Soundtrack: Stormy Seas by Phantom Power
*Crash*
The wreck of the raft created a small crater. The impact resulted in a dent on the sandbar, mostly due to the motor as that hit first. Bits of sand flew up in a spray. The wind that blew carried the sand towards the humans, who had to shield their faces from the unsuspecting barrage. The wreck was utterly demolished. Sharp hidden rocks had punctured the inflatable vehicle. But the real damage came from where it was hit by the stalking Basilosaurus. That part left a large rift on the surface.
The only thing that was unharmed were the two Time Poles. The portal had already dissipated, thanks to their remote deactivation.
The humans, still stunned at the force it took to break the raft, looked back at where it once was. Their eyes caught sight of a large, gray tail fluke. Part of the underside was a mix of beige and an even lighter gray. Small, dark spots dotted the appendage. With a loud splash, the shape disappeared into the sea. Beneath the surface, a dark shape remained before it turned away from the sandbar.
"Oh my gosh! Did you guys see that!?" Amanda, who still had the camera on hand, exclaimed to the group. Fortunately for her, the device was still on record.
"I think we all saw that," replied one of the other crew members, a young blonde woman in her thirties who wore a blue and gray water suit.
"No, I mean the tail! Did you see that thing's tail!? It's huge!"
"Again, we all saw that."
The second crew member, a man with short, sandy curly hair, scratched the back of his neck. His water suit was fully black. "There goes our boat. How do we get back now?"
Daniel, taking this as his cue, unburdened the bag that he carried. It was a red cylindrical waterproof bag normally sold in coastal cities. It was perfect for keeping water out, but it wasn't made for being underwater. It wasn't a lock-seal type of bag. Its method of closing involved folding the top of the bag then folding both ends until the buckles are secured. He only had essentials in there; a first aid kit, bottled water, some snacks, an emergency flare, and a radio to name a few. Opening the bag, he reached for the radio that was secured in its own waterproof pouch. He opened it and activated the device before speaking into it.
"Time Mariner! Time Mariner! This is Daniel Rimbauer requesting immediate assistance. Our boat has been capsized and we're stranded on the sandbar."
Releasing the side button, he waited for a reply. It only took a few seconds before one came. The responder being Chris Sinclair.
"This is Chris. We saw the whole thing. The two proto-elephants, are they secured?"
"They are," he replied. "We need a way back to the boat. Can you get the extra raft ready?"
"We can, but it'll take a few minutes."
It was then that Daniel felt something wet on his feet. Looking down, he became horrified at the amount of height the water got. High tide was approaching a little too quickly than he expected. The water was up to his ankles. The agent spoke again into the radio, hinting a bit of urgency.
"You're going to need to be faster than that."
Behind him, the rest of the team with him panicked. The one who got them to focus was Hazel.
"Everyone get back!" she instructed them all. Daniel, while still focused on the radio, followed the group as they went to the raised portion of the sandbar.
It was about as large as the raft they used to be one, but the elevation was enough to keep them out of the water. In just less than an hour, the whole sandbar will be overtaken by water. Soon, the Basilosaurus they figured was still in the area would be able to swim to them for a couple of snacks.
Except for Hazel and Daniel, the group huddled close to each other. They all eyed the water's surface, scanning it for any sign of the streamlined whale. Getting off that sandbar was now their number one priority.
"I'll send some people out to get you on our second raft," the ship's captain voiced. "You guys just hang tight."
Daniel gasped when he saw a pair of hands grab the radio. The man could not hold onto the radio as it was literally yanked from him. He saw a partially drenched Hazel, who had run down the shore to get to where he was. She brought the radio close to her and began speaking to it.
"This is Hazel. I'm not sure that's such a good idea. Before Yuuto and Bana, the Arsinoitherium and the Moeritherium, traveled to the park, they mentioned the Basilosaurus still being in the area. Do you see any sign of it around the boat?"
Releasing the button, the radio went silent. The two of them waited for a reply. The sounds of the water sloshing around them was the only thing that broke the silence. A moment later, the radio flared back to life.
"No, but we'll check the radar. Give us a bit."
Silence returned. They listened for a reply. Seconds turned into a minute. The water continued to slosh, small waves crashed onto the shrinking shore. Their eyes scanned the surface, hoping they would catch a glimpse of the sea predator that stalked them. In their minds, they hoped they wouldn't see it. But they knew if they didn't, there was a chance it would be lurking deeper within the water.
The sun beat down on them. While they already applied a new layer of sunscreen, they were still susceptible to the heat. With it now being mid-day, the sun was at its full force. Already, they were perspiring. If it weren't for the predator lurking in the waters, they could enjoy a good swim to cool off.
For Daniel, being out in the open sea was nothing new to him. He had gone fishing before, even took a few trips out with his family. But only in his childhood. However, he knew Hazel was not having such a good time. Her fear of the open ocean was most prominent in her anxious features.
The radio sounded off. Their hearts leapt at the sound of Chris.
"You guys still there?"
"Yeah, we're here," replied Hazel.
"No sign of the whale," he said, bringing relief to them. "Must have up and left."
The woman inhaled and wiped her forehead of the sweat it had. "Okay, keep that radar going in case it comes back. Any sign of Flia and Aeros?"
"Nope. Sorry."
Daniel frowned. If their partners were there, they could have gotten off the sandbar sooner. They could coordinate a couple trips from the sandbar and back to the ship. The pterosaurs could only carry up to two people, depending on the weight. Flia and Aeros were tasked with scouting from the air, however neither of them had returned to the ship. He, and by extent Hazel, worried something may have happened to them.
Hazel sighed. "Do you guys have the microphones out?"
"Yeah, but they're not active."
"Good," she said. "Keep it that way. Do not play them until we get there."
"Alright. The second raft will be there in the next few minutes. Just keep above the water."
The Asian released the button, the radio now silent. Handing it back to Daniel, he stored it away back in his bag.
"Even if the radar says it's not around," he started grimly, "it still is. We're sitting ducks."
Hazel placed her hands on her hips. "Yeah, I know. We just need to hold out."
The frustration of their rescue being delayed coupled with his disdain for the leader caused Daniel much irritation. Looking over, he saw how attractive the woman was. The purple tank and shorts she wore perfectly outlined her body. Her hair, which was tied up in a ponytail, wafted in the wind. Her good looks were making his insides churn.
"I don't suppose the amazing 'Hazel Veran' has any tricks up her sleeve?" said Daniel in a sarcastic manner.
Taken aback by the jab, Hazel eyed him with shock. "What?"
He narrowed his eyes. "Well, now that's a complete surprise. You always get out of situations like this. Finding yourself cornered now, great leader?"
The confusion on her features were crystal clear like the water around them. "First, no I don't have one right now. Second, are you feeling alright?"
Daniel looked away, not wanting to press her any further than necessary. "Fine," he cleared his throat. "I'm fine."
From his peripheral vision, he saw she was about to inquire about his behavior. He prepared to defend himself when he saw two shadows glide above him. Looking up, he felt relief wash over him. The two pterosaurs circled around the island until they descended, hovering just a few feet from the shore and their friends.
