This story is set between two time periods. The modern time period is during the first season of Jurassic World: Chaos Theory. The past time period takes place right after the Hidden Adventure but before the start of season three of Camp Cretaceous.

The afternoon sun was shining brightly as Darius drove his beat-up truck through the winding roads of the Pacific Northwest. He fiddled with the radio attempting to find something to listen to that wasn't people bemoaning their changed lives after the Lockwood Manor Incident.

He glanced at the picture he had attached to his car visor. It was of the Nublar Six a month after dinosaurs came to the mainland. An uncomfortable feeling started to well up in his chest.

Flipping the visor away, Darius focused on the radio as he heard the announcement. The DWP had found a dinosaur a few miles up the road. He sped up wanting to arrive ASAP.

"You're not getting away from me this time," he whispered to himself.

When he arrived at the scene, he was disappointed slightly to see the dinosaur was an herbivore. His old boss Ronnie and a petrified-looking red-headed dude being eyeballed by an aggravated Pachyrhinosaurus. Exiting his truck he said hello to Ronnie.

"Darius."

"Looks like you're in a bit of a pickle."

"Well, I had some help," she replied tilting her head towards the dude. A glance told Darius this was probably the first dinosaur he came across on the job.

"I've got this," he told Ronnie as he slowly approached the animal. He started speaking in a dulcet tone. "Hey, calm down. Don't be afraid, I'm here to help."

Darius lowered himself slightly, trying to make himself as non-threatening as possible. "I don't know what your problem is, but I'm sure that you don't want to take it out on these nice DPW officers. Why don't you leave them alone and I'll give you an apple?"

The Pachyrhinosaurus took a step closer and wailed in pain. Glancing at its foot, Darius noticed some barbed wire was puncturing the skin. "That looks very painful."

He inched slightly closer and kept talking softly. "I can get that off you, but you're going to have to trust me. Can you do that, Pach?"

The newly named Pach sniffed Darius and moved closer. He held out his foot and Darius carefully grabbed the piece of metal and removed it. He then gave the animal the apple.

Pach calmed down and rubbed Darius with his head. "You're welcome. I'm glad you're feeling better." He gave Ronnie a thumbs up.

Ronnie smiled as her partner, Mike, slowly clapped his hands. Pach turned around and started munching on the tree branch.

"Nice job, Darius. I wish I could approve of your actions though. You know you can't keep doing this, right?"

Mike spluttered at his boss. "Boss, the kid just saved us! You should be giving him a job, not discouraging him."

Darius laughed and told him it was okay. "It's fine. Ronnie was my boss when I was on the job. She's just looking out for me."

That's when it clicked with Mike who Darius really was. "OMG, you're one of the Nublar Six! How could I not know Darius Bowman is working for the DPW!"

Ronnie tightened her lips. "He used to work for the DPW. He left the job a few months ago. That's why I was admonishing him for his reckless and illegal actions."

"Mike, can you go get the net launcher? We're going to need to bag a lot of apples to get this guy on the transport truck." The look she was giving him told him he better do what she said.

Ronnie groaned as Mike scurried away. "Ugh, why do they always assign me the rookies?"

"Probably because you can whip them into shape faster than anyone else?" Darius joked apprehensively. His old boss crossed her arms. "I know, this isn't a joking matter."

"What are you doing here, Darius? I thought you went back home after you quit the DPW."

Darius looked away. "I'm not ready to go back yet. I still have a mission to complete," he told her. His fingers played with a pendant on his chain necklace, a nervous habit he had recently developed.

The pendant was two inches long and made of a thick silvery metal. His name was on one side. The back of the pendant had the Nublar Six's motto on it.

Ronnie softly guided Darius's hand away from the pendant. "You need to stop torturing yourself. I know you blame yourself for what happened, but it wasn't your fault."

She continued to speak, with a bit of tenderness in her voice. "Darius, capturing the Allosaurus won't bring you the closure you think it will. You need to forgive yourself if you want to heal."

"Thanks for the free advice, but I can't sleep knowing it's still out there. Every time I close my eyes, it's right in front of me ready to devour me. Just like it did to…." He couldn't even finish his sentence.

It was taking all his strength not to cry. He tried to hide his body shaking. He couldn't lose it in front of his former boss.

