2

I wake up early the next day, excited to explore the island. I finally feel like myself again after that miserable boat ride. I clean myself in the outdoor shower before pulling on pants and a fitted t-shirt.

I do my best to not wake Zach up. Considering his normal self, I would hate to see him when he first wakes up. I don't even make coffee, which is normally my life line.

I'm heading toward the gate when I notice a chain and padlock around the latch. What the hell? I don't think dinosaurs know how to open a closed gate. So what's the need for a lock?

I see that the padlock requires a key, and I remember the large circle of keys hanging on a hook in the house. One of those must be it. I rush to the house and return quickly. The only problem is that there are about one million keys on this circle, and I don't have a clue which one works. I take a deep breath and start trying them one by one.

By the fifteenth key, I am actively cursing with each failed attempt. Number sixteen: "Shit!" Number seventeen: "Damnit!" Number eighteen: "Fuck!" Number nineteen: "Fuckety fuck fuck fucking moherfucking piece of fucking shit"

"What the hell are you doing?" I hear behind me. Zach is standing ten feet away with arms crossed, looking pissed. "Are you trying to go out there? By yourself?"

"Well...yeah." I suddenly realize how stupid that is. I try to justify it anyway. "You were sleeping. I didn't want to wake you. I have my watch," I add.

"You never leave this camp by yourself, understand?"

"Don't speak to me like a child! I'm probably older than you are!" I yell back.

"Maybe, but definitely not wiser."

"Fuck off, Zach." I shock myself. I've never said that to anyone before...ever. He doesn't look surprised. He's probably had that said to him many times. "I've been wanting to see this island forever, and you're not going to stand here and tell me I can't." I start fumbling with the keys again.

"First of all, the key's not on there." I groan in frustration before throwing the whole bundle on the ground. Zach waits for my tantrum to be over before continuing. "Second of all, you can't go alone. And that's not me being a dick. You could legitimately die out there."

I do see his point. "Okay. Then when can you go? Unfortunately you are my only option."

Why am I being so hateful to him? This is not my normal nature. He makes me so angry, but I barely even know him. However, I need to try harder if I'm ever going to get along with him. My grandma always said 'You catch more flies with honey than vinegar'.

"We can go later. I have work to do." And he simply walks away. What an asshole.

I spend the morning following Zach around for two reasons. One: I need to learn the routine here. If there are no dinosaurs in need, I may as well do something. And two: I figure he'll get annoyed with me eventually and take me out of the gate.

After a few hours of watching him check all the equipment (twice), he finally speaks to me. "Would you mind backing off for a minute? I mean, don't you have 'vet' stuff to be doing?"

"I checked out all my equipment when I got here yesterday," I say with a shrug. "So I am completely free...all day."

He gives his signature sigh and runs his hands through his hair. I realize he would actually be cute if he weren't such a dick. "Fine. I'll take you around the island. But I don't have all day."

I can't help it, I squeal. I'm actually going to get to see real dinosaurs! And not behind a cage! I'm a little nervous about seeing a T-Rex or Raptor, but if we bring a tablet, we should be able to avoid them.

I wait for Zach at the gate, literally dancing in place, while he gets the keys. When he returns, he's wearing a fanny pack—I haven't seen one of those for years, and never on someone older than 12 or younger than 60. After he unlocks the fence, I hesitantly step out, wondering what to do next. Should we just walk around?

Before I can ask, I see Zach heading into a bushel of trees and return, rolling a motorcycle. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. It's not that I've never been on a motorcycle before—my older brother used to take me for rides all the time—but I never would have pictured Zach being able to drive one. He seems too uptight. And I doubt anyone who rides a motorcycle regularly also wears a fanny pack.

He stops and kicks his leg over the side before starting the engine. "Are you coming or are you just going to stand there?" He yells over the noise.

I snap out of my train of thought and rush over. I climb up behind him—of course he doesn't offer any help—and wrap my arms around his waist. I notice that he is more muscular than I would have expected. Ugh...why am I thinking about his muscles?

"If you fall off, you can find your own way back," he says, not turning his head.

I pinch his side but he ignores it. No matter how hard he tries, I am not going to let him ruin this for me.

He ruined it for me. By the time we get back to camp, I am fighting the tears that are trying to escape. I am not going to let him see me cry.

After we took off, Zach drove as fast as he could straight down the pre-made path, refusing to stop the bike no matter how much I begged.

I had done my research before coming here and knew what this island contained. I wanted to see the old park, and the old-old park. I wanted to check out the watering holes where I knew herbivores frequented. I knew there were several waterfalls on the island that would love to see. Zach completely ignored me the entire time. We didn't see a single dinosaur.

