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By the next morning, everybody was back safe and sound in Mae's cave.
Camille knew how to make a mean hot chocolate as back at her school they had a cafe class that helped students get a better understanding of barista work and general kitchen work, later on helping students get jobs. She enjoyed the class and as per usual got straight As through the semester. She began to finish the drinks as she pulled out a tray to place them on when she overheard Ben talking in the other room, "Hm. We could make disguises for all the dinosaurs."
"Ben, you know that would not work at all right?" Camille called as she lifted the tray, turning as she was faced with Sammy and Yasmina the two girls take a cup,
"Thanks, Camille!" Sammy chimed as Yasmina flashed the girl a warm smile, Camille winking in return as she followed the two girls around the corner to see Brooklynn with her shoe up on the table.
"I can't believe I finally got these babies clean." She smiled with a wide grin as Darius and Ben stared at her from the couch before they were handed drinks,
"Your shoes look exactly like they did before." Ben plainly stated with a sip of his warm drink, Brooklynn placed a hand to her heart with a gasp of fake offence before Sammy handed Brooklynn a cup,
"I can tell they're cleaner." She smiled at the girl as Brooklynn moved and took a spot by the couch, Yasmina sat in one of the chairs and Sammy sat by on the armchair. Camille took her own cup and sat next to Brooklynn on the couch with Ben on the other side of her, Camille snuggled up next to Brooklynn with her chin on the girl's shoulder.
"So, what were you thinking about?" Yasmina asked the boys on the couch,
"We might have destroyed Mr Kon's way to make dino control chips, but he's always one step ahead of us." Darius spoke the to group, "We need a way to protect them from whatever he's got up his sleeve..."
"But, apparently, disguises are off the table." Ben spat in an annoyed tone with his mug pressed to his lips,
"Can't imagine why." Yasmina sarcastically called to him before Sammy sighed followed by a soft hum,
"This is so nice." She smiled at her friends around, "All of us warm and cozy, sharing a cup of cocoa together." Smiles were spread all around as Camille caught Yasmina's eye, the two smiling warmly before they looked at Sammy,
"Too bad we can't do this for the dinos. It'd be a lot easier to keep 'em safe if they were all snuggled in one place." Sammy frowned as everybody simultaneously took drinks from their mugs, enjoying the warm chocolate liquid.
"Yeah..." Darius gradually said with a moment of silence before he shot to his feet, "Everyone outside!" He called making his way to the airlock while ushering everyone along, "Come on!" He moved his hands as the airlock opened, everybody leaving their mugs as they were rounded up outside Darius jumped in front of the pond surrounding the waterfall,
"Darius, why are we out here all of a sudden?" Camille groaned with a hand covering her eyes from the bright sun,
"What's the one place on Isla Nublar where all the dinosaurs got along?" Darius spoke as Sammy's eyes lit up,
"The watering hole!"
"Exactly"
Sammy beamed, "That's a great idea, Darius!"
Yasmina furrowed her brows, "Is there enough water, though?"
Darius lightly grumbled, "That would be the problem." Everybody began suggesting ideas on how they could transfer the water.
"What if we fill buckets with water?"
"Maybe we can distract the dinos with food instead?"
"One word, disguises."
Ben stated as everybody stared at him with narrowed eyes as he shrugged before they noticed Darius moving away a thought formed across his face before it clicked in his mind, "Look!" Darius ran over as everybody followed to a rock formation with metal bars integrated while the water ran past the bars,
"A drain!" Sammy called as she leaned over the rocks, "If we can plug it up, this whole area will fill up with water!" Brooklynn smiled as Yasmina raised her fists to her chest, "Hello, watering hole."
She moved and punched Ben in the shoulder as he swayed on his feet before grabbing his throbbing arm, Camille let out a quiet ouch as Ben nodded painfully.
"Let's not celebrate yet. We still gotta make sure it actually works." Darius eyed the two, "And we have no idea when Mr Kon's coming back, so we have to act fast." Brooklynn furrowed her brows with an eager tone as Darius straightened up,
"Right. So, what do we need? Uh...Water and dinosaurs, yeah?" Darius shrugged as he looked at Ben and Yasmina,
Ben chuckled with a hand to his chest, "Well, I got that second one covered. Firecracker's my girl, and I can grab Pierce too."
