Camp Cretaceous: What Do We Do Now?

by Ecaetheerein

We thought it'd be fun… We thought we'd be safe… But we didn't realize the horror waiting for us on the island. Claws, teeth, screaming… so much screaming. But despite the challenges, we survived the night. Well... some of us. And now that we've been left on the island, we're faced with the challenge of surviving until help arrives... If it arrives...

42. Ep42 Break In The Storm

Author's note:

Welp, this chapter is more upbeat then the rest, since I'm giving them a small break from their problems and anxieties... as well as giving me a slight break in emotionally torturing chapters, lol. Could also call this chapter a book of inside jokes and references...

Enjoy!

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"We're almost there," Mrs. Pincus says as they drive along the Texan highway.

"This is my first time being out of state," Ben tells Yasmina, adjusting his glasses as he stares out the window. "Besides flying to Costa Rica for, you know. The fateful event."

Yasmina was not paying attention. "Did Kenji just call me a hoe?"

"What?" Ben and his mother say at the same time.

Yasmina starts laughing. "He says: 'Tried to say how are you? And accidentally hit the E instead of the W, and then when I tried to hit the backspace, I hit the send button instead. How are you?'"

Ben laughs. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"Nope," Yasmina laughs.

A few minutes later, the car pulls into the neighborhood and Ben and Yasmina look out their windows at the passing houses. It was difficult to find houses for sale—close to the Gutierrez ranch, nonetheless—on such short notice. The Pincus's had settled for a rental house that was about five minutes away from the Monell's and a five minute drive away from the ranch. They were next door to the Bowman's, much to their surprise. The two houses had gone on sale around the same time. Originally, Darius's mother had aimed to buy the house the Pincus's were in, but they were beaten to it and had to settle for the one next door. Ironically, those who bought the house were in the business of renting it out, and the Pincus's jumped at the chance once it was for rent.

The Pincus's car pulls into the driveway, and they step out. "It's a nice house," Yasmina remarks quietly as Mr. Pincus pulls up behind them with the moving van.

"Let's get your crutches out," Ben's father says, climbing out and opening the trunk of the car.

"Or I could just do this," Ben says, wrapping his arms around Yasmina's torso and awkwardly carrying her into the house.

His mother holds the door open and laughs as Yasmina protests at the recent turn of events. "Why is this now your solution to my disability?" the athlete sputters as he sets her down on her right leg. "I think you're just trying to show off your height."

Ben laughs. "No, I'm just being helpful."

"You're trying to show off," she insists.

"I'm helping my friend with my strength," he shrugs, allowing her to sit down on the floor.

"That's still developing," Yasmina smirks, leaning back. "Otherwise, you'd carry me bridal style."

"Hey!" Ben protests while his parents laugh. "If I carried you 'bridal style' you'd wring my neck like a chicken!"

"Fair enough," she shrugs, chuckling.

The Gutierrez's swing by to help them unpack the moving van. Holly had come with Justin, her fiance, and Miriam. Uncle Cesario and Carlos came over as well. Frank Campbell, the Pincus's new neighbor and close friend of the Gutierrez family, came over with his sons to help as well. Naturally, chaos ensued, but the Pincus's were grateful for help.

"Careful!" Holly shouts, cringing as she watches helplessly as the scene unfolded.

Mr. Pincus tries to pass Uncle Cesario and Carlos a particularly awkward box but didn't realize that another box was sitting on top of it. As Carlos takes the first box, the one above topples over onto Uncle Cesario's head. The old man straightens up and blinks in bewilderment at Mr. Pincus, his jaw open in shock. "I think somethang bonked my noggin." The group got a kick out of it.

After moving everything out of the moving van and into the house, one of Frank's sons picks up food from a fast food restaurant while the others start to sort out a few things. Once the food arrived, they sat down on the floor in the kitchen and living room and ate.

"The others are still in school," Holly says through her sandwich. "You guys can come over tonight at dinner to see them. We're goin' over to your house, Yaz, since yer parents are comin' down now."

"What?" Yasmina frowns, pulling one side of her noise cancelling headphones off.

Holly's shoulders drop. "Why do you have those if you're going to be a part of the conversation?"

"It's complicated," Yasmina mumbles, not feeling comfortable discussing the reason behind them.

After finishing lunch, the group heads over to the Fadoula's house—about ten minutes away from the Pincus's. They were located on the other side of the Gutierrez's ranch, and were within biking distance of the ranch. "Thank the Lord that you guys found places so close to everyone else," Holly says as they step out of the cars. "We were prayin' for that."

Yasmina shrugs. "We're lucky."

For the first time in a week and a half, Yasmina gets to see her family again. "Yasmina!" her step-father exclaims, wrapping his arms around her and picking her up in a bear hug. "Ah! It's been so long!"

"We've been separated for longer," she giggles.

"Your point?" he chuckles, letting her down. "Have they been treating you well?"

"They better," Ghaleb says, pulling his sister into a hug.

Ben pointedly hides behind his father.

"Ghaleb," Yasmina groans with a laugh. "It's been good. I did miss you guys, though."

Her mother pulls her into a strong hug. "Have you been good? Is your leg healing up well?"

"Mom," Yasmina sighs, holding onto her mothers shoulder as she bends down to check on her daughter's amputation. "I got the stitches removed… Monday? No, Tuesday."

"How have you been otherwise?" her mother asks, worried.

"I've been pretty good, minus that breakdown yesterday," Yasmina nods, muttering the last part.

"Ben?" her mother asks.

"It's been a rollercoaster of emotions," he informs her.

"Traitor!" Yasmina barks out a laugh.

"Yazzy!" Jabari says, pulling his sister into a hug. "I missed you!"

Yasmina tries to say something, before being tackled by her puppy. Roxie was about thirteen weeks old and was about knee height. "Hi, Roxie," Yasmina squeaks, leaning on her crutches to move her amputated limb out of the way of the dog. The puppy yips and stands up on the athlete's good leg. "Hey," she giggles, scratching her puppy's ears. The husky tries to bite her hand.

"We're still working on biting," her mother sighs. "Ah! No, no bite!"

Yasmina giggles as her step-father picks up the puppy and holds her away, allowing the athlete to hug her younger sister.

The group helps the Fadoula's unpack, while Yasmina sits on the sidelines with the puppy. Since she couldn't help that easily, she took the dog shift. By the time they were finished unloading the moving van, she had bite marks all over her hands.

After unloading and organizing a bit, the Fadoula's and Pincus's head over to the Gutierrez's ranch. Mr. Gutierrez said that they were having a barbeque to celebrate the campers being reunited with their families. Yasmina wasn't exactly looking forward to it—as large groups of rowdy people weren't her favorite thing in the world—but she decided that she would tolerate it. "It's just the six families, I know pretty much everyone there," she sighs to her parents. "May not be super comfortable with everyone, but I know all the siblings and have met all the parents at least once."

Unfortunately, it was much larger than she expected. When they arrived, they found many large trucks and vans parked in the grass near the driveway of the ranch. "How many cars do they have?" Yasmina murmurs as the Pincus's pull up next to them. "I think there's like thirty eight cars here on their property."

Ben opens the door for her. "I think the Gutierrez's extended family has come over to see Sammy for the first time in a while," he says.

Yasmina peeks around his car and sees a crowd of people talking and barbecuing. "... Nope. Nope. Nope." she shakes her head, climbing back into the car and closing the door.

"Yaz," Ben laughs, shaking his head. "Come on, it won't be that bad."

It takes ten minutes of her family and Ben coaxing her out to get Yasmina to step out of the car and begrudgingly head down to the house. Much to her annoyance, it was a steep slope down, so Ghaleb had to carry her down.

The other four campers spot them and make their way over to them. Kenji is the first to make it over there. "Ben! Yaz!" he exclaims, pulling them both into a hug. Ben gags as his neck hits Kenji's shoulder. "Sorry," Kenji apologizes, bending down to pick up Yasmina's crutch, which she had dropped when he tackled them. "You've gotten so much taller!"

"I'm about five foot, seven inches," Ben grins proudly.

"He's very proud of himself," Yasmina chuckles.

"He should be!" Kenji exclaims. "I'm five foot, ten inches and wish I could be just a bit taller."

"Guys!" Darius exclaims, pulling Yasmina into a one armed hug. "Ah, the struggles of crutches."

"Oh, I know the struggle," Yasmina chuckles, pulling back. "Speaking of height, have you gotten taller?"

"Yeah," Ben laughs, wrapping his arms around Darius. "I think you have. You might be as tall as Yaz, now!"

"Eh, he still has a ways to go," Kenji says, pushing down on Darius's head. "Hard to tell with your hair."

"You're one to talk, Mister two-inches," Darius laughs, reaching up to mess with Kenji's hair. Kenji starts cackling at some joke in his head.

"Yasmina! Ben!" a very Texan voice says as Sammy rolls up to them. The two lean down to give her a hug. "Oh, I'm so glad y'all finally came!" she squeals, happy to see her friends again. "Wait, when did you get glasses, Ben?!"

"I thought something looked different!" Darius exclaims.

"Gonna be honest, I didn't even notice a difference," Kenji shrugs sheepishly.

"Oh, do they look good?" Ben asks nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It was meant to be," Sammy chuckles. "Not that I want you to have glasses, but you look good in them."

"Yeah, they look good," Kenji nods.

