Camp Cretaceous: Survival

by Gj02

This story highlights themes of courage, friendship, love, and sacrifice as six teens work together to keep each other alive on Isla Nublar after being left behind during the Jurassic World incident.

12. Lies

CHAPTER 12: Lies

A/N: Howdy all, this chapter took a little longer than I expected...it also turned out to be my longest one yet. I hope it was worth the wait. Also I just wanna thank my fans and commenter, it's ya'll that keep me writing.

Also this chapter contains one particularly graphic scene so be warned and skip over it if you have a weak stomach.

Thanks again!

---

"Oh my God, why does it hurt so bad?" Kenji moaned to himself, having just woken up from his nap.

Thankfully he was alone in the room, writhing back and fourth across the bed in agony.

"I can't do this…I just can't do this." He whimpered. "SAMMY….SAMMY, CAN YOU COME HERE?" He yelled at the closed door.

A moment later he could hear footsteps coming closer.

"Sammy, do you….wait, your not Sammy." He said as the door opened.

"Figured that out all on your own, did ya?" Yasmina smirked.

"Ugh, I'm in too much pain to deal with your crap. Where's Sammy?" He groaned.

"Gone, she and Darius and getting supplies and Brooklynn's resting, so looks like you're stuck with me." She taunted.

"Fine, whatever, do you know where she put that Vicodin at least?" He asked, desperation edging in his voice.

"Haven't seen it, it's probably in her pocket." She guessed. "I can get you some Ibuprofen though."

"That ain't gonna do nothin, I need that Vicodin." He insisted.

Yasmina's eyes narrowed a bit.

"How often are you taking those?" She asked.

"Just when the pain gets too bad, why?" He asked a bit defensively.

"You really should be careful with that. Pain relief isn't the only thing those kinda pills are capable of." She warned.

"What are you trying to say?" He asked, his face contorting to a bit of a glare.

"Look" She started, her face growing serious. "All I'm saying is pills like those can suck you in without you even realizing it's happening….I've seen it. That's not something you can afford to let happen here. We all need to be clear headed all the time….or the cost could be someone's life."

Kenji's glare softened a bit.

"Yaz, I appreciate the concern, but I promise you I'm not just trying to get high. I got half my skin burned off and it hurts more than you can imagine, Ibuprofen just isn't going to work for me. I'll only take them untill the pain gets better and then I'll stop…never know, someone else might end up needing them worse than me." He promised.

"I really hope that's true Kenji..for all of our sakes, but I will be watching, and if I so much as get the feeling that something else is happening, I will shut that crap down right then and there, by any means necessary. Believe it or not, I actually kinda care about you and I absolutely will not stand by and watch you go down that path……never again." She declared.

"What do you mean again?" He questioned.

"Doesn't matter." She said, holding up her hand to cut him off. "Are we clear?"

"Crystal…except for one more thing." He answered.

"Which is?" She sighed rolling her eyes.

"Since when did you start caring about me?" He grinned.

The corners of Yasmina's mouth turned up slightly, transforming her deadly serious stare into an amused smirk.

"Probably has something to do with all my recent head injuries." She teased. "Unless maybe you're starting to grow on…..nope…it must be the head injuries."

Kenji just stared at her for a second before bursting into laughter, which immediately sent jolts of pain through him.

"OW!...Don't make me laugh you witch!...you did that on purpose!" He cried.

"Witch?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Oh Kenji, if I was a witch you would sooooooo be a toad by now." She snickered.

"Oh no, not falling for it this time." He said, completely deadpan.

Yasmina chuckled to herself again, almost seeming a bit disappointed.

"Okay, okay…I'm done. Let me go get you some Ibuprofen, it may not stop the pain, but maybe it will at least take the edge off." She offered.

"Alright fine." He relented. "It's worth a try."

Kenji watched as the athlete turned and left the room, closing the door gently behind her. He knew she meant well, but he couldn't help but be a little hurt that she thought that he was so weak.

"Worried I'll get addicted to pain killers…psht!...I only use them when I need them, and that's how the doctors say to use them, you can't get addicted if you're only using them the way you're supposed to." He argued to himself. "Besides, what does she know about it anyway? Nothing, that's what! She's just busting my chops because that's what we do to each other……but then again, she did say she'd seen it happen….and that she wouldn't watch it happen again….so maybe she had a friend or something that got hooked on opiates. Maybe that's why she's so paranoid. Either way, that has nothing to do with me."

Kenji flopped his head over to look at the recliner that Sammy had slept in. He couldn't deny that he was a little sad she wasn't there at the moment. Not only did he genuinely miss her presence, but he also missed her support. She was the only person he'd ever met who always believed in him…..family included.

"Bet she would have had something to say to Yaz if she would have been here for that conversation." He thought.

Suddenly something white between the cushion and armrest of the recliner caught his eye.

"No way! Is that a pill bottle? Could it be?...oh please tell me that's the Vicodin." He thought excitedly.

Sitting up, he retrieved the medication, confirming that it was indeed Sammy's bottle of Vicodin. Without hesitation he opened the bottle and tapped a pill into his hand, tossing it into his mouth and swallowing it greedily.

"Maybe now I can finally get some relief." He thought.

Kenji lay back in the bed, confident in the fact that his pain would soon begin to melt away, though there was another feeling as well. He wasn't sure why but he seemed to have the slightest touch of guilt.

"I haven't done anything wrong, what do I have to feel guilty about?" He questioned himself. "Is it maybe because Yaz didn't want me to take these things anymore….that shouldn't make me feel guilty, it's not her choice and I'm not doing anything wrong. She was just being paranoid, If I was doing anything I shouldn't be, then Sammy would have told me."

Though he was fairly certain of himself, he couldn't shake the bad feeling. The fact that Yasmina didn't trust him burned in his mind and gave him a pit in his stomach. After everything, did she really have that little faith in him?

"Maybe she's right." He thought. "Maybe I would be better off with just Ibuprofen….I mean, it's working for her I guess, and Brooklynn for that matter."

Again he heard footsteps coming towards the master bedroom.

Glancing down at the bottle in his hand, he started to panic, though he wasn't sure why, shoving the narcotics under the covers as the door handle turned.

"Got some!" Yasmina called out, holding up her closed fist and approaching the bed. "I went ahead and got you four of them, you probably wouldn't even have felt one or two."

"Uh oh…she brought me water, she expects me to take them right now…should I take these with Vicodin? Will they mix?" He wondered.

"Um..thanks Yaz." He said as she dropped the pills into his open hand.

"Guess I'm gonna find out." He thought as he swallowed the medication.

"Hmm you brought me medication and a glass of water...admit it, I'm growing on ya." He joked.

"Ha! Yeah, like a fungus!" She laughed in return, plopping down in the recliner. "Just because I don't want to see you in pain…well, pain not caused by me anyway, or see you addicted to pills, in no way, shape, or form means you have a shot with me…..just so we're clear."

"What the…..shot with you?" Are you kidding? I may be reckless at times, but I'm not suicidal!"

"Oh calm down, I'm just messin with ya, I know that's not what you're going for. Although there does seem to be a lot of feelings floating around lately….barf." She said in a mock gag.

"Tell me about it." He huffed. "I just hope everyone remembers that we have bigger things to worry about right now, like not dying."

"That's true, but I don't think you need to worry too much, Darius and Sammy seem to have that under control." She reminded him.

"What supplies are they looking for anyway? And how long have they been gone?" He asked.

"They just left a little bit ago, shouldn't be gone long. They were looking for firewood so Sammy can cook." She informed him.

"Wait, firewood? Like from somewhere outside the hotel firewood? They seriously left the building? What the heck are they thinking?" He ranted.

"Ha totally get it, I kinda ripped their heads off when I found out about it." She admitted.

"But you still let them go?" He asked in irritation.

"Not excited about it, but they weren't wrong. We need cooking fires, and soon we'll have to scavenge for food, we can't lock ourselves away in the hotel forever." She explained.

"I know…but they're out there alone…what if something happens, what if they make a mistake?" He worried.

"They won't." She assured him.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because it's not just their lives on the line out there." She said sternly. "You really think after coming so close to losing Brooklynn, that Darius is gonna let her down? Let us down? You and Brooke wouldn't last a week alone in the condition you're in. That's why they made me stay, just in case….just in case something does happen, you two won't be left the fend for yourselves. Believe me, Darius is very much aware that all of our lives are riding on him and Sammy being able to provide…..I don't even think I could handle that kind of pressure, and he's the youngest of us all. Not to mention, he's been off since you guys got back."

"That's exactly what I'm worried about." He argued. "Darius hasn't been okay since Brooklynn almost died. He's trying to hide it, but it's obvious to everyone…even Brooke."

"When did she talk to you about that?" She asked.

"last night, I got up to go to the bathroom and then I checked on them. She was awake, so we talked for a bit." He explained.

"What did she have to say?" Yasmina asked, leaning forward.

"Not a whole lot. Just thanked me for what I did and talked about Darius. Poor girl is confused as heck. One minute she's convinced he's in love with her and the next, they are just friends." He complained.

"Yeah, same thing I got. Only it's obvious they're in love with each other, they're just scared of rejection." She confirmed.

"Maybe for Brooklynn, but I'm not sure that's what it is for Darius." He said.

"Wait, you don't think he likes her?" she asked, lowering her voice on the off chance Brooklynn was within earshot.

Kenji frowned at her, though the bandages were hiding most of his expressions.

