I know that the saying is usually sickness and health. However, the group is healthy in the present and in the past they were sick. I wanted the title to reflect that.
Also, I don't know how appraising or pawnshops work so if it isn't realistic please don't hold that against me.
Darius and Ben had just arrived at Sammy's ranch when they heard the smoke detector going off. They raced inside calling out for their friend "Sammy! Where are you?"
"Stop yelling so much, will you?" Sammy replied as she emerged from the smoke filled hallway. "Sorry about that, I was making pie and it got burnt. Don't worry, I've got a backup pie because you always need a backup."
That's when her mind caught up with her vision. Sammy squealed and dropped her pitchfork as she ran over and hugged her friends. "Ben, Darius! It's great to see you two!"
"It's great to see you too, Sammy," Ben wheezed. "But could you stop squeezing me so tightly, please?"
"Oh, sorry you guys," Sammy apologized. "It has just been a while since I hugged anyone so I guess I overdid it."
Darius was rubbing his arm and asked what she meant by that. Ignoring the question, she told the boys to avoid the squeaky floorboard in the middle of the hallway.
"I've been meaning to fix that, but I got so many other chores I have to do that I haven't gotten around to it," she called over her shoulder as she entered the kitchen.
"Well, why hasn't someone else in your family fixed it? Surely, your dad or mom, know how to," Ben inquired.
"Oh, they're not here right now. My folks took my little sister on a vacation to Alberta, Canada. I stayed behind to look over the ranch."
Darius started to speak again, but Sammy was already grabbing glasses and pouring lemonade for them. "Why don't you two get started on the drinks while I check on my backup pie."
"Ugh, Sammy. We really need…"
"Okay, my pie needs a few more minutes. Hey, did I tell you guys that Bessie had a calf? I just love the sounds calves make when they're born."
Sammy grabbed a notepad off the shelf and started writing. "I need to make sure I get some more hay for them. There hasn't been enough grass in the pasture to feed the whole herd."
"Sammy, can you please…" Ben said before said person grabbed his arm and started leading him outside. "Sammy, what are you doing?!"
"There's someone here who will love to see you. Also, we need to talk about her current situation." Sammy looked behind her and saw Darius trailing.
"Hurry up, slowpoke! It's not nice to keep a lady waiting!" she called out. She dragged Ben to an empty stable and frowned. "Not again!"
She released Ben and jumped through a big gap in the fence. Ben chased after her with Darius bringing up the rear. He seriously needed to up his exercise plan.
When the boys came over the hill, they saw someone they never thought they see again. Playing in the pasture below was Bumpy. Ben called out to her and the Ankylosaurus bellowed a warm greeting.
"Bumper Car!" Ben shouted as he raced towards her. Bumpy bellowed happily as she ran to her "daddy". She managed to come to a complete stop about five inches from him.
Ben hugged her head and patted her head. "I've missed you, Bumper Car. Oh, do you want a good scratch? Yes, you do, I got your sweet spot."
Up on the hill, Darius stood next to a smiling Sammy. "I didn't know Bumpy was here."
"Well, considering how spotty cell service is near your cabin, I'm not surprised. When the authorities went to investigate Mantah Corp Island, Mae helped me sneak Bumpy off and brought her to my ranch."
Sammy got a faraway look in her eyes. "My family was shocked when she arrived, but I convinced them that Bumpy would be a big help protecting the cattle. You know, I'm glad that you and Ben showed up. I wanted to talk to you two about her."
At that moment, she stiffened. A big red pickup truck was zooming down the road and heading to the entrance of the pasture. "Oh, no. Not him again. We need to get Bumpy back on my property now."
Sammy ran down the hill shouting at Ben. "Ben, get Bumpy to follow you back home!"
Ben was confused by what Sammy was saying when he heard the sound of a truck speeding up. He gasped as he saw the pickup truck heading straight toward him. Bumpy quickly got herself between Ben and the truck.
When the truck was close enough, she swung her tail and sent it careening toward a nearby tree. Thankfully, the truck didn't make contact with it. She bellowed in anger but remained where she was.
Bumpy knew who was in that truck. A nasty smelling human who had screeched at her herd mate Sammy several times. From the tone of his voice, she knew he was just like the Scorpius Rex, wild and unpredictable.
