Soundtrack: Desert Sun by Maryse Briffa/Fight the Storm by Meegz0

Hazel shut the metal door behind her. The insulated walls of the workshop barred the cool Alaska air from coming in. Compared to the fifty degree temperatures outside, it was a comfortable seventy inside, mostly because Ellis had his heater placed on high in the back.

If Marcus' workshop was a perfectionist's nightmare, they would find this place to be relieving. All of the tools and projects were neatly placed on tables and shelves lining the space. The lone ATV and even a motorcycle that Ellis had been working on in the park were parked in the back, both covered by tarps. A small white fridge was situated next to them; most likely containing cold drinks and maybe a couple of snacks. The only source of light he had on, at least for the moment, was a desk lamp on his table where his laptop was. It was obvious that Ellis planned to use this place as a little "private study", but really, anyone was welcome to come in so long as they put everything back to where they found it. The young engineer had a certain order to adhere to.

Just hours ago, Hazel had instructed Aladar and Neera, along with Charles and Yin, to direct their herds to the large white tents to bunk for the night. The heaters there should be powered up by now, making the shelters into saunas, at least, warm enough to combat the chill outside. The rest of the Residents that were sensitive to the change in temperature were given blankets, at least, until something could be done to help them cope with the cold for the whole stay. The Residents that were safe from the cold were the ones that were inside their own houses; the Bugs, the Microraptors and the Yi Qi (as they had their own indoor aviary), the Protoceratops (they were still in the Nursery), the lemurs and Irwin, since they were bunking together.

Tomorrow, Hazel was going to hold a meeting for the whole staff on dealing with the new predicament they were in. Already, ideas on what to discuss were pouring into her mind, like assigning guard shifts to the employees.

But right now, her main priority was determining how they get to this problem in the first place.

"Alright Ellis, status report," she asked the engineer that was fiddling around with the Time Poles at his desk. The contraptions laid there next to his 15-inch Dell laptop, one of them had its panel open and a USB wire was connecting it to the right side of the computer.

"What is there to report?" he replied, not giving her a glance as he was busy looking at the blackened screen with green lettering. "I don't see anything wrong with the Time Poles."

"You were there in the valley. We all saw the sun set. From what I do know about weather in Alaska, it's supposed to be daylight 24/7 during the summer. So why the heck did the sun just set? And come to think of it, it's a bit 'too cold' for summer," Hazel pointed out.

Ellis shrugged. "I don't know, boss." His fingers then started working away on the keyboard, the coding on the screen changed as he flipped through them all. "Okay according to the tests...everything is normal. No virus, no malware, not that there should be any unless someone's stupid and plugged an infected drive in for some nefarious purpose...everything seems to be working fine."

Hazel narrowed her eyes at what she was looking at. She was no expert on computer codes, but he was more of an expert at computers than her. She had no choice but to trust on what he was telling her. "That doesn't explain why it's the middle of the fall season."

"I have no idea. These poles are state of the art according to my brother and Nigel. There shouldn't be anything…oh," his words fell away. His eyes widened in surprise.

The leader glanced at the engineer and saw that he was literally frozen at a screen that he was looking at.

"What?" she asked.

He slowly turned to her before chuckling nervously. The girl felt a hint of frustration rise in her.

"Um…" he uttered before he took out a slip of paper from one of his pockets. He took a look at it and then slowly placed it behind the keyboard, still in shock.

"What is it, Ellis?"

"I uh…I think I found the problem."

Hazel's left brow quirked. "And that is?"

"Well you know when everything was still being moved to this place before everyone was moving in?" he started quickly.

"Yeah, what about it?"

Ellis gulped. "My brother was too busy making sure everything was operational for the move and so were the other engineers. They had their jobs. So he had me be in charge of the Time Poles. He had me put in the exact time and place of Temporary Park. I had it all written down on this piece of paper," he lifted it up slightly before setting it back down.

"So what's wrong?"

He grimaced, his neck muscles spreading a bit. "I uh...I think I may have transposed a couple of the numbers, hence why we're in the fall season rather than summer."

Hazel gawked and then screamed. "WHAT!?"

Her reaction caused the young man to cover his ears. A look of pain showed on his features from becoming deaf for a moment. "Ow! Easy on the ears! I'll lose my hearing."

The woman slapped her hands on her sides and then made a haphazard apology. "Oh I'm sorry! But I can't help but react on the fact that you just sent us to the middle of the fall season! Not all of the Residents can adapt to this sort of climate you know!"

Ellis lifted his hands to try to calm her. "Hey hey relax! It's just a small setback."

"A small setback?" she gestured a hand towards the door. "You call what's going on outside a small setback!?"

"It's just a difference in temperature," he tried, despite the pressure they were under. "We can adapt. We've got the resources to survive cold spells. Any Resident who's not up to the change, we'll have to have them bunk in those white tents in the outskirts. Those huge tents can hold a lot you know."

"They can't spend the whole time staying in those tents! Aladar and Neera's herd, the sauropods, and most of the Residents here? We saved them from places where it was warmer."

"And they won't," he reassured. "We'll figure something out. We could create personal warming tents in their enclosures, like you mentioned earlier."

Hazel sighed. Two of her fingers grasped at the bridge of her nose. The head engineer sitting before may be frustrating with his laid-back attitude, but even he did make a point there. She did mention earlier about smaller warming tents. The staff could set them up inside the other enclosures to help keep the Residents warm. Her only concern was them constantly remaining in those tents during the upcoming winter. They couldn't stay in there the whole time.

While that was a problem, the other was on how the staff would fare against the weather. She hoped that Ellis may have some kind of solution.

"Okay. Fine. We'll just have to make do, I suppose. What about our own resources? The power? I may not be as much of an expert as you are in engineering, but if I can guess how we're going right now on our energy, we won't last the whole stay here."

Ellis nodded, confirming her guess. "Yeah, you're right. I may have an idea or two on how to go about the energy problem though."

The woman's eyes narrowed at him. "Good. You brought us into this mess after all," she muttered.

Despite the offensive remark she made, the younger Rey brother made no indication that he heard it. Knowing whether he heard it or not was not her concern right now. If he took offense to it, then so be it. It was his fault they were in this situation in the first place.

Hazel let out a breath, focusing on the matter at hand. "We're going to have a staff meeting early tomorrow regarding the situation. Send me a report on that before then."

"Roger that," he inspected the screen again and fell silent once more. "Uh...I just found...another thing. You probably need to know this one."

The girl groaned. "What is it now?"

"Remember when we planned on staying here for the next three months as planned?"

Hazel crossed her arms and leaned on the desk. She gave the employee a scrutinizing gaze. "What about it?"

"I uh...may have accidentally touched that delicate area and...slightly adjusted the numbers on there."

"YOU WHAT!?" she shrieked again.

Ellis grimaced again, massaging his ears at the sudden outburst. He looked at her and went on about defending himself from whatever punishment she was about to dish out. "Hey I'm sorry! I didn't know how these things worked! My brother was too busy with getting things organized that he didn't teach me properly on how your Time Poles worked!"

