Authors note:
SUICIDAL THEME WARNING! Also, I made myself and my beta reader cry, soo...
"What do we do?" Yasmina asks through her sobs. "We can't keep going like this. We… We were supposed to survive until help came. Now help isn't coming, what do we do?!"
The campers sink further into a depressed state as they listen to her words.
"What's the point of running if there's no finish line?!" Yasmina wails. "Why should we go on if there's not going to be a rescue?! What do we…" Yasmina starts coughing on her saliva, tears streaming down her bloody face.
The campers sit and wallow in their misery, unsure what to do.
"What is the point?" Ben repeats Yasmina's question, causing everyone to look at him. "Really, what's the point? Why should we continue on if we're not going to survive?"
He rubs Yasmina's back as her sobs start to subside. "I wish I could tell you guys that everything will be okay. But I can't. I don't know that for sure. All I know is that currently, Mantah Corp is going to tell our families that we're dead. If Roxie, Dave, and our families believe them, no help is coming for us. There is a chance that they won't believe Mantah Corp and still send out a search party, but those odds are low."
The other teens look at the ground, taking in his words.
"With injuries tacking up, our chances of surviving here are lowered," Ben continues. "With new hybrids to find, that makes things more complicated. With Mantah Corp and InGen wanting us dead so that we don't speak of their illegal deeds, surviving will be hard. Within our circumstances, chances of getting off here are grim.
"I only see four options," Ben sighs. "Number one, wait and pray that our families will send some sort of search party, or that someone will come someday. Number two, try to find our own way to get off the island. Or number three, accept that we're stuck here and create a life for ourselves here on the island."
The others ponder his words. For two months, option number one was the only thing on their minds. They never thought about trying to escape themselves. And they dared not entertain the thought of permanently living on the island…
"You said four options, Ben," Kenji speaks up, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
"Option number four," Ben murmurs, taking his spear and laying it on the ground in the middle of their circle. The others stare at it. "Kill yourself," the boy says solemnly. "The chances of dying here on the island are greater than the chances of getting off. If you guys don't think you'll make it… if you guys don't want to try… go ahead. I won't keep you here if you don't want to be here. If you choose not to kill yourself and try to get off the island, you might die. If you choose to live on the island as your permanent home, you might die. If you wait for help, you might die. There's possible death either way."
Yasmina wipes her saliva off of her chin.
"With a rescue operation most likely gone, there's little to no hope for us," Ben says.
"Ben," Brooklynn cries.
"I'm not going to lie and say that everything is going to be okay like we're in a cartoon!" Ben exclaims. "The odds of one of us surviving are slim, much less the whole group! There's very little hope for us. We're all traumatized and depressed and injured. Why should we go on? If you want to end your suffering right here and now, do it! I won't stop you! I'm not going to keep you here if you don't have a reason to move on!"
The kids stare at the spear, weighing Ben's words. "Are you going to do it?" Darius asks.
"No," Ben shakes his head. "I went through this already, back when I fell off the monorail. With my injuries and only a baby Ankylosaurus to protect me, the odds were stacked against me. I thought you guys had escaped. If you did, you would've told my family that I died falling off a monorail. There was zero chance that I was going to be rescued. I thought to myself, 'What's the point? Why should I try to survive? It's not like I'm waiting for help.'"
"Why did you move on?" Yasmina sniffs. "If there was no finish line, why keep going?"
"I decided that, even if I couldn't see the finish line, it was there," Ben says. "Whether the finish line was rescue, me finding a way off the island, making a life for myself here, or dying from a dino, there was an end. I have no idea how I'm going to die. I might be eaten by Rexy, or I might die from old age. Either way, I don't know. There is a chance that I'd survive—no matter how small—and I wasn't about to throw that chance away because I gave up. I want to live."
He puts his arm around Yasmina and Sammy. "I've spent my whole life cowering and sniveling in fear. I didn't try things because I was afraid of failing. I backed out of things because of fear so many times. Now that I've faced death, life isn't so scary. I want to live! I want to experience what life has to offer and not be held back by fear! I want to see my Mom and Dad again. I want to see my family. I want to have a family."
He smiles at Yasmina. "I want to meet your families. I want to travel. Try new things. I want to do everything I was afraid of doing. And even if I die trying to get off this island, I did it trying. I'm not going to give up because it's hard. I'm going to get off this island, or die trying."
He looks all his friends in the eye. "It's going to be a hard, long road with pain and suffering. And it might end in pain and suffering without getting off of here. I understand if you guys don't want to take it on. I won't judge you if you want to end everything right now. If you don't have anything to live for, there's no point in going on. If you don't have a reason to get back home, why try?"
The others look at the ground, taking in his words.
"I'd encourage you guys to think about why you want to get home," Ben says. "Why are you surviving? Do you want to see your families? Do you want to do something? Is there a reason that you want to get back? Because if not, why go through the pain and hardships of trying to get back there?"
"I want to live, too," Kenji says, looking up. "I want to go home and make up with my father. I don't want to end our relationship on bad terms. I… I want to have a family. Be the father to my kids that I always wanted. I… I want… I want to make people laugh. I want to see people be happy. I want to encourage others—especially young guys. I want to give advice and help other people not make the same mistakes I have."
He smiles at Ben. "You won't have to go through this journey alone."
"I…" Brooklynn starts, wiping away her tears. "I want to make up with my family, too. I never had a strong relationship with my parents, and the last conversation I had with my brother—before Christmas—was an argument. And all we did was insult each other. I don't want to end our relationships like that… Beyond that, I've tried. I've tried to find a reason to live, but depression makes it hard. If the rest of you guys don't want to live, I…"
"What makes you happy?" Ben asks. "What's your passion?"
Brooklynn thinks hard. "I guess… One thing that always made me smile was making other people happy. I loved it when I taught someone something, or put a smile on people's faces. It was painful when someone said that I was annoying or setting a bad example… I want to give joy to other people. It's terrible with depression, I want to make people feel joy. I want to help others overcome their depression. I want to overcome my depression." She chuckles and looks up at her friends. For the first time in a while, they saw a spark of joy and hope in her virescent eyes. "I'm in."
After a bit of silence, Sammy sniffs and wipes her nose on her wrist. Kenji gently grabs her forearm and stares at the oozing cut along it. The Texan shakes her head and sighs. "I want to have a family, too. I want to see my family again. I want to see my sisters grow up." She lets out a tiny sob. "I want to see Holly get married. I wanna see my nieces and nephews. I wanna have little ones of my own. I wanna see you guys grow up, and I wanna be a part of y'alls lives."
She glances at each member of the group. "I want to meet your Mom and brother, Darius. I want to hang out with you, Ben, outside of the island. I want to make videos with you, and make people happy together, Brooklynn. I want to cheer for you when you win the gold at the Olympics, Yaz. I want to start a family with you, Kenji, and travel together."
"I'm gonna be honest, sometimes your ship is the only reason I smile," Brooklynn chuckles.
The others nod in agreement.
"Like Ben said, I just wanna live," Sammy smiles. "And… I think we're going to make it. Long story short, Darius had a vision of me and my family and Kenji. It was God-given—and I know that some of you don't believe that, but it's true. There's no other way to explain it. I won't go into details, but why would God give him a vision if it isn't going to come true? If Darius witnessed it, then that means at least me, Kenji, and Darius make it."
