Chapter Fifty Five: If I Die
~~~
"Darius isn't back yet. We still have time."
Eva jumped, turning back to glare at Bumpy, who had stuck her head into the gate of the fence, and was bellowing at Ben.
"All right, we still need food and water. A-a-and I guess some bushes and junk for Bumper Car?"
The walkie on Kenji's waistband crackled to life, and Darius's voice came through, panicked. "Kenji!"
Kenji nonchalantly picked up the radio, leaning against the ladder. "Uh, that's Captain Kenji to you. You were the one that wanted to use code names."
"Hey, we have to get outta here, right now!"
"What? What do you—?"
Brooklynn's voice came through, next. "There's another hybrid dinosaur!"
"Like the indominus, but worse!" Sammy shouted.
"H-how? I don't understand—"
"There's no time!"
"Grab the supplies and meet us at the boat," Darius instructed.
Uh oh.
"About the supplies..."
"Ugh, Kenji!"
Kenji paced nervously. "I was too busy handling things."
"We need that stuff!"
"I- I know. I got this..." Kenji turned to face Ben, Yasmina and Eva. "Yaz will go ahead to the boat and get it ready for launch. Ben, Eva and I will pack up the essentials—"
What? Eva mouthed at him. Surely sending her with Yaz to the boat would be useful, would it not?
Kenji shook his head at her. "Darius, Brooklynn, Sammy, swing by camp and help us carry everything."
"Copy that. See you soon."
"Why do I—"
His hand wrapped around her wrist, and he quickly pushed her towards the ladder. "Up, up."
"Ugh, fine," she mumbled as she hauled herself up to the top.
Lightning flashed overhead, lighting up the sky.
Eva jumped, looking around wildly. There was another hybrid dinosaur on the island with them?
"Another hybrid dinosaur?" Eva whispered.
"Keep packing," Kenji instructed.
"But—"
Kenji's voice softened, "Keep packing, Angel. We'll be fine."
Eva nodded, and as soon as she was done fitting food and bottled waters into her suitcase, she dropped it beside the table and began helping Kenji pack Dave's duffle, and the other Jurassic World bags they found in their time on the island.
"We're here! What can we do?" Darius shouted as he, Sammy and Brooklynn busted through the fence.
"Here!" Ben shouted as he headed to the slide, pushing the water jug down it.
"Catch these," Kenji instructed. He began dropping bags down to Sammy and Brooklynn to catch onto.
Eva zipped shut her suitcase and pushed it down the slide. Then, she headed for her bunk, where Tiff's gun had been resting.
"Is this it?" Brooklynn asked.
"Yeah, I'll just grab the—"
The gate bounced open with a bang, and everyone turned to face a panting Yaz.
"Yaz? Why aren't you at the dock?"
"The surf is... way too intense... to cast off." Yaz sniffed, and blew out a heavy breath. "Boat's already taking on water. No way to leave until the seas calm down."
"So, we're stuck?" Sammy whimpered. "With the Scorpios out there?"
Eva propped the rifle against the table, then slid down the slide after Ben.
Kenji set down the two duffle bags he was carrying. "A-avoiding killer dinos is kinda our thing."
"Not like this killer dino," Brooklynn said.
"We've only survived to this long because we know how dinosaurs should act. With the Scorpios Rex on a rampage, all bets are off. Soon... survival will be impossible."
"Don't beat yourself up," Kenji said, stepping forward. "There's nothing anyone could have done."
"You could have done the one thing I asked you to do," he snapped. "Then we could've made it to the boat."
"Easy, Darius!"
Kenji raised his hand to her, silently telling her to stand down. "I'm sorry I didn't anticipate the new, scarier franken-dino. My— my bad."
"You said you had everything handled!"
"I did until Ben of the Jungle ran off!"
"Hey, I didn't ask you to follow me! Besides, whether or not I was here, you could have grabbed more than your own bag and hair gel."
"That's not fair, he was worried about you," Yasmina said.
"Okay, okay," Brooklynn butted in. "What's important right now is that we come up with a plan."
"Well, while we wait for the storm to pass, let's do what we can to shore up the perimeter fence. Just in case."
"We could use some of the rubble to fortify the fence, maybe?" Kenji offered to a frustrated Darius.
"Yeah, good idea," he responded dryly.
The campers instantly got to work, heaving the rubble from Camp Cretaceous up against their fence. Sammy rolled a tire up to the fence. Eva pulled a long plank of wood up against it.
"Ben, Eva!" Brooklynn called over. "Help me with this!"
The trio all approached the jeep to pry one of the tires off of it.
Ben wheeled it away, while Eva and Brooklynn moved for a long piece of wood. Eva lifted from the back, moving forward as Brooklynn walked backwards carrying the wood. They tapped the horn by accident, causing Kenji to fall from the rubble tower he was standing on.
"Sorry!" Brooklynn apologized.
"Wait, if the horn has power..."
Kenji heaved the heavy car battery out of the trunk and onto the gravel.
"Now look around for some wires," he instructed Darius and Brooklynn. "Eva, help me carry this inside."
"You got it, Boss."
By the time they got the car battery inside the fence, Sammy and Yaz had removed the wood from the fences, and Brooklynn and Darius had returned with wires. Kenji connected the battery to the fence, making it electric. He tossed a stick against it for good measure, showing off the electricity.
"Dariusaurus calling Captain Kenji."
"This is Captain Kenji."
"Good job."
