Welcome To Jurassic Hell

Ch. 2: Kon

"Greetings, my dudes. Kenji is here, so let the party commence!"

I immediately don't like him.

For one, the way he walks just tells you how big he thinks of himself and the clothes he wears are no doubt from some overpriced retail shop. Not to mention the helicopter he flew in on as we were all about to load up into the pick-up truck; talk about an over dramatic entrance!

Then, for two, well...

"Put this in my room."

Kon tosses his bag at Roxy, who catches it with a surprised huff. I can't help but let out my own, which is full of annoyance. If I had the confidence, I most definitely would've stood up for the counselor because of how he just treated her.

"So, what's your deal-"

As soon as he asks the group, the bag is suddenly tossed back at him, making him collapse with a shocked yelp.

Roxy walks over, wiping dust off her hands with a smug smirk on her face. If she wasn't pretty before, she was full on badass beautiful now!

Damn it, stupid pubic hormones! Stop this!

I pinch myself out of disgust. How could I think that someone my age could end up with her? Even if we were the same age, she'd be way out of my league!

This stupid crush better blow over soon...

"Okay, let's go!"

We all take our places in the back of the truck — Darius, Kon, and pink-haired girl on one side, and me, Ben, and the other two girls opposite them. As the truck kicks to a start, we all scream as it jerks us back and we have to quickly buckle ourselves up before any of us could go flying out. I clutch the side of the truck tight, Ben gripping my shirt tight with a green face. He looks like he could hurl at any moment.

"I hope you got my mom's note." He called to the co-head councilors sitting in the front seat. "I don't do well on windy roads."

As we drive, the scenery definitely making up for the lumps the road caused my stomach, I hear the pink-haired girl turn on her phone and start talking to it as if on FaceTime.

"What's good, Brooklanders? It's your girl Brooklyn coming at you from the best place ever: Camp Cretaceous!"

That's when it hit me: Brooklyn, as in the girl from the famous channel BrooklynUnboxesTheWorld.

I've never been a fan myself, having not seen any videos and only occasional pictures, but I don't live under a rock. As of this year, she's a trending online influencer who's followed by thousands. And it's pretty cool that I get to be in her presence!

"Okay..." Brooklyn says as she pauses her video. "I need you all to say who you are and a little bit about yourself. Aaand action!"

She points the device at Darius, who immediately stutters to find a response.

"Um...I-I beat this awesome VR dinosaur game. I'm Darius, by the-"

"I'm sorry!" Someone interrupts, it being one of the girls sitting next to me. She watches Brooklyn with a sparkle in her eyes, one of admiration.

"I just can't believe...you're Brooklyn! I'm Sammy Gutierrez, total Brooklander!"

As a conversation starts about what a Brooklander is, and Kon starts trying to flirt with the poor girl, I notice Ben'a face is growing greener by the second.

Worried, I squeeze his shoulder. "You okay?"

He shakes his head. "You know me...n-never one for car rides."

I jump when he suddenly launches out of his seat to twist and vomit over the side of the truck. Everyone watches in disgust, while I ignore them and rub his back soothingly.

Almost as soon as Ben settles back against the wall of the truck, the vehicle comes to a sudden stop in the middle of the road. Everyone screams and panickly grabs onto anything around them.

As soon as the car stops and the doors open, Ben asks, "Um, Dave, what's going on?"

"Nothing you need to worry about." He assures, though the electric weapon in his hands tells me a different story.

He tells us to stay in our seats, before he and Roxy start heading into the jungle with their weapons held high. What are they doing?

Ben whimpered beside me, gripping my arm for dear life.

"Guys?"

I look back to see Darius watching the undergrowth of the jungle behind us fearfully. I hear the bushes shutter and rumble, and feel my grip tighten around my brother as it grows bigger. Please don't be...

"Ah!"

Everyone screamed as a green blur leaps out from the trees, landing right on Darius in the middle of the truck's rear. We all jump away in fright, me nearly falling over from Ben jumping into my arms. The fear in me soon slows as a small, green creature chirps and sniffs at Darius and looks around. It looks so...innocent.

Then, it suddenly jumps, making everyone flinch. It's caught by an awaiting Roxy with a white towel, who takes the creature to a small pet carrier and secures it inside.

Okay, could she get any cooler?!

"Crisis averted." The woman sighs. "These things are always getting out of their enclosure."

As Roxy puts the animal away in the truck, Darius watches in amazement.

"Incredible! A real Compsognathus!"

Kenji Kon, who had just finally gotten out from hiding behind Sammy and the track star girl — Yasmina, if I remember correctly — scoffed and sat back against the truck with a smug frown.

"Oh, please! All it took was a blanket and a cat carrier to catch it. Boring."

"Scared you pretty good." Darius smirks, making the other campers cackle in amusement. Kon gapes, before letting out an undignified huff and turning away from everyone. Me and Ben smile at each other, and for the first time since we arrived, I actually felt...well, kinda happy. Like I could stay here forever!

The majority of the rest of the drive was silent, Yasmita — Yasmit? Yassy? Oh, wait, Yasmina! — drawing something in a large sketch book, Brooklyn scrolling through her phone, and everyone else watching as the jungle ran past them. I could write a whole song about the jungle alone, though if that were to ever get out, I'm sure it wouldn't exactly be a hit.

It's when we arrive at the gates that everyone's attention lands on one sole thing. Even Ben seems to be awed by the large entrance leading to where we'll be spending most of our Summer. The words of the Camp are painted in wild font, and it's almost exactly like the front gates to Jurassic World.

"Woah..." we all mumble together.

Nobody can deny; it is absolutely breathtaking!

"Welcome to Camp Cretaceous!" Dave calls from the front. The gates open, allowing us access to the new attraction of Jurassic World. The attraction we'll be the first to experience!

And that's when I really realize that, maybe, this trip would escalate beyond what I'd first seen in it's potential.

And I was glad me and Ben would be able to witness it!