"So what did you do?" she slammed her hands on the desk. "Extend our stay!?"

"Yes…but not by much," he tried. "I accidentally plugged in certain numbers and rather than stay here for three months, it's four months. If what I'm seeing on the screen is right, the date is November 15 at the moment. Then again, our sense of time didn't really exist in this time period, but that's just what the screen is saying."

Hazel face palmed. Knowing that they'll be stuck here for a total of four months instead of three just added on to the stresses of their time here. It was an inference, but he did not mention anything about the two years on the other side. If Ellis did not mess anything with that, which she hoped he did not, then it should be okay. Still, knowing that they'll be here longer was a problem enough.

"Son of a bitch...this just keeps getting more interesting by the minute," she rubbed her temples from the headache that was starting to form. "Is there anything else I need to know about?"

Suddenly, as if Fate came knocking, the door behind her blew open. Following that was a woman squealing in surprise and a young man grunting. Quickly turning around, the two present were surprised to see a woman dressed in a pink outfit with red crosses on her skirt and a man wearing a dark North Face sweatshirt and denim jeans.

Hazel rolled her eyes. This day just kept getting better and better.

"Of course…" she remarked on the two that were eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Hey, nice of you guys to drop in," Ellis greeted nonchalantly.

"Yeah, couldn't help but overhear," Chris said, getting back up and then patting the dust off of him. "It was kind of hard to not listen with Veran's screaming."

The leader of Temporary Park shot him a glare. It was not an insult, but it was a remark that did tick her off. This conversation was supposed to be private after all.

Daisy, who recovered next, responded worriedly. "So…so is it true? We're really in the fall season?"

Ellis nodded grimly. "I'm afraid so."

"And we'll be here for four months?"

"Yes."

At that moment, the head veterinarian began to take quick, sharp breaths. Her hands clenched until they turned white. Neither of them had known Daisy for long, but seeing her freak out this much was uncomfortable. She paced around the room in circles, repeatedly saying how much danger they were in. It was clear that she was prepared for three months, but four months had apparently scared her.

Ellis took the initiative and gently led her over to his chair. He grabbed a paper bag from one of his shelves and gave it to her. The young vet opened it and started to breathe in it; the paper expanded and deflated with the rhythm of her breathing until her pace gradually slowed.

"Hey, this might not be the best time," Chris spoke up after breaking out of his stunned trance. "But I think I can help."

Hazel's brow arched. "Help how? You got a way to reverse this mess? Maybe get us out of here?"

Chris gave her an annoyed glance before starting his explanation. "I mean with how to cope. I'm from Seattle, which, as we all know, is a pretty cold city. We're in the southern part of Alaska, meaning that climate conditions here should be more or less similar to where I'm from. I've lived in Seattle for as long as I can remember. I know what it's like."

"You think you can provide everybody here some insight on how to deal with this place?" the engineer asked while gently patting the freaked out vet on the back. "There's going to be a staff meeting tomorrow morning."

"I guess I can."

Ellis' eyes went up in mild approval. "Great! Cause it looks like out of everybody here, barring the new Pachy herd that arrived, that wooly mammoth and the wooly rhino, you're not too bothered with the conditions."

"Got that right," the young keeper smugly remarked."

"Before we move on from this subject," Hazel interjected. "There's something off about this. If it's the middle of the fall season, and it's November, then shouldn't it be colder right now? It feels like fifty degrees outside."

Daisy, despite having a bag muffling her voice and shivering, replied. "And getting colder by the minute..."

"For once, we agree on something," said the zoologist, who hugged his hands together before putting them in his pockets; an effort to get them warm. "It's odd, the temperature being the way it is now. Maybe it's because we're in a bit of a hot spell. It could be due to the world changing during the Cretaceous period."

"So are we going to have a warm winter?" the hopeful Ellis guessed. "Because that would make things easier."

The answer Chris gave downplayed said idea. "I wouldn't count on it. If there's something I do know about living in a northern state, it's that warm days like this could lead to really cold winters."

And it was his response that brought about more tension in the room. Ellis groaned in irritation, both on the status of the situation and that Daisy returned to freaking out more. Hazel, on the other hand, merely face palmed again.

"Just great," she said before bringing everyone's attention to her. It would seem that their stay in Temporary Park would worsen as the days rolled on. It was up to them and everyone else to deal with it. "As Ellis said, we're having a meeting tomorrow. I'm going to send a message to the staff tonight to meet at the Barrack lounge at 8:30 sharp."

"Chris," she called to him while glaring. The young man seemed unfazed by her gesture. "I want you to come up with ideas on how we can all cope with the conditions, especially the coming winter. This includes the Residents too."

Her gaze then fell on the engineer and the veterinarian at the desk. "Ellis, I want you to come up with those ideas to save on power here at the park. And Daisy, make sure that everyone here gets their share of blankets, coats, warmers, solar blankets, and anything to help them keep warm. Any patient that is sick needs to be given full priority."

"Okay," replied the younger Rey sibling.

"Alright…" the Grecian prodigy went next in a quick manner.

"Let's meet up at 8:00 so we can discuss our plans before the meeting. Agreed?"

She was met with a mix of agreements from them all. Somewhat satisfied with the end of the meeting, she made her way towards the door. Her hand on the doorknob, she glanced back at them. "Get some rest. We've got a long day tomorrow."

The workshop was met with a cool blast of wind as she opened the door. The chill lasted for seconds before it faded when the door slammed shut. The remaining members of the department heads remained in the shed for several more minutes, contemplating on the plans for tonight, as well as what will happen tomorrow.

And tomorrow would no doubt be stressful.

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Hazel situated herself on her simple, table-top desk. Her desk items were neatly piled on it, making it look a bit more "homey". It was 7:31 AM, at least, according to her phone.

Her room was dark. The window above her bed was covered by blinds. Even if they were lifted, she would see the coming dawn. The sun had not peeked over the horizon just yet, but the faintest light blues were starting to come out. The only light source that opposed the darkness in her room was the lone desk lamp she had at the top right of her desk.

She had just gotten out of bed, which was still messy after her tossing and turning over the night. Her garb consisted of a black polka dot pajama set, which kept her warm. She had a portable heater in her room that was quietly releasing warm air to combat the encroaching cold.

She was also the sole occupant of the room. With her mother and sister now in Temporary Park, they were in need of a place to stay. There was no way she was going to allow her mother to be within at least three feet of her after what happened yesterday. She had one of the other employees prepare a spare room for the two of them and provided them with the needed supplies to last the whole stay.

Hazel reached into the drawer at the side and pulled out a camcorder. It was a black Sony video camera with a retractable screen. Cameron, the Park's main cameraman, had a few spares in his workshop. Nigel allowed her and the rest of the new heads of the departments of Temporary Park to get their own. She was instructed to do a video log for every day, explaining the events that were occurring in Temporary Park over the course of three, correction, four months. Hazel didn't know why they wanted them to do that. Perhaps they wanted to have a recording of everything that was happening in Temporary Park for reference? Or it was for some kind of project.

