Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

June 15th, 2015

10 miles outside of Anchorage, Alaska

"What do you mean you don't want to go?!"

Alexander 'Alex' Dodgson stared at his thirteen year old cousin in surprise and incredulously. "It's Jurassic World! How can you not want to go?!" Did the younger boy not understand the once in a lifetime opportunity, especially with their family history with Jurassic World/Park?

"I just don't!" he replied defensively. "I mean, I would if my parents were coming, but I don't want to go alone."

Alex's incredulous stare softened slightly. He shuffled back and forth and tilted his head side to side. He glanced over the ticket to Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous that came with the phone number to contact the person who sent them. He glanced back to his cousin and sighed. "Okay," he picks up his phone and calls the number. "Ms. Dearing, this Alex Dodgson, I'm taking my cousin's place." Her reply isn't heard and he adds. "I'd like to add a condition. My sister comes with me."

"I still can't believe you did this!" Amy Dodgson exclaimed in excitement next to Alex on the ferry towards Isla Nublar. "You are officially my favorite brother!" 

Alex raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Hey, I'm you're only brother, Ames." he remarked getting a elbow to the shoulder from the shorter girl. "Consider this an early birthday present." The two siblings shared a laugh as they turned to look ahead towards the island. 

Alex glances down to the other kids on the ferry. An African-American boy, same age as Amy, very was excited. A white boy of the same age with dark blonde hair was puking his guts on the edge. And there were three girls. One with shoulder length black hair tied in a pony tail and a gray long sleeve shirt and dark shorts. A girl with short black hair, jeans and a flower shirt. And a girl with pink hair and matching sweatshirt holding her phone in her hands. He winced in sympathy at the boy who kept losing his lunch and maybe breakfast.

Roughly ten minutes later, their ferry landed at a dock and the kids all stood in a line. It was relatively silent save for the pink haired girl who tried to interview the other girl and my sister on camera/phone. And then a middle aged man wearing red Jurassic World shirt,  shorts and a bandana around his head (Clearly a staff member of the camp.) and he greeted us with a warm smile.

"Welcome, campers!" he said happily. "You are the selected few, the first out of the entire world, to ever experience the awesomeness that is Camp Cretaceous. Now I know that the ferry ride was rough on some of you." He pauses and briefly waves at the young boy who was kneeling down, ready to vomit more over to the side of the dock. "Hello, Ben." he waved.

The boy, Ben, smiles weakly before turning away, looking back over the edge of the dock. Amy and Alex shake their heads in sympathy. 

"But you made it!" the man said enthusiastically. "I am Dave, head counselor. That's right, you heard me. Head honcho, big shot."

Amy and Alex shared a look before the kids heard the sound of an engine behind them. Turning around, the kids saw a beige and red truck with six wheels and the Jurassic World insignia and the title, "Camp Cretaceous" under it. A woman with dark brown hair stepped out of the jeep wearing the same attire as Dave save for the bandanna. "Oh, so sorry I'm late. Welcome, Campers." she said in a British accent as she walks to stand beside Dave. "I'm Roxie, head counselor."

This made the kids look to Dave in confusion. "Well, it's more of a co-head counselor," he stammered.

"Is it?" Roxie asked pointedly to him before turning to the kids. "Now, some of you have won competitions to be here, others have gotten VIP invites, but for the next two weeks you will all receive five star treatment."

"Any chance we could extend that?" Alex asked Amy before noticing the girl with the phone pointing her phone in their direction.

"Here we've lined up some behind the scenes action of Jurassic World," Roxie continued, getting excited responses from the kids. Except Ben who looked nervous. "As well as rock climbing, kayaking, ziplining, and of course-" Roxie listed with a smile and trailed off.

"Dinosaurs!" Both Amy and the African-American boy blurted out in excitement. Turning towards them with a raised eyebrow and a teasing smirk, Alex and the other kids looked to them. The boy looked down in embarrassment while Amy tapped her fingers together. At least I kept my composure, Alex thought smugly. And upon closer inspection, Alex saw that the boy was wearing a dinosaur tooth necklace. He narrowed his eyes a little in curiosity, what kind of dinosaur tooth is that again?

"Yes, Darius and Amy," Roxie said, glancing at the clipboard in hand. "Plenty of dinosaurs, so I hope you're all ready for adventure."

"Absolutely," the girl with pink hair replied. Then she held her hand up. "But I'm going to need that speech just a little shorter and lean more into the majesty of this place." Alex narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Now her voice was starting sound familiar. Just where have I heard it before?

Both Roxie and Dave looked to each other before the latter cleared his throat. "Alright, we're going now." he said. "Let's get you eight to camp."

Ben raised his hand nervously. "Um, there's seven of us," he pointed out. Dave squinted his eyes at the clipboard, muttering to himself. "Two Dino-boys and Dino-girl, Track-Star, Internet Girl, Barfy, Texas. He's right. Where's number eight?" he asked Roxie who glanced at the clipboard and scoffed in exasperation.

The answer came in the form of an helicopter landing on a landing pad not too far from the kids. The teenage boy stepped out wearing sunglasses and a dark pink shirt with a large duffle bag over his shoulders. Alex's eyes widened in recognition before narrowing.

"Greetings, my dudes." he declared. "Kenji is here so let the party commence."  He chuckles and tosses the duffle bag to Roxie. "Put this in my room, yeah?" 

Then he walks up to Darius and Alex. "So what's your deal?" he asked. Alex pointed behind Kenji. "Back problem." he said just as Roxie threw Kenji's bag at him and knocked him off his feet. The kids snickered and Brooklynn took a picture of Kenji under his duffle bag.

"Alright, let's go," the camp counselor declared after dusting off her hands.

The kids scrambled to sit on the back of the truck. Alex briefly stood, looking for an open seat but didn't find any. He leaned against the tailgate with his backpack on his lap. "I hope you got my mom's note," Ben said after five minutes of driving to the camp counselors. "I don't do well with windy roads."

Amy looked ahead of the truck. "Well, sorry Vomit boy." she said. "Road's windy for a while." Ben groaned in response. Whether or not it was to the nickname or the statement was unclear.

"What's good, Brooklanders?" the girl said, vlogging on her phone. "It's your girl, Brooklynn, coming to you live from the best place in the world: Camp Cretaceous."

