Chapter Eighty Five: I Kissed Him
~~~
"We're gonna go look for phones," Yasmina announced. "Let us know when you get into Kash's computer."
"You won't find one," Brooklynn said with a shrug as she took a seat at the desk. "Mr. Kon is as smart as he is evil. That's how he has Kenji fooled."
"I don't know, Brooklynn," Sammy said, fingers tangled in her hair. "Mr. Kon is a bad guy, but it's not like he forced Kenji to say all that stuff. About how we're not family..."
"No, but... Got it!"
The campers crowded around Brooklynn to check out the drone system.
"Knew you could do it, B," Eva grinned.
Sammy picked up the tablet, looking it over. "Darius says the Eaties are still acting weird. He's trailing them."
"Great." Yaz crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Add that to the list of things we don't know, like, 'what do we do now?' and 'are we already too late to stop the Kons?'"
Brooklynn began typing on the keyboard again, before gasping. "What? Check it out. Remember the distress beacon we sent out from Nublar? Mantah Corp received it, and Kon didn't do anything about it."
"If the EDB signal reached all the way here, shouldn't it work both ways?" Sammy questioned.
"What do you mean?" Ben asked.
"There was a drone on Nublar!" Sammy announced excitedly. "That's how I sent my spy stuff to Mantah Corp! ... Probably didn't need to say that as excited as it sounded..."
"So if it's still there..."
"We might be able to control it from here," Eva finished.
"It's worth a shot." Brooklynn went back to typing away on the keyboard, her fingers flying. "If we can expand the search area..."
The screen changed to a loading screen, before showing a map of Isla Nublar and a little red dot in the middle of the map: the drone.
Brooklynn hit a button, and a video screen came up, showing the drone resting in the grass. She got it working, and soon has it flying over the island in search of Kenji and his father.
It didn't take long to zone in on them. Brooklynn pointed the drone at Kenji, where he had a controller in hand with Toro behind him. He pressed a button on the controller and Toro roared, scaring off the two stegosauruses that were blocking their path.
"Excellent work, son."
Eva's jaw dropped in shock as she stared at the screen.
"I, I don't believe it..."
"At least we know Mae is okay," Ben said.
"But why is she there? What does he have on her?" Yaz asked the real questions.
"I gave Molina the go ahead..."
"Shh! Mr Kon is talking!" Sammy interrupted, shushing them all.
"...To get in touch with BioSyn. We're going to do great things together, son."
"Sweet!"
Eva left. Before she could watch anymore, she left. Someone was hot on her heels, following her into a small work area filled with desks, bookshelves, and a small seating area.
"He was smiling!" Eva snapped, pounding her fists against the wood desk. "He was controlling a dinosaur, and he was smiling!"
"Evy—"
Eva picked up a book and chucked it at the wall.
"Evy."
"We've lost him, Brooklynn. We've really lost him," she stated, defeat never sounding so clear.
"I know," Brooklynn's voice cracked as tears welled in her eyes. "I know."
"How could he betray us like this, after everything we had all been through?"
Brooklynn sniffed, her eyes wide as she watched Eva. "I just don't understand..."
Eva wailed in pain, pounding her fists against the desk again. "How could he leave us? Was he not in love with me the way I've always been with him? Has everything been a lie? Has he... Has he..."
Brooklynn swiftly pulled Eva into a hug, the two girls grasping at each other, arms stretched around the other's torso, both girls sobbing into the other's arms. Eva bit her cheek as her lip quivered. "We lost him, B."
"I know... I know."
"Guys?" Sammy called, entering the room with Yasmina and Ben in tow. "We have some... news."
Brooklynn and Eva parted, sitting down on a thick chair together. Brooklynn buried her head in her hands while Eva sat back, gaze focused on the ruined bookcase.
He was controlling a dinosaur, thinking everything was fine. But nothing was fine— none of it. How could Kenji be so comfortable doing something so wrong? How could he do this to them? How could he do this to Toro?
A warm hand rested against her arm, and when she looked up, Ben was giving her a soft, comforting smile. Yaz and Sammy were doing the same for Brooklynn.
"What did you want to tell us?" Brooklynn finally asked.