"Yaz, Brooklynn, and Ben were in it, too," Darius murmurs.
"I believe we're gonna make it by the grace of God," Sammy says. "And I'm just gonna hold onto that hope, whether you guys think I'm crazy or not."
"At this point, we need all the hope we can get," Brooklynn says.
"I don't think a God exists, but…" Kenji says, gently rubbing Sammy's shoulder. "With little hope to go around, I'll believe with you."
"Yaz? Darius?" Ben asks.
The two are silent. Yasmina rubs her sleeve under her eyes; it comes away with tears and blood from the unfortunate worker. "I wanna see my family again. My sister, my brothers, my mother, my step-father…"
"Step?" Brooklynn asks.
"He's my step-father, the one I've talked about," Yasmina explains. "I used to be Yasmina Shammas… I… My real father is the reason I have such bad trust issues… Leah only made it worse. He… he was abusive to me as a child. To all of us."
"Abusive how?" Sammy asks, concerned.
"Yelling and shouting and hitting," Yasmina says. "He'd beat us… I started running because it let me escape my father. I… He… how do I put this in words?"
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Ben says quickly, knowing the athlete might feel pressured to share things she wasn't comfortable with.
"No, no, I want to get this out," Yasmina sobs. "I… For as long as I can remember, he was abusive. We… we grew up Muslim… I'm not saying that Muslims are bad or anything, but he used our culture to abuse us. Specifically me and my Mom. Habeeba was too young to remember anything. Everything was always negative, and I was afraid of doing anything wrong for fear of punishment. I… I don't really want to get into everything he did… Mom was trying for years to get a divorce, but he made things difficult. As well as our culture… I'm not exactly sure what happened. All I know is when I was nine, my Mom took the four of us and left. Just left. Found a hotel, stayed there for a couple days before moving again. We went to the homeless shelter a couple times while Mom filed a restraint order against him. She found a job, but couldn't find a place to leave us. A kind couple with children who worked at the homeless shelter offered to take us in. Mom was hesitant at first, but eventually let us stay with them because she was desperate."
Yasmina pulls her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them. "The oldest daughter made friends with me really quick because I was desperate for friendship. She introduced me to her other friend and, well… the three of us were inseparable from then on."
"No," Kenji breathes. "One of them was Leah?"
The athlete nods. "I lived with Leah for half a year. I shared everything with her. She knew everything about me. She was everything I wanted to be. Strong, friendly, happy, confident. I looked up to her so much. She was so different from my father, and made me feel like I was worth something. Just being her friend felt like an honor. Looking back, I realize that she was manipulative. I was her little slave."
"That's horrible!" Sammy gasps.
"I just…" Yasmina sobs, clenching her fists with rage and sadness. "I hate them! I hate my father for what he did to me! I hate Leah for using me and playing me! I hate them so much! It's because of what they did that I missed out on so many friendships. It's because of them that I'm so broken and hurt and afraid! I hate them! And…"
Ben and Brooklynn wrap their arms around her shoulders, while Kenji, Sammy, and Darus hold her hands. "I'm just tired," Yasmina sobs, her shoulder sagging. "Tired of being broken. Tired of being scared. Tired of being hateful. Just… tired. I want to heal."
"Forgive your father and Leah," Sammy says, gently rubbing the back of Yasmina's hand. "Hating them isn't hurting them. Holding in hatred isn't affecting them. It's affecting you. You need to let go of your anger. All it's doing is hurting you."
"Getting angry and hateful doesn't help these situations," Kenji speaks up. "When someone's hurt you, it's really easy to get mad and hate them, but… it doesn't do anything to them. Being angry and hateful for years doesn't do anyone any good. It just leaves you angry and hateful and depressed."
"They can't hurt you anymore," Brooklynn says. "Your father can't see you anymore, and you moved states away from Leah. They can't yell at you or hurt you anymore."
"What happened in the past should stay in the past," Ben murmurs. "Dragging it around with you isn't helping you at all. It's hard sometimes to let it go, but that's the best thing to do. It's like a wound. You want it to heal and become a scar; a scar is a memory. It's not painful. But when you're angry and hold strife towards the person who wronged you years after it happened, it's like you're reopening the wound. You want to have gotten to a point where you can look at the scar and say, 'Yep, that happened. But I've moved past it.' You don't want to look at the wound and pain flares up."
"It'll take time to let the open wound in your heart become a scar," Sammy says.
"I don't know how to let it heal," Yasmina sobs.
"Let go of the anger and hatred," Sammy advises. "It's irritating and reopening the wound, and it's not doing you any good. I know it'll be hard, but you have to forgive your father and Leah. I know you may not want to, but they're not affected by your anger. They don't care. It's not hurting them. All it's doing is making you feel broken and hurt."
"How do I forgive?" the athlete asks. "How do I let go of the anger?"
"It's a process, and it might take a while," Sammy says. "But the first move is making a decision to forgive them. We can help you and remind you, but you have to try."
"Okay," Yasmina nods with a sob.
"Say it," Sammy says. "Say, 'I forgive my father for what he did to me.'"
"I forgive my father for what he did to me," Yasmina nods with a sob.
"'I forgive Leah for what she did to me,'" Sammy says.
"I forgive Leah for what she did to me," Yasmina repeats.
"'I loose anger and bitterness from my soul,'" the Texan says.
"I loose anger and bitterness from my soul," the athlete nods.
"'I bind forgiveness and a gentle spirit to my soul," Sammy continues.
"I bind forgiveness and a gentle spirit to my soul," Yasmina sighs.
Sammy strokes her cheek. "You've forgiven them. Whenever feelings of anger and hatred rise up, just try to forgive them. Okay?"
Yasmina lets out a shaky sigh. Shocking herself, saying that she forgave them made her feel like a small weight was lifted from her chest. She lets out a sigh of relief, wiping away her tears. "Thank you," she sniffs. "It feels better to let it out and say it. I just have a hard time actually letting it out."
Yasmina thinks for a moment. "I've let my father and Leah make me afraid of having friends and just being free in general… I want to live life without fear of being betrayed. I want to be the friends to you guys that you've been to me. I want to mend my relationship with my Mom. I… I guess I kinda hate her, too. For marrying my biological father, and for taking the abuse. I distrusted my step-father and treated him like he abused me. I want to mend the relationships with my family. I want to excel in track running, heh."
She chuckles. "I guess I do want to live."
"Darius?" Brooklynn asks, wrapping her arm around his shoulder.
The boy is silent. Tears slowly run down his face. "I don't know," he murmurs. "I don't know what I want to live for… For almost a year, my dream was to go to Jurassic World and… live out the dream my Dad and I had. Now, I want to make sure all my friends live and get off this island…" Darius tries to hold back a sob. "Both those dreams seem to be going down hill."
"What do you mean?" Brooklynn asks. "It's not your fault Mantah Corp and InGen happened."
"I don't know if I can do it," Darius chokes back a sob. "I don't know if I can keep you guys alive and safe. I'm so scared of losing you guys! It's on my mind all day! This constant anxiety that I won't be able to protect you guys…"
Kenji and Brooklynn wrap their arms tightly around his shoulders and the words start tumbling out. "I can't do it!" he wails. "I can't do this! I can't lead the team and keep you guys safe! I'm scared that I'll make one wrong decision and get everyone killed! It's tearing me apart, this fear of losing you guys. This constant dread and anxiety and images of your deaths! I'm so scared! I'm so scared of losing you!"
