In Cretaceous China, Drew, Jack, Adrian and Keehar were following the Microraptors deeper into the forest. After an hour's walking, they entered a clearing. They looked up in the trees to see several Microraptor, perched like gargoyles, waiting expectantly for something to arrive…

Suddenly, a loud, hooting bellow echoed through the forest; a bellow that sounded strangely familiar. Jack turned to Drew and said, "That isn't what I think it is, right?" Suddenly, the ground began to shake as a large sauropod walked into the clearing and bellowed at them. Drew, Jack, Adrian and Keehar stood stupefied by this new giant. From the info-packs, this was evidently some kind of titanosaur; however, they didn't know which one. Maybe Leon would be able to identify them when they brought them back.

Like the sauropods back at the park, it had a long neck, a small head, four columnar legs and a long tail. However, in comparison to the ones back at the park, it was much smaller; only about forty-five feet long. It had green-brown scales and red markings on its snout and a row of osteoderms and iguana-like spikes ran down its back to its posterior. It was eventually joined by several more of its kind, moving along the forest trackway.

Drew, Jack, Adrian and Keehar walked out of the way of the giants and looked up at the Microraptors, who were staring anticipatorily; as if this was what they had been waiting for. They turned to look as one of the mighty sauropods stepped on a large, dead log. The log splintered and cracked open under the sauropod's weight. The Microraptors dived towards the log and began eating insects from under the bark. Some were rooting through the soil nearby to where the giants had walked.

Drew looked at the Microraptor and turned to his compatriots, "That's why they were waiting for the herd! As the herd walk through the forest, they break up dead wood and turn up soil, flushing out both grubs in the soil and insects in the wood. The Microraptors then eat these." Jack turned to Drew, smiling, "And they're just standing in this clearing… Perfect opportunity, don't you think?" Drew turned to his comrade and smiled, "You just read my mind."

Over the next hour or so, they would aim their net guns at the feeding Microraptors. When they fired, the targeted Microraptors would find themselves trapped under the net, allowing Drew, Jack and Adrian to put them in the glass-doored animal carriers. This was easier said than done; mostly due to Jack's tendency to miss his targets. Once they had captured a significant amount, Drew turned to his compatriots and smiled, "Let's get back to the lake. The sauropods are headed for there."

As the team headed down the mountain, they walked into a clearing… containing a pack of sleeping Mei long. Jack, Adrian and Keehar moved closer to Drew, with Keehar and the Microraptors beginning to squirm and squawk uncomfortably. Jack turned to Drew and whispered, "Fearless leader? How are we supposed to get past this lot without waking them up?" Drew scanned the clearing, seeing for ways they could get around the sleeping theropods without waking them up. However, there was something very wrong about this. There was something eerie about the stillness of the Mei long; he couldn't even hear them breathing.

Drew leaned down to the nearest Mei long and put his hand on its wrist. The skin felt cold. Drew took his hand away. He couldn't feel a pulse.

It was almost certainly dead.

Drew turned to his teammates and said, "This one's dead!" Jack leant down to the one nearest to him, checked for a pulse and said, "This one's dead too." Adrian scanned the clearing and said, "I think they all are." Drew looked at the bodies; there wasn't even a single scratch on them. He said, puzzled, "I wonder what happened to them…"

Suddenly, a juvenile Mei long weakly stood up, trying to hold its head in the air, whilst gasping for breath. As this happened Keehar and the Microraptors suddenly began to snap and twitch uncomfortably, with Keehar climbing on to Adrian's back. Jack turned to look at the carbon dioxide meter, which was now steadily rising, "Umm, Drew…"

Drew's eyes widened in horror, "Carbon dioxide. That's how the Mei long died; they were gassed by CO2 from the volcano." Jack gestured to the juvenile Mei long, now struggling to breathe, "All except for one. If we don't get him back to the park, he's going to die." "You're right", Drew said, "We'll take him with us.". Jack gently picked up the little theropod and put him in one of the spare Microraptor carriers. Once in the carrier, the little dinosaur began to move around and breathe more deeply, having just escaped the gas cloud. The carriers were airtight, so no CO2 could get in.

Right after that, a massive earthquake rocked the forest floor. Drew, Jack and Adrian struggled to stay upright and keep hold on to their carriers as the ground shook around them. Keehar only nearly dodged a falling branch and the Microraptors and young Mei long began to squawk in alarm.

Trying to gain his bearings after the massive quake, Drew said, "Right, we need to get out of the forest before there are any aftershocks…" Drew turned to see that Jack was looking into the horizon, a shocked expression on his face, pointing at the volcano, "Uh, Drew… I might be jumping the gun here, but I don't that's what you should be worried about…"

Drew turned to look in his compatriot's direction, and his eyes widened from horror at what he saw. The volcano's summit was covered by a gigantic plume of smoke pointing into the sky, so huge it almost blocked out the sun and seeped down into the forest, like a toxic mist. As he looked closer, he noticed lava trickling down the volcano's side, burning everything in its path.

The volcano had erupted.

"Oh shit."

Drew, Jack and Adrian looked at the erupting volcano in worldless horror. Drew turned to Jack and Adrian, "We need to head back to the lake now!" Jack suddenly turned to Drew and said, "Uh, tiny problem, fearless leader; that eruption is pumping out so much ash into the sky it'll block out the sun and we don't have any torches. Even if we move as fast as we can, we won't be able to find the lake in the dark." Suddenly, Keehar jumped off Adrian's back and began flying out of the clearing. He turned to look at the three humans, briefly perched on a tree stump, and squawked, as if telling the humans to follow him. The humans all looked at each other, confused, before moving to follow him.

