ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴀʀs ᴀʟɪɢɴ | ʙᴇɴ ᴘɪɴᴄᴜs x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

27. ʙᴇɴᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜʀꜰᴀᴄᴇ

The Mosasaurus

[Ben POV]

Waves churn beneath our ship, splashing the sides of the decks and giving the impression that it's raining slightly with all the drops.

"Are we really off the island, or is this a dream?" Sammy sighs

"If it were a dream, I was thinking we'd have a change of clothes." Yaz chuckles.

"Ha! What do you mean? I've always wanted a signature look." I flourish my arms to my body.

Yaz, Brooklyn and Darius laugh at me, and Sammy and Caleb exchange amused glances with each other.

[Kenji POV]

Using the telescope to look forward, I place the compass lightly on the control panels, and it points me towards north.

"Hey Captain. It's lunchtime." Brooklyn leans on the door frame, crossing her arms at me light-heartedly.

I glance at her briefly. "Can't leave my post till we're docked in Costa Rica. I'm the only one of us who's ever sailed before."

Brooklyn scoffs lightly and runs up to the wheel. How hard can it be?" She starts twisting it playfully.
"Iceberg! Iceberg!"

"Hilarious. I'm not leaving." I sigh.

"Come on Kenji. Just cut the engine." Brooklyn tugs on my arm, her touch, gentle. "Ten minutes won't kill you. It might be our last meal together."

My shoulders slump and I turn to her. Giving in, I switch off the engine, and we both climb down the ladder and sit with the others.

[Ben POV]

I pop out of a room, holding a plate-full of...

"And now, for the main course, the plumpiest, and the juiciest, Nublar grubs!!"

Everyone except for Y/N and I groan in disgust.

"Hand selected by yours truly." I smirk
"Thank you for your sacrifise." I hold up one of the worms and slip it into my mouth.

"Ugh!"

"Ew!"

"Come on!"

"Do you have to do that here?"

"Why?!"

I smack my mouth. "Ah!"

Y/N laughs and walks over to me, grabbing a worm and slipping it into her mouth as well.

I grin proudly at her and she gives me a high five. We offer the plate to Sammy.

"Well, I guess the least I can do is keep an open mind." She swallows heavily and grabs one with two fingers. Sammy inches it towards her face slowly.

"Do it." I challenge her

Sammy gives up and throws the worm to Yaz. "Uh-uh!"

Yaz yells and throws it to Darius. Darius shouts in disgust and wiggles his arms in the air, making Y/N burst into a fit of her beautiful giggles-

Uh- I mean- normal giggles. Just normal, not..

I sigh and grab the grub from Darius' forehead. Wiping it on my shirt, I slip it into my mouth. "How you all survived, I'll never know."

Y/N sets down the plate on the table and Yaz pushes it away with her ankle.

"Okay. No tears or goodbyes until we're sitting on the plane." Sammy says. "But can I just say, look at us! We started as campers
and now we're-"