Project Orpheus: A Tale of Blood and Feathers

Chapter 23: The Crossing

After climbing down a rocky cliff, the Central Building was easily within sight. The two women made their way, keeping their eyes and ears open for any signs of problem.

Anise was used to climbing and crawling around things like this, but she could easily tell Myrtle was not. She took the time to let Myrtle catch up with her, while still keeping them moving. She was also used to keeping her ears open for things, like wildlife and trucks, so when she heard the sound of tires on pavement, she looked in the direction. She couldn't entirely see what it was, but she waved her hands in its direction - only to be ignored. It hadn't seen her.

This is why she always carried a flare when out on experidition. No chance of being missed when you had one of those. She grumbled.

"Damn, they missed us."

"Who?" Myrtle asked.

"Whoever was in that car."

Myrtle looked surprised. "You saw a car?"

Anise nodded. "Yeah. You know what else I see though?"

Myrtle now had a curious look on her face. "What?"

Anise pointed off in the distance, to the tip of the T. Rex on the Central building.

"Our destination. C'mon, let's go!"

"Excellent!"

The two crossed the open path and headed through the jungle. Anise wished she had had a machete with her, but she hadn't thought to bring one. Even if she had, she was pretty sure she wouldn't have been able to get it through airport security. Still, she had managed to sneak her pocket knife with her, so she used that to cut her way through some of the thicker foliage.

"So, when we get there, what do you think happens next?" Anise asked.

She almost immediately regretted asking the question as she heard Myrtle clear her throat a bit.

"Well, we shall demand Noh get us to that plane so we can go home. Or at least that's what I'm doing."

"I suppose that's reasonable." Anise said. And it's true, it was. The park was a bit of a mess, so the tour was probably over, but she actually really liked the park.

"More than," Myrtle said. "This whole thing is a disaster."

"C'mon, we're almost there."

The two remained largely silent on the remainder of their walk, and about twenty minutes later made it to Central. Anise let out a breath, and opened the large blue doors. They looked around the space, Anise flopping onto a nearby bench, before a screen flickered to life. There were several of them around the upper rims of the wall, and a holographic one projected above the brachiosaurus fossil in the middle of the room.

"AH! Good, our first arrivals!"

It was Doctor Noh. She and Charles were in some sort of control room of some kind, with maps and blinking lights and computer screens with all sorts of crazy data going on. Noh adjusted the camera so it got a better view of her and smiled, before immediately focusing back on the screens.

"Doctor! I wish I knew your real name so I could curse you out properly!" Myrtle snapped. "I can't believe you, abandoning us like that!"

"I didn't abandon you, I gave you the best strategy for escape without wasting time explaining it. It seems you were smart enough to figure it out, too, so I don't get why you're so angry."

"Because we're all going to die because of you! You and your stupid, selfish desire to mess with the natural order!"

Noh let out an exasperated sigh worthy of a comedy routine, and turned to Anise.