"Yes! We're saved!" Amanda cheered from the back.
"Are we glad to see you guys," Hazel remarked with a sigh of relief.
Flia nodded. "Likewise. We were just flying around when we nearly got eaten by something large. We've never seen anything like it."
The leader-in-training frowned. She pinched the upper bridge of her nose as she was annoyed by the predicament. She instructed them both to not get too close to the water for obvious reasons. "Did you guys fly too close to the water? We told you not to do that."
The purple Pteranodon snorted, guilt showing on her face. "We uh...we did, but only for a little bit. But it was for a short period. One of us would eat while the other watched them."
She then eyed Aeros. "Aeros here was the one that ate, while I kept watch."
"Still here, handsome as ever," the red Pteranodon smugly remarked.
This resulted in Flia doing an eye-roll. "We flew close to the shore and didn't see any sign of it. Wanting a break from the scouting, we headed towards the shallows. We thought it was safe enough to get a snack so we flew a little lower to fish. I do admit, I did get distracted; the ocean air and the thought of fishing got to me. We let our guard down and didn't see that thing come up from around a corner. It nearly got Aeros."
"That thing missed, thanks to my skills," the male huffed.
The female flyer squinted at him. "Or you were just lucky."
Not wanting them to kick start an unnecessary dispute, she decided to press forward with the issue. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a folded piece of paper. Before leaving for the Eocene, she went ahead and printed an artists' rendition of a Basilosaurus, just for her to reference as well as to aid in their search if they needed to talk to any locals, like the proto-elephants from before.
She unfolded it and presented the picture to the flyers. It was a pencil drawing of it swimming, so it did not show its true colors. However, the drawing was accurate enough to show what it would have looked like.
"Did it look like this?" she asked.
The Pteranodons squinted and nodded.
"Yup, that's it," Aeros confirmed. "Pretty ugly if you ask me."
"Then you saw our target," Daniel said as Hazel stored away the picture. "We almost got attacked ourselves. That thing destroyed our raft."
He pointed a thumb towards the back, referring to the now-destroyed raft.
Tearing away from the unsightly wreckage, Flia inquired about their situation. "What were you all doing out here?"
The woman shrugged. "Made a couple offside rescues."
Flia made a light chuckle. "Of course."
A revving sound resulted in them staring back out into the sea. They saw a small V-formation form on the water. The object was small from their perspective, but they could make out a raft and a couple of humans on board. Chris had successfully gotten another raft ready and sent a team to their position. And not a moment too soon.
Hazel looked over at the people on the small sandbar hill. "Daniel and I will fly on our partners. The rest of you, get on the raft."
"What!?" the blonde woman blurted. "You're going to leave us here at the mercy of that whale!?"
The leader face palmed. Can't they read between the lines? "No, we're not. We're going to fly on them and keep an eye on you while you're on the raft. We'll watch for any signs of the Basilosaurus above."
Said crew member widened her eyes and let out a breath. "Oh...okay. That makes sense."
Hazel did an eye-roll when she looked away. "Rookies..."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Once they boarded their partners, they flew around the sandbar, checking for any sign of the Basilosaurus. They watched as the rest of their small team boarded the raft once it had made landfall.
As Hazel mentioned, they would stick close to the raft as they make their way back to the ship. The giant whale was nowhere to be seen, leading them to believe it had gone elsewhere nearby. They were surprised it hadn't caught sight of the large vessel beyond. Perhaps it took it as another Basilosaurus, or perhaps it missed it. Whatever the case, they were safe for the moment. Overall, the return was uneventful.
Once they made it back to the ship, with Amanda literally kissing the deck after handing the camera to another crew member, Chris issued orders to prepare for their encounter with the Basilosaurus. Now that they were back on board, they needed to lure it out.
He issued orders to prepare the microphone. It was a specialized piece of equipment normally used to call out to whales. It would play a series of whale recordings in hopes to lure out the giant whale. With any luck, it would come out and investigate, thinking it was another Basilosaurus. Another team oversaw lookout while another oversaw keeping an eye on the sonar. Some opted to take a break and get something to eat. The pterosaurs surely needed that after scouting. They were fed fish from the storage and happily ate them on deck.
As for the Proto sisters, they were in the barracks on the ship taking their afternoon nap. Their fascination with the sea had exhausted them. Plus, with the crew now on the lookout for the Basilosaurus, it would be best to keep them out of harm's way until the initial stress was settled. The last thing anyone wanted was the giant whale to see four bite-sized snacks hanging out below the ship and break the glass in the process.
About an hour passed and there was no sign of the whale. Having finished setting up the microphone and gotten a bite to eat, Hazel decided to help with lookout. She sat on one of the built-in benches on deck, looking out at the sea. She searched for any sign of a blowhole or a giant tail fluke, or even a large shape in general breaching the surface. The water betrayed no sign of the aquatic mammal.
Hazel felt her stomach churn. While she is glad to be back on the boat, they are still a bit of a ways from shore. Chris suggested they go further away from the shore in hopes of getting it out in the open. The shallows may impede its movement and the open ocean may provide a better chance at finding one. While that was a sound idea, that only made her more uncomfortable.
She heard movement off to her left. When she looked over, her heart skipped a beat. Daniel was there, just a few feet from her bench. While he still had his clothes on, she could see his muscles through the white T-shirt he had. Her face went red when her eyes scanned his body. She had to force herself to look away.
She then scanned the deck. There were only a few people around, but they weren't close to them. They pretty much had this side of the ship to themselves. They were practically alone.
This was a perfect time for her to get close to him. She couldn't think of another time to do that except after the mission. Hazel took a deep breath, remembered Chris' advice, and made her move. She scooted a little closer to him, rested her elbow on the bar, and spoke to him.
"How are you doing?"
Broken from his trance, he glanced over at the woman that was now beside him. His reaction was indifferent, but she could have sworn she saw a bit of a scowl there. Once again, her suspicions returned. He looked very off, like something was bothering him. Nevertheless, she pushed on, hoping to ease whatever tension he was going through, as well as on herself.
He responded briskly, his attention returning to the sea. "Fine. You?"
"Okay I guess," she said. "Still on reserve about being in the open ocean."
"Maybe he's just stressed? We are luring a bully of a whale to us. That's probably what that is," she internally guessed.
For a moment, there was no reply. Wanting to relieve the awkwardness, she continued with the chat.
"You look different today. Like, really good," Hazel went, her eyes scanning his tight body and then to his head. His wet hair made him appear to have a new hairstyle. "Did you just get a new haircut?"
He replied without looking at her. "No."
"Oh. Well, you still look good. I don't mean to prod on the same subject, but it seems you've gotten more muscles on you. Not sure if it's obvious to you, but they look like they could break rocks."
Hazel wanted to smack herself there. How could any girl think of this as easy? Going on rescues, talking down bully dinosaurs, or heck even escaping natural disasters in the past are a breeze! Talking to a cute boy? This is hard! How in the world did Chris make this sound so easy!?
