The Sacrifices We Make | Ben x Yaz | Camp Cretaceous

It's Hard To Let Go

~Ben~

It was hard for me to leave Bumpy. It's hard to let go. She's been with me since the moment she hatched in the Genetics Lab. I had to let her go. . .she belongs with the rest of the Ankylosaurs, with the rest of her herd. I have to admit. . .I couldn't protect her like her herd did.

We left Isla Nublar, which was the greatest time of our lives. Everyone was so happy. If only. . .

"Hey, Ben." Yaz said, walking up behind me.

"Oh, hey Yaz." I responded, avoiding her deep brown eyes.

"Finally off this killer dino island!" She exclaimed in joy. I haven't seen her like this in some time. It made me happy. "But. . .you don't seem too excited about it."

"I just miss Bumpy. She's always been there for me, always there to protect me. And now I'm letting her go. We've been through so much together, I-it's just hard for me to let go of her." I explained, but I felt her hand gently rest on my shoulder.

"It's okay to be sad. But she belongs with the rest of her herd. And, if you ever need someone to talk to or share your emotions with, I'm here to listen." Yaz calmly stated as she sat next to me.

"Thanks, Yaz." I say, meeting her eyes and giving her a smile. 

"Now, why don't we go swim to take your mind off things? It'll be fun!" she suggested. Without answering, I stood up from my spot as Yaz left to go change into her swimsuit. 

I was waiting at the top of the boat when she came up and stood next to me. Before I could say anything, Yaz pushed me off the edge of the boat. I splashed into the water as Yaz dived in after me. I resurfaced with her, spitting out the salt water in my mouth. We both began laughing, and Yaz was right. Having fun with my friend really took my mind off of Bumpy.

~Yaz~ 

It was nice to be off of that killer dino island. I was so excited to leave this place and return home, but I can't imagine letting all of my first group of real friends go, now that I'm thinking about it. It's hard to let go of people you're not ready to let go of yet, and I can feel what Ben went through when he had to leave Bumpy. I pushed these thoughts off of my mind and swam to the boat with Ben. 

"That was fun!" Ben yelled. "But, I think I'm gonna stop swimming although we haven't been doing it for a long time."

"That's okay. Anything you want to share? You still seem a little upset." I asked him quietly, looking into his blue eyes with a sorrowful expression. 

"I don't think so. . ." he replied, but before he could finish his sentence, the boat shook, causing me to slip and fall into Ben's arms.

"You okay?" Ben questioned me when the boat stopped shaking.

"Uh. . .Yeah." I say, scrambling out of his arms. 

"What was that?" I heard Darius call up to Kenji.

"The propeller is jammed." Kenji yelled back as Brooklyn walked out with him. 

"We're stuck in a kelp forest, so someone has to go under to get the propeller un-stuck." Brooklynn said.

"I mean, how hard can that be?" Sammy asked nervously as she walked up and stood beside me. 

"But, where there's a kelp forest, there's usually sharks. . ." Brooklynn continued, her voice trailing off. Not sharks. . . I thought to myself.

"I'll pass. . .I was messed up for life after seeing this one show as a kid. ." I say.

"I'll do it." Darius offered, unsure of his answer. Ben left to grab a rope and tied it around Darius's waist once he got back. I took the other end of the rope and tied it to the pole of the ladder that leads to the upper deck. I tightened the rope, and soon after, Darius jumped into the water. I held onto the rope, ready to pull him out of the water with Ben. 

"Uh. . .guys!" Kenji shouted, getting everyone's attention. "There's something in the water!"

"Oh no. . .please don't be a shark, please. . ." Sammy prayed to herself. Darius came up, gasping for air.

"Darius! There's a shark in the water! You need to get out!" Brooklynn yelled to him. A wave of shock and fear flooded across his face. Ben started to pull the rope with all his might, and so did I. Darius was trying to swim to the boat, but it was drifting. Sammy headed to the edge of the boat and reached out her hand for Darius as I looked off into the distance.

"The shark's coming closer!" I shrieked.

"Darius, hurry!" Kenji nervously yelled. "There's something else in the water too! It's huge!" Brooklynn came rushing down the ladder to help pull on the rope. The next thing I knew, the Mosasaur from Aquatic Area 1 opened its mouth and ate the shark. Everyone gasped at the sight of this aquatic dinosaur.

"How did she get all the way out here?" Sammy asked in utter confusion. 

"I thought we were done with dinosaurs!" I screamed, jerking backwards when the rope between me, Ben and Darius broke. Kenji rushed down and dived into the water, grabbing Darius and swimming back to the boat as fast as he could. I helped Darius out of the water, then helped Kenji. The Mosasaur swam closer, doing all sorts of things to try and make the boat sink or tip over. I could hear everyone's yelling as the motion of the boat got more violent. The boat tipped to the right and I was about to fall into the water,  but Ben caught me by my wrist. A quarter of my shin was submerged in the ice-cold salt water, and I could feel Ben trying to pull me up. When the boat went upright and was floating on the water peacefully, I crawled up to Ben and pulled him into a hug. I could feel myself trembling as my grip on Ben got tighter. Just when I thought we were all safe, half of the Mosasaur's body emerged from the water, and everyone was in shock and fear. Ben wrapped his arms around me as he closed his eyes, and I did the same. Then, the Mosasaur came crashing onto the boat, making us all submerge into the water.