"Triceratops," Jimmy said.
"No kidding, genius," Cindy said sarcastically.
"So I guess that answers the whole question of whether or not we went back in time."
"I think I prefer the 'being stuck in the middle of nowhere' scenario over the 'being stuck in the middle of nowhere with dinosaurs" scenario."
"Yeah, me too."
"Jimmy, what are we going to do?" Cindy asked. "I mean, that time freezer thing is gone, and it'll be millons of years before people even come into existence, much less invent electricity. It's not as if you can just whip up something to transport us back to our time."
Jimmy sighed. "I know, I know." He looked down at his feet. "I suppose you want to kill me now."
"I admit, that does sound like an appealing idea," Cindy said, "but we've got to stick together, and we can't exactly stick together if you're dead. So I'm not going to kill you until we get back home."
"Provided something else doesn't kill me first," Jimmy said. He meant it as a joke, but somehow it came out sounding a lot more serious than he meant it to. There was a heavy silence as they both thought about what they had gotten into.
"Man, Jimmy, we're really in deep, aren't we?" Cindy asked.
"Yeah, we are," Jimmy said, sighing. "I never meant for something like this to happen. I was just trying to have a little fun."
A breeze blew past and both of them shivered. Jimmy looked up at the sky, which was beginning to darken.
"It's almost night," Jimmy said. "Where are we going to sleep?"
"I don't even like the idea of sleeping in a place full of dinosaurs," Cindy said. "But we have to sleep sometime, I guess."
"Maybe we can climb down the tree a ways and see if there's any place we could sleep. Maybe we can find some branches that are spread out just enough to lie down in."
"Sleep in a tree?" Cindy said.
"Would you rather sleep on the ground and be attacked by something?"
"No."
"Then this is the only other choice we have."
Cindy sighed. "All right then."
Jimmy and Cindy began to climb down the tree, bit by bit. They didn't talk much as they climbed down. Neither of them were really in the mood to talk. About halfway down the tree, Jimmy found three long branches in a sort of cradle shape, and lacking any place better to sleep, decided to try and sleep there. Luckily, they were both kind of short, so they fit. It took them a while to get comfortable (after all, they were in a tree), but they finally got comfortable enough to where they could at least try to fall asleep, provided that they were able to forget about the fact that they had gone back over 65 million years in time and were surrounded by dinosaurs with absolutely no way to get home. After saying their goodnights, they both rolled over to sleep.
Jimmy felt horrible. He had just been trying to have a little fun with an invention, and instead had gotten himself, and worse, Cindy, into the worst trouble either of them had ever been in. He could hear her sobbing a tiny bit, though she was obviously trying to keep it quiet so that Jimmy wouldn't hear, which just made him feel even worse. Even if he did argue with her all the time, he would never intentionally hurt her, not badly, anyway, and he would never want to make her cry or anything. Even if she was a girl, she wasn't that bad. She had been the only one who was nice to him after they had all found out that Jimmy was the reason their parents were kidnapped, and she had tried to cheer him up too. And how did he repay her? By getting her stuck in the time of the dinosaurs. He wondered vaguely what period it was. Well, he had seen flowers and the herd of Triceratops, both of which didn't come along until the last period, the Cretaceous Period. Ah, he thought. The Cretaceous Period. Okay then.
Jimmy yawned and squirmed, trying to get comfortable. He was dead tired, but for some reason the words Cretaceous Period kept buzzing around in his brain, like an annoying fly that wouldn't let him sleep till he swatted it. He couldn't understand what was wrong. So it was the Cretaceous Period. So what? It had dinosaurs just like the other periods. Triceratops, Iguanodon, Alamosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex…. He sat bolt upright. Of course! The Cretaceous Period was the time of the most deadly predator ever to live, the T-Rex! Not good, Jimmy thought, not good at all…
Jimmy heard what sounded like a small explosion in the distance. Then another. And another. Each one seeming to get closer and closer. And Jimmy had a pretty good idea of what that noise was. He reached over and shook Cindy's shoulder, eyes wide with fear.
"Wake up," he said in an urgent whisper.
"What is it?" Cindy mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She had apparently been able to get to sleep. "What's wrong?"
"I think we're in very big trouble," Jimmy told her. "Very, VERY big trouble."
