Hey, I'm back, with the next episode, finally :D Before we get down to business, there were a few anonymous reviews I couldn't reply to through PM, so let me answer here...Lukas, Michael didn't bring back the first Labidosaurus that he saw. But then he came upon another one that was sick, so that's why he ended up taking it back. For the rest of you who have put out suggestions, I've taken at least one each into consideration for upcoming episodes :) so keep an eye out for those.
Enough chit-chat though. There's something in the deep...
We live in a very strange world. Over ninety-nine percent of the species that ever lived on our planet are now extinct. But what if we could save them? What if we could bring them back to our own world?
Join biologist Michael Emerson as he travels back in time to meet animals that have never existed for millions of years. He will save them from extinction and take them into the present day to give them a second chance.
This time, Michael travels back 215 million years to rescue a gigantic reptile that looked like a fish and lived in the seas.
Welcome to the ultimate wildlife sanctuary. Welcome…to Prehistoric Park!
It was a rare moment at the park. No animals were escaping, none of them had temper tantrums, and it actually seemed relatively pleasant under the sun.
So far, Prehistoric Park is filling up nicely. Already, it is home to a wide variety of prehistoric creatures brought back from extinction, namely a pack of theropod dinosaurs, two playful Darwinius primates, and a bunch of sail-backed reptiles. Now that Michael has achieved his task of rescuing these animals and making sure they are happy in the present day, logically, it's time to turn to the next step: breeding in captivity.
Two rather swampy paddocks were situated right next to each other, with a small maintenance road running along one side. The inhabitants of the enclosures were basking in the morning sun.
Right now, the most viable candidates to start a breeding project are the two resident Dimetrodon. Michael rescued them from the Permian period, where the female had just lost her previous clutch of eggs to a thieving amphibian. Both animals were brought back to the park safely. The male seems eager to find a mate, and with luck, the two can be reintroduced to each other sometime soon. The park's faithful paleontologist Terry is checking up on them now.
Parking the Jeep alongside the enclosures, Terry got out and looked into the paddocks. "The female's recovering well," he noted. "When she came in she was a bit thin, but now she's almost back to normal, which is good news. Catherine and the vets have done wonders."
He leaned against the hood of the Jeep as he spoke. "Michael really wants to breed them once they're both back in prime condition," he said, "which is a bit exciting. Difficult, too. If zoos have a hard time trying to get their animals to breed – well, they should try working with extinct ones." Terry chuckled.
"But anyway, if all goes well and we do manage to get a clutch of eggs, that opens the door for breeding many other species in the park. And there's no telling what will happen from there." Terry got back into the Jeep, and drove away.
Although Michael would certainly love to breed the park's inhabitants, something else is on his mind right now…the next expedition into the past.
Michael was standing next to a fish tank inside of his study. There were a couple of fish inside, but they hardly seemed to be the main focus of the display. "If you look closely, you might be able to see what I've got in here," Michael said. He pointed at one of the long, stringy plants inside. "He's there."
Nestled among the leaves, curling its tail tip around a stem of the plant, was a small, mottled green snake living in the water. It had two curious appendages on its snout. "That's a tentacled snake," Michael explained, "a snake which lives its entire life completely underwater. Many people are familiar with the sea snakes of the tropical oceans, but the tentacled snake is unique because it's found only in freshwater. It eats fish instead of things like mice or rats."
Michael stepped away from the tank. "This snake is one of the few reptiles around today that lives entirely in water, never coming out onto the land. But in the past, there have been many types of reptiles that live completely underwater, be it in fresh or saltwater. And this time, I'm setting out to catch one of those marine reptiles!"
He flipped through his field guide. The book was crammed with other papers, sketches and skeletal diagrams, and pages had been ripped out and put back in. "There are a wide variety of marine reptiles I could look for, like the plesiosaurs or mosasaurs," Michael said. "But today, I'm looking for a very specific type."
Michael took a piece of paper from the book, which showed a sketch of a long-snouted fishlike creature without a dorsal fin. "This is Shonisaurus, a type of ichthyosaur," Michael explained. "The name 'ichthyosaur' literally means 'fish lizard', and you can see the resemblance. The fact that this is a reptile that evolved to look like a fish is amazing enough, but that's not all. It grew to an amazing 50 feet long!"
He continued to skim through the book. "Shonisaurus lived about 215 million years ago, in the Triassic period. Most of what we know about this animal comes from fossil finds in Nevada, where it's actually the state fossil. Dozens of individuals have been found there in a large bonebed, filled with skulls and vertebrae, scattered about in the rock. Many people have speculated about how the bones got there, and some have even gone as far as to say…" Michael paused, stopping himself. "Well, it's a bit weird, really," he admitted. "Personally, I think a bonebed was formed because Shonisaurus lived in groups or pods, like some marine mammals today. And I'll see if I can answer that question when I head out with Terry this morning."