While Ben comforted her, Sammy was doing her best to calm down her neighbor Carl. "That monster tried to kill me! She damaged my truck! That carnivore is dangerous."
Ben rolled his eyes. How could someone be stupid enough to think an Ankylosaurus was a meat eater? He glared at the man who was shouting that Bumpy should be put down.
"Carl, I've told you a hundred times before she's not dangerous unless provoked. Now, I'm sorry that the Ankylosaurus herd like your pastures better than mine, but you're going to get yourself killed if you keep trying to mow them down."
"I have a right to defend my property! I can't believe you would side with that monster over your fellow man. No wonder, your family left you behind," Carl said with disgust in his voice.
Sammy went pale upon hearing those words. The boys were perplexed by the man's words. They might not have the full picture, but they didn't need to know that Sammy needed them.
"Hey, leave her and Bumpy alone!" Ben snapped at Carl. He locked eyes on the man. "I don't care who you are. You don't trash talk either of my family members."
"Family? Ha, ha, ha. The Nublar Six are traitors to the human race if you consider that abomination a family member," Carl snarled. He spat at Ben who didn't even flinch.
"You and the others should have stayed on that island. The only good dinosaur is a dead one. They make excellent trophies. I would love to show you mine."
Sammy stepped between the two and told them that was enough. "Carl, the new enforced steel fence will be arriving in two days. Once that's up, you won't have to complain about Bumpy being on your property."
"Just go home, and I'll bring you my famous pie as a peace offering. Ben, take Bumpy back to her pen. You and Darius can wait in my house while I deliver it."
Ben and Carl glowered at each other before walking away from one another. Sammy let out a sigh of relief. "I'll be with you guys in a few minutes. I need to calm myself down."
Darius shared a concerned look with Ben. Begrudgingly, they headed back to the ranch. Bumpy snorted before going back to her new home with them.
Once Bumpy was settled into her pen, the boys waited for Sammy in the kitchen. About two minutes later, Sammy stormed into her home. She wordlessly removed her pie from the oven and placed it on the table.
The boys held their breath waiting to see what Sammy would do. It was clear that she wanted to cry. She tried to smile at the boys but couldn't hold back the tears anymore.
She collapsed to the kitchen floor in a sobbing mess. Ben and Darius got down on the floor and just held her.
"Let it all out, Sammy. It's okay," Darius whispered.
"We're not going to judge you," Ben added kindly.
Sammy let out a heart-wrenching wail. "I can't, I can't take it anymore," she whimpered.
Eventually, her tears dried up. She hiccuped a few times before shakily getting to her feet. Wiping her tears, she thanked the boys for being there for her.
"Sammy," Darius spoke gently to her. "What was Carl talking about before? Did your family really…?" he trailed off uncertainly.
"Yes and no," the girl admitted. She explained how her parents wanted to start a new ranch in Alberta, away from a majority of the dinosaurs. They had already purchased a property and set up their business.
"Most of the herd is already on its way to the property. A truck's coming tomorrow to take Bessie, her calf, and the elderly to their new home."
Ben and Darius were shocked. After everything Sammy went through to help her family, it was a shock they were abandoning their property, which had been in the family for six generations, so easily.
Seeing their shocked expressions, Sammy quickly added, "My folks aren't selling the place as of yet. I can still live here as long as I want. I just can't visit them."
Ben asked why they would do something like this. Sammy replied, "Because they gave me an ultimatum and I picked the wrong side according to them."
The rest of her story came out in a rush. How the ranch had been doing great despite the dinosaurs on the loose. About how they started to mellow out around Bumpy.
Then how everything changed when a herd of Ankylosaurus arrived with a few other herbivores. That Bumpy often socialized them on and off her family's property. Especially Carl's property which enraged the man.
"My parents told me to let Bumpy go live with the herd, but she kept coming back. She didn't want to leave me permanently. This caused a conflict with Carl and my parents ran out of ways to keep him from calling the DPW."
"Anytime, he called them, I would take Bumpy and we stay out in the desert for several nights before returning. With so many calls, it wasn't like the officers could stay on our property indefinitely. Eventually, my parents had enough of dealing with Carl and the DPW."
