There is something missing from our world. The amazing animals that time has left behind. But what if we can bring them back? What if extinction didn't have to be forever? We're going back in time on a safari with a difference, as wildlife adventurer Nigel Marven plunges into pre-history to rescue creatures on the brink of extinction. His plan is to bring them back to the safety of the present and give them a second chance. Last time, Nigel sent Hazel and her new team to the Late Cretaceous to look after the Residents while their home was being expanded. Now, with their new roles as mentors, they must overcome new obstacles, including threats from the outside. Welcome to the ultimate wildlife sanctuary. Welcome to Prehistoric Park.
Of all the times throughout the days in Prehistoric Park, Daniel seemed to like the evening and early hours of the morning the best. At least, for now until he's fully learned the ropes of this place. The whole time he's been in Prehistoric Park, the busier hours meant he had to help out with the chores and then do whatever his superiors asked him to. Couple that with his secret mission of compiling information and he had little to no free time.
It was dawn. There was almost nobody up and about. The only sounds that were being made were the snores of the Park's Residents along with either the chirping of crickets or the morning songbirds. The skies were gradually turning a lighter blue with each passing minute. It was a little warmer this morning than the last, but it was still cool.
It was Monday. It had been several days since his meeting with Nigel and his discovery of the truth of this place. It had also been a couple of days since that party he was advised to join. He hoped the people (and Residents) that were present would forget that event. He had a fun time trying to get the disgusting vomit stain off his attire.
Today was also his first day of training for that new Rescue Program. His tutor was none other than Hazel Veran, who was one of the primary organizers of the program. The day before, he learned that the dress code in this place was very lenient; each employee had a choice to either wear the park uniform or wear clothes that were accommodating with the job. That would explain why he saw some staff members wearing informal attire rather than the uniform. Still, from his experience with being undercover in other jobs, he chose to wear the regular uniform until he was more comfortable.
Daniel wondered how this program was going to go. This was the first time the park was doing this, so it was entirely experimental. However, he also knew it was their way of wanting to prepare candidates for rescue missions and see if they had what it takes. While he was interested in learning the aspects of Time Travel and how they do their rescues, he was only doing this to add to his report and to pass the time. Even if he failed on all his tests (which he was positive he wouldn't since the tasks seemed like he would be adept at them), he wasn't there to stay anyway. As for the Partner thing, while it did seem like a cool aspect to explore, again he had better things to do than to look after a Resident. Everything he was doing was for the sake of the mission.
Just then, a large shape loomed over him. Looking up, he made out large wings and a pointed beak. The man started getting used to the presence of these ancient relics. However, them appearing suddenly would sometimes make him jump. It was fascinating that the staff here were quite used to the creatures free roaming. None of them were in any immediate danger. He supposed it was thanks to these Communicators that they were able to talk things over with them. Those predators also didn't have an interest in hunting down their neighbors as they were always fed meals by the staff.
Interested in what this creature was doing so early in the morning, Daniel followed it. He had to run just to keep up with its slow glide. Eventually, the creature, which was one of the pterosaurs he was told about, landed on a building that seemed isolated from the park. The building he learned actually belonged to the Rey brothers as they used it as their workshop. As for the flyer in question, the red coloring and the pointed crest gave away its identity.
Thinking back on Nigel's advice on getting to know the Residents, he acted on it. He had to start somewhere. Upon closer inspection, he realized this was the same pterosaur he encountered in that party before, the one that reassured him. Skidding to a stop in front of the building, he looked up and greeted it.
"Good morning!"
The pterosaur whipped his head up, disturbed from preening one of his wings. Looking from side to side, he saw no one. It wasn't until he heard a sharp whistle that he looked down on the lone human there. Surprised at the unexpected company, he returned the greeting out of respect.
"Ah, good morning," he said. His voice was rather deep and had an edge to it, but from it came a tone of respect and honor. "It's Daniel, right?"
"That's right," the man frowned as he tried to recall the pterosaur's name. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe I got your name. I've seen you around, but I haven't had a chance to ask."
"It's quite alright," the flyer folded one wing and hugged it close to his chest. The warrior shockingly bowed, something that Daniel found intriguing. "I am Aeros."
The human nodded and bowed respectfully too. "Aeros. Aeros. Interesting name."
"What brings you out here so early?" the crimson denizen inquired.
"Just taking a morning stroll before getting some breakfast. I was about to ask you the same thing."
Aeros chuckled. He gave him a small smirk through his beak. "Same as you. Although I haven't eaten yet either."
That caused the human to chuckle too.
"I must say, this place is a lot better than the one I came from," the Pteranodon gazed out at the landscape, a hint of sadness meeting his features.
"Oh? What was your original home like?" asked Daniel, wanting to continue the conversation.
"I used to live by a coast far to the north. My colony would stay there during the warm months before migrating south during the cold seasons. I believe your kind calls that place Alaska, if I can remember correctly."
The human eyed him in interest. "Alaska? Been a while since I've been up there. I've seen the wilderness there, but I didn't go too far in. It's quite amiable depending on the season you arrive in. I'm willing to bet the warmer temperatures here will take some getting used to?"
Daniel had been to many places in the past, Alaska included. But mostly he would go there for an assignment or for a quick vacation. He only visited two places, Juneau and Anchorage. Both of them were either for a mission or just because he wanted to visit. He wasn't much of a wilderness type of person like those hard-core survivors on TV, however he knew he would learn a thing or two here. At least, that was what he heard from a passerby.
"You can say that again," replied Aeros. "It's a little warmer than I expected, but it's nothing I can't handle. I've been out and about for most of my life, at least when I chose to fly away from my colony for periods of time."
Daniel eyed him at that detail. The mention of it struck him with sympathy. "You mean you don't stay in one place?"
The red Pteranodon gazed down at him for a moment. "Well, I used to. That wasn't until I was saved by Hazel and her companions. I owe them my life after I was injured by that storm. Now after coming here, I doubt I even want to leave them. It was about time I moved from my original home anyway."
Again, there was Hazel again. Just what sorts of adventures had this woman gone on? And that part about him being caught in a storm and deciding to stay in this place was astonishing. Judging from what he said, Aeros seemed to be a wanderer that would occasionally visit his home before moving on.
It was the same with Daniel.
"You don't miss it?" he asked him.
The flyer frowned for a moment. "Erm...sometimes. But I wasn't too close to anybody there."
"What about your family?"
Once again, Aeros' features took on a sorrowful turn. "My parents perished a long time ago. They were ambushed by monsters in the sea while on a fishing trip."
"Oh...I'm sorry," he looked away, ashamed to have asked that. "I didn't mean to ask."
Like Aeros, he too suffered his share of losses. Family members, friends, and those even closer. Especially more recently with…
"Think nothing of it," the Pteranodon said, pulling him away from those tragic thoughts. "You asked, and I answered. Besides, I have a new life here. Now what about you? Your story is probably more interesting than mine."
Daniel bit his tongue. So much for avoiding explaining any origin stories. Luckily, he knew how to answer that thanks to experience in the field. However, that was with humans. With a prehistoric creature like him, who was he going to tell? What would he benefit from telling anyone his origins? These creatures knew nothing of the bad side of humanity.
