Everything hurt. Before he could even begin to perceive his surroundings Ben was keenly aware of the undeniable pain that radiated throughout his body. Shifting around with a dull ache the boy tried to sit up, only to feel the sharp pinch of the restraint still buckled around his waist. Ben looked about himself with confused disorientation as the world rocked and swayed, tilting savagely at one point like a sea tossed ship before, gradually the motion calmed. Head pounding, he found that despite all odds they had miraculously survived their fall.

Fidgeting for a minute and finally freeing himself from the chair the teen stumbled away from his crash site until a shooting pain racing up his spine brought him back to the ground. Let out a groan Ben glanced back with an accusatory glare at the long metal rod that had previously attached his seat to the zipline. He could feel the bruise it had left beginning to form across his back.

Heartbeat fast and thready as clarity began to settle within his mind, Ben sat with his limbs curled tight, listening fretfully for a sign that they weren't alone. Their situation dire, he blinked past visions of blood and death. Opening his fanny pack and retrieving the coveted hand sanitizer the boy coated his hands and arms liberally in an attempt to wash the impurities, both physical, and remembered away.

"Is everyone alright?" Yasmina asked, supporting Sammy who sat, hands pressed hard against the blood bubbling from a deep gash in her forehead.

"I-I think so..." Brooklyn nodded, unbuckling and stumbling towards them.

"Where's Darius?" Yasmina added in a sharp tone, brows knit as she scanned the area. "I don't see him, he wasn't in a seat, I-I dropped him... and Kenji?"

Movement in the tree above, leaves rustling loudly sent a shock of fear through Ben who gave a cry. Hurriedly backing away from the trunk he waited for the brutal death that was sure to follow.

"It's, just, me." Kenji wheezed. His voice sounded caught, coming out in low hiccuping bursts, eyes squinted as he agonizingly crawled from one bough to the next until his grip failed him on the last leg of the journey sending the boy to tumbling the earth below where he lay sprawled on his back gasping.

"Kenji?" Ben asked nervously approaching him, hands still working frantically.

"Can't, breathe!" he gasped eyes tightly shut against the pain, tears freely flowing.

"I think you broke your ribs." Brooklynn diagnosed, gingerly lifting the boy's shirt to reveal a deep purple band that stretched across Kenji's chest and lower abdomen.

Watching as Kenji seemed to struggle for a minute, desperately wanting air and trying to take a deep breath, Ben felt a growing sense of helplessness and despair welling within. Ben wanted to hold his hand, to try and make things better in some way as squeaky cries of pain escaped Kenji as each breath caused the VIP a deep stabbing sensation making him hurriedly exhale so that his chest would fall into a more relaxed position, but Ben couldn't. They had to go, they had to find help, they weren't safe, and there wasn't time for this! He thought nervously looking over his shoulder.

"I can't breathe..." Kenji sobbed in a low hissing whisper. "I can't breathe, it feels like I'm dying!"

"It's gonna be alright Kenji." Sammy assured carefully making her way towards them with Yasmina's help. Smiling as she settled down next to him she gave his shoulder a ruddy hued squeeze. "Just take it easy for a minute, with any luck they're just bruised."

"We don't have a minute!" Ben shrilled, circling as he looked around at the sinister jungle in which they were engulfed. "That thing is still out there!"

"And we are right here." Yasmina snapped pointing with sharp command to the ground. "And we will stay here until we find everyone, and we're able to go."

"I know you're scared Ben-" Sammy started gently.

"'Scared?'" Ben laughed in sheer disbelief. "Scared is an understatement! We just saw that thing eat people! We're alone, we're-"

"We know what we are Ben, but panicking isn't going to do us any good." Sammy continued, her voice calm, almost maternal as she spoke. "Kenji and I are hurt, my head is swimmin', we need a minute."

"And where's Darius?" Brooklynn half shouted, combing through a nearby fern.

Just then they all heard a moan. Yasmina and Brooklynn rushed towards the sound, gasping loudly at what they found. "Ben," Sammy called firmly. "Go help. I've got Kenji."

Conflicted with the urgent need to put as much distance between himself and that thing as possible, and his friends the teen looked forlornly between the girl and the way the others had gone. "Ok." he nodded, adjusting his fanny pack, mentally reviewing it's contents: sanitizer, emergency food, compass, pen, paper, duct ta- The sight of Darius sitting up, head swaying with delirium cut through the mental checklist that provided Ben with a sense of relief, backwash coating his throat as he turned away from the other boy.