"Of course I do, he's head over heels for her, that's not even a question. The reason they aren't together is because he's afraid of failure. He's got so much on his mind right now that he can barley fuction…how are you supposed to throw a romance on top of that?" He asked. "He's already afraid of failing us as a leader, failing us as a provider, as a protector….add in fear of failing Brooklynn as a boyfriend, and I'm pretty sure his head would explode." Kenji reasoned.

"You've got a point." Yaz sighed. "But I still think she should tell him how she feels, that way they are on the same page and not driving themselves crazy over the do they or don't they nonsense." She insisted.

"I get what you're saying, and I don't disagree, it's just I'm not sure now is the right time." He warned.

The sound a door closing and light footsteps ended the discussion.

"Darrius?" Brooklynn called from the living room. "Darius, are you here"?

Yasmina's eyes widened as she stared at Kenji, holding her finger up to her lips for silence.

"What the…wait..she doesn't know? You guys didn't tell her…did you?" Kenji whispered.

"Look, not my idea okay? But I guess she had some nightmare about Darius getting eaten, so he thought it was best to not tell her so she wouldn't worry." She hissed.

"Yeah, well getting eaten is gonna be the be the least of his worries if she finds out he went back to the jungle and didn't bother to tell her." He whispered back.

"I know but…." Yasmina stopped mid sentence as the bedroom door opened and Brooklynn hobbled in, hand pressed against her incision.

"Oh, here you guys are, I was starting to think I was alone for a second. Have either of you seen Darius?"

---

"You know she's gonna be furious if she finds out." Sammy warned as she and Darius quietly exited the lobby.

"Yeah, probably, I just..I just couldn't let her worry like that. I feel horrible about keeping it from her, but in the end it's probably best for her." Darius rationalized.

"Kinda doubt she'd feel the same about that." She argued as the pair flattened themselves against the exterior hotel wall.

Slowly Darius peeked around the corner, scanning for any moment.

"Clear!" He announced, continuing along the wall. "And yeah, your right, I know she wouldn't." He sighed.

"I mean, I get that you don't want her to worry, really, stress is the last thing she needs. But we do have extra walkies, you could have given her one like we did for Yaz, that way she could stay in contact and know we're okay." She continued.

"I know, I know, I should have. I was gonna tell her..I really was, but….after seeing her have that nightmare…..I just couldn't do it. I regret it now, but it is what it is and it's too late to change it." He concluded.

"Yeah, I guess your right." She agreed. "But speaking of Brooklynn, how are you dealing with what happened?"

"What, you mean the fact that she trusted me and I almost got her killed three separate times?" He asked sullenly.

"Darius, you know that's not fair." She argued. "That would be like holding me responsible for Kenji blowing himself up."

"No, it's completely different." He insisted. "He took that risk, all on his own, and made sure you were safe beforehand. I on the other hand, promised her she'd be okay…..and it was me that couldn't protect her….it was me that almost let her die."

The pair stopped at the back wall of the hotel, scanning the road and treeline for predators .

"I don't see anything." Darius muttered.

"Me either." Sammy agreed.

Sharing a quick nod of agreement, they bolted from the wall, through the back lot, and across the road into the jungle, joining up again behind a large tree.

"Darius, I know I wasn't there, but I also know you." Sammy started between breaths. "And I know how much Brooklynn means to you."

"Doubt it." He interrupted.

"Hmm, is that a topic you'd like to discuss right now?" She smiled, raising an eyebrow.

Darius just scowled at her.

"Anyway." She continued. "I know you did everything you could, and Brooklynn knows it too. There's no shame in doing your best."

"That's exactly the problem, I did my best and look what happened….I nearly killed her." He said, fighting to keep back the tears.

Sammy dropped the wood She had just picked up and stared at him.

"Wait…Do you seriously believe that?" She asked.

Darius refused to look at her.

"Darius! That's completely untrue, she wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you!" She nearly shouted.

"No, she's alive because of KENJI, she's hurt because of me!" He countered.

"Darius, we've been over this." She argued, pinching the bridge of her nose. "She's alive because of both of you. Kenji may have known how to get the pressure off her lungs, but she would have died long before we got there if you hadn't kept her calm and relaxed the way you did."

"But she wouldn't have even been in that position if it wasn't for me." He pushed.

Sammy shook her head sadly.

"I'm really sorry you feel that way Darius." She said, placing a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

"There's only one person he's gonna listen to….and I'm not her." She thought.

"I know it's not logical Sammy, but I can't help how I feel." He said, clasping his hand over hers. "But thank you for trying just the same."

Sammy sighed and gave him a half hearted smile.

"So.." He said brightly, in an obvious attempt to change the subject. "How about we find us some firewood."

"So, wanna make a pile right here and we'll haul back as much as we can carry?" She asked.

"Sounds like a plan, stay in sight and be sure to watch out for spiders and snakes." He warned.

"Darius, I'm from Texas….I'm already hardwired against spiders and snakes." She laughed.

"Right…well there's bullet ants, and poison dart frogs, and…."

"Darius!" She said, cutting him off. "I'll be fine. Stop worrying so much."

"You're right, You're right…sorry." He said, shaking his head and quickly turning away.

Sammy suppressed a chuckle and rolled her eyes as she headed towards a fallen tree.

"She's right, I know she's right. So why can't I get over this. This guilt is killing me." He thought.

Closing his eyes made it worse…much worse. In an instant he was back against that horrible grate, staring into the sparkling jade depths of Brooklynn's eyes. The panic they revealed eclipsed everything else. In a desperate attempt to escape, Darius forced his eyes open.

He was in the the jungle behind the hotel again, right where he was supposed to be. His mouth was dry, he was breathing too fast, his body gently rocking back and fourth with each breath.

He blinked a couple of times and shook his head, reaching down to pick up a branch.

"What the heck was that?" He wondered. "Panic attack? Flashback? Psychotic breakdown? Should I get Sammy? Am I okay? Is Brooklynn okay? What if that meant she's not? What if Somethings happening to her and I'm down here? Oh God please let her be okay."

Darius's breathing once again accelerated as his mind jumped from one horrible scenario to another. Dropping the branch, he stared up at the hotel.

"Get ahold of yourself, you checked on her right before you left and she was fine..well, a little flustered and weird but physically fine anyways."

He looked over at Sammy who had already deposited one armload of wood in the pile and was currently gathering a second.

"For crying out loud, I'm practically useless." He thought, staring down at his empty hands. "This right here is exactly why we can never be more than friends…no matter how we feel about each other. If I can't focus on anything but her now, how much worse would it be if we were actually together. I'd never be able to effectively lead us…..not if shes the only thing on my mind." The thought burned in the pit of his stomach and clawed its way up into his chest.

It wasn't what he wanted, not even close, but it was the way it would have to be. One thing was certain though. He wasn't about to tell her that any time soon. Not when she was still healing. The thought of having to break her heart made him even more sick to his stomach than the realization that they couldn't be together.

He prayed that her feelings were just infatuation, brought on by their shared trauma, that she wasn't beginning to fall for him….because deep down, he knew the opposite was true for himself.

"Poor guy." Sammy thought as she broke branches from the fallen tree. "He really feels like it's his fault."

She knew what Brooklynn and Darius had experienced together had taken a heavy toll, particularly on him, and she completely understood. She could never forget how she felt when she saw Kenji laying motionless in the vent after the fireball. She couldn't even imagine what it would have been like to sit there and helplessly hold him, just waiting for him to die.

She took a deep breath and glanced over at her friend.

"Look at him, even now, he can't focus…his minds either on her, or what they went through. I wonder if he even realizes he has PTSD?" She thought.

"He's gonna need to face this sooner or later, there's too much pressure. Their injuries, our supplies running low, the fact that it's been…..how long has it been?...and there hasn't even been a single helicopter. He's giving his all to keep everyone alive, but at this rate, if something doesn't happen soon….."

Sammy shook her head, trying to chase the thoughts away. She couldn't allow herself to think like that, no matter how logical it was. The team had come to depend on her positivity when things looked dark and even though staying positive in the face of so much adversity wasn't easy at times, she felt that keeping the others morale from falling too low was one of the best ways for her to make a difference.

Inside however, she was much less okay than she let on. Being the groups unofficial medic had its challenges. On this island, it seemed the injuries were never minor, everything was life and death and if she made a mistake, even a small one, it could easily cost one of her friends their life.

She was also burdened with knowledge. For instance, when Yasmina had been in the coma, she was the only one who realized just how much of a miracle her sudden wake up had been. Honestly that situation had been a horribly dark time in her mind. She knew all too well the chances of Yaz actually waking up were very small, and that if she didn't…….well, no use in thinking about that now.

And of course then there was Brooklynn. Sammy understood why Darius was so messed up, she wasn't a hundred percent okay herself…and she had only been there at the end. The feeling of helplessness she felt when she realized there was no way for her to help Brooklynn….that she was dying before her eyes and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

That memory haunted her.

How much more did it haunt Darius, who had spent hours just holding her, comforting her, waiting for the end to come. She couldn't even imagine.

"What I'd the roles had been reversed?" She thought. "What if it had been Kenji and I? What if the fireball seared his lungs and it was it was me sitting there holding him while he struggled to breathe? How would I feel if had to watch him die?"

The thought triggered her anxiety, causing her to stop and take a deep breath. She cast another glance to Darius, who seemed to have collected himself and was dropping a load of wood off at their pile.

