Authors note: Soo I'm a sucker for deep, helpful conversations between characters about their flaws. I also love to flesh out characters and highlight and dive into their emotional states and relationships. So bear with me as I flesh out the characters and go through their thought processes.
Enjoy!
Toro widens her stance and roars.
"All right, it's going down," Ben says, narrowing his eyes and tightening his grip on his makeshift spear. Bumpy bellows at the Carnotaurus.
Toro sizes up the tiny Ankylosaurus and the injured human. She roars threateningly. Bumpy bellows back, and Ben lets out a war cry he didn't know he had. Toro roars again, and the small dino/human duo answers back.
For a few minutes, the two sides size each other up and try to intimidate each other. As the minutes pass, Ben begins to think that Toro might just back down. Then she roars and charges, giving Ben a panic attack. He shakes his head, pushes away his fear, and leans down on top of Bumpy. "No time for fear now," he thinks. The Ankylosaurus bellows and charges as well.
Toro snaps her jaws, just missing Ben's head. Bumpy head butts Toro in the leg. The Carnotaurus stumbles a bit from the impact and tries to bite the duo again.
Ben holds onto Bumpy's shell, straddling her back with his legs to keep himself on top of her. He makes sure to keep himself low on her back to keep his head.
Toro roars and Bumpy bawls. Ben looks over the giant predator. Was it his imagination, or was Toro burned?
Bumpy swings her small tail around and slaps Toro in the face as she tries to bite Ben again. The injured camper shouts at the Carnotaurus and thrusts his spear forward with all the strength he could muster. The spear sticks in Toro's skin behind her mouth. The dinosaur roars in pain and pulls back.
Ben is jerked forward, but he hangs onto Bumpy and the spear. As Toro pulls back, the spear leaves her sensitive skin. Ben grins, now sure that Toro was injured. He grips Bumpy's asymmetrical horns and steers her straight into Toro's leg. The Carnotaurus stumbles back, and before she can bite, Ben spears her stomach with the spear.
Toro roars in agony, and backs up. She then moves forward and tries to bite Bumpy. Bumpy jerks back, knocking Ben off. He rolls across the ground and looks up to see Toro snap her jaws over Bumpy's back. The Ankylosaurus's shell was small enough that it didn't do much good against Toro's huge jaws, and the little dinosaur squeaks in fear.
"Bumpy!" Ben shouts. He gets up and runs at Toro, spear lifted high. As the Carnotaurus shakes the little dino, Ben shoves the spear into the predator's eye.
The agonized roar is deafening and Ben covers his ears. Toro lets go of Bumpy and steps back, shaking her head. She stares at Ben in the dark with her one good eye. As Bumpy recovers, Ben steps forward with a war cry. He pounds his left arm on his chest threateningly; making loud noises and trying to intimidate the predator.
Toro dips her head, in pain. Whimpering, she stomps away and leaves the park.
Ben's jaw drops in shock. Then he raises his left arm and whoops in victory. "Yeah! Whoop, whoop!"
Bumpy shakes herself and bellows happily.
"Thank you, Lord God," Ben says, putting his hands together in prayer and bows his head quickly. Then he walks around the park, searching for the medical center. He finds it next to the T-rex pen. "How fitting," he says to himself.
Bumpy falls asleep outside the building, while Ben searches for supplies. He cleans his wounds, and finds butterfly bandages. He gently closes the wounds with the butterfly bandages, applies ointment, and wraps it in gauze. He wraps his shirt around the gauze on his torso, just to add another layer. The wounds had started to bleed slightly from exertion during the fight—and being thrown around in general—so he walks around carefully.
Ben finds a pack of freeze-dried peaches and a bottle of water. He sits next to a snoring Bumpy outside the building, eating and drinking. The boy looks up at the stars and smiles. "I won against a Carnotaurus with only a spear and a baby Ankylosaurus. How about that?"
"Dad, look! A brachiosaurus!" Darius says, pulling his father through the crowds at Jurassic World.
Mr. Bowman chuckles as he's dragged along behind his energetic son. "Slow down, Darius! They're not going anywhere."
Darius laughs happily as they reach the railing. The brachiosaurus bellows softly, and lifts it's majestic head to look at them.
