After leaving the nest site, Abby and Alpha had travelled for what felt like miles through almost impenetrable forest, before finally emerging from the jungle only to be met with a massive river blocking their path. The roar of the river almost made Abby want to cover her ears, in fact it could probably make Scar Face blush in jealously. The water surged down the canyon, constantly smashing into rocks and other competing waves, creating snow white waters and small whirlpools every few meters apart. It was truly one of the most beautiful things she'd seen during her time in the Cretaceous and probably on her top ten list in general. Even from where she stood, looking down onto the rapids; she could feel small flecks of water getting propelled towards her face.
Normally, she could sit here and admire such a sight for hours. However, this river was nothing to be glad of. Wherever Alpha was going, this river was in his way, stopping them from completing their journey. Speaking of Alpha, Abby had no idea where he had disappeared off too. He had barked at her and gestured towards the ground, she presumed that was his dumbed down way of telling her to stay put. Since then he had disappeared off into the undergrowth and hadn't returned since.
Abby already had a least favourite place on the island, the cave leading to Alpha's nesting sight, and a favourite, defiantly the top of the mountain where she had named Alpha. Which probably made this place her second favourite place on the island, with the stream where she and Alpha had had their naked water fight coming in third. She still couldn't help but blush at the memory.
She vowed that when she got back to the present, every Anomaly site she went to she would take a swim suit, just in case. That brought her onto the subject of thinking about when she'd return. She had already lost count of the days she had been here for, maybe five.. six now actually? Poor Connor, whatever he was doing he was probably much worse off than her.
Suddenly a raptor bark echoed through the forest from further up the river. Abby recognized the bark as Alphas, and took it was a signal for her to come to him. As she began walking up stream of the river, her thoughts went back to that moment, a couple of hours ago. He had almost attacked her, and Abby had come to the decision that if Felix hadn't have been there, he would have attacked her. But, when raptors are sorry, they are really sorry. The whole journey from the nest site to the river was taken as if she was the queen. Alpha walked at least four steps behind her with his head bowed the whole way, showing her he was of no harm. It was rather ironic actually, the fact that she was being treat as though she was the alpha.
As she pushed away a stray vine, she saw Alpha waiting for her at the river side.
An enormous conifer tree had become up rooted and had fallen into the river, creating a scene straight from a fairy-tail. Although if there was one thing Abby had learnt from her previous time in the Cretaceous, it's that the ground around the river is always weaker than anywhere else, which meant it's easier for things to fall down. The bridge looked stable enough, of course it had problems, but it looked like it could take their weight. The moss of this tree had deeply overgrown, swallowing almost all of the tree bark, and the rot on the underneath of the tree from whenever the river go too high, had weakened it.
"You want to risk it?" She asked.
Alpha chirped in response. Without a moment's hesitation, Alpha leaped up onto fallen trunk and began leaping up and down on it. The tree made some awful creaks and groans, but stayed intact. He looked back down at her and chirped. Once he was satisfied he jumped back down into the undergrowth and began looking between Abby and the bridge. Abby pointed to herself questionably. Alpha growled and bowed his head.
"You want me to go first?" Abby smiled. So, it took travelling sixty-five-million years into the past before Abby could finally find a real gentleman!
Abby grasped the uprooted moss and with a heave, pulled herself up onto the downed tree. Once on, She rolled onto her back and pushed herself to her feet. It was just then she thought it might have been best to let Alpha go first. All that stood between her and the raging torrent below was a slippery rotten branch, about as wide as single bed. She took a deep breath and raised both of her arms for balance, before step by step she started to make her way along moss covered tree.
The sudden seriousness of what she was actually doing began to sink in. She didn't look down, but instead just kept her eyes on the other side of the river. She could hear Alpha eagerly twitching his claws to also get across the river. Her thought's were interrupted when the rotten trunk let out a haunted-house style creaking noise She froze. She glanced over her should back at Alpha. Alpha had noticed her sudden change of mind and had raised his feathers.
He barked at her twice, a bark which Abby recognized as an gesture of reassurance.
Abby took a deep breath and started making her way along the tree again. The soft moss beneath her feet squished and squelched as she walked. Oddly enough, this wasn't the first time Abby had had an experience like this; Jess had an obsession with shampooing the carpet every second Thursday night of the month, and incase you've never walked over a soaking wet banana scented carpet, then believe her, you didn't want to. Finally she began to near the end of the rotten conifer. She glanced back over her should to see Alpha watching her on the other side of the river. With a groan, Abby leaped off the end of the bridge and landed on her knees in the soft flakily undergrowth. She grasped a low hanging branch, pulled herself to her feet and turned back to Alpha.
"It's okay, you can come over!" Abby shouted over the sound of the roaring river.
