Clean Break
Penthouse Private Dock, Isla Nublar:
P.O.V Change: Kenji
The morning sun shone down onto me as I walked further down towards the dock. I stretch my arms and loosen any knots and kinks in my joints, as I do that, I wipe any foliage and leaves from my new clothes. After the fiasco with Blue and Allison, I decided to forgo the tight business suit and change into a fresh set of clothes that matched the old and torn ones that I had before. I feel better in these clothes, I can move around without feeling the strict tightening of the suit. Plus, it also gives me an internal happiness toward dad's reaction, I can just imagine what he'll say when he sees me.
The day after Dodgson's arrival and Molina's death was mostly uneventful. I mostly spent it around Mae and Toro. I didn't feel in the mood, nor did I really care what Dad and Dodgson got up too. Though, Dad did see that a ship and a plane were coming, the animals were getting loaded up and transported off the island and we would be returning to Mantah Corp Island, that was the only thing that I really paid attention too, other than that, nothing really interested me. Feeding Toro and just keeping him moving and healthy was the only thing that I cared about, plus, it gave me something to do, besides shadowing Dad and Dodgson. The only thing that I could complain about was that me and Mae had to watch, with distaste, as the mercenaries used Grim, the Dimorphadon and Utahraptor, mockingly named Big-Head and Feathers respectively, as their personal playthings. They were forbidden from 'fightning' but that didn't stop the mercs from making them do stupid stuff and just laugh at the expense of the controlled dinos. When the mercs were ordered to do something else, me and Mae would tend to the animals, nursing any wounds that were inflicted and just making sure that they were as comfortable as possible, not that it mattered in the end. I wanted to say something to Dad but I knew that if I said anything, it could possibly make Dad and Dodgson's deal go south, and while I don't care for it, I can't risk it. Dad has a vengeful side, I saw it when the BRADs were ordered to remove the remains of Kash from the Forest Biome. The sight of Galen's savagery nearly trained my stomach inside out. While I don't think Dad would do that to me, I have no doubt that he'll think of something to punish me with. He is creative like that, I should know...experienced most of them.
I step out of the foliage and gaze down at the dock. I stare, amazed, at the massive, high tech, cargo ship that is sitting docked. A self-automated container was parking itself along the four other containers in the main courtyard of the dock. I gaze down from the boat and my amazed gaze trained to one of concealed scorn as I watch Hawkes throw a slab of meat at Grim's feet, he then commands the Baryonyx to eat it. Dad and Dodgson watch from the sidelines as I walk down the dock and past them, I see that one of the mercs is having trouble commanding Toro, while the chips worked fine on all the selected animals, it took a lot of trial and error seeing how the different brains functioned around each chip. The Dimorphadon and the Utahraptor were completely different animals so it made sense that their brains would function differently. "Let me try." I say to the Merc who scoffs towards me and forces the controller into my chest. "Good luck, damn beast isn't worth my time anyway." The merc says as he walks over to the Utahraptor. I recognize him as one of the twins...mercs that were most happy with 'entertaining' themselves with Feat-no. That name is a mockery to the animal. What name should it be? I gaze down at the predator's feet and see the massive toe claw...hmm, Talon. Yes, that works.
'Entertaining' themselves with Talon, watching them laugh at the animal just made me mad but also gave me some dark thoughts. Be a shame if her chips were suddenly disabled. The campers and I never really ran into any Utahraptors while we were here... surprisingly, but Ryan did tell us that his large torso scars came from a Utahraptor, soooooo...yeah. I would live to see if you would be laughing when she sinks her claws and teeth into you, and there ain't a damn thing you could do to stop her. Like I said...dark thoughts.
I turn back to Toro and gaze sadly at his emotionless stance...he is so robotic. I've seen him like this for the past three days but watching them now... he's so lifeless. His aggression, his persistence, all these things that made me and the campers, rightfully fear and respect him. Now...none of that is present...just a puppet for me to pull on. I sigh willfully and command him forward, I hear Grim chitter next to me as I glance over and see Hawkes loading her into the container, Dad and Dodgson walking along them, heading towards me. "I gotta hand it to you, Daniel. You put on a heck of a show." Dodgson compliments my Dad as I carefully hide and roll my eyes, drowning out their conversation and face Toro again.
I walk around him as I inspect his skin for any marks, scratches, bites, etc. Mae had shown me how to carefully inspect an animal for signs of injury and little details like Compy bites and so on. I see that some pus is starting to leak out of Toro's tail, seems that this small part of his burn scars didn't heal properly. Gonna have to tell Dad and see if we can get some medical BRADs to check him out when we get back. I walk out front again and lower Toro's head closer to me. I command him to open wide so I can inspect his teeth. Tooth root is common with most predators, according to Mae, she said that Big Eatie had a nasty case a while back so it's always important to check. Seeing no real signs, only that his teeth are yellow and his breath smells disgusting, I close his mouth and move back from him. "...gonna turn around and stab you in the back. This is a loyal son you both here, Daniel. You raised him well." Dodgson says as he walks past me and nods to me. Seeing no harm in doing so, I return his nod with a small smile. While the guy is as emotionless as a stone, he does show his approval in his own way. I'm grateful for it but deep down it saddens me that he does...Molina died because of a dumb decision. She might have taken the bag, but I did nothing but make sure that we weren't running around all over the place trying to find her. I know that Dodgson would've wanted his bag back and chasing Molina on Nublar...in the fucking dark, was not on my to-do-list.
I feel Dad wrap his arm, proudly along my shoulders. "I see more of myself in him every day." He says as I narrow my eyes slightly and gaze down at the controller. Seemingly reading Toro's brain functions and chip's signature, in reality, I'm fuming. 'See more of myself.' Typical...it's not me, not my deeds but yours. See yourself before you see your own son. And...wait a minute, Dodgson's said you raised me right...and you agreed, kinda. You didn't raise me, Mum did. The only thing you wanted from me was to be like you. And now that I have sort of been trying for the last week, you go back and forth between what you want. Anything I do, that you wanted always ends in pride but if I do something that I wanted to do or if I had an opinion that differed to yours...'no, you can't do that. I'm disappointed in you, blah, blah, blah'. You can't make up your mind and right now, I'm just done with trying to please you...there's not really any point to begin with anyway. Dad 'drags' me along with him as we stand on the edge of the courtyard and the dock. I watch as a plane lands along the other side of the dock and ship. I recognize it as the same plane that dropped me, Dad and Mae. I see Dodgson's hop-in as Kayla turns the plane around. "You changed." Dad says unexpectedly as I turn to him. "Uh, what do you mean?" I ask, trying to play as dumb as I can...you couldn't have caught on. I have rid my thoughts and feelings from him this whole time, what gave me away? "Your clothes. Back to this now?" He says with a raised eyebrow and slight condescension in his voice.
