Camp
Even though the night was dark and cold, the camp fam's energy felt bright and warm because they now had their friend back.
Yasmina and Ali sat to Sammy's right as Kenji sat to her left.
"How you feelin?" Yasmina questioned her friend.
"Like I got punched in the stomach by a Porcupine...so you know, better." Sammy stated with a chuckle.
"As long as you're breathing, we're all happy Samster." Ali stated as he smiled at her.
Sammy returned the smile.
She then looked over to Kenji who had been awfully quiet.
"Um, Kenji? Is something wrong?" Sammy questioned him bringing him out of his stupor.
"U-Uh yea, yea I'm good...actually guys can I talk to Sammy...alone?" Kenji pleaded.
Ali and Yasmina quickly realized what he was about to do, so they nodded.
"Let's go, Yas." Ali said as they got up and walked over to the others.
"So, what did you want to talk about, Kenji?" Sammy asked.
"I-I don't know how to say this, Sammy, but I...uh, you know what." Kenji grew tired of his rambling so he just did what his heart told him too.
He swiftly moved forward and captured Sammy's mouth in a searing kiss, which left the cowgirl stunned.
Kenji didn't let the kiss linger as he instantly pulled away.
He looked wary because of Sammy's deer in the headlights expression.
"Sammy, I'm sorry, I don't know wh-mph!" Kenji was cutoff as Sammy's lips now crashed into his.
She let the kiss hang on for a good five seconds as the two let their lips do the talking, rather than wasting time trying to confess.
They then separated as they stared into eachother's eyes.
"Wow...that was-" Kenji was at lost for words.
"I love you, Kenji Kon." Sammy said firmly as she pulled him into an embrace, despite her pain.
"I-I love you too, Sammy Guitierrez." Kenji responded.
"Does this mean...you're my girlfriend?" Kenji questioned.
"As long as this means you're my boyfriend, then yes it does Kenji." Sammy said with a smirk.
"Well I'd love to be your boyfriend." Kenji stated.
"Then I guess...we're official." Sammy said with joy evident in her voice.
"Woo!" Exclaimed the voice of Ali as their attention snapped to the others.
Everyone let out a series of applauds as Kenji and Sammy blushed hard.
"Wow, the love birds finally admitted their true feelings guys." Ali said with a smirk.
"I thought I said alone guys." Kenji said through gritted teeth.
"Hey, it's not our fault you guys are like eleven feet from us, it's kinda hard not to hear." Yasmina stated with a deadpan.
"Congratulations guys." Darius realized now probably wasn't the best time to be relaxing and celebrating a relationship beginning, since the Scorpious was still on the loose, but he had to be supportive.
"You guys are so gonna be on my channel when we leave here." Brooklynn declared.
"Okay everyone, we're happy for Sammy and Kenji, yes, but we should probably head to the boat right now, while the storm is at bay." Ali suggested.
"But, what about the Scorpious Rex?" Brooklynn questioned him.
"We have to risk it, we might not get another chance." Darius came to Ali's aid.
This was all that needed to be said as they all packed essentials and began getting ready to embark on their journey.
Brooklynn found a can of Carob powder as she wretched.
She then looked around to make sure no one was watching as she tossed the can over her shoulder slyly.
Brooklynn gasped as she noticed Darius and Ali had seen her.
"It was the right call." Darius stated.
"I saw nothing." Ali said as he closed his eyes and walked away.
Darius then tossed Brooklynn a walkie talkie.
"Can't take everything." He said as he walked off as well, with Brooklynn smiling at his retreating form.
Seeing Kenji and Sammy get together really made her think she should just ask Darius out already and get it over with.
Seeing Yasmina and Ali's kiss earlier also made her consider it even more, anything was worth a shot.
"Nah, he probably doesn't see me in that way, we're just friends, and that's all we'll ever be." Brooklynn thought as she continued packing things.
Kenji walks over to Sammy who was still resting as he kneeled down to her.
"How are you? Are you feeling o-" Sammy cuts Kenji off.
"Kenji mi amor, this is the third time in the past five minutes you've asked me this, yes I am okay." Sammy stated, even though they've only been boyfriend and girlfriend for a grand total of fifteen minutes, Kenji quickly took on a protective role.
"I'm sorry, it's just I really wanna make sure my girlfriend is comfortable." Kenji said with a slight frown.
"Aww, that's sweet, thank you Kenji, but really, I'm fine." Sammy reassured him with a giggle.
Kenji couldn't help the butterflies he felt when she giggled.
"She's just so...beautiful." Kenji mentally stated.
Yasmina was packing berry cartridges, she accidentally drops one.
She reaches down for it, but she gasped as another hand reaches down and grasps the cartridge before her.
Yasmina quickly looked up and realized it was Ali as he picked up the cartridge and handed it to her.
"Um, thank you...I uh-" Yasmina was cutoff by Ali.
"It's fine Yas, just helping a friend out." Ali said with a smile.
Friend, that word stung more all of a sudden, after the kiss, she knew things would feel weird between Ali and herself but he promised to tell her how he felt about her once they got to the boat.
However, judging by the fact he referred to her as a friend, she could already guess his response.
She suddenly felt his chain which was still around her neck.
She then reaches up to remove the chain and give it back to him.
"Here you can have this ba-" Ali cuts Yasmina off.
"No, no, I want you to keep the chain, until we get on that boat and I tell you how I truly feel." Ali informed her.
