Everyone awoke the next morning in a jovial mood considering the near sleepless night we had. The chefs made sure we had a hardy breakfast because airplane food just isn't like a home cooked meal. Then it was off to pack. I had already packed my clothing, so now I had the job of packing away the guns. As I packed, I thought of the fun I would have trying to explain why we had so many guns to the airport guards.
Everyone gathered in the main hallway an hour later. The hired help was placing luggage in a U-Haul (ASIG and I got a good chuckle out of that one- our luggage combined could fit in to the trunk of a Yugo.) CalGal announced that we were traveling to the airport in style: Two limos with eight people in each. To be in my car was: ASIG, Tigs, Sarah, Ashley, Rissy, Caitlin, and Lisa. In car two was: CalGal, Eva, Lex, Christina, Nadya, Sobek, Kimmy, and Danielle.
Before we left, I gave everyone a gift of sorts- a level II Kevlar vest. "It is fairly flexible, and it's abrasion resistant. Not much of a fashion statement, but it could be a life saver." I solemnly said. I also brought five more for the Challenger group.
The eight of us in car 1 had been chatting for close to an hour when we arrived at the airport. We piled out and headed for our gate. Car 2 and the U-Haul joined us a short time later. Our plane was already on the ground (it was a miracle that it wasn't late). As we got ready to board, a flight attendant said, "You must be the safari!" We skirted the x-ray machines and went straight for our flight to Rio de Janeiro. We were seated (first class, of course) and most of us cracked open a book. We were in the air before we knew it.
Around two hours in to the trip, the in-flight movie was shown. It was Jurassic Park. The rest of the flight was uneventful, and it seemed as if we landed in South America as soon as we had taken off! The guards in Rio had not been informed of our arrival, so they were surprised that when asked if we had anything to declare, I responded nonchalantly, "Only 11 rifles, 8 assault rifles, 5 shotguns, and 21 pistols, plus various knives." Luckily our guide showed up moments later.
After he talked us out of our problem, he told us, "You will stay in Rio tonight. Then you will leave early in the morning. Your equipment is being shipped to the site as we speak." "I'm not complaining." Said Lisa. A couple of cars were parked outside, and once we were all packed in, they carted us off to a Holiday Inn. Everybody was excited. Caitlin was taking some pictures. The women were scattered about, looking around the hotel and exploring Rio. ASIG and I, who were sharing a room, watched cartoons and then went to bed.
The next day everyone woke up early once again. We went down to the airport caught our plane. It was a small prop aircraft. We flew northeast for about two hours until a small facility loomed in to sight. We landed on the tiny airfield. We were greeted by our guide from the day before. "Welcome to Telescene's little outpost n the Amazon." He said excitedly.
He led us to one of the corrugated steel buildings. "Take a seat." He said cheerfully. After everyone was comfortable, he rolled down a map. "Here's the plan: You drive to this position here." He said pointing to an "X". "Then you will activate the time machine, find the explorers, and come back. Any questions?" ASIG leaned over and whispered to me, "That was a very brief briefing!" A few people around us stifled a laugh. "If there are no questions, then we will take a look at your time machine." He said.
We followed him to another building that looked like a garage. We were talking amongst ourselves we went in the doors. "Ladies and gentleman, your time machine." He stated. Everyone stopped chatting and started staring. You have got to be kidding me." Said Ashley "What the Hell" stammered Lex. I approached the machine, I said wide-eyed, "Is this a field trip or a safari?" Our time machine was a school bus. "This is a joke, right?" asked CalGal. "After all of our recent money problems, this is all we could afford that would meet our needs." Said our guide. "We're all gonna die." Sarah flatly stated. Everyone stared at her now. "Well, its true!" "She has a point. This is madness!" said CalGal.
"Actually, its not." Said one of the mechanics as he took off his welder's mask. "We gave this rig a brush guard, off road tires, bars in the windows, a new coat of camo paint, plus we re-enforced the entire aluminum body. It can take a lot of abuse." "And," cut in our guide, "it can fit all of you and your equipment." "That makes me feel much better." Tigs muttered. "Speaking of equipment, maybe we should get ready." Said Eva. "I agree." Quipped CalGal.
We were suited up 20 minutes later. Caitlin took a group photo, and then we piled on to the bus. CalGal took her position in the driver's seat. "Tallyho." She muttered sarcastically as the bus rumbled in to the jungle.
We drove through the forest until we came to a campsite. There a scientist came on and showed us how to use the time travel device. While we waited, we slipped a CD in to the player. It contained the song Back in Time by Huey Lewis and The News. We sang along as we waited, very excited. We set the date (1921) and then started a countdown. 5…4…3…2…1…CalGal flipped the switch. Colors flashed by the window for a few seconds then…silence. "Did it work?" asked Ashley. "I think so." Said Danielle. "The camp is gone." "Holy crap!" said an excited Ashley. "We're in TLW! Now what?" "May I venture to say we should find a cave and set up camp? It is nearly nightfall." I said. We drove for a while before we came across a cave. Everyone set up camp around the cave, and we set up a schedule for guarding the camp. Whoever was on guard duty would use the NVGs and wake up the rest of us if anything happened. Once I felt everything was secure enough that I would live through the night, I climbed in to my sleeping bag and fell fast asleep. Thus ended our first day in the Lost World.
