DISEASED

Chapter One

PRESENT DAY

"Where shall I start? I'll try and tell you what happened at the beginning but that seems so long ago" The storyteller stopped for a moment deep in thought. "The beginning I think would've been a week ago but the days seem so hazy now everything is flowing into one big nightmare. We were on the plateau I remember that, back in 1922, Marguerite and Roxton had gone to collect supplies from the Zanga --"

The old, balding reporter from 'The San Francisco Chronicle' held up his hand to silence the man before him, he wrote down all the details of what he's being told in a black, leather bound notebook. After a long pause the reporter looked up "Continue please". "Where was I…Oh yeah, they were an hour late but we weren't too worried, it wasn't unusual for them too…Get side tracked. Then when the sun was just stating to set we heard Marguerite shouting us, she was terrified".

FLASH BACK

"Challanger…Veronica…Malone!" Marguerite paused for a few seconds to catch her breath as she dragged Roxton behind the safety of the electric fence. "Where are you!" Her screams were almost drowned out by the heavy rain and thunder that clapped in the distance, she rocked Roxton in her lap, his head in her arms.

She wiped the mixture of dirt and blood off his face, his eyes were closed and his breathing shallow and coming in short gasps. Marguerite kept a hand on his chest to feel his heartbeat making sure he was still alive "Please don't die". She felt someone pull her back and she pushed Veronica back to follow Challanger and Malone as they carried him into the treehouse.

Challanger and Malone laid Roxton on the bed, Marguerite began patting a cold, wet cloth against Roxton's forehead while Challanger changed the bloody bandage on Roxton's leg, "He won't last much longer Challanger".

PRESENT DAY

"There was so much blood we didn't think he'd survive the night, we kept our hopes up though for Marguerite's sake. She didn't show it but we knew she was scared for him Roxton was a fighter though a fever couldn't stop him, he woke two, three days later battered and bruised but awake".

Malone paused to let the doubtful reporter speak "How did he get in such a state Mr Malone?" Malone laughed knowing the reaction he would get "A raptor".

The reporter almost dropped his notes, he looked at Malone in surprise "A…A dinosaur!" The blond haired young man nodded before continuing "They'd been making there way back home when a group had attacked them they would have had enough bullets left but for a run in with Headhunters earlier in the day. The surviving had attacked them and it got Roxton…Things were starting to get back to normal when he started to show signs of a fever, we thought it would pass but it got a whole lot worse".

"He was so weak he could hardly lift a cup let alone walk, Challanger and I fashioned a stretcher and took him to the Zanga to see if they could help him, their medicine man said he had the dinosaur death…Here I think the doctors call it Kalabo fever".

FLASHBACK

"Do something Challanger for Gods sake don't just stand by and watch him die!" Marguerite stood by her eyes glazing as she watched Roxton in agony beside her, Challanger looked at him fighting with his own hidden emotions "I am truly sorry but I don't know how to save him"

Veronica laid a comforting hand on the scientists shoulder "She isn't blaming you she's just upset" "I feel so helpless" Veronica nodded "We all do".

Marguerite leaned against a tree waiting for the inevitable "Marguerite?" she turned her head slightly as she heard her name being called, Roxton held out a white hand to her. She slowly walked over to him, taking his hand she kneeled beside him "Ssh save your strength John" She gently stroked his pale cheek and laid her head on his chest as he fell asleep again, a solitary tear slid down the side of her cheek and into the grass. "I have it, I know what to do!" Marguerite looked up as Challanger and Veronica ran towards her.

PRESENT DAY

"We trusted Challanger and if he thought his plan would work , it hopefully would. You see a few months back before 1922, he built a machine to take them back to London, instead it transported them to the future a lot of other things happened there but that's beside the point. A young girl, Finn, who had hitched a ride back to our time was sent back to New Amazonia, where she came from, after a lot of weird things happened and when everything returned to normal Finn never came back. Challanger had built another machine, with certain modifications, to bring her back"

The reporter interrupted again "And that's how you got here in a…Time Machine?"

"Well yeah we didn't intentionally come here though we just wanted to get to a place that knew how to help Roxton"

The reporter closed his notebook and looked up " What next?" he asked almost enthralled with the tale. A nurse came to Malone's side to change the drip.

"I can only tell you what happened to me the rest of the story is for the others to tell.

TBC…

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