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The Amusement Park I 1. Looking back, it hadn't been a good idea. Looking back, it would have been better to listen to Theresa. But hindsight is always 20/20, as *N Sync learned fast. They
had just left Lou Pearlman's company, which was very But
they had good hearts and kindness and decided to give As it turned out, it would have been better if they hadn't. Even for Lou. 2. "We're here!" Chris said, almost jumping out of the helicopter and into the ground. Behind him, Joey, Lance, Justin and JC walked down the stairs, visibly less excited. "And
where is here?" Britney looked extremely bored, as she "Somewhere
not in the Compound." Wade said, behind her, "Guys!
This is fun!" Chris called, looking at his surroundings. "It's
not a vacation, Kirkpatrick." Theresa Boruke said, as she "In
a week." Lance smiled, childlike. It was an innocent smile, But
Theresa had seen that smile before, and the Dragon Lady wasn't moved.
"There's too much to do, Bass. Don't even "No
tickets needed, Mrs. Bourke!" Lou Pearlman walked towards her, making
her cringe. It was hard not to cringe when "They're not your boys, Mr. Pearlman." Theresa answered back, lifting one eyebrow. "At least, not according to the court rule. In fact, if it was up to me, you wouldn't be here. Or, more precisely, you wouldn't be allowed up to 100 ft. around *N Sync. So don't push your luck." "Tess,
Lou, calm down." Jhonny Wright was sweating, but not "He
means that the park is open for you." An elderly voice said "Dr. Hammond, I presume." Lou offered his hand to the old man, who seemed to be like a cross between everyone's grampa and a madman. At least, he did resembled one to Britney, who giggled it to Justin, who, in turn, passed the message to everyone else. "At
your service." The old man bowed, looking incredibly "What kind of park is this?" Theresa asked again, not looking at her boyish charges. "We didn't saw more than a few trees on the way here." "Oh,
that's because the amusement park is not finished yet." "Bourke. And with me are Mr. Wright, Mr. Jones, Mr. Robson, Miss. Spears, Mr. Timberlake, Mr. Chasez, Mr. Bass, Mr. Fatone and Mr. Kirkpatrick…" "But you can call me Chris." Chris interrupted Theresa, offering his hand to Dr. Hammond, oblivious to the glare his PR was sending his way. "What's the main attraction? It must be something if Lou gave up the money to bring us here." "Oh, it's more than Big, Chris, my friend." Dr. Hammond laughed, and then, dramatically made a flourish to point to the white and silver dome behind them. "Let me be the first one to welcome you to Jurassic Park!" 3. Jurassic Park. A big, glorious name for a big glorious park. It struck something in the hearts of the boys, something akin to wonder, to awe. Because it sounded like a wonderful, amazing thing and their lives didn't had many things that could be called wonderful. It was hard to find something worth wonder when you could buy everything your heart desired. Dr. Hammond explained everything to the group as he led them through the silver dome, showing them the park's restaurant Although, there were talks with McDonalds for those who didn't want a Brontoburger, Hammond had said, laughing ,the park's souvenir store Where Justin bought an amber necklace for Britney, and Chris got a stuffed dinosaur for Busta to play with. Simple gifts for simple people, even when they were in top of the world and the park's 'educative ride' Which
since only Lance wanted to see, they decided to skip it that was just below the 'heart' of Jurassic Park, as Hammond explained. It was 11:00 a.m. when they got in the three cars to start the main ride, to see the principal attraction that had Hammond so excited. An hour later, something went very wrong. What
had wrong, they would never know. Those who could The
storm, one of those tropical storms that start in the middle of nowhere
and cause enough damage to make insurance A circuit blew off. Or maybe a wire was exposed. Or maybe it was just karma, or kismet or causality. Whatever
it was, it caused the electrical cars the group was Britney
turned around in Justin's arms to tell something to her boyfriend, something
about how boring it was all, when a The goat was no longer there, the metal rod was bent. Justin was pale. "Oh,
fuck…" He said, as the quiet hum of the electrified fence It was 12:00 p.m. when the electricity of the island failed. The middle of the day. Time to find out that behind every dream, a nightmare could be found. 4. "Everyone, out of the car!!" Justin
could remember clearly when Hammond yelled that. He could remember clearly
grabbing the handle of the electric car However, he had troubles remembering how they had separated from the others and and where is britney she was standing next to me britney is where they were heading to. Because they were not running towards the road, the
road where the cars were left where hammond yelled for they were running forward, to the jungle, trying to loose whatever that was behind them. the thing the big thing with teeth the thing that ate the goat the thing that ate And
