Chapter 2. Here you go. Stay home, stay safe.

Darius and Kenji sat on the couch, waiting for Roxie and Dave to come tell them what their punishment is. Darius was still frustrated that he was getting blamed yet it was KENJI who almost got them killed. Said teen was just popping his lips as if what just happened didn't bother him. Darius was losing his - pop! - mind. If Dave and Roxie didn't - pop! - Darius couldn't tak - pop! - "Stop it! Just stop! What the hell were you thinking? How stupid can you be?"

Kenji replies, "I can be VERY stupid." Kenji sighs. "Girls LOVE a grand gesture junior. You'll understand when you are older."

"Wow. I'm SURE Brooklynn is VERY impressed with how stupid you are and how you are able to almost get yourself killed." Darius says. Did he REALLY just say he did it to impress Brooklynn?

Kenji sighs. "Okay, maybe it wasn't my BEST idea. I can't get in trouble. My whole life, I've been trying to make my dad proud of me. If I screw up again, he might finally give up on me for good."

Darius' anger is replaced with pity. He never knew his own father, but that doesn't mean he want's someone else to lose their relationship. Darius couldn't believe what he was going to do.

The doors fling open to reveal 2 angry camp councilors. "We gave Brooklynn a warning for sneaking out. But what YOU 2 chuckleheads did!"

Roxie cuts Dave off. "You 2 are the oldest at the camp. It's your responsibility to make sure that the others don't get hurt. And YOU Kenji are in a whole other planet of trouble."

"It was my fault." Darius says, confusing everyone. Even him. "I jumped into the pit. Kenji was trying to save me." Everyone was stunned.

Kenji wraps his arm around Darius, and says, "Yeah. I was helping the poor, confused kid."

Roxie finally broke the silence. "I'm sorry, so... Darius, the oldest out of all of the others," "What?" the 2 teens say when learning who was ACTUALLY older. "who's mom worked on dino fossils, SPECIFICALLY raptors, was saved by Kenji, who thinks dinos went extinct because, and I quote, 'their farts turned the air trashy'?"

Kenji just states, "Prove me wrong, yo."

Roxie doesn't buy it right away. "Yeah, it's just that Brooklynn has a whole different story."

"Ahhh. Brooklynn. It was dark. She needs glasses." Kenji chuckles at this. "Vanity, am I right?"

Darius has to hold back from elbowing him in his ribs, but he does his best to make himself look innocent. It apparently works on Dave. "Well, no harm, no foul. Let's just chalk it up to experiance, friendships. This is what Camp's about. Who's with me?"

Roxie still doesn't completely buy it. "Alright. You both can stay. But one more misstep..."

"We won't let you down." Darius says. Roxie looks at him with slight belief. "So, what are we doing tomorrow?"

Darius wishes he hadn't asked. "That is one big pile of sh-"

"Shovels for you boys." Roxie says, interrupting him. Dave sets down 2 big buckets for them. "Have cleaning this up you two." Roxie leaves to drive the jeep.

Dave tosses Darius a bottle of cologne. "Here. This will help with the smell. And the LADYS! Wha-what! But, mostly for the smell. The stench Dino poo can really linger." Brooklynn snaps a pic of Darius, and just smiles at him. The teen sighs as they drive off to the lab. He then starts doing the job he was told to do. It's not like he had anything else to do.

For an hour, it was just him doing the work. He finally looks at Kenji, who's been off and on in his effort, and says, "Are you gonna help me with this? It's your fault we are here too you know."

"I HAVE been helping. Just look in my bucket if you don't believe me." Kenji smiles.

Darius sighs and vents to no one. "This sucks. I've got a partner who wants to put minimal effort into everything except himself, I'm shoveling dino shit as punishment, and I'm missing out on the lab. That actually sounded cool, seeing how they recreated the raptor and Rex."

"It's cute that you are excited about some dumb lab." Kenji laughs. "Noobs like you don't know the half of this place."

Darius looks at him with confusion. "And you do?"

Kenji laughs at this again. "I've been to this park like 50 kajillion times. I'm in the know junior. And since you helped me out, I might be willing to show you the good stuff."

Darius shakes his head. "I know guys like you. All talk, nothing to back it up. I'm not getting into any more trouble."

Kenji shrugs. "Fine. I just figured since you helped me get out of trouble, I would return the favor by showing you a dino that they stopped showing to the public. But, whateves." To prove his point, Kenji puts his face closer to Darius'. "It's only a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Darius cannot believe it. He is right where Kenji wants him. And his head is screaming no, and yet, he cannot stop his mouth. "Show me." Kenji's smile just gets bigger. After a few minutes of walking, the 2 teens come up to a rock. Before Darius can make a witty comment, Kenji lifts the rock to reveal a tunnel. "Nice. But, why the tunnel?"

Kenji says, "This tunnel is part of an underground network, connecting the whole Island. This is how the big dogs get around."

"So, NOT you." Darius jabs with a grin.

"Hey," Kenji says as he crawls down the ladder, "you are looking at a Jurassic World VIP, KID."

