Chapter 06: Prehistoric

The leaves thrashed as the Jenkins family raced madly to escape the tyrannosaur closing in on them. The ancient predator's pounding footsteps drew nearer every second, diminishing the distance between them with frightening speed.

The thick foliage broke away as they exited into a small clearing near the base of a towering mountain. The gray stone was weathered and cracked, topped by white snow on its uppermost reaches, but Mike saw something even better than the majestic view.

"Go left! Go left!" he shouted, increasing his speed to pass them and show his family where to go.

Slipping through a narrow crevice, Mike wedged himself as far back in the small pocket of stone as he could. Diving in after him, his family joined him in the confined space. The rock shook slightly as the tyrannosaur slammed into the exterior. Dust and loose pebbles rained down on the Jenkins family, causing them to cough and shield their eyes, but none of them dared move out of hiding.

Claws scratched against the stone, and the dinosaur growled and huffed in exertion as it tried to dig its prey out from where they'd taken refuge. Mike wrapped his arms around his loved ones, pulling them tightly against himself and away from the predator outside.

After several minutes of effort, the rex grew tired of its useless endeavors. Snorting once, it turned away and went to search for an easier meal, its ponderous steps shaking the ground.

The Jenkins family clung to each other, their breathing as fast as their heartbeats. The adrenaline pumping through their veins had kept them going during their run, but it began to wear off, leaving them exhausted. Mike settled to the ground, joined by his family. They huddled together, intent to stay in the safety of the mountain crevice for the time being.

***

Mike awoke suddenly, sharply inhaling as his dreams about being chased by dinosaurs brought him back to consciousness. In the dim light of the moon, he noticed a shape crouched by the edge of the crevice.

"Sean," Mike hissed, not wanting to wake Alison or Cassie. "What are you doing?"

"Looking around," Sean replied. He sat near the opening of the crack on the mountain side where they had found safety, his eyes taking in the scenery bathed in silvery moonlight. "We need to know which way to go."

"What do you mean?" Mike asked. "We seem to be safe here."

"We spent almost a full day in the Middle Ages," Sean explained, keeping his voice hushed. "It took that long for the device to recharge. If we have to spend a full day here, we're going to get hungry. We'll probably need to answer the call of nature, but there aren't any facilities around. It means we'll have to go out there, and I'd like to know which way."

Mike nodded as his sleep slowed mind comprehended his son's reasoning.

"We'll need food and water," Sean stated.

"I think we might need better shelter as well," Mike said, looking up. The rock walls were tight around them, but they lacked a covering over their heads. "If it rains, we're going to get soaked. We need to find something with a roof. A cave might do, but we'd need to make sure it doesn't already have current residents."

"Do you want me to do a little scouting?" Sean volunteered.

"Not tonight," Mike denied. "You can't see as good as these things can probably smell, so they'd find you first in the dark. In the morning, we'll both go. Until then, get some sleep. We're going to need to be fully rested if we intend to survive here."

Mike leaned back against the stone wall, gently taking his wife's hand. Alison stirred slightly but remained asleep. Sean likewise tried to relax, but until he drifted off, he kept a wary eye on the tree line, watching for threats.

***

A skittering across the rocks around them brought the Jenkins family awake. The morning sun was mostly blocked by the high walls of stone enclosed around them, but they could see blue sky directly overhead. Looking for the source of the disturbance, they found a small dinosaur sitting at the entrance of the crevice, looking at them curiously.

"Hello there, little fella," Sean whispered. He didn't move, not wanting to scare the small creature away.

The lizard, no larger than a kitten, stared at them, its pea sized dark eyes blinking every few seconds. With its pointed face and rounded snout, it reminded Cassie of the silent and still gaze of a crocodile. Crouching on backward canted legs, the tiny dinosaur swished its finger thick tail as it considered the strange beings who had ventured into its territory. The front arms, equally as long as its back legs, hovered slightly above the ground, as if the reptile were undecided as to their being needed to move or defend.

Cassie cautiously reached into her pack and pulled out a small piece of dried meat, tossing it gently toward the reptile. Initially, the dinosaur hopped back a few tiny steps, but it gradually returned. Its dark eyes watched the family as it cocked its head one way and the other, making certain no one would move against it as it tried the food. Sniffing the offering, the lizard opened its small mouth, revealing many miniature teeth. A pink tongue, no wider than a cluster of five hairs, extended and tasted the provided morsel.

Its head quickly reared back on its long neck as if smelling something unpleasant. Returning to staring, the reptile's entire manner was one of questioning as to why these strangers had offered it something so unpalatable.

"Maybe it's not carnivorous," Alison suggested.

"Try this," Mike offered, handing his daughter a piece of fruit.

The moment the fruit came into view, the small dinosaur began hopping up and down, chittering excitedly.

"Here you go," Cassie said, tearing off a small piece of fruit and tossing it to the lizard.

With the same precision and speed one might expect of a lethal predator, the dinosaur pounced, pinning it to the ground with its small talons, and chewing hungrily on the succulent fruit. The lizard snapped its jaws together as it gulped down its meal. The pink tongue licked around its mouth to clean away the excess juices lingering on its face.

"Can I try some?" Sean asked.

Cassie tore the fruit in half, handing an equal portion to her brother while retaining some for herself. The eyes of the small lizard watched the activity and eagerly awaited another helping.

Sean and Cassie took turns feeding the small lizard, taking great delight as the dinosaur pounced and devoured every morsel tossed in its direction.

"I think he's getting full," Mike observed as the lizard began eating slower and less eagerly.

His statement was confirmed a moment later when Sean tossed a piece of fruit, and the dinosaur snapped it up and rushed away, taking the food with it.