his thoughts were jumbled and too fast, and he couldn't with theresa but don't think about theresa britney was with Chris. And Joey. He had seen her run towards Joey because Joey was bigger than him, and stronger and he was with JC… And they were not around. "We
got to get back! Britney is…!" He yelled, but he didn't stop
"We
can't!" Wade yelled back. Wade, who was in the vanguard who
had helped me to my feet when i fell wade helped wade was taking charge now that they were lost in the jungle. "Justin, you saw that thing! If she managed to escape, she'll find us! But we can't go back now!!" "Wade is right, Justin!" Lance, who no longer seemed innocent, who was dirty, and wet, and as scared as Justin, agreed. "We have to get as much distance between us and that thing as we can!" "Don't
worry, kid!" Jhonny, the last of the small group, smiled "But…
But Hammond… And Theresa…?" Justin managed to "Don't
think about that, Justin!" Wade chastised. "It's better not
And he was right. It
was better to forget the scene they had left behind. The only consolation the guys had, was that the end had come quickly to Theresa. At least, they hoped that it had been quick. To think otherwise was to walk on the edge of madness and despair. When the electric hum had stopped, Chris had seen Theresa turn around and say something to Dr. Hammond. Since they were with Lou in the first car, Chris couldn't hear what his PR was telling the scientist, but knowing Theresa Bourke, the older *N syncer knew it wasn't something nice. Chris was quite nervous then, not only because he had been almost still for an hour, but because unlike Britney- who was cuddling Justin in the third car, behind them - he had seen clearly what had eaten the goat. And he really didn't want to think about that. Because it was tall, and big, and had way too many teeth. From the relative safety of the second car, the one he shared with Joey, because Joey was always fun to be with, Wade, because Wade was one of his best friends, and Jhonny, because someone had to keep control, he saw how Theresa yelled at Hammond and Pearlman, and then, left the electric car slamming the door. "…and your mechanical toys are not amusing Dr. Hammond. You could cause…" The wind carried Theresa's voice towards Chris, as she walked near the electric fence that didn't hum, and another, louder sound, muted them. It sounded like thunder, which would have been normal in the middle of the storm. But Chris knew it was no thunder. Deep down, he thought Theresa knew it too. "What's that?" Theresa asked, turning in the direction of the sound. Chris saw, in painful slow motion provided by his mind, as the gigantic Tyrannosaur Rex that had eaten the goat slammed against the no longer electric fence, making Theresa jump backwards. And the PR didn't run. She just stared dumbly at the enormous animal that shouldn't be there, as it growled, opened it's jaw and chomped her down, rising it's head to swallow her whole. It was then when Hammond yelled. It was then when Chris ran, hoping that Theresa died from shock, or surprise, or whatever that was not the teeth of the Tyrannosaur as it chomped her waist. 6. They had lost the others. That was all that Chris could think, as he ran, as fast as his legs could allow him. As he thanked to god, all saints, all angels and anyone who would listen for the endless hours of rehearsal, that had kept him in shape. In front of him, he could see Joey, carrying Britney. Behind him, he could hear Jc. Jc, who was yelling that he didn't know where Lance was. That he couldn't see Wade. That he hadn't seen either Hammond or Lou leave the first car. And they had been running for what seemed hours, running away from the road, from the enormous animal that had chomped on theresa that had growled and eaten her that had chomped and munched on her that had turned it's attention to the other cars. The car where Hammond and Lou still were, when Hammond had yelled. Chris didn't want to think about that. Or about the fact that we're in the jungle and that animal came out of here there can be teeth here teeth and fangs and blood and we're lost and theresa is dead and I can't see justin and no one knew they were there, and that they didn't know where they were heading. Because the rain was getting worse, and it was hard to see where he was running. It was hard to see because the fat drops of water were falling on his face, and he was crying, and he couldn't run anymore. Because he couldn't tell if the roars he heard behind were thunder, or the signal that the T-rex was still behind them. 7. Lonnie Jones was a professional, and no one could deny it. He had protested when Hammond and Pearlman assured him that he didn't need to go in the ride with the kids. He hardly let them out of his sight, and to let them run wildly in a jungle without him was against all he believed to be the way of behaving for a professional bodyguard. But Justin, Jc, Chris, Joey and Lance had insisted, and he had never been able to deny them anything. He loved the kids almost as if they were their own children. Still, as he saw the dead monitors in the control room, he wished he