(gif will be posted later)

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻;
𝗿𝗲𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱

After a while, Vera glanced over her shoulder. "Wait—they're not following us!" Ben and Vera halted, exchanging a puzzled look.

"Maybe they got tired," Ben suggested, though his tone betrayed uncertainty.

"We need to find the others," Vera said, scanning the surrounding jungle.

"Okay, it looks like we're near—" Ben began.

"Wait. Do you hear that?" Vera interrupted, her hand instinctively reaching out to stop him.

Hushed voices drifted through the bushes. They approached cautiously, inadvertently startling Yasmina. She tumbled backwards with a surprised yelp.

"Bumpy? Rocky?" she muttered in confusion, then looked up. "Ben? Vera?"

Ben hopped down and helped Vera lower herself to the ground. "Hi," Vera said, the word hanging awkwardly in the air.

A charged silence stretched between them until Yasmina rushed forward, pulling them into a tight embrace.

"You're a hugger now, Fadoula?" Ben teased, breaking the tension.

"Still have mixed feelings," Yaz mumbled, her voice thick with emotion. "I just... you're here."

Brooklynn swept in, practical as always. "Yeah, yeah, we have been trying to tell you about it, but in more pressing news, Darius isn't taking the hunters to the watering hole." She handed a map to Vera.

Ben's brow furrowed. "What? Why would he take them straight to the T. rex?"

"Home court advantage," Kenji explained. "Darius and Sammy know the terrain. Tiff and Mitch don't. It'll be easier to lose them on Main Street than in the jungle."

Yasmina's urgency bubbled over. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go help them!"

"Yes!" Ben exclaimed, fist-bumping Vera. "We're ready to roll!"

Kenji's arms crossed, a classic defensive posture. "Uh-uh. Big problemo. We'll never make it to Main Street in time."

Brooklynn's whisper cut through the tension. "There is one obvious shortcut."

"Down there?" Kenji's voice rose in pitch. "You must be joking. Don't you remember last time? Not only is it super dark and creepy, but we nearly died! Nope. No go for Kenji."

"We're doing this!" Brooklynn declared.

Kenji's groan was part exasperation, part resignation.

The group plunged into the park's underground tunnels, Brooklynn navigating the bike with wild precision.

"Left!" Kenji shouted. "Now right! Right!"

Brooklynn whipped the bike around the corner, and Kenji clutched the side. "Could you maybe take some of these turns a little less... murdery?" he yelled.

Suddenly, Brooklynn slammed on the brakes. They gasped. Kenji whimpered before dramatically flopping off the bike.

A massive locked gate blocked their path.

"Let's take this down, Bumps," Ben said, tapping the gate with determination.

Vera joined in, scratching Rocky's neck."You got this, Roca"

The dinosaurs charged. The gate remained obstinately intact.

Yaz's sardonic comment landed perfectly. "Yeah, I don't think Wild Child, Indiana Jones, and their Amazing Dinos are gonna punch through that."

Kenji's optimism wobbled. "Okay, maybe they just need a little pep talk to bring it down."He addressed the dinosaurs, his voice rising with forced enthusiasm. "You're not gonna let some door stand in your way, are you two? You break barriers, barriers don't break you!"

The dinosaurs responded with a half-hearted bellow and a slight shove.

"What do we do now?" Kenji sighed, deflating.

"It won't budge," Ben huffed, frustration etching his features.

Brooklynn slumped in defeat. Suddenly, a distant metallic clanking echoed through the tunnel.

"What was that?" Ben's voice was tight with suspicion.

"There it is again," Brooklynn whispered.

Ben and Vera exchanged bewildered glances as the sound repeated—a mechanical, rhythmic whirring that seemed to pulse through the underground passage.

They crept forward, the noise growing louder. Brooklynn stopped abruptly, her eyes fixing on a door bathed in an ominous red glow. She pressed her ear against the metal surface, her mind racing.

"If there's electricity down here, we could find a way to raise that gate," she muttered. "We need to follow this hum."

The keycard slid smoothly into the reader. A soft beep, and the door swung open to reveal a corridor shrouded in cold fog and crimson light.

Long, sterile hallways stretched before them. "Whoa. It's cold enough in here to—" Ben started.