Whatever it was, that was not the concern at the moment.

She worked out the mechanics on the camera until the screen she flipped to her showed her face. Her hair, although messy, was tied up in a disheveled ponytail. The girl took a deep breath and pressed the small button above the eye lens. A small text box with the "record" icon appeared at the bottom of the screen. The time next to it showed 7:33 AM.

Hazel took a deep breath and made herself look professional on the camera. "Day one of our time here at Temporary Park, and my time as park leader," she smiled slightly, though showing a hint of sarcasm. "I want to say that everything is going well, but I'd be lying if I did. Already, we've hit a few bumps on the road. Most of the Residents are uncomfortable with the cool temperatures, which is to be expected since we're practically in Alaska and most of them are from warmer environments. Hopefully, the small warming tents we've got will be put up soon for the Residents in their enclosures. We've already got those large tents up for the herds so they should be fine. The others, however, we're working on putting up smaller warming tents for them to help them cope."

She took in a deep breath and continued, knowing that her next topics would be the more morbid ones. "We've encountered another herd here. A bunch of Pachyrhinosaurus. The leaders engaged in battle against Aladar, Neera, and surprisingly, Nero. Thankfully, I was able to get to them in time and clear up the whole mess before it got worse. Turns out, this place is their Feeding Grounds and they were kicked out of their home by an army of tyrannosaurs. I don't know why tyrannosaurs would do that; it's not normal for a predator to over-exploit a resource unless they were pushed to do so. Maybe it's due to climate problems or changes in the land. I'm already familiar with the lifestyle predators go through; they aren't evil. They're just doing their best to survive, unless they had more…underhanded means like a few predators I ran into in the past. I can't vouch for the predators either, or even try to help resolve the issue because 1) it would make the 'truce' we have with this herd void, something neither of us would like, and 2) I don't know the other half of the story. These newcomers can't go to another place in the valley because the leaders claim this area is the only one that can support a herd of their size. More herds will be coming and will have their parts of the valley to use. But that's not the main issue."

"Nigel said that we would be taken to Temporary Park right after its construction, during the summer season. Due to some...mishap...we're in the middle of the fall season. That would explain the cool temperatures, the rolling clouds of fog, and the fact that it's dark outside. Not only that, but it seems that we'll be staying here for four months instead of three. We're going to take measures to deal with the new situation after today's meeting."

She rubbed her eyes with her hands to try to keep herself awake. Hazel cleared her throat to make her voice better. "I expected my time as leader to go off without a hitch. Then there was the part where my mother and sister got a bit too curious and decided to 'follow me' to the park," she narrated with displeasure. "From what I was told, they snuck into Nigel's jeep trunk while he and I were inside the hotel in Johannesburg gathering our bearings, which was how they got in. They ran into some Residents that scared them to death, Diablo being the one who started it. Espantos scared them too, unintentionally. I've done my best to explain to them the situation in a lighter perspective, but my mom is pretty adamant in wanting me to quit. I told her off and refused, of course. I would never leave my friends here, not in a million years."

Hazel face palmed. The thought of having to spend the next four months with her mother ruined a great start to her future. "I wish she would just understand that this is where I belong. Dad's death affected her so much that she's overprotective of me and my sister. How can she be if she barely contacted us? Now she and my sister are here, in Temporary Park. Stupid, they followed me through the portal after I thought I lost them."

"I've already had someone set up living quarters for them, with some spare changes of clothes and any necessary items. I need to convince them that what they're thinking is wrong. But...I'm not sure if I can with the new problems we've got. Maybe I'll try to have someone give them a tour, or try to have my friends talk to them."

She sighed wearily. "I'm excited to be the new leader. Thrilled, in fact. But with all of these problems coming, I'm not sure how much longer I can hold up. Any more of these issues and I just might..."

Hazel hesitated. Something in her mind came to light; something she thought she had forgotten. Violent winds of sand, almost choking, fearful cries of refugees retreating to safety, and a harsh lesson that she learned the hard way affected her with their nostalgia. It was a memory she brushed off as a result of her naivety, but the stress of the moment had caused it to resurface.

Guilt and trauma of the time raced through her mind. Her memories of a time of innocence lost returned.

"Just might crack…"

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Flashback…65 million years ago

Searing winds kissed her skin like a hot iron. Bright sunlight sought to blind her. Sweat leaked out all over her body in an effort to keep her cool. Her throat was parched, her mouth cried for the feel of water. The goggles that adorned her eyes protected her eyesight from the sun, along with any dust that flew into her eyes.

It had been 24 hours since Hazel first arrived in this desert wasteland from the African valley she called home. That African valley was a long way off in the 21st century. In the short amount of time since she arrived here, she nearly became a raptor pack's lunch, befriended a Pteranodon who was scouting around the area for places to rest or resources to use, found a herd that the flyer traveled with and was the girl's target for rescue, and survived a life-threatening interview to a couple of hard-knocked Iguanodons that knew only the bad side of life. Now, she was acting as one of the herd's scouts for the duration of their migration.

The 19 year old was not going to be in this job for very long. It was until the herd arrived at their Nesting Grounds, wherever that was. If their Nesting Grounds did survive, she was going to leave them alone for a year before returning to rescue them in time before the meteor struck. If it was not there, then she would rescue them regardless.

That was a bit of a ways off. Right now, her priority was to make sure the herd, the one she sought to save, got there safely. Of course, she needed to survive this desert too.

Most of the day had been spent on getting to know her new friends; Eema, Baylene, Url, and Flia. Eema was an old Styracosaurus who knew much about how things in the herd operated. She witnessed the reigns of three leaders the herd went through. The ceratopsian was also witness to the changing landscape, so she was aware of the many dangers and landmarks the herd went across. Eema was also the guardian of Url, an Ankylosaur in which Hazel had no knowledge of his exact species. He acted much like a dog, but was very friendly. Already, she was licked in the face four times, mostly because she spent time playing with him to keep his spirits up.

Then there was Baylene. Her existence was a conundrum to the young traveler. How a sauropod species from the Jurassic period survived up to the Late Cretaceous was mind-boggling. Hearing that she was the last of her kind was heart-wrenching too. For an elder that was the sole survivor of her species, Baylene was a tough old woman. She kept her head up and did her best to look at the brighter side of things. From what she was told, the Brachiosaurus joined the herd not too long before Hazel herself joined. Her sophisticated character was a surprise, but something that Hazel was fine with.

Finally, there was Flia. Hazel did not know too much about her past. Whenever she asked about her childhood, when she joined the herd, or the like, Flia would be quick on an answer before falling silent. The time traveler did not want to be rude so she stopped with the questions. Perhaps the migration was stressful and she needed to focus. Or there was something in her past that traumatized her. Whatever it was, Hazel respected her privacy. The Pteranodon did teach her the ways of the herd, or was gradually doing so. Hazel only learned a few during their little "crash courses".