"Thanks, I guess," was all he said.
Hazel let out a laugh, albeit a half-hearted one. Once again, she was taken aback by his behavior. To her, it sounded like an insult.
"You guess? Uh, didn't you notice I just complimented you?"
"I did. Thank you for that."
The woman calmed herself. She didn't want to freak out in front of him. He was just stressed about the mission, that's all. She didn't say anything wrong, that much she knew. Deciding to keep going, she went with another topic.
"So, hope you don't mind, but I'd like to ask you some questions," she asked, remaining optimistic. "Nothing big, just little stuff. What's your favorite food? Personally, I don't have a favorite. I'm an adventurous eater if the food doesn't make me sick or kill me. Oh yeah, it must be dead too. Can't have it twitching on me, haha!"
Daniel did not reply to that. Her irritation started to grow. How could he not respond to that? Is whatever he's going through that bad?
"You got a favorite movie?" she went again, trying to get him out of his worried shell. "I've got a ton of favorites; the Jurassic Park series, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, some anime movies like Studio Ghibli, oh yeah and Harry Potter. That's just to name a few. Hey, I know, Ellis has a movie collection on him. Maybe we could ask to check it out? I'm sure he'd let us."
There we go. Try to hint at a possible date. Break the ice a little more than it already is. That should do it. He should respond to that now. Plus, he's bound to like a couple of the movies she listed. If not, they could always check whatever Ellis had.
Unfortunately, the response he made was not the one she was looking for.
He glanced at her, his expression rather cold. "Look, I'm really sorry, but I'm not in the mood to talk right now."
Hazel felt something jab at her inside. She couldn't believe it. He just shrugged her off, just like that. If it were any other case, she would have taken it without a problem. But the way he said it was just...off-putting. It sounded like he had zero respect towards her. And that, she didn't like.
Hazel had had it with this off behavior of his. Her annoyance at a peak, she stood up and marched up to him.
"Okay, what's your problem?" she demanded, the man now staring down at her. "Why are you acting all aloof and distant with me right now?"
Daniel scoffed. "My problem? You're getting a little too close to me, that's the problem. You're flirting is getting on my nerves."
Hazel felt herself heat up. Her mind was now a ball of embarrassment, confusion, and anger. Embarrassment that she would let herself go like that. Confusion as to how he found out she was trying to flirt with him. And anger that he found out about it as well as said he was annoyed. Was she that obvious? Well, if he could tell, then anybody could.
Hazel growled and slammed her fist on the bar, creating a muffled reverberation. Nevermind the pain her hand was feeling. She was too pissed at this guy to even care about it.
"Wha-how did you? Well, so what if I am?" she placed her hands on her hips and stood straight. She may have gone toe to toe with large dinosaurs (regardless of their size), but he was smaller than one. She could take him. "I wanted to get to know you better, that's what. And what about what happened in the cave during Lilith's rescue? What do you call that?"
The man crossed his arms. "A mistake on my part, that's what that was."
The woman gasped. Her heart felt another pang. So, what happened back then in the cave was all fake? Was he lying then? But it felt so real. This can't be happening.
"A mistake!? Just what the fuck happened to get you up in arms at me!? What the heck did I do wrong!?" she erupted, her outburst causing those present at the deck to turn their attention to the now arguing pair.
Suddenly, the boat lurched. Everyone on deck lost their balance. The two arguing adventurers had fallen on their rumps and slid a little. Something had caused the boat to move in this manner. As if something big had touched it.
Hazel slowly got up, her hand massaging her butt as she hit the floor hard. However, once she recovered, she had little time to react when the boat lurched again. She ended up back on the floor. This time, the movement came from the other side.
There was pandemonium on the ship. There were lots of tossing and turning. The supplies on the deck shook around as they were broken free of their harnesses. Crew members held onto whatever they could grab as the ship tossed from side to side. Flia and Aeros, while safe in the air, had to make sure they were out of the way of the masts. They flew around, trying to find whatever was attacking the ship.
Hazel got her answer when the creature decided to surface on the starboard side. It was on its side, but she got a good look at it. The huge, gray, streamlined shape, the sharp teeth, and the tail fluke all gave away the characteristics of a Basilosaurus. The microphone had done its work of luring it. Unfortunately, it now thinks the boat is a snack or even a rival whale. The creature disappeared as quickly as it reappeared, its tail fluke slamming on the water, sending droplets on those that were unfortunate to be there.
Things got worse when the boat lurched forward. Hazel only had to look to see what really happened. The microphone, which was attached to a crane, was being dragged under. The device was now a leash for the whale, which took the ship on an unsuspecting joyride. Everyone screamed and held on as the ship sped forward. The pterosaurs that were still in the air followed after them. They flew to the bow, hoping to be in a better position to attack the whale, only to find that the creature was submerged far enough where they couldn't get at it. Even if they did do a nosedive like they would if they were getting fish that was deep under, that would prove to be a mortal mistake. The boat would run them over. They had no choice but to stay aloft and wait for a chance to strike.
During the speeding, the ancient whale made a sharp turn to the right, causing all those on board to shift in that direction. One man had come to the general vicinity of where Hazel and Daniel were. He hit the bars and went overboard, screaming. His hand caught the handlebar just in time, but he was having a hard time grasping with his other hand.
Heroism on full overdrive, Hazel rushed over to the man. She bent down and offered her hand, reaching for his other.
"Give me your hand!" she called out to him.
The man swung his free hand and grasped hers. She pulled. Hazel underestimated the man's weight. She strained to get him up. She had to use her other hand to get a better grip on him. She could barely get him up. Fortunately, she did not need to do much. Once he was at a better height, he let go of her and grasped the handlebar with his other hand. The woman helped him into the boat, the man now safe within its borders.
Her body ached from the strain, but that was the least of her problems. She helped him up with a hand.
"Thanks," he said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Anytime," was her reply. "Go help the others."
"Yeah, got it!"
The crew member ran over to the rest on the deck, who were now joined by the others that were within the ship. Together, they worked to keep the supplies from moving around, as well as help keep everybody steady on the boat. All around, they yelled orders.
That job now done, she turned to check on Daniel. She was surprised to find he was behind her. She guessed he came over to try and assist, or for some other reason. Whatever it was, she didn't care. Hazel was not done with her tirade.
"You could have helped me, you know!" she scolded him.
Daniel grasped on the handlebar as the boat lurched to the side again, with Hazel doing the same thing. "I was about to do that, but it looked like you had things handled."
"Some gentleman you are! Here I thought you were courteous!" she accused.
"I am! But you're the one that isn't!"
The woman grit her teeth. "What the fuck are you talking about!?"
"You know what I'm talking about, you dense broad! What, has all this adventuring melted your brain too?"
Hazel gasped. She had been called all sorts of names in the past. But a dense broad? That was new. She still didn't like it.
"Dense broad!? Oh, you're one to talk, Mr. I'm Going to be a Bigshot and save everything I see at the cost of My Life. You jump into Life and Death situations without thinking of yourself!"
