In Prehistoric Arizona, the rains have finally arrived. Unfortunately, the storms have not only brought water, but also fire. Now, it is a race for the group to escape before the flames consume them.
With the flames now on their tails, Michelle and Tristan had broken into a run, trying desperately to keep themselves ahead of the fire. As is, though, they couldn't go too fast - they wait of all the small creatures hidden in their packs was slowing them down, while the injured female Postosuchus was only able to trot, which, while rather fast, was still only just keeping her ahead of the inferno. Meanwhile, the blaze spreading not only forward, but outward, consuming all in its path.
All around them, the forest was is chaos, as its inhabitants were trying to seek shelter from the ferocious flames. Herbivores and carnivores ran side by side, trying to escape the pyre. Pterosaurs took to the wing, taking advantage of the blaze to lift themselves into the air. Unfortunately, the winds that had brought the storms were far stronger above the tree line than below it, sending many of the flying reptiles hurtling back into the dry woodland. A few unfortunate creatures found themselves trapped by the fires, and were roasted alive.
Unwilling to meet that fate, the two humans moved onwards, occasionally stopping to help their followers get ahead of the flames. Oddly, the creatures seemed to be unwilling to leave them, instead waiting when the duo stopped to help another creature. Michelle, at least, seemed to notice this. "Why aren't they leaving us when we stop?"
"No idea. Maybe they associate us with good things since we fed them and stopped that fight earlier?"
"Maybe. NOW GET BACK TO RUNNING!"
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About five hundred meters away as the crow flies, Nigel and his team were also evading the flames. Behind them, the dicynodonts, aetosaurs, and their kin were busy running away from certain death, trying hard to keep up with the team.
As they passed over another log, though, they found themselves face to face with the Poposaurus that had been chasing them earlier. Confused and scared the creature attempted to intimidate them, but when that failed, it tried to run off, only to fall over when it tried to climb over a large tree. The team needed only one shared look to decide on their next course of action.
The team pushed on the log until it budged, at which point it began to roll away until it fell into a dry stream bed, now a quarter full of water. Free to continue on, the team to advance.
It took a while, but they eventually reached the edge of the forest...unfortunately, that wasn't a source of safety.
The stream that flowed through the forest emptied out into a most dry lake at its end, separated by a steep, if rather shallow, drop. Unfortunately, all of the raining had caused the lake to fill up, and had also caused the current in it to become very rapid. Anything that entered it would surely drown. But anything that stayed would be roasted in the flames. The creatures in the forest were caught between the flames and the waters, and neither option looked good.
Elise, however, hadn't given up just yet. "Guys, you think we can set up the portal to rescue the creatures as they run toward the lake?"
While everyone thought that was possible, Tai had a reasonable complaint to that idea. "The river splits just before it empties into the lake, and we can't set up the portal to cover both parts."
"But we have two portal, down we?"
"Thank you, Nigel. NOW LET'S SAVE THESE ANIMALS!"
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Unknown to either of the two groups in the forest, Alice and her team had just finished up rescuing the last of their former pursuers...just as more animals had shown up, displaced by the fire.
Vera could not believe how many creatures were headed their way. "Does nature just seem to enjoy sending creature at us?"
"Perhaps," noted Lucas. "I'll get the portal set up."
Marcus, however, was not happy with that decision. "Aren't we forgetting something, or rather some things, that are rather important?"
"Nigel and his portal are already, and so is Elise's - the portal trackers we were given can tell if the portal is open. As for Tristan and Michelle, they're already headed for Elise and Nigel's portals. Now help me set up these sticks before we get turned into Triassic Barbeque!"
Obliging, Marcus hastily cleared away some ground for the portal, which Lucas was quick to activate. Soon, the glaring hole in the space time continuum was active, and the team back on their ride.
"NOW GO, ONWARDS! KOSTENLOS!"
"You don't need to tell us twice, Alice!"
Sure enough, it only took the group a moment to drive through the portal, followed by an assortment of other critters. Once they were sure all of the animals that had outrun the flames were inside, the portal closed, leaving the staff to wonder just what had happened.
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Back with Nigel's team, the portals have indeed come online. Just in time, too.
As the portals activated, the Poposaurus darted through it, into the safety of the present. Following it were the herd of dicyndonts, dinosauriforms, and crocodile-relatives, who hastily crammed themselves into the apertures, trying to evade death as fast as possible. The group had to fish several animals out of the water, including some actual fish, in part because some had the bad luck to end up getting thrown into the waves by their careless contemporaries.
As the massive flood of creatures seemed to fade, Nigel and his team prepared to leave. Sean, however, finally noticed something important.
"Guys, Tristan's headed our way."
"You mean he hasn't gone back using his portal?"
"Yes, that's what I mean, Aiden. I'm not sure why, but we can't leave just yet - he's almost here."
"Well, he better hurry - the fire is getting too close for comfort."
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Michelle and Tristan pushed the rock out of the way and smiled. Before them stood salvation - Nigel and Elise's portal to the present. After so much running, they had reached the light at the end of the tunnel.
A lightning bolt fifty meters away brought them out of their musings. Reaching the portal returned to being a priority, along with ensuring their followers made it to the present. As such, the first thing they did was motion for the dinosaurs to follow them, not that the creatures needed (or understood) the gestures. Now, with salvation in sight, they were not going to lose it.
As the group charged through, Tristan and Michelle were surprised to see the female Postosuchus overtake them - it appeared she had either regained enough strength to run, or was simply ignoring her limp in order to reach safety. Either way, she was the first creature among their followers to cross into the portal, followed by all the pterosaurs and phytosaurs that had followed them. Shrugging, Tristan and Michelle hastily joined the group, careful to dodge the stampeding critters.
Halfway through, though, disaster struck - a bolt of lightning landed twenty meters from Tristan, causing him to tumble over. As he stood up, he found himself staring at a peculiar sight - a large, glowing, spherical light. A Coelophysis charged through it and did not come out the other end, and as Tristan watched on, he had to grab his park keys, which were somehow pulled toward the light.
"Hey, HURRY UP!"
Broken out of his trance by Michelle's voice, Tristan continued to run, turning back to watch the rest of their followers retreat. Among them he saw the Coelophysis female dart over a rock while below her, a young Camposaurus intersected her path, just barely avoiding being trampled. Overhead, an Icarosaurus glided toward the portal. Behind both of them, a quadrupedal rauisuchian, which Tristan was sure was a Vivaron, splashed through the water. This one was the last creature to be following the duo, as everything else had already past him, including members of his own kind.
And as he followed Tristan into the portal, the glowing blue doorway through time closed, sealing off the forest from the present.
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AN: Just so you know, I went back and edited the last chapter. There's something new about how the portal tracker works.
Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!