I internally sigh in relief, pheww, he's still in the dark and if I get my way...that's where it'll stay. "Oh, yeah. It's just easier to move around, you know?" I say to him with a shrug as he lightly scoffs. "You know how I feel about doing things the easy way." He says patronizing as I shrug, uncaring. "It may be the easy way, but I would rather have more freedom to move if I have to run again." I say back to him as his eyes narrow. He doesn't like that I'm talking back to him, I don't care really, he's acting like a child with how he is reacting to my back chat...he can't see that I'm not choosing between the 'easy' way and 'his' way, I'm choosing the more practical option. Dad walks away when he sees that in giving into his view and heads up to Hawkes. I see Mae carrying a heaving bucket of meat over to Toro as I walk up to her. "Need help?" I ask her as she clears her throat and nods to the thrown food at Toro's feet. "Oh, sorry." I say as I control Toro to eat up, there is a long voyage ahead and the animals have to have their strength when we depart. Toro hobbles up the food as I look down at Mae. I see that she has a frown on her face, I decide to try and cheer her up. "Hey, you alright? You look like you got the Nublar 'new blah's'." I say jokingly to her but she looks up at me confused...my face class at seeing her own...damn idiot, of course your dumb joke didn't work. "Sad. You look sad." I say comfortingly to her but she sighs and picks up the bucket, walking over to the Dimorphadon. "Just doing my job." She says depressingly as I see her kneel down in front of the animal. Her shoulders are slack and her usual joyful expression is all but gone...the only time that I've seen her with that face was when we arrived and when we ran into Bumpy...but other than that...our job on Nublar had been a really miserable one for Mae. With everything that has been going on, I haven't really had the time nor even tried to comfort her. I imagine that doing all of this goes against everything that she has worked for and believes in. She cares for these animals, I can't imagine what she's feeling seeing all these controlled dinosaurs. I think back to when Ryan and the others told me that Dad was forcing her to work with Kash on making new control chips. I didn't believe it then...but I do now. Mae would never work with Kash, not after what he pulled and Dad would have not got his control chips within Mae's research and her insight...which she would have no doubt refused to part with.
I watch as she holds the meat out for the pterosaur, only for the merc beside said pterosaur control it to take it. I walk up to the merc and gesture to the controller. His eyes narrow but nonetheless pass the controller to me. The merc walks away as I sit beside Mae and the Dimorphadon. Have to think of a befitting name for him later. "Really? Cause I've seen you do your job. You were a lot happier. Livelier." I say to her, I notice her face scowl as she rears her head back. "Well, that was before..." She starts with annoyance before sighing in defeat. "I'm fine. I appreciate what you're trying to do, Kenji. But I'm just tired, that's all." She says as she holds the food out again. I refuse to do what she silently asking me as I reach out and enclose my hand around her own and pull the food back. She stares confused at me, but I take her now empty hand and place it on the Dimorphadon's snout. The animal softly grunts and coo's when Mae starts to caress his nose. I see her mouth smile again as she cups the animal's jaws, staring into his eyes with a respectful and loving gaze. "This is your job. These animals are your passion. And for what it's worth. I'm sorry." I say softly as she gazes at me.
"Sorry for what?" Dad asks unexpectedly as I we jump in surprise, and I hop to my feet. "Uh, nothing. We were reminiscing of the time we met. I was apologizing for a snarky comment that I said to her." I say to Dad who has his arms crossed gazes at me. He glances down at Mae, I see from the bottom of my eyeline that she turns her head away, refusing to stares at him any longer than necessary. Dad stares back up at me and walks up to us. "Kenji, did you get the Ethernet connection working in the penthouse?" Dad asks as I mentally slap myself. I completely forgot to do that...come on, think of something, you idiot. "No, I tried, like...a hundred times. I think that cord is shot...or that Compy's have chews it up." I says to him as he pulls out his tablet. "Then try connecting on the boat, son. Where would I be if I quit any time something seemed too difficult?" He asks me with condescension as I mentally narrow my eyes at him but in reality, I gaze submissively at the ground. "Right...I'll get right on it." I say as he nods. "Make sure that you do. Without the Ethernet, we won't be able to keep the chips active when we move out of Nublar's signal frequency." He says as I nod and walk towards the boat, at the same time, taking the tablet from him. When my back is turned to him, my submissive expression drops into one of anger. Yep, typical Dad, everything starts and ends with him. His attitude towards me is really starting to get under my skin, I don't know how much longer I can take his criticism, and if I do break, I hope that I can at least get one swing to wipe off that smug look on his face. When I was younger, I feared him because I wanted to make him proud, now I see that he will never be proud of me. All I feel for him now, is just a deep-seated anger. For all his accomplishments and money making, I can say that the one thing that the perfect Daniel Kon has failed in...and that is being a good father.
I walk within the shadow of the ship as I get closer to the cargo ramp. Thoughts of Dad and his inflated ego is pushed from my mind as I hear a grunting and groaning of a dinosaur. I turn my head and see a container being rattled by whatever is inside. "Shut up already!" A merc screams as he slams his fist against the metal. The dino within returns with a louder bang from the inside. "Fucking piece of shit." The merc growls in annoyance while pulling out his controller. The dino's groans and banging die down and eventually go silent. I narrow my eyes angrily at the merc and turn around and head onto the boat. I hate this, no doubt any more...none.
P.O.V Change: Mae
I watch from the corner of my eye as Kenji leaves. I can see the cowering behavior that Kenji has but when talking to him and seeing his attitude for the last few days have made me see. He is putting on an act. When Daniel showed up when we were talking, I thought he caught Kenji in the act, but he successfully came up with a story on the spot, it was a lie, but it still had some truth. The one thing I noticed from before is that Kenji is a horrible liar. The others told me of how Kenji was able to trick Darius on their first camp night but that was only brocade Darius was gullible back then. But now, he came up with a lie, right on the spot...to Daniel, of all people. I don't know if Daniel fell for it or not but he hasn't said anything so that's good. I turn away from the Kon's and inspect the Dimorphadon. "Vitals are good. He's fed and ready to be loaded. Let me check the Utahraptor and we'll be done. If you don't need anything else, then I just go-." I say as I go to leave but Daniel turns and faces me.
"Actually...I do. Dodgson has asked for more dinosaur DNA." Daniel says as I cast my eyes down sadly and sigh. I turn to him and nod. "Fine. How many does he want? Any preferences?" I say with tiredness as Daniel raises an eyebrow and smirks. "That's it? No cries of protest?" He says mockingly as I glare at him. "Humorous...but then what's the point?" I say snarkily as he smiles, humored by my attitude. "I'm glad you are starting to see things my way." He says as Hawkes walks up to us, a case and tranq rifle in hand. I put down the bucket and took the case from him. I walk away and head towards the docks exit, with Hawkes trailing behind me.
It took a while, but we eventually found suitable dinosaurs. A Triceratops was the first we found, a Pachycephalosaurs second, a Compy, Gallimimus and now a Stegosaurus. Hawkes watches as I swipe cotton buds along the cheek of the tranq'd dino. I pull the bud out and put it in a storage tube. I put the tube on the case, which tired out to be a self-powered cooler container for the samples. "All done." I say as I close the case. "Not yet. Boss wants a carnivore." Hawkes as he takes out another tube from his pocket. I sigh and take the tube from him. "Any reason why?" I ask but he just glares at me. "Don't know, don't care. Just get it done." He says before walking away. You desperately need a holiday, my friend... preferably one far away from me...of anyone really. Very unpleasant man. Very. I go to follow after him, but I look back to the Stego. I walk over and pull the tranq dart from her side. She grunts in discomfort but not so much that she is in pain, thank God for the tranquilizer for long it's good.
