"Is that what I think it is?" My eyes were glued to the fire in the woods. Could it be? The fire was clearly man made, but who? My first thought was 'Ben', but how could he? There was no chance. Either way, I couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of hope deep down.
"It can't be." Yasmina whispered.
"I'm seeing it too." Brooklynn agreed.
"That is most def a bonfire." Kenji said.
"People!" Sammy sighed, hugging Yasmina tight. Were there other survivors in the island? Maybe we weren't the only ones left behind. Or...
"Someone got our SOS signal!" Kenji said in relief.
"So, what are we waiting for?" I smiled.
"Let's go find them!" Darius threw his arms in the air. "It's time to go home!"
We swiftly gather our essentials and took off to the campfire. I grabbed my knife and put it in my pocket, Kenji had his butter knife and Brooklynn her baseball bat. Darius, Sammy and Yasmina, each grabbed pieces of wood that were laying around.
The part of the jungle where the campfire was located was really dense and we could easily get lost, so every now and then, one of us would climb up a tall tree to locate ourselves. Brooklynn went first, then Kenji, and Darius.
When it was my turn, I easily climbed the tree until I was high enough, the cut on my arm didn't bother me much anymore, nor did my back. Hey, turns out being benched wasn't all that bad.
On the top of the tree, I glanced at the direction the campfire was supposed to be, but nothing... no light or smoke in sight. I did a 360°, carefully analyzing my surroundings.
"No, no, no, no, no." I mumbled to myself. There was nothing! No sign of the campfire. I climbed down, jumping the last couple meters. "It's gone." I informed them, and then there was a collective gasp.
"What do you mean gone?" Yasmina asked.
"Maybe they put it out?" I suggested, still holding onto hope.
"What if they left?" Sammy quietly asked. "What if the people who came to save us gave up and we missed our chance?" After that statement, the mood went downhill fast.
"They can't be far, right?" I tried to lift their spirits. "We just saw the fire a few minutes ago, let's just keep going." I glanced at Darius, silently asking for help.
"Hayden's right, we can't give up now!" Darius said with a confident voice. "We are in the right track, just keep going that-"
A loud roar echoed through the jungle. I jumped at the sudden sound and what it meant. The roar was way too loud and too close for comfort. The six of us formed a circle, with our backs to each other, weapons in hand, ready to fight.
"C-Could be a really big Compy, right?" Kenji shakingly said. "Darius, didn't you say they were creepo skylarks?"
"I said they were crepuscular." Darius corrected.
The foliage moved on my right and suddenly a dinosaur jumped out of it, scattering out our circle. It was a Ceratosaurus, but instead of a fully grey skin, this one had patches of red on its face. It roared at us, but it didn't immediately attack so we took the opportunity to run for our lives.
We ran as fast as we possibly could in the darkness, dodging trees, rocks and logs. Maybe the dinosaur had problems seeing in the dark or maybe it just wasn't as fast, because the distance between us grew. I took the lead with Darius, but suddenly I heard a grunt and a thud, as if someone had hit a tree. I looked back to see Kenji sprawled on the floor, with Sammy coming full speed behind him; she didn't manage to avoid Kenji and tripped on his head, also falling to the ground.
"No!" Darius yelled, running back. He kneeled next to Sammy and I headed to Kenji while Brooklynn and Yasmina took defensive stances in front of us.
"Come on Kenji, get up." I pleaded, watching the grey dinosaur approaching with its heavy footsteps, but Kenji didn't move, he only groaned in response.
I tried to pull him up but he couldn't even sit up straight. I put his arm around me and hoisted him up, inciting more pained groans to come from Kenji. I saw he was trying to help, to get his legs to work, but the Ceratosaurus was gaining on us. There was no way Kenji could run.
There was screams around me and the dinosaur was roaring at us, but the only thing I could focus on was my heart beating out of my chest. 'Was this how it ended?' We just managed to rebuilt camp C, things were looking up. 'Was this really it?' I glanced at Darius helping Sammy up, Kenji hanging his head low, Yasmina's eyes focused on Sammy while Brooklynn's were locked at the Ceratosaurus.