"Ronnie, please. I can't go back to my life until this is over. Once, I know the Allosaurus can't kill anyone else again, I swear I'll go home."

Before Ronnie could respond everything went quiet. There was no noise at all. Mike was about to ask what was going on when a young Allosaurus with one blind eye rushed out of the forest.

Mike dove behind the DPW truck as Ronnie and Darius ran in opposite directions. Pach swung his tail and knocked the carnivore back several feet.

The predator dashed forward and bit Pach on the face. The teeth dug in deep drawing blood. With a loud bellow, Pach pushed forward and jerked up.

The beast cried out as the frill scraped a layer of scales off its neck and jaw. Angered, One-Eye, (the name Darius secretly gave it), refocused his attention toward easier prey. Particularly, a defenseless Ronnie.

Darius dove for Mike's tranquilizer rifle. He aimed it at the beast. "Hey, over here!"

One-Eye swiveled his head towards Darius. A quick sniff told him that the young man was bleeding. The barbed wire from earlier had caused a thin cut that Darius hadn't noticed until now.

One-Eye charged Darius who was aiming for the creature's open jaws. Right before One-Eye could get in range, Pach body slammed the big predator. He would not let his savior be hurt.

Desiring an easier meal, One-Eye took off. Pach was pleased to have gotten rid of the predator. Though his savior didn't seem pleased at all.

"No, you're not getting away. Not this time!" the young man shouted. Without thinking, he took the gun with him as he jumped into his truck.

He broke the speed limit as he tracked the dinosaur. One-Eye heard him coming and jumped into the middle of the road. Darius quickly slammed on the brakes to avoid a fatal collision.

One-Eye's claws slashed the side of the truck, popping two wheels. Letting out one file roar, the dinosaur ran off further down the road. Darius let out a yell of frustration.

"I almost had him Brooklynn. I was finally about to avenge your death," Darius whispered to the air.

It was late at night and Darius was tossing and turning on the couch. He hadn't slept in his bed for nearly a month now. He had been rolling off the mattress every night and hitting his head against the hard floor.

At least if he rolled off the couch, he would land on the fuzzy rug on the floor. Sweat started dripping down his body as his face contorted into an expression of pain. He let out a little whimper.

"No, please wait. Don't go Brooklynn. Brooklynn no!"

Darius rolled onto the floor waking up from his nightmare. He took a few deep breaths trying to get his heart rate to go down. That online meditation course came in handy during the night.

That's when his landline started ringing. Darius let out a groan. Why was Brandon calling him again in the middle of the night?

He didn't want to deal with his brother right now or have him leave a message. So, he picked up the phone and held it to his ear for a few seconds. He could hear the faint sounds of someone breathing on the other end.

Slowly, he put the phone back on the receiver and unplugged the device. He was going back to the couch when he heard the steps to his cabin creak. Something was outside.

He picked up his electric prod and clicked the on button. He tiptoed towards the door and looked outside. He couldn't see anything in front of the door but that didn't mean much.

On the count of three, he flung the door open while thrusting the prod forward. Someone seized the shaft and redirected it. "Darius, stop! It's me!"

"Ben? Ben! I'm glad to see you!" Darius exclaimed as he turned the prod off. He wrapped his arms around his friend. It was good to see him again.

He took a step back and pouted a little. "I can't believe you ended up the tallest of us. I was certain I'd have you beat when my growth spurt hit."

"Yeah, well I guess all the grubs I ate gave me the extra protein or something," Ben said nervously as he fingered an identical pendant necklace. His eyes darted side to side as he looked at the wildness.

"Can I come inside? I took a break from college because I needed to talk to you about something. Something that affects the whole camp family," he whispered.

"Sure, come in."

Ben hurried inside and started turning off the lights. Confused, Darius turned them back on. "Ben, what's going on? Why are you so jumpy?"

Ben pushed past him and turned off the lights. He pulled some duct tape out of his pocket and tapped the light switch down to keep it off. "Darius, you need to turn off all the lights now."

Darius demanded to know why but Ben refused to say anything until the lights were off. Reluctantly, Darius turned off the lights and sat down on his couch. "There, all the lights are out. What do you have to tell me?"

