Caught in the Cretaceous

Chapter 8: Lost and Alone

Over the next few days, after power had been restored to the ship, the crew fell into a routine. Half the crew would stay to work on the ship and half the crew would go outside to gather food and supplies. By now they know what plants are safe to eat and have made a rough map of the surrounding area. They came across the bodies of local wildlife and debated the idea of taking some of the meat to test to see if it is sage to eat but at the time decided not to. 

Will gears up to head out with his uncle and Apollo once again. His uncle has been insisting that he carry a canteen, some food, and a knife in his pack every time they go out. Will doesn't see the point. They never go too far away from the ship and always stay together. Whatever his uncle is afraid of probably won't happen. 

He finishes lacing up his boots and grabs his pack before going into the hall to join his uncle and the medic. The three of them exchange a few pleasantries as they head outside together. 

The sun feels nice on Will's skin. He's starting to get used to the sun and the air of this time. It's different than he's used to. Not that they don't have the sun when he's from, but with the way society is in his time they don't really see the sun. Or if they do it's through a filter. He only sees natural sunlight when they go on these trips to the past. He was never that interested in the history of why society developed the way it did or any of it. Why should he? His time is the way it is, this time is the way it is. He doesn't need to know why. It just is. 

The teen is so caught up in his own thoughts he doesn't realize that Alex is leading them on a different route than they usually take. He's just blindly following. 

They get to the edge of a clearing that would've been very familiar to Will had they approached it from their usual route. As usual they take a moment to rest and just take in the scenery around them. Alex is always very vigilant to try to keep both his companions in his sight at all times. The last thing they need is a disaster to happen out here. Limited resources, hostile environment. If something happened out here the odds would certainly be stacked against them. 

 With the landscape being so seemingly peaceful, what could they possibly have to worry about right now? But Alex doesn't let his guard down. And for good reason. Something just isn't sitting right with him. Then, at the very edge of his vision he sees what was causing him this distress and his heart freezes. 

A dark cloud is growing ever closer to the group. The closer it gets the more he is able to make out that it isn't a cloud at all but something far more dangerous. A large group of wildlife is running towards them at an alarming rate. He is instantly reminded of herd animals stampeding in their time. As soon as the danger fully registered he jumps into action. 

"Get up!" He orders his family. 

The medic and teen look up at him startled. He doesn't have time for an argument so he repeats his command. They listen and he urges them to get moving. All the while the large herd of wildlife is thundering closer to them. By now they can start to feel the vibrations in the ground from the dozens or maybe even hundreds of pounding feet coming closer. The others look up and see the stampede that is growing closer by the second. Panic sets in. They start to run to try to get out of the way of the large thundering group of large animals that is getting closer with each passing second. 

"Stay together!" Alex shouts at the other two when he sees them begin to panic. 

The don't listen. They don't even hear him. Each of them takes off in a different direction. Alex tries desperately to keep them both in his sight, but it's useless. 

As soon as Will panicked he took off at a run in whatever direction his brain seemed to think was safest at the time. He runs and runs until there is no sight or sound of the stampeding group. Out of breath, Will slows down and eventually stops, bending over and placing his hands on his knees he heaves a few deep breaths.