"Oh my God!" Brooklynn said tearily her hands flying over her mouth at the sight of Darius' clearly dislocated shoulder, left arm hanging limply like a spaghetti noodle.

"Dad?" the boy asked in his disorientation, looking for him.

"Darius, Darius, it's me Brooklynn." the pink haired girl said coming to kneel in front of him, unsure of how to help and afraid to touch him. Ben let out a nauseated whimper as he inched towards them, trying to look anywhere but his arm, and bloody, battered face.

Darius blinked hard a few times and seemed to come back to himself. "What happened?" he asked eyes darting from left to right and back again as he struggled to piece everything together. "The Indominus Rex!" he gasped loudly. Scrambling backwards, his left arm gave out from under him and the teen cried out as he tumbled, rolling to his injured side.

"Take it easy!" Yasmina instructed tersely, her hands on his back she helped Darius into the sitting position once more.

"I-I don't understand," Darius muttered, struggling to break free of his impact induced bewilderment. "How did we get away? What? Where are we?" he asked looking to the others for help.

"We used the zipline. You saved us, with you're stupid reckless, stunt." Yasmina said, still holding him upright, a look of respect and admiration on her face.

"Where is everyone?" Darius asked looking around, the girls grimaced, and Ben retreated a few paces at the sight, the pain clearly having yet to set in. "Where's-" Darius started again before his eyes went wide, a colorlessness coming over them, void, as all emotion drained from his expression. "Jayson..." he murmured.

"Darius," Brooklynn whispered blinking back tears as she moved closer to him. "It's wasn't your fault, you held on for as long as you could!"

"I scratched him." Darius muttered in a hollow tone as he looked at his hands, his distant look slowly giving way to abject horror. "I scratched him, so hard... It must have hurt so bad! I scratched him, I scratched him!" he wailed levees breaking under the overwhelming force of his grief, sorrow, and remorse. "I hurt him! I didn't mean to hurt him! He was bleeding! It's his blood! I hurt him!" the boy wept running his thumbs over his fingers, the others at a loss of what to do.

Stomach churning as he stared at the sticky blood, and clumps of skin that caked Darius' nails Ben moved forward and squeezed a waterfall of sanitizer over the other boys' hands. "Here." he said weakly hoping it would help.

Darius looked at him, as though the act were foriegn, alien even, perplexed as to why, and to what end he would do such a thing. Then it seemed to register, and Darius tried to bring his hands together, brow furrowed when he found the task impossible. "I can't do it!" he sobbed as the gel began to seep through his fingers. "I can't- ow! I can't move my arm! I can't get it off, I can't! I can't!" he screamed, everyone urging him to silence as a look of torment crossed his face.

"It's ok, it's alright!" Brooklynn said taking his hand in hers, Yasmina quickly followed suit on the other side. Together all previous animosity forgotten, they grimly worked the liquid into his hands, red dripping onto the ground.

Ben watched with a wry face as the girls quickly and efficiently scrubbed and scraped the blood and skin out from under and around Darius' nails as he wept. Stomach knotted Ben couldn't stand the sight of the gory manicure any longer and quietly shuffled away.

"Is Darius alright?" Sammy asked perking up hopefully, most of her bleeding under control, she was trying to wipe her face clear with the back of her arm.

"No, he's not!" Ben choked out. "His, his shoulder's messed up, but we need to get away from here! We can't wait any longer!" Hugging himself as he paced back and forth a tremor overtook the boy. There had been so much blood, and screaming, he thought, shuddering at the recollection, the wet crush of bone echoing in his mind, he shut his eyes. They all had to go, they had to run, they were all going to die if they didn't!

"Ben."

What didn't anyone understand about that? The longer they stayed out here the more chance they had of being caught by that thing! Out here they were exposed, they were vulnerable! The boy thought, tears streaming down his cheeks, fingers entangled in his hair, which he gripped tight with anxiety, airway slowly constricting.

"Ben."

They were all going to die if they didn't leave now! They just had to suck it up, stand up, and go! They were all going to die... he realized, it was so simple, yet so devastating a truth. They were all going to die. They were all going to die. They were all going to die! They were all going to die! They were all going to-

"Ben!" jarred from his fretful ruminations, by the sound of his name called pointedly, accompanied by something whipped sharply across his shins Ben jumped away, looking with a start at Kenji who had been trying to get his attention.

"Are you ok?" the older boy asked after a moment of exchanged looks of concern, letting go of the twig he'd been wielding.

