Another chapter! There you go.
Monkey D. Conan: Thank you so much for the idea! I was struggling with what to do, since I am trying harder to develop the DariusxBrooklynn part of the story, but I love your idea!
I must be doing something right, because I haven't seen Lightningscar in a while. Oh well. Hope you guys are doing good, and staying home, staying safe. Check out my poll on my profile page. Ends March 31st.
Darius was dancing in the school cafeteria. Well, it was for the Valentine's Day dance. He took his girlfriend with him, taking a break from the drag races. The two were dancing to some slow song, something about one thousand years. He pulled her close as the song ended, and gave her a little kiss. He checked his watch and saw that it was 7:55. He was supposed to be on his way to see his mom 20 minutes ago. He mentally cursed, and said that he had to go. His dance partner nodded, and watched him leave. He didn't need to take her home, she was going to spend the night at a friend's house.
Darius felt his phone ringing. It was his brother. "Oh shit." He answers. "Hey Brand."
"Dude, where are you?" Brandon's voice came through the speaker.
Darius got to the car quickly, and saw the clock read 7:58. If he went a little faster than the speed limit and got through traffic, he could get to the hospital in fifteen minutes. Turning the engine over, he said, "I'm on my way. I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Did you leave the dance when you were supposed to?" Brandon asked.
Darius closed the door as he said, "Yes." he lied.
"Bullshit." Brandon called him out. "I heard the car turn on and the door close."
Darius shook his head. "Alright, well, I'm on my way."
Brandon sighed. "Just get here, okay?"
He drove as fast and safe as he could, and got to the hospital at 8:12. Ahead of schedule. He took off his tie, and headed into the hospital. He walked faster to his mom's room. He got there, and saw his brother in the hall. "Where the hell have you been?"
Darius defends himself. "I lost track of time, okay? Back off."
Brandon slapped the back of Darius's head. "Just get your ass in there."
Darius entered the room, and saw his uncle. Looking towards his mom, he says, "Hey Mom. I'm so sorry. I got stuck in traffic."
His mom smiled weakly at him. "Well, the important thing is that you are here now." Darius hated seeing his mom like this. She needed more treatment, but they were short on money. Darius was going to another race tomorrow night to make up for the money he didn't have now. He would do two more races to help pay and start the next stash of money for the next round afterwards if this one failed. His mom looked past him, and saw Brandon. "You boys look so handsome. I'm sorry that this happened to you both. This wasn't how it was supposed to go." She coughed a little. "I'm sorry I've missed a lot these past year and a half."
Darius gripped his mom's hand. "You just need to focus on getting better. I've almost got the money. All you got to do is get better. We're taking care of the rest."
"You put too much on yourself Darius." his mom said. "So quick to help others, you don't take time for yourself. That's why I wanted you to go to the dance with your girlfriend." They both shared a smile. "There was something that I needed to tell you." She opens her mouth to say more, but the others start hearing the heart monitor beep faster.
Darius looks at his mom again, and sees her eyes closed, and hears her breath become raspy. Brandon rushes to get a nurse. Darius grips his mom's hand. "No. Stay with me Mom. Please." The nurse comes into the room, and Darius feels his uncle start to pull him away. "Mom. No!"
Darius woke up with a jolt, and felt tears in his eyes. He hasn't had a nightmare in a while, and was scared. Darius calmed himself down, and tried to get up, but he felt added weight on his side. He looked and saw Brooklynn. Darius remembered what happened. He almost kissed her. And this time, it wasn't because they were in a life and death situation. They were listening to a song, and got closer and closer. Brooklynn fell asleep before their lips could meet, most likely because of the Vodka.
That's right. She had more than me. Must have just been the alcohol talking. Darius gently gets Brooklynn off his shoulder, and props her laying down on the couch. He checked the watch, and saw that it was almost 2 A.M. He sighed, and decided to keep watch. His head was hurting a little because of how strong the Vodka was. Darius walks over to the water, and grabbed an open bottle. He poured some in his mouth, then the rest of it on his face. He was cold and wet, but at least he was jolted awake. He turned and saw Kenji still on the table. Darius checked on Sammy and Yaz, and saw that they were okay still. Walking over to the balcony, he stood there. He didn't want to sit down because he didn't want to fall asleep again. There was just nothing to keep watch for though. Well, except the sound of dinosaurs. But a lot of them weren't active during the night. But you just never know.
