TIMESCAPE

13

The blood trail came to an abrupt end. Or at least Dante couldn't find any more. After looking for several minutes he'd given up. Dante hoped that was a good sign. The less blood they saw, the better it was for Paige, assuming it was her blood. Dante wasn't sure if dinosaur blood was red or not, but he knew human blood was. He stood at the top of a hill, a river on his left. To their right was a series of raised rocky cliffs. And at the top, a group of circling pterodactyl. That's where they were headed.

Katrina stood at the base of the cliff, looking up. "If only we had some climbing gear."

"Think there's another way up there? Maybe around the other side?" Dante wasn't going to be able to climb this, he had to be honest with himself. Maybe Katrina could, but not him. Not without climbing gear.

"We'll have to try. It's too dangerous this way." Katrina turned and began to walk along the base of the cliff. In the distance the hill curved down towards their level. Hopefully it sunk low enough for them to climb over it without too much trouble.

"What about those pterodactyls? We used all our flares." Dante was didn't like the idea of facing off with a pterodactyl. He's seen what it did to Paige. Unless he came across another stick, they were in trouble..

"We'll improvise." Katrina led the way along the bottom of the cliff.

Dante checked his watch. They had about three hours left. He just hoped by the time they found Paige it wasn't too late to save her. He and Katrina hiked along the base of the cliff for what seemed like a mile. At one point Dante gazed up at the pterodactyl, they were still circling like vultures. He wondered if that's what they were doing, circling their prey, or if they had some other motive. From what Dante had seen of them, he wouldn't put it past them.

Eventually the rocks reached a point where Dante and Katrina could climb over them, and sure enough, there was a rocky slope that led upwards to the top of the cliff. The terrain was jagged, narrow, and had a sheer drop on both sides, but it was there. It was the only way up.

Dante found himself out of breath again very soon. He had been hiking all day it seemed, so that wasn't helping either. His body and feet were sore, and climbing up a mountain wasn't helping. He couldn't remember the last time he had something to drink or eat. That was something he would have to bring up with the professor. On the next mission, assuming they survived this one, they would need water and supplies.

Dante followed Katrina along the jagged rocks upwards. She was a natural at this, hopping from one rock to another. She knew exactly where to put her feet, and she never seemed to get tired. Dante followed her exact path, putting his feet where she put hers, watching the way she climbed and balanced. If she hadn't been here, he wasn't sure he would have made it.

A pterodactyl swooped right over Dante's head. He could feel the air rush past him, the caw in the distance. Had it been trying to bite him? Goosebumps ran down Dante's spine at the thought. He kept climbing. They were almost there. Soon this would all be over.

It was at that moment that Dante saw Paige. "Paige!" he cried. He couldn't help himself. There she was, sprawled over the rocks ahead of them. Dante scurried over the last few hurdles until he was kneeling by her side. Gashes and small cuts covered her body. But it was the deep ones along her stomach he was most worried about. Where the claws of the pterodactyl had cut into her.

Dante felt Paige's neck for a pulse. Her heart was still beating. The pulse was faint, but it was still there. It was all worth it, Dante thought, they had got here in time! He turned to Katrina "We need to get back." He took off his wrist strap, activating the screen, "What's the code?"

Katrina shook her head "Not yet."

Dante tried to contain his anger. "She's dying. We need to get her back."

"They haven't found the box yet. We need to give them a few more minutes." Katrina's eyes were pleading with him.

"Katrina, she's going to die!"

"You don't know that! And she knew that was a risk when she signed on. She's not dead yet. We need to give them a few more minutes. This is why we're here."

Dante could hardly speak. He thought Katrina had wanted to help Paige as much as he did. Obviously he was wrong. She was just another treasure hunter.

"Ten minutes, then I'll give you the code." Katrina placed her hand on top of his. "I promise."

Ten minutes could mean the difference between life and death, but it could be worse. Dante took off his jacket and began to tear it into strips of cloth.

"What are you doing?" Katrina asked.

"I need to stop the bleeding," Dante began to tie the strips around her abdomen, that was where the blood was pooling. "There's only so much I can do for her here."

A caw sounded above their heads. Dante looked up. Pterodactyls were circling above them. He counted at least five of them. He noticed for the first time to see the collection of bones and remains of dead animals scattered around them on the rocks. This was a feeding ground. And they were sitting right in the middle of it.