Chapter Fourteen: Brooklynn Jinxes The Campers, And Eva Concludes Everyone Has Daddy Issues
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"Hurry!"
The campers followed Darius up one of the staircases and past the spectator stands.
Kenji, Sammy, Brooklynn and Eva dashed for the stairs that led to the monorail boarding, but quickly froze in their tracks, eyes locked on Toro, who had his back turned to them. A hand tugged Eva back behind the wall. She slid down into a squat, knees up in the air, and her bottom an inch off the ground.
Brooklynn put out a hand, stopping Darius as he ran up. Darius quietly peered around the wall at Toro. He turned back quickly, panting. A moment passed and he looked around the corner again. He whispered to the campers, "Move," and ran out into the open to the next staircase.
Eva didn't move, but then again, neither did anyone else. They all waited in anticipation, in fear. Eva fell on her ass as she gripped the sleeves of her hoodie. She pulled her knees closer, resting her chin atop them.
Why was she so terrified? This was just one dinosaur. Sure, it probably would try to eat them, but she could totally outrun it, right? One dinosaur, and they're on the monorail. One dinosaur, and she's headed towards her salvation. But then she's reminded of the white dinosaur— the Indominus Rex, that has been eating people and wreaking havoc all day.
Everyone stood, even Ben, and got ready to run. Eva scrunched her eyes shut, shaking her head. There was no possible way she'd run past a dinosaur that wanted to eat them.
But to get to the monorail— that's safe.
Eva groaned.
A rock clattered to the side, and Toro happily went to go check it out.
A hand wrapped around Eva's wrist, words falling deaf on her ears, "Come on, we have to move!"
The hands hauled her to her feet and pushed her forward. She stumbled, before realizing where she was and what was happening, and ran for the stairs.
She kept a close eye on Toro as she ducked down and began climbing the stairs on all fours. The others easily followed suit.
In front of Eva, Bumpy knocked a paper cup down the stairs. Brooklynn fumbled before eventually catching it. Brooklynn and Kenji reached the top first.
The monorail pulled to a stop at the boarding station. Eva looked back to see Toro at the bottom of the stairs, clueless of their presence. She also noticed Yasmina falling behind. If only she had something to wrap her ankle with...
"Welcome to the Jurassic World Lagoon. Next stop, Ferry Landing!"
Toro roared, and Eva didn't have to look back to know he had spotted them. Eva stood, taking the steps two at a time. She was at the top in a matter of seconds.
Toro started up the stairs, biting and clamping his jaws at Ben and Yaz. He slipped, his body slamming into the staircase. Yaz fell as the stairs shook. Eva bit her tongue hard enough to draw blood, eyes flitting between Yaz, Toro, and the monorail. Darius ran down to help. She sighed as she sprung forward, back down the staircase after him.
"Please stand clear of the closing doors," The automated voice said.
She was slightly faster than him, hurling herself down the stairs two at a time. Hand on either railing, Eva swung her foot forward, kicking Toro in the snout. Her hands desperately grasped Yasmina— her arms, sleeves— hauling her to her feet.
Darius reached the two girls. He took Yaz from Eva to help her reach the top.
Toro dug his claws into the stairs, taking another chomp in the open air. Eva slipped as he fell again, but quickly got to her feet. As she passed Ben, she picked him up from where he had fallen and shoved him forward. He yelped loudly as he stumbled over his feet.
"Please stand— please stand— please stand— please stand— please stand—"
Eva shot past Darius and Yaz, and then past Ben. At the top, Kenji was squished between the monorail's doors, refusing to let them close.
Darius, Yaz and Ben finally reached the top, running for the monorail doors. The staircase started to crumble as Toro collapsed, a few feet from reaching the top. Eva pushed the others into the monorail as the doors sprung open. She stepped inside quickly.
The stairs collapsed behind them, and Toro thudded on the ground below.
The doors shut. "Doors closing," the voice said.
The monorail took off.
Eva sighed, her hand over her racing heart, and collapsed in a seat.