It was about an hour later that he noticed something. Way out in the trees. Darius squinted his eyes. He saw what looked like... Smoke? Darius didn't trust himself at the moment. So he closed his eyes, and shook his head. Maybe his eyes were playing tricks with him. But even then, the smoke was still there. Turning towards Brooklynn, he gently shook her awake. "Brooklynn. Brooklynn, wake up."
She groaned in protest, but finally opened her eyes. "What is it? My head is killing me."
Ignoring her, he said, "Look beyond the trees. What do you see?" Brooklynn got up from the couch, and moved to where Darius was pointing. Darius woke up the others, and took a more drastic measure with Kenji. Taking a new water bottle, Darius dumped the whole thing on Kenji's face. The teen woke up with a small scream. "Come on asshole, wake up." Kenji joined the others. "What do you guys see?" Darius asked them again.
"It can't be." Brooklynn said.
"People." Sammy whispered. "PEOPLE."
"That is most def a bon fire guys!" Kenji said, who was not as upset with getting such a rude awakening.
"You're telling me we are going home?" Yasmina asked.
After a minute of looking in disbelief, Darius suddenly realized, "What the hell are we standing here for? FOLLOW THE BON FIRE!"
The teens took the slide and ladder off the base, and started running in the direction of the fire. Darius would climb a tree every few minutes of running to make sure that they were headed in the right direction. With each tree he climbed, they got closer and closer! The teens started cheering. They were finally going home!
Darius climbed one more tree to make sure that they were still headed in the right direction. No smoke. He looked in every direction, and saw nothing. "SHIT!" The other campers looked up, and saw him start to climb down.
"'Shit?'" Brooklynn asked. "What do you mean 'shit'?"
Darius jumped off the rest of the tree, and landed right in the middle of the group. "The fire is gone."
"You're sure?" Kenji asked. "You looked in all directions? We didn't pass it at some point?"
"The fire is gone Kenji!" Darius said.
"What if they gave up and left?" Sammy asked, starting to feel hopeless. "What if they came here looking for us, and we missed our chance?"
The teens went silent afterwards. Darius sighs, because he feels like a failure again. Too slow. He was too slow again.
The teens suddenly heard a deep roar. They all huddle up together. The only one with a weapon was Brooklynn, who out of habit, grabbed the bat she used as a weapon. Darius bent down, and grabbed one of the branches that had broken off when he jumped down. It wasn't sharp, but it would do.
"Maybe it's just a really big Compy?" Kenji suggests. "They are the only ones that are nocturnal."
Darius sighs and groans. "Kenji, I swear, if you just jinxed us again, I'm going to-"
The teens heard and felt the ground rumble fast. Bursting through the trees was a meat eater! Darius noticed that it was the same one that he had ran into at the watering hole. "RUN!" Darius orders. The chaos starts again, and the teens run in the opposite direction. "We can't lead it back to camp!" Darius says, so they start running away from camp.
A few minutes of running, and dodging, they start to make some ground. But Kenji lost his footing, and trips over himself. Sammy, who was looking back, didn't see where she was going and kicked Kenji in the head and fell as well. Brooklynn saw this, and yelled to the others, "GUYS!"
Darius and Yaz turned and saw the others and the dinosaur getting closer. Darius took his stick, and yelled at the dinosaur, "COME ON!" Darius ran next to Brooklynn, and got in a similar fighting stance that she had. The dinosaur got closer and closer, and was about to chomp down on Darius when-
BOOM!
The sky lit up red as some sort of flare flew above them, getting the dinosaur's attention away from the others.
CRACK! CRACKCRACK!
The sky lit up with more colors that blinded the teens. A gruff voice was heard. "GET DOWN!" Darius was suddenly shoved down on the ground. Looking up, he saw three figures scaring the dinosaur away. Having enough of the blinding lights, the angry dino finally ran away. When the bright lights cleared, the teens saw two men and one woman.
"Oh boy, are we glad you are okay." the man in the blue shirt said.
When the teens didn't respond, the woman asked, "You kids ARE okay, aren't you?"
Darius was the first to say something. "Who the hell are you guys?"
The woman and man in the blue shirt chuckled. "Well, after all that, you could probably call us your salvation."
