Yasmina was glad she could run again. She'd done it on rare occasions on Nublar, but it had now been two weeks since they left that place. And in her time on Mantah Corp. island, she hadn't had much of a chance until now. But, with the limited number of threats at the moment, she figured this morning would be perfect for it. It also got her mind going. She eventually found herself back at the watering hole, leap frogging the crouched figure of Ben.
"You okay, Fadoula?" the boy asked. She panted, letting the oxygen collect inside her. She then laughed.
"S-seriously, are you ok?"
"I forgot how good it feels to run. I mean, really run," she gushed. "For fun, and not because something is chasing us."
She lay back besides Angel and Rebel, hands behind her leg, one leg crossed over the other. Running also gave her confidence. And that was something she really needed.
"Can't say I can relate, but I'm glad you had a good time," she heard Ben say. Yasmina laughed joyously.
"Better than good. Being out there gave me the space to think."
She then sat up. All the confidence in the world. All the undying optimism in the world.
"I'm gonna do it, Ben. I'm gonna tell Sammy how I feel."
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh, I'm so happy for you!" Ben exclaimed. "How? When?"
Yaz faltered. She rubbed Rebel's snout.
"No idea. I'll just... I'll do it when the time is right, you know?"
There were grunts heard in the near distance. Ben peeked over Rebel's sail, spotting Sammy dragging some meat.
"Well, how about now?"
Yasmina looked from Sammy to Ben. She nodded, and they approached Sammy, who had taken cover as the Eaties feasted on the breakfast She'd left them.
A few feet behind Sammy, Yasmina stopped. Her nerves slowly creeping back in. Ben placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. The nerves retreated. With something of a deep breath, Yaz stepped towards Sammy.
"Hey, Sammy?"
The girl turned slightly to meet Yaz's gaze. But before Yaz could say anything more, one of the Eaties let out a roar. The two tyrant lizards split the last slab of raw meat between them, which resulted in Yasmina and Sammy getting a few small chunks of flesh on them. Sammy couldn't help but chuckle.
"Looks like Little Eatie needs to work on her table manners."
"Uh, what do you mean? I put that there on purpose," Yaz joked. It was formal a great joke. But still, Sammy laughed.
"Hey, Sammy..." Yasmina muttered, her voice softening. Just then, Ben could be heard calling out to Brooklynn and Darius, interrupting Yasmina again.
"Fancy seeing you here!" Ben exclaimed in an exaggerated manner.
"At the meetup spot?" Darius questioned. "Yeah, who saw that coming?"
"Hey, guys," Sammy greeted the trio, getting up and walking over. Yasmina looked down ruefully. She'd get her chance. But... would her confidence last for that long?
"Any luck?" Sammy asked.
"Yup. I managed to set up a drone to patrol the perimiter of the island," Brooklynn announced. "Now we'll get an alert as soon as the Kons return."
"Nice," Sammy complimented. She then felt Yasmina step beside her. So, she wrapped an arm around the other girl's shoulder. "And we made sure all the dinos had somethin' to eat so they won't go after each other. We did that. I don't mean to brag."
Sammy paused for a moment after gesturing to herself and Yasmina.
"Except, I do. Because it's beautiful, and we should be proud."
"You're right," Darius agreed. "Not that there's anyone around to appreciate it."
"Time to change that," Brooklynn said. She opened up the camera on the tablet, holding it up to the others.
"Whoever's watching, get ready to be amazed by these guys," she spoke. "Some of the most incredible people I have ever met."
"Are you recording us?" Sammy asked with a grin, hands on her hips.
"Yeah. Because someone needs to know that we survived Nublar. And that we're here now," Brooklynn reasoned. "And that we protected dinosaurs from big game hunters and..."
"A horrible hybrid," Yasmina said with a scowl. Sammy chuckled.
"Two horrible hybrids," Darius corrected, holding two digits up with a smirk.
"Technically three horrible hybrids," Sammy spoke. Then, Ben pulled Darius in.
"A lunatic that wanted to force dinosaurs to fight," he said.
"And we even got carnivores to play nice with herbivores. So wave to the camera, people. You're kind of a big deal," Brooklynn finished. It had been a while few months. But they'd done so many great things. Especially for a group of kids.