"Okay! Come on!" Brooklynn yelled, breaking my trance. She planted her feet wide on the ground and raised her bat to face the predator.
I dropped Kenji with a thud and he moaned in pain. I took mental note to apologize for that if we lived. With both my hands free, I imitated Brooklynn's stance with my knife and noticed Yasmina and Darius doing the same.
"Let's fucking go!" I shouted to gain confidence.
"This is it!" Yasmina grunted.
The dinosaur roared loudly, opening its mouth to show us every single one of its sharp teeth. We yelled at the Ceratosaurus as it got closer, but suddenly, right before the dinosaur attacked, the night turned red.
A red flare exploded in the air near the dinosaur's head, blinding us and the animal. I felt someone shove me back and I fell on the grass.
"Get down!" An authoritarian male voice shouted. There were successive incredibly loud popping sounds of gunshots and someone shot another flare. The dinosaur roared and shook its head, finally giving up on us and running away. We all coughed, because of the smokescreen left behind by the flares.
In front of us, there were three silhouettes; when the smoke cleared, two men and a woman stood before us. Definitely not Ben and definitely not looking like tourists that got left behind while visiting the park.
"Oh, thank goodness. You're okay." The woman said. She had a short blonde hair and was dressed like she was going to a safari, light clothes, a hat and a handkerchief around her neck.
We just stood in silence, panting to collect ourselves. Even though those three definitely saved our lives, part of me was still sad it wasn't Ben; still hoping for the impossible.
"You are okay, aren't you?" The man next to the woman said, with an unsure tone. He had the same tone of hair and was also dressed in similar clothes, a hat and a shirt with a few buttons open, showing off a necklace. In addition, this guy had a fancy camera hanging around his neck.
The third man stood behind them in silence. Different from the couple, he had a very stern look, military cut white hair, beard and a scar across the eyebrow. He was a big guy, wearing a black t-shirt and a hunting vest, but more importantly, he was holding a huge rifle and a machete strapped on the waist.
"Who... who are you?" Darius asked, astonished.
"Well, after all that, maybe you should call us your salvation." The lady said with a kind smile on her face.
...
Their camp was close by so we happily got up and joined them. The silent guy was on the lead, opening a path with the machete, while we walked with the couple.
"You okay? How's your head?" I whispered to Kenji. He still looked a bit out of it.
"What? That?" He chuckled to dismiss me. "It was nothing. Kenji don't go down easy." He flexed his muscles in a weird masculine display, but I noticed him walking a bit wobbly.
"Okay, macho. If you say so." I gave up, but I still was going to keep a close eye on him. Contusions could be tricky little bastards.
Sammy laughed at something the couple had said and I turned my attention back to their conversation.
"We could not believe it when we saw your campfire." Brooklynn said.
"Did you get left behind, too?" Yasmina asked.
"Not looking like that, they didn't." Kenji commented. Their clothes were really clean to be out in the jungle for weeks.
"Yeah. Are you, like, some super stylish rescue squad?" Sammy excitedly asked.
"Guys, take a breath." Darius calmed them down. "We don't even know your names."
"I'm Mitch." The man introduced himself. "And my better half here is Tiff." He pointed at the woman. "We're eco-tourist."
"That's a fancy way of saying we travel to exotic places and photograph rare animals." Tiff softly said, smiling at Mitch.
"I know Simon Masrani." Kenji said out of the blue, but quickly regretted it as his face fell. "Or knew."
"When we heard what happened here, we were, like, zoop!" Mitch said.
"Zoop! Gotta get down here." Tiff laughed. "I was fine taking snaps of lions and tigers, but-"
"Pics of dinosaurs in the wild? You don't pass that up, do you, babe?" Mitch said, smiling fondly at Tiff.
"I guess you don't, babe." She returned the look.
I grimaced at the display of affection and Sammy started a fit of laughter for no reason, which made Mitch and Tiff glance at her with confused frowns.
"I travel, too!" Brooklynn joined the conversation. "Before we got stuck here, obvi. Hey, you've seen my videos, Brooklynn Unboxes the World?" She excitedly said, but was met with more confused faces from the two. "The Youtube channel?" She tried again.