As an agent, he was trained to have a made-up origin story to protect those around him. Granted the SAGES aren't like those hard-core spy movies and shows where the agents came up with lots of contingencies. It was enough to have a fake origin story to throw people off. If he were on a mission that required him to have an alias, he would go for it. If the mission called for it, he would raid an organization in an armored bodysuit and a mask. But in this case, to avoid making people suspicious, he went with his real name. The only thing the media did get right was they avoided telling their families and friends what they did in the field out of security.
Thinking quickly, he went with the most obvious answer. His heritage.
"I was born in a faraway country called the Philippines. My mother was a native there, but my father came from another country called the United States. Heh, I'm not sure if you know what those actually are, but let's just say my parents came from different lands. I was too young to remember anything from my time on the islands, but we moved to my father's homeland when I was a year old."
Aeros' eyes narrowed. "I see. And what was your childhood like?"
"I was a happy kid growing up," he answered. "I played a lot, I made a few friends, and I learned a lot in school."
The Pteranodon raised a brow ridge at that alien term. "School?"
"Yeah it's a place where young individuals go to learn about the world. It's something we humans go through."
Aeros blinked and then relaxed. "Hm...very well. Continue."
Daniel shifted in his position and placed his hands in his pockets. "Well, I went up in the world. I graduated, found a job, and now I'm here. Plus I am pretty good at martial arts."
"Martial arts?"
"It's a fighting style humans can learn. It helps us get out of sticky situations, kind of like how you have your flight or dinosaurs can use their strength, claws, tails, or teeth to do so."
"I thought you humans only used items you hold to defend yourself. I know the humans here use those gun things."
The man's eyes went bug-eyed. This park has guns!? How is he just finding out about this!? What, did they shoot these creatures if they went out of line? If this place was supposed to be some sort of sanctuary, why would they have those types of weaponry? They couldn't hurt these creatures, could they? Was it out of defense if any outside invaders threatened their security? Daniel made a note to ask Nigel or one of the Rey brothers about this later. Or Hazel Veran since he was meeting her soon.
"We've got guns?" Daniel blurted out.
Aeros nodded in realization, his crest moving in a motion as if it were a lever. "Oh that's right. You're new here. Ask any of the other humans here. They may know. I believe you all use them for defense, at least that's what I witnessed when we were in that one battle."
"A battle?"
"Yes," replied Aeros. "It was shortly before coming here. I assume you only know a little about it?"
"Yes, that's right. From what I know, it's a bit of a touchy subject to nearly everyone here."
His gaze fell, also looking saddened. "I can't blame them. Alright, I'll tell you what I know."
Aeros proceeded to explain to Daniel the events that happened in Temporary Park, at least from when he first arrived there to when they were returning to the 21st century. The Pteranodon was injured for a portion of their stay there and thus mostly stayed within those warming tents the employees erected for the Residents. Most of the details he explained were from what he heard. However, Daniel accepted those answers regardless.
Their stay there was a troubling one. A number of Residents perished because of invading carnivores. Two battles occurred there, both of which had their share of casualties. The weather was almost always against them. The leaders of the park were always disagreeing with each other. Aeros only told him of what he heard and advised Daniel to speak to the Crew, as that was what Hazel and her team were called, about it. It was only by banding together that they were able to push back the invaders.
Daniel inquired on how such circumstances arose, having already explained he knew they were all there to wait for Prehistoric Park to complete its expansion. Aeros told him something had gone wrong when they were all taken there. It had something to do with "arriving at the wrong time" due to an "error", at least that was what he heard.
Putting two and two together, the agent assumed something had gone wrong with the Time Poles. It was either a malfunction or a glitch. Aeros explained while the Residents and their allies suffered losses, all of the humans made it out in one piece, for the most part.
After checking his phone and seeing it was still too early to go, Daniel decided to stay and help the flyer with moving on from those tragic events. They exchanged stories about each other, from their time as children, to accomplishments they did growing up or recently, to family life, and even their views on the park. It turns out, they have quite a bit in common. They both fought hard to be where they are now, they were both displaced (with Aeros being in a different place and time and Daniel being in a new environment. The agent took care not to mention his real reason for being there or who he worked for), and they have a drive to protect those they care about.
Daniel also explained he was very young when he did his academic achievements, such as going into school competitions, getting good grades, participating in martial arts competitions, taking classes a grade above his level, and being quite good in technology. He was a prodigy, which he happily explained to the curious pterosaur.
"Do you still speak to your family?" the sympathetic flyer asked.
"Uh, yeah," Daniel answered truthfully. "Every now and then. Just to let them know I'm alright."
Aeros made a small sigh. "Well, it's good you still keep in touch with them. You're an…interesting human, Daniel."
"I am?" the human inquired.
"You're a fighter who overcame challenges. And you overcame them at a young age too. I admire that in individuals."
His brows went up. The flattered human answered. "Oh...thank you."
For a few moments, there was silence between the two. Neither of them knew what else to talk about while they were there. When they both looked in the distance, they saw the sky had already gotten brighter. The sun had begun to rise.
Aeros spread his wings and looked back at the human, who had apparently sat on the ground during their whole conversation. He watched as he stood back up, wiping the dew and grass that now dampened his pants.
"I'm going to get going," he explained. He crouched a little to prepare for takeoff, but decided to remain a little longer to say a few more things. "I believe you have some training to do today. And I have some fish to catch."
Daniel chuckled at that. "Yeah. Uh, nice talking to you, dude."
The man grit his teeth and his gaze went steely. That phrase he said was not the best thing to say to a pterosaur that had the mannerism of a weathered and skilled warrior. He was caught up in the kinship moment that he had forgotten his own manners.
Aeros eyed him, curiously. "Dude?"
He scratched the back of his neck and laughed sheepishly. "Heh, it's a slang term. It's something some of us humans use among kindred spirits."
Aeros' eyes furrowed as he contemplated the term. Shrugging his shoulders, he once again prepared to leave, while looking back at him one more time. "I see...well, I will be seeing you...dude."
Daniel stammered at that. Eyeing the pterosaur, he thought he saw him smile for a moment. He couldn't quite get a clear look as he had already taken off towards the skies.
The agent wanted to smack himself. He just called a literal ancient flying turkey "dude". How embarrassing! Here he was, just trying to be a little friendly, and that was what came from it? He hoped this wouldn't turn into a pattern soon.
Regardless, this wasn't a complete waste of time. At least he found someone to talk to. They did find some kinship this morning. Perhaps Aeros would be a good individual to go to if he wanted a break, or if he needed advice.
Daniel took out his phone. It was 8:20. Time for breakfast.
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Hazel flexed her hands in front of her. Her fingers and knuckles cracked at the stretching motion. A moment later, her arms rested at her sides and a yawn escaped her mouth.
8:00 in the morning was an okay time to wake up, although she would much prefer to wake a little earlier for a morning walk. However, she had been planning her regime for the next few weeks the night before. She didn't sleep until 2:35 am.
