Danger Zone | Bradley Bradshaw AU

021

Chapter twenty one
The Trek
Stella's POV:
Our group had to ban with Ingen and start making our way to the Ingen camp so we could call for help. There was a radio inside and that would be out best bet. Roland wasted in no time leading the way. Kelly was given a bigger jacket along with Olive. Rooster zipped up mine and said "it might be cold since we were in the rain." I shook my head and said "I'm fine." "If you're tired or you're cold, you let me know. And stay close to me." I nodded and said "ok. And I can handle myself." "Stay close to me. Do you understand?" Rooster said firmly, his hands squeezing my arms. I nodded again and said "I understand." I furrowed my eyebrows at him, not sure why he was so adamant. But I did have a feeling it had something to do with the woman leading the team and her right hand man who couldn't take his eyes off me. The woman approached Rooster and I. "I haven't had the chance to introduce myself. I'm Slater. Slater Dominguez. I'm one of the lead people on the expedition. Stella Malcolm, I've been wanting to meet you." I furrowed my eyebrows at her and said "why?" "You're quite smart. I was telling Hunter that we could use you all at InGen. I'd like for you to work with us. I hope it wouldn't take too much convincing." She said. Her right hand man stood next to her and said "it'd be a great opportunity for you. You'd move up quick and wouldn't have to do too much work." "And who are you?" I asked. "I'm Trevor Hawkins. Whatever Slater needs, I get it done." I nodded to him and he held his hand out for me to shake. I shook his hand and felt him pull me towards him. "I've read your file. You definitely should come and work for us." I shrugged and said "yeah. Maybe." "Rolling out in five!" Roland said. Everyone collectively groaned and knew we'd be walking for a while. Trevor and Slater left, walking away from Rooster and I. The trek to the facility then started. It wasn't too bad at night. The sun was down and the rain had cooled it off a bit. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail to keep it out of my face. Rooster stayed close to me and I looked next to me to see Jordan. "How's your head?" I asked. He shrugged and said "better. I didn't mean to knock myself out. I honestly panicked and then slipped. It was a total accident. It wasn't something I intended to do." I patted his back and said "we all know that. Don't be mad at yourself." "How are you doing? With the whole ex boyfriend working for InGen thing?" I nudged Jordan as he sniggered. "It's fine. There isn't anything going on. We had an argument and we're past it. I'm not looking forward to getting involved with my ex." "We'll rest here. And in the morning, we go." Roland announced. The men practically dropped to the ground and Jordan said "thank god." Kelly came over to where I stood and said "sleep with me." I nodded and Olive rubbed at her eyes. "Dwayne's going to kill me when he finds out I'm here." "If he hasn't figured it out already, he will soon." I told her. Rooster stood next to me and said "you girls stay near me. Ok?" I nodded at him and he made us a spot to lay down. Layla was glaring at her sister who was talking with Trevor. Kelly leaned her head on my shoulder as I sat down and started to get comfortable. Olive laid her head in my lap and Rooster sat down opposite me. I looked up at him and said "I can handle myself." "I don't trust him. He's a loose cannon, Stella." I felt Rooster's arm go around me protectively and I fought the urge to lean into his touch. My father and Nick spoke quietly about the plan and whether or not we were safe with InGen. Sarah had curled up next to Jordan who couldn't keep his eyes open. The sounds of crickets entered the air along with the small river that was nearby. Chittering from dinosaurs in the surrounding area was heard and was practically lulling me to sleep. Thoughts ran through my mind about Rooster and I. Where did him and I stand? Would we end up getting back together no matter how hard I fought my feelings for him. Rooster had been the only boy I'd been with. In a serious relationship anyways. He'd been the only boy I ever loved and I'd be lying to myself if I said I wanted that to go away.

