As the sky rained its wrath upon the ocean above, the Megalodon swam closer and closer to the Cetotherium pod, hoping to find a young, weak or old individual. The sharks moved with the grace and focus of experienced hunters; they had hunted many whale pods, they knew what to look for. The whales bunched closer together, moving nervously away from the predators. The Megalodon, paying them no heed, swam, slowly, but remorselessly towards the Cetotherium pod. Drew turned to Alice, "You handle the Cetotherium; I'll handle the Megalodon!" Alice turned to him and said, confused, "What are you going to do, poke them with a stick?!" Drew smiled, "I got an idea."

At this statement, Alice smiled and nodded, before saying, "I knew you would", before she turned and swam towards the Cetotherium. The whales looked nervously as she approached, still wary of the sharks in their midst. As Alice got closer, she said, trying to sound as soothing as she could, "Don't worry, don't worry, we're here to help you. My friend is going to scare off the Megalodon, whilst I get you somewhere safe. She lifted the portal remote, pressed a button and the portal whirred into life. The Cetotherium approached hesitantly, as if uncertain about whether or not to approach this strange new object. As if to give some further encouragement, Alice grabbed the bait bag and emptied a bag of krill through the portal. With this, the Cetotherium did not need much encouragement. They swam through the portal, after the bait and into the present.

Meanwhile, as Drew swam towards the Megalodon, he lifted his handheld and pressed the button to activate the Basilosaurus call recordings, still on his handheld after the Eocene mission. They needed a distraction; and what could be better to distract an apex predator than implying another apex predator was nearby? Drew smiled, lifted his handheld, pressed a button and a long, low, mournful-sounding call echoed through the water. The Megalodon stopped in their advance and turned around, almost in unison; there was another apex predator here, but where was it? Slowly, remorselessly, they began to advance towards the source of the sound.

Once they had gotten close enough, Drew took off, swimming as fast as his legs could carry him. The Megalodon followed him, their prey drives activated. As the Megalodon pursued him, Drew smirked; this was just what he needed. Escaping some prehistoric predator armed with nothing but his wits. He was starting to feel like his old self again.

If he had been in any serious danger, he would not have attempted this plan. The Megalodon were not focused on him – as a prey item he was too small. He could easily . Their great size was turning from an advantage, into a handicap. And, besides, they were focused on the recordings indicating there was a large, unfamiliar apex predator on their turf, not the strange little creature that was swimming in front of them.

Suddenly, Alice's voice rang in from the in-suit communicator, "The whales have gone through; it's done." Drew smiled, "Perfect. You get back to the boat; I'll get these guys through the portal." Alice's voice was tinged with worry, "But what are you going to do?" Drew smiled, "I always have a plan." There was a brief pause and then Alice replied, "Fine." Drew looked to see Alice swimming away in the distance, towards the boat. Once she was gone, Drew lifted the remote, activated the portal and flung the communicator in.

Unchanging their trajectory, both Megalodon followed the communicator, still emitting the call, through the portal. Drew sighed; the adventure was over. Alice's voice crackled over the radio, "We're sending down the shark cage to pick you. After that, I think it's time we all went home." As she said this, the shark cage was lowered into the water, and Drew swam into it. Once he was in and he closed the door, the shark cage was lifted above water and it returned to the Mariner. Drew sighed, "The old Egypt manoeuvre. Never fails." Leon smiled, "Yeah. You know, remember what we said about talking to Alice about what was going on…" Smiling, Drew said, "Eh, we can talk about it later.". He activated the portal and the Mariner sailed through to the present.

After that, all the new animals were being transferred to their new homes. The Odobenocetops and Cetotherium had been found new homes in Whale Cove. The Odobenocetops had been given an exhibit that resembled a kelp forest. They were all currently rooting through the sediment, looking for shellfish that the keepers had left. The Cetotherium had been given one of the largest tanks in the exhibit, simulated to resemble an open sea; the pod were now exploring their new home.

The adolescent Megalodon, a female, had been placed in the Aquarium, in an exhibit that simulated a shallow sea. She was now swimming around her new territory, waiting to be fed. And the two adult Megalodon had been given a tank in Hell's Oceans – a tank which had been divided into two halves, given that sharks were known to be cannibalistic. The pair were exploring their new territories.

However, Alice and Will were sitting in the vet offices, half-heartedly playing with Raksha. The tiny bear dog was growing fast and was starting to whine when Alice and Will were not in the nursery. Occasionally, Will and Alice would smile as Raksha tugged on a rope or playfully mauled some small rubber toy. However, their minds were on other topics. Their world had cracked wide open; every statement had a sinister double meaning and everyone could be a potential plant. It was keeping them awake, with only one question on their minds.

How long would this have to go on?

Next time on Prehistoric Earth

The team go back to the Pliocene

(A herd of Macrauchenia and Toxodon turn to look at a predator)

To save one of the most famous extinct predators

(A Smilodon roars)

Meanwhile, everything comes to a head…

(von Grimm looks at a screen)

All next time on Prehistoric Earth: Ten to Midnight!

Meanwhile…

Alice Denham walked down to the park bar in the dead of night. The only creatures who would notice her were the skeleton crew on the night shift and the occasional nocturnal animals. At this time, the staff bar was deserted; the keepers on the night shift generally wanted sleep, rather than sustenance.

As she approached, she saw Will Darrow standing outside, just as nervous as she was. Silently, he said, "Are you ready?" She nodded, silently and diffidently. They opened the door and walked into the staff bar, where they saw Cynthia, sitting at the same booth as last time. She waved to them and beckoned them in. Awkwardly, they sat down. Cynthia looked at them, curiously, and asked, "Is there anything new I should know about?" Will and Alice both shook their heads and Alice said, "No. There's nothing going on; nothing suspicious that we've noticed." They looked at each other; there was something they both wanted to say; it was only a matter of who was willing to say it.

It was Alice who spoke, "It's just w-we're not really on board with this. Every time someone notices something wrong and asks us how we're feeling, we have to say everything's fine… when we know it isn't. We've spent a week lying to our colleagues… our friends. Surely, if they're in danger, they have a right to know what's happening…"

Cynthia cut her off with a harsh glare. Her tone became icy, "I'm glad to know that you haven't noticed anything suspicious yet – however, keep your eyes peeled. I want to know what they might be planning next. And here's a tip; next time it keeps you awake, just remember this is all for the greater good."

Alice and Will looked at each other, and Will said "Yeah. All for the greater good."

To be continued...

Rescue tally:

Otodus megalodon: 3 (1 male, 2 female)

Odobenocetops leptodon: 9 (3 males, 6 females)

Cetotherium furlong: 9 (2 males, 7 females)