"Mr. Kon said he's selling the chips to BioSyn. But the good news is, he needs to come back here to produce them."
"Which means," Yaz said next, "We still have a chance to stop him."
"You mean stop them," Brooklynn corrected. "Kenji... has chosen his side."
Eva pinched the bridge of her nose and breathed deeply. She couldn't take this. She couldn't do it. She stood from the chair and paced to the middle of the room, staring out the window before as she took deep breaths.
And then, the ground began to shake again, this one worse than the first one. Eva stumbled forward, landing on her knees as her breathing picked up.
Sammy pulled Yaz away as a light crashed down where she was standing before. Ben pushed Brooklynn to the ground as a support beam clattered to the floor, right where they were standing.
"Under the desk! Hurry!"
As they all piled under the big desk, Ben questioned, "After shock?"
"Nah, this one is bigger than the first one," Yaz replied.
"What's going on around here?!" Sammy cried.
Eva pulled her knees closer to her chest as her breathing became more sporadic. Her vision tunneled onto the spinny chair in front of her, growing fuzzy around the edges. She rocked back and forth, tears springing in her eyes.
The room was shaking, shaking, quavering and trembling. As the room shook, the more Eva felt like this was the end for her— as if nothing good would come of her life from here on out.
She pulled her knees even closer, Eva herself shaking as she tried to hang on, to stabilize herself. But there wasn't anything she could do. The world was falling apart around her, and there was nothing she could do.
While the quaking finally stopped, Eva didn't. She didn't move from her spot under the desk, meanwhile her friends crawled out. She didn't move, but continued to tremble in place, gasping for air.
Ben gasped. "Darius! He's okay, but Big Eatie's not. We have to go help."
"You guys go," Sammy said. She looked down at Eva, still under the table, and said in a low voice, "I'll stay back with Eva."
"Are you sure?" Yaz asked, looking between the two girls.
Sammy nodded, determined. "You guys go, we'll catch up."
"Sammy, Sammy..."
"Shh, shh, shh, it's okay, Ev. I need you to look at me, okay?" Sammy nodded when Eva finally looked at her. "I need you to breathe, can you do that for me?"
Eva shook her head, trembling in her spot.
Sammy somehow ushered Eva out from underneath the table, and pulled her into her arms, and whispered, "I am brave. I am strong enough to get back up. What doesn't kill me makes me stronger. Say it, Eva. I am brave." She drew her fingers through Eva's hair, softly pulling at the tangles.
"I am brave," Eva mumbled through her tears.
"I am strong enough to get back up."
"I am strong enough to get back up," she repeated, already feeling her breathing begin to slow, her chest began to stop aching, though every time she shuddered, a dull pain in her chest made itself present.
"What doesn't kill me makes me stronger."
"What doesn't... what doesn't kill me... makes me stronger. I'm— I'm sorry..." Eva hiccuped, eyes falling to the floor. She rubbed the snot dripping out of her nose on the back of her sleeve, suddenly embarrassed. She had freaked out more in the past two weeks than she ever thought possible. It was like every little thing ticked her off: her drowning, almost getting eaten, Kenji, and now earthquakes. As if everything else wasn't enough, now earthquakes scare her.
"You don't need to apologize, Eva Rocker," she said, hands still pulling through her hair. "Why haven't you talked to us about how bad it's gettin'?"
Eva shook her head, tears sliding into the creases of her eyes, falling down her cheeks. "I can't, I can't, I can't... I can't..."
Because who really cares? Who would be there for her after she shouted her problems into the wind?
"I can't..." She shook her head again, sniffling. "I can't..."
"You can," the noirette encouraged. "You can talk to us. We're here for you, Eva. Look at me," she whispered, pulling Eva's attention to her. Sammy wiped her thumb across the blonde's cheeks, wiping away her tears. "I am here for you, Eva. You want to talk, let's talk. But don't keep burying these emotions that you're clearly struggling with. I rather you talk to me— or one of us— before doing anything rash. I... I can see that Kenji broke you, but that doesn't mean you have to stay quiet, you know?"
Eva stared, long and hard, at the pink flowers on Sammy's tank top.
Could it be true?— Actually true? Could Sammy really mean everything she was saying? Or was this just another ploy for something to be used against her? How did she know Sammy wouldn't use her feelings against her?
