Chapter Text
As the boat reached the land, Ben was the first to step outside, his charger in his hand, desperately trying to get some sunlight.
“Come on, come on!” Ben groaned, his voice a low, frantic plea.
“Ben! You have to wait for us!” Darius lectured, his voice sharper than he intended. “You don’t know if it’s dangerous.”
The rest of the group stepped onto the humid ground, all feeling a sensation that was far too familiar. The place was surrounded by huge trees and vines, the air hot and thick. It was definitely not North America anymore, which made the familiar feeling even more terrifying.
“This feels… oddly familiar,” Yazmina said, discomfort etched on her face.
“I know what we’re all thinking, but… let’s just, breathe and stay together,” Darius said, his voice a shaky reassurance. “As long as we’re together, we’ll be safe.”
They started walking, Darius taking the lead. This time, his steps were not filled with confidence, but with fear. Something under his feet caused a sensation, a low trembling that made him stop.
“Wait… do you feel that?” he asked the group. He walked slowly forward, a… farm coming into sight. “Is that a… farm?!”
He could see a whole herd of Stegosaurus munching on the green, tall grass while a farm sat peacefully in the background.
“Stegosauruses?” Darius questioned. “We are way too far from North America, right?!”
“Definitely,” Ben said, his eyes focused on the charger facing the sun. “We were way too long in that ship.”
“Then why are dinosaurs here?” Darius asked. “I didn’t think other continents had wild dinos… they’re too close to that farm. It’s not safe for them. We should move them.”
“And warn the people who live here, look!” Sammy said, pointing her finger at a small house near the farm.
“I’ll move the dinos, you go warn the people over there,” Darius said, a plan already forming.
“And I’ll go get some signal and battery!” Ben said. “So I can at least figure out… uhm… where we are.”
“What?” Darius snapped. “That doesn’t… we can do that later.”
“It’ll be fast, you said it yourself! I can search for clues on Dark Jurassic!” Ben argued, his voice taking on a frantic tone.
“No, but not right now. We’re in a new place. We need to stick together!” Darius commanded, his voice laced with desperation.
“Fine, fine! I’ll go with you guys,” Ben sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat.
They nodded and got ready for the action once more. Sammy and Yazmina headed toward the farm, while Darius and Kenji were already walking to get branches.
“Thank you for staying, Ben,” Darius said softly. “I know you’d rather do your own thing, but at least right now we gotta make sure we stay—” Darius turned around, finding only Kenji behind him. “together… Ben!”
Ben had run off the moment he was able to. He was worried about his friends, but he had to find out about Brooklynn. He had to know if she was truly alive or if it was just a cruel trick of his mind. He would go insane if he didn’t. He began pacing to get a better charge. When the phone finally got some, he logged into his account and found the video again. As he was about to zoom in on the familiar face, the phone gave him a painful “no signal” notification.
“Ugh! Of course!” he groaned.
He walked, elevating his arm, searching for a signal. He walked for hours.
Meanwhile, Darius was furious. Kenji noticed as they tried to herd the Stegosaurus away from the farm. Darius was quiet, too quiet. His face was frowned, and his eyes kept looking around.
“Calm down! He’s okay! It’s Ben, jungle boy,” Kenji said with a forced smile.
“Yeah, a deaf jungle boy with a burned chest and apparently no survival instincts,” Darius said, his tone cold and serious.
Kenji just looked down, knowing there wasn’t much to say against such harsh truths. Darius then sighed.
“Sorry, I, uh…” Darius scoffed. “I don’t wanna lose more people.”
“I get it,” Kenji said.
When they finally finished taking the dinosaurs to their new place, a creature ran past them like a lightning bolt. They both flinched, then Darius recognized it.
“A Gallimimus!” he called. “But what is it doing he—”
Before he could finish his sentence, a person crashed into their backs. When they looked behind them, they found a dark-skinned girl, no older than fourteen. She quickly got up, inspecting the new intruders. She grabbed a branch and extended it as a weapon.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” she asked, her eyes focused and firm.