Yasmina sighed deeply as she left the chain alone and swiftly turned on her heels to get back to work.
"Fine then." Yasmina declares.
"I hope we get on that boat quick, so he can hurry up and tell me he doesn't feel that way about me, I just need this burden off of my chest." Yasmina mentally stated.
"Can I help you with the cartridges?" Ali questioned her.
"Sure." Yasmina responded coldly.
Ali almost flinched at the ice in her tone, it was almost as if Yasmina was an open book of emotions, and they were all bad.
"I'm sorry Yasmina, I'm not trying to hurt you but, I wish I could tell you how much I actually do love you but...I'd rather it be when we're safely on the boat, just in case something was to happen to either of us on the island, I don't want either of us to experience the pain of losing the one they love, but just hold on, soon I'll free you from your burden." Ali mentally declares as he began helping her pack the cartridges.
Ben was picking up scattered canned goods and placing them into a bag.
As he knelt down to pick one up he noticed a giant footprint, no doubt belonging to Bumpy.
It caused him to gasp sharply as he placed his hand in it.
"Bumpy..." Ben said solemnly as he stared into the jungle almost longily.
He turned back to others as he noticed them still getting things together.
Ben then faced the jungle again, he had made his decision.
He dropped all of the supplies and ran into the jungle, after his friend.
Yasmina had moved over to help Sammy up as Kenji had gone to fulfill another task.
Sammy faltered a bit but she eventually stood up.
"Yas, thanks for saving me." Sammy said sincerely as she pulled the track star into a strong embrace.
Yasmina quickly returned it as she smiled deeply.
She then felt Sammy becoming like dead weight causing her to gasp a bit.
"Uh, Sammy?" Yasmina questioned.
"Sorry, having a little trouble staying up right, don't tell Kenji." Sammy whispered the last part.
"No problem, Sammy, and who woulda thought Kenji was such a caring boyfriend?" Yasmina asked with a chuckle causing Sammy to look down with a blush.
As Sammy looked down she noticed a certain familiar shine, it was Ali's chain on Yasmina's neck.
"Oh? Are Kenji and I not the only new couple? You're wearing Ali's chain now-" Sammy is cutoff swiftly by Yasmina.
"Not for long, he only gave me it to protect me when I went after that antidote." Yasmina explained as Sammy's optimism faltered a bit.
Ali had walked over towards them but he didn't make his presence known because he heard them talking about him.
"He said he'll only take the chain back after he tells me his true feelings, which will be when we get off the island apparently." Yasmina continued.
"I just can't wait for him to get it over, I know he doesn't like me in that way, why would any boy like a gruff and ugly girl like me? They'd probably want someone pretty like Brooklynn, or someone nice and cheery like you." Yasmina said as her face contorted into a deep frown.
Ali felt a giant pang in his chest, he hated causing her this much pain, Yasmina evidently had insecurities and he was amplifying them.
It even came to the point where he was considering just jumping out and confessing how much he loved Yasmina Fadoula, but luckily Sammy was there.
"Stop that!" Sammy exclaimed as Yasmina looked at her with a shocked expression, this also brought Ali out of his thoughts.
"Yasmina, you are beautiful, and you probably have the best body out of all the girls here." Sammy listed off.
"And don't forget that beautiful hair." Ali mentally added.
"And you may not be the nicest at all times but, you are super loyal and you have a bigger personality than you think." Sammy continued.
"And I see the way Ali looks at you, it's clear he likes you and sees all of your great qualities, he's more than likely just waiting for the right time." Sammy finished.
"Thank you, Sammy." Ali mentally stated.
Yasmina was now conflicted. "Alright Sammy, I'll keep hope, I just don't want to be hurt." Yasmina confessed.
"Don't worry, rejection is only a part of life, and Ali's a sweet guy, so on the really off chance he doesn't like you, he's not gonna be rude about it." Sammy said as they smiled at eachother.
Ali had seen all there was to see, so he began walking out towards them.
"Hey gi-" Ali is cutoff as Kenji ran up to them.
"Sammy! Are you okay? Do you need water? Food? Anything?" Kenji questioned frantically.
"Kenji!" Sammy shouted for the umpteenth time tonight.
"Oh right, sorry, I'll just be going over here." Kenji said as he kissed Sammy's cheek and walked away.
The cowgirl blushed at the action but quickly shook it away as they turned to Ali.
"As I was saying, hey girls." Ali said with a chuckle.
"Hi Ali, man I gotta say, it looks so weird seeing you without your chain." Sammy said as the All star touched his neck area.
"I know, I know, but I think it looks great on Yas." Ali compliments.
Sammy almost facepalmed. "Why are guys such idiots?" She mentally questioned.
Yasmina was taken back a bit, why was he giving her so many mixed signals.
"Thanks." Was Yasmina's cryptic response, she was not about to let him get in her head.
Sammy found herself almost facepalmimg again as they fell into silence.
"Uh, where's Ben?" Asked Brooklynn as she drew everyone's attention.
They all quickly looked around noticing Ben was indeed missing.
"Well, we only have one option." Ali said as they looked into the ominous jungle.
No one complained, they knew what they needed to do.
Jungle
"Ben!" Kenji shouted as they searched the jungle.
"Bumpy ran off because of the Scorpious Rex, Ben probably ran after her." Brooklynn inferred.
"I knew Ben was more agro than before but this is just plain stupidity." Ali stated.