Daniel raised a hand in her direction before hanging onto the handlebars again. "That's what you do!"
Before Hazel could come up with a comeback, the two of them were interrupted by someone off the ship. A distinct screech brought their attention over to Flia, who was flying right beside them in time with the vessel. She had to fly back a little as a few crates went overboard into the sea.
"Will you two knock it off?" she commanded. "We're in the middle of an attack!"
"Stay out of this!" both humans said, startling the pterosaur.
Flia was about to retort when the ship made a sudden jerk to the left. Having been cut off from the argument, the female Pteranodon had to maneuver herself so she could keep up with the ship. The two humans she spoke to only kept arguing.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
In contrast to what was happening above, things underwater were slightly more peaceful, minus all the mayhem on the weird log. The Basilosaurus was having a bad time. She was trying to get at the weird long thing as she figured it could make a decent meal. Unfortunately, it was proving to me hardier than she expected. The other thing that proved to be annoying was that weird yellow tail thing it had. She bit into it, hoping to bring it under so she could subdue it, only to find that it was stuck fast.
She brought it around, trying to get it under with much difficulty. Eventually she gave up and let go of the "tail". Or was it "head"? If it could talk, it had to be a head.
The aquatic huntress was not having a good day; or week if you want to get in specifics. She thought she got lucky when she cornered two trunk creatures, but they disappeared into thin air. Those monkeys riding on their floating log would have been a most needed consolation prize; a sorry and pathetic prize, but a prize, nonetheless. However, the foreign floating white creature kept harassing her since she failed to snatch up a strange bird from the water's surface.
Under normal circumstances, she would have yielded to the strange beast and left the area for easier game to hunt. However, this wasn't normal circumstances. She was expecting a child within the week and thanks to a string of botched hunts, she barely had enough energy to keep herself going, let alone produce enough milk for her future offspring. The marine mammal couldn't afford to back down. One way or another, one of them is going to die today!
Before she could figure out the best way to take down the annoying harassing creature, a yellow square thing splashed in front of her, nearly making her cross-eyed. This was what she thought was a tail. Before she even processed it, the thing spoke to her in her tongue! Though, it was odd, and she could only make out a few words from the strange looking mouth.
"GOODBYE! BE NICE TO EAT YOU NOW!" was what she heard it say.
"'Nice to eat me now'? Okay bucko… you and I are going for a ride!" she said in reply before dragging the thing with her.
She shook her head. Hunger drove her on. She needed to eat, for her sake and for her unborn child. She swam away to get some distance from the thing and herself. Then, she swam up to it, grabbing the yellow tail/head thing in her jaws. The white creature went along for another ride, and the monkeys aboard screamed again.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Chris just about had it with the bickering couple. They were practically at each other's throats and there were no signs of stopping. The Keeper knew how passionate Hazel was, and while she made great strides into handling situations in a measured way, she still had a fiery disposition; and it seemed that Daniel had a similar attitude to match. Chris was about to interject when it happened. Just as Daniel and Hazel's argument was reaching its peak, the ship lurched forward causing all of the crew to stumble and lose their footing. As everyone was trying to catch themselves, disaster soon followed.
"LOOK OUT!"
*SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!*
Tearing from its holdings, the metal wire that held and housed the whale speaker box tore through the side of the ship and caused a destructive mess in its wake to the bow of the ship. Many of the crew dove out of the way, some unlucky souls getting hit by some supplies that practically exploded into the air thanks to the moving taut cable. Chris' trainee Asami Ania suffered an unfortunate fate.
With a yelp, the young trainee was clotheslined by the thick cable and slammed her hard into the deck of the ship. The young woman would have easily been bisected but was fortunately spared such grisly fate thanks to a toolbox taking the brunt of the force and crashing into her chest. With her breath knocked out of her (and possibly one of her ribs fractured), she never got the chance to muscle her way out of her bind before the fast-moving steel cable snapped taut. The boat lurched forward and down as the Basilosaurus snagged the ship's whale speaker, further crushing poor Asami onto the deck. With a strained groan, Asami pushed with all her might, trying to escape the now fatal situation.
"Gah! Help me! I'm stuck!" Asami managed to wheeze out, her meager strength no match for the streamlined ocean hunter.
It was luck that Chris managed to get the ship under control as he spotted his trainee in her precarious situation. His heart stopped as a million thoughts rushed through his panicked mind. It was mostly who in the world hated the young woman this much to put her in this practical Rube Goldberg Machine of disaster. He pushed that aside as he cursed heavily under his breath.
"Oh shit, shit, shit!" The Keeper cursed with gritted teeth. Grabbing the nearest crewmate, he gave them the wheel and instructions to keep pace with their escaping quarry and to make sure to keep the ship as straight as possible to avoid crushing his trainee further. With that done, he rushed over to Asami's side, several other crewmates spearheaded by Amanda taking his lead, and immediately braced themselves against the relentless strength of the prehistoric whale's hold onto their tether. Even with several people assisting Chris in lifting the cable, it couldn't stop the strain and breaking of a few of Asami's ribs, which she shrieked out in pure agony.
"Asami, hun, you're gonna be alright!" Chris assured as he tried with all his might to free the trapped woman. "We're gonna get you out of here!"
"Get me out, get me out, get me out! GET ME OUT OF HERE! I DON'T WANT TO DIE LIKE THIS!" Asami wailed as tears of terror streak down her face.
Chris struggled to pull the chain up. Hope briefly bloomed in his chest when he managed to minutely relieve some of the tension of the metal cable, but even he couldn't fight against the strength of a 15-ton oceanic carnivore. The Keeper read somewhere that the Park replaced the flimsy wire of the previous whale speakerphone for a spool of heavy-duty gauge wire that had the actual speaker wire intertwined with it. Hazarding a guess, it was so that they wouldn't lose it like they did the previous one. However, the Park's damn reinforcements were about to get one of her trainees killed!
The straining man gritted his teeth. "Damn bastard is dragging us like a kite! Why did the park choose to reinforce this stupid speaker!" The Keeper tried to keep his charge calm as he shouted over his shoulder. "HAZEL, DANIEL! Get the damn power saw from storage!"
What he saw stupefied him as he scowled. Both Hazel and Daniel, despite the ship's chaos unfolding, were amid a very heated argument. They were practically at each other's throats while the ship was under attack irritated Chris to no end.
"Are you fucking kidding me!" Chris roared.
The Keeper tried calling out to them again, but his efforts went unnoticed. The pair continued to bicker. There just was no stopping these two. If he weren't trying to save Asami and they weren't on a whale joyride borderline becoming capsized, he would have just stormed over and broken the two up; maybe even physically slapping some sense into their thick skulls. This was ridiculous. He was about to call someone to take his place when the bow of the ship began to give way under the strain and slightly drifted to the right. This further crushed Asami, who cried out in bloody agony and was dragged along the deck. Chris had to follow along to stay with her.
As he and his cabal of crewmates worked to help the rookie, the argument between the bickering couple continued behind him.
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"I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Don't pretend you don't know, cheater! And to think I would allow you to toy with my feelings!"