Instead of answering, Eva pulled Sammy into a long hug. They stayed like that for god knows how long— minutes that felt like hours, hours that felt like eternity. Finally, Sammy asked if Eva was ready to go, and much to the surprise of both of them, she asked for just five more minutes. Sammy hugged her back, offering an encouraging smile to the blonde and soothing back rubs.
When she was ready, Eva and Sammy left the building together, headed for where Darius and the Eaties were last. When they got there, they found the others in a glider pulling a fallen tree trunk off Big Eatie. They watched as Little Eatie nudged the glider with her head, before finally turning to her mother.
Eva choked up, a sob sitting in her throat as her eyes once again grew glossy. Oh, how she would kill to be with her family again. Oh, how she would kill to have the old Kenji back— the one that still considered her his girlfriend. The one that was as helplessly in love with Eva as she was with him.
The Eaties took off into the jungle together as the campers piled out of the glider.
Eva shoved her hands back into her pockets as the two girls approached the others.
"Hey, y'all!" Sammy greeted the others.
Yaz was quick to Sammy's side, slugging an arm around her shoulders. "Glad you two could make it, but you definitely missed all the fun."
"Yeah, somehow, the idea of being knocked around by Little Eatie doesn't exactly sound like a good time," Eva retorted.
"Oh, please, those nudges were out of love," Yaz joked.
Darius sat down on the edge of the glider, looking down at Mae's tablet. "So, based on the fact that they're not displaying evasive behavior anymore, I think we're done with earthquakes for now."
Eva sighed in relief. That was one less thing to worry about now.
"You really are starting to understand them," Brooklynn commented, adoration in her eyes.
"They're easier than some people."
"Sammy, Ben, Eva, let's uh, um, uh, go over here—"
"Why?" Ben asked, yelping as Eva grabbed his wrist and pulled him away.
~~~
Eva scooped little spoonfuls of batter into a cupcake tray, which she was surprised to find in the first place. But, if Mae liked her cupcakes, to each their own.
She was in the kitchen of Mae's cave, surrounded by ingredients and covered in flour. The flour thing was an accident, one that always happened by mistake whenever she bakes. It was inevitable. At some point or another, she makes a mess.
Brooklynn sat on a stool across from her, watching her intently as she dropped the little batter balls into the pan. She looked like she had something on her mind, but Eva decided to let her say it whenever she was ready, instead of bargaining for an answer.
Sure enough, half an hour later when she was removing the muffins from the oven, Brooklynn tilted her head and opened her mouth. She hesitated, then said, "You remember how, uh, I sort of have a thing for Darius?"
Eva nodded as she removed the muffins from the pan with a butter knife. She picked up the pan, heading to the sink with it.
"Well, I sort of, um, well we kind of— you see we talked and I— I kissed him."
Eva gasped and dropped the pan, thankful there were no muffins in it. Her jaw dropped as she slowly turned around, looking at her best friend. "Oh, my fucking god. Spill the tea. Spill the tea! When was this? Are you guys, like, together? Oh my god— oh, oh my god!"
Brooklynn flushed the color of her hair, mumbling something under her breath.
"Brooklynn, this is fantastic!"
"Are you sure? Because I know everything with Kenji is still fresh, and I don't want you to—"
"Brooklynn."
"Yeah?"
"I'm genuinely, so happy for you. Come here. Come here." Eva wiggled her fingers, her pan on the ground forgotten, as she approached Brooklynn, bringing her into a hug. "I'm so, so happy for you. If anyone deserves a happy ending, it's you, B."
"Thanks, Evy," she responded, hugging her back.
Eva forehead kissed her, then pulled away, heading for her cupcake pan. "So, so happy!" She sang, bending over to pick it up.
Brooklynn giggled, watching her closely. Eva dropped the pan in the sink, then turned, to find Brooklynn reaching over the counter for one of her muffins. Eva slapped her hand away, telling her they still needed to cool down. Brooklynn pouted, but listened anyway, sitting back against her chair with a smile. Eva reciprocated it, feeling as though everything would be all right for the moment.
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Eva and brooklynn y'all 🥺
that's it. hope you enjoyed <333
- atha