Fearless ≫ Zach Mitchell

v.

f i v e

~

Several dozen people crowded around the giant glass walls that separated them from the Tyrannosaurus, Ashton, Zach and Gray being amongst the large group. Chatter erupted around them, each person equally excited for the show to start. Though no one seemed to be as excited as Gray Mitchell. The twelve year old had somehow managed to push his way through to the front of the crowd, where his face was now pressed against the glass window.

No matter how much excitement she felt towards the fact that she was about to watch the T-Rex eat, Ashton couldn't help but wish the show would just be over with. She was beginning to understand exactly why she never actually went out into the park on normal days. She had an extreme case of claustrophobia, and being cooped up in the small viewing sanctuary with a couple dozen people was beginning to make her feel lightheaded.

Twisting her head around, she noticed that Zach had moved away from the crowd. He stood on the far end of the sanctuary, his phone pressed against his ear as he spoke quietly into the speaker. Though she felt a slight twinge of annoyance at the sight of the sixteen year old being on his phone again, Ashton was thankful that she now had an excuse to move away from the crowd without making herself seem like a complete nut job.

She quickly pushed through the few people separated her from being able to breathe properly. She approached Zach slowly, unsure of whether she wanted to invade his privacy, leaning against the artificial wooden wall just as he ended the phone call, shoving the phone into his front pocket.

"My mom," he explained with a small shrug, earning a nod of understanding from Ashton. "She's pissed at Claire for ditching us."

Ashton Grady was normally a very talkative person, though for some reason, no matter how much she wanted to carry on a conversation with this boy, she just couldn't find the right words. So instead, she only nodded again, forcing her lungs to operate normally again.

Though he had only met the girl hours before, Zach knew that something was wrong with her. His eyebrows pulled together in confusion as he leaned to the side, his shoulder resting on the same wall that Ashton was currently leaning on. "You don't seem to be enjoying this as much as I expected you to," he commented softly, surprising even himself by the tone of his voice. "Is something wrong?"

"Claustrophobia," Ashton responded simply, though there was something else that was bothering her. She couldn't help but wonder if she could open up to Zach. After all, he was a teenage boy who seemed to take little to no interest in the park, so what harm would it do? Sucking in a deep breath, she decided on telling him the secret that she had kept for years. "And things like this never turn out well."

Zach was confused. Was she talking about her claustrophobia, or something more? Leaning forward slightly, he lowered his voice, making sure no one but the girl in front of him heard. "What are you talking about?"

"This." Ashton's hands flailed around her, motioning to the paddock in front of them. The Tyrannosaurus had made its appearance by then, devouring a live goat, though she couldn't care less about it at that moment. "Twenty years ago, John Hammond had a dream to create a theme park filled with real, live dinosaurs. It ended in tragedy- with the loss of countless people. And now, they're doing it again."

"But that was twenty years ago. They've learned from that guy's mistakes," Zach pointed out, though he couldn't help but agree with her. She had a point- and a very good one at that.

"That's the thing," Ashton sighed, bringing her hand up and running it through her hair, which was slowly beginning to curl due to the humidity in the air. "They didn't learn. And sooner or later, history is going to repeat itself."