"I'm going after him." Darius said with a firm glare as he walked ahead.
"Dude..." Kenji stated incredulously.
"Anyone else see the irony?" Yasmina questioned.
"Fine, let's do this then, we'll find Ben quicker if we work together, and be home even faster." Ali said as he walked up to Darius.
"No, we can't risk all of us, the Scorpious is still out there-" Ali cuts him off.
"Exactly why we shouldn't split up, we're not even armed, how are you gonna hold out against the Scorpious on your own?" Ali questioned.
"I'm going alone, that's final." Darius stated.
Before Ali can reply, Brooklynn butts in.
"Again?! You don't always have to do everything alone." Brooklynn tried to pleade.
"Get to the boat, if Ben and I aren't there by Sun rise, well you know what that means, and you leave without us." Darius stated as he turned to leave.
"What?" Brooklynn questioned him.
Ali grabbed his arm swiftly to stop him.
Darius growled. "Let go!" Darius shouted.
"Why do you keep making it a mission to leave yourself behind, why do you have to do everything alone? How do you think any of us will live with ourselves knowing we let two of our family members die?" Ali questioned rapidly.
Darius almost faltered but he kept his glare as he ripped his arm away.
"Because if I don't make the sacrifice, someone else will have too! You think I want that on my conscience?" Darius questioned.
"And how do you think we feel? It doesn't exactly feel great to know we're just sitting back as you make every sacrifice." Ali fired back.
Darius was growing tired of Ali now, sometimes the All Star was too smart.
"Enough! I'm going alone! And that is final, I was the original leader, so just follow my orders and get them safely to the boat." Darius stated firmly as he glared up at the taller boy.
Ali gritted his teeth as the others stared between the two boys and the tension brewing between them.
"Fine, let's go guys." Ali said as he turned on his heel and began walking back to their base.
Darius then turned and ran into the jungle.
"Are you serious?" Kenji questioned as he watched Ali's retreating form.
Brooklynn was so conflicted right now, she didn't know what to feel, there was sadness, mixed with anger and hurt.
"He made a decision, right? Guess we gotta follow the leader's orders, idiot." Ali said the last part quietly.
"This is crazy." Sammy finally spoke up as they began walking back to camp.
Brooklynn had fell behind a bit due to her saddened state.
Yasmina was already conflicted at the relationship status been her and Ali, as things were evidently not the same.
Now that Darius and Ben are out there alone, it only added to her confused state.
Ali's mental was a whirlwind of emotions at the moment.
Suddenly a cracking sound caught his attention as he stopped on a dime causing the others to follow suit.
"What was that?" Ali questioned as they all stood in defensive positions, looking into the dark jungle.
"I don't see anything." Kenji whispered.
"I don't either...but I'm not in the mood to find out what that is." Ali said as they all nodded.
"What are we going to do now?" Sammy questioned.
"We only have one choice, we go to the boat, with or without them." Ali said, he felt his heart wrench at the thought of leaving his brothers behind.
He almost flinched as he noticed Brooklynn almost tearing up from the thought of leaving Darius behind.
Brooklynn then gained a determined look as she pulled out her walkie.
Darius
Darius was running through the jungle hard in search of Ben.
He stopped as he looked around. "Ben?" Darius questioned.
Suddenly his walkie began giving feedback.
"Darius? Darius do you copy?" Asked the voice of Brooklynn.
Darius cut the line as he completely ignored her.
He continued on his search for Ben as he walked through the jungle and called out his name.
"Ben!" Darius shouted, his voice cracking a bit.
Screaming in a dinosaur infested jungle probably wasn't the best idea however, he realized this as he heard loud footsteps in the distance.
This caused his eyes to widen in shock and fear.
Team Ali
The group had got the resources they needed and began walking towards the boat.
Yasmina and Sammy were at the back of the group as Yasmina supported the cowgirl.
Kenji and Brooklynn walked in the middle of the group.
Ali being the leader, walked ahead, albeit further than usual, he was being uncharacteristically distant.
Brooklynn had almost felt like Ali and Yasmina had switched personalities, was there something in that chain?
"Stupid Darius, thinking we're gonna leave without him on that stupid boat." Kenji complained as he kicked the rocks in the path around.
"Don't worry, he's got major FOMO, he'll make it there by Sun rise." Brooklynn said lightheartedly trying to stay positive, when in reality she was crying on the inside.
"How could he be so stupid and so smart at the same time?" Brooklynn mentally berated her crush.
Kenji wasn't that dim however, he could clearly see she was hurting, but he decided not to press.
Suddenly Ali stops ahead causing them all to stop in confusion as they walked up to him.
"What's wrong, Ali?" Kenji questioned.
"That, that is the problem." Ali said as he turned their attention to the fallen trees that were broken up in their path due to the previous stampedes.
They then walked closer to the debris to see if they can find a way around it.
"Everything's been smashed down or trampled, stupid Scorpious messing up that stupid path to the stupid boat." Kenji said as he kicked another rock.
Suddenly a tree falls almost flattening Kenji as he dodged out of the way with a yelp.
"Kenji, relax before you hurt yourself." Sammy reprimanded him as he groaned.
"Can't exactly tell him to relax, there's nothing to relax about right now." Ali stated as he crossed his arms.
Brooklynn frowned at this, Ali was usually the optimistic one that helped in situations like these, but in the state he was in, he'd be no help, she had to step up.