"I'll come." Yasmina volunteered, "We can swing by the Arctic and get Angel and Rebel while we're at it."
"Great." Darius smiled as Camille hooked her arms around the other three, "Then Brooklynn, Camille, Sammy, and I will plug the drain. That cool?"
"Of course. I'm just honoured to help you, wonderful people." Sammy smiled as Camille released the group and stood by the edge of the rocks hovering above the water.
"Right, no time like tomorrow!" Camille crossed her arms and fell backwards into the water before she caught herself from hitting the ground, the water was about knee deep as Camille popped out the water and paddled around flicking water at Darius and Brooklynn.
Yasmina couldn't help but smile as she watched the girl, her gaze softening as she watched her laugh before she snapped back to reality as Ben called her along. She walked with a smile, pulling stray hairs behind her ear.
Her feelings about Camille were being rediscovered.
A few minutes passed as Camille was packing the leaves and sticks given to her where the drain was, leaning over the rock as Sammy was in the water pushing sticks to the clump they had formed.
"We're doing pretty good so far," Camille exhaled as she had dried off from being in the sun, she extended her hand down to Sammy and pulled her up when they watched the water ripple followed by a thundering footstep.
The four sprinted for cover as they knew who was nearing, they ducked behind a formation of rocks before peering over to see the Eaties snapping and roaring at one another while running around the area,
"Just what we need, hungry dinosaurs." Brooklynn annoyedly said,
"Not hungry. Look." Darius motioned his head as they watched Big Eatie chase after Little Eatie before the directions reversed, "They're just playing. Which means they're not going anywhere anytime soon."
"Perfect, dinosaurs playing in an area where we are meant to be- Darius what are you doing!?" Camille cut herself off as she watched Darius stand and begin to sneak away, "Get back here!"
"We can't finish the drain with them around, so I'm gonna distract them." Darius neared a tree before pausing,
"How?" Brooklynn whispered as Darius smiled nervously, "They want to play, right? So, I'll give 'em something to play with." He ducked away and began running towards the Eaties as he waited until the right moment to pop out and entertain the Eaties,
"Love that he thinks he can do all this by himself. I'm gonna go help him." Brooklynn moved past Camille as Sammy grabbed her arm,
"Wait. Maybe I should go. You're way better at flying solo." Sammy furrowed her brows as Brooklynn's eyes flicked to the muddy ground beneath Sammy and back up,
"No. I mean...You and Camille got this." Brooklynn nervously chuckled, shifting a foot back from the girls, Sammy gave her a dumbfounded look,
"Are you just afraid to get your shoes dirty again?"
"I believe in you. Team Samille!"
Camille shuddered, "I never thought I'd hear my name mixed with yours Sammy,"
"But what if we need help?" Sammy whispered to Brooklynn but she was long gone, the two slowly turn to one another before they looked over the rock seeing the Eaties chase after Brooklynn and Darius loudly roaring in protest.
The girls looked at one another again with uncertain looks as Sammy moved over to the rock formation above the drain, "No problem. Just finish plugging up the drain,"
They watched as the leaves and sticks began to slip down the drain, ruining all the work they had just put into plugging the drain. Camille rubbed her temples painfully, "With only two people, perfect..."
The two girls worked to pat down mud around the branches to stop the sticks from breaking and to create a stronger defence against the water flow. Sammy pat down the rest of the mud before she was hoisted back up onto the rocks with help from Camille, both girls insanely muddy by now.
"That should do it. No water's getting through you, drain." The two kneeled on the rocks waiting for the water to begin rising but to their surprise, nothing seemed to change, "Come on. Fill up faster."
