Natalie's skin was glistening and the hair at the nape of her neck felt damp as she pulled her hair into a bun. The design of the GyroSphere was perfect for getting a clear view of all your surroundings, but it did nothing to provide shade for those inside.
"Try not hit me in the face, yeah," Zach huffed at Natalie as he leaned further back into his seat, barely avoiding Natalie's elbow grazed his nose as she tied off the bun.
"You wish I'd hit you in the face," Natalie grumbled. The discomfort of the heat was making the teen grouchy, especially after driving around seeing nothing for almost five minutes.
"What?" Zach frowned at his friend as she winced against the Central American sun, "That doesn't even make sense, Nat,"
"You don't make sense,"
"Where are they?" Gray's question interrupted the two as he squinted into the distance, trying to catch at least a glimpse of one of the dinosaurs that were supposed to be there.
"God, stop whining," Zach scolded his brother as he adjusted his arm that was resting on Natalie's knee.
"No, Gray's got a point. There are meant to be thirty species here and we haven't seen a single one," Natalie agreed with Gray as she looked across the remote fields.
Zach glared at Natalie for siding with Gray but it dropped as soon as he saw the cheeky grin on her face as she leaned in close to him. "What if they've gone somewhere private?" she whispers to him, her breath brushing against his ear, "You know, a bit of dino dumping. Some Stego-sore-arse. They're all dino-whores."
Zach's body shuddered from trying to hold in his sniggers as Natalie spouted out more dinosaur sex puns. Natalie's snort caught Gray's attention as she choked on her laughter. "What? Natalie, I can't hear you," Gray complained as he tried to make out what she was whispering.
"Nat thinks they're all having sex,"
"Zach!" Natalie slapped Zach's arm as he burst into laughter. To protect himself from the oncoming assault, Zach let go of the gearstick so he could grab Natalie's hand tightly and pinned it against her leg.
"Guys! Guys, look!" Gray exclaimed, shaking Natalie's arm fervently as he pointed into the distance. Zach let out a breathy laugh before he let go off Natalie's hand to push the GyroSphere forward. Natalie couldn't say anything, her mouth falling open in awe at the sight before her.
By the tree lines, dinosaurs of all different species leisures under the Central American sun. A pack of Stegosaurus, colossal red spines from their neck to the tip of their tails. Their heads were so small for the body size. A mother brontosaurus grazes the thick, juicy vegetation of the swampy plain. Her calf stays close and stretches his neck upward, gazing up at the bright sun in the cloudless sky.
As they got closer, Natalie could feel the ground shake with each step the dinosaurs took. Their groans seemed to echo around them as Zach skillfully manoeuvered around them all, avoiding their feet and tails. "This is... incredible," Natalie finally managed to say as a grin stretched across her cheeks.
The small screen on the console began to blink, distracting Natalie from trying to get her hand free. "Due to technical difficulties all our exhibits are now closed. Please disembark all rides and return to the resort." An automated voice sounded out of the speakers.
"Oh, man," Gray groaned as he fell back into his seat. The group hadn't even been on the ride for five minutes and already they had to return to the hotel. They hadn't even been able to see any dinosaurs on the ride.
"They can't be serious," Natalie stared at the console of the GyroSphere in disbelief. "I don't want to leave yet," Natalie really didn't want to leave the GyroSphere. It was hot and she felt crammed with the boys but she didn't want to go back to the resort. It was peaceful where they were, the three of them together with nobody to bother them.
"We don't have to," Zach spoke up from beside her. Natalie turned to see him looking at her and Gray with a reassuring smile, "Come on, we can stay out a couple more minutes."
"But they said it was closed." Gray frowned in confusion at his brother's idea. "What if we get in trouble?"
"We won't, okay?" Zach dismissed his brother, pushing harder against the gearstick to make the GyroSphere move faster. Natalie shifted her leg as Zach's arm pressed against it. "Aunt Claire gave us special wristbands, right? We're VIP, dude. Come on, it'll be fun."