Hazel gawked. Her rage reached its peak at the accusation. If she had a mind to, she would have slapped the man, but she was against the idea as that would escalate in the wrong direction further. Her experience with fighting with a boy ended up with her being ostracized from leadership for a short period. And, while she hated it, she couldn't bring herself to hurt the man she was still attracted to, argument or not.
"Cheater? Toy with you? I would never do that!" she defended.
The agent raised his hands and looked away. He let out a cry of frustration before returning his gaze at her. "God fucking damnit, you really are a dense…uh…girl!"
The hesitation made her want to laugh, if only a little. Here she thought he would have some knowledge over several insults. But if she had to guess, he was too afraid to insult her, either because he wanted to be above her, or he couldn't bring himself to.
The woman made a smug smile. "Aw what's the matter? Too afraid to call me by some other insult, coward!? You're a slimy, good-for-nothing dick-sucker that won't even say what's really on his mind! You fucking asshole!"
Daniel gawked and then shouted at her once again. "I do not suck, you…stupid girl! I am trying to be above you!"
The ship made another sharp turn. A light spray of water coated them again. A few drops had gone into her mouth. Spitting out the disgusting liquid, she went on with her tirade. "Well you're doing a pretty bad job at that! Here I was, trying to get to know you better because I thought we could be more than 'teacher and student' and you're trying to push me away! I took you as a cordial man, but now I know you're a slimy dick who has zero respect for people!"
Daniel wiped his face of the bits of seawater that got on him. "Zero respect? You're one to talk! You've been flirting with me in front of your boyfriend!"
Hazel stopped. Silence pervaded the two. Boyfriend? She wasn't with anybody! He was the one she was trying to have as a boyfriend! What gave him the idea that she was in a relationship? There was nobody in the park that she was interested in, much less outside of it. Her brain went through the possibilities. Did somebody spread rumors about her? Did someone see her with another guy and took it the wrong way before telling Daniel? Was someone playing a bad joke?
"What the-boyfriend!?" she couldn't help but utter.
The man rolled his eyes and face palmed. "Don't even think about denying it! I know Chris is your boyfriend! Stop trying to rub it in my face, especially when your perfect partner is here!"
She was dumbfounded. Her and Chris? No way! She would never get with that guy! She doesn't even find him that interesting! Heck, she doesn't even approve of her sister's attempts at trying to get with the guy. Also, she knows he doesn't like her in that way either. Metaphorically, and quite possibly physically if the whale did any more jerking movements if it wanted to, she would have puked.
Chris was a friend, nothing more. Well, thinking more on it, the whole Crew (minus Daniel as he's not too close with the rest of them yet) would be like siblings. Calling Chris a "brother" would take some getting used to. Hanna was her biological sibling, but she's part of the Crew family. If Chris were stupid enough to ask her out, she would have turned him down immediately. And that was if it ever went there, which it never will.
This was something she needed to convey with Daniel now.
"Chris is not my boyfriend!" Hazel adamantly proclaimed.
Daniel made a sarcastic laugh and raised a hand up. "Oh? Then what do you call that 'beach date' from a while ago? You two were rolling around on the sand, having a fabulous time! I took you two to be friends, but you looked a little too close for that when I saw you!"
Once again, she wanted to hit him. Angered at the realization of her crush's jealousy as well as his own anger, she rebuked his accusation. "Okay first, you were spying on me!? Fucking stalker! And second, I was there to ask Chris for advice, you idiot! He was trying to cheer me up!"
"She's right, Rimbauer!" they heard him holler from nearby.
They both looked over and saw him and a couple of other crew members trying to help Asami, who was letting out agonized cries.
"We may be close, but not that close! I was just trying to help her out of her funk! She asked me for help, and I obliged!"
The secret agent scoffed at the remark. "Right, help to get rid of any secret sexual tension you had!"
Hazel shuddered. Again, she was disgusted by the idea of her and Chris being a thing. "You moron!" she jabbed, getting the man's attention. "I don't like Chris that way! Now I'll say it again, I went to him for advice! Dating advice!"
That was when she saw him become still. His features softened. Although she could clearly see his anger dissipating, she knew he still wanted to know the full answer. Finally, it was a step in the right direction. However, this also meant she needed to do the one thing she tried to do from the start of this mission. Her gut fell at the thought of it. She wished there was a better time to say it.
"Wait, if you and Chris aren't together," he pointed at both Hazel and Chris, "then who are you trying to express yourself to?"
Hazel was about to answer when her comrade beat her to it. "You! You idiot! Geez, if you're really that mental, I would have just let Veran fumble at you without getting any tips!"
Asami screamed. They all turned her attention to her and saw her move to another part of the deck. The wire that trapped her had dragged her towards the left. Looking beyond the ship, they saw the Basilosaurus surface. It took a breath as a streamlined waterspout shot up in the air. The pterosaurs, who still caught up with the ship, took the chance to deal some pecking attacks at the whale before it submerged again. They had to fly out of the way as it raised its tail fluke. The aquatic mammal slammed it on the water surface, creating a loud and thunderous splash. The resulting wave plus the sudden jerk of the ship caused the humans to lose balance. Both Hazel and Daniel had to hold onto something, with Hazel hanging onto a flotation ring and Daniel back on the bars.
"Wait, you mean to tell me that you went to Chris for advice about me? What are you trying to convey!?" Daniel demanded.
Hazel gulped. Here it goes. She opened her mouth and tried to get the words out. Her replies ended up being stammers. "Well, it's just…um…you're really…I feel like you're…"
The Asian face palmed, having enough of her speechlessness. "Oh, for fuck's sake. I THINK YOU'RE CUTE!"
The woman slammed her hand on her mouth, stifling her ability to speak. Her face turned red, mad with embarrassment. She was in utter shock at what she had done.
Daniel remained silent. She waited for an answer. To her, it felt more like several minutes than a few seconds. It was torture. What does he think? Does he like her? Does he not like her? If she had a mind to, she would have just run to the bunker in the ship to hide, but her duty prevented her from doing that.
"Oh great, I fucked up. He hates me. It's all over…" she thought.
That was when she saw him make a small smile. "Seriously?"
Startled by his reaction, she temporarily released her hand and replied as loud as she could. She wanted him to hear it and she wanted it over with. Right now, she was driven by pure, reckless anxiety. "YES! YOU'RE CUTE! AND I HAD NO IDEA HOW TO GET IT OUT! THERE! ARE YOU HAPPY!?"
Daniel lightly chuckled. This only caused her to be more confused than before.
"Uh, 'happy' would be an understatement," was what he said.
Her hand made its way onto her mouth again. She shivered, both from the new batch of seawater on her and the sudden realization that Daniel had hinted.
"Hey, I'm glad you two are finally smoothing things out," they heard Chris say nearby. Their attention now on him, they saw him gesture the two of them over, "but you think you can get your asses here!? Girl's getting crushed by a wire!"