"It's okay, we just have to turn left at the bush that has the purple berry patch...which was..." Brooklynn trailed off as she turned to her left.
"Maybe that one?" Brooklynn questioned.
Ali sighs. "This is pointless, why the hell are we even trying?" He complained.
"Not helping." Brooklynn stated with an annoyed glare.
Sammy sat down on a rock with a slight wheeze, drawing their attention to Yasmina and herself as the track star knelt beside her.
Kenji ran over to his girlfriend frantically as he began checking her over.
"Sammy? What's wrong?" Kenji questioned.
"I'm okay Kenj, I just need to sit for now, that Scorpious is gonna find us before we find the boat." Sammy complained.
"Nah we'll be okay, I trust that our fearless leader can get us out of this, right Ali?" Yasmina questioned him feigning enthusiasm.
The others were shocked, Yasmina with a positive attitude was just a weird sight in general.
"What the heck was that...?" Kenji questioned in utter confusion.
"Gah! We don't have time for this! This is hopeless, how are we supposed to get to the boat with all this shit in the way!" Ali snapped as he punched a nearby boulder in rage, he had finally lost it.
The others gasped as they noticed red liquid running from where his fist was planted, and boulders obviously don't bleed.
Brooklynn dropped all of her resources and ran over to him quickly grabbing his arm before he can pull back.
She quickly noticed his fist was already turning purple and swelling as his blood dripped to the floor.
Even if Yasmina was conflicted about her feelings towards the All Star right now, she still cared about Ali deeply, seeing him hurt had an effect on her.
"You idiot! Why would you do that!?" Brooklynn yelled/asked.
"It doesn't hurt, just back off-ack!" Ali exclaimed as Brooklynn applied pressure to the wound and stared at him with a knowing glare.
"Doesn't hurt, right?" She asked as he gritted his teeth.
"It doesn't matter anyway, we're all gonna die, and there's nothing anyone can do about it." Ali stated harshly.
Yasmina, Sammy, and Kenji all look down in despair, Ali was supposed to be the soldier, the one who always kept his head up for their sake, but right now he seemed to be doing something he'd never done before, giving up, the domino effect was beginning.
Brooklynn was enraged, she couldn't control it anymore, and before she knew it her palm had collided with Ali's left cheek, a loud smack resonates through the group as the onlookers gasped.
Everyone looked on in shock, Brooklynn had really just slapped Ali.
He then looks down at Brooklynn with a shocked expression.
"Stop being such a selfish jerk! You think you're the only one that's hurting right now?" Brooklynn questioned as she got in his face much to his dismay.
"We're all in pain, you're not dealing with it in the right way." Brooklynn explained as she catches him off guard by pulling his head down to embrace him firmly causing his eyes to widen.
"We already have to worry about losing Darius and Ben, we don't want to lose the Ali we know and love either." Brooklynn said with a depressing tone.
"I-I'm sorry Brook, I don't know what came over me." Ali stated sincerely.
"It's okay, as a long you stop sulking and become our leader again, we'll forgive you." Brooklynn reprimanded him as she looked into his eyes.
"Right." Ali said with a nod as they smiled at eachother.
Yasmina watched this exchange with a deep frown as she began overthinking again.
"I knew he'd prefer someone like Brooklynn, she's so pretty and understanding and I'm just...normal at best." Yasmina mentally berated herself.
"Now give me your hand." Brooklynn said as she brandished some gauze and alcohol from the bag.
"Wait, I don't think that's nec-argh!" Ali exclaimed once more as Brooklynn applied the alcohol without a warning.
"Would you stop being such a baby? I thought people from New York were supposed to be tough." Brooklynn said as she started wrapping the gauze.
"Well ofcourse you would know right? Brooklynn that's not from Brooklyn-ack!" And for the umpteenth time Ali let out an uncharacteristic yelp as Brooklynn finished tying the gauze with a jerk.
"Wow, the big brave Ali was humbled by little old Brooklynn." Kenji said with a smirk as Ali growled at him.
"Voila, and your hand is now safely wrapped." Brooklynn smiled proudly at her work.
"Thanks Brooklynn." Ali said curtly before he stood up.
"Great, now if you two are done flirting, we still need to get out of here!" Kenji shouted.
Yasmina tensed at this comment, even though Kenji meant it as a joke, she did not know that.
Sammy felt Yasmina tense, and she would slap Kenji in the head if she could but she was too weak at the moment.
"Okay, we all just need to think for a second." Ali said as he ignored Kenji's comment.
"Wait, Darius always talks about how Stegosauruses use the trees to shed when we go to the boat and how that's the reason certain trees have gashes in them." Brooklynn announced.
"How is that supposed to help?" Sammy questioned.
"Because it's always the one specific tree he notices." Brooklynn turned to Ali.
"Good work Brook, let's move guys, the sooner we find that tree, the sooner we find that boat, and hopefully Darius and Ben." Ali said as he alongside Brooklynn turned and began walking.
Yasmina and Kenji help Sammy to her feet as the Texan groans.
As the three walk, Yasmina couldn't help but stare at Ali and Brooklynn walking ahead.
She would never admit aloud, but she was both jealous and hurt at the sight.
'Best to push those thoughts to the side anyways, I never stood a chance.' Boy was she wrong.
Darius
Darius' search for Ben was hindered as he was forced to hide behind a tree.