"Blocking the drain did nothing," Camille exhaled, using the back of her hand to wipe her forehead as she sat and crossed her legs before Sammy gasped, a look of thought crossing her face with an innovative grin,
"If we can add more water from up there, maybe it will be." Camille followed Sammy's line of sight as she looked at the soft waterfall before a smile crept on her face,
"You're a genius, Sam," Camille chuckled as she stood, Sammy shrugging with a short giggle at the compliment. The two girls neared the side of the waterfall where a large broken tree connected the upper level to where they were,
Sammy nervously eyed the tree as Camille was already scaling the broken root, she looked back to see a worried Sammy before extending her hand down. "It'll be okay Sammy," She assured as the Texas girl nodded,
Camille began to lightly yet swiftly track up the tree, making it halfway as the trunk creaked and groaned before Camille lept across and held a strong grip on one of the rocks sticking out of the formation, hoisting herself up onto the ground. She gave a thumbs up to Sammy as she followed Camille's route with more caution except she reached the end of the trunk when it began to snap.
"Sammy!" Camille yelled at hearing the noises before she gazed over the edge to see the tree landing with a loud crash as Sammy dangled from the rocks, she looked up with determination in her eyes beginning to scale the rocky wall as Camille held a vacant expression of amazement.
Sammy reached the top and dusted her hands together as she was met with Camille's gaping jaw, "Wow," Camille breathed out as Sammy kept on walking,
"Come on!" She ushered as the two girls followed the waterfall until they stumbled upon another grate in the cliff with water flowing inside before they both noticed a metal hatch leading into the ground.
"Surely we'd find something down there to control the water flow right?" Camille chuckled, beginning to turn the wheel before lifting the hatch and glancing into the darkness below while the horrific smell flooded her sense all over again before she began to descend into the darkness moving slowly down the ladder,
"It smells worse than I remember," Camille breathed out painfully before Sammy reached the bottom, both girls looking left to right down the long tunnels. Sammy eyed the pipe system lining the wall before she kneeled with her ear pressed against it, a faint hiss emitting from the pipes that travelled further up the tunnel.
"This way, come on," She ushered taking the lead as Camille followed behind. The two girls walked side by side before Camille took notice of Sammy's fidgeting hands,
"Something wrong?" Camille abruptly asked, breaking the silence as Sammy softly laughed with a nervous sigh,
"You know, I've been talking to Yaz a lot more.." Camille felt her throat close over as if her whole world was coming to a crashing end once more at the conversation starting, "I think you should talk to her again, she told me everything-"
Sammy smiled widely at Camille who was rubbing her neck before her hand dropped, "We promised we wouldn't say..." She said beneath her breath before sighing,
"She doesn't like me, Sammy," Camille breathed heavily as Sammy scoffed in a kneel listening for the water before the two resumed walking,
"Trust me Camille, the way she talks about you, she told me everything!!!" Sammy repeated as Camille got a sudden rush of memories from her yelling at Yasmina to the kiss situation that replayed in her mind, Camille sighed before she looked at Sammy who held wide eyes and an eager smile,
"Well, after the whole...Kiss...argument I didn't think she'd-"
"Wait, you guys have kissed?"
"Wait, What?! I thought you said Yaz told you everything!"
"She tells me everything but she didn't tell me that!"
"What do you mean she didn't-" Camille stopped herself from saying any more as Sammy had an even more alarmed look on her face before it turned into a squeal but Camille felt better knowing Yasmina kept their secret though she began to regret her blabbering to Sammy of all talkative people,
"Pull yourself together Sammy, it was more of a panicked thing....than anything," Camille folded her arms with a stern look as Sammy practically skipped down the tunnel walking backwards as she eyed Camille,
"I really think you should talk with her more, I think she really does like you!" Sammy spun back around and ran to the end of the tunnel where she spotted red valves connecting to the pipes they were following.
She grabbed onto the small valve and began to tug, the wheel budging slightly before Sammy applied more force and with one crank the valve snapped completely off. Sammy looked from the valve to Camille but Camille was more focused on the green scanning light following into the area.
They both gasp at the sight of a BRAD-X marching down the tunnel, "I thought you guys turned them all off?" Sammy worriedly spoke as she pressed herself to the wall, Camille backing up cautiously,
"We did..." She spoke in a hushed tone while the BRAD grew closer, Camille looked at Sammy and eyed the valve with her hand out. Sammy obliged and placed it in Camille's grasp before it was thrown far across the tunnel and behind the BRAD, watching as it stopped and retracted back toward the noise.
