A long sonorous bellow echoed through the forest. This was the mating call of a female Tyrannosaurus. The female Tyrannosaurus, now fully grown, was calling for a mate. Pairs of Tyrannosaurus normally had large territories, which they defended diligently. However, finding a mate could take quite some time. However, this oasis was the last green spot for miles and had become a magnet for animals from miles around; the drought had worsened over the years and the herbivores had congregated around the nearest available sources of food and water. And with them came the predators.
Like all predators, population density in Tyrannosaurus was dependent on food availability. Nevertheless, pairs of Tyrannosaurus would still normally maintain exclusive home ranges, normally of several tens of square kilometres, excluding all outsiders. However, this was the only green spot for miles; every tyrannosaur in the vicinity would be headed to the area, drawn by the abundance of prey.
Others had already arrived. Ever since arriving here, the young female had smelt the scent marks of a larger, older male. However, from his scent, she could tell he was too old to reproduce. The older male was also unaware of the fact that he had an interloper in his territory; Tyrannosaurus were normally fiercely territorial and would violently drive off interlopers. She avoided him as much as possible; hunting where she knew that she could not be observed. Unbeknownst to either of them, the old male had been the one responsible for killing her siblings all those years ago. However, neither remembered the incident.
She resumed calling; hopefully, she would find a mate soon.
Meanwhile, at the bloodbath, Drew and Alice got their diving suits on and dived over the size of the lifeboat. Drew and Alice stared, open-mouthed, at the chaos that greeted them. The predators swam frantically around them, fighting each other over the Hesperornis corpses. Drew turned to Alice and muttered, "This is what must have happened; several Hesperornis were killed and the bloodbath attracted all the local predators. This is like a buffet to them." Suddenly, the predators paused, before turning their attention to the humans watching them.
The predators were curious, sometimes approaching the humans in the shallows. Drew and Alice had to be on constant guard, avoiding snaps from the predators that swam past them. Alice, after narrowly dodging a Squalicorax, which snapped at her hand, turned to Drew and ask, "How are we going to get this lot through the portal, without having our arms bitten off?". Drew shrugged, as he dodged a Xiphactinus' snapping jaws, "I have a plan, and it's a cracker. Grab a Hesperornis corpse". Drew and Alice each swam incredibly close to one of the Hesperornis corpses and each grabbed one; the predators' reverie was interrupted when they realised that someone was trying to take their meat. The predators all dived towards the two humans, before Drew activated the portal and threw the carcasses through. Unchanging their trajectory, the predators all swam through, following the carcasses, moving as if a single entity.
Returning to the Mariner, Drew and Alice had got back up on the boat and removed their diving suits. The mission team were now in the crew room, having a meeting about the incident. Drew addressed everyone, "These predators in the shallows were, comparatively, tiddlers; to find Tylosaurus, and other animals, we'll need to head out into deeper water." Alice gave Drew a puzzled look and said, "We almost got eaten in the shallows; are you sure it'll be safe to dive out there?" Drew nodded, "No, it will not be safe; it's probably going to be very dangerous if we dive out there. However, we've got precautions for that." Jack gave Drew a shocked stare, "You're expecting us to dive in the most dangerous sea ever with nothing but the smell suits we used in the Jurassic?!" Drew shook his head, "No… The plan is that we're going to try avoid diving in ourselves as much as possible. In order to do that, we're going to use an ROV to patrol the waters and see any Tylosaurus. We're also going to use the boat's radar to detect any Tylosaurus in the vicinity. We can also use the starboard camera in order to provide underwater observations, whilst we can use Keehar, if needed, for some airborne observations to help us to know where to go next. Point is, we're only going to dive if it's absolutely necessary.".
Jack said, "So… we're heading out into deeper water in order to find these giant mosasaurs?" Drew smiled "That's precisely what we're going to do; we've been through a lot of things together. I'm sure that we can beat the most dangerous sea ever." The Ancient Mariner rolled into the surf, before turning around and heading out into sea. The search had begun.
As they continued heading out, they noticed that they had company. Several large pterosaurs had started to accompany them. They were large, with the largest having a wingspan of about eighteen feet. Their most distinctive feature was the large conical crest on their heads; however, the larger individuals had the largest crests, with others having crests just half the size. Drew knew what they were immediately, "Pteranodon; the most famous of all the pterosaurs. I was always hoping to bump into these guys. Put some fish on the deck; we're luring them down."
After Jack and Leon had put a trail of fish on the deck and the pterosaurs had landed, Drew set up the portal, and the Pteranodons, moving as if a single entity, went through the portal and into the present. The only exception had been one of the males, who seemed to be fairly content where he was, perched on the boat. Drew sighed; they could send him through later. Besides, the large pterosaur didn't seem particularly eager to leave. Keehar regarded this new, gigantic arrival curiously; he had never seen anything like this before. The Mariner headed into open sea, in search of monsters…