"She's such a beautiful creature," Mr. Bowman says as the brachiosaurus comes close enough to touch. He holds onto his son as Darius reaches out to touch the nose of the dinosaur. The brachiosaurus leans into his touch and makes a soft, happy sound.
Darius giggles and looks back at his father, who smiles. "She's like that giraffe we saw at the zoo years ago!"
Mr. Bowman chuckles. "She is. She certainly is."
The brachiosaurus slowly moves back and moans softly. She looks down, and the humans follow her eyes. A baby brachiosaurus nuzzles her adoptive mother's neck. "Aww," Darius smiles. "This is amazing."
"We finally came," Mr. Bowman says, hugging his son from behind.
Suddenly, Darius hears a loud, terrifying roar. His father is torn away from him and he turns around with horror to see the Indominus rex chomp down on his father. "Dad!" Darius screams. The I-rex drops Mr. Bowman. Well, half of him.
"Dad," Darius cries, holding onto his father's hand.
"Don't worry about me, D-man," Mr. Bowman smiles sadly, then coughs. When he's finished coughing, a trickle of blood comes out of his mouth. "Things fall apart. But what matters is how you choose to keep going forward."
He starts coughing again, moaning in pain. Darius looks around for help, but the I-rex and Toro were creating a gorey mess of the park. "What matters is that you keep going for the people that need you the most," Mr. Bowman says, touching his son's cheek. "That's…" he starts coughing again. "That's the promise we make every day we get. That despite the hardships… that we never give up."
He wipes away Darius's tears. "Your mother and Brandon need you. The other campers need you. Don't worry about me…" he coughs, slowly fading away. "I love you, Darius…"
"Dad!" Darius screams as his father goes still. "Dad, Dad, no!" he sobs, resting his forehead on his fathers. He cradles his father's body as he cries.
"Help!" a voice shouts. Darius looks up to see Ben hanging off the railing.
"Ben!" he shouts and rushes to grab his friends hand. He grabs a hold of him just before he falls. "I'm not letting go!"
"Help me!" Ben cries, tears sliding down his cheeks as the I-rex roars beneath him. As Darius tries to pull him up, the Indo grabs Ben's leg and yanks him down.
Darius's face slams into the railing poles as Ben is torn from his grasp. "Ben!"
As tears flow down his face, the young boy looks around. "Where are the others?" he asks, panicking.
He hears the group scream. "Guys!" he shouts, trying to find them in the mess.
"Darius!" Brooklynn screams.
"No!" Darius screams. "Please, no! God help me!"
Darius is shaking—on the verge of convulsing—and searches for his friends in vain. He can hear their screams, but can't find them. As he cries, tormented by his friends shouts for help, a calming, soothing hand is placed on his right shoulder. Darius slowly turns his head to look, but sees nothing. He can feel the presence of someone behind him, and is calmed by it. Slowly, the dream fades to darkness and Darius slides into an oblivion of peace.
Darius slowly opens his eyes. He blinks in the speckled sunlight, tears slowly sliding down his nose and left side of his face.
The young boy feels a gentle hand stroking his right arm and shoulder, and shifts his head to see Brooklynn. She was sitting up against the tree and gently stroking his arm. As she hears him shift, she looks down. The pink-haired girl smiles. "Morning, Darius."
"Morning," he groans.
"Did you have a bad dream?" she asks. "I heard you cry out last night." Darius nods. "What was it about?" she asks.
Darius takes a moment to answer. "The Indominus rex eating people." He leaves out the part about his father and friends.
Brooklynn nods. "Yeah, I had a dream about that, too. I guess the trauma from seeing people get eaten finally set in. PTSD will be fun. We'll need therapy, big time." Brooklynn chuckles bitterly. "Who was being eaten in your dream?"
Darius bites his lip, not wanting to answer. "Random people, particularly the guys we saw initially… Ben… you guys…"
"Yeah… Ben appeared in mine too… and we couldn't escape the Indo in my dream…" she admits.
"When did you get the night shift?" he asks.
"Yaz woke me up around dawn," Brooklynn says. "She said she would've chosen Kenji or Sammy to be interrupted from their sleep, but didn't want to deal with, 'Life, liberty, and eggs' again."