"Coming to the island, did you receive any emergency signal by any chance?" I asked, curious if our efforts worked. Mitch and Tiff only looked at me puzzled until realization set in.
"Oh, yes, the signal!" Tiff exclaimed and a smile grew on my lips.
Darius jumped at that. "When we activated the emergency distress beacon, we hoped someone would get our signal." He laughed. "I kind of can't believe it worked."
"Honey, remember when we got that?" Tiff leaned into Mitch. "It was right after the boat dropped us off."
"On the island?" I frowned, thinking it was weird they only received it so close. I thought the EDB could send a signal hundreds of miles out or something.
"Yeah, we were so excited to see live dinosaurs that we almost missed it." Mitch laughed.
The guy cutting down the leaves made loud grunts and noises with every swing of the machete, drawing our attention to him.
"That's our tour guide, Hap. Came highly recommended." Mitch introduced him. "Knows cameras and the outdoors like the back of his hand, but not much of a talker." He explained to us. "Almost there, right Hap?" Mitch spoke loudly, but Hap ignored him and kept opening the way for us. We had been walking for so long that the sun had started to come up. Was the campfire we'd seen that far away?
"Where is 'there' exactly." I asked, sounding a bit blunt so I tried to fix it with a smile. I was one thousand percent sure the EDB sends the SOS hundredths of miles in every direction. Was it getting low on battery? I had been a while since we got it to work.
"Our camp. It should be really close now." Tiff answered, smiling back at me softly.
After another hill, Hap finally cut the last branches out of the way and we found ourselves in Mitch and Tiff's camp.
"Our camp's not much, but hopefully you'll be okay roughing it with us." Mitch said.
Our mouth hung agape; this place was amazing! In a clearing, there were four sand-colored tents in a circle, not even camping tents, they were more like luxurious yurts. There was a campfire with outdoor chairs around it and a big table for meals.
"Oh, my gosh!" Sammy gasped.
"Oh, is this a dream?" Yasmina said, rushing to see the campsite. "Out of my way! Out of my way!"
"Is this real?" Darius said in disbelief.
We ran around the camp, taking it all in.
"Oh, look at that! Over there!" Sammy pointed to a yurt and we followed to take a peek.
The yurt walls were made of a hanging sand-colored fabric, and inside, there was a king size bed with a huge mosquito net hanging from the ceiling, a dresser and a wood stove with an exhauster fan on the corner.
"Oh, wow!" Brooklynn said in awe.
"Even the mosquito net is luxurious!" Sammy commented.
"They even have a mosquito net." I shudder, thinking back on the various mosquito bites I had from sleeping in the jungle. "I'd kill for one."
"This what I imagined Kenji's penthouse would be like." Yasmina said. "But better, because we aren't locked out."
"I see brand names!" Brooklynn tried to run inside the yurt, but Darius held her back laughing.
"It's fine, I guess." Kenji shrugged. "Personally, I'd have arranged the yurts in more of an A-line config."
The others moved on from this yurt to explore the rest of the camp, leaving Kenji and me behind. Kenji waited for them to leave to drop the facade and belly flop onto the bed, his laugh muffled by the pillow. I did the same, landing next to him on the bed.
"Oh, this is so soft!" I grinned ear to ear as my body relaxed on the mattress.
"And it smells so good." Kenji mumbled, still with his face buried on the pillows.
"Admit it. This is awesome." I crossed my arms behind my head. Kenji mumbled something incoherent in response. "I can't wait to sleep in a proper bed, without being eaten alive by mosquitos." I sighed.
"I can wait to take a hot shower." Kenji said, laying on his back and imitating my pose.
"Do you think they even have showers?" I asked, my face lit up at the thought.
"Of course, they do." Kenji laughed. "They might not know how to camp Kon's style, but they do alright."
I sighed loudly, melting into the bed. Moments ago, we were running in the jungle, almost getting eaten by dinosaur... and now we had clean sheets, a mosquito net and adults around to keep us safe.
