Make it Through the Night

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

It had been a week since I received the letter informing me I had won the Jurassic World Young Authors contest and with it a trip to the new Camp Cretaceous. Now I was riding on a boat bound for Isla Nublar. I watched the ocean as the boat swayed, it was beautiful the way the sun reflected off the soft waves; the sky stretched up from the sea, white fluffy clouds, floating by. I took a moment to observe the others on the boat, they all seemed to be kids around my age; I assumed they were there for the camp as well. One of them caught my attention; he was a scrawny-looking boy with light brown hair who seemed to be having a hard time with the boat ride.

I watched as the boy leaned over the side of the boat for the fourth time to throw up. I felt bad for him and I didn't see anyone else helping so I let out a sigh, before taking off my headphones and making my way over to him. "Here," I said handing the boy a bottle of water as he stood up and wiped his mouth. "I know you will probably just throw it up, but you don't want to get dehydrated," I said with a smile. "T-Thank you." the boy stuttered before taking the water from me. He took a couple of big gulps and seemed okay for a few moments before the boat began to rock and he quickly leaned back over the side of the boat.

"I'm really sorry I would stick around but, I'm kind of a sympathetic puker," I said, quickly. "It's okay," he replied still leaning over the boat. "Thank you again," he said looking up and smiling at me before his head jerked back down and he began throwing up again.

I made my way back to where I had been sitting before, and put my headphones back on, at least there was one person here that seemed to like me.

***

"Welcome to Isla Nublar, campers!" a man with ashy blond hair exclaimed as I and the other kids from the boat lined up on the dock. "You are the chosen few, the first kids in the entire world to ever experience the awesomeness that is Camp Cretaceous," added with a smile. "Now I know the ride over from the mainland was rough on some, Hello Ben," he said looking at the boy I had talked to earlier, who was now leaning over the pier trying not to throw up. I smiled and got distracted by the ocean while Dave, as he introduced himself continued talking.

I was snapped out of my trance when a truck pulled up to the pier and a dark-haired woman jumped up. "Ah, so sorry I'm late!" she signed. "I'm Roxie, head counselor of Camp Cretaceous." the woman explained as she walked to stand next to Dave. I couldn't help but chuckle as I listened to Dave explain that it was a "co-head councilor thing." clearly trying to defend his authority in the situation. "Is it?" Roxie asked with a smirk once Dave was done talking, earning an eye roll from the man.

"Anyway, some of you won contests to be here, and some of you had VIP invites. But for the next two weeks, all of you will be getting the five-star treatment." Dave explained. My mind drifted away from the conversation again until I heard the young boy in the yellow jacket yell, "Dinosaurs!" "Yes Darius, plenty of dinosaurs," Roxie sighed. "So ready for an adventure?" she asked us. "Absolutely," the girl with pink hair who was holding a phone replied. "But I'm going to need that speech a little shorter, and really lean into the majesty of this place," she directed. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her, and I noticed that Ben was doing the same which made me smile. "Okay, we're going now." Dave laughed ignoring her. "Let's get the seven of you to camp."

"But there are only six of us?" Ben said raising his hand confused. "Wait. Dino-kid, Track-star, Internet girl, Red, Barfy, Texas." Dave said counting us off. I couldn't help but chuckle at the nicknames he gave everyone, I didn't even mind the nickname he gave me, although I had heard it before, due to my red hair. "He's right, where's seven?" Dave asked giving Roxie a concerned look. Roxie sighed as she looked at her clipboard. We all walked towards the truck and after waiting for a few minutes, a helicopter came into view and landed on the ground a couple of feet from the group.