"HELP!"
"CAN ANYONE HEAR US!"
"HELLO?!"
We were all shouting, hoping someone would hear us. After awhile, we realized no one was coming. Brooklynn looked at us with tears in her eyes. We all piled into a group hug.
A vine was thrown into the gyrosphere. "Grab on," I heard Yasmina say. "GUYS!" Brooklynn shouted. We all grabbed onto the vine. Just as we were fully submerged in the mud, we were pulled out very quickly.
Yasmina pries open the door with a tree branch. "Hey.." Darius said, quietly. The rest of the team were cheering and came up to us. "Cowgirl for the win!" Kenji said, giving Sammy a high-five.
We all turn our heads to see a familiar truck pull up. "Hey, look! It's Dave and Roxie!"
♡
"You could have been killed! What were you thinking!" Roxie scolded us as the door opened up to the camp. "That we found a lost dino... and Brooklynn, Darius, and Chris," Sammy said, giving Kenji a fist pump. "Don't ask me how I did it, but I did it," Kenji said, making us laugh as we walked in the elevator. "Now stay in your bunks, you hear me," Roxie said as she shut the door and we made our way up to the bunks.
"Weren't you crying at one point," Sammy asked. "Hey! I helped," Kenji responded. "Oh my gosh, is he serious," Brooklynn asked. "Wow Kenji," Yaz said.
We all changed into our pj's and headed into bed. I laid down, my head resting against the pillow. I looked out at the sky and saw a meteor shower. I sat up and watched it. I heard sheets rustling beneath me. "Can't sleep dino nerd," I said. "Nope, can you," he said. "I can, just wanted to see this meteor shower," I said, "Care to join me?" Darius sighed before he climbed up to my bed.
We both sat in silence as we watched the meteor shower. "Amazing, isn't it," I said. "Yeah," Darius responded. "Me, my dad and... an old friend would always climb onto the roof of our old house and just look at the stars," I said. "That's cool. My mom would have a heart attack if I tried going out on the roof, "Darius said. I chuckled. "What's something you and your dad do?" I asked. Darius hesitated before speaking.
"Me and my dad used to talk dinosaur all the time," Darius said, sounding a little sad. "Used to? Is your dad..," I said, not wanting to continue. "Yeah," Darius responded. "I'm so sorry," I said. He sadly smiled at me. "It's fine," he mumbled. He gripped his raptor tooth necklace. "I have this to remember him by," he said, sadly smiling. I pulled him into a hug.
After a minute or two, I pulled away. "No really, I can't imagine losing my dad. I don't even know if he is alive," I said. "What do you mean?" Darius asked. "My dad is in the military. He's currently in Afghanistan, you could guess why," I responded, "My mom used to be in the military, but she dropped out and got a job on the security team here. That's why I'm here." I don't know why I was telling Darius this, but I just felt like I could trust him. I guess I was the same thing for him. Telling me about his dad must be hard.
The meteor shower ended and we went back to our bunks and fell asleep.
♡
I hang upside-down on the couch, my braids brushing against the ground, twirling my pocket knife in my hand. Ben tried copying my movements with a crayon. I chuckled.
"What's up Camp Cretaceous," Darius shouted, bursting into the room. "Not in a 'woo hoo' mood this morning, Darius. Not after yesterday. Trekking through a rainstorm will do that," Kenji complained from his spinny chair.
"We only had to walk because you crashed our gyrosphere," Ben stated, slurping on his juice box. Kenji growls at Ben making him hide behind a pillow.
"But today's a new day! Kayak Day! Who doesn't want to paddle alongside dinosaurs, real dinosaurs!? It's gonna be awesome, right!?" Darius said, trying to get all of us excited, "Wait, where are Dave and Roxie?"
"The 'babysitters' took off early," I said. "And left this," Kenji said, spinning over to Darius and slapping a sticky note to his chest. He takes the note and reads it.
"BRB. Gotta go. Boss-talk. BB. Later. Smiley face," Darius read, "And is that a dinosaur emoji with a thumbs up?" "It's Dave speak. Roxie translated on the back," Kenji said. "I'm glad one of us speak Dave," I muttered.