Darius rolls his eyes as he follows Kenji down. When he gets to the tunnel floor, the rock entrance closes and darkness engulfs any light. "Kenji?" Darius asks, hoping that this isn't some sick joke.

But the lights suddenly flicker, showing the hallway, and Kenji next to a control panel. "Still upset about the genetics lab?"

Darius looks at him. "If the dino is as cool as your entrances, I'm sure it'll pass." After walking for a little while, Darius asks, "So, where are you taking me?"

Kenji says, "I'm taking you to where they put the dinos that are too agro. This guy is called Carno... Carno-something."

"Carnotaur?" Darius asks. His mom studied dinos and he remembers quite a bit.

"Exactly!" Kenji finally stops. "Our exit is just above us. After this, we're even. Consider this as a thanks. Which... It is. You know... for... not being a narc."

Darius rolls his eyes. "Yeah yeah. I'll consider us even if we get to see the Dino."

"And you WILL friend." Kenji says. Putting his hand near the control panel, he continues to milk the moment. "It's like my boy Masrani says. When Kenji promises, Kenji delivers." He presses a button, but it doesn't do anything. Kenji quickly pushes every button, until he hears the door open. "Let's go melt your brain JUNIOR."

Darius follows Kenji up the ladder. Once out, they are met with more trees, and bushes. Kenji looks around for a moment. Darius says, "Um, you DO know where you are going, RIGHT Mr. VIP?"

Kenji looks around. His voice cracks as he says, "Trust me, I got this place on lock." With not a whole lot of conviction in his voice, he then states, "The, uh, pen is... That way." Darius sighs as he starts to follow Kenji.

"I've got a bad feeling about this."

After walking around for another hour through thick jungle and bushes, and BUGS, Kenji starts to get frustrated. "Where is that fricking fence?!"

Darius sighs again. "Kenji, why don't we just go back? We don't want to cause any trouble with your dad."

Kenji, who fell, gets back up and states, "What does my dad have to do with anything? Dude is barely around!"

As Kenji starts walking, Darius comes to a realization. "WHAT?! Then what the hell was with that whole, 'My whole life, I've been trying to make my dad proud junior'?"

Kenji stops dead in his tracks as he realizes the jig is up. "Oh... I was lying. Because of the whole, 'not wanting to get in trouble' thing." Kenji faces his partner in poop.

Darius groans. "You're not taking me to see a dino, are you?"

"Hey!" Kenji says, "I keep it honest. Except for this morning. And a couple of other times today." Quickly realizing he isn't helping his case, he says, "But I'm telling the truth now!"

"Great! I'm out here for no reason, I'll probably get sent home, and it's all because I believed you!" Darius starts walking back to the tunnel. If he leaves now, he figures he could make it back before the others. Let Kenji be responsible for Kenji.

Kenji yells, "Fine! Last time I try to do something nice for a dumb kid." Kenji throws a rock he found.

"I'm older than you dumba-" Darius was interrupted by the sound of a loud metallic bang. Kenji and Darius race to see where it came from.

The 2 boys clear the bushes and see a fence! Darius starts to smile as Kenji says, "And Kenji delivers." Kenji smirks as Darius, who is in a better mood, rolls his eyes. The 2 teens get closer to the fence, and try to see if they can spot a dino. Darius would be happy with any at this point.

Darius then sees something concerning. Noticing how the fence curves in towards them, not away, he asks, "You know this place like the back of your hand, right?"

"Uhhhh, DUH." Kenji asks, shaking his head. But then he notices what Darius is looking at.

"Good. So you know which side of the fence we are on, right?" Darius asks. Kenji was about to scoff at him, but then they hear the sound of big footsteps. It takes them a second to realize that the thudding is coming from BEHIND them. Darius and Kenji turn their head slowly. Please be a leaf eater. Please be a leaf eater. When they turn all the way around, they are met with... A meat eater. It looks at them like she has never seen live prey before. Why would she? She's in a cage. WITH live prey. "Oh sh-" The dino roars as loud as she can, and this causes the 2 teens to run.

Into the forest they go! Running between the trees, which cause the Dino to slow down and try to get through. This allows the teens to make some ground. But once they get into open forest, THEN the Dino starts to gain. Kenji looks behind, and the fear causes him to lose footing and slip. Darius hears the thud, and sees Kenji.

"Don't leave me man!" Kenji cries. Darius sighs, and helps Kenji up. They resume their run, but the carnivorous Dino has already made up most of the distance. "It's gaining!"

Darius remembers how in football, the halfbacks are able to move quickly because they, unlike the big and sometimes faster linebackers, are smaller and can maneuver faster. "Zig zag on 3!" Darius looks behind them, and decides that there is no time to do that long of a countdown. "3!" Kenji and Darius juke to the left, causing the dino to slip and fall. The 2 boys use this time to get distance between the half up dino.

"There!" Kenji yells. Darius sees what he sees. A part of the fence with a hole that looks big enough to fit a person through.

