G'day all... I've written tons of fanfics, but this is the first one I've uploaded anywhere. You know the drill - all the legal yada-yada-yada, "I own nothing except my own characters", blah-blah-blah... it's a Fan Fiction. It's really not necessary. :P
Anyways, hope you enjoy it, and expect new chapters. I wouldn't leave the story hanging after the events of this first instalment. Review if you feel like it, and have a good day...
In The Name Of Science
Chapter 1: "Taken"
The swamps were growing quieter, it being rather late in the afternoon. Insects danced lazily through the air and tree branches swayed as the murky water reflected a bright orange glow in the fading light.
A certain type of water weed was growing where the mass of peaty water met solid land. The soft, delicate stalks rising from the shallow swamp-water were greener than the healthiest moss, and seemed juicier than a ripe fruit. It almost looked as if the plant was inviting any passing dinosaur to come over and make a meal of it.
One young longneck gladly accepted that invite.
Almost immediately, petite jaws, with blunt, rounded teeth, clamped down on a group of stalks and hungrily tore them out of the water. As the pretty little dinosaur chewed on the plant, she let the sweet juices and sap entertain her tastebuds. She stared down nostalgically at the remainder of the green food growing in front of her. These had been her favourite food ever since she had hatched; a special treat, for desserts or snacks, every single day of her life.
Until now.
She swallowed her mouthful of plant, the smile fading from her face. As much as she didn't want it to, life was changing. Or more to the point, the climate. Over the past few months, rains, mists and floods had ravaged the area her herd lived in. It had become almost a daily struggle to stay dry and safe. Eventually, the herd elders had decided that their only option was to leave - tomorrow would be the day that they left their home, and the young longneck's treats.
She looked to they sky. Today was actually a good day - despite the clouds, the setting bright circle was casting its light over the land for the first time in days. But she knew, just like the rest of the herd, that at night the mists would set in. Then was time that hapless wanderers would be ambushed in the dark, alone, never to be seen alive again.
She hung her head and sighed. The choice between safety or tasty treats was an easy one, but the sweet weeds held too many memories for her to let them go easily. But she had realised not too long ago that, as hard as it was, letting hem go was the only thing she could do.
Her train of thought was interrupted by a familiar voice calling to her.
"Ali? Ali, where are you?"
Her mother.
Ali set off towards the voice at a slight canter. After a moment or two, she came to the clearing where the herd was spending the night before they left.
"Here I am, Mama!" she called when she noticed an adult longneck with a worried look on her face.
The worry quickly turned to relief when the mother found her daughter.
"Oh, Ali!" she said. "What were you doing, where were you? I was so worried about you!"
"It's okay, Mama," Ali giggled. "I was just having a snack."
Ali's mother siged. "Little One, you know that it's getting dark. You know that it's dangerous to go out alone..."
The young one opened her mouth to protest, but her mother continued: "No matter how long you're gone, there's always a risk that I'll lose you." She lowered her head down to ground level, and nuzzled her daughter. "And I don't want that to happen. Especially since we're going to leave tomorrow. I would never forgive myself."
Ali initially returned the nuzzle, but stared sadly at the ground when her mother broke the embrace and lifted her head again.
"What's the matter, Ali?" the parent asked, concerned.
Ali gazed up at her mother, her face a picture of sorrow.
"I... I don't want to leave, Mama," she confessed.
The adult stared down sympathetically at the little longneck.
"Come with me, my dear," she said softly, and began moving towards the nesting area. Ali obeyed.
They walked together towards the clearing the herd had called home. Around them, other members of the herd were laying down to rest for the journey the day after. Upon getting there, Ali sat down in the small indentation in the ground that had served as her bed for as long as she could remember.
"We know full well that we can't stay," her mother continued. "For the sake of survival, we need to move somewhere safer."
"I know all that, Mama," Ali replied. "It's just... It's really hard to forget all the good times I've had here. Before the mists came..."