Although disappointed their little friend had gone, Mike and Sean realized it was time for them to be going as well.

"Take this," Mike told Alison as he handed her the time travel device. "Sean and I are going to do a little scouting. We should be back in a few hours."

Mike and Sean stepped carefully out of the crevice, their eyes alert for trouble. The problem in looking for threats was they were everywhere. A rustle coming from a bundle of ferns, the thunderous steps of a large beast, and the shrill cries of a host of animals neither Sean nor Mike wanted to encounter all signaled danger.

Their hearts were racing in a matter of moments as they left the rock shelter behind and ventured into the jungle. It was all they could do to keep their breathing under control as their fears plagued them. Although the jungle provided cover where they could hide if necessary, it also blocked their field of vision, concealing anything that might be approaching.

They stayed near the jungle edge, keeping an eye on the mountain for more caves or crevices where they might take shelter. Traveling with their backs facing each other as much as possible, they prevented anything from sneaking up on their blindside as they searched for a temporary shelter during their stay in the ancient world.

Mike saw something with potential and touched Sean's arm before pointing silently. He didn't want to speak and give away their position to any predators who might be in hearing range.

Situated inside the border of the jungle, and masked around the edges by thick overgrowth, a sizable hole had opened up in the ground ages ago. Thirty feet across and sixteen feet deep, the hole featured a subterranean lake of clear water, plunging even further down into the earth.

Sean looked over the edge and found five smaller holes along the walls of the first. Three were under water, but the remaining two were located above the waterline and offered sufficient space for a human being to crawl inside with room to spare.

Motioning with his hand, Mike indicated his wish to climb down and investigate. Sean nodded his understanding. The two of them began collecting vines and branches, tying them together into a crude ladder. They slowly dropped the ladder over the edge of the hole and began a descent into the depths.

The bottom of their ladder rested on the rock ledge beside the pool, but hardly any space remained for Sean or Mike to stand beside it. Sean, having gone first at his father's insistence, sidestepped and made room for his dad on the narrow outcropping of stone. They edged their way around the deep pool to a wider section of rock near the wall holes.

Looking into the darkness, they peered into the empty space, straining their eyes to detect any sign of previous or current habitation. Surprisingly, no spiderwebs or insects were present. The shafts vanished into the distance and seemed to be completely empty.

"I think we may have found a place," Mike whispered.

"What are these, and where do they go?" Sean asked.

"Could be a variant of a sinkhole, or possibly an old lava tube," Mike suggested. "It could even be an old volcanic vent, but I don't really know. Let's get the others and see what food we can find."

Sean and Mike went back to the ladder and climbed up to the jungle. The heat of the tropical terrain had been diminished by the sheltered cave and cool waters, but above the rim, the oppressive heat and sweltering humidity returned in full force.

The journey back to the mountain crevice where Cassie and Alison waited was a grueling ordeal. Mike and Sean were on high alert, their eyes and ears searching the jungle around them for any sign of potential predators. Carnivores of all types were in abundance, making every moving leaf, every thunderous footstep, hold the potential for imminent death. By the time the family was reunited, Mike and Sean were exhausted. They slipped into the crevice, breathing hard. Sliding down the rock wall to the ground, they closed their eyes and tried to slow their pounding hearts.

"Are you alright?" Alison asked in concern. Worry shown in the bright, glacial blue of her eyes.

"Were you chased by another dinosaur?" Cassie added.

"No," Mike denied, his eyes remaining closed. "It's just the travel. Keeping an eye out for anything that might try to devour you takes major effort in this predator rich environment."

"We found a cave or sinkhole half filled with water," Sean injected into the conversation. "It appears abandoned."

"Once we get you and Cassie there," Mike explained to Alison, "Sean and I will go look for food."

Mike opened his eyes and checked the position of the sun. It took some doing with the mountain walls around him, but he managed well enough to estimate the time.

"The hours are passing," he observed. "We need to get moving if we want to try and get some food before nightfall."

Mike took the lead, and Alison followed. Cassie stayed at her mother's heels, and Sean silently brought up the rear. The four person procession cautiously picked their way through the jungle, bypassing fallen trees and thick clumps of underbrush that would only serve to entangle them or slow their progress.

When they reached the water filled hole, Mike went down their makeshift ladder first. The family took turns descending onto the narrow rock ledge at the bottom of the hole beside the pool. Each person waited until the one preceding them had left the foot of the ladder as they were unsure how much weight the improvised structure could withstand.

"Here is where we'll sleep," Mike told Alison while indicating one of the two holes above water. He pointed to the next one a few feet away. "Sean and Cassie will share the other."

"You might want to hang onto this," Alison suggested, handing Mike the time travel device.

He opened it to inspect its condition and was startled to the point of stark terror.

"What's wrong?" Alison questioned, instantly alerted to his fear.

"We have a problem," he answered, indicating the power level displayed on screen. "The recharge rate is slower than last time. It should be further along by now, but it isn't. It can only mean the progress bar isn't for the power cells but a capacitor used for instantaneous consumption during the time jump. The power source must be a battery of some kind."

"Excuse me," Cassie said, "what are you talking about?"

"The power required to time travel is too much for a portable battery," Mike clarified, explaining from his experience with electrical components. "Think of the capacitor as a sponge. It soaks up the energy from the battery in small doses until it holds the full charge required to make the jump, using all the stored energy in one shot. The capacitor must then be recharged again before the next use. The battery can only provide so many charges before it's depleted."

"Is there anything we can do?" Sean asked.

"Limit our use of it," Mike suggested. "It's still charging, but it's slower than before. It will probably let us take another jump, but I wouldn't count on too many more after that. If we don't get home in the next jump or two, it may die on us, and we'll be stranded."