A Door to Far Chapter 2
Day 1
So it's been an interesting couple of hours now since we landed in this
new forest. For a moment I honestly thought we didn't get anywhere special;
just trapped in another world full of dinosaurs. But this world is different - I can tell!
We stumbled across a paved path. We have yet to see any people,
but for the first time I honestly believe we've found a new home!
"How can it be possible that we lost a four-ton dinosaur? We followed it through the portal - it's not like it can fly. Right?" Naruto was frustrated now. They had been in this new world for hours and they had yet to see any sign of the Gorgonopsid.
"M-maybe it ran for it?" Hinata offered as they made their way through the dense forest.
"Maybe, but we need to find it soon. There's no telling the damage it could do."
"A-agreed."
Abby raced after the small winged reptile. Rex seemed to be a fitting name for a creature with a curiosity that overrode its fear of the unknown.
"Rex! We need to get outta here!" she whispered as a loud roar echoed through the forest.
Rex turned to his chaser and cocked his head to the side, letting out a little cry that if anyone asked, Abby would say was cute.
"Rex, come on!" she urged. "We don't have time for this!" She was getting frustrated as he dived into a bramble. "This isn't funny, Rex, we really need to go!" As she crawled into his new hiding place she heard another roar and felt the earth tremble as a slow rhythmic thumping filled the air.
"Oh no - Ben!" The boy who had first discovered Rex had made a break for home when the roars had first filled the area. "I hope you're okay," Abby murmured as the stomping grew closer. She almost choked on air when a large foot hit the ground a few meters in front of her. "What in the world?" she whispered as a large reptile lumbered past, taking deep sniffs through its large nostrils, its foot-long fangs glinting in the sun.
Abby held her breath and picked up Rex, squeezing him tightly, unwilling to let him run again until the new reptile had left the area. "I need to find Ben!" she whispered as she slowly made her way out of the bramble and ran in the opposite direction, towards the small village and hopefully towards Ben.
Day 1 continued
Who would have thought that over a year has passed since we've lost the
ability to use chakra?No more all-seeing sight, no more clones - jeez, that
would have made this searchso much easier. The one good thing about all of this
is the fact that this world may have people in it; we stumbled across some tracks
earlier that look a lot like boots, and they led to a road. This world is looking
better and better. I hope we can call this place home soon.
Naruto closed his journal again. It had become a sort of ritual since becoming lost in the portals that every day he would keep track of what happened; it was an interesting way of handling the situation that they had been thrust into. To be the last of a civilization really tore at you sometimes, knowing that when you passed on it would be the end of a race. He hoped that his journals would help to shed light on who he was when others found him. If anything, it was to prove that he wouldn't become just another footnote in some textbook.
The sun began to disappear behind the upper canopy of the clearing they had chosen to take a break in. In another time, the camp would have been hidden away under brush and trees, hiding it from unwanted eyes. But now a large clearing was more ideal; the field of view allowed them to see any unwanted dinosaurs before they reached the camp, giving them enough time to break contact and move away. Living for almost a year in a prehistoric era forced you to adapt to strange and new situations.
"Hinata, it's time we move on." He doused the fire and turned to his companion, who was sitting, gazing up into the blue sky.
"Hai, w-we should find that dinosaur before it causes to much d-damage." Since becoming lost in time, Hinata's stutter had reappeared. It was a nervous tic, a habit that had evolved while hiding and surviving in a world where you tended to be the smallest prey.
"We need a better way of finding this thing. I could hear it about an hour ago, so at least we know it's still in the area. If we can find a trail, we can track it down and get it back to its own time."
Hinata nodded as she packed their sparse equipment. Months of being on the move and in constant danger taught you to pack light. "W-we should follow the road; it could p-possibly lead to a town."
Naruto smiled, nodded his head and looked down at their clothing. They were both a sore sight. Their clothes had small rips and scuffs and were covered in mud and leaves; even his hair had lost its natural sun blonde color, turning into a dull shade of yellow.
