Chapter 5
The Next Unknown Day
The Same Unknown Location

The entire Brown family awoke at 7 o'clock precisely the next morning, thanks to the work of Emmett's pocket alarm-clock. He knew it was precisely 7 o'clock, as the hour and minute settings of the time circuits had remained safely unchanged, and he had set them to the same hour and minute of their departure from 1894.

The four family members looked around the cabin sleepily, and hungrily. The morning light streamed through the coloured windows, lighting the cabin's interior with a dramatic effect. Jules stood up and looked out of one of the windows, scoping out the surrounding landscape.

"The vegetation appears to be remarkably lush and large," he remarked to his family. "I don't see any animals though. Maybe we should take a look."

Emmett shook his head. "Not right now, if at all. We need to have a quick breakfast and get back to the repair job."

"We have some fresh fruit," Clara suggested. "Fruit doesn't need any preparation, so it will do well for a quick morning meal."

Her husband nodded. "That will suit us fine, Clara. We'll collect it together, and leave the boys to get that sleepy look out of their eyes."

Clara nodded with a smile, and accompanied him to one of the storage lockers in the tender. When he began peaking in a low, quiet voice, she realised he had another motive for leaving the boys.

"Clara, I don't like the looks of this place one bit," he began, concern covering his face like a mask.

"Why in particular? It looks pleasant enough," she responded, unsure of the cause of his worry.

"It does look pleasant, but what about the sound?" his voice moved to be barely above a whisper.

"Yes... it does sound awfully quiet," she allowed.

"Awful indeed. Not a living creature has stirred since our arrival. It's as if everything is in hiding or something similar. It's just the same as when animals act unusual before a large storm. And from what the time circuits showed, we are in a time period with plenty of animal life."

Clara nodded, filling a wicker basket with fruit. "It does feel like the proverbial calm before the storm. You had better fix the damage to the circuits as soon as possible." She looked intently into his big, brown eyes. "I know you can do it."

He took the laden basket from her and placed the other arm around her shoulders. "No need to worry. I would appreciate it if you could keep the boys occupied for the duration of my repair work. While I enjoy their involvement, I can work faster without them."

"I can do that for you no problem," Clara answered devotedly. "It would be much easier if we could take a walk outside though," she added.

"Of course. We can't expect our sons to stay in the train the whole time, and there doesn't seem to be any animals in the vicinity."

"Mom! Dad! Aren't you bringing breakfast?" Verne called from inside.

"Can you hold on for eight seconds?" Emmett called in reply.

"While that fact is currently unknown, it is probable that he can," Jules answered, quite unnecessarily as his parents returned moments after he finished speaking.

"Let's see what's over this rise," suggested Verne excitedly.

"Alright, but we won't go any further than that," Clara responded sensibly.

Jules looked around at the thick, green plants. "It appears that we are coming to the edge of this jungle," he pointed out. "It's amazing how thick some of these creepers are."

"Yes, they are rather large. Verne! Don't run on ahead, there could..."

"Oooh!" called out Verne from ahead. "It looks like a building up on that hill!"

Jules and Clara quickly caught up and looked in the direction Verne eagerly pointed. A huge wooden structure stood on a raised plateau, quite some distance away.

"I can see it, but I can't tell what it is," Clara bemoaned. She dipped her right hand into the pocket of her sky blue dress and pulled out a pair of tiny, yet high-powered, binoculars.

"What can you see Mom?" Verne asked excitedly.

"It seems to be some sort of ship, boys. Why it's up on that hill is beyond me."

"Can I see?" both boys asked, noisily and simultaneously.

"If you take turns," their mother allowed.

"Verne can go first, because he located the object originally," Jules spouted, hiding the fact that he would have preferred to go first, but knew it was most brotherly to allow Verne the first look.

Verne carefully placed the binoculars over his eyes and scanned the side of the object. It was almost facing towards them, obscuring its true length. There appeared to be a door in the side, with something moving..."

"There are animals going into it!" Verne declared in youthful astonishment. "Hey, some look like dinosaurs."

"Let me look!' Jules demanded, more bossily than he intended.

Verne held onto the binoculars for a few more moments, and then reluctantly passed them up to his brother.

"You're right, some are dinosaurs. There's doesn't seem to be many of each type though. And they all look like juveniles," Jules observed.

"How can you see all that from here?" Verne wondered.

"I turned the zoom up," Jules answered.

"Oh."

"May I look again?" the boys' mother asked presently.

Jules handed over the device with a flourish. "I think there might be people up there," he noted.

Clara studied the scene carefully. "I do believe there are. It is not entirely surprising. Actually, it is to be expected, as that ship, or whatever it might be, could hardly have built itself."

"May we go closer?" Jules asked hopefully.

Clara shook her head. "It wouldn't do any good, and we should be getting back to the train. If your father needs more than a few hours to finish, we could come back for another look."

"Can we?" Jules asked with an urgent look. "I was in such a hurry to get out for a walk that I left my camera in the train," he lamented.

"It is quite likely, although I cannot make any promises. If not, you can take aerial shots of it." Let's head back now."

The brothers took one last look back at the huge wooden structure and followed their mother back into the trees.