Standing guard at the gate of the Rio Iris gorge bridge, Bill Campbell, a fiftyish black-haired, beefy and paunchy J-SEC officer, was pacing back and forth on the walkway over the gate, between the two watchtowers that flanked the latter. With a preoccupied air, he watched the northern sky darkens while the Sibo was vomiting ashes and other kinds of ejecta.
From time to time, he scanned the skies with binoculars, searching for the sinister wings of the quetzalcoatluses, and was also listening to the jungle on the other side of the gorge, waiting for hooves' sounds.
He had been informed more than twenty minutes earlier that two young visitors, passengers of the wrecked truck that had been found in the Loudwater valley, had been seen in the outskirts of the safari village. Having spotted the security cameras, they had attracted their attention before showing them their destination on a map: The Rio Iris gorge bridge.
Thus, despite the devastating earthquake that had occurred in the meantime and the eruption that had begun, Campbell was waiting for these survivors who were expected to arrive at any minute.
When bellows and calls had started to come from the Reserve, the watchman worried a bit for the two survivors and for long minutes, the sounds went on in the middle of a silenced jungle.
It was then that as they were decreasing in intensity, the noise of a single galloping animal became perceptible. Campbell turned to the Reserve and listened carefully.
He recognized the sound of hooves striking the beaten earth and a few seconds later, a horse with a bay coat, ridden by a young man of about eighteen years and another, younger and smaller, hurtled in full gallop from the bend described by the track shortly after the bridge.
"It's them, Rafael!" Campbell shouted to his colleague who was waiting on the ground, ready to slide the gate. "Open the gate!"
Rocinante crossed the bridge and, still galloping, passed the open gate before being stopped by Zach.
While the officer who had opened the gate closed it back, the one who had spotted them was coming towards them, just like the Canadian grey guard who was waiting until then next to a horse trailer nearby. Zach recognized the individual since he had glimpsed him the night before at the Merry Iguanodon.
Noting that the mare was safe and sound, Niall Forrester approached the dismounted boys to shake their hands out of gratitude.
"Thank you for bringing her back," he said.
Then, before the Mitchells could say goodbye to Rocinante, he grabbed her halter and led her into the trailer. In the meantime, Campbell told the boys to follow him and go in the back of a black buggy.
"I'll take you to the Avenue. Miss Young has planned to pick you up there," he told them.
A few moments later, as they were driving towards Burroughs, someone spoke in the vehicle's radio.
"Alert to all units, Russel here! The Hell Storks have reached the river's aviary. I repeat, the Hell Stork are at the river's aviary!" Said an officer, one of those aboard the helicopters that went to pick up the group in the hills north of the Jungle Trading Post.
Campbell and his two passengers tuned pale.
The first because he knew that there were still civilians in this area and the latter because they thus learned about the quetzalcoatluses' escape.
The officer momentarily wanted to turn off the radio in order to avoid worrying the Mitchells more than necessary, but aware that they must had gone through some terrible ordeals in the jungle, he changed his mind, especially since the message was urgent.
"They ... they're heading toward us…" Russel added, terrified.
Then followed a mixture of screams, half-strident half-booming calls, an engine's roar, and the sound of an alarm.
"They're attacking! We're losing altitude!" He yelled over the cacophony. "Please, someone help us!"