Alpha barked in response and leaped up onto fallen tree. Unlike Abby, Alpha showed no fear or caution as he moved. And that was his mistake. As he reached the half way point, the trunk let out another haunted-house style creak. Alpha flinched in surprise and dug of his killing claws into the rotten wood. As he did so, another hideous creak went out, followed by a sharp snap.
"RUN!" Abby screamed at the raptor.
Alpha didn't need to be told twice. With a sudden jump he ripped both of his claws out, sending small flecks of wood into the river and took off into a run. In not only three strides Alpha reached the end of the tree and leap into the dirt beside Abby. The sudden burst of movement sent Abby tumbling into the dirt as well.
With a sudden explosion of tiny wooden chips and small clots of moss, the tree collapsed into two pieces, both of them splashing down into the roaring river, soaking the pair. What remained of the tree that was still rooted got torn viscously from the ground and got sent hurdling into the raging torrent. As the two tree halves got propelled down the river by the powerful torrent, they constantly smashed into one another, the sharp unforgiving rocks, and the canyon walls. Soon the tree finally disappeared off into the distance, and all was calm again.
Abby and Alpha slowly emerged from the undergrowth, dripping wet and covered in rotten debris.
"This makes things more complicated, doesn't it?" Abby said, brushing small flecks of wood out of her dirty blonde hair.
Alpha stood up and began getting his baring's again, looking past the trees for any form of danger. Abby grabbed hold of his scaly hind and pulled herself to his feet.
They'd been heading away from the Anomaly site, which means they were now trapped on the wrong side of the river. Logically there had to be another way of crossing, but it was a matter of finding it. The island was at least thirty miles in length, if her memory served.
Once up she began to wipe off as much as she could of the wood and moss off her dress, though it was difficult to tell the difference between what had just been made, and what was three days old. The state of the dress was really ridiculous. It looked more like an army sniper would rape over themselves to avoid detection. Then, she hatched an Idea.
"You don't reckon I could wash this in a river do you?" Abby asked, peeling away a dead mosquito.
No response.
"Alpha?" Abby looked up.
He'd begun to walk through the forest, and Abby only caught a glimpse of his tail before he disappeared behind a tree. She quickly did a jog and caught up to him.
"I wish I could live here forever." Abby said softly, pushing away a stray branch.
She knew that wasn't necessarily true, but at this moment in time she did feel like it.
She and Alpha had left the river only about ten minutes ago, and where currently deeper into the jungle than ever before. Abby physical had to push ferns and other exotic plants out of her way, just to be able to see another five feet ahead. Thick cycads and ferns lined the forest floor while mighty redwoods and other unidentifiable trees towered overhead with a thick canopy that blocked out most light. Anaconda like-vines drooped down from the canopy, each of them sprouting their own variety of poisonous plant. The occasional rotten log was lay about, each one with a great colony mushroom living on it. Despite her hunger, she didn't want to take a chance of getting sick by eating them. Basically, this was Abby's dream place.
Alpha also appeared to be enjoying the surrounding area, as he walked besides her happily wagging his tail.
And then, for the first time, Alpha actually tried to have a conversation with her.
"Pardon?" Abby said, stroking his flattened feathers.
However, the raptor just tried again.
"Alpha I'm sorry. I can't understand you." Abby asked.
Suddenly, Abby's stomach let out the most hideous, foulest and horrendous roar of hunger. Alpha stopped in his tracks and looked at Abby, confusion written all over his face. He raised his feathers slightly and bent down, sniffing Abby's stomach, checking for anything that could cause them harm. He growled slightly at her stomach, and raised his killing claws.
"Alpha!" Abby snapped, hitting him the side of the head.
Alpha sheepishly pulled his head back up and resumed walking, a little happier than last time. As he walked, he pulled his lips back slightly, exposing his white pearly teeth, but continued happily trotting along. He glanced back over at her, and erected his feathers. Then, it occurred to her, what he was actually doing. He was laughing at her!
"Oi!" Abby said, hitting him the back of neck.
Alpha snarled and ducked his head in apology.
Then, it occurred to Abby, the actual reason why her stomach made that noise. Within her first few days here, she'd eventually given in and began eating some berries she'd found on low hanging branches. They were tasteless and the texture was once bitten into was more like scrambled egg than grapes, but they did the job. But more and more recently she'd started getting cravings for something a little more.
"Alpha?" Abby asked sheepishly.
He turned to her.
"You couldn't find me some food could you?" Abby asked.
Alpha titled his head. 'He doesn't understand me.' She thought. Then, she got an idea.
She quickly pulled the RCD out of her pocket and covered two holes, before blowing a soft melody out.