“It’s okay! We’re—”
“Gebba, no! Don’t go near them,” she commanded the Gallimimus, who ran to her and affectionately nudged her.
Darius unconsciously smiled, remembering himself, Ben, and Bumpy. He stepped forward calmly, with his hands up.
“I promise you we’re good people. We just want to help these dinosaurs,” Darius explained.
“Why did you move them? They were right there near the farm!” she said. “Don’t you understand they protect us from the—”
A chilling roar was heard from the distance, making them both freeze. The creature’s steps were heard getting closer.
“Gebba! Let’s go!” The girl commanded her dinosaur.
They started running toward the trees, trying to reach the farm. Darius and Kenji followed. Kenji grabbed the case with the eggs and ran back with them. They finally made it to the farm, where Yazmina, Sammy, and a woman were already hiding.
“Mama!” The girl sighed, relieved, and gave the woman a hug.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” the woman said.
The girl noticed Sammy and Yazmina. Sammy waved shyly.
“Who are you people?!” The girl asked.
“That’s a whole Suchomimus you got in here…” Darius explained. “But don’t worry! We’ll help you!”
Darius got up, ready to go with the campers.
“Wait what?!” the girl exclaimed.
“We have to do something,” the woman said. “You know where the stegos are?”
While they were fighting for their lives again, Ben had the brilliant idea to climb a tree to get a signal. He still remembered the way he used to climb them on Isla Nublar, but it was harder now. He was heavier, and every harsh movement made him hiss in pain from his raw chest. After a lot of effort, he was finally able to climb onto the first branch. He closed his eyes and took a few breaths while holding the phone next to his chest, recovering from the burning pain.
“Okay… okay…” he whispered to himself to calm down. “Let’s see this…”
He unlocked the phone and slowly pulled up the video. He carefully paused it at the exact moment to see more of the picture. He zoomed in as close as he could. It was her. It was Brooklynn. He couldn’t believe it. His mind started rambling, his heart started beating fast, his hands trembling, and his body began to sweat cold.
“There’s… there’s no way… she’s… you’re… you’re dead!” He gasped, his lungs empty of air.
His fearful eyes saw a flock of birds coming, almost looking like ravens. He gasped and tried to cover his head with one hand while holding tight onto the tree with the other, but it wasn’t enough. A lot of birds flew right through the tree, making Ben lose his balance and fall off the branch. Somehow everything felt infinite and slowly agonizing, but also a horribly quick moment. His mind remembered exactly where he had felt this way before—at the monorail. Flashbacks of his tragedy invaded his mind for what seemed like seconds until he hit the ground.
It all went black.
Darius, Kenji, Sammy, and Yazmina were strategic, and their strategy was stupid as usual.
“We have to take it down the treeline and make sure he doesn’t run back,” Darius said.
“We can go this side, stop at the rocks, and maybe lose him there,” Kenji advised.
Darius nodded and their plan was set. Sammy and Yazmina waited, rocks in their hands just in case, carefully following the scene.
“Hey! Hey, you big alligator head!” Kenji screamed, grabbing the creature’s attention.
The creature didn’t waste a second to run after them. Darius and Kenji could feel its heavy footsteps following them, their breath shortening and their hearts beating out of their chest.
“The rocks!” Darius yelled.
Darius was able to jump through the rocks and slide down, hiding, but Kenji did the opposite. He climbed to the top of the biggest rock, the dinosaur following his steps.
“What are you doing?!” Darius hissed.
Kenji had no idea. He pictured this a bit differently, but at the same time he was feeling the adrenaline he wanted. His encounter with the animal got closer than expected. Darius, with fearful eyes, begged to know what was going on in Kenji’s head. Kenji could only think of one thing: the peace this animal could bring him.
“Kenji!” Darius screamed. The creature’s head snapped in his direction.
Kenji jumped off the rock while the animal wasn’t watching, heading toward Darius. At the sight of the two boys, the dinosaur was tempted even more. It started following them. They were now all running away from what seemed like their fate, until that trembling shake on the ground came to surprise them again. The people they had just met were riding the Stegosauruses toward them.