We walk down the dirt road, hoping to find a suitable carnivore for Daniel but the oh thing that we have found is just the dreaded silence of the jungle. This is the part that always gets me. If I can hear or see something then I don't know where it is...and on this island, that's the worst thing imaginable. Deep groaning can be heard next to us as Hawkes jumps in surprise and points his rifle. I prepare to run if something pops up but to my relief and happiness...it was just a Parasaurolophus. I watch in amazement as the dinosaur is followed by a good size herd, roughly around 10 to 15 individuals. "They aren't carnivores, are they?" Hawkes says nervously as his gun trails to each Parasaur. I shake my head mirthly at his nervousness. I would have thought that Daniel would have prepared his mercenaries for the animals that are here on this island...but I guess he just thought they were smart enough. "No. No, they're not." I say as I reach out and lower his rifle. I walk forward and stand within some foliage as I watch the animals pass us by with no heed. For the first time in a few days, I felt what I felt before Daniel forced me to work for him. I feel what I feel whenever I observe Pierce or the Eatie's. Kenji was right. This is my job, my passion...and I know in my heart that I will never let Daniel or Dodgson get their hands on these samples. One of the Parasaurolophus stops and gazes down at me, I smile at the animal who bellows to what I wish to believe is a greeting before moving on. I chuckle softly as the Parasaur catches up to the herd. I hear a soft cry as I turn my head and see an older Parasaur trailing far behind the herd, I watch in sympathy as the animal walks with a limp but instead of it being something of a hindrance or annoyance, the limp is severe, she can barely put an weight on it. I walk slowly down the tail, getting closer to the hurt animal and see the reason for her limp, on her left side is a wide and bloody bite mark. The size and freshness of blood gives the reason that this happened not too long ago, maybe an hour or so. I watch with amazement as two Parasaurolophus stay behind to help the injured one keep up, refusing to let the nature have say in who lives. Survival dictates that the strongest survive but these two refuse to obey that one rule. The care that these animals have for each other, it goes beyond what we want or wish to understand. Millions of years of evolution, and we see them as something to poke and prod so they can dance to our tune. The arrogance of man is the worst thing to come out of our species. I see one of the Parasaurolophus fix its head underneath the jaw of the injured one, keeping the head up as the other one carefully pushes her along. "Where are you going? What are you running from?" I whisper to myself, but Hawkes calls out to me. "What'd you say?" He asks as I sigh and glance over my shoulder. I scoff and turn back to the herd. "Nothing." I say before ironing away and rejoining him, continuing down the dirt road.
P.O.V Change: Owen Grady
I hear the calls of Parasaurolophus. I walk over to a rock, looking over and seeing a herd pass by underneath. Roxie comes up beside me, gazing down at the herd. "They're passing by, nothing to worry about." I say to her as she sighs. "I sure hope so." She says as we go to rejoin the group. I see that Brand and Dave are talking, getting along which isn't a bad thing. It's taking Brands' mind off of the fact that we haven't found the kids yet but I'm not worried. If what Dave and Roxie says about those kids are true then they are fine and with Ryan with them, even more so. I look ahead of the group and see Kate a far distance away, she isn't far where we can't see her but she isn't close enough so she can hear any conversations going. I sigh at knowing the stubbornness that my sister had inherited. I got my father's looks, and she got his temperament and impatience. I've tried to get her to open up to the group but she refused to do so. 'I'm here to get my son and those other campers. And that's all I care about'. She said that to me when I tried to talk to her about it yesterday and any time since...I've just given up trying. Kate is not the most social person in the world, and I can see that stress and anxiety is starting to get to her. The last time I saw her like this was when I came back after Jurassic World fell and told her that Ryan was among the escapees. She nearly throttled me when I told her that news, I hadn't seen her that mad and upset since Stephen died, and after that, she just curled into a ball of depression. Ryan suffered the same but on a deeper level, simply because he was there. They both helped each other, Kate eventually accepted Stephen's death but she still feels the pain to this day and I don't believe that she'll ever lose it.
"...and my mum says, he can go anywhere he wants. Anywhere. And what does my baby brother choose? The zoo." Brand says I Face who cackles in laughter at the story. I smile at seeing Brand's happy expression. "That's a good one. I got Darius stories too. Want to hear one?" Dave asks as Brand glances at him. "I think you've already told both of them." He says as I walk up. "I can you a story about Ryan if you want to hear it?" I ask as they both turn to me. "Sure." "Absolutely." Brand and Dave say respectively as I take a breath. "So, it was about a few weeks before the start of camp and I was sitting in my bungalow, watching NFL reruns and all of a sudden, my door opens and to my surprise, there's Ryan...standing in the doorway. I went to say something but the smell coming off of him was the worst thing I have ever smelt and believe...I've smelted a lot. I asked him why he stunk so bad and he told me that he and Hamada...his mentor, had a bet...he lost and his punishment was that he had to help the Rangers with shovelling Apatosaurs dung. I winced when he told me what dinosaur poo he had to move... Apatosaurs dung is the worst smelling thing that your nose will ever smell." I say as Brand laughs and Dave starts cracking from the story. "Wait, so Ryan...the tall, beefy, intimidating Ryan...made a bet and lost. So he had to shovel dino dung. I don't know whether to be happy or feel sorry for him." Dave says as I drop my smile. "When we find him, I'm going to tell him you said that. Let's see if he finds your humour at his expense." I say with a threatening tone but I smile and break the farce. Dave and Brand catch on and laugh nervously as I place a hand on Dave's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm just messing with you."
We continue along the path, but I can see that Brand is getting frustrated with each passing minute. "Haven't we been here before? I swear I've seen that tree there times already. Why does it feel like we are walking in circles?" He asks, gestures his arms out to the surrounding jungle. "It's a big island. We've barely scratched the surface." Roxie reasons to him. "But it's been two days." I can see that Roxie is trying to help comfort his anxiety, but Brand is not like us. We lived on this island and read all the safety protocols and everything. Brand knows nothing of this island, and Ryan would know where to go to hide and hunker down, but we have searched these spots and nothing. The treehouse that they built was a fear of engineering, but I could see signs that it was abandoned. I don't know why they left or if they were forced out. The damage found on the foundations and claw marks on the floor gives credence to those fears.
"Look, we gotta switch things up. I don't know, maybe we should split up? If Darius and the others were actually here, then there should have been a sign or something." Brand suggests but I see the Kate has drawn back to the group. "Absolutely not. It's hard enough trying to find the kids, I don't want to have to find you if you get lost...or worse." She says assertively as she away and continues on. "She is one...mean, lady." Dave quips as I chuckle. "She's just practical. And she's right. Splitting up would only hinder us even more, we are better off sticking together." I say as we follow Kate. Roxie goes to step, but I see that she nearly slips on an empty, discarded water bottle. Roxie reaches down and picks it up with a scoff. "If there's one thing I don't understand, it's littering." She says as we carry on. I see Brand stop and look down at the ground. "Whose out here dropping water bottles and hats?" He says as he picks up the dirty safari hat. "Owen! You better get here!" Kate calls out as I snap to her direction and level my rifle. I run ahead with the others trailing behind me as I turn down a fork in the road. Seeing discarded rubbish and torn seating, I came up beside Kate, gazing ahead at the abandoned camp. Yurts are set up and tables and chairs are scattered all over the place. The only thing going through my mind is who the hell set this up? And where the hell did, they go?
