At Least...

The cave is pretty big but not very deep, only the entrance is large than it divides into tiny chasms and pathways. I set up our 'camp' for the night but before I can light a fire, Darius calls out. "Hey guys, I see a bright light coming from that tunnel." He says as he points out the tunnel. I get up and gather the group as we go to investigate. We pass through the tight space and turn a corner. I shield my eyes from the intense light as we gasp in wonder and confusion. A great desert lay before us. "This...is definitely not Costa Rica." Brooklynn states sarcastically. "Looks more like...Australia?" Darius follows up. "Couldn't have gone that far." He says before Kenji puts his hand on his face. I don't hear their conversation as I take in the desert. Blue skies, with some clouds, a blazing sun and endless stretch of sand, cactuses and distance mountains. "This is not right. We were headed east, Australia is west of Isla Nublar so that's out. And are we not going to talk about the fact that there was fierce storm clouds on the beach or the fact that these a fucking desert in a tropical region!" I point out as everyone takes what I said and ponders about it.

"Ok, we know where we aren't. Anyone have any idea where we are?" Brooklynn ask which Yaz scoffs. I look to see her on a rock, throwing a small stone. A downcast expression on her face. "Nup. Just that we are stranded. And alone. Again." She says quietly as I walk over and sit beside her, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She turns her head towards me. "We'll figure it out." I say which she just smiles in respond. "Hey, hey, guys! Look over there! Something shiny." Ben says as we look out to the desert. I narrow my eyes and do see something shiny. "Looks like the sun is glinting off something metal, maybe?" Sammy says. "Something metal could mean that someone made it. Let's go check it out!" Ben says excitedly as he jumps down. "Hold your horses there. We don't even know if it's metal. It could be just a refraction off a small pond or something, we don't know." I say as I get up from the rock. "But if it is something metal, shouldn't we check it out." Ben reasons back. "Or it could be nothing and we would have to walk across the desert to find nothing." I tell him as he hangs his head down. "But we'll go anyway." I finish as he perks up. "Wait, really?" Kenji questions behind him. "We can't go back, the beach is deserted and wreck isn't going to help us. The desert is harsh but we can get through it. I may not like it but that shiny thing is the only thing that could give us a clue to where we are so...let's go." I say as I slide down the hill. Soon enough, everyone follows and we are on our way through the desert.

This place is a scorcher. The sun is blistering down and there is nothing around for miles, just sand, more sand and cactuses. "This place is weird. Like we're on another planet or something. Ooh, maybe we've been abducted by aliens." Kenji says playfully to Brooklynn who just shoves him back. "Because that makes the most sense." She says while laughing. "What...what? No, no, that's dumb, it's dumb. Never mind. What? No you shut up." Kenji says awakardly as I raise my eyebrow in confusion. Brooklynn states back, also confused. I walk up beside him and whisper to him. "Smooth." I say sarcastically as Kenji embarrassingly scartched his head. "As if dinosaurs weren't enough. Now we're washed up on some deserted island." Yaz remarks sarcastically, gesturing to the desert.

"Well, at least it's a nice...day." Ben says, not real convincingly. "At least, there are no mosquitoes." Sammy says, which I agree with. Those little bastards are worse than any dinosaur. "Yeah, at least, we're not being tortured for an eternity by vampires!" Yaz states loudly which gets me to look weirdly at her. "What? I read goth books alright." She says to me. "I didn't say anything." I try to reason. "You didn't have too." She says which sends my head right round. You get pissed at me for not saying anything but I get trouble for...not saying anything. Women are so confusing. "I got one. It's like the beach, but without any ocean." Kenji says which I just shake my head at. "Eh, needs more vampires." Yaz say offhandely. What is with you and vampires.