"Like and subscribe to join me as I unbox Jurassic World!" Alex squinted. Okay. Now she's sounding more and more familiar, he thought. He leaned forward to try to see if he could recognize her while she turns to the kids around her saying, "Okay, I'm going to need your names and a little bit of how you got here." 

The camera turns to the African-American. "Oh um, I'm Darius." he said in a mildly nervous tone. "I'm here because I beat the Jurassic World video game."

"Huh," Alex said and turned to Amy. "I guess video games can do some good for you." This caused both Amy and the girl, Brooklynn, to chuckle.

"I'm sorry but I cannot believe. . ." the flower shirt girl squealed like a fan girl. "You're Brooklynn." She holds her hand to shake. "I'm Sammy Gutierrez. Total Brooklander! Ka-pow! Oh! And my family provide the meat for the carnivores!"

Alex suddenly snaps his fingers. "Aha! Now I recognize you!" he exclaimed, getting the girl's attention. "My ex is also Brooklander." he explained. "Walks into class calling out to the other Brooklanders in the room."

Darius looked confused. "What's a Brooklander?" he asked. Brooklynn looked at him sheepish. "Oh, it's just what my followers call themselves." she replied.

"All twenty-seven million of us!" exclaimed Sammy.

"That's why she gets to keep her phone," the other girl, Yasmina if Alex remembers, mutters bitterly. "She's famous."

This made Amy and Alex look to each other confused. Their expressions said the same thing. Were we not suppose to keep our phones? They shrugged. No one really asked for theirs.

Kenji suddenly perks up. "Rich and famous?" he gestures to himself and Brooklynn. "Oh, Meant to be!" he exclaimed, snatching Brooklynn's phone and then took a selfie of him and Brooklynn.

Suddenly, the truck jerks to a stop. Leaning over the side, Alex and the others see the two counselors getting out of the car. "What's going on?" Sammy asks nervously.

"Nothing, you are all perfectly safe," Dave says as he brandishes a taser staff and activates it. "Just stay in your seats." With that, he and Roxie walk into the jungle.

And, because most teenagers have the natural instinct to NOT listen to what adults tell them, the eight teens moved to the right side of the tail bed all staring into the jungle.

Leaves rustling was heard behind them. Slowly, Darius and the Dodgson siblings turn to look behind them. "Guys?" Darius whispers, getting their attention. Alex slowly opens his backpack and reaches inside. Suddenly something jumps out of the jungle and onto Darius's chest, knocking him to the floor. Everyone gasped or screamed in Kenji's case and jumped back as it was a Procompsognathus. 

Darius gasps in wonder and awe. Alex relaxes and drops whatever he had grabbed inside his backpack. Instead he pulled out a bag of jerky and held it to the Compy. "Jerky?" he asked, hoping to draw its attention away from Darius. While it may be small, the little dinosaur has quite a venomous bite. The Compy looked at the two pieces of dry meat in Alex's hand and chirped. Alex stared at it and did his best imitation of the chirp. He drops one piece and the little dinosaur catches it in its mouth. Alex holds the other piece for a couple of seconds before tossing the meat out to the road. The Compy jumps off the truck and right into the blanket Roxie held.

"Gotcha!" Roxie exclaimed as she held the struggling Compy in the blanket. "These little critters are always getting out of their pen."

Darius and Amy move to the edge of the truck to see Roxie placing the Compy in a cage. "A real life Compsognathus!" Darius exclaimed. "Procompsognathus triassicus!" Amy added.

Kenji waved his hand as they all sat back down and the truck began driving. "Please, it took a blanket, pieces of jerky and a dog kennel to catch it." he said. "Lame."

"Scared you pretty good," Darius remarked drily. Alex nodded in agreement as the others snickered and Brooklynn snapped a photo. "Those little buggers have a venomous bite." he said. "Best to be careful around them."

After ten minutes, Alex looked ahead and saw a pair of large wooden doors in front of them that said "Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous" on the top.

"Campers, welcome to Camp Cretaceous," Dave said from inside the truck.

The eight campers looked up at the large doors in awe. "Anyone want to bet they got the son of Godzilla in here?" Alex asked jokingly.

"I bet they have the Loch Ness Monster." Amy said with a eager smile.

They reached the camp site which appeared to be a massive treehouse built on what looked like a redwood tree. It had a balcony going around the trunk and the house was built into the tree itself.

"Wow, treehouse architecture has come a long way," Alex muttered with his hands on his hips in an impressed tone. Amy stood next to him and nodded.

"Hey, Brooklanders," Alex and Amy heard Brooklynn vlog. "Check this place out. Is this not the coolest place you've ever seen?" she asks excitedly.

"If you think this is cool," Kenji says to her, "you should see my dad's penthouse in the main park." Brooklynn deadpans at her phone before she brightens up and tries to talk to Yasmina but that ends in failure.

"Oh my gosh!" Sammy exclaimed with a smile. "This is almost as big as my family's ranch back home."

"That's because, when officially open, this place will house 500 kids and 150 staff," Roxie explained. Alex raised an eyebrow at that.

"Listen up," Dave said, getting the eight teens' attention. "Announcement time from your co-head counselors."

"Psst, still not a thing," Roxie said to him. "Okay everyone. There are some ground rules to cover." she said. This made most of the teens groan but Ben surprisingly and confusedly looks very thrilled. "Curfew is at 8 pm and lights out by 9 pm sharp." she explains.

More groans from the teens. "Hey, hey. It's for your own safety." Roxie said sternly. "This is a dinosaur infested jungle. You must always keep your distance, or you could seriously get hurt or worse."

"Define worse," Ben said nervously. Amy placed a hand on his shoulder. "You don't want to know, Vomit Boy." she said in a warning tone or semi warning based on the playful smile.

"Okay, fair enough," Alex muttered in reluctance to Roxie.

"Now, cabins are that-away." Dave exclaimed. "First one up there gets top bunk!" Yaz said excitedly.

With them being the only kids, it wasn't hard to pick a bed. Alex picked a bunk a bit further from the rest. He likes making new friends, but he'd prefer his space. Besides, it's not like they were told to be close to one another.

"Parasaurolphs, Ankylosaurs, Stegosaurus" Alex said, looking at the dinosaur herd walking across the field in front of them.

"Brachiosaurus," Amy added in excitement. 

"And Galliminus!," Darius said.

"Wow, you three know your stuff, Dino-nerds." Brooklynn said in an impressed tone. Kenji speaks up. "Hey, check out the. . . Brontosaurus." he said, pointing at a couple of Sauropods.