Upon walking through the hall and into the dining area, she had forgotten about her new living space. Rather than waking in an equivalent to a college dorm complex, Hazel found herself in a luxurious cabin where the main area had open air doorways all around. The kitchen nearby was alive; its modern and classy marble countertops with a matching island were already filled with breakfast items on plates. The hanging lights were already one and the sink next to the area already had pots and pans needing to be washed. The air smelled of fried rice, eggs, and bacon with the lingering scent of freshly baked biscuits.
Hazel quickly got herself situated at the dining table next to the living space. It was a long rectangular table consisting of a dark-colored varnished wood. There were six chairs, though the occupants numbered at five. The furniture bundle came with that extra chair and was reserved for any human visitor that came. The wood style was mid-century; simple but acceptable. The chairs contained black cushions, making them quite comfy.
Seated at the table were the rest of her team, the Crew. Chris Sinclair, the head keeper in-training, sat at the far end of the table. He was dressed in a red athletic T-shirt and his favorite working shorts and his newly bought red sneakers. His plate contents were half-devoured, consisting of a fried egg and fried rice. To his right was Daisy White, the head vet in-training. Her meal was a little simpler, a piece of buttered toast with grape jam and a leftover falafel. Her glass cup was nearly empty, but Hazel could make out a red liquid, most likely some kind of wine she retrieved. Her attire was a white long-sleeved athletic shirt and a pink T-shirt on top. Her matching pink skirt, while having several pockets, had two red cross markings on the front two pockets. To Chris' left was the head engineer in-training, Ellis Rey. Unlike his other teammates, he wore an orange tank with a wrench symbol in front and brown working pants. His favorite working boots were recently cleaned, showing off a brown sheen. His breakfast was devoured a long time ago.
Hazel took a glance at her attire. She wore a black tank underneath a thin purple shirt. Her shorts were dark denims and she wore black combat boots. Around her neck was a new accessory she got from her last shopping trip; a necklace with a Pteranodon pendant and matching silver beads on the sides. Her hair, having grown long since their last adventure, was tied up in a ponytail. The only addition she decided to put in was a boho hippie hair extension that was tied with her ponytail; the strings were black but the feathers were brown and white with stripes. The tiny beads on each string were patterned in purples and blues. Quite fitting considering the type of work she was going to do today.
The only person that wasn't present at the table was her sister, Hanna Veran. She was sitting in the living area on the longest sofa, which was contemporary in style and had bright blue cushions. In fact, the whole living area worked to match that style, from the tables and dressers to the cushions and the rug. All the furniture was situated around an encased fireplace in the middle that had the chimney going up towards the middle of the cabin roof. The style was quite similar to a fireplace seen in most cafes.
Her sister was also prepared for the day as she was dressed in a light-blue tank top and athletic leggings. Her shoes were blue and gray Nike sneakers. One of her arms contained a silver bracelet with turquoise beads. Unlike the other members of the team, she was on the sofa reading a book. More specifically, she was reading one of her sister's dinosaur encyclopedias.
The newest member of Prehistoric Park was also the park's very first intern, per Nigel's idea. Hanna had a potential to learn about the park and of its denizens. It even spread to her wanting to learn about prehistoric. So, Nigel Marven suggested she do an "internship" alongside her homeschooling, which does not start until much later. It was a last minute idea and he was confident in making it work. For Hanna, her internship entailed her studying the basics of paleontology and animal behavior, which was perfect considering the park presented all of those.
As a member of the park, Hanna wanted to go on rescue missions, just like her older sister and her friends. Their mother, Beth, was a little unsure of that notion for safety reasons, which was typical of her. Nigel agreed to put her through some training before she goes on such missions. Upon completion, she would only join in missions where she was accompanying a large group.
The training her sister was going through was similar to what her sister went through around her age. It was also similar to what all the new recruits are undergoing in regards to rescue missions: the newly established Rescue Auditions. The only difference was Nigel was personally taking Hanna under his wing, just like what he did with Hazel. Her training would involve her working alongside her mentor on planning rescues, learning about the Residents, helping keep things organized around the park, maintaining relations with the Residents, and basic research. Hanna won't start traveling back in time with Nigel until he feels she has learned enough of the park's ways to truly be ready. To Hazel, it was like a walk down memory lane. Her own sister was following in her footsteps, except she would most likely be after a different position in the park.
The only other difference was at the moment, Hanna had another idea in mind. Next to her studying, which thanks to her dear sister, she was granted access to her personal library from her room, she wanted to suggest rescues that included her interests. For now, she was doing a bit of studying, particularly on the creatures with hard to pronounce names.
"Hey Ate, what's an Opistocolecaudia?" her sister asked.
Having already filled her plate with one of every item on the kitchen island and set it on the table, Hazel smirked and went over to her sibling. Taking a quick look at the page, which had a picture of the creature on one end and its description on the other, she told her the correct pronunciation.
"Opisthocoelicaudia. It's a sauropod from the Gobi Desert. The name literally translates to Posterior Cavity Tail."
The teenager glanced up at her sibling. "Oh. Okay. How do you know all these names?"
Hazel shrugged. "Well, you just need to know how to pronounce them. There are quite a lot that are from different countries. I guess after seeing a lot of them, the word pronunciations kind of stuck."
"That's typically how it is. You see a lot of them, you get used to it," Chris said, taking another spoonful of his breakfast. Right next to his plate, Hazel noticed a notepad and a pen. The man was taking some notes in it. She then remembered that except for her, the rest of her team were working on agendas of their own.
With several new recruits in the roster and the new Rescue Auditions underway, the Crew (minus Hanna) became mentors. Their job was to teach the new recruits everything they needed to know in the park (including its Residents) and to prepare them for their Final Exam. Unlike a normal Final Exam in a school, this one was more hands-on; they would need to use all they learned to pass whatever trial they are given. The thing was, the exams are not static. The leaders of the park would put it together and would also entail a Resident or a few of them for assistance. These exams also took place on different dates, depending on when the candidate was ready.
With this new Rescue Program occurring, if the candidate shows a lot of promise and an aptitude in wanting to expand their horizons, they can receive a Partner Recommendation. Basically, it means they have permission to choose a Park Resident as their partner in rescue missions, provided they follow the guidelines, keep in mind the exceptions list, and have a mutual agreement with their chosen partner to be paired. In that exceptions list are the Crews' own partners and a number of their friend circle.
This brought about great opportunities for both humans and Residents and it also emphasized the Park's qualifications for going on rescue missions. The program was a pass or fail scenario. If the candidate fails, they can always try again next time, as long as they don't try to cheat or accidentally/intentionally endanger the park in any way.
"Okay...Late Cretaceous? I think I want to go earlier," she said. She started flipping the pages towards the beginning of the book.
As she continued her research, Hazel went on to eat her breakfast. She had her own teaching to do later that morning. After she took a bite of her biscuit, she glanced over at her teammates. Both Chris and Daisy were working on their plans for the day. The only one who worked on a different project was Ellis.
He was going over lists of ideas for a project given to him by Nigel and Marcus, his older brother. Nigel had the idea to try and bring back the Prehistoric Park show. It was taken off the air due to budgeting (Nigel wanted to focus more on looking after the Residents and not many people were interested in the show, which was an unfortunate outcome). However, he and the park heads noticed with the release of dinosaur-related media, the public's interest in dinosaurs started to increase again. Because of that, they wanted to bring the show back, not only to educate, but also to make more funds. The only problem was explaining the adventures where the camera crews weren't involved. Nigel explained he may have a way to resolve that but they would first need to get things organized, like the show introduction. It was a side project where it was a hit or miss. Plus, Ellis was already done with planning his agenda for the week.