The couple stared at each other. Each one gave a knowing look. The resolution of this misunderstanding will have to wait. The two of them rushed over to where Chris, Asami, and a few other crew members were. The girl was panicking still, tears still falling from her eyes. The wire started to cut through the toolbox and into her, drawing a shallow trickle of blood.
Daniel rushed down to get the power saw. Hazel got two large chum buckets that were freely moving around the deck. While the mission didn't call for finding large game fish like sharks or other large fish, the crew of the Time Mariner brought a couple anyway in case they were needed. In this case, they were needed for a dire reason.
Hazel used them to wedge them on either side of Asami, with some help from the other crew members. This alleviated the pressure of the chain.
"Chris, Amanda, get ready to pull her out as soon as I pull the chain!" she ordered. She did not know it, but Amanda had finished helping to secure the supplies on the deck as well as check on the Proto girls below deck. She came to Asami's side as soon as she got someone else to look after the little ones.
"Okay!" the rookie nodded.
"Got it!" said Chris.
As if on cue, Daniel had returned. In his hands was the power saw that Chris had requested. It was silver, black and orange, typical of what one would find in a hardware store like Home Depot. Daniel chose a good spot on the wire, switched it on and lowered the saw. The wire and the blade met, creating a loud, alien screech. Those that were able to have to cover their ears while the others had to endure the sound.
The chain cut further down. The Basilosaurus dove again. Daniel's cutting made the chain loose enough for it to snap on its own. Everyone present had to move out of the way to avoid injury. Fortunately, Chris and Amanda were able to drag the poor girl out before the chain could cut her in half. However, the only downside was the chum buckets cracked and burst open, coating Hazel's shoes and legs in fish bait.
Hazel's nose was repulsed by the scent of the fish guts and the cold sensation on her legs. As a fish eater, she wouldn't mind the smell of fresh fish. But this smell was a little too strong for her. Her feet, which were also soaked, literally felt the bits of flesh and blood from the inside of her shoes. It will take her a while to get rid of the smell and the stains.
"AGH! GROSS!" she gagged. Her eyes scanned the deck, hoping to find a towel or something to help wipe the blood and guts from her.
With the chain now broken, the ship had slowed to a standstill. If one could guess, they were a few miles from the coast now. Except for a few crew members, who helped to get Asami below deck and to treat her wounds, the team worked to get the ship back into working order. This involved checking the equipment, the different ship parts, and cleaning up the mess made from the chaos. Chris returned to the helm and proceeded to get everything on track from there. The sonar had glitched during the chaos and needed to go through diagnostics.
As for the Basilosaurus, he asked a small group of people to get the spare microphone ready. While they had no idea if it was still in the area or when it would return, it was best to be prepared. They worked quickly to get it ready before placing it in the water.
Meanwhile, Hazel had found a towel to clean her legs with. Using fresh water from a hose nearby, she worked to get the disgusting residue off her. From the looks of it, both the shoes and the shorts need to go through some heavy washing. She won't be wearing these for a while.
She was moderately startled when she heard footsteps approach her. Turning, she saw Daniel, calmer than when they started this mission.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hi," she returned, a little cautiously.
"I…had no idea you really felt this way about me," he started to explain. "And when I saw you and Chris at the beach, I assumed it was…well…something else. You went through all this trouble just for that?"
Hazel let out an irritated sigh. She bent down and turned the wheel on the faucet. The flow of water now cut off, she returned to her attentive stance with Daniel. "Yes. I did."
She placed a hand on her forehead, both because she was trying to think of a proper reply and because she felt a throbbing on one part of it due to the stress. "You really are…attractive," she stared at him, finally getting those words out. "I…was having trouble coming to terms with it and I wanted to convey it. I went to Chris for advice on how to talk to a boy, considering the only males I know about are single, are terrible at romance, are unavailable, or a completely different species that have no concept of human customs. Chris happened to be the best option for me, considering Ellis would give me bogus advice and has little to no experience with dating."
She looked away, trying to get herself to relax before looking back at him. "Look, I've been in relationships before, and none of them went well for me. That's why I went to Chris because I wanted my meeting with you to be perfect."
Again, Daniel made a light chuckle. "Well, that would explain a lot. I suppose I owe Chris an apology too."
Just then, a yell came from one of the crew members further back. They looked at him and saw him pointing over to the other end of the ship. Both reacted quickly as the newly placed microphone flew between them and onto the other end of the ship. The loud splash and the large tail fluke that appeared meant the whale had punted the thing at them. Neither Chris nor Hazel were affected, but during the mayhem, the woman had stumbled a little too close to the edge.
Hazel felt the bar and felt her body fall. She let out a scream as she was submerged beneath the surface. The sounds she made were muffled by the water.
Panic flooded through her mind. She righted herself to get into a better position of swimming. Looking down, she freaked out as she could not see the bottom. A mix between a rumble and a low shriek brought her attention up. Right there, on the other side of the ship, swimming in circles, was the Basilosaurus.
Hazel screamed again and shot for the surface. She gagged and coughed, the seawater escaping her mouth. The disgusting taste overpowered her.
"Help! Help me!" she called out.
She heard the yells up top. Looking up, she saw a frightened Daniel calling out to her from where she fell. Hazel frantically swam for the side of the ship. But before she could get close to it, a large shape appeared between them. She had to swim away to avoid the attacking Basilosaurus. The whale pushed its head against the hull before diving once more. The resulting wave pushed both the ship and Hazel away from each other. All Hazel could do was swim and scream.
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Daniel gripped the bars. Terror swept through his mind and body as the woman he cared about had fallen overboard. Worse yet, she was further away thanks to the damn whale. Remembering her fear of the open ocean, he knew her frantic swimming will eventually exhaust her, and she may drown. Even after that argument they had, and the resolution they were trying to have, he won't let this go.
His feet moved before he could even think. He ran to one of the nearby rafts. Using the ropes, he worked to get it loose. The man hopped in and quickly lowered the raft. He didn't care that he was now in the domain of the whale monster. Hazel was in danger. The woman he knew had feelings for him was in danger.
The raft now in the water, he went to the motor and got it operational. The equipment roared to life. Using the lever, he steered the speeding raft towards the frantically screaming Hazel. The whale wasn't going to let him go that easily though. Looking back, he saw the distinct gray shape break the surface as he sped towards Hazel. Its eyes locked onto the "freshly marinated" human morsel.
Daniel had to keep looking back to keep tabs on the whale. From what he could tell, it was a good thirty seconds from him if one used a motor like what he was using. Either it took another direction, or it dove under. Whatever the case, he needed to hurry.
It only took him about two minutes to get to the panicked woman. The girl waved her arms and fought to keep her head above the water. He steered the raft to the side until it came to a stop.
"Daniel! I'm scared! Help me!" she cried out.
"I'm here! Take my hand!" he reached for her.
She grasped him tightly and he pulled. Using his strength, he hauled her into the vessel, her body dripping wet. She was gasping for air and coughing, due to the seawater that she kept spitting out and her throat aching from the screaming. Without saying anything else, Daniel turned on the motor and steered themselves back to the ship.