had gone with them. It was impossible to go out of the control dome, because the storm raged outside. A rescue mission could turn into a disaster with those weather conditions. And the radio was dead. So all he could do was wait, and hope the kids were all right. But as soon as the storm passed the island, Lonnie was going to be out there. And nothing would stop him from getting the kids safe, back on his watch. He heard a crackle, and suddenly, the dome was covered with darkness. Calmly, he sat on the floor and began counting. If the electricity didn't start again soon on it's own, Lonnie knew where to find a flashlight. All that was needed, was that the storm stopped, and cleared the way for him. 8. No one blamed Wade for what happened. No one, except Wade. Even as Justin tried to make him leave the spot where they had seen Jhonny Wright for one last time, the younger *N Syncer knew that Wade Robson, coreographer, blamed himself for everything. "I shouldn't have let him to climb first." Wade finally said, as he turned his tearful eyes to Justin. "I should've…" "You didn't force him or anything, Wade… He volunteered…" Justin tried to reason, but Wade shook his head. "We shouldn't have climbed." Wade insisted, letting the tears run wildly on his cheeks. The storm was slowing now, and that was the only consolation they had. It also made things more dangerous, now that they knew that the skies were also filled with nightmares. "We should…" "How could you know, Wade?" Lance interrupted, and his bass voice sounded weak for the first time since the coreographer had known him. "How could anyone know?! You were just trying to save us for Christ's sake!" They had been running away from the Tyrannosaur when Wade saw the door. It was a big, metal door, and it was open. Even Jhonny had agreed that it seemed like their safest bet. To get something strong between them and the extinct carnivorous beast behind. Inside, however, it was just like the other side of the metal rods. A dark jungle, where the storm hit their faces, and bodies. The wet shirts clung to their bodies like a second skin, and their hair was plastered against their faces. "I don't think that thing can get in…" Jhonny had said. Jhonny, who despite the odds was confident, and optimistic. "We might be safe…" "And there might be other things lurking on the ground." Lance had added. Later, when trying to reason with Wade, Lance would point that out. Because, after all, it was more of his fault that they had been looking for higher ground. "Didn't Hammond said he had cloned ten or so species?" "I… I wasn't paying attention to him…" Justin had stammered, looking in the direction of the door. It didn't took a genius to realize that he was thinking about Britney. That he wanted to go and find her. "She must be safe, Ju." Jhonny had placed his hand on Justin's shoulder. "C'mon. Let's get away from that door…" And they had done that, they had walked deeper and deeper into the jungle, as the storm finally seemed to loose it's strength, and more new, strange sounds filled the air. Every movement was more than enough to set their hearts on a wild race, every sound was cause of fear. It had been Wade's idea to see if they could see the control dome from the top of the trees. And Lance had agreed, thinking it was safer. Jhonny had volunteered to go first, because when he was a kid he had done some palm tree climbing. Wade went behind, ready to cover his back. And so, only Wade had seen what had happened. No matter how many nights passed, Wade would never forget Jhonny's surprised yelp, not his desperate scream for help. Nor a night would pass without him having nightmares of the great velvet wings that passed over his head, as the mighty pterodactyl carried Jhonny's body away from the tree where they were perched, carrying him away to it's nest. 9. By some strange miracle, they managed to loose the T-Rex and find a safe place to wait for the storm to pass. It had been Joey the one who saw the cave, and, despite JC's misgivings, despite Britney's fear and Chris' doubts, they had entered it. Perhaps someone up there decided that they deserved a break, because the cave was empty. Not that they actually went too far inside it, just stayed in the entrance, waiting for the storm to pass Unfortunately, that also gave them time to think. And to realize in what kind of problem they were. "What do you think happen to Justin?" Britney asked to JC, putting her head on his shoulder as they both sat in the cold ground. The air around them smelled like musk, and jungle, and death, and rain. "You think the Rex…" "He's all right, Bri." JC answered, hugging her. "I'm sure he's all right. He's Justin Timberlake. He always is all right." but that could be untrue because we're lost and they're lost and there's a fucking t-rex out there and we're all alone and Chris knew JC didn't want to think, and turned to see Joey. Joey had been quite the rock during their flight, carrying Britney just as if he was Superman. Joey, who had seen the cave. "It'll be all right, Chris." Joey said, and somehow, when Joey said it, it was more believable. "This