"I know yer probably not happy about all my family members, Yaz," Sammy starts, "but they haven't seen me since before the accident. We're a pretty loud group, though, so fair—"

"YAZ!" Brooklynn shouts, appearing out of nowhere. She practically throws herself at Yasmina, tackling her with a bone-crushing hug. Yasmina yelps as she's taken completely by surprise. She just about throws her crutches in surprise as she falls over on her back. The left crutch falls and bonks Brooklynn on her head.

The group pauses before bursting into hysterics. "Sorry," Brooklynn apologizes as she lifts her head to grin at Yasmina.

"D-Did you just John Ce-ena tackle me?" Yasmina wheezes, laying flat on her back.

"I haven't seen you in so long!" Brooklynn wails, resting her head on Yasmina's shoulder and squeezing her friend in a hug.

"I missed you, too," Yasmina laughs, wrapping her arms around her friend.

"What happened here?" Mr. Gutierrez asks, approaching the group.

"Brooklynn came up and was like 'JOHN CENA!'" Kenji exclaims, taking down an imaginary opponent in a wrestler jump.

"Put her in a choke hold," Mr. Fadoula grins.

"No!" Yasmina pouts. "She's my fwiend."

"I is her fwiend," Brooklynn baby talks with a giggle. "Who's stronger than you think."

"No, you just came at me like a torpedo!" Yasmina laughs, sitting up and forcing Brooklynn off of her. "How's your eye?"

Brooklynn takes off the eye patch to allow Yasmina to see. "It's healed up really well," Yasmina smiles. "You look like a baddie."

"So everyone says," Brooklynn shrugs with a sigh, putting the eye patch on and helping her friend up, then giving Ben a hug.

To some of the group's annoyance—mostly Yasmina's—they head back into the crowd. Kenji was getting to know all of the extended family, and he had a lot of names to keep track of. "Honestly, I'm not going to remember everyone," he shakes his head.

"No one expects you to, we just want to meet you at least once," Sammy chuckles.

"Aight, I'll be back," Kenji sighs, heading off with Sammy to meet her family. Yasmina hangs with Ben, Darius, and Brooklynn in a tight group, shyly getting to know the other guests. With such a close knit, bubbly family, pretty much everyone wanted to meet the campers. Sammy was the center of attention, and Kenji was her sidekick, so the others gave her space to see her family again.

"Howdy!" one of Sammy's cousins says. Another girl who looked identical to her came up beside her. The two were both grinning.

"Hi," Darius smiles.

"I'm Marissa," the first girl says.

"And I'm Valerie," her sister introduces herself.

"And this is our birdy gerd," Marissa giggles, gesturing to the older boy behind her.

"Birdy gerd?" Yasmina quirks an eyebrow.

"Body guard, birdy gerd, whatever," Valerie shrugs. The birdy gerd shrugs as well, seeming content to follow his younger cousins around like a bodyguard.

"So, what was it like on the island?" Mariss asks, blinking in awe. "Sammy hasn't had time to tell any stories."

"You want stories?" Ben laughs, leaning against a bale of hay.

The girls nod and in unison, sit down in front of the campers. The four chuckle. "What would you want to hear?" Brooklynn asks.

"How did you lose your eye?" Valerie asks.

"How old are you?" Brooklynn retorts, her eye being a sensitive subject.

"Sorry, are we being insensitive?" Marissa asks. "Mom says we're always actin' like we're younger than we are."

"We're thirteen," Valerie shrugs. "But we have high functionin' Autism, so our social clues are kinda not on sometimes."

Brooklynn's slight scowl falls. "Sorry…" she mumbles.

"It's fine, sorry for hittin' a nerve," Marissa shrugs.

"How about we talk about our adventures at camp?" Ben suggests.

"Yeah!" one of Sammy's other cousins comes along, sitting next to the twins.

"Well, how about the time I met Bumpy?" Ben suggests. Pain flares up in his eyes. "Or how about the time we got caught in the dino stampede," he quickly suggests.

"Let's hear about the stampede!" a younger cousin comes along, her older sister tagging along.

"Seems we've drawn a crowd," Yasmina chuckles.

"Where did it begin?" Ben murmurs, rubbing his hands together. "There was a storm that day. We were heading to the gyrospheres to ride alongside dinos."

Ben begins to tell them about the dino drive. The kids and young teens listening sit with fixated interest. "So when we arrived, Darius and Brooklynn were sinking quickly into the mud," he says, drawing his shoulders in and crouching down to create suspense. "We only had a bit of time to do something about it. Then, a Sinoceratops arrived!"

"Is that how you got the scars on your arm?" Valerie points to the Pterodactyl scars.

"No, that's another story," Ben shakes his head.

"What's a Sinoceratops?" the twins' younger brother asks.

"It's like a Triceratops, but slightly different," Ben explains, looking to Darius for confirmation. The dino nerd shrugs, judging it a decent explanation. "So Sammy took a leafy branch and approached the Sinoceratops. The horned dinosaur snorted—"

"Did it cut your arm?" Valerie asks.

"No, that's from a different dinosaur," Ben says again. "Sammy slowly approached the dino, carefully, softly talking to it. Then, she was able to touch it. We tied the rope around it's back, threw it over a tree, and threw it to Darius and Brooklynn. Then the Sinoceratops pulled them out. Yasmina took a stick and cracked the door off."

"Did that cut your arm?" Valerie asks again.

Ben sighs and smiles. "Would you like me to tell you how I got the scars on my arm?"

The audience nods.

Ben shakes his head with a chuckle and goes into the monorail story.

Yasmina leans close to Brooklynn. "Gosh, he's so patient. I would've gotten irritated way before that. I know she's Autistic, but I'd have a hard time being patient."

"Which is why you two would make the perfect couple," Brooklynn whispers in a sing-song voice, waggling her eyebrows.

Yasmina elbows her in the ribs. "Shut up," she rolls her eyes as her friend giggles.

After finishing explaining his scars, Kenji and Sammy approach the group. "Ah, story time?" Sammy chuckles.

"Yep," Darius laughs. "Did you meet everyone?"

Kenji groans. "Yeah."

"Pop quiz, name every family member," Marissa laughs.

Kenji rolls his eyes and sighs. "We have Abilene and Sebastian? Yeah, they had Uncle Carlos, Austin—a.k.a. Mr. Gutierrez—Uncle Travis, and Uncle Jorge. Mr. Gutierrez had Holly, Miriam, Sammy, Rio, Sandra, and Shelby."

The kids nod as he lists the family.

"Travis and… Trinity?" Kenji blanks on the aunts. "Yeah, Trinity had Wayton, Angelina, Roy, and Sage. Carlos married Lucy and had… uh… Olivia… you…" He points to the older boy being forced to follow around his younger cousins.

"The birdy gerd?" Yasmina suggests.

"What?" Sammy laughs.

"He was introduced to me as the birdy gerd," the athlete shrugs.

"Ruben," the birdy gerd corrects her with a chuckle.

"Ruben, Olivia, uh…" Kenji begins to forget. "Ramona? … Cruz… I can't remember the others."

"Sofia, Dante, and Savannah," Sammy adds.

He nods. "Jorge and Maggie had Raffa, Marissa, Valerie, and Diego. Do I have to name your cousins on your mothers side?"

"Yep!" Shelby laughs.

"Your mom's sister, Clara… had a son…" Kenji sputters. "I'm blanking already."

"You got more names than I did," Brooklynn giggles.

"I know you're Edith and Katrina," Kenji points to the two younger girls in the audience. "Don't know who you belong to."

"God," Katrina answers.

"Good answer," Kenji nods. "Sorry."

"It's fine, don't expect to get everyone on the first go around," Sammy shrugs. "I still blank once in a while."

"Hey, while the foods cookin', wanna play a game of ultimate hide 'n seek?" Raffa says, racing up to the group. The kids agree with happy screeches. "Okay, the barns, the house, and the fields are fair game," Raffa explains. "The woods and pastures are off limits, cause you can get real lost real quick. Everyone understand?"

The group nods as the rest of the cousins come along. They do a quick headcount—which gets restarted twice. "Alright, we got thirty four people playin' hide n' seek," Raffa announces.

"Thirty four?" Ghaleb gaps.

"It's usually this big," Raffa shrugs. "But y'all added ten more, so it's usually twenty four or so. Aight, the rules are no moving around, no hiding in the woods or the pastures, and no tattling unless the seeker's given up. Y'all got it?"

The group nods. "Aight, currently, Savannah holds the record for the best hider two times in a row," Raffa announces. "You gotta beat her to win."

"Done," Ghaleb crosses his arms and leans against the bale of hay. "Us Fadoula's are the best at hide n' seek."

"Betta put your money where your mouth is," Savannah, the hide n' seek queen sneers.

Milton is chosen as the burdened seeker and he begins to count to sixty to give the large group—some with disabilities—enough time to hide. After finishing counting, Brooklynn's older brother searches the house first. Sandra and Shelby are the first to be found. They were hiding in the pantry and couldn't stop giggling. "Dagum it," Shelby laughs as he opens the door.

Two more cousins are found before Milton notices a strange chair in the living room. He picks up the cushion to reveal a human-like figure underneath a blanket. Chuckling, he removes the blanket. Sammy grins sheepishly. "Was the best I could do."

"Hey, I walked past you twice before noticing," Milton chuckles.

Couple more cousins are found inside the house before he tries the benches and tables of the barbeque. He finds Darius laying down beneath a bench. "It's hard with a cast," the boy grins as Mr. Gutierrez and Uncle Cesario help him get up.

Ben was found next. He attempted to disguise himself as a blue cooler. Milton sat on top of him, making the cooler boy laugh.