"It's not your fault," Brooklynn whispers.
"I can't be a leader!" Darius laments. "I can't do this, I can't do this… I can't hold it together for you guys, I've tried! I've tried to stay strong but I can't do it…" Darius is barely able to choke out his words now. "I can't lose you… Not after… my Dad… It's too much… I can't…"
His friends hold him as he wails. Darius lets out a shaky, gasp of surprise as a soft purr is emitted near his ear. He looks up to see Blue standing over him. With a sympathetic purr, she nuzzles his face and rests her head against his chest, her claws gently pressing against his back in a hugging way. With a sob, Darius hugs her head, crying into her scaly skin. The others hold him and move in closer. Ben moves his spear out of the circle.
If Darius thought it was hard to stop crying before, it was impossible now. For two months, he had tried to keep all his problems, all his turmoil, inside and out of the way of his friends' struggles. He had kept everything together and held them. He never gave himself time to mourn his father, or even relax. The young boy had forced himself to ignore everything brewing inside him and focus on his friends.
He had thought that that was how a leader led. He had thought that if he opened up, it would be a weakness as a leader. He believed that he had to deal with problems on his own. But when he finally broke, none of that happened. He was being embraced by his friends, comforted by them as he did for them. And to add to that heartwarming feeling this embrace gave him, the antisocial raptor—who never let any human touch her or even get close—willing came over and gave him a hug in his weakest moment. Darius melted like ice as he cried his heart out on his friends shoulders.
"Being a leader doesn't mean perfection," Sammy says. "You don't have to always stay strong for us. You can talk about your problems."
"We never expected you to be able to help us with our problems and deal with yours flawlessly," Kenji says. "You don't have to hold it all together all the time."
"You can come to us with your problems and we'll help you," Ben says.
"Trust me, Darius, you don't have to go through your struggles alone," Yasmina adds. "We can trust you to comfort and hold us. You can expect us to do the same for you."
"The difference between friends and best friends is that best friends will share the burden," Brooklynn says, giving his cheek a kiss. "Friends will tell you it's okay, but best friends are there right next to you every step of the way. Don't ever think that you're obligated to help us through everything we deal with, and not expect the same back."
Blue purrs and gently nuzzles the side of his face.
"Okay," Darius nods with a cry. "I know I've told you guys that you can come to me with anything, but… It's not that I don't trust you or anything, I… I feel like I have to hold it all in and be perfect. When I was sad about my father, you guys almost died trying to bring me my necklace he gave me. I… I was scared that if I was vulnerable, you wouldn't see me as a leader…"
"There's a time to lead, and a time to be vulnerable," Kenji says. "Yes, you need to be strong as the leader, but you don't always have to be strong. You can lean on your teammates and friends. We never expected you to never have issues."
"Being strong doesn't mean never opening up," Ben says. "We've told you before that you could come to us. We know you've been struggling with stress and grief; that's why we've tried to help you. Help you relax, help take some of the burden of leading."
"Being a leader isn't just about sacrificing yourself for the others," Yasmina smiles at him. "You can give us jobs."
"And sometimes being a leader means sacrificing others for the greater good," Ben says. "I would rather you guys try to get to the docks then come back for me if it means you guys survive. We might die, but that doesn't mean you failed as a leader. I know that it's your biggest fear, but I know for certain if you had to sacrifice my life so that the rest of you could make it, I would follow your orders to a T."
"You can ask me to jump into the waiting jaws of Rexy if it means you guys live, and I'll do it in a heartbeat," Yasmina nods.
"I'd rather die than live knowing I could've saved one of you with my life," Brooklynn says.
"Give me the order and I'll do it," Kenji says. "I wouldn't hold it against you."
"We trust your judgement and love each other enough that if you asked us to die for the team, we would do it," Sammy says.
"I hope it never comes to that," Darius sighs. A heavy weight was lifted off his shoulders with every word his friends said. "I… I want to carry on my fathers legacy. I want to live and see you guys. I… want to have a family, someday." He teasingly glances at Brooklynn. "My reason to live is to see you guys survive."
"So we're all moving forward?" Ben chuckles, rubbing Yasmina and Sammy's shoulders.
"We're moving forward," Sammy nods.
"We're not ending our lives," Brooklynn smiles, holding Darius and Yasmina close. "Because things might get better. We just need to hold on till the sunrise."
Darius smiles at her.
"We're not going to give up," Yasmina sighs, giving Ben a grateful glance. "Let's keep trying until we can't."
"Whatever happens, we're not going to leave each other," Kenji promises, pulling Sammy and Darius close.
The campers rest their foreheads together, holding each other close on their knees. "Whatever may come, we're in this together," Darius says. "We're more than friends; we're family now. We're together through the good, the bad, and the ugly. And no matter what problems arise, deadly or drama-related, we've decided that we're going to be family. It's not a question of will we get through them, but how we get through them."
The campers nod in agreement. "So, what do we do now?" Brooklynn asks, an adventurous grin creeping onto her face.
"Even if help is coming or not, we can't rely on them," Darius says. "We can't be waiting and creating all our plans around that. Our dream is that we'll be rescued. Our goal is to find our own way off. Our plan is to live and make a life here. As far as we know, we're going to grow up here on the island. That's our first priority. Second is finding a way off. Rescue is just a hope right now."
"No babies, Kenji and Sammy," Ben waggles his eyebrows at the two. "We don't need to worry about that just yet."
The teens start laughing. "Yeah, let's wait, like, five years before we start our own colony," Yasmina snickers, sending the group into another fit of hysterics.
"Well, it's night time," Sammy sighs, recovering from her laughter. "We should probably find shelter."
"Yeah," Darius nods. "It's been a long day, let's sleep."
Tornado timely flops down and snorts. The campers lay down next to her stomach and flop down on top of each other, creating a messy sleep pile. Blue settles down next to the Triceratops' back legs and keeps guard. The group snuggles into each other, accepting that until help arrived or they found a way off the island, that was how it was going to be.
And they were completely content with that.
"All right, you guys!" Milton exclaims to the group of teenagers and children as the sun begins to rise. "We have four more days until the rescue mission is launched!"
"Three," Brandon pipes up from his spot on a bench.
"No, four," Milton argues.
"No, three," Brandon corrects.
"No, today is February second," Milton says. "The rescue will be sent out on the fifth. So the rest of today, three, four, and five. That's four days."
"But the rescue operation will start in the morning of the fifth, so it's not a full day," Brandon argues. "So it doesn't count, making it three days until the rescue."
"If I throw a stick, will you leave?" Milton rolls his eyes, annoyed with the other teenagers' technicalities.
"If you're going to be a smartbutt, first you gotta be smart," Brandon retorts. "Otherwise you're just a butt."
"You know, if you just cursed like a regular teen, your comebacks would be better," Milton sneers.
"Actually, not resorting to the F-word or the a-double-s word shows off my superior creativity in comebacks," Brandon smirks.
"Was there a point to this conversation before you turned it into a roast battle?" Miriam rolls her eyes.
"Oh, yeah," Milton says, remembering why he started talking in the first place. "Well, I think we need to find a way to help our siblings. Help out with the rescue mission, stuff like that."
"We could be their cheerleaders!" Shelby pipes up with a grin. "Tell them they're doing a good job!"
"Excellent idea!" Ghaleb says. "Why don't you work on cheers?"