"Those are actually called Apatosaurus," Alex corrected. "Common mistake," both Darius and Amy said in unison.

"Wait, are those Sinoceratops?!" Alex, Amy and Darius exclaimed. "When did you get those?" Darius asks.

"They are cooking all kinds of dinosaurs in that lab." Dave replied. "Wow, where are they herding them to?" Sammy asks.

"They're herding them back to their nighttime enclosures," Roxie answered.

"Enough banter," Dave exclaimed. "It's Zipline Party time!"

Over at the zip line, Ben is freaking out at being first to go. "Wait, wait! Shouldn't someone else go first?" he protests. "How about Yasmina?" he asks with a nervous smile. "Or Darius? Alex?"

"Relax, Ben." Dave says to the boy. "You're going to enjoy this." He shoves the boy off the tower. The high pitched screaming of fear says everything otherwise.

"Ladies first," Alex says to Amy. The younger girl waves her hands with a playful smirk. "Oh no, you know the tribal rules. Elders first." Amy said.

"No pain no gain." Alex replied. Amy looked confused now. "What pain?" That was what Alex needed. Faster than his sister could react, Alex picked her up and placed on the zipline seat, buckled her up and shoved her down the zipline.

"YOU JERK!" Amy screams as she ziplines down over the dinosaur herd.

Alex laughs and turns to the others. "This is going to be a great time." He jumps onto the next and ziplines whooping as he goes. "Hey, Littlefoot!" he shouts to a Brachiosaurus. "Say hi to the gang for me!"

Alex listens to music on his headphones as he attempts to go to sleep but he notices Darius trying to sneak out the room. He says nothing as he leaves and then sees Kenji sneak after him. Alex rolls his eyes to himself. "This is going to be a long night," he mutters as he sits up.

Darius was close to the elevator when the lights suddenly comes on. "Hey, Dino-nerd Jr. What are you doing?" He turns and sees Kenji standing in the doorway, arms crossed with a smug smile.

"Oh! Hey. I was getting thirsty, thought I would get a drink," Darius said, lying nervously. Kenji points to the water jug on the OTHER side of the room. Darius chuckles nervously. "Yeah, thanks. Couldn't really see in the dark. I was also hungry."

Kenji walks pass the water jug and pats on the cupboards above it. "Oh, thanks, Kenji." Darius said. He walks over to the counter next to the Asian teen. Just as Darius pulls the cupboard open, Kenji pushes it closed.

"Look, bro," Kenji began, grabbing Darius's wrist. "I don't want you to be intimidated by me just because I'm rich. We can be friends, even though my dad owns a few condos on the island and I'm rich." he stated, putting his arm around Darius's shoulders. 

"Uh, I'm not intimidated by you," Darius replied.

"Oh good," Kenji dusts off non-existent dust on Darius's sweater. "I just want us to be friends and friends tell each other stuff. For instance, what they're doing out of bed after curfew. What do you think?"

"I think you might wanna take your arm off me," Darius replied slowly. "Friend."

Kenji leans forward. "Why don't you make me, friend?"

Then the two teens hear hear the sound of a camera shutter. "Huh. So that's what toxic masculinity looks like," Brooklynn says.

"Yeah," Alex appears in the doorway with his arms crossed. "Talking big about his money is good indication that he's got something small he's hiding."

"Dodgson." Kenji said, his expression becoming from surprise to one of angry.

"Kon." Alex replies in a neutral tone. "I almost thought you didn't recognize me."

"Wait, Dodgson?" Darius repeated. "Yes, that's my last name." Alex stated defensively. "Last I heard, yours is Bowman."

"What are you three doing up?" Brooklynn asks. "Sorry we woke you," Darius apologizes.

"He was sneaking out," Kenji said. "But I set him straight. I try to look out for the little kids. It's who I am."

"Wow, you've become more of a two faced brat than last time I saw you," Alex stated in false bewilderment, getting Kenji to glare at him.

Darius looks at the three of them before sighing. "You guys don't understand." he said. "I've been waiting my whole life to get here, and I'm going to make the most of it." He gestures to the lights in the distance. "Those lights must be from the Compy enclosure. I gotta check it out!"

"Darius, I understand where you're coming from." Alex stated softly. "Believe me, my family's loved dinosaurs for a long time. But think rationally. We're here for two weeks. We're bound to see the Compy enclosure in that time." he points his hand to the distant lights. "If that is the Compy enclosure, then surely we'll go there tomorrow."

"Sneaking out to see dinosaurs in the dead of night," Brooklynn listed. "mad danger of getting caught, great mood lighting. . . I guess that means. . . we're going rogue. Ka-pow!"

Alex facepalmed and dragged his hand down his face. "Fine," he sighed and walked back to the bedroom.

"You're not coming?" Darius asked in surprise. "Just a second." Alex replied.

He walks to his bunk and grabbed his backpack. He pauses and sees his sister awake on the top bunk staring at him. Alex puts his backpack on and waves his hands at Amy while lowering out of view. "You didn't see anything." He stands back into view, pointing at his younger sister. "Right?"

Amy saluted, laying straight on the bed. "Yes, sir!" she whispered before stuttering. "I mean, no. No, sir."

Alex smirked a little and nodded before leaving.

"Why did you bring your bag?" Darius asked Alex as they jogged down the road. "You never know what's going to happen," was all Alex said in response.

The rest of the journey to the Compy pen went on in relative silence save for the breathing and footsteps before Alex turned to Darius. "So, what kind of dinosaur is that tooth?" he asked.

"Huh?" Darius asks.

"Your necklace," Alex elaborated. "I couldn't really recognize it seeing it the first time."

"Oh, it's a Raptor tooth," Darius replied. Alex hummed in response. "My sister always wanted one of those," he said. "You know where you bought them?"

"My dad knew," Darius replied in a distant tone. Alex could tell that it was a personal matter and didn't ask any further.

"I think this is it. The truck definitely headed in this direction." Darius whispered when the four of them arrived a large enclosure.

"Of course this is it." Kenji said a little too loudly, making Alex wince. "Why else would they have--" Brooklynn covered his mouth.

"Shh!" She hissed lowly as they all heard the sound of someone entering the truck behind them. Alex waved them over and they snuck over to the stairs.

