They followed the bird for the next few hours, following its tracks through the forest. As they moved forwards, the forest got thinner and the trail took them down to a small silt beach by a large, steaming lake. As they looked around the silt beach, they saw no sign of the Gastornis. However, they did see the Leptictidium and her three offspring standing by the silt beach, searching for prey. The mother looked around warily; in a more exposed environment, there was a risk of danger.
Suddenly, the mother Leptictidium sniffed the air and the whole family bounded away. They saw immediately what had gotten the Leptictidium so skittish. A dead animal was lying beside the lake. It was small, only about the size of a cat. The creature had four little hooves on its front feet and three on its back, like a tapir. To the best of their knowledge, it was a Propaleotherium; a kind of primitive horse. What was odd, however, was how it had died. There were no wounds or bloodstains on it at all; it was as if it had simply died where it stood. "Not a scratch on it", Cynthia muttered, to which Jack replied, "Yeah; I've seen this before." Suddenly, their train of thought was interrupted by a loud splash and a wheezing noise, like that of a seal, coming from the water.
A strange creature hauled itself out of the water. At first glance, they would have thought it was a crocodile; however, its fur and whiskers betrayed its true mammalian heritage. As it moved closer, they could discern more of it; it looked like a cross between a crocodile, a seal and a giant otter. Thick, short, brown hair covered its entire body and its large webbed feet made it move awkwardly on land. The creature scanned the air and, finding its food disappeared, turned and slipped into the water.
Cynthia turned to her teammates and said, "What was that?" Jack looked at where the creature had been and said, "To the best of my knowledge, it was an Ambulocetus; early kind of whale. Not supposed to be round these parts, but… well, animals get to places." Suddenly, a high-pitched, whinnying grunt cut them off.
They turned around to see a small group of Propaleotherium, browsing by the forest edge. Several Leptictidium were hopping amongst them, catching insects and small animals among the undergrowth. A Leptictidium was standing on the edge of the group, looking tensely at the three humans. Jack muttered, "I guess this is the lookout." The three humans looked at each other; how were they going to get this lot back through the portal? The sentry had noticed them and would probably sound the alarm if they got anywhere near.
Suddenly, they noticed the Gastornis moving slowly through the dark forest shadows, towards the Propaleotherium and Leptictidium. It was now within thirty feet of them; it was close enough to strike. Suddenly, the lookout turned and screeched an alarm. Like a dark nightmare, the Gastornis was on them; however, it had lost the element of surprise and the little mammals were faster. Its ambush failed, the giant bird squawked irritably and stalked off into the forest.
Meanwhile, back at the park, Drew was standing in Mesozoic Safaris, talking to someone, "I'm glad you're here. Honestly, I feel like you're the only person I can talk to. It just doesn't seem right that I'm not on the mission today; I just feel like if I'm not there, they're going to fail." He hastily added, "Not that I don't trust them. It's not a mistrust thing or an ego thing at all. I absolutely do trust them and I understand the importance of delegating one's responsibilities and all that stuff… but I always feel like I have to be there; to contribute personally to it, you know. I always feel like, as soon as I look away, everything's going to go pear-shaped." He smiled, "You know, you're a really good listener."
He had been saying all this to Lightning the Argentinosaurus, who was looking rather bemused at what Drew had just said to him. Suddenly, Drew's walkie-talkie hissed into life. "Drew here," he said, "I was just at Mesozoic Safaris… pontificating about… important stuff". Leon's voice came out, "Uh-huh, sure. I just thought you might want to head over to Theropod Kingdom; we're giving Zira the once-over."
After the incident, the team followed the smaller mammals onto a silt beach further down the lakeshore. Watching them from cover, Alice turned to her teammates and asked, "What's the plan?" Jack smiled at Alice and Cynthia and said, "Watch", before getting up and walking t. The Propaleotherium nearest to him turned to look at him, pawed the ground and barked, revealing a pair of small, pointed, canine teeth. As Jack got close enough, the Propaleotherium charged forward and suddenly disappeared through the portal, into the present. The herd, curious as to their comrade's sudden disappearance, followed him through the portal, back to the park.
After the last Propaleotherium went through the portal, the team suddenly heard a strange sound. Jack looked at his teammates, curiously, "Does that sound like rain to you?" Alice looked at the sky and said, "Curious, the sky's perfectly clear." Cynthia turned to Alice and said, rather contemptuously, "Seriously? You've never heard of a sunshower?" Jack, looking into a nearby clearing, eyes widened in horror, said, "Um, guys… I don't think this is a sunshower." Cynthia and Alice turned round to see a column of ants emerge from a nearby log. The ants varied in size, with the largest being over an inch long; bigger than any ant they knew of. Soon, the forest floor was swarming with thousands of them, tumbling over one another in a dark red tide, as they searched for prey. The three humans looked at each other; somehow, stepping out of the way of this ravening column seemed like the best option.
When the ants had passed them, Jack turned to his teammates and said, "Let's follow them?" Alice turned to her brother, confusedly, and said, "Why?" Jack said, "Firstly, Drew said 'no species left behind'. I think these guys are Titanomyrma; a kind of giant ant. Secondly, they've got to be going somewhere. Let's see where they're headed." The three humans walked in the direction the swarm was heading, to see what they were heading towards.