whole place it's a fucking nightmare…" Chris mumbled, leaning into Joey's arms, watching Britney cry onto JC's shoulder. He couldn't get the image of Theresa, turning around to face her death, out of his mind. Not when he had been happy to be in that place in the first time, not when he had been the first one to tell her to lighten up. In the distance, they could hear thunders. Or that could be growls, they couldn't know. It was hard to tell, especially when they were scared. "We're all going to die." Britney sobbed. "That… that thing is going to come and eat us all alive, as it ate Theresa, and Lou and Justin…" "Britney, we don't know…" JC tried again, but Britney shoved him away, standing to her feet. Outside, the storm had become a mere drizzle, almost like the ones they had all the time back in Orlando. A lifetime away. "No, we don't!" The princess of Pop looked at him, her mascara running wild all over her cheeks, making her look tragically comical. "We don't know anything! But I'm not going to stay here until we find out!" And with those final words, she stomped out of the cave. "We have to get her back." Chris stood, and started to follow. When he realized neither JC nor Joey were behind him, he turned around to see them. "C'mon! We can't leave her alone out there! If something happens to her, Justin will be devastated!" don't say that justin might be dead now, don't say that we could die out there, please just come JC looked at Joey, who sighed. It was obvious that both preferred the relative safety of the cave to whatever dangers could be lurking out in the jungle, but neither could actually face the possibility of Brit being hurt, not if they didn't do a thing to help. And so, despite their instincts yelling them not to, they left the cave, following the path they thought the young woman who was almost a sister to them had followed. 10. The only good thing they had found about the pterodactyls cage was that, apparently, there were no other carnivorous dinosaurs in it. Even so, every sound, every movement, had them jumping out of their skins, trying to get support on the fact that the others were there. The dynamics on the group had changed since Jhonny's disappearance. Wade trusted that they could try and find the pterodactyl's nest, and maybe save Jhonny before it was too late. Lance and Justin, however, were convinced that it was a hopeless idea, that their only good bet was to find their way back to the control room. Even if that meant to be out in the open again. Out
where the T-rex and God knew what else was lurking. "I can't leave Jhonny, Lance." Wade insisted, as he broke a twig from a tree. "Not while there's still a chance that he's alive." The choreographer, who was two years younger than Justin, three years younger than Lance, looked up to the sky, that was barely visible thanks to the high trees and their branches. "But you're right. If we stay here, our chances are less than nothing." "What will we do then?" The blonde bass asked, even when he believed he knew the answer. Justin only listened. Deep inside, both Lance and Wade knew that Justin was feeling guilty. Guilty because he didn't care about Jhonny, or even about them. It wasn't hard to read the young singer's eyes, and in those blue, tear filled orbs, the only thing to be found was concern for Britney. "I think we're at the edge of the cage." Wade finally said, with a finality in his voice that Lance didn't like or cared for at all. It was true, though. They could see the big railings between the trees, the crystal dome that was not fully constructed, that had openings big enough for them "So you'll try to get back to the main road, and to the control room. I'll meet you there, hopefully, with Jhonny." "It's not raining anymore." Justin suddenly piped in. He didn't seem too happy with the plan. "You'll be an easy target for those winged things." It was funny how they couldn't say the beast's names. The t-rex was the 'big' thing, the pterodactyls the 'winged' things. And all the others were… the other 'things'. But none of them acknowledged the truth. Maybe it was because doing so would bring the painful absurd reality of the situation they were in home. As long as they were only 'things', they could hope it was all just a bad dream, a dream from which they could wake up. "All right." Lance agreed, looking straight into Wade's eyes. He and Wade hadn't been good friends before. Lance was the clumsy kid in the group, and Wade the merciless choreographer. Funny, how everything changed after a couple hours in the jungle, after seeing your friend and manager being taken away by a monster which, by all nature laws, had been extinct for more than two million years. But as they stared at each other, all the animosity was lost. All that remained was a lot of things that should have been said, but would remain unsaid. "Take care." "I will." Wade smiled, as he returned to the jungle. Wade smiled. But Lance couldn't shake the dreadful feeling that it would be the last time he would see him. 11. All JC could think was that it reminded him of the bus. The tour bus, where they lived so