Nightmares are reality - Camp Cretaceous

Retrieval

By the time the campers had made it to the the shore by the boat, the sun had begun to set below the horizon. A warm glow casted over the ocean and the clouds faded pink. The sea calm and slow as it lazily rocked up against the rocks that led down into the water. 

"We don't have any swimsuits!"
Sammy complained, looking out at the boat that was resting against the rocks. The idea of getting her jeans wet made her frown and sigh. But Yaz only shook her head with a chuckle, stretching her arms above her head.

"We don't need swimsuits, Sammy. It's not that far of a swim."
Yasmina chuckled, rolling her sleeves up to her elbow and fixing her ponytail as she slowly climbed down the rocks and into the water, gesturing for Sammy to go with her.
Once Sammy got into the water, the only thing out of her mouth were constant complaints of how cold the water was. 

"It's so cold! Why did I even get in?!"
Sammy complained, her voice whiny and high-pitched. That only caused an abrupt laugh to fill the air, and eventually, Sammy melted into the laughter as well. Splashing Yaz with water when the older girl tried to pull her further into the cold water. 

It wasn't long before Kenji and Brooklynn joined them in the water and the four of them swam out to the rocks where the boat was resting. They were all pretty hesitant to leave Ben and Darius behind at first, but after Darius had convinced them that he'd radio in to tell them what was going on and waved them off, they relented. As he watched the others start to climb up the rocks where the boat was resting against, he turned back to Ben. Ever since the boat had been mentioned, he'd noticed the way Ben's shoulders had relaxed slightly when they saw the boat, and he certainly seemed far less tense than he had earlier. 

"You seem better."
Darius noted, nudging Ben with his shoulder as he came up beside him, his hand resting on one of Bumpy's many scales. A smile on his face despite the pain he felt in his hip. It felt as if someone had shot him right in the center, but he tried his best to deal with it, not wanting to bother anyone with it. 

With a nod, Ben turned his head to Darius. Reciprocating the gentle smile. The very slight slight sparkle in his eyes was something that Darius hadn't seen in a while. After all, it wasn't often where someone experienced genuine happiness whilst on Isla Nublar. Not anymore, at least. 
"Yeah."
He replied simply, not providing any further insight like Darius had wanted. With a sigh, Darius spoke up again, trying to lure Ben into telling him what had been wrong in the first place. 

"Did something happen?"
The younger boy knew that falling from the sky definitely didn't make him feel better, but maybe it did for Ben. In some... weird way? Exposure therapy, perhaps? Surely not, though. That would just be weird. 

"The boat."
Ben shrugged, plucking a few red berries off of a nearby bush and holding them out in front of Bumpy. The ankylosaurus let out a happy groan and ate the berries off of his hand, her beak-like mouth gently nudging Bens hand once she was finished. Darius sighed. That didn't give him much to work on, but maybe the older one was just extremely anxious about not getting off of the island earlier.

"Oh. Don't worry, Ben. We would have found another way off the island even if we didn't have the boat."
Darius reassured him, smiling widely at Ben before turning his attention back to the blue ankylosaurus. It was only when Ben shook his head that Darius' eyebrows knitted together and he grew confused once again. If that wasn't it, then what on earth was it?

"No, it wasn't that."
The older boy fidgeted with the blue bandana around his head for a moment before looking over to Darius and chuckling at the completely confused expression on his face.

"Then what was it?"
The hand that Darius had on Bumpy's back soon came off and rested on his hip. Again. It was almost like a default stance for him. He'd picked it up ever since he was declared the 'leader' by everyone else in the group. As if it was a habit that came with the title. 

"I didn't want to leave Bumpy behind."
Ben began. Pausing for a moment as he watched his hand trail over the blue scales. His fingers dipping and rising over each bump and uneven surface until his hand reached her face.
"None of the rafts would have fit her. But that boat will."
It was clear that Ben had an attachment to the dinosaur. Even to people who didn't even know him or the dinosaur. Just the way he looked at her and talked to her as if she was his sister gave it away. Ben was an only child, so he never had siblings to look after or to look over him. Which would have been nice during all those years of bullying in elementary and middle school. Though considering what others had said about siblings, maybe he was glad to not have them. He could live without being pranked every single day. Though... Now that he had Kenji, it was almost like having an older brother. The guy never stopped with the pranks. It was ridiculous!

