PANIC ROOM • KENJI KON

XIII. Yasmina is a Certified Badass

Chapter Thirteen: Yasmina is a Certified Badass

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The campers continued to paddle, the cool cave air nipping at their skin, the spray of cold water cooling them down.

Eva admired the view of the underground cave, lost in thought as Darius and Sammy drove their kayak forward. Her eyesight eventually landed on the back of Kenji's head, far forward at the front of the group.

She just could not believe he was here, and she had not ripped his head off yet. It was for the best, though. Despite her absolute resentment and displeasure for him, once upon a time, he was one of her closest friends, and though she hated him a million now, she still would never wish an escaped hybrid dinosaur on him at all.

Sammy looked around panickedly. "Y'all, should the algae be moving?"

Eva jumped at the sound of Sammy's voice, her eyes following to see two glowing parasaurolophuses. She gasped as she leaned forward carefully. They were munching on algae on the shoreside, not even bothering to look up at the campers. They glowed an orangey-pink, with little splotches of deep blue. They were breathtaking.

"Don't worry guys," Eva breathed with a smile. "They're herbivores."

Parasaurolophuses right there, in the flesh!

Darius gasped, "Unbelievable! Dr. Wu must have put the bioluminescent gene into these parasaurolophuses."

"They're so pretty." Eva fawned over them.

The parasaurolophuses finally noticed them, bellowing softly. Eva grinned.

Two more parasaurolophuses appeared on the other side of the cave. They entered the water, reappearing beside the kayaks. Eva reached out her hand, petting the boxy head of one of the dinosaurs. It sniffed at her before pulling back. More parasaurolophuses emerged from the depths, some glowing white rather than pink.

Suddenly, a parasaurolophus pushed Eva's kayak into the CKK. Eva wobbled, grasping Sammy's shoulders to steady herself. The dinosaurs kept pushing in, engulfing the three kayaks on all sides. Eva pressed her hand against one of the dinosaur's chest in a feeble attempt to push it away.

The parasaurolophus of which Eva's hands were pressed against, perked its head into the air. The others followed suit. Eva could barely hear the sound of rushing water. The dinosaurs roared before delving back into the water, heading back the way they came.

Eva sighed in relief, but she wondered, What scared the parasaurolophuses?

"Uh, cool kids to nerds, where are you?" Kenji asked.

"Over here!" Darius answered. "I think something scared the parasaurolophuses."

"Darius, if we stopped paddling, why are we still moving forward?" Sammy asked, her words coated with worry.

Darius yelped, "Paddle! There's a current pulling us into a different tunnel!"

Their paddling ineffective, the water turned to rapids, dropping their kayak down a small waterfall. Eva squealed as they dropped, hands flying to the air, cackling in laughter as the water took control of their kayak. The light disappeared, engulfing them in darkness. She erupted in a fit of giggles, steadying herself every few seconds on Sammy's shoulders.