Montana was far warmer than I had expected it to be. I'd even googled weather reports and everything before I left just so I knew what to expect. But it was summer, so I should've expected it and brought along more pairs of jeans and more shorts in case I sweat through the others.

I also should've read through the rest of the email though. All I saw was "selected to join our expedition Blue" and I packed, bought the next plane ticket out, and left that stupid apartment in Los Angles without looking back. I should've looked back though, because all my pairs of shorts were at still home, gathering dust in the dresser drawers. They said they'd supply me with shirts and all that, but I just had to bring my shorts. Leaving almost everything I owned at home was a stupid idea.

I pushed my way through the crowd with all my suitcases intact, down an escalator, a flight of stairs, an elevator, and another stupid escalator before finally arriving at the lobby where there was a entire row of people waiting with signs. Tedious and exhausting, but I'd do anything to get to that museum and start the one thing I'd wanted to do my whole life.

Above all, I think, I was most excited to meet the other people I'd be working with. I was never very enthusiastic about meeting people in the first place and spending months with a small group of people seemed like a good way to make friends, right? I'd inquired about their names but they wouldn't give any. Said it was top secret and that the one in charge of the group expedition didn't want the names released to the public until they returned, including mine. So their names were out there, I just didn't know them. I was still ecstatic, nevertheless.

The whole 'Expedition Team Blue' thing was supposed to be undercover, except for a select few the museum claimed to email. And I just happened to be one of them, thankfully. I needed a job opening before my knowledge and field experience slipped to nothing in my mind.

When I stepped off the plane, I spotted some guy with slicked back hair, holding a sign with my name etched neatly in dark sharpie, the stitched print on his tacky tourist style shirt reading the name to the museum, but his pricey dress shoes screamed otherwise.

"Are you John?"
[John O'Callaghan from The Maine? The loml??]

He blinked a couple times, taken aback before realizing who I was. A smile spread across his face and set the sign down to the floor to pull me in for a hug. "You're Brendon Urie, aren't you!"

I nodded and John practically vibrated in excitement. I didn't think he would be like this in person. The email was very vague about his bubbly personality.

We stood there in the middle of the airport lobby, awkwardly hugging for a few minutes.

"I should probably take you to the museum now, huh?"

"Well, I mean if you want to keep hugging..."

John laughed, pushing me away and holding my shoulders out at arms length. "I like you already, Brendon Urie. We should get you out with the team. Ross is gonna take you out there for good and he can't stand being left waiting."

_________

John's jeep pulled into the backlot of the Central Lake Natural History Museum, right beside a dusty grey Range Rover. He grinned and pressed his face against the window, waving at the person leaned against the passengers side door. Whoever it was looked pissed, arms crossed over their chest, sunhat and shades observing their face all except for a scowl. Maybe I shouldn't have accepted the spot in the group.

"That's Ross," John glanced over his shoulder and pressed a button to unlock the doors, although I wasn't too sure I wanted to get out and meet this Ross character "he's got all your stuff since the flight was delayed and the staff wants to get you out there as soon as possible. An extra pair of hands never did any harm, yeah?"

I shrugged, hugging my suitcase to my chest. I was hoping to get settled in first, maybe get a tour through the museum, but that was okay. I didn't necessarily need one. "I guess not?"

He patted my shoulder and hopped out of the car, running around the front to help me out. He grabbed my suitcase and grabbed my hand as I got out, leading me over to the Range Rover.

Ross got completely to his feet, dipping the sunglasses down to the tip of his nose. I was right - he was pissed. "You kept me waiting."

John pushed me forwards right beside him and gave him my suitcase, still smiling. "The flight got delayed, Ross. It wasn't my fault."

"It's just Ryan," Ross - er, Ryan, spat. He tossed my luggage behind him into the back without breaking eye contact with John, "I take it this is Urie?"

"I-I prefer just Brendon, actually-" Ryan's watch beeped before I could say another word, and before I knew it he was lifting me into the passenger seat.

"Alright, Breadbox. We're already late and I promised Josh I'd help him dig out some tooth out in the field this afternoon so we could bring it back to the site for testing."