A satisfied cry coming from Hanna diverted their attention again. The teen was on the page she needed to be.
"Here we go. Early Cretaceous."
Hazel proceeded to move towards her sister, leaving her mostly eaten breakfast behind. "What're you looking for?"
Hanna slightly closed her book and looked up at her sister. "Well, since I'm interning here, I'd like to see if I can help with any rescues. I want to make a suggestion on a rescue we can try."
She then opened the book again and presented it. It was a creature Hazel knew all too well thanks to a certain dinosaur movie franchise and its fossil remains in Africa. Her face paled at the menacing form of the creature in the book.
"Do you think Nigel would approve of the idea of rescuing a Spinosaurus?"
The reactions at the table were quite chaotic. Chris had accidentally bit his tongue and tore his eyes from his notepad. At the same time, Ellis, who was drinking some milk, had accidentally spit the liquid onto the poor keeper, who was now drenched and glaring at the engineer with irritation. Daisy, who was more demure in her reaction, merely gawked. Hazel was the only one out of her team to keep her composure.
The older members of the Crew all thought the same thing. They weren't sure if the park was ready for another super-predator. They were still warming up to Diablo, who became indifferent towards everyone in the park ever since he started living there, and they have a little over thirty tyrannosaurs to look after. The other carnivores proved to be easier to handle...except for maybe Rascal as he was starting to be a little nicer thanks to his new pack.
Knowing Nigel, he wouldn't be against the idea of rescuing another super-predator. The only problem was preparing for it.
"Eh...don't you want to try something a little smaller than that?" Ellis offered, cringing.
The teen shook her head. "No. I may not be as dino-savvy as you guys, but of all the dinosaurs I've wanted to see, it's that one. Also, I remember that thing because of Jurassic Park 3. I kept on hearing that name in my school after we watched it before summer break one time."
"Well that explains it," Chris rolled his eyes and got up. When he did, he started to walk back towards his room. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to change my shirt."
When he disappeared from the main area of the cabin, they continued on with their conversation. The one to start it was Ellis, who made a side comment of his own.
"That movie didn't go very well, by the way."
Hanna shrugged her shoulders and sighed. "That's what I heard too…anyway, I'm sure Nigel would approve."
Hazel lightly chuckled and winced. She crossed her arms and placed her weight on one foot. "Hehe…yeah…right. Well, why don't you continue with your studying? It's a bit early to be thinking about doing rescue missions and you just joined the staff roster."
She narrowed her eyes. "But didn't you go back in time with Nigel a few times when you just joined the park?"
Her older sister stammered. "Er…well, that was different!"
"No, it's not. It's the same thing! Besides, I'm the same age as you when you went on your first adventure alone."
"I was like...19! You're 17!"
"Actually, due to the time we stayed in Temporary Park, I would be 19 now," Hanna pointed out. In the background, both Daisy and Ellis couldn't help but giggle at the banter between the two sisters.
The back and forth went on for about a minute before Hazel gave up. She facepalmed and made a calm facade while trying to hide her frustration. Her sister did have a point.
"Okay...chronologically speaking, yes, you're 19. But you're still 17 to me. Look, we'll get there when we get there. For now, just make a note of it and we'll get back to it later."
Hanna huffed and returned her attention to her reading. "Party pooper…"
Satisfied that the endeavor was put to the side, Hazel went on to ask about her friends' agendas with their recruits.
"So what do you guys have planned in terms of our new recruits?"
Ellis was the first to start. "Well, after some sessions in my workshop, I think I'll bring my group back to Late Cretaceous Mongolia."
The woman froze and stared at him. "Ellis! None of your trainees are ready for a rescue mission."
He put his hands up in a reassuring manner. "They're not. Relax. This is just a field trip. I'll be teaching them the do's and don'ts in surviving in a desert environment. Plus Espantos has been wanting to stretch his feet in some new place. I figured we should try something like that."
Hazel contemplated that idea. During one of their talks, Ellis mentioned being in a desert before. While Hazel had been in desert environments in the distant past, Ellis has had more experience with literally camping out there. When he was younger, he explained he and his family took a few trips to Arizona for vacations. They stayed in areas that were tourist friendly but his father would suggest the idea of camping out in the middle of the desert to observe the beauty of the landscape. Those experiences weren't fun for Ellis in the beginning, but they did help in showing him what to do. He did like the landscape when it wasn't challenging him.
She supposed it wasn't a bad idea. By teaching the rookies this, they wouldn't have to endure the sort of thing Ellis went through in the past.
"Also we'll have some chaperones come along too. Some volunteers, both human and Resident. We'll be fine," he concluded.
She nodded, reluctantly accepting it. "Alright then. Daisy? What about you?"
"I think after our session with the baby dinosaurs as well as checking up on the Therizinosaurus eggs," she explained, "I want to bring my team to the Pleistocene. They need to know what cold environments are like."
Hazel raised a brow. "But we were just in Late Cretaceous Alaska. I thought you didn't want to go to any cold environments after that."
"That's true. But Kerato insisted we go there. Coming from that time period, he was willing to offer some assistance. Plus I think he wanted to spend some time in the snow again."
She scoffed and smirked. "Wow, I didn't think Kerato would be in on this."
Daisy giggled in response. "Originally, no. I convinced him."
The woman laughed. "Figures."
"Hazel, don't you have some kind of meeting today?" she asked the future park leader.
Hazel fell silent and slowly turned to her. "Uh...yes?"
"Oh yeah, you're training somebody too," Ellis realized. "That Daniel guy, right?"
At that moment, Hazel retrieved her phone from her pocket. When she activated the screen, her expression fell. She was running late.
"Oh crap!" the woman bolted out of one of the doorways into the valley outside.
The three people in the cabin laughed at the shenanigan Hazel had gotten herself into. It was just another day in Prehistoric Park.
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When Hazel finally arrived at the main Park Hub, she came across the normal hustle and bustle. However, in prior years, the pathways would have a few humans milling about with the occasional Herd Resident roaming. Now, it was busier than ever now that there were new additions to both rosters. To her, it was reminiscent of Temporary Park. The whole place looked a little like a small village.
As she made her way towards the bistro, where she requested Daniel to meet her, she met a few of the new staff additions to the park. She greeted them all with a wave. She also could not help but smile when she saw them interacting with their would-be partners.
One of which was Marble Miroslav, a denizen from Serbia (before Yugoslavia dissolved into separate countries) that came to the park alongside Chris, Daisy, and Ellis. She never went to Temporary Park, but with the arrival of all of the Residents, she was eager to get to know them all. She was quite tall and sported short black hair with grey eyes. At the moment, she was chatting with Celera, one of the park's Ornithomimus. Hazel could tell it was her due to the blue stripe that ran down one part of her neck. She picked up bits and pieces of their conversation, but it sounded like it had something to do with their upcoming session with Ellis.