We walk around the camp, inspecting the yurts and tables. "Do you think that they were here?" Brand asks as he walks out of a yurt. "Hmm...doesn't seem like the campa-dampa-doos style. That's my nickname for the campers. They'll love it. Builds instant trust." Dave says as I roll my eyes. I see Kate kneel down and caress the dirt. "What is it?" I ask as Kate stands up. "Tracks. Many of them are faded and almost gone but I can find at least seven different individual prints. Someone was here and I can guess that the campers were here at least once. Whether with whoever set this up or after." She says Before turning her eyes to a line hurt at the far end of the camp. "Maybe they were offered a place to stay." Roxie suggests as I turn to her. "Or maybe a ride back home." Brand says excitedly but I feel something in the pit of my stomach. Something about his place doesn't feel right. "I doubt it. Something's off and I bet that it has to do with that." Kate says as she pints to the yurt at the end. We walk towards to walk in, where we are immediately hit by a foul stench and hear the buzzing of a swarm of flies. Kate walks over to the crates at the side and opens one. She pulls out a large, serrated hunting knife and rifle. "Poachers." She says as Roxie walks over to the large tarped over object in the corner. I point my rifle at it, just in case of something but when Roxie moves the tarp out of the way, we all gaps in shock of the reveal. A half decomposed Sinoceratops skull. The skin has festered and is dropping with pus. The bone on the left side has become yellow from the decaying skin and muscle. Dave immediately runs out and throws up the contents of his stomach.
We run out to see Dave throwing up as Brand starts to pace. "What was...what was that?" Dave asks tiredly as he wipes any throw up from his mouth. "Nope. No, no way they stayed here. Darius would never accept help from people who could do that." He says, pointing to the hurt to emphasize his point. "Even if it was the only way out?" Roxie reasons back but I know...I don't know about Darius, but Ryan would never take help from poachers. He and Hamada have had their fair share of poachers infiltrating the island. "No. Brand is right. Ryan would never ask poachers for help either." Kate says as we move away from the hurt and head out of the abandoned camp. We know who these people were but the questions that remain are. Where are they and where are the kids?" Great. So what now?" Dave asks as Kate cocks her rifle. "We keep looking." She says, we all nod in agreement and head out, continuing our search.
P.O.V Change: Kenji
I sit in the connection centre of the ship as I fiddle with the tablet. It's moments like these that I thank all the lessons that Brooklynn went over with me in how to boost the internet. I sit my feet up and twist it to rest my feet. I hear a jangle of keys as I look up and see Dad's jacket hung over the chair. I remember that he came in her earlier to see how the connection. Was going but had to head out because one of the twins was having trouble loading Toro into a container. Dad went out o help but left his jacket behind. I look towards the door and gaze out to see if anyone is coming. With no one in sight, I put the tablet down and tech into his inside pocket, pulling out his keys. I look down and see the keys and an idea starts to form in my head. I know of Toro, Grim, Talon and the Dimorphadon getting transported, but the fifth animal was a mystery to me. Dodgson did say he wanted an herbivore of some kind, so I want to see which one it is and I don't trust Dad to tell me out of the goodness of his heart. He didn't bother when he, Dodgson and the mercs got the other three. "Any luck?" I hear Dad says as I jump slightly and pocket the keys, hoping that he didn't catch me holding them. "You're at 80 percent. I got the boat's Wi-Fi to work though. With the boat's connection to the penthouse, the Ethernet should be coming online soon, I guess probably within the hour, maybe a little longer. I got it to work with a little hack that I learnt form Broo...I, I figured it out." I say, catching myself. Dad takes the tablet from my offered hand and gazes down at it. "Finally. I'm a little scared to see what my inbox looks like." He says in a subtle joking tone as I smile and shrug. "If it's alright...I'm going to check on Toro and Grim. With those two, always have to be prepared for the worst, eh?" I say as I walk past him. I hear Dad scoff as I look over my shoulder, seeing that his is eye deep in the tablet, he scoffs lightly beige speaking. "Don't get too attached. Toro and Grim belong to Dodgson now. But maybe we can get you another per, eh?" He says as I narrow my eyes. Toro is not my pet nor is Grim. They are just under control because you wanted to make a profit. The mercs were busy controlling the perimeter of the Penthouse and you couldn't be bothered to look after them so it was left to me with keep control of him, and with you and Mae at odds, you would never give her a controller. "I always did want a dog." I say sadly but with a hint of anger and disdain in my voice. "Hmm, did you?" He says, still refusing to look at me, I get the feeling that he doesn't care. I just said that I always wanted a dog, and he never knew that I did, nothing about what I want it care about seems to get to him...it's like I'm not important enough...or good enough. I turn away with a scowl and a subtle tongue click as I leave. "Son?" He calls out to me, I dead that he heard me but I turn and see that he still has his back turned. "Proud of you." He says as he finally looks at me. I drop my scornful expression into a faux smile and nod. "Thanks Dad." I say to him beige walking out.
P.O.V Change: Mae
Our search for a carnivore, had forced us off the dirt road and further into the jungle. The trees start to look over us, casting deep, dark shadows. The one thing that I can take away from the forest biome is that the trees were designed to be as naturally places as possible while also being already apart enough for light to still be filtered in, even in the dead of night. But this, this is nature, probably formed. Cares not for comfort or ease but whatever it wants. The shadowy blackness of the jungle would be perfect for an ambushing predator or as a den for a pack of Utahraptors.
A loud branch cracking is heard as Hawkes holds his fist up, bring going me to a stop. He points his rifle towards the shrubbery and dense jungle. Grass being rustled is heard, as well as the faint snarling of a predator. Hawkes narrows his eyes and covers the trigger with his finger. "Wait, wait, wait. We're being stalked." I whisper to him, but he snarls at me. "Quiet." He grits out as I hold the case up, desperate for some protection at least. Soft thudding can be felt through the found and the rustling of leaves gets louder. We hear a growl and turn to see a medium size carnivore breaking from some shrubbery and holding towards us. It's pale blue scales gleam under the little light that is shown. The predator looks remarkably like a Rex but smaller, the thing that catches my eye is the severed left arm.
The predator roars and charges us, looking to make a quick meal of us. Hawkes pushes me out of the way and fires a shot into the carnivore's chest. The predator starts to slumber and slow down, so much so that we step out of the way and watch as it falls to its chest. I'm breathing heavily at the close call but also at the large size of the animal. Being around Rexes for most of my career, I'm used to large animals but this one is smaller but still feels larger than life, a gigantic animal for extraordinary power. Seeing the animal down, I can see that it's Gorgosaurs, an ancestor to the T-Rex. I've always wanted to study the brain patterns between the two. Some Gorgosaurs specimens in the fossil record were shown to live packs, I've always wondered how the pack mentality worked with them and how it was adapted to the Tyrannosaurs Rex. My thoughts are broken when Hawkes walks up to the tranq'ed animal and kicks it in the ribs, earning a soft growl from the Gorgosaur. "Go on. It's asleep." He says but I'm not too sure. It may be down but it's larger and has a better metabolism than the ones that we have gotten already. "You sure? It's a Gorgosaurus. I mean, given its size and metabolic profile, it may need-." I start to say but Hawkes growls at me. "It's done. I don't tell you how to do your job, do I? Just get the sample." He grits out as I narrow my eyes and approach the down tyrannosaur...slowly and carefully. His vote of confidence does nothing for my own confidence and I'm not taking any chances. I see the remaining hand twitch as the Gorgosaurus snorts. I see that its eyelids are flickering as I back away. It's waking up. "Got the last one. ETA within the hour. Over." Hawkes says over the phone to one of his cronies. I gasp as the predator gets to its feet and turns to face Hawkes. I backed away from the disoriented Gorgosaurus and tripped over a stick, dropping the case. I move back from the Gorgosaur who spins around and its tail knocks Hawkes away, incidentally, tossing the rifle away.