“Stay out of the way!” The woman ordered.
The campers obeyed and hid behind the trees as the Suchomimus turned around to face the Stegos. The woman and the girl jumped off their dinos as if they had done this before and let nature take charge. The Suchomimus ended up with a nasty hit from a Stego’s strong tail. For its safety, it decided to disappear into the jungle.
The campers recovered their breaths and walked to the people.
“Now you,” The woman pointed at the group. “You come with us.”
Ben felt his heavy eyes blink open slowly, his vision slightly blurry, his head pounding, and his chest burning. He gently sat up, moaning at the small action. His eyes locked on the sky, a hint of orange, purple, and just darkness above him. His heart escaped a beat. He started looking for the phone. Luckily, it just had a broken screen, but it was good enough to still recognize what was on the screen. It was already late. He tentatively stood up, looking around for the right way and hurrying his tired body before the light went off completely.
He followed the light of a fire through the trees. When he made it out of the jungle, he localized his friends at the farm. Getting ready to go.
“Okay, I got it all,” Darius told his friends. “Let’s go.”
But his friends didn’t move. In fact, they smiled and sat back down near the fire.
“Guys! This isn’t a joke!” Darius exclaimed. “He could be seriously hurt out there! Or worse!”
“Dude, turn around,” Kenji said.
Darius turned around to find Ben standing just a few feet away from them. He was relieved, but he shook his head and walked determinedly toward Ben.
“Well, look who finally decided to come and show signs of life!” Darius yelled. “Where the hell were you?! And what the hell happened to you?!”
“I, uh… I went to find out more information but I had no signal,” Ben explained softly. “I climbed up a tree to get some signal but… I fell.”
“You fell from a—” Darius took a breath. “That’s not an excuse. Why did you wait so long to come back?”
“I blacked out when I fell,” Ben admitted, his voice soft.
“Do you realize how dangerous that is?!” Darius asked. “You could’ve been killed! See?! That’s why it’s important to stay together!”
“I know, I’m sorry,” Ben said.
“No, no, no! You have to understand—” Darius stopped, then looked at Ben. “What?”
“I’m sorry…” Ben said softly. “I should’ve stayed…”
The confession left Darius speechless. He was used to having arguments about this whole situation with Ben, but for the first time Ben seemed defeated.
“Well, uh…” Darius stammered. “I’m glad you understand that now…”
“Okay… that was awkward,” Kenji commented.
“Ben,” Sammy cleared her throat. “This is Aminata and her daughter Zayna. They helped us today. Aminata, Zayna, this is Ben. The friend we talked to you about.”
Ben slightly smiled, his smile shy and soft, almost sad.
“Uh… Aminata…” Darius softly said. “Can I have the treatment for his burn? Please…”
“Of course,” Aminata responded. “Let’s go inside.”
Ben sat alone in the small room, the warm glow of a lantern casting long shadows across his face. He'd barely spoken since his return, his quiet defeat more unsettling than his usual outbursts. The rest of the group was outside, gathered around the fire, their hushed voices a distant, comforting hum. He winced, a sharp, stabbing pain in his side as he shifted, a fresh ache from the fall he hadn't mentioned.
The door creaked open, and Darius stepped inside, a bowl of water and a clean cloth in his hands. He didn't say anything. He just knelt in front of Ben, the soft light illuminating the raw, red skin on his chest. Ben stiffened, a silent, painful intake of breath.
“Take your shirt off,” Darius said, his voice gentle but firm.
Ben didn’t move. He just stared at the floor, his jaw tight.
Darius reached out, his hand hovering over the hem of Ben’s shirt. “You’ll get an infection. And you’re not as good at hiding pain as you think you are.”
Ben finally looked at him, his eyes filled with a raw, unspoken shame. He slowly pulled the shirt over his head, a small grunt escaping him as the movement pulled against the newly bruised ribs. Darius’s gaze flickered over the purple and blue marks on his torso before settling on the angry, burned skin.
Darius took the cloth, dipped it in the water, and began to gently clean the burn. The silence was heavy with everything they weren’t saying.