Watching the boy who was pale, and clearly still in a great deal of pain as he labored for each breath Ben realized that even though Kenji was hurt he was still thinking about him. Overwhelmed with guilt for letting his fear override his compassion and empathy for his friends who were hurt, and just as scared as he was Ben swallowed hard before answering in a whisper, "No."

Making his way to Kenji, Ben sat down, and fished the other boy's hand off the ground. Forcing himself to remain as still as possible, defying the inner voice that screamed for him to run Ben rubbing his shaking thumb over Kenji's kuckles, and offered a weak smiled. "More importantly," he started. "Are you ok?"

"Honestly, I've been better." Kenji smirked.

"You don't say?" Ben smiled, and Kenji gave his hand a squeeze.

Staggering through the undergrowth Yasmina and Brooklynn supported Darius who was visibility feeling the extent of his injuries now, arm secured in a makeshift sling crafted from Yaz's jacket. The trios looked at one another with a disbanding hope, they were broken, and alone, and-

A roar shook through the jungle, causing the birds, and even insects to fall silent.

"Where the hell is that thing?" Kenji asked nervously.

"It's coming!" Ben gasped, ducking down, bringing Kenji's hand to his forehead as he started rocking back and forth, the cold tang of anxiety taking hold once more.

"Shh!" Yasmina begged, the goosebumps that appeared on her exposed arms betraying the calm control she was trying to project. "It could be anywhere!"

"We have to go, now!" Sammy ordered, stumbling to her feet.

"The observation tower was that way?" Brooklynn asked turning anxiously from left to right. "Or maybe that way?"

"Ben," Yaz snapped shoving the light haired boy hard to gain responsiveness. "Help get Kenji up."

"Please, get Kenji up!" the boy in question said between gritted teeth. "But gently." he added as an afterthought.

"I'll take his shoulders." Sammy announced kneeling above him against Yasmina's protest. "It's just a bump on the head, I'm fine. Now, when we lift I want you to use those abs of yours, not your back and chest alright Kenji?"

"I knew you liked what you saw!" Kenji winked trying to dispell their nerves and his own anticipation of how much getting up was going to suck.

"On 'three.'" Yaz said. Ben slid his hands under the other boy's side, distractedly glancing around with dread. "Ready? One, two, three!"

Kenji let out a loud cry as with all their might his friends hefted him to he feet. Giving him only a moment's respite the six campers tore through the wilderness back towards the tree house. Pushing their wounded to their limits spurred forward by fear and the haunting call of the Indominus Rex which appeared to come from all around them they ran blindly onwards.

"Everything will be fine when we get back to camp!" Darius gasped as they half ran, staggering through ensnaring vines, and snagging branches.

Bursting through a thick standing of grass however, these words were proven to be untrue. In shock the six children stared at the remains of what had been their home for the past three weeks. In shambles the tree house had been torn to the ground. Splintered, and destroyed it appeared as little more than fire wood. Wandering about the wreckage with a deep sense of loss the campers were dazed by what they found, their near death experience moments ago colliding violently with the realization that, had they stayed, they would now be buried under all this debris.

While the others picked at the beams of wood, and bits of crumbling plaster, kicking it here and there, Ben took notice of an overturned Jeep. Against his better judgement he went to take a look.

"Dave, Roxie, the other workers, they must have all gotten away!" Sammy said hopefully.

The sight of shattered glass, twisted metal, and mangled flesh that met Ben's gaze contradicted the girl's optimistic outlook with the grizzly reality. Heart hammering Ben turned away, tripping over something he crawled away from the car. "Not all of them!" he said through the tears that sprang to life in an instant.

No, please no, no more death! Ben begged silently on his hands and knees dry heaving as Sammy came to put a hand on his back, rubbing it in slow circles while Yasmina struggled with a damaged radio to call for help.

"We're on our own." the athlete announced after a minute.

Despair washed over the group until in frustration and rage Brooklynn turned on the Texan. "Give me my phone!" she bellowed. "I don't care that you snuck into Dr. Wu's lab, I don't care what you did with the skin samples you took from the sinoceratops, I don't even care that you stole it! All I want to do is call for help, now where is it?" she shouted causing confused murmurs to ripple through the group.

"I uh," Sammy started. "I don't know what you're talking about. Skin samples? Sneaking into labs? You made some crazy thing up in your own dang head!" the cowgirl dismissed walking towards the others.

