PANIC ROOM • KENJI KON

LXXVII. Every Step of the Way

Chapter Seventy Seven:  Every Step of the Way

~~~

"So, after we lure Kash into the forest biome, we get him to the waterfall cave. Then, I hit that sucker with a surprise shot of knockout gas. Well, technically, Darius's BRAD will, once I activate it from the tablet." Rebel roared, cutting off Ben. He cleared his throat and continued, "Then we lock Kash inside Mae's old quarters. Done. Darius is already on board. Everyone else ready?"

"Sure, lemme just get my shoe back on..." Eva said, sliding one sock and shoes on.

"Here you go, girl. Nice juice berries," Sammy smiled as she began to lead Angel away.

"Oh yeah, Angel's got this," Yaz said happily.

Kenji pushed a button on the tablet. "Quiet, buddy, quiet."

Rebel continued to roar and bellow and squeal, shifting between Eva and Kenji.

"Uh, maybe the sinoceratops calls would be better? Quiet, quiet, quiet!"

Rebel bellowed, then knocked Kenji to his bottom and ran away.

Eva slipped her second sock back on, then her shoe as Ben began,

"Um, maybe Rebel should sit this one out?"

"What? No way—" Kenji shook his head. "Our little dude's got this. He's just as smart as Angel."

Eva awkwardly stood to her feet. "Yeah! Rebel has totally got this, Ben. He's just a little more vocal, than Angel is. Doesn't make him bad. He's still a good boy. You know, some would argue it's a sign of intelligence."

"True, very true," Mae agreed. "But, it might not be ideal when you need to hide afterwards."

Kenji groaned. "What we need is for everyone to back off. Give him a few minutes to learn his part of Ben's plans." He lowered to his knees, going back to using the tablet. "Quiet— wh-whoops. I hit record. Come on, Reb, you got this. Quiet. Quiet. Quiet!"

Eva stepped forward, taking the tablet from him. "What's going on, Kenj?" She kneeled to his side, lying a comforting hand on his thigh.

"I, I don't know. I just want to support him, no matter what, you know? Say all the stuff kids wish their..."

"Their dads would say to them? This is about more than just Rebel, isn't it?"

Kenji sighed. "My whole life I've been trying to make my dad proud, but with Rebel, I don't know, I just want to support him the way I never was... y'know?"

"I do. But with support comes patience. Maybe Mae is right, Rebel isn't the guy for the job. That doesn't mean he doesn't have good qualities. That doesn't mean you don't have good qualities, either. Because you do. You both do."

~~~

"Okay. Darius will be here any minute with Kash," Ben said, tablet in hand. "Let's move."

"Be careful, Ben," Eva said.

"You sure you're gonna be okay on your own?" Kenji asked.

"Oh, I'll be okay, all right." His confidence was crushed as the sound of pteranodons screeched nearby. "Pteranodons... Why'd it have to be pteranodons?"

A pteranodon flew down at them as the three teenagers hit the ground to avoid it. Rebel took off.

"Rebel!"