With one more sigh, I broke the silence, remembering how exactly we almost got eaten by the Ceratosaurus. "You sure you're okay, right?"
"What, that little bump?" He chuckled. "Don't worry, my dad always said I have a thick skull."
I grinned. "Why? You hit your head a lot when you were a kid? Cause that would explain a lot."
"No, it actually was because- Hey, wait a minute!" He sat up straight, outraged.
"What?" I raised my arms in surrender, but still with a smile on my face. "Just saying." Laughter coming from the outside drew my attention. "Let's go see what everybody is up to." I suggested, already getting up.
"Five more minutes." He complained, laying back down.
"Come on." I grunted, pulling him up.
Kenji reluctantly followed me outside. Everybody was at the table, with smiles plastered in their faces. Pretty sure my face was the same, because after days living in the jungle with limited resources and no one around; the thought of a proper bed and a hot shower made my day, but what was really getting to me was the prospective of going home.
Sammy gasped loudly. "A can opener?" She grabbed the utensil and kneeled in front of Mitch and Tiff. "Do you know how long I spent trying to open those cans of fruit we found? It almost broke me." She cried.
"My goodness, I can't imagine how hungry you all must be." Tiff said sympathetically. "Would you like some breakfast?"
At that question, our jaws dropped for the thousandth time today. The simple thought of hot food made my mouth water and my stomach growl.
After a few minutes of anticipation, the smells hit us. Eggs, bacon and toast were brought to the table. I filled my plate as fast as possible, not really caring if the adults thought bad of me, but everybody did the same so, I didn't mind. Then, a new smell hit us.
"Is that coffee?" Brooklynn said with wide eyes, speaking with her mouth full. Our mugs were magically filled with coffee, orange juice or water, depending of our preferences.
We filled our plates once again, eating in silence, well, apart from Darius, who had to tell all we'd been through to the couple of strangers.
"...after that, we escaped another dinosaur attack, and another one." Darius went on. "Then we saw your bonfire-"
"This is like cooking back home." Sammy said, biting down on a bacon.
"-and you saved us from a dinosaur attack." Darius continued.
"So. Many. Attacks." Yasmina shivered.
"And here you are, after all you've been through." Tiff looked at us with her warm and compassioned eyes. "Camp destroyed, being abandoned, losing your friend- oh." She fanned herself with her hand.
I choked on my toast. Did she need to bring that up? I drank down all of my orange juice to clear my throat. Everybody immediately dropped the food and stared at the wooden table, not wanting to look at the adults in the face.
"Don't be a downer, babe." Mitch placed his hand on Tiff's shoulder. "They're with us now and they're safe. And when our boat comes back in a couple of days-"
"After it refuels in Papagayo." Tiff reminded him.
"After it refuels in Papagayo, we'll get you back to the mainland."
"We're leaving in two days?" Darius shrieked.
"Is this really happening?" Sammy asked with tear in her eyes.
"It is, sweetie." Tiff placed her hand on Sammy's shoulder, comforting her. "You're going home."
"Woo-hoo!" Sammy jumped up.
"Yes! Home!" Kenji punched the air.
The six of us celebrated, laughing and hugging each other. 'It was real. We were going home.' I couldn't stop giggling.
"Hey, you wanna see some pics we took of big five animals in Botswana?" Mitch asked Darius, showing him his camera.
"Oh, these are so cool!" Darius said in awe at the pictures.
"The camera does the work for you." Kenji scoffed. "I've also got a JC-1000." But he was ignored by both of them. "Actually, I've got a JC-3000. Prototype, never been on the market-"
"Got any dinosaur shots?" Darius asked.
"Unfortunately, not yet." Mitch sighed. "Personally, I had my sights set on the T. rex."
"Hayden here knows everything about Rexy." Kenji bragged and both Mitch and Darius glanced at me.
I elbowed Kenji, who groaned in pain. "All of us have encountered the T. rex a few times." I laughed nervously for being put on the spot. "But really, Darius is the pro."
"Oh boy, I can't wait to see its cranialfacial biting behavior in action." Mitch said, pointing his camera to an invisible T. rex. "Sorry, I can be a bit of a nerd about dinosaurs." He chuckled.
