"Decker said that they would be back at 1 pm, and now it's almost 5. I think we should be worried." Dr. Dells says to Tobias.
"Alright, you and I will go out and look for them." Tobias replies.
He walks to the RV, and grabs a p90 from the weapons locker. He climbs into one of the Tacoma's, with Dr. Dells getting in the passenger seat.
"Stay here, in case they come back. If you don't hear from us by nightfall, start worrying." Tobias says to Rygard.
"Roger that." Rygard Responds.
Tobias and Dr. Dells pull out and follow the first groups trail. After a few hours of ridding, Dr. Dells notices something shining in the distance. Looking closer with a pair of binoculars, she realizes what it is.
"Over there, by the boulder." She says to Tobias.
"Got it." He responds, driving over to the object.
As they climb out, they begin inspecting the crashed Tacoma. Tobias notices four sets of tracks leading away from the crash, he follows them. He then notices something odd in amongst the tracks.
"I think they were attacked." Tobias says.
"Why do you think that?" Dr. Dells asks.
"Because there is a completely different set of tracks in theirs. Like they were being chased. We should follow these tracks and see where they lead."
They follow the tracks, for about 56 yards, then they find a trail of blood to the left of the tracks. They start following the blood trail, it leads to a patch of brush. Tobias looks inside, bits and pieces of a body. On closer inspection he finds a piece of clothing.
"This looks like Dr. White's shirt." Tobias says.
"Oh my." Dr. Dells replies.
They return to the main tracks and continue following it. It leads them to the steep embankment, and the river below.
"They escaped in the river. You can see where they went down the embankment over there. At least they got away from whatever was attacking them." Tobias says.
"What do we do now?" Dr. Dells asks.
"We tell base camp what we found, then we continue the search." Tobias responds.
Further down river, the group just pulled themselves out of the river. They have traveled several miles downriver, just now stopping because the current calmed down. Laying on the bank, drying out, Decker, Dr. Smith and Dr. Prendergast are all exhausted.
"Everyone alright?" Decker asks.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Dr. Smith responds.
"Me too." Dr. Prendergast says.
"What the heck were those things doc?" Decker asks.
"Phorusrhcus, or commonly called Terror Birds. Ten feet tall, bone crushing beak, and as you saw for yourself, very fast and very mean." Dr. Smith answers.
"Well isn't that just wonderful." Decker says.
"So, what do we do now?" Dr. Prendergast asks.
"We have to walk back." Decker responds.
"But we are several miles from camp, and it's almost dark." Dr. Smith says.
"Alright, we will make camp tonight, then at first light, we will head out." Decker says.
Decker looks around, taking in his surroundings. He gets up and walks over to the tree line and starts gathering wood. Once he has gathered enough wood, he sits down and pulls out a small case from his vest. He opens it and inside is a Zippo lighter.
"Wasn't that ruined by the water?" Dr. Smith asks.
"No, I keep it in a water proof case." Decker replies.
Decker lights the fire, and the group immediately huddles next to the small fire. Decker notices that the sun is starting to go down. Soon, Dr. Smith and Dr. Prendergast lay down next to the fire, absorbing its radiant warmth. With Decker standing guard, the group slowly falls asleep, dreaming about the wonders of time travel.
Meanwhile, Tobias and Dr. Dells are traveling along the river, looking for signs of Decker and the others. They have already traveled several miles with no sign of life. Dr. Dells notices something along the river.
"Wait, I see something." She says.
"What is it?" Tobias says as he stops the Tacoma.
"Something shiny along the riverbank." Dr. Dells says.
"Can you tell what it is?" Tobias asks.
"Looks like equipment of some kind, it could have come off of one the others while they were being washed down river." Dr. Dells says.
"At least we are on the right track." Tobias says. "It's getting late, we should head back to camp, and continue the search tomorrow."
"Alright, I just hope they are ok." Dr. Dells responds.
YOU ARE READING
Primal Encounters
Science FictionA new revolutionary technology has been developed, one that could change the way humankind studies the world. For the first time, mankind has the ability to travel through time. A team is assembled to use this new machine, to be the first to step ov...
