:¨·.·¨:
`·.. Chapter Three
This chapter is dedicated to sarahluvsdwrh for making me LOL quite a lot with her name suggestion and the resulting conversation we had. I promise if I can ever be bothered to think up names for these chapters, one will be called Primeval: The Return of Spratt.
Ben held his camera up and snapped a photo. The flash lit up the cave like a blinding blaze of lightening, and the gorgonopsid reared up in alarm. The impact of its head against the ceiling rocked the cave like an earthquake had struck and it began to collapse. Taylor coughed as the rocks and chunks of dirt exploded around them and filled her nose and eyes and mouth. Her throat was burning on the dust, she couldn't see, she couldn't breathe. All she could hear was the angry roaring of the gorgonopsid and, in the distance, a faint yapping.
"Spratt!" she choked out.
She flailed about, struggling to push the closing walls off her. Sunlight suddenly streamed through a small hole created in the roof, where more debris was still falling through. She pushed herself to her feet and shook Ben's shoulders.
"Get up, get up!" she screamed, slapping him across the face.
He stirred and jolted awake, blinking in pain as the rubble filled his own eyes. He scrambled up and pushed Taylor up through the hole. She dug her knees into the ground and pulled him up after her in time for the whole thing to cave in. The ground fell away and they tumbled back down onto what remained of the cave.
They were sprawled on their backs, their skin blackened from the soot and dirt and their muscles protesting furiously against the commotion. Taylor shoved off a large branch hugging her torso and managed to sit up, fluffing her hair out to send a shower of dirt and debris everywhere. Ben rolled over and coughed heavily, hacking up the dust from his throat and wincing as his eyes burnt from the assault.
"Not a very good idea to hide in there, was it?" Taylor snapped, running a hand over the bruises and cuts along her limbs.
"Better than turning into lunch," Ben replied defensively.
"I was doing fine until you hit it with a rock and made it angry."
"Next time I'll let you get eaten then!"
Taylor pushed herself to her feet and clambered up out of the hollow. Ben rolled his eyes and climbed out after her. "Where are you going?" he demanded.
"To find my dog." She said it as casually as if she was ducking out to the store, not traipsing through a prehistoric forest laden with carnivorous dinosaurs.
"You're insane!"
"I don't care what you think of me," she hissed. "I don't need your help. I can do well fine on my own."
"Look where we are! Look when we are! You can't run off by yourself, we need to find the portal and get home," Ben pointed out austerely.
"You find the portal. You go home. I'm not leaving without my dog."
"Come on, don't be stupid. You'll die out here. It's freezing and there are dinosaurs! We need to stick together," Ben insisted.
Taylor ignored him and walked away, calling out her dog's name. Ben followed with a huff of frustration and grabbed her shoulder. "Taylor!"
"I'm not leaving her here," she snapped. "And I don't need you. I never asked for you to come in the first place. I don't want you here."
Ben froze in shock, her sharp words ringing in his ears. "Fine." He turned and stormed off, not once glancing back at her.
Taylor stood and watched him leave, her chest heaving with irritation. She closed her eyes and exhaled through her teeth, flicking her hair. God, he was frustrating. Why couldn't he understand that she didn't need anyone's help? She was perfectly capable of looking after herself. Alone.
She traipsed down the hill, not really paying attention to her surroundings, somewhat immured in her irked thoughts. She was stuck millions of years in the past searching for her lost dog by herself. All she needed was an expanse of sand and some giant scorpions and she'd be suffering the worst case of déjà vu.
"Spratt!" she pleaded loudly.
She rubbed her arms, desperately trying to warm herself. Small icicles were clinging to her clothes, the frigid cold sinking through the fabric and biting into her skin. The cold was creeping into her veins, chilling her through all the way to the bone. She let out a shuddering breath and forced herself to take another step, suddenly feeling very tired. She leant against a tree, watching her breath dance through the air through heavy eyelids.
Maybe she could just rest here for a moment. Yes, that's what she would do; just rest her eyes for a few minutes until the fierce numbing ache in her muscles went away. She sighed, closed her eyes and succumbed to the fatigue.
Another short chapter! I know, I'm sorry :( I try to aim for around 1,200 words per chapter but I also prefer leaving them on cliffhangers so that's why the lengths fluctuate so much and some are as short as 750. Please refrain from throwing your various fruit items at me.