CHAPTER VII: Buck
As opposed to the excitement and joy that would've been expected from meeting Buck in person, who was at this time sitting on the branch of an intertwining collection of palm trees, Michael and Nathan reacted like it was a normal thing, which was because of the prior heated tone building up between them.
"Alright Buck?" Michael said, his reaction being incredibly normal at meeting Buck, "how're you doing?"
Buck continued his over watching perspective in the branches as he played around with his 'machete' in the form of Rudy's tooth.
"I'm doing alright matey, but I gather the same can't be said for yourselves. I've been watching you longer than you've even been aware," said the weasel, "what's the buzz?"
Nathan's reaction too was at best normal and mild upon seeing Buck for the first time in person. Again, Buck looked exactly the same as he did in the movie, and for anyone to meet a character in real life would've sent them into a craze of energy and excitement, but for Nathan and Michael the situation had simply become too tense between themselves.
Right away, Michael thought Buck would be the solution to taking them to Lava Falls and back, and all of a sudden they weren't lost anymore, because Buck knew his way around the dinosaur world. Suddenly, they were both given a massive life jacket.
"Pretty much, we're trying to walk to Lava Falls and back, we never expected to find this place, especially considering where we're from. We're just going on a massive hike basically, it's so surreal to actually be down here," said Michael, "it's still surreal, but that's what we're doing."
"Now why on earth would a couple of oddballs like yourselves want to go there?" Buck questioned.
"Just because of the hike, I love exploring new places and we'd literally just be going there and going back."
"You can't be exploring a place like here and expecting it to end well, surely? I ought to not even tell you about the time I had to help a bunch of mammoths-"
"To rescue a sloth? we know what happened, because we watched it all."
Buck was taken off guard. These two strange beings, whom he'd never seen their kind before, somehow knew about his adventures with Manny, Ellie and Diego in rescuing Sid. It bewildered him. So much so that he took a giant leap from the branches and to the ground, right in front of them. He studied them briefly like they were some sort of alien like creatures, holding his Rudy tooth weapon as he always did.
"I've never seen you bunch here ever before...how do you know about all that? you know, the whole rescuing the sloth thing that I did?" Buck asked.
"Realistically mate if I told you, you wouldn't believe it. We just both know, that's as much as I should say just so you don't lose your head."
"No it's just that...I've never seen creatures like you guys before, and you also talk like me and that herd I guided down here...what are you, and are you some sort of creepy psychics?"
"You've never seen humans before Buck?" Michael asked.
"Nope. I don't even know what that is."
"We're humans, I don't know how else to describe it really," Michael shrugged, looking at Nathan, "yeah, we're humans."
"Humans. What a funny name for a species. I know I'm known as a weasel which makes me sound like a weak little thing but I've fought a dinosaur before and I've got his tooth right here."
Buck showed his weapon to Nathan and Michael. The tooth looked as damage free as it possibly could've remained given the circumstances. It looked like quite a sharp one too.
"But nonetheless, I'm quite glad I stumbled upon you two HOO-mans here. But what I ain't so sure about is whether you want to actually carry on down here. You obviously know your stuff about this place, somehow?" Buck said.
"We just want to go to Lava Falls and back, then we'll be on our way out. We were lost initially until you showed up."
"For the record, Buck," Nathan said, jumping into the conversation as the three of them were surrounded by the thick greenery of the jungle, "I actually want to go back home, I know entirely what you're saying. Where we both come from, we work for a living and we've got families, and I don't feel comfortable being down here anymore."
Buck noticed the conflicting ideas of the two humans in front of him. He'd been watching them ever since they'd petted that Brachiosaurus, he saw the whole thing. The adventurous weasel still couldn't comprehend seeing two 'creatures' like Nathan and Michael down here, but they seemed to be just as intelligent as himself and as talkative as the herd was.
"You still want to go back?" Michael asked Nathan, "we've got Buck here now and you still want to go back home?"
Nathan had developed a buildup of anxiety from that brief debacle he and Michael went through, of being lost. Even though Buck was here now, he still felt unsafe down here and he wanted to go back up, knowing full well he'd be able to return home later tonight to his family. But his anxiety had caused him to also become agitated.
"Are you gonna say anything productive mate?" Nathan asked Michael, "what's your problem?"
Michael couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"What?" he said, "what on earth are you on about?"