"No kidding, genius," Cindy said sarcastically.
"So I guess that answers the whole question of whether or not we went back in time."
"I think I prefer the 'being stuck in the middle of nowhere' scenario over the 'being stuck in the middle of nowhere with dinosaurs" scenario."
"Yeah, me too."
"Jimmy, what are we going to do?" Cindy asked. "I mean, that time freezer thing is gone, and it'll be millons of years before people even come into existence, much less invent electricity. It's not as if you can just whip up something to transport us back to our time."
Jimmy sighed. "I know, I know." He looked down at his feet. "I suppose you want to kill me now."
"I admit, that does sound like an appealing idea," Cindy said, "but we've got to stick together, and we can't exactly stick together if you're dead. So I'm not going to kill you until we get back home."
"Provided something else doesn't kill me first," Jimmy said. He meant it as a joke, but somehow it came out sounding a lot more serious than he meant it to. There was a heavy silence as they both thought about what they had gotten into.
"Man, Jimmy, we're really in deep, aren't we?" Cindy asked.
"Yeah, we are," Jimmy said, sighing. "I never meant for something like this to happen. I was just trying to have a little fun."
A breeze blew past and both of them shivered. Jimmy looked up at the sky, which was beginning to darken.
"It's almost night," Jimmy said. "Where are we going to sleep?"
"I don't even like the idea of sleeping in a place full of dinosaurs," Cindy said. "But we have to sleep sometime, I guess."
"Maybe we can climb down the tree a ways and see if there's any place we could sleep. Maybe we can find some branches that are spread out just enough to lie down in."
"Sleep in a tree?" Cindy said.
"Would you rather sleep on the ground and be attacked by something?"
"No."
"Then this is the only other choice we have."
Cindy sighed. "All right then."
Jimmy and Cindy began to climb down the tree, bit by bit. They didn't talk much as they climbed down. Neither of them were really in the mood to talk. About halfway down the tree, Jimmy found three long branches in a sort of cradle shape, and lacking any place better to sleep, decided to try and sleep there. Luckily, they were both kind of short, so they fit. It took them a while to get comfortable (after all, they were in a tree), but they finally got comfortable enough to where they could at least try to fall asleep, provided that they were able to forget about the fact that they had gone back over 65 million years in time and were surrounded by dinosaurs with absolutely no way to get home. After saying their goodnights, they both rolled over to sleep.
Jimmy felt horrible. He had just been trying to have a little fun with an invention, and instead had gotten himself, and worse, Cindy, into the worst trouble either of them had ever been in. He could hear her sobbing a tiny bit, though she was obviously trying to keep it quiet so that Jimmy wouldn't hear, which just made him feel even worse. Even if he did argue with her all the time, he would never intentionally hurt her, not badly, anyway, and he would never want to make her cry or anything. Even if she was a girl, she wasn't that bad. She had been the only one who was nice to him after they had all found out that Jimmy was the reason their parents were kidnapped, and she had tried to cheer him up too. And how did he repay her? By getting her stuck in the time of the dinosaurs. He wondered vaguely what period it was. Well, he had seen flowers and the herd of Triceratops, both of which didn't come along until the last period, the Cretaceous Period. Ah, he thought. The Cretaceous Period. Okay then.
Jimmy yawned and squirmed, trying to get comfortable. He was dead tired, but for some reason the words Cretaceous Period kept buzzing around in his brain, like an annoying fly that wouldn't let him sleep till he swatted it. He couldn't understand what was wrong. So it was the Cretaceous Period. So what? It had dinosaurs just like the other periods. Triceratops, Iguanodon, Alamosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex…. He sat bolt upright. Of course! The Cretaceous Period was the time of the most deadly predator ever to live, the T-Rex! Not good, Jimmy thought, not good at all…
Jimmy heard what sounded like a small explosion in the distance. Then another. And another. Each one seeming to get closer and closer. And Jimmy had a pretty good idea of what that noise was. He reached over and shook Cindy's shoulder, eyes wide with fear.
"Wake up," he said in an urgent whisper.
"What is it?" Cindy mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She had apparently been able to get to sleep. "What's wrong?"
"I think we're in very big trouble," Jimmy told her. "Very, VERY big trouble."