"He's stronger than he thinks he is." She thought in admiration.

A short time later the pair had created a decently large pile of wood, enough to last several days.

"We're gonna need to make some sort of sled or sling or something so we can haul more than two arm loads back at a time." Darius observed.

"Yeah maybe next time we could bring a bedsheet, load it all up on that and carry it all back at once." She suggested.

"That's a really good idea Sammy, wish we'd thought of that before we left." He added.

"It's fine, this wood ain't going nowhere. We can grab it tomorrow. We should be fine with a couple of arm loads for tonight, should be plenty to cook with. Hey maybe we could even come out and sit around it for a while, might be nice to have a little camp fire time." She said, grinning at the idea.

"Couldn't hurt." Darius agreed. "Well, that's probably enough for today, I don't wanna be down here too long, don't want Yaz to start getting worried."

"Mmhmmm, you sure it's Yaz your worried about?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she loaded up her arms with broken branches.

Darius glared at the cowgirl for a second before dropping his head and slumping his shoulders.

"Fine…I just don't want to be away from her for that long." He admitted. "Not with how bad she's hurt, what if something happens and I'm not there?"

"Darius, listen to me. Brooklynn is fine right now. I checked her over pretty thoroughly, her ribs are broken, but they are in the right position, her chest cavity is vented so the pressure won't build on her lungs, she's been cleaned up and sterilized to the best of my ability. Her prognosisis very good. Soon the hole in her lung will close up and I'll be able to remove the tube and stich her closed. In a couple months her broken bones will heal over and be stronger than they were before, she'll be good as new. Right now her biggest threat is infection and stress, and infection isn't gonna kill her in the half hour that we've been gone." She assured him.

"I know, Sammy….it's just…hard." He said without looking at her.

"Look, Darius, I won't pretend to know what you two went through, but I'll say this. Neither of you came out of it okay, and honestly, I think you're a lot less okay than Brooklynn is right now. Have you and her talked about it, talked about what you guys felt? Because you need to. Darius, I'm honestly not convinced that she suffered worse injuries than you at this point."

"How can you say that? She almost died, you saw it" He snapped, sounding a little more angry than he intended to.

"Yes, but she didn't…because of you and Kenji. And now she's healing." She pointed out. "Can you say the same about yourself?"

"I…..I…..no…I can't" He sighed.

"Exactly!" She said. "I know it's still fresh, and I don't expect you to get over it quickly, maybe even ever, but I do expect you to talk to her about it.. nobody else is going to understand what happened in those hours."

"Your right Sammy, I know you are, and I will, just not yet. It's fresh for her too and I don't want to bring up something she's not okay dealing with yet." He explained.

"That's fair" She nodded. "Just don't let it go for too long okay?

"I won't, thank you Sammy. I really don't know what I'd do without any of you guys." He admitted.

Sammy smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a gentle squeeze.

"Come on, let's get this wood back to the room before Brooklynn realizes your gone."

---

"Ow! Stupid bugs!" Ben snapped, slapping the back of his neck. "Way more mosquitoes out here than at the visitors center, we must be near water girl."

Bumpy moaned in agreement as they continued their patrol.

Carefully, they continued to follow their ever expanding spiral, though Ben was beginning to question the method. At first it had been the best idea he could come up with, but now that he'd been exploring for a while, he was learning to read the patterns in the vegetation. Soon old road beds, trails and pockets of shorter trees that were once clearings were jumping out at him left and right. He sometimes felt as though he could almost peer back in time and see the terrain as it was during Jurassic Park's operational days. Though those had certainly been short lived, they'd left their mark in the jungle.

Soon the they passed back into untouched jungle, leaving behind the evidence of human habitation. In a way, Ben was beginning to feel more comfortable and confident in the dense bush. He felt as though his senses were sharpening. As though his vision was beginning to pick up on the slightest movement, as though his hearing could detect the slightest rustle in the bushes. Even his brain had begun to feel like it was processing the information with a new speed and clarity. Though he was certainly grateful for the security of the visitors center and his control room nest, it was the untouched jungle where he was beginning to feel the most….alive!

Soon he could detect the sounds of a small stream nearby, the smell of moisture in the air was confirmation.

Less than fifty yards ahead, the gently flowing water came into view.

"Hang on girl, hold up." He commanded, bringing Bumpy to a stop at the water's edge.

He quickly slid down off her armored back and patted her side, stepping forward to inspect the stream. The waterway was between twenty and thirty feet across, with a gentle current. The water was crystal clear but extremely shallow, no more than ankle deep in most places, a couple of feet at the deepest.

The stream bed itself was unusual in the fact that it was almost entirely naked bedrock. No mud, no dirt, no rocks or sand. Just clean smooth rock and randomly scattered patches of dark green moss. It reminded Ben of a natural water slide and for a moment, he envisioned Darius, Brooklynn, Kenji, Sammy, and of course, Yasmina and himself, all laughing and playing in the water, cooling themselves in the heat of the day.

"I really miss them Sometimes." He sighed. "As awful as it sounds, deep down I wish sometimes that she…uh, they.. were here with me. I could really use one of Darius's dino lessons, or Sammy's optimism, or Brooklynn's sarcastic wit, or even one of Kenji's bad jokes right now…..and of course I miss Yaz too."

Bumpy let out a soft moan, picking up on her human's emotions and nuzzling his side.

"At least I have you back Bumper car, you and Archie, wherever the heck he is, and I guess that's all I really need." He said petting her head.

Bumpy lowered her head for a well deserved drink while Ben stepped out into the stream. He had to admit, there was something about standing in the middle of the stream and not even getting his ankles wet that made him want to splash around like a little kid.

When Bumpy had finished drinking, Ben called for her to join him in the middle of the stream. Obediently, albeit a bit hesitantly, she stepped forward into the water, then realizing it was perfectly safe, promptly joined her human.

"See girl, it's fine, I wouldn't lead you into anywhere dangerous." He said, rubbing her head. "We should keep moving, but I definitely want to remember this spot."

Ben again slung himself up onto Bumpy's back, a move he was beginning to get pretty good at, and urged her forward.

With the sounds and smells of the stream fading into the background, his attention shifted back to his surroundings. He did his best to take in everything, the sounds, the birds, the bugs, the wind in the vegetation, primates in the canopy, small mammals moving about the jungle floor, creating a kind of baseline of jungle sounds. He knew that if he could get a sense of what was normal, then he could teach himself to pick up on variations in that sound. For instance, he'd already realized how animal, bird, and most annoyingly, insect activity increased as he approached the stream.

Ben relished the idea of being able to read the jungle noise and use it to his advantage. Yet another skill he could use to make sure he saw his friends again.

As Bumpy made her way through the ferns and vines of the jungle floor, Ben began to notice animal sign off to his right. A kicked up spot in the moss here, a knocked over sapling there, and so fourth. Just enough to tell him something had been traveling that particular trail relatively recently. What exactly that animal…or animals were, was less clear.

Though he kept a sharp lookout, he saw no clear tracks, only signs of movement.

"Ow, dang it!" He said slapping the back of his neck again. "Even away from the water I keep getting bit, they're probably following me."

Bumpy looked back at him and moaned.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I'm complaining a little. I don't have skin that's inches thick or bony armored plates like you to keep the bugs off me." He vented.

"Ugh, how pathetic." He thought. "I've taken on falls, dehydration, starvation, exposure, flying dinosaurs, poisonous spiders, poisonous dinosaurs, a trio of relentless Baryonyx, an angry bull Ankylosaur, and speaking of bulls, let's not forget Toro, but it's the dang mosquitoes that are gonna get to me."

He paused at the thought of mosquitoes for a second. What InGen had done using simple mosquitoes preserved in amber, cloning real living dinosaurs, had made it impossible to view mosquitoes the same way ever again. Briefly, he thought about a mosquitoes biting him and flying off to a tree, getting stuck in the sap. He envisioned scientists a million years in the future finding that mosquito and using it to create a clone of himself.

The thought was disturbing, and it made him feel sorry for the dinosaurs in a whole new way.

"They never asked for any of this." He thought. "They were just basically kidnapped from history and thrown into a world that wasn't theirs. Was there ever any doubt it would all go wrong eventually?"

A short time later, Bumpy stepped out into what Ben immediately recognized as an old road, however in comparison to other roads he'd crossed, this one was in far better condition, possibly even still drivable.

"Woah Bumpy, wait." He said urging his armored friend to stop. "This has got to be one of the main roads for Jurassic Park."

Just to his right he could see the animal trail coming out on to the road, but instead of crossing, it turned ninety degrees to follow it to the right.

"Well girl, what do you think? Keep to our carefully thought out spiral pattern….or follow the old road and suspicious trail wherever they lead, which is probably to our doom by the way." He asked only half jokingly.

Bumpy shook her head and immediately veered right, following the road.

"Yeah, I was curious too." He smiled, patting the dinosaur's back.

For being twenty three years old, this road had really stood the test of time. Though it was mostly covered in short vegetation, there were spots where the original bare dirt was still visible. Ben paid close attention to these bare spots, if he was going to find an identifiable track from whatever he was following, it would be in one of these areas.

As curious as he was, he couldn't deny being a bit hesitant to leave his pattern. He knew he was a good distance from the visitors center, but he wasn't one hundred percent sure in which direction. Part of him thought that this road may actually lead back to his makeshift home, though he suspected that he was actually traveling away from it.