The Gorgosaur shakes it head free of its disorientation and focuses on Hawkes. The mercenary backs away and crawls towards the rifle. The theropod charges towards the mercenary who is able to grab the gun and fire another dart into the carnivore's chest. This time, the dinosaur feels the effects and falls to an unconscious, peaceful slumber. Hawkes rolls out of the way of the massive frame of the predator just before he is squashed. I hop to my feet and pick the sample case up before approaching the downed animal and Hawkes. I look over and see Hawkes curled up on a fetal position l, holding the rifle close to him as he gets his heavy breathing under control. "If I were that bad at my job, maybe you should tell me how to do it." I say snarkily to him as he eases up and looks up at me. He exhales tiredly and just deflates in exhaustion.
P.O.V Change: Kenji
I await under the cover of the ship as the last container is loaded onto the deck. Two mercenaries are heading my way, but they don't heed my presence which I am grateful for. "Seen Hawkes?" One of them asks. "Nah, he should be back soon." The other one answers back. "Better be, we gotta get these things outta here." "Yeah, I know. You said that before." They continue their conversation inside, I look around the corner and see that they are gone before heading to the containers. I walk along the containers, holding my ear up to each one. The first one is a faint chitter and snarling sound which seems to me that this is Grim. The second has a similar sound and is lighter, not as deep. I believe that this is Talon. Movie g to the next one, I hear a soft groaning sound, similar to the ones that I heard earlier, this must be the herbivore. I take out Dad's keys and open the lock, bracing myself for whatever is inside.
Unhooking the hatch, I open the door and to my shock, Bumpy is the occupant. Her aqua amour shines from the influx of light but what truly upsets me is the robotic posture and almost dead look in her eyes. A million thoughts are running through my head, but the most prominent is why? Why would Dad go back on his promise to me about her? I know the answer, before I even asked the question, I knew why. I embarrassed him in front of Dodgson and Molina, I told him 'no, not her. Any, but her'. And here we are. I see now that my word and opinion mean nothing to him. He could have simply picked another Ankylosaur, maybe one that we fully grown and bigger than Bumpy but no, he took her, out of all the dinosaurs, he took Bumpy...even when I asked him not to.
I hop into the container and walk up to Bumpy's side, kneeling down to level with her eye. Damn him, damn them all for this. I caress her head but like all the others, she doesn't react to anything. Her life is effectively cut, as of right now, she's just a mindless puppet. "Hang on, Bumper Car. I'm gonna get you out of here." As I say that, I hear Dad yelling to two mercs. "You two! Get back to work!" I realize that I have to get out of here and confront Dad about why he has Bumpy. I'm afraid, not of his reaction, but of my own. Bumpy isn't just a dinosaur, she's my friend and she effectively, been made a slave. I get out of the container and grab hold of the doors, giving Bumpy one last look of sympathy, I close the doors and lock it. Don't worry Bumpy, I'm going to make this right...I promise.
P.O.V Change: Mae
Me and Hawkes arrive back at the dock and to my surprise, I see Daniel pacing about...like he's anxious about something. I see that he has his eyes in the tablet, Kenji must have gotten the internet to work for him. We walk up to him as he faces us, a scowl plastered on his face. "What took you so long?" He says. My eyes widen slightly as his hostile attitude, something must have happened in the time that we were gone, he is agitated but for what, I have no clue...could be anything really. "We...had a bit of a hiccup." Hawkes says embarrassingly as I raise an eyebrow. Not 'we', you...you had a hiccup. "But we got everything on the list." Hawkes continues as Daniel nods. "Good. Now prepare everything for departure. We have an issue back on my island, so we need to get back. Quickly." Daniel says as my eyes widen. An issue...the only thing that Daniel would consider on the island would be...the kids. "What happened?" Hawkes asks as Daniel scowls and tightens his grip on the tablet. "The kids found a way out. And I can't connect to any of the BRADs, so who knows what they've gotten into." He says frustratingly but my eyes widen. They're out. Daniel turns and sees Hawkes is still here. "Go!" He yells at the merc who nods and races to the get anything that needs to be loaded up. "If they ruin this deal, I swear..." I hear Daniel whisper to himself, but he leaves before I hear anything else.
"The children are free." I whisper to myself as I look down to the ground. I see the case in the corner of my eye, just the sight of it and knowing what's inside sends a river of anger coursing through me but I force it down when I realize something. I have an opportunity here...everything that I have put up with in the last week has been because of Daniel's threat to the kids. He blackmailed me to work for him but threatened to kill the kids if I didn't. And now that they are free and running around Mantah Corp Island with nothing hassling them...I don't have a reason to stay. I turn my eyes up at Daniel's turned back and I smile smugly. How bad do you want these samples...let's find out. I turn and bolt for the exit and run into the jungle, not caring about anything but getting away. With nothing keeping me tethered to Daniel's word...I'll take my chances with the inhabitants on this island. My only regret will not be being there for Kenji, he has suffered enough lies and deception and I wish I could be there to support him, but Daniel has little patience and would seek to get rid of me if he knew what I was planning on doing...research or not, I'm a loose end.
P.O.V Change: Kenji
The sun had started to set, and I marched towards the connection room with a determined look on my face. This is it, no going back, I need to confront Dad. I need answers as to why and I refuse to take a half assed answer or a no, I want a real reason and the truth. Why did you do it? I enter the room and see Dad looking up at me with a happy smile. "How are Toro and Grim?" He says, like he genuinely wants to know but I know better now, these animals and their well-being mean nothing...they are just a means to end so he can deepen his pockets. "Fine, Dad. I don't know if you gave the ok, but..." I start to say, annoyance in my voice but I shift to one of confusion. But before I can even finish my question, he interrupts me. "Yes. We need to leave immediately. We're in a bit of a rush to return to the island." He says quickly, like something really important...or bad has happened. I shake my head of confusion and ask him. "Wait, what? Did something happen?" I see his eyes narrow slightly in anger, but he quickly sheds it for a smile. "Nothing bad, son. It's good, actually." Avoiding the question. "Dodgson simply wants the order earlier than scheduled." He says to me but I mentally roll my eyes, that's a lie and a half...and not even a good one. "Two hours earlier?" I ask suspiciously, by my guess, and a simple guess, Dodgson should still be in the air, what could have happened in two hours that he deemed necessary for the schedule to change. "This is how deals work, son." Dad answers me before focusing back on the tablet. He avoided another question. Before I can question him further, Hawkes and the twins enter the room. "Assets secured. But the Doctor's missing." Hawkes says as my eyes widen. "Well, then we need to look for her, don't we?" Dad growls to Hawkes who nods and begins to head out. "I'll go to. If we split up, we can cover more ground. Plus...if needs be, I can convince her to come back. I doubt Hawkes or the twins can bring her back peacefully." I reason to Dad and the mercs who gaze at me. Dad ponders for a quick minute before nodding in agreement. "Good idea. I'll stay here in case she returns for her...little adventure." He says scornfully as the mercs nod and head out, I follow close behind and stop. I turn and see Dad with a raised eyebrow. "Yes?" He questions as I shrug and pull his keys out of my pocket. "Found these on the ground." I say as I chuck the keys at him. He catches them as he looks at them and back at me with a surprise look on his face. I stare at him with an even gaze before turning around sand bolting out of the room and off the ship.