Eva climbed the ladder of their base, then approached the table, her hand shakily wrapping around the gun.
"What are you...?" Sammy trailed off
"Just in case?" she answered shakily.
Something in the distance howled, and the two girls looked behind them nervously, though Eva couldn't see anything.
The campers climbed the ladder, all piling into the base. Kenji and Yasmina flipped the table, giving them a prime place to hide behind.
Lightning crackled above. Wind shook and rattled nearby trees. Somewhere in the distance, dinosaurs screeched and squealed, while a deeper growl resonated through the air. It didn't sound like anything Eva had heard before, which meant it could only be one thing. The Scorpios Rex. Lightning struck nearby, so close the flash of light temporarily blinded Eva.
"Hey, Kenji..." she whispered, readjusting the rifle on top of the table.
Rain began to fall, lightly at first, then it started to pick up speed. The fence lit up with electricity.
"You good?"
Well, here goes nothing.
"No, listen, if I die... I.. I kinda sorta.. You see I need to tell you..." Why was this so hard? "Okay, what I'm trying to say is, I'm in lo—"
Darius cut in, whispering, "Uh, Eva is now really the best time?"
"Dude, shut up, I'm trying to confess my love for the Pretty Boy."
"Yeah, shut it, D-man. I wanna hear this," Kenji said through gritted teeth.
"Yeah! Shit, where was I? Damnit, Darius, you made me lose my—"
A dark body collided with the perimeter fence sending tiny shocks of electricity out. The campers screamed, all focus came off of Eva and onto the monstrosity outside their fences.
Kenji's hand slipped into Eva's and he quickly pulled her back into the bench behind them.
The Scorpios reared on its two hind feet and roared. Lightning flashed, lighting the Scorpios in all its terrifying glory. It's rib cage protruded as it flexed backwards, and it's beady red eye settled on the campers.
Eva sharply pulled her hand from Kenji's and raised her gun. She fired once, twice, three times into the beast. Lightning flashed again, and the monster was gone.
"Wh-where'd it go?!"
"I don't see it!"
"Did anyone see where it went?"
The Scorpios hissed, gaining the campers' attention. Suddenly it was above them, on one of the trees connected to their base. It roared, then pounced.
Eva shakily— through tears and rain water— held the gun high enough that when she fired, it hit the Scorpios dead on. Bang.
Ben was knocked to the ground.
Bang.
Yasmina fell over the side.
"What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck," Eva sobbed.
The Scorpios inched closer to Kenji.
Eva's hands shook so much, her white knuckled grip on the metal was no match for her deep rooted fear.
Lightning struck again, this time against a nearby palm tree. The palm lit up in flames, and the Scorpios's head snapped painfully to the left, watching the fire intently.
Darius ushered the girls to the slide. The campers regrouped on the ground while the Scorpios was distracted.
They ran for the far corner of their base, with nowhere left to run. The Scorpios jumped down, cutting off Sammy and Yaz from the others. It roared once at the girls before chasing after the campers.
Eva weakly held the gun up, standing in front of the others, but she doubted any good would come from firing it. She already fired five bullets into the Scorpios Rex, and it was acting like it hadn't sustained any injury from her. It was acting like she had never shot it in the first place.
The Scorpios stepped closer. It opened its jaws wide and roared. Spittle flew and mixed with rain against Eva's face.
This was it. She was going to die here. Maybe this monster would kill her quickly. Maybe she wouldn't have to be alive long enough to feel pain, or to watch her friends suffer. Maybe...
She closed her eyes and dropped the gun, bracing for impact. And then a dinosaur's screeching roar echoed in the distance.
Eva opened her eyes to see the Scorpios transfixed on the treeline. It made a weird, guttural throat noise before hopping the fence and taking off into the distance.
"Oh my god!" Eva cried.
"Oh, thank god!"
Tiny footsteps in wet sand neared, and Eva looked up to see Yasmina. "Why did it leave?" she asked.
"Not sure," Darius panted, "Maybe it heard something it wanted more than us?"
Sammy approached the campers. "That thing was—"
"Sammy!"
Sticking out from Sammy's stomach were three quill- like sticks. Blood dotted her shirt around them.
"Are you okay?"
She looked down at her stomach, surprised to see the quills in her flesh. "Woah! I— I didn't even notice 'em. I'm fine though. Re—" Sammy swayed, and Darius and Yasmina quickly reached out their hands to steady her. "Really. I'm just—" her eyelids fluttered, and Sammy collapsed.
"Sammy!"
~~~
"Someone get some bandages!"
"Guys, I-I-I-I- I don't know what to do!"
"Sammy, everything's gonna be okay," Ben reassured.
"You know, some supplies we can get or something?!"
"Does anyone know— m-maybe we should go—?"
"Where are you going?!"
"Sammy! Sammy!" Yasmina rushed to the girl's side.
"Stop! Where are we—"
"Yaz, the quills are poisonous. We gotta take them outta her," Brooklynn said as she ran up to the group, bandages in her arms. She set down the bandages and wrapped her hands around two of the quills. "Okay, on my count."
"I'm sorry," Yaz apologized as she wrapped her hand around the third. "This is going to hurt."
"One... two... three!"
Sammy screamed, her voice fading into a moan, and then a whimper. Brooklynn was quick to wrap her stomach with the bandages. Yasmina helplessly called her name.
And just as quickly as the quills were removed, Sammy passed out.
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CONFESSION TIME????
- atha