Jump | Zach Mitchell

twenty-five

"STAY right here, okay?" Zach instructs. "I'm going to go get Gray. I mean it, Jonelle. Stay here."

Before I can make a smart-ass comment, he's running into the foliage. The leaves cease rustling as soon as he's gone. Everything seems overwhelmingly quiet, like the way it gets in horror movies before the scary monster pops out.

...well, it's quiet aside from the strange sparking noise. 

I frown, standing. I didn't notice the small buzzing before, but that's probably because Zach and I were talking.

I push past a thick branch to see the remains of what looks like a golf cart covered in Jurassic World logos.

"What..." I come closer, now noticing the slashes in the seats and the sprinkles of blood.

The dinosaur's work, obviously. But why were there Jurassic World workers out here? Surely they know about the dinosaur. Why would they only travel with no protection?

...maybe they don't know about the dinosaur. Could it have escaped from some other enclosure? That would make sense, considering a carnivore is currently with the herbivores. I've seen the news stories detailing how much money it takes to generate one dinosaur. It would be thoughtless to put a multi-million-dollar creation in the same setting as something that could easily kill it.

Where could these people have been going? There's nothing out here!

...were they looking for us?

My stomach drops. I think of Claire's garbled yet frantic voice through the static of Zach's phone. We've been out here for way longer than five minutes. She would've sent someone to find us.

...and now they're dead because of us.

I hear feet pounding on the hard dirt and a hissed call of my name, but it barely registers with me. I'm too focused on the destroyed vehicle in front of me.

"Why can't you listen to me for once?" Zach is by my side, panting slightly. "I nearly shit myself when I saw you weren't where I left you."

"You shouldn't say 'shit,'" Gray chides.

Zach ignores him. "Jonelle? Hello!"

I turn to him, eyes watering. "Get your head out of your ass!" I snap.

His expression changes in less than a second, going from pinched to concerned. "Hey, are you crying?"

"No." I sniffle and wipe at my grimy face to make sure that no tears fall.

"Yeah, you are. What is it?"

Gray sees what I'm upset about. "Um..." He points one small finger at the remains of the vehicle. "That doesn't look good."

Now Zach takes in the scene with his analytical eyes. "What... happened here?"

"What do you think? It was probably a search party for us, and now they're dead, and it's all our fault!" My voice cracks slightly. I cross my arms over my chest, slightly embarrassed about my emotional ramble.

"D-Do you think she's right, Zach?" Gray's lower lip trembles. "Is this our fault?"

Zach shakes his head, but his voice wavers. "Of course not. Don't be stupid."

I shove his shoulder. He doesn't budge. "It's not stupid! You can't prove that it wasn't-"

"And you can't prove that it was, so why freak out about it?" He stares at me with ambivalent eyes, full of tenderness and fire. "Just calm down and stop over-thinking everything. We can't worry about that right now. We just need to find a way out of here."

I sniffle, trying to glare at him but failing. I want to be strong and firm. Sometimes, though, I need a little help. Zach is always there to give me a boost, just like I'm always there for him.

He seems to realize that his words are sinking in. "Okay? You good?" He asks.

"Yeah, okay. I'm good." I sniffle again. "We need to stay together this time, Gray-"

He doesn't hear me. He's several feet away, staring at what looks like a massive rock. "Guys, come check this out."

Zach and I exchange a look before he takes my hand. "What is it, Gray?" I question as we come to stand beside him.

"It looks like an entrance to something..." He trails off, craning his neck to better examine his discovery.

Frowning, Zach lets go of my hand. "Hang back. I'll check it out."

I scoff. "Why do we have to stay here?"

"Um, so I can make sure it's safe?" Zach replies, heavy with attitude.

I throw my arms into the air. "What are you going to do against a dinosaur, Zach? Or whatever the hell else is in this God-forsaken jungle?"

He scowls. He knows that I'm right.

"Fine," he says. "At least stay behind me."

"Sure thing, oh great knight."

He rolls his eyes. Gray giggles.

We venture forward, stepping over thick vines and dodging low-hanging leaves.

"Watch your step; there's stairs," Zach reports.

I'm shocked to find that he's right. Perfectly smooth steps are carved out of stone, leading closer to the entrance.

Zach waits for Gray and I at the top step. Standing closer, two tall doors are clearly visible, as well as a strange carving at the top of the threshold. There is too much growth on it for me to properly make out what it is, but it kind of looks like a bird.

"Yo, Gray, help me with this." Zach nods his head to the left door while he braces his shoulder against the right. They both get into position and push as hard as they can. A crumbling noise is heard as small chunks of rock rain down; I have to jump out of the way to avoid being hit.

Still, they manage to get the doors open. Instantly, I'm hit with a sharp musty smell tinged with the strange scent that always saturates the outdoors when it rains.

Inside, there is a high ceiling rimmed with skylights. It illuminates the overgrowth hanging from various railings and sprawling across the floor.

"Wow," Zach whispers.

I couldn't agree more.

The boys venture ahead, heads on a swivel as they take in every new aspect of the weird building we found.

I start to follow them, but something on the ground catches my eye. The bright reds and yellows stick out among the brown leaves and green moss.

Zach stoops to pick something up. "This thing has got some weight to it," he remarks.

"...that's a bone," Gray says.

"Oh."

I bite my lip, holding in a laugh. My calves burn when I squat down over my detection. My fingers scatter the natural debris covering it.

It's a sign. All I can see are two massive letters. Grimacing, I grip the edge and yank it up, shaking it out like a blanket.

I get the boys' attention. "What are you doing?" Zach asks.

"You guys need to stop picking stuff up," Gray says. "We shouldn't keep disturbing the environment."

"The man-made environment?" Zach quips.

"Shut up for a second." I lay the banner out flat. "You guys, this is it. This is the original."

They scramble to stand beside me and read what the banner says: JURASSIC PARK.