"Ah."
Darius hummed, nodding his head in understanding. He knew what it was like to have to leave someone extremely important to you behind. After all, he'd done it several times in his life already. Whether he wanted to or not. 
"Do you want to swim out and join them or should we wait here?"
He asked, tilting his head to the side and gesturing towards the boat. The others were looking around the boat and checking for any danger or anything that could need repairs.

After a short moment, Ben looked over at Darius and then down at his hip.
"Can you even swim? You were barely able to walk back there."
He noted, making Darius' face flush red with slight embarrassment. 

"Of course I can. I'm fine."
Darius assured him. But the lie was evident in his tone and the way his gaze trailed down to his hip. Bruises already blossoming on the skin beneath his shirt and jeans. The expression on Bens face clearly showed that he didn't believe him. Without saying anything, Ben just quietly sat down on the ground, leaning his back against the dinosaur behind him. 
"I'm taking that as a 'stay here'."

Pulling the dinosaur shaped radio from his back pocket, he pushed the on button and began to speak into it to inform the others.
"Hey, we're going to stay back here with Bumpy. Radio in if you guys decide to do anything."
Darius spoke into the crackling radio, earning a response only a few moments later. The sounds of laughter echoing in the background of Kenji's voice. 

"That's cool, bro. I'll radio in a bit."
Kenji's crackled voice spoke back through the radio. The laughter cut off when Kenji turned off his radio. Taking that as a sign that everything was fine, Darius sat down beside Ben, leaning against the ankylosaurus behind them. He shifted his weight a little and grunted as he accidentally put a tad too much pressure on his hip. A shock of pain crackling through his side. 

"You alright?"
Worry laced Bens words as he tilted his head to the side and trailed his eyes up and down the younger boy, looking for any further wounds that may have been caused by the drop.

"Yeah, I'm good."
Darius yawned, slowly leaning to his side and resting his head on Bens shoulder. It'd become a habit ever since Ben had returned to the group. The two would lean on each other, both physically and emotionally. An unspoken bond between them. None of the other campers seemed to question it, only looked the other way so as to not make either of the boys uncomfortable. They always seemed so peaceful whenever they were together. As if the weight of the world had finally lifted off of their shoulders. Not that it should have been there in the first place. They were far too young to bear the burden of the stress that they did. 
A kid their age should be playing video games in their bedroom or reading fantasy books. They should have been hanging out with their friends at the local park nearby and spending all their pocket money on candy they'd never tried before. 
But instead, they were here.
Stuck on a dinosaur infested island, running for their lives every other hour. 
So if they found a way to calm down for a little while, and they found a way to be happy - even just for a minute - nobody judged. Nobody even blinked at it. 
Hell, Sammy had started making little animals out of rocks and sticks, and nobody commented on it. Not unless she specifically asked for suggestions on what animal to make, or someone was praising how good she had been getting at it. 

"Are you okay?"
Darius then retaliated, turning to face Ben. He knew that the older boy had gotten pretty shaken up because of the pterosaurs, but ever the brave one, he kept it to himself. There was a moment of contemplation before Ben replied. Seeming calculating his words in his head to ensure that he was going to say the right thing.

"...I'm fine."
When the older boy shifted more of his weight onto the younger one, Darius didn't question it. He only let out a soft sigh and carefully wrapped one arm around him, tugging him a little closer. The chill of the night air was unrelenting, making them huddle into each other for a moment longer. 

But, inevitably, the crackling of the radio interrupted the comfortable silence, and Kenji's voice broke through.
"We're going to move the boat to the northwest dock. You guys coming?"
Kenji's voice crackled and faded in and out of range, but it was audible enough to where the two boys could understand him. Darius and Ben made eye contact, as if to ask the other whether or not they were going to go. 
Eventually, Darius thought up a response and turned on the radio.

