??? ?????? ??? ?? ?? ? ????? (Camp Cretaceous)

It had been awhile since they had gotten Bumpy back. Oh, how Ben missed her. He had spent nearly every given moment on the boat thinking about her, how badly he wanted her to come with them. Of course, smuggling a 6,000 pound dinosaur on a tiny yacht wouldn't be the smartest option of them all. Still, ever since they had successfully defeated the two crusty old men for her back, he couldn't have been happier.

But Brooklynn.

She always had to make some sort of rude comment on anything. It was first her disagreeing with Ben on going back with Kenji. A nice wakeup call was her attempting to kick Bumpy. Of course, he caught her. How couldn't he? His eyes have been practically glued to his old companion since they'd gotten her back. It was a nice distraction from all of the boy drama, too. He'd also noticed how Kenji looked at him more often. He'd understood that Yasmina was trying to point it out, too, but this time he couldn't help but notice.

He was glad to see that Firecracker was getting along well with the others. Peirce had finally settled down and grazed lazily in the fields with Bumpy, meanwhile the babies were jumping around and playing with Yaz and Sammy. He and Darius sat together on a flat-topped rock they'd found near the makeshift watering hole, talking about Dinosaur genetics. He heard Brookylnn laugh from a distance, too, in which he craned his neck to see what they were up to. Brooklynn was of course laughing at something unfunny, meanwhile Kenji was chuckling awkwardly. He'd noticed that Kenji was looking at him again, this time directly. He quickly turned away.

"Earth to Ben! Hello?" Darius's voice rang through his ears, nearly making him jump up and scream. Darius had a concerned look plastered onto his face. "Er– 'm sorry about that. I just zoned out a bit." Ben chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck. Darius didn't buy it, looking at him with such a serious face he thought he'd burn a hole through his chest. He gave a simple shrug before opening his notebook and writing down a dino-fact of some sorts.

Good. Nobody had seemed to notice that he was spying on the others. He quietly walked over to where Bumpy and Peirce were munching away on dried shrubs. He sat down next to the pair, both lifting their heads and reassuring that he had meant no harm. Bumpy let out a soft grumble before scooting over to him, laying down herself next to Ben. She plopped her giant head in his lap, Ben letting out a little, "Ouch!" before readjusting himself so she didn't crush him. He leaned his head against the top of Bumpy's, letting out a sigh.

"Oh, Bumpy. Is boy drama ever a thing to happen in the dino-world? Sure sucks for us humans." Ben mumbled against the Dinosaur's scaly head. All Bumpy did was let out a snort of comfort. Say, why was it kind of cold? It had been windy all morning and now it was cold. Cold In a jungle. It was a weird feeling knowing that even in the artificial biomes that seasons were still a thing.

But that wasn't all. It was specifically windy behind him. Almost as if someone, or something was breathing on him. He quickly turned his head, trying to find the source.

Kenji was directly behind him. 

Just crouching and starring.

(AHA, cliffhanger.)