"This is a little big for just holding Compies don't you think?" Alex said thoughtfully once they reached the top of the stairs and could see the rest of the enclosure filled with shrubs and small trees. He narrows his eyes a little. This doesn't look like a place Compies could often sneak out.

"Hey, Brooklynn." Kenji called to the girl. "You can get a good shot from over here."

"Allow me." Kenji said in a gentleman like tone, grabbing Brooklynn's phone. "No, thanks. I can--" Brooklynn tried to pull her phone back, not fully trusting this kid she just met with her phone.

"Just--" Kenji frowned and tried to tug the phone.

"Hey! Give me my--!" Brooklynn grunted and tugged it back. Both Darius and Alex rose an eyebrow.

"Kon, you don't take a woman's phone without their permission." Alex stated.

"What do you know?" Kenji glared. Alex rose an eyebrow and points to himself. "I have a sister, I'm pretty confident that I know more than you."

"Come on!" Brooklynn exclaimed before gasping as her phone went flying out of their hands and into the enclosure after bouncing off a pipe. "Thanks, Kenji. Real smooth." Brooklynn said in a sarcastic tone. 

"Relax, I'll get it." Kenji said confidently and began to climb over the railing. "Wait! What are you--?!" Darius exclaimed as he noticed what Kenji was doing.

"I got it, kid." Kenji stated before climbing down. Alex rolled his eyes with a heavy sigh. "Fine, but remember what I said about the Compies," he said, pointing at Kenji. "Venomous bite."

The Asian teen reached the bottom and entered what looked like a hallway for Park staff to walk around. He knelt down and picked up Brooklynn's phone. He wiped it on his sleeve. "See? Ha! Good as new." Kenji proclaimed.

"Great! Now just climb back up and gently hand it to me." called Brooklynn.

"Sure, sure. Right after I get you a sweet Dino-pic for your followers." Kenji replied arrogantly as he held the phone up to the enclosure. "No need to thank me." 

"Kon, did you seriously forget what I said?" Alex said incredulously at seeing what Kenji was doing from where he could see him. "Venomous bite! Don't stick your hand in the cage!"

"Can it, Dodgson." snapped Kenji.

Alex sighed in exasperation. Both he and Darius looked into the enclosure and saw bones in a pile. That doesn't make sense, Alex thought. Staff wouldn't need to feed Compies big pieces of meat with bones. Right? Then he heard a gasp from Darius looked to the direction he was staring. There was movement in the shrubs. "Whatever is in there is too big to be a pack of Compies." Alex muttered in realization.

"He's right." Darius said to Brooklynn and spoke loud enough in a worried tone, hoping that Kenji could hear.  "Guys, this isn't the Compy pen."

"Quiet, junior! The grown ups are talking." Kenji said in an arrogant tone. "That phrase only works if the speaker is the oldest!" Alex retorted. "And last I checked, Kon, you are not the oldest."

"Your followers are going to love this." Kenji declared as he got ready to snap a picture of what he thinks is a Compy. "Here Compy, Compy, Compy!" he called. 

"Kon, you idiot!" Alex exclaimed in anger and worry. "This isn't the Compy Pen!" Darius shouted to him.

"Uh, what's he babbling on about?" Kenji asked.

"Use your brains, Kon!" Alex retorted, cupping his mouth.  "We are using simple English and speaking loud and clear! This isn't the Compy pen! Get out of there!"

Kenji looked forward and saw a Velociraptor with a blue stripe a few meters away from him and his arm that is outside of the bars separating him and the dinosaur. "What the. . .?" He said in fear and his arm shook.

"The Hell you doing, Kon?!" Alex shouted. "Don't just stand there, unless you want to lose that arm! Run!" 

Kenji shook in fear like a leaf in a storm and closed his eyes, taking a picture of the dinosaur with the flash on. The camera flash caused the Raptor to close her eyes in irritation before she snarled and leaped at Kenji, her body slamming against the bars. Kenji pulled his arm back and recoiled in fear with a scream. 

"Come on!" Brooklynn said urgently running in the direction Kenji and the Raptor were running.

"Velociraptor. Carnivore. Pack hunter. Late Cretaceous." Alex said as he ran, looking down at the dinosaur running after Kenji. "Discovered in what's modern day Mongolia and America. Said to be the smartest creature after man."

Kenji arrived at the two large gate doors of the enclosure. He pounded his fists on the doors. "Open the gate! Open the gate!" he shouted urgently. Back at top, Brooklynn and the others arrived at a control panel with rows of buttons. "Brooklynn, wait! We need the manual, we don't know what those buttons do!"  Alex said, looking around for the said manual.

"Please! Let me out!" Kenji called out.

"There's no time!" Brooklynn said to Alex before she pressed the first orange button on the right. Down below, Kenji turned around and saw the metal gate separating him from the Raptor was opening. "Oh come on!" he exclaimed.

The Asian teen heard something banging on metal. He looked up and saw Darius kicking or stomping his foot on the metal pipe above the Raptor. After the seventh kick, Darius broke the pipe and steam shot out and surrounded the Raptor. 

"Brooklynn, go get help!" Alex said to the pink haired girl in an urgent tone as Darius jumped down the pen. "What are you going to do?" Brooklynn asked in concern.

 "Something stupid when the time is right!" the older boy replied, urging Brooklynn to leave. "Go!" He stands up straight and points at Brooklynn.  "Don't tell Ames or she will try to one up me." he said in a serious tone. After Brooklynn left, he set his backpack down and looked through it.

"Dude! Please tell me you have a plan." Kenji said in a pleading tone to Darius. "Let's go." Darius waved to him. "The steam should keep them busy!" He paused and looked up at the pipe and steam stopped pouring out.

"Yeah," Alex drawled. "That didn't do shit." He was right. The Raptor wasn't at all bothered by the steam. She snarled at the two humans before her.

"Oh crud." Darius muttered in fear as the rest of the Raptor Pack showed up. Four Raptors in total.

Chapter Text

The Raptors screeched at the two human teens before them. Kenji whimpered as Darius waved his hand slightly. "It's okay, it's okay," he tried to reassure the Asian teen behind him. "We're all okay." he added before the Raptor with the blue stripe snarled at him.

 Darius stepped back and heard his feet stepping on some bones. "Kenji, those bones--check for a Raptor skull," he whispered urgently.

"What?" Kenji said in fear. 

"In the video game, I--" Darius began before Kenji interrupted him. "You want to talk about video games now?!" he asked incredulously. The Raptors snarled causing the African American boy to fall onto his butt, yelping in fear. He began to crawl back towards Kenji.