"—freeze flowers," Brooklynn finished, her tone oddly precise.

Vera raised an eyebrow. "Is that a thing people say now? We did miss a lot."

She shivered, pulling her jacket tighter as they ventured deeper. Brooklynn darted ahead, zeroing in on another door. "It's coming from here!"

Another swipe of the keycard, and they entered a massive control room dominated by an intricate panel of switches, screens, and blinking lights.

Yaz's eyes widened. "Wow. What is all this?"

"Oh, snap!" Kenji's excitement bubbled over.  "This must be, like, some kind of secret backup power center! My dad might not even know about this place."

Brooklynn's voice cut through the wonder. "We gotta find a way to raise that gate and get to Sammy and Darius. Start looking!"

They converged on the control panel like a swarm, fingers flying across buttons and switches.

"None of these are the right buttons!" Ben shouted in frustration.

"One of them has to be," Brooklynn groaned. "I once helped a Dutch seamstress find an actual needle in an actual haystack. I can find this."

Kenji grunted, wrestling open a wall-mounted control box. With a decisive motion, he pulled a lever. The room erupted in light, systems humming to life around them.

"Kenji, you did it!" Brooklynn cheered.

"Natch!" Kenji proclaimed, a triumphant grin spreading across his face.

Screens flickered to life, illuminating the entire facility. Brooklynn's fingers danced across the keyboard, searching.

"Now, where are they?"

"You guys, look! Look, they're right there!"

Yaz's finger jabbed at a monitor.

Euphoria swept through the group. "Hey! You're there! We can see you! Darius! Yes! Finally!"

Their celebration died instantly.

Behind Darius and Sammy, Tiff and Mitch were closing in, unnoticed.

"Shoot! No! Darius, Sammy, behind you!" Brooklynn screamed into the speaker, her voice raw with desperation.

"Darius! Sammy!" Kenji's cry joined hers.

Vera's whisper cut through the panic. "They can't hear us."

"Where is the stupid speaker button?" Brooklynn groaned in frustration.

Yaz's voice crackled through the speaker as her fingers danced across the buttons. "Hey, wave if you can hear us!"

Brooklynn's sudden shriek pierced the tension as she spotted the T-Rex abandoning its nest, charging directly toward the unsuspecting group. "Oh no."

"There's gotta be another way to help," Brooklynn urged, her mind racing.

"Fence control, power to retail shops, automatic advertising loop... hologram?" Kenji began listing names on random buttons, his voice a mixture of desperation and bizarre excitement.

Vera's hands became a blur, mashing buttons as the prehistoric predator inched closer to her friends. Suddenly, a PA announcement erupted, momentarily distracting the dinosaur.

The group erupted in relief. Flickering lights and cacophonous noise visibly stressed the massive creature. A blue holographic T-Rex materialized, providing just enough distraction for the pair to slip away.

A piercing screech cut through the speaker. "Testing. Testing." Kenji spoke into it. "Party people! What, what?" He shifted into a robotic voice before Brooklynn shoved him. "Hello, humans. It is I, your leader. Ugh! Ow!"

"We found a backup generator and turned the power on!" The two on the security camera began to wave and point frantically. "We can't hear you. What are you trying to say? What happened to Tiff and Mitch? I still can't hear you. Act it out!"

"Ooh, I love this game. Okay, uh... TV shows? Books. A song!" Kenji shouted earning a cacophony of eye rolls.

"A circle! Dirt! They're drinking, uh... water!" Yaz shouted!

"The watering hole! They're going to the watering hole?" Vera gasped.

"Mitch and Tiff know where it is. And they're going to kill the dinosaurs." Yaz sighed.

𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘳𝘪 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴！
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Two uploads in one week??? Im on a roll you guys! Next update will be for Ataxia due to popular demand. I'm sorry its taking longer to produce chapters for that book I had a set layout originally for it but then I ended up changing my mind because it had a ton of plot holes. Anyway I finished the breakup chapter ( sadly it isnt the next chapter ) but at least I know what I want to include in it. Anyway thank you so so so much for the support and dont be a ghost reader!! Love you all!!

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©-CRETACEOUS , 2024