Darius starts laughing. "I kinda forgot about that. Yeah, let them sleep. We don't want them to be punchy around dinos. They lose all self-control when sleep deprived."
"We don't need Kenji to lose the bit of self-control he has," Brooklynn laughs. "I'm not sure if Yaz is actually asleep, or if she's just pretending."
"I think she's just pretending," Darius whispers. "Well," he then says loudly, "Yaz shouldn't be the one sleeping. She was too lazy to walk yesterday."
No sound came from the injured athlete. "Huh, I guess she actually is asleep," Darius chuckles.
"Or she really doesn't want to talk to us," Brooklynn shrugs. "She was very grumpy when she woke me up."
"Do you expect anything less from her these days?" Darius chuckles as he sits up. "Ow, I think I'll lay back down." The young camper rubs his back and legs and lays back down.
Brooklynn laughs. "Six days of running and walking nonstop will do that to you."
"Has it really been six days?" Darius asks.
"Well, we have the day of the Indominus; we didn't sleep that night," Brooklynn says, counting on her fingers. "Then we got to the ferries and rode on the monorail until around midnight. Then we searched for Ben and found his resting place on the third day. That night we heard Gigi, and were chased by her for two days and nights. Then the next morning she fought with Mapa, and we got stuck in a tree. Then that night we finally got rest. So today is the seventh day of the dino drama."
"So we've been on this island for over a week now," Darius sighs. "I think we've worn out our welcome." Darius rolls back over on his side so that his back is facing Brooklynn. He can still hear her and the others screams from his dream. A shiver runs up his spine and he shudders.
"I'm bored," Brooklynn sighs. "And sore. Can I cuddle with you?"
Darius chuckles. "I like hugs, you don't have to ask."
Brooklynn lays down, wraps her arms around Darius, and rests her head on his shoulder. "Is this comfortable?" All she gets is a content grunt in response.
"Way to stay alert, Brooklynn," Yasmina grumbles. "Real watchful of you."
"I thought you were asleep," Brooklynn exclaims, lifting her head.
"I was," Yasmina huffs, sitting up. "And then I woke up. I did hear you, by the way, Darius."
"You never said anything," Darius shrugs.
"I couldn't," Yasmina shrugs. "Sleep paralysis."
"Hallucinations?" Brooklynn asks.
"Nope, just not able to move," the athlete crosses her arms. "Had to listen to you two be cuddly."
"You can join in," Darius offers.
"No thanks, I'm good where I am," Yasmina shakes her head, and begins to stretch her arms and back.
Brooklynn lays her head back down on Darius's shoulder and the two are quiet for a while. Then Brooklynn breaks the silence with a random question. "Why is Sammy the only one with an accent when we all come from different states?"
"What?" Yasmina frowns.
"Sorry, it just struck me," Brooklynn chuckles. "I think Sammy's the only one with an accent."
"Well, to her, we all have an accent," Darius points out.
"I wonder what it sounds like to her," Brooklynn quirks an eyebrow.
"Definitely not like we're from New York," Darius snickers.
Brooklynn sighs. "That's not going away anytime soon, is it?"
"I'm not letting that go," Darius laughs. Brooklynn grabs a large leaf and starts smacking Darius in the face. "Hey!" he protests, laughing as he brings his hands up against the leafy attack.
"I'm. Not. From. New York!" Brooklynn laughs as she attacks Darius.
Their shrieks of laughter wake up Kenji with a snort. Sammy rouses from her sleep as well. "What's sa matter?" Kenji yawns, sitting up. He then lets out a high-pitched groan. "My back! I feel like a Grandpa!"
Yasmina lays back down and pretends to sleep. "I know you're awake, Yaz," Sammy giggles. "Good morning y'all!" She sits up cheerfully, before grimacing. "Oof, yee, I second your pain, Kenji."
"This is what happens when you carry around a friend, for three days in a row!" Kenji exclaims.
"Good morning," Darius says. "Remember anything from last night, sleep drunks?"
"Yes, and I regret none of it!" Kenji declares.
"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry about that, y'all," Sammy shakes her head. "This happens with my sisters. When I get tired, I can make anything funny. My sisters and I laughed for five minutes straight from drinking water, one time."