Sammy, Brooklynn and Kenji stood against the glass windows, watching as the boarding station disappeared the further they went away from it.
"No way." Kenji shook his head, "Something bad always happens when we think we're safe. Watch. The doors are gonna open." Nothing happened. "Oh, okay, then, the train's gonna stop, because that's how this works," Kenji insisted.
"I'm pretty sure we're safe now," Brooklynn said, walking away from him.
"Well we were until you said that."
Eva stood, eyes locked on the outside. They passed the Jurassic World Lagoon— the place they nearly died an hour ago. She could have sworn she saw two beams of light in the distance, but when she looked back, they were gone.
Night had fallen, and a large full moon shed light onto the tree tops. Eva couldn't remember the last time she had seen the sky so full, so bright, the sequin silver stars shimmering like thousands of snowflakes.
She took a seat behind Sammy on one of the sets of chairs.
"Guys, we did it." Darius grinned, "We're going home."
It was silent as the reality dawned on them— they had survived, and they were about to have one hell of a story to bring back to the mainland with them.
"Whoo-hoo!" Sammy yelled as she jumped onto the seats in front of her.
Darius followed suit, "Yeah! Whoo!"
"Yeah!"
"Whoo!"
"Finally!"
"Alrighty."
"This calls for a celebration," Brooklynn declared.
"I might be able to help with that," Ben said as he zipped open his fanny pack and pulled out seven bars in golden yellow and white packaging. Eva eagerly took one from him and sat back down in her seat, the others following suit.
Ripping open the chocolate bar, she bit it in half, her mouth slowly contorting from comfort to disgust. She kept chewing, but the taste was only getting worse and worse. Sammy started retching from in front of her. It sounded like someone was puking elsewhere.
"Ben, someone stole your candy bars and put dirt in 'em," Sammy told him.
"They're carob bars—"
Eva groaned. Carob was a little too close to home, but not in a good way. Everytime her roommate came back after visiting home, their bags would be loaded with carob bars, carob juice, carob brownies, carob cookies... Her and Kai would sit on the roof of their dorm chucking carob-flavored snacks as far as they could, and the winner? The winner would get carob. Carob, carob, carob.
"—Carob is nature's chocolate," Ben said. "Just as delicious with none of the sugar or caffeine."
God, did Eva miss Kai. When she returned to Rutherford in January for the new semester, they would have their annual Christmas carob cookie throw-off.
Eva snickered, "Carob can suck a bag of dicks." A deep belly laugh resonated inside of her, and the other campers (minus Ben) found themselves laughing, too. Eva didn't even know why she was laughing at this point, but she was bent forward, gripping her knees and trying not to fall face first on the ground, her own laughter becoming too contagious for herself.
"What's wrong with sugar and caffeine?" Brooklynn finally asked, once everyone's laughter began to die down. "First thing I'm gonna do when I get home is hug my espresso machine." She mimicked hugging the chair, "I might never let go."
"You know..." Kenji cleared his throat. "I've often described myself as a tall, hot drink."
Everyone groaned, while Eva laughed harder, falling backwards to the point her back hit the seat behind her, and she was being blinded by the bright lights above her.
"You could never be coffee."
Kenji scoffed, "I could be coffee."
"Okay, Mr. Cappuccino—" Eva wheezed then snorted.
"Eva!" A hand patted her knee, "Don't forget to breath," Sammy reminded her.
"I cannot wait to be home. Once my ankle's better, it's back to training." Typical Yasmina. "And I guess finding a new corporate sponsor since mine was Jurassic World. But, you know..."
Eva sat back up, her lips pressed into a line, her teeth biting on her cheek as she tried to stop laughing. She still breathed out air through her nose, her lips upturned.
"It's gonna be weird for things to be normal again," Darius spoke up. "Like, are video games gonna seem boring now?" He chuckled, looking to Kenji. "How about you? What's the first thing you'll do when you get home?"
"Depends on which wing of our mansion you're talking about," Kenji answered. "East wing is usually off limits, but Dad and Candy are away on business, so I guess I'll go downstairs to our bowling alley. Staff always lets me win.. Life of a VIP."