"Salvation?" Darius whispered. Finally, the teens get up, and start laughing. These people were here to rescue them!
The three adults took the kids back to their camp. On the way there, the teens started bombarding the blue shirt man and woman with all sorts of questions.
"Did you guys get left behind too?"
"Not looking like THAT they didn't."
"Are you guys like some super stylish rescue squad?"
Darius finally got them to calm down. "Guys, chill out. We don't even know their names."
"I'm Mitch and this is my better half Tiff." The man in blue, now identified as Mitch said.
"Did you guys get sent by Dave and Roxie? Our camp councilors?" Darius asked.
Tiff looked at her husband, they at least were assuming. "Yes. Yes we were. We were lucky to have heard them talking about finding the kids."
Mitch said, "We are usually ecotourists. We were already headed to Isla Nublar to take pictures of the dinosaurs up close in what can be as close to the wild. And we figured, 'Well, we are already headed over there, lets see if there is anything we can do to help.'" The kids smiled. Dave and Roxie didn't forget about them.
"I travel the world too," Brooklynn said, happy to have someone to talk to about traveling. "You've seen my videos, right? 'Brooklynn Unboxes The World'?" The adults look at her, as if they have never heard of her. "The web channel?" Brooklynn tries again, but the couple looked at each other, and shrugged slightly. Brooklynn sighs in annoyance.
The kids and adults heard loud grunting ahead of them. The gruff man, who still hasn't said anything, was clearing a path for them. "That's our tour guide, Hap. He came highly recommended."
Darius asked, "Is Hap short for Happy?"
Mitch and Tiff had a short laugh. "No, his name isn't Happy. We asked him once, and he said it was a nickname he kept from when he was little." Looking ahead, Mitch yells, "Almost there, right Hap?" The only response he got was more grunts. "Not much of a talker. But he is a good guide."
"Um, 'almost there', where?" Sammy asked.
"Our camp," Mitch says, "We have already found you guys, and since the boat will be back in a few days, we still have a little time to see dinosaurs."
The teens gasped when they heard the words 'boat' and 'few days'. "We're leaving in three days?" Darius asked, just making sure that they heard them right.
"That's right kids. You're going home after the boat refuels." Tiff said. The teens cheered! They were going home!
Darius checked the his watch, no, Kenji's watch, and saw that it was almost 8:30. Hap just broke through a tree line, and stopped grunting, finally. "Our camp is not much, so we hope you don't mind roughing it with us for a few more days." Mitch said. The kids broke the tree line as well and saw... A bunch of white silk huts, and the camp fire that the kids saw earlier.
"This isn't a camp." Darius said. "This is a mini apartment complex." The kids rushed forward to inspect the inside of the yurts. They all figured that this couple must be rich to have yurts like these. After a few minutes of looking through the yurts, and seeing all the things that they have missed, a bed, for starters, and a bathroom.
Then came the punch line. "I can't imagine how hard it's been for you guys." Tiff said. "Would you like some breakfast?" The teens looked at her as if she had just performed a miracle. And she did! Hap and Mitch took out a grill, and made some toast, bacon, and eggs.
The teens sat at the the table, and once Mitch told them to dig in, the teens didn't need to be told twice. Darius felt bad that their table manners were out the window, but damnit, he was HUNGRY. All those weeks of eating canned fruit, he was happy to have some dry food for a change. Mitch asked them how they survived had survived for so long. Darius explained how they escaped the Indominus, how they escaped Toro, and how many dinosaur attacks they have had to endure.
"I cannot even begin to think about how much you have been through, losing your friend, and staying alive all this time." Tiff said. The teens fell silent. They had been so excited to be rescued, that only now did it click. They would go home, but other than Ben's fanny pack, they had nothing to bring back to his mom.
Mitch noticed the mood change. "Don't be a downer babe. They are here now, and that's what matters." Darius and Mitch ended up getting into a conversation about dinosaurs and the places Mitch and Tiff had been. Darius was shown lots of cool pictures of Lions, Snow Leopards, and a bunch of other animals. They still didn't have any dinosaur picks.
"No more questions!" Hap suddenly said, and clattered his plate on the table. "Your food will get cold." he said, brushing off the fact that for some reason, he had raised his voice at Brooklynn. Darius watched with a little confusion. Sure, Brooklynn could pester a little bit, but at the same time, she hasn't had anyone else to talk to in 6 weeks.
