Location: 35°57'31.76"N 104°51'07.59"W
Time since asteroid impact: 3 Years 5 months 3 days
There was something about the normality of the plateau they were currently treading across that felt more... not normal. It was obviously expected; they had been dealing with quite irregular things for some time, so having the first long moment of peace and quiet on a rather flat terrain was in a way new to them. That wasn't to say things were completely normal, as the plateau eventually gave way to a clean scarp and vale that made going down the hill more challenging than usual, leading to more flat ground that would return back to the raised terrain. It was a nice exchange between low and high, even if both were almost completely flat, and kept going as they went around a mountain range only to find more plateaus. Eventually though, the exchange did indeed end. Though the golden grass was sparse and only just starting to reach out from the ground, it still added to the fact that nature was indeed recovering, even here.
"Thinking about home?" Ida had noticed Libby's faltered expression, in response the apatosaur gave a small nod. "Are we gonna stay?" She huffed out. Usually Ida would of had an answer for any question asked, though the subject in question surprised her indeed. Were they going to stay at Clawtooth? In all the time spent on getting to home, Ida hadn't a clue on what was going to happen once they got there.
"That depends, really, on what everyone else thinks when we reunite."
Libby once again looked away from her mother, "But what if we're not all there?" Of all the questions Ida had to face, Libby chose the one that she had absolutely no idea how to deal with. So stuck on providing an answer, the two failed to notice the feature that was right in front of them.
"Look out!" Russel had stepped in to intervene what would've been a big fall into a deep river channel, not quite a canyon. "Maybe relax a bit on the existential questions, last thing we want is for someone to die of confusion."
Without a hitch, the rest of the way down and out of the river channel went smoothly as did most of the journey running along side one of the final mountain chains left. Known as the Range Front, the wide chain of smaller mountains forced the group to go around rather than take a journey through the range. Using some shortcuts however, they easily found a route under the Mountain of Twins. "And why is it called that exactly?" Ida asked, to which Ethine was the first to respond. "It's because the mountain has two, nearly identical peaks on the same mountain. You won't see it from here anyways as there are a few hills blocking the view."
"Typical, any good news about Clawtooth?" Russel questioned, Ramsey took the map from her brother to inspect it. "Well I'll be, see that hill off to the horizon there?" Everyone looked to where she was pointing, albeit a tad difficult given the size of her arms. When they eventually spotted the hill in question she continued, "That's Bald Mountain, if we head in that direction we should be less than a week to Clawtooth!"
At that, everyone gave a cheer. Not a loud one, but a wholesome one nonetheless. It took all day for Bald Mountain to be so close, and by the time the sun eventually set over the bumpy horizon they were less than an hours way to said peak. There was still 4 or so days according to Ramsey, but for Ida, Buck, and Libby that didn't matter. Mere days was nothing compared to the 3 whole years spent prior waiting, those days were so close by that it was frighteningly exhilarating. A sense of pure euphoria filled the atmosphere, no more did they fear that they wouldn't see their former home, instead was a certainty that home could be reached, and possibly built back to the way it was before.
Nightfall once more began to approach, by which everyone was prepared to rest for the next day. A small meandering river allowed for a clearing in the subtle grass for them all to rest upon, except for Ida, Buck and Libby. No, they wanted to spend the night together, to look at the stars and contemplate just how close they were now. For a good spot, they walked a bit on further up a slope to reach one of the final plateaus of the journey. Instead they were met with a bumpy mess full of cracked rock, the beginning of the unprecedented terrain they would soon have to go through.
"Oh well, we can still see the stars from here." Ida said as they all sat down, beginning their gazing of the sky that hung over them.
"It's beautiful." Buck quietly said. At last, true peace. Now that they accepted that Clawtooth was indeed within their future, the overall journey never felt more light hearted. Everything they'd been through, all the things they found out along the way, they couldn't wait to tell it to the others. Arlo, Verena, Henry, they would all hear the tales of their journey, and they would all laugh about it surely.
"I still can't believe it." Libby chuckled, the feeling was mutual until they heard a noise in the distance. As they got up and looked to the direction of the sound, it became clear that it belonged to someone trying to catch up to where they were at. It wasn't from running, more like someone who had climbed up the hill in a short time.
They were expecting that it was possibly Nash, judging by the male undertone of the panting breaths that were made. No sooner did they start to see the head come into view, they soon realised that it was Russel, though something was off with the way he looked and just the general tone of his voice. "Russel, you good?" Buck asked, to which the apatosaur in question gave them a bewildered look. They immediately put two on two that this wasn't Russel, not with that look. "Russel? I think you're mistaking me for someone else. I'm Henry."
Audio Message #38: Subject Members 4, 5, and 6 - aka Ida, Buck, and Libby respectively - have traveled 449 miles (722 Km's). While joy seems to be amongst the group down there, it appears as though their one moment of peace together has been poorly interrupted by the alternative Henry. I'm in the process of coming up with a nickname for this individual as to make it not as confusing, and while there aren't any yet, there's enough time before they make it back home. Their survival rating is at an astounding 4.9 out of 5.
End of message.
A/N: N/A
Next chapter: A Boost in the Right Direction
Fun Facts: N/A
