El nucleo
The day had brought a different kind of silence. It wasn't like the jungle, where every shadow could hide something toothy. Here, among the artificial biomes and the relative safety of their shelters, Yaz felt something strange in her chest: calm.
A part of her hesitated to relax. But her legs didn't. They moved on their own, almost as if they knew what she needed. Yaz trotted off down one of the side paths, and soon she was running freely.
Run for the sake of running. Not out of fear. Not out of pain. Run alone.
The wind hit her face, her muscles tensing and releasing with rhythm. It was a relief that bordered on the sacred.
When she reached the pool, her heart truly pumping for the first time in a long time, she saw Ben surrounded by dinosaurs, relaxing as if he were one of the group. She smiled. Without thinking twice, Yaz jumped and landed right next to him, making the grass tremble a little. "Fabulous, are you okay?" Ben asked, surprised but laughing.
Yaz slumped onto the grass, stretching her arms out, breathing deeply. There was mud on her legs, her hair a little disheveled, but her laughter was pure, liberated.
"I'd forgotten how good running felt," she laughed, still gasping for air. "I mean... real running. For fun, not because something's chasing us."
"I don't," Ben answered with his typical honesty, sitting down among the dinosaurs, who didn't seem bothered by the interruption. "But I'm glad you had a good time."
Yaz turned her face toward him, still lying on the grass, as the sky began to fill with stars. "More than good. Running gave me space to think.
To think about everything. About her. About what I couldn't say. About what I felt every time Sammy looked at her as if nothing was wrong.
She sighed.
It was then that she heard a familiar sound: a struggle, a push, the scrape of heavy meat on the ground. Turning her head, she saw it. Sammy, pushing a huge chunk of meat toward the edge of the T-Rex grounds, struggling with a mixture of strength and stubbornness.
Yaz sat up, brushing the dirt off her pants.
"I'll help you," she said to Ben with a soft smile.
Ben ascended, understanding without further words, as Yaz began to trot toward Sammy. Her heart was still pounding, but not from running.
This time, it was for something harder to ignore.
—-----
Sammy dropped the last piece of meat next to the pile she'd been building. She took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead with her forearm. The sun was already lower, dyeing the sky shades of orange and violet, and for a moment she could simply enjoy the work done.
A distant roar alerted her. The “girls” were close.
With a mixture of haste and excitement, Sammy ran to hide in some bushes, just in time to see the T-Rexes approaching, drawn by the scent of fresh meat.
“That’s right, girls,” she whispered with an amused smile, barely containing her excitement. “Dinner’s served.”
From the trees, Yaz had approached silently. She’d seen Sammy alone, without Ben, without the distraction of anyone else. It was an opportunity her heart recognized even before her mind processed it. She paused for a second. She hesitated. She saw her so focused, so genuinely happy…
And she loved her a little more.
She took a step closer, letting her boots crunch softly against the ground.
“Sammy?”
Sammy flinched slightly, turning to face her. But at the sight of her, his expression softened. He smiled, as he always did with Yaz.
“Yeah?” Yaz opened her mouth, but just then, a violent crunch interrupted the calm: the two T-Rexes launched themselves at the pile of meat, yanking the pieces from opposite ends. One of them dropped part of its prey, which flew through the air... and landed right on top of the two girls.
The two looked at each other for a second, partially covered in fat and meat... and then burst into laughter.
"Looks like the little one needs to improve her eating habits," Sammy said, giggling as she tried to remove a piece of meat from her arm.
"What are you talking about?" Yaz replied, feigning indignation. "I threw it on purpose."
Sammy laughed louder, amused by Yaz's attempt at funny business. And for a moment, Yaz felt like the world was just that: the two of them, laughing, covered in filth, and closer than ever.
And then Yaz felt it. The need to say it.
"Sammy... uh..."
But she couldn't continue.
Darius and Brooklyn's voices were heard approaching, and within seconds, they appeared from the bushes, followed by Ben.
The magic faded.
Yaz swallowed, looked down, and pretended nothing had happened.
As always.
-----
As Ben, Brooklyn, and Darius argued animatedly over the doors, Yaz felt the day's accumulated stress melt away, at least for a moment. But something was missing. Sammy. She hadn't seen her in a while.
Suddenly, an instinct drove her to look for her.
"Sammy!" she called as she approached the hallways, her voice echoing through the empty space.
A muffled sound, a small "BOO!", made her jump in fright. Yaz quickly turned, and there was Sammy, smiling widely, with that mischievous twinkle that always made her unique.
Yaz put a hand to her chest, surprised, but Sammy's laughter soon made her body relax. It was her, always playful, even when everything around her seemed to be falling apart.
"You didn't see me, did you!" Sammy said, unable to stop herself from laughing at the joke. Yaz, though she'd felt a slight start, couldn't help but smile at Sammy's dogged attitude, even amidst so much chaos. She is Sammy, after all.
"You're a..." Yaz began, gently shoving Sammy, as if scolding her would somehow help dissipate the knot in her stomach.
But before she could finish her sentence, something strange happened.
With a dull crash, the door where Sammy had been hiding slammed shut, trapping her in the opposite hallway. Yaz jumped slightly, surprised, and immediately ran for the door.
"Sammy!" she yelled, trying to open the door, a little annoyed but more worried than anything else.