"If I'm right, and one end of this road goes to the visitors center, then whatever is at the other end of this road must have at least been at least somewhat important." He reasoned.

Slowly, the jungle became less dense, beams of sunlight filtered through the canopy and shone like spotlights on the ground. Ben could see there was a clearing ahead, wherever this road led, they were getting closer.

The scene was surreal, the morning dew burning off into a low hanging mist just above the jungle floor. He could just begin to make out the vine covered vertical lines of a man made structure in the clearing ahead when something on the ground caught his eye. Tracks.

Bringing Bumpy to a stop, he dismounted, eager for a closer look.

The tracks were, with absolute certainty, that of a medium sized theropod, or rather several medium sized theropods. The classic three toed tracks were unmistakable, and if that wasn't bad enough, they were fresh.

"Okay Ben, this isn't good." He thought. "These tracks could totally be the Baryonyx trio and if that's the case, we could be in serious trouble."

However the lure of the unknown structure was hard to resist.

"Okay Bumpers, not gonna lie to you. This could be really dangerous and it's probably safer if we just turn around and get out of here. But on the other hand, there's definitely a building there…a building that could be chocked full of supplies. What do you think girl?"

Bumpy moaned quietly and nudged Ben toward the clearing.

"You always were more adventurous than me." He snorted, climbing back aboard her shell.

Slowly the pair traveled the last hundred yards and entered the clearing. The building was large and concrete, to the left of the road, which passed by the building and disappeared back into the jungle on the other side.

"Hmm, road doesn't exactly lead here, just passes by it." He thought.

As they quietly approached the building, Ben could see it was built with the same architectural style as the visitors center and the old Velociraptor paddock. Large steel cages jutting out from behind the building gave him his first clue as the its purpose.

"I think this was Jurassic Park's veterinary facility." He said, taking in the scene.

He stared at the building for a moment, it seemed to be quite intact, albeit overgrown, even the windows were unbroken.

"I bet there's lots of good stuff in there girl." He smiled.

Bumpy didn't moan in agreement as he expected. Instead he could feel her tensing beneath him, swinging her head from side to side nervously. That's when he noticed the jungle noise…..there wasn't any. The birds, the frogs, the insects, everything had fallen silent, leaving only the sound of his ever increasing heartbeat.

He knew exactly what that meant.

"Come on Bumpy, let's get out of here." He said softly, guiding her back the way they had come. "Something isn't right."

Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, he saw it. A Baryonyx quietly stalking up from behind, and then a second slipping from the jungle on the other side of the road, the pair of predators effectively blocking their escape path.

"No, no, no, CRAP!" He thought.

"Not going that way, come on girl." He said, spinning Bumpy back around.

After only a couple of steps, the third Baryonyx stepped around from behind the building, letting out a low growl as it sized up the Ankylosaur and it's rider.

"We're surrounded girl….are you ready for this?"

Bumpy reared up and bellowed at her adversary, charging the moment her front feet touched the ground.

The predator stopped in its tracks, tilting its head in surprise, before roaring and beginning the attack. Ben steadied himself atop Bumpy's back, taking a quick glance behind them. As he expected, the other two Baryonyx had charged as well. He looked back just as the dinosaur in front lunged, and would have decapitated Ben had he not ducked. Bumpy took advantage of the opportunity and veered into the predator, slamming her side spikes against her attacker's legs, sending the animal tumbling.

"GOOD GIRL BUMPY, YOU SHOW EM WHAT'S UP!" Ben yelled in victory, only to spin around and see the other two Baryonyx dodge around their sister as she got back to her feet and joined the chase.

"Come on girl, faster, give it all ya got." He urged.

Turning again, he saw the veterinary building and the clearing disappearing behind them as they bolted further into the unknown. Unfortunately, the Baryonyx trio was still on them like a shadow. Bumpy could be pretty fast when she needed to be but her body, with its heavy armor plating, simply wasn't designed for sustained high speed. The Baryonyx were gaining….and fast.

The leading carnivore pushed forward and lunged, it's jaws snapping closed a mere twelve inches away from Ben's face. The boy yelped in fear, causing Bumpy to take a quick glance backwards, checking on her human. The Baryonyx lunged again, but this time received a clubbed tail to the side of her head, sending her snout over tail.

No sooner had she hit the ground then her sister took her spot, closing the gap and taking her own snap at Ben.

"We can't keep this up forever." He thought in desperation.

Looking forward, he saw the last thing he wanted to see….a fence. It wasn't just any fence either, thirty feet tall, steel posts and cables, mounted in a four foot high concrete barrier. A large steel double gate stretched across the road, blocking their escape.

Bumpy continued on, full steam towards the gate.

"I hope you know what you're doing." He said, glancing back at the ever closer teeth and claws.

Bumpy swung hard left, nearly throwing Ben off and into the fence, thankfully he held on.

The manuver almost worked, two of the predators crashed into each other attempting to make the turn and slammed into the fence. The third however, skillfully hopped over her struggling siblings and continued the pursuit.

"CRAP!" Ben yelled, as the other two Baryonyx untangled themselves and rejoined the chase.

"I'm sorry I got you into this girl." He apologized, as a feeling of futility began to overwhelm him. The Baryonyx were just too fast, too determined.

Suddenly, for the first time since the chase began, he noticed the weight bouncing against his back as Bumpy galloped.

"MY SHOTGUN!" He remembered excitedly, pulling it around in front of him and turning to face his atrackers.

Ben didn't like the idea of shooting the Baryonyx any more than he liked having to kill the Dimorphodon and the Troodon, but the truth of the situation was, it was kill or be killed.

He raised the weapon and clicked off the safety, mentally preparing to do what needed to be done to protect himself and Bumpy. The lead Baryonyx then surged forward and lunged.

It was now or never….Ben squeezed the trigger.

---

"That was a gunshot!" Darius exclaimed, eyes widening.

"Where's it coming from, how far away?" asked an equally wide eyed Sammy.

A second shot echoed across the island, followed by an eerie silence.

"Not close, several miles I'd guess, we'd never have heard it inside." He said.

"But….this means we aren't alone right? Dinosaurs don't use guns." She asked excitedly.

"Right, someone else is definitely on the island, but who? And where?"

"Could it be rescue? Could they finally have sent someone for us?" She suggested hopefully.

"I guess it's possible, but I would have expected a rescue team to have automatic weapons, and I would have thought they would have come in by helicopter." He reasoned.

"You DON'T think it's a rescue." She translated, looking down.

"I…I don't know, I just seems like if it was a rescue, they would have at least done a quick fly over of all the areas survivors would go, like the main park and the hotel and the docks." He explained reluctantly.

"Whoever it is, if they're shooting, then they're in trouble." Sammy observed.

"Well, the shooting stopped so either they're okay now or……." The look on Sammy's face told him he didn't need to finish.

"Let's just hope it's the first one." She said from behind her arm load of wood.

Quickly and quietly, the pair made their way back into the hotel lobby and up the stairwell to their second floor room.

"What happened to thirty minutes tops? You've been gone over an hour" Yasmina hissed the second Darius and Sammy stepped through the door.

"There's someone else on the island!" Sammy blurted out, ignoring Yaz's question.

"Wait, WHAT?" Kenji asked, shooting upright. "How? Where?"

"We heard gun shots, they're still miles off but they were without a doubt gun shots." Darius explained.

"Then what are we waiting for? We need to find them, what if this our way off this cursed Island?" Kenji asked.

"They were so far away that Without having some idea of where they came from it would be pointless." He said, shaking his head. "No, the better, safer option is to stay here. You and Brooklynn aren't in any condition to travel. Honestly Yaz isn't either…it's just not worth the risk. I figure it's most likely another survivor but even if it is a rescue team, either way they're probably heading here…..I mean, this is where we came, so other survivors probably would too, and it's one of the first places rescuers would probably check."

"Yeah…..I guess that makes sense." Kenji sighed. "Still, it seems like if we know someone else is here, we should be trying to find them."

"I agree with Kenji, ugh! I can't believe I just said that." Yasmina started. "But I've never been good at sitting around and waiting."

"Or giving yourself time to heal." Darius reminded her. "Look guys, I get it, I do, but Brooklynn can't travel, and you guys shouldn't be either. Do you really want us to split up over that kind of a distance again?"

Kenji and Yaz stared at each other for a second, almost as if suddenly remembering something important.

"No, I don't" Yaz admitted. "But uhh, speaking of Brooklynn…"

"Yeah, I know, I need to go let her know too and see what she has to say." Darius said cutting her off.

"Uh, that's not what she was gonna say." Kenji said quietly, nodding towards the balcony.

Darius followed his gaze and his stomach dropped. A messy bun of pink hair was visible above a cushioned patio chair, facing away from them and out towards main street.

"I take it she knows we left?" He asked, swallowing hard.

"Good luck junior, she uh, kinda freaked out for a minute….been out there ever since." Kenji admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

Darius's eyes shifted to Yaz.

"Don't look at me Casanova, I told you that you needed to tell her."

Again his gaze landed on Sammy, who immediately shook her head.

"Nope, I told you the same thing, you're gonna have to fix this on your own."

Taking a deep breath in an attempt to settle the burning guilt rolling around in his stomach, he closed his eyes and sighed.

"I…I just…I didn't want her to worry." He said sadly.

"Look, we all get that." Kenji said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "But it's her you've got to explain that to."