When I said that this place is a scorcher, I was wrong. It's hell. "At least, we're not being tortured by demons in a fiery pit of the most fiery hell." Yaz says tiredly. "You sure about that." Brooklynn asks rhetorically as she takes her jumper off and hang it above her head, shielding herself from the sun. I drag the harpoon behind me, no strength left to carry it. "Hell would be a paradise compared to this shit." I say as we continue to walk. I stop as I feel the wind going by, I look over and see Sammy absolutely taken away with the wind. "This wind is godsend." Sammy says but I look behind her. "God didn't send this." I say as I gesture behind her. She turns and gasps. "Guys, what is that?" She says frighteningly. Everyone turns and see a massive cloud of sand and dirt. "A sandstorm?" Brooklynn says in a 'I don't believe it' way. "Find cover, block your eyes and nose!" I say as I find a large boulder and hide behind it. I pull my shirt up and cover my nose and eyes. I feel Yaz sit beside me, as I hear the others running to find cover. I can't see anyone through the sand or my shirt. I pull my shirt down and see that the storm is starting to settle. I nudge Yaz who takes to uncover her eyes. "Let's find the others." We make our way through the storm and find Darius and Ben. We her a grunt and see Sammy. "Sammy, you ok?" Yaz asks as she runs over and helps Sammy up. "I'm good. Wait, where are Kenji and Brooklynn?" Sammy asks as we look around for the other two.

"Kenji?" Ben screams out. "Brooklynn!" I follow up behind him. I notice Darius walking towards something and pulls it towards himself. "Brooklynn!" He calls out as he slips but Yaz catches him. Sammy grabs hold of Yaz while Ben pulls on Sammy's arm. I grab hold of Ben and pull all four of them. Darius thanks us while holding up what he has. "It's her jacket." Sammy says with fear as she takes that battered and torn pick jacket. We look down at the ravine that we nearly slipped in. "All we got to do is..." Darius trails off as the storm suddenly does down. Ok, thats weird, sandstorms don't get stop like that. "Kenji? Brooklynn? Where are you guys?" Ben calls out as we walk on one the rock formations, careful that we don't slip down into the ravine, it looks like a maze down there. "Maybe we should bunk down for the night and look-." Sammy goes to say but Ben gets in her face. "No, we have to keep looking." Bens behaviour has been erratic since the wreck, like something is really bothering him. I walk up to him. "Ben, the ravines are a maze, even up here, it's going to take a while to find them. Besides, they're smart, they will head to the slopes just up ahead. We can enter the ravine through there and look for them, ok?" I say as he nods and runs to the ground slopes. We run after him.

We come to slopes and Ben speed down. We find out that it's a dead end and Ben is pissed about it. He is banging his fist on the rock in absolute frustration. He sinks down, back against the rock as Darius goes to comfort him but Ben throws him off by tucking himself into a ball. He's relapsing back into Skits, no wonder he has been acting strange. He thinks he's not good enough anymore. "At least..." Darius goes to say but he stops, not having anything to say. "That's the best 'at least' you could do?" We hear Kenji say as we turn and see him walk out of the rock face. "Lame." Brooklynn jokingly follows up. "Kenji!" "Brooklynn!" "You guys!" Darius, Sammy and Ben say respectively as we all run in and form a massive group hug. "How'd you get out?" Yaz asks which Brooklynn happily replies. "Well, strongman Kenji over here. Pushed an entire boulder out of the way." Kenji looks sheepishly and rubs his head. "Oh, it was nothing." He says. Something really weird is going on here. "Wait, Kenji is not taking credit for something that he did?" Darius asks rhetorically which we all laugh at. "And...we have some more good news." Kenji says as Sammy hands Brooklynn her jacket back. The crazy girl decided to put it back on. We follow Kenji and Brooklynn to a little hovel in the rock face. "Ta-da!" He screams out.

Be gestures to he small pond of water. We are begin cheering and a mad rush to the water. We start gulping down the the golden liquid. "I've never been so thirsty in my whole life." Sammy says as she takes another gulp of water. I take a big handful of water and chug it down. Damn thats good. "That is very thirst quenching." I say. "Strange things is, we heard water pipes in the ravine. Someone built this." Kenji states, gesturing to the water and rock face. We all have concerned looks on our faces. Why would someone build a desert on a ln island for?