"No!" Kenji continued banging his fists on the doors. "Let me out! Let me out!" he cried out in fear. Darius yelled in fear as the Raptors screeched in response and closed in on them. Alex stared at the scene from the catwalk with wide eyes. Good news is that they haven't really attacked Darius and Kenji, just snarled at them, but who knew how long that would last. 

He reached into his backpack and pulled out a collapsible shovel. Then he saw Roxie and a couple of adults arrive, both two men. One African American and the other American with dark blond hair. One of them pressed a couple of red buttons and turned on the spotlights on the paddock.

Kenji and Darius saw the Raptors recoil slightly at the sudden lights. "Hey, come and get it!" Roxie shouted as she tosses large slabs of meat into the paddock behind the Raptor pack.

Alex felt relief at seeing the Raptors move away from Kenji and Darius before he saw the one with the blue stripe not moving away, ignoring the meat behind her. She doesn't want to be fed; she wants to hunt! he thought in dreadful realization. Without a second thought, he climbed over the railing. "Alex, no! Don't! Get out of there!" Roxie called after him, but he didn't listen.

Darius and Kenji cried out in terror as the Raptor charged at them, one of the men above called out, "Blue, don't!" before Alex jumped from above and slammed his shovel down on the Raptor's head. The Raptor screeched as it went down from the blow to the head.

Both teens looked at Alex in surprise. He glanced at them and saw the doors opening behind them. "Get out of there!" Roxie shouted from where she stood. Acting quick, he ran and tackled Darius out just as Dave reached and pulled Kenji out of the paddock. The Raptor recovered from the blow to her head and charged at them again only for the metal bar gate to close in front of her. The three boys panted as they stared at the Raptor who glared back at them. Or rather at Alex who still held the shovel in his hand.

The three stood up, hands on their laps panting as three trucks drove into view. "Honestly, here I thought the scariest thing that ever would happen to me is meeting a Polar bear in the wilderness," Alex remarked with a nervous laugh. Darius and Kenji stared at him in shock and awe as security guards ran past them, shouting about securing the paddock before Alex looked to Dave.

"Dave, that was. . ." he trailed off. "Thanks for showing up."

"Oh, that's standard procedure, Alex," Dave said dismissively, holding his stomach. "I do that kind of stuff all the time." Alex rose an eyebrow as the camp counselor held his hand up. "Give me a second," he stated before vomiting on the ground.

The three teens winced in disgust as the man retches. "That's better," he muttered. Then Roxie ran into view, first checking on her fellow counselor before turning to the teens, Brooklynn standing behind her with her arms crossed.

"Are you hurt? Is everyone alright?" Roxie asked in concern.

Alex reached down to his right leg. "Well, now that my adrenaline is going down, I'm realizing that jumping from that height was not good for my leg." he said.

Brooklynn then noticed the shovel in his hand. "Where did you get the shovel?" she asks in confusion.

"Backpack," Alex pointed up behind him. "Oh wait, I have to go get it." He turned to the paddock only for Dave to stop him.

"No worries, Al. I'll get it." he said. Alex nodded and turned to look forward and saw Kenji trying to sneak away before Roxie stopped him.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked, frowning. "You, Alex and Darius are in big trouble."

"I--But he--he was-" Darius stuttered while Alex lowered his head. "Save it!" Roxie snapped. "We'll decide what to do with you later. If you even get to remain here after a stunt like this."

Darius bowed his head while Alex limped to the truck with Brooklynn and Kenji. He looked back to the Raptor Paddock and saw the Raptor called Blue staring directly at him now that Alex was walking out of view before the outside doors closed.

"Remind me to thank you three for a lovely evening," Alex muttered to Brooklynn and Kenji as they got to the truck.

". . . So, I guess that you did something stupid?" Brooklynn asked Alex in a small voice as the truck began driving. Alex snorted lightly. "Yeah, you could say that." he replied.

"Well, I wouldn't say that," Darius said nervously. "That was pretty cool."  Kenji didn't say anything but nodded.

Alex chuckled lightly. "Okay, maybe a little." he remarked. It went back to silence before Alex remembered something. "Kon, give Brooklynn back her phone."

Kenji's eyes widened a little. "Oh right," he reached into his pocket and handed it to Brooklynn. The pink haired girl sighed in relief as she held her phone. The drive back to camp was silent.

The three boys all sat on the couch while Brooklynn was speaking to Roxie and Dave. It was relatively silent, save for Kenji popping his lips every five seconds. Alex held an ice pack on his right leg and was silent as Darius who was starting to shake before he exploded. "How could you do something so stupid?!" he shouted at Kenji.

"I do a lot of stupid things," Kenji said nonchalantly. "So you'll have to be a little more specific than that."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Kon, even you have to know that this stunt tops you trying to get a pet polar bear cub." he said. Darius turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Don't ask." the Alaskan Native teen told the younger African American.

Kenji winced. "Okay, not one of my best idea but girls love a grand gesture." he turns to Darius and taps him on the knee. "You'll understand when you're older, Dino-Nerd Junior."

"Oh sure," Alex drawled. "Wrestling her phone out of her hands and then dropping it left such a good impression." He shook his head. Did he really just say he did it all of that to impress Brooklyn? "You should be glad the screen didn't crack. Who knows how she would have reacted."

"Hey, I took a Dino-pic!" Kenji snapped. 

"Which was the stupidest thing you could have done, especially with the flash on, to the Raptor." Alex replied coolly. "That's another thing you should be glad for. That those Raptors didn't jump you two when Darius's steam plan failed right away."

"Look, I don't wanna get kicked out either," Kenji said to them both. "When my dad. . ." He looked away, getting Darius's attention, his anger and frustration lowering a little. Alex rolled his eyes. He knew where this was going.

"My whole life, I've been trying to make him proud." Kenji said sadly. "If he finds out that I messed up again, he might. . . finally give up on me for good."

Most of Darius's anger and frustration turned to sympathy before they heard a door opening. Looking up, they saw Roxie and Dave walking to them.