"Caniofacial talk? I'll bite." Darius joked, but immediately cringed. "Sorry. That- that was terrible."
"Looks like we both need muzzles." Mitch joined in.
"I know, right?" Darius said, and the both of them had a fit of laughter.
Kenji only rolled his eyes and played with a bacon on his plate.
"Aw, you mad cause Darius made a new friend?" I teased him.
"Oh, shut up." He threw the bacon at me. "This guy doesn't even know the JC-3000. He's not the real deal."
"Uh-huh." I laughed at him, but suddenly someone banged a plate against the table next to me.
"No more questions." The Hap guy said hastily, starring down at Brooklynn, who backed up on her chair, scared. "Your food will get cold." He said to her, toning it down.
I had totally forgotten about this guy, but who did he think he was to scream to a kid like that? I gave him a death stare, but he ignored me, or just plain didn't notice me. I didn't really know what was more insulting.
"All right. Why don't you kids freshen up while we clear the table?" Tiff got up, drawing our attention. "It's a little primitive, sorry." She pointed to a yurt. "In the bathroom yurt you'll find a solar powered shower and a heated toilet."
Sammy quickly gulped down her drink. "I love you!" She said to Tiff. "It's fine if you don't say it back." She ran to the bathroom, calling us all to follow.
Yasmina, Darius and Kenji, with his plate still in hand, went after Sammy. Brooklynn got up, but the ID card we'd discovered yesterday fell from her pocket and Hap picked it up.
"Hey, that's mine." She said, trying to take back the card, but he held onto to it firmly. Hap was, once again staring at her, with a creepy look on his face.
"Give it back, old man, that doesn't belong to you." I said, mustering all my confidence and narrowing my gaze to match his. Hap finally acknowledged me, glancing down. He towered several inches over me, but I didn't let that hinder my annoyance at this dude. I get it, it was Brooklynn... but who did he think he was?
After a second way too long, he grunted and let go of the card.
"Brooklynn, Hayden, come on!" Darius called us from the bathroom.
"Let's go." Brooklynn pulled me by the arm, leading me to the bathroom, but I kept my eyes on Hap all the way, who didn't move a muscle.
We came in to the bathroom to Sammy gushing about all of the different hygiene products. Different from the other yurt, this one had wooden walls and partitions, there was a huge sink with a mirror, a shower to the left and the toilet to the right, where Kenji was seated eating the rest of his breakfast.
"Please, this is all so basic." Kenji said. "If you guys had seen my penthouse-"
"Shh. I can't prove it yet, but I think..." Brooklynn started whispering, but stopped herself to take a peek outside.
"What are you on about?" Yasmina asked.
"Shh!" Brooklynn shushed her and hushed all of us to the toilet cabin. "There's something going on with Hap. He dodged all my questions and was really weird about the key card I found in Wu's lab. Mitch and Tiff are clueless. She's too 'golly goodness' to notice anything..." She rolled her eyes, doing air quotes. "...and all he thinks about is dinosaurs."
"What's wrong with that?" Darius asked, seeming hurt by the comment.
"No, I..." She sighed. "I'm just saying Hap's suspicious. He's gruff, and unsmiling, and-"
"What's wrong with that?" Yasmina asked with a blank stare.
"I don't mean... Look, could Hap be involved with Mantah Corp?" Brooklynn finally asked what was on her mind. "Am I crazy?"
I stopped myself from saying 'yes' not to hurt her feelings, but I did roll my eyes. Not everything in this island had something to do with Mantah Corp.
"I mean, the Mantah Corp folks who sent me were like corporate spies, not action-man, secret-identity, pew-pew spies." Sammy imitated guns with her finger.
"But- Hayden saw the way Hap was acting." Brooklynn looked at me with pleading eyes. "Tell me that wasn't suspicious."
"Yeah, I'll admit to that." I sighed. "The guy gives me the creeps, but he gives off more like a serial killer vibe, you know? Not a spy." I said honestly.
Sammy groaned. "That sounds worse."