"Don't apologize, that was prime time entertainment," Kenji laughs. "I do the same. When I haven't slept, I lose all control over my ability to keep my crazy thoughts to myself."
"Dang, I can't imagine what your real thoughts are like, then," Brooklynn snickers.
"Trust me, I can come up with the weirdest conspiracies," Kenji says. "Honestly, our staff is probably tired of me trying to convince them that I'm right."
"Give an example," Sammy says.
"Well, one time I tried to argue with my butler that cucumber salad is basically just moderately pickled pickle salad, because the cucumbers are slightly pickled by the vinegar but not like actual pickles," Kenji says. "He wouldn't agree with me, though."
"I can see your logic," Sammy laughs.
"No, that's not… just no," Brooklynn shakes her head. "Your logic is flawed."
"But they're just slightly pickled!" Kenji whines, trying to convince her. "It's not officially pickled salad, just slightly pickled cucumber salad!"
"Cucumbers need more time to pickle!" Brooklynn insists. "Darius, help me out!"
"I'm going back to sleep," Darius chuckles. "You can't un-convince Kenji of his conspiracies."
"Yaz?" Brooklynn asks.
"I'm asleep," the athlete says unconvincingly.
"I guess it's me versus the twidiots," Brooklynn says, making Kenji and Sammy laugh.
The teens spend the day resting, sleeping, and entertaining themselves. It was the first time in a week that they had had "down time." To their relief, no dinosaurs interrupted their day. An inch long spider did cause commotion in the afternoon, though.
Despite the day of "R&R" as Kenji dubbed it, there was still tension in the group. Darius could feel it in the air, and couldn't fully relax. As the de facto leader, he felt responsible to fix the tension between his team's members.
Throughout the day, the young boy silently observed his friends, trying to figure out the best approach to the problem. Darius was very good at reading other people, and mentally made notes of what he saw. The main two teens who posed a problem were Kenji and Yasmina. The fight between them the other night had made things worse.
Kenji was the easiest for Darius to figure out. The self-proclaimed alpha male tried his best to keep his feelings unknown, but Darius was learning how to read him like an open book. As the day passed, the young boy observed Kenji go through many emotional states. His conclusion: Kenji was lost. "He doesn't know how to grieve Ben's death," Darius muses. "He's distraught and upset, but doesn't know how to deal with it. So sometimes he's angry, sometimes he's sad, and sometimes he's able to push away his feelings and be happy. He's trying to hide it, but knows that he can't fake it."
As Darius watches Kenji play rock, paper, scissors with Sammy, another thought dawns on him. "He's sticking with Sammy 'cause her happy-go-lucky demeanor is distracting from the pain."
Yasmina, on the other hand, had stuck to herself the entire day. She had stretched and drawn in the dirt, and practically hissed at anyone who came near her. Darius was the only one allowed to approach her without having a death glare thrown at him. The youngest of the group found her hard to read. Was she angry? Yes. Was she irritated about something? Most definitely. What was she irritated about? He had no clue.
Darius sighs, wishing she wouldn't be such a butt sometimes. He knew why she was angry at Sammy; no one could blame her there. He could guess why she was angry at Kenji; the fight was still fresh on her mind. She made sure he knew how she felt about him, which was why Kenji was practically using Sammy as a shield from her death glare. What confused Darius was why she was mad at Brooklynn. And if she was mad at Brooklynn for no reason, why was Yasmina completely peachy with him?
The boy sighs again. His only conclusion was that Ben's death was the cause of her irritation. "Perhaps Yaz is going through the grieving process, and it's coming out as anger," he reasons.
If Yasmina was hard to figure out, Brooklynn was even harder. The pink-haired girl switched between sleeping, arguing with Kenji over his weird conclusions, and spamming Darius with questions. Darius couldn't figure out why she was so talkative, or why she was asking so many questions about survival. Had she not unboxed survival tips in the jungle before?
Her constant questions felt like criticism of how Darius was leading the team, and it was wearing down on him. Instead of relaxing, he was second guessing himself. He would have concluded that Brooklynn hated him and his way of leading, had she not stuck with him the entire day. "Does she hate the way I lead the team?" Darius asks himself, desperately trying to figure her out. "Does she not trust me? And if she doesn't trust me, why is she staying so close to me like her life depends on it? If she does trust me, though, why is she so critical of the way I lead the team?" He sighs for what feels like the one hundredth time, deciding that girls were too hard for him to figure out.