After searching around more, Milton finds Brandon and Sammy's older cousins talking in plain sight. "You guys aren't even hiding," Sammy laughs, rolling up to the table.

"Actually, he walked past us cause he didn't think we'd be out in the open," Brandon grins. "We just acted like adults and waited for him to notice us."

"That's actually pretty genius," Milton chuckles.

He tries the barn, and hears lots of giggling in the hay. "I know you guys are in there," the boy sighs. Three kids clamber out, grinning and whispering. "Who's still in there?" Milton asks, crouching down.

Brooklynn lifts her head and spits out hay. "Stinking kids."

Milton goes to search somewhere else, but stops. "Kenji's in there, too."

Kenji lifts his head. "How did you know?!"

"Like you'd let her hide alone?" Milton rolls his eyes, annoyed with this supposed adopted brother.

Holly and her fiance were hiding behind the horses, while Miriam was squeezed between the wall and the ladder. Slowly, the number of contestants dwindled. "Who do we have left?" Milton asks Raffa, having found him in the rafters.

"Henry, Savannah, Rio, and the whole Fadoula family," Raffa counts. "Gosh, they weren't kidding about being good at hide n' seek."

Henry and Rio were found in very good hiding spots, and the supposed hide n' seek kings and queens are yet to be found. Milton gives in and asks for help from the other kids. The older teens were disinterested, but the younger ones tried to help. Jabari was found behind the pillows of a bed, while Habeeba was found inside the washing machine. Only Savannah, Ghaleb, and Yasmina remained.

"The best of the best," Kenji sighs, searching for the remaining hiders. He opens a closet door and looks up. Ghaleb had hidden on the top shelf. He used his legs and back to suspend himself above the shelf so as not to break it with his weight. "Dude, you guys have looked in here three times!" Ghaleb laughs, having difficulty getting out.

"Bruh, we didn't think to look up there," Kenji laughs, just about getting knocked over as Ghaleb rolls out of the closet.

The race was on to see if Savannah or Yasmina was the hide n' seek queen. Finally, after ten minutes of searching, Savannah was found in the cupboard of a desk. No one had thought to look inside it. "You win, Yaz!" Ghaleb announces with laughter. There was no answer. "Yaz?!" he shouts again.

"Maybe she's outside?" Brooklynn suggests.

The group heads outside, but finds that no one had seen Yasmina since the beginning of the game. "Think she didn't hear you?" Holly suggests.

"Oh, no, it wouldn't matter," Mrs. Fadoula says with trepidation. "Yasmina will hide until you find her. She doesn't come out. Gave us quite a scare when she was little."

"She's tryin' to rub it in," Savannah grumbles, sour about losing her title.

"No, she's just very good at being patient," her mother sighs. "I'll help you."

The hunt begins to find the hide n' seek champion, but ten minutes later—even with almost all thirty four kids and Yasmina's parents helping—there was almost no sign of her. "Her crutches are under the bar stools," Ben says. "She's gotta be in the house."

"We've searched everywhere," Miriam groans. "Where could she be?"

"You don't think she broke the rules and hid in the woods, did you?" Brandon suggests.

"Let's try every single possible hiding spot in the house before searching outside," Mr. Fadoula sighs. "If her crutches are in here, she most likely didn't stray too far… She could hop away, but not in sixty seconds."

Five minutes later, after meticulously searching the house, Yasmina still hasn't been found. The adults and campers are starting to get worried. "What if she got hurt and can't come out?" Brooklynn asks with worry, accepting Darius's comforting hug.

"Alright, let's search the barn, woods, and pastures," Mr. Gutierrez says. "Some of y'all look for her in the house, just in case we missed her. If we can't find her in an hour, we'll send out an official search party."

"I'll put the cake back in the freezer," Carlos's wife says. The group had been eating the barbeque off and on during the game. The cake had been set out to thaw, but if the guests were too worried to eat it, there was no point in leaving it out.

"She can't have strayed too far," Kenji mutters as he, Brooklynn, and Ben search the kitchen yet again. "Her crutches are under the bar stools, so she's gotta be either in the kitchen or the living room."

Carlos's wife opens the freezer, pauses, then plants her free hand on her hip. "You little brat," she snaps.

The three crowd around her. There in the freezer, wrapped in a blanket was Yasmina, grinning up at them proudly. "I won," she snicker.

"Yasmina!" Brooklynn growls, frustrated and relieved at the same time. "The game's over!"

"Hide n' seek is not over until everyone has been found," the athlete states.

"That's not how it works!" Brooklynn snaps. "You scared the heck out of me!"

"How did you even fit in there?!" Kenji exclaims.

"Well, I've got half a leg less to hide, and the freezer was pretty much already empty from the barbeque," Yasmina shrugs. "Plus, I'm like a cat. I can fit in small, tight spaces easily. Just removed the organization supplies, wrapped myself in a blanket to combat frostbite and waited."

"How long would you have waited?" Ben asks.

"I waited six hours before I had to pee one time," Yasmina laughs.

"You take competitiveness to a whole 'nother level," Rio chuckles from the doorway.

"Wait, Sandra and Shelby hid in the pantry, why didn't you tell us that she was here?" Ben asks, looking at the two giggling girls.

"Oh, that's what that noise was," Sandra says, a revelation dawning on her face. The campers roll their eyes and chuckle.

"We had the whole party searching for you!" Carlos's wife snaps, irritated that Yasmina had let the whole group worry. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I beat Savannah?" Yasmina suggests shyly.

The older woman sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Call off the search, y'all. Tell them we found her."

Yasmina's parents were frustrated. Not furious, but pretty darn close. "The whole party was interrupted because you wouldn't come out!" her mother snaps. "We thought you were in trouble!"

"Sorry," Yasmina murmurs.

Her step-father sighs. "Sorry about interrupting your barbeque, Austin."

Mr. Gutierrez chuckles, putting his hand on Mr. Fadoula's shoulder. "Eh, we've had worse, Rashid. Your daughter's fine. She can't beat the time Olivia spooked a bull while trying to ride it and accidentally let it loose into the party. The bull kicked her in the back of her head and fractured her skull, as well as knocked over the grill and set fire to the grass and tables. Two people were burned and we had to rush Olivia to the hospital."

"I'm sorry!" the girl at fault squeaks, subconsciously rubbing the spot the bull had kicked.

Yasmina's parents stare in shock, as do the other families. "It's not a Gutierrez gathering unless something memorable and potentially life threatening happens," Uncle Cesario laughs. "This is relatively tame to some of the other scandals we've had."

"She can't beat full blood Gutierrez's in crazy stunts," Holly chuckles.

"Don't challenge her," Mrs. Fadoula sighs.

"We joke that we're living proof that God exists," Mr. Gutierrez laughs. "Yasmina is fine, nobody was hurt and it gave us all a laugh afterwards. Let's continue the feast!"

The guests go back to eating and laughing. Yasmina's mother sighs, then turns to her daughter. "I'm letting you off with a warning because they're fine with it. Next time, don't go worrying us sick!"

"Sorry, Mom," Yasmina mumbles as her parents head back to the group.

She snickers as Brooklynn whacks her on the back of the head. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Guess I'll have to disappear more often to get you used to my hide n' seek prowess," Yasmina cackles.

To the disappointment of the kids, the barbeque has to end. "It was so nice to see you again," Sammy's maternal grandmother says, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "We were prayin' night and day for you on that wretched island."

"Thank you, Meemaw," Sammy smiles. "We certainly needed that."

After the party ends, the campers' families head inside the Gutierrez house. Exhausted, Kenji flops down, all splayed out on the floor. "I'm pooped," he declares.

"Same," Yasmina says, sliding her crutches away and laying down next to him. Brooklynn flops down in the space in between them, making the two older campers grunt.

"Hey, it's not a cuddle party without me," Sammy pouts. As Ben helps Darius lay down between Brooklynn and Yasmina, Kenji helps Sammy out of her wheelchair. He lays her down across the others and scoots under her legs.

"Just like in the old days," Brooklynn giggles, wrapping her arms around Darius and closing her eyes.

"Oh, very much so, this is giving me flashbacks," Yasmina says, poking Sammy's side.

"You're lucky I can only move my upper half," Sammy laughs.

The six snuggle up close and try to fall asleep as their siblings laugh and mess with them. They had missed their sleep piles; on the island they were done for comfort and safety. Now, it gives them a sense of security and stability. It reminded them of the island in a good way. It reminded them of how they stuck together and survived. The campers are quite disappointed when they have to separate and go home.

The next day is Saturday, meaning they could all spend time together without school interfering. The campers and their siblings decided to make a day of it and explore the ranch. "Okay, Kenji," Brooklynn says, staring with concern through her one good eye. "What the heck did you post on your Instagram last night?"

"You posted that?!" Yasmina snaps. "Wait, what?! What did he post?!"

"What happened?" Sammy asks, struggling to turn her wheelchair around to fully face them.

Yasmina sighs. The campers still struggled with staying alone during the night, so they would rotate around houses. Brooklynn had stayed with Sammy at her house, Ben had stayed with Darius while his parents figured out their housing situation, and Kenji had stayed overnight at Yasmina's house. "We were sleep deprived," the athlete grumbles.

Kenji starts laughing hysterically. "Well, at first, we were helping unpack and get beds up and stuff. But it took way longer than it should've because all five of us kids were goofing off too much, so we stayed awake until one a.m. Then Yaz and I settled down in bed and ended up scrolling through TikToks and stuff until three a.m. when her parents got fed up with our laughter—for the record, we tried to muffle it. So we were forced to put away our phones, but we didn't want to go to bed just yet. So Yaz started drawing random characters in her sketchbook while we decided on backstories for them."