There was a crunching sound that kept scaring him as he breathed heavily.
The creature was about to emerge, causing Darius to visibly tense.
As the animal came into view Darius couldn't help but sigh in relief as he realized it was only a Sinoceratops.
He was about to get up and walk away but he notices the dinosaur roaring weakly and walking slowly.
The herbivore suddenly collapses as Darius gasped again.
"What's wrong..." He questioned before he realized the issue, there was a Scorpious quill in the creature's tail.
Darius then began cautiously walking towards the animal to try and help.
The Ben mission would have to wait.
"Easy..." Darius reassured the dinosaur as he grasps the quill.
Then with a grunt he rips the quill out swiftly, which caused the dinosaur to let out a pained/angered roar.
She quickly rose up and charged after Darius, who was forced to run, less he risked becoming impaled.
As Darius ran he was forced to dodge the charging Sinoceratops as she rammed her horn in to a tree trunk.
Darius used that opportunity to change directions and run away from her.
He looked back, and to his fortune the dinosaur did not give chase.
However Darius was not paying attention to what was ahead of him as he almost ran off the edge of a cliff.
"Woahhh!" Darius exclaimed as he tried to stop himself.
He still fell over but he was lucky enough to grasp onto the cliff and pull himself back up with some struggle.
Darius lets out some heavy pants as he looked over to the Sinoceratops, who was calmed now.
The dinosaur then walked away much to Darius happiness.
He was not happy for long however, as he heard the earth beneath him crumble.
"Ahhh!" Darius shouted as the rock broke underneath him broke and he began falling to what he knew was imminent death.
Before Darius could fall to his demise however, he felt a hand grab his.
Darius gasps as he looks up to notice it was Ben holding onto him.
"What the heck...are you doing?" Ben questioned as he frowned at Darius.
"I'm here to...save your life." Darius chuckled at his own irony, if anything Ben had saved his life.
Ben sighs as he pulled Darius up.
The two boys then began walking through the jungle.
Although, Darius was more so struggling to keep up with Ben.
"Ben! Ugh, wait up...Ben!" Darius shouted as Ben seemingly ignores him and continues walking at his own pace.
"Okay so, we'll meet the others at the boat, if we go now, we'll be there before sun rise." Darius assured him.
Ben ignored him once more as he was seemingly searching for something.
"Uh, Ben? Boat's back this way..." Darius reminded him.
"Hello? Ben?" Darius ran this time to catch up to the stubborn boy who had knelt by a boulder and began examining it.
"Are you even listening?" Darius questioned him, as Ben simply said nothing and continued his search.
"Ben, stop." This time it was a clear command as Ben stopped a few feet in front of Darius.
Ben then faced Darius with an expression that said he was not in the mood at the moment.
"Look, I know you're worried...Bumpy could be anywhere-" Ben cuts Darius off.
"Exactly! She could be anywhere the Scorpious Rex is, I need to find her before it does." Ben declares.
"You wanna go to the boat, then go, no one's stopping you." Ben said as he turned and walked away.
Darius frowned and looked down as he then looked back up a bit and began walking after Ben.
The Others
"Any of you trees missing any bark?" Kenji questioned as the entire group minus Yasmina and Sammy was searching.
"I don't think the trees are gonna talk back, Kenj." Brooklynn reminded him.
"How bout you big guy?" Kenji ignored her statement.
Brooklynn sighed before turning to Ali who had been searching up ahead.
"Any luck up there, G?" Brooklynn questioned him.
"Nope, there's so many trees to look through." Ali said as he walked to another.
As Yasmina was helping Sammy walk, the texan almost trips.
"Woah, watch your step." Yasmina said.
"Nice job, you're such a trooper." Yasmina said trying to stay positive.
"Uhuh..." Sammy said slowly.
"You keep this pace up, you're gonna beat me to the boat." Yasmina said once more with that uncharacteristic positivity.
"Yas." Sammy stated as she stops moving.
"Yea Sammy?" Yasmina questioned.
"Why are you acting so...not like you?" Sammy questioned her.
Yasmina's eyes widened. "What do you mean? I-" Yasmina cuts herself off as she noticed Sammy's look, she was not buying it.
The track star then sighs. "Okay Sammy look, I'm only being this way to try and...keep hope I guess, in this situation an extra amount of negativity won't help anyone." Yasmina partially lied.
"That's not all there is, is it?" Sammy questioned rhetorically.
Yasmina resisted the urge to sigh once and more, the cow girl read her too easily.
"Okay Sammy, I'm only gonna tell you this because you're my best friend, but...I'm doing this for Ali." Yasmina explained.
Sammy arched her brow before she let out a small chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Yasmina asked incredulously.
"Whoops, sorry but, I knew that already Yas, it was super obvious, I see the way you were looking at him and Brooklynn." Sammy told her as Yasmina's eyes widended once more.
"Wait, so is that why you've been acting more positive...? You want him to like you and you don't think he'll like the real you?" Sammy questioned as Yasmina could only nod solemnly.
"Yasmina, how dare you? You don't just go and change who you are just to impress someone you love, if Ali really loved you back, it should be for you and not someone you're pretending to be." Sammy reprimanded her.
Yasmina smiled at Sammy, she always knew the right things to say.
"Also, I don't see Ali's chain around Brooklynn's neckkkk." Sammy sang as they chuckled a bit.
"Thank you...Sammy." She said as they smiled at eachother and continued walking.