Michael pocketed the book, and then left his study.
Bringing back extinct marine animals to the present day is an unprecedented task, even for the Prehistoric Park team. Thankfully, the staff has been working around the clock to provide proper housing for these creatures.
Michael walked down a metal staircase, with Terry following close behind. They emerged into a room with tile floors and thick plexiglass walls. Beyond the walls, it was overwhelmingly blue.
"Is everything ready, Norman?" Michael asked as he met up with the head keeper, who had been waiting inside.
"Smooth as silk," Norman assured. "All the walls for your fish are in place, and so are the observation passageways and all the rest. After this, we can start building exhibits for future marine acquisitions…though I'd prefer not to."
Michael smiled. "I should explain," he began. "The underwater facilities are a special sort of design. We have a set of portal sticks attached to buoys so we can steer the yacht through, and then an additional, sunken pair immersed in the water for the marine holding pens. Large, reinforced walls of different materials keep the animals in their paddocks, and we've tried to cut costs by using the offshore chain of guyots in order to use a little less plexiglass."
"Cost-cutting or not, it was still extremely expensive," Norman said, "and permanent too. This time, you're going to have to keep to your quota. There are only two marine paddocks ready – one for your fish and another small one that integrates the coastline. So, at most, you can only bring back one other type of animal with you. No buts."
"I think we can do that," Terry said, glancing at Michael, who gave a slight wink.
"If you can, I'd like it if you were finished within a day," Norman added. "Things have been terribly busy around the park in the last few days, and we need you back as soon as you can make it." He looked at his watch. "Well then, I believe it's time for you two to get going," he said. "The Ammonite is waiting for you guys up top. Good luck."
With that, Michael and Terry departed up the staircase to the boat.
With more pressure on them than ever before, Michael and Terry have a big job to finish…
"Are we ready to roll?" Terry asked aboard Prehistoric Park's rugged ketch yacht, The Ammonite. His loose shirt fluttered in the gathering wind. The sky above them was slowly becoming cloudier, and a light rain shower was probably likely.
The crew nodded at the question. Ahead of the ship, the buoyed portal flared into life.
"Well, then let's get going!" Michael said, and the yacht began its course. The Ammonite cruised slowly through the portal; first the front disappeared, and then finally the whole hull went through. Michael and Terry stood on the deck and watched as the boat moved into the Triassic period.
On the other side of the portal, they were met with gently rolling waves and a warm sea breeze. The ship had emerged near a stretch of tropical coastline. "Look at this!" Michael shouted. "Warm air, sparkling waves, and a beautiful shore. It's perfect. Ancient Nevada seems like a great destination for a cruise!"
Terry smiled, and looked around at the sight. "It's definitely nice," he agreed, "almost like a mild Mediterranean-type climate. In the Triassic we know it was mostly hot and dry, but we're off the western shore of Pangaea and not in the middle of land. So obviously it was much nicer out," he laughed.
Michael slipped on a wide-brimmed hat to protect himself from the sun and the cloudless sky. "Well, I'd love to stay and bask in the scenery, but we're on a timeframe and we have work to do," he said. "Right now I'd say it's a good time to see what The Ammonite can do."
He started walking down the deck. "It's probably a good time to hoist the sails up," Michael said. "There's a nice breeze and I'd like to save some energy, especially since our time is short. But Terry and the crew will take care of that. Come inside."
Michael stepped inside the yacht itself, into a room with hardwood floors. The walls had plenty of wide windows that allowed you to see onto the deck and out into the ocean. Most of the room was dedicated to bookshelves and scientific equipment, but there was a lounge area with a coffee maker at the far side of the room. "This is where most of the time aboard The Ammonite will be spent. Pretty much everything we'll need during the expedition is here. It's where all the action happens, you might say. We have observational equipment all around the ship, and underwater cameras that can broadcast images to a computer screen over there. Of course there's no TV or Internet connection – we're sailing 215 million years before they will ever be invented – but even without those, we can still find out what the weather's going to be like!" He pointed to a glass tube filled with a clear liquid that rested on a wooden base.
"That thing is called a storm glass. Inside is a bunch of crystals suspended in a special solution. If the crystals react a certain way, you can tell what the weather will be like in the next day or two. A captain called Robert FitzRoy invented it, and he took the storm glass with him aboard The Beagle on a surveying expedition around the world. As you might already know, that's the same voyage that Charles Darwin went on when he first envisioned the idea of evolution!" Michael smiled. "But I'm particularly proud of this piece."
Michael moved over to one corner where a large black device sat atop a table. It had a screen, which showed a digital representation of the ship from the top surrounded by green concentric circles. "This is a sonar device," Michael explained. "Normally it's used in fishing enterprises to detect shoals of cod or salmon. But we can use it here on The Ammonite, too. If some large marine animal comes near the ship – a Shonisaurus, for instance – then the sound waves sent out by the sonar will pick it up and pinpoint its location here on the screen. This will be a big help in our search for Shonisaurus, and I have a feeling that it's going to work really well. So, fingers crossed!"
