Part 2

When both of them returned to where the herd was, they saw them all in motion, moving as if a single, unified entity. "I'm guessing this is some sort of migration?" Jack asked. "Probably", Drew stated. Jack and Drew, after a brief discussion, began to follow the herd.

Interactions between the creatures were not harmonious; individuals would occasionally snap at either each other when one got too close. These great caravans were only due to the annual migration; most of the time, the lystrosaurus lived in smaller groups of about 20 or so, only coalescing during the annual migration. Jack and Drew, watching the herd, realised that it was unknown when they were going to stop stop, so they decided to continue and rescue whatever they would encounter on the way. With a herd this large, predators would be attracted. Thanks to their greater speed, Drew and Jack were able to get ahead of the herd and went into a canyon that they had calculated that the herd would have to pass through. Still, however, by the time they got there it was already night. "I'm going to assume the herd won't be here until early morning so, wake up early, just in case", Drew said before going inside his tent.

"Got it, fearless leader." Jack said before preparing to enter his own tent. But before he did, he heard the sound of rocks crunching on the ground. That feeling in the forest clearing paid off, someone was following them. He looked behind the canyon, to the approximate origin of the sound, and saw someone running away. Jack ran after the person and was soon able to catch up, cornering him against a rock wall. Jack looked at the man and saw who it was. His eyes widened in disbelief, "You?!"

Back at the park, the rest of the rescue team were coming up with attraction ideas of their own. "Maybe we could teach some of the animals tricks or something. Like a sealion or parrot show or something.", Cynthia suggested, in response to which Adrian shook his head. "No, this is a wildlife preserve, not a circus", he said sternly. Cynthia said, enigmatically, "I'm just going by what people might want to see".

Alice gave a thoughtful look, "I think that, maybe, we should have a way for people to interact with the animals more", Alice said", Like a feed and touch attraction." Cynthia gave her a perplexed look, "What, like a petting zoo?" Alice shook her head, and said"No, not a petting zoo. A zoo I was at before I came to Novum did giraffe feedings; guests could buy a piece of lettuce and feed it to the giraffes. We could do the same for some of the less dangerous animals." "Like the one at San Diego?" Adrian asked. Alice nodded in confirmation. Adrian nodded, "That could work. But we'd need something else. Think, why would people come here?"

Cynthia gave them both a look, "So they can see live dinosaurs. Why not just use a jeep like Jurassic Park?" In response to this, Alice stated, "We'd need a way for them to get to the enclosures without disrupting the other animals. Unless…." "The jeep went through one enclosure", Adrian finished, "However, they'd only see a few species…" Cynthia said in response, "Not if all the plant-eating dinosuars were in together…" At that moment, their eyes widened in realisation; they'd got it.

Back in the Triassic, Jack looked, dumbfounded , at the person who had been following them. It was Leon. "Hello, Jack", Leon said simply. Jack looked, flabbergasted at him, "Leon, what are you doing here?" Leon looked around furtively, "Waiting." Jack recovered his composure, and said, confused, "For what?" Leon smiled, "A moment of redemption obviously. I mean, as you guessed, I caught the Euparkeria in the clearing, but I need more to get back on the team", he explained. Jack gave him an expression of shock, "So, let me get this straight… your plan is to wait for us to be in danger and save the day?" Leon smiled, "Yeah. Genius, right?"

Jack looked at him, dumbfounded. "Leon, that is the dumbest idea I've ever heard; if you wanted to help, you could have asked. I'm sure we would have let you. " Jack then grabbed Leon's hand and pulled him over to where Drew was standing, "Just reveal that you're here and help us out. That should be enough to give you a chance".

Meanwhile, Drew awoke to the sound of rocks falling. It took him a few moments to realise that something was watching them. Grabbing his flashlight, he went outside and saw Jack pulling in Leon to the camp. He looked, surprised, at this sudden new development and, after a few moments, turned to Jack and asked "What's he doing here?"

Jack smiled at him, "He wanted to redeem himself, fearless leader. I feel like-" "Ssh." Drew suddenly said as he looked up. "What's wrong?" Jack asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. Drew signed up his flashlight, revealing about a dozen creatures in the darkness, each about the size of a medium-sized dog. They were remarkable looking creatures; like a cross between a dog and a monitor lizard. Each was dark brown, with patches of black spots all over their bodies; each had a different pattern. Their bodies were low-slung and vaguely canine, with short legs held under the body and covered in a layer of bristly hair. They ignored the three humans and stared at the distance, expectantly, as if waiting for something to arrive.

"Therocephalians." Leon said grimly. "They're most likely waiting for the migration; like crocodiles and wildebeestt. It's too dark to tell the exact species." The nearest therocephalian leapt down from the rocks and hissed at these interlopers. Its comrades soon joined it. "Don't let them bite you." Drew said. "They're venomous; and we don't know how potent it could be."

"OK guys, why don't you use your remotes?" Jack said, as the therocephalians advanced closer. "I never brought one." Leon said, sheepishly. "And mine's still in the tent." Drew said. "I need someone to distract them so I can go and get it."

Jack gave Drew a flabbergasted look, "What do you want us to do? Douse ourselves in steak sauce and dress as a chew toy?" "Maybe…", Drew replied before trying to sneak away.

Leon breathed out, "Well, if I die, I had a decent run." Before anyone could do anything, he suddenly ran away from Jack and Drew, causing the therocephalians to follow him. In the chaos, Drew quickly ran to the tent and grabbed his portal remote, causing the portal to whirr into life. Leon veered towards it. However, at the last second, Jack pulled him out of the way. All the therocephalians, unable to change their, ran through. After the last of them came through, Drew turned off the portal, looked at them and said. "Well, I think that's enough excitement for tonight."

To be continued