Another staff addition she recognized was a man named Ian Grady. Hazel only saw him a few times, but from their past run-ins, he was a natural-born photographer, hence why he always carried a camera with him. From what she heard about him, he was the nephew of Zack Grant, a paleontologist from Montana. At the moment, he was with a group of gorillas that Nigel had accepted recently and they were on their way towards the Great Tree in the valley, no doubt to meet with the lemurs there. Hazel was not familiar with most of the Gorilla troop, but the silverback she knew. Rambo was his name, like the super-soldier from that classic movie series. The other thing she heard about Ian was he liked to spend time around the tyrannosaurs, specifically around Terrence. Hazel wondered if the younger of the Rex Twins would agree to being Ian's partner. It was a possibility.
After running across them, Hazel passed by another new recruit who was speaking to an experienced employee and was deep in conversation. The recruit was Asami Ania, a woman from Oahu, Hawaii with Hawaiian/Japanese heritage. She was athletic and sported a grey sweatband that kept the hair from her face. Her attire consisted of black athletic shorts and a white tank top and blue sneakers. The conversation they were in was in regards to wanting to speak to Chris about taking a trip to an aquatic environment in prehistory. She then heard she wanted to rescue an aquatic creature as she wanted to work in the newly added marine portion of the park later on.
Hazel smiled. With these new additions in the park, there were changes and adjustments that were happening. It made things all the more interesting and fun for her. As she mused about the possibilities of what the park will go through in the future, she came across a young woman riding an ATV that was pulling a cart filled with pork and chicken. Instantly recognizing her, Hazel gave her a wave.
"Morning Anneli!"
Said rookie hit the brakes on the ATV and deactivated it. The girl dismounted and waved at her. Anneli came from the US but she had Swedish heritage. She and Hazel met during their return from Temporary Park where all the employees had lunch at the bistro. It was a brief meeting, as Hazel moved on to the next set of rookies afterwards. She was a nice girl and Hazel would check up on her every now and then.
Today, her auburn hair was tied up in a half-ponytail and her bangs fell on the sides of her freckled face. Her skin was pale and she wore wide glasses over her blue eyes. Her jewelry consisted of a tooth pendant and a few bracelets on her left arm. As for her clothes, she wore a yellow T-shirt with a brown vest and working pants and boots, although her pants had one rip on the left side.
"God Morgon (1), Hazel!" The woman greeted her in a Swedish accent.
"How are you doing today?" the park leader in-training asked.
"Oh, it's good," she nodded. "Everything is good. I am just bringing some meat for Jaw and his friends."
"Cool! How's everything going? You and BJ doing okay?"
From the short time Hazel knew of this girl, she later became aware she was socializing with the Allosaurus known as Broken Jaw. Although, said carnivore was initially against being a part of the program and wasn't interested in making any new acquaintances. However, Caius and Flit urged him to go for it as it was good for him to make more friends. When Anneli met Broken Jaw, he shrugged her off, which resulted in his guardians reprimanding him. Considering his history of being with a female that ended terribly, albeit she wasn't too interested in him in that way, he needed to have a friend that was a girl and who wasn't Woodstock. He needed someone to help him move on from Alyssa's rejection of him, so this seemed like a good idea. Reluctantly, the Allosaur went with it.
Anneli giggled at the nickname of her new friend. "We're doing okay. Jaw is a little shy but he is friendly. He has opened up a little. It's interesting because he and I have a lot in common. He and I both had our share of family and social problems."
Hazel gave her a sympathetic look. "Aw…"
The rookie then brightened up and clapped her hands in glee. "But it's okay! We like to talk to each other about things. We enjoy each other's company."
The experienced employee smiled. Anneli was doing well in her rescue training and her final test has been scheduled in two months. And it just so happened she and Broken Jaw were going to be paired. From what she gathered, they had become best friends, though the carnivore was still a little antisocial to others, similar to Kerato in the beginning. However, that was just him. To Hazel, this was an improvement in his behavior.
"Well I'm glad things are going well between you two."
"I am so happy I have a partner that sympathizes with me!" She then started inching closer to Hazel as she spoke in a very eager manner. "I can't wait for our first mission together! I…I know it is too early, but do you know when the next rescue mission is and what we will be bringing back? I am so eager to do it!"
Hazel giggled and gently pushed the girl back. "Whoa easy, girl. We're still working things out and you still need to complete your final test. We don't have a rescue in mind at the moment. I still need to reach out to Nigel about that. But as soon as I hear something, I'll let you know."
The auburn-haired woman showed a reaction with mild disappointment, but that easily dissipated. "Oh, okay. Please keep me posted!"
"I will! Alright you take care now. Tell BJ and friends I said hello!"
The rookie giggled and mounted on her ATV. "Okay!"
With another wave, she started the vehicle and drove away.
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Daniel had been waiting in front of the bistro for 5 minutes. Hazel was supposed to be here to meet him. Something must have happened to have caused her to be delayed. For someone that was supposed to teach him the ways of the park and get through this program, she wasn't making a good impression.
That was alright. At least he could use this time to better familiarize himself with the park environment. Daniel has been in this place for a short while, but even he still had trouble adjusting to all the roaming Residents and the people interacting with them. He felt as if he were in some other world or inside a fantasy book. Everything about the park was unbelievable.
He wondered about how Director Rain would take the news of this place. Would she approve that Nigel was bringing creatures back from extinction through Time Travel means? Would she disapprove and see the creatures here as a danger to the world? What would she do about the Time Travel technology? Would they be confiscated and studied before being used for some other personal gain? What would happen if they did? The possibilities were endless.
Daniel brushed those thoughts aside. It wasn't his place to think about those. He had a job to do. If anything, what Nigel was doing right now was not in the agreement he made with Director Rain. All Daniel needed to do was formulate his report and keep up with the undercover facade until the SAGES said so.
A yell off to his left pulled him to reality. He straightened himself when he saw Hazel running up to him. Bending over and grasping for knees, she gasped for air. She looked like she ran cross-country to get here.
"Hi Daniel!" she gasped, straightening herself. "Sorry I'm late. I ran into some traffic."
"Good morning to you too," he jokingly deadpanned. "And traffic? Did you drive here? If I recall, there aren't highways to this place."
Hazel laughed. "Hahaha! Good one. Man, there are so many new additions to this place. I almost barely recognize it. And more people too! Well, there's the Residents too. You all did a great job with the expansion."
Daniel gave her a warm smile. "Heh, thank you. That's very kind of you."
She clasped her hands together and gave a quick glance at her surroundings. "Well, before we get to it, you've already gotten a tour of the place?"
"For the most part, yes. I'm still getting used to the fact the ani-I mean, Residents can talk," he replied, catching himself at the last minute at the exact term for the creatures here.
For a moment, he thought he saw her eye twitch. Nigel's warning rang in his mind. He needed to be more careful about what to call the creatures of the park. Like him, she too would take quick offense to the titles of these sentient creatures. Because he was new to the park, she let it slide, though the man made a note to watch his wording in the future.
"That's great," she upheld her cheerful manner. "Well, now that that's settled, let's get to it."