"We were not the most sane people then, so it made zero sense," Yasmina shakes her head. "They were human with animal features, so it got strange. One kid got choked close to death by his step-brother with fried crab, one girl wouldn't stop talking, somebody was thrown, one time a fight popped up every couple seconds. At some point, Kenji was twerking in a dino blow up costume."

Brandon was walking by when he heard the last sentence. He stops and stares in concern. "I never thought I would hear that sentence. What?"

The guy in question is sitting in the grass out of breath from laughter. "Ben had a dino costume. You know, the ones that you blow up. Anyway, it got mixed up in Yaz's suitcase, and somehow I ended up trying to twerk in the costume."

"That's what you posted," Brooklynn nods. "I woke up to find an Instagram video of Kenji dancing. The dino blow up tail bopping up and down. It was funny and concerning at the same time."

"Wait, did I post that?" Yasmina asks in confusion. "I know I took the video, but I don't recall posting it."

"I probably posted it," Kenji shrugs. "In my sleep deprived state, it was the comedy of the century."

"Kenji, sometimes you need to post things that shouldn't be posted," Milton shakes his head, totally not scrolling through his Instagram to find the video and use it as blackmail.

"So, anyway, we stayed up until five in the morning laughing about characters and twerking dinos and whatnot," Kenji continues. "Then we finally told ourselves to go to bed. But that didn't happen, cause we were too wound up to sleep and ended up laughing the whole time."

"Mom threatened to never allow Kenji over again because she could hear us laughing," Yasmina grumbles. "We tried to stop, but it was way too contagious. And now I'm grumpy because I literally didn't sleep at all last night. I mean, it's better than being attacked by a stupid sleep paralysis demon, but if the price for it is watching Kenji twerk—"

"It's totally worth it," Kenji finishes for her.

The athlete goes to argue, then sighs. "Honestly, I would pick you twerking over a sleep demon any day."

"On that note, how did you and Brooklynn do, Sammy?" Darius shakes his head with a chuckle.

"We just had a bunch of deep girl talks," Sammy shrugs. "You and Ben?"

"Fell asleep as soon as we got into bed," Ben laughs.

"I came into Darius's room and they were both out," Brandon laughs. "Conked out and sleeping like logs."

"What did you two talk about?" Yasmina asks Sammy and Brooklynn. "Guarantee it was more sane than whatever the heck Kenji and I were up talking about."

"Depression and boys," Brooklynn shrugs.

"Ah, understandable," Yasmina nods.

"Hey!" Ben protests with a laugh.

"We talked it all out, let's have fun," Brooklynn grins.

"You guys wanna learn how to ride our horses?" Sammy suggests.

"No!" Yasmina exclaims, backing up with her crutches. One hits a rock and she stumbles backwards. "I had enough from Tornado."

Her friends laugh. "Well, I want to learn how to ride a horse," Ben says.

"Me, too," Kenji nods.

Darius sighs. "Won't be the best thing for my femur to ride a horse."

"I'll ride," Brooklynn giggles.

The Gutierrez girls show the other kids how to ride their horses. Brooklynn had had some experience to begin with, so it was more of a refresher for her. Kenji received the basics again from Sammy. The others were shocked that she could ride a horse while paralyzed—which she felt was unfounded. "What?" she shrugs, sitting behind Kenji in the saddle. "Riding horses can apparently be therapeutic for all us paralyzed peeps. Since we haven't had much therapy yet, this is the best I can do—"

"You haven't had a lot of therapy yet?" Mr. Kon asks, leaning on the railing of the riding arena.

"She's taken physical therapy," Abuela sighs, "but she's insisted that she doesn't need emotional therapy. Things have been hectic between helping everyone move and take care of y'alls kids, so we've yet to schedule one a those."

"You don't think she needs it?" Yasmina asks.

"She does, but she insists that she doesn't," Abuela glares good naturedly at her granddaughter. "It's more a matter of actually scheduling it. Somethang's always interrupting it. We're trying, but we've been busy, and she doesn't think she needs it just yet."

"It's not urgent enough that I need it right now," Sammy says. Kenji turns around to frown at her, knowing that was a lie.

"Have any of you had therapy?" Kenji's father asks.

"Not since before the island," Ben says, taking a sip of water. "Wait, no, I got a bit of therapy in the hospital. They had that charity organization paying for relief, financial aid and therapy sessions for those injured in the accident."

"They've been pretty helpful throughout this," Abuela nods. "Considering the court case and everything else goin' on."

"Yeah, I got therapy from them, too," Brooklynn nods. "Haven't continued in a while because we've been moving and life has been hectic. We haven't had time to schedule an actual session yet. Wait, actually I think my parents scheduled one after school on Thursday."

"Same, well, Wednesday for me," Darius says. "Between moving and Mom trying to find clients, we haven't had much time to schedule a therapy session. It's crazy enough trying to get used to a new school; Mom wanted us to get used to the house and school for at least a week or two before trying to get us into the messy business of going through our mental states."

"We?" Miriam asks.

"Me and Darius," Brandon elaborates.

"I got therapy at the hospital but it sucked," Yasmina laughs. "Caused more flashbacks than it was worth. Most of the therapists I went to sucked. I just don't feel comfortable opening up to some random stranger, no matter how licensed they are. I got better therapy talking to you guys on the island than whatever the heck they say in therapy."

"I think you should try it out, though," Abuela says. "It might actually be helpful."

Yasmina shrugs while rolling her eyes.

"What about you, Kenj?" Darius asks.

"I don't really need it," the older boy shrugs, pulling the reins to stop the horse. "I haven't had any nightmares or anxiety attacks. No PTSD. Just one flashback while hunting with the men. It's kinda weird. I'm pretty much unaffected other than separation anxiety. Figured there's not much of a point to therapy."

Yasmina barks out a laugh. "Sure, tough guy."

"Nah, he's serious," Darius shrugs. "He's not really affected by trauma."

"Some people don't immediately react to the trauma and develop PTSD," Rio quietly pipes up.

"Lucky," Yasmina grumbles.

"It might come about later on in his life," Rio says.

"Dang it," Kenji chuckles. "Welp, consider this a time where I can help y'all, and then maybe you guys will be better when I develop PTSD."

"Sounds like a plan," Brooklynn laughs.

The group rotates horses, allowing everyone who could a chance to ride. Then Holly and Miriam showed off their skills at trick riding. Rio was beginning to learn, but was too shy to show off anything. The others cheer and whoop as they hang off the horses and stand up on the saddles.

"Why are you holding yourself?" Brooklynn asks.

"Because Gutierrez animals seem to have a beef with my crotch," Kenji says, protectively covering himself. "Plus, Holly's on one of them."

"Facts," Brooklynn laughs.

"Y'all, one of the cows is givin' birth," Mrs. Gutierrez says, approaching the ring. "Does anybody wanna watch?"

Sammy gasps. "Darcy or Bessie?"

"Bessie," her mother says.

Sammy squeals. "I've missed the other two births cause of school. Come on, guys!"

The campers follow her to the barn to watch the birth, as well as Habeeba, Ghaleb, Brandon, and a couple of the other Gutierrez girls. Milton and Jabari decided to visit the goat with Shelby, not particularly caring about seeing a cow give birth.

"I would've figured you wouldn't want to see this," Ben says, staying close to Darius as he limped after them.

"I mean, since I've sort of had a vision of my own daughter, I figured I'll have to get used to seeing a birth," Darius says with reservation. Ben practically falls over with laughter.

The teens arrive at the barn and lean up against the wall, watching the birth with interest. Things were going along fine, according to Sammy's father. Those who weren't accustomed to seeing the cows give birth groan and gag with disgust when he checks on the calf's situation. "Are you sticking your hand up her butt?" Habeeba asks with horror.

Mr. Gutierrez laughs. "No, I'm checking to see if the calf is coming along fine."

"That looks painful," Darius grimaces with disgust. "For the cow, I mean."

"It might be uncomfortable," Mr. Gutierrez says. "She doesn't really like it."

"I don't ever want to have kids if I have to go through that," Yasmina says with wide eyes.

"She's pooping," Sandra gags with a laugh.

"Welp, that's what happens," he laughs, standing up. "The calf should be coming soon. Still wanna stick around?"

The group nods. "I feel bad for her, that looks super painful," Ghaleb grimaces.

"That's how birth works," Mr. Gutierrez says. "Go thank your Mommas after this. I know Ayishah said you had a particularly big head, Ghaleb."

Ghaleb grins sheepishly.

The calf begins to come along. It was a relatively healthy birth and the calf came along just fine. Sammy's father sets the calf down in fresh hay and lets the mother come over to check on her baby. "It's a boy," he announces to the crowd.

"Aww," the girls collectively squeal.

"What's his name?" Brandon asks.

Mr. Gutierrez shrugs. "That can be your job. All of you. You guys wanna name Bessie's new calf?"

The group immediately goes to suggest names. It was difficult due to the Gutierrez's having so many cows to find an original name they hadn't used. It was at least thirty to forty minutes of debating before they narrowed it down to two names. "Wasabi," Miriam says. "Or Mark Buffalo."

"Mark Buffalo?" her dad chuckles.

"Kenji thought it would be a funny play on names for Bruce Banner's actor," Yasmina explains.

"I like Mark Buffalo," Darius laughs.

"Yeah, it's got my vote," Ghaleb snorts.

