Banished to prehistoric times

The Journey Through Time

"The time restorers just didn't find the right moment in time to change!" Victoria said to the same guard who had previously locked her up, pushing her forward, together with Kathryn, Nathan, and Jack. "I know that we can!" "Please don't do this to us," Kathryn added. "Keep moving," the guard responded and pressed the end of the barrel of his gun against her back. "Don't let Kane into your head, man!" Jack said. "The world can still be saved!" "Our attempts over the last year have proved otherwise," the guard replied coldly. "Now move." 

The guard escorted the prisoners to the departure hall, accompanied by some ATAIS soldiers. It was a secret layer specially built for the departure of time ships, and Nathan and Jack recognized it when they arrived. A dozen time ships appeared before them, all carrying the burden of risk. They were surprisingly large and painted black with a red stripe across their wings. The tailgate of one of the ships slowly opened when they arrived and hit the ground with a soft thud. In the open tailgate stood two people, clothed in pilot gear, ready to depart. Suddenly an enormous sliding door opened, removing the side wall of the hall, and the sun emerged together with the horrible sight of the battlefield on which they had fought. The bright light made Victoria blink when she walked up to the ship, followed by Kathryn, Nathan and Jack. "Meet your pilots," the guard said when they had approached the aircraft. The two people were now walking down the open tailgate with their helmets under their arms, one female and the other male. "These are the prisoners?" the woman said, running her fingers through her blond hair. The guard nodded in response. "You have been informed about where and when you will be taking them?" he asked. "Oh yeah," the woman replied. "The president was very clear about that." "Then you hereby have permission to depart," the guard said and made a signal with his hand. Two ATAIS robots subsequently walked up to the tailgate and entered the time ship, followed by the rest. Victoria was being pushed into the ship, together with Kathryn, Jack and Nathan. She looked behind her one last time, hoping that it wouldn't be the last time that she laid eyes on civilization. The guard entered as well whereafter the tailgate closed and the passengers, who were about to undertake a preposterous journey, could suddenly find themselves surrounded by the most futuristic tech they had ever seen. The ship had a few small windows and a row of chairs on each side of the small cabin which ended with the cockpit located in the front; it looked bigger on the outside than it was on the inside. "Strap yourselves in if you want to live," the male pilot said after he sat down on his chair in the cockpit. He pushed a few buttons above him, followed by some switches. The rebels were secured by the guard, for they were still handcuffed. Victoria gave him a scowl when he strapped her in but he didn't seem to care. After all, he was just a pawn in Kane's game, Victoria thought. Then, when the guard had secured himself as well, the engines started and the time ship was about to take off. "It's not too late," Victoria said. "You can still do the right thing!" "The right thing should have been done ages ago," the guard responded. "It is too late." "You're a coward," Jack said while he struggled to get out of his seat, but it did not help. "Face the truth, for god's sake!" Kathryn shouted nervously when she felt the ship's movement. "The past can be changed, we just have to find the right moment!" The two pilots in front noticed the discussion and locked eyes with each other with a disquieting look on their faces. The woman sighed but carried on with her task. Eventually, the ship departed and while it did, Victoria and Kathryn looked at each other fixedly. Kathryn's eyes filled themselves with tears, but she remained strong. Victoria, however, breathed heavily and closed her eyes, pressing the back of her head against the hard surface of the ship. "Switching over to light speed," the female pilot said and pressed a button. What then happened was something none of the passengers would ever forget, for the feeling was almost unbearable. They were pressed into their chairs with immense force after the switch had been made, almost feeling the urge to puke. Pain throbbed so violently around Victoria's skull that she wondered why it didn't just crack open. She clamped to her seatbelt, hoping it would reduce the pain, but it didn't stop. She now wasn't just a prisoner of the state, but also a helpless captive in the cage of her own pain. The ship shook heavily, but finally, it ended. Victoria groaned when it was over, slowly opening her eyes. She suffered from one of the many side effects of time traveling: a headache. "What the hell just happened?!" Jack exclaimed, not sure whether he was going to faint or not. "Welcome to the Cretaceous Period," the female pilot said and turned towards the prisoners. She pointed at the windows located next to each person in the back, suggesting to take a look. When they did, they couldn't believe their eyes. The time ship was flying above an enormous sea, surrounded by a dozen Pterosaurs. They had a wingspan of about 20.5 feet, formed by a membrane of skin, muscle, and other tissues stretching from the legs to a dramatically lengthened fourth finger. The creatures gently swam through the sky, but something else beneath them in the water did as well. Suddenly, a giant Elasmosaurus jumped out of the ocean, revealing a 15-meter long sea reptile. It opened its beak and grabbed one of the Pterosaurs out of the air, dragging it with it into the sea. "Oh my..." Kathryn said, not able to finish her sentence. "...God," Victoria added. Her eyes grew large. Their mouths dropped, together with the ones of Jack and Nathan. The other Pterosaurs squeaked in response to the attack but they didn't seem to mind the ship, which was now heading towards the land. The most beautiful landscape stretched out before them as It rushed over the treetops and grasslands; tons of dinosaurs could be spotted. From Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus to Stegosauru, Triceratops and Parasaurolophus, everything seemed to amaze the rebels. A flock of Gallimimuses scudded over the grassland; they had found themselves in a time where dinosaurs roamed the earth. 

The ship eventually landed in a large clearing of a forest and opened its tailgate. Victoria's eyes were still large when the guard detached her seat belt, for she finally realized what was about to happen. Kathryn, Jack, Nathan and herself were to be deserted here, never to return. She looked at Kathryn, who looked back, and saw that she had the same expression on her face. She nodded at the guard, who had a gun attached to his belt, and made clear what she wanted to do. Victoria agreed and nodded back in response, ready to engage. While the ATAIS soldiers removed the handcuffs from Jack and Nathan, the guard uncuffed Victoria and Kathryn. Victoria could feel the marks engraved on her wrist, caused by the shackles, and rubbed over them. "If you try to esc..." he said, not able to finish his sentence, for Victoria had punched him in the face. Kathryn quickly grabbed his firearm and shot the two robots immediately, followed by pointing the gun at the guard. Jack and Nathan didn't know what was happening and stood in awe. "Hey!" the female pilot said and stood up. "Easy!" In contrast to their expectations, the ATAIS robots stood up as well after not having obtained much damage from the bullet. "We're not going," Victoria said determinedly. "And you're crazy to think that we are without a fight." "You have to," the female pilot said calmly. "Why?" Jack then said. "We're the good guys!" "And deep down you know it too," Nathan added. "Because Kane will kill us if you don't!" the woman responded anxiously. "What?" Kathryn said, but before there was given a further explanation, the two robots had already stormed towards them. One had grabbed the gun before Kathryn could fire it again and began pushing them violently towards the tailgate. Jack and Nathan were easily overmastered by the other. When they were eventually thrown on the ancient grass, the tailgate was about to close. "Don't do this!" Nathan shouted desperately while Victoria struggled to stand up. "No!" she yelled, but the tailgate closed right front of her, and the ship was ready to vanish through time once more. She sprinted towards it when it started hovering above the ground, but she was too late. The time ship took off before she had reached it and soared into the sky, leaving the rebels stuck in a time period full of dangers they had yet to understand.