"We gave Brooklyn a warning for sneaking out," Dave said, surprisingly in a stern tone. He crosses his arms with a frown. "But what you three chuckleheads did--"

"Especially you, Kenji!" Roxie said, pointing to the Asian teen. "Your recklessness put your own, Darius and Alex's lives in danger!" Kenji winced slightly as Roxie went on saying, "We should call your parents--" 

"It was my fault!" Darius exclaimed. This caught the four of them off guard. Alex recovered from it though. "What he means is that while Kenji's actions were his own, Darius was the one who convinced us to come with him to the paddock that we thought had the Compies. And I like to take responsibility. I should have talked him out of it more or forced them to stay but instead I didn't." he lowered his head. "As the oldest, I am sorry."

"Well, you got to admit, he has that older brother energy and instincts," Dave said to Roxie. "Ultimately, no harm, no foul. Let's chalk the whole thing up to experience. Lessons, friendships-This is what camp's about! Who's with me?"

"Fine," Roxie conceded before holding her finger at them. "But one more misstep. . ." she said in a warning tone. One that Alex knew from his mother and older family relatives

"We won't let you down," Darius said. 

Alex nodded. "We will do better from now on." he said. "It won't happen again." 

Kenji just smirked and popped his lips again. The Alaskan Native and African Americans winced but smiled at the two counselors. The two glanced at one another for a brief moment before turning back to them.

"So, what are we doing tomorrow?" Darius asked.

Alex sighed as he walked to his bunk. "Shouldn't have asked," he muttered under his breath. He didn't bother getting under the covers and just laid on the bed and kicked his shoes off. He heard a creak above him and knew his sister was looking down at him.

"So, what did we learn?" Amy asked quietly, her smile heard in her tone.

"There's a Raptor Paddock down the road," Alex mumbled into his pillow. 

". . . I have more questions now." Amy whispered in surprise. She looks down at her brother on the bed. "Alex? Alex? Al? Lex?"

"Good night, Ames." he muttered. He was silent before his left eye snapped open as a thought came to his mind. Wait, is it a good idea to have the Raptor Paddock next to the camp?

"That is one big pile of shit." Alex stated looking at the big pile of dinosaur droppings in front of him, Darius and Kenji. "Yep. One big pile of shit." Alex nodded. "Hmm-hmm." He feels the stares of both teens as he twirls his shovel in hand. He glanced back and saw the other campers pinching their noses and that his sister had a expression that just said: Better you than me.

Roxie tossed shovels to the other two boys. "Have fun cleaning this up as much as possible you three until we get back from the genetics lab." she said to them before leaving to drive the truck.

"Here." Dave then tosses a small bottle to Alex. At the teen's raised eyebrow, Dave says, "Cologne. This will help with the smell and the LADIES~!" he said like a DJ. "What-what?" Then he speaks in a serious tone. "But mostly for the smell. The stench can really linger." As he walks away, Alex sees Brooklynn snap a picture of them.

"Good luck!" Amy called out to the three boys as the truck drives away. "And remember to watch your step!"

As if to prove her point, Darius and Alex see Kenji shaking his foot after stepping a little too close to the pile. "Ew, gross." he muttered. Both Alex and Darius sighed in exasperation and resigned themselves to the punishment given to them.

Scooping dinosaur shit with the rich kid.

"I shovel snow, I shovel dog shit, I can handle this." Alex muttered to himself.

The ride to the genetics lab was relatively silent before Amy heard Brooklynn muttering to herself. "I'm still dropping followers?" she asks herself quietly as she reads what Amy assumes are comments on her vlog. "When are we going to see something cool?" she scoffs lightly. "Chill, dude. I just got here."

"Ooh, maybe there'll be a dinosaur hatching at the lab," Sammy says chirpily. "People love baby animal videos."

"Whatever it'll be, it will be cool," Brooklynn said determinedly.

Amy and Yaz had their attention on Ben who was applying hand sanitizer like it was sunscreen. Seeing their confused expressions, Ben says, "Who knows what's in that lab. The world is a dirty place. We're all just part of the moist and sticky roller coaster called life."

"I'd say that's a deep philosophy but that's a bit excessive amount of sanitizer," Amy replied before Yaz grabbed the sanitizer and applied to her hands.

"What's up, Brooklanders?" Brooklynn began vlogging. "Today, I'm coming to you live with behind the scenes footage of Jurassic World's coolest remote genetics lab."

It was roughly three minutes after she said that they arrived at the mentioned genetics lab. They walked down a hallway upon entering the building and soon arrive in what looks to be the main lab. The room was filled with scientific equipment and large amber crystals as well as scientists and staff that walked back and forth in the room.

"Wow," Amy and Sammy muttered in awe.

"This is a peak at the inner workings of Jurassic World," Roxie explained to them.

"Yep, this is where the magic happens!" exclaimed Dave as he walks ahead of them and speaks to a middle aged Asian descent man in a lab coat. "Doc Woo-Woo! Whose ready for the blassasist from the pastasist?! A mitophisis with the mosisis! We're ready for the chromosome, my bromosome! Wu, there it is!"

Silence was his reply and a deadpan stare from the man. "I can keep going!" he said cheerfully.

"Please don't!" Roxie exclaimed quickly to her fellow counselor. She turns to the scientist. "We're the tour, Doctor. Camp Cretaceous? Ms. Dearing should have mentioned it."

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Masarani has accelerated the time table of the new asset," Dr. Henry Wu said to her, not at all sounding sorry whatsoever. "I simply don't have time to babysit children." Then he saw Brooklyn holding her phone out and recording a video of the tests on fossilized remains and walked over to her, hands behind his back.

"Young lady, videoing is not allowed in this facility," Wu stated.

"But that's kind of my deal," Brooklynn protested. "See I have my own web channel and-"

"This is germane because?" Wu asked before turning away.

Brooklynn slumped before getting an idea. She looks down sadly. "I'm sorry, Doctor." she stated. "I just wanted my followers to meet the man who brought the dinosaurs back to life. I mean, without you, there's no Jurassic World." She shrugged her shoulders. "But hey, if you're willing to sit back while John Hammond and Masarani get all the credit, I respect that. It's about the work."

Wu was silent before turning to her with an interested expression. ".  . . How many people watch this web channel of yours?"

Amy watched from the side. Clever girl, she thought to herself.

Meanwhile, an hour had passed for Alex, Darius and Kenji shoveling the pile of dinosaur shit. Kenji was not helping much, Alex noted. The jungle heat was starting to get to Alex the most, being a kid from Alaska. And from the looks of it, Darius was still angry about the whole thing. Like he was ready to jam his shovel down someone's throat.

"This bites!" exclaimed Darius.