P.O.V Change: Mae
I've been running for a good hour, the sky was turning to a dark orange and purple as the sun got lower to the horizon. I feel the muscles in my legs starting to ache and my lungs contracting with every huff and puff. I come to a small stream of a river as I stop and catch my breathing back. I rest for a moment before gazing at the water, with all this running for the last hour, I definitely need something to quench my thirst. I walk up to the riverbed and kneel down, placing the case aside and cupping some water in my hands. Slurping the water, I savor the tasteless refreshment of the water, never before have I valued water so much...I need to rethink that mindset later, this stream is a godsend. I sit myself on a rock as I gaze into the water, seeing my reflection and that of the case, my eyes harden as I turn to the case and open it. Dropping the samples onto the stream, watching as the flow of the water took the samples, never to be found nor used for arrogant people for their selfish purposes. These animals deserve more than what we have given them.
Tossing the case away, I feel this weight lift from my shoulders and leave me. I go to leave the river but a groan of a dino startles me. I hear more calls and recognize them as Parasaurolophus, I follow the sounds and find the same injured individual from before, lying motionless as three other Parasaurs tend to it. I watch in confusion as they place large ferns and leaves on the animal. "No, did she...?" I say to myself in horror, thinking that she succumbed to her wounds but to my surprise and relief, the injured one groans, revealing that she still breathes but the groans suggest that she is still in pain, exhaustion of walking has drained her of any energy that she might have had. I see more leaves being draped over her as I try to think about why they are doing so. She's injured, that's obvious but what's with the leaves, what are they used for and why are they necessary? The sun had finally created over the mountains as the darkness had eloped the jungle. The final fern had been placed, covering the injured Parasaur in leaves, the other Parasaurolophus began looking around the jungle, obviously hearing something...fearing something. "What are you up to?" I say to myself as I watch from behind a log. All of a sudden, I see my shadow form on the log as a bright light is shown behind me. I gasp, fearing it to be the mercenaries that Daniel no doubt sent out to find me, I cover my eyes from the light and to my relief, it's Kenji.
He drops the light from my eyes as he holds up a tranq rifle. "Mae?" He questions as I fix my eyes from the light and wave softly at him. "What are you doing? It's night, it's too dangerous to be out here." He says with concern laced in his voice as he kneels down beside me. "I know...but I'm not going back. I refuse to put up with Daniel and his manipulations. I'm not going back to Mantah Corp Island either." I say angrily as he sighs and nods his head. "I know. I mean...I get it, I understand why." He says as he hangs his head. I see how upset he is but also the anger and hate bubbling underneath. "He took Bumpy." He says as I see where his anger is now coming from. All the disagreements and not seeing eye to eye...now Daniel has taken another friend from him, only this time, it's one that Kenji didn't agree with in capturing. Kenji didn't want Bumpy to suffer this and Daniel promised not too but here we are...all for nothing. "I'm so sorry, Kenj." I say sympathetically to him as he nods. "I kept telling myself that I was doing the right thing...that he was doing the right thing...a good reason for all of this, you know?" He says with a shrug as he sits against the log, placing his elbows on his knees and hangs his head. "But the more I got into it, eating his lies out of his hand...the more it felt like..." He starts as I nod and finish his groan if thought. "Lie you wanted to believe him more than you actually did?" I say as he nods. "I thought that everything was alright. I was a part of his life but that was thing that I was blind to. I was a part of his...he wasn't a part of my own. Everything that I have done since the swamp was to please him, to impress him...to be like him. I see now that I don't want to be like him, I don't want to end up like him...where the only thing that I care about is my own self-interest." He says beige scoffing and shaking his head. "Ryan was right. He and the others are my family. They protected me when I needed them the most... Dad spent six months doing whatever he wanted, running a business and exploiting dinosaurs...all the while I was running for my life. I never should have betrayed them...I should have listened to what they were telling me. God, I'm such an idiot." He says as he wipes tears from his eyes. I edge closer and draw him into a comforting hug, I can't imagine the torture that Kenji is going through. He trusted Daniel, trusted him to be the father that needed and wanted, and Daniel did provide that...only to betray that trust to improve his own gain and boost his own ego. "It's not your fault, Kenji. You were misled, your father is to blame for this. You might think that you have done wrong things, but you have an opportunity to fix them, you are not defeated yet, Kenji. You think that you have failed but you haven't...you have a chance to correct the mistakes." Is at as he looks at me and nods, a look of anger and determination on his face. "We have to figure something out for you." He says but I shake my head.
"It's too late, Daniel won't stand for this. I'll find a way off. Maybe after this, I'll go back to London, and...I don't know, maybe work at my uncle's fishery or something. The smell isn't great but...it's honest work." I say sadly as Kenji shakes his head and takes my hand in his. "Absolutely not. What is this that I'm hearing? A fishery, no, working with dinosaurs is your dream. Why would you give that up?" He asks in confusion as I shrug and smile sadly at him, removing my hand from his grasp. "Was...until I realized how many Daniel Kon's and Lewis Dodgson's there are in the world. Ready to take something pure and corrupt it for profit." I say as I reach up and look over the log, seeing the three Parasaurs circle the fern covered one. "I don't know why I thought it could be different, but...I wish I had never made this my life." I say sadly, this life was everything to me...until Daniel, Kash, Molina and Dodgson made me see that these animals will always be exploited, always used for people's selfish desires, who was I kidding when I thought I could teach people about them? They are just monsters to people, weapons to point and unleash...not as majestic animals of the past. Animals lost to time.
Branches can be heard snapping and crunching as I perk up and see the Parasaurolophus turn their heads to the far end of the clearing. Me and Kenji gasp when we hear the growling and snarling of a familiar predator. Out of the shadows, comes a Baryonyx, even from here and in the darkness, I can see the vivid red, yellow and orange colour scheme of the animal, a far cry from the one that Grim has.
The Parasaurs stand strong in the face of the Baryonyx who snarls and snaps its elongated jaw at the herbivores. The carnivore charges the Parasaur who, to my surprise, they divert away and start to circle the Baryonyx and the covered Parasaurolophus. The Baryonyx picks one of the Parasaurs and starts to chase it, the Parasaurs runs towards us as Kenji levels his rifle at the Baryonyx. "No, wait." I say as I lower his gun but instead of running away from the log, the Parasaur jumps on top of it, me and Kenji sink closer to the log to avoid the swinging tail, massive feet and snapping jaws of both animals. The Parasaur jumps from the log to stand in front of us as the Baryonyx crawls over the log, it's massive claws just mere inches from our heads. Me and Kenji cove our ears when the carnivore unleashes a snarling roar at the Parasaur who returns with a tail swing, knocking the predator aside, dazing it.