Tiff said, "Mitch and I are going to clean the table if everyone is done eating. You guys can go get yourselves freshen up in the bathroom yurt. You will find a solar powered shower and a heated toilet." This caused the teens to quickly get up.
"Hey, you and the other guy will find a bunch of disposable razers in the left drawer." Mitch told Darius.
Darius said, "Thanks." Noticing that Brooklynn was looking at Hap and not following the others, he said, "Brooklynn, come on!"
Looking at the bathroom, Sammy couldn't believe how many different soaps they had. Darius looked in the mirror, and it was almost like he blinked and he suddenly had a beard. Looking at Kenji, he noticed that he was starting to grow a beard as well. God, 6 weeks flies by fast. Darius and Kenji shave their faces, and the girls keep looking at all the bathroom supplies. That's when Darius noticed. Brooklynn's hair was slowly starting to loose the pink. He looked closer and saw that she was actually a mix of red and brown. He was even more confused why she would change her hair to pink. It was nice, sure, but he couldn't help but wonder what she would look like with a full head of dark brown hair.
Darius looked back in the mirror, and sighed. He would soon be going back home and see his brother. Damn it! And he wouldn't be able to show him the awesome beard he grew in 6 weeks. Oh well.
Sammy and Yaz were chatting about something when Brooklynn suddenly said, "Guys, I can't prove it yet, but..." She shoved them all into the toilet area. "I think that there is something going on with Hap." Everyone looked at her with confusion. "He dodged all of my questions, and was super weird about the key card I dropped. Mitch and Tiff are clueless. She is too golly goodness to notice, and all he thinks about is dinosaurs."
"What's wrong with that?" Darius asked.
Brooklynn suddenly remembered that his mom worked on dino bones. "No, I mean... I'm just saying that Hap is suspicions. He's gruff, and unsmiling."
"What's wrong with that?" Yasmina asked, almost like she was taking it personally.
Brooklynn was realizing that she was putting herself in a corner. "No, it's not like that. I'm just saying, could Hap be working for Manta Corp? Am I crazy?"
Darius and Kenji shared a look, and had a silent conversation.
You tell her. Kenji looked.
Why me?! Darius asked.
Because she is freaking me out!
Me too!
"Guys." Yaz pulled them out of their thought.
"Brooklynn, the spies that sent me here were more like corporate spies." Sammy explained. "Not James Bond, shoot 'em up, action man spies."
Darius said, "I know that you've got conspiracy on the brain, but we are going home in a few days." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Forget about Hap. Just focus on the fact that we are getting out of here."
"But just in case, we'll keep our eyes open." Sammy said.
They did not keep there eyes open for long. Sammy was getting a massage from Tiff, and Yaz was sitting on a chair by the fire. Darius was looking at more pictures and talking with Mitch. Brooklynn couldn't help but think that Darius was allowing himself to get too close to them. Darius and Mitch suddenly got up, and were starting to walk away. Mitch called out to Tiff, saying that they were going to see a nest of some sort. The others, aside from Brooklynn followed. She noticed that Hap stayed behind as well. She decided to go investigate Hap.
Darius on the other hand showed Mitch and Tiff a nest of Compies. Mitch got a few good pics, and Tiff tried to get closer to one of them. But they ended up attacking her. Darius and Sammy thought fast, and threw some of the snacks that they had grabbed from the camp. The bags flew away from Tiff, and the Compies followed.
Darius explained to them, "Sammy found out that looks can be deceiving. She ended up getting sick for a few days after getting nipped by one of them."
"Trace amounts of venom in their bites." Mitch remembered. "How did you guys know that would work?"
"Darius keeps a log of all the dinosaurs on the island." Sammy praised.
"I do it just to remember." He said, handing the book to them. "Yaz draws the pictures."
Mitch started looking through the pages. "This is amazing. We haven't even seen a tenth of the dinosaurs you have."
"Maybe we have been looking in the wrong places." Tiff said.
"There is an area not too far from here that you can get some good shots." Darius said. "We can head over there right now if you want."