much of their lives. The bus that took them safe, from place to place. When they were on it, and he could hear the steady ticking of Lance typewriting contracts, and the beeps and twits of Chris' gameboy. Hear Justin humm or beatbox some unknown tune just under his breath, and Joey talking on the phone with the girl of the week. And he would look out of the window, and see the fields, the grass, the landscape. It was just like that. Only that this grass was almost as tall as he was. Only that this grass was deadly. In their wild career through the jungle, under the storm, they had lost the road. And after they left the cave, looking for Britney, they couldn't find it again. Instead, they found the grass. Undisturbed grass, were they couldn't see any movement. They were in a small hill, still inside the jungle when they found it, and JC didn't fool himself. It had been that hill the one that saved their lives. Chris was the first one to spot Britney. Before they all joked about Chris having the best eyes of the group, that he could spot anything, anyone, no matter how high he was or how scared he was during a concert. It was a strange joke, because Chris wore glasses, and in a close distance, he couldn't see a thing without them. But from a long range, his eyesight was eagle sharp. "She's there!" He had yelled, pointing to a black spot moving through the grass. It was a stop that didn't move too fast, as if she was trying to figure out what direction to follow. "Let's go!" "Wait." Joey stopped him by the shoulders, and pointed to something else in the grass. It was another spot of movement, that was going straight to where Britney was. "What's that?" "That's a…" Chris began, squinting to see better, when Jc pointed in other direction. "There's another one… And another one farter up…" Chris paled, and stepped back. His eyes, his brown, expressive eyes, were open in shock, as he shook his head, and his mouth opened in a silent yell. Joey got near him, and was about to ask him what was wrong, when a blood freezing scream could be heard. Britney's scream, from the grass. It was all it took to snap his attention back to the tall, deadly grass. The grass that JC hadn't stopped staring. Only that now it was not static, or just moving with the breeze. Now it seemed like a boiling cauldron, where black shadows converged in one spot, the spot where they believed Britney to be. She only screamed once, but her scream never stopped. It was a continuous, terrified scream. A scream that made their hearts stop, and that, even when it only lasted for a few seconds before dying forever, it kept ringing in their ears for hours. Neither Joey nor JC saw the thing that ate her. The things that hunted her through the grass, where she was alone, and confused, and scared. But Chris did. And the sight of it had been enough to make him, the most joyous and carefree of the group, to remain silent from that moment on. At first they didn't notice the change. As they returned to the jungle, because, in a way, it was better to see what was going to eat you and have a chance to run, both JC and Joey were too immersed in their own thoughts to hear the silence. But when miraculously they found the road, and they congratulated each other, and they jumped with joy and screamed their relief, they finally realized that Chris was not joining in the celebration. He was only staring mutely to the wet gravel, to the fallen trees that the T-rex had destroyed in it's way. They were back where they had started, the three cars still there, mute tributes to the horror. The first one, where Hammond, Lou and Theresa had been was totally smashed, upside down. The second, where Chris and Joey had been joking just hours earlier, and the third, where Britney and Justin and who was going to tell justin that his girlfriend was dinosaur chow now? who? had been cuddling, seemed fine. Chris didn't pay attention to them. He started walking towards the crashed one. He was almost there when Joey stopped him, forcing him to meet his eyes. Joey didn't like what he saw in his friend's sight, but he didn't comment. He simply thought it was due to shock, and hope d that it could be helped when they were safe. "I'll see if Lou or Hammond are there… you check the cars with JC, ok? You were always better with the electric stuff than me." Chris nodded, but other than that, he didn't answer. He only gave Joey a weak smile before following his instructions. Joey didn't move until he saw Chris inside the third car, with JC checking the engine. Satisfied that both his friends were going to be busy for a while, he turned around and started walking towards the wreck. "It seems that this things are independent from the main electric power…" JC muttered, checking the engine of the car. Out of the corner of his eye, he was also checking on Chris, who was at the wheel. But Chris didn't answer, just nodded, and waited for him to move over to turn on the engine, which, thankfully, started at first, as if it had never been out maybe if we hadn't run, we could have saved brit… "I can't see Lou!" Joey yelled at them. "But there's something