"All in favor of Mark Buffalo?" Mr. Gutierrez shakes his head. It was almost a unanimous decision, save for Yasmina who disliked it purely because Kenji suggested it, and Brandon, who suggested Wasabi. "All right, y'all, say hello to Mark Buffalo," Sammy's father grins. "Kenji, you wanna help me castrate this boy?"

Kenji's eyebrows raise as his friends chuckle. "Uhh… sure?"

The other campers start laughing as he nervously heads over to the calf. Mr. Gutierrez instructs him on how to hold the newborn steady as the rancher performs the procedure. The younger children watching the scene gag with disgust as he finishes the castration. "What?" he chuckles. "It's not bloody or anythang."

"It does feel like a betrayal of another male," Kenji chuckles, releasing the calf.

"What did you do?" Ben asks.

"We banded him," Mr. Gutierrez says. "It cuts off the blood goin' to his gonads. They'll fall off once they die."

"Ouch," Kenji grimaces.

"It works on humans, too," Sammy's father jokingly threatens, waving the castration tool in front of Kenji's face teasingly.

The boy's eyes widen. "What did I do wrong?"

Mr. Gutierrez laughs. "Nothin' yet. Just stay outta trouble and we don't got a problem."

"Yessir," Kenji salutes him.

"That goes for all y'all boys," the man turns on the group, tool still in hand.

The boys immediately stiffen with anxiety and affirm that they would be good, even though Mr. Gutierrez had a teasing grin on his face. "I've already been trusted to sleep next to a girl, so I think I'm pretty trustworthy," Ben chuckles.

"Said girl could kill you in an instant," Ghaleb retorts.

"Probably by choking, I speak from experience here," Brooklynn laughs.

"What?!" Brandon exclaims.

"She choked me in a fight on the island," Brooklynn laughs, giving Brandon the details as Ghaleb and Ben argued.

"I'm just saying, I'm trustworthy cause I never tried anything on her," Ben squeaks, his voice going high.

"Cause she scares you too much," Ghaleb shrugs. "Wuss."

"Hey, don't call him a wuss, he fought off more dinos than you ever did," Kenji comes to his friends defense. "And Ben and Yaz are the best pairing for each other."

"Facts!" Brooklynn says mid conversation with Brandon, making the older boy laugh.

"Wait, what, no!" Yasmina protests, mixing in a bit of incoherent gibberish. "Stop shipping us!"

"She likes him," Holly smirks.

"No, I don't!" Yasmina insists, her cheeks flushing in irritation.

"Of course, you do!" Kenji teases with a stupid grin. "Ben and Yazzy, sittin' in a tree—"

Quick as a flash, Yasmina grabs a piece of farm equipment from Mr. Gutierrez's bag and clamps his lips shut, wobbling on her right leg and holding onto his shoulder for support. He lets out a muffled yelp of surprise. "If you finish that song, Kenji, so help me I will rip your lips off with whatever this is!" she snaps.

Those who knew what the equipment were laughed the hardest out of the group. "That's a burdizzo, also known as a castration clamp," Holly informs her.

An idea dawns on Yasmina. "I could use this for it's original use," she shrugs, pointedly glancing down.

Kenji pulls his lips out and backs away with fearful eyes. "... K. I. S. S. I. N. G!" he obnoxiously shouts as he runs as fast as he can out of the barn.

"KENJI!" Yasmina roars, grabbing her crutches and hobbling out after him, shouting some mildly offensive words as he evades her.

This sends the group into wheezes. "He just can't not mess with her," Darius wheezes.

"At least she struggles with running," Brandon wipes away tears. "If she was at her Olympic peak, he wouldn't stand a chance."

"She wouldn't actually do that, would she?" Sammy asks in concern.

"If she gets a hold of him, I wouldn't be surprised if you need to adopt," Ghaleb cackles.

"Hang on, stop it Yaz! I need those some day!" Sammy calls out, trying to maneuver her wheelchair in the hay.

The group is thrown into howls of laughter. "Wait, why?" asks nine-year-old Habeeba.

Darius—who was internally panicking at the idea of Kenji and Sammy…—looks at her. "It's not worth your time."

Kenji comes back carrying a kicking, fussing Yasmina over his shoulder. "Put me down so that I can castrate you! Put. Me. DOWN!"

Kenji obliges, letting her flop down in the hay with a grunt. "Va fa Napoli!" she hisses, hitting her fists together.

The alpha male holds his neck and flaps his elbows together in retaliation.

"Y'all wanna keep riding the horses?" Mr. Gutierrez suggests, trying to get them out of the barn to give Bessie and Mark a break.

"Yeah, Ben hasn't had a turn yet," Habeeba pipes up.

"Oh, right," Ben says, slightly reserved. His friends notice, but the others don't. Holly and Miriam begin to teach him how to ride a horse while some of the others practice riding again.

"I don't think he wants to learn," Yasmina says, concerned for her friend.

"I think it just reminds him of Bumpy," Sammy hisses in the athlete's ear.

Sure enough, riding a horse reminded the boy of his Ankylosaurus pet. Memories come flooding back and make Ben tear up as he rides. Oh, how he missed his friend on Isla Nublar. She was his first pet, and his best pet… her and Princess. How could he just leave her? He needed her… he needed her for survival…

Flashbacks to the time after he fell and was practically immovable in the jungles come back. The Compies coming for him…

A sound in the bushes next to him made Ben jump. He stared hard, scared of what was in the bushes. A lone Compy jumped out, tilting its head sinisterly.

"Ben?" Holly asks, walking next to the horse with him.

"Back!" Ben shouted. "Get back!" More Compies popped out and started creeping slowly towards him.

"Ben, are you okay?" Yasmina's voice comes, muffled slightly, like he was underwater.

Ben shakes his head, trying to clear it. He can hear the Compies hissing, their tiny claws moving them through the grass closer to him. Flashes of the jungle interfere with reality.

"Maybe you should get off," Holly suggests, touching Ben.

He startles, spooking the horse. "Felicity, calm down!" Sandra says, rushing over to help her beloved horse.

"Sandra, no!" Holly exclaims, holding onto the reins and trying to calm down the horse as she snorts in panic. Justin practically picks Ben up and helps him down, eliminating the horse's source of anxiety.

"Woah," Mr. Gutierrez arrives, hearing the commotion. He helps his oldest calm the horse before she could do too much damage.

"Ben, what happened?" Darius asks, getting up to meet his friend.

"I can't do it," Ben mumbles panickedly, his hands shaking with anxiety. "I can't make it on my own. I didn't make it on my own. I can't, I can't."

"It's okay," Yasmina assures him, grabbing his shoulders and leading him to sit down on the bench between her and Darius. "You're not on the island anymore."

"I need her," Ben says hoarsely.

"She's right there," Shelby says, pointing to Yasmina. She thought he was referring to the athlete.

"We can call your Mom if you need," Brandon offers.

"Ben, you're safe and you don't need her," Darius says soothingly, knowing exactly who Ben was referring to. "God gave her to you at that time to help comfort and protect you, but she was there for a season. You're strong now."

Ben sighs shakily. "What if I can't make it without Bumpy?"

"You have God's protection, not Bumpy's," Sammy assures him. "Bumpy was sent by God to help you, I believe."

"You're not alone," Yasmina says, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

Ben inhales shakily and uses his breathing exercises. "Can you find my Bible verses for anxiety on my phone? It's in one of my notes."

Yasmina opens his phone, having figured out the password a while ago, and hands it to Sammy. "Psalm 94:19. Romans 8:38 through 39. 1 Corinthians 7:32. Isaiah 35:4. Do you want me to look those up or do you have them memorized by heart?"

"I don't, look them up," Ben says, taking steadier breaths as his anxiety attack subsides.

Sammy reads him verse after verse that continually helps his anxiety fade. Five minutes later, he wasn't shaking and could breathe normally.

"Is everything okay here?" Ben's mother asks, coming up behind him and leaning against the railing.

"Just… had an anxiety attack," Ben sighs.

"He misses Bumpy," Brooklynn informs her.

His mother sighs. "We were already going to do this today, but that absolutely settles it. We're getting you a pet."

"What?" Ben asks in confusion, before remembering the conversation. "Mom, no, I don't need to replace Bumpy."

"We're not replacing Bumpy, for the hundredth time," his mother pinches the bridge of her nose. "We're getting you a pet who can act as emotional support. Can you please be open to the idea?"

Ben gives Yasmina a look of annoyance. She shrugs with a small smile. "Can I come with you guys?" she asks.

"Sure," Ben's mother nods. "Anyone else want to come?"

"I'll come," Brooklynn offers.

"Rather not deal with puppies jumping up on me," Darius laughs. "I've seen Roxie before. The dog," he clarifies as Kenji gives him a look of confusion.

"I'll stay here with the horses," Sammy says.

"I'll stick with them," Kenji shrugs.

"Okay, come on, let's go," Mrs. Pincus says, beckoning the girls and Ben to follow her to the car.

The girls chatter about the possibilities on the way to the pet store. "Labradors are apparently one of the best breeds for ESA pets," Brooklynn informs him. "Yorkshire Terriers are good, too."

"Too small," Ben grumbles from the backseat.

"Poodles are good, too," Yasmina says, reading the list from Brooklynn's phone. "And… Chi-ha-has?"

"Ch-Chihuahuas, you mean?" Brooklynn laughs.

"Yeah, that breed," the athlete laughs. "I forgot how to pronounce it. But it's spelled Chi-ha-ha!"

"Chi-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Superstar tries to say but starts laughing.

"Too small again," Ben sighs.