The grown-up tried to smile. "It's hard, I know. But remember, you and the other young ones are the future of this herd. We adults can't disregard the safety of those who are to succeed us." She bent down again as her daughter curled up in the nest for the night. "And who knows?" she whispered into the young one's ear. "Maybe, if things change around here, one day we could come back."
Ali stared up at her mother. "Do you really think so?" she asked hopefully.
The response was a warm smile. "There's always hope. Never forget that." The elder longneck laid down on the ground in preparation for her own rest. "For now though, we need to say goobye."
Ali glanced up at the sky again. The bright circle had disappeared over the horizon, and darkness was creeping across the expanse of grey above them.
"Goodnight, Mama," she said quietly before resting her head on the ground and closing here eyes.
"Goodnight, little one," her mother responded, before she too closed her eyes.
Roughly an hour later, the night had fallen and the whole herd of longnecks was asleep.
Except for one.
Despite what her mother had told her earlier, Ali's mind was still in conflict. She tossed and turned restlessly as she switched between mindsets. Part of her wanted to stay, the other part was telling her to leave and forget all of the wonderful memories of growing up at home. It was almost as if there was a vine tying her to the place, and it was her choice whether to bite through that vine or not.
It was doing the young longneck's head in, and she couldn't sleep.
Eventually, she opened her eyes in frustration, having had enough. She decided to get up and spent just a little bit more time near the plants she felt so attached to. It had the potential to be dangerous, as her mother would say, but the location wasn't far from the nesting area. Maybe going there would calm her down a bit.
With a frown on her face, Ali rose and made her way to the swamp's edge. The night was still clear - the mists hadn't formed yet - but surely there was no harm in making a short trip before they came?
The frown turned into a contented smile when she spied the sweet water weeds growing at the shore. Crouching at the water's edge, the young longneck filled her lungs and nostrils with the scent of the familiar plants. The smell was fresh and crisp; just the way they had always been.
Ali closed her eyes and played through her mind all of the experiences and fun times she had had during her time here. Playing near the swamps, splashing in the water, running through the forests, sitting down later to chew on her favourite plant... all memories seemed as clear as if she was still there.
She would have stayed there all night, getting herself lost in reminders of years gone by, if it weren't for her opening her eyes and barely being able to see a few feet in front of her. Ali quietly gasped in horror, looking around to see nothing but grey around her.
The mists had moved in.
She inwardly cursed herself for staying out too long. How could she have forgotten? This was exactly what her mother had warned her about so many times... and it had happened.
I'll have to retrace my steps now... she thought, and stood up straight. The longneck turned around.
But which way did I come...?
She continued looking around, confused and slightly disoriented. Eventually, she hung her head and accepted that straight ahead was as good a way as any.
Ali began plodding along to where she thought the nesting area was. The eerie silence and the dull, grey fog closing in around her was enough to set her heart rate soaring. She almost jumped out of her skin when there came rustling from a nearby group of bushes, almost directly to her right.
Her eyes darted to the source of the sound, but she couldn't see for all the mist. Again, she scanned the area, still seeing nothing. Maybe... maybe it was a group of those little furry creatures? It had to be.
She chanced a guess. "...Who's out there?" She called out softly.
No answer.
Ali tried taking a few more steps forward. She froze as she heard more rustling, and then padding footsteps somewhere in front of her.
"Is... is that you, Mama?" She asked as she tried looking around again. "...I'm sorry that I wandered off... please... tell me where you are?"
Silence. It pressed down on her, an overwhelming feeling of dread. It seemed to last forever. Until...
Click.
Ali was becoming frantic. "Mama? Mama?!"
Hiss...
"Mama-"
...Thot.
She felt a sharp, pricking pain at the base of her neck. Flinching, she looked down to the source of the discomfort.
Jabbing into her scaly skin was a thin, finned needle.
Ali barely had time to widen her eyes in horror before her vision started to blur at the edges. She could do nothing but whimper as her legs collapsed from underneath her and she fell to the ground. Her sense of reality was disappearing.
