-Six Weeks BCC-

The sky outside was a dusty lavender, stars slowly fading into the background as the sun creeped towards the horizon, gradually shedding light onto the slumbering world below. Sammy Gutierrez however, was already wide awake and gearing up to start her day. Sitting on the end of her disheveled bed she brushed her hair, wincing each time she over reached, still struggling to get used to the new length. The rough bristles scraped against the back of her neck like cactus barbs, still, she couldn't help but smile.

All Sammy had ever wanted as a child was long flowing hair just like her mom, and when her thick raven locks finally came in glossy and elegant, what did she do? Chopped it all off. It was worth it, she reasoned with herself, and for a good cause. Glancing at the thank you card from Wigs for Kids framed in the fairy lights strung everywhere in her room, the girl couldn't help but wonder if they were going to send her a picture of the recipient. I hope it helps, she added to the thought, a silent prayer to whoever might be listening.

Giving herself a quick look over in vanity, Sammy smoothed out a sleep spiked eyebrow and smiled. "Perfect."

Decked out in jeans and plain tee the girl took a long breath, trying to mentally prepare for the day. It was gonna be long, hot, and hard. They had round up, brand and vaccinate all of the new stock, split the herd to allow regrowth in the west pasture, spray each and every head down with insecticidal pour-on, and then to make life interesting get the bulls in with the heifers who were ready for their first season just so they could start the same process all over again! Rotating stock was the key her father said. It only took 80 days for a cow to be ready to breed again after calving, and that was quite literally the lifeblood of the family ranch.

Heading out of her room Sammy paused at her sister's door when she heard Marisa in there muttering angrily to herself. Cracking the door she peeked in to see her peering with scrutiny at her own reflection, before pulling another blouse out of the closet, holding it up briefly, and then tossing it to the floor.

"Looking good chica!" Sammy said beaming brightly, as she used the tried and true knock-while-already-barging-in technique.

"Um, yeah right!" her sister snapped back throwing her arms in the air for added affect. Sammy couldn't help but smile, where was the little girl of yesterday? She wondered.

"No, seriously, tell me. What's wrong?" Sammy implored, putting a hand on each of Marisa's shoulders and turning her back to the mirror.

"Everything!" the girl groaned pulling away. "I'm all arms and legs, none of my clothes fit right. Look at me I'm a freak!"

"You're not a freak!" Sammy rolled her eyes.

"Give me some of your curves and maybe I won't be." Marisa said reaching out and smacking her big sister on the butt. "I'm flat as a freaking board!"

Sammy stared the young teen incredulously hands on her hips. "Marisa para que? We just need to accesorieze and show off what you do got! Besides you're not done growing yet."

"You mean this Slenderman situation is going to get worse?" Marisa cried out before collapsing backwards with a dramatic flair onto her bed.

"Get up!" Sammy laughed rummaging through her sister's piles of clothes, sniffing the odd piece of apparel here and there. "How are you know which ones are clean?" she muttered half to herself as she shifted the piles about.

"Here, stand-up." Sammy commanded a bright dip dyed scarf with a sporadic pattern of sequence in hand. When Marisa continued to lay there moaning as if she stood at death's door the older teen grabbed her by both wrists and began hauling her up. "Come on!"

Heaving a sigh as Marisa stood there like a lame duck Sammy began threading the scarf through her belt loops. "How old are you? I'm still getting you dress. Why?" she muttered before delving into the closet once more, regretting not having put the blouse aside when she'd seen it. "This, and this." she commanded handing over a white camisole, and a brightly colored flannel.

Turning around so her sister could change Sammy was secretly relishing this moment, she was lucky to have a family as amazing and loving as hers. Not every girl in her position could say the same. When the grunting and groaning behind her reached a crescendo of melancholy and doom the older girl grinned. "Can I turn around?"

"Sure, witness the disaster first hand!" Marisa snapped.

Well, Sammy conceded, she was right none of her clothes seemed to fit anymore. Marisa stood looking like a scarecrow her gangly arms outstretched, the purple and blue flannel wrinkled and baggy around her arms, every last button done up, right up to her chin. Sammy's brows knit together. "Are you going to church?" she asked walking over and unbottoning the noose. "Daddy taught me the 'sometimes, always, never' rule for buttoning and-"

"That's for men's suits dummy." Marisa cut it.

Sammy paused, was it? "It's universal." she waved her hand dismissively. "Sometimes," she said indicating to the top button. "Always," she motioned to the one in the middle. "Never." she declared unfastening the bottom button. "Now," Sammy announced turning Marisa once again towards the looking glass. "This is a good look for at home, and working. You can roll your sleeves if you get hot, tuck it, untuck it, stop laughing or I'm leaving, it's an overall great look! But, and if you tell daddy I gave you permission I'll deny it. You can undo all the buttons and tie it around your waist, or a little higher for school or hanging out with friends. But I swear to God if I see any skin," she said poking Marisa in her stomach. "Before your fifteenth birthday I'm gonna tell Abuela to call the convent and have the sisters come and take you away!"