"Don't you wanna be in the shot?" Sammy asked. Brooklynn paused for a moment.
"Nah. That doesn't feel like 'me' anymore," she said.
"I guess we've all changed a lot since we first got to camp," Ben said.
"Oh, yeah," Darius said, wrapping an arm around the other boy's neck. "If I told old you that you'd survive in the jungle, and become best friends with an Ankylosaurus..."
"I'd probably have a heart attack," Ben said with a grin.
"Yeah. And I didn't wanna talk to anyone. Like, at all," Yasmina reminisced.
"Except for me," Sammy pointed out. "Well, really, I kept talkin' to you, and eventually, you had to respond."
Everyone laughed. This really did feel like the final hurdle. The final battle. Final boss. The final mission. Stop the Kons. Of course, one of them had been around for this whole ride. And all of a sudden, they all felt his absence. There was a somber silence momentarily.
"So, uh, I-I've been thinking," Darius spoke, his tone now far from the carefree joy that was there just moments ago. "We've done everything to prepare for when they come back, but why are we waiting for them to act first?"
There was a shocked silence on the group. Because Darius had a point.
--------------------------------------------------------------
"We're the ones with the upper hand," he said as they walked into an airlock. "Even if he knows we got out, Daniel has no idea Brooklynn shut the drones and the BRADs down, except the one Sammy ran into. Or that we moved most of the dinos to the forest biome."
"Yeah. He's totally underestimating us. A big mistake," Sammy agreed. She hit her fist against her palm a few times.
"I'm guessing you have a genius plan to take him by surprise?" Brooklynn assumed. Obviously, the assumption was directed towards Darius.
"Yeah. We trap them in here as soon as they land, take their drone plane, go to the mainland, and get help."
Oh. Wow. He was planning on trapping them...
"It's a good plan," Yasmina reassured.
"We just gotta figure out how to get the doors to stay shut," Ben said. "It could work."
"And if it does, we've trapped Kenji," Brooklynn said. She could see a dejected look on Darius's face.
"We don't have a choice. Besides, he locked us up first. Guess it's... only fair."
She knew neither of them liked the idea. But...
"You're right. It's what we have to do."
Kenji had locked them up first. And honestly, probably left them for dead. If not for Darius, they easily might have died in that pen.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Brooklynn was the one tasked with testing out ways to get the doors to remain locked.
"I can get them to close, but not automatically," she said.
"Option A, you show us how. Option B, can't we just short out the console?" Ben asked.
As the others discussed their gameplan, Yaz turned, seeing a chance to tell Sammy how she felt. But the girl was nowhere in sight.
"Sammy?" the girl called out. There was no response. Growing concerned, Yasmina made a turn towards an open door.
"Boo!"
Sammy jumped out at Yaz, laughing at the trackstar's yelp. But, Yasmina soon smiled.
"Couldn't see me, right? Good. Then neither will Mr. Kon," Sammy said with a smirk, earning a nudge from Yasmina.
"You little..." Yaz trailed off. But suddenly, the door slammed closed between them. And, it locked.
"Sammy," Yasmina called, backing up slightly.
"Guys, if you're testing the doors, a little warning would be nice," the girl complained.
"That wasn't us," Darius called back. Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling. Red lights flashed, an alarm blared, and the airlock began to shake.
"Sammy!" Yasmina yelled out in concern, desperately trying to pry the giant metal door open.
"Well, can you open it?!" Ben urged.
"I...I'm trying, the whole system's malfunctioning," Brooklynn said.
After about a minute, Yasmina succeeded in opening the door. With Sammy stumbling into her arms.
"Thanks," the Texan muttered gratefully. But the rumbling continued. The group sprinted out back into the jungle. The sky glitched, a giant warning sign appearing.
"Geothermal energy core. Critical malfunction," an automated voice boomed.
"We gotta get to the core," Darius said, sprinting away. The others followed suit.
"Do y'all think these earthquakes are making the core malfunction?" Sammy asked.
"The core gets its power by drilling down into the earth, but if that drill is near a fault, it could be causing the earthquakes," Brooklynn explained.
"Great. Any ideas how to fix it?" Ben enquired.