"And hopefully some new clothing," he said. He let out a small laugh; new clothing would be a dream come true.
They quickly made their way to the paved path they had discovered earlier and started to follow it to the west, when a white pickup truck roared by. The loud engine caused both Naruto and Hinata to dart off the road, reminding them of the world they had just escaped. They looked behind them as the white pickup came closer.
"Hey, isn't that a car?" Naruto asked. Cars were available in their own world, but were rare; few could afford them, especially in a village full of ninja.
Hinata nodded her head yes as their eyes followed the vehicle as it passed them by and looked at Naruto and then back to the now distant pick-up.
"Well, that was interesting." Naruto sighed. Even though they knew of cars it was something that was still classified as new to them.
Hinata nodded her head in shock. Sometimes rare and new things frightened her, more so when she knew little there inner mechanics. "M-maybe it's heading to a village?" She didn't seem too sure of herself.
"Would have been nice if they offered to give us a ride, though." Naruto forced a grin onto his face. Walking used to be a dangerous activity when dinosaurs could reach down and pluck them off the forest floor, but now walking without any fear of being eaten was a relief. Still, neither of them knew how far away the closest village was; a quicker way there would have been ideal. "Let's keep moving. I'm sure we'll see a village soon," he finished with a sigh.
Professor Nick Cutter looked at his assistant as they drove down the long highway to the village of Dean just outside the Forest of Dean. "Where do you think they were going?" he asked in his thick Scottish accent.
Stephen Hart turned to his longtime friend. "Same place we're going? To those weird sightings?" he replied with a laugh. He wanted to call the two wanderers backpackers - they had the scruffy look to them and with the tent the girl had on top of her kit, it fit the picture - but the guy threw him off. He had combat boots and BDU pants on, something you would normally only ever see a soldier wear. It was a definite conundrum. "Maybe the wonderful Claudia Brown of the Home Office would have a better insight into this?"
Claudia looked up from the back seat of the truck she was sharing with Conner Temple. "They weren't mine, that's for sure," she said. "I haven't called in a team yet; I wanted to inspect this boy's house first. To think a dinosaur attacked his bed room - the press would have a field day with this!" She let out a bittersweet laugh as Cutter shared a smile with Stephen.
"There were two people back there?" Conner, a student of the professor's, asked as he looked up from his computer that held his own repository of prehistoric creatures. He turned his head to look out the back window.
"It's too late now, Conner. Besides, we're here now so let's find out, yea?" Stephen said as he pulled up to a brick house on the edge of a cull-de-sac with its second story window on the front lawn. "Someone's in a lot of trouble," he added as he stepped out of the car and looked at the smashed window.
"There is no such thing as dinosaurs, Benjamin! You will clean this room up this instant! And you, filling 'is head with all this nonsense of undiscovered reptiles! It's probably just a freak animal!" a shrill voice yelled from inside the broken room.
"Aye; a lot of trouble," Cutter agreed, and shared a laugh with his assistant while Conner leaned over the window, inspecting the rather peculiar damage done to it.
"Well, looks like something wasn't very happy, yea?" Conner stated as he ran his hands over the splintered wood.
Claudia shook her head and approached the front door, which was thankfully still intact. She pressed a delicate red fingernail to the doorbell and could hear a loud ring fill the house. "Coming!" came from the top floor.
A few seconds later the front door swung open and a blonde in her late thirties wearing a cooking apron stepped out. "Can I 'elp you?" she asked.
"Yes, I'm Ms. Brown from the Home Office," Claudia started, pulling her credentials out of the pocket of her business suit. "We've received reports of a strange animal in the area, and if I may say as much, it seems like something attacked your window. Would you mind if my colleagues and I took a brief look? I promise we won't be long."
The blonde women looked at the three behind Claudia and shook her head. "I'm Mrs. Trent. I 'ave a feeling it was my son acting up. You see, 'is father's been away on work for some time now."