"Ok, ok, I get it!" Marisa giggled appraising her new outfit combination in the mirror, giving the excess material of her makeshift belt a twirl. "I like it. Thanks sis."

"What can I say? It's a gift! Now, makeup!" Sammy gushed.

"Makeup? Do we have time daddy needs our help today."

"There's always time for makeup, and we won't be late." Sammy assured seating her sister before her dresser, pushing Ana the more popular of the twins things to the side and breaking out the goods.

There was nothing better in all the world than an impromptu makeover Sammy felt, delicately sweeping eyeshadow over her sister's eyes. Achieving the smokey look almost effortlessly. She didn't wear makeup often, especially when lending a hand around the ranch and when she did Sammy preferred a more subtle natural look and made her feel like a real girl. Because she was a real girl, she thought irritated with herself.

"Hey!" Georgia's voice cut through the calming bliss of a spa morning. "Mama sent me to tell you breakfast, but I wanna play dress up too!"

"We're not playing dress up," Marisa scoffed at the six year old. "We're getting dressed. You wouldn't understand the difference shorty."

"No fair, I'm telling!"

"No, it's ok," Sammy giggled scooping her up and plopping her on the dresser. "Come here and let's give you some war paint!"

A little while later and the trio all made up walked into the kitchen where there mother Rosa, who was as big as a house with the baby, was moving with shocking ease, clearly in her element racing back and forth between oven, range, and table. When she spotted them standing in the doorway the woman snatched the dish towel off of her shoulder and began smacking them on their rears.

"Quick, quick, don't just stand there get to!" she commanded motioning to this morning's spread. Meanwhile their grandmother, who sat on a stool nearby stirring a stockpot laughed at the spectacle. Everything was a frantic pelt for a minute their mother scolding them, saying they wouldn't be exempt from kitchen work on field days anymore if they didn't get the table set rapido, and not to expect to sleep in anymore once summer rolled around prompting complaints from Marisa who felt that slumber party or not Ana should have been there to help too.

Soon the table was stacked high with eggs, sausage, bacon, ham, potatoes, cheese, peppers, onions, mushrooms, soup, diced fruit, toast, tortillas, milk, juices, coffee, and various condiments, all of it steaming hot and delicious. Clattering a fork against her big metal triangle first in the hallway, then out the back door their mother called the family for mealtime, and it wasn't long before bodies started piling in along the benches on either side of the long table.

"What are you wearing?" their dad asked motioning to his two oldest when he walked in. "We're branding today not going to prom! Georgia, uh, what are you playing dress up as huh?" he sighed knowing he was losing ground under his roof, outnumbered six, soon to be seven, to one.

"I'm not playing dressed up dad, I'm just dressed, you wouldn't understand." she said earning laughter from her sisters as she tossed her hair with flair.

"No, don't lie to me, you're dressed up as a party clown aren't you?" he asked picking her up and tickling her stomach. "Should I find you a barrel to hide in and throw you in with the bulls, huh? Huh?"

"Mijo, mijo!" Abuela called catching Sammy's attention, motioning for her to come over. "Don't listen to him you look so pretty this morning. Prettiest girl in all Mexico."

"Hey, what about me mama?" Sammy's mother cut in as she leaned against the counter fanning herself.

"Nose." was all Abuela said before laughing manically.

"Mama!" the woman gasped covering her face.

"Don't listen to her!" Sammy's dad said grabbing her by the substantial waist and pulling her close. "I live your big beautiful beak." he said pecking her on the nose.

"Beak? Beak?" his wife shrieked trying to pull away as her husband dotted her with even more kisses.

"Mijo, mijo," Abuela said again tapping Sammy on the arm. "I have something for you." she said pushing a caramel into her palm before cupping Sammy's face lovingly with gnarled arthritic fingers. "Beautiful."

"Thank you, Abuela." the girl said giving her a long kiss on the forehead.

"I don't want to hear any complaining from either of you when those hoops get ripped out of your ears today." her dad was saying as he took a hearty scoop of eggs and passed the platter down.

"You won't." the girls said almost in unison as their cousins chuckled and elbowed each other.

"Did you take your vitamins?" Rosa asked looking pointedly at Sammy.

"Ugh mama trust me that's something I won't forget!" the teen grumbled tearing off a piece of tortilla.

"Don't you 'ugh mama' me! I read stories, I don't want you to get sick. Que?" the woman snapped motioning dangerously with a wooden serving spoon.

"Si mama." Sammy relented kicking her cousin Abryan under the table as he whispered mockingly to his brother.