"Nope. But, we gotta do something because-"
"Geothermal energy core. Critical malfunction," the automated voice interjected, cutting Darius off.
"We can't listen to that forever," Brooklynn urged everyone.
"Remember, that BRAD-X is still down there," Yasmina warned. "And that Nothosaurus."
"At least that alarm will make it harder for them to hear us?" Sammy offered any kind of optimistic viewpoint.
"Flip side, it'll also make it harder for us to hear them," Ben said.
Darius lifted the hatch to the sewers, where they climbed down. Stumbling across some flashlights came in handy, as the sewers were near pitch black.
"Keep an eye on the walkway and the water," Darius instructed.
"Is it just me or does it smell worse than before?" Brooklynn asked after a few moments, when everyone suddenly began coughing due to the stench.
"Don't know, but..." Sammy's voice was a pitch higher as she pinched her nose, letting out a cough. "Don't breathe through your mouth, either, or you'll taste it."
She looked at Yaz as she said that, the two laughing for a moment.
"Ugh, so gross," Yasmina groaned.
Darius scanned the area. But up ahead, there was a reddish mist coming from a tunnel up ahead.
"We're almost there," he pointed out. Managing to cross over to the other side, Darius cautiously checked the corner from any danger. His flashlight revealed a BRAD-X, electricity sparking from it. He instinctively yelped and reeled back.
Brooklynn cautiously poked her tablet around the corner, clicking on the camera app. The BRAD-X wouldn't be an issue, it seemed.
"We're okay," she assured the others. She picked up her flashlight and shined it at the robot.
"Look."
"What happened to it?" Sammy questioned as she walked past the BRAD-X.
"I'm guessing it lost a fight with the Nothosaurus," Darius said. Which worried him. Those BRAD-Xs were no joke. So imagine what the Nothosaurus would do to them if it managed to strike.
The rumbling kicked in out of nowhere once more. There was the core. The giant machine powering this island. It was messed up, that was for sure. It was shrouded in mist, but the light coming from its screen was enough to see the state of disrepair. The pipes were leaking gas. Lots of it.
As the others walked on, inspecting the area, Brooklynn stood in front of the control panel. She shut off the alarm system.
"The drill was out of alignment. The whole core is overheating," she paraphrased the words on the screen. Just then, movement was heard. With the mist, it was hard to see.
It was Yasmina who was caught out. The Nothosaurus sprinted towards her. And as she made a run for it, she tripped. The gas seemed to disorient the lizard, and Yasmina took a chance to kick it and get away. She ran into Sammy, backing into her until the reptile passed out.
"It's the gas. Don't go near it," Darius commanded. The pipe seemed to burst more, with more gas breaching into the room. The campers ran into the tunnel, turning around.
"It's a by-product of the energy core. Could be poisonous," Brooklynn explained. "Even worse, the core is overheating. If the pressure builds up enough, the whole thing could blow."
"So then it's lights out all over the island?" Ben asked.
"More like there wouldn't be an island. Or us," Brooklynn said. The group looked into the room.
"If I could find a way to breathe in there, I can try to fix it from the console," Brooklynn stated.
"Okay. To stop the gas, we have to tape up that pipe. I'm pretty sure there's some in the medbay," Darius spoke.
"But we can't just leave the Nothosaurus there to die. Right?" Sammy suddenly questioned. Absolutely nobody groaned or complained. Their compassion for the animals they'd come face to face with had grown ten fold in recent times. So, they dragged the unconscious lizard to the Medbay.
"Look at us," Brooklynn said from behind the camera as everyone else huffed and caught their breaths. "We didn't even argue about whether or not to save a dinosaur that tried to eat us."
"Not a dinosaur," Darius pointed out.
"What is wrong with us?" Yasmina asked with disbelief. The group soon took a breather by a few boxes. That was where Brooklynn spotted the tape.
"It won't last forever, but this might stop the gas leak," she said, walking up to Darius.
"You're gonna need some back up," the boy said. He turned to the others.
"You guys okay to take her to the swamp biome without us?" he asked, referring to the Nothosaurus.
"Yeah," Yasmina said as she stretched. "But why not the forest?"
"She spent her life down in the tunnels so I don't think she's socialized enough for that, yet," the boy explained.