"Back off!" Yaz warned. "Not everything revolves around you and your phone! It isn't Sammy's fault you lost it!"

"Would you guys please keep it down!" Ben pleaded looking up at them, still trying to recover from his shock. "There's a big-"

"A big scary dinosaur?" Kenji butted in, fear fueled anger taking control. "There's always a big scary dinosaur!"

"And you're always a big mouth jerk!" Ben shouted back equally unable to reign in his chaotic emotions.

"Give it back!" Brooklynn yelled. The five splintered, infighting taking over, while Darius stared up at the tree, his right hand coming to his neck in search of the comforting raptor tooth that resided there.

"My necklace." he whispered sorrowfully when he realized that it was missing. "I-I had it when-" he turned to look back the way they had come, eyes welling with tears. "When we fell..."

"Fighting isn't going to help any of us!" Ben shouted at last. "No one is getting out of here. We just saw people get eaten! We're alone, we're defenseless... We're dead." Sitting on the ground arms folded across his knees the boy started to cry, a chill sweeping through his form.

"We're not giving up." Darius announced after a minute, catching everyone off guard. "I get it," he went on taking a second to adjust his arm into a more comfortable position. "It's scary. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Things aren't always going to go your way. Life's messy, and sometimes things fall apart. But that's ok because when they do that's when we pick up the pieces, and keep going, and never give up."

"Your dad really should have been a motivational speaker or something." Kenji commented, wincing with discomfort as he approached Darius.

"Thanks." he replied with a sense of sorrow-laced pride, still tracing the front of his t-shirt.

"What about your necklace?" Brooklynn asked.

"Its not important," Darius said even as bitter tears of loss escaped him. "I have the memories right here." Carefully the pink haired girl hugged him apologetically.

"What do we do?" Yasmina asked, arms folded, jaw set with determination.

"We head south." Darius replied. "Towards the park, get help. The only way we'll make it is if we do it together. We're a team or we're nothing at all."

"Or, you know, we don't go back into the jungle." Ben said apprehensively as he got up, though all around him he could see the attitudes of the other campers shifting, they still looked scared, but ready to do something about it.

"You can wait for Roxie and Dave, but I'm with Darius." Kenji said. "We're going south, the rest of you coming or what?"

"I'm in." Brooklynn said following the hapless leaders as they achingly shuffled forward like a pair of zombies.

"We're in too." Yaz announced wrapping her arm around Sammy and falling in line.

Watching them leave Ben straggled behind, believing that it was safer to stay there. Wasn't this the first place people would look for them? He thought, besides what were the odds that it would come back? Ice filled his stomach at the thought of running into the I-Rex again, but out there, in the wild, it seemed so much more harrowing.

"Come on Ben," Kenji called back to him. "It's just one dinosaur."

"It's just one dinosaur." Ben repeated. "It's just one dinosaur." There seemed to be power in the words as he spoke them, the knowledge of how large the island was, and how dense the jungle easing his mind somewhat. "It's just one dinosaur." he said again like a mantra, adjusting his fanny pack Ben trailed behind the group as he reluctantly followed them into the unknown.

Trekking through humid jungle for what felt like hours, the group walked in silence afraid to draw attention to themselves, even when they broke to catch their breath the only conversation that occurred was in the form of hushed, paranoid whispers. That was until Ben, preoccupied with cleaning himself, skin crawling, the need to wash it away all consuming, stepped on a twig, startling himself into letting out a little cry. Jumpy the others screamed and turned reactions varying from fight, flight, and freeze.

"I'm sorry," he said tone low. "I stepped on a twig."

"I should step on you!" Kenji hissed in pain, teeth gritted, holding his chest, color draining from his face after turning too quickly.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Darius whimpered sinking to his knees, free hand tenderly cupping his dislocated joint. "It's alright Ben," he breathlessly managed after a minute, "We're all on edge."

"Darius," Sammy said, biting her bottom lip apprehensively. "I think I can fix your shoulder." Everyone looked at the girl sceptically. "My daddy got kicked before I was born, his shoulder slides out of place every now and then. I've had to pop it back a couple times when we've been out working... I just... Don't want to make it worse."

"Don't trust her Darius, she's a liar and a theif!" Brooklynn sneered glaring up Sammy.

"He can't keep going like this, the sooner we get it back in the better!" Sammy pleaded. "I just want to help."

Watching the exchange Ben picked his way over to the group, scanning the trees for movement as he did. "Sammy's right," he muttered. "The pain should go away once we get it back, and the longer we leave it, the more chance of permanent damage."