Hazel led him through the park, right passed the busier area of the hub. The staff were still milling about, but in smaller numbers as they were most likely where they needed to be. The few that were still out were either waiting to begin their next task or were taking a break.
Just like before, there were Residents roaming around. Daniel followed every movement of his trainer, from ducking under large tails to maneuvering around large bodies and equipment. The woman was so in-tuned with the environment of this place that the agent had to put in a little extra effort just to avoid getting hit. She truly has been here for years and she was aware of how things are.
They stopped at a building that Daniel found out was a storage facility. This was one of the newer buildings added to the park and was meant to house the Residents' food. The other storage facility Daniel was aware of was also for that same purpose, but it also contained extra food the staff could get. It was convenient because now the staff didn't need to go to one building to get the food needed to feed the Residents. Now they had the choice of going to one or the other.
With some help from one of the new recruits, Gabriel Easton, and a few other employees, they were able to fill two carts with turkey and chicken. Gabriel was one of the rookies that came to the park around the same time he did. While he wasn't exactly friends with the 30-year old, he had seen him around enough to know a little bit about him. He was African American and came from the swamplands of Louisiana. He had experience in working in zoos and wildlife parks and was a bit of an expert in alligators and crocodiles. As such, he was mostly seen around the crocodile pond in the park. He also heard he was a fan of reptiles, so seeing the dinosaurs here pleased him to no end.
Once the carts were filled, Hazel asked him to ride on an ATV while she took the other. Daniel had experience with operating such a vehicle so it was no problem for him. Together, they drove throughout the park until they got to their destination. Surprisingly enough, it was the crocodile pond.
"So, what is on the agenda today?" Daniel inquired as he dismounted his vehicle. "Are we herding any Residents anywhere? Are we taking diagnostics? Are we studying how the Time Poles work?"
The man tried his best not to cringe at that last sentence. That was being a little too eager on his part.
"Nope," Hazel replied, unfazed by the inquiry. "We'll be feeding some Residents today. More specifically, certain carnivores."
The agent nodded in understanding. Deep down, he was a little disappointed they weren't going to work on anything substantial to his mission. But this task was as good as any for him. At least he would get to see how the Residents operated when they're being fed. Before he got into this program, he had only been working on mundane tasks, such as helping Marcus Rey repair equipment or keeping inventory. Just the little things here and there.
He watched as Hazel grabbed a large bucket from her cart. Daniel followed suit and they both filled it with meat until the rim. They then began to walk to one of the shores of the pond. He was surprised at how brave she was considering she was walking into territory inhabited by reptiles that had the strongest bite in the animal kingdom.
"So for the crocs here," she started to explain after placing the bucket down onto the sand, "we tend to feed these guys twice per week. Their food is pretty big so they don't need to eat again for a bit. I'm sure you've noticed the smaller pond connected to this one, right?"
"Yes, I've noticed," he answered. He took a quick glance at one of the wooden walkways. Underneath the woodwork was a wooden fence that could be operated by sliding it to one side. On the other side of that walkway was a smaller pond, but still contained enough space for a few crocs to roam around in.
"That's for the smaller crocs," Hazel said. " We placed a barrier between the two some time ago for organizational purposes, plus it's to prevent them from being pushed around by the bigger ones, if at all it does happen. Once they're old enough, we then bring them over to the larger one to join the others. And thanks to your guys' work, the ponds are now a little bigger and thus they have more space to roam around in. Anyway, the smaller guys need to be fed three or four times a week since they're a little smaller."
"Alright. Easy to remember."
The woman retrieved a whole chicken and then yelled at the reptilian masses in the water. "Yo it's breakfast time! Come and get it!"
Upon her call, the crocs went into a frenzy. The water surface broke with splashes and waving tails as the reptiles made their way towards her. Daniel had to take a few steps back as they started to come up on the shore. Hazel stood her ground and just shot them all a smile. Meanwhile, the crocs were snapping their jaws and making mock lunges at her. This petite woman was literally surrounded by dozens of crocodilians.
Thanks to the Communicator Daniel had, he was able to hear what they were all saying. They ranged from deep, guttural accents to southern ones. He wondered where Nigel had even gotten them, most likely from different places if they were speaking in different accents.
"Easy fellas, there's plenty for everybody," she giggled as she hefted the chicken a little higher.
"Hey lady! Hurry up! I'm hungry!" one crocodile bellowed impatiently.
"Idiot!" a female hissed at him, making a quick sharp turn to make a warning bite. "Wait your turn!"
It was pure chaos. They were clamoring amongst each other and some tried to get closer to her but they could not. Daniel had no idea why they weren't even thinking about getting close to her. She was right out in the open.
Suddenly, they started to retreat as a large shape started to come up from behind them. Daniel's lower jaw quivered as he was now staring at the biggest crocodile he had ever seen. It was so large that it could have dinosaurs for breakfast.
"Now now mates," the creature, which turned out to be male, rumbled. The deep Australian accent was clear cut like a knife on steak. "Let's not crowd the little Sheila."
The leader in-training waved at the large crocodile. "Morning Irwin!"
"Irwin? As in Steve Irwin?" Daniel wondered. He wanted to smile at the connection they made to the famous crocodile hunter from years past. Quite fitting for a large crocodile like him.
The dinosaurian reptile hauled himself onto the bank. His snout was just a scant three feet from the human. "Hazel, my favorite ankle biter! Been a while since I saw ya. How've you been?"
Hazel rested the chicken at her side. "Doing great, thanks for asking. How's your back? You feeling okay?"
"Ah I'm doin' fine," he moved his head to gesture at his back. Daniel looked over and noticed there were a few scales that were chipped on parts of his back. He must have been injured some time ago. "Some rest and warm weather and I'm right as rain. I didn't know you were comin' here with some company. Who's the new guy?"
Daniel froze at the mention of him. Hazel quickly stepped in with the introductions. "Oh, this is Daniel. He's new here. I'm his tutor for the Rescue Program so he'll be learning the ropes here."
The crocodile reared its head for a moment as if in agreement. When he opened his jaw, Daniel could clearly see the large teeth the creature sported. His jaw was so large, a human could be dragged in the water easily, even crushed. "Ah that's right! That new thing that's happening. I almost forgot about that."
"You thinking about joining in on it?"
Irwin's tail made a quick swipe, creating a sizable splash behind him. "Eh, I'm open to it. If anyone wants to get to know me, I'll oblige. Still waitin' on a human but there is that one Sheila that's been spendin' time here more than the rest. Nice girl to talk to, not sure if you met her. Not quite sure if she wants to partner up though. I think she just wants to get to know us."
"Well we've got a lot of new recruits," Hazel mentioned. "I think we'll be seeing her sometime soon."
The ancient crocodilian accepted that answer. His eyes then fell on the other human in the area. Daniel went rigid when he stared into those predatory eyes.
"So you're the new guy she's trainin','' he went. Those eyes studied every being of him like some kind of organic camera. "I'm Irwin. Nice to finally meet ya."
Daniel swallowed to wet his parched throat, which had become dry as he was silently gawking during the whole conversation. "Pleasure. I'm Daniel."
The Resident's great head cocked to the side. The water around him shifted when he took a step forward so he could study him. "Daniel? Hm...you look more like Danny to me, hope you don't mind if I call ya that."