"What about you guys? If that gas did this to a Nothosaurus..."
Brooklynn suddenly gasped positively as she noticed the handkerchief in Sammy's hand, which she gently took.
"Maybe this will help. Were there more of these?" she asked the ranch girl.
"Yeah," Sammy said, passing over some more handkerchiefs to Brooklynn. "Be careful."
"When are we not?" Brooklynn sarcastically replied.
"You too," Darius responded.
"Don't worry. We got this. The dynamic trio," Sammy assured, pulling Ben and Yasmina towards her. "I know it's not a thing. But it should be."
--------------------------------------------------------------
With the BRAD-X and Nothosaurus no longer presenting a threat, it was a pretty straightforward sprint back to the core.
"I got the leak. You try to cool the core," Darius said. "Ready?"
"Every thirty seconds, we get out of the gas and meet back here, just to be safe," she instructed. "As soon as we hear this."
She tapped the tablet, where a timer rang out. The two then put the handkerchiefs over their noses and mouths, and rushed into the room. Darius quickly got to work on the leak. He had to put down the handkerchief in order to tape the pipe back together.
The timer rang, and Darius dropped the tape, picked up the handkerchief, and put it over his nose and mouth again as he sprinted back into the tunnel. He panted, letting oxygen reenter his lungs.
"I ran out of air. But I think..."
He looked around.
"Brooklynn?"
The ringing continued. He looked back into the core. She was still in there.
"No," he muttered, his heart sinking and pounding against his ribcage as it did.
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Hey, Sammy?"
Yasmina had managed to get Ben to rub to the corner. The Nothosaurus was still knocked out. And this ride to the surface wouldn't get any quicker. So, she decided this was the moment. Sammy looked so at peace, looking up at the once again blue artificial skies.
The girl looked down to face Yasmina.
"Yeah?" she asked.
"Um, I'm not sure how you're gonna feel and i-if you don't feel the same it's totally cool," Yasmina began. "But I've been trying to tell you something all day, just waiting for the perfect moment, but there are no perfect moments, and even though I probably still smell like the tunnel and it looks like you have Nothosaurus drool in your hair and Ben is standing right there, I can't wait another minute to tell you how I feel. It has to be now."
"What has to be now?" Sammy asked, seemingly completely oblivious.
"Sammy, I like you. Like, a lot. Like, a lot, a lot. And..."
Looking back up at Sammy's face, Yasmina felt that the girl was looking beyond her.
"Look out!" she screamed, tackling Yasmina out of the way as the Nothosaurus arose. The animal caused havoc, snapping at Ben next. Unfortunately, there was still a good way to go until they reached the surface. Until then, it was a game of dodging. As a last resort, they leaped onto the reptile's back. Both as a means to restrain it and to stay clear of its long and jagged teeth. They made it to the surface, where the Nothosaurus shook them off.
Worse, though, was the fact a Dilophosaurus had shown up. It displayed its frills as it shrieked. But, in this game of free-for-all, even the one who was just trying to kill you could end up saving you. And that was the case here, as the Nothosaurus bit down on the Dilophosaurus's neck, dragging it into the swampy waters.
"Run," Ben said. And neither Sammy nor Yasmina took their time.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Darius rushed into the gas, handkerchief over his mouth and nose. He hurriedly scanned the area.
"Brooklynn!" he shouted out, before coughing in response to the gas reaching him. He pushed deeper into the danger zone, panicking. He searched everywhere.
"Please don't be too late. Please, please don't be too late."
He followed the noise of the ringing to the tablet. Next to it lay Brooklynn.
"Brooklynn," he muttered in concern, worry, and fear.
She was, in the best case scenario, simply unconscious. He dropped his handkerchief and placed the tablet on her lap. He positioned her arm to hold the device in place. The gas was powerful. He coughed violently as he dragged Brooklynn back. So, so close. And then his vision became blurry. He could hear his grunts, but they became distant. He looked down. His body was ready to give in. But he managed to catch the sight of her fuzzy pink sweater. Her gorgeous pink hair. He forced himself to blink, wearing some of the drowsiness he was feeling off. He dragged her by one arm, unable to do it by both. He kept going.