Natalie felt her lips tug into a smile. Zach could be arrogant, short-tempered and dismissive of others She couldn't help but place her hand on his arm which still rested on her leg. Zach only spared her a glance at her touch before looking back in front of them.
The tone of Zach's phone rang through the GyroSphere. Natalie rolled her eyes as Zach began to dig in his pockets for the phone. She caught Gray staring at her in the corner of her eye, his brows raised and lips pursed. "What?" Natalie whispered defensively, "Stop looking at me like that. Stop it!"
Zach gave Natalie an odd look but she only flashed him an innocent smile and a small shrug in return. Shaking his head, he answered the phone. "Hey, Claire..." Natalie's shoulders sagged in relief, glaring at Gray to not say anything. "I can't really hear you, we're in the hamster ball. Hello?" Zach only held the phone to his ear for a couple of seconds before he hung up. "No signal in this thing," he explained as he pocketed his phone.
"Do you think it was something important?" Natalie asked in concern.
"What? No, no. She was probably told that our babysitter lost us," Zach smirked at Natalie, "She can shout at us when we're done."
"Aunt Claire's gonna shout at us?" Gray asked with wide eyes.
Natalie sighed, rubbing Gray shoulder assuringly, "Nobody's shouting at anyone, Gray. Don't worry about it."
"What happened here?" Natalie looked up. Zach had pulled up to a fence surrounding the field, obviously to keep the dinosaurs in their sections of the park. The gate, however, was left wide open, claw marks engraved into the metal barriers and tire tracks covering the ground. Zach leaned across Natalie to hit his brother's arm in excitement. "Dude. Off-road."
Gray stared at the open gate for a moment, doubt in his eyes. "But they told us to go back."
"I'm just worried you're not getting the full Jurassic World experience," Zach claimed in concern.
"'The Jurassic World experience'," Natalie scoffed. "Bullshit,"
Zach smiled charmingly at her with a wink as he pressed his finger to his lips. "Shh..." Without a reply, Zach pushed against the controls and steered them into the jungle, past the broken gate.
"No, no. Bad idea, bad idea." Gray shook his head as Zach took them farther into the jungle. His regret was almost overwhelming for letting his brother push his boundaries.
"Great idea." Zach grinned, ignoring Gray's worries.
"No!" Gray exclaimed, looking past Natalie to stare at his brother incredulously. "We're gonna get arrested. They'll shave our heads, and we're gonna have to make root beer in the toilet."
"What are you talking about?" Zach frowned at his brother before his eyes flickered to Natalie's. "He's gotten that from you, you know?" It was a habit of Natalie's that he had noticed his brother had begun to pick up over the last few months. Whenever faced with stressful situations, they listed the most bizarre and unlikely scenarios that could happen. Natalie's usually lasted a good five minutes, however.
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Natalie retaliated in defense. "He's precautious."
"He's paranoid, just like you." Zach corrected before he quickly added. "And it is a bad thing. It's such a buzzkill."
"You're a buzzkill!" Natalie exclaimed. "Always manipulating people into doing what you want. And if somebody finally manages to stand up to you, you whine about it for hours until they come falling at your feet."
"I do not! I-"
"Guys!" Gray exclaimed, interrupting the two teens arguing. "Look,"
Natalie and Zach gave each other one last glare before turning to where Gray was pointing. Zach's look of anger immediately dropped and was replaced with a smug smile. "There. You see? I told you. You're welcome. Up close and personal with four dinosauruses."
"Ankylosaurus." Gray corrected. "We shouldn't be here. And there are five dinosaurs. "
"Aren't you supposed to be a genius or something? Look." Zach frowned at Gray before he began to point at each hard-armored dinosaurs, "One, two, three, four."
"Five." Gray's voice shook as he pointed to the front of the Gyrosphere. Natalie was confused at first, only seeing the four Ankylosaurus. Then the white lines dotting the glass of the GyroSphere began to move and Natalie realized what they were. Slowly, the three turned around.
Natalie's scream was completely smothered by the murderously roar of the dinosaur looming over them.