Shelby giggles happily.
"Could we wrap bandages or prepare supplies, like kids would do during wars years ago?" Rio suggests.
"Except the adults are already doing that," Holly counters.
"Well, they're going to be very traumatized when they come back," Habeeba says. "Maybe the best thing we could do is help them feel safe. Comfort them when they have nightmares. Help them get around if they're injured."
The kids nod, agreeing with her suggestion. "They're gonna need a lot of therapy after they get back," Miriam adds. "The best thing we can do is try to help them heal."
"I wish we could go to the island and rescue them ourselves," Ghaleb growls, crossing his arms in anger.
"We don't need to lose any more children," Mr. Fadoula says, placing a hand on his step-sons shoulder. "But trying your best to make things easier for your siblings is a great idea. They'll need support and many changes will have to be made when they come back. They're probably going to be a bit different when you see them again. They might be scared, or anxious, or easily angered. We'll need to be compassionate and understanding. They've been through a lot and coming back home will be a big adjustment for them."
"Why can't we go get them now?" Shelby asks innocently.
"Because we're still gathering people and resources," Roxie says as the parents approach the children. "It takes time to gather everything so that we can save them."
"Excuse me," a new voice pipes up. The group turns around to see a couple approaching them. They were a bit dirty, and the man's hat was astray. It appeared that they had been out in Mother Nature. "Are you all the families of the Camp Cretaceous kids?"
"Yes," Roxie answers, narrowing her eyes in confusion.
Before the man can speak, Mr. Gutierrez interrupts. "What do you want now, Mr. Banks?"
"I sincerely apologize—" he starts.
"Don't give me that!" Mr. Gutierrez shouts. "What do ya want?!"
"We never meant to put your daughter in any harm," he says, intimidated by the hulking Texan. "It was never our intention—"
"Quit your yappin' and get to the point!" Sammy's father snaps.
"Mr. Mitch Banks?" Roxie asks, crossing her arms. "We've heard a lot about you."
Mitch chuckles sheepishly. "Contrary to popular belief, we never intended to harm Sammy."
"Ya convinced her that she needed to spy on InGen to save our ranch!" Mrs. Gutierrez snaps.
"She contacted us, we never talked to her, but that is not the point," Mitch says, nearly quaking in fear. "I speak on behalf of Mantah Corp when I say I'm truly sorry for your loss, and we wanted to make it up to you in some way."
"Like what? Send off Shelby, next?" Milton comments snarkily.
"We tried to find her," Mitch says. "We tried to find all of them."
"RIght," Mr. Gutierrez laughs. "And somehow you bypassed the ban. Or you snuck there illegally."
"We did not get there illegally," Mitch says.
"We'll see about that," the US Ambassador for Costa Rica says with a grunt, heading off to check the authenticity of their claims.
"I'm being honest," Mitch sighs. "We…" he sighs again. "We found… Sammy… What was—"
"Mitch," Tiff hisses, stopping him from finishing.
"What was left of her?" Sammy's father raises an eyebrow skeptically.
"Yes," the man winces.
"And where is the rest of her?" Mr. Gutierrez asks.
"On the island," Mitch sighs.
"Convenient," Sammy's mother smiles wryly.
"We were attacked by a predator and barely made it out with our men alive," Mitch explains. "We didn't have a chance to bring… her. The most we could do was take a picture to document it and… Well, we tried to… tried not to show too much damage, as it is the last picture you have of her."
Mitch hands them a picture. Sammy's fathers skeptical face falls. "Where did you get this?" he asks accusingly. "This can't be real."
The Gutierrez family crowds around him and looks. It was clearly Sammy, with three long, scratch marks down her left cheek. Red blood was smeared on her neck and shirt and face.
"No," Rio whispers.
"We were only able to recover her headband," Tiff says, fighting back fake tears.
She hands Mrs. Gutierrez a pink headband. On the ends, plastic gems were glued to the sides, randomly chosen by Shelby. On the inside of one end, was Sammy's name in Rio's handwriting. The headband had been a little present Shelby created at school for her sister. Sammy's mother purses her lips, trying to hold back tears. It was hard to argue with this piece of evidence.
"If that's Sammy's headband, where's Sammy?" Shelby whimpers.
"Sh-sh-sh…" Miriam tries to speak but begins sobbing.
"Noo!" Shelby wails. "We were gonna bring her home! Where is she?!"
Sammy's father picks up the six year old and holds her close as she cries. Sandra cries into her mothers shirt while Holly's fiance holds her. Rio sinks to the ground, silently sobbing. The other families move in to comfort them.
"And the others?" Roxie whispers.
"We…" Mitch says, trying to choose the right words. "We found them but… we could barely discern… who was who in… the mess."
Some react quickly, while others take time to process everything. Yasmina's younger sister, Ben's mother, and Darius's mother immediately begin crying. Brooklynn's parents embrace numbly, while her brother stares at the ground in shock. Ben's father holds his wife, unsure how to react other than to cry. Brandon lets out a frustrated sigh, choking out a sob as he holds his head. Ghaleb's shoulders sag with defeat, numbly holding Miriam as she sobs. Yasmina's younger brother looks at the small dinosaur toy in his hand—one of Darius's figurines given to him by Brandon to entertain him—and throws it on the ground in anger, before storming off to curl into a ball on a bench. The athlete's parents embrace, silently crying.
Roxie tries to keep it together in front of the Mantah Corp agents. Dave rubs her shoulder, tears fighting to slip out.
"We're truly sorry that we couldn't do more," Mitch says. "Mantah Corp has decided to cancel all of your debt as payment. We are so sorry for your loss." He stands there awkwardly before nodding his head and leaving with his wife.
Dave wraps her arms around her shoulders from behind as Roxie whispers: "Should we call off the rescue mission?"
"Not yet," Dave whispers with a sniff. "Let them grieve for a bit."
Roxie takes a hold of his hands with a sob. She pulls out the walkie talkie. She hadn't talked to the campers in three days. The last time she checked, they were taking care of Brooklynn. Something about suicide… they had quickly changed the subject to the rescue mission and wormed their way around anything related to that. "Hello, campers?" Roxie asks.
Only static was heard. Roxie tries a few more times before giving up.
"I…" Mr. Strominger, the Ambassador, comes back and stops when he sees the families mourning. "I… They were telling the truth. They did get permission somehow."
The families and camp counselors stand there and grieve. They were so close, so close to finding the campers! They were just three-four days away from launching the rescue mission! They were so excited, so hopeful, and all for nothing…
"Is everything all right?" Claire Dearing asks as she, Alan Grant, and an unknown man approach the group.
"The campers are dead," Roxie whispers to them.
"What happened?" Claire asks in concern.
"Mantah Corp sent out a rescue mission and found their remains," Dave explains. "All they brought back was a picture and Sammy's headband."
"No other proof?" the man asks.
"No," Roxie shakes her head.
"Guess we didn't need to convince you to come, Owen," Alan Grant murmurs.
"For the record, I had already made the decision to come when you arrived at my trailer," Owen growls. "Can I see the picture?"
"Why?" Mrs. Gutierrez sniffs.
"I'm skeptical about Mantah Corp," he frowns.
"Owen," Claire says.
"Just saying, they're just as shady as Wu," Owen says as he is handed the picture. He examines it. "And you're sure the headband is hers?"
"Yes," Sammy's mother nods.
