Out of Conan Doyle's Mind

by Jet556

AU set in 1960 and based off of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World." It is off to Africa when Lieutenant Wendall Barrage returns to the Royal Ontario Museum with what he claims is the wing bone of a Pteranodon he had shot seven months prior. Accompanying him on his expedition is Professor Lee Ping, Sir Camillio Martinez and columnist Holger Holgaart.

10. Death by Fire

Welcome back everyone. Enjoy and review.

Death by Fire

The creature that Cam, Holger and Greta had encountered was just one of many. In fact a whole group had captured Lee and Barrage during their meeting with the lone creature. Lee and Barrage had both recognized the creatures as Homo Erectus, the last part of the human evolution that could have been called an "Ape-Man", the one that came after homo Habilis which started using stone tools and the one that both started speaking some form of language and to use fire.

While at this point in the evolutionary line, the Erectus was more man than ape it was an ape-man nonetheless. Their skin, hair and eyes made them look like they could be the ancestor of any type of ethnicity but their face was unmistakably ape-like.

To a clearing in a maze of rock were Lee and Barrage brought to. There were other prisoners too but they did not seem to come from the outside world. Their clothing seemed to be a combination of the Europeans and the African tribes, the Europeans of a few centuries prior.

"Who do you think they are?" asked Lee.

"If I were to guess, descendants of English explorers who got trapped in this plateau and joined the native population." Replied Barrage.

"And what do you think the Erectus are going to do with us?"

Not far from the prisoners was a pit. In that pit was a roaring fire. Two of the Erectus grabbed one of the native prisoners and dragged them to the pit and quite unceremoniously threw the prisoner into the fire.

"That." Said Barrage. "I think the Erectus are going to do that to us, Lee."