"See," Yasmina argued staring at the pink haired girl with spite. "We should let Sammy help, she knows what she's doing."

"She only says she knows what she's doing!" Brooklynn countered.

"Yeah, but what if she fucks it up even more?" Kenji observed from the sidelines.

Meanwhile Ben noticed that the boy whose shoulder was so hotly contested had fallen silent, crying as discreetly as possible where he sat cross-legged. Walking towards him Ben got down to his level, ignoring as rocks and dirt bit sharply into his knees. "Are you alright?" he asked looking at the boy whose left cheek was beginning to bruise, the eye swollen tightly shut.

"No." Darius sobbed. At the sound the bickering stopped and they all turned towards their friend in white.

"What do you want us to do?" Ben questioned gently.

"I can't do it anymore," he replied through the tears. "It hurts so much, I-I need Sammy to try, please!" Darius begged.

"Ok," Sammy said stepping up, this time no one protested. "I need a branch that's about as big around and his wrist. Yaz, Brooklynn, can you hold him steady?"

Ben watched wide eyed and uneasy as the girls forced the branch under Darius' armpit as he cried out and struggling not to pull away or fight them. Then Ben realized that they were going to use it as a fulcrum, making a leaver of his arm and once raised would wedge it back in place. Hurriedly covering his ears, eyes squeezed shut, Ben turned away crouching down as if bracing for an explosion. He still heard the wet pop, and shrill scream that quickly died as Darius fainted from the intense burst of pain. Turning back around Ben saw a worried Brooklynn fanning her hand infront of his face, while Sammy pushed and massaged Darius' shoulder.

"It feels right." Sammy confirmed confidently swinging and rotating his ragdolled arm. "No pops, clicks, or tension."

"Do, do you think that thing heard him?" Ben mumbled.

Kenji let out an irritable sigh, "Probably, now stand up you big baby!"

"When will he," Brooklynn had started to asked when Darius groaned turning his head from side to side as he came to.

"Ow." he muttered. Testing out his arm a minute later he clenched his fist, moving it with reserved caution. "Thank you Sammy, thank you!" he enthused sitting up.

"Your muscles are still gonna be real sore, so keep it in the sling for now ok?" she smiled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Everyone got back to their feet and with a renewed sense of urgency, fearful of what Darius' cry might attract rushed away from the area.

"We're lost." Yasmina commented after lugging around through the jungle for who knew how long.

"Yeah we've been out here for a while now," Sammy agreed. "Darius are we sure we're still headed towards the park?"

"Well, we'd be sure of we still had my phone because it has a compass, a GPS, and is also a phone!" Brooklynn said angrily.

"I-I have a compass." Ben said with meek embarrassment, digging through his pack, ignored by the others.

"Sammy didn't take your phone!" Yaz snapped pushing her away. "No one took your phone! Can we please stop talking about the phone?"

"You guys! You guys, you guys, you guys! Can you um both yell at each other quieter please!" Ben interjected, palming the compass as he moved between the warring parties.

"My fellow campers!" Kenji announced loudly. "Chill. What we need here is someone who can make the hard call on what to do next, and since I'm obviously leadership material, I'll do this!" he smiled, the fact that he was holding his side doing little to steal his natural bravado, as the others looked at him with disbelief, unamused by his antics in so dire a situation. "And my first decree as leader is for everyone to stop talking and listen to Darius. So, which way Darius."

Pushing his way through everyone an agitated Ben handed the tool with the cracked face to his friend. "With everything that happened... I didn't think about it." he apologized when Darius looked down at the little red arrow that confirmed that they had drifted off course and back up at Ben.

Darius let out a dismal sigh, before looking around, hoping to gain some kind of barrings when he announced, "I know where we are!" Rushing away. "We're by the carnotaurus paddock!"

"I thought this place looked familiar!" Kenji grinned to the others and they hurried to catch up. "Am I an excellent leader or what?"

"I remember the fence! The broken ripped down fence..."

"That means Toro is out here with us?" Ben asked staring at the twisted pylons, and broken crossbeams with terror.

"Now we have to deal with Indominus and Toro." Darius reasoned. "Hold up, how do you know about Toro?"

"We all know," Yaz declared. "Kenji told us like, the day after it happened."

"In my defense me saving you was super cool!" Kenji defended himself, in the most Kenji way imaginable.

"Fine, this enclosure is due north of the main park, and with this compass if we keep heading south we'll wind up at the visitors center." Darius said planning it all out for them. "We're sure to find Dave and Roxie, or someone else in charge."