Michael left the sonar to its own devices and went back outside to the deck.
While Michael and Terry are getting down to business in Triassic Nevada, Norman is back at the park taking care of daily duties.
As expected, there was a gentle rain falling in the park. Shielding his head from the drops, Norman pulled out a wheelbarrow and shovel from the back of his pickup truck. "Rain's a fact of life in this part of the world," he said. "Thankfully though, it isn't a torrential downpour like it usually is." A loud squawking sound came from the forested paddock he was parked next to. "Oh, be quiet," Norman grumbled as he shut the back flap of the truck.
He sighed. "The problem with that Gastornis is that she's so noisy. It's not like a sparrow or a songbird, which is very nice to listen to. Think of a demonic parrot, on a sound loop." Norman shook his head. "At least the Gastornis is one of the easier animals to take care of. I like it because its cage is easy to clean – unlike the hadrosaurs." He shuddered at the mere thought.
Suddenly, there was a grunting from behind the truck, and a brown, turtle-like shape lumbered into view. "Alright, come on Ned," Norman called, and smiled. "It's great. Ned behaves enough that I allow him to follow me around while I'm taking care of business around the park."
Ned the nodosaur was rescued from the Cretaceous of New Jersey, and was the first animal that Michael ever brought back from the past. At first he was quite shy, but thanks to Norman's efforts, he became rather tame. Now, the two are best friends.
Norman extracted a flower from his pocket, and gave it to Ned. "He loves magnolias in particular," Norman said. "If nothing else, he follows me around in hope of getting a tasty treat."
He moved over the paddock door and set his supplies down in order to find the correct key for the door. "Michael's on my mind again," he said as he searched through his key ring. "He's really going to have to keep to his quota this time around. While he goes off bumbling in the Jurassic or who-knows-where, I'm back at the park dealing with expenses. And a place like this is expensive enough as it is. Once they're built, the marine exhibits are permanently fixed, and almost impossible to repair if they get damaged. If Michael brings back something he shouldn't – which usually happens – then I'll have to build another tank. That takes time and costs a lot of money, and the animals would have to be maintained in a holding pen until we get it built, which'll cost even more money, and so on and so on. I think that's what they call a chain reaction." Norman found the right key and opened up the paddock door.
While he slipped the wet keys back into his paddock, he said, "I don't think Michael fully realizes all that, the reckless daredevil as he is. But if comes back with more than he's been told, then he's going to get a personal earful from me."
Ned starting moving towards the paddock door, attempting to follow Norman. "No no, you stay here for the time being, boy," Norman said. "You don't want to run into the big chicken in there!" He chuckled, and then went inside to finish his cleaning duties.
Back in the Triassic, Michael and Terry have already struck gold.
Terry stood by the sonar screen, which was making a slow, rhythmic beeping noise. "Michael, over here!" he said excitedly.
Michael ran over, and laughed as he saw what was on the screen. "Would you look at that!" he laughed.
The sonar showed several green shapes with fins moving not far from the boat. With every beep of the sonar, the shapes changed position.
Michael pointed at the shapes and explained, "There's something down below us, something big. And there's a whole group of them! This may just be what we're looking for. Terry? I'm going to get into my diving suit and jump in to watch. You stay by the sonar screen and make sure they don't move away."
"Right-o," Terry nodded. He stayed glued to the sonar device while Michael descended into the cabins to retrieve his diving suit.
Within seconds, Michael was on the deck and in his scuba gear. "Quickest change ever," he muttered to himself, and then jumped into the sea.
The water was surprisingly warm, but he didn't notice that. What he noticed was the group of giant gray fish-like animals swimming together, only a short distance away from The Ammonite. "This is it!" Michael said into his mask. "It's a pod of Shonisaurus!"
He swam closer to the pod, but the animals did not acknowledge his appearance. They looked very odd, but at the same time also looked very graceful. Up close, it was hard to believe that they were reptiles instead of fish.
"This isn't just a random congregation," Michael noted. "I'm convinced this is a family group of Shonisaurus, moving together. Looks like my theory was right! Are you hearing this all, Terry?" he said through his radio equipment.
"Loud and clear," Terry said from aboard The Ammonite.
Michael didn't say any more, but instead started swimming alongside the pod. He had found the shonisaurs within an hour of arriving in the Triassic, and his smiling face revealed that he was clearly enjoying it.
He may be having fun, but what Michael doesn't know is that something much more worrisome is stirring in the depths…
Terry watched the feed from the underwater cameras, where he could see the pod of Shonisaurus and Michael alongside them. He was fixated on the ichthyosaurs until a particularly loud beep from the sonar startled him. Annoyed at being interrupted, he turned towards the screen to see what the matter was.