Darius flipped the note over and read the other side. "We have to go talk to our boss. Stay inside until we return. Draw, bond, whatever. The radio's set for channel six in case you need us. Stay inside, STAY INSIDE. Do not leave, Kenji looking at you," Darius chuckled at that part while Kenji rolls his eyes, "Uh... Sorry for the kid's menus, it's all Dave had." Darius turned towards the ping pong table to see the kid's menus and the radio.
"Do they understand how old we are? I mean, when was the last time you even saw a crayon?" Kenji asked, annoyed. I held up my hand and started counting down. I pointed at Ben who turns a piece of paper to reveal him and Bumby playing chess.
"Hmm, I have notes," Yaz said. "Yasmina!" Sammy exclaimed, shoving Yaz playfully.
All of a sudden, the doors opened with a loud thud to reveal an angry looking Brooklynn.
"Hey Brooklynn, what's new on the internet superstar," I asked. "I wouldn't know because when I went to get my phone from its charger, it wasn't there! Someone stole my phone!" Brooklynn said.
"Brooklynn, who hasn't had your phone," Yaz said.
"I needed to check the weather last night," Ben said.
"Dr. Settler posted a new column on microfossil yesterday," Darius said, as he sheepishly held his arms behind his back.
"There was an update on the war in Afghanistan," I said.
"Too good to miss the selfie opp, but I haven't used it since, I swear," Kenji said.
Brooklynn scoffs then looks at Sammy.
"I-I haven't seen it either," Sammy said, sounding nervous. I narrowed my eyes at her. Why was she being so nervous.
"Really," Brooklynn said, sounding suspicious.
"Hey, hey, it's ok. Since we're not kayaking till later, we have plenty to look for it," Darius said.
"Oh, I think I know exactly where to look. I also think that whoever took the phone, might be trying to hide some of the things that are on it. What do you think, Sammy," Brooklyn asked Sammy, narrowing her eyes at Sammy.
"Um, what?" Sammy said, confused.
"What is your deal? Sammy said she didn't touch it! Ever think you might have just lost the stupid thing," Yaz said, defending her friend.
Darius steps between the girls. "Hey hey hey let's all calm down. Brooklynn, we can all help look for your phone," he said.
"Hmm, well then, let's check Sammy's bags and test that theory out," Brooklynn said.
"You do not get to go though anyone's stuff. I don't care how famous you think you are!" Yaz shouted, pushing Brooklynn back. I put my pocket knife away and sat up, feeling the tension rising.
"Brooklynn, I did not-" Sammy said before I cut her off, hoping to get everyone to calm down.
I stood up between the girls. "Brooklynn, guys, come on! We can't be this upset over phones! Let's make the most of this incredible opportunity. This is Jurassic World! It's -it's-"
Before I could finish, a loud, menacing roar cut me off.
"What was that?" Brooklynn asked, sounding scared. Kinda thankful for that because it took her attention away from the phone situation.
"Um, a T-rex," Kenji guessed.
"Mmm, I don't think so. That's not a normal T-rex roar," Darius said.
"Then what sort of dinosaur did it sound like? Friend-ish, or foe-ish?" Ben asked, his voice shaking.
We all go on the balcony to try and see where the roar came from.
"Where's it coming from?" Sammy asked, listening for the roar again.
"Can't see anything from here. The trees are blocking everything," Yaz said.
"Maybe they're moving a new dino from the lab to another enclosure. We could probably see it from the observation tower! Could be cool," Darius said. That got me excited. "That's a great idea Darius. What are we waiting for," I said, grabbing Darius's wrist and dragging him to the elevator.
"Hey! We're not done talking about this yet!" Brooklynn said.
"But guys, it's indoor arts and crafts day! We should stay and wait for Dave and Roxie. Right, Kenji," Ben said.
"If you wanna stay here and draw you and your dino crush, go for it. I'm gonna go see me a T-rex or a girl fight. Either way, I win. Ka-ching!" Kenji said, heading towards the elevator.
"Fine, go on! I'll just stay where we're supposed to stay, wait for who we're supposed to wait for, and be right where we're supposed to be," Ben said, crossing his arms.
I held the elevator door open with my arm. "What are you doing," Darius asked. I smirked at him and counted down from three with my fingers. Three, two, one. "Wait, guys! I'm coming too!" Ben said, rushing toward the elevator.
~~~~~~~~~~~
This is where the fun begins. Hope you enjoyed! ❣
Fulcrum Out!