Before the adults could respond, they all heard an alarm of some sort. The others race back, to find Hap yelling at Brooklynn and Kenji for trying to break into the yurt. Darius gets between Hap and Brooklynn, and as Hap continues to tell Brooklynn to leave his yurt alone, Darius gets closer to Hap, trying to get the man's attention on him. Hap was taller than Darius, who was about 6' 2". Tiff finally gets Hap under control, and pulls him away from the group. Mitch looks at Darius. "Sorry about that. Hap is very protective of his yurt. He even makes US ask for permission."
Brooklynn starts laughing and smiling. "See? I told you guys!"
Mitch says, "Maybe we should postpone the trek. You guys have been through a lot." Looking at Brooklynn then back at Darius, he says, "Especially that one, it seems."
Darius shakes his head. "No. It's fine. Brooklynn won't touch the yurt, and we can all go to the place I wanted to show you."
As he walks to lead them, Brooklynn pulls him around to face her. "Darius, I think we should freshen up before we decide what to do next."
Looking at her with an irritated look, he says, "But we already freshened up."
"Can never be TOO fresh." Brooklynn says, with an irritated smile.
Darius glares for a second before realizing he was never going to talk her out of this.
"Really?" Yaz asks, getting irritated as well. "There isn't anywhere else we can talk?" The teens were back in the bathroom, and toilet area.
Brooklynn ignores her, and says, "Hap is hiding something. Why put an alarm on a yurt?"
"So a dinosaur or YOU can't get in there and trash his stuff?" Yasmina says.
"I was there too." Kenji says. "That alarm was defiantly freaky."
Darius sighs, thinking that Brooklynn has got Kenji into this. "I can't believe this." he mutters.
Brooklynn heard, and looked at him. "What is THAT supposed to mean?"
"We are leaving in three days." Darius said, patience wearing thin. "You can't just let this one mystery go, can you? Is this just another video to post on your channel?"
"You think I'm doing this for attention?" Brooklynn said. Both teens were starting to get in each other's faces.
"Isn't that your whole deal?" Darius says. "Are you really that upset that Mitch and Tiff haven't heard of you?"
Brooklynn shoots back. "What's YOUR whole deal Darius? Whenever we talk, the only thing we talk about is my family, your brother and football. You care more about a sport than anyone else in your family aside from your brother. All we know about you is what you have told us."
"Well, maybe I don't want to share my life story with you guys." Darius defends himself. "I don't see you complaining about Yaz not talking about her self much."
"You barely make a connection with anyone here." Brooklynn says, anger starting to boil over. "But here comes Mitch and he is suddenly the dad you never knew-" Brooklynn stopped herself, but it was too late. The damage was done. Everyone fell silent. Brooklynn saw how quickly his face changed from anger and frustration to broken. She realized that she took something that he had shared with her in private, and just pulled it out for everyone to see. She had broken his trust. "No, wait. Darius, I didn't-"
Darius turned and walked away, tears threatening to break through. But he just shoved the feeling down with the rest of the pain. He walked past Tiff to lead them to the spot. Everyone followed behind except for Brooklynn. "What about your other friend?" Tiff asked. Mitch noticed the hurt look on Darius's face.
"Don't worry about it. She's got her own thing going on." Darius didn't even bother looking back. If he did, he would just feel worse.
Everyone else followed Darius as Brooklynn just sat down at the table. She was about to cry when she heard someone sit down beside her. She looked and saw Kenji. "I thought you were going with them."
"I'm staying here. You see the dinosaurs once, you've seen them all." Kenji says. "Look, I don't know the importance of the Dad thing, but I know that you didn't mean it. It was a slip up. Happens to everyone. Especially me. Just give him time. He won't stay mad at you forever." Kenji added, assuring her.
Suddenly, Brooklynn's whole attitude changed. "Come on. Even if Hap reset the alarm, I can disarm it." She said, getting up.
Kenji was getting confused. "Wait a sec. How did 'give him time' turn into 'break back into the yurt'?"
"Because once I prove I'm right, Darius will have to forgive me." Brooklynn said, with faulty logic. She ran towards Hap's yurt.
"I can't believe I'M the voice of reason now." Kenji said. He tried to get Brooklynn to stop, but she got to the yurt first. Before she could do anything, the curtain opens, revealing Hap.
"Mitch and Tiff asked me to go with them, but I said, 'No. I'll make sure THESE two don't get into any trouble.' Let's not make this any more unpleasant than it has to be." Hap leads them back to the table.
