Jurassic World- Camp Cretaceous: Retold

Birthday

It was night time. Darius found himself staring out at sea. It was a strange, scary, eerie setting. Isla Nublar was a long way behind them. If he was being honest, he'd spent a lot of the day after setting sail trying to wrap his head around the fact that they were going home. There was a cool night breeze which helped soothe his mind, which ran wild. So, so much was going on in his brain. He sighed.

Kenji was still steering, barely taking a break the entire day. They hadn't spoken a single world to one another since Kenji said those words to him. About them not being good. On the other hand, he was glad they'd be back home soon enough. He could finally say that with confidence. He looked up at the sky. The millions of stars dotting the darkness, the moon a crescent tonight.

It was now March 7th. Darius had learned the way to tell the time by looking at the sky. 9 P.M. It was a bit strange to think he'd only turned 13 two days ago. These last couple of days had been beyond hectic, stressful, tiring, and scary. From Sammy nearly dying to Brooklynn being held hostage, it was far from an ideal ending to their time on Isla Nublar. It was behind them, now, though. They'd no longer be tormented by the constant storms and heartless adults who were more than willing to kill them and surviving dinosaurs and hybrid monsters. Only the memories of those times for a bit.

Darius walked over to a bag which held his field guide. It still had a few dozen pages. He also took out a pen. His last entry had been March 5th, his birthday. It was the day he finally got up close and personal with a Gallimimus. It was also the day the Scorpios became a problem.

March 7th, 2016.

We're off the island now. Kind of crazy. We managed to stop Wu, and save Brooklynn. Unconventionally, but it worked. I still can't believe we're actually safe again. I can't wait to see mom and Brand again, celebrate my birthday. I can't wait to get back to school, which is something I never thought I'd think. And I can't wait to be back in my room. It's gonna be weird, though. The people I've met here won't be there with me anymore. And that hurts. I kind of don't want to stop being around them everyday.

They're all so great in their own ways, and I'm so used to being with them almost 24/7. I'm gonna miss them so much. It's kind of funny. The worst possible situation ever gave me one of the best things of my life. The opportunity to meet Brooklynn and Kenji, and Yasmina and Ben and Sammy.

Darius clicked the pen closed. He reread what he'd written.

"Whatcha writing there, Dino Nerd?"

Darius felt his heart drop, and he hurriedly shut the booklet.

"Oh, heyyyy, Brooklynn..." he forced a smile, praying she hadn't read what he wrote. Brooklynn furrowed a brow.

"Everything ok with you?"

"Uh- of course!" Darius tried to assure her, though he was certain he didn't sound the least bit convincing.

"Darius, come on. I keep telling you this. You don't have to deal with everything alone. That includes your internal problems. We're off the island. You can relax," she said, sitting down beside him. Darius sighed. It wouldn't hurt to let them know now, right? They didn't have to worry about survival anymore.

"Ok... I've been a little stressed. A lot of it has to do with the Scorpios problem and trying to get you back from Wu and Hawkes. But, two days ago I turned 13," he admitted, his head turning to look straight ahead. Things were silent for a moment.

"No. Way."

Darius turned to face Brooklynn, who immediately wrapped her arms around him in a warm embrace.

"Why didn't you tell us? You really went through your birthday without trying to throw a little party or something?"

Darius hesitated, but broke free from the hug.