Kon sputters. "How? Were you not with him? Why didn't he make it?!"

Roxie takes a deep breath. "At least two, near-death experiences took place days before the disaster." Gasps of shock come from the family. "Your son," Roxie continues, "along with Darius and Brooklynn snuck out at night and got themselves into trouble with the raptors."

"Two days later the entire group got themselves smack dab in the middle of a stampede and lost in the jungle," Dave adds. "After we told them to stay put."

"We were majorly understaffed and the group was proving to be quite a handful," Roxie explains. "Mrs. Dearing wasn't listening, so… so we left the campers at camp, told them to stay put, and headed out to talk to Cl—Mrs. Dearing. Unfortunately, the Indominus broke out that day. The teens were heading to the main park, having survived multiple dinosaur encounters, and we followed along behind them. They boarded the monorail heading to the South Docks, but we don't know what happened to them. Dave and I were forced to board the ferries, and no one would head back to search for them no matter how much we tried."

"Why would you leave them alone in the first place?" Mr. Kon asks with venom in his voice.

"We had to talk to Mrs. Dearing about the situation," Roxie sighs. "We should've brought them along with us, it would've been fun for them to see the main park. We… I shouldn't have made that decision. And I regret that I did. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for leaving them unattended. Especially after the trouble they had caused. I'm so sorry…"

"They're still on the island," Dave says. "Those guys are resilient little kids. They traveled around the island during the indo attack, and probably faced off against it. They went up against the mosasaurus, probably a carnotaurus, who knows what else?! Those guys know how to survive, and I highly doubt they're dead."

"We're trying to find Mrs. Dearing and convince someone to go back for them," Roxie says. "I'm not stopping until a search party is out looking for them."

"That will not be happening," a man says, coming up behind Roxie. "I am Mr. Geller, one of Mr. Masrani's board members. There will be no search party."

"I will pay whatever it takes to get my son—and the others—back," Mr. Kon says.

"It is strictly forbidden to go on that island now," Mr. Geller says. "It is too dangerous, and you will be arrested if you do."

"Then so be it," Mr. Kon says.

"You're not going on that island, and no one else will," Mr. Geller says forcefully. "The children are dead. We will pay for the losses endured in this accident."

"I don't want money, I want my son!" Mr. Kon shouts.

"Your son is not alive, none of them are!" Mr. Geller shouts. Then he collects himself. "I'm sorry."

"No way, man!" Brandon shouts. "Darius knows dinos like the back of his hand, he'd survive! He's out there alive, and we can't just leave him! Don't leave my bro there!"

"My daughter is out there kicking dinosaur butt," Mr. Fadoula says. "I will do whatever it takes to bring her back!"

"Mr. Geller," Ben's mother says pleadingly. "There's gotta be a chance my son is alive. We can't leave them there!"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Pincus," Mr. Geller says with a bit of emotion. "But there's no chance the children are alive. I'm sorry. There will be no search party."

Mr. Geller leaves. The families are distraught. Dave places his hand on Roxie's shoulder. Kenji's father gives Roxie the death glare and storms away.

"Miriam, will Sammy come back?" the six year old asks.

"Sorry, Shelby," Sammy's older sister sniffs, picking up the little girl. "Sammy won't be coming back."

"Noo!" Shelby wails, burying her face into her sister's shoulder. The heartbroken wail sends a sob through Roxie's chest, and she leans on Dave.