"Hey, guys! Check it out. These are the same berry bushes on Nublar. Same leaves and everything!" Ben states as he runs over to the nearby bush. "Water and food! What is it, Christmas?!" Sammy shouts as she picks some berries. I start to pick out berries but I notice Ben's face, a look of horror. He spots his berries back. "Don't eat them! Stop!" He shouts as he starts swatting the berries out of everyone's hand. I drop mine for good measure. Ben runs up to Kenji and holds his face. "What if I think they're like the berries from Nublar, but they're really poisonous. What if I'm wrong?" He says as Kenji spits the berries out of his mouth. We all look at Ben with concern. He has never really doubted himself not since he fell from the monorail. Why are scared, what's bothering you?

Ben runs off to find the shiny thing. We crest the hill and see that the sun is starting set. We see Ben run in the distance and I hear him yell. "I see it!" We catch up to him and arrive where the shiny thing is. It's a metal plate. "Thats it? That's all it was?" Kenji questions which Ben takes as an attack to him and he kneels down in defeat. "I thought...it could..." He doesn't finish as he sighs. I walk with Brooklynn and we find old bones. "There's also these...animal bones." Brooklynn says fearfully. I look between the bones and the plate. I've seen these before. "It's a feeding station." I say which gets everyone to turn to me. "We used to have them on Nublar. The bigger predators required bigger food and we can't exactly walk them in." I say as I brush some the sand off the plate. "If it's a feeding station. What's it feeding?" Yaz asks fearfully. I don't give an answer because I don't know.

The sun had set and the stars were out. Kenji had set up a fire while I was on a rock. Everyone had agreed that I'd take first watch as everyone slept. I would watch for 2 hours before waking the next person. I look down and see everyone huddled around the fire with sad expression. Tired, hungry, alone. It's been a long six months and this desert hasn't helped anyone's mood. I notice Sammy stand up with a fierce look on her face. "Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!" She screams out to the high heavens. Everyone looks at her with surprised expressions. Yaz stands up and yells as well. Flooded by Darius, Brooklynn and finally Kenji. Sammy and Kenji help Ben up who seems to be withdrawn. I stand up on the rock and hold the harpoon with both hands above my head. "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!"

Following our... impromptu screaming rant. The others have fallen asleep, the fire has almost completely died out. My eyes are getting heavy but it hasn't been 2 hours yet. I hear I faint noise and my eyes widen as I point the harpoon in the direction of the noise. I notice that Ben has also awaken and is breathing life back into the fire. His torch brightens the area. I see the others awaken as Ben explains that he heard a noise. Darius questions him of if he is sure but Ben hestiates before saying yes. To back up Ben, the bushes begin rustling as the others jump back in fright. I hold the harpoon, ready to spear anything. A few more rustling and a large shape jumps out of the bushes. I notice that it's a cat like creature with oversized canines. "A Smilidon?" I question myself as the others back up from the prehistoric cat. I shake myself from my shock and throw the harpoon. The weapon misses but gets the cat to jump back before turning to me. "Come get me, you oversized, big toothed furball!" I yell out as the tiger begins charging me. "Ryan!" Yaz calls out to me. "I didn't think this through." I say as I back up. The cat gets closer and jumps at me. I roll back onto my back, kicking both my feet up at the tigers underside before pushing it over my head to the hard ground. I 'chinese' kick up from the rock and run back to the others. "That was your plan, throw the harpoon at it!?" Yaz screams at me. "It was an impromptu plan. Don't hassle me!" I shout as I pull the harpoon free. I hear a growl and see the Smilidon stalking us.