He let out a chuckle, which to him almost sounded like consecutive booms. "Welcome to Prehistoric Park! Hope you like it here."
The man felt a little sheepish by that nickname. He had been called that a few times in the past, not that he minded it. He just rather not be called that as it sounded a little immature. The crocodile seemed to like the name so he let him indulge in it for now. However, if he kept at it, he would have to stop the pattern. Besides, he wasn't sure if he could try and persuade him since he was a giant dinosaur-eating machine and was surrounded by his modern day cousins.
"Ya know," he rumbled in amusement, "if it weren't for the fact that you were bein' trained by her, I would have assumed you were courtin' her."
That did it. Daniel felt his face flush red. This guy was a walking jokester! Him? With Hazel? He doesn't see her that way! They're not dating! And it certainly didn't help that the other crocodilians present were laughing at the joke. The only thing that would make it worse would be if there were other employees present.
When he took a glance at Hazel, she too was flushing red. In fact, she was quite annoyed and embarrassed by the notion.
She clenched her fists and told him off. "IRWIN! That's not what this is!"
"HAHAHA!" he boomed with laughter. "I'm just jokin'!"
His trainer closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Taking a few moments to calm herself, she then turned over to Daniel for the rest of Irwin's introduction.
"Irwin here is our Resident Deinosuchus. Nigel rescued him from 66 million years ago. It was right before I came along."
"That was an interesting time!" Irwin laughed as he reminisced of that time. "He had a fun time tryin' to get me to cooperate! Hahahaha!"
Hazel rolled her eyes and presented the full chicken again. She wanted to get this over with to escape the lingering embarrassment. "Alright alright. So who's hungry?"
The whole feeding went on for several minutes. At first, it seemed like hard work as Daniel had to take care to feed the right Resident (they were all fighting to be the next ones to get the meal). However, he soon found himself a little entertained by the task. Crocodiles have the strongest bite force on the planet. Their bites were so strong that one can hear popping sounds every time their jaws closed. Hazel explained to him it's not the jaws that are creating the sound, it's the compressed air that escapes. The other entertaining bit was hearing the sounds of them crunching the bones of their meal. It was disturbing, yes, but it was what some individuals would call an ASMR. Overall, the whole experience was terrifying and amazing at the same time.
As they went on with the feeding, Daniel kept on eyeing Hazel just to see how she was doing it. She was getting a workout from this, considering some of the meat was heavy. Even with all the work cut out for her, she was doing her diligence. Then there came the part where she maneuvered the other ATV (the one that Daniel drove) towards the shore. She called Daniel over and asked him to help with emptying the cart. The multitudes of meat fell on the shore and Irwin dived right in.
Because Irwin was larger, he required a bigger quantity for his meal. However, with that size also came a different feeding schedule. His modern day relatives needed to eat twice or three times per week. For him, he only needed to eat once every seven days.
After the feeding was done, Hazel bid them farewell and left for the shed nearby to clean her hands. As Daniel made his way back to his ATV to wait for her, he saw he was being followed by Irwin, who had been swimming right next to him. The crocodile raised his head up and stared at him. Daniel could not help but stop and ask.
"Everything alright, Irwin?" he asked him.
"Yeah yeah, everythin's fine," replied the ancient relic in a hushed tone. "Listen, I just want to give you a tip. Hazel there is a pretty nice Sheila. Whether you're thinkin' about courtin' her or not, you treat her with respect. She treats all of us like family, so we do the same. You follow through with that and you'll be fine."
Daniel went rigid again. So much for trying to escape that topic.
He scoffed and denied the assumption. "What? We're not dating. She's just teaching me."
"I know, I know. But I've seen how you looked at her durin' the feedin'. I may be a predator, but my eyes are trained to see other things happenin' too."
Daniel shut his mouth. He was shocked to see the croc had been watching him this whole time. Just how much did he get from their visit here?
He shook his head and explained calmly. "You must be mistaken. I don't like her in that way. She's just helping me out."
Irwin raised his head to one side and then submerged a little, but not so much as only most of his body was underwater. "Whatever you say. Just keep in mind what I said."
Before he disappeared, he said one more thing that made him want to smack himself.
"By the way, I may be a different species, but she is quite a looker. Just lettin' you know."
The Deinosuchus gave him a chortle and disappeared beneath the surface, all before Daniel could defend himself. He didn't like Hazel in that regard. All they are is trainer and trainee. Besides, he was on a mission and he wasn't in the mood for a relationship. His mind went back to that time period. Back to a happier time...a time when they were ignorant of the evil in the world. Before the news came…
Daniel shook those thoughts away. That stupid croc was getting into his head. But, at least he learned a few things from this, other than how to feed the crocs at this pond. Hazel Veran had an effect on the park's Residents and they treat her as one of their own. Perhaps he can learn a thing or two from her. Just as long as none of the park Residents act like some off-species aunt or uncle giving him advice. Still...she is especially attractive…
With the crocodile feeding done, they returned to the storage facility to restock. For the next couple of hours, they visited other carnivores in the park. From Hazel's directions, she introduced the Dilophosaurs, the Allosaurus couple named Al and Alyssa, and all of the tyrannosaurs that recently arrived not too long ago. There were more carnivores in the park, but Hazel chose to feed them as she believed showing them all would take more than a day, from both the feeding and her telling him their stories. That was alright. He is learning quite a lot from today.
When they finished feeding the tyrannosaurs, they went to the other storage facility to get enough meat to feed the Sabertooth cats. According to Hazel, they were the last ones to feed for today's training. According to her, feeding the Sabers is similar to feeding modern day giant cats, though Daniel told her he didn't really have experience with working with giant cats.
When they rounded a corner of one building, Hazel yelped and hit the brakes on the ATV. She swerved it to the side, which created track marks in the dirt. Daniel had to act quickly to make sure he didn't crash into her. Upon checking on the status of his trainer, his eyes went over to the one thing that surprised the adventurer. A lone dinosaur.
This was one of the Residents that escaped Daniel's radar. It was a large quadruped that was about 30 feet long, with green scales and brown stripes. It's arms ended in three digit hooves, with its fifth fingers being rather small yet flexible. The only thing about its hooves were the thumbs, which were both sharpened spikes. Looking up, he came face to face with the imposing creature, a scar ran down one of its eyes. The scowl it made was quite intimidating.
Hazel deactivated her ATV and went up to the Resident, unfazed by the manner it had.
"Sorry Nero! Didn't see you there!"
The dinosaur let out an aggravated sigh. His voice, like that of his features, was also quite imposing. "You should really watch where you're going."
The time traveler rolled her eyes and quickly brushed that off. She placed her hands on her hips. "Well nice to see you too. How's your new job?"
He let out an annoyed huff. "Well you should know how it is, considering it was an idea you suggested."
"Yes and Aladar and Neera approved it, hence why I'm asking you."
Rolling his eyes, he replied, albeit reluctantly. "Humph, since you asked, being a trainer is…acceptable. It beats having to spend my days off to the side. Though the recruits I'm working with are just as spineless as your cohorts were before."
"Hey hey, be nice. They're new," she chided.