"Okay, I think it's time for a water break." Kenji said as they all agreed on that.
Sammy sat down on a rock and was drinking out of a metal container.
Kenji drank some from it as well as he let out a refreshed sigh.
Yasmina and Brooklynn then took their share as it was now Ali's turn.
Ali then tried to use his right hand only for him to cringe at the pain.
"Argh, damnit...I can't drink like this." Ali said, then realizing it would be hard to drink using his offhand.
The others watched him struggle for a bit.
Kenji snickered a bit as Sammy nudged him and frowned at him.
"Right, sorry." Kenji apologizes.
Sammy then looks at Yasmina, the track star looks back at her as she motioned towards Ali with her head.
"Oh...um right." Yasmina said as she got up and walked over to the all star.
"L-Let me help you." Yasmina said as Ali sighed and relaxed.
She picked up the container as she put it to his mouth and he began drinking.
Yasmina removes the container as Ali sighed in relief.
"Thank you, Yas, I can always count on you track star." Ali said as Yasmina blushed a bit before heading back to Sammy.
Thankfully Ali did not notice her blush.
Sammy then gave her a thumbs up and a huge grin.
"Okay you guys, we need to keep searching for that tree, let's get back to it." Ali stated.
"Righ-" Brooklynn is cutoff as they heard stomping and loud roars in the distance.
"So...I'm not the only one seein' floatin fairies, right?" Sammy questioned as a herd of bio-luminescent Parasaurolophus was charging at them.
"Wait aren't those-" Yasmina cuts Brooklynn off.
"The Parasaurolophuses, from the caves!" Yasmina confirmed.
"What the hell are they doing out here then?" Ali questioned.
"No time! Move!" Kenji shouted as they all screamed at the stampede heading towards them before hopping over the fallen tree and hiding behind it.
Ali hugged Yasmina close to him as they tried to stay as small as possible.
Kenji does the same with Sammy as she whimpered.
Brooklynn was in the middle so she was basically sandwiched in, which was a plus in this situation.
Suddenly a loud blood curdling screech sounded throughout the jungle, and it definitely did not belong to a Parasaurolophus.
Their eyes widened in fear at the sound.
"Oh no..." Ali stated.
Darius and Ben
They were both searching for Bumpy, although Darius wasn't being as inconspicuous as Ben.
Ben had been quietly inspecting a Berry patch as he pulled off some dino drool.
"Bumpy! Bumpy!" He shouted as Ben grew tired of the yelling.
"Shush! You want the Scorpious Rex to hear you? Bumpy's close, you could tell by the-" Ben is cutoff by Darius.
"Drool, yea got it." Darius stated as Ben wiped it off on his shirt.
"Bumpy's favorite berry patch, it where we first tried em' together." Ben explained.
"Whenever she finishes here, she usually moves on to the patch near the waterfall." Ben continued as he turned once more.
"Okay, let's go to the waterfall." Darius stated only to be shushed by Ben.
They both turn as they heard loud steps coming their way.
Ben then drags Darius to hide behind a tree as they both stayed quiet.
He then poked his head to see what was making the loud stomps.
"The Scorpious?" Darius questioned him.
"No...it's steps aren't that heavy." Ben denied as they waited anxiously.
The stomps got closer and closer as the bushes started to rustle.
"I think it's..." Ben trails off as Bumpy emerges from the bushes and roars.
"Bumpy!" Ben finishes as he charged his best friend.
He embraced the Ankylosaurus as he laughed joyously.
"You're safe!" Ben shouted as Bumpy bellowed.
Darius then walks up to them.
"I guess calling her name did work." The dino nerd said smugly.
Ben then looked at him with a deadpanned expression.
"Glad you're okay girl." Darius said as he rubbed her head.
"Phew! We were so worried, now let's all get to the boat before-" Darius is cutoff by Ben.
"I uh...I'm not going with you." Ben said as looked at Darius firmly.
Darius was still confused as to what he meant.
"Uh- fine, stay mad at me, we don't have to walk together, I'll stay ten paces behind you, cool? Doesn't matter how we get to the boat, just as long as we get there." Darius said with a shrug.
"No, I'm not leaving the island." Ben clarified.
Darius sighed and rolled his eyes at Ben.
"Ugh, this again, Ben, Bumpy fits on the boat and Bumpy is with us now, ergo boat time for all of us." Darius said as he walked over to Ben and got behind him.
"Let's go!" He shouted as he began pushing Ben.
Ben skidded to a stop as he faced Darius.
"It was never just about Bumpy, it's about me too, I need to stay." Ben said with a deep frown as Darius looked at him as if he had grown two heads.
"Ben...that's crazy, you NEED to go home." Darius reminded him.
"This IS my home, I'm happy here, I've got Bumpy, I've got grubs, I've got the thick jungle air, what more could I want?" Ben questioned him.
"A bathroom for starters!" Darius shouted.
"I'm more me on this island than I've ever been, the best version of me, I've changed..." Ben stated.
"You'll never make it." Darius tried to reason.
"Why don't you trust me?" Ben questioned.
"Because you're just a kid." Darius argued.
"Like that matters." Ben stated.
"Heh, Bumpy and I defeated-" Darius cuts Ben off with a groan as he gripped his own head in distress.
"If you tell me one more time how you defeated Toro, I'm going to lose it!" Darius threatened.