"Yes," Kenji agreed, "That's exactly what I was thinking, as leader, which I am. Follow me!" he said amid rolled eyes as the campers moved onwards.

Ben hung back staring at the fence, if that thing could do all of this, what hope did they really have of capturing it? "I don't think that finding an adult is going to help. A terrifying, camouflaged dinosaur destroyed our camp. No way they have a plan for that." he said to their wayfinder who had stayed back with him.

"Ben I know it's scary but this is Jurassic World dealing with dinosaurs is what they do!" the other boy beamed with blind faith.

"They didn't do so well at their first park did they?"

"Everything will be ok, trust me."

It was nearly an hour later when they stumbled across a horrific sight. A dead ankylosaurus lying in a heap near the familiar shape of a gyrosphere, though, one that had been torn apart. Light headed with palpitations Ben circled the vehicle, shattered glass crunching under his feet, how was it strong enough to do that? he wondered, though he dreadfully felt that it was better not to receive an answer.

"Predators don't kill prey and then just leave without eating..." Darius said, perplexed as he approached the dead animal, hand running along its pebbled neck. "This, this isn't right."

A sudden rustle in the undergrowth nearby sent the terrified children diving for cover. Hands over his head as he ducked behind the broken sphere, Ben closed his eyes. This was it, he thought, readying himself to die. I love you mom, I love you dad! Just then, he heard a plaintive little cry, it almost sounded like- Turning he saw her, standing alone calling for her family, Bumpy. Overwhelmed with relief that she was alright, long held fears and suspicions that she had been euthenized lifting from him, like a burdening weight leaving his shoulders Ben ran to the little animal, overjoyed, his own mortal fear dissolved in that instant.

"Bumpy!" he grinned hugging the ankylosaurus who now reached his knee in height, turning her little head so that he could get a good look at her. The intelligent light in the baby dinosaur's eyes shone back just as happy as she squeaked at, and nudged her human mother with delight.

"And droolly, and smelly." Kenji added as the others approached the cuddly pair. "How do you even know that's the same dinosaur?"

"I just do." Ben smiled. "And her big head bump." he then remarked when some of the campers appeared less than satisfied with the answer. "Dr. Wu said she's asymmetrical, but he's wrong that it's a bad thing, and so what if she is asymmetrical?" he asked rubbing around her big horn with one hand, the other giving her chin skritches that made Bumpy close her eyes contentedly with the other.

"There's nothing wrong with being different, or bumpy." Ben went on, before a thought seemed to occur to him. Oh, no. What if she had been here when it happened? What if she'd seen the other ankylosaurus get murdered? Did she know them? Was that her dino-mom?

"Don't look. It's ok, I've got you, just don't look." he sniffled cupping his hands around Bumpy's eyes and turning her away from the terrible scene. "It's not fair!" he announced to no one in particular. "When you're little you shouldn't have to go through something so horrible like this! You shouldn't- you shouldn't have to be so scared all the time. You shouldn't have to hide how bad it hurts..." he trembled blinking back tears, unconsciously projecting some of himself onto Bumpy. "She's so tiny! Why did it have to happen to her?" he asked misty eyed, empathizing with what he was sure the baby animal was going through as she nuzzled him, knocking him into his backside, trying to crawl into his lap.

"What are you talking about?" Kenji scoffed. "This is nature, animals kill each other all the time!"

"He's right." Yaz added a brow arched judgmentally at the boy on the ground.

"There is nothing natural about what happened!" Ben yelled vehemently. "Nothing!" There was a long pause where he stared up in angry defiance of the others, face red, before adding, "Darius even said so! And even if it was that doesn't make Bumpy's hurt go away!"

"Jesus Christ!" Kenji half shouted. "Fine, now can we get this show on the road? Big scary dinosaur, remember?"

"Yeah and Ben, I don't think animals feel things exactly the way we do." Sammy said trying to gently coax him away.

"That's because you're a cow killer." Ben muttered, chosing to ignore them he lavished affection and snuggles onto the dinosaur who had grown so much since she had fit in the palm of his hand.

"Well, I'm not spending another hour walking through the jungle hoping we don't run into that Indominus!" Brooklynn put in. "We need a new plan."

"Uh, yeah, obviously we need a new plan," Kenji agreed, earning a dirty look from Ben who was fed up with him already. "That's why I had Darius come up with a new one, lay it on us bro."