Listening in, Daniel wondered about the story behind this dinosaur. Judging by the mannerisms, he seemed to be a little antisocial. The scars, both old and new, seemed to tell stories. He could tell he had been through a lot.
However, while both he and the Asian woman spoke, he overheard a mention about a breakout, and she was telling him to move on from the incident. Daniel instantly remembered one of the stories Nigel told him. This dinosaur was involved in the second breakout of the park, hence why there was a bit of tension on him. This Nero worked to make up for the mistake and earned the title of "Trainer" in the park, though not in the sense like Hazel or the other staff members that were training recruits. According to the conversation, Nero's job was to train the rookies (and any other Resident in need of some exercise) in physical workouts as well as prepare them for extreme situations when on rescues. This involved them going on arduous workouts similar to that of a boot camp.
Daniel went through something like that, before he joined the SAGES. It was difficult training, but it was worth it in the long run. He wondered if he was going to go through training like that later. In fact, judging from this meeting, he was similar to his former drill sergeant. However, with how the conversation was going, he seemed to have a hint of Director Rain in his personality too.
Daniel froze when his attention was directed onto him. Those imposing eyes stared at him, studied him, like he was a newly added private in an army.
"And the male human with you would be?"
"Oh sorry! Where are my manners?" Hazel apologized with a nervous giggle. "This is Daniel. I'm training him in the ways of the park too. We're on our way to feed the Sabers."
She then turned to him and did the rest of the introduction. "Daniel, this is Nero. He's a member of the Valley Herd and one of the park's official workout trainers. He's also an Iguanodon, if you're not aware."
As a last minute gesture, the man gave the dinosaur a salute. He was quite taken aback by the gesture, but he accepted it nonetheless. His stature did not change, but the human did see his eyes widen a little before returning to their normal scowl.
"Uh, nice to meet you...sir," he said, trying to maintain a professional demeanor befitting that of an army official.
While that introduction was respectful, that only piqued Nero's curiosity. The dinosaur leaned down towards him. He sniffed him and took in everything about his appearance. Daniel maintained his position, but he had to hold his breath as the stench from his maw was quite disconcerting. He was not quite used to being close to giant Residents, or any zoo animal, for that regard. In fact, what was happening now was the equivalent of an army sergeant examining rookies to see if they were capable of what they would be going through...or if they didn't have what it takes.
Daniel seemed to have passed the test however as Nero stood straight in silent satisfaction. But then he went on to the next phase of his "impromptu interview".
"A rookie indeed. I take it he's a part of that new training program you created?"
"Pretty much, yeah," replied Hazel, who stood quietly off to the side to allow the examination to continue. Taking one quick look at her, Daniel saw one of her hands shaking. He took that as a sign of her nervousness. It would seem she too was hoping this meeting would go well.
"Tell me Daniel," Nero said, causing Daniel to look back at him, "how are you in terms of survival? Can you hold your own against something larger than you? Can you fight?"
Thinking quickly, he gave him an answer that he hoped was acceptable. "Uh, for survival, I haven't had experience with being out in the wilderness but that's what Hazel is going to teach me. I can fight, I mean, I've gotten a black belt in both Karate and Taekwondo."
A gasp from Hazel seemed to have alleviated the tension by a bit. Looking over, she looked quite interested as she strode up to him in earnest.
"What!? I didn't know you were in martial arts! A black belt too!"
"Heh, yeah, I am," he chuckled lightly. "I practice my techniques every morning."
"So do I! I'm a black belt too!"
"Oh? Well, it's good to see I'm not the only one."
"You should show me what you know sometime," she suggested. "Heck, maybe we can spar."
"We can plan on it," he agreed. "I wouldn't mind."
With that, the dinosaur let out a huff. Judging by the shrug of his shoulders (and his body), he seemed to have accepted Daniel for what he was. He strode off to the right side of the road to let them pass.
"Very well. If it comes to it, I suspect we'll be seeing each other soon. Hazel, if you have a mind to do so, send him my way for training."
"Heh, I'll consider it," she replied in a lighthearted manner.
While Daniel has previous experience in going through a boot camp setting, he hoped he wouldn't have to go through training with him. While he had a feeling the training regime would fit a human, he would rather learn more about the park by doing this training program than a workout like that. He wouldn't be able to get appropriate data that way.
"Well, we better get going!" Hazel went again. "The Sabers must be starving. We'll be seeing you!"
With a swish of his head, Nero gestured to the woman to proceed towards her ATV. However, as Daniel made his way towards his vehicle, he stopped when he saw Nero blocking his way. The ornithopod leaned down on him and scowled even more.
"Hey, what-?"
"I don't know what it is," he spoke in a hushed tone , his eyes staring into Daniel's soul, "but there's something about you I don't like. You may have gained the trust of the leaders of this place, but not with me. I'll be watching you."
The Iguanodon straightened himself and walked away. His gait was like a brisk walk, he disappeared towards the hills in a rushed pace. Daniel let out an exaggerated gasp and found himself shaking a little. It wasn't because he was nervous when he was approached like that, it was because Nero was suspicious of him. Actually, to Daniel, it was as if his instincts were telling him there was something he was hiding.
Nero had no idea he was correct. Daniel had something to hide. This was the second time he was brought to the side by a Resident, and it was in regards to his true intentions. Daniel needed to be more careful. It would seem these Residents were smarter than they let on. The only consolation he had from this meeting was it was not in regards to warming up to Hazel.
Luckily, Hazel had no idea of the brief meeting the two of them had as she was checking up on the ATV's gas tank. After making their way to the Sabers and feeding them, Hazel dismissed him from training for the day. She decided she didn't want to overwhelm him with all the things they did at the park. That was fine with Daniel. He needed the break anyway.
For the rest of the day, he went on with helping with inventories and repairs on equipment. But as he worked, his mind kept deviating back to that meeting with Nero. The secrecy of his mission was vital, and if anyone were to find out, it would be a disaster.
A.N. Anneli Olofsson belongs to MarinXenom, Marble Miroslav belongs to SAWatching, Ian Grady (and Rambo and Troop) belong to Couellette579, and Asami Ania belongs to GameNut2033. If your OC did not appear in this chapter, don't worry, they will appear later. Also, the crocodile feeding was inspired by a few videos I watched on YouTube from Gatorland VLOGS. Seriously, check those out. They're very interesting.
If you want to submit an OC for the story, please let me and Marc-Ello know as well as follow the guidelines for OC creation. You can find those in our Deviantart pages (RvB-Destroyer and Darksage951). Or you can look at the end of LNoW as we posted it there too.
So in regards to how long the Training Arc will be, I will estimate it to be about 5-7 chapters long (no guarantee, but it's an estimate). As for how long the story is, I don't have an estimate for that. It's too early to tell.
To continue with what I mentioned in the previous chapter on Crew membership, Hanna is considered a member of Hazel's Crew, hence why she is staying in the Safari Cabin. She also has the official label of "Park Intern". Daniel may be considered "part of the Crew", but as I said before, he has a ways to go. So at the moment, he's kind of "in-between" a regular park employee and part of the Crew. That explains why he's not staying in the Safari Cabin.
(1) Good morning in Swedish