inside…" JC saw how Joey went completely under the trashed car, and was about to comment on his friend's adventurous spirit when he realized that Chris had tensed visibly. "What's wrong…?" He started to ask when he realized what was the focus of Chris' attention. Justin's forgotten glass of coke. The liquid was moving, slowly. As if something had hit the board. It took JC only a second to realize what it meant, as he looked up just in time to see the gigantic T-rex coming out of the forest again, like a bad movie monster that simply cannot let the poor nubile girl alone. It took less than that for him to realize that Joey would not have time to leave the interior of the trashed car and reach them. Especially when the Tyrannosaur threw all it's weight against the trashed car, trying to break it, trying to get to whatever that was inside. JC was frozen in his place for a second. A second too long, because Chris, silent, shocked and scared, moved. A loud, unnatural sound called the T-rex attention away from the car and to them. Chris was sounding the horn loudly, angrily, trying by all means to get the monster away from the car, that wasn't resembling a car as much as a heap of junk anymore, and focused in them. Which, from JC's point of view, wasn't a good plan. But Chris seemed glued to the horn, determined not to loose another friend, so JC knew he couldn't count on his older friend to remain focused on surviving, so using all his strength you're skinny, you're never going to beat me jc, never never even lance who looks like a girl can beat you up he managed to push Chris aside and get in behind the wheel. And the engine protested, as he rammed the accelerator, the reverse and led the car backwards, trying not to look to the front, trying not to see the moving jaws that looked bigger every second, trying not to smell its breath, that was cold, and moisty, and smelled like blood and rotten meat and isn't' that chanel #5? theresa's favorite? or is that you're going insane spazzman? is it? is it? and things JC didn't want to identify. Trying not to see the crashed car inside which nothing moved. Only caring about not crashing, about getting Chris out of there and alive ironic, isn't it? lance broke the car, everyone made fun of my driving, but now i'm the one who can save your life, chris. so who's the bad driver now? about managing to get back to Orlando in one piece. And in front of him, the T-rex was loosing ground, and it seemed that finally, someone had decided to give him a chance. 12 When Lou first told them that they were hiring bodyguards, Chris had laughed. Back then, *N sync wasn't big, wasn't even known in a small town, much less around the world. Chris didn't see the need to hire a bodyguard. And so, and despite having celebrated his 25th birthday the week before Lonnie, Dre and Randy were hired, he had behaved in his worst Dennis the Menace impersonation, trying to make them feel as unwelcome as he could. Lonnie hadn't fall for that. In fact, when all the others avoided Chris like the plague, Lonnie was always behind Chris. Lonnie had been the one who got him away from a mob of fans in Germany, when the girls almost trampled him. Lonnie had been the one who went and look for him in a club, and never told Lou Chris had broken the curfew. Lonnie had been the one who first commented how they should have more than what they had in their bank. Lonnie had been the one who stayed with them, even after being threatened by Transcon. So it was a cruel twist of fate that Chris was the one who found Lonnie's body, bloodied and mangled, his big hand and how many times he saved you, and how many times those hands held you, and protected you, and… still holding the lever of the main power grid. 13. JC's driving had saved their lives. Chris never, ever thought that he would think those words. JC himself would never have believed that he would say those words. But somehow, driving the electric car backwards while escaping from a hungry T-rex, JC had managed to reach the control room dome. Safety. Almost at the same time that Justin and Lance arrived, because Lance had found a jeep, probably a possession from a veterinary or a crew member of the nightmarish park, and drove until he saw the jungle die. One look at JC, and Justin knew that he shouldn't ask about Britney. That it was better if he just kept his memories intact. One look at JC, at Chris, and Lance knew that it was better not to ask about Joey. For the first time ever, Lance was afraid of knowing. Lonnie was there, waiting for them. And even when some might have thought it unmanly, or unprofessional, the big black man had hugged his boys. And cried because they were safe, and cried for those who hadn't managed to come back. If pressed, Lance would admit that he had even cried for Lou. Because, whatever else he had done, Lou had given them their first chance. Chris didn't say a thing. He just hugged Justin as if the young singer was his lifeline, and cried. Justin let him, and cried too. For Jhonny, for Wade, for Joey… And for Britney. As always, thinking of the safety of the group, Lonnie led them to the