Sammy, on the other hand, was by far the easiest to understand. The Texan wore her heart on her sleeve. It didn't take much observing for Darius to figure her out. She, too, was avoiding the grieving process and instead, trying to keep herself and the others happy. In her quest to keep the team's spirits up, Sammy clashed with Yasmina. The Texan still didn't seem to fully grasp why Yasmina was angry at her, and sat dejectedly with Kenji, wondering what she did wrong.
As the sun began to dip, Darius had come up with a game plan. Kenji needed to grieve Ben's death, but he would never admit to his sorrow. If his pride was in the way, maybe Darius could appeal to his ego and help him come to terms with the death.
Darius had never had a deep conversation with Yasmina; the two had always had a wordless relationship. But Sammy's approach of positivity did not work, so perhaps he could try being sarcastic. Maybe acknowledging the darkness of the situation they were in would help her.
Brooklynn still puzzled him. Did she trust him or not? Well, their relationship started when Darius appealed to her star nature in the gyrosphere, so why didn't he try it again? Maybe if he appeared hip and cool and acted like he knew what he was doing, she would trust him more.
With Sammy… well, he wasn't sure how to help her grieve. But she had to have seen the deaths of beloved animals on her farm, so Darius felt as if he should let her come to terms with Ben's death on her own accord. What he could do was try to help her understand why Yasmina was so harsh, so that the friction between the two girls might ease up a bit.
Just as Darius decided this, Kenji made his move. The alpha male had been uncomfortably giving Yasmina the side eye the entire day. Darius could see that he wasn't angry with her, but still couldn't pinpoint his exact feelings.
Kenji gets up from the ground and walks over to stand in front of Yasmina uncomfortably. The athlete crosses her arms and gives him the death glare. "Look, I'm… I'm sorry, Yaz," Kenji starts out, very uncomfortable. "I'm sorry about last night. We were both tired and hungry, and emotions were running high. I guess we just… I shouldn't have responded to your comment and started a fight. And I shouldn't have hit you back. I said some things that really hit a nerve for you, and I can see that now. I… I understand that you lashed out in pain and anger, and I shouldn't have hit you back. I'm really sorry, and I feel terrible for hurting you."
Yasmina's glare softens and her shoulders relax. Kenji's apology was very sincere and heartfelt, and it was clear that what he did had bothered him all day. Darius smiles. Kenji had diffused the situation better than he had expected.
"I… forgive you," Yasmina says like a pouting toddler. She stares at her shoes, refusing to look Kenji in the eye.
An awkward moment passes. "Okay, I think I need to go use the restroom," Kenji grimaces, not knowing what else to say.
Seeing an opportunity, Darius gets up. "I'll go with you."
After using their makeshift restroom spot, Darius finds Kenji standing outside the treeline. The alpha male had crossed his arms and was staring at the rising moon. The young boy stands next to him in silence, wondering how to go about the subject. He had never been one to boast or be arrogant. But Darius tries his best to put on a smooth, cool kid facade and starts a conversation with the only thing he could think of. "So, I see you're the lady expert."
Kenji sputters; his face scrunching up in confusion. "I… guess? Look, if you wanna lecture me about hitting Yaz, you can't make me feel any worse. It feels terrible to hit a girl. I mean, it's not like I want to hit people, but guys can take it. Well, I mean… Yaz can take it, but… it just… it feels worse to hit a girl. I want to be a gentleman and be nice. And I totally blew it. I'm not saying that I wouldn't feel bad if I hit you; I would feel bad if I hit any of you. It's just… I've gained the reputation of being some bad boy player, and I don't like that. I don't want to be the type of guy girls think will break their heart, I want to be the guy girls go to when they're in trouble. I want to be a gentleman, a superhero, not the bad guy! I wanna be the superhero for all of you. Why do you think I carried Yaz around without complaint for days on end." Kenji sighs. "She probably hates me now."
"Well, I don't know what to tell you," Darius says softly, understanding how he felt. "I don't know anything about girls."