Sammy, from the other side, tried to force the door open with her hands, visibly frustrated.
"What's going on?" Sammy asked, continuing to force the door open.
Yaz tried again, putting all her weight against the door, but it wouldn't budge an inch.
"Sammy!" she said, her tone seeming to mix concern and frustration.
"Can you open it?" Ben asked, moving closer as he watched the door system.
"I'm trying, but the system is malfunctioning," Brooklyn replied, looking at the control screen, which was beginning to flicker ominously.
Yaz took a step back, looking at the door and then at the others, the tension beginning to build between them. The sound of the base shaking and the flickering lights only intensified the feeling that something wasn't right.
But all she cared about now was Sammy, trapped on the other side.
Yaz pushed on the door with all her might, her sweaty hands slipping against the metal surface as she tried to unlock it. The base continued to shake slightly, and the lights flickered in an increasingly disturbing way, as if something were about to go out of control. Sammy, on the other side, was also trying to force the door, but nothing seemed to work.
Suddenly, as if the universe decided to play tricks on them, the door system stabilized, and a dull sound echoed through the hallway. Before Yaz could react, the door burst open, dragging her inside, and with the sudden movement, she slammed into Sammy.
In an instant, their bodies were so close that, without being able to stop themselves, their arms wrapped around each other in an accidental embrace. The contact paralyzed them for a second, an instant electricity running between them, both in the embrace and in the thick air around them.
Yaz didn't know what to do or how to react. Her heart pounded in her chest, racing with surprise, but also with that familiar feeling… the one she always felt when she was around Sammy. And despite everything happening around her, all she could think about was what she was feeling right now.
"Thank you…" Sammy said, her voice soft.
Yaz pulled away slightly, but not completely. Her hands still rested on Sammy's shoulders, and for a moment, neither of them moved. Yaz couldn't meet Sammy's gaze; she felt a mix of emotions she couldn't understand.
Hugging Sammy is always new, exciting… Yaz thought, her mind filling with doubt. It's like a drug… a hit of ecstasy that makes you forget everything else, but…
Her gaze shifted to the floor, as if avoiding Sammy's gaze might make the feeling go away. Sammy isn't mine. It's not even an option. When someone is yours, you can hold them every day, at any time, without fear or reservation. But when they aren't… every moment feels limited. A treasure you can only touch for an instant before it's gone.
Yaz swallowed, feeling a lump in her throat. I don't know if I'll ever be able to stop feeling this way… not even if we leave the island. Not even if everything works out. Because, deep down, I know you'll never be mine…
But those words, that certainty that I wouldn't be enough, were something she couldn't say out loud. She couldn't even say it to herself.
The base shook harder and harder, and suddenly she came back to reality. Everyone started running outside, while she tried to hide the avalanche of thoughts that bombarded her. But inside her chest, the reality remained the same. Sammy wasn't hers. And that hug, however brief, had only confirmed what she'd always known.
—-----
The elevator rose slowly, its metallic sound echoing in the heavy air. Inside, the silence was thick, interrupted only by the soft snorts of the other passengers. Yaz, Sammy, and Ben were together, but it seemed that Ben's presence in that small space only made everything more uncomfortable.
Ben stood there, distracted, looking around, but for Yaz, his presence only amplified the tension. The desire to be close to Sammy, without Ben's barrier or any other distraction, grew stronger with each passing second. Yet, how could we move forward? How could she face what she felt for Sammy, when she didn't even have the courage to admit it out loud?
The Nothosaurus was at her feet, unconscious from the gas expelled from the core, but its presence was only a reminder of all the strange and dangerous things still happening around them. Yet Yaz couldn't help but look at Sammy, getting closer and closer to her, his expression calm.
For a moment, Yaz considered taking a risk. It wasn't the kind of risk she was used to, like running for her life from a dinosaur or facing a dangerous situation. This was different, much more delicate, more... personal. She didn't know if she should do it, if she should continue to keep everything she felt inside, or if she should finally face the fact that she couldn't keep it hidden any longer.
What would I lose? she thought. It's only a moment... if I don't try, I'll never know what it would be like.
Yaz took a deep breath and, without thinking too much, turned slightly toward Sammy, glancing at her out of the corner of her eye. Sammy, oblivious to her thoughts, stared at the elevator ceiling. Yaz opened her mouth, her heart racing, her words almost ready to spill out.
"Sammy..." she began, her voice a whisper so low she barely heard it, as if somehow those words might shatter something she'd been bottling up for too long.
But just as she was about to continue, the Nothosaurus suddenly began to move. A low snort, followed by an erratic movement, broke the stillness of the moment, causing everyone in the elevator to turn toward it.
Sammy quickly stepped forward, realizing the animal was about to wake up. Yaz froze, her heart pounding in her chest, unable to finish the sentence she'd started.
"Oh, no!" Sammy said, her voice filled with concern as she stared at the Nothosaurus.
Ben reacted immediately, moving closer to the animal's side to make sure it wasn't getting too out of control. The atmosphere in the elevator grew tense again, but this time for a completely different reason.
Yaz, feeling the opportunity slipping away, swallowed. That moment when she'd been so close to taking a risk, to finally speaking her mind, had vanished like an unattainable dream. Now she was there, trapped in silence again, unable to express what she'd been holding in her heart.
One more second... and she could have.
But she didn't.