I look under Neath the log and see the Baryonyx shakes its disorientation out and snarl at the circling Parasaurs. To my shock and awe, a Parasaurolophus comes from behind, using its momentum it headbutt and knock over the Baryonyx. The carnivore takes the hut in stride and starts snapping and snarling at any Parasaur that came close to it. I raise an eyebrow in co Tyson's as the Parasaurolophus run away, leaving the Baryonyx and the covered Parasaur behind. The predator snorts and snarls at the retreating Parasaurs. Seeing that any hope for a meal has run away, the Baryonyx snorts an annoyance gust of air form its nose and runs off, hoping to have better luck elsewhere.
I watch with bated breath as the leaves start to rustle slightly, the groaning and calls of the Parasaurolophus can be heard again as I see the three individuals come back. One of them pushes a leaf out of the way but the injured one stands up, pushing the leaves aside as she reveals herself. My eyes widen in relief and realization of what they were doing. "They were hiding her. The injured one." I say as I smile at the sight. The other Parasaurs help the injured one move, though one had a large fern and brushed it along the wound of the injured one's leg. "Oh, my goodness, this is incredible. Caretaking of injured animals has always been observed in many animals, but I have never heard of a method like this. And here I am, likely the first person ever...to witness it in this species!" I say excitedly as I turn to Kenji. "I mean, you even believe this?" I say happily as he looks up at me with an amused smile on his face. I frown at the smirk but then realize that he has made his argument...or rather, I made it for him. "You're done with dinosaurs, huh?" He asks sarcastically as I huff playfully and slap him on the shoulder. I go to say something but the sight of two torches in the distance forces me to gasp. Kenji turns and see the torches as well, the mercenaries are close. Kenji stands and faces them with a clenched fist, but I stop him. "I know what you're thinking. You're going back, aren't you?" I ask him as he glances back at me. "He wouldn't leave without me...or, I don't know, maybe he would. But it's not about him...it's about them. I owe to them. They were imprisoned because of me, because I refused to see reason. I owe to Darius, to Brooklynn, to Ryan...all of them. And to you." He says as my eyes widen as his assertiveness, and I smile sadly at him. "And I thank you for that. It's not going to be easy, when you see them again, you're going to have a lot of explaining to do but I believe that you and the others will pull through." I say as he looks at me. "You sure?" He says as I nod with a smile. "I have no doubt whatsoever." I say as he chuckles and nods. The light of the torches crosses over our heads as Kenji's eyes narrow. "We can't risk you getting caught." He says as he hands me the rifle. "I'll send help when I-." He starts to say but I shake my head and take the offered rifle. "Don't worry about me. If a bunch of kids could find a way off this island...how hard can it be?" I say jokingly as he smiles and softly laughs at the joke. He wraps his arms around me as I return his hug. "Bye, Mae. Stay alive, will you?" He says with a joking tone as I slap his arm playfully. "I will...stay safe." I say to him, almost repeating back his warning. He nods and runs off into the shrubbery, towards the torch lights.
Bright red fills the black sky as I look up and see flares pop, seeing that the mercs are too close for comfort, I tighten my grip on the rifle and turn. Seeing the Parasaurs still here, an idea forms in my head, being close to a herd would be considered suicide but if I keep to myself and not bother them, then they shouldn't bother me. Running around the Parasaurs, I move through the shrubbery and head in the opposite direction of the flares, I trust Kenji to turn that away but just in case...I need to get as far away as possible and hunker down for the night...start anew tomorrow.
P.O.V Change: Kenji
I come out of the bush and see Hawkes with one of the mercs, one whose name I couldn't be bothered to remember. They point their rifles at me, but I raise my hands. "No, don't shoot, don't shoot!" I say as I hunch my shoulders, trying to be as small as possible. Hawkes scoffs and lowers his rifle. "Where's the Doc?" He demands as I lower my arms. "I couldn't find her. But I did notice-." I start to say a 'believeable' lie but Hawkes interrupts. "I don't care what you noticed, kid. We're not leaving without her." He says as he goes to shove past me, but I push him back. His eyes widen in surprise but quickly changes to one of 'are you serious?'. Now I know what it feels like when I do something stupid and Ryan and Yaz look at me like Hawkes is now. "If you let me finish...I noticed that we're getting too close to the river. This is Baryonyx territory and if we kept searching for her throughout the night and somehow end up further south...we'll be entering Sucho territory. I wouldn't bother trying to look for her, odds are she's already dino food." I reason to him but he narrows his eyes. "Well take that risk. An order's an order." He says as he and the merc walk past me as I groan. "Don't know what order your hearing but Dad specifically said that we needed to return to Mantah Corp Island immediately. You want to make my Dad wait any longer?" I ask as they stop. I smirk to myself as I catch him in a technicality. All Hawkes cares about is getting paid, and if he jeopardizes anything that Dad says or commands then he is at risk of not getting the full payment. It's a matter of money and pride. Hawkes and the merc look at each other before looking back at me. I cross my arms and smugly smile. "Trust me. I know him better than anyone." I say as they have a silent conversation with each other. Hawkes shakes his head and walks away. I silently cheer at my success, now...just have to convince Dad to leave Mae behind.
We get back to the dock and see Dad waiting for us, his arms crossed, foot tapping with impatience and a frown etched on his face. "Where is she? I thought I made myself clear." He asks calmly but I can almost hear the disdain and disappointed in his voice. I push pass Hawkes and stand in front of Dad. "Forget her, Dad. She's not a threat to us." I say to him, but he rolls his eyes. "She has the DNA that Dodgson requested. Go back out there!" He shouts to Hawkes while pointing to the jungle. "No! Come on Dad...you can use the DNA from the Mantah Corp dinos. You have a Yutyrannus and a Spinosaurs. Two animals that are more exotic and impressive than anything on this island. And as for Mae, there's no way off the island. Do you know how tough it is to stay alive for even a single day?" I ask him as he raises an eyebrow. "I only survived because I had help...Mae has no one. She's alone." I reason to him, but he still looks unconvinced. "Come on Dad, the longer we stay here searching for her, the more delays that we are going to have when delivery Dodgson's requests. You don't really want to lose a seven-figure deal over a one scientist, do you?" I say, exploiting his need to see this deal through. He needs to look professional and responsible in the eyes of Dodgson, staying here would only set us back and Dad hates setbacks. Dad ponders for a minute before sighing. "No. No, I don't. You're right...good thinking, son. Move. Let's go!" He says to me than the mercenaries behind me. I wait behind before giving one last look toward the jungle. Good luck, Mae.
P.O.V Change: Kate
I sit cross legged before the bonfire that Owen and Dave set up. As if right now, after finding the abandoned poacher camp and the head of that Sino, the further search leading to us finding nothing...a run in with a... Ceratosaurs, I think that's what Roxie called it, all in all...a wasteful day...we are no closer to finding Ryan and the others and we have been here for nearly three days. I'm beginning to lose hope but Owen, like the little brother that he is...always remains optimistic that Ryan is alive. 'You raised him, Kate, you trained him, you and Stephen...if there is anyone that can survive six months in this god forsaken place, it's Ryan', hearing that from him had helped but I'm starting to give up. The pit in your stomach, the voice in our head...that doubtful feeling of nothing. That...that's what I'm feeling.