The younglings were always watched over by the adults, even though Hazel knew that through much research in the past. The weaker individuals and the youngsters were all herded into the interior of the large group for protection. With some exceptions, individuals in the herd were mostly monogamous and mate for life, something that the girl found to be odd as most animals in the world, regardless of the time period, were not. It was not uncommon for herds in this land to have multiple species. And most importantly, the commands of the leader and his/her lieutenants were absolute. They were to be obeyed without question.

Being the herd's first human scout was exciting, but looking at the barren, stagnant landscape was boring. It was just rocks, rock formations, the occasional plateaus, a dead tree here and there, maybe some ravines that once had water, and the usual small predators that roamed about. There were at least two raptor packs nearby, but they were nothing the herd couldn't handle. Hazel shuddered at the sight of them. It was a good thing she was now under the herd's protection, otherwise she would have been an easy meal for them.

Scouting for possible resources and danger made her tired. So she began to tell her partner some jokes to pass the time. Unfortunately, the pterosaur had no knowledge of what human jokes were. First she started with simple puns she knew, which then turned to funny skits she remembered. It was difficult to help her understand due to the multiple human terminologies involved, but Hazel did her best.

"Knock knock," Hazel said, starting the first knock knock joke.

"What?" Flia glanced back at the purple tank top clad female, her face puzzled.

The girl sighed and laughed a bit. She neglected to mention how these jokes went. "This is the part where you say 'who's there?'"

"Why?"

"Just go with it."

"Okay, I'll play along. Who's there?" asked Flia.

"Goliath," Hazel simply answered.

"Goliath what?" the Pteranodon inquired about the strange name.

"Oh right," she smacked her forehead lightly, forgetting about those other details. "You're supposed to say 'Goliath who?'" It also did not help that no one in this time knew of the story of David and Goliath.

The crested one crooned with uncertainty. "Why? And what is with this 'knock knock' phrase?"

"It's not a phrase. It's a joke," Hazel started to explain. "Knock knock refers to someone knocking on something to get a person's attention. It's a little hard to explain. As for the 'name plus who' bit, that's the answer. Again, hard to explain."

Flia contemplated on her explanation before replying with the proper answer. "Goliath…who?"

"Go-liath down. You look tired," the human revealed. She lightly laughed at that to try to show the joke. It was not the best, but she hoped that her friend would at least get the idea. This was, after all, a joke she got from one of her favorite dinosaur series.

"Go-lia…oh!" the Pteranodon giggled. "Oh I get it!"

"Exactly. There's the joke."

"But what's a Goliath?" Flia added, puzzled at the name.

Hazel stopped herself. She cleared her throat and calmly told her the story she knew as a child. "He's someone from a story I knew when I was a kid. Goliath was a giant human. He was terrorizing a bunch of people; a big bully, if you would. It wasn't until someone named David managed to step up and defeat the guy. It's just a story, but the moral is there."

"Huh…interesting. You'll have to tell everyone else that story some time," the flyer suggested.

She then sighed. "I wish I could lie down right now, like you said in that joke. But we have this job to do first. Well...I don't lie down. I sleep standing up...kind of."

"Well I could kill for a day on my sleeping bag, along with a nice comfy- AAAHHH!"

A sudden gust of wind had caused the Pteranodon to shift erratically. The movement resulted in the human to lose her grip and fall off the side of the pterosaur. Hazel's stomach fell, her body succumbing to free-falling. Her hands grabbed nothing but air. Her form would soon meet the earth from an altitude of five hundred feet.

As Hazel fell, she could see Flia dive-bomb after her. Her wings were tucked against her body, giving her a boost in speed. It did not take very long for her to catch up to the free-falling human.

"GRAB MY BAG!" Hazel screamed, quickly turning her body around.

The flyer quickly complied and wrapped her talons around two of the straps on the bag. Hazel felt her body lurch up, the world around her slowed and straightened out. Her arms ached from the sudden movement, but she had little regard for her arm pain. Her hands were clutching onto the straps like glue. The world below her receded as she and her partner flew higher up.

"Oh God…that was close," she trembled, folding her legs up in fear.

"Hazel, are you okay?" Flia asked her.

"I think so. That sudden gust caught me off guard," the human chuckled sheepishly. "I really need to get used to this."

The pterosaur scoffed at the human's amusement. "What? Did you expect flying to be easy?"

"Uh yeah!" she retorted. "I thought it would be like riding a bike!"

And it was true. Not only was she focused on trying to find anything relevant in their scouting, she was getting used to the feel of flying on a pterosaur's back. There was the wind speed to consider, along with her partner's movements. Hazel sort of got the hang of it, except she did not expect any gusts of wind to hinder her. Holding her hands tightly around Flia's neck did tire her muscles. The heat did make her hands sweaty, so occasionally, she had to open her hands just to let them cool off.

There were risks to flying on a pterosaur. She hoped it would get easier with time. Now she knew to be more careful.

Flia eyed her at the curious word she brought up. "What's a bike?"

Hazel fell silent, knowing the mistake she made. Not wanting to delve deeper into the mechanics of her time, she changed the subject. "Never mind. See anything of interest?"

The Pteranodon did a quick scan of the area, only to shake her head when she found nothing. "Nope. Not a single speck of water or greenery. As usual."

The human was going to agree until she felt another gust from behind them. Flia had barely managed to get herself straightened out when the gust came; Hazel had to hang on tightly once more. Looking back, she wanted to know what was causing these turbulences. Her eyes widened when she found a series of brown clouds billowing up from behind.

The clouds seemed to touch the ground, creating what looking like giant wall. Dust and debris swelled like smoke clumps from dry ice.

The wind picked up again. Hazel's hair strands flew free in the swift breeze. The clouds she was seeing far exceeded the altitude they were in; probably up to the stratosphere as an exaggeration.

Hazel had never seen a sandstorm up close before. The only times when she saw one would be the few documentaries and pictures she had seen over the years. They can occur often in desert regions, so it was no surprise that there would be one here. The only problem was that she had not prepared for something like this.

"You may want to look again," she said, still looking back at the growing wall of sand. "What's that behind us?"

Flia eyed her human partner and followed her direction. Much to the girl's surprise, she seemingly shrugged it off. "Oh, those happen a lot around here. Those sorts of things never stopped us before; all we have to do is just keep our heads down and try not to breathe that stuff in. The unlucky few that don't do that, well..." she trailed off at the mention of those who did not survive such storms. "It does ruin our vision a little though. "

The tank top clad human gawked at such a response. This herd had gone through these things in the past? Kron would push the herd through these things all the time? The fact that none of them minded too much of the dangers of these storms were shocking. The leader had no regard for those that fell behind from these!?