"'Si mama,' better. Don't you mess with the pregnant woman, I will beat you and when the police come they'll take one look and me and say, 'that girl deserved whatever her mama did!'" her mother remarked before smacking the table to gain her nephews attention. "Same for you boys, it takes 30 minutes for the CPS people to come I mapped it, that's 30 whole minutes of you, me, and whatever is in arm's reach."

"Si tía." they muttered as all around the table people smirked to themselves.

Abruptly squeezing himself between Marisa and Sammy, Theo came to the table late and enthusiastically began pouring himself orange juice. The overwhelming scent of spearamint flaring her nostrils Sammy couldn't help but look down at him quizzically. "Did you brush your teeth before breakfast?"

"Uh-huh," he nodded. "I like the way it tastes!"

Everybody shrieked the children recoiling and bumping into one another on the benches while the adults laughing humorously called for composure. "Get outta here you little psycho!" Sammy laughed tickling the boy. "With your brushed teeth OJ!"

After breakfast, the work day began. As expected it was long, hot, and terrible. First they corralled the cattle and walked around the big pen with low pressured sprayers dousing them with them with a bug repellent that killed off any ticks, fleas, and mites they had while driving off flies and mosquitoes. Afterwards they separated the calves, penning them into short stalls with heavy bars on either side to hold them still. Pumping them full of vaccines, a quick clip to the ear with the tagging gun, and few seconds of the red hot brand against their skin and they were free to return to their mothers.

It hurt Sammy's heart to hear the calves crying, the putrid odor of burnt hair, and charred flesh stinging her nose, but it had to be done. One by one she and Abryan worked on their lot as midday, a light lunch, and long break grew steadily nearer. Wiping the sweat from her brow they chatted casually about school. He and his brother stayed with her family throughout the school year, same with the cousins from her mom's side, but soon they'd all go back home for the summer and her father would need to hire some seasonal hands, so Sammy was trying to enjoy the good conversations while they lasted.

"Hey," Abryan said suddenly tapping the girl's shoulder, and pointing somewhere across the corral. "It's those guys again."

Standing Sammy shielded her gaze, eyes narrowed. In the distance she saw a gleaming black car parked near the house, and a pair of men in suits talking to her father. She'd seen them periodically, they were always interested in some type of business or another but her father refused to talk to Sammy about what they wanted exactly. Instead he would tell her that they were snake oil salesmen, and not to worry, he'd handle things. This time things were different, she could see her dad was angry, shouting, even though she couldn't quite make out what he was saying. Dropping the tag gun the girl marched towards the intruders. Something was wrong, and this time she was going to find out what it was.

As she got nearer Sammy could hear her father saying, "I don't care, we aren't doing it, you can find someone else to be your patsy! Now you and your boys get off my land, this is private property."

Getting ready to call out to him the girl paused something out of the corner of her eye catching her attention. There in the middle of the corral Marisa stood looking nervous a sprayer clutched tightly as a third suit talked and smiled at her. Sammy's blood began to boil as she quickly changed course, shouting angrily when the man reached a hand out and touched her sister on the shoulder.

"Hey!" Sammy called. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"We're just talking." the man with neatly combed blond hair and a perfect smile said in a tone she felt was supposed to be charming.

"Yeah well she's fourteen," Sammy said putting herself between Marisa and the man. "You have absoluely no business talking to her whatsoever, none."

Smiling again the man took a step back arms open. "I was only trying to-"

"Listen, I've castrated bulls that weigh in over 2,000lbs buddy, do not push me!" she said jabbing a finger into his chest before turning to Marisa. "Are you ok?"

"Y-Yeah, nothing happened." Marisa said glancing apprehensively between the two of them.

"Did it make you uncomfortable?" Sammy asked sternly. Her sister nodded. "Then something did happen. No one is allowed to make you feel unsafe, ever."

"He said if I did him a favor I could save the ranch." Marisa explained.

Sammy turned on the suit with fire in her eyes.

"Whoa! Whoa! No! You're misunderstanding the situation," he said hands lifted defensively as he took another hasty step back. "It wasn't like that I just had a proposition for her- not like that either more of a business transaction." he fumbled watching as Abryan and the others came to flank her on either side armed with various farming tools, Abryan's quick fingers knotting a rope into a makeshift club which he smacked threateningly into his palm.

"Have you heard of Jurassic World? Owned by Mazrani Global?" the guy said quickly realizing that he was out matched. "What am I saying of course to do, well I work for a company called Mantah Corp, a company your dad owes a lot of money to. We just needed a favor to get a leg up on the competition is all, and we can forget the debt."

"And what does my underage sister have to do with any of that?" Sammy asked angrily.

"We've got an in to Jurassic World through a kids summer program, that's all I swear." he said pulling out a business card and a pen. "But you seem like a clever girl, real head on your shoulders, someone who could get the job done. Wanna give me an email? I can send you the details."