"Ok, so uh, we need to find somewhere safe close by." the other boy began, thinking out loud as he was caught off guard by his sudden new responsibility. "Camp is back that way, and the park is that way... Isn't Dr. Wu's field genetics lab near here?" he asked. "You guys went on the tour does this area look familiar?"

"Yeah," Sammy said, sounding unsure at first. "Yeah I think it's that way."

"That seems right." Yaz agreed.

"Great, then that's where we should go, there's bound to be an adult there who can help, or tell us what to do! Right?" Darius said with a tainted sense of hope. It was then that another roar filled the air.

"Fine, whatever, we'll go to the lab!" Brooklynn said. "As long as we are moving away from that!"

"What about Bumpy?" Ben asked watching as his friends moved past them.

"She's a dinosaur bro, she belongs out here in the wild." Kenji said.

"And she'll just slow us down." Yasmina added. "We've gotta go now."

Ben looked down at Bumpy who rubbed her head against him fondly before looking up at him clear feelings of love and devotion in her gaze. The teen's heart ached. He couldn't leave her, not again, not knowing that she was going to be hurt.

"But-" he started.

"Say 'goodbye' Ben." Kenji commanded apathetically.

"No!" Ben yelled surprising everyone as he jumped to his feet and stood his ground. "You say 'hello!' I'm not just going to leave her out here alone and defenseless! She's a baby, she needs someone to protect her!"

"Oh and what you're going to be the one to do that?" Kenji laughed.

"Yes, I am!" Ben shouted tearing up angrily. Fists clenched he glared at the others, daring them to argue.

Darius was the intermediary, "Ok, ok, if she can keep up, she can come with us. If we find a herd, any herd, of herbavores we leave her with them. Does that work?" he asked.

Flustered Ben looked between his friends before conceding. "Fine." he agreed in a choked tone. "See," he said turning to the little dinosaur. "I'll take care of you, promise."

After a few moments of pleading, tugging, and luring, eventually Ben was able to entice Bumpy into following them with sweet gentle words while walking backwards. After a bit he wasn't really sure what he was saying anymore, half rambling in a light singsongy voice about what a good girl she was as she happily followed after him. Bumpy who chortled and called back, stared up at the teen the entire way. It made his heart swell, and Ben couldn't resist giving his girl a head pat, reassured by her.

"This is ridiculous!" Brooklynn said throwing her head back after a while. "Ben, that's it, it was a good run, but she's slowing us down!"

"She can move faster!" Ben argued. "Ankylosaurus can run very fast, isn't that right Darius?" he asked the only ally he had previously had.

Darius looked at Ben, then Bumpy who gamboled about his feet excited to be reunited with him, and have a herd again. "I don't know," Darius said, rubbing his aching arm as he thought. "When they're fully grown maybe."

With a happy gurgling sound Bumpy headbutt Ben in the back of his legs, sweeping him off his feet, before rolling onto the ground herself, closing her eyes and dozing off without warning. Warmly reminded of Boo from Monster's Inc. Ben found himself stroking the sleeping baby's side before staring up at what felt like an execution squad.

"Wow, total speed demon." Kenji said tone dripping with sarcasm. "We're ditching it."

"No!" Ben shouted, startling Bumpy awake.

"Ben, you aren't thinking this through!" Brooklynn said pinching the bridge of her nose. "Bumpy's too slow!"

Hope slipping out of his grasp Ben looked around desperately for something, anything to help as he felt his breath hitch. That was when he spotted the van, half hidden by a thick standing of ferns in the distance. "Then, then, we'll put her in the van!"

"What van?" Sammy asked.

"That one!" Ben pointed. Everyone turned to look with amazement at the partially obscured automobile.

Hurrying over to the large black vehicle their pacing slowed at the sight of crimson staining the ground near the rear doors. Flies buzzing in an eager frenzy around a severed leg, coils of innards hanging from a nearby tree. Something, really, really bad had happened here, Ben thought, swallowing hard.

"That's... an ACU, Asset Containment Unit van..." Kenji said as they crept closer, and closer to the scene. "I got a tour of their HQ, they're super hardcore, dino-trapping security dudes..."

"I knew they couldn't have a plan for something like this!" Ben whined as the tiptoed nearer.

Taking a deep breath Kenji threw open the ajar rear door to reveal a blessedly empty and reenforced interior, with wing benches to the left and right. "Do you think there's anyone left?" Yasmina asked taking in their surroundings with fresh, frightened eyes, and everyone huddled close together.