Darius lead the adults to a huge hill, showing a bunch of trees. But in the trees, there were a bunch of Brachiosaurs, just chillin' and eating their leaves. Mitch and Tiff were in awe. One of the Brachiosaurs went to check out the new humans. Darius loved this side of the Island. He knows that there are a lot of dinosaurs that are looking for something meaty to eat, but just seeing these gentle giants chilling was cool.
Darius saw that Mitch and Tiff were getting a bunch of pics. "If you guys think THIS is cool, there is one more place we could check out." Darius showed them the picture of the watering hole.
Mitch and Tiff gasped. "I bet you guys could get lots of cool pics there. There are SO many dinosaurs at a time." Sammy said, recalling what Darius told them.
"What would we do without this kid babe?" Mitch said, clearly excited to see the area.
Tiff excused herself for a minute. "I'll radio ahead to Hap, and let him know the change of plans. Watering hole day!" As they were waiting, Darius couldn't help but feel bad about how he had left things with Brooklynn. Sure, he was frustrated at her, but she was right. He did start to cling onto Mitch. He was going to have to keep his emotions in check from now on. And maybe she did have a point about the alarm, but it's a an Island with dangerous animals. He did admit that he was curious about what was in Hap's yurt, but at the same time, it was his yurt. Who cares if he wants to keep it private?
"You doing okay D?" Mitch asked. Darius nodded. "I saw how you came out of the yurt with the others. Something happen between Brooklynn, I think she said her name was?"
Darius nods a little. "We had a fight. I don't know what her deal is lately."
"You guys been fighting a lot?" Mitch asked.
"No. It's been fine, but... I don't know. She's been trying to figure out this weird thing she found a few weeks ago." Darius explains. ""It will be fine though. Once we all go home." Darius said the last part in a monotone.
Mitch said, "Even if you two don't fix things tonight, you can always fix things on the boat home."
Darius nodded in understanding. He had a point. He would let things calm down with Brooklynn, and then spend the rest of their time together fixing things. He didn't want to lose her.
Suddenly, Tiff said, "Hey Mitch, I think we should head back to camp."
Darius got up, and asked, "Why? Is everything okay?"
"Oh, yes. Everything is fine, I just had an odd conversation with Hap." Tiff said, still looking at Mitch. Everyone rushes back to camp, wondering what was going on.
Well, the first thing that was wrong was that Hap was no where to be found. Neither were Kenji and Brooklynn. Sammy, Yaz, and Darius were yelling out their names, hoping that they would here anything. They found nothing. "Children, Mitchel and I are going to have a quick grownup conference." As Tiff pulled Mitch away from the group, Darius and the others meet up to have a little meeting of their own.
"I hope that they are okay." Sammy says.
Darius shook his head. "I'm sure everything is fine. Brooklynn probably just pissed off Kenji or Hap."
Yaz looks at him. "You know that she didn't mean it, right? I know that the damage is done, and there is nothing to change that, but you know that she said it out anger? Anyone would have made that mistake. And I'm sure that we all have."
Darius nodded. "I know."
The adults came back over towards them. "Alright. Here is the plan. Me and Mitchel are going to start packing up some stuff to go look for Hap and your other friends. If you guys will just sit either at the table or one of the chairs, that would be great."
The kids sit down, and Darius reflects on what a day this has been. Suddenly, Kenji and Brooklynn are gone, along with Hap. He shook his head. Things were fine.
About an hour later, Darius checked the watch. It said it was 2:00. It was going to be dark in a few hours.
The kids watched Mitch and Tiff back up their stuff. And it seemed much more than what they need. "This seems like a lot of stuff to take if we are just searching for Kenji Brooklynn and Hap."
"We just want to be prepared for whatever comes along. And we always pack up a few days before the boat arrives." Mitch says. "Right babe?"
"Yup." Tiff says nodding her head. "Now Mitch, can you please grab that stuff we need from Hap's yurt?"
Mitch goes over to Hap's yurt to grab whatever they needed. "I thought you said that you needed Hap's permission to go into his yurt." Sammy mentions.
"Here, how about you and your friends have some chocolate?" Tiff said, handing Sammy a pack. "It's from France, and over there?"
The teens move out of the way and near the outskirts of the camp. "I can't be the only one who thinks that this is weird. What could be so important that they would need to break permission to go through someone else's stuff?" Yaz says.