As they raced back, the two of them kept an eye on the surface for the Basilosaurus. It wasn't in front of them, that was for sure. That led them to believe it took another direction. Sure enough, a loud breath and a splash sounded from behind the raft. The two humans saw the dark gray shape break the surface, along with the massive teeth it sported.
When it got close, two screeches sounded from above. The whale thrashed as Flia and Aeros pecked at the head while avoiding its jaws. The ancient cetacean dove under, escaping from the attacking pterosaurs. Flia and Aeros flapped and flew upwards, waiting for an opportunity to strike again.
The dive was a tactic though. The whale surfaced again, this time, well away from the pterosaurs. The stream of water escaping the blowhole prompted Hazel to warn Daniel.
"Must go faster!"
"This is the fastest it can go!" Daniel replied in terror.
The two of them looked back to see the whale closing in. They screamed, bracing themselves for an impact or a meeting with those jaws. However, the attack never came. The huge shape submerged again. They eyed each other, confused at what just occurred.
"Wait, what? Why did it-?" Hazel went but then went pale.
Daniel looked back at the stern. He too paled at what he saw. A large shadow appeared and then broke the surface. The raft was on top of the thing, in this case, the tail fluke and its base. While the raft was slightly bigger than it, weight was not a problem to this behemoth. Neither of them had any time to react as they and the raft were catapulted into the air.
The two humans screamed. They separated from the raft as they were launched into the air. The launch had blasted them almost fifty feet up and were now freefalling towards the ocean. Neither of them could control their movements as they tumbled down.
Suddenly, the two of them felt something firm hit their bodies. Daniel felt himself bounce up and then back, making another small one before becoming still. The thing he found odd was his "spring" made a screech. His vision, while dizzy due to the attack and the tumbling, made out a pointed crest and a red pattern. He could assume the same thing happened to Hazel. He grabbed for the loop thing he found in front of him, a saddle rein.
Aeros and Flia had saved them.
"Whoa…thanks Flia. Nice catch," the woman thanked, her head still massaged by a free hand.
"That was a close one," the flyer replied.
"You two alright?" asked the male Pteranodon.
Like the woman, Daniel massaged his head. His vision spun and moved. He closed his eyes, trying to right himself. "Eugh…I guess. A little dizzy, but fine."
A loud pop and a splash sounded off from below. Looking over and despite his minor vertigo, he made out the form of the destroyed raft. The force of the crash plus the motor getting dislodged had destroyed the vessel. As the raft deflated, the dislodged motor's weight overcame the raft. In a matter of moments, it sank beneath the sea.
The four of them made their way back to the ship. Once again, it was being besieged by the ancient whale. It tossed and turned in its wake. Flia and Aeros landed in the middle of the deck, the two humans making their way to one side of the ship. They saw the Basilosaurus flailing and screeching as it submerged again.
"Get the other mic operation and into the water now!" they heard Chris say.
They heard a splash, which was followed by the signal that it was ready. "Chris, you're live!"
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The whale had just about enough of this thing. So many turns of events happened during this hunt. The most recent being when one of the monkeys fell in the water and a smaller creature kind of like the white one appeared. She was about to treat herself to that lone monkey when that thing beat her to it. Already angered, she gave chase, only to be attacked by those weird flying things again. Seriously, what were those things and why were their beaks so sharp?
Out of revenge, she punted the thing in the air. As it turns out, it spat out the two monkeys it had. The thing then crashed into the water and sank to the bottom. Good riddance. That's what it got for stealing her prey. Unfortunately, she found it had no blood or meat. She did not bother to try and eat it. It was a strange creature.
So, her attention returned to the white creature she attacked before. She wanted to kill that thing as fast as possible. During her attack, she found another one of those yellow tails, or head, whatever it was, come into the water. How many does this thing have?
No matter, it was asking for it. She prepared to grab it and drag the creature with her.
That was until she heard it speak.
"Hold it!"
The whale stopped, her body going slightly vertical before righting herself. She cocked her head and inched closer at the thing.
"Oh, look who's talking now! You asked for it, you weird yellow thing! I ripped the other tail apart. It asked me to eat it!"
"What!?" the voice said, clearly male."No! You've got it all wrong! Also, we're using the 'yellow thing' to talk to you. We're…on…the…boat," he said slowly.
The cetacean made a low, curious rumble. Specifically, at the alien word it made. "Butt? What's a 'butt'?"
It was then she heard what could only be determined as snickering. Was this thing laughing at her? What was also strange was that it sounded like different individuals.
"Boat. You mean Boat," he clarified. "This thing we're on. How about you look out of the water?"
The whale was surprised by the suggestion. Why would it ask her to look above the surface? Curiosity getting the better of her, she maneuvered herself until she was nearly vertical. Her giant head broke the surface. She stared at the weird white thing. It stared back at her, blocking the light of the sun. Only, it made no reaction. The thing that caught her attention were the monkeys on its back. They waved at her. That's weird. Why would they wave? And what was that one in the middle holding? It looked like a weird rock with a dome thing on top.
Behind the monkeys were those weird flying things. She finally got to have a better look at them. Before, when she ambushed them and they attacked her, she couldn't quite get a good view of their bodies. Now, she was able to make out the large wings, the long beaks, and the pointy heads. She's never seen creatures like those before.
It was then she understood. Those monkeys, or one of them, was using the yellow box thing to talk to her. They were the ones doing it, not the huge white thing. Submerging again, she went back to the yellow device.
"Oh…I see now. But you told me 'nice to eat you'. So, I assumed you wanted to be eaten, something I gladly went for, seeing as I've been starving for ages."
"Yeah, blame that on the recording and some faulty wiring. No, we wanted to talk to you."
Wiring? Recording? What are those? Yet more alien words to her. This was the most interesting thing she has come across in her life. If this thing, er…those monkeys and those weird flying things want to talk to her, she might as well humor them.
"Interesting…my name is Tethys. I apologize if I gave you and your friends a hard time."
The male chuckled dryly. "A hard time would not cover it. I'm Chris. How about you come to the surface where we can talk a little better?"
Tethys contemplated that notion. He wants her to go up top again. Well, she supposed it would make sense. They are land dwellers. And this Chris is only using this yellow thing to speak to her underwater. Perhaps they have a way of speaking to her at the surface? She was already intrigued by this individual. True, she is hungry and needs something to eat, but at the very least, she should try to get to know them. They may even know a good place for her to get a decent meal.
Resolved to meet them, she swam back up to the surface. She swam vertical again until she was face to face with the strange monkeys. She felt a breeze on her skin as if a cool blanket went over her. It didn't bother her too much; she was used to it.
Facing the primates again, she saw the one with the strange stick place it in his body. Now how did he do that? And what were those weird things on their bodies? Kelp or large reeds. That's probably what they are.
"That's better," went the one in the middle. Judging from his voice, this had to be the one named Chris.
Tethys shook herself out of her observation trance. She found it surprising he, and by extension the rest of these monkeys, can even speak to her. She practically understood Chris!
"I hope I didn't hurt any of you during my hunger rage," she apologized.