Right now, I'm cleaning any dirt that got caught in my rifle, a good soldier always knows to clean their weapons. As I'm wiping down the barrel, I think back to when I saw Ryan in person last...it was on the mainland when he departed for his training...I told him that I was proud of him and that I look forward to hearing how he went. He blushed embarrassingly when I hugged him a little bit longer. I was so proud of him, he hadn't gotten over Stephen and I had hoped that he would refuse to go back, the little feeling of dread of knowing that your only child going back to the same place where your husband and father was killed. I didn't voice my opinion because I knew that Ryan would have gone anyway. Despite his father's passing, he still dreamed of working at Jurassic World...and I knew that Owen would have looked after him. I smile sadistically as the memory of nearly killing my brother when they told me that Ryan wasn't among the survivors. My thoughts are broken when I hear Owen and Dave come back.
Owen and Dave place the sticks in the fire as Brand and Roxie sit close to warm themselves. The fire was bigger than necessary, but Owen did reason that a large fire would deter any large predators from coming too close. Dave stands with a contemplative look on his face. "Something you want to share with the group, Dave?" Roxie asks as we all look towards him. "Yeah...it's just...maybe we should call it. We ha E searched all the logical places that they could hide. We found a poacher camp, for all we know the kids left weeks ago...or something got to them." He says as I glare a hole through him. I glance and see that I'm not the only one. "I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but we have to look at our options. We've been here for nearly three days, there has been no sign of the kids or anything to say that they are still here. I'm...just saying that we need to consider that...they are gone." He says sadly as I look around and see the Brand and Roxie's faces have fallen into a sad ponder. Owen's has narrowed into one of anger and...self-loathing. I scowl as I put my cloth down and stand up. Everyone looks at me as I stare at Dave. "Have you ever lost anyone, David?" I say to him. To everyone else, I probably look calm as but to me, I feel the bubbling rage ready to spill over. "Um...I lost my grandmother to cancer." He answered as I nod. "I'm sorry about that, I hope that she was someone really special to you." He nods thankfully as I approach him...slowly.
"I lost my husband on this island. I sure you know what happened. How a crazed Allosaurs broke him in half? I sure you know that my son was there that day, when he died." I say as Dave just nods as I get closer to him. "I lost my husband to this hellhole of an island, my son is the only thing that I have left of him. I see Stephen in my boy, every day that I see him. I see his compassion, his heart, his everything. I don't know about you, David...but I am not going to let this island take another person that I love away from me. So, no...I refuse to give up, refuse to accept that my boy is dead...and if so..." I say as I feel my eyes welling with tears. "...if he is...than I won't stop until I found what's left of him. He deserves to be buried back home, next to his father. So no... David...don't tell me to call it quits. I'm not leaving...WITHOUT MY SON!!!" I scream to the high heavens as birds flock out of the trees and distant bellows and roars of dinosaurs are heard in the distance. I wipe my tears away as I calm down from my rant...I see that everyone is looking at me with sad and surprised eyes. "I'm sorry. Truly I am but i won't give up until I see that there is no hope. My son is strong, and I refuse to believe that he is dead." I say as I walk away from Dave and sit down beside the fire, gazing aimlessly into the flickering embers.
I hear some shuffling and look up and see Brandon and Owen standing beside me. Owen sits beside me and draws me into a comforting hug. I feel the floodgates open as everything falls out...the stress, the despair and the hope...all of it fall out of my eyes. I hear Brand kneeling behind me and rest a comforting hand on my shoulder. "It's gonna be ok, Kate...we'll find him...find them. I promise." Owen says as I break from him and wipe my tears away. "How can you promise that?" I say scornfully but I have no real heat in it. "Because we have faith." Roxie says as both and her and Dave stand on my opposite side. "We came together because we believed...believed that they survived. And while it's been not what we imagined...I still have faith in that we can find them." Roxie says as she kneels down and places a comforting hand on mine and Brandon's shoulders. We all look up at Dave who is fiddling with his fingers. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier...I know now that it was inconsiderate of me to suggest. I promise you this Kate...I will help out find them. Help you find your son. For good or for bad, no matter the outcome...I'll stand with you." Dave says with heat t and determination as I stand and shake his hand. "Thank you, Dave...I appreciate that." I say sadly as his face turns back into his jokingly smile. "Well, if I know Ryan like I do and from meeting and getting to know you...I think that we can see that the campers are in safe and capable hands. We still have to find them, but they should be alright." He says jokingly, while everyone else rolls their eyes are his humor, I smile gratefully at his attempt to lighten the mood.
"You're looking for the campers?" I hear an unknown woman's voice as I bend down and pick up my rifle before pointing in the direction of the voice, thinking that it's one of the poachers that survived their camp being ransacked. Owen does the same with his rifle, while Roxie and Dave stand beside Brand, shielding him, just in case. To my surprise, the woman doesn't appear to be someone that I would expect someone like a poacher to dress like that. She's wearing khakis and a linen white shirt, glasses and is holding a tranq rifle in hand. She raises her arms in surrender. "Don't shoot, don't shoot!" She says, frightened by my and Owen's reaction. "Stand down." I say as Owen lowers his rifle, the woman Lowes her arms as she gazes at each of us. "I heard that your looking for the campers?" She says as I narrow my eyes at her. "Yeah, we are but first things first...who the hell are you?" I say to her as Roxie gasps. "You're...you're Mar Turner. Oh my God, Doctor I'm a bug fan of your work." Roxie says happily as I stare at her, crushing her euphoria. "Thank you. And yes, I'm Mae Turner and I think that I can help you with looking for the campers." She says as my eyes widen. "You've seen them?" I ask as she smiles. "You've seen my brother, Darius?" Brand asks as he pushes past Dave and Roxie. "Seen them? I've met them and to answer your unasked question...I know where they are."
After hearing that, we invited Mae to sit with us and tell us where they are and how they are doing. "I'm sorry if I come off a table but aggressive." I say as Owen scoffs beside me. I give my brother a slight...but still painful, elbow to the kidney. "It's ok, I would be wary of anyone too, especially on this island." She says as I nod and hold out my hand. "Kate Johnson." I say in greeting, Mae's eyes widen, almost on recognition. "Ryan's mother?" She says while shaking my hand, and hearing my son's name, coming from someone who has seen him and met him...brings tears back into eyes. "Yes...I am." I say with a sniffle as she smiles at me. "Yes, I can see the similarities with you both. Both physically and personality wise." She says jokingly as I just knew that she had a similar meeting with my son. I laugh at her joke and sniffle my tears away. "How is he?" "How is my brother?" "How are they all?" Me, Brand and Dave say respectively as Mae looks between us. "They're alright, alive and in one piece." After hearing that, I feel this massive weight being lifted off my shoulders, the fear, the stress, the anger...all of it evaporating from hearing the confirmation that my son is alive. I don't know who this woman is, or what the hell she's doing here but I want to thank God that she's here to tell me this...I don't know how long I could have gone. Despite my words earlier, I was close to giving up but I couldn't. Couldn't give up on Ryan and this woman, this stranger...has complete confidence in not only seeing but knowing the campers. I don't know if she knows it or not, but she just saved all of those kids lives. And I can't think of any way that I could even repay her.