"Hey, Toothy, over here!" Ben screams as he runs towards the rock faces. The Smilidon chases after him. "Ben!" I yell out as we all run after him. We trail along the top of the rocks as I notice Ben and the tiger slip and fall down. I notice a big rock that is sitting close to h edge a bit further ahead. "To that rock!" I yell out as the others follow. I look down and Ben is heading in the same direction that we are. We come to the rock but Kenji runs ahead and grabs a pile of rocks. Ben's torch goes out as the Smilidon stalks closer to him. A pile of rocks land near the tiger as I jumps back before sniffing it. I had Kenji scream as he jumps onto the tiger, almost wrestling it. "Get out of here!" Kenji screams as the tiger is bucking about and kicking up a cloud of dirt. Ben waits at the foot of the hill as Kenji makes his way out of the dirt. "Now what?" Ben questions. "I didn't plan anything beyond getting away from the teeth end of that thing!" Kenji fearfully yells out to Ben.

I run over to the boulder and help the others push it off. "Push harder!" Yaz screams out. I back up before driving the harpoon under the rock. "Help me." I say as the others crowd the harpoon and begin pushing down. The makeshift lever starts to tilt the rock into the ravine. "Now!" Brooklynn calls out as we push the rock off. The rock falls and just lands on from of the tiger. I throw the broken harpoon away as I pick up a large stone and throw at the animal. "Go on, get away!" I say as I throw another one. "Get lost!" Yaz screams out. The tiger roars in defiance but Kenji and Ben stand beside and on the boulder respectively. Ben screams as he throws two stones at the Smilidon, one of them hitting it in the head. The tiger roars before running off into the night. We all begin cheering in victory.

Kenji and Ben run up the slopes as the rest of us run down and meet them. Brooklynn barrels herself into Kenji's chest. "You idiots! What were you thinking?" Brooklynn asks as Ben and Kenji sheepishly chuckle. "'Thinking?' That wasn't a huge part of it." Kenji says out of breath. "Of course it wasn't. You wrestled a Smilidon. Who thinks about doing that?" I question but Kenji just laughs. Ben walks a short distance away with a downcast look on his face. "Ben, what's wrong?" Darius asks worriedly. "It's just...I work hard not to be 'scared Ben' anymore. On Nublar, I wasn't afraid of anything, I knew what to do, but here, I'm worried about becoming 'scared Ben's again because I don't know what to do." He says. He's been having an identity crisis. Dude, you're fucking 14, you shouldn't be having an identity crisis right now.

"Dude, you drew a sabre tooth tiger away so it wouldn't attack your friends." Yaz compliments to Ben. "Haha, sabre tooth tiger!" Kenji followed up, remaining Ben of what he did against an ancient tiger. "You are brave, wise and loyal, Ben. We don't doubt you because we believe in you." I say which everyone nods. "You may not be 'fearless Ben's nor are you 'scared Ben'. Maybe you're just...Ben." Darius says as Ben smiles. We are gather together around Ben and hug him. "So what now?" Yaz asks. "We keep going." Ben says confidently. "Let's see what else we can find. Also look out for sabre tooth tigers, freak sandstorms and what else this place has." Darius points out. "Sounds like a plan." I say as we make our way up the slope.

The sun was starting to come up over the mountains. "Ugh. It's too hot." Kenji groans out. "It's hot, we're thirsty and in the middle of a desert and that is what you're complaining about?" Brooklynn asks sarcastically. "Uhh, yeah because at least we can do something about it." Kenji replies as he begins making sounds and doing weird poses. What does think he is? A peacock? I hear Kenji grunt in pain as he falls to the ground. Everyone turns and gathers around him. We all look down and see a...metal leg. "What the fuck?" I question as we see tracks in front of the leg. The tracks match that of the foot on the leg.

Kenji trails the tracks and floors them when suddenly he clangs into some thing and falls back on his ass. I see that the distance has a hexagonal simmer. Kenji stands up and reaches forward, he's hand touches something that isn't there. "Am I tripping or is Kenji touching something invisible." I ask as Brooklynn presses her hand against whatever it is. I notice the hexagonal simmer again and hear a beep. The simmer shows as the environment slides across and reveals a high tech tunnel. "I'm getting some real 'Westworld' vibes from this." I say as we all look confused as we gaze down the futuristic tunnel. This place is seriously creeping me out.