-

"Rise and shine! Let's go!" I jumped at the sound of Roland's voice. I slowly lifted my head and noticed I'd been on someone's chest. I looked up to see Rooster slowly coming to. I sat up and acted like I hadn't just been laying on him. His hand rested on my hip and he very groggily removed his arm from around me, stretching. "I can help you girls up." Trevor said. He offered a hand to Kelly who took it. He pulled her to her feet and did the same to Olive. "Stella." He held his hand out to me. I slowly reached for it, grabbing it. Trevor pulled me to my feet and said "do you girls need anything? Water? A snack?" Kelly looked up at him and said "some water." Olive nodded in agreement and Trevor looked at Kelly. "Got it." His eyes then flickered to me. "Did you want anything?" "A water is fine." I said softly. Trevor snapped his fingers and said "got it. Three waters." He then nudged Rooster with his foot and said "come on, Bradshaw. It's time to move." Rooster gave him the finger and Trevor walked away. "The walk is going to be long and we'll take short breaks but we need to get to the facility so we can call for help. No lagging behind, you will get left. I don't have time to babysit children. Keep up." Roland spat. Kelly blinked a few times and then looked at me. "Just stay with me or dad. Or even Nick. One of us, ok?" I told her. "Me too?" Olive asked. I nodded and Trevor brought over 3 bottles of water. "Here you go. If you need anything else, just tell me or Slater." "Thank you." Olive said. Trevor walked away and Rooster sighed as he stood up. "Look at him. Playing kiss ass." "Is there a reason you don't like him?" I quipped. Rooster nodded and said "yes. But, I don't want to say it when he's near. You just have to trust me." I nodded and said "fine. But if it's about jealously then that's ridiculous." "I'm not jealous of him. I know it might seem like that but I'm not. There's something going on, Stella. The cogs don't turn right in his head. They're stuck or they're turning the opposite way." He whispered the last part about his brain not working right. I didn't say anything as the group started to walk again. Everyone started to file into a line and we walked. The morning heat hadn't set in yet. The air was warm but not hot. We slowly walked past a herd of Stegosaurus. Most of the men could care less and thought of the dinosaurs as a paycheck. Rooster stared at them in shock. I stopped and showed Kelly and Olive. They giggled softly at the dinosaurs having their morning grass. "Come on." Rooster said. Layla sighed and said "a stegosaurs can't kill you, Rooster." He huffed at Layla's comment and I ushered the girls forward, telling them we'd see more dinosaurs. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of a brachiosaurus while we were here. They were always my favorite. And parasaurolophus. "We're going to rest up here. Take a break. Get some water. Have a snack. We move out in fifteen." Roland said. I exhaled as I went to grab some water. "Good?" I said to Jordan. He nodded and said "yeah. I'm good." I looked in the river below us to see Compy's running around. "Roo, look." I said. Rooster looked over and I scolded myself for calling him the affectionate nickname. "You better stay away from those things." Rooster said. I nodded and said "I know. They can kill you." I sighed and wished I was anywhere but on this island. I stood up and said "come on." He furrowed his eyebrows and I motioned for him to follow me. Rooster and I went a little ways from the group, a radio one of the men had played 80s songs softly. "Dance with me." I said. Rooster chuckled and said "what?" "Come on." 65 Love Affair traveled through the air and Rooster said "aren't you tired?" I shrugged and said "yeah but now I just wanna dance. Pretend that we're on a tropical island getaway. There's no dinosaurs and we broke free from the tour group that's so incredibly boring." Rooster laughed and said "you're crazy." "Come on. Let's forget about the hell we're in for a few minutes." Rooster's hand went to my hip as he pulled me closer to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck as the two of us swayed back and forth in the middle of the jungle. Rooster sang the lyrics to the song as he pressed his forehead to mine. I hummed with him, letting my worries and stress go away, even if it was for a few minutes. I had missed being this close to him. I had missed him a lot but couldn't let myself get back involved with him. Rooster Bradshaw and I were meant for different paths. "Where are the lovebirds?" Roland said. I gasped and said "shit." Rooster pulled me back to the group while the two of us laughed. We went back to our spot where we were sitting and Roland looked at us. "We went for a walk." Rooster said. Roland huffed and said "I'm not getting paid enough for this." He walked away and the two of us laughed. Roland even announced it was time for us to start walking again. Ludlow immediately stood up and said "come on men. Let's get to it." Nobody moved. Rooster looked at me, brushing a strand of hair out of my face. My lips parted as he slowly went to lean in. "Let's go." Nick said, causing all the men to stand up after Ludlow had tried multiple times. The two of us pulled away from each other and I cleared my throat nervously. "Stay close to me." I nodded at him and said "ok."

This chapter is a literal filler and is boring asf but the next chapter will be way more entertaining and I'm excited to write it!!
~skylar🦖🦕🦖🦕