Chapter 1

Darrel McLeod began to wake up on the deck of his father's now wrecked ship. The thing he remembered was his dad's ship was closing in on the south pole so he and his dad could study the wildlife when a huge storm hit.

As Darrel woke up up he was having a hard time believing he was alive. It's wasn't just because what he has experienced wasn't something that anyone could've survived but also because the place he seemed to have woke was unlike anything he had ever seen.

First off was the sun. Sometimes the sun looked like it was close to the earth but right now it seemed as though you could go right into it if you flew high enough. It was like the sun was just hanging from the sky

Second was the vegetation and foliage, they were unlike any plants that he had ever seen before, although a few of them did however resemble some pictures of prehistoric plant fossils he had seen in a book once.

Finally, a long ways away walking pass the area was a huge living breathing wooly rhino. Darrell was having trouble comprehending all the stuff that he seeing. It was unlikely that he dead because this was absolutely nothing like the heaven he had grown up knowing.

It was still possible he was dreaming and hadn't woken up at all. He decided to pinch himself, but as he could still see the huge wooly rhinoceros fading into the distance it became to him that it was no dream and it was all very real.

While contemplating on his situation his mind soon drifted to the other person who supposed to have been on the boat with him during all the craziness.

"Dad!" Darrell called around the boat. However there was no response.

Darrell went to the edge to see if maybe his dad might have fallen over the edge to the ground, but there was no sign of him.

Then he went below deck to see if his dad might have down there somewhere. But after searching every inch of the ship and not finding a single trace of him Darrel came to the conclusion that he wasn't here anymore.

However that didn't necessarily mean he dead. If Darrel survived the crash then perhaps his father did and he got separated from Darrel and the boat when all the craziness with the storm happened. If that was the case then maybe there was a chance than he was still alive, although it was a very slim chance it was still a chance.

Darrel wouldn't rest until he found either his dad or his dad's body. However that might have been easier said than done. During the crash the food somehow got out of the refrigerator and onto the floor.

Not having any food was definitely going to be a major issue but since this place seemed to be thriving with life then he could hopefully survive in this seemingly prehistoric world.

He just needed a couple of tools. Darrel searched the ship and in the end all he could find that could be of any use in this situation was a backback, a canteen, a pocket knife, and fourteen feet of rope.

Darrel and his family when camping a lot when he was younger so he knew how to make things like bow and arrows as well other things that'd help him survive.

Scouring the forest near the boat he search for materials that he could use to make a bow. After trying out several types of wood and plant fibers he managed to find ones that he'd able to make a bow and sting.

Bending the wood Darrel carved the parts where the plant fiber string was supposed to be placed and soon attached the string to both ends of the bent wood. Finally the bow was made.

Now all he needed to do was make some arrows and he'd be good to go. Gathering sticks, small rocks, plant fiber for strings, and feathers Darrel had found on the ground Darrel began to work on the arrows. After his work was done Darrel found himself with twenty-five arrows.

Placing the arrows in one of the sections of his backpack and slingging the bow over his shoulder he soon made his way through the forest when suddenly stopped as he suddenly realized something very important. He had probably been working his bow and arrows for hours and as he look at the sun he saw that it hadn't moved at all from its noonday position.

Most likely this place that he was in had a much slower sense of time. Darrel shook his head immediately reminding himself that he was on a very important mission to survive this strange new world and find his father.

After he found his father they could find a way to get back home. Although the chances of that were very low he still just needed to focus on finding his dad.

As he continued on walking through the forest he didn't have any luck finding game to help him get any meat. All he managed to find was some nuts and berries, but they didn't taste very good or sustaining. He needed to find some real food soon.

Luckily as Darrel continued to walk through he stumbled upon something that would definitely sustain him. A tree filled with what strangely looked like pears.

He climb the tree and grabbed one. Jumping down to the ground he took a bite and found that it tasted just like the pears he had eaten before.

