Part 2

The team was in a small state of shock as they looked at the gigantic spider struggling to right itself. They realised the true significance of what they had encountered; this was a creature that had escaped the fossil record, a creature totally unknown to science until now. They had encountered a completely new species, almost entirely by accident. After a while, the spider managed to right itself and hissed at them, as if holding them responsible for the indignity it had just been subject to. The spider regarded the new creatures with a supercilious lack of interest and it began to turn around to head back into the swamp. Drew and the team moved stealthily towards the spider, in order to bring this new creature back. Suddenly, they paused as the whoosh of some large flying creature zipped right across them; moving so fast it was practically invisible. The distractions caused by the new creature's arrival gave the spider the opening it needed to disappear into the swamp. Just as quickly as it had appeared, it had gone.

The adventurers tried to get a look at what just flew past them, but it was so fast they couldn't get a good enough view of it; it was little more than a vaguely insect-shaped blur. They only needed to wait a few seconds until another zipped past them, and another, and another. After a while, the team could get a good look at the mysterious aerial giants, as they buzzed around each other, and they were pleasantly surprised. They were beautiful looking creatures, resembling gigantic green dragonflies; however, they were much bigger, the size of hawks. Adrian couldn't help but stare, open-mouthed, at this beautiful spectacle, "I-I think I remember hearing about these. These are Meganeura, right?" Drew nodded in confirmation and said, "Yeah, they were on the target list. However, capturing these guys will be tricky. We'll have to see if any of our supplies can help us hold them down long enough." With this setback, they decided the best course of action would be to find either the spider or some Petrolacosaurus. They all knew that this would be a lot easier said than done, as they hiked through the swamp, following the spider's path.

Their search took entered a clearing, which appeared to be empty of creatures; the only thing in the clearing was what appeared to be a large brown log, buried under leaf litter. Alice moved towards it, to see if the spider had crawled under it. However, appearances proved to be deceptive, as the "log" suddenly reared up and began to move! The "log" was actually a gigantic millipede some ten feet long. When it reared up on its hind legs, it was tall enough to look Adrian in the eye. The team looked at the giant with a bit of shock. "Arthropleura", Drew said with a small grin, "These were on the target list, too; they were actually my main target for Scotland. However, since we've already found one, we might was well save it." As the large creature began to crawl away, Adrian and Drew jumped on top of it, in order to slow it down, being careful not enough to injure it. The centipede bucked and shook like a bull in a rodeo ring, trying to get free. Alice took the opportunity and set up the portal in the direction the creature would be headed. The instant that was done, Drew and Adrian jumped off the giant arthropod as it went through the portal into the park's newly constructed bug house.

Due to the Carboniferous creatures requiring a special atmosphere, temporary quarantine areas had been placed in the bug house while the main enclosures were being constructed. Kyle looked upon the Arthropleura, which was currently rearing up, like a striking cobra and lunging at the glass of the quarantine area. Thankfully, the Arthropleura's enclosure would soon be ready; it would just have to be patient until then.

Back at the Carboniferous, the team managed to find one of the creatures they were looking for; however, they're about to get a big surprise. As they wandered into a forest clearing, they saw a group of small green lizard-like creatures feeding on the carcass of an Arthropleura. Alice stared at the little creatures and, quietly, asked Drew, "I'm assuming those are Petrolacosaurus, right?" Drew nodded, "Yes. It seems like a pretty good amount at that; they must have been drawn here by the dead Arthropleura." Drew crept up to the little reptiles as silently as possible; given the fact that they were probably a very important prey item in the diets of the giant arthropods and amphibians in the area and had little in the way of natural defences, they would probably have panicky demeanours and lightning fast reflexes. The smallest sound would be enough to induce these lizards into scattering back into the forests. Strangely, however, the little lizards didn't seem to register him; they were too engrossed in feeding on the carcass to even notice the large creature coming towards them. Suddenly, a dark shape moved out of the bushes, at lightning speed, jumped onto one of the Petrolacosaurus and began to attack it. This surprise attack caused the others to begin to flee back into the bushes. Drew, not missing the opportunity, set up the portal directly in the trajectory of the fleeing animals, sending them through the portal and into the present day. In all the carnage, Drew, Adrian and Alice got a good look at the predator, which was continuing to attack the struggling lizard. It was a giant spider, possibly the same one they had encountered before, which loomed over the lizard and chittered in glee as it sank its large fangs into its struggling prey. After a few seconds, the lizard's struggles reduced in intensity and its breathing became shallower until it had stopped moving; the spider had killed it. Drew, Alice and Adrian stared in surprise; they'd encountered the spider again, almost by coincidence. And it wasn't alone. They looked ahead to find the area directly in front of them pockmarked with spider burrows.

The spider gave them a hiss and, impaling her fangs into her prey's motionless carcass, began to drag her prey back into her burrow, whilst the strange new creatures were distracted. However, once she had reached her burrow, she noticed that something was terribly wrong; her burrow, normally covered with the webs that she used to pick up the vibrations made by nearby prey, was flooded; the waters of the river must have risen whilst she was hunting. If she could have felt human emotion, she would have felt something like… disappointment. Her kind were not burrowers, instead living in vacated holes in the forest floor; this meant that competition for the best sites was intense. She would have to roam far and wide in search of a new burrow, putting her at risk of attack.

Drew, Adrian and Alice watched the spider stop at the entrance of its waterlogged home, dropping the dead Petrolacosaurus. As they looked around, they realised it wasn't alone; the majority of burrows in the area were flooded, forcing the spiders out onto the surface. As if to make matters worse, the low rumbling of thunder indicated that a great storm was on the way. As they looked up, Drew had a grim look on his face. The very oxygen-high atmosphere that had allowed the arthropods to grow to gigantic sizes, had a great cost; it was highly volatile, more so than today. A single lightning strike could turn the forest for miles around into a blistering inferno. They would have to work fast.

To be continued