Darius took another deep breath and headed for the balcony, turning around just before he reached for the door, scanning his friends eyes one last time for some form of help. Nobody stepped forward. With one more sigh, he set his load of wood down and stepped out the door.

Brooklynn didn't need to turn around to know who it was and even though it felt as though a massive weight had been lifted off of her, her anger wasn't even close to abating. She refused to even acknowledge his presence, though internally she wanted to break down and cry in relief.

But no, she was way too upset with him, too hurt.

She would absolutely not let him see how much she cared….at least for right now.

Darius could literally feel the anger radiating off of her and there was simply no way for him to describe how sorry he was, so instead, he simply sat down in a chair next to her and stared at the ground.

"You gonna yell at me for being out of bed?" She asked coldly after a couple minutes of silence, still unwilling to look at him.

"No" He answered quietly. "I don't really have any right to yell at you about anything right now."

"No, you most certainly don't" She huffed.

It was then that he noticed how she was holding her hand against her incision.

"Wait, Brooke, are you okay?" He asked, jumping to his feet and moving around in front of her.

For the first time she made eye contact with him… her sea green eyes cold and full of hurt. She stared directly into his soul as she raised her shirt to reveal the blood soaked rag she held around her tube, a fairly heavy trail of smeared, partially dried blood running down to her waist.

"Oh my God, it's bleeding again, what happened?" He asked, dropping to his knees for a closer look.

She jerked her shirt back down and glared at him, though that glare was beginning to soften ever so slightly against her will.

"Yaz thinks my blood pressure spiked too high." She said sharply.

"What?" He asked, tilting his head. "Why would your blood pressu… "

"BECAUSE I HAD A PANIC ATTACK, OKAY?" She snapped, cutting him off.

Guilt washed over him like a tidal wave. He'd only wanted to protect her, but in the process, he'd ended up hurting her….just like he'd feared, not just emotionally, but physically now too.

"Brooklynn….I..I didn't…I'm.." He stuttered.

"Save it Darius." She said, raising her hand and shaking her head. "I know why you did it….And I'm not stupid, I know you and Sammy are gonna have to leave sometimes. That's something I'll have to get used to and learn to accept. What hurts is you didn't even give me the benefit of the doubt. You didn't even think to see if maybe I'd understand before just assuming I wouldn't be okay. You snuck off, out there, and let me believe you were just in the other room. That's the same as lying Darius, How am I supposed to believe you after this?….how am I supposed to trust you?

He'd never seen her this angry before. Tears were beginning to well up, giving her eyes a glossy appearance. What killed him was they weren't tears of anger…she felt betrayed.

"You shouldn't." He said quietly, too ashamed to look her in the eye. You shouldn't trust me."

"Well good, because I DON'T" She snapped, shifting herself away from him and staring off in the distance, a single tear slipping free and sliding down her cheek.

Her words felt like a dagger twisting in his chest, making him sick to his stomach and dizzy at the same time. But deep down, he couldn't help but feel he deserved it.

"She hates me now, I've broken her trust too many times…how could she ever forgive me?" He thought. Maybe this is better for her. Trusting me is was what got her here in the first place. She's absolutely right not to trust me.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, his own eyes welling up as he stood to leave.

The pink haired girl choked back a sob and fought with everything she had to keep her jaw set and her eyes angry. But her act was beginning to fail. Despite her best efforts, her lower lip started to quiver, while that single tear had increased to a stream, spreading to both eyes.

"He didn't deserve that." She thought as her anger began to collapse. "Look at him, he's not justifying himself or arguing, he's genuinely sorry, it's written all over him. And it's not like he was trying to hurt me, he was trying to protect me, I mean, he did it in a STUPID STUPID way, but his intentions were pure…God, what have I done, why was I such a….."

"I didn't mean that." She blurted out before he could disappear back through the door. "I do trust you, I always have, I always will…..I'm just….hurt."

"No, you were right….you shouldn't trust me." He muttered without looking back.

"No, Brooklynn what did you do, please don't let things change…please!" Her mind screamed.

"Darius?" She asked, her tone noticeably softer.

He still refused to look at her as he slid the balcony door open.

"No, no, no ,no." She panicked.

"DARIUS!" She yelled, painfully jumping to her feet and spinning to face him.

His head fell and his shoulders slumped as he stopped and slowly slid the door closed.

"What." He answered without looking back.

"Darius look." She said, dropping the rag and grabbing his hands, spinning him around to face her. "Not being honest with me was pretty rotten, but…I'll get over it. I just….I mean this doesn't…..this doesn't change anything between us, not for me at least."

For a moment they locked eyes and he almost smiled. He didn't have a clue how desperately she needed to see that smile, how bad she needed to know everything would be okay.

Slowly the look in his eyes changed to something she couldn't decipher as his gaze fell to their hands.

"Oh, I…uh" She stuttered, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. She self consciously snatched her hands away, fighting a full on blush.

But Darius wasn't blushing, his stare was locked on his open palms, the look on his face a mixture of horror and shock.

Confused, Brooklynn glanced down, his hand was smeared with blood…her blood.

"Oh carp, sorry, the…the rag, I totally forgot….I…..Darius?...Darius, are you okay?"

"Her blood is on my hands…..I did this to her" He thought, unable to pull his eyes away from the crimson liquid staining his right palm.

"Darius, what's wrong? Talk to me!" She pleaded, concern rising in her voice.

Her eyes went wide, and immediately distant as their light drained away, a river of blood poured from her open mouth.

"Darius, what is it?"

"Breathe Brooklynn, come on BREATHE! Don't do this Brooke, please don't do this."

"Darius, answer me!"

"I failed you. I promised you it'd be okay, and then I let you die. You fought so hard, held on so long, I'm so sorry."

"Darius, you're scaring me!" She cried as Darius fell to his knees.

Quickly wiping her bloody hand on her pants, Brooklynn dropped to her knees as well, grabbing Darius's face and tilting it up to look him in the eyes…the lights were on but no one was home.

"GUYS, I NEED HELP!" She yelled.

Within a couple seconds the other three campers came tumbling through the sliding door.

"Wow, great response time guys…..wait…we're you EAVESDROPPING on us?" She asked, anger rising in her voice.

"What? Us? We would never violate your privacy like that!" Kenji swore.

Brooklynn narrowed her eyes at the boy, completely unconvinced.

"Uh…it was Yaz's idea." He confessed, withering under Brooklynn's glare.

"Snitches get stitches." Yaz hissed as she dropped down and took Brooklynn's spot in front of Darius.

"What happened?" Sammy asked.

"I…I don't really know…we were talking and I..I accidentally got blood on his hand and…and…he just…kinda locked up and did….this." Brooklynn explained.

"Fashback, he's stuck in a flashback." Yasmina stated. "Darius, Darius, you're at the hotel, everyone is here, everyone is safe. Wake up Darius.

Brooklynn, stepped back to give Yaz room to work while Sammy kneeled to rub Darius's back.

"Dang Brooke, I knew you were mad but I didn't think you were gonna break his brain." Kenji teased.

"Shut up Kenji, I am sooo not in the mood for your crap right now." She snapped.

"Hey, take it easy, I was just trying to lighten the mood a little. He's gonna be fine….it just got to be too much for a moment." Kenji said, shifting into a gentle tone.

"I tried to tell him…I knew this was coming." Sammy complained, shifting from rubbing Darius's back to massaging his shoulders. "Come on Darius, snap out of it, she's safe now."

"Wait, you knew this was coming? Sammy, what's going on? Why is this happening?" Brooklynn pleaded, trying to keep her emotions under control.

"He blames himself for what happened to you and its eating him alive. He couldn't even focus to get firewood, that's why it took us so long." She confessed.

"WHAT!" She yelled. "Ugh! I should've known! He's been trying to put this on himself since we got to the waterfall.

"Yep that sounds like him." Kenji added, rolling his eyes.

"Ugh, let me try again" Brooklynn said, kneeling back down in front of their immobilized leader.

"Knock yourself out, I'm not getting through." Yaz admitted, moving out of the pinkett's way.

"Hey, superstar to dinonerd, look at me, look in my eyes." She started.

After a moment longer of staring, Darius blinked. His eyes shifting slightly to lock onto hers.

"There you are." She exclaimed with a heavy exhale. "Okay listen to my voice. I think you had some sort of flashback or something but everything's okay now. Everybody's safe, we're all here in the hotel, everything is good."

Darius's eyes jumped from person to person, seemingly verifying what Brooklynn was saying before falling back to hers.

"Brooklynn…I…I'm so…" He stuttered.

"Me too!" She said, throwing her arms around him and hugging him so tightly that her broken ribs burned. "I forgive you."

She could feel his whole body rock as he began to sob heavily into her embrace. She did her best to stay comforting and strong, holding him the way he would hold her if she were breaking down.

Unfortunately her emotions had been pushed to the breaking point as well and being here in this situation, on her knees hugging Darius, the one she drew so much of her strength from, while he finally let it all out, was simply just too much.

Soon she found herself sobbing right along with him, unable to stop herself or do anything but cry on one another.

"Finally" Sammy smiled, looking to Kenj first, then Yasmina as they silently agreed to give the pair some privacy.

"Hey, not to be captain obvious or anything but there's some things that you two need to hash out. So we'll be inside if you need us." Yasmina explained, addressing Brooklynn.

The younger girl simply made eye contact and nodded, immediately going back to closing her eyes and holding onto her friend as is someone would take him away.