He could see the group of Shonisaurus clearly, but at the far side of the screen, there was another, rather amorphous shape. And it was massive.
Terry grabbed the radio. "Michael, are you there?"
A garbled reply came back. "I – yeah. W – t's up? Anyth – rong?"
"Something else is out there. Can you see anything?"
"-orry, but I can't quite – you out – ay again?"
In the water, Michael shrugged. "I think there's a problem with the radio," he remarked. "Terry's not coming in very well."
Suddenly, one of the Shonisaurus flicked its tail, and shot rapidly through the water. The others quickly followed suit, and within seconds the pod had scattered and was out of sight.
Confused, Michael looked around. "Why'd they leave?" he asked. "I'm not sure why, but they just high-tailed it out of here." There was a clear sense of disappointment in his voice. "Better head back up to the ship, give the ichthyosaurs time to calm down and come back."
Once Michael had surfaced, Terry ran out to the deck. "What were you trying to say?" Michael immediately asked. "The radio must've been having some problems; I couldn't quite make you out."
"Something big showed up on the sonar," Terry said, looking down at Michael. "It was there for about a minute before it left again."
"How big?"
"Very big."
Michael frowned. "Another ichthyosaur?"
"Maybe. I couldn't make out any real detail."
"Well, I don't think it's impossible," Michael said. "There were a couple of big predatory ichthyosaurs around in the Triassic. Maybe that's why I didn't get much of a chance to deal with the Shonisaurus; they all scattered suddenly."
Terry took off his hat and wiped his brow. "I suppose," he said. "Perhaps a Cymbospondylus or the like. But I don't think they were anywhere near that big."
"I think we won't be able to say what it was, really," Michael said. "Shouldn't worry about it too much. The fact is we're on a time constraint here, and we have other things to worry about."
"Sure." Terry helped hoist Michael up onto the deck, and the two went back inside the ship.
Back at the park, Catherine is checking up on one of the park's newest patients.
Catherine drove up to the side of the tortoise enclosure. "I just wanted to follow up on the Labidosaurus," she said. "It's been a few days since the operation, so I wanted to make sure that she's recovering alright."
Michael rescued the Labidosaurus from the Permian swamps of Texas. Although he wasn't planning to bring one back, this female had a tooth infection that needed treating. The root canal was successful, and now Catherine is back to make sure everything is in order.
Catherine opened the gate and stepped inside. Around the pond, she could see the giant tortoises and the three Platyhystrix congregated around the water. "At least they don't seem to be having any problems here. The Platyhystrix have adapted very nicely, although if you give them a chance to escape, they'll gladly take it."
While the sail-backed amphibians continued to lounge in the pond, Catherine started looking for the Labidosaurus. "She hides a lot, mostly, like a lot of other modern-day reptiles. The only time you can really see her is when she's out basking on her favorite rock. There she is now, actually."
Catherine found the bright orange creature standing out among the gray and green of the enclosure. It didn't move as she approached, but instead watched the vet with one careful eye.
"There we are, sweetie," Catherine said, kneeling down. "You alright now?"
The Labidosaurus blinked as if in response. "She looks fine," Catherine surmised, "much better than how she was before the operation. That's good."
Satisfied that everything was in order, Catherine turned back to the giant tortoises. "This is something Michael always wanted to see," she said. "When he started the park it was always his dream to see both modern and extinct animals living together in harmony." She watched as a couple of tortoises plodded over to the pond, causing the Platyhystrix to raise their heads and watch the lumbering newcomers in suspicion.
"We can never release extinct animals into the wild, naturally," Catherine continued. "Their world is long gone. So this is the next best thing, really."
Catherine got up and left the paddock, getting into the Jeep to return to the clinic.
Meanwhile in the Triassic, Michael and Terry have turned to strategy in order to beat the clock.
The Ammonite was moving at a steady pace towards the tropical shore. "Terry and I have both agreed," Michael began, sitting in the ship's lounge, "that the pod of Shonisaurus won't reappear for a couple of hours after they were spooked. So instead of wasting time, I'm going to try something different. If you'll remember, Norman said back at the park that I could only bring back one other marine species at most." Michael smiled. "Well, that's exactly what I'm going to do."
He got up and faced the coastline. "We have two paddocks: one for the Shonisaurus and then one that integrates part of the beach. So that's why we're heading closer to the coast to catch another species – whatever that species might be!"
There were quite a few types of marine animals in the Triassic that lived both on land and in the water. Michael will be happy to take any of them – provided that he finds one, of course.
Michael stood on the deck in his diving suit next to Terry, who had also gotten into a diving suit. "Ready?" he asked the paleontologist.
"As I'll ever be," Terry said, and the two chuckled. Then they jumped into the water.
The ocean wasn't very deep here, and they could both see the pristine white sand at the sea floor, sloping upwards towards the shore. There were a variety of exotic marine plants growing around them. Hundreds of smaller fish swam around the weeds and the rocks, but Michael and Terry were hardly interested in small fry.