Wiping her eyes she explained how her parents decided to start over in Alberta. They also explained that Bumpy would have to stay in Texas. Sammy either had to choose to stay with her or go with her family.
"I couldn't abandon my soul sister. I tried to explain it wasn't as simple as they made it seem. I would have told them about ours and Bumpy's secret, but since Ben has Bumpy's pendant, I didn't have proof."
Darius reasoned even if she had revealed their secret, it was still likely that Bumpy would have been abandoned. Worst case, she would be handed over to the government for study.
Sammy declared that he was probably right. "We made a promise to protect her no matter what she chose, and I don't go back on my promises. So, I stayed and they left. I'm only welcomed back if I abandon Bumpy."
"I'm so sorry, Sammy. If I had known, I could have come over sooner and helped you," Ben stated with a voice of guilt.
"It's like Darius said, Ben. Bumpy would still have lost her family. Speaking of family, I guess it's time I learn why you both came here."
Ben launched into the spiel about them being hunted. Darius added that he wasn't a hundred percent positive about it, but agreed it would be best if they warned the others. Also, they should make sure Bumpy went someplace safe to avoid being killed.
"When you say safe, do you want her to come with us while we warn the others, or take her somewhere to hide her?" Sammy inquired looking at Ben.
"Maybe both? I know Dr. Turner is living on a large property in Montana. She did say Bumpy was welcome there anytime, right?"
Sammy nodded and said they should grab some supplies before heading out. She opened the door to the guest bedroom and stopped. For a few seconds, her mind believed Brooklynn was at the desk.
She blinked and Brooklynn was gone, only her jacket remaining. "Get it together Sammy," she told herself. She forced herself to walk in and seize a box of supplies she stashed in there.
With a shaking breath, she opened the small closet and took a lock box off the shelf. Curious, Darius stepped into the room watching as Sammy removed a gun, from the box. "You, have a gun?!"
"Not a real one. This is Texas, Darius. My state is the number one when it comes to gun ownership. Besides, this is an old flare gun, my folks took the real ones with them."
Sammy loaded the four charges in it. "It won't fool anyone, but I figure we can use the charges as intended. At the very least, it can scare away some of the dinosaurs."
She handed the box of supplies to Darius and was going to start looking for a map when the lights went out. "I fixed the breaker box last week. It has to be Carl."
"We can't let him shoot Bumpy. Darius and I will take care of him. You should try to get the lights back on."
The groups split up to carry out their tasks. Outside, Ben and Darius swept their flashlights across the ground searching for signs of an intruder. When they looked towards the front of the house, they caught a glint of red.
"We were right," Ben whispered. He was about to raise his voice when Darius covered his mouth. The college boy raised his eyebrows.
The dark skinned boy tapped his ear and then pointed to the hay bales near the fence. Ben realized it was too quiet. The boys turned off their flashlights and hid behind the hay bales.
The moonlight lit the pickup truck up. They could clearly see a dead Carl inside. It appeared that he had been reaching for the shotgun on his dash when he was killed.
A low menacing growl filled the air. Taking a peek, Darius saw Ghost landing in Sammy's yard. She started sweeping her head back and forth sniffing the air.
The boys watched as she started prowling around the yard. She let out a bark and the other two Atrociraptors appeared. She used her head to indicate, Panthea to check the house and Tiger to check the other buildings.
Darius quickly pulled back. Looking at Ben, he whispered very softly, "How did they track us for more than a thousand miles?"
Ben shrugged not knowing the answer either. "We need to get out of here. I'll free Bumpy, you get Sammy. We'll meet at my van."
As the boys slipped away, Darius briefly glanced at the gun in the truck. Should he take it? Was it that different than a tranquilizer gun?
Remembering what his dad said about guns, he left it and headed towards the house. He made it to the side of the house and saw Sammy pressed against a window. The girl had a frightened look on her face.
He pressed a finger to his lips and then pointed at the van. Sammy nodded and ducked down. Darius hoped she wouldn't run into trouble in getting out of the house.
At last, Sammy had run into trouble. Panthera had gotten inside the house and was searching for Sammy. She was hiding in the guest room.