Ben bit his lip before speaking. "Okay, hear me out. I know that you've been tracking the Allosaurus that killed Brooklyn."

Darius' eyebrows pricked up. "Yeah, I saw it earlier today! With your help, I know we can take it down this time!"

Ben shook his head sadly. "Darius, you can't let your quest for revenge define you. Do you really believe Brooklynn would want you to endanger yourself like this?"

"I have to, Ben. This is my penance for not being there for her! I should have been there, but I wasn't!"

Darius turned his head away from Ben and clenched his fists. "I could have distracted One-Eye. Given enough time for Brooklynn to get away. Maybe if I had she would have had enough time to…"

Ben grabbed Darius by the shoulders. "Even if she had the time, she might not have used it. We all vowed not to use it unless there was no other option for a reason."

"Also, I think she might have had another reason for not using it. Brooklynn's death wasn't an accident. She was targeted by One-Eye."

Darius argued that was impossible. Dinosaurs were more intelligent than originally believed, but there was no way they could plan an attack on a single individual. It was absurd to even think that.

"It's not as absurd as you might think," the college boy hissed. "You know the website, Dark Jurassic?"

Darius rolled his eyes. "That completely whacked out conspiracist forum? What about it?"

"It might not be as whack out as you believe. I've been getting threats from someone on that forum. Someone who knows I'm one of the Nublar Six, even though I didn't tell them that."

Ben reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a printed piece of paper. "I managed to print out one threat before someone hacked my email and deleted the rest. Read this and you'll understand."

Darius took the email and quickly read through it. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

You and the rest of the Nublar Five should be very careful not to probe into someone's secret business. After all, wouldn't want your secrets to lead you to a dino's jaws for dinner, now, would you?"

"Do you think someone really knows our secret?" Darius asked frantically.

Ben shrugged somewhat. "I don't know. The person could have been referencing Brooklynn's secret investigation into the dinosaur underworld, or does really know the truth."

"The point is that this email is verification someone is after us. We're being hunted which is why I left college all of a sudden. We need to find the others and warn them."

Darius was about to reply when he froze. A familiar silhouette was passing by his front window. It was then joined by a second one that was circling the cabin in the opposite direction.

Both boys silently made their way to the staircase. Hopefully, if they stayed quiet, the dinosaurs would move on. It was strange that they hadn't set off Darius's alarm system, though.

With a loud growl, the animal threw itself through the window and snarled. The boys were shocked as it took an aggressive step towards them. Darius eyeballed the electric prod.

In a split second, he ran for it. The dinosaur, which he believed was an Atrociraptor, vaulted at him. Before the animal could reach him, Darius jumped back. This caused the dino to plow into a heavy bookcase that came crashing on top of it.

Darius was about to snatch the fallen weapon when another Atrociraptor busted in through a different window. It let out a scream as it came for Ben. The college boy flipped over the railing and onto the stairs.

The Atrociraptor leaped onto the railing and attempted to bite Ben. He managed to bend out of the way and jumped back to the floor. He picked up a table to use as a shield.

The creature rammed his head through the table, snapping to get at Ben. Its head was stuck though so the animal used his body to pin the human against the wall.

"Ben catch!" Darius shouted as he tossed the electric prod to his friend. The first Atrociraptor finally freed itself from the bookcase and resumed its hunt. It proved it hadn't learned from its mistake.

Once more, the creature jumped at her prey only to be caught in a heavy metal net. She struggled to stand but was knocked back down by the pole of Darius's floor lamp.

Meanwhile, Ben managed to zap his Atrociraptor in the eye, the monster let him go as it cried out. Without thinking, Ben grabbed a pair of scissors off the counter before plunging them into the neck of the dinosaur. The raptor screeched as it tried to remove the scissors with its hands.

Outside, Darius and Ben realized they were not alone. Under the full moon's light, a third Atrociraptor appeared. This one's coloring was very different than the other two.

This one was pure white with a few black stripes on it. The most distinguishing characteristic was its blood red eyes. From the way she moved, it was obvious she was the alpha.

"Get ready to make a run for it," Darius hissed. Ben inclined his head slightly to indicate he heard him. The two boys stood firm as the pack leader came charging at them.