Darius allows Kenji to go first since he was having trouble with the running. Darius would be able to run for not much longer, but he had training. After Kenji clears teh hole, Darius follows. But the exit closes suddenly. Kenji sees this and tries to lift up with Darius. They try for a few seconds, but Darius turns around to see how far away the Dino is. And it's coming fast! "Kenji!" Darius turns, and finds Kenji NOT there. "Oh, you've got to be KIDDING me!" Darius continues to try to open the gate himself, but the panic is slowly increasing. He knows that the dino is almost there.

Suddenly, Darius sees a stick trying to help him. "Come on man!" Darius hears Kenji's voice. "Come on!" Darius was too afraid to see the jaws of the thing that was going to eat him. But then, by some miracle, the gate opens! With no time left to spare, Darius escapes as the dino slams his head into the gate. Darius lands on his back and turns to see the Dino shake his head, and sees blood on his nose.

Kenji starts to laugh and whoop. "Didums the big dino huwt his wittle nose?" Darius gets up as he says this. "You think you slick Toro? You got nothing!" Darius smiles at the name Kenji gave him.

Darius decides to join in the trash talk. "Though you had me didn't ya? You too slow!" Darius turns his back to the cage, and starts to walk in slow motion. Kenji decides to join. They start saying, "Let's... get... outta... here..." BANG! Toro rams his head into the fence, causing both teens to fall back at the sudden noise. They both silently agree that it's time to stop teasing. As they watch Toro walk away, Darius suddenly asks, "What time were they supposed to get back from the Lab?"

With that thought in mind, they both run as fast as they can. There fear of Roxie and getting in trouble trumped there fear of a dino. Since they couldn't take the tunnels, Kenji forgot where the nearest one was, they ended up running all the way there. It takes a lot longer since they are looking for directions, but they get back with barely enough time to catch their breath. Within 30 seconds, the jeep drives up towards them. "Hey guys." Darius greets. "How was the field trip?" Darius hopes that this gives them enough time to catch their breath a little bit more.

Yaz states, "Oh, well, Ben fell in love with a dino," and finishing her sentence bitterly, "and Superstar here got us booted from the lab."

Brooklynn starts to defend herself, but is interupted by Roxie clearing her throat. The head councilor looks at them, and sees how much they are struggling to breathe. "Why are you two so out of breath?"

Darius does his best to answer as calmly. "Just doing the job we are told."

Kenji has enough breath back to almost spill the beans. "You all should have seen how I owned th-"

"This awesome experiance." Darius interrupts. "Learned a lot about ourselves, had some time to reflect with the poop, and everything else." Darius hopes that they are able to get away with this.

Roxie apparently bought it. "Alright well, hit the showers." After getting a whiff of them, she adds, "Maybe stay in there for a while."

As they drive away, Ben states, "And use soap. LOTS of soap."

Kenji and Darius start walking back as well. "Oh my God. 2 near death experiences in 2 days? That's gotta be some kind of record." Darius shakes his head and tells Kenji, "We cannot tell anyone about Toro, or we will get sent home."

Kenji groans at this. "Really? You're telling me that we have the best story to tell of how we cheated death with a dino, and NOONE will ever know that I saved YOUR life?"

Darius smiles. "I'll know Kenji." They both smile at that. Darius thinks that maybe Kenji isn't so bad. If you can get past his stupidity and his lying, he's a pretty cool guy. "You do know that farts didn't kill the dinosaurs right?"

Kenji just puts his arms in the air and says, "Prove me wrong, yo."

"Did you even take 2nd grade?" Darius asks jokingly.

Kenji still defends himself. "The scientists have their big, complex theory, and I have my simple theory."

Darius just rolls his eyes. They get back to camp, and everyone keeps their distance from the smelly teens. Darius hops in the shower and stays in there for a good half hour. He follows Ben's advice by using lots of soap. Because he thought that everyone was eating dinner, he comes out of the shower room dressed from the waist down, shirt in hand. He goes to the bunk room to get his deodorant when he bumps into Brooklynn just as she was leaving.

Darius starts fumbling with his shirt trying to put it on. "Oh. Sorry, I didn't realize anyone was here."

Brooklynn starts to fumble with her words as well. "Oh, that's fine, I was just.. Plugging in my phone."

After a few seconds, they both realize they should stop staring at each other. Darius finally gets his shirt on, and tries to break the silence. "Well, uh, I gotta, do something in here."

Brooklynn agrees. "Right. I'll see you in the main room."

"Yeah." Darius has a hard time not looking back as Brooklynn walks away. Great. Way to go dumbass. Next time, remember to take the body stick with your clothes.

Darius does what he needs to do, and heads to the main room to get some food. After sitting down to eat, he hears Sammy call him. "Hey Darius!" Looking over, he nods in acknowledgment. "We're gonna sit out here for a while with the camp fire. Wanna come?"

"Sounds fun." Darius says. "I'll be there after I'm done eating." Sammy smiles and nods. Darius finishes his food, and clears his plate. The teen proceeds to go outside with the others.

And that's it for today. Hope you all are having a good day, and staying home, staying safe.