"What about you, Eva?"
She shrugged. "Ehh, I'll probably get yelled at by my Opa, then fall into the Academy's dorm's bed for a long deserved nap." She caught Kenji's eyes, and could have sworn he was offering a sympathetic look. God, did Eva want to rub that smug sad look off his face. "Oh, and I'd go down on a few plates at Ivy Hall, the better dining common at Rutherford."
"Oh, you're crazy if you think Ivy tops Stone Brigg."
Eva grinned, "Ivy has better seating and food options."
"Well at least Stone Brigg serves their food hot. Ivy can't match that."
"Okay, that's... actually true, but at least Ivy offers vegan options, too. All you can get from Stone Brigg are grilled cheese sandwiches."
"The best grilled cheese sandwiches, if you ask me."
"Eh, my cheese is only melted half the time," She shrugged, then turned to face Ben. "How about... you, Ben?"
"Oh, let me guess! You can't wait to get home to your closet of dork pouches," Kenji guessed.
"Ha ha, very funny."
"Seriously, Ben, you've had juice boxes for days! How much stuff can you fit in that thing?" Darius asked.
"One, lots, and two, obviously the first thing I'm gonna do when I get back is restock it."
Everyone laughed, and for the first time all day, Eva felt safe to do so.
Kenji picked up a flashlight off the back wall and imitated a lightsaber as he turned it on. "I found the first thing at Jurassic World that works!"
Brooklynn laughed, "I still can't believe how much went wrong. Like that time we almost got eaten?"
"Which time?" Eva chuckled.
"How was there more than one time?" Yaz added, tears of laughter in her eyes.
Darius picked up his carob juice from the ground and took a stand in the aisle between everyone. "Let's all raise our carob juice. A toast! To not getting eaten!"
Sammy tapped Eva's hand, carob juice outstretched. Eva took it, eyes narrowed.
"To not getting eaten!" They all repeated.
Eva watched in amusement as everyone drank from their juice boxes and gagged, except Ben, who looked like it was the best tasting drink he's had all week.
Brooklynn stood, raising her juice box. "To no more running away!"
"To no more running away!" They repeated, though this time, no one except Ben drank from their juice boxes.
Ben sipped his juice box then stood. "To the return of a low-level gnawing dread rather than an all-encompassing impending doom!"
It was silent for a moment.
"Why not!"
"To what Ben said!"
"Bad doom versus normal doom!"
"I got one!" Sammy said.
Suddenly, the train shook as something exploded in the distance. Eva fell into Sammy, the two sharing a nervous look.
"What was that?"
"It sounded like an explosion."
Kenji pressed his eyes to the glass, "I-I don't see anything!"
"I don't think it was near us," Darius reassured. "We're okay. We're still okay."
The air fell silent.
But what if— the voice inside her head taunted. No, she told it. We're okay, still. We're safe.
Sammy spoke through the silence, "I know camp wasn't what we thought it was gonna be. But after everything we went through, at least we're leaving this place with six new friends! To the seven of us being best friends for life! Clink!"
Eva hesitated— it's not that she didn't want to be friends, because she did, and despite what Sammy had done, Eva didn't really mind her faults, it's just... They were most likely doomed to be internet friends, the only thing they had in common was their unbelievable ability to stay alive against all odds.
"'No added sugars', wow," Darius commented.
"Guys? Hello? Wait, do you guys not see us as friends?"
"Listen, I'd.. love to be friends, but Texas is really far away from New York..."
"And doesn't it usually take more than a few days to become friends with someone?" Brooklynn added.
How would she know? Eva wondered.
"We were thrown together at random. We have nothing in common," Yasmina said.
"That's not true. We've been through more together than most friends have in a lifetime."
"She got you there," Eva said as she picked up her feet, sitting backwards in her seat.
"And now that it's over, what are the odds that we'll ever see each other again?" Ben asked, sadly.
The air grew thick with tension, but stayed silent.