He fell to a knee, but he kept going. Then, eventually, after what felt like an eternity, they were out. He managed to wake up, looking down at the girl. Panic set in.
"Brooklynn. Brooklynn. Come on, wake up," he pleaded, tears threatening to spill. His heart felt as though it was on the verge of shattering into a billion little pieces until she coughed. He let out the biggest sigh of relief ever.
"What happened?" she asked weakly, looking up at him.
"Are you ok?" he asked in a panicked voice, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh, my head..." she groaned. Then, after a moment, she gained clarity. She looked back towards Darius.
"You pulled me out. Once again, you saved the day."
Her voice was shaky. She'd just been on death's doorstep. Ready to knock. But here was this 13-year old boy, who risked his own life to save her. Of course he did. He always did. And to Brooklynn, that was everything. It meant everything.
The boy sighed, leaning back against the wall. Brooklynn looked down towards the tablet, which had its camera app open. She glanced towards Darius. He was special. So, so special.
"Oh, yes. Still recording. Totally captured you being a hero," she gushed. She closed out the video. Darius had a look on his face which was unreadable.
"I don't feel like a hero," he sulked. Brooklynn scooched up beside him.
"What is it? You can talk to me, remember?"
Darius shook his head, putting a palm to his forehead.
"I feel like a monster. Planning to trap his ex-best friend the minute he sets foot on this island. I'm no better than he is."
Oh, this poor boy. Always carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, it seemed. Yet almost never letting his stress, his own issues, get in the way.
"It's not the same," Brooklynn bluntly stated.
"Really? How?"
"Trust me. Kenji is the one who lost his way. Not you," she said, turning her head to look at Darius.
"What if I'm just- changing? All the 'life or death' situations, the choices between this bad thing or that even worse thing, it's turning me into someone I don't know. Someone I might not like."
Brooklynn thought carefully.
"You know why we all look to you?" she asked him. She meant everything, every little word she was about to say, every little movement closer to him.
"Because your light burns bright, Darius Bowman. No amount of terrible choices can put it out," she continued, leaning in so that he might glance towards her.
And he did. And there he saw the most warm, loving look he'd ever recieved. Brooklynn crawled over, placing herself in front of him. She reached a hand out and placed it on his shoulder. This boy meant so much to her. He was her guide. She'd meant it when she said his light burned bright. All these months, he was her light in what had otherwise been a bleak, dark void of trauma and pain and fear and worry these past few months.
"And I'll follow you anywhere."
That sentence made him face her.
"You sure about that?"
Brooklynn's eyes in that moment held a warmth he'd not felt since the last time he saw his father. It caused so, so many butterflies to spawn in his stomach.
Brooklynn knew she was giving him the most loving look she'd ever given anyone. Because there was no one like Darius Bowman. Her mind screamed at her that now was the time. And she really couldn't imagine there would be a better moment, with it being just them, and the Kons still yet to be back.
She leaned in, placing the most tender of kisses on Darius's lips. It was only for about three seconds, but it felt like so much longer. And in that moment, they were in their own little world.
When she pulled away, she was met by a shocked, reddened face.
"I love you, Darius. I-I mean, it's-it's fine if you don't feel the same way," she said, suddenly realizing what she'd just sprung.
Darius was in disbelief. He brought a few fingers to his lips. Did that seriously just happened.
"You... you do?"
"I've liked you for a while now," Brooklynn admitted, looking away. Darius took a long moment to process all this. They were words he'd wanted to hear for a while now. And here they were, actually being said.
"I've liked you, too," he admitted. Brooklynn felt her stomach doing somersaults. This was real. This wasn't a dream. This was real.
"Really?-"
"Mhm," Darius responded.
"So... do you want to..." she trailed off, face red. Darius nodded immediately and ferverently.
"Absolutely," he said.
Brooklynn beamed. And so did Darius. But there was an air of awkwardness between them. Of course, two teenagers falling in love and getting into what seemed to be their first relationship each would result in some awkward tensions. But, Brooklynn went for it, wrapping her arms around Darius. A gesture which he returned rather quickly. It lasted a few moments, and the two savored every single one.