"Well, I hope you can find it! Because we did defeat Toro." Ben stated as the animosity between the two rose by the second.
Ben then gets into Darius' face.
"So we can do anything." Ben declared.
"This is ridiculous, I tried being patient but, we're out of time, it's almost sun rise." Darius shouted as they both formed fists.
Bumpy bellowed in distress as the two exhanged heated words.
"Darius, you're not listening..." Ben trailed off.
"No! YOU'RE not listening." Darius countered as his brown eyes clashed with Ben's blue eyes.
"I'm sorry you're not happy with my decision, but it's not up to you, I like who I am here and I'm staying and that's final." Ben stated firmly as he walked by and brushed Darius' shoulder with his own.
Darius was losing his cool now as he turned and walked after Ben.
He swiftly grabbed Ben's arm as he tried to walk to the direction of the boat.
"Hey!" Ben shouted as he ripped his arm away.
Darius then grabs his shoulder as Ben grunts and shoves Darius back a bit.
This time before Darius could even touch Ben, he shoves Darius hard enough for him to fall on his backside with a yelp.
Darius then got up and lunged at Ben as he hugged his midsection.
The two then began tussling as they fell to the ground, Darius' walkie falling to the ground as a result.
Bumpy bellowed as her two human friends tried to hurt eachother.
Ben had the upper hand as Darius tried relentlessly to get him off of him.
"We blew up a gondola together! Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Darius questioned as he struggled.
"I blow stuff up all the time, you're not specia-oof!" Ben exclaimed as Darius flips him over and takes control of the fight.
"I'm trying to help you!" Darius shouts.
"By controlling me?" Ben questioned as he got out of Darius' grasp and began crawling away.
Darius reaches for Ben but is forced to dodge as Ben kicked at him.
He then lunges as Ben again as he tackled him to the ground.
Ben pushes Darius off as he was above him again.
He rears his fist back to strike Darius.
"I'm not abandoning you again!" Darius shouted as Ben stopped himself immediately.
Ben's expression was one of confusion.
They both looked into eachother's eyes.
Bumpy bellows before anything else can be said, she did not like the animosity.
Ben got up and walked over to her.
"Sorry you had to see that Bumps, Darius and I...we're working through some stuff." He apologized.
Darius then walks over and picks up his walkie talkie.
Bumpy suddenly roars as she walks into the bushes.
"Woah." Ben stated as he followed her.
Darius followes as well as they noticed why Bumpy had went there.
There was a small herd of Ankylosauruses as one of them licked Bumpy.
The two boys stood in shock and awe.
The others
They were all still huddled behind the log trying to wait out the stampede.
Suddenly a Parasaurolophus trips on the log and falls into the tree causing them to yelp a little.
Soon two more collided with the tree as a branch began falling from the top.
"Move!" Ali shouted as they all got out of the way with screams.
Luckily they were able to evade the branch.
"We're not off the hook yet, we have to find a way out of here." Brooklynn reminded them.
"They're running in a straight line, just stay behind the glow in the dark Parasaurolophuses!" Ali shouted as Kenji and Brooklynn took off.
He waited for Yasmina and Sammy, just to make sure everyone was safe.
"I don't know if I can do this." Sammy whined due to her pain.
"Oh no you don't, we didn't come all this way for you to give up now Guitierrez!" Yasmina shouted as she pulled the Texan to her feet and began running with her.
Ali then began running behind them as they tried to stay out of the way of the crazed dinos.
"I know where we are! The dock is this way!" Kenji shouted as he led them to the dock.
"Should be right up ah-woah!" Kenji exclaims as a Parasaurolophus to his right goes down.
Brooklynn screams as one goes down to her left.
Ali being at the back then notices a carcass being dragged through the brush.
"Guys, we need to pick up the pace! We've got company." Ali said as they were all now aware of the Scorpious.
The monster then lunges directly at them, thankfully it missed and attacked a Parasaurolophus instead.
The group still turned to be safe and headed in another direction.
Sammy fell down as they all stopped.
They were forced to gasp as they noticed that monster dragging another dead Parasaurolophus into the bushes.
"Damnit..." Ali muttered as he looked down and closed his eyes.
"Come on guys, we gotta keep moving." Ali said as Sammy got up and they ran away from the area.
As they got a safe distance away they decided to walk to catch their breath.
"We should check in on
Darius, yea?" Brooklynn questioned as she got her walkie out.
"Darius." Brooklynn said into the walkie.
"If you can hear me, we just had a run in with the Scorpious but, everyone's okay...except Ali because he may have a broken hand but that was technically his fault." Brooklynn explained.
"No, technically it was Darius' fault for putting me through so much stress." Ali reasoned.
"Anyways...we're headed to the boat now, should be there any minute, we'll meet you there." Brooklynn informed him as she cut the line.
"Don't worry Brook, he's probably fine maybe the battery ran low like mines did." Ali tried to reassure her.
"They'll be fine." Ali added in as she smiled a bit.
Suddenly they hear Kenji gasp as they all came upon the scene.
It was the boat, in all it's glory, finally.
Sammy perked up immediately as she ran up to Kenji.
"Haha!" She giggled as she pecked him on the cheek before running off.
Mr. VIP was definitely left stunned as Brooklynn and Ali chuckled at his face.
Yasmina then walked up to the group as she smiled as well.
"Wanna go together, Yas?" Ali questioned as he offered her his hand.
"Right." Yasmina said as she took his hand and they began walking to the boat.