Owen examines the picture. "Where are the others."
"Said they couldn't figure out who was who in the… remnants," Roxie sighs.
"I call BS," Owen sputters. "Does that look like any dinosaur mark to you, Dr. Grant?"
Alan takes the picture and examines Sammy's scratches. "I can't figure out which dinosaur would make that wound."
"Those marks are too far apart to be made by a Compy," Owen explains to the group. "But they're too thin to be made by a raptor. And those marks are way too clean to be done by a dinosaur."
Sammy's father takes back the picture in horror. "What do you mean?"
"A dinosaur slashes at you," Owen says, imitating it with three fingers. "Their wounds would look more jagged and open. That wound is clean cut and more of a slice. No dinosaur's claws would do that."
"So…" Miriam gulps. "You're saying it's…"
"I'm saying that looks more like a knife wound than a dinosaur slash," Owen concludes.
"Under the circumstances of who took the picture, I'd come to that same conclusion," Alan nods.
"You're suggesting that Mantah Corp framed her death?" Mrs. Gutierrez asks.
"Were they there legally?" Owen asks.
"While they did get authorized to travel to the island under the guise of, 'Gathering evidence to incriminate Wu,' I question how they got that authority when we had to jump through so many hoops for this rescue mission," Mr. Strominger explains.
"Wouldn't be surprised if a couple governmental figures were bribed by Mantah Corp into allowing this," Owen tschs.
The families' grief turns to fury. "What do you think they did to the rest of the group?" Ghaleb growls.
"And why would they frame their deaths or kill them?" Ben's mother asks.
"Sammy had something to do with Mantah Corp before the accident, right?" Owen asks.
"They sent her to spy on InGen and steal from them to repay our ranch's debt," Sammy's father explains. "They said they'd cancel the debt to repay us for our loss."
"Sounds more like they don't want a lawsuit on their hands," Owen huffs. "If they weren't on the island for legal reasons—and I highly doubt they were—then they wouldn't want anyone speaking of what they were doing. If the kids weren't immediately on board to keep the secret, they would be a danger to the company. Sammy knows the most, they would have to make sure we never found her."
"So they killed her to keep their secret," Mrs. Gutierrez hisses.
"They would need to make sure we never go back to the island to find them," Owen says. "They would need to show us proof that the others were dead."
"It stands to reason that if Sammy is the only one they showed proof of, she's the only one they found," Alan notes.
"Sammy is most likely gone, if Mantah Corp found her," Owen says. "There's a small chance she isn't, since they only showed part of her. If she really was ripped apart, they should've shown it as proof. But I wouldn't bring my hopes up." The Gutierrez family falls back into despair. "But if they have no proof of the others, they most likely didn't find them," Owen continues. "Either they were dead and Sammy was alone, or the kids escaped."
"Mantah Corp would leave them in a worse state if they did find them," Alan says. "We need to assume that they're in more danger than before. There's no telling what happened between the company and the kids."
"So the rescue operation is a go?" Brandon asks.
"Gather everyone you can," Owen says. "We can't wait. We need to act now. This mission needs to be launched by today at the latest."
"We need new supplies," Brooklynn yawns, stretching as she sits up. "InGen took our backpacks and went through our stuff."
"You're sitting on my hip," Kenji winces. "Get off."
The campers untangle themselves from the sleep pile. "We need to dress the new wounds we have," Sammy says, wincing as she touches her face. "What happened to your head, Yaz?"
"It's not my blood…" Yasmina murmurs.
"Whose is it, then?" Sammy asks in concern. Yasmina just shakes her head.
"What happened to your ankle?" Ben asks Kenji. "And your face."
"Yo Mam—oh, you mean when I was kicked in the face by a Carno," Kenji winces sheepishly. "I thought you were roasting my face. And the Carno's back claw sliced my ankle."
"Let's raid InGen's camp for anything salvageable," Darius says.
The group heads to the wreckage of InGen's camp. Compys were scavenging on the bodies of the workers. Yasmina stops on the hill and doesn't move closer. "I used to like horror movies," she whispers to Ben and Kenji. "But now I can't stand the sight of this destruction."
Darius and Brooklynn search through the tent where they were kept. They find the backpack of medical supplies intact. Hopeful, they search through more. The other backpacks were flattened and destroyed. "Where is the emergency device?" Brooklynn asks, searching through the smashed technology.
Darius remembers one of the workers taking it out and placing it on the table. He approaches the splintered mess and finds the remnants of the device in the wreckage. Him and Brooklynn exchange a depressed glance.
Meanwhile, Kenji, Ben, and Sammy were searching for salvageable guns or food. Kenji finds a pack of beef jerky, but other than that, everything was destroyed in the fight between Carno and Gigi.
The campers approach Yasmina—who had sat down on the top of the hill next to Blue—and begin to eat. Kenji lets out a pained cry as he chews on the right side of his mouth. "I think the Carno broke a tooth," he grimaces in pain.
"Chew on the other side, maybe," Yasmina suggests.
"That's what I'm doing!" he exclaims.
Sammy examines his face. Where the dino's foot had connected with his cheek was a purple, blue, and yellow bruise. He winces as he opens his mouth wide enough for her to examine his tooth. His gum was a brown black color, and his back molars were pushed in. "How can you fix teeth that are pushed in?" Brooklynn asks. "He would need braces for that."
"Actually, we should just leave it alone," Sammy says. "Teeth remember where they're supposed to be. They'll move back into place on their own. That's why you have to wear a retainer if you had braces. I don't think any of your teeth are broken. It might just be tender from being bruised."
"Are either of you two hurt?" Sammy asks Ben and Yasmina.
"Told you, it's someone else's blood on our faces," Ben explains.
"You should wash it off so that a predator doesn't hunt us down," Brooklynn suggests. Yasmina immediately takes up her suggestion, pouring water over her head and scrubbing off the blood. Ben does the same.
"I need to clean your cut with Iodine, but it will burn," Sammy warns Kenji.
He sighs. "Just do it."
Sammy applies the solution to his cut and he lets out a scream. The Iodine burned, and it didn't help that clenching his teeth to deal with the pain hurt his mouth. Opening his jaw to scream hurt, too. Kenji pants with agony as the pain subsides. Blue nuzzles him in concern; she was becoming more open to the idea of touching the campers after being sympathetic towards Darius. The Texan pours water over the wound to wash it out before stitching it back up. Kenji resorts to clenching his fists and panting because his mouth and ankle hurt so much. Yasmina and Ben hold his hands as she finishes stitching up the wound.
"I need someone to apply this stuff to my cuts," Sammy says, motioning to her cuts on her face and arm. Yasmina takes the bottle while Sammy clenches a piece of wood between her teeth. The athlete applies the Iodine and the Texan screams. The pain subsides and Yasmina pours it on her arm. Sammy screams again.
"Oh, that was hard," Sammy pants, spitting out the wood. "Ow."
Brooklynn and Yasmina try to stitch up Sammy's cuts as best they can. Thankfully, the wounds were pretty thin and cleanly sliced. Mitch and Tiff hadn't made the wounds jagged or very deep when they tortured her, so it wasn't so bad to stitch them up. She holds Kenji and Darius's hands as the girls stitch. "There," Brooklynn wipes her forehead. "Hopefully it doesn't get infected."