kitchen. It was almost sad to see that the control room was mostly untouched. The nightmare of the park hadn't reached the place yet. There, he prepared them a couple of burgers, that were eaten in silence. Gas was still on, and it wouldn't be until night when things got bad. They had three hours. "Without the electric fences, those animals can get here." Lonnie finally said, after Lance and JC had finished their mutual stories. "Someone has to get out there and turn the damn power on." The boys opened their mouths to protest, all but Chris, who still looked lost and lonely, but Lonnie shushed them with his big hands. "My job is to take care of you, kids. So stay here. I'll be back soon and then we leave this damned place." Those were the last words they all heard Lonnie say. 14. JC didn't want to leave Chris, and Lance and Justin respected it. It wasn't as if they could do anything about it, even when Justin had bitched about him having it as rough as Chris had. But Justin was still more or less functioning, while Chris… Chris had simply shut down. So JC had took Chris to the souvenir store, trying to bring a smile to his face. But Chris had only stared at one of the plush t-rex and started crying again. When JC had tried to drag him away, Chris had shook him off and went to grab the biggest plush he found, hugging him and crying. Never one slow to take hints, JC had left Chris alone, despite his own desires. The dome was a big place, and it was SAFE. Hammond hammond, who had been with theresa, who had been eaten and crushed like joey and britney and… had explained to them that there was no way a dinosaur could escape into the Compound. but hammond had also said that the park was safe, and were is hammond now, spazz? "I'm not going to think about that now." JC said, to no one in particular. The voice in his head, a voice he usually welcomed when it wasn't rhyming 'ride' with 'inside', had took a rather nasty turn to the sarcastic side of the Force. It wasn't something he cared much for, especially now that he had lost so many friends. On the other side of the compound, opposite to where Chris cried, there was a big mural, with dinosaurs painted on it. But JC didn't want to see another dinosaur for as long as he lived, so he kept walking, past the mural, past the restaurant, and into the kitchen. But the kitchen evoked thoughts of food of theresa getting chomped, britney's scream and suddenly, JC didn't felt so comfortable in the kitchen. It was then when he found the door to the 'educational' ride. The ride they all had decided to skip, in favor of going out to see the dinosaurs. "Maybe there's some useful info here…" JC mused out loud, not trusting his own thoughts. With almost surprising ease, he managed to open the door to the ride and went in. The lights were out, of course, so they knew that Lonnie hadn't still managed to get the power back on, but JC could make most of the rooms and aisles without tripping. The first stop was a movie theater that was useless now. Then, the ride moved into a strange aisle with windows, where models of dinosaurs could be seen. "Great." JC groaned, and kept walking. The scale Tyrannosaur wasn't as scary as the real one, but even so made him shudder. There were pterodactyls, and brontosaurs and brachiosaurs, and some other saurs that JC didn't immediately recognize, but knew were out there, waiting, hunting. Squinting, he could read some of the names, but none of them were of much interest. "Who needs to know the name of what's going to eat you, right?" He asked to one of the models, a slim, black and red lizard with a long snout and yellow eyes, not much taller than JC himself, with a long, black claw in the center of its paws. The thing's eye blinked. JC ran. 15. It had been his fault, and Chris knew it. He shouldn't have sent JC away, he shouldn't have been immersed in his world of grief. He was the older, he should have paid attention. Still looking at Lonnie, Chris didn't know what to do. His bodyguard, his friend, was dead. The creator of the nightmarish place was dead. Wade, Britney, Jhonny, JC, Justin, Lance… Joey… All of them were gone. And if them hadn't survived, why should Chris? What
was stopping him from just sitting there, and wait for the thing that
had eaten Lonnie to come back for dessert? 16. It had been Lance the one who noticed JC was missing. It had been Lance the one who decided they had too find their friend. "We already lost too many." The southern bass had said. "I'm not going to stand still while we loose JC." "But… what about Lonnie? What if he returns and he doesn't find us here?" Justin had protested, looking at them with lost, blue eyes. "What if…" "I don't care if you're not coming, Ju. I'm not leaving C here." Lance insisted. And Chris knew, even from behind his wall of pain, behind the image of Britney being hunted by red and black lizards, that Lance was not joking. Justin didn't. And so, they left their lead singer, the younger of them all, to wait for them and for Lonnie in the center of the Compound while they searched for JC. |
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