"We'll meet you there. We're going to take Bumpy there."
Darius replied. Ben nodded along as Darius spoke and stopped leaning on him. When Darius turned off the radio, he stood and ran his hands down Bumpys scales. Enticing the ankylosaurus to get up. She had fallen into a somewhat light slumber just before the two boys had started leaning on her.
Bumpy let out a displeased groan before standing, her tail thumping against the ground twice before Ben hoisted himself onto her back. Extending his hand, Ben helped Darius up behind him and Bumpy began to slowly make her way to the northwest dock.  
Throughout the journey, the two boys chattered mindlessly again. Mostly about what they'd do when they got home. Darius wanted to do something with the research he'd collected, and Ben wanted to try and live like a 'normal' teenager. After all, before the island he had been a germaphobe that was bullied for years upon years. Perhaps he could start again with this new personality that he'd obtained. He was sure that some kids would find the stories of his Nublar adventures rather cool as well. Maybe he could make some friends at school for once and he finally wouldn't be alone.

Well,
He knew he wouldn't be alone anymore.
He had Darius.

...And the others, of course. 

It didn't take very long before the two boys arrived at the northwest dock, seeing the boat approach in the distance. They both figured that Kenji had steered it there because of the fact he never shut up about his exclusive rich-boy things. His father being in a yacht club and teaching him how to drive a boat being only one of the many things he yapped on and on about. Ben always complained that the only thing Kenji knew how to do was bragging, and honestly, Darius couldn't help but laugh along to that. 
Sure, it wasn't the most true thing that they'd ever said, but it was funny... And until about a month ago, it would have been true. 

Once the boat had finally docked, Kenji stepped out of the cabin wearing some sort of captains hat that he must have found on board when they were searching the rooms. 
"Man, I'm so good at parking a boat!"
He cheered to himself, climbing down the ladder and stepping onto the main deck. A smug grin on his face as he stepped off the boat. The other four close in tow.

"You don't park a boat, dingus. You dock it."
Yaz corrected, rolling her eyes at the way Kenji just scoffed and shrugged his shoulders. 

"...Whatever. It's the same thing."
Kenji muttered, lifting the hat off of his head and spinning it around on his fingers as the others made their way down the pier. Eventually, the two boys slipped off of Bumpys back and greeted the others with a cheerful smile.

"Nice hat, Kenj!"
Darius complimented. His gaze was fixated on the way the hat spun around on Kenji's fingers for a moment before looking up at the others. His face graced with a wide smile. 

"Thanks! It's killer, isn't it? I knew someone would appreciate it."
The older boy sounded genuinely thankful, but his tone turned to one that clearly showed that he was unimpressed at the others. Clearly they hadn't thought that it was as cool as he thought it was. Kenji shot Brooklynn a playful glare, and the pink-haired girl reciprocated it before letting a quiet giggle bubble in her throat.

When Darius looked up at the sky, he sighed, only now realizing how late it was getting.

"We really should get back to camp. It's getting way too dark to be out."
He stated, looking over at Ben who had his arms crossed over his chest and was leaning against Bumpy. The other five all nodded and got to work securing the boat to the dock before they began to make their way towards the forest and back to camp.

"There's barely any gas left, and the control panel and radio are really busted up."
Brooklynn explained to Darius, who sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose between his index finger and his thumb. 

"Great, so, we've got a boat. We just can't use the boat."
He summarized, looking over at the older girl who nodded and pressed her lips together in a 'matter-of-fact' way. 

"Maybe there's somewhere we can get fuel from!"
Sammy suggested, her voice still cheerful and full of brightness even though everyone was growing more and more tired with each step closer to camp.

"Can we figure this all out in the morning? I am so tired."
Yasmina chimed in, her arm wrapping around Sammy's shoulders and pulling the girl into her side. Everyone else agreed as the campsite finally came into view. The exhaustion practically seeping out of their bones. Especially Ben and Darius. Perhaps falling from the sky took a lot more energy than people thought it did.