Once he finished the pear he climbed the tree and he picked nine more and then placed them in the large section of his backpack.

As Darrel began to walk again he heard something that sounded like an animal call. Darrel grabbed his bow and brought out two of his arrows as he slowly made his way to where the sound was coming from.

He found himself looking between two trees at a small clearing up ahead and instantly put away his bow and arrows. What he saw probably one of the most amazing things he had ever seen in his life.

Grazing in a large field of grass up ahead was a large herd of prehistoric horses composed 50 members of of all ages.

Physically, they looked like almost identical to the Dzungarian horse of Central Asia with stripes on most of it's body like a zebra. They were brown with their underside and part of their face being white and where about the size of a modern horse. But what really seemed to set them apart from any of the equidae of today is that each of them had two vestigial outer toes on either side of each of their four hooves.

Darrel recognised this particular species of prehistoric horse from pictures he had seen in science class. They were called hiipparions, a prehistoric horse that existed during the Pleistocene and were spread throughout the world.

Seeing such animals is like encountering a mythical beast. You've heard about them but never really believed in them before.

The hiparrions were truly a spectacular sight to behold. He had visited horse ranches and seen tons of zebras at the zoo, but these horses were on a whole new level. To Darrel these great horses were the equivalent of either unicorn or a Pegasus.

Darrel found himself feeling the strong desire to posses one of the hipparions. It would make surviving easier, but he'd have an advantage in hunting. Plus, it could make his mission to find his father much easier since if he was riding a hipparion he could move much faster than could if he was just walking.

Although, it was also mostly because he just really wanted one. Darrel had a special fondness for horses. He and his family used to go horseback riding all the time when he was younger. This seemed like too good of an opportunity to pass up.

He began scanning the herd to see which hipparion he should pick. Soon his eyes came across one that would be perfect. It was a young stallion that looked to be three and a half years old it was also a lighter shade of brown than the others. The stallion was a very fine specimen and would make a great stead. Not to mention that he was only a few meters away.

Getting out the rope he had in his backpack he tied one end in a loop. He soon began to swing the lasso in circles as he slowly made his way towards the hipparion stallion. When Darrel reached a sufficient distance the stallion lifted it's head from the grass and Darrel swung the rope towards the stallion. The lasso went right around the stallion's neck and then the chaos began.

After the lasso went around the hipparion's neck it instantly began to fight back. The stallion whinnied and started wrangling his head around to get loose of the rope around. Then he tried to run away but Darrel wouldn't kept pulling with all his might trying to bring the rope to one of the trees he had slipped past earlier. Darrel had to he succeeded in taming this stallion because this seemed like it'd be the only he'd ever get as all the other hipparions appeared to have fled and it wouldn't be very likely that he would find them again.

Finally after a long time of pulling back the rope on the stallions neck Darrel had made it to the tree and tied it around. With everything now in place Darrel to walk a few to find an area for him to rest before he began to try to tame the stallion and hopefully by that time the stallion will have cooled off as well.

Laying on a tree a good ways away Darrel started to nap but was later woken by a loud head to rumble that sounded like it had a pigs snort mixed with it. This rumble was followed by the stallions frantic neighing.

Darrel immediately got up and went over to where the hipparion was to see what was going on. When he there he could see the stallion wriggling around to get free of the rope. However, a few meter away was a huge pig beast that Darrel recognized as a daeodon.

The daeodons eyes were set on the hipparion and it appeared to be drooling. Darrel couldn't let the hipparion die like this. Especially since he's the reason that hipparion was trapped. He definitely wasn't about to let any pig eat his stallion.

Luckily for him he had time because the daeodon seemed to be looking for an opening where it could get at the stallion without receiving a jaw breaking kick.

This would give him to shoot it with an arrow. After a couple minutes Darrel had finally gotten his arrow and bow together. Which couldn't have been at a better moment because the daeodon seemed to have found the perfect spot to attack the stallion and was about to charge.