They waited until she was almost on them and then bolted out of the way. The alpha landed against the door. It gave way and she fell on top of the other two raptors who had just gotten free.

The two friends had made it to Darius's truck only for him to slap his forehead. "I left the keys in the cabin!"

"We can use my van. Let's make a…. aaaaaahhhhhhh!"

Ghost had landed on the back of the truck and was trying to claw her way in through the back window. The other two, (Tiger and Panthera in the movie), were coming towards them. That's when the truck started rolling down the incline and straight to the van.

The young men screamed as the vehicle picked up speed. Ghost lost her balance and crashed face first through the back window. She gnashed her teeth as she attempted to get at them.

"We've got to get out of here!" Ben yelled as he leaned against the door. Glancing in the side mirrors, the other two were nearly on top of them. If they jumped out, the other two would get them for sure.

"Hang on, I got an idea!" Avoiding the snarling dinosaur, Darius grasped the wheel and yanked it hard to the left. Ghost was sent flying into a nearby group of trees.

Tiger and Panthera went after their alpha to see if she was okay. Once they were out of sight, Ben and Darius hopped out. "Hurry, I don't know if my plan will work or not!"

"What plan is that?!" Ben asked half-crazed. Three loud cries filled the air. Unlike before, these weren't the sounds of a predator intimidating their prey. These were the cries of someone in pain.

The trio of Atrociraptors stumbled out of the tree line. They were spitting and clawing at their noses. Darius looked in review mirror as a surfeit of spotted skunks came out of the tree line and sprayed the dinosaurs again.

"It worked. I can't believe it worked!" Darius whooped as Ben increased their speed.

"Would you tell me what you're going on about?" the blond demanded.

"There was a surfeit, I mean, a family of spotted skunks who live in the trees right there. I saw them last week when some Compies tried to eat one of the kits. I have never seen a dinosaur run away so fast after being skunked."

"So, you jeopardized our lives on the off chance that the Atrociraptors would react the same way? I don't whether I should slap or hug you," Ben remarked. Looking in the review mirror, he saw the trio coming down the mountain.

"Oh boy. Tighten your seatbelt, Darius. We're going off road for this part."

After one scary car chase followed by nearly driving into a Nasutoceratop during an all-night drive, the sun had risen on a new day. The two were heading towards Texas to pick up Sammy. Unfortunately, they were running low on gas and food, and Darius really needed a bathroom break.

"Come on, you need to pull over at the next gas station! I'm going to burst if I don't go soon. I don't want my obituary to read, died from ruptured bladder like Tycho Brahe's did."

"Who?"

"Famous astronomer who died in 1601 because manners dictated, he had to stay at a royal banquet until the king left. So, if you don't want your van to smell of blood and urine, then you're going to pull over!"

"Geez, what is it with you and working bathrooms?" Ben asked as he took the nearest turn off at a remote gas station.

The moment the van stopped moving, Darius leaped out of the vehicle and dashed towards the bathroom. Ben slowly exited the van pulling his hat down low. He didn't see any security cameras on the exterior of the station, but he didn't want to take chances.

As he reached the pump, he noticed a Nasutoceratop was napping on the other side of the pump. That's when he heard an angry voice talking loudly.

"What do you mean I have to wait another five hours?! I need you to get here now! This can't wait!" the owner said into his phone.

Fearful, Ben ducked down and hid. What if this guy was working with whoever was after them? What should he do?

"Okay, that bathroom needs a real cleaning, but I'm good. Just let me grab us some snacks and we will be on our way," Darius said as he walked closer to the van.

He noticed Ben hiding behind the pump. "Ugh, what are you doing?"

"Shush! I think that guy called someone about us!" Ben hissed quietly.

Darius rolled his eyes. "Not everyone is out to get us, Ben. He probably called for the DPW to come and move the Nasutoceratop to a designated sanctuary nearby."

Ben didn't appear convinced and stayed hidden. Sighing, Darius walked towards the store owner. "Hi there. What kind of snacks do you sell here?"

"We've got chips, candy, and some healthy snacks that are perfect for a road trip. Is your friend, okay?" the owner asked. "He seems a little jumpy."

"He's been driving most of the night with only fake food to keep him going. Once he gets some sleep, he should be back to normal."