The ranch girl made sure to secure the flair gun to her belt. As she brushed Brooklyn's jacket, a piece of paper fluttered to the floor. Snatching it off the floor, she opened it to see that it was a map.
What were you up to, Brooklynn? Sammy thought to herself.
Outside, Ben had just trapped Tiger in a pen. He rushed over to Bumpy's and opened it. "Come on, girl. We need to get out of here."
Bumpy grunted and nudged him to get on to her. She then headed towards the hay barn sensing Darius was in danger.
The boy was running out of the barn. A few seconds later, he was followed by Ghost. Before the raptor could open her mouth, Bumpy plowed right into her. Ghost went flying ten feet away.
Dashing over, Bumby swung her club tail and it connected with Ghost's head. The raptor fell to the ground unconscious. For good measure, she brought her weight down on Ghost's tail and Ben swore he heard bones breaking.
Back in the house, Sammy was making her way to the front door. Panthera was still nosing around in the kitchen searching for Sammy. The girl in question moved to the other side of the hallway to bypass a squeaky board.
That's when her bad luck struck. She knocked over her pitchfork and it clattered to the floor. Instantly, Panthera was in the hall huffing in triumph
Sammy didn't hesitate. Even though flare guns were meant to be shot vertically she fired it horizontally. There was a heck of a kickback that she almost dropped the gun.
The flare hit Panthera straight in the chest. The Atrociraptor cried out in pain as her chest scales were being burned. Not wasting a second, Sammy grabbed the pitchfork and ran out the door.
She heard stories about the original raptors so she jammed her pitchfork through the handle to prevent the raptor from getting out. She took off running just as Panthera rammed the door down. She was one very angry dinosaur.
She charged straight ahead. Sammy picked up the pace but knew she wouldn't make it to the van in time. She stumbled and fell flat on her face.
Before the Atrociraptor could even think of jumping onto Sammy, Bumpy slid in front of her human friend. With a twitch of her tail, the Atrociraptor lost a few teeth as the hit sent her flying into Carl's pickup truck.
Bumpy nudged Sammy to her feet and bellowed at her. Knowing what she wanted Sammy jumped into the van. "Ben, floor it! Bumpy's giving us a chance to escape!"
Leaning out the car window, Ben called out to Bumpy. "Stay safe! We'll come back for you; I promise!"
Bumpy bellowed in agreement and watched her human herd mates get to safety. She need to make sure that Atrociraptor stayed down. Time to show them why she was the Nublar seventh member.
The sun was just starting to rise the next morning when the trio woke up. They had driven nearly a hundred and fifty miles from Sammy's ranch. They had located an empty campsite area and spent the night there.
"Ugh, my back hurts so much. Did we really need to sleep on the ground? We could have taken turns sleeping on the bed in your van," Darius complained.
Ben sighed in exasperation as he once again lectured Darius about staying off the radar while being hunted. Sammy tuned them out. She had tried to call Yaz but she hadn't picked up.
Now she was looking something up on her phone. The group needed more supplies and some protection from those Atrociraptors. She reviewed a page about the city of Waco.
Satisfied with the information, she turned to the boys. The two of them were still arguing. She whistled loudly to get their attention.
"Listen up you two. We're low on supplies and cash. We need to make a detour to Waco before we drive to Kenji's place."
Ben protested stating that Waco was in the east and they needed to head to Colorado which meant going north.
Sammy was resolute stating they were going to Waco first. "I comprehend it's out of the way, but it's the closest place to get what we need to survive."
Darius asked what she meant. She explained that there was an underground market for survival gear and weaponry there. "My cousin told me we can get the kind of protection we need, without having to go through governmental red tape."
Darius arched his eyebrows in disbelief. "You want to go to an illegal market to purchase supplies. We're not that low on cash we can't afford the supplies legally."
"Exactly how do you expect to get weapons without permits? My flare gun only irritated that Atrociraptor. I'm not saying we need to buy guns, but body armor, hunting weapons, and camping supplies aren't cheap."
"How do you plan to pay for all that stuff when we only have a hundred and fifty dollars?" Ben inquired
Sammy told them not to worry about it. She had something that could get them the cash she needed. They just had to go to Waco.