"You could go for a cat, maybe," Yasmina suggests.

He looks at her. "I've already declined dogs that are too small, Yaz."

"Fair enough," she shrugs. "Golden retrievers are on the list, too."

"German Shepherd," Ben crosses his arms and looks out the window.

"That's not on here," Brooklynn says, taking her phone back.

"They're great guard and attack dogs," Ben says.

"Ben, you'd need a dog that can be compassionate and empathetic to your emotional state," his mother says, looking at him from the rearview mirror. "You wouldn't mind a golden retriever, would you?"

"I don't particularly want any breed," Ben growls. "But if I have to get a dog, I'd like something that can be protective."

"German Shepherds can be trained to be ESAs," Brooklynn says. "Any dog can, there's just particular breeds that tend to be better suited for it. Oh my gosh, Yaz, can't you see Darius and Ben being golden retrievers if they were dogs?"

Yasmina laughs. "Yesss, they would!"

"I feel like you'd be a German Shepherd, Yaz," Brooklynn snickers, glancing at Ben. "They're loyal, stubborn, courageous, and alert. And pretty athletic and strong."

"Sounds like me," the athlete grins.

"Kenji is definitely a Husky," Brooklynn laughs. "Energetic and playful. In the movies, they're strong and loyal, but in reality, they're the biggest drama queens."

"Also, live to annoy you," Yasmina adds. "And they talk a lot."

"Definitely a Husky," Brooklynn chuckles. "I feel like Darius is a mix of a German Shepherd and a golden retriever, because he has traits of both."

"True," Yasmina nods.

"I can see Ben being a golden retriever, Bullmastiff mix," Brooklynn says. "Bullmastiffs are docile and reliable as well as powerful. They're more likely to knock you around with their strength then to bite."

"A.k.a. Ben headbutting his enemies cause he thinks he's an Ankylosaurus," Yasmina teases.

"Shut up," Ben rolls his eyes with a smirk.

"Sammy's a purebred golden retriever," Brooklynn laughs. "What am I?"

"A fox," Yasmina grins. "Sly and cunning, but beautiful and exotic."

"Aww," Brooklynn giggles.

They arrive at the kennel and look around. Ben, Yasmina, and Brooklynn look at the puppies while Ben's mother asks about adopting a puppy. The girls aww and laugh at the energetic puppies barking and moving around in their crates. Ben stands there, arms crossed, not wanting to pick out a dog. "Come on," Brooklynn says. "It's not that bad. You'll have a tiny, lively companion to come with you."

"I want Bumpy," Ben mumbles, lowering his head sadly. Tears start to flow as he misses his Ankylosaurus companion.

A soft bark grabs his attention. There was a crate with three puppies in it. The other two were energetic, sniffing around and barking at the other dogs. The third one was staring at him, sticking her muzzle through the bars and gazing up at him with soulful eyes. Ben kneels down in front of her. She had an athletic, muscular build about her, and a large, bushy tail. She had a fluffy, golden coat and deep brown, expressive eyes. Her head was a mixture of two breeds, but Ben couldn't guess which ones. They looked familiar, though. The most peculiar part about her was her ears. Her left ear flopped over like a Golden retriever while her right ear stood up like a German Shepherd. "She's gotta be a mix of the two," Ben thinks to himself.

"Hey," Ben says quietly, holding out his hand for the puppy to lick. She licks his hands, then stands up on her hind legs to get closer to his face. Ben takes off his glasses and leans forward, and she begins to lick away his tears.

"Aww," the girls squeal.

"She's telling you not to cry," Yasmina grins.

"Her asymmetrical ears are so cute," Brooklynn giggles, before stopping with realization. "Ben?"

Ben wasn't listening after that comment. Now he couldn't unsee Bumpy in this cute, empathetic puppy. Part of him wanted to leave and never see her again because of her resemblance to Bumpy. The other part of him wanted to keep her because she was a reminder of his past pet.

"That's Flopsy," the kennel employee chuckles. "She's a German Shepherd, golden retriever mix. There might be more in there, but we're not sure. She's a mutt, not a designer breed. Found on the street with her other two littermates."

Ben looks at Yasmina. "Too close, too close," he thinks.

"Sounds a little unoriginal," Brooklynn chuckles.

"Her littermates are Mopsy and Cottontail, like Peter Rabbit's siblings," the employee explains.

"Too close to Bumpy," Ben thinks, his heart breaking with sadness as he looks into the deep, soulful eyes of Flopsy.

"Is she protective like a German Shepherd?" Yasmina asks.

"She's displayed characteristics of both breeds," the employee says. "Would you like to play with her?"

The women look at Ben. He is silent. Finally, he says: "Yeah, let's see what she's like."

They're brought to a room and Ben sits down on the concrete. Flopsy is let in and she immediately heads over to Ben, laying her head down in his lap and staring up at him. Ben starts laughing through his tears, and her ears perk up. She stands up and starts energetically licking his face.

"If you're looking for an emotional support dog, she'd be a great choice," the lady says, closing the door. "If one of us is crying while cleaning out the cages, she'll try to come to us. She won't perk up until we're laughing and happy."

"That's adorable," Ben's mother smiles, watching her son play with the puppy. "How old is she?"

"About five months old," the employee says.

"Hey, Brooklynn, now might be a good time to be sad," Yasmina says, wanting to test Flopsy's sensitivity.

"That's the thing, Yaz," Brooklynn says. "I'm always sad." She proceeds to laugh at her pop culture reference.

Yasmina laughs. "Fine, I'll do it." After thinking for a minute, she is able to cry semi-believable tears.

Flopsy's ears swivel and she trots over to Yasmina, resting her paws on the athlete's chest and licking her small tears. Yasmina starts giggling and awwing and the puppy perks up. Barking, she runs around in circles, wanting to play.

"Well, is this the one?" Ben's mother asks.

Ben thinks for a moment. His mother was set on giving him a puppy, and while he was originally against it… Flopsy reminded him of Bumpy… and not really in a bad way… He was starting to fall for her. "Yeah, she's the one."

The girls squeal with love as the adoption files are completed. "You like her?" Ben's mother asks.

Ben looks at the furry puppy sitting in his lap so that she could hang her head out the car window. "Yeah," he reluctantly smiles.

---

"Hey, Sammy!" Lucy exclaims, running up to her friend.

Sammy startles. "When did y'all get here?"

"Just now," Sage laughs. "We decided to surprise you with a hangout."

"Oh, that's nice," Sammy laughs, internally panicking as Kenji wasn't too far away. "I like your rings, Harper."

The punk styled girl shows off her glittering, silver rings on each finger. "Thanks."

"Who's that?" Bell asks, noticing Yasmina's younger brother.

"Oh, friends are over," Sammy says.

"Hold up," Harper laughs. "Are those the boys y'all were talkin' about Thursday?"

The girls turn around. Brandon, Milton, Ghaleb, and Kenji were throwing a football around. "Throw it back, Kenji!" Brandon calls.

Kenji puts his hands on his knees and begins to contort his back like he was having a seizure. "No, throw it back like the football, not twerking!" Brandon cackles as the other boys wheeze.

"Why are you so into this lately?" Milton asks.

"I'M SLEEP DEPRIVED!" Kenji shouts.

"Sometimes I question the company my sister keeps," Ghaleb plants his hands on his hips and hangs his head, laughing.

"I could totally throw it back, but I'd much rather look like a barfing dog," Kenji laughs. "You know, arched back, then hulech!" Kenji says, exaggeratedly throwing out his behind and making retching sounds.

"That's the guy you like, Lucy?" Harper teases.

"Lawd, you could not have timed that better," Sammy laughs in her head. "Come on, let's go meet them."

Her friends follow in confusion.

"You know how there were others on the island with me, right?" Sammy asks. "Well, because we got separation anxiety and we can't just up and leave the ranch, they decided to move down here. So these are some of my camp friends. This is Darius."

"Hey," Darius says, shaking the hands of Sammy's friends as they introduce themselves.

"He was our heroic leader on the island," Sammy praises. "Over 'ere is his older brother Brandon. Brooklynn is one of the others, but she's not here right now. Milton's her older brother."

"Sup," the boy says, pushing his hair back in a way that he thought was smooth.

"That's Kenji, our awesome second in command," Sammy grins, masking her internal fear of her friends meeting him.

Kenji over exaggeratedly smooths back his hair. "What's up, ladies?" he says, goofily trying to look hot.

"Oh, we've seen you at school," Lucy says, shyly brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Did Sammy not talk about all of us?" Kenji asks.

"We've been busy with school," Sammy says. "And when they'd bring up the island, it'd cause flashbacks, so I didn't say much." "Was also scared that you guys would steal him…"

"Oh, in that case, I'm Kenji, Sammy's… what do you call it?" he asks. "Oh! Unofficial official boyfriend. Or was it an official unofficial boyfriend?"

Her friends reactions were quite satisfying. "Wait, what?!" Lucy exclaims. "When did this happen?"

"Why didn't you say anything?" Sage asks. "I'm so happy for you!"

"I figured that you knew him," Bell nods. "Considering that he appeared the same time you came back to school and the way you reacted when Lucy said he had a crush on him."

"Oh, no, I'll find another guy like I always do," Lucy says. "You can have him. He peed on your leg."

"I should hope he didn't actually," Harper's face contorts in disgust.

"You mean, like a dog marking his territory?" Bell asks, stifling her giggles.

"Yeah, she's his territory," Lucy says.

Kenji laughs. "Well, thanks?"