The campers sit on the hill, lost in their own minds. Darius closed his eyes and was praying for guidance and protection. Brooklynn was absentmindedly braiding her hair over and over again, thinking about ways to get off the island. Sammy was scratching Tornado's belly, trying to distract herself from memories. Kenji was trying to figure out a way to eat the stick of jerky without chewing, since he was hungry. Yasmina was curled up against Ben's back, trying not to think about what happened the other day. Ben was wondering where Bumpy and the Indoraptors had gone, and if they had escaped Mantah Corp and InGen.
After some contemplation, Brooklynn breaks the silence. "Well, at least if Mantah Corp proves to our families that they went to the island, they'll be guilty of breaking the ban."
The campers smirk at the thought. "Justice will be served," Kenji mutters.
"They can't be that stupid," Darius shakes his head. "They'd be in trouble for that."
"Unless they were allowed on the island legally," Sammy suggests with a crestfallen face.
"Hey, wouldn't our families come to the island to retrieve our bodies?" Kenji asks. "They'd want a proper burial for us, right?"
"It's dangerous to even come for survivors," Darius says. "Just trying to save one person results in three dying in their place, usually. Plus with everything they went through to get permission, it might not be worth it to come for our bodies."
The campers are silent again. "But it's still possible," Darius says.
"All right, rescue mission roll call," Owen says. "Roxie Gianfortoni."
"Here," she says.
"Dave Huchra," Owen continues. "Rashid Fadoula. Austin Gutierrez."
"Here," Sammy's father nods.
"Travis Gutierrez," Owen calls out.
"Here," Sammy's uncle nods.
"Kody Hendrix?" Owen asks, looking around. "Thought he was here."
"Here," the ex-head of Jurassic World's ACU says.
"Tim Murphy," Owen reads through the list of those actually there at the time. "Alan Grant—I know you're here. Eric Kirby. Perla Moore…"
Owen continues on, calling out the name of the medics, gunmen, and pilots. The rescue operation was going to be very big. Originally, they would fly there on a plane and land in the main park. The main group would head to the camp where the kids were situated. A couple helicopters would circle around and search for them in other places of the island just in case they had moved or if there were other survivors.
They were lucky to have got the plane's pilot to fly in on such short notice. With the urgency of the issue, they couldn't afford to wait for more people to arrive. They were short of helicopters and only had two military gunmen to protect them. Luckily, some of the family members were skilled at surviving and rifles.
At the edge of the group, Yasmina's brother stands, listening to the plan. After Owen sends the group off to do their jobs and prepare for flight, Mr. Fadoula heads over to him. "I don't see why I can't come," Ghaleb growls.
"Because it's dangerous," Mr. Fadoula hisses. "I don't want you coming."
"Yasmina is in trouble!" Ghaleb snaps. "I want to be there for her!"
"I know you want to save your sister," Yasmina's father sighs. "But it's too dangerous. You're not coming. Stay here with Mom."
"We're short of people, anyway!" Ghaleb protests. "We need more hands in the field!"
"You'd be lucky if those hands came back with you," Mr. Fadoula growls. "The answer is no, Ghaleb. Some day, when you've had professional training, you can go in the field and save people. But not today."
Ghaleb lets out an angry sigh as his step-father walks away. "Any luck with you guys?"
"Nope," Milton sighs as he and Brandon stand up from behind a crate.
"Mom vetoed it before I could even say it," Brandon grumbles.
"I don't see why they wouldn't let us!" Ghaleb rants. "We're short of half of the rescue group! You'd think they'd jump at the chance for more helpers."
"It feels like a failure as an older sibling to not be there," Brandon mumbles, thinking of the promise he made to his late father.
Ghaleb sighs, coming to a decision. "I'm going, whether they like it or not. The cargo bay of the plane is being loaded right now. We could hide in there at the last minute and sneak onto the island."
"Let's do it," Milton grins.
"You guys are sneakin' on without permission?" Miriam asks, startling Yasmina's brother. "I'll come."
"No, it's very dangerous," Ghaleb argues, earning a slap in the face from the Texan.
"Why can't I come?" Miriam spits. "I'm better with a rifle than the three of you combined. Besides, I have a lot of medical experience from workin' on the ranch. What d'ya got, huh? X-ray vision?"
"Oh, right," Ghaleb rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "You're so nice, I forgot you could kick our a** in a second—sorry!"
"Language!" Miriam hisses.
"I'm working on it," the boy winces.
Milton and Brandon exchange a knowing glance.
"Can I come?" Shelby asks, clinging to Miriam's leg.
"No," Miriam says, kneeling down. "We need someone to cover for us. This is a very important job. If we aren't there, Sammy and Yazzy and the others can die. We need you to make sure that no one knows we're gone until we've flown off."
"But what do I say?" Shelby asks.
"Tell them we're going to the bathroom," Milton suggests.
"Okay!" Shelby giggles.
"But only if they ask," Miriam adds.
"Okay!" Shelby says, skipping off happily.
"You're telling your sister to lie to your parents?" Brandon quirks an eyebrow. "Thought that was against the Gutierrez family beliefs."
"I know," Miriam says. "But I'll do it for my sister."
"Not setting a good example, are you?" Milton teases.
"I want to go help Sammy," the Texan stands up to glare him in the eye. "We need to get going if we're going to sneak into the cargo bay."
"Let's go," Ghaleb nods.
"Which way is the old park?" Brooklynn asks as night falls and the campers traipse through the jungles.
"Idk, it wasn't on the maps," Kenji shrugs. "Not even in the ACU headquarters."
"Aw, Mr. VIP doesn't know," Yasmina says teasingly with a baby voice.
"Run, run, run, Gingerbread girl," Kenji blows raspberries at the athlete with a laugh. Ever since their little therapy session on the hill, the banter between the group had become light-hearted and teasing. Having Sammy back in the group meant the two older teens weren't stressed and Kenji and Yasmina could tease the other without lurching at each other's throats.
As they walk, Blue's head snaps to attention and she turns it around almost 180 degrees. "What is it, girl?" Darius asks, stopping the group.
Blue snarls and bares her teeth. Sensing the danger, Tornado snorts and kicks the ground in a very bull-like fashion. The campers hide behind Darius and Ben. Ben was the only one with a weapon, and Darius gave the group a commanding glare. Yasmina reaches around for her bow and quiver before remembering that she left it at the lab. Gulping, she holds Brooklynn's shaking hand.
The campers hear thundering footsteps and prepare for an encounter. Darius's eyes dart around, searching for a solution. "Kenji shouldn't be running too much on his ankle. We have only a fourth of our dino crew. We're missing almost all of our weapons. If we're attacking, we'll be sitting ducks."
A hulking theropod figure begins to materialize among the trees and the campers prepare to run in the other direction.
"Should we climb a tree?" Brooklynn whimpers.
"No, it's tall enough to get us," Darius shakes his head.
"It's faster than us, guaranteed!" Kenji exclaims.
"Still, RUN!" Darius shouts as the dinosaur stops, picks up a tree in its mouth, and hurls it at the group. The campers scramble madly to escape in different directions. Ben narrowly misses having his head taken off as he and Sammy throw themselves to the ground. Yasmina and Brooklynn run to the left, and scream as the trunk whizzes by their heads. Darius and Kenji jump to the right and just avoid being knocked unconscious.