"I understand, Mrs. Trent." Claudia nodded her head in understanding. "I also hope you understand that I just have to take a quick look and I'll be out of your hair. I'll even put in a recommendation to have the window fixed - at our cost, of course." She sent the blonde housewife a disarming smile, easing the tension in the air.
Mrs. Trent looked skeptical, but eventually nodded her head. "There's a woman from the Wellington Zoo up there as well. I'll show you the way." She stepped back into the house and headed up the stairs.
Conner turned to Stephen as they entered the house. "He was acting up and threw his window out onto the lawn? That's some kid, mate."
Stephen rolled his eyes at Conner. "Really? That's the only observation you could make?"
"It was a dinosaur, 'e says; a different world, 'e says!" the woman said loudly as she stomped up the stairs to the second floor.
"It was a dinosaur, Ma! I ain't lying!" the boy's voice answered back just as loudly.
"Benjamin! You will cease this nonsense now!" his mother shouted as she walked into the destroyed bedroom. "I blame the telly!" she said, grabbing some more items from the floor and heading to throw them into the trash.
Cutter gazed into the room from the doorway and let out a shrill whistle. "Something must have been hungry," he said as he looked at the new opening in the wall.
"Or angry," Stephen replied. He touched the window where some blood had gathered on a splinter, and noticed the young blonde in the room. "Stephen Hart," he said as he pushed out his hand towards the representative from the zoo. "My colleagues - Professor Nick Cutter, Claudia Brown, and Conner Temple."
The three looked at the young blonde-haired women dressed in thick boots, jeans and a white hoodie by the window holding onto an iguana of some kind.
"Abby Maitland," she said as took Stephen's hand. "Reptile keeper at the Wellington Zoo. This guy here," she lifted the wrapped bundle in her hands, "is Rex, an undiscovered reptile that Ben found. Isn't that right, Ben?"
Ben nodded his head excitedly. "And there's a dinosaur out there, too!"
A deep roar seemed to finish his sentence for him.
Naruto ran off the path, followed by Hinata, as a roar lifted above the trees.
"Let's go!" He was excited; they were finally back on the trail of that insufferable dinosaur. "We find it, send it home, and done!"
Hinata jumped over a ditch and ran after Naruto, sliding over fallen branches and around the trunks of trees. It was almost like she was gliding through the forest.
Another roar sounded, closer this time, and they adjusted their direction. They were getting closer to the beast. They curved around a stream and over another ditch, their arms holding onto their bags desperately as they picked up speed, moving almost inhumanly fast.
"Just over here!" Naruto smiled.
"W-what's the plan?" Hinata asked.
Naruto's smile fell from his face. "I knew I forgot something," he muttered. "Think on the fly, Hinata," he told her. "We just need to lead it back to the portal. I'm sure it's hungry; it'll probably follow dinner home." He didn't want to say that dinner referred to them.
Hinata shook her head at her friend's lack of forethought and prepared to drop her kit and satchel as they grew closer to the sound.
"He's just over here - drop everything," Naruto said as he released his bags. Hinata followed his example. They didn't want to be slowed down.
They rounded the bend and stopped in their tracks. They had come expecting to see the giant, razor-sharp mouth of the Gorgonopsid; instead they found a different beast munching on some leaves.
"Well, isn't that a letdown." Naruto sighed at what they found.
Hinata nodded her head, as her mouth didn't seem to be working. Had another dinosaur escaped through the portal? The beast was covered in a thick amour-like hide and stood on all four legs, similar to the first escaped beast.
"Damn, I'm really starting to hate this, Hinata." Naruto sounded defeated as he watched the herbivore munch happily on the tree leaves.
Hinata could only nod her head in agreement as the beast swallowed and let out a content roar.
The group had ditched their pickup a few meters back as they approached the source of the roars. Stephen and Cutter led the group with a pair of large flashlights, followed by Claudia and Abby, still holding onto Rex, while Conner brought up the rear, typing madly away at his laptop.
"The tracks lead just around that bend up there," Stephen filled in as his light followed a trail that few could understand. They rounded the copse of trees and gazed up in disbelief at a dinosaur eating some leaves.
Cutter pushed past his friend and smiled, spreading his arms wide. "I never thought I would see something like this in my entire life!" He was ecstatic.
Abby stepped up beside him and shook her head. "That's not what I saw, though," she said. She was relieved it wasn't the other thing with the big teeth.
Claudia added her flashlight to the group and gazed up. "Definitely didn't see this coming when I woke up this morning."
The lights illuminated the head of the beast. It was bulbous and larger than a small car, its mouth was full of flat teeth ideal for munching on the local fauna, and it was covered in a thick skin that resembled a layer of pebbles.
"Guys, it's a Scutosaurus; not the type of thing that could push through a window like we saw at the house," Conner supplied, showing his computer to the group. "It's strictly a plant eater and likes to travel in a herd."
Claudia stepped to the side to view the animal in all its glory. It shook its head, letting out a louder roar, and dug its feet into the soft soil of the forest, kicking up debris.
"Stop!" Abby hissed. "It wants us to stay in front of it. It's scared," she finished.
The group stepped back to the front of the beast where it could keep its eye on them.
"The boy said he saw a world full of dinosaurs, right? Maybe this came through it?" Cutter mused, shocked at the discovery of a living, breathing prehistoric creature.
"Hey!" A loud voice filled the clearing, shocking the group. "You haven't seen another guy like this around here, has teeth that are about this big?"
Naruto came around the beast, using his two index fingers to represent large fangs protruding through his mouth. The group stared in shock.
Abby stared at the blonde-haired man in front of them and could only nod her head yes.
Cutter looked away from the beast towards the newcomers. "Another dinosaur? How do you know another one is here?" he asked as he eyed the two scruffy people standing near the dinosaur who were claiming to have seen another dinosaur here, and one with much larger teeth at that.
Hinata stepped up next to Naruto and shook her head in disbelief at the actions of her captain. "W-w let it through the portal by accident; we need to return it soon, b-before something bad happens," she said.
While Cutter looked on in shock as the announcement that these two were responsible for the prehistoric dinosaurs, Stephen took a closer look and verified his original suspicions. They were both wearing a military style uniform that had definitely seen better days; their pants were covered in rips and tears, the color having faded long ago. Before he could voice his suspicions, though, Claudia spoke up.
"Can you explain your presence here and how exactly you're responsible for releasing this creature?" Claudia asked as she took a step closer, her hands on her Home Office credentials, ready to wield them like a weapon.
"It's a Scutosaurus," Conner filled in before receiving a glare from Cutter.
"This guy must have followed us through the portal. Besides, he's just a helpless plant eater." Naruto emphasized his point by slapping the side of the large herbivore, only to receive a loud roar in response. "Well, maybe not helpless, but you know what I mean."
"No. I do not know what you mean. In fact, where are you two from, anyway?" Claudia was getting a migraine from dealing with this mess.
"W-well, we came from the p-portal, too," Hinata said shyly.
"You expect me to believe you came from a portal that leads to a prehistoric period filled with dinosaurs?" Claudia definitely felt a migraine coming on.
Cutter placed a hand on Claudia's shoulder to calm her down and turned to the new additions to the clearing. "You came through a portal? Can you tell me anything about what you saw?" he asked, his academic mind overriding his cautious behavior. "Anything at all?"
Authors Notes;
Once again a big thank you to VoicesInTheWind for taking a rough piece of work and turning it into something much better, I'm quite happy with the way things are turning out. I always like to hear from thereaders about what they think and if you ever want to ask any questions shoot me a PM, I'm always happy to discuss the story with others. I hope you enjoy the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Untill next time!