New World

When Darcy first learned about Atello, she was more than thrilled. All her life she’d been studying dinosaurs – in books, magazines, museums, and wherever else she could find information – and Atello would finally bring all those words, pictures, and bones to life. She would no longer have to daydream about the dinosaurs she’d been studying her entire life, because she’d be able to see them right in front of her. It would be dangerous – she had known that – but it would be worth it.

Darcy was one of the youngest paleontological interns that Atello had, with the closest to her age being Harry, who was a year older and her best friend in the colony. The two of them had a lot of pressure as the youngest, but they kept up with it, each of them having a different set of skills they brought to the table.

Harry was logical and a quick thinker, which helped both when they were out in the field and when they were in the lab. Darcy was the more illogical of the two, because she never thought as far ahead as Harry did. He always knew the limits – never to get too close to the dinosaurs and always to have a guard by his side – but Darcy never seemed to let her fear get in the way of research. She’d jump off the side of a cliff if it meant getting the perfect sample.

The two balanced each other well, though, and together they were a perfect team. Unfortunately, with both of them being simple interns, the occasions they got to work together on a project were few and far between, and with Darcy getting a new mentorship with Marvin Gates, the best paleontologist in Atello, that few number of projects would diminish to almost nothing.

Despite the fact that she’d get less time to spend with her partner in crime, Darcy was more than excited for her mentorship, and with her glowing smile and contagious attitude, Harry couldn’t help but be excited for her.

“I can’t believe you get to go out on another mission without me,” Harry said, as he slid one of the premade slides under his microscope. He moved his fingers along the base, as he adjusted the fine tune, until the cells were brought into focus.

“Oh, come one, Haz.” Darcy smiled as she skipped to his side, giving him a light pat on the back, even though his eyes were pressed up against the lens. “It’s just a small one. We’ll be back within the hour.”

“I know that,” Harry said, pulling his eyes away from the microscope to look at her. His deep green eyes were nearly covered by his curls, but she could still see them. “It’s just that you get to go out there and live the dream while I’m stuck in here again.”

“Haz, you went out on an expedition yesterday. And a long one at that.”

He chuckled, before pressing his face back against the eyepiece. “Whatever you say.”

“Whatever you say,” she responded quickly. He laughed, knowing she had never been one to come up with good comebacks. She may have gotten the better mentorship, but he had her beat in the wit department. It was part of their friendship – he’d be quick with his words and she’d be left stunned, while she’d wrestle a raptor for a bit of information and he’d wait patiently for it to fall into his hands.

“Go off on your little adventure,” he said, waving his hand at her. “Bring back something good.”

She nodded, though he couldn’t see it. “We’ll meet for dinner, right?”

Harry pulled away from the eyepiece again, looking at her with that same cheeky smile he always wore. His dimple filled his cheek and she loved that more than anything. In all their time as friends, she was never able to get over that dimple, even though she should have forgotten about it a long time ago. Another boy in the colony had one similar to Harry’s, but she had hardly noticed it. It was only Harry’s that she couldn’t get out of her mind.

He chuckled at her. “Don’t we always?”

He was right. In the time since they’d arrived at Atello, they’d had dinner together nearly every night. At first because the other paleontologists made it mandatory so that everyone in the lab got to know each other, then later because they got along so well. The only times they didn’t eat together was the one night Harry went on a date with one of the architects when they’d first arrived, and when they had expeditions that forced them to miss dinner.

Before she could respond, Marvin Gates was behind her, white beard and all. He smiled at the two interns, who had that same spark in their eyes that he once did. It was his favorite thing about them; they had so much that they did not know and so much left to see.

“Ms. Willows,” the older man said, as he picked up a few papers off a nearby desk. “It’s time for another one of our adventures. I hope you’ve remembered to bring your restraint this time. Don’t want another incident like before.”

The old man chuckled, as he thought back to when the young girl had nearly jumped off the Jeep to grab a sample that had been dropped. Had her seatbelt not been fastened, she’d have been tossed in the mud faster than a pig on a summer day.

“Restraint, right,” Darcy said, nodding at the older man, before holding up a manila envelope. “I’ve got it right here next to the files.”

Marvin chuckled again. “Good, let’s be on our way then.”

Darcy followed behind him, with a pep in her step that she always had when she was about to discover something new. She gave one last look back at Harry, who smiled brightly back at her, before walking with Marvin out the door and into adventure.