"Look, I know you've got conspiracy on the brain, Brooklynn, but forget Hap." Darius said. "In two days, we're going home. Let's focus on that."
I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, B." I paused, waiting for her to comment about the nickname, but she didn't seem to mind. "These guys are our ticket out of here, let's just keep our heads down and we're good."
"Fine." She reluctantly said, dropping her shoulders.
"Don't worry, Brooklynn." Sammy smiled. "Just in case, we'll keep our eyes open."
...
Having a real camp with armed adults around had its perks. We got to relax, not worry about dinosaurs, getting food or the river drying up. For the rest of the morning, we got to soak in the sun. Tiff was offering massages and Sammy was the only bold enough to accept it. Darius was glued to Mitch and his camera, discussing more dinosaur facts. Kenji was eating his second breakfast of the day, and Brooklynn was sulking in the corner. Yasmina sat in a chair close to Sammy, and used another chair to elevate her leg, I copied her and ended up taking a nap under the sun. I didn't even remember the last time I had slept like this, I basically passed out. Maybe it was because we hadn't slept in 24 hours and the exhaustion took over, but I didn't have any nightmares, just oblivion.
It didn't last long, though. I was startled awake by the loudest alarm ever; I had to put my hands over my ears to try and smothered the sound.
"What is this?" Sammy yelled over the alarm.
"Is it dinosaurs?" Yasmina asked.
I looked around; the camp wasn't that big and there were no dinosaurs in sight. However, we were alone, just Sammy, Yasmina and I were left in the camp.
"I don't think so. Let's find the others." I shouted, motioning them to follow me. The alarm stopped as suddenly as it had started and I heard a voice yelling from behind a yurt. We followed the voice and found everybody. Hap was yelling at both Brooklynn and Kenji, while Darius, Mitch and Tiff stood dumbfounded.
"...these kids can't go snooping into private spaces." Hap got into Brooklynn's face, who shoot daggers with her eyes, only provoking him further.
"Now, now, Hap." Tiff tried to calm him down, placing a hand on his arm. "I'm sure it was all a misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding?" He pointed to Brooklynn's face. "Do yourself a favor and stay out of my yurt."
"Let's talk about this calmly, okay?" Tiff slowly made he back up and they left the group to go talk in private.
All the campers stared annoyed at Brooklynn, but she just stood there with a defiant stance. What the hell was she doing? She promised she wouldn't do this.
"Sorry about that." Mitch laughed awkwardly. "It's our first time working with Hap, and he's very protective of his yurt. Set it up himself, moved all the equipment in. Haven't even allowed us in."
"Ha! See? See?" Brooklynn said, sounding obsessed.
"Maybe we should postpone our trek. You've all been through a lot." Mitch said to Darius, giving Brooklynn the side eye. "Especially that one... it seems."
"No, it's- it's fine." Darius said. "Brooklynn won't touch the yurt, and we'll all go to the place I wanted to show you."
"Uh, Darius? I think maybe we should freshen up before we decide that." Brooklynn said with a forced smile.
"We already freshened up." Darius said it in the same forced tone.
"Can never be too fresh." She pressed.
Mitch left us alone for us to decide what to do. So, Brooklynn rushed us to the bathroom and we crowded up the toilet cabin once again.
"Really? There isn't anywhere else we can talk?" Yasmina grunted, trying to get comfortable in the tight space.
"Hap is hiding something!" Brooklynn whispered in a hushed tone. "Why put an alarm on a yurt?"
"Uh, so a dinosaur or a you can't sneak in and wreck his stuff?" Yasmina answered sarcastically.
"I was there, too, and that alarm was definitely crepuscing me out." Kenji agreed with Brooklynn.
"It doesn't matter if it's weird. The point is, you shouldn't be screwing up the people that are going to get us home!" I raised my voice a bit, annoyed.
"Yeah." Darius scoffed. "Typical."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Brooklynn turned to Darius.
"You can't just let this conspiracy stuff go, huh?" Darius said. "And for what? A new video to boost your followers?"
"Who said anything about followers?" She angrily whispered back. "You think I'm doing this to get attention?"