The owner nodded in understanding. "Long road trips will do that to you. Hey, you look familiar. Have we met before?"

Ben chose that moment to hurry over. "Darius, we have to go. Pay for the gas, now."

"Hey, I haven't even bought the snacks yet, Ben. Let me get those and we can go."

"Ben, Darius? I've heard those names before. Aren't you two part of the…"

His question was interrupted as the Nasutoceratop yawned as it got to its feet. The dinosaur started rubbing its horns against the pillars. It let out a sound of pure bliss.

"Um, what's it doing?" the owner asked.

"Sharpening its horns," both young men said. The rooftop started to wobble as the animal rubbed harder on the supports.

"We need to move her away from the pumps. If we don't, she might cause the roof to collapse and take out the station as well."

The owner looked shocked to hear this. He then let out a girly scream as the Nasutoceratop started crying out in pain, and not bliss. One of its horns had gotten stuck between the pillars.

Darius and Ben leaped into action. "I'll calm her down. You get some food to entice her to back up slowly," Darius instructed.

Ben hurried inside and came back with some mango flavored candy. "It's all I could find," he called out as he tossed the bag at Darius.

Before Darius could even offer her the treat, two more Nasutoceratops walked over the butte calling for their missing herd member. In response, the trapped member started thrashing about trying to dislodge her horn.

"Darius, look out!" Ben shouted as the wiring in the support pillar sparked. They fell on the spilled gas and a fire ignited. Now the animal was really starting to panic.

"Get a fire extinguisher!" Darius shouted as Ben wove around the flames to his friend's side. Together, they both started tugging at the supports to widen the gap for the horn to slide out. They were doing their best to ignore the spreading flames.

One last tug and the horn was free. The Nasutoceratop started bucking in fear as the fire got closer. If the fire reached the other pump, the whole place would explode.

That's when the owner returned and started spraying the foam. The fire quickly went out. He jumped out of the way as the creature ran towards its herd mates unharmed.

"This was not what I expected my day to look like when I got out of bed this morning," the owner remarked nonchalantly. "How did you kids manage to deal with this for a year?"

Accepting they had been recognized, Ben replied, "We learned to not let our fear control us. As long as we stayed grounded, we could handle any danger on the island."

"Yeah, and we knew we had each other's backs. That gave us the courage to face each new day," Darius added. He smiled at Ben who smiled back, happy to be reminded of that fact.

The owner laughed and said he couldn't let the boys leave until he repaid them. He allowed the friends to take as many snacks and drinks as they could carry with them as a thank you. Waving goodbye, the two continued on their road trip.

"That was some quick thinking back there, Darius. I've forgotten how great it is having you watching my back."

"No problem, Ben. What you said is true, also. We can handle any danger as long as we don't let our fear control us."

Darius absentmindedly fingered his pendant. "These necklaces are proof of that." As he leaned back in his seat, he began to recall the days that led to the creation of these necklaces.

On the island of Nublar, the six campers were enjoying the spoils of their successful supply run from yesterday. Even Bumpy was partaking in the feast as she ate a few mangoes.

They had managed to outwit several dinosaurs, including a surprisingly new dinosaur, the Tarbosaurus. It had been shocking to run into a dinosaur not listed to be in the park, but they figured Dr. Wu had been keeping a few specimens for himself. Probably to help him create more hybrids like the Indominus Rex.

The six of them were extremely happy for another reason. "I can't believe Brimford stored away a month's worth of meat in that bunker!" Kenji crowed as they roasted their hotdogs.

"We're lucky that he left behind so many coolant packs and the instructions of how to keep stuff cold under the ground," Brooklynn added.

"Too bad we can only keep it for another day or two if we want to avoid attracting scavengers and predators to the camp," Yaz remarked in a deadpan tone. That caused everyone to be silent.

The lack of meat was one of the reasons the predators didn't come near their campsite. They had learned that lesson early on when they had caught some fish in the river. That night they had been visited by a hungry Pteranodon and had only survived by giving up their catch.

"If you guys are still lacking in protein, you really should try eating some grubs," Ben remarked. He removed his hot dog and took a big bite. "Hmm, I take it back. These are better than the grubs."