Darius hoped that this would make Kenji feel better— make him feel like an important guy that Darius was coming to for help—and somehow lead their conversation to Ben. Instead, Kenji smirks at Darius, getting the wrong idea. "Got lady troubles, huh?"
Darius quirks an eyebrow; he couldn't deny that. "Yeah, I don't know how to…"
"Tell Brooklynn that you like her?" Kenji finishes with an all-knowing grin.
"What?" Darius tilts his head, confused.
"Come on, bruh," Kenji laughs, putting his arm around Darius's shoulder. "It's obvious how you feel about her. I know, I know, girls can be intimidating, but the best thing to do is not to show that. Make sure she thinks you're the big man. Don't let her see that she intimidates you, bro. Girls will lose confidence in you if you do."
"But, I don't—" Darius starts to say.
"Know how to show her how you feel?" Kenji finishes. "Dude, every guy knows that feeling. But ya gotta go for it. Make sure she knows how you feel. Just come out and say it. Flirt with her. Compliment her. Make it obvious that you have feelings, because I don't think she notices yours. You gotta come off confident, even if you're not. Don't let her see you be insecure."
"I'm pretty sure overconfidence is why she's turned off to you," Darius remarks snappily before he can think it through.
"Ah, shut up, bro," Kenji sputters, and heads back to the camp.
Darius sighs and throws his arms out. "Some good that did us! Way to go, Darius. You just had to add in that extra remark!"
He heads back to camp, mentally hitting himself. "If you're feeling so sarcastic, maybe Yaz is the next one to talk to," he thinks to himself.
"Hey, Darius, wanna go scavenging for berries?" Brooklynn asks as he steps into the small clearing.
"I stand corrected," Darius thinks to himself, amused. "Sure."
Kenji grabs his arm as he walks by and whispers in his ear: "Girls are a totally different species. They can smell fear."
"Huh?" Sammy asks.
"Uhh… Life, liberty, and the freedom to judge eggs!" Kenji exclaims. "God bless America!" He successfully averts Sammy's attention, then gives an encouraging thumbs up.
Darius shakes his head, rolls his eyes, and follows Brooklynn into the trees to search for more food. The two pick berries and leaves in silence before movement in the trees startles them. "What was that?" Brooklyn exclaims, getting a death grip on Darius's arm. "Was that a dinosaur?"
Darius was startled as well, but the disturbance was too small to be a pterodactyl. And he couldn't think of any dinosaurs small enough that would live in the trees, so he chalks it up to a bird. The rustling starts again, scaring Brooklynn, who tightens her grip on his arm. The young boy chuckles to himself. "Well, this must be how Kenji felt at the campfire."
Channeling his inner Kenji, he says: "Relax, girl, it's just a bird. Nothing to worry about."
"You sure?" Brooklynn trembles.
"Yeah," Darius says cooly, even though inside he started to doubt himself. A bird with bright red and blue plumage flies out of the trees, proving him right. "See?" he smirks.
Brooklynn releases his arm. "Just chill, bruh, we're gonna be fine," Darius says.
"Right?" Brooklynn frowns, finding Darius's behavior confusing. They pick berries in silence again. "I bet that we'll have another fight between Kenji and Yaz soon," Brooklynn says. "They're so tense around each other. If Yaz wasn't injured, I think she totally would've taken him down. She owned him with that smack, though. She was like, 'I like your cut, G.'" Brooklynn slaps her hand to imitate Yasmina, chuckling at her own joke.
Darius prickles. "How can she think fighting between the group is funny?" Coming up with the only "cool" phrase he could think of, he says: "Okay, Boomer."
Brooklynn starts laughing, shaking her head in a condescending way. "Oh, Darius, you're adorable."
She gathers up the berries and fruits she had gathered and begins to walk. "We've got enough. Come on."
Darius sighs in irritation. "Your leader… is adorable? So I'm just a cute, naive kid who isn't up-to-date on your slang, Brooklynn? And I'm somehow supposed to lead you as an 'adorable' leader?"
He gathers up the food he collected and follows Brooklynn, very irritated. "Add 'older sister' to the list of things Brooklynn is to me. Or maybe 'babysitter,' if I'm such a cute kid."