"Come on. The others are probably waiting for us," Brooklynn muttered as she began to walk away. Her feet felt light, but she tried to push the feeling aside.
Darius followed, his mind stuck on the feeling of her lips on his for the few seconds it lasted.
--------------------------------------------------------------
"All I want now, is a cool shower," Sammy commented. They'd made it back safely to the forest, now catching their breaths. Sammy then looked down to Yasmina. She'd heard what the girl had to say on the platform. And she never had the chance to communicate her own feelings. But now would be that moment.
"But first, Yaz, you were trying to tell me something before," the girl spoke. Yasmina looked up at her. Sammy helped the trackstar up.
"What?" Yaz asked in confusion.
"Earlier. In the lift, before the Nothosaurus went all crazy. It seemed super important."
Yasmina sighed, turning away and rubbing her arm before turning back towards Sammy.
"It was."
Yasmina caught Ben running away, giving her the confidence she needed with two thumbs up before tripping. Gathering her composure, she spoke again.
"The truth is, Sammy, I've... fallen for you. Like, hard. Real hard."
Sammy stared in wonder. Even if she already knew, already heard before, it was still surreal. She felt her heart soar.
"I know. I heard you earlier. I just wanted to hear you say it again, because I've been wantin' to hear you say that since I don't even know when," Sammy gushed. Sammy then took the lunge, enveloping Yasmina's neck in an embrace as she kissed the trackstar. After a few moments, the other girl kissed back. It lasted a few seconds, but it was magical beyond words nonetheless. They stared lovingly into one another's eyes.
That was until Brooklynn shrieked from nearby. Ben and Darius were there as well, cheering.
"You two are finally official!" Brooklynn exclaimed.
"You know, I tried to give you a moment, but these two are nosey," Ben joked. Sammy giggled.
"And you said there were no perfect moments," she remarked, nudging Yasmina in the arm. Brooklynn opened the camera, snapping a picture of Sammy nuzzling up to Yaz.
That was when Ben noticed Darius giving Brooklynn a similar look to the one Yasmina and Sammy had shared.
"So, is Yasmina not the only one with a..."
"With a girlfriend? Yeah," Darius smirked. Ben's jaw dropped.
"Wait, what?-" Yasmina blurted out.
"Oh- yeah..." Brooklynn suddenly looked around sheepishly.
"Ohmigosh, congrats!" Sammy exclaimed. "What should I call you... oh! Darlynn!"
Both Darius and Brooklynn giggled at the nickname. Just then, the tablet beeped. Brooklynn looked down.
"It's the perimited drone. They're here," she announced. Back on task, the group rushed out towards the dock. There was a massive vessel of sorts.
"What is that?" Darius wondered.
"It's not the drone plane, that's for sure. Anyone know how to drive a boat?" Brooklynn looked around.
"That was kinda... his thing," Darius said. He pointed down at Kenji, who was back in that tight blue top and khakhi shorts. The boy walked around with a controller, a neutral look on his face. Then, slowly but surely, some of the trailers that had rolled onto the dock opened. Dinosaurs of all sorts stepped out. Only doing so because of these people controlling them. One of them was Limbo. And Kenji? He walked Toro out.
"Is that Toro...?" Sammy asked for verification.
"It is," Darius said. "Kenji's controlling him."
Darius's face darkened. His mind going back to their first encounter with Jurassic World's Carnotaurus. The boy soon got up and walked away sharply.
The others soon followed. But Ben stayed behind when he heard a familiar call. His mind was playing tricks. It had to be. He looked down.
Bumpy was walked onto the dock by an armored man.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Kenji didn't know why, or how. But seeing Bumpy here had all of a sudden shattered everything. He'd told his dad not to do it. That Bumpy wasn't to be chipped. He did it anyway. His father didn't listen. Didn't care again. All that effort just to, once more, be disrespected by his own dad. But that wasn't the only reason. He still cared about the others. No matter how hard he tried to force himself not to care, it didn't work.
His resolve and belief in his father had weakened significantly with the man blaming him on those occasions which left Dodgson unimpressed. And this was now breaking point. He'd tried to convince himself. And it worked for a while. But he couldn't do it anymore.
He had to find a way to fix the mess he'd created. He just hoped the others had it in their hearts to forgive him.