"And they are being real shady about the stuff they are packing." Sammy says, taking a bite of the chocolate, and hands some over to Yaz.
"You both are overthinking this." Darius says. "First Brooklynn gets Kenji on her side, and now she's got you two?" Yaz offers a piece to Darius. The teen takes it, and after the first bite, he says, "That's actually pretty good."
"Right?" Sammy asks, with a small smile.
"But I'm sure that they are fine." Darius says, realizing they are getting off track. They look at him with doubt. "*sigh* Fine. I'll prove you both wrong. Here is the plan. Sammy, you bombard Tiff with a bunch of questions. Yaz, do the same thing to Mitch. I'll look in the yurt. Don't stop until you see me come out of the yurt." The kids do just that. Darius watches as Tiff and Mitch look in the opposite direction, giving him an opening to get to the yurt. He quickly makes sure that the others still have Mitch and Tiff distracted. Darius quickly gets into the yurt, and makes sure that the cloth is still.
Darius looks to his right, and sees a table with nothing but a mug. Lifting it up, he mutters, "Oh yeah, real suspicions." Looking over to his left, he notices a table littered with... Knives? Not just any knives, hunting knives. Darius is from Montana, and his uncle would take him and his brother on lots of hunting trips, so he knew a hunting knife when he saw one. Looking around, he saw what looked like a leg trap, and a crossbow? Darius was starting to think that Hap really was a bad guy. That's when he noticed the white cloth. Lifting it up, he didn't know what to expect. He jumped back when he saw the head of a Sinoceratops. "Oh shit. She was right."
The yurt door flew open, revealing Mitch. "What are you doing in here D?" Mitch asked, scaring Darius with the way how calm, yet angry his voice sounded. Darius took a step back, starting to feel pretty scared right now. "Honestly, it's good that you've seen this. Friends shouldn't life to each other."
Darius stands his ground. "Ecotourists my ass. You're poachers."
Mitch nods his head slightly. "In a way. We are more like hunters for hire. We will do the hunting for you for the right price. It's a very profitable business." Mitch opens one of the boxes and pulls out a tablet. "My employer gave us this ACU tablet to help us track the chipped dinos, but..."
Darius was handed the tablet, and finished the thought. "No power on the island."
Mitch continues, "And even with the extra help of Hap, he's been useless at finding the dinosaurs. He doesn't know HALF the stuff you do about the island or the dinosaurs themselves. Which is why I'm going to ask for your help."
"I thought you cared about these animals. Turns out your nothing but a gun for hire." Darius shoots at him.
Mitch starts singing a different tune. "I actually have cared about these animals since I was a kid. But Isla Nublar is under U.N. Quarantine. The dinosaurs have been abandoned and forgotten. It's part of the reason I agreed to the job. I'm going to not only bring my employers the dinos they want, but take as many as I can for myself, preserving the beauty of Jurassic World." Darius cannot believe what he is hearing. "Don't you get it?! Thanks to us, these creatures will live on forever!" Mitch puts a hand on Darius's shoulder.
"Because you've mounted their heads on your wall like a trophy." Darius says, shoving Mitch's arm off him, but he isn't done. "In twenty years, children are going to look at these stuffed creatures, and their parents are going to have to explain HOW these animals were put into the museums, or on your living room wall."
Mitch sighs and shakes his head. "I thought we understood each other D." He almost sounded genuinely hurt? Darius was blocked near the table with the knives. He was too scared to try anything now, so he quickly shoved a small one in his pocket as Mitch lead him outside. Tiff was holding an electrostick, and holding Sammy and Yaz hostage. "But I'll make this simple. You help us bag all the dinosaurs we want, and we'll take you home. You don't, we leave you and your friends here, alone and abandoned. Just like the dinosaurs. Maybe I'll even lead Brooklynn to a pit of compies."
That causes Darius to almost snap. "If you touch her, I'm going to make you regret that."
Mitch smiles. "So do we have a deal Darius?"
Darius quickly tried to think of a way out, but Tiff had Sammy and Yaz still. If he attacked Mitch, Tiff would just kill them. This is the worst day of my life.
Annnnnnd that's where I leave you. I made Mitch and Tiff into hunters for hire because I recently read somewhere that early during Season two production, they were going to be working for Manta Corp. I think that would have been very interesting to see, so here we are. Have a good day, and stay home, stay safe.