Soon they came upon a shoal of small ichthyosaurs, only about a meter long each. "Look over here!" Terry said through his mask. "I think they're Mixosaurus."
The Mixosaurus were a bit different from the Shonisaurus, not least because they were much smaller. They were also more elongated and had a small dorsal fin. Every so often, one of the ichthyosaurs nabbed a fish in its long jaws. "I've always wanted to see these guys!" Michael said. "They don't fit the exhibit very well, though. We'll find something else."
The two watched the shoal for a while before moving on.
As they swam closer to the coastline, Michael stopped suddenly. "Do you hear something?" he said.
Terry listened closely. There was a distinctive squeaking sound, something like a noise that a dolphin would make.
Suddenly, three reptilian shapes swam into view, squeaking and twirling in the water. They looked rather like lizards, but with longer necks and toothier mouths, and measuring four meters long each. They also had a distinctive coloration, a mottled tan and black on their dorsal side.
"Fantastic!" Michael exclaimed. "These are Nothosaurus. They lived a bit like reptilian seals. And they sure are playful!"
The nothosaurs swam in circles around Michael and Terry, squeaking some more. "They're very curious," Terry noted. "It's like they're not afraid of much. Reminds me a bit of dolphins…"
"Maybe, yeah."
As Michael looked closer, he saw strange, lumpy protrusions on the underside of the nothosaurs. They looked almost shell-like, but he couldn't tell exactly. But maybe he could find out soon…
Michael pulled out two portal sticks from a compartment on his diving apparatus. "Want to try bringing them in?"
Terry took the sticks and started setting them up. They were a special weighted type of portal that would sit in a stationary position, neither floating up to the surface nor sinking down to the bottom. "I think these nothosaurs would be a great addition to Prehistoric Park," Michael said. "Since they're so curious, they might even just go right through into the portal without any encouragement!"
As the portal flared into life, one of the nothosaurs turned to look at the new sight. It swam around the portal of couple times, squeaking erratically. Then, it paused briefly before swimming through. The other two animals followed its lead.
Michael has rescued the first ever aquatic animals for Prehistoric Park. And Norman is present to witness their arrival.
It was still raining lightly back at the park, and drops spattered the ocean surface. From the holding pen viewing area, Norman watched the activating portal with an intent eye. "Michael told me his fish was going to be big," he said. "Thankfully, its enclosure is built right next to the holding pen, so we can just move it through without a problem."
The portal fizzled, and three reptilian creatures swam into the pen. "…What?" Norman blurted. "That's not…"
He saw Michael and Terry swimming out of the portal to presumably explain themselves, so Norman rushed into the corridor leading back to the beach. There was a small hatch in the ceiling. Norman knew that beyond that hatch there was a small chamber where the two would enter from. The water would be suctioned out of the room and then anyone could come through the hatch without spilling any saltwater.
Soon enough, Michael and Terry hopped down into the hallway with their masks off. "Michael!" Norman shouted. "I told you that you could only come home with your fish!" He was quite angry.
"Two things, Norman," Michael began. "First, Shonisaurus isn't a fish, it's an ichthyosaur reptile."
Norman rolled his eyes. "Whatever –"
"Second, I do remember you saying that there was an extra paddock that integrated part of the coast that could be used for something else. Just only one other species, right?"
Norman grumbled. "I suppose I did, yeah," he said under gritted teeth. "But I was hoping we could keep that one in reserve."
"Trust me, Norman, you'll like the nothosaurs," Terry piped up. "They're really fun to watch."
Norman sighed. "You guys better have made the right choice," he said, before disappearing down the corridor to move the new arrivals.
"Let's get back," Michael said. "The rest of the crew will be waiting for us."
With no more spare exhibits left and time more pressing than ever, Michael and Terry really have to know what they're doing now…
The blazing Triassic sun beat down on the deck of The Ammonite, where Michael stood with his hat. "We've had to change strategy now," he said. "Right now we're back on the open ocean. Instead of searching for the Shonisaurus, we're going to let them find us. Then they shouldn't be panicked in any way, and we can go and get one – hopefully!"
Terry came back out from inside the ship. "The sonar looks fine," he began. "I've told Dennis to radio us if he sees something big coming. There is a shoal of something small down there, though – I'm guessing a school of fish or something."
"Possible ichthyosaur food," Michael smirked. "Come on, let's get down there and see if the Shonisaurus come to us."
Soon, the two had gotten back into their suits and dived in. And they immediately saw the group: spiral-shaped shells, with a couple tentacles sticking out of the end.
"Hey, look at these!" Michael said. "Our ship's namesake. These are ammonites, and quite a lot of them by the looks of it! Some of them are huge."
They approached a particularly large ammonite, over three feet in diameter. Upon their approach, the ammonite's tentacles flew into its shell to be protected. "Any idea on the species?" Michael asked.