The Carcharodontosaurus lets out a thundering roar as she squares off against Blue and Tornado. "You're not Rexy!" Kenji spits at her as she grabs Tornado's frill with her jaws. Her tail sweeps around as she fights the Triceratops and takes his legs out from under him. "But you're still scary!" he squeaks.
Darius rolls across the grass, having been hit by the large tail that knocked over Kenji in comical fashion. "Run!" he shouts to his friends.
Yasmina pulls Brooklynn to her feet, wraps her arm around the pinkette's shoulder, and guides her around the edge of the clearing to meet with Darius. Sammy and Ben move to do the same. Cha Cha's tail comes around and forces the two to hit the grass. Ben twirls his spear around and stabs her in the tail.
The predator snarls and turns her head around. Thwapping Tornado in the face with her tail, she whips her neck around to snap at the two in fury. Ben runs backwards and trips over his own feet. Sammy trips on Ben's spear and falls over. The Texan was unfortunately closer to the Carcharo and the carnivore grabs her in her jaws.
The campers watch as their worst fear begins to come to life: one of their own dying. "Sammy!" the whole group shouts. Kenji and Darius run towards the predator; unsure what they would do but unable to sit by and watch. Yasmina and Brooklynn sprint towards their friend. Ben scrambles forward, reaching for his spear and feeling guilty about provoking the carnivore.
Sammy goes limp in the mouth of the Carcharo. She can feel its sharp, jagged teeth poking into her back, stomach, hips, and thighs. So far, all it had done was pick her up; it had yet to put any pressure on her body and sink its teeth into her. The girl was unsure what to do; should she struggle or play dead? All she knew for sure was that her heart was pounding hard and her friends were trying to save her.
A loud roar startles everyone, and the Ceratosaurus charges out of the bushes at the other predator. Cha Cha swings her massive head around to prepare for the oncoming attack; accidentally throwing Sammy with the momentum. The teen hits a tree trunk painfully; the impact the trunk had on her back sounded like thunder to her. Her head snaps back and hits the tree before she falls on her stomach in the grass. Her chest constricts quickly, but she can barely breathe.
"Sammy!" Kenji shouts.
"No!" Brooklynn covers her mouth in horror.
"Please don't be broken, please don't be broken!" Darius pleads in his head as they take advantage of the distracted predators and rush to her side.
Sammy begins to catch her breath from having it knocked out of her and screams. "Sammy, are you hurt?! Where does it hurt?!" Kenji asks, stroking her black hair out of her face so he can look her in the eyes.
Sammy continues to shriek in hysterical fear. Brooklynn grabs her hand and gives her a kiss on the forehead. "Shh, shh, it's okay!" she says, trying to calm her friend down. "It's okay!"
Yasmina immediately feels her spine, searching for signs of breakage or trauma. "I don't think anything is broken," she says.
"I can't feel my legs! I can't feel my legs!" Sammy gasps in terror.
"Nothing's broken," Darius tells her. "Does it hurt?"
"My neck hurts," Sammy gasps with tears, letting go of Brooklynn's hand to touch it. "My back is just tingly. Like pins and needles. My legs are numb!"
"Can you feel it here?" Yasmina asks, trying to find the point of no feeling. Sammy could not feel beyond a spot right above her hips. "The spine isn't broken," Yasmina says.
"Am I paralyzed?" Sammy asks, hyperventilating in fear.
"For now," the athlete says. "But it might just be the trauma from hitting the tree. You might be able to walk later and be fine."
Sammy calms down a bit. She doesn't see Yasmina give the others a look of complete terror and confusion. "I don't know if that's true," she mouths to them.
"We need to get out of here," Darius says. Kenji picks up Sammy bridal style and runs as fast as he possibly can with her on his ankle. Yasmina and Ben lag behind in case the two predators try to attack while Darius and Brooklynn run ahead.
Unfortunately, the Ceratosaurus is hungry, and as Blue and Tornado occupy the Carcharo, she chases after the humans, wanting an easy meal.
"How long do you think it will take for the rescuers to find them?" Rio asks as she and Sandra cling to their mother.
"It might take a while to locate them," Claire says. "It's only been ten minutes since they took off. They're not even at the island yet."
"Where's Brandon?" Darius's mother asks.
"In the bathroom," Shelby answers.
"And Milton?" Brooklynn's mother asks.
"In the bathroom, too," Shelby nods.
"And where would Ghaleb be?" Mrs. Fadoula asks the six year old.
"The bathroom," Shelby shrugs.
"Let me guess," Holly quirks an eyebrow. "Miriam is in the bathroom."
"Yep," Shelby nods.
"I didn't see them in the bathroom the last five times I've been in there," Lex says, holding her bulging, pregnant stomach.
"Because you were in the girls room," Shelby states.
"What about Miriam?" Mrs. Gutierrez asks, planting her hands on her hips.
"Maybe they went to the bathroom in the woods?" Shelby suggests.
"All right, missy," Sammy's mother scolds. "We do not allow lying in this house. Where is your sister and the boys?"
"Going to save Sammy," Shelby says guiltily, not meeting her mothers eyes.
"Of course!" Darius's mother exclaims. "They snuck off!"
"Is Ghaleb an idiot or Yaz's hero?" Habeeba asks her mother from her spot on the concrete dock.
"An idiot," Yasmina's mother sighs in frustration.
"Should they turn back?" Brooklynn's father asks.
"At this point, it would be counterproductive," Claire sighs.
"My work here is done," Shelby thinks mischievously, proud of herself for keeping the secret long enough to let her siblings escape.
The rescue plane lands in the fields near the park. The four stowaways sit in the dark cargo bay, waiting for someone to open the door. "We're going to be in so much trouble," Brandon whispers.
The door opens and Owen glares at the four. "Tell Claire I found them," he grumbles.
"What in blazes are ya four doin' here?!" Mr. Gutierrez snaps.
"We told you to stay back in Costa Rica!" Yasmina's father growls.
"Technically, this is part of Costa Rica, right?" Milton chuckles, being a smart alec.
"You're short of people for the rescue," Ghaleb argues. "You need us."
"Ghaleb is great at hunting, and I'm the best shooter out of all my sisters," Miriam adds. "Plus, I'm good with first aid. And Milton and Brandon are here for extra hands."
"Hey!" the two boys protest.
"We're already here, and we do need the extra hands," Roxie sighs, coming to stand by Owen as the leader of the rescue operation. "But don't you think for a second that when we get home, you're not going to be in serious trouble!"
"You're grounded," Mr. Fadoula shakes his head as he practically picks his six-foot step-son up and pulls him out of the cargo bay. The teens don't care too much; they were on the island and part of the mission to find their siblings.
"Suit up," Roxie orders. "We need to be prepared for any predator we might come across."
As the group prepares rifles and equipment, Eric Kirby sets off a flare gun. The bright red flare sparkles in the sky. "Hopefully the campers will see it," he murmurs.
"Run! Run! Run!" Brooklynn shouts as the Ceratosaurus stomps after them.
As they run, Kenji trips over a branch on the ground, sending him and Sammy rolling on the ground.
The other four stop and watch as the predator approaches. Brooklynn and Darius grab branches and clutch them as weapons. Ben grips his spear. "Okay, come on!" Brooklynn exclaims, knowing that they wouldn't be able to escape on foot and would have to face the predator toe-to-toe.
Sammy whimpers and tries to curl into a ball as Sarah approaches. Before she can roar, a red flare appears in the sky, fizzing and sparkling.
