Jump | Zach Mitchell

thirty-seven

ZACH helps me stand. "Can you walk?" He asks, looking me over. 

"If I need to, I can run," I tell him firmly. I feel bad that Owen had to lug me around earlier. I don't want to have to depend on anyone to keep me safe. We're in enough trouble as it is; I don't need to be slowing anyone down. "Don't worry about me. I can do this."

He smiles, teeth glinting in the dark. "I believe you."

"Guys," Gray breathes. "You've gotta come see this."

Hesitantly, I take in the scene: the T-Rex and the Indominous are fighting, and it's all the clashing of teeth and the flailing of arms and the whipping of tails. Claire is constantly on the move, having to dodge dinosaurs and debris as the two warring creatures stumble into buildings due to the brute force that is exerted upon them by their opponent.

Suddenly the T-Rex is knocked onto its side. The Indominous savagely wraps its unforgiving jaws around the Tyrannosaurs' neck and drags it through the side of the gift shop we're hiding in.

The roof starts to cave as the support beams along the side are split. Claire is screaming at us to run, but where? Our only exit has a dinosaur blinking at us.

Owen spies an emergency exit and grabs the back of my neck, steering me towards it. Zach is at my side, shoving Gray ahead.

We hit the pavement running, barely avoiding the lulling tail of the Indominous Rex as it prepares for the final kill. Claire has taken cover among the ruins of a sweet shop; we crouch beside her, breathless – well, at least I am. My head is spinning, the world constantly dipping back and forth.

Has the ground always been so curvy, or is that just me?

There's a soft crowing that can be heard over the Indominous' harsh howls.

Blue suddenly races onto the scene, claws bared as her little legs pump her to close in.

With one great jump, she latches onto the Indominous' back, causing it to stagger away from the fallen T-Rex. This gives the T-Rex the opportunity to finally stand and rejoin the fight.

...unfortunately, the addition of another dinosaur makes the size of the battle increase and our hiding spot no longer suitable for survival.

Zach's hands slip under my armpits and haul me into a standing position. Dizzy as hell, I charge after Claire and Gray, who are leading the way.

Every step I take doesn't feel real. I can't actually tell that my body is moving, can only feel the rapid ramming of my heart in my chest and the painful pushing of my fractured rib against my skin.

The Velociraptor suddenly gets thrown into our path. We are all forced to skid to a stop and redirect our frantic sprinting.

The dark sky erupts in orange as the T-Rex knocks into the Indominous, shoving it into a building that catches fire. The Velociraptor is rejoining the struggle, leaping to sink its teeth into the Indominous once again.

I stumble over a piece of rubble – I can't see the floor so well; my vision is starting to blur and smear like watercolor – and Claire grabs my arm, yanking me back. The five of us are gathered under what was probably once a very nice patio to enjoy lunch.

I'm swaying, breathing so hard that it almost drowns out the heartbeat hammering in my ear and the noises of the fight taking place just feet away. My eyes are straining, wanting to shut. Even among the chaos and destruction and utter peril, my body longs for sleep – or is this what it feels like when you're about to pass out?

The Raptor is batted aside, but the Indominous is distracted by the smaller dinosaur for just the right amount of time. The T-Rex knocks into it again, sending the Indominous sprawling into the protective fence around the Mosasaurus tank.

It crashes through the metal pipes, nearly falling into the pool. Just as it starts to get up, preparing to let out a fierce roar, something massive shoots up out of the water, sending waves in every direction.

It's the Mosasaurus, clamping its enormous jaws around the neck of the Indominous. Of course, the land creature begins to fight against the deadly hold.

...but it's no use. With a groan, the Mosasaurus eases itself back into the reservoir, pulling the Indominous down with it.

Everything seems so much quieter, the only sound is the agitated water splashing and lapping at the edges of the enclosure.

Claire's eyes are glassy; she cradles Gray close to her body, shaking.

Owen is crouched in front of us, his cautious stance one that is ready to defend. I'm not sure what he would do – he no longer has his weapon – but I'm confident that he would do whatever it takes to keep us protected.

Zach is next to me, and he's hyperventilating. His ragged breaths are uneven and quick. He's terrified, and that hurts me more than the physical pain I'm experiencing.

I want to comfort him – to reach out and touch him and tell him that everything's okay. I don't move a muscle, though. I'm too captivated by the two dinosaurs that remain in front of us.

They loom above us, staring in the dim light of the burning building and the electricity of the Innovation Center. I can make out bloody trails along the T-Rex's rough body, her skin looking so weathered and old.

It takes me a minute to really let the gravity of the situation sink in: how I'm standing in front of dinosaurs that were alive millions of years ago, dinosaurs that just saved my life from a monster hybrid that nearly took it a few hours before, dinosaurs that would probably eat me if given the chance but haven't yet.

The T-Rex exchanges what seems to be a meaningful look with the Velociraptor before it lumbers off, its job done. The ground shakes as it moves, its tail lazily swinging side to side as it rounds the corner of a demolished building and disappears into the darkness of the park.

Blue turns to Owen then, and they share a moment before she scurries into the shadows. It dawns on me that all of her siblings are dead. She has no one now – no one but Owen, who will no doubt be evacuated tomorrow with the rest of us. The government will probably intervene, and no one will be allowed to come back to Isla Nublar – not as long as there are dinosaurs roaming its vast jungles.

Velociraptors are pack hunters, Owen had explained to us in the car, back when we were asking about Hoskins' plan. They're meant to be together. It's how they're so successful.

As terrified as I am of the little Raptor, it hurts my heart to think of something terrible happening to her. It hurts my heart to think of her being alone.

There's nothing I can do. There's nothing any of us can do. We survived today. We've done enough.

We stand among the rubble and ruin for a little while, catching our breaths.

"Is it over?" Gray asks softly. He's the first one to speak since before the final battle, and his voice is scratchy.

"Yeah." Claire sounds somewhere between crying from happiness and crying from an adrenaline dump. She kisses his matted head. "Yeah, it is, sweetheart. We're safe now."