After a few more minutes of tearful embrace, Brooklynn pulled herself back and gripped Darius's shoulders to look him in the eyes.

"Alright listen." She started, her voice still cracked. "You have GOT to stop blaming yourself for what happened to me. I was absolutely NOT your fault."

"Brooke……you almost died." He said weakly, fighting images of her bluing lips from his mind.

"But I didn't." She reminded him, giving his shoulders a gentle shake in an attempt to keep him focused on the present. "You saved me remember?"

"Kenji saved you, not me……I'm the reason you were hurt in the first place." He argued.

"And how do you figure that?" She asked challengingly

"If I hadn't taken us to the communications building…." He started.

"Then I would have pulled a Yaz and snuck there myself." She admitted, cutting him off. "It was a risk, but it was worth it at the time, and if it hadn't been burned out…..it would have paid off. Any good leader would have made that call."

"If I would have ran faster I could have opened the gate in time." He added.

"And if I'd have picked the lock faster then we would have been out of the tunnels before the Troodons got there." She answered.

"That's not fair, you were doing your best…I remember how sweaty you were getting." He protested in her defense.

"Ugh, you would bring up my stress sweats!" She complained, rolling her eyes. "But seriously, it's not like you weren't doing your best too."

"I..I wasn't strong enough…I couldn't hold my weight off of you….I..I saw you getting crushed and I was too weak to stop it. I felt your ribs break…I saw your eyes roll back…..I….you…I was..we were….."

"Helpless" She finished for him, pulling him back in as he once again broke down. "We were BOTH helpless in that moment. I remember how strong that water was, I remember the pressure. You're not the incredible Hulk Darius, there was nothing you could have done, nothing either of us could of done. And if that would have been it….well, at least we would have been together."

"There were moments, behind the waterfall, where I wished the grate hadn't given out." He admitted, pulling back and looking down. "When you were dying I mean. I would have rather us gone out together than have to watch you die and live with it."

"I can relate to that….that's why I wouldn't leave you in the tunnel when you told me to." She confessed. "But that being said, I understand where you were coming from too. If something happened to me, I'd want to be sure that you wouldn't just give up."

Darius swallowed and looked down.

"Brooke…under that waterfall, I was losing hope. Your mind can get pretty dark when hope is gone. I mean….I just hope you never have to think of a place to burry your best friend." He said quietly.

"Well, you're my best friend so that would mean I'd be picking a spot for you dinonerd, and honestly, I don't even wanna think about that." She said, silently trying to force images from her nightmare out of her mind.

"It's just…I can't get what happened…and what almost happened…out of my head, I mean…you were literally dying in my arms…you went cold…your lips turned color..I just can't unsee that. I can't unfeel that. The guilt is there every time I close my eyes. I see your death in my nightmares…..I just….I don't know how to make it stop." He explained.

Brooklynn's lower lip started to tremble as she leaned in for another hug.

"Let's try this" She sniffed, pulling the side of his head down and holding his ear against her chest.

"Brooklynn! What are you…."

"Shhhhhh, just listen."

The steady thu-thump thu-thump thu-thump of her heartbeat soothed his anxiety and gave him something to focus on.

"Hear it?" She asked.

He nodded.

"Good." She said slowly. "I forgive you…for everything, for anything that you feel you did wrong, I forgive you. Even though I shouldn't have to because you did absolutely nothing wrong….still I forgive you. Just in case there's some part of you that needs to hear that before you can move on."

Once again Darius's eyes welled up, but the steady rhythm of her heartbeat, the gentle rise and fall of her chest, the warmth of her body against his cheek, all worked together to keep him grounded and at peace. In fact, suddenly he understood why Brooklynn slept with her head on his chest, and now, here she was, trying to comfort him in the same way he'd been unknowingly comforting her.

It was working.

"I know you've been doing your best to protect me, and I appreciate that, but right now, I think you need it more than I do." She said quietly.

"How do you figure that?" He asked in confusion. "You've got a punctured lung and broken ribs, and other than some bruising, I'm fine."

"Yes, I've got injuries, but I'm healing. I'll get better every day. But you, Darius, are definitely not fine, in fact, you're wounded too, in your heart and in your mind. You've been believing these lies that you're somehow at fault for me getting hurt when that's not even close to being true. And before you can argue, I'm gonna list off just SOME of the times you've saved my life."

Darius pulled away and glanced up at her, opening his mouth to argue. A quick narrow eyed glare from Brooklynn changed his mind, the girl could be a bit intimidating when she wanted to be.

"Since you keep going back to mistakes you think you made in the tunnels, I'll start there." She said in a very matter of fact tone.

"First, I never would have thought to use the cattle prod to buy us time like you did. If I was on my own, those dinos for sure would have caught me and killed me…no doubt about it. So you doing that, saved my life. Then you did it again when we jumped into the drain. I Never would have done that without you so that's another place they would have got me. And let's not forget about the river. Now, I was unconscious when the grate broke….but I'm assuming you got me to the river bank….saving me from drowning. Oh, and who was it that set off the flares in the first place? You know, the ones that brought Sammy and Kenji to us..yep, if you hadn't done that, I'd be worm food.

And last but not least, it was you that kept me hanging on.

It was you that kept bringing me back when I wanted to let go. It was you that gave me the reason to fight. You refused to give up on me and that's what made me decide to hang on as long as I possibly could….I knew you weren't gonna be okay if I let go.

And ultimately THAT is the only reason I was still alive when Kenji and Sammy got there. It's true that Kenji saved my life with that pen trick of his, but he never would have got the chance if you weren't with me dinonerd.

So the next time you start believing those lies about how you messed up or how I'm hurt because of you, think back on all the times you were my hero that night, you noble dummy."

"You were really holding on just for me?" Darius asked quietly.

"Well, it's not like I wanted to die, but at the end there, I kinda made my peace, I accepted it, I was ready….but you made it pretty clear that you weren't, so yeah I was holding on just for you….why? You feel like you're special now?" She teased.

"Maybe a little." He grinned.

"Well good….because you are…and…and….I.."

"Now Brooklynn, say it now! You're never gonna get better timing."

"I……."

"He's waiting for you to say it! Do it now."

"l…lov…."

"You're almost there, don't chicken out now, he needs to know how you feel."

"I love ……..having you as my best friend." She finished awkwardly.

"Did you seriously just friend zone yourself?"

Darius smiled.

"I love that too." He agreed.

"Anyway" She scrambled. "I hope I made you feel at least a little better."

"You did" He assured her. "I mean, I'm probably still going to struggle with guilt until you're completely healed, but at least now I KNOW how you feel about it….and you've given me some great ammo to fight it with."

"Good, I guess that's something then." She sighed. "I do have to say something though."

"What's that" He asked.

"I didn't realize how hopeless you were feeling, you did a pretty good job of trying to assure me everything was gonna be okay. I mean I knew if I didn't make it, that it was going to be hard on you, all of you, but now I have to ask…what would YOU have done if I didn't survive." She asked.

"Honestly Brooklynn, I don't know…I've been trying not to think about that." He admitted.

"See, I don't like that answer…and I can't even lecture you on it because if it was the other way around…..I don't know what I'd do either." She admitted.

"You'd mourn for a while…then you pull yourself up and survive this place. I have no doubt that you'd make it out of here." He said confidently.

"Would I?" She asked, shaking her head. "I'm not so sure."

"Don't talk like that." He warned.

"Could you?" She challenged.

Darius went silent.

"Exactly." She said crossing her arms. "I suggest we make a promise to each other, right here and now. A promise that no matter what happens, to either of us, the other WILL make it home. If we can't do it for ourselves then we do it for each other….like a best friend's pact. That way we don't have to worry about each other if the worst happens."

Darius nodded.

"Let's just make sure that doesn't happen." He said, reaching out to shake on it.

The pinkett looked at his hand and shook her head, holding out her pinky finger instead.

"Seriously, a pinky promise?" He grinned.

"Don't laugh." She said, lightly punching him in the shoulder. "Pinky promises are serious business. Once made, they can NEVER be broken."

"Okay fine." He chuckled, wrapping his pinky finger around hers and shaking on it. "Done, it's a pact."

"Done" She repeated, leaning in for another hug that seemed to last much longer than normal.

"Come on, let's get inside and clean up that blood." He said, standing and reaching down to help her up.

"Okay" she answered, taking his hand and getting to her feet, as Darius turned for the sliding door.

"Uh Darius? I do have a question though." She asked, a bit hesitantly.

"What is it?" He asked, turning to face her.

"Um, did you really dwell on me dying enough that you actually thought of a place to burry me?" She asked, hoping the question wasn't too painful.

"I did." He answered simply.

"Where?" She questioned.

"Well" He started, looking down at his feet sadly. "I thought about it…..and I realized that moving you would be way too much work, so I figured I'd just leave you there for the compys."

Brooklynn's jaw dropped .

"You. Would. NOT!" She snapped in disbelief as Darius grinned mischievously at her, turning and stepping through the door to join the others.

"Blasphemy!" Kenji shouted, keeping the couch between himself and Sammy as though she was infected with plague. "You seriously liked it?"

"That is NOT what I said" Sammy protested. "All I said was that season four had SOME good parts.

"Are they even making that show anymore?" Yasmina asked. "I stopped watching after season four too."

"Are we talking about Esther Stone, high school P.I.?" Brooklynn asked. "I used to love that show."

"Used to?" Darius questioned.