Brooklynn and Darius restock the backpack. As they do, Darius can feel Yasmina staring at him. He doesn't have to look at her to understand the message. "How dare you leave me with the idiots?" Chuckling, Darius asks: "Do you want alone time, Yaz?"
For the first time that day, she smiled. "How did you know?"
"I'll help you mov—" Sammy starts to move forward before stopping. Yasmina's death glare stopped her in her tracks like a brick wall. "Maybe Darius can help you," Sammy offers, rejected.
"Haha, like she'd pick anyone else," Darius wants to say. Instead, he wordlessly helps Yasmina limp away from the camp. The older girl leans back against a tree and closes her eyes. "This might be the death of me, but here goes nothing," Darius thinks. "You doing okay, Yaz?"
"Do I look like I'm okay?" Yasmina asks depressingly. "Are any of us okay?"
"We seem peachy to me," Darius says sarcastically, earning a snort of laughter from Yasmina. Encouraged by the response, Darius continues. "Jurassic island used to seem like a paradise to me. But being stuck here is a nightmare. You're right, chances are we won't survive this. Chances are no one is coming to find us. What are the chances of five kids making it off Death Island alive?"
Yasmina opens her eyes and looks at him with an expression of alarm. "Op, too depressing. Let's try being more positive," Darius thinks, and quickly changes direction. "But it's not like we're in this alone. We have each other, and being here with you guys is more than I can ask for on this island. And maybe, just maybe, if we get off this island, we'll have new friends."
"One new friend," Yasmina says. "You. The only two people I trust on this island are you and Ben, and so far only one can go home with me."
"Are the others not trustworthy?" Darius asks. "Or are you too stubborn to let go of a grudge?"
Yasmina's expression of sadness turns to anger in an instant. "A grudge? Is that what you think I have against Sammy? I don't have to like her, Darius. I don't have to like any of you! Just because we were shoved together and forced to cooperate to survive doesn't mean I have to have any sort of relationship with you afterwards! Stop trying to make me like Sammy! She broke my trust, and I shouldn't be forced to be friends with someone I don't trust! You wouldn't like it if we tried to force you to like your enemy, so stop doing it to me! If I can't trust Sammy, I'm not going to open up to her, and you can't make me!"
Darius freezes as Yasmina yells at him. "I don't have to trust the others, either," the girl continues. "If Sammy, Miss happy-go-lucky, 'I'll trust you if you trust me,' can betray me in an instant, what makes you think Kenji and Brooklynn are going to be better? Unlike you, they haven't proven themselves trustworthy. Kenji? Good Lord, what is he hiding? If Mister VIP has to fake it and pretend like he's all that and a bag of chips, what do we not know about him? I'd rather not find out why he's putting up a facade. And Brooklynn, don't get me started on her. How did she know about the Indominus rex? How did she know about Sammy? What is she hiding? And it's not like she's the most responsible person in the group; placing the blame on other people. From your account of the dino drive, it was her who jumped out of the gyrosphere and provoked the Scinoceratops to smash into it. 'Then you think of something, Mister let's-go-corner-the-dinosaur?' Oh no, no, no, no, no, Brooklynn, that's on you!"
A small, concerned voice rises up inside Darius. "She's not wrong about Brooklynn being irresponsible. And we don't know how she knew about Sammy…"
"I trust the others with my life on this island," Yasmina says. "But I don't trust them with my heart or my secrets. So until I decide that they're trustworthy, stop trying to force me to be friends!"
The look on the older girls face said that the conversation was over, and to overstay his welcome in her presence was death. Or, at least, a whole lot of pain, and Darius wasn't feeling lucky. A rejected Darius walks away from Yasmina and away from the camp as well. He sits down behind a tree; far enough away the others wouldn't hear him, but close enough he could reach them if he needed to.
Tears of frustration and hurt slip out against his will and he buries his face in his arms. "I'm trying to help the team. I'm trying to, but I couldn't help Kenji, I've probably lost any respect Brooklynn had for me, and I've made Yaz angry! And now I'm beginning to question what Brooklynn was doing at the lab. Is Yaz right about Sammy? Should we not trust her?"
Darius lets out a frustrated, saddened sob. "Where did I go wrong?"