Sammy crawled over and began twisting the bigger red valve with all her might as it snapped around with a loud screech twisting with ease unlike the other one as water began gushing down at a much faster pace. The two girls cheered when a green light broke their rejoicing,
"Unauthorized life form detected-
"Yeah, I know," Sammy groaned out before Camille pushed her towards the back wall and out of the way from an oncoming blast as both girls hit the ground with heavy thuds. Camille was quick to be back on her feet before she fell backwards narrowly missing another shot as she crawled backwards to Sammy.
Sammy's eyes fell onto the grate in the water, leaning into another tunnel that they couldn't get access to. Unless?
Sammy dove into the water as Camille stood and eyed Sammy before she turned to see the BRAD standing on the bridge connecting the two paths, the BRAD caught her off guard as it fired towards her. The capsule flew through the air as it scraped past her arm, beginning to explode as it singed Camille's arm leaving a burning mark, she went tumbling into the water. The strength of the current smashed her body against the metal grate, Camille holding her beneath the water.
Camille tried to pry her eyes open but the moment she did, in the darkness of the water all she could see through the black dots in her vision was the mosasaurus. Her eyes slammed shut as she felt a scream escape her lips, bubbles flying to the surface as she felt no noise escape her mouth while in her mind she repeated to herself, it's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it's not real when suddenly her body was slammed with water, the grate broke through with a loud bang vibrating in the water.
Camille's body flew through the water as she broke past the surface, Sammy crashing through the water as well. Camille spotted a bridge in the paths as she used all her might to jump and grab the path before flipping herself on top while Sammy managed to climb out.
The burning sensation kept Camille from tiredly collapsing as she brought a hand to her arm but removed it from the pain. She gazed at her arm to see it had torn a hole in her shirt, the burn running across her deltoid muscle with a sizzling effect left on her skin, she didn't care too much for the pain as she inched over to Sammy to check she was okay,
"You...okay?" Camille heaved out with a gulp as Sammy lay on her stomach trying to catch her own breath before she held a thumbs up, Camille sighed in reassurance as she sat up against the wall,
"I should be asking if you're okay," Sammy moved to her knees before Camille gazed at her sore arm, "Oh I'm fine-"
"No, not that..." Sammy breathed out,
Camille held a puzzled look as Sammy inched towards the girl, "You were shrieking beneath the water," Sammy worriedly said yet Camille didn't know how to reply, a look of dismay crossing her face as Sammy placed a hand to the girl's knee in comfort,
"I don't do well....with deep, dark bodies of water since the whole...mosasaurus" Camille stammered before Sammy pulled the girl up to her feet and into a hug. Camille was caught off guard at the act before she eased and wrapped her arms around the equally cold girl,
"I promise you won't have to deal with that again," Sammy breathed out as Camille lowered her arms, Sammy still held on as Camille softly laughed,
"You can let go now Sammy, I appreciate it..."
"But, you produce so much heat..."
Camille sighed as she held Sammy close to her, the two girls take a moment to breathe again before they were up and on their feet again, retracing steps after reaching a few dead ends they were able to reach the ladder again and ascend into the light of day.
Camille took in a breath of air after pushing the hatch open, climbing out as Sammy followed, "Please tell me the watering hole filled up, because I am not going back down there."
Sammy wiped her forehead as the two girls laugh, taking a step towards where the waterfall ran down before their moment was ruined once again as three Pteranadons came diving out of the sky headed for the girls, "Really?"
Sammy exclaimed before both of them started to run, collapsing down onto the ground and avoiding the gaping talons of the dinosaurs. Camille pulled Sammy up off the ground as they barely missed one of the dinosaurs landing behind them, Sammy grabbed Camille and took a sharp turn and began to run down the stream of water towards the edge of the cliff,
"Please be deep enough. Please be deep enough!" Sammy breathed as they ran,
"Sammy!" Camille nervously cried out before both girls felt the edge of the cliff with their feet, taking a giant leap of faith off the edge as their screams rang out in the area before they plummeted into the water.
Camille felt her body slap against the water before she squeezed into a tight ball being thrown around beneath the water, she felt her eyes open as she broke through the surface unable to see Sammy,
"Sammy?" She called before the girl arose from the water, breathing heavily before it turned into loud cheering,
"Yes!"
