It had been six months since the breakout at Prehistoric Earth, in which many of the park's most dangerous animals had gone on the rampage; much of that time had been spent rebuilding what had been damaged during the incident. Now, many of the staff felt it was time to go back on missions; Theodore, presumably feeling the same, had sent them a location and a time, Germany during the early Eocene. However…

From his office, Drew Luczynski screamed "What do you mean, you don't want me to go on the mission? Why?". Leon Gilbertson, Cynthia Night, Adrian Sky and Jack and Alice Denham all looked at each other sheepishly; they all knew this would have been his reaction. Leon said, somewhat awkwardly, at his friend's outburst, "We just don't think you're ready…" Drew looked at him, flabbergasted, "Why? If it's about the arm, I'm perfectly fine, I'm perfectly capable… just let me show it to you.", before he trailed off and began mumbling. Cynthia said, concernedly, "It's not just the arm…" Jack turned to his boss, trying to figure out what to say, "We just think you need a little longer to recover, fearless leader; you were only out that sling a few weeks ago. And you've been acting a little weird lately…" Drew sighed and said, "Fine." He pointed to Cynthia and said, "You can take Jack and Alice with you; please remember, I only said yes because you forced me to." Jack sighed and said, "Perfect."

A few minutes later, Cynthia, Jack and Alice were at the portal site, as a staff member inputted the co-ordinates into the portal, before pressing the button. The three staff members looked at each other, smiling, as the portal whirred into life, before walking into the blue light, into the past…

As the three adventurers exited the portal, the first thing that hit them was the heat and the humidity. They knew that the Early Eocene was pretty much tropical everywhere; there were even magnolias at the Arctic circle. However, seeing it firsthand was something else…

Although a few ferns and cypresses were present, most of the trees were laurel, walnut, beech palm and dogwood, with grapevines, honeysuckles and moonseeds wrapped around their trunks. On the ground, magnolias, mulberries, tea and citrus bushes all fought for light. The smells of flowers and fruits were overpowering in the growing heat. A thick mist hung between the trees in the canopy, tinged orange in the morning light, with the branches and leaves splintering the light into rays as it went down to the forest floor. Based on that, they'd arrived shortly after dawn. The only sounds they heard were the hum of insects, the soft noises of small mammals rooting through the forest floor and the occasional whoop of a primate in the canopy. It was surprising to think that only 15 million years before, a mass extinction had ripped into Earth – this was a colourful, scented new Eden, the perfect start for the age of mammals.

Suddenly, their awe at what they were seeing was broken by a series of small squeals and squeaks from a strangler fig, nearby. The team turned to see four little mammals, one adult and three youngsters, emerge from the tangle of roots. The first thing the team noted was that these were odd-looking creatures; they looked like a cross between a jerboa and an elephant shrew. They were covered in soft brown fur, with white stripes and spots on the back, grading to white on the belly. The small, trunk-like snout, the comparatively large, hopping feet and the long, rat-like tail were all bare and pink-skinned. Jack looked at them and said, "What are they?" Alice shrugged, "According to the info-packs, they're Leptictidium. Apparently, they're pretty common mammals in this time. Let's see if we can get them through the portal." Suddenly, a discordant squawk echoed through the clearing and the four little mammals went rigid.

The team turned to watch as a giant bird walked into the clearing, squawking aggressively at the little mammals, who fled back into the bushes, before striding boldly towards a palm tree. It towered over everything else in the clearing; from head to toe, it must have been about six feet tall. It was incredibly powerfully built; a large head, with an enormous beak, on the end of a long, muscular neck, and a stout, muscular body, standing on two powerful-looking legs. Its wings were small and stubby compared to its massive body; this was a bird that couldn't fly. Its body was covered in speckled black feathers, segueing to blue-green on its back and wings and red skin on its face. Jack said, "What is that?", to which Alice shrugged, "According to the info-packs, it's Gastornis; the largest animal in the area." The three humans were as quiet as they could possibly be; they knew that, with one kick, the Gastornis could break their spines. Fortunately, its attention was occupied; it was eagerly gobbling down palm nuts, making short work of their hard shells with its enormous beak. Suddenly, the bird went rigid, turned its head and hissed aggressively at something.

The three humans turned to watch as a second bird, approximately the same size, emerged from the bushes. The two Gastornis hissed aggressively at each other. In mere minutes, the clearing was a cacophony of squawks, hisses and snaps, as the two creatures squabbled. Dust flew as each scraped at the ground with its foot, kicking soil at the other. In the cacophony, the team briefly noticed the Leptictidium family cowering in bushes nearby from the fighting giants. There were echoes here of a bygone age. Eventually, after a few minutes, the new arrival backed off and the incumbent hissed triumphantly, before resuming eating the palm nuts. The three humans looked at each other; this was an opportunity to great to pass up. Cynthia turned to her teammates, smiling, "I got an idea".

Following the Gastornis as it stalked out of the clearing, calmly advanced towards the bird, as if wanting it to see her. The bird turned and hissed at her irritably. Jack turned to Cynthia and said, "What are you doing?", to which she smirked, "Just get the portal ready", before stepping towards the Gastornis again. As the bird charged aggressively towards her, Cynthia stepped out of the way as activated the portal; the enraged bird did not change its trajectory, heading through the portal and into the present.

After that was done, they walked turned to see the incumbent Gastornis walk out of the clearing; it had eaten the palm nuts and was now heading towards something else. Watching it retreat, Jack turned to his teammates and said, "Let's follow it; see where it's headed." So, creeping silently, they took off after the bird, following it through the misty forest.