The car started and just as I'd processed what he'd said we were already speeding away from the museum and out to the desert. I tried to not let myself get too excited. "Wait, a tooth? To what? Where? What does it look like? Is it-"

Ryan groaned loudly in frustration over the engine, gripping the steering wheel tighter. The car swerved to the right without warning, back to the left and then right again. "It's an Albertosaurus. Well, at least that's what Tyler had been saying since I left pick you up this morning. I said it's a Tyrannosaurus, but we've only found one tooth so far-"

My interest had been sparked, there was no going back now. "How big is it? Is it serrated? What does it look like?"

Ryan frowned and hooked his sunglasses through his beige shirt, the tinted glass bouncing against the few buttons dipping down from the collar. "The serrations resemble cracks, a void at the base we assume is meant to distribute force evenly to prevent breakage since the serrated edges seem to be prone to damage if too much force were to be applied."

"So it would be useful to a Tyrannosaurus with the near two hundred pound bite force-"

"That's what I've been saying, but nobody's listening," He nodded approvingly with an out of place smile and sped up, the meter reaching 90 miles an hour. I was kinda glad we were in the middle of nowhere, "Do me a favor and tell that to Tyler when we get there. Josh too, and Pete. Tell everyone."

"Only if you give me my shirts. I'm sweating through mine already." That was probably too much information, but I'd been wearing the same clothes for hours on end because I got to the airport way early and my flight was delayed three times. It was like the universe really didn't want me to go.

At the mention, Ryan gasped and let go of the wheel, rummaging in the back seats while I tried to prevent dying before I even reach the site. I wasn't ready to die, not yet. I'd worked too hard to die in a car wreck so soon. He dropped a gross beige colored duffel bag on to my lap, the same color as his own shirt, and took back the controls. I guess waiting just put him in a bad mood, either that or his job just really excited him. Maybe he just hated John. 

"Those are for you. They're all in the largest size because it's the only one we had left in storage, but we have scissors at the campsite so we can turn them into crop tops for you if the length turns out to be too long."

I pulled one out from the largest pocket of the backpack and it was definitely too big for me. I decided against telling Ryan though. I wasn't sure why, but it sounded best to be quiet. I tried to discreetly tuck it in my pants so he wouldn't notice and snip my shirt.

"I think everybody is going to like you. You'll fit right in." He nodded, almost talking to himself. Maybe he was insane. That would probably explain a lot.

"What should I expect?" To be completely honest, I was terrified. It scared me half to death to think I'd be able to get the entire team to despise me with a simple speech slip up, even worse if I destroyed something.

"What do you mean? This is Montana, there's not very much to look at, let alone look for." Ryan laughed under his breath, jerking the wheel to the right again. A tall flagpole blurred into view on the horizon, still a long ways away. I'd heard the destination was much further than the distance we travelled. I assumed the flag was only a marker to assure we were going in the correct direction.

"I meant like, what the team like? Blue? There're a couple other people, right?"

Ryan nodded, biting his lower lip. "Everyone's cool. We work well cohesively with minor bumps in the road, because Pete is an idiot, and Josh too, and Spencer is pretty cool. There's one guy though, you'll know him when you see him. He's like a God or something, but kinda reserved and hesitant about socializing - if he likes you, he'll warm up to you right away even though he doesn't really attach to any new people within a few days. And his eyes are something else, all on their own. You just gotta keep your cool, get over the initial overwhelming attractiveness of his face, and try to stay focused."

Easy enough. At least, I hoped it was easy enough. I'd gone through years and years of school, this should be like a cake walk.

"We'll be there in an hour or so. If you want to sleep you can - I promise I won't desert you out here. I'm not that mean." He glanced over from the terrain just as I stuffed the shirt back in the backpack.

"We really are out in the middle of nowhere, huh?" I said, watching mountains on the left disappear into the dirt. The landscape was flat for what looked to be miles after that, spare the flagpole. It probably wasn't the only one either, maybe like a trail. That would make sense, seeing as we couldn't exactly head back every night for a couple months.

"More like outer space, man," Ryan leaned back, his fingers barely touching the wheel, "no outside contact, a predetermined amount of resources, no cell service. We might as well be dead."

Drifting off in the passenger seat of the Range Rover, I felt like I already was dead.