"Yes! That's your whole deal." He exasperated. "You're mad Mitch and Tiff haven't heard of you, and now you're doing this."
"And what's your whole deal, Darius? Dinosaurs?" She scoffed, crossing her arms. "You care more about them than actual people."
"That's hilarious, you calling me selfish." Darius hissed.
"You're obsessed." Brooklynn inched closer, getting on his face. "Just because Mitch is acting all 'cool dad' with you doesn't-" She stopped herself mid-sentence, thinking about what she just said. Everybody held their breaths at that. Darius backed away, with tears starting to form on his eyes. "Oh... No, D-Darius, I didn't-" Brooklynn tried to talk to him, but Darius just looked away, trying to hide his face and leaving the bathroom in a hurry.
"Way to go." I hastily said, running after Darius.
"Not cool, Superstar." Yasmina said as I left the bathroom.
"Darius, wait!" I called. He was half way to the edge of the camp, where Mitch and Tiff were waiting for us.
"I don't wanna talk about it." He had his hands tight in fists.
"Uh, what about your other friend?" Tiff asked.
"Don't worry about her." He said. "She's doing her own thing."
Kenji and Brooklynn had stayed behind while the rest of the group entered the jungle with Darius as a guide. I had to powerwalk to catch up with him.
"Darius, hold up." I grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the group.
"I'm fine." He spit back.
"Good, but I wasn't going to ask that." I clarified. "I just wanted to let you know that I'll stay back, 'cause someone has to keep an eye on Brooklynn."
He blinked a couple times. "Oh, right. That's probably a good idea." Darius said, calming down.
"Where you taking them, by the way?"
"Uh, a couple places nearby, the grasslands... maybe to see some herbivore herd." Darius scratched his chin.
"That's a great idea, I bet they are going to get some sick pics." I said, making him crack a smile.
"We'll be back later in the evening, I think." He pondered. "Maybe later."
"Got it." I nodded. "I won't keep you then, be safe."
"Later." He said and I waved as I returned to Mitch and Tiff's camp.
...
Back at the camp, I went straight for the bathroom, looking for Kenji and Brooklynn. However, the place was empty, as was the campfire area.
"Un- fucking -believable." I grunted though a clenched jaw. There was only one other place Brooklynn could've been.
I headed for Hap's yurt and just as I had predicted, there they were. My anger towards Brooklynn quickly shifted toward Hap, who had one hand on each of Kenji and Brooklyn's shoulders.
Hap crouched to be at their eye level. "Let's not make this any more unpleasant than it needs to be." He said in a menacing voice, scrunching up their shirts.
"What's going on?" I approached them, sizing up Hap. It doesn't matter what either of them had done, Hap was way out of line.
"They tried to break in to my yurt." Hap simply said, letting go of them.
"Mind if we talk for a second?" I asked Hap, but he didn't react. So, I glanced to Kenji and Brooklynn. "Alone."
"You sure?" Kenji asked, gulping visibly, but I signaled from them to get out. They hesitantly did what I asked and I returned my attention to Hap.
"Okay, what's your deal, old man?" I asked, trying to get a reaction out of him. Anything would be better than this ominous stare.
"They tried to break in to my yurt."
"They're just kids, you know? They are curious about stuff they shouldn't be." I paused, waiting for him to say something. Maybe to explain how he overreacted, but silence only got me more and more annoyed. I straighten my back. "And let's be clear, that was the last time you laid hands on them. Or I will make it very unpleasant for you." I tried my best to imitate his tone of voice.
"You don't know who you talking to, girl." He said, just as stern.
"And I don't fucking care." I kept my gaze fixed on his.
After a long second, he sighed. "Just make sure they stay away from my yurt."
I blinked. "I- I can do that." I agreed, suddenly startled by him backing down. He nodded and entered his yurt.
I stood there starring at the sand-colored fabric. 'What the hell was up with this guy?' I thought, starting to believe in Brooklynn. He was acting way too sketchy to not be hiding something. I mentally shook myself. I couldn't worry about that now, we just needed to get home.
I made my way back to the table, where Brooklynn and Kenji were sitting, and I sat across from them.
