Now, with the dust cleared, they could get a good look at the theropod that had caused the stampede. It was large, about thirty feet long, and was tannish brown in colour, with black stripes on its back and tail. It stood upright on two muscular back legs, counterbalanced by a long, thick tail. However, it was the head that held their attention; its most distinctive feature being the two large horns, one on each eyebrow. As it snarled in displeasure, a mouth full of jagged, double-edged teeth became visible. It stood for a few seconds, growled in displeasure, and stalked off. As the departing creature stalked off, Cynthia looked at Leon, "Was that… was that an Allosaurus?". Leon nodded, "Yeah; the lion of the Jurassic. A nightmare to most of the herbivores at the time". Cynthia turned to Drew and said, "So… what do we do now?" Drew breathed out and said, "We follow it. See where it's headed."

And, so, they hiked through the denuded forest, in pursuit of the giant theropod. For three hours, there were only fleeting glimpses of a sandy-brown, striped shape ghosting through the forest; however, after three hours, they got a good look at it in a forest clearing. However, before they could set up the portal, it had loped off into the forest, almost disappearing. Back to square one, then.

They continued following it, until, several hours later, the sun was setting and there was still no sight of the allosaur, Cynthia snarled, "Bollocks. The trail's run cold", before saying, rather more loudly, "Guys, the trail's run cold; we've lost it". Leon turned to Drew and said, "So, what do we do now?" Drew looked around and said, "It's getting dark. And I don't know about you, but I don't think it's going to be very safe being out here tonight. We've had a long day; I say we set up camp". Cynthia and Leon agreed.

Meanwhile, back at the park, Kyle and Nikolai had come up with a plan; track down the Coelophysis, lure them in with bait and corral them until transport. A voice screamed into their walkie-talkies, "Hello! Can anyone hear me? This is urgent!". Kyle picked up the communicator, and answered, "This is Kyle. What's the problem?". He recognised who the voice was; Matt Thompson, with the research division. Matt said, in response, "Where the hell are you guys?! Don't you know what's hap-". "We're tracking the Coelophysis; about 30 of them escaped. The door lock on the paddock failed; for some bizarre and, probably, 'hilarious' reason.", Kyle said, with Nikolai listening intently; Matt might have something important to say. Matt yelled over the radio, "That's not really a priority at the moment! One of the teams brought back a herd of Apatosaurus and they stampeded out of the holding pens! They're somewhere in the park now."

"How many Apatosaurus did they bring back?", Kyle asked; both he and Nikolai were sincerely hoping that only a few of the huge dinosaurs had been brought back. They could get them rounded up easier if they were. Matt's voice answered "About 25." Kyle's eye twitched in irritation; of course they had done. Things never went easily for Prehistoric Earth. Nikolai was looking at him, "So, Kyle? What do you suggest we do?". Kyle sighed, "Track down the apatosaurs; the Coelophysis can wait." Nikolai nodded; there was almost an expression of disappointment in his face that he and Kyle had found themselves in agreement.

Meanwhile, in Colorado, the team had followed the line of a small stream they'd found in the forest. The stream had led steeply down to a shallow valley, joining a larger river. As they entered, they saw a small group of juvenile Diplodocus cropping the horsetails. These were much bigger than the tiny hatchlings they had seen in the clearing; their necks and tails were longer and their legs comparatively thinner. Small horny plates were beginning to appear on their backs, creating a line of small, iguana-like spines. They were also much larger, with the largest being approximately twenty feet long.

Suddenly, a large creature rose out of a stand of horsetail. It was some thirty feet long, with a huge bulky body and diamond-shaped, vertical armour plates along its back. The tail was tipped with dangerous-looking three-foot spikes. But the neck tapered to an absurdly small head with a placid gaze, like a very dumb horse. They knew what it was immediately; it was a Stegosaurus. They didn't need the info packs to know that.

The young Diplodocus continued browsing; they knew the Stegosaurus was a herbivore and, therefore, unlikely to be a threat. However, Jack, Adrian and Alice were nervous around the huge creature; they, too, knew it was a herbivore, but the vicious looking spikes on its tail would be a cause for concern if they irritated it.

However, as the young Diplodocus filtered out onto the marshy canyon, the Stegosaurus paid them little attention; instead, he focused on working his way through a tough bennetite stem. Jack, Adrian and Alice relaxed slightly; the Stegosaurus was too occupied with the business of eating to notice any creature in the general vicinity, them included,

Suddenly, the Stegosaurus paused, sniffed the air and became very alert, snorting and scraping his feet, like a fighting bull. Jack, Adrian and Alice looked confused. "What's gotten into him?", Adrian whispered. "Maybe he's smelt us", Alice quietly replied, making sure not to disturb the creature further; they didn't want it to attack them. "Maybe", Jack said, "Or maybe, he's smelt something el-" Jack was interrupted by a low alligator-like hiss coming from directly behind them.

The three humans turned around, almost in unison to see two large Allosaurus moving towards them from the forest. They had been stalking the young Diplodocus; they had been following them all this time. The Stegosaurus bellowed and the juvenile Diplodocus panicked. The nearest Allosaurus hissed at the Stegosaurus' posturing. Jack, Adrian and Alice gulped; they were caught between a rock and a hard place…