Guardian | Camp Cretaceous

Misguided

"I knew I smelled a survivor on you," Azriel said, clapping Ben on the shoulder before pulling him into a hug. Ben, though startled, hugged him back quickly, but Brooklynn and Kenji stood frozen, mouths hanging open in shock at the sight of Ben standing before them. Alive.

"Uh, thanks. I guess?" Ben said, scratching the back of his head. "Oh! I kept your hat." He carefully removed the hat from his head, gingerly handing it to Azriel. As Azriel took it, he ran his thumb along the worn brim, chuckling softly.

"I thought maybe you'd want it back sometime," Ben added.

Azriel lifted the hat slightly, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Merci."

Brooklynn barrelled into Ben, wrapping her arms around him tightly as she choked back a sob of relief. Ben hugged her back, squeezing her gently. The moment was short-lived, though, as groaning came from the direction of the unconscious Hap.

Brooklynn pulled away from Ben to glance at the man. Azriel was already gathering vines to bind Hap, moving with a calm efficiency. She hurried over, stealing glances at Azriel as they worked together—if he noticed, he ignored it. But she couldn't help wondering what was going on, though she was too worried to question him. While Azriel bound the unconscious Hap in knots she didn't even think David Blaine could escape from, Ben recounted his story.

"Fell off the monorail, got savaged by Pteranodons, found Bumpy, survived in the jungle, defeated Toro, and then I overheard that fancy couple conspiring with this guy, Hap. So, I figured you guys might need my help," Ben explained casually, as if it was just another day.

Azriel snorted, tying Hap's arms behind his back in a way that bent the man's elbows toward his head and forced his shoulders back. There was no way Hap was getting out of this unless someone cut him loose. What the fuck? Brooklynn thought. Who taught him how to tie someone up like this?

"Oh, hey, I still have your dork pouch!" Kenji exclaimed brightly.

Azriel's voice dripped with amusement as he corrected, "No, you don't."

Blinking, Brooklynn and Kenji noticed Ben rummaging through his fanny pack, pulling out a bottle of sanitiser. "Oh, I snatched it off you earlier. But, thanks for keeping it safe." He sucked his teeth and raised an okay sign. He picked up the cattle prod and spun it around. "Could have used this while fighting ol' Toro, eh, Bumps?" He almost dropped it mid-spin, but managed to catch it and give them an anxious smile.

"Ben, focus," the vlogger urged. "The couple, what exactly did they say?"

Ben thought for a moment. "Not too much, but they're definitely up to something," he said, his brow furrowing. "Oh, but there was this blond guy warning them about something about Indigo, but they weren't listening."

Brooklynn's eyes widened at the mention, and Azriel paused mid-knot, his expression darkening slightly. Kenji, of course, looked clueless. Her gaze drifted toward Azriel, whose indigo eyes gave her a sidelong glance. My friends used to call me Indigo, he had told them once, Brooklynn remembered suddenly. He knew how to use a knife, could hit his target no matter how small or mobile it was, and could choke out someone like Hap as easily as breathing... And all of that stuff about Atlas, and killing Victor, and everything else Azriel could do... The damn necklaces.

She was beginning to think the "orphanage" wasn't really an orphanage.

"Regardless, Hap's definitely in on it," Ben continued. "I say we feed him to the Mosasaurus or the T. rex."

A groan came from behind them, and Brooklynn jumped as Azriel yanked Hap to his feet. "Or you could hear me out," Hap growled, struggling against the knots binding him. He stumbled away, shooting a glare at Azriel, who stood back, observing with cool calculation.