Jurassic World- Camp Cretaceous: Retold

The Dino Nerd

It was a chilly November evening and inside the Bowman household, 12 year old Darius Bowman did anything but study for the load of tests that awaited him the following week. He was too enthralled in his current gaming session, VR headset over his eyes and fingers mashing the buttons on his controller. His character rushed through the thick foliage of Isla Nublar behind Dr. Meriwether, who demanded they keep running, chased down by a pack of Velociraptors. The two stopped under a large boulder, the older character hushing and motioning Darius's character to hide with him under the shade of a large boulder.

"I think we lost 'em. We gotta get to the chopper," Merriwether said, voice hushed but commanding. Their small break from running was cut short with some dirt falling from above. The game's camera panned up to a Velociraptor standing atop a log which bridged two boulders. It called for its packmates, which soon joined. Darius's character sprinted once more, Merriwether several steps ahead alteady.

"Raptor bones?-" Darius blurted out, storing that knowledge in his mind. That had to be there for a reason. And that reason was a step closer for him, to beating the game. The two found themselves at a river bed, Meriwether wasting no time in skipping across, demanding Darius's character follow him. Darius, however, stayed put.

"No! We can use the river to mask our scent and-" he found himself cut off with a gasp as the raptors skipped over his head and across the river. Meriwether desperately dived behind a bush, and that was where the NPC met his end. The raptors pounced, and a few screams and the rustling of the bush let him know he was on his own for the rest of it. Just then, Darius's heart skipped a beat, the ground rumbling as loud and heavy footsteps approached. After a low growl came from above, the camera panned upwards to the massive head of the Tyrannosaurus rex. Unable to react in time, Darius found himself staring at a Game Over! screen. Dang it.

This had been his life ever since this game had come out at the start of October. Wake up, go to school, get home, play the game, go to bed, rinse, wash, and repeat. School had been a blur for the boy over the past month, but he managed to do just enough to keep As and Bs on his record. He was a smart kid. Resourceful, too. But homework had been a big issue as of late, constantly failing to remember to do it before going to bed.

"Oh well, I'll get back to it when I beat this-" he was interrupted from his train of thought by his VR headset being suddenly yanked above his eyes. He immediately gave a small glare at the culprit.

"Not cool, Brand," he said, his 17-year old brother smirking.

"Yeah, like you know what cool is," the senior retorted. Darius tried to get back to the game, but his brother pushed his chair to the side, and the two briefly wrestled before the older sibling pushed his brother's chair back, sending it spinning softly until it met with the frame of Darius's bed. The younger boy crossed his arms and intensified the glare towards his brother. Brand reached up to grab a magazine, briefly flipping through the pages with a chuckle upon noting the glare.

"Aw, come on, man, the dinos get you and that old dude every time," he pointed out.

"His name is Dr. Meriwether," Darius quickly corrected, pushing back towards the computer and taking the magazine from his older brother, who made no attempts to keep hold of it.

"His name oughtta be dinner," Brand joked. The guy died no matter what.

"Brand, I'm so close! If I could just get around the T. rex, I'd beat the game and-" Darius said, voice rising in both frustration and excitement, before Brand cut him off, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Win the trip to Jurassic World, I-I know. You've said it like- a thousand times. But if straight up gamers are saying this thing's unwinnable, how's some dino nerd kid gonna beat it?" the 17-year old questioned. He wanted to think Darius could win, he really did. But he had to be real. He didn't wanna give his brother false hope.