“You have a gash,” Darius said quietly, his fingers tracing the small cut on Ben’s forehead. “From the fall.”
“I’m fine,” Ben muttered.
“You said you blacked out,” Darius countered, his gaze unwavering. “That’s not ‘fine,’ Ben. You went off on your own. For what? The phone signal?”
Ben nodded, a new, heavy weight settling in his chest. This was it. The moment of truth. He took a breath, the pain in his ribs a sharp reminder of his reckless fall and the terrible, beautiful secret he now held.
“Yes,” he admitted softly, “but it wasn’t just about the signal. I was checking Dark Jurassic, and I saw… a new lead. A lot of dinosaur trafficking is going upriver from here. It all points to a hub nearby.” He kept his voice steady, reciting the lie he had been rehearsing in his mind. “I was checking the data, trying to figure out if it was a good route. I saw a map—it looked like it was from some sort of research post on the river. I wanted to confirm it so we have a plan.”
Darius stopped, his hands still. He looked at Ben, and the tension in his shoulders eased. A flicker of relief passed over his face. This made sense. Ben had to figure something big out—their next step.
“You could have just told me,” Darius said, his voice no longer angry, just tired. “We could have gone together.”
Ben’s heart ached. He was so close to the truth, to telling him he'd found a picture of her, but he couldn't. Not when he saw the trust and relief in Darius's eyes. Darius was getting better; he had gotten better since Brooklynn died. Telling him the truth would just dig up that old wound again. The probability of that being Brooklynn was still uncertain. He couldn’t risk Darius’ or any of his friends’ well-being on false hope. He had to be the one to hold this secret, no matter the cost.
“I’m sorry,” Ben whispered, but this time, he wasn’t just apologizing for scaring Darius. He was apologizing for the lie, for the secret, and for the emotional distance he had just placed between them.
Darius nodded, accepting the apology at face value. He opened the small pot of cream. The thick, white substance was a promise of healing, but they both knew it couldn’t fix everything. He began to apply it to Ben’s burn, his touch careful and tender.
“You have to stop doing that,” Darius said, his voice low.
Ben’s mind was racing. He thought Darius meant running off. He was right. But he also thought Darius meant stopping running from his feelings. The words had a double meaning.
“I know,” Ben whispered, the pain in his ribs a sharp sting.
Darius’s hand lingered on Ben’s bare chest, the act of applying cream finished, but the touch remaining. The air crackled with a sad, fragile tension. They were two broken halves of a whole, forged in trauma, and their love was a product of a world that had tried to tear them apart. It was so easy to fall into this—to fall into him—and that was the scariest part.
Ben lifted his hand, his fingers trembling, and reached for Darius’s face. He gently brushed the hair from Darius’s eyes, his touch a silent promise to protect him, even from a truth that could set him free.
“I know,” Ben whispered, his voice thick with emotion.
He leaned in, the gesture a mix of quiet desperation and heartbreaking certainty, and rested his forehead against Darius’s. A silent understanding passed between them, a shared pain and a shared love that was now built on a foundation of kindness and a necessary lie. It was all the romance they had ever had, and it was beautiful and sad all at once.
“Don’t do this,” Darius whispered. “I want to kiss you so bad but that would make me a horrible friend.”
“Darius,” Ben started, his eyes pleading for his lips. “We were never meant to be friends.”
That was all Darius needed to hold Ben’s face and unite their lips together. The kiss was passionate, angry, desperate, and needed. Ben caressed Darius’ hips as they kissed, running out of breath but not caring. They only needed each other. The kiss ended with Ben pulling Darius into a tight hug. He’d been needing that hug. He wanted a reminder that Darius was there, with him, and that he had come with him.
“I love you…” Ben shakily confessed.
“I love you too,” Darius admitted.
“Will you keep loving me?” Ben asked.
Darius, this time pulling him out of the hug to hold his face and look into his eyes. “I will, always.”
Darius smiled sincerely and gave Ben another kiss. Ben understood how precious and crucial it was for him to keep the secret of Brooklynn.