Then, she thought of the modern day animals that live in desert regions. Camels had special eyelashes to keep the sand from their eyes, even the strong winds that are blown from sandstorms. Other desert animals would take cover by burrowing underground. Such animals were used to these sorts of conditions. They had to survive for many days, weeks, and months without water. They had to tread on the hot sands just to get to where they were going. Some animals had to store their resources in their bodies or underground to survive.

But the herd was not like those animals. None of them had those special humps like those camels to store water. Neither of them was adapted to living underground. Even if they could dig, the terrain here was too brittle to provide any needed resources, unless they did eat dry roots, but Hazel did not witness any of them doing that. They needed plenty of vegetation, fresh air, and most of all, water. From what Hazel knew of this herd, they spend much of their time in green pastures, mostly in lush valleys. This place was not for them.

Before she could think more on it, the gusts of wind brought her attention back to the growing crisis.

"Uh Flia?" Hazel brought up, still looking at the growing clouds. "That's a sandstorm."

"What's a sandstorm?" the pterosaur questioned the knowledgeable human.

"A sandstorm is kind of like a rainstorm except instead of water, it's a bunch of sand and dust. If anyone's not fully prepared, the storm can be fatal. Diseases and the risk of suffocation are possible in these sorts of things. So pretty much what this is."

"I had no idea about diseases, but I have witnessed those inexperienced in these storms die before. This one should be no different. Most of us are prepared for these things."

Just then, something bright and jagged illuminated one of the plumes. Hazel jerked in shock at the sudden flashes. Before she could dismiss that as a trick of the light, another flash illuminated one of the plumes off to the left of that part of the cloud. The fifty mile cloud flashed with an internal light show that could rival any ordinary thunderstorm.

Hazel had never seen a sandstorm like this, much less one with lightning. No documentary or pictures she had seen said anything about a desert sandstorm having electricity. Her limited knowledge on such things was a problem. What's more, if there was something she knew about lightning, it was anything that was in the air or on the ground without cover was in danger.

Worrying about their safety, Hazel warned the danger to the sky scout. "How about this? Did your sandstorms usually have lightning? I'm not sure if you're fully aware, but anything in the air while lightning is out can be fried to a crisp."

Flia looked back, taking another look at the storm. Her beak fell agape and her eyes filled with fear as she looked upon the growing harbinger behind them. "Oh no...I've never seen anything like it. We have to go back and warn the herd!"

"Flia, do you know of any place the herd can seek shelter?"

The Pteranodon shouted over the roaring winds. The human looked up at her after adjusting herself. "Hazel, I've been through this place so many times! There are some formations just a few ways from where we first left the herd! They're just like the one we were on when we first met!"

"Those are plateaus!" she deduced as best as she could over the winds. "My guess is the herd should be within their reach! The height and stability of those formations should be sufficient shelter against the storm! Now come on Flia! Fly like wind! Literally!"

"No need to tell me twice!"

Neither of them said more as they voiced their resolve. Together, they flew back towards the herd, which was in the northwest of where they were. Flia sped through the prehistoric sky, going as fast as her wings could take her. The weight of a human and her belongings weighed her down, but that did little to stop her from going. The pterosaur's nimble movements and her partner's trust had also allowed her to get Hazel situated back onto her back, just by swinging a bit to allow her to climb back on.

One good thing about the storm was those high winds blowing at them. They allowed the Pteranodon to gain enough speed to cover a vast distance. It was not very long before either of them spotted a line of dinosaurs traveling through the wasteland.

The herd had covered at least a few miles of distance the last they left them. They were going through small rock formations and hills. Sparsely spaced boulders were situated here and there. But they would do little to protect anyone from the incoming storm.

Flia did not lie when she said there were plateaus that could serve as shelter. About a mile ahead of them were two closely-knit plateaus that looked like they used to be one. A single gap in the middle revealed an opening that could only be an exit by walking in a narrow formation. The tops of the formations were flat, signaling no risk of falling rocks.

They were perfect for a shelter against a storm.

The bellows of the herd were frantic. Some individuals in the outer portions of the herd were fidgeting, running back and forth; no doubt after seeing the wall of death behind them. Soon, the rest of the herd was in a frenzy. The group stopped moving; moving onwards became overcome by the fear of the storm.

Hazel could clearly see two individuals that were a bit of a ways from the herd. Both of them were Iguanodons; one of them was hefty and brown like wet mud, the other was purple, darker than the shirt she wore. They turned around and skidded to a stop several feet before the frightened group. They let out bellows and commands that even she found to be hard to hear.

The two scouts sped up to the leader and his right-hand officer. They hovered for a moment before landing. The heads of the herd stopped at the sight of the large flyer that approached them. The human dismounted, finding herself face to face with two of the most intimidating creatures she had come across.

"Kron, we have to make for those rock formations now!" Flia shouted over the incoming storm. "There is a sandstorm coming!"

"What are you talking about? Sandstorm?" Bruton exclaimed, clueless as to what the scout was speaking of.

"These high winds are the precursor to it!" Hazel explained as best as she could. "If we don't evacuate now, the whole herd will suffocate to death or will get electrocuted!"

The Iguanodon alpha sneered at her, ignoring the warnings. To him, she was an ant to a tree. "Storms like this never stopped us in the past. We'll keep going!" he boomed.

"Kron, I know you've faced many sandstorms in the past, but I'm not sure if anyone can survive this!" she tried to reason. "This sandstorm has lightning! Anyone caught in this storm would either die from asphyxiation or get zapped by electricity!"

The arrogant leader huffed before letting out a frustrated growl. His steely blue eyes met her brown ones, like a killer would to its prey. "You are speaking in riddles that neither of us understand. And this storm means nothing to me. This desert is unforgiving, and those who cannot cope with its trials are not fit to survive. I thought you should know that by now."

Hazel stood firm despite the intimidation she was up against. Her astonishment at how stupid he was approaching this crisis turned into pure rage. "What so you're just going to ignore my warning? You're going to risk the herd's safety rather than listen to me?"

"Silence you insolent child!" he spat at her, making the human gasp and take a few steps back in fear. "You have no right to give me orders!"

The recovered human gritted her teeth and shouted her feelings. "I'm not trying to command you! I'm trying to help you! Look at the herd! They're freaking out!"

Looking back, the group saw the herd shifting in the group. Bellows of fright and the mass of pandemonium only increased as the clouds drew closer. Some of the members were so frightened that they were rushing about in all directions, only to return to the group when they saw the looming danger behind get closer. The lightning flashes caused the dinosaurs to yelp in surprise.

Kron and Bruton looked at each other, puzzlement coming to them. They were experienced in leading this herd. They had encountered sandstorms in the past. Yet, no one had been through a sandstorm like this. The human spoke the truth.

Despite the validity of the scouts' warnings, the alpha of the herd turned to her. Pure rage clouded his judgement. All he was seeing was a small creature trying to overtake his authority. "How dare to speak out against your superior!"

"Look around you!" the human waved her hands towards the storm coming and the panicked herd. "We're all in danger if we don't move it now!"

