Chapter Sixty: Hostage Situation
~~~
Yasmina gasped. "Guys!"
They all filed into the vent, Yasmina last to shut it behind them.
Darius led the way through the vent, the four moving silently as they crawled. Eva used the elbow of her injured hand to push herself forward.
Eventually, they entered the room, coming out beside the destroyed chamber the Scorpios Rex once sat in.
"It's not here," Darius whispered, frustrated.
Yasmina left the room to check the progress of Dr. Wu and the others. She came back inside quickly, ushering them to hurry up.
Eva stepped backwards onto something and gasped. She brushed papers off of the laptop, sighing in relief. "I found it! Let's go!"
"Ten points to Slytherin?" Brooklynn joked.
"I'm not a Slytherin—"
"Yeah you are," Yaz quipped.
"Don't lie to yourself," Darius added.
"Just get into the vent," she whispered, slightly annoyed.
Eva let the others in first, then pulled the vent shut behind her. A moment later, they could hear Dr. Wu and his mercenaries enter the room.
Eva shifted the laptop in her hands, her eyes widening when light was flashed on the vents. She froze, refusing to move a muscle, refusing to even breathe.
The sound of a compy shrieked, and then the light disappeared.
Dr. Wu gasped.
"Let me guess," Hawkins started, "Something's supposed to be in there?"
"The Scorpios Rex. If it's escaped, we need to accelerate our timetable... Don't touch that! The Scorpios Rex has poisonous quills like its namesake, the Scorpionfish," he explained.
Scorpionfish? Who gave Dr. Wu the right to combine the DNA of the most venomous fish species with a dinosaur? Who decided this was okay?
Hawked chuckled. "I'm guessing the boss would be very interested in something like this Scorpios."
"No, it turned out to be too unstable. However, I can perfect it— make an improved version. If I could just find my laptop! It should be here!"
Eva hugged the laptop closer to her chest. Man, did Dr. Wu talk like an anime villain.
"I just... that laptop had years of my research on it. Without it, what would take months will take years! So, if you don't want Mills to have your head, help, me, look."
Mills? Who the hell was that? No one good, Eva could surmise.
After a beat of silence, Hawkes asked, "You sure this is where you left it?"
"Yes, I... I think so. Very well. We'll check the other labs."
After the departure of the mercenaries and Wu, they began moving through the vents, as slow and quiet as they could. Yasmina led the charge with Darius and Brooklynn in the middle, and Eva taking up the rear. The laptop was still gripped tightly in her right hand as she pulled herself along. Despite the pain she felt in her wrist, she held tightly to the one thing they needed.
"This Mills guy that Wu's working for wants him to make monsters," Darius said in a low voice.
"We have to do whatever it takes to keep the laptop away from them." Brooklynn looked over her shoulder at Eva, who nodded.
"I agree."
~~~
Yasmina pulled herself out of the vent, following by Darius and Brooklynn. Eva let out a sigh of relief as she grabbed the top of the vent, using it as a handhold to pull herself up.
They had the laptop. Now all they had to do was get to their boat and leave. They still had a—
A blood curdling scream escaped Eva's lips as she was pulled back into the vent. Her left hand curled around the vent, while her right was wrapped tightly with the laptop, closing the vent on top of her.
"Well, who do we have here?"
Hawkes hand wrapped around her left ankle. Instinctively she kicked down with her right, because when in danger, when has kicking something in the face not worked for her?
"Yaz!"
Yaz, Darius and Brooklynn all pulled against the vent to no avail— they simply couldn't lift Eva when she was being forced down.
"They're coming!" Yaz shouted.
"Let go of me, asshole," Eva demanded. She shoved the laptop through a slot in the vent. "Go!"
"What? No!"
"Again, not what I meant by fulfilling your character arc!" Yaz said.
"Fucking take it, or so help me—!"
Darius's hand gripped the laptop just as Eva let go and Hawkes pulled her under.
~~~
"Bitch!"
Wu glanced at Eva, then turned towards her for a full second look. "You! You and the other campers, you never made it off the island."
"Surprise, bitch."
Hawkes took her by the arm and pulled her forward. "Hate to miss out on this reunion, but her friends took the laptop. Watch her!" She was shoved roughly into the other mercenary's hands.