What was happening?
Who was doing this to her?
...Why...?
All thoughts dissolved into nothingness as everything went black.
Jennings watched solemnly as the dinosaur collapsed unconscious. Taking one last look around to make sure he hadn't woken any other creatures, he stood and began walking over to where the small sauropod lay.
Everything had gone to plan. He was able to get a good hiding spot, he had located the dinosaur without it seeing him - thank God for heat vision - and now he would be able to warp it back to the scientific facility.
Having reached the reptile, he placed his tranquiliser pistol back in its holster. From a separate compartment on his suit, Jennings produced a small metal disc, from the back of which he pulled a layer of plastic to reveal a further layer of sticky adhesive.
He sighed silently as he stuck the disc onto the dinosaur's skin. The mission was a success, just like every other one... but it still felt terrible.
Jennings had loved dinosaurs since he was a kid. Fascinated by them, he had book after book after DVD after whatever item of information on them when he was younger. He had always wanted to see how they really lived and behaved, so when Time Travel technology was discovered in 2040, he had been one of the first to put his hand up for travelling to the primeval era to study the long-gone reptiles.
Unfortunately, the Government's idea of studying the dinosaurs was finding one, shooting it, and bringing it back for autopsy. Due to his solid, athletic build, Jennings had been selected as a hunter - against his will.
Jennings scowled under his helmet visor. It was truly thoughtful of the powers-that-be to want to learn more of these creatures by tranq'ing them, killing them and cutting them open. They came up with all sorts of excuses for not bothering to send research teams out instead of hunters - inefficiency, waste of resources and money, time constraints... but it all sounded the same to Jennings. The hunt method was cheaper - and for the researchers, the less grant money spent, the better. They just didn't care.
The scowl turned to an expression of pity and sadness when he turned to look at the young dinosaur's face. Despite the trauma it had just been through, the little creature looked so peaceful. Eyes closed, jaw slack... like it was sleeping. When he had pulled that trigger, he had felt remorse well up within himself. Doing this sort of thing hurt him to the core. It had been a mistake to sign up for this job. But still, it was what it was - a job. And a Government one at that too... Once you became involved, there was no going back. He couldn't just walk away from it.
He extended a hand and gently stroked the little dinosaur's head.
"I'm sorry... Really, I am... " He softly whispered to the creature, though he knew it could not hear him.
After a sombre moment or two, he withdrew the hand and took out a communicator. This recent marvel connected him to 2049 AD through technology only the world's greatest scientists could understand the basics of.
"Thomas Jennings reporting to Mission Control. Do you read me?" He spoke into the communicator.
"Affirmative," came the response. "What's your status?"
Jennings looked the dinosaur over before replying. "I've got a dino down. Juvenile Apatosaurus... looks to be female, judging from the markings. Sedated and ready for transport back to HQ. Are you ready to recieve?"
"Affirmative again," the man on the other end replied. "Send 'er in."
The channel was sealed off.
The reluctant hunter stared blankly at the communicator for what seemed like ages, before blinking and pocketing the device. In doing so, he pulled out yet another device, with two buttons situated on the front. He pointed its antenna at the disc he had planted on his 'catch', and pressed one of the buttons. Almost immediately, the disc glowed a pale blue.
Seeing that the teleporter was ready for use, Jennings tapped the other button with his thumb.
He watched, a hint of sorrow on his chiseled features, as the sedated dinosaur was surrounded and consumed by a glowing vortex of energy, which then thinned out and disappeared, taking the creature with it. Nothing was left behind except an impression in the moist earth.
Jennings experienced yet another twinge of regret, but shook his head and began preparing himself for the journey back.
He pointed the teleportation device at himself, and pressed the first button. Another disc, attached to the chest of his suit, glowed the same pale blue as the one before it. A tap of the second button again, and he quickly placed the device back in the compartment he had got it from.
Jennings stood up straight as another vortex materialised and closed in around him.
He was heading home.
[ConfuzzledAussie]
July/August 2009