She then face palmed. "We don't have time for this…" her heart and feelings shown on her face as well as her voice. "If you're not going to get the herd moving, then I WILL!"

Then, to everyone's surprise, the young human bolted passed the large herbivores without regard to the rules of the hierarchy. Hazel sped up to the frightened herd as fast as her legs could take her. Before she could yell out her own command to the wall of Iguanodons, Pachyrhinosaurus, Styracosaurus, the scrambling Stygimoloch, Struthiomimus, and Microceratus that were doing their best to avoid getting trampled, and Parasaurolophus in front of her, she found herself being yanked off the ground.

A scream escaped her throat when she saw the herd speed by to the left. Dangling away from the dinosaurs she tried to save, she looked up to see who her captor was. Her eyes fell on a frantic Flia.

"Hazel, you foolish girl, what do you think you're doing!?" she demanded.

"I'm trying to save the herd! What do you think it is I'm doing?"

"Don't you realize what you've just done!?" the Pteranodon blurted out the error of the human.

"I don't care if I do get punished for this!" Hazel protested the horrible mark she made on her newfound duty. "The herd needs help and those two bastards weren't doing anything about it! Now are you going to help me get these guys to those plateaus or not!?"

Flia screamed in exasperation. There was a hierarchy in the herd, one that everyone needed to follow. Out of the many individuals that traveled in this group, there was one rule that they needed to keep in mind. Only the leader, or leaders if there was another they worked with, was allowed to give the orders. Only he or she could command the herd to move, stop, rest, or in more extreme cases, attack. Any lieutenants or scouts were subject to follow this rule too. No one was above the leader.

Yet, this human decided to go against that. Rather than doing so out of greed, she disobeyed her superior's authority for everyone else's benefit. She was putting everyone's safety before her own. The punishment of such behavior varied, but the worst kind came with a beating.

Flia knew all too well about that. The few times she questioned Kron's leadership in the past resulted in her getting beaten. She was lucky to survive at all.

Hazel was more fragile than she was. The human was smaller and lacked any way of defense. The little spike she carried with her was the only thing she had that provided some use, and perhaps that huge thing on her back could protect her. But even those were not enough to fend against two angry herd superiors.

The Pteranodon shook her head. This girl may be foolish, but she was doing so for the right reason. How could she go against such judgement like that?

Clutching the girl's back straps tightly, the flyer sped down to the frantic herd.

The sky above them had darkened. Already, the sand had reached them. The high winds blew at them all, threatening to blow everyone off their feet. Flia had to flap her wings vigorously just to keep herself hovering a good six feet above the herd. The lightning above them flashed like a furious light show. The chaos had increased in a matter of seconds among everyone.

"Everybody! Listen to me!" Hazel screamed, pointing towards the rock formations off to her left. No one paid her any mind.

"Hey!" she yelled again, but was ignored again.

Flia cawed, causing most of the herd members in the front to stop. Those behind them followed suit. All of them watched in confusion as the strange human and the scout that served them for years proclaimed their words of aid.

"This storm is fatal should we remain out here any longer!" she directed with her hands. The herd looked over to see two looming rock formations that seemed large enough to shield them from much of the sand. "There are a couple of plateaus nearby! They'll protect you from the storm! Get to them as quickly as you can! Help anyone who is slow, sick or injured to them! Stick together! Make sure that nobody gets left behind! Now let's go!"

No one in the herd objected to it. The dinosaurs hurried off towards the plateaus that the scouts directed them to. The scorching hot sands and the high winds burned at them, pushing them on like a supernatural slave driver. Hazel found herself unable to breathe properly and thus had Flia drop her off over at the plateaus.

The sands irritated her nose, thus making it hard for her to breathe. The goggles, however, protected her eyes from any irritation. It was thanks to them that she was able to see a bit more clearly, despite the limited visibility from all the dust. Her mouth, however, was dry and salty, a result of inhaling some sand. Hazel had to remove her sleeping bag and drape it over herself as a safety blanket against the winds, which flapped in the air like loose plastic. The thermal insulation inside made her feel hotter, an annoyance in the desert, but it was better than getting directly hit by the sands.

It was a hazy brown all around her. The rocks that lay still in the landscape were rolling away as if being kicked by an invisible force. Any formations around her now seemed to have blended in with the dust in the air.

Though she was wrapped up in that warm sleeping bag, the human could make out the giant forms of the herd passing into the gap between the plateaus in front of her. The screams they emitted were deafening. The herd had to organize themselves to go in a more streamline formation just to get through. Hazel had to help them by telling them not to push and shove each other. It also helped things move faster when she and Flia told them all to remain calm and to go in an orderly fashion.

As Hazel watched them go, she noticed the smaller herd individuals get shepherded along with the herd. Frightened younglings that were too scared to say anything were getting nudged along by their parents or guardians. Struthiomimus, Stygimolochs, and Microceratus all pensively followed the larger dinosaurs; some even huddled up to them to use their great girths as a form of protection from the windy sands. The plan was working; everyone was helping each other get inside per her instructions.

Relief overcame her when she finally came upon the last members of the herd. An elderly Brachiosaurus, with her neck craned over and gingerly squeezing into the narrow cavern, was the first to go in. Following her was a stout, grey, old Styracosaurus who was herding a spiky Ankylosaur in with her commands. Seeing her friends go in voided her worry on them.

Flia was the last to go in. But, Hazel remained outside. In the air, she heard a faint squealing a few ways off. Listening carefully, she found it to be someone in distress. The human wasted no time in finding out more about it and went into the storm, much to her friends' horror.

The winds batted against her makeshift flimsy shield. While her face was mostly covered, some bits of sand did get in. Hazel had to do her best to make sure no sand got into her nose. Her right hand had to grab the bottom part of the sleeping bag. Any creature that saw her would mistake her as some kind of armless monster roaming the desert.

As she ventured on, the squealing got fainter. The lightning above her got wilder by the minute. The streaks of light flashed in a furious display. Any longer out here and she could be zapped. The human's resolve was strong; she was not leaving until she found whoever was lost.

Hazel had to call out to the voice, tell them that she was coming to get them. The distressed one responded, shouting louder so that she could find them. Her wandering had led her to a sandy-colored female Iguanodon youngling. Hazel grabbed her in her arms, covered her with the sleeping bag, and trudged her way back to the plateaus.

Getting the youngling was a good idea in the first place. But playing the hero did have its problems. For one thing, this child weighed heavier than she expected. Her weighed slowed her movements significantly. Then, there was the problem of finding her way back. The sandy winds had covered her tracks, erasing any trace of the trail she left when going to search for the youngling.

Hazel was about to just hunker down on the spot and wait out the storm. But she did not give up then. She called out for her friends, saying she found who she was looking for, but was lost. Her calls were answered when Flia responded. Hazel followed her friends' voice. The lightning crackled above, making the girl jump with each moment.

Her pace quickened to a run. Her sleeping bag nearly flew off her. Her grip on the youngling was slipping. Hazel had to stop to readjust herself before continuing her retreat.