The male shrugged and put on what seemed to be a strained smile. "Nah, nothing some time and rest can't handle."
Two of the females (at least that's what she deduced) and one other male turned and eyed him with condescending looks. The same went for the strange flyers behind them. Chris seemed to ignore them though. However, Tethys knew she caused some damage. How bad it was, she had no idea. She hoped it wasn't too terrible. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself.
Tethys chose this time to explain herself. The least she could do is explain why she acted in such a way. She hoped they would go easy on her.
"The truth is, I haven't eaten in a long time. If I don't eat soon, I'm afraid neither one of us will survive," she replied, clearly despondent and desperate.
"Us? What do you mean?" went the female clad in purple. "We only see you, not anyone else."
"Oh, I apologize my dear," she immediately swam to her side. Using one of her flippers, she gently slapped the side of her body. The primates and the flyers went silent or nodded in understanding, even whispered amongst each other. "I am with child right now."
The whale quickly returned to her upright position. The individuals still talked amongst themselves, most of them had hints of pity while a select few were looking disgruntled. The whispers made her feel even more guilty.
Then, she saw Chris and the other female talk to them all. They gave them silent looks of disapproval, even more whispers. One could only guess what they were conveying. Once they silenced, Tethys went on with her explanation.
"It is coming in a matter of weeks. I was so hungry that I took risks I normally wouldn't have done if my situation wasn't so desperate. With the land and the seasons in this strange change they're going through, I've been finding I could find less and less food to sustain me, never mind a calf I'm about to birth shortly."
The purple monkey took on a contemplative stance. When she started speaking, she said even more words Tethys couldn't understand. "She's talking about the climate. We must be in the middle of a climate change. Maybe a geologic change too. That's affecting the ecosystem, hence why she's driven to starvation."
Chris then joined in on the conversation, putting in deductive reasoning of his own. "Which would in turn result in the die off of not just the creatures adapted to this ecosystem, but to specialized creatures like Tethys here."
Tethys had no idea what they were referring to. But, judging by the looks of it, they were talking about why the seas yielded less prey for her. These monkeys seem to be quite knowledgeable about their surroundings. A little too knowledgeable. These monkeys are not like the ones that jump through the trees on the islands.
Chris turned to the ancient whale. Optimism was clear on his features. "Well, it's a good thing we're here. Tell you what, we're going to offer you a golden opportunity. How would you like to come home with us? Back to Prehistoric Park?"
The Basilosaurus cocked her head. "Prehistoric Park?"
"Where we live," explained the female in purple. "We're from the future. If you come with us, you'll be given sanctuary where you and your child can live peacefully. You'll be looked after, enough space to swim around in, and enough food to go around. The only thing we ask is that you don't attack any of the other Residents, and the other staff, that live there. So, what do you say?"
Tethys gasped. Her beak filled with large teeth took on what most would think is a smile. In her stomach, she felt something rush upwards, as if it went in a somersault. Was that her child? Or was that just her pure excitement? They're offering to take her to their home! That's exactly what she and her child need! Finally, a new place to live where food is plentiful and there's enough room to grow.
The female said they're form the future. That certainly does sound inconceivable. But after meeting them, she supposed anything was possible. The thing that she did wonder about was the condition about not attacking the other Residents and staff (whatever that was). Well, whatever the case, this was worth the risk.
"What do I say!?" she laughs joyously. "I say yes! Anything to get me out of this cruel time I'm…I mean 'we' are in."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The return trip to Prehistoric Park went smoothly. The team had to set up the aquatic time poles back in the shallows. The engineers, especially Marcus, still needed to create a specialized Time Pole made for open ocean.
To get Tethys to the Park, two of the crew members had to gear up in diving equipment. Then, they had to set up the Time Poles on the seabed so the poles could properly coordinate with each other. They had to pick an area that wasn't too small for Tethys to fit in and not too deep for the divers, especially the Time Mariner.
Chris had the remote to open the portal. When it opened, it spanned the height from the seabed to the exact height of the top of the boats' masts. Beyond the portal was the familiar setting of the Marine sector of Prehistoric Park. Due to Tethy's size, it was previously coordinated to be in one of the larger portions of the sector, where there was enough room for her to move around while still being close to the shore. This was also where the proto elephants were dropped off, but knowing their species, they most likely went to the nearest sandbar or small island to feed. Chris or one of the other employees would need to explain to them that they would be living with Tethys and her upcoming child.
Tethys sprinted, or shot, through the portal into the 21st century. The Time Mariner followed close behind her. The portal into the Eocene closed behind them, the horizon of the 21st century was what remained. Little did Tethys know that she and her child had just been saved from a time when Basilosaurus were on the verge of becoming extinct due to climate and geologic change. The ancient whale somersaulted in the water and took several breaths of the present-day air. Chris had instructed her to make her way to the shallows so she could be introduced to the others as well as be checked on by the healers. The excited whale beat them to it.
There was much excitement at the shallows. Tethys was greeted by a number of the Residents. The plesiosaurs were most intrigued by the newcomer, especially Sedna. The two females quickly socialized due to their situations, one of them having children already and the other about to have one. They exchanged tips on raising their kids. It was also a wholesome sight seeing the children of Sedna play with the long, aquatic creature. The Opthalmosaurus were rather skittish around her, which made sense as any large predator like that would send them running. It will take them some time to get used to her.
The greeting that the staff found most hilarious was the arrival of Yuuto and Bana. Turns out, they were hanging out around the shore exploring their new home. Once they came to the shallows and saw "Lady Leviathan" hanging around, they ran off screaming in the other direction. Hazel and Daniel had to run after them, with some help from Flia and Aeros, to calm the two proto elephants.
The explanation was a little rocky, but it was Daniel that calmed the two. It was a good thing he did a good job as the Arsinoitherium was about to run them all over. This impressed them greatly. He also suggested the two mammals try and get to know their old adversary, even try to be friends with her. Now that she won't need to hunt as she'll be fed by the staff, she won't resort to her more ruthless predatory side. Yuuto and Bana were hesitant, but they both said they are willing to try.
The rest of the afternoon was spent on getting things organized. The Time Mariner suffered some damage due to Tethy's attack, so the engineers were tasked with making the necessary repairs. Most of the crew that was present for the rescue headed on back to the park. Asami was escorted back to the infirmary due to her injuries. Upon initial checkup with one of the healers present, her injuries were moderate, but not life-threatening. She will just be off for a week or two. Chris and Suzanne, who traveled to the sector as soon as she heard of the arrival, went to do a checkup on Tethys. Like the whale said, she was heavily pregnant, and was confirmed via ultrasound.
Tethys was given a hardy meal of mixed proteins fit for any carnivorous whale; bits of squid, herring, capelin, salmon, and as the icing for a newcomer, a chunk of whale meat, specially imported from Iceland. With the Park establishing a new Marine Sector, they needed to be ready with a wide range of foods for the Residents. They won't get whale meat all the time, but the Park can make do with other food choices for the marine Residents.
The rest of the Residents were also fed alongside the ancient whale. They each had their own version of seafood