"He better treat you right," Harper says. "I'll join your older sisters in protecting you."

"How did you know Holly threatened him?" Sammy asks.

"Because she threatens all the boys who come near you," Harper laughs.

Kenji makes a funny face. "Aw, I'm not special."

"Hey, she's tolerating ya, yer special," Sammy laughs.

"Eh, he's just good at pretending," Milton sneers.

"You wanna go, bruh?!" Kenji challenges, putting up his fists and hopping around Milton. "You wanna throw hands, huh?!" He jumps up and kicks his legs back, then winces. "Ow, I hit my broken toe with my finger. I think I broke my finger…"

"It's a mystery you've survived Isla Nublar," Milton shakes his head in disappointment.

"I'm too dumb to live," Kenji shrugs. "Yet somehow, I'm here."

"Nobody can be too dumb to live and still live," Milton crosses his arms.

"Therefore, I am nobody," Kenji grins obnoxiously.

"Surprised your Papa let such an immature boy near you," Harper scoffs.

"He's mature, just not around certain people," Sammy explains. "Yaz and Milton. They're like siblings to him and he becomes a six year old around them. Yaz literally threatened to castrate him not too long ago and he continued to annoy her."

"Who's Yaz?" Sage asks.

"That's Yaz, the brunette," Sammy points up at her friends as they come down the hill. "Brooklynn's the bleached hair one, and Ben's—AWW!"

The group converges on Ben's new puppy. "She's Flopsy," Brooklynn explains as the puppy goes wild with the attention she's getting. Formalities and greetings are forgotten in the presence of the puppy, and Sammy forgets her fears.

Later that night, Sammy's phone starts ringing. She is startled and immediately answers it. "Hello?" she asks sleepily.

"Hey, you okay?" Kenji asks.

Sammy rubs her eyes and lets her head flop back against the pillow. "Yeah, just awoken by your call. I'm glad I turned the volume down, although Holly and Miriam are pretty deep sleepers. Yaz, too, apparently."

She looks over at the athlete, who was dead asleep next to her. Once again, they had rotated houses. Yaz was staying with Sammy, while Kenji was with Darius and Ben was spending time with Brooklynn. Sammy had a feeling his plan was to pray over her in the middle of the night.

"Sorry, I just…" Kenji apologizes. "It seemed like something was bothering you earlier, and I've been thinking about it for a while. I just wanted to check on you."

"What did you think was bothering me?" Sammy asks.

"When your friends came over earlier," Kenji says. "It… It seemed like you were forcing a smile. The way you do when you don't want others to know how you feel."

Sammy bites her lip.

"Is something going on between you and your friends?" Kenji asks. "Are you mad at Lucy for crushing on me?"

"No, it's not really her fault," Sammy sighs. "I… I haven't really talked about y'all. You and the others. I honestly just didn't want to talk too much about the island, and it's easier to talk about y'all when they've met you in person. The only experience I got with y'all is on the island and I didn't want to break down at school."

"Understandable," Kenji laughs. He's quiet for a bit. "Are you sure you're not bothered by your friends?"

"You know me too well," Sammy sighs.

"That's kinda how friendship gets to be," Kenji chuckles.

Sammy groans. "I… in the past, nice guys have liked me, then met my friends and fallen for them. They're actually allowed to date, so…"

"Those girls?" Kenji asks.

"No, past friends," Sammy sputters. "I just… it's happened more than once where I've attracted a guy, and then once he finds a really nice girl in my friend group, he moves on. I don't know why, but it's… it makes me nervous to introduce you to my friends."

"Sam, you don't have to worry about that," Kenji assures her. "Lucy's a little too ditsy for me, anyway. You're the only one for me."

"I know I don't have to worry, and it's the most illogical thing ever," Sammy groans. "It's so stupid!"

"Sammy," Kenji starts.

"I was even a little nervous when you were staying with Yaz," Sammy admits. "Which is stupid; you guys are like brother and sister. I don't get jealous when you're with Brooklynn, I don't know why it happened with Yaz… It's just stupid! I know you don't feel anything for Yaz other than an incessant need to annoy her."

"Are you jealous of her?" Kenji asks.

Sammy looks over at the athlete. "I guess… I am jealous of how beautiful she is…"

"It's not just about looks, Sam," Kenji says. "You're super beautiful, and as much as I love Yaz, I can't see her as anything more than a younger sister who's hilarious to provoke."

Sammy giggles.

"It is illogical, but don't beat yourself up," Kenji says. "It's hard to decondition yourself. I still don't fully trust my father to stick around… Give yourself a break. Don't think that we're going to betray you or go behind your back, but don't hate yourself for worrying."

"Thank ya, Kenj," Sammy sniffs. "I'm glad ya called me up."

"Charlie's with me," Yasmina mumbles in her sleep, making Sammy stop.

"Who?" Sammy asks. Yasmina doesn't answer. "Who's with you?"

"What?" Kenji asks.

"Yaz just said 'Charlie's with me,'" Sammy informs him.

"Who's Charlie?"

"I don't know, she won't answer!"

"Think it's the hallucination demon she sees in her sleep?"

"That's not helping me sleep!"

Kenji chuckles. "Want me to stay on the phone until you fall asleep? You know, in case Charlie comes for you?"

"Stop it," Sammy laughs, slightly nervous. "That would help though."

Kenji stayed on the phone for another thirty minutes before Sammy began to feel tired and hung up.

The next day, Sammy, Darius, and Ben head to church with their families. Brooklynn and Kenji head over to the ranch to see Yasmina. They find her sitting on the couch, staring into the distance depressedly. "So, how's Charlie?" Kenji asks as he walks in.

Yasmina turns in horror. "How?!"

"Sammy and I were talking when you said that," Kenji explains, making her sigh with relief.

"Huh?" Brooklynn's good eye darts between them in confusion.

Kenji explains what happened as he flops down next to Yasmina. "I suggested that it was her sleep demon and Sammy got freaked out."

"That's mean," Brooklynn laughs, sitting down on the other side of the athlete.

"So, what we gonna do?" Kenji asks.

"Be depressed," Yasmina jokes half-heartedly. Brooklynn seconds the motion.

"Okay, I'm depressed," Kenji says, crossing his legs on the couch and leaning forward, staring into the distance in fake sadness. "I'm so sad. Everyone hates me. I'm not pretty."

The girls start laughing. "You sound like a middle school boy who's pretending to be depressed for attention," Yasmina snickers.

"It's the 'I'm not pretty,' for me," Brooklynn laughs.

"That's what you guys sound like," Kenji argues.

"No we don't," Yasmina grins.

"Well, not right now, cause I'm making you laugh," the boy argues. "You two are both gorgeous and both loved to bits. No more depression, K?"

"Okay," Brooklynn laughs, crossing her arms. "Do that depressed imitation again."

Kenji leans forward again pretending to be sad, but leans forward too far. He scrambles to catch himself when he realizes this but misses the coffee table. His chin smacks onto the edge of the tabel, saved by the Bible conveniently laying there. The boy is able to put his hands on the ground to avoid contorting his neck in a painful way. "Lil help?" he asks, stuck.

Yasmina pulls him up back onto the couch with a laugh. "Don't know why you're still alive after some of the stuff you do," Brooklynn giggles.

"Magic," he answers.

Yasmina picks up the Bible and looks it over. "Hopefully you didn't ruin the Gutierrez's holy book."

"Love you how you guys hangout in someone else's house when they're not here," Ghaleb says, walking through the front door.

"It's sort of my home now since my house isn't finished being built," Kenji grins cheekily. "We have all the frames ups right now, so it's coming along."

"Whatcha got there?" Ghaleb asks, leaning over his sister from behind the couch.

"The Gutierrez's Bible," Yasmina shows him. "Not sure why they believe it. When Ben reads it, it just sounds like a bunch of random stories that make no sense."

"Read it," Brooklynn says. "See what it says."

Yasmina flips through the Bible at random and lands on a page. "Let's see… What does the Almighty God have to say to us today… Wait… Your thighs shelter a paradise of pomegranates?!"

"What?!" Kenji exclaims in confusion. "Read the sentence before it."

"You are my private garden, my treasure, my bride," Yasmina rads, her face contorted in confusion and horror. "A secluded spring, a hidden forest. Your thighs shelter a paradise of pomegranates, henna with nard, nard with saffron. What?! What's nard?!"

"Sounds… romantic?" Ghaleb laughs.

Yasmina skips around. "My lover is like a sachet of myrrh lying between my breasts?!" the athlete grimaces in disgust.

"I didn't know this was in here!" Brooklynn laughs. "I thought they were supposed to be pure and then this is in here?!"

"You are slender like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters of fruit?!" Yasmina holds the book out at arms length in disgust before bringing it back. "I said, 'I will climb the palm tree and take hold of its fruit?!'"

Kenji is a wheezing, suffocating mess next to her. "T-t-t-that pa-a-a-aints such-ch-ch-ch a f-f-f-funny-y-y-y-y pi-i-i-icture!" he exclaims through his laughter.

"What the h*** is this?!" Yasmina exclaims. "Oh, I wish you were my brother, who nursed at my mothers breasts. Then I could kiss you no matter who was watching, and no one would criticize me?!"

Ghaleb falls down behind the couch and Kenji rolls off it. "Uh, if I saw someone double lip locking their brother, you bet I'd judge you!" Yasmina exclaims in horror.

"That's pretty-y-y-y-y disturbing," Brooklynn says, despite the fact that her face was red from lack of oxygen.

"I was a virgin, like a wall; now breasts are like towers?!" Yasmina sputters.