Hawkes and the second merc took off into the jungle.
"You know, Yaz is basically the fastest girl on the planet, Darius is a pro at avoiding dinos, and Brooklynn's one of the smartest people I know. Trust me, they're long gone by now."
"Not with Hawkes on their tail. They won't get far," Asshole #1 said.
"Ooh, so scary. Yeah, I'm sure Big Bird is really instilling fear into their hearts."
They waited a good ten minutes before Big Bird returned, and, to no surprise, without her friends.
~~~
"Must you continue doing that?"
"Doing what, Doc? This?" Smack. "This?" Smack. "This?" Smack. Eva mocked, smacking his umbrella against a pipe in the tunnels.
"It's quite annoying, and it's Doctor."
"Well maybe I'll stop doing this—" smack. "Doctor, when you stop rocking turtlenecks and making killer dino monsters."
Smack. Smack. Smack.
Right before she could smack the umbrella against the pipe again, Hawkes took the weather protector from her hands and thrust it into Dr. Wu's, who took it, disgruntled.
Eva cleared her throat, "♪ I'm working for an hourly wage. I went to high school— didn't do great!" She began to sing higher and more off key. "♪ Still I gotta make more cash, more education is what I'm looking at. When I get a degree I will make a bigger salary, so now I've got to see which college is right for me!" At this point, she was screaming, much to Big Bird, Dr. Wu and Asshole #1's dismay. (She didn't know what happened to Asshole #2, but he didn't come back from his hunt with Hawkes on her friends.) "♪ I went on the internet, and found Education Co-nec-tion! I took some free tests, to find out my direction. I'm taking my classes online, getting my degree on my own time. Education Connection matched me with the right college for free!"
A soft growl echoed somewhere in the distance.
Eva stood up and shouted, "♪ Get connected for free!" She cupped her hands together, "♪ Free! With Education Connection! Get connected for free! Free—!"
"Shut up!" Big Bird snapped as he and Asshole #1 removed their guns and helf them up, prepared to fight their way out.
Eva backed behind the two mercenaries and slowly took the umbrella from Dr. Wu, who didn't react. She wrapped her hand around the handle, then smacked it against the table beside her. Harder. Louder.
"Monolophosaurus," she whispered as two dinosaurs entered the room, snarling.
Eva ducked beneath the table as one monolophosaurus pounced on Big Bird, the other going for Dr. Wu. She dropped the umbrella and sprinted from the room, running for the door to the surface.
The two dinosaurs snarled before taking off after her.
Eva slid to the left, her feet pounding into the pavement as she ran.
Her chest began to ache tenfold, to the point Eva nearly gave up. But if she gave up, Kenji would never forgive her, and right now, he was the only thing keeping her going.
She turned left at the end of the hall, running for the staircase.
The monolophosauruses eagerly followed. Eva took the stairs three at a time, throwing her entire weight against the door, sealing herself off from the dinosaurs.
She panted, her nails digging into her skin as she grasped at her heart, feeling as though her chest were literally breaking in two. She turned, ready to run into the jungle despite her clear injury, only to run into a solid brick wall. Looking up, she cried out, meeting face to face with Big Bird.
"Thanks for showing us that vent in the lab. Real life saver."
"You... you want me?" Eva raised her two fists, rolling her neck side to side. "You'll have to go through me."
Big Bird laughed loudly, looking down at her with his arms crossed. "You can barely breathe. What makes you think you can beat me?"
"Spite?" she said in a panicked voice, rubbing her sleeve over her glasses to see better.
Big Bird made a sound like a chortle, then beckoned her forward.
Eva swallowed, then swung, her left fist connecting with his wrist, blocking her. She gasped, throwing out her hand in a forward punch, striking Big Bird in the chest. He looked confused for a moment, then reached out his hand, grabbing her fists in either hand and throwing her to the ground.
Eva cried out as she landed on her wrist again.
"You fight for nothing, Little Girl."
"Granted I usually fight high school boys..."
Big Bird approached her slowly, his fist snapping against her face. He tilted his head, almost enjoying the dazed state Eva was in. "And now, you won't be fighting anyone."
~~~
"I know what you're thinking," Big Bird said. "Don't."
