Following the sounds, the group quickly, but quietly, made their way further and come to a stop near the entrance to a clearing. They had arrived just in time to see a heart-rending spectacle; a large female mammoth standing over the dead body of another mammoth, partially butchered, lying in a pit with sharpened sticks in it. The surviving mammoth was bellowing in anguish – she also looked like she was about to collapse.

On her shoulder, they noticed a large gash wound. The wound was several days old and had clearly become infected. Jack winced, "Poor thing." Will nodded, "It must have been a Cro-Magnon pitfall trap – it's an easy way to kill large animals. Doesn't explain why they didn't finish butchering the dead one..." Alice looked at them both, with a determined glare on her face, "Does it matter? She's not dying here – not if we have anything to say about it".

At the sound of a low bellow of pain, the group turned to see that the mammoth had collapsed on its belly, groaning in despair. The group hurriedly rushed over to her, as it bellowed in pain, hunger, and thirst. Alice gave the injured creature the once-over, talking soothingly as she did. Once she was done, she turned to Jack, Will and Raksha, and said, "Right - she's clearly too weak to move on her own. I'd say we get a containment truck." Jack said "Read my mind." After contacting Kyle, Jack sighed "All the trucks are occupied at the moment." Alice looked at the sky, "And the sun's setting. I'd say we make camp – keep an eye on her till morning."

After contacting the park for antibiotics and cleaning the mammoth's wounds, Jack, Alice, Will and Raksha set up camp around the injured mammoth and had settled down for the night. Alice and Raksha had first watch duty, but it wasn't like anyone was going to sleep soundly; everyone knew that other creatures could be drawn by the prospect of an easy meal. Sitting by the injured mammoth, Alice scanned the clearing nervously, whilst the mammoth lifted her head and let out a weak, plaintive groan. Alice put her hand on the animal's massive head and said, "Don't worry; you're going to be fine. I promise." Saying it like that, she almost believed it. She scanned the clearing again, warily; Raksha sniffed the air and growled. Alice knew they were being watched. There were predators in those forests, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike….

Back with Drew and Leon, their following the mammoths had taken them to where Southern England was today. Looking at the sky, they realised it was close to nightfall – Drew muttered to Leon, "The mammoths'll be making a stop soon. As soon as they stop, we'll set up camp. We've been following these guys for two days – we haven't had a wink of sleep."

As they looked, they saw what looked like a human carrying a large bundle of wood. He was short – only a little over five feet tall – however, he was built like a wrestler. He also notably had a larger nose than the Cro-Magnons. His long hair and beard were red and he was clad in animal furs. He was moving fairly urgently, possibly to avoid the mammoths – however, Drew and Leon could see that his path would take him face to face with an even more unpredictable foe.

A large rhino stood, grazing in a clearing. It looked like a large white rhinoceros; however, it was covered in dark brown hair. As the Neanderthal moved closer, the rhino sniffed the air and snorted aggressively. The situation was only complicated when a large bull mammoth entered the clearing to browse on a nearby larch. The Neanderthal went rigid; if he blundered into any one of these creatures he would certainly be killed.

Suddenly, Drew grabbed the horn and started blaring it. The mammoth and rhino stopped in their tracks and turned to look at the tiny human. Once he realised that he had gotten the two creatures' attention, Drew smirked. The mammoth and rhino both narrowed their eyes, pawed the ground and prepared to charge. The Neanderthal, confused, but seeing the rhino and mammoth distracted, managed to help himself to the ground and run as fast as his legs could carry him

It was the rhino who charged first. Drew ran, at a right angle to the rhino, and, once it had gotten close enough, pressed the portal remote, activating the portal. Not changing his trajectory, the charging animals went through the portal, into the present. Now it was time to send the mammoth through the portal.

Drew turned to the bellowing mammoth and began blaring his horn at it. The mammoth looked aggressively at him, pawed the ground and began charging. Once the mammoth had gotten close enough, Drew activated the portal remote and the mammoth charged through, into the present. After this, Leon breathed out, "Can we set up camp now?"

The Neanderthal looked at the whole scene, some distance away, and was confused. The newcomers were strange chimeras – they had the appearance of Cro-Magnons, but the skin of his kind. What was also curious was how they had made the mammoth and the rhino suddenly disappear in a flash of light – however, he reasoned this was an illusion, like the Cro-Magnon witch doctors.