The others started eating their hotdogs and let out moans of delight. Bumpy looked up from her mangoes and wondered why her human herd mates were so happy. Their food didn't smell very appetizing.

"Don't forget to clean up the packets. We can't leave any trace that we have meat," Darius reminded the group. "By the way, whose turn is it to take out the trash?"

The trash pile was made of things they couldn't reuse, such as plastic wrap and broken bits of metal. Every few days, one of the campers would make a run to a nearby tunnel entrance to dump the stuff where it was least likely to do damage.

"It's mine you all. We need to get this campsite cleaner than my barn ASAP. I don't want the Compys to raid us," Sammy voiced. She noticed Ben shuddered at the mention of a possible raid.

The campers quickly cleaned up and Sammy hustled off to get rid of the trash. The rest of the campers started to debate what to do with the remaining meat.

"We're pressing our luck if we keep the meat in camp. Maybe we should just get rid of the meat far from here," Yaz remarked.

"Excuse me, no. After everything we suffered through to get it, we are not giving the predators a free meal," Kenji hissed.

"I'm also reluctant to get rid of the rest of it. At least for today," Brooklyn commented. "Aside from Ben, the rest of us need to get as much protein as possible to recover our strength."

"If we don't recover some muscle mass, our bodies are going to tear them down and then we won't be able to outrun the dinosaurs."

"If you just get past the feeling of disgust, you'll be able to eat the grubs just fine," Ben grumbled.

"You've all made good points. Even with the meat sealed in an underground container, the scent is going to lure the meat eaters here. There's also no way we can keep a month's worth of meat cold for that long," Darius said to the group.

Taking a breath, he continued. "But Brooklynn is right, Yaz. We need more protein in our diet. I know you've been slowing down lately."

"I know and Brooklyn almost caught a cold due to the last storm. All of us are starting to suffer from anemia, but it's still risky. What do you suggest we do, Darius?"

"I suggest we eat as much as we can tonight and for tomorrow's lunch. After that, we'll have to get rid of it far from camp."

Kenji looked devastated while Brooklyn seemed sad. Yaz had a grim smile. Ben tried to look indifferent, but even he was sad to say goodbye to the meat.

"Sammy's not going to be happy to hear about this when she gets back," Yaz muttered.

Even Darius was unhappy with his choice, but what else could they do? They had to keep the predators away from camp if they were going to survive. When they made it back home, he would ask his mom to serve her famous meatloaf to make it up to them.

As expected, Sammy wasn't happy to hear the decision about the meat. She understood it, but it didn't change the fact she had been looking forward to eating a large hamburger for the next few nights.

The group spent the remaining daylight taking care of the camp chores and strategizing how they were going to get off the island. At one point, Ben went out with Bumpy to do a patrol to ensure none of the predators had been lured any closer to them.

It was dinner time when he got back. The group had already started cooking some porkchops. Yaz was instructing Kenji on how to make sure the meat was all the way cooked.

"Welcome back, Ben. Did you spot any trouble?" Sammy questioned.

"It's still quiet for now, but I think the smell of meat is starting to get too Bumpy. She did not want to come back here."

"Well, she won't have to be bothered by it for long," she remarked. "Hey, when you were surviving on your own Ben, did you find anything other than grubs for protein?"

"Well, Bumpy isn't into the plants that do contain protein. She doesn't like beans or seaweed. They're the only plants around here that I know would have protein in them."

Sammy didn't recall any videos of Brooklynn involving seaweed, but it was worth asking her. "Hey Brooklynn, did you ever do a video on how to get salt out of seaweed so you can eat it?"

Brooklynn shook her head. "I only did a few videos in the beginning about cultural dishes. They weren't as popular as my videos about being in dangerous situations."

Sammy looked at the others, but they all shook their heads. Seafood was too expensive for Darius's family to eat. Yaz wasn't a big fish fan and seaweed rolls were not the kind of sushi Kenji liked to eat.

"Hey, no more sad news tonight. We already did that at lunch. Tonight, is about celebrating surviving another day on this crazy island, okay?" Kenji instructed.

That brought a small smile to everyone's lips. Kenji was right for once. They should live in the moment.

The next day after lunch, while Ben, Bumpy, and Yaz kept watch, the group started packing up the meat in the coolers to take away from the camp. Sammy had just dug up one of the larger coolers when she heard something rattling inside.