About three hours later, the group arrived in Waco. Sammy directed Ben to head to a pawnshop. It was in a rougher part of the city.
Ben and Darius looked out the windows nervously. The area wasn't that bad, but the buildings did look like they could use improvements. The people walking around also appeared to have a big chip on their shoulders.
Ben wanted to stay in his van, but Sammy said she needed him with her in the store. Reluctantly, Ben got out and followed his friend into the pawn shop.
The lighting in the store was a bit dim as Sammy approached the counter. The owner looked up from a magazine he was reading. "How can I help you two today?"
"I want to pawn an item," Sammy said as she placed the flare gun on the counter. The man inspected it and asked if she had the registration papers for it. She pulled it out of one of her jacket's pockets and handed it over.
"You don't look like Mitchel Gutierrez. I can't take this without further proof, my dear."
Sammy showed him her ID and a permission notice from her dad that gave her the right to sell the gun. After verifying the facts, the owner looked over it once more.
"Hmm, the gun isn't that old and it looks like it was recently used. Why is that?"
Ben started to get nervous as Sammy explained she simply used it to scare a dinosaur off her family's ranch. "I know it's used, but there are still three flares inside that are in good condition."
"I can give you a hundred for it."
Ben scoffed, "Isn't that low balling the value."
The owner smirked at Ben saying it was his store so if his appraisal was low, then that's how much it was worth. "What's it going to be, girly?"
Sammy gritted her teeth and sighed. She had hoped the gun would get her at least five hundred. Now she had no choice, but to go with Plan B.
"Wait, I have something else I want to pawn." Pulling back her right sleeve, she revealed a delicate and beautiful bracelet. Both Ben and the shop owner were stunned by it.
The bracelet band was pure gold. Along the band were different colored gemstones. Little charms were attached to the base of the gemstones.
"This belonged to my great-great-great grandmother. It has all eighteen gemstones found in Texas on it including; blue topaz, chalcedony, and the rare llanite. The charms are made out of petrified wood."
Sliding it off, she carefully placed the item on the counter. "It's in near-mint condition. I have the paperwork here proving it's mine as well as the estimated value."
The pawnshop owner was nearly drooling as he delicately examined the bracelet. This was clearly a one-of-a-kind family heirloom. He did the four C's test before looking at the gemstones for cut and color
Reviewing the documentation and comparing it to the condition the bracelet was in, he whistled pleased. "Given the condition and the quality of gems, this bracelet is worth five grand."
Ben was blown away by the price. He had no idea Sammy owned something that valuable. How was she going to pay that back plus the interest?
"A fair price, but you give me a six-month ticket to get it paid back with no increase in the interest rate. Also, a tip on how to find the special discount market for dinosaur protection."
The owner smirked slightly. "Now, why should I agree to do that, young lady? It's my money I'm lending you so I should decide when I get back."
"Because you don't want to mess with me and my friend here. Take a close look at us. Do we seem familiar to you?" Sammy remarked in a cold tone of voice.
The owner looked a bit closer. His eyebrows raised and he took a step back. "You two are part of the…."
Ben realized now why Sammy had brought him inside the store with her. Despite the danger of revealing themselves, it was the best way to get what they needed. He gave the man his signature madman look.
"That's right. You know, I defeated a Carnotaurus with nothing except my wits and a primitive spear. I also blew up a gondola ride to keep a nasty predator from eating us."
He punched his palm into his fist. "Now, think what I could do to your store if you don't agree to her terms" Ben's eyes landed on a lighter in the display case.
A few minutes later, the two returned to the van. Darius was tempted to ask what happened in the shop but thought better of it. He kept his silence as they drove to a different location.
Thirty minutes later, the trio entered the sub-basement of an abandoned warehouse. Every inch of the sub-basement had vendors selling supplies that were most likely stolen. Darius tried not to shudder when they passed a stall selling Stegosaurus plate armor.
"What precisely are we looking for here, Sammy?" Darius whispered as they headed towards the back. Sammy shushed him and kept her gaze straight ahead
The first stop they came to was a weapon's booth. This one wasn't selling firearms at least. Instead, there were bows, crossbows, and slings for sale.