"You'll be back with your friends as soon as we reach the rendezvous point," Dr. Wu said nonchalantly.
Eva pulled back the duct tape over her mouth to speak. "You want me to trust someone who hires mercs and kidnaps kids? Yeah, okay, buddy."
"You're not kidnapped, you're... an unexpected complication."
"You duct taped and ziptied me." Granted, he also wrapped her wrist with a bandage, but Eva's still mad this situation has turned from a level two hostage situation to a level eight.
"You're annoying," Big Bird deadpanned.
"Thank you!" she grinned up at him. "I have more songs in my arsenal. I can do a full rendition of 'Toxic' by Britney Spears—"
"No!"
Eva slowly placed the duct tape back over her mouth.
"I only came back for my research and to retrieve the Indom—" Dr. Wu stopped, and cleared his throat, as if he spoke too much. What monster was he creating that he needed the DNA of the Indominus Rex? "The point is, I'm a visionary pushing the boundaries of science. Hopefully one day you'll understand that."
Eva scoffed as she removed the duct tape once again. "You're an anime villain creating dinosaurs that only know one thing: how to kill. Don't you understand that this isn't what the world needs? Jurassic World fell because you created a monster, and you're collecting your old research because you want to do it again? Be glad Jurassic World was contained to Isla Nublar. How do you think it's going to be when you bring dinosaurs to the mainland and not just endanger thousands, but millions of lives?" She scoffed, and turned her head away.
At the front of the group, Hawkes held his hand into a fist and called them to a stop. They faced a river— probably the one Yaz and her jumped across earlier, but it was much wider here— easily clearing twenty to twenty five feet.
"Okay, so we'll go around," Asshole #1 said.
"Good thinking! Let's head deeper into the jungle where all the carnivores hang. Where'd you find this one, Big Bird?" Eva motioned towards a fallen tree that served as the perfect bridge across the river. "We can cross on that."
Hawkes followed Eva to the tree and climbed up first. He made three steps before he slipped, quick to catch himself. "It's wet. Watch your footing!"
Asshole #1 helped Eva onto the trunk. Well, he gave her a foot up, and she nearly slid down the other side. The bark that should've been rough was slick under her jeans, and she couldn't imagine against her sneakers. She moved from her knees to her feet as cautious as she could make it. Hawkes was already halfway across the river when she got to her feet. Asshole #1 grumbled at her to start going.
Eva inched along the tree trunk, scared her feet would give out and she wouldn't be able to catch herself while her hands were bound together. But if she fell into the river, they'd surely forget her, right? The rushing water was surely tempting, and she could make it back to her friends, given she didn't run into any dinosaurs or she found a way to cut her ties, right?
Halfway across the trunk, she didn't miss Dr. Wu crawling behind her, whimpering. What a wimp, she scoffed. He grunted and slipped, thumping against the trunk. The trunk shook just the slightest, and Eva forced her hands apart. The zipties dug into her skin, but didn't move.
Gritting her teeth, she continued on.
Asshole #1 screamed, and then the sound of a body plunging into water filled her ears. She watched helplessly as he was washed away at a vicious speed, taking on water and bobbing up and down.
Hawkes, Eva, and Dr. Wu rushed down the last few feet of the trunk and to the grass. The mercenary's pleas of help died as he disappeared from sight. Eva took a step forward, but Hawkes stopped her.
"He knew the risks of the job."
"Really?" she asked in disbelief. "You've never heard the term, 'all life is valuable'?"
Hawkes watched the river. "Your friends better deliver."
~~~
Eva walked behind Big Bird, and Dr. Wu behind her, headed through the jungle back towards the grasslands. Dr. Wu stumbled through a patch of tall grass, swatting away bugs.
A shuffling noise sounded, and Big Bird held up his fist, stopping the hostage and the doctor.
A parasaur emerged from the bushes ahead, grunting. It was one of the ones from the caves, with the glowing head.
Big Bird raised his guns, but Eva reached out. "Relax. This one's just being a dinosaur."
Dr. Wu crawled forward next to her. "See? My creations aren't monsters. Her bioluminescence is stunning, even outside the caves. Wait, why is she here?"
"You can thank your other creation for that." He looked at her curiously. "E750? The Scorpios Rex was a monster. Both of them were."
"Both? I only made one."
