negative positions ➹ zach mitchell [DISCONTINUED]

• three •

“The Mosasaurus was thought to have hunted near the surface of the water where it preyed on anything it could sink it’s teeth into,” the announcer of the Mosasaurus feeding show explains, “including turtles, large fish, even smaller Mosasaurs.”

Reagan looks away and glances to her left. She recognizes the two boys next to her immediately. She taps the older one’s shoulder. “Excuse me.”

He looks up from his phone, his brown eyes staring into her own. “Yeah?”

Reagan struggles to find her words. “Uh, are you Claire Dearing’s nephews, Zach and, um, Gray Mitchell?”

He furrows his eyebrows. “Yes. How’d you know that?”

“I know your aunt Claire. She works here with me. I’ve seen pictures of you guys.”

“You work here? You’re like sixteen.”

"Yeah. I work here. I train velociraptors.”

His little brother, Gray, snaps his head in her direction. “Did you just say that you work here and train velociraptors?”

She grins. “Yup.” They were suddenly splashed with water. Reagan lets out a small yelp of surprise, now soaking wet. Gray and Zach still pay no attention to the show, all their attention on Reagan. “Did you guys run away from Claire’s assistant, Zara?”

They nod. “Figures. Everyone runs from her. Honestly, I don’t blame them.” They all laugh. An idea suddenly pops into her head.

“You guys wanna see something cooler than this?” Zach smiles, and Gray’s eyes go wide with excitement. “Yeah!”

She stands up. “Follow me.”

• • •

She leads the boys to the gyrospheres. Gray talked the entire way there, but she understands that he’s just really excited. They were currently waiting for another gyrosphere. Thank God Claire was able to get the boys VIP access, or they would’ve been standing there all day.

“Reagan, did you know the soft tissue is preserved because the iron in the dinosaur’s blood free radicals?” Gray asks excitedly.

She laughs. “Yes, Gray. They are highly reactive. So, the protein and the cell membranes get all mixed up and act as a natural preservative. Did you know that Ankylosaurus belonged to a diverse group of heavy-armored dinos?” He grins and nods.

Zach looks at her, utterly amused. “What?” “How do you know all that?”

“How do you not? Don’t you learn that in school? Do they teach you anything?” Zach shrugs and goes back to gawking at some girls.

Gray continues talking. “DNA can survive a millennia that way. See, now, even if the amber mines dry up, they’ll still have bones—”

“Shut up,” Zach says as he stares at the girls. He turns to face his brother. As soon as he does, Reagan slaps him as hard as she can, making his head snap to the side. He holds his cheek. “What the hell?!”

Gray bursts out laughing as do the girls who Zach was staring at. Reagan keeps her face emotionless.

“Don’t be rude to Gray,” she hisses. “Just because he’s the only one who actually seems legitimately excited about being here out you two doesn’t mean you rain on his parade. Now, I suggest you be nicer to him, or you’ll be getting more than just a slap.”

Zach nods quickly, finding a new fear of Reagan. Gray hugs her as a “thank you” and she returns it. “Next in line for the gyrosphere.”

Thomas, the guy in charge of the gyrosphere ride, paid no attention to Reagan and the boys. Since there was only supposed to be two people to a gyrosphere, Reagan had to sneak in. She sits on Zach’s lap and ignores the blood that rushes to her face. He shifts under her, lightly placing his hands on her hips.

A little girl spots her climbing in and points a finger at them. “Hey! There’s only supposed to be two people!” Reagan looks at her and flips her off. The girl gasps and turns to tell her parents while Reagan pushes the stick. The gyrosphere was sent on its way, Zach’s hands on Reagan’s body the entire time.