"Nah, this shit stinks!" Alex remarked from where he stood. 

Darius briefly lost his anger and looked to Alex blankly before scowling at Kenji. "While everyone gets to go to a genetics lab I am stuck shoveling dino-poop when I could be watching a live dinosaur birth! That's been my dream since forever!"

Kenji leans on his shovel like a cane. "Dude, that's not a dream." he said. "A dream is where you save a bunch of mermaids from a shark!"

"If  you're a Disney fan," Alex remarked. Kenji scowled at him before looking back to Darius. "Besides, why would you like to go to some stupid genetics lab anyway?"

Darius glared at the Asian teen. "Are you serious, Kenji? Those scientists are heroes! They recreated a T-Rex. A T-REX! Do you have any idea  what it takes to do that?"

"Darius, one, this could have been avoided if you didn't sneak out wanting to see a dinosaur last night," Alex pointed out, scooping with shovel and dropped it into the barrel. "Also, that T-Rex has killed people in the past. I wouldn't really call those scientists heroes."

". . . Okay, fair point," Darius conceded.

"It was cute that you were excited about a boring lab," Kenji said mockingly. "Noobs like you don't know half the stuff that's here."

"Like what?" Darius asked in an angry tone. Kenji only laughed in response. Darius scoffed. "You're nothing but talk."

"Dude, we don't have to be here." Kenji said. Darius paused and looked to him. Alex leans into view behind the Asian teen and shakes his head at Darius. "I have been to this park like 50 kagillion times and I am VIP, so I have all the inside knowledge and because you two helped me out last night, I might be willing to show you the good stuff."

"First of all, Darius, don't fall for it," Alex said firmly to Darius before looking to Kenji. "Second, no. No, we are NOT getting in trouble again." He goes back to shoveling.

"Okay," Kenji said, shrugging. "But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see dinosaurs."

Alex ignored the Asian kid's voice before noticing that it went silently hardly two minutes later. He looks around and noticed that he was the only kid within twenty feet.

He sighed deeply in frustration. "No, no, no. Darius knows better." he says to himself. "He's going to change his mind and come back." He goes back to shoveling. After two minutes, he paused and looked to the direction they had left.

.

.

.

.

"HOW LONG IS THIS GOING TO TAKE?!"

"Take one," Amy said, clapping her hands in front of Brooklynn's phone. "And action."

"Okay, Doc." Brooklynn chuckled at Amy's antics. "We're live." she said to Dr. Wu who was adjusting his lab coat for a moment.

"Welcome, I'm Doctor Henry Wu, PhD." the scientist said. "Creating dinosaurs takes TIME. T, Technology, I, Ingenuity and M.E. Me."

"Wow, Ego much?" Amy muttered with raised eyebrows before Sammy began to repeatedly ask the question of "What's that?" to every thing she saw in the lab.

Amy rolled her eyes and walked away before she saw a batch of eggs next to a small pool of water. "Huh?" she hummed as she approached the eggs. "What's all this?"

"Elasmasaurus eggs," replied a scientist that stood at a monitor. "You're in luck, the eggs have been incubating for months and are due to hatch any moment now."

Amy's eyes widened as she looked at the eggs and saw that one of them began to move. The Alaskan Native girl gasped before a small navy blue head pushed through the egg shell. Amy gasped again before calling out, "Guys, guys! You got to see this!"

She turned and saw that everyone else were crowding around a newly hatched Ankylosaurus Ben was holding.

Amy looks to the doctor while holding the baby plesiosaur. "Um, can I?" she asked nervously.

"Sure, go right ahead," the scientist replied with a nonchalant shrug. "Just bring her back to the pool with her sisters."

The Alaskan Native teenage girl nods her head and walks over to the others. "Hey, guys. Say hello to Calypso." she said. 

"Calypso?" Yaz repeats with a smirk. Amy shrugs with a smirk herself. "I'm a fan of PotC."

"Oh, how cute!" Sammy exclaimed.

"They're so tiny!" Ben said in awe.

"But they won't stay that long, will they?" Roxie asked Dr. Wu who didn't look happy for some reason.

"That's the idea," Wu replied. "All dinosaurs go through an accelerated growth cycle. There is supposed to be no noticeable defects, but apparently this slipped through." He side eyes the baby Ankylosaurus.

Amy looked around and noticed something. Where did Brooklynn go?

You know this place like the back of your hand, right?" Darius asked Kenji who scoffed. "Duh."

Darius looked left and right. "So you know what side the Carnotaurs is on, right?"

"OI!" shouted a voice. A familiar voice.

They looked ahead and saw Alex on the other side of the fence. "What are you two idiots doing on that side of the fence?!" he shouted.

"Uh. . . " was all they could say before they saw the Alaskan Native's eyes widen as he saw something on the left of him. "Guys, run. Now!" he shouted.

Then they heard something big approach behind them. They slowly turned around and saw the Carnotaurs standing behind them with a silent glare before it roared.

"RUN! NOW!" Alex shouted from the other side of the fence with wide fearful eyes. "RUN!"

Back in the Genetics lab, the teens were enjoying the time with the newly hatched dinosaurs, especially Ben with the Ankylosaur and Amy with Calypso.

But then Dr. Wu showed up with Brooklynn in hand, literally, and declared, "Time for you all to leave." He pushed Brooklynn to the group. "Clearly this group has no respect for my work."

Amy rose an eyebrow while Ben held up the baby Ankylosaur. "But what about Bumpy?"

"Or Calypso?" Amy asked.

"Aw, they named them," Dave remarked with a smile. "That's cute."

"The assets will be released with their respective kind," Wu replied impassively. "Then they will be their problems, just as you will all cease to be my problem."

"Well that's rude," Amy declared. "The rest of us weren't doing anything!"

"Let's go kids," Dave said to the campers. "We're not welcome anymore."

Amy sighed and whispered to the Elasmasaurus hatchling. "May you live a long life, Calypso." And then she and Ben reluctantly put the two infant reptiles back in where the other eggs/Elasmasaurus were held.

"May you live a long life, Calypso. I hope that we will meet again." Amy said to the Elasmasaurus before walking away as Ben did the same to Bumpy. 

The two teens could hear the young reptiles calling out after them and they give the two infants one last look before the doors closed in front of them.

Alex ran as hard as he could alongside the electric fence while trying to see where Darius and Kenji were inside the paddock while he could hear the roars from the Carnotaurs within the foliage.