"Yeah, the writers totally screwed it up in season four. They wrote in a romance between Esther and some rich guy that she shared absolutely no chemistry with. Ugh! It was just so forced that it changed the whole dynamic of the show." She explained.

"Especially since they'd been teasing that she'd end up with her best friend since the first season." Yaz added.

"Wait, you watch it too?" Darius asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"Pff, don't judge me" She snapped, crossing her arms and glaring.

"HA!" Kenji burst out. "Sammy thinks season four was good!"

"Well…everyone is entitled to their own opinion….I guess." Brooklynn admitted, looking at the Texan like she had two heads.

"Ugh, I did NOT say I liked it. I said there were good PARTS. I thought the romance was forced, out of place, and unnecessary just like you guys did." She insisted.

"Such a waste…another great show killed by its own writers." Yaz mused.

"It was just so out of the blue and rushed….I mean if they'd had any chemistry beforehand, maybe it would have been different. But it just felt like a last minute decision that they tried to force in." Brooklynn complained.

"Seriously, there was no chemistry." Kenji added. "It felt wrong. It would be like me dating Brooklynn."

"HA!" Brooklynn laughed. "That would NEVER happen…..not EVEN if this was a TV show….no offense."

"None taken, you're not in my league anyway." He teased smugly.

"And exactly what league is that, captain Fireball? The league of extraordinary idiots?" Yaz countered.

The entire room erupted into laughter, even Kenji chuckled a bit.

"So anyway, did you guys get everything worked out?" She asked, addressing Darius and Brooklynn.

"Yeah, we're good, just had some things we needed to talk over." He said, giving Brooklynn a small smile.

"What about you? Are you okay?" Sammy asked

"I will be. Brooke helped me look at things from a different angle." He answered."

"Did you tell her about the gunshots?" Kenji asked.

"Wait, the what?" She asked, eyes widening and looking to Darius. "You didn't tell me about that!

"Ugh! Sorry, with our conversation I totally spaced it. He explained, slapping his forehead. "Okay, while Sammy and I were heading back to the hotel, we heard two distinct gun shots. Now, they were still miles away, but….someone else is on the island."

Darius could see the hope begin to rise up in Brooklynn's eyes.

"Rescue?" She asked quietly.

"It's possible, but I think it's more likely that it's another survivor."

"But….where would a tourist get a gun?" She asked.

"Not sure, took it off a dead ACU trooper maybe? Maybe they were a concealed Carrier? I mean, we found weapons, they were non-lethals, but still." He tried to reason.

"Did Jurassic World allow concealed carry?" Yasmina asked.

"No idea, I didn't memorize the handbook….but honestly I really wouldn't think so." He admitted.

"So…we should try to find them right?" She asked. "I mean, even if it's just another survivor, maybe we can help each other. Safety in numbers right?" She asked hopefully.

"Like I was telling Yaz and Kenji, the shots were miles away, I'm assuming you were out on the balcony and you didn't even hear them. Just wandering into the jungle to the west is probably a bad idea, especially since Sammy and I are the only ones who are travel ready right now. Plus if they were shooting….they were under attack, so really, they may not even be alive anymore." He explained.

"And if they ARE alive, Darius thinks they're probably headed here." Sammy added.

"This would be the most likely place to go……for rescuers or survivors." He agreed.

"I thought we should look for them at first too, I even….agreed with Kenji….blah!" Yaz admitted, making a gagging face. "But now that I've though about it….we don't know ANYTHING about this person. What if they're evil. Ya know, in situations like these, where we're all probably going to die eventually anyway, people can do some pretty messed up things….especially to five kids…especially since three of us are injured. They could be a thief, a murderer…….a rapist...we can't just welcome them in with open arms. Remember Eddie? The second he got the chance he stole our van and left us for the Indominus. This guy could be worse, much worse. If he wanted to take something from us…..or do something to us...there wouldn't be much we could do to stop him."

Brooklynn and Sammy exchanged looks as the reality of Yasmina's warning sunk in.

"No way." Darius stated defiantly, locking eyes with Brooklynn. "I'd never let that happen, he'd have to kill me first."

"Yeah, over our dead bodies!" Kenji added, placing a hand on Darius's shoulder.

"Well, they have a gun so yeah, probably would kill you two first." Yaz agreed in her classic deadpan.

"Okay, I'm with Yaz on this" Brooklynn admitted.

"Me too." Sammy added.

"Me three" Kenji chimed in. "I guess it's not worth the risk.

"Then it's unanimous." Darius decided. "We keep watch and see if they show up here. If they do, I'll meet with them away from the hotel, Sammy will be nearby and keep watch. I'll make them think I'm alone untill I'm sure we can trust them."

"Too dangerous, I don't like it." Brooklynn protested.

"I'm open for ideas if anyone has a better one."

Nobody spoke.

"Okay it's settled then." Darius confirmed.

The room stayed silent. It was obvious that nobody much cared for the idea, but then again, their options were limited. Finally Sammy broke the silence.

"Well, since we have firewood now, I can cook for ya'll again. Who's hungry?"

The looks on her friends faces at the mention of food told her all she needed to know.

"Okay then, I'm gonna run down to the kitchen and see what I can salvage for us." She decided. "Darius, can you get a cooking fire ready? Just keep it small for now."

"No problem." Darius affirmed.

"I'll go with you, help you carry stuff back." Kenji offered.

"Um, okay, you sure you feel up to it?" She asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm good, it's no problem."

"Well okay then, let's get to it!" She said, standing up.

Kenji stood and followed her to the door, only wincing slightly as he moved, still Sammy noticed.

"You sure you're okay?" She asked as they entered the hallway.

"Yeah, of course." He assured her. "I'm not completely useless."

"Kenj, you'd never be useless. But there's no shame in taking it easy when you're injured and trying to heal either." She said.

"I know, just…you were gone when I woke up, and then I found out from Yaz you were out there and……"

"Soooo, you were worried about me?"

"No……..maybe……..yes." He sighed, his shoulders slumping a bit. There's also a chance I might have missed you a bit.

Sammy held her breath for a second as she felt the blood rising to her face.

"I uh….I wasn't gone very long Kenji." She laughed nervously.

"I know, but I asked Yaz if she knew where the pain killers were and she kinda started accusing me of….I don't know, I guess abusing them and thinking I was gonna get addicted to them or something. I mean, I know they can be addictive, but…the fact that she thought that hurt….made me miss having you there in my corner, you always see the good in me." He explained.

"Aww Kenji, how can I not see the good in you? And don't worry about Yaz, I noticed she seems to have something against prescription pain killers when I offer them to her. She's probably just upset that you're taking them." She said.

"Yeah…….you don't think I'm taking to many or taking them to often do you?" He asked.

"Of course not, you've got some pretty severe first and second degree burns, if we were back home, the doctor would probably prescribe you the same thing. There's nothing wrong with trying to keep your pain under control. Just because she can get away with Ibuprofen doesn't mean everyone can." She assured him.

"Yeah…I guess." He sighed. "But if you saw something wrong you'd tell me…..right?"

"Of course I would, I'd be a pretty rotten friend if I didn't." She answered.

"Okay good, thank you Sammy."

"Of course, no problem….and Kenji, try not to let her get in your head about it…seems like she's got you second guessing yourself." She said.

"I don't know…she said people get hooked and don't even realize it, said she's seen it happen. At first I was just upset that she thought that, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized she was acting out of concern…..maybe she sees something I don't." he explained. "Oh, and speaking of which, I found these, you should hang on to them." He said, holding out the bottle of Vicodin.

Sammy's eyes widened as she slapped her hip pocket.

"Oh shoot, I didn't even realize I lost them!" She exclaimed. "Where were they?"

"In the recliner next to the bed, I took one….I woke up in a lot of pain." He answered.

"See Kenji, that proves it." She beamed. "If you had a problem, you wouldn't have given them back to me, you would have kept them for yourself and let me think I lost them."

"I…I guess that makes sense." He concluded.

"Of course it does. And the fact that you're this worried about it proves that you wouldn't let it happen in the first place." She added.

"Yeah, I suppose that's true isn't it." He said, his spirits beginning to lift.

"Darn right it is!" She exclaimed, coming to a stop at the door to the kitchen. "You're a much better man than you think you are, Kenji Kon."

"And this right here is why I missed you Sammy." He said, pulling her into a hug that made Her insides tickle. "You always build me up, make me feel like I'm actually worth something."

"Awww, you are worth something Kenji. You're worth more than you'll ever know." She assured him, hoping against hope he wouldn't notice her blush. "Come on, let's see what they have in the kitchen, our friends are hungry."

Darius blew gently into the tiny flame, small whisps of smoke stinging his eyes. Pleased with himself, he leaned back and added a few more twigs to the growing fire, turning as someone came through sliding door.

"She's fine." Yaz answered before he could ask and sitting down cross-legged on the other side of the little fire. "She's getting herself cleaned up, insists that she can redress it on her own…..sometimes that girl is as stubborn as I am."

"Ha, sounds like Brooklynn." He chuckled.

"Hey……so what happened to out here earlier?" She asked, genuine concern replacing her nearly always sarcastic tone.

"I've…I've been dealing with a lot of guilt." He sighed.

"Over her?" She asked nodding toward the bathroom.

"Yeah. Just…she was soo close..I just keep seeing it…over and over, searching for something I could have done differently." He said sadly. "But she did help me to see it differently…she pointed out a lot of times that I did exactly the right thing."