When he stops the bike directly outside the gate, I practically jump off. I go to the fence, but I see that he must have relocked it before we left. I'm forced to wait on him to open it.

He takes his time putting the bike away and finding the right key for the padlock. He doesn't look at me. He has to know that I am upset. I don't know if he feels guilty or just doesn't care, but he doesn't say a word. As soon as the gate is open, I physically push him out of my way to get to the house.

I speed walk to my bedroom and shut the door. And the tears start flowing. I could deal with not seeing the island from the boat, I could deal with the fact that my roommate is the devil, but it's finally sinking in that this mission is not going to be what I had hoped, no matter how I try to rectify it.

I spend the rest of the night alone, intermittently crying. I make sure that Zach is gone before quickly heating up a meal and bringing it back to my room to eat. Zach doesn't check on me, not that expected him to.

I fall asleep looking at a picture of my family. I wish I could talk to any one of them. What had I gotten myself into?

The weeks pass by slowly. Zach and I only talk when necessary, usually two ships passing in the night. I don't have a clue what he does all day.

I did finally get to see a dinosaur after I got an alert on the tablet that one was in distress. Zach drove me out to the location, and I saw it. A triceratops lying on her side, moaning.

I was speechless at first, in awe of her beauty and her magnitude. It had been over fifteen years since I had last seen a dinosaur, and never this closely. I looked at Zach, thinking that even he has to be impressed with this creature, but he was looking at the grass, like he would rather be anywhere else.

I got out my supplies and did a routine check. I'd obviously never checked out an animal that had been extinct for millions of years, but my specialty in vet school had been big animals. So I just pretended it was an elephant and got to work.

I was stumped about what could be bothering her until I reached her genitals. There, I saw half of a very large, yellow egg protruding outward. "Her egg is stuck!" I yelled at Zach. He simply nodded.

I put my hands on it to try to help ease it out, but it wouldn't budge. I needed to do an episiotomy. I was equal parts nervous and excited. This was what I'd trained for. This was what I spent six months going through evaluations to get on this damn island for. I was going to save this mother and her baby.

"Zach!" I yelled from the other side of the creature, "I need my bag from the back of the bike! And I'll need your assistance!"

I couldn't see him, but within a minute he was by my side, bag in hand. His eyes widened when he saw what was happening. "All I need you to do is hand me the tools I need when I tell you I need them, okay?"

He nodded quickly. I could tell that he was freaking out. I placed my hand on his upper arm, "Zach? Zach? Look at me." His eyes snapped to mine, and I spoke calmly. "It's going to be okay. I've done this many times. But I'm going to need you, Okay?"

He took a deep breath, "Okay."

"That's good, keep breathing." We held eye contact while we both breathed in and out simultaneously, and he placed his hand on top of mine. The unexpected touch sent a shock through me. I mentally shook it off, it was time to get to work.

That was three weeks ago, and since then, it's been deadly quiet. Although Zach and I had a bonding moment in the field, we haven't carried that into the camp, and it's becoming clear to me that I need human interaction. I'm starting to get depressed.

I'm in the medical trailer right now, checking for expired supplies. I'm only wearing cloth shorts and a white tank top because it is unbelievably hot today. I haven't seen Zach all day, which isn't unusual.

I hear a rumbling noise outside and look out the window. Some serious looking storm clouds appear to be getting close. I'm grateful. Maybe some rain would cool the air down a little.

I have a flashback of my brothers and I playing in the summer rain when we were kids. We did it every chance we could. My mom acted like she hated it, but I think secretly she loved that we were all having fun and getting along. I wish I could be that happy again right now.

As I hear the rain hitting the roof of the trailer, I think 'what the hell?' And head outside.

I spin in circles until I'm dizzy and splash in puddles until my shoes are soaked through, and laugh for the first time since I arrived on this god-forsaken island. If only I had someone to share this with, it would be perfect. 

When I see a lightning strike, I figure I should probably go inside. I'm hoping Zach is gone or secluded in his bedroom. I am on a high, and I don't want him to bring me down.

But of course, when I come running inside, Zach is sitting at the table with a book. He glances up at me and does a double take. I stand there and mentally thank myself for remembering to put a bra on this morning because I'm sure he can see through every inch of my shirt right now.

He scans me up and down, from my face to down my legs, undressing me with his eyes and making me feel completely naked. He sucks his lips between his teeth and swallows. When his eyes meet mine again, there is heat behind them.

The most surprising part, though, is that I like it.