As fast as they could, they followed Keehar, all carrying the Microraptors and the young Mei long. As they moved through the forest, they put on their gas masks to cope with the volcanic ash; it never hurt to be prepared. Keehar, for his part, was simply flying above the gas cloud, taking deep breaths wherever he could. As they ran through the forest, Jack turned to Drew, confused, "Where do you think he's taking us?" Drew turned to Jack and said "We're headed back to the lake. Maybe Rhamphorynchus have good homing instincts. He's also got better night vision than us…"

Eventually, the team reached the lake to find the sauropods standing by it, bellowing in clear distress. The volcanic ash had now blocked out the sun, shrouding the lake in darkness, meaning the giants were only visible as silhouettes.

Drew turned to Jack, Adrian and Keehar, shouting over the sauropod's bellows and the restrictions of his gas mask, "Get everything else through the portal. I'll handle the sauropods". Jack and Adrian nodded obediently and Keehar cawed in affirmative. Carrying their equipment and the carriers containing the the Microraptors and the juvenile Mei long. Jack and Adrian went back through the portal, with Keehar close behind them.

After they left, Drew turned to the sauropods and began blaring his horn at them. The sauropods charged towards the source of this new sound. Once they had gotten close enough, Drew opened the portal and the sauropods charged through, moving as if a single entity. Once the last one had gone through, Drew ran through the portal himself and closed it once he was back at the park.

Once the portal had been shut off, he took off his gas mask and briefly looked up to see Leon, Kyle and Yolanda giving him flabbergasted looks. Jack, Adrian and Keehar were standing next to them, concern on their faces. Leon firstly turned to Jack, Adrian and Keehar and then to Drew, before asking, "What the hell happened?"

Drew smiled and said, "I'll tell you all about it." Kyle facepalmed at this statement.

Soon all the Early Cretaceous creatures were all transferred to their new homes. The Eosipterus had been transferred to a new aviary in the pterosaur section, created to look like an Early Cretaceous lakeside. The flock were now basking in the sunlight, waiting for their next meal.

Meanwhile, another new section had been created for the dinosaurs from this mission. This section was built with an artificial river running through it; the plan was to use it as a boat tour when the park opened. It contained all the animals that Drew and his team had brought back from this mission.

The Mei long had been provided a small forest area to clamber and hunt in. They were all currently napping in the sun, waiting for their next meal to arrive.

Meanwhile, the Incisivosaurus were kept in a nearby paddock, themed after a Chinese forest. The males were resuming their vigorous breeding displays to the females, who were looking for potential nesting sites in the exhibit.

Meanwhile, the Microraptor, after they had been cleared, were being kept in a large aviary with trees for them to clamber and glide in. They were all exploring their new home, waiting for their next meal. The largest enclosure contained the titanosaur herd, which Leon had identified as Borealosaurus, who were now roaming their new forested home, browsing from the trees.

However, everyone was standing at Mesozoic Safaris. Drew, Jack, Adrian (accompanied by Keehar), Collete, Yolanda, Kyle and Nikolai were all standing by the viewing area, waiting for Leon to implement his plan to alleviate the male Stegosaurus' aggression. Adrian turned to Collete and said, confused, "Did Leon tell you guys what he'd been planning?" Collete shook her head and said, "No. Although, given his history, I don't really have much hope for it." Jack said, half-jokingly, "Hey, don't count him out just yet; the allosaur thing worked, if I recall correctly."

Leon walked out and stood beside Jack, smiling, and pointed at a structure that looked like a scarecrow Stegosaurus. Seeing everyone's confused stares, Leon said, "To stop the male stegs from attacking anything that moves, I made a few decoys for them. These are made to look like a male Stegosaurus; our males will see that as a competitor." Suddenly, a young male Stegosaurus, enraged after losing a territorial battle, charged towards the decoy and, using tail swipes, shoves and headbutts, attacked it. Leon smiled, "He's going to be doing this for hours; those decoys can withstand anything."

Meanwhile in the vet offices, Linda was looking over the orphaned Mei long, a male, as he walked unsteadily around his recovery pen. After several hours being treated for carbon dioxide poisoning, he had been sent over to recovery. Linda looked over the little dinosaur, scared in this new environment, and felt a pang of sympathy; maybe the pack they had could take him in. Stranger things had happened. As she left, so Harry could relieve her, Cirrus walked over and stuck his head out. Linda briefly paused and stroked his head.

Next time on Prehistoric Earth

The team go back to Cretaceous Antarctica

(A small ornithopod runs through a forest)

To rescue some of the most bizzare dinosaurs ever

(Ornithopods mob a giant amphibian)

Meanwhile, back at the park, Jack makes new friends

(Jack puts his hand on a Utahraptor's snout)

And helps a lonely little dinosaur find a family

(An adult Mei long sniffs the juvenile)

All next time on Prehistoric Earth: Spirits of the Silent Forest!

Animals rescued:

Borealosaurus wimani: 10 (1 male, 9 females)

Eosipterus yangi: 8 (4 males, 4 females)

Incisivosaurus gauthieri: 10 (3 males, 7 females)

Mei long: 7 (4 males, 3 females)

Microraptor gui: 12 (6 males, 6 females)