The automated voice spoke again, "Coming up on the right, you'll see our world-renowned, 18 hole, dinosaur themed golf course. It's one of the many wonders that makes this park so very Jurassic."
Brooklynn chuckled, "What does that even mean?"
"I thought I knew," Darius sighed.
Eva turned her ears to the boy as she scooted backwards on her chair, bringing her knees to her chest.
"My whole life, I had this idea of Jurassic World. My dad used to say this place was 'All-osaurus and a bag of chips.' He was so corny."
"Um, was?" Ben asked, softly. "So, your dad is...?"
Oh.
Eva's eyes stung. Tears began welling in them, her eyes glossy.
For some reason, though, her thoughts turned to her mother— her pale skin and tall stature. The way her lips were always chapped and she had smile lines whenever she looked at Eva. Eva didn't remember the woman well— just the general idea of how she looked, mom jeans and converse. She didn't really remember how her mom was with her. What they did together. Who she was.
"Hey, uh, I know what it's like to lose a parent," Her voice cracked. She scrunched her eyes "It's intense, and.. the kind of pain you feel all of your body, and it fucking sucks but... I'm here if you want to talk about it, or anything else for that matter."
He nodded, so lightly she nearly missed it. "Thanks, Eva."
"Hey.. at least your dad never saw what a dumpster fire this place turned out to be, huh?"
Eva rolled her eyes at Kenji's words, while Yasmina smacked his shoulder.
"Ow, what? I meant it's cool that Darius and his dad were so close. I could count on one hand the number of times me and my dad have done... anything."
"So we all have daddy issues, nice."
"Kenji, that's just real sad. And Eva... do you want a hug?"
"Oh, I don't need— and we're hugging!" Eva chuckled as Sammy wrapped her arms around her, pulling her into her embrace.
"Yeah... Did I mention I have a bowling alley?"
Eva tucked her head into the crook of Sammy's neck, sighing happily as the two hugged it out. Sammy's hugs were one of a kind, and in a good way.
"Dang it! Come on, it's gotta be here somewhere." Eva pulled out of Sammy's hug and stood, peering over the edge of the chair in front of her to see Ben digging through his fanny pack. "Oh! Bumpy stepped in something icky and I'm low on sanitizer. It's fine, I can make more."
"Ben, why are you here?"
Darius glared at Kenji, "What he means is— eh, well, you're scared of dinosaurs, and the outdoors, and sometimes the indoors, and germs."
"Whipped cream, for some reason," Sammy added as she kneeled on her seat and leaned against the one in front of her.
Ben shuddered, "The way it moves."
"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. What's the deal?"
"My mom works for Mr. Masrani. She got me into camp. Said it would be a great way for me to 'face my fears.' It's been a nightmare! I'm sick of being scared all the time!"
In a weird way, Eva could nearly empathize with him. She was terrified she'd get kicked out, sent home. Every day she spent in Rutherford, she was nervous that that was going to be the last day she'd ever get there. She may not be afraid of everything like Ben was, but her one fear of losing her scholarship beat everything else in her mind.
"—And of running, and of almost getting eaten, and... and of holding everyone back. I just can't do... this." Bumpy lifted her head into Ben's lap. Ben held her close. "But, it's not all bad. If I hadn't come, I— I never would have met—"
The train car jerked to the side. Eva flew into Sammy's arms. As she was moving back, muttering an apology, the train jerked again and Eva landed on the floor, groaning. Darius hopped over Eva's body and ran for the back car.
"Sure, just leave me here," She muttered.
Kenji nervously offered a hand. Eva didn't see it, standing on her own. The campers ran to the back car after Darius.
"Guys... We gotta turn off the lights!" Darius took the flashlight from Kenji's hands and began bashing it into the lights on the ceiling. As the end of the train car darkened, large pteranodons were clearly seen flying towards them. Eva's eyes widened and she gasped. "Flying reptiles are basically seabirds. They're attracted to shiny, moving objects, and with all these lights on—"
"We're a shiny moving object!" Sammy finished.
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I love the Kenji-Eva lore.
-Atha