"One way or another, we're both heading out of here and back home, the excitement has well and truly been destroyed for me. I ain't gonna risk getting lost down here and potentially losing my life."
"You're talking a load of hyperbole, and again, you can't make me go back, and you won't."
Buck could feel the tension buildup. He was literally in the middle of this heated exchange of words between the two humans and he wasn't quite sure how to respond.
"You think I'll go back out here knowing I'd have left you here risking your life? that ain't gonna happen, and you'll thank me for it."
"I tell you what," Michael said, putting his bag down to the floor, "if you try and drag me out of here, I'm gonna do what I can to remain. You're not gonna dictate to me or condescend me."
Upon seeing Michael throw his bag to the floor, Buck felt like he had to intervene at this point.
"HOLD ON A TICK," Buck yelled, raising his small arms up into the air alongside his Rudy tooth, "Michelle, is it?"
"Michael."
"Ah, gotcha - look, I understand the desire on your part to come and explore this here world, but if you truly know your stuff, you'll know about...you know, the beast."
"I know about Rudy."
"Right then, so that settles the case. For your own sake, you probably ought to head out of here before anything happens. Rudy stalks and he victimizes his prey with no mercy and he'll no doubt be scouting the vicinity like he's on a patrol. I don't want either of you strange utterly confusing...creatures? to die."
Nathan nodded entirely with Buck. This wasn't about exploring the dinosaur world or getting excited at being here, or even seeing Buck in person anymore - this was about being smart for Nathan, and he couldn't agree more with Buck.
"Been trying to say that for the past few minutes Buck, is that what it'll take, Michael? the words of a talking weasel from a movie to get sense into you?" he said.
"Be that as it may," continued Buck, "I've always been quite a daring chap myself, if you truly want to venture down here with my guidance, how can I turn down the offer?"
Michael perked up. Buck's sudden 'gotcha' towards Nathan had prompted him to nod smugly at his friend, who could only glare with a face that could only be described as stating 'what on earth are you doing?'
"Exactly," said Michael, "just...why not? we'll be there and back before the end of the day, and Buck's gonna take us. Get off your high horse and actually relax Nathan."
Buck nodded back at Michael as the weasel genuinely had some doubts about them taking the hike through this world given its various dangers and such, but at the same time he couldn't turn down the opportunity to once again be some sort of tour guide through the dinosaur world. He was always for the risks, always for the challenges.
Nathan was too panicked from that initial stint of being lost to come back to how he was beforehand. The biggest fear he had was venturing deeper into the dinosaur world, trouble arising, and potentially losing his life. He couldn't stop thinking about his family and his friends back at home, the more he remained down here. The excitement was completely and utterly destroyed for him.
"You call it my high horse, I call it fearing for my life. Put aside the fact that this is from the movie, we're in a literal jungle full of dinosaurs, and particularly intelligent ones. Why would you want to carry on down here?"
"Listen," said Buck, "for what it's worth, I don't know who you both are or where you've both come from, but I make this promise. Any trouble that arises, the second it does, I'll escort you both back out of here and to the exit hole. You're looking at Buck, and I happen to be the most competent formidable tour guide of this whole place! it's as if I'm the only living weasel down here who does it...wait, that's because I am!"
Nathan scratched the back of his neck in complete hesitation as Michael leaned down to pick his bag up off the ground. He unzipped it and pulled out the first bottle of water. All of these exchanges had made his mouth dry and so he needed a cold drink.
"The only type of conflict I like is with Rudy, I don't wanna be seeing it with some fancy looking creatures to whom I've absolutely no idea about. Follow my lead - what's your name again?" asked Buck.
"Nathan."
"Like I say, any remote hint of danger, we're out of here. To be honest with you, I should be charging you but I'm a generous sort of chap, I'm surprised I even let the herd get away without paying up for my services for rescuing their sloth."
Nathan felt like Buck was just waffling on at this point. All of the cheesy stuff he wasn't even cracking a smile at, neither was Michael. The two of them just wanted to carry on. But for Nathan, this was a tough decision - does he proceed on knowing he's got the verbal promise from Buck that they'll be safely taken back to the exit if anything goes wrong?
Or does he go with his gut instinct and just walk all the way back through the jungles and mazes of cycads and palm trees and rocky terrain, to return to the exit and go back out of the fissure to the surface?