"Good. Dwelling on what you could of done, what you should of done, doesn't change anything, It only leads to guilt…..just like you found out. It leaves you stuck in the past, unable to move forward. None of us can afford to be stuck in the guilt of the past right now." She said softly, her voice slowly tapering down to a whisper.

"Ben?" He asked.

Yasmina's eyes met his from across the flames, conveying an internal war that he now understood all too well.

"We can't change the past Darius." She said solemnly. "We can either live in it or move on from it….but we can't change it. I understand that now…..mostly."

For a moment Darius allowed the memory of Ben's hand slipping through his fingers to take hold before shaking it away.

"At least it was quick for him." He said, staring into the fire.

"Yeah?...what if it wasn't?" She asked quietly.

Before he could answer, the door slid open once again.

"Hey, you got it going." Brooklynn said cheerfully, putting a hand on Darius's shoulder and using it to ease herself down next to him.

"Are you okay? Is the bleeding stopped?" He asked in concern.

"I'm fine dinonerd." She grinned, rolling her eyes. "I'm quite capable of washing off a little blood and replacing some gauze and tape."

"I know…I just..it's hard to…"

"I get it." She smiled. "I'm okay….really."

Darius smiled as she yawned and gently lay her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

Across the fire Yasmina couldn't help but to smile and stick her finger down her throat in a mock barf.

Darius narrowed his eyes at her and mouthed "shut up."

A few minutes later Kenji and Sammy returned with the spoils of their raid to the kitchen.

"Who wants beef stew?" Sammy asked, setting down two one gallon cans of the stuff while Kenji set down the pot, bowls, ladle and spoons.

Brooklynn raised her head to look at Darius, who then looked to Yaz.

"Stew sounds great." He said, looking back at Sammy.

"I could go for stew." Brooklynn agreed.

"Protein is good." Yasmina added.

Sammy smiled and set to work immediately, pouring the two cans into the pot and rigging it up just above the flames. The smell of the stew cooking soon filled the balcony, making the camper's mouths water at the thought of a nice hot meal.

Soon enough the Texan was handing out bowls full of hot steaming stew.

There was silence in the group, the only sounds being that of spoons against bowls as each member ate ravenously. None of them had realized just how hungry they actually were, their last real meal being the morning they headed to the communications building.

An hour later the pot sat empty, aside from five empty bowls and spoons. The campers gathered around the fire in various degrees of overstuffed discomfort. Brooklynn again rested her head on Darius's shoulder, while Kenji lay on his back with his feet propped up on Sammy lap. Sammy seemed rather content with the situation, even though she had zero idea when the last time he washed his feet was, and honestly, she probably didn't want to know either. Yasmina sat on the other side of the fire with her knees pulled up to her chest, staring intently into the flame.

It was actually one of the most peaceful moments they'd had in their time on the Island. Relatively safe, warm, and with full bellies, sleep threatened all five of them.

Darius closed his eyes and let his cheek rest against the top of Brooklynn's head.

"Top of the waterfall." He said, just loud enough for her to hear.

"Hmm?" She questioned sleepily.

"If you wouldn't have made it….I would have buried you at the top of the waterfall….facing east..overlooking the valley. That way you could see every sunrise till the end of time." He said quietly.

Her breath caught in her throat as butterflies danced in her overly full stomach.

"Darius that's…..that's really sweet." She stuttered, finding herself at a loss for words. "I knew you wouldn't just leave me there for the compys."

"No I couldn't do that." He agreed.

She felt like she should say something….maybe now, in this rare moment of peace, she should tell him that he was way more than a friend to her…

Thankfully Kenji stepped in before she got the chance to say something she couldn't take back.

"And what are you two talking about over there..all secretive like?" He asked.

Darius looked down at Brooklynn and back up to Kenji.

"Burial plots." He said, shrugging his shoulders.

A full three seconds passed before Yaz burst into laughter.

"That was totally a me answer!" She cackled.

"Hmm, I'd rather have my own mausoleum." Kenji decided.

"Of course you would." Sammy laughed, rolling her eyes.

Another wave of laughter washed over them. Maybe, just maybe, things were going to be okay.

The notion was short lived.

A scream echoed from the jungle next to the hotel.

Everyone, even Kenji, shot up straight, wide eyed in shock.

"That was no dinosaur!" Yasmina stated.

The group jumped to their feet and pressed themselves against the railing, searching for the source of the scream.

"THERE! RIGHT THERE!" Sammy yelled and pointed as a figure stumbled out of the jungle.

"It's…it's a worker, see his uniform? He worked here!" Darius pointed out.

"Hey, if he works here, maybe he knows a way to contact the outside world!" Kenji exclaimed.

"What's….what's wrong with him?" Yasmina asked, narrowing her eyes.

The man stumbled forward, doubled over clutching his face. He looked exhausted…and dizzy. But it was something else about him that caught Yaz's attention.

His hair….something about his hair reminded her of……of Ben.

Of course she knew it wasn't Ben…it couldn't be….this man was much older. Taller and heavier too. She guessed he resembled what she assumed Ben's father would have looked like.

"UP HERE!" She yelled before she could even think about it.

The man stopped and turned their direction, clearly having heard her, but unable to pinpoint where exactly she was.

Facing them , the man cried out for help, falling first to his knees and then over onto his back.

"Come on, we have to help him!" She said, turning to run for the stairs.

Darius caught her by the shoulder.

"It's too late." He said sadly, pointing to the animal stepping out of the treeline. "That's a Dilophosaurus. Even if we could get him away from it…..without antivenom….there's nothing we can do."

Yasmina's stomach twisted into knots as he continued to plead for help, the dinosaur circling him, slowly closing in. She could see it all too clearly, the gooey black venom plastered to his face, the way he writhed on the ground. She knew he must be in excruciating pain even though it was obvious the paralysis was already setting in.

Nobody said a word, all they could do was watch in horror as his cries seared themselves into their memories.

"MAKE IT STOP!" Sammy cried, covering her ears and burying herself into Kenji's chest. The boy wrapped his arms around her protectively, turning away from the grizzly scene himself.

"Don't watch, Brooke." Darius said, gently turning her away and pulling her into an embrace. "You don't wanna see this."

While the others turned away, Yasmina could not. She was frozen, her eyes transfixed on the doomed man, his screams becoming more panicked as the dinosaur approached.

Time slowed for the athlete, allowing her to take in everything in horribly vivid detail.

She watched helplessly as the Dilophosaur placed a clawed foot right in the middle of the man's chest. He let out one last panicked scream as the dinosaur's jaws closed around his throat. A quick tearing motion from the predator cut the scream short, ending it in a horrible gurgle that she would remember the rest of her life.

For a moment, the rest of the world disappeared. It was just her and the creature…still atop the convulsing body of its latest victim.

It didn't feel real. Like this was some horrible documentary she was watching from the safety of her living room.

That illusion melted the second the animal noticed her.

Locking eyes with her, the Dilophosaur raised to full height, tilting its head, a hunk of ragged flesh that was once the man's throat, still hanging in its jaws.

Yasmina stopped breathing and her stomach turned, the beef stew now threatening to vacate her body.

In one swift motion the dinosaur tossed its head back and swallowed the flesh, cocking its head back the other direction before finally turning its attention back to its meal.

"That could have been you" Brooklynn murmured from Darius's chest. "That thing was probably down there with you the whole time and you didn't even know it…that coulda been YOU!" She repeated, slamming her fists into Darius's chest and rushing inside, making no attempt to hide her tears.

"It could have been either of us." Sammy added weakly, clinging to Kenji just a bit tighter.

"Think that was our shooter?" Kenji asked, looking over to Darius.

"Yeah….I would assume it was." He answered, hanging his head.

"Guess we're back to being alone on this island then." Kenji observed.

"Someone will come….eventually." Darius said. "We just have to hang on until they do."

Yaz wasn't listening though. She couldn't. The only thing she could hear was the crunching of bones, the ripping of clothing, as the man who'd reminded her so much of Ben was literally torn to shreads before her eyes.

A powerful wave of nausea washed over her as her dinner climbed to the back of her throat.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she fought to regain control of her body, stepping backwards away from the railing. As she did, her eyes met briefly with Kenji's. The concern in them made it clear he knew she wasn't okay.

"Hey Yaz, you good?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

She gave a quick nod and turned away, throwing the balcony door open and running for the bathroom. Immediately, she collapsed in front of the toilet, losing every bit of her beef stew, but still the nausea didn't stop. She heaved over and over, so violently that it was impossible to remain quiet, the taste of bile filling her mouth.

Finally, the nausea subsided. Sitting back, she wiped her mouth and flushed the toilet.

"Why am I so weak?" She thought in disgust, Sitting back against the wall and pulling her knees up to her chin. " EVERYONE just heard that….I've seen people get eaten before..what is wrong with me?"

As she sat there, wiping a few stray tears with the back of her hand, she could hear Brooklynn crying in the other room, along with another voice that she assumed was Darius attempting to comfort her.

"Poor girl." She thought as another tear built up and threatened to fall. "Sounds like she finally gets it…no matter what we do…no matter how many times we get lucky….no matter how hard we fight for each other….that was our future. She's finally realizing the futility in all of this…one by one, that's going to be us…I've been naïve to deny it. No matter how long we last….none of us are going home. There's just no way, there's too much against us……no matter what we do……none of us are going to survive this."

"None of us"