"Wait, what?" Brooklynn asks in confusion.
"We're not alone?" Darius frowns.
The Ceratosaurus turns back to the campers, unimpressed with the signal. She stomps forward before being knocked over by a particular Ankylosaurus. "Bumpy!" Ben exclaims.
Bumpy bellows and snorts at the predator. The Indoraptors race over and stand beside the Ankylosaurus, prepared to defend the humans. Tornado and Blue approach from behind and surround the carnivore. Tired and hungry, Sarah roars in fury before leaving the group alone.
"Oh, thank God," Brooklynn sighs, holding her heart with relief.
The Indoraptors approach their human parents and nuzzle them. Toothless nuzzles Sammy, too, accepting her as another parent. Bumpy licks Ben's face excessively, causing the boy to groan in disgust.
"Now that my heart has stopped racing," Yasmina says. "Who set off that flare gun?"
"Could it be our rescue?" Sammy asks hopefully.
"Could be," Darius says.
"Should we check it out?" Ben asks.
"If they could help us, we certainly should," Darius nods.
Despite their best efforts to stay passive and pessimistic, the campers' hopes begin to lift as they ride on their dinosaurs towards the flare. In the morning light, they can see smoke rising from the trees. Their hopes begin to rise more as another fire is started a little ways away. "That has to be someone with supplies and resources," Darius says, trying not to be too hopeful.
"I'm willing to bet that's the rescue mission," Brooklynn smiles. "They were going to be launched anyway. Maybe they didn't believe Mantah Corp and sped it up."
"Or they thought Sammy's death picture was a crappy job and realized it was a framing," Yasmina suggests. "Cause they could've done better. Glad they didn't, though," she says when Sammy's eyes widen.
The campers come upon a herd of dinosaurs. Ankylosaurus's bellow, Triceratops' munch on grass, and Sinoceratops' snort.
A sad thought dawns on Darius. "If we're going to be rescued, we'll have to say goodbye to these guys."
The camper's hopeful demeanor saddens. "But what if we're not rescued?" Yasmina asks.
"We can come back for them," Darius says. "But it would be better if they were living in a herd with their own."
"What about the Indoraptors?" Kenji asks as they slide off the herbivores.
Darius thinks for a moment. "Let's see if the other herbivores accept them. Bumpy and Tornado do."
The group approaches the herd. Bumpy bellows a greeting to her fellow Ankylosaurus' and they greet her welcomingly. Tornado bumps frills with another Triceratops. There's a bit of friction between her and the other herd, but they warm up to the feisty newby pretty quickly.
The herbivores seem very welcoming, so the campers try to send the Indoraptors over. At first, the other dinosaurs are wary of the predators, but after Bumpy and Tornado accept the raptors jumping onto their backs, the other herbivores tolerate them. The campers chuckle as a Brachiosaurus moans in confusion when Princess clambers up her leg and nuzzles her neck. Rima playfully snaps at a Gallimimus and the tiny dinosaur hides behind a Triceratops. But the playful little creature approaches the Indoraptor again and the two begin to play a game of tag.
"I'm surprised they're accepting them so well so quickly," Darius breathes.
"The Indoraptors have grown up with herbivores and humans their whole lives," Sammy says. "They might not even think of these dinosaurs as prey."
"What if they get the urge to eat them?" Ben asks.
"It's nature, they have to eat meat," Darius sighs. "But Sammy's right, they might view these guys as friends since they grew up with them from birth."
The campers are silent for a moment. "We have to say goodbye," Darius sighs. He approaches Mocha. "Hey, girl," he says, holding back tears. "I'm gonna have to leave you. You're gonna have to grow up on your own, now. I have to go back home, and you have to stay here. I'm going to miss you." He wipes away his tears. Mocha purrs and nuzzles his face sympathetically. He hugs the little Indoraptor. "Goodbye Mocha," he cries.
"Hey, Indigo," Brooklynn says, her tears already falling. The little grey and blue Indo nuzzles her mother and butts Brooklynn's mouth with her snout. "I'm gonna miss you," Brooklynn says through her tears. "You've been the best animal companion I've ever had. I'm gonna miss you so much." She hugs the little dino close, sobbing.
"Toothless," Kenji says, beckoning the ditsy Indoraptor over to him. "I'll miss you a lot. You were very entertaining with your little personality and rebelliousness. But Daddy's gotta go. I'll miss your dramaticness." Kenji blinks back tears as he hugs his black Indoraptor. She purrs and her breath tickles his neck.
"Princess, come here," Ben clicks his tongue. The little grey and yellow Indoraptor trots over to him and nuzzles him. "We're gonna have to leave you," Ben says, crying. "I'll never forget you. Grow up to be a sweet, caring dino for me, will you? Prove us wrong about hybrids." The little Indo faithfully chirps.
"Rima, you little scoundrel," Yasmina chuckles through tears. "I think I might just miss your troublesome nature." The white Indo gives her mother a lick on the cheek. "I wish I could bring you home," Yasmina sniffs. "I wish you could be my pet dino. Oh gosh, I was the one who was reluctant to bring you along. Now I don't want to leave you." Rima purrs, grabs the long strand of hair near the athlete's face, and pulls. "That makes it a bit easier," she chuckles, wiping away her tears and pulling her hair out of the dinos mouth.
"Tornado," Sammy coos, holding the dinosaur's face as the Triceratops nuzzles her. "I couldn't have asked for a better dino, even if you did get me in trouble from time to time. You would like it on my ranch, but I can't bring you home. I wish I could. I'll miss you." Sammy cries as she holds the dinosaur's horn.
"We'll all miss her," Kenji sniffs. Tornado groans and nudges him with her hron. "Again! The crotch!" Kenji grabs himself to protect him from the horn. The campers chuckle.
"Bumpy," Ben says, unable to control his sobs. The Ankylosaurus moans in concern, nuzzling her human Daddy. "Hey, girl," he sobs. "You were my first dino. I wouldn't have lived without you being there. Oh, this is gonna be hard." He wipes his eyes and nose on his sleeve. "I wish I could bring you with me, but I can't. You won't exactly fit in in Maryland. Thank you for everything, Bumpy. I'll miss you." He holds her head as he sobs. Bumpy snorts and leans into him, knowing that he was saying goodbye.
Ben backs up, and Yasmina hugs him from behind. "This was harder than I thought it would be," she sniffs.
"It was never going to be easy," Brooklynn leans on Darius.
"Blue?" Darius asks. "You going to join the herd, or?"
The velociraptor purrs. She nuzzles Darius and Brooklynn before snorting in Yasmina and Ben's faces. She purrs as she nudges Sammy's face as Kenji scoops her up. Then the velociraptor playfully gnaws on the alpha males arm. "Yeah, yeah, I'm your rebl child, Grandma," he chuckles. The raptor snorts in his face good-naturedly before racing off towards the jungles. She stops at the edge and turns to look at the humans. They wave goodbye. She croaks out a farwell and races away.
Ben strokes Bumpy as Princess climbs up her armory back. The two had become better friends since Princess was introduced, and Bumpy didn't seem jealous anymore. "The herds are moving," Ben says through tears. "You guys have to go."
The dinosaurs are reluctant to go, but after some coaxing, they lumber along with the herd. The campers watch them go, tears glistening on their cheeks. They watch sadly as the herd moves down the field. "Well," Darius sniffs with a sigh. "Time to carry on."