They smiled at eachother fondly.
Brooklynn smiled at them, she too knew how much Yas and Ali loved eachother they were both just too thick headed to notice apparently.
She then turned to Kenji who was still smiling in bliss from the cheek peck.
"Okay lover boy, let's move it." Brooklynn said as she punched his arm softly before they made their way to the boat as well.
"Woohoo! And I thought the first time I found this boat was the happiest I'd ever be to see it!" Sammy shouted as they all got onto it.
"Would it be weird if I hugged it? That'd be weird right?" Sammy questioned the others.
"Go for it Samster." Ali said with a smile.
"I'm gonna hug it!" Sammy shouted.
"Careful Sammy, we don't want Kenji going into jealous mode and tearin' the ship apart bolt from bolt." Ali said as they all chuckled minus Kenji who glared at him.
"Well I'm glad to see we're all back to norma-" Brooklynn is cutoff by Sammy hurling into the ocean.
They all stared in shock and disgust. "Almost..." Brooklynn added in.
"I don't think there ever was a normal for us." Yasmina stated as they all thought it over before ultimately agreeing.
Ben and Darius
Ben and Darius still stared at Bumpy's new family fondly, atleast she was happy.
Darius touches Ben's shoulder before they turn to walk away.
They suddenly stop dead in their tracks when they hear a loud blood curdling screech, no doubt belonging to island's new apex predator, the Scorpious Rex.
Bumpy and her family bellow before getting into a defensive formation.
The Scorpious got closer to the herd as it growled lowly.
"Bumpy watch out!" Ben shouted in despair as he watched the Scorpious walk closer to the herd.
Darius stops Ben before he ran at the herd.
"You can't help her!" Darius shouted.
"But they might be able to, herds protect their young." Darius explained.
This seemed to be true, because as the Scorpious now stood in front of the herd all the older Ankylosauruses stood in a protective circle around Bumpy.
They all roared threateningly at the Scorpious.
The Scorpious did not back down as it roared back just as loudly.
The monster walked around the circle trying to find an opening but no matter what, it could not get through all that muscle and armor.
Not of it's attacks were effective afainst the Ankylosauruses defenses.
The Scorpious finally had enough as it turns and runs off, letting out a roar of anger.
"Woo! That was awesome!" Darius praised the Ankylosaurus herd.
"Wait, if Brooklynn just ran into the Scorpious Rex...and now it's all the way over here, it's gotta be the fastest dinosaur ever." Darius said as the realization of how dangerous this dinosaur was was more prominent now.
Ben now stood in front of the herd.
"The herd can protect Bumpy in a way I can't...I have to let her go." Ben said solemnly.
"You're being a good friend." Darius said as he walked up and put a hand on his shoulder.
"You're doing what's best for her." Darius told him.
"So why can't you do that for me? Staying here is what's best for me." Ben said as he turned to face Darius.
"No, I let you go once...everything you went through was because of me." Darius said solemnly.
Ben then touched his shoulder. "None of that was your fault, all you've ever done is try to protect me, you and Ali put our lives before yours, and I appreciate you guys for that." Ben began.
"So I'm not mad at you, I never was, I...I love you bud." Ben admitted as Darius stared at him in shock.
Darius looked frantic for a bit before speaking again.
"We're quite a pair, huh?" Darius questioned.
"Dino nerd and island boy." Darius stated.
"Excuse me, island man." Ben corrected him.
Darius let out a hearty laugh at that comment.
Ben then extends his hand. "It's been a pleasure." Ben said to Darius.
Darius looks at his hand for a second before he disregarded it and went in for a hug.
"Likewise." Darius stated as Ben returned the hug.
"Tell the others I'll miss them." Ben said.
"Absolutely not, you have to say it in person they probably won't even agree with you staying much as saying goodbye without saying it directly to them." Darius reprimanded him.
"Fine fine, no one said it'd be easy." Ben said as they separated.
The others
They were all waiting anxiously for their two friends.
'Come on guys, where are you?' Ali mentally questioned.
"It's Sun rise..." Brooklynn stated as the sky had become bright..
"We're not actually gonna leave without them...right?" Kenji questioned Ali.
"No, no matter what happens, we're going to wait for them to show up." Ali stated.
Suddenly they hear bushes rustling as they walked to that side of the boat.
"Darius! Ben!" Kenji chuckled as they all smiled happily.
"Yes!" Sammy shouted.
"No one gets left behind, and I meant that." Ali said as they all cheered.
Ben and Darius
Little did the others know, Ben and Darius were nowhere near the boat as they both ran hard to get there faster.
"Come on Ben, we're almost there!" Darius shouted as they panted heavily.
After a bit more running they finally reached the docks...only thing was there was no sign of the others or the boat.
"We're too late..." Darius said in a hushed tone.
Suddenly a loud roar sang through the air as the two boys became frantic as they looked around.
They both whimpered as they noticed the Scorpious Rex a few meters to their right.
The dinosaur sniffed around before it noticed their present and turned to them.
It then began growling as it menacingly stalker towards them.
They both backed into a tree as the beast roared.
Suddenly they heard a growl from behind as they turned to see their worst nightmare...it was a second Scorpious Rex, but how...?
"There's two of them." Darius stated in utter disbelief.
The two hybrids roared loudly as Ben and Darius stared in shock and horror.
This may have been their darkest hour, even if it was morning time.