Looking skeptically from the creep to her dad who was still arguing with the other two the teen snatched the card from his hand and jotted down her information before handing it back. "Sammypajammyg , cute." he smirked before pocketing it.

"Yeah, sure, real cute." she said stepping up to him seething. "But if you ever come near my sister again you and me are gonna take a trip to my tio's. He raises pigs, you understand me?"

The guy looked her up and down in an evaluating manner, smiled, nodding to the group of teens who advanced on him slightly and walked away. Sammy took a shuddering breath, she was quaking with rage and anxiety all over, heart pounding, limbs cold despite the heat, and she was fairly certain she was going to throw up. The girl hated confrontation. Hugging Marisa close she kissed her on the top of her head, feeling her trembling as well, she was just glad that everyone was ok.

"Sam the Man!" Abryan whooped, boxing her in the shoulder as the black car drove off. "I forgot you were such a badass!"

"Yeah, well, don't make that mistake again." she muttered still hugging her sister.

"Oh my God!" Abryan gasped looking a little paler all of a sudden. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! It just slipped out!"

Sammy turned and looked at him like the idiot he was. "No stupid, I can still be 'the man' without having to be a man. I meant don't you ever forget I'm a badass!" she grinned punching him back in a way that said "no hard feelings."

Later that night Sammy lay in bed, struggling to keep her eyes open as outside her room she could hear her family members starting to drop off to sleep one after the other. After she was sure the coast was clear the girl pulled out her phone and switched on private browsing. It only took her a few minutes to gather some basic information on Mantah Corp. They were a genetics company who had been in the dinosaur race with what was once called InGen, and another company called Biosyn, but had lost. Unlike Biosyn however, she couldn't find much else or even recent activities, they were like a ghost.

Her phone pinged, startling Sammy who quickly muted notifications. Tapping on the little envelope she opened an email, it read simply "For Miss S. Gutierrez," and had several files attached to it.

Opening the first file Sammy's brows furrowed as she found herself staring at what appeared to be a legal coversheet. The next page was just a header and the Mantah Corp company logo which looked like some sort of scorpion lion thing in the center. Then it was a spreadsheet she couldn't make much sense of, then another, and another. Then she came to a page filled with numbers, charges, withdrawals, interest accumulation, and finally a closing sheet. Confused she opened up the next file she was greeted by a similar coversheet, and another logo page. After that there were several pages of scanned checks, all with her father's signature. Page, after page of checks. Suddenly the first file with all it's large sums was beginning to make sense.

"Oh no, daddy." she whispered, heart fluttering in her chest and tears welling in her eyes.

After that was page after page of numbers some positive, some negative, some in black, others in an ominous red. Then she came across an image that chilled the teen to her core, the deed to the ranch. Quickly throwing the blankets over her head as she lost her composure Sammy bit down on her pillow reigning in a terrified, heartbroken cry. Tears streaming down her face she struggled to contain herself as everything inside felt shattered.

They were going to lose everything! She thought desperately. Everything! What, she wondered, could have happened to get them to this point? How long had her father been hiding their financial trouble? Sammy felt like she was going to explode with sorrow as a deep hopelessness swallowed her whole. As silently as possible the girl laid in bed weeping in hollow, ragged breaths.

After a several minutes the worst of it had past and she dared pull out phone again, opening up the third and final file, her hands shaking. Again a cover page, logo, and- "Redacted" the page was filled with thick black bars obscuring whatever text had been there the solitary word stamped menacingly in the corner. The next page exactly the same. The third page contained only a few lines of text amid the bars, but nothing that made sense out of context. Then something about shareholding, the ranch, and a contract. A few more pages entirely blacked out, then something about Mazrani Global, the logo of Jurassic World a familiar sight. Then something about debt forgiveness in exchange for the "acquisition of degradable, biological specimens, and vital documentation acquired onsite for the purpose of ... and ... by the ... and ... ..."

The following pages seemed more like a shopping list than anything else, with names and photographs of different sorts of dinosaurs, and plants, a few schematics were even thrown in followed by even more pages that were entirely blacked out.

Her own breath uncomfortably hot on her face from hiding beneath the blankets Sammy tried to work through everything she had just read. Blinking rapidly as she felt a fresh wave of tears coming on the girl was already trying to figure out how to confront her father over this newly acquired information. Her phone vibrated suddenly, startling her.

Looking at it she saw another email from Mantah Corp. Hesitantly she opened it. "Your father already turned down our very generous offer." It read. "So now it's up to you to decide, you have 5 weeks to make your choice. We look forward to hearing from you." and then the logo again.

Turning off her phone screen and uncovering her face Sammy starred into the darkness above her bed. What was she going to do? She thought. What else could she do? There was no other choice, she resolved, she had to help her family. A few stress induced tears burned at her eyes, and before Sammy knew it she was crying again.