Alpha, quickly catching on, turned and quickly disappeared into the barrier-like jungle. Abby stopped walking and stayed where she was, waiting his return. As she did so, the creepiness of the jungle started to sink in. The trees blocked out most of the light, blocking out her sight of most things. The air was extremely humid with a rank foul swampy smell. An eerie mist clung to the spongy ground as the jungle came to life as the raptor disappeared further into the unknown. She never really did realize that almost anything in this time could kill her, because none of it tried when she was with Alpha.
As the noises of unknown animals began to surround her, she peered frantically in the direction that Alpha disappeared into.
The sharp crack of a branch from the opposite direction grabbed her attention. Abby tried to remain as perfectly still as possible, trying not the give her position away to anything that might have ill intentions. Soon though, the noises of the forest began to quiet down as something large approached her. Abby, guessing it was Alpha turned in that direction. There was a sudden snap of a branch, the rustle of a buss, a spurt of blood, and Alpha emerged from the overgrowth, a small green dinosaurs clutched in his jaws.
Abby smiled and out her hands as Alpha dropped the freshly killed dinosaur into her palms. Was she really about to do this? Eat a raw dinosaur? Last time she was in the Cretaceous she and Connor had cooked every meal they had. But that was because they had a camp, they had resources. She and Alpha hadn't spent more than two nights in the same place, they had to keep moving.
"Thank you." Abby said, stroking Alpha's feathers.
Slowly Abby lifted the small animal up, closed her eyes, and bit down on a portion of the leg. The warm blood trickled down to her chin as Abby began to chew. The animal had the taste of cooked packaged ham, but in the texture of cold roast chicken. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was really enjoying it. Finally, she swallowed then looked at Alpha who leaned forward and tilted his head. Abby smiled at him and took another bite. Her stomach cried out in hunger, begging for more.
Felix stood at the edge of a cliff. The small broken remains of moss and wood lay in the massive raging riverbed below. Deadly wooden spikes emerged from the water surface, not only an hour ago was those spikes part of a stable bridge, the bridge he was planning to use. Small flecks of water shot up from the river and splattered onto his scaly body. He inhaled deeply, catching the scent of Abby and Alpha. He let out a shriek of anger, which easily momentarily blocked out the sound of the river.
He stepped a couple of feet and took a deep breath. With another ear-piercing roar, Felix ran and leaped through the air, soaring over the sharp spikes and the raging river. Legs bent, scales rattling and tail stiff, Felix landed safely on the other side of the chasm. But before he had time to react, the soft wet ground below his feet couldn't take his weight and crumbled, sending him tumbling down to his death.
"Alpha hurry up!" Abby playfully shouted, running through the rain.
A light drizzle fell over the island, small, warm drops of water breaking through the thick canopy and hitting the two. Abby pushed her way through the forest frantically, trying the find shelter with what remained of her meal on her head, keeping her hair dry, while Alpha happily walked through the bushes a few feet behind her, enjoining the rain.
She ran as fast as she could, desperately trying to any shelter to shield her from the rain. Even if the rain was warm, she was still at risk of getting a cold. She glanced back at Alpha, expecting to see him running through the jungle with her, but instead he was slowly wandering through the forest, happily wagging his tail. Abby turned to yell at him again, but as she did so her leg got caught in the overgrowth, sending her spiraling back down to earth.
She hit the mud with a gasp of surprise, liquid splashing her in the face. Slowly, she pulled her head out of the dirt and looked around. Alpha stood towering over her, his teeth bared. He was mocking her again, the git. Abby tried pushing herself up, only for her hands to slip out from under her, resulting in her heading the sloppy ground again. If Abby had to guess what she looked like right now… second thought she didn't even want to guess. She had fallen onto her front, covering the whole front part of her body in dark dripping mud. She gave up.
"Oh god." Abby said, as she caught sight of her dinner getting covered in mud. The mud had leaked into torn flesh of the small creature, making her meal no longer a viable option. Shame, because she was enjoying it, but she'd had her fill, she was good for now.
Using Alpha for support, she pulled herself to her feet and began moving.
As they strolled through the jungle together, eventually the rain began to stop and soon enough the trees began to thin out. The tall redwoods turned into smaller more familiar tropical trees, thorn-ridden bushes with sweet smelling flowers replaced the ferns, and cycads disappeared completely. The long calls of distant Sauropods began again to replace the sound of insects as the forest cleared. Abby had yet to actually see one of these animals up close, but she had heard them constantly across the island, and had even got a fair few glimpses at a herd of them when she and Alpha had traveled up the mountain.
The forest was beginning to resemble the one she was used to, and she was thankful. Though the deeper forest was definitely prettier, when Alpha left her briefly it left her with a sense of unnerving, like she was being watched. And that was not a feeling she enjoyed.
As the two reached the end of the swampy forest, Abby realised that she was still holding the raptors side. And then, the one thing she had never expected to happen, happened.
"And what's a fine arse shelia like you doing all the way out here?" A deep male voiced asked.