"Is that a tablet?" Brooklynn shouted pushing her way through to the device and turning it on.

Following her in and snagging a radio from the floorboard Sammy began turning the knobs, "What did tell us? Oh, right. Channel six. Dave, Roxie! Can y'all hear us?" she called, only to get a violent crackle of static in response.

"And of course this doesn't have communication enabled, because why would it?" Brooklynn complained as everyone began climbing in. "If I had my phone-"

"Enough already!" Darius shouted, hefting himself in one handed. "There are bigger things going on here than your phone!" From where he stood near the doors Ben could see the dejected look that came across the pink haired girl's face, part of him felt sorry for her.

"There's a map program with little moving dots on it." she announced then, lowering the handheld computer for the others to see.

"They chip all of the dinosaurs electronically to track them," Darius explained, reaching towards the device. "See, there is us and there's-" a series of dots popped up on the screen.

"Wait," Kenji said brows knit. "This is the brachiosaurus grove here, so why are the brachiosauruses way over there?"

"I think maybe the fences are down, or at least some of them." Darius muttered eyes closed woefully.

Bumpy turned towards the trees then and began bleating in alarm, the sound sending a thrill of fear through Ben who crouched down and began shushing the ankylosaur, stroking her neck in a way he hoped was comforting. Bird calls and the sound of something big coming towards them shook the trees behind them.

"Guys, something's coming this way!" Ben warned the others.

"That's weird what ever it is it's not showing up on the tablet." Brooklynn noticed.

"What kind of dinosaur wouldn't have a transponder?" Darius asked.

"I don't want to wait around to find out!" Kenji said.

Listening to them talk as he tried to calm and reassure Bumpy, Ben couldn't help but feel the seriousness of what was happening had in someway escaped the others, as he watch the crowns of the jungle bend and shake with the might of the creature that approached them.

"Shut her up!" Yaz said in a taught whisper coming up behind the boy and dinosaur.

Just then Bumpy gave the mightiest bellow her little voice could muster, Ben could feel her trembling. Then, something responded with malevolence.

"We gotta go now!" someone shouted.

Ben struggled for a second but with Sammy's help was able to get Bumpy inside the vehicle. Leaping into seats everyone buckled in bracing themselves as they waited, only to realize that no one was driving. With a grunt of frustration the oldest among them clamoured into the front seat, knocking the air out of his lungs as he did. Sitting, eyes squeezed closed he let out a trembling breath.

"Please, please stop!" he muttered, tensing and relaxing, tensing and relaxing until the pain subsided some and he turned the key in the ignition, and none too soon. Muttering to himself as he repeated his driving instructions Kenji pulled away suddenly as the Indominus burst through the trees charging towards them.

"It's gaining!" Sammy screeched as the great white beast hurtled through the primeval forest behind them, teeth gnashing dangerously.

"You're in the wrong gear!" Yasmina added.

"Well how do I shift gears?" Kenji asked.

Bumpy let out a cry, leaning forward in his seat Ben's back gave a jolt. Ignoring it he grabbed onto the animal, hugging her to him and closing his eyes. "It's going to be alright!" he said. "Shh everything is going to be ok!"

"Drive!" Yaz commanded diving over the front seat and yanking the wheel.

Thrown sideways by the momentum Ben felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, desperately he held on tighter to his ward. Jostled and tossed around in the back as the van mowed down plants, tires bouncing over rocks, turning first this way and then that, the passengers all seemed to feel the same sort of distress, and haplessness to their situation. Then, without warning they were airborne, Ben's stomach doing a flip flop. They all screamed. Ben's head jarring when they hit the ground rolling. Leaving the Indominus behind roaring with defeat they eventually came to a stop against a tree.

Shaking everyone looked around at each other with a mixed sense of relief, and unease. "At least we lost Indominus." Brooklynn smiled as they all caught their collectively panicked breaths.

"Now where do we go?" Yaz asked.

"How about the genetics lab?" Ben asked gesturing towards the windshield, through which could be seen the large white building. Everyone turned to gape at him. "It's a gift." he shrugged.

As they all began filing out Ben took a moment to look Bumpy over for any injuries. Nurturing her he have a little click of his tongue, flicking a clump of mud out of a back plate with disapproval. "It's alright Bumpy, we'll be safe here. And I promise I will never, ever let anyone hurt you." he vowed becoming dewy-eyed as he looked at the baby he felt he'd had a hand in bringing into the world. "Ever."