"Not a clue," Terry admitted. "But there are thousands of them, so I don't expect to remember them all!"
"'1001 Ways to Serve Calamari'," Michael joked, which got a laugh. Suddenly, there was a crackling noise from their radio. "-oming your way."
"Say again, Dennis?"
"-shoni – od are – your way."
Michael perked up. "Radio troubles again, but I think he's saying he spotted the shonisaur pod on the sonar!" he said. Suddenly, there was a loud crunch. Michael and Terry turned to look.
Another ammonite had fallen prey to a Shonisaurus, who was now munching down upon its food happily. The pod had arrived silently, and was now feasting.
"Calamari, indeed!" Terry said. "Looks like they eat ammonites a lot. It's a good food source."
Ammonites were very common during the entirety of the Mesozoic Era. There were almost certainly dinner for a wide variety of marine species – including, it seems, Shonisaurus.
"Look at them go!" Michael said, watching them. The ichthyosaurs had a slow demeanor about them, but they could really move if they needed to, as Michael had seen earlier. And the pod was quickly munching down the ammonites with glee.
"This is as good an opportunity as any to bring one back," Michael said. "I'll set up the portal. Terry, you just keep an eye on the pod and let me know if they start moving."
"Right."
There was another crackling noise from the radio. "-uys, can you – omething – there, can't – ee – is."
"Stupid radio," Terry grumbled under his breath. "Say again, Dennis?"
"Can – ear – over?"
"There are problems with the radio equipment. Repeat that, if you could?"
"It's – ig – on the sonar – arge, tent – out of – now!"
"I still can't hear you, over?"
"Just – et o – ow – god – uge – get on back!"
Terry blinked. "Michael, we should get out," he said.
"Everything's under control," Michael said calmly, as he grappled with the portal sticks.
"I can't get through to Dennis, he radioed and there's something wrong up there, something with the sonar. I don't know if…" And he trailed off.
Michael shrugged. "We'll fix it when we…" and he paused, because his eyes had fallen on something below him and the pod and the ammonites. "…oh."
Below them, in the dark depths of the ocean, there was something stirring. A faint, blurred shape, barely visible in the gloom, only noticeable out of the corner of your eye. It moved slowly and silently, inching along almost methodically, taking care not to disturb a thing. Almost like it was watching.
Or waiting.
And then it was gone.
Michael blinked. Whatever it was, it had disappeared as quickly as he had seen it. The pod had not given it any attention whatsoever, like it wasn't even really there at all. Was it?
A hand touched his shoulder, startling him. Michael turned around to face Terry. "Michael…I think it's best if we get back to The Ammonite."
"Yeah." Michael nodded, and made his way hastily back up to the ship. He had never left so willingly like this, but…this was different.
Once they had surfaced, the two met up with Dennis. "Thank god you're back," Dennis said. "There was something huge on the sonar, I didn't know what it was. I tried to radio you guys, but something's up with the equipment. Anyway, it disappeared after a minute or so."
Michael and Terry glanced at each other. "I think we saw it, too," Michael said. "No idea what it was. It was best to come back on deck, just in case it decided to find a snack."
"Good call. A snack sounds good right about now, now that you mention it. I'll be back with some sandwiches for you guys." Dennis departed into another room.
Terry let out a deep breath, and looked at Michael. They could both tell something was up. Michael opened his mouth slightly, as if to speak, but then closed it again. Terry slowly shook his head.
"Couldn't be," he said softly. "Right?"
Michael nodded in agreement, as if to reassure himself, and the two men looked out the window at the rolling waves.
While Michael and Terry face a predicament they've never come upon before, it's feeding time at Prehistoric Park.
The drizzle had almost gone in the park, and Norman drove his pickup truck into the hadrosaur enclosure. Ned the nodosaur followed the truck from behind, running to keep up. "Come on Ned!" Norman said, sticking his head out the window. He chuckled, and then parked the truck next to a tree.
Norman went around back and got a wheelbarrow full of fresh ferns and flowers. "These are for the herd. The hadrosaurs normally browse on their own, but they love fresh treats from time to time." He peered into the distance. "Well, here they come."
The hadrosaur herd was running at a surprising pace towards the truck. "They're like cows," Norman said. "You ever seen it when a farmer dumps his leftover pumpkins into the cow pasture, and they all come running to eat? Well, same thing here." He smiled.
The herd reached Norman, and began grabbing ferns from the wheelbarrow in their mouths. "OK, hold your horses, there's enough for everyone," Norman said, and began offering flowers and fronds to the dinosaurs.
"Oh, here are the coelosaurs," Norman said, as the ornithomimids ventured up to the wheelbarrow. "I've got a special something for them." He pulled out a green plastic container from his pocket and opened the lid. It was full of this bedding that looked like sawdust. "The Coelosaurus aren't actually strict herbivores. They're omnivores. Usually, they'll dig up little bugs and things inside their paddock, but they love their mealworm treats." Norman sifted his fingers through the container and came up with a mealworm, which was immediately nabbed by one of the coelosaurs.