However, he knew they were in great danger – being in lion territory this close to nightfall was disastrous. The only reason he was out there was because he had been forced to make a detour collecting firewood to avoid the mammoths. Wolf or hyena might flee at shouting or fire – however, lions feared nothing except the mammoth and the rhino. That was presumably why they had been following a herd of mammoths – they had been hoping the lions would be dissuaded by fear of incurring the greater beasts' wrath. However, it was risky – if they were not careful, they would be trading death at the claws of a lion for death beneath the feet of a mammoth. And regardless of where they had come from, they had saved his life.

He owed them a debt.

"We've got company!"

Alice's shout woke Jack and Will who instantaneously began readying themselves for some prehistoric threat. Alice's shout was followed by a low growl from Raksha, the fearful bellows of the injured mammoth and a long, low whooping sound; some predator had found them. When they got out of their tents, Jack and Will soon realised what had given Alice cause for alarm. At least fifteen cave hyenas of various sizes and ages, concealed in the forest, their eyes gleaming in the dark. One large female, in particular, stood ahead from the others, told apart by a distinctive Mohawk pattern on her head. These were a pack of cave hyenas attracted to the clearing by the prospect of prey.

Alice turned to her teammates and whispered, as so not to attract the hyenas, "They must have smelt her and tracked her to this clearing – their den must be nearby. We need to find a way to keep them away somehow." Will said, quietly, "That was why the Cro-Magnons didn't finish butchering the other mammoth or, indeed, finish off this one – they knew this was hyena territory."

The hyenas had them surrounded; there was no way for them to escape. And, even if there was… they couldn't abandon the mammoth to the predators' mercy. Their assessing the situation was interrupted when a hyena tore into the clearing, towards the mammoth, getting within thirty feet of them, before it returned to the rest of its pack, waiting in the forest. This was only a mock charge, an attempt to weed out a potential target.

After the hyena had returned to his compatriots, Jack turned to his teammates and whispered, "I've got a plan. Get the lighter fluid, some wood and the lighter. We can make a small fire to scare them off." The team rushed into action; they knew they had to act quickly, before the hyenas came back. Eventually, a small fire was made between them and the forest; the idea being that both the stink of petroleum and the presence of fire would scare the predators away.

However, these factors seemed to not dissuade the hyenas for, as the night went on, they gradually moved closer and closer to the humans, bear dog and mammoth, moving quietly and stealthily; after three hours, they were now standing about thirty feet away from the fire, keeping well away from it and standing almost patiently, as if they had all the time in the world. Looking at them, Alice realised what they were doing; playing a waiting game. They knew that the fire wasn't going to protect their potential prey for long; all they had to do was wait until it had gone out and then they would have what they were after.

As sunrise got closer, it became apparent that they really were in trouble. Their attempts at scaring off the hyenas had failed; the fire had gone out and the predators had surrounded them and the mammoth, getting closer and closer. There was no means of escape or rescue for the team. At the hyenas' mercy, they were all in more danger than they had ever been; whilst the hyenas were technically targeting the two mammoths, they would probably not pass up the opportunity of eating Jack, Alice, Will and Raksha. The hyenas hissed and snapped at them periodically and were beginning to get closer and closer to them. If they didn't come up with something soon, this would be the end.

Suddenly, Will turned to see Alice breaking off from the group, with the air horn in her hand. Turning to look at her, Will asked, "What the hell are you doing?" Looking at Jack and Will, Alice said, "I'm going to distract them with the horn – and see if I can use the distraction to get the through the portal." As Alice passed Raksha to Will, Jack said, concern in his voice, "It's dangerous – you might be killed." Alice shrugged, "We've had a good run – and if I don't, we'll all be dead. Take care of Raksha for me".

Breaking off from the group, Alice grabbed the air horn and began blaring it at the hyenas. The hyenas, in response, let out indignant snarls and whoops at her. Alice began, slowly, moving backwards, blaring the horn again; the hyenas advanced closer to the straggler. When the hyenas had gotten close enough, they charged towards her. Alice dived out of the way and pressed the button on the portal remote, causing it to whirr into life. Not changing their trajectory, the hyenas dived through the portal into the present.

After this, the team sat by the mammoth; taking a breather after the night they'd just had. After their brush with death, they were exhausted and tired; they just wanted a little rest until they got back to their mission. Jack lifted the communicator, contacted the park and asked if any trucks were available – surprisingly, Kyle said yes. One truck was available – the only animals Drew had brought back were a bull mammoth and a woolly rhino.

Eventually, a large containment truck arrived and, using grass, managed to get the mammoth up on her feet long enough for her to be transported onto the truck. As they boarded the truck, Jack looked at Alice, Will and Raksha – tired, but alive. He looked at them and knew what they were thinking – it was time to go home. The truck drove through the portal, back to the park.