"Huh, I could have sworn we didn't put anything in this one," she said to herself. The cooler was slightly different from the other ones.

Besides being larger than the others, the latches on this one had tiny padlocks on them. There were also signs that a sticker had been on the cooler at one time. Whatever was inside was heavy.

The keys were attached to the handle so Sammy used them to open the cooler up. What she saw, puzzled her. "Ugh, guys? Could you all come over here for a second? I found something weird in one of the coolers."

The others came over while Bumby stood on the other side of the fence. They were all curious to see what Sammy had found. What they saw also puzzled them.

There were six medium-sized stainless steel canisters along with a small disperser with a bottle filled with white liquid in it. The canisters each came with a tag around the top. On the side of the canisters were warning labels about the contents of the canisters.

"I know the Brimford guy was a bit crazy, but I don't think he was crazy enough to have made whatever this stuff is," Sammy explained to the group.

"These look similar to the oxygen tanks we used on Toro. But there's no pressure gauge and I can't make sense of this tag. Kenji, this look familiar?"

"Not really dino nerd. I don't have a clue what these are. Plus, I don't speak geek."

Brooklynn read one of the tags, a frown on her face. "I'm not one hundred percent sure, but these tags are indicating they're filled with some kind of experimental gas."

"Gas, like nerve gas?" Yaz asked hesitantly while taking a step back.

"I don't think so. The tags have the scientific names of dinosaur species on them. Maybe they were trying to invent a new way to knock out the animals so they could work on their injuries."

"If that's the case, then why would Brimford have it? Why leave it for this Owen Grady person to find?" Ben countered.

"Look, we can debate this later. Didn't we have a mission to carry out? Or have you changed your minds about the meat thing?"

The others shook their heads. Sammy locked the cooler and buried it again before joining the group. They would take a closer look at what they found later.

The group hiked two miles from camp until they reached the area where the mid-sized dinos usually hung out. A few feet away, some Qantassauruses were grazing peacefully.

"Okay, let's do this as quickly as possible. Spread it around so we don't have too many predators coming here," Darius instructed

The others followed his directions. Yaz and Sammy tossed their meat into some bushes while Brooklynn scattered hers near the river. Ben tossed some into the trees for the Pterosaurs.

Kenji walked a few feet away and dumped his at the base of a rock formation. Darius went a bit further out and laid the meat out in the open. Now that the meat was gone, they needed to clean themselves up so the meat scent went away.

They went down the river a bit, then cleaned themselves off. "Ugh, I am getting tired of having only one pair of clothes to wear. Do you know how long it takes for this jacket to dry?"

"Not as long as it takes for Kenji's smelly socks too."

"Hey, I resent that Yaz. My socks don't smell that much!"

"They do too. The only thing that smells worse are Ben's shorts."

"Hey! Well, that is fair considering everything."

"I'm not a high maintenance kind of girl, but I do know when we get back, I'm going to buy a lot of new clothes to feel human again."

"You're lucky Sammy. I'm probably going to be wearing my brother's hand-me-downs when I get back."

The group traveled back towards camp. They kept a lookout for any bean plants to harvest. They didn't have any luck considering most of the dinos had probably eaten them by now.

They may have lucked out with finding a new food source, but unless their circumstances changed soon, they might not be able to come up with a plan to get off this island.

Bumby was snoozing when the kids arrived back home no longer smelling of blood and meat. They had almost forgotten about the mysterious cooler when Sammy tripped over the freshly turned dirt.

"Ow! That certainly hurts worse than milking an angry cow. Hey, Camp Family, we need to decide what to do with that strange cooler."

Yaz asked if they really had to do anything with it. It was buried underground and as long as the cooler was kept locked, they shouldn't have to worry about it.

That was until Kenji pointed out that if there was ever an earthquake or the volcano erupted, then the contents would spill into the campgrounds. Did they want to take a chance with poisoned soil?

Darius and Ben agreed with him. Brooklynn added it would be a good idea to learn more about the canisters if they wanted to dispose of it properly. Knowing she was outvoted, Yaz helped Sammy dig the cooler out again.