The female vendor eyeballed Sammy and the boys. "I can see you know your way around arrows and bolts, young lady. Do those boys of yours know anything about them?"
"I'm a good teacher," Sammy remarked offhand. She pointed to one of the crossbows behind the lady. "Can I take a look at that please?"
"Only if you intend to buy one," the vendor insisted. She handed a recurve crossbow to Sammy.
Ben and Darius didn't know anything about crossbows so they didn't understand what Sammy was testing them for. A few minutes later, she tried another crossbow. When she had tried all of them, she knew what she wanted.
"I'll take one recurve and one pistol crossbow. I will also need at least four boxes of bolts. I would also like to examine your other weapons."
The saleswoman grinned and asked what else was interested in. Forty minutes later had not only bought the crossbows and bolts, but she also had purchased five bolas, three spears, and two slings.
Darius and Ben were being used as pack mules as Sammy navigated her way to another stand. This one was selling different types of armor
"Ugh, Sammy, we've already spent two grand for weapons, which I think is ridiculous by the way. Do we really need more?" Darius pondered.
Sammy ignored him as Ben whispered to Darius how much nearly military-grade weapons cost. Hearing the actual price, he realized that Sammy was paying less than the actual retail cost.
At the moment, Sammy was negotiating for several Kevlar vests. "I get that I'm asking for a vest size you don't have, but if you could give me the materials, I'm sure I can sew a prototype vest for my cattle."
"You do know machines are used to make the vests, correct? It's not a fabric you can sew together easily," the vendor remarked.
"My cattle are my livelihood. If one vest can help break some teeth of a meat-eating dinosaur, then it's worth it."
"Okay, if, you're sure. Since you're determined to do this on your own time, I can give you a discount on the arm and leg guards."
"How much for helmets?"
"Three hundred each. These are SWAT helmets after all."
"I'll get four of them along with the rest of my order."
"Pleasure doing business with you lady."
An hour later, the van was leaving Waco. After getting their illegal supplies, they purchased the food and gas they needed. A quick trip to the thrift store also allowed them to purchase two sleeping bags.
Darius let out a sigh of relief. "I don't know about you two, but Waco was too wacky for me."
"Wacky as it may have been, at least we now have some protection against whoever is hunting us. We might not be able to kill the Atrociraptors, but the weapons should slow them down," Ben stated.
"I'll be in the back putting together everyone's survival gear. Ben, please try to avoid potholes," Sammy said before heading into the back.
Ben nodded and drove around a pothole. Both he and Darius were thinking about how their time on the island might have been easier if they had weapons and protective gear. If they did maybe they wouldn't have decided to keep their secret from the world.
Night had fallen and the camp family were doing their best to sleep through the night. Sammy, Kenji, and Brooklynn were heavy sleepers so nothing short of a dino attack would wake them up. Ben and Darius were dozing lightly.
However, one person wasn't sleeping. Yaz was feeling extremely restless. She was running laps around the gate trying to tire herself out.
She was on her twenty-fifth lap when Darius, who was unable to sleep due to Yaz's running, peered over the railing. "Yaz, what are you doing?"
"I'm trying to tire myself out, but it isn't working," Yaz admitted as she came to a stop. "I feel more awake than ever."
"Whatever that gas was might be giving you insomnia," Darius suggested. Though he wondered why no one else seemed to be suffering insomnia.
Yaz admitted it was a possibility. "I'm going to run a few more laps. If don't get tired, I'll sleep under the tree house so I don't wake anyone else up."
Darius nodded and went back to bed. He didn't know how long he slept, but the next time he woke, it was during the predawn hour. He climbed down the ladder to check on Yaz.
She was finally sleeping albeit restlessly. She had coiled herself up into a ball. Darius was about to go back up to the tree house to sleep, but there was a mental itch driving him crazy.
He walked around the tree and then knelt between its roots. Placing his hands on the ground, he started to dig. He didn't know why digging was satisfying the mental itch.
By the time the sun rose, Darius had made a decent hole. He stood up and started brushing the dirt off himself. "I better take a shower before someone sees me like this."