"So... you didn't want to go with them?" Kenji nervously asked.
I scoffed. "I'm glad I didn't. Somebody has to keep an eye on Brooklynn and on you too, apparently." Kenji cowered, averting his gaze.
"But Hap is really up to something." Brooklynn pleaded. "He was waiting for us, like a psychopath."
"I'm not blind." I rolled my eyes. "But what you don't get is that what you're doing might keep us from going home, so we're staying put until everyone gets back, no more sneaking around."
She scoffed. "I get that, mom. But he's dangerous."
"My point exactly." I said annoyed. "Stop messing with him."
We starred each other in silence for a while, until she looked away, leaning back on her chair and crossing her arms across her chest. I interpretated it as a signal that she gave up, so I relaxed, but not entirely though, because the last time she said she wouldn't do something, she did the exact opposite.
Kenji tried to chit-chat, but I turned him down. I was not in the mood for talking and honestly was also mad at him for joining her on her escapades.
After a few minutes, Hap left his yurt and pulled a chair by the extinguished bonfire a few steps behind me. That got me on edge, Hap just sitting there right behind me, out of my sight. I tried to not show I was uncomfortable, because the guy actually scared me.
Things got boring fast, and Kenji was the first one to fall asleep. He had his head on Brooklynn shoulder and was drooling a bit. That made it hard to keep a straight face, and Brooklynn disgusted look only made it better.
Then, Brooklynn started to yawn; she fought to stay awake, but eventually gave in. I managed to stay up, between the nap I took previously and the lingering presence behind me, I wouldn't be falling asleep so soon.
"Come in, Hap. Hap, come in." Tiff's staticky voice came through Hap's radio.
He stood up, with the radio in hand. "Stay there." He grunted at me, walking over behind a yurt, where we wouldn't be able to hear him.
Suddenly, Brooklynn jolted awake, waking Kenji up in the process.
"I- I'll save you, mermaid." Kenji mumbled, still drowsy.
"Do you only have one dream?" Brooklynn whispered in a rushed tone. "Come on. Now is our chance." She pulled Kenji up and started dragging him with her.
"Brooklynn, what the hell are you doing?" I whispered through clenched teeth. I stumbled while getting up and tried to catch up to them. "Stop this." I manage to grab Brooklynn by the arm.
"Shh." She put her hand over my mouth, Hap was by the trees in front of us, with his back turned.
"No, you listen. I'm done." Hap said into the radio. We gasped, and crouched behind a wall where he couldn't see us.
"No, I don't care what-" Hap laughed maniacally at something being said on the other end of the radio, which we could no longer listen to. "This isn't a threat, this is a promise. Stay out of my way! I'll take care of these kids myself!" Hap shouted, irate.
'What the fuck was that?' I didn't have time to even contemplate the meaning of that last statement, because Hap dropped the radio and was coming back.
"Run!" I whispered, and I didn't have to say it twice.
We scurried out of the camp as quietly as possible, into the jungle. Anywhere was better than staying in camp with a psycho. Was he really talking about killing us? Where Mitch and Tiff in on it? We had to warn everybody, but first we needed to deal with Hap.
I looked back to see if he had spotted us. Hap was sprinting toward us with a stun rod.
"He's onto us!" I yelled.
"Keep going!" Brooklynn said in between breaths.
We jumped over logs and ducked from hanging tree branches, but nothing seemed to deter him. He was ridiculously fast for a man that age.
Brooklynn screamed when Hap grabbed her by the arm, but she swung around, hitting him with the elbow, which made me proud. He grunted, letting her go. However, she lost her balance, falling over Kenji and bringing both of them to the ground.
"I told you to stay put!" Hap yelled.
I skid to a stop and got between Hap and them. "Get the fuck back!" I raised my knife, my hand shaking.
"You have no idea who you're dealing with." He pointed at me with the metal rod, turning it on.
Suddenly, with a loud thud, Hap dropped to the grass, unconscious. Behind him, a muddy figure stood proud with a branch resting on the shoulder. An Ankylosaurus ran to his side and roared.
It couldn't be...
"Ben?"