Temporal Adventures

Chapter 11: High Seas

Chapter 11: High Seas

"Nicholas!" the Duke called out, rising from his chair and moving to stand behind Sean with his back to the teenager. His body blocked the view of Sean and the sleeping dinosaur from the sight of the incoming sailor.

The door to the cabin swung open swiftly, and a man entered the room. His long brown hair was clipped at the back of his neck to secure it away from his rugged face. His beard showed a couple of days' growth, leaving a prickly covering over his firm jaw. His bright eyes searched the room in an attempt to deduce the wishes of his superior before anything had been said. His gaze centered on the Jenkins family, concluding the Duke must have called him to deal with the strange newcomers.

"Escort my guests to quarters," the Duke instructed. "They are to have meals brought to them there, and no one is to bother them with questions."

"It will be done," Nicholas promised. He directed his next statement toward the visitors. "Please follow me."

As the Jenkins family trailed after Nicholas, the Duke laid a hand on Sean's shoulder, halting him a moment.

"There will be enough questions about your presence on this ship," he imparted to Sean in a whisper. "Keep your hatchling out of sight and quiet. We don't want to raise suspicions further."

"I understand," Sean replied. He shifted the creature to his pack and closed the flap securely. The lizard didn't wake but continued sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of the commotion that would erupt if its presence were discovered.

Sean hurried to catch up with his relatives, trying his best not to jostle his pack and wake the sleeping animal within.

"Your cabin," Nicholas announced, opening the varnished door into their room. He kindly stepped back and allowed them to enter while he waited in the corridor. "Should you require anything, do not hesitate to call."

"Thank you," Mike said as he gave the sailor a nod of acknowledgement.

The cabin they'd been allotted was small but functional. A pair of over-under bunks lined the left and right walls. The narrow window on the far wall had multiple panes of glass, but it provided a decent view of the rolling waves outside the ship. A desk, not has ornate as the one owned by the Duke, resided in front of the window. Centered in the cabin, a small rectangular table of well sanded oak, surrounded by chairs, concluded the furnishings. The remainder of the room was empty, simply the same smooth paneling of dark wood common everywhere else on the ship.

The door latched quietly, but the family waited until the sounds of Nicholas' boots faded away before speaking.

"I assume we're going to pick up where we left off," Sean stated, bracing for the verbal whipping he was in for.

"I'm finished," Alison replied.

"We've stated our disapproval," Mike agreed. "Going over it again accomplishes nothing. As unappealing as this situation may be, it's where we've ended up. Our priority should be deciding what to do about it now."

Sean quietly sighed in relief.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I don't know," Mike admitted. He sighed wearily as he sat on the edge of one of the lower bunks. "I'm loathed to kill it as it's now the last of its kind, but having a dinosaur reappear in history could change any number of things."

"Why don't we keep it with us?" Cassie suggested. "If we can't leave it in the past, we could bring it to our present day. A zoo would probably be willing to care for a dinosaur as it'd be the attraction of the century."