Then he hears Kenji shouting how the carnivorous dinosaur was gaining on them before Darius told the older Asian teen to zigzag on his count. Based on the noise that followed after, they successfully dodged the Carnotaurs. 

Alex looked ahead and saw a square hole in the fence with a cage of a similar shape in the fence, most likely a place to put food in the paddock for the dinosaur. Luckily, it was big enough for teenage humans like Kenji and Darius to climb in and out.

The Alaskan Native teen ran faster and slide to a stop in front of the cage. "Darius! Kenji!" Alex called out just as he sees the two mentioned teens running out of the foliage. "Over here!"

The Carnotaurs burst out of the trees just as Kenji reached the cage and crawled out. And then the cage closed on Darius before he could crawl out. Alex's eyes widened more than before, if that was possible. Darius was locked inside!

Alex ran forward and tried to lift the door back up. "Kenji, help!" Alex grunted before he turns around and saw that the Asian teen was no where in sight.

"Are you kidding me, Kon?!" Alex shouted in anger before seeing Kenji come back with a stick. He arrives and jammed it under the gate. Alex placed his hands on the stick with Kenji at the end and the two teens push down and force the cage gate open and Darius crawls out just in time as the Carnotaurs slams its snout into the cage where the boy's legs were earlier.

The three teens fell back and look at the Carnotaurs, now bearing a bleeding scar on its face as it roars at the humans in frustration.

The three teens stare before Kenji starts whooping in victory. "Did the widdle dinosaur hurt its nose?" he asked the Carnotaurs mockingly. "You think you slick, Toro? You got nothing!"

He sees the looks Alex and Darius are giving him. "Toro, because of the horns." he explained. 

"Right," Alex drawled sarcastically.

"Hey, Toro," Darius called to the Carnotaurs. "Your arms are. . . pretty much vestigial at this point!"

Trash talking dinosaurs was not easy, apparently. Alex snorted and then acted like he was running in slow motion. "Come on, guys," he said in slow motion, the two younger teens quickly join in on the 'slow-mo' run. "Let's. . . get. . . out. . . of. . . here!"

Just then Toro slammed his head against the fence with an angry roar. Alex quickly stops playing around. "Seriously, though. Guys, we need to book it back to the Dino Shit Pile. They're supposed to be back and pick us up in an hour."

Darius and Kenji panted as they held up their shovels as the jeep arrives. The two frantically ran to the jeep. "Start the car, start the car, start the car!" Darius and Kenji shouted.

"What? Why?" Roxie and Dave asked in worry.

Alex jumps out from behind the Dino Shit Pile, laughing like a maniac. "Because I am here!" he shouts before throwing balls of Dino poop at the jeep and the campers.

Everyone screamed in disgust as they were rained on with balls of dino shit.

"Gross! Gross! Gross!" Ben shouted.

"I'm hit! I'm hit!" Kenji shouted, falling down to his knees. "Remember me!" he said to Darius before falling to the ground.

Brooklynn looks at her stained pink sweater in shock while Amy begins to grin. "This means. . . WAR!" she shouts before jumping off the jeep and running to the Dino Shit Pile and throwing her own balls of Dino Shit at her brother.

"It's on." Yaz said grimly with the promise of revenge before she jumps down with Sammy and Brooklynn. Soon, the campers were throwing shit balls at each other like a snowball fight.

Ben began to throw up on the side of the road, but what else is new?

"Wow, wow, wow!" Roxie said as she steps out of the vehicle. "Stop! Dinosaur poop is a pain to remove. Don't-!"

SPLAT!

A ball hits her in the chest.

"There's plenty of more where that came from," Alex said with a grin. 

Roxie narrows her eyes before huffing. "Well. . . if that's how it's going to be." She walks over to the pile and joins in on the shit ball fight and Dave follows.

Five hours later

"So, how did the Genetics lab go?" Alex asked as the jeep arrives at the camp.

"Well, Ben and Amy fell in love a couple of dinosaurs," Yaz replied. "And Superstar got us kicked out from the lab."

Brooklynn stops laughing with the others. "That's not what happened!" she protested.

"Ah bup bup bup!" Alex waved a hand. "What happens in the Genetics Lab, stays in the genetics lab."

He turns to his sister. "Though, I do want to hear about this dinosaur." he grinned. "So, what species was it?"

"It was a Elasmasaurus!" Amy exclaimed excitedly. "She just hatched as I got there and I named her Calypso!"

"Aw man, now I wish I was there." Alex grumbled but smiled, happy for his sister.

"Okay, you lot go to the showers," Roxie said. "And maybe stay in there for a while."

"And use lots of soap," Ben said, plugging his nose.

"Oh my God. 2 near death experiences in 2 days? That's gotta be some kind of record." Darius shakes his head and whispers to Alex and Kenji, "We cannot tell anyone about Toro, or we will get sent home."

Alex zipped his lips and gave a thumbs up.

"Really?" Kenji groans at this, annoyed. "You're telling me that we have the best story to tell of how we cheated death with a Dino, and NO ONE will ever know that I saved your life?"

Darius smiles. "I'll know Kenji." He reassures. They both smile at that. "You do know that farts didn't kill the dinosaurs right?"

Kenji just puts his arms in the air and says, "Prove me wrong, yo."

"Did you even take 2nd grade?" Alex asks jokingly. "You're making me question your education."

Kenji still defends himself. "The scientists have their big, complex theory, and I have my simple theory."

Alex rolls his eyes as Darius declared that he will give him a lecture on how the atmosphere works.

Alex was the last to leave the showers. And finds out that Amy had taken his deodorant as final payback for the shit ball fight when he searched his bag. He walks to the bed rooms, shirt in hand before bumping into Brooklynn.

"Oh, sorry." Alex tries to put his shirt on. "Thought everyone would be having dinner."

"That's fine," Brooklyn said, forcing a laugh with a nervous smile. Then she saw two large scars running from his right shoulder and down across his chest before the Alaskan Native teen pulled his shirt down. "I was just plugging my phone after cleaning it."

After a few seconds, they both realize they should stop staring at each other. Alex tries to break the silence. "Well, uh, I gotta look for my deodorant in here." He points to his bunk.

"Right." Brooklynn nods her head. "Good luck with that."

"Yeah." Alex nodded. He has a hard time not looking back as Brooklynn walks away. Great. Now my scars are known, he thought to himself. And to a complete stranger, no less!