Just as the daeodon was about to charge the stallion Darrel fired an arrow at the beast 's right eye. The daeodon screeched and started squirming as if trying to get the arrow off. It continued on with this while it screeched in pain. Darrel fired more arrows at it.

After a while the beast collapsed still dead as a doornail. The stallion began to calm back down when the daeodon was killed.

Darrel took out his knife and carved out the daeodon's tusk since he knew they come in handy later on.

Ever since Darrel saved the stallion from the daeodon the stallion had been much more compliant in it's training. Although there was the attempts to bite and kick him but he was able to dodge or block them with his backpack.

At first it was just Darrel trying to get close enough for him to touch the stallion, which was a quick feat. It seemed like the horse was quite intelligent as it quickly seemed to realize after the daeodon incident that Darrel meant it no harm.

The next part was a lot trickier. Darrel needed to get the stallion to let him on his back, which the hipparion wasn't eager to allow.

Luckily thanks to the dead daeodon carcass and nearby pear trees Darrel had plenty of food to last him a long time. The daeodon was a particularly delicious since it tasted just like pork. With fire to cook Darrel was gifted an excellent treat of roasted pork, or roasted daeodon.

From a large piece of wood Darrel carved a big bowl so whenever the stallion got thirsty he would go to the nearby watering hole and scoop some water to bring to the stallion and repeat until the hipparion wasn't thirsty any more.

If the stallion ever got hungry, then Darrel would just feed it grass and pears. The pear trees made so they wouldn't run out for a long time.

Once the stallion became comfortable with letting Darrel on his back he contructed a rope brindle and reins out of plants fibers to help teach it some commands.

They started with simple, but believe me when they're restricted to a type of merry-go-round path it's not easy. Hopefully for Darrel once the stallion is loose he'll able to understand when he's let loose in a more open environment.

They started with go and stop. Then they did backwards followed by slow and fast. It took a really long time for each one but eventually he managed to get all down.

As Darrel looked at the sun but it still hasn't changed one bit. He feels like he's been at this sight a couple of weeks yet the sun hasn't moved. He and the stallion have slept a bunch of times but hasn't seen night once. It was weird, but also something he couldn't just keep contemplating on because he to get back on track so he could find his father.

So he got back to continued practice with the proboscidipparion.

After a while Darrel decided to untie the rope from the tree, but still kept it around the stallions neck. Then he cut the rope to a much smaller length,figuring he could make more later on, and began walking towards the hipparion with the end of the rope still in hand.

After he was close enough he wrapped the rest of the rope around his arm and got right on the stallions back. The stallion didn't try to get him off at all which was a really good sign. Darrel reached into his backpack and pulled out the reins. Placing the reins upon the stallion's head he held them to steer the stallion into the grassy field.

As soon they got to the fields whipped to the reins and his hipparion bursted into a run. They ran into a few large circles and at one point they went into a straight out run.

If you aren't a horseman, then you can't imagine how alive Darrel felt right now. The adrenaline and freedom felt with riding his hipparion was something else altogether. There was no real way to describe. With his stallion he felt like he was more than ready to take on this strange prehistoric world.

After the run they began practicing the commands they had practised earlier and the stallion had reacted perfectly. Darrel decided to head back.

They went to the forsest where Darrel decided to take the rope off of stallion's neck. Before heading out into the unknown Darrel to refill his backpack with some more of those pears from the trees and his canteen with water. After feeding one to the stallion he got on his back and they headed off.

Darrel decided it was finally time to give his stallion a name. It was hard to of one because a stallion like this deserved a name that was as magnificent as he was. With that in mind he decided to give the stallion a name that help much influence in his world. After a man who conquered the world at such a young age.

"Let's go iskander. Hee yah!" Darrel whipped the reins and iskander rode off with Darrel riding his back. With his own hipparion iskander now aiding him Darrel could now continue his mission to find his father as well as survive and explore this strange new world.