"We actually did it!"
Sammy gleamed as she splashed around Camille began to laugh, and both girls eased back into the water still rejoicing as they float around in the newly made watering hole. Eventually, the two girls were like shrivelled raisins from being in the water and decided to take a break and rest in the sun which Camille could never say no to.
A while had passed and they expected the other's arrival soon,
"We actually did it," Camille restated from before as she and Sammy sat at the foot of the water enjoying the warmth of the sun. Their attention was drawn back to leaves rustling from behind as Ben and Yasmina followed by their dinosaur friends emerged,
"Hey, y'all!" Sammy waved at the pack coming from the bushes as Camille smiled, Sammy stood up to greet the group,
"Guys, this is amazing!" Yasmina exhaled, breathless at the sight of what the girls had done. Not only had they solved the watering hole situation, they had overfilled the first pond so much it perfectly overflowed and filled a whole other divet in the ground.
"Turns out Team Samille was enough to get the job done." Sammy went and high-fived Camille on the ground before she was ushered over by Ben, advancing towards him before she was tackled to the ground by one of the sinoceratop twins.
Yasmina shyly looked towards Camille. It was safe to say Ben's chat was more than enough to get her heart racing over the thought of Camille again, she felt silly for denying her feelings the first time when now all she wanted to do was scream it for the whole world to hear.
"You guys did all this yourself?"
"Eventually yes," Camille chuckled as she did her best to hide her arm though it was pretty obvious to see the disfigured mark on her upper arm but the two girls were distracted by a heaving Brooklynn and Darius,
"You guys made it." Sammy waved as the two ran over with wide smiles but before they could speak deafening roars ripped through the biome. Everybody was up on their feet in an instant as thundering footsteps shook the ground beneath them with the Eaties tearing through to where the watering hole was while roaring at the dinosaurs and teens on the opposite side.
"It's not working. They're gonna fight!" Brooklynn cried as they all defensively huddled around the dinosaurs, watching Big Eaties foot land in the water before she stopped in her tracks. Her yellow eyes fell to the water running over her foot before it looked as if something was running in her mind she came to terms with the water and lowered her head to drink, her daughter following her mother's footsteps and doing the same.
Pierce seemed suspicious at first before he inched towards the water to take a drink with the younger dinosaurs doing the same. The twins pushed and shoved to reach the water as if it were going to disappear while Firecracker slinked over when it looked like something switched in her brain and she happily feasted from the water,
Everybody felt the stress and worry leave their bodies watching as the dinosaurs were suddenly getting along with one another. Camille let out a small breath before she inched back to her spot with Pierce drinking water nearby her, his head moved to the side she ran her fingers over his scaled head holding a gentle smile on her lips.
As time passed on by, the group stayed by the watering hole and observed the dinosaurs having a great time around their new gift. They had all climbed back up the cliffs and were enjoying time to themselves, finally having a place they could rest as well as the dinosaurs.
Camille and Yasmina sat side by side, watching Ben who was the last person to climb up the makeshift vine they had running down the cliffside. Darius was the first person to run off the cliff and jump down into the water, Brooklynn being ushered along by Ben was next,
"Look out below!" She cheered before faintly screaming and crashing into the water, Ben following after as he held a thumbs up to Yasmina before he was up and gone. Camille caught Sammy's eye while Yasmina was focused on Ben, Sammy giving the girl a heartfelt nod before she was gone off the edge of the cliff.
Camille eyed the watery depths below, the rush fueling in her stomach just like it did twice today. The dark body of water in the sewer, running off the exact cliff edge being consumed by the water all over again.
"Wanna go together?" Yasmina's soft voice broke Camille from her worries as the girl shyly tucked hair behind her ear, Camille smiled whenever she saw Yasmina do it, she found it rather cute. Yasmina held her hand out for Camille to take as their fingers intertwined, they stayed like that for a moment before eventually standing.
They stared over the edge as Camille brushed her thumb over Yasmina's hand, a force of habit, Yasmina bit back a smile at the sweet gesture before the two girls caught each other's eyes and made a big jump over the edge of the cliff.
Their hands stuck together like glue the whole way down.
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