Finally, she came upon the plateaus. Waiting at the entrance was the Pteranodon scout. Hazel rushed into the rock formation gap without pause. She knelt against the wall, covering her whole body with the sleeping bag. Behind her, she could feel the shuffling of feet and another's body warmth. She was sweating, but she did not care. All that mattered was waiting out the storm.

Seconds turned into minutes. The storm raged on above their heads. The wind howled above the stones, making an uncomfortable whistling sound. Murmurs of everyone in the herd echoed throughout the rock formation. The lightning flashes illuminated the darkened gap with its booming brilliance. Yelps from the younglings sounded off from the front, only to be quieted down by the adults. Everyone waited as the storm passed over them, hoping that the disaster would end.

Only when the howling winds and the lights diminished did a sense of calm return. The skies brightened up again, revealing the barren desert once more.

When Hazel uncovered herself and the whimpering youngling, she took in the aftermath of the storm. Her friends were huddled around the opening to the outside. Shielding her with her wings was Flia, who relaxed as soon as she saw that everything had calmed down. The herd stirred, but none of them dared to move from the cavern.

Looking about, she soon came across a distressed slender, brown and grey colored female Iguanodon rush up to her. Hazel was about to question her approach when the youngling in her arms rushed up to her. The adult and the child rubbed their snouts affectionately. The female held a hoof around the youngling, holding her close. It was then that Hazel deduced this to be the child's mother. The adult thanked her for saving her daughter before departing.

The human felt good about this venture. The herd was in big trouble, but with the help of Flia, the herd was saved.

Hazel let her bag and sleeping bag fall, both of which collided with the ground with a clump. She then turned around to look upon her friends. Baylene had been lying down, her body curled around Eema and Url, who were looking upon the sandy covered rocks outside.

"Everyone okay?" she asked them all.

Baylene craned her neck over to the human and Pteranodon standing before them. "My face feels like it is itching all over," she sneezed loudly before sniffling, "and my nose feels clogged. But I am adequate."

Eema groaned and turned over. "I am really too old for this…Url seems fine though."

Said Ankylosaur responded in grunts and snorts. Hazel giggled when she watched the armored dinosaur circle around; he was indeed like a giant puppy. Url's gratitude was solidified when his huge tongue lolled out and licked her face. The human sputtered out the disgusting liquid, not to mention she now smelled like him a little. A big disgusted, but she accepted his gratitude. At least her forehead no longer felt hot.

"Thank goodness we got here in time" Flia said, stretching her wings before letting them rest on the ground. "Any longer out there and we would have-"

"We would have been fried by the lightning or asphyxiated by the sand," she finished and patted the herbivore on the head before turning her attention to everyone else. The Ankylosaur huddled up to Eema and lay down for a rest.

The Pteranodon became puzzled by the human's vocabulary once more. "I have no idea what those mean, but yes."

"Seriously Hazel, did you really have to pull that stunt?" the flyer started to scold at the girl, much to her annoyance and their friends' surprise. "I understand you cared about everyone, but did you even think about the consequences of disobeying orders?"

"What orders?" Hazel put a hand on her hip, her face taking on a defensive fashion. "I was not told to not help the herd. Nobody told me to stay put. Those two lugs weren't doing anything about the situation."

"But what about how Kron would react? I saved you just in time before he could really approach you. He won't be pleased about this, even though you did a noble act."

The human face palmed again. "Son of a…you know what, he's just going to have to suck it up. Everyone's safe, and he should be thankful for it."

"Human!"

Both scouts snapped their heads over in the other direction of the cavern. Both of them were shocked to see the herd members before them skirting away on both side. They parted path, revealing one of the individuals neither of them wanted to meet today.

Bruton was always in a bad mood. That much Hazel knew. Her first meeting with him involved him doing some name calling and underestimating her abilities to survive. At this moment, he was outright pissed. His flat teeth were clenched together and his eyes were narrowed. His lumbering gait ended in stomps; then again, it could be Hazel's imagination.

Hazel had never seen Bruton like this, but she did not like it. She braced herself when he stopped just a few feet from them.

"Kron wants to see you," he scowled at her.

The lieutenant made a quick turn, swishing his tail in the air. If anything was in his way right now, they would have gotten a rude slap. Before he walked on, he turned back to look at Flia.

"You too, birdbrain," he called out to her before marching away.

The two of them shared a nervous glance. They were really in for it now. Neither of them argued as they followed Bruton to the front of the herd.

The cavern was pretty narrow, but the herd made do with it. Each of them had to watch where they stepped so as to make sure none of them stepped on any of the smaller herd members or bumped into anyone else, preferably not towards any horns or spikes. As they walked on, they noticed they were getting tentative glances from each of the individuals. Some of which were indifferent or nervous due to Bruton's presence, others showed hints of gratitude for helping to get everyone to safety in time.

Hazel felt a bit more confident with the reactions she was getting. She heard soft-spoken "thank yous" and saw a few give her smiles. She hoped that Kron would at least cut her some slack for getting everyone out in one piece.

The human eventually discovered that Bruton was leading them to the outside of the cavern. The light at the end of the opening was getting closer and closer by the minute. She deduced that the alpha may be outside, perhaps wanting to have a private conversation with the two of them. It was unprecedented, but it did somehow make sense if it were meant for their ears only.

Before they were outside, they passed by Neera. Hazel and Flia silently watched her, and she in turn did the same. She shot them a small smile, which then turned into a worried frown. The Asian tensed up at this; if Neera was this worried then the meeting may not go in their favor.

She hoped everything was going to be okay.

Once outside, they were greeted by the blinding desert sun. Bruton had retreated back into the cavern, back to the herd. It was clear that his job at the moment was to escort them outside. The claustrophobic cavern walls gave way into the outside wasteland. Small rock formations dotted the landscape, with a few rocky hills here and there. But the sandstorm left its mark as most of the land was covered in sand. It was like the Sahara desert had decided to pay a little visit before leaving.

Standing before them was the herd leader, who turned around at the sound of their approach. His hard blue eyes and cold gaze sent shivers down the human's spine. He approached the two of them and stopped a mere four feet from them. Hazel froze, riddled with intimidation when he began to scold at them.

"I don't think I need to say what it is you have done," he said darkly.

The human recovered, becoming defensive in her belief of the situation. "Excuse me? What I have done?" she scoffed. "I HELPED the herd get to safety! If it weren't for me and Flia, we'd all be gasping for air, buried alive, or struck by lightning!"

"You clearly went out of your own jurisdiction and gave out orders when you weren't supposed to!" he stomped a hoof, shaking the earth with his rage.

Hazel angrily protested. Her arms waved at him with each sentence describing his idiocy. "And you're mad at me for that? You were standing there, doing nothing while the whole herd was freaking out about the harbinger of death hovering above their heads. So yes, I took it upon myself to get everyone moving. You should be grateful that I did you a favor!"

