Caught in the Cretaceous

Chapter 10: Family Trauma

It took Alex and Apollo the rest of the day to get back to the clearing. With the sun having disappeared over an hour ago they know they have to stop and make camp for the night. Alex wants to keep moving, keep searching, but Apollo reminds him of what he already knows. It's much safer to travel by day. After a very pointless argument Alex gives in and the two of them set up camp for the night. Alex gets to work making a shelter with whatever they have available. Apollo gathers wood for a fire. 

"Like old times," Apollo half jokes while attempting to start a fire. 

Alex looks at his old friend with a firm expression. "I'm not sure that's a fair comparison. We used to hike and camp in the woods behind my parent's house. Now we're stranded in the past where almost anything can kill us." 

Apollo resist the urge to snort and instead settles on rolling his eyes. "Come on, don't tell me this isn't bringing back memories," the medic jests. He gestures around them. "The fire, the night sky. The only thing missing is the crappy drink, the halfway decent food, and us ducking the girls because we spent the night in the woods to get away from their nagging." 

Alex's lips twitch into the tiniest of smiles. Apollo catches it though and grins himself. "The food wasn't as good as you remember." 

Apollo chuckles at that response. "Well, maybe nostalgia got the better of me." 

Alex rolls his eyes. "There's a lot more starts now than when we used to camp." 

The medic looks up at the night sky. "True. As many steps as they've taken to reduce and even eliminate pollution by our time, the damage is still there." Apollo takes a moment to take a deep breath and just enjoy the night. When he opens his eyes again he looks at his brother-in-law. "Let's just enjoy the night, okay? Pretend it's the old days again. Just for a little while." 

Alex squints at the man beside him. "Now is not a good time to get caught up in a game of make believe, Apollo. We're out here and surrounded by animals that are more than twice our size and so is Will." 

Apollo rolls his eyes. "Yes, I know that. But I also know that you won't get any rest tonight if you dwell on everything that's going wrong. Then you'll be tired tomorrow. Maybe even too tired to be of any use to me or Will. So take a little time to relax, rest, clear your head." He gives Alex a stern look. "Doctor's orders." 

Alex lets out a deep sigh. "Fine. Only because I wouldn't put it past you to knock me out." 

Apollo chuckles. "Nah, wouldn't want to waste it on your stubborn ass." 

Alex rolls his eyes at his lighthearted companion and settles in for the night, making it very clear that the conversation is over. So both men get comfortable, as much as possible, and get as much sleep as they can before the long day coming. 

The next morning Alex wakes to the sun on his face. He groans and sits up. He's a little disappointed in himself, he had hoped to be up before dawn so they could get moving while the sun was still coming up. "Morning Sleeping Beauty." Alex turns to the source of the teasing, almost cocky voice. He finds Apollo with a lopsided grin watching him. 

"Why didn't you wake me?" Alex asks in a raspy voice. 

Apollo looks at him as though the answer should be obvious. "Uh, because you need your rest for what we need to do today." 

Alex groans and gets up, starting to collect their things. "We should've been moving hours ago." 

Apollo sighs and starts collecting their stuff also. "Well, seeing as I can't convince you to slow down even for a second, let's go." They silently finish gathering their things and tearing down their campsite. Without another word, they take off, Apollo following the security specialist.