"Here you are. Nice mealy-worms for everyone," Norman said. He picked up a rather large mealworm with his fingers that immediately latched onto his thumb. "Ouch."
While he was preoccupied with the mealworm, one of the coelosaurs grabbed the container with its beak, spilling the contents all over the ground in a disappointing mess. There was a frenzy as the dinosaurs took advantage of the new feast.
Sighing, Norman plucked the mealworm off his finger and tossed it to a coelosaur. He noticed something nudging at his leg, and saw Ned's head reaching out to the wheelbarrow and grabbing a flower. "You've already had your lunch," Norman said, but the nodosaur simply licked his lips and opened his mouth, waiting for more.
Norman chuckled, and patted Ned on the head. "I'd better get back to the marine facilities. Michael and Terry should be back soon with their fish. Come on Ned, let's take you back."
In fact, Michael and Terry are closer to finishing than Norman realizes – and even closer than they realize.
Michael stood next to the sonar, which showed the ichthyosaurs still feeding. He was looking at the radio equipment. "I just can't see what's up with it," he said. "Radio between diving suits works fine, but not suit to ship. We'll have to get it looked over once we get back to the park. Anyway, it'll have to make do for right now. Dennis?"
"Yeah?"
"Terry and I are going to dive back in again. If you need to say something through this, be concise, otherwise the interference will just mess it up. Alright?"
"Sure thing."
Michael went out to meet Terry, who was sitting on the deck. "Been thinking?" Michael asked.
Terry looked up. "I guess you could say that," he said. "But I gather that we have some work to do now."
"You read my mind," Michael smiled.
All hands on deck are alert, and Michael and Terry are ready for action. Let's hope that it will be enough…
Michael and Terry submerged, and swam towards the feeding pod. Michael had the portal sticks in his hand, ready to set them up.
"Do you think Norman is going to let us catch more than one?" Terry asked.
"Probably not," Michael admitted. "So what we need to do is find a shonisaur that actually regards our presence. It'll have the best chance of willingly swimming through the portal."
"Norman doesn't like the marine facilities, does he?"
Michael shook his head. "I think he doesn't like it when there's lots of water. He never learned to swim."
The pod was close now, and the two stopped. "Ready now?" Michael asked, readying the portal sticks.
"As ever," Terry said. Michael activated the time portal, which stood out as a swirling of brightness in the overwhelming blue of the sea.
They waited for a short while, until one of the Shonisaurus looked up from the ammonites and swam a short distance forward – towards the portal.
"This could be it," Michael breathed.
Aboard The Ammonite, Dennis tried a couple of switches on the radio equipment, just to see if they would work. There was nothing, so he turned back to the sonar. Michael and Terry were still down with the portal, and Dennis could see the shapes of the shonisaurs. The rhythmic beep from the sonar was almost comforting.
He finished the last of his sandwich and stared at the sonar screen. Nothing had changed. Beep. Beep. Beep. Dennis's eyes started to glaze over.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep beepbeepbeepbeep.
Dennis shook his eyes open and saw the enormous, radial shape on the sonar screen that had abruptly appeared next to the ichthyosaur pod. He scrambled in his seat, and then grabbed for the radio.
In the ocean, Michael watched the inquisitive Shonisaurus, which continued to move towards the portal. "Come on," he whispered. "Just a little bit further. A little bit."
Suddenly, the radio erupted in a squealing noise of high-pitched static. Terry immediately responded. "Dennis?"
Static.
"Dennis, are you there?"
More static. And then, Dennis's voice.
"-run!"
It all happened in an instant.
There was a terrifying scream, and a sudden swell of water knocked the two men back. Michael could see the darkness near the bottom of the ocean, and then the sun at the surface, as he realized he had tumbled back in a disoriented fashion.
Above the water, the swell of water rocked The Ammonite, and Dennis slipped off his feet and tumbled, hitting the floor hard.
Once Michael regained his senses – only after a brief second – he could see one of the Shonisaurus with its mouth open, screaming, because something was pulling it back, something immense and sinuous, wrapped around the midbody of the ichthyosaur, causing the rest of the pod to scatter in panic. Ever so briefly, before the red cloud of blood began to materialize around the unfortunate victim, Michael could see a much larger form beyond, and then something shaped vaguely like a leaf. But he couldn't tell, because the next thing he noticed was the large fluked tail of a shonisaur, the same inquisitive individual that he and Terry had noticed.
"Get it through!" Michael screamed to Terry, as the victim ichthyosaur continued to shriek. In a frenzied panic, the inquisitive shonisaur fled in the only direction it could – which was straight through the portal. As fast as they could, Terry and Michael followed it. Michael took one last glance back at the menace that had struck…but it and its victim were gone, and only a cloud of blood in the water remained.