Eva sighed. "Yeah, well, E750 made its own E750. And between the two of them, they would've killed everything on this island if it wasn't for us. Didn't think about that when you were being all Dr. Frankenstein, did you?"
Hawkes fired a gunshot into the air, scarying away the parasaurolophus. "Let's go." He picked her up by the upper arm and pushed her forward, the tip of his gun hot against her back for only a second as they walked. But for that single second, fear gripped her stomach and she wondered for the first time what would happen to her if her friends didn't come through with the laptop. They were mercenaries, after all, and Hawkes was fine leaving his teammate to die. So what would come of Eva if they didn't show up at sunrise with Wu's research? Would she ever see any of her friends again?
~~~
"♪ With a taste of your lips, I'm on a ride. You're toxic, I'm slipping under. With a taste of a poison paradise, I'm addicted to you, don't you know that you're toxic?!"
Hawkes groaned, and Dr. Wu watched her with disdain as she belted lyrics to a classic.
In all honesty, she figured the others had figured out some plan to get everything they wanted— the laptop and Eva, because Darius and Brooklynn were damn good when they worked together. But the fear she felt earlier that morning at the point of a mercenary's gun was enough to frighten her until she got out of her predicament. Getting out alive, she hoped, was the plan. But she couldn't let them know her fear, so she did the one thing she has always been good at: being annoying. And "Toxic" seemed to do the trick.
"♪ And I love what you do, don't you know that you're toxic?"
On the horizon, Kenji came out of the jungle and looked around, before laying his eyes on Eva.
Eva perked up, but didn't let that stop her. "♪ It's getting late, to give you up. I took a sip from my devil's cup. Slowly, it's taking over me." Kenji ran towards Hawkes, Dr. Wu, and Eva. The closer he got, the more she realized he was holding onto the laptop they had recovered. The laptop Hawkes was willing to injure Eva over. Willing to kill.
"Angel! Hey! I've got the laptop!" He held it up above his head into view.
Hawkes slid a calloused hand around her upper arm and pulled her forward. Kenji stopped twenty feet away at Hawkes' word.
His eyes knit together in worry. "You okay? Why is she zip tied and duct taped?!"
Eva pulled back her duct tape, which was beginning to lose its stickiness. "I'm really good at being annoying, babe!"
"I know, I've had the pleasure of knowing you for two years."
Kenji looked just as shocked at Eva over what slipped out of his mouth.
"Doc?" Hawkes said.
"Ugh, this is not how I envisioned spending my time on this island."
"Oh, right, because I'm having a fucking blast over here."
Hawkes shoved her down, where her knees collided painfully with the ground. Dr. Wu walked forward to retrieve the laptop.
Kenji shook his head, then motioned to Eva. Dr. Wu looked back, then waved Hawkes forward.
Eva stumbled as she was pulled to her feet and shoved forward. Hawkes stopped her a few feet away from Kenji.
You're bleeding, he mouthed.
Eva rolled her eyes. My fault.
There better be a damn good reason Kenji's handing over the laptop. Was this all a part of the plan?
Dr. Wu took the laptop. "Thank you."
"So not welcome, dude."
Eva took a step forward, but was pulled back.
"Check it."
Wu began to open the laptop, but was interrupted unceremoniously by the stomping of dinosaurs and the rumbling of the ground. From the left, ankylosauruses led by Bumpy and Ben were headed straight for them.
Hawkes grumbled, then began pulling Eva towards the helicopter. Kenji ran forward, but Hawkes easily deterred him with one rough shove into the ground.
Eva began to squirm, pressing this way and that, wriggling herself out of Hawkes iron tight grip. She picked up her foot, and with one solid kick, planted it in Hawkes' crotch. His grip loosened on her just enough for her to step back with success as the almighty mercenary went down.
Ripping the tape off her mouth, she screamed, "Kenji!"
The ankylosauruses finally arrived, and began circling the helicopter and the four of them.
Eva rushed to Kenji's side, placing her hands over his neck and pulling him into a quick hug. His arms snaked around her waist and held her tight. Her eyes squinted shut as she breathed him in.
He pulled back first, and placed her bound hands back in front of her. "We have to go, now."