As he was taking his shower, he heard Brooklynn humming in her sleep. Next to her, Kenji kept scratching the top of his head. Sammy was cuddled right up against him and she kept wiggling her butt.
As he put his clothes back on, Darius noticed something was off with Ben. His thumbnails were longer than they were last night. How had they grown an inch in just a few hours?
An hour later, everyone was up and having breakfast. Darius decided to broach the subject at hand. "So, how is everyone feeling this morning?"
"Well, I'm not doing well at all. I feel like my whole face has a colony of ants on it," Kenji moaned. He started scratching his cheeks furiously.
Sammy grabbed his hand, telling him to stop. "If you keep scratching, you're only going to make it worse. I'll make you an anti-itching cream so don't worry. Mama Sammy is here to take care of you."
The group gawked at her as she fetched the plants needed to make the cream. A loud hum was heard at the table making everyone stare at Brooklynn. She didn't seem aware she was doing it.
"Brooklynn, can you stop with the humming? It's giving me a headache," Yaz said. The runner kept rubbing her eyelids. Was she still sleepy?
Brooklynn immediately stopped. "I didn't realize I was doing that." She grabbed her throat in shock. Her voice sounded very scratchy.
"What's wrong with your voice, Brooklynn?" Ben asked. As he leaned forward a bit, his nails got stuck in the wood. "What the heck, I know I bit my nails down a few days ago."
A mix of a moan and a bellow was heard by the edge of the fence. Bumpy was swaying on her feet. Plopping on the ground, she attempted to curl up in a ball, like a pangolin.
Ben freed his hand and scurried over to Bumpy. Throwing the gate open, he started rubbing his friend's back. "Are you okay, Bumper Car? Do you have a stomach ache?"
Bumpy moaned in pain and raised her head. Her eyes appeared to be a bit glassy. She lowered her head and moaned.
Yaz reminded the group that the strange liquid had spilled into her mouth yesterday. "She possibly has indigestion from it. Try to get her to drink more water. That should help soothe her gut."
While Ben fetched Bumpy fresh water, Sammy started crushing some berries into a bowl. "I'm sure our favorite dinosaur will feel better once she tastes my mixed berry broth."
She put a few berries in her mouth and crushed them. The others were shocked when she spit the berries back into the bowl. They all took a step back from her.
Sammy paused as her actions caught up with her brain. She shoved the bowl away from her. "What is happening to me?"
"What's happening to all of us?" Darius pondered out loud. "Yaz was up most of the night unable to sleep, I had the urge to dig a burrow, and Sammy, you're acting like a mother animal."
Kenji then added how he, Brooklyn, and Ben were suffering as well. Bumpy let out another moan reminding the group of her predicament.
"That gas did something to us and we need to figure out how to fix it. So, Brooklynn, I think I have another mystery for you. Unbox what that strange experimental gas does to humans."
Brooklynn tried to respond but all that came out was a squeak. She stomped her feet in frustration before nodding. This was one mystery that she had to solve.
As the day progressed, the teens started to feel worse. Brooklynn was coughing harshly as she tried to nap. Kenji's itchiness had spread to his whole body as he took another shower to relieve it.
Sammy was also trying to nap, but the nausea in her stomach was making that almost impossible. Yaz was under the treehouse massaging her ankles to help with the joint pain.
Darius kept sneezing as the wind blew about pollen. Strangely, he wasn't allergic to pollen or dirt. Ben was trying to manage a headache that didn't seem to be going away.
Even Bumpy was starting to show signs of sickness. She wasn't even trying to eat, and she had hardly moved since arriving this morning. They also noticed that her coloring was starting to pale.
Yaz eyeballed the cooler where the gas was stored. They needed to analyze the samples she had taken yesterday. She wasn't a science geek, but she suspected Ben might know how to do something like that.
He spent so much time reading, he probably could recall an entire textbook if he wanted to. Now if only she had the energy to ask him about it. Maybe she could do that after she took a nap.
By the time night had fallen, none of them had the energy to eat. Sammy had thrown up twice. Kenji had passed out from exhaustion and had deep scratch marks on his legs and face.
Ben's headache had dissipated, but now he felt very cold. Even with him curled up next to Bumpy, he persisted shivering. Bumpy looked and felt weaker than she had been this morning.