"They WHAT?!" Kenji exclaims from his spot on the floor.

"I'm done, I don't know what the heck I'm reading," Yasmina says, putting the Bible back on the table and raising her hands in exasperation.

The teens hang out and wait for their friends to come back. Holly walks through the door first and stops. "What are y'all doing here?"

"Waiting for you guys," Brooklynn says.

"This ain't your house," Holly says as the rest of her family comes in.

"Technically, you guys said you'd watch me while my house was being built, so this is sort of my home right now," Kenji argues.

"Fair point," Mrs. Gutierrez chuckles.

"What did you guys do while we were gone?" Sammy asks, allowing Ben to push her over the threshold.

The three look at Yasmina to explain. "I don't know what sort of sexy, fruity crap you believe, but you ain't convincing me!" she exclaims, slapping the couch.

Ben, Darius, and Sammy stare in confusion.

"You're slender like a palm tree and your breasts are like fruit," Kenji reads, exaggeratedly poetic. "I will climb up the palm tree and take a hold of its fru-u-u-uit!" he collapses into a wheezing mess.

"Ohhh, Song of Songs," Sammy laughs. "Me and my sisters would stay up at night laughing at that book."

"I can't take that book seriously," Darius laughs, sitting down next to Brooklynn.

"It's letters written between King Solomon and his bride," Ben says.

"I thought you guys were supposed to be pure," Brooklynn laughs.

"The book encourages you to not awaken love until the time is right," Sammy says. "A.k.a. wait until marriage."

"All I remember is fruits and incest," Yasmina quirks an eyebrow as Ben sits next to her.

"Of course," Ben laughs.

"So, besides being traumatized by the Bible, what else did you guys do?" Sammy asks.

"Combat depression," Kenji answers as Ghaleb chases Sammy's younger sisters, who had been pestering him.

"How's that been going?" Darius asks.

"I've seen better days," Brooklynn sighs. "I've also seen worse days, so I'd say the past few days have been pretty good."

"Same," Yasmina nods.

"How's Charlie?" Ben asks.

"What? So everyone knows about this supposed 'Charlie' now?!" Yasmina snaps while laughing.

"It was funny!" Sammy laughs. "Seriously, though, how's your sleep paralysis?"

"Been better," she sighs. "The hallucinations have gotten worse since the island. I think it's like combining nightmares with hallucinations."

"Any self harm, for either of you two?" Kenji asks.

"Way too busy goofing off," Brooklynn chuckles.

"Are we just having a group therapy session or something?" Yasmina asks.

"Yes," Sammy nods.

"So tell me, Miss Fadoula, what seems to be bothering you," Kenji says, pretending to write in a notebook.

Yasmina maneuvers herself to lay across the couch and over her friends legs. "Sometimes I just feel blue, you know?" she says, making the others laugh. "Eh, I'm fine," Yasmina chuckles, lying. "I've told you guys about my hallucinations. You guys tell me something you're worried about."

"The court case," Sammy murmurs, making the carefree mood fall. "I just hope they see justice served… for those they hurt… for us… for the guards who tried to help me."

"There's no way we can't win," Kenji says. "All the evidence says they were criminals. They told our families that we were all destroyed beyond repair, and brought back evidence that they found you, but you're still alive. Plus, they found dinos stolen when their camp was searched. There's no way they're not guilty."

"They have enough money they might be able to bribe the judges and jury…" Sammy mumbles.

"Let's just pray that they don't get away with that," Ben sighs. "There's nothing else we can do."

"Murder," Yasmina suggests solemnly.

"No, that's fighting fire with fire," Ben scolds, making her smile.

"Drawing solves my mental problems, while a knife or a bow and arrow solve my other problems," she grins.

"Bad Yaz!" Brooklynn scolds, swatting her friend's head. "Mo nurder! I mean, no murder!"

The group laughs. "So, what mental and emotional problems are solved by drawing?" Darius asks.

"None, as of right now," she mutters.

"What would those be?" Brooklynn asks.

Yasmian bites her lip. "I think the biggest issue right now is… I don't know…"

"What?" Kenji presses.

"I guess…" she sighs. "I guess guilt… and self hatred… I feel like my problems are a ball of yarn. No, yarn balls are wound up in an orderly fashion and are easy to unravel. My problems are like taking a bunch of string, throwing it in a pile, and then tumbling it around until you can't tell which string is what. And it's so hard to unravel those… sometimes it takes so long to find the end of one string that several more are added to the pile."

"Those are super frustrating," Sammy nods. "Especially if the strings are tied and knotted together. Me and my sisters sow sometimes… sometimes you just want to give up and throw away the mess all together."

"That's exactly how I feel sometimes," Yasmina sighs.

"Me, too," Brooklynn nods. "That's a good analogy."

"Sometimes you need another pair of eyes and hands to help you unravel that stringy mess," Ben says. "Like with a jigsaw puzzle."

"You guys can come to us with your messes and we can try to help you make sense of it," Darius says. "Can't guarantee that we'll solve it all, since only you guys know truly what's going on in there, but we'll always be there."

"Sometimes we don't truly know everything," Brooklynn says, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Sometimes there's little strings in the middle causing tangles that you can't find until you remove other stuff."

Yasmina yelps in surprise, sitting up straight. "Flopsy," she sputters with relief. Ben's new puppy barks and licks the amputee's leg again.

"All of the sudden, I felt this cold tongue on my… stump," Yasmina sighs, grimacing at the mention of her disability.

"We can call it the leg hammer," Kenji says. "I can't believe you haven't kicked me with it."

"I tried yesterday," she informs him. "We can call it the Kenji castrator."

The group chuckles. "Is that something tied up in your string?" Ben asks.

"Maybe," the athlete says vaguely.

"Are you going to get a prosthetic?" Brooklynn asks. "It's healed up enough I bet that you could get one."

"I don't want to," she mumbles.

"Why not? Don't you want to get back to running?" Sammy asks.

"What's the point?" Yasmina murmurs. "Even with a prosthetic, I won't be as good. Why try?"

Her friends looked at each other, a bit shocked that the athlete still hadn't found her desire to run. It was concerning… They had assumed that she would start to feel better and regain that desire, but there was still nothing. Would she ever be the same?

"How are your legs, Sam?" the athlete asks, changing the subject.

"I can feel things, but it's still numb," the cowgirl sighs. "My physical therapist says that I have an incomplete SCI, which means I still have neural pathways that aren't damaged. It's good because I have a higher chance of recovery the more neural pathways that are fine. She's given me some physical therapy exercises to strengthen my legs."

"Have you been doing them?" Darius asks.

"Yeah," Sammy sighs. "Not often, though. I find that we've been pretty busy, and I can't find the time to do them."

"Maybe you can prioritize them," Yasmina says. "You don't want to get atrophy."

"She suggested trying aquatic therapy, but…" Sammy shivers. "I just can't take the idea of bein' in the water with only half of my body workin'..."

"Yeah, well, try the physical exercises your therapist gives you," Darius encourages her worryingly. "Let's get you back on your feet."
"How have you been?" Sammy asks. "Still worrying about the rest of us."

"Well… I don't think I'll ever stop worrying about you guys," he says.

"That's not healthy," Ben says.

"Well, in a good way," Darius argues. "Like when you were on the horse. I was worried cause it caused you distress. I'm empathetic."

"It just reminded me of Bumpy," Ben says, petting Flopsy. The puppy makes Yasmina and Kenji grunt as she jumps up on top of them to get to her owner. "I miss the dinos."

"I miss them, too," Yasmina sighs. "Rima was the first pet I can truly remember…"

"Yeah, I wish we could've brought them back here," Kenji murmurs.

"Brought who back here?" Shelby pops up behind him.

"Our dino pets," he grins.

"Ooh, what dino pets?' she asks, sitting down on Sammy's lap.

"Well, we had several," Kenji laughs.

"Tell us about the first one," Sandra says, sitting on top of Yasmina.

"I think you made a fatal mistake," Brooklynn laughs as Yasmina's siblings arrive and join the hangout. Habeeba sits on Ben's lap, and Jabari sits on Yasmina's stomach.

"Hey!" Yasmina protests, trying to push her brother off.

"What's wrong?" Ghaleb grins, sitting on her chest and laying across Darius.

"That's not nice," Darius says.

"Sorry, am I lying on your cast?" Ghaleb asks in concern.

"Oh, you care about him?!" Yasmina wheezes. "How bout me? I can't breathe!"

Ghaleb gets up and sits down on Habeeba and Ben. "Ghaleb, stop it!" she giggles.

"And now you're squeezing me," Ben gags.

"Oh, is this a group cuddling session?" Brandon says as he and Milton arrive.

"Come on, join the party!" Kenji says, imitating Gobber the Belch.

The two newcomers somehow squeeze themselves in. Between the mild sized couch, large number of bodies, and the squirming puppy, it was very crowded. "I have Sammy all to myself," Shelby says proudly, making the group laugh.

"Somehow, group cuddle sessions don't end well," Brooklynn laughs.

"At least they end with good chaos instead of death," Darius says, more free than the rest due to his cast. "I'd take good chaos over death any day."

"You can say that again," Sammy laughs.

"Amen," Ben wheezes.

"Ah, a dog pile, I see," Yasmina's father says. "Mind if I join?"

"Nooo!" Yasmina protests, practically on the bottom. The group laughs and disassembles to allow others to breathe, then spend the rest of their Sunday goofing off and teasing each other. It was a much needed break from their stress, anxiety, and problems. And they were thankful for it.