Her hands grasped at one of his, and she allowed him to lead her around stampeding dinosaurs and to safety. Darius flagged them down to a clean path, and the pair dashed forward.
Once safe on a grassy hillside, Eva quickly pulled Darius into a hug.
"Uh, why are you zip tied?"
Eva pouted. "They didn't want to see my full rendition of Toxic by Britney Spears."
"I don't think anyone would want to see that..." Kenji said. Eva gaped at him. "Kidding! You have a good voice, I'm sure 'Toxic' is wonderful."
"You're lucky I can't slap you when I'm in chains."
Kenji raised his eyebrows and bit his lip.
Eva kicked his shin. "Oh, and I'm the one that goes dirty, huh?!"
A body knocked into Eva from behind, and she melted into her arms.
"Hey, Sammy!"
Sammy laughed as she hugged her tighter.
Yaz pulled her into a hug next— surprising the both of them, and Ben offered a fist bump before Eva pulled him down to meet her.
"So, why do you have a black nose and a bloody eye?" Sammy asked. Her eyebrows narrowed. "Black nose and a bloody eye. Black nose... Black nose and a bloody—"
"You can do it, Sammy," she encouraged.
"Bloody nose and a black eye!"
"Yeah, y'all know me. I got into a fight. Just couldn't help myself."
Kenji tugged at her arm, then pulled her into another hug. His hands wrapped tightly around her torso. Hers were squished between their two chests, but neither seemed to care. He whispered into her hair, "Why would you do something so stupid?"
"I do a lot of stupid things," she mumbled. "You're gonna have to be more specific."
He squeezed tigher, causing her chest to ache more.
"Kenj... can't... breathe."
He pulled back, but kept her at arm's length. His hands settled onto her cheeks, and she lifted her head to meet his eyes. "You're a dumbass." And with that, he kissed her.
After a few seconds, Yaz cut between them with a, "Get a room!" she turned to Eva, "And I'm really glad you're okay. Like, seriously. You are okay, right?"
"Yeah I'm— I'm fine."
Yaz nodded in approval.
The campers began their trek into the jungle, stopping when the sound of a helicopter approached. Hawkes and Dr. Wu were visible through the cockpit window, and the former had murder and vengeance in his eyes.
Yaz yelled for them to run, and they all burst down the dirt road, headed for the protection of the jungle. The helicopter flew closer, and Yaz and Kenji grabbed either of Eva's arms and yanked her down to the ground. The chopper dove on them, missing Bumpy by a mere few feet.
Eva rolled onto her back. "Yep. Just gonna lie here for a minute." She drew in a sharp breath, letting her head lay in the dirt.
She watched as Ben began loving Bumpy up, telling her how great she did. "But... I guess this is goodbye for good. I'm gonna miss you, pal. Thank you for everything."
Sammy joined in the hug, then Brooklynn and Kenji. Eva rolled to her feet, shuffling over to the camp fam hug.
"We're gonna miss you, Bumpy."
"Be a good girl."
Everyone pulled back, and Bumpy bellowed softly, heading towards the other ankylosauruses. She turned her head, as if to say goodbye, then trotted over to her new friends.
"Sorry the rescue didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped," Darius apologized.
"With us?" Eva laughed. "It never does. But somehow, it always works out, doesn't it?"
~~~
When they reached the boat, Kenji cut Eva's ties with a knife.
Eva smiles up at him as she rolls out her wrists. She pulls him into a swift hug, her arms wrapping around his neck as she buried her head in the crook of his neck. "I love you," she whispered.
When she pulled back, he cupped her cheeks, leaning down to kiss her.
She blushed red, her face scrunching up as he pulled back.
"I am seriously in love with you, Evangeline Rocker, no matter how stupid you may be sometimes."
Eva chuckled, rubbing at her eye, the ghost of her fingers over her chest. "Hey, um, I think I'm gonna take a nap on that entertainment room couch. You good here?"
Kenji shook his head, his thumb brushing against her lower lip. He leaned down and kissed her again. Their hearts raced as their lips met, sending a rush of excitement through their bodies. Time seemed to stand still as they shared a sweet and innocent kiss, their connection growing stronger with each passing moment.
Finally, he pulled away, a grin on his lips. "Now I'm good."
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guys how do I write singing dialogue????
- atha