Brooklynn had a small fever that wouldn't go down. Yaz developed a rash on her legs. Darius had developed minor diarrhea and was hiding behind a nearby tree.
"We need to find," Sammy began to say, before rolling over and puking over the side of their treehouse. "We need to find some medicine."
"The only place yawn that would have medicine is the infirmary on Main Street. We can't yawn, go there with the T-Rex living there, yawn," Yaz reminded her friend.
"Besides, in our condition, cough, cough, we won't be able to outrun any predators," Brooklynn added.
Darius suggested that they should turn in early. Perhaps they would feel better tomorrow. The kids fell asleep rather quickly after that.
As the night progressed, the kids' bodies entered a coma-like state. They could not feel their skin changing. Nor did they hear their bones cracking and rearranging themselves.
Bumpy as well was oblivious of the changes going on in her body. She was unaware of her bulk atrophying rapidly making her smaller. Her nose twisted as her sense of smell was altered.
As the morning light seeped through the trees, Sammy was the first one to open her eyes. Strangely, her vision seemed better. She started to rub her eyes when her hands brushed against something.
She felt around and discovered there was some type of growth around her eyes. "Hmm, yyyyy, aaa!" Sammy felt something was wrong with her mouth. Why else couldn't she talk?
Bringing her hands down, she felt them touch something hard where her lips should be. Moving her hand further she felt the hardened lips sticking out pretty far. Freaking out now, she looked for anything with a reflective surface.
Looking at their water cooler she couldn't believe her reflection. She let out a sound that was a mix of wail and honk. That woke up everyone else.
They all looked at Sammy in disbelief. Her eyes were much bigger and there were magenta colored eye crests around them. Her stomach was protruding slightly with the same colored scales covering it.
Besides her lips changing to a duckbill, she also had a magenta colored tail sticking out of her pants. Sammy stared at them in shock. She started making that weird sound again while pointing at them.
That's when the others realized their bodies had changed as well. Somehow, the group made it out of the tree house and over to the stream. Their reflections shocked all of them.
Brooklyn had a large pink head crest sticking out of her hair. Her arms were covered in thick pink scales leaving only her hands normal. Pulling up her shirt the same scales covered her chest, leading to her back and a tail.
Ben looked at his new acrodonty-style teeth. His robust arms were covered in blue scales that ended on the back of his hands. His thumbs had spikes on them.
His feet had been transformed as well. His toes had merged to form three toes. His feet up to his ankles were like dinosaur feet. He also had a tail that was thrashing about.
Darius was astonished by the transformation of his body. His lower jaw was now similar to the lower beak of a parrot. His forearms were covered in purple scales and his fingers were modified for digging.
Though he couldn't see it, he felt that his pelvis bone had changed. Most likely so he could dig easier. His tail was also purple and very flexible.
Kenji had one of the most startling transformations. His neck now bore a large cyan frill. He had eleven horns in total. Four on both the right and left side of his head, two more poking about through cheeks, and lastly one on his nose.
His shoulders were extremely bulky and covered in the same cyan colored scales. He had ungual toes sticking out of his shoes. His tail was very short in comparison with the others.
Yazmina was fighting down a panic attack. Both her legs, which were covered in orange scales, were longer and slenderer. Her middle toes had large, retractable, sickle-shaped claws on them.
Her fingernails were also sharper and claw like. She had a tail like the others. One thing she had that others didn't, were feathers. White-orange feathers covered her arms.
Sammy let out another wail/honk. She pointed towards the fence and said, "Everyone, look over there! Whose is that?"
(She's speaking in broken words, but the program wouldn't let me write it that way. Sammy has to adjust to having hard lips first.)
Lying against the fence was a prepubescent girl. She had straight shoulder length blond hair. Her skin tone was dusky.
Two asymmetrical horns jutted out of her hair. On her back was the ankylosaurus armor and the club tail. She was likewise completely naked.
The boys looked away as the girl's purple eyes opened. She let out a small bellow and then yelped. She was staring at her hands as if she had never seen them before.
The same thought ran through all the campers' minds. If they had become half dinosaur, it was reasonable to think a dinosaur could become half human. That girl was Bumpy!