They each took a canister and placed the bottle of liquid and a disperser next to the fence where Bumpy was napping. With the contents out of the cooler, there was a thick sealed manila envelope and a hasty scrawled letter next to it.

Setting his canister aside, Darius picked up the piece of paper, while Brooklynn took the manila envelope. Darius started reading the letter out loud.

"Dear Owen, do you remember that conversation we had about crazy ideas to use dinos for? You were always betting someone would want to use them for military purposes. However, do you remember my idea?

I don't know for sure, but last time I was at the Visitor's Center, I took a peek in the lab. I saw that git Wu coming out of a hidden door carrying this cooler talking on the phone about an experiment with the contents. I followed him without being seen.

Found him in the lab where the infants hatch. I made up a story of wanting his opinion for a game at the Hidden Adventure to see what he did with the cooler. I snuck back in later that night to steal it and left a fake in its place.

I don't fully understand the data in the cooler but I understand enough to know it's bad. Those canisters can't fall into the wrong hands. I trust you'll figure out what to do with them.

Sincerely, Brimford."

Kenji let out a bark. "So, not only did this guy prep a doomsday shelter, he decided to keep classified experiments in his wine cooler. Geez, this guy saw conspiracies everywhere."

"Well, he was right about the shelter and food being needed," Ben pointed out. He looked over the canister again, realizing there was something printed on the bottom.

"EHDH-G-0002. I wonder what that means?"

"Mine is labeled the same except the last number is a three. I'm betting they're numbered one to six. Could be a lot number for whatever experiment these were for," Yaz stated.

Brooklynn stated she believed Yaz was right. The envelope contained a proposal presentation and some initial data. It wasn't for Mazarani though.

"Dr. Wu had written a proposal to another company to invest in a new experiment he was conducting. Something that had to do with using dinosaurs to augment human's capabilities."

"You mean like making humans stronger and faster like some species of dinosaurs?" Sammy asked.

The pink haired girl nodded. "He said he was having some initial success with mice. He cited they got stronger for a few days. He was going to demonstrate the procedure for them."

She went on to explain the rest of the packet went over her head with biology, chemistry, and engineering terms. "Whatever this experiment was, he was resolute to get results swiftly. Apparently, the results would help him with his dinosaur hybrid research."

"We need to put this stuff back and then get rid of it somewhere on the island where it won't cause harm." The others agreed with the group leader.

They were just about to do that when the unthinkable happened. The whole island started to shake badly. It was an earthquake!

The kids were knocked to their feet and dropped the canisters. The control mechanisms were damaged and started leaking. Different colored gases engulfed the group.

Bumpy was bellowing in fear. Her tail slammed against the fence. The top came off the bottle of liquid. A small amount fell into her open mouth.

She let out a displeased cry. The liquid tasted awful to her. The kids were coughing loudly.

"We need…cough to…turn…cough… off the…. gas!" Brooklyn shouted as she stumbled out of the cloud. She spotted one of the canisters. Despite the trembling ground, she started moving towards it.

"Stay…cough…in the open! The…tremors should…stop…soon!" Ben ordered as he dropped to the ground.

Sammy had also dropped to the ground and covered her head. "Follow my lead! Don't try to move until the shaking stops!" she informed the group.

Brooklynn stopped what she was doing. She heard a limb cracking and jumped back as a large branch fell where she had been. As she protected herself, the six canisters rolled to a stop by the branch.

A few minutes later the trembling stopped. The sounds of scared dinosaurs started to go down. The kids cautiously stood up.

"Are we safe?" Kenji whispered to the group. The others were wondering the same thing as they got to their feet.

"I think for now we are," Darius commented. He started coughing horribly. Whatever was in the gas made his lungs very uncomfortable.

The others were also coughing, or in Bumpy's case, gagging. The gas had left some residue on the ground. The same went for the liquid.

Yaz knew the residue samples might be important. She retrieved two water bottles that had been mixed in with the stock piled food. She used a large leaf to scoop up the residue and seal the samples inside the bottles.

Somehow, Brooklyn patched the leaks in the canisters. She placed them back inside the cooler and locked it. She shoved it under their tree house for now.

The group needed to start preparing for the aftershocks that were sure to follow. As they got to work the same question was on everyone's mind. What was that gas going to do to them?