Aboard The Ammonite, Dennis scrambled to his feet, and leapt up back towards the radio and the sonar. He was about to call the two again when he paused.
That immense shape had vanished.
It's all over – but, it's just begun for Norman.
Norman watched as there was a fizzling from the portal, and then something started to quickly emerge from it. "Michael's brought back his fish!" he said, rather relieved. "And within time, too. Let's just hope that OH MY GOD!"
The Shonisaurus blasted through the portal and directly towards the edge of the holding pen. Norman dived for cover as, with a resounding boom, the ichthyosaur's tail banged against the acrylic walls. "Christ!" Another ear-splitting crash echoed in the room.
"He didn't tell me that he'd catch a feisty one!" Norman shouted. "Those walls had better hold!"
Michael and Terry emerged from the portal, and started making their way towards the entrance hatch. The shonisaur thrashed its tail a couple of more times before settling down inside the safety of the pen.
Soon the two emerged from the pen. However, they looked quite shaken. "You're back, guys," Norman said. "Everything alright?"
Michael paused, breathing in and out slowly. "Yeah," he finally said. "It took more work to catch one than I expected, though!"
He then talked into the radio. "Ammonite…we're fine…caught target… at park…come on back…over and out." Michael switched it off. "Sorry about that, the ship's radio has problems. The Ammonite should be returning to the present shortly now, since we have the Shonisaurus."
"Well, if you hadn't spent so much on ordering the scientific equipment, maybe I'd have had the resources to buy a decent radio, hm?"
Michael ignored that statement and turned to Terry. "Let's get out of these suits," he said. "I'm done with the water for today."
The nothosaurs are happy in their new coastline habitat, and now the park's Shonisaurus has been moved into its permanent enclosure. Catherine is there to check up on all the new arrivals.
"Everything's alright with the new animals," Catherine said to Michael. The two and Terry were standing next to a bench inside the viewing area for the Shonisaurus enclosure. The ichthyosaur itself was drifting about happily in its new home. "They're all healthy by the looks of it."
"And the shonisaur should be fine? They lived in pods back home. Does she need the company of others at all?" Michael asked.
"I don't think there's any way we can tell at the moment. So we'll just have to keep an eye on her and see. I think she's a female, by the way."
Michael nodded. "And the nothosaurs? What about those lumps?"
"I'll have to take a closer look, but I think they're just barnacles, or something similar. That's something I can look over when I have the time."
"Alright. See you later, then," Michael said, and Catherine left the room.
Michael sighed, and sat down on the bench next to Terry. The two watched the Shonisaurus exploring its new home in the modern day for a while.
"So," Michael sighed. "The Ammonite has returned, the animals are all in their places, and everything is back to normal. All done." He paused. "What do you think it was, back there?" He spoke quieter now.
"I don't think we'll ever really know," Terry said. "And maybe that's for the best."
Michael turned back to the acrylic walls and thought a while. He very dearly hoped that was true, but he felt that it, unfortunately, wasn't the case.
Because both Michael and Terry were thinking that, deep inside their heads, it wasn't a mystery, because they somehow knew exactly what it was, despite all their previous assumptions, and they realized that it didn't seem so funny right now.
There was a sudden crackle of static, causing both Michael and Terry to jump from their thoughts. Michael's walkie-talkie said, "Michael? Can you get over here, please. We've got a bit of a problem over at the edaphosaur paddock…and make it snappy. Bit of a mess."
The two looked at each other, and smiled.
"Never a dull day at Prehistoric Park," Terry said.
Michael laughed, and started running back towards the park.
Next time...
Michael travels to the Oligocene in order to find the largest rhinoceros that ever lived.
Michael walks in a scrubland, alongside a wrinkly creature that looks almost like a cross between a giraffe and a hornless rhino.
And the Dimetrodon begin Prehistoric Park's first breeding project.
The park's two Dimetrodon sniff at each other, cautiously.
But for now, Michael and Terry are back to work at the park...having gained a new insight into the mysteries that hide in the ocean depths...
Well. Now that was interesting, wasn't it. Anyway, apologies again for not updating in so long. November's been a busy month, so I basically sat down yesterday and just wrote the entire second half of the episode while I had the time. Hopefully I'll have time at Christmas to write a lot more.
Only true paleo-geeks will probably "get" the big theme throughout this episode (and you probably laughed at the time, didn't you...so did I, but I had to experiment :P), but I think it's still equally enjoyable whether you know what it is or not. Maybe even better if you're not sure. Uncertainty, the greatest fear.
So here's the (rather short) list of what we caught today:
1.2 Nothosaurus
0.1 Shonisaurus
Additional animals encountered:
Mixosaurus
Indeterminate ammonite species
Something else. Something big...
And with that, I bid you all adieu...until next time...