Welcome to camp

S2: Brave

Air rushed past Ben's ears, wind howling in his ears, the screeching of the pteranodons all around him like a single living entity. Darius' face was strained, holding onto Ben's hand with everything he had, fighting to pull him up.

But Ben slipped, his fingers falling from Darius' grasp, the second seemed to drag on forever.

Even as gravity wrenched Ben down towards the jungle floor, and the monorail kept trudging along the tracks, he could see the faces of the six campers as they stared in shock.

Hardly a foot from the ground, his stomach lurched as vice-like talons closed around his ankles, yanking him back into the air as the pteranodon pulled sharply from its dive. He was above the trees again, another two of the flying reptiles screeching and circling.

Then he dropped, the pteranodon's grip failing and he began to fall, just for the third one to swoop in and pluck him away.

The second one's long, sharp beak clamped onto his shoe. In a screaming panic, Ben kicked it, feeling the beak's tip form a lump in the sole of his shoe. But it did let go.

And so did the one holding him.

Again, the wind roared, the ground reached up, and Ben's world ended in a blur of darkness and pain.

Timeskip

Ben didn't know how long he was unconscious.

But it hadn't just been chance he'd woken up at that time.

Something wet, slimy, and cold was running itself against his face repeatedly. He could feel it stiffen and soften on its rapid path from his chin to his hairline. It was a kind of muscle, a tongue? That made sense to his slow, tired brain.

His mind still foggy, he pushed it away. Then, with immense effort from his weak, frail, pale arms, he pushed himself onto his elbows. As his vision cleared, he started to make out what had been licking his face. Teal, rounded, with a prominent beak. The colored, vague shapes slowly came into sharp focus, and he could make out the mismatched horns.

Ben: "Oh, Bumpy!"

He hugged her tight to his chest.

Ben: "Bumpy, Bumpy, Bumpy!"

He was met with a feeling like a balloon, welling up in his chest, filling up with something lighter than air. Relief.

Ben: "Where's everybody else?"

His voice was still cheerful, looking around with wide, excited eyes. Ben fully expected Y/n to be lent up against a tree, knife in hand, and ready to reprimand him for their wasted time.

There was no Y/n...

Kenji had to be somewhere, ready to make some stupid comment that would annoy Yaz or Brooklynn.

They weren't there...

Surely, Darius or Sammy were resting on a rock, primed with a preppy, inspiring speech, or a dinosaur fact, or anything?

But there was nobody...

Bumpy slipped from Ben's grip.

Ben: "Bumpy, where's everybody else?"

The balloon of happiness had punctured and was letting all those warm, fuzzy feelings out now.

He stood up and started shouting into the jungle, you know, like a smart person would do.

Ben: "Darius? Guys?"

He took a few steps down the path, almost immediately tripping. He got back to his feet, clutching his arms around himself.