"A favor?" he leaned closer to her until he was at eye level. Having the strict leader up at her face like this made her want to run. He could smash her at a moment's notice or swipe her away, Death was just a few inches away. Her hand fell for the dagger at her side, ready to stab him should he decide to go the violent route.

"Last I checked...YOU WERE NOT THE LEADER OF THE HERD!" he boomed. The girl shut her eyes, not wanting to meet those eyes again. She hissed under her breath, her body trembled at the scolding on steroids from a 3 ton tyrant. "I MAKE the orders! I TELL them to move along! I DECIDE what is right and what is wrong!"

As much as she wanted to retort, she feared that by doing so would result in her getting hurt…or worse. Hazel stayed silent. To her, it was probably the smartest thing to do at the moment. Saying her peace made him angry enough as it is.

Hearing him walk passed her, she opened her eyes and found him up front with Flia. Unlike Hazel, she did not flinch at the sight of him, but she was shamefaced all the same.

"You were supposed to teach her everything about our ways!" he spat.

"I am sir!" she tried. "Please, she's just a child! I am teaching her at a comfortable pace for her so she could understand-"

"Well she needs to understand quickly!" he interrupted. Kron shot a demeaning look at the human once more. His voice mellowed out, but Hazel could still feel the anger in each word. "I do not know what kind of world you came from, but know this. Everything is not all perfect and fair. No one gets the things they want and nothing goes their way. Your job is to scout around, searching for anything beneficial for the herd, or detrimental to avoid. You are not the herd's protector, guide, nor its leader. I am your superior, and you are below me."

The purple alpha snorted unceremoniously at her. His hot breath met her like the hot sands of the storm. Had it not been for her goggles, she would have had to wipe more of it from her face. Kron stomped passed them after giving his rude regards.

Before either of them could breathe a sigh of relief from his passing, he turned back to them. He gave the human what seemed to be a warning.

"I am only showing you leniency only because of your naivety. The next time you speak out against my leadership or do things without my consent, you will be banished from the herd."

Hazel said nothing as she watched her superior walk off. The whole conversation recapped in her mind like a record. She had just got yelled at…for helping everyone. Why? She was only doing the right thing. That asshole and his associate weren't doing anything back then. They were most likely going to have the herd keep going with the storm coming. And Flia said it herself; there were a few individuals who would not survive a sandstorm unless they knew what to do. There were no casualties today.

And yet she and Flia still got the short end of the stick.

Hazel slumped onto the ground, still shocked by the treatment she got. Flia stayed with her, consoling her and apologizing for her outbursts earlier. They were lucky; Kron had not done any physical harm on them for questioning his leadership. To think that he was secretly grateful of their endeavor was a longshot. Neither of them thought more on it as they wanted to forget the whole thing.

The two of them remained outside to watch the desert landscape, ignoring the heat that was setting on them. The trauma of the day desensitized them to everything else. It was only after some time did the two of them manage to find the courage to reunite with the herd. To Hazel, she learned a harsh lesson the hard way.

End Flashback…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hazel blinked. Her senses returned to the present. It took her a moment to realize that she had zoned off, thinking about a memory she thought she forgot. That one memory of her doing what she thought was right but at the expense of disobeying regulations was harsh. Hazel learned that the hard way. Nigel would probably give her a serious talk, but he would never act like Kron did. She was lucky; he was being lenient with her.

That day…it was soon after she became a scout. It happened a few days before she first met Aladar and the lemur family…and before she made her first crossing against the scorching dunes of that desert.

The girl made a small gasp as she stared back at the screen. About five minutes had gone by since she last said anything. She wanted to smack herself for this little embarrassment; the camera had caught her reminiscing about the past when there was no need to!

Hazel shook her head, shoving that memory to the recesses of her mind. The stress of the passed day had caused it to resurface. Her being the leader had brought about hardships she needed to overcome. The woman brushed off that memory at the behest of Flia's advice; she was new and didn't know everything. She just never thought it would come back to haunt her.

"I'm...sorry. I was...I was deep in thought there," she spoke to the camera. "I was just remembering the time when I spoke out against Kron, my former superior of the herd, if you would. I'd say it was about two years ago, on my first solo adventure. Nigel sent me back to try and rescue a herd of dinosaurs to prove his theory that there were two meteor strikes 65 million years ago, and that dinosaurs survived the first one. It was also the first time I used his prototype communicator to speak to prehistoric creatures. I'll spare you the details on my first day, but I became the scout of the herd that would one day be led by Aladar and Neera. I...made some mistakes during my first couple days. One of which was me getting the herd to safety from a sandstorm that had lightning. I helped save them all by getting them in between a couple of plateaus. Kron hated it, saying that I usurped his position there. I was lucky he didn't kill me for that. He was being lenient."

She took another breath before continuing her explanation. "Kron was facing hard times; seeing much death and making hard decisions plus being in a harsh landscape right after a meteor struck, made him into a cruel, cold tyrant. No one likes to talk about it. He's a topic that's best kept under wraps. I'm not going to end up like him."

Hazel shook her head, her features took on confidence. The former leader of the herd had his faults. His arrogance was one of them. And it was his arrogance that led to his downfall. "I'm not like Kron. He let his arrogance and short-mindedness get the best of him. Right now, we're in a similar situation with being in a land that's against us. Everyone in the park is practically stranded in a place where we thought we were safe. We have to survive an incoming winter with whatever we've got. We can make it out of this. We just need to do things right. We've got no room for mistakes."

She looked at the time again. The camera read 7:45 AM. There was 15 minutes until the meeting with the rest of the heads of the departments about their ideas on coping with the coming winter. And after that was the staff meeting.

Hazel sighed. She needed to get ready. "I'd better get going. The meeting is about to start soon."

The head of Temporary Park quickly cut the recording. This was followed by her shutting the camera off.

She then got into her change of clothes; the sweater vest, blue long sleeve shirt, and jeggings. In just a minute or so, she had fixed her hair up into that up do with the butterfly claw clip she had. As soon as she put her black leather boots on and grabbed her phone, she rushed out of the room.

In her mind, she hoped that these four months would not be as bad as everyone was expecting them to be.

Darksage: Well, that was interesting! Looks like we got a bit more backstory here, eh? Nice going Ellis! You screwed everything up!

Marc: Take it easy, Sage! It was an honest mistake on his part.

Darksage: He still screwed up! Now everyone is in this situation.

Marc: Hazel and the rest of the department heads better have some kind of a solution for this.

Darksage: Okay so a couple of things. Sandstorms with lightning? They're a real thing, but they don't occur often. Also, the flashback in this chapter occurred after Hazel got inducted into the herd and before Aladar and his family were included/before they crossed the desert. A lot has happened in DaPPA that Hazel buried in the recesses of her memory.

Marc: Finally, to answer one reader's question, this story will be a bit long due to the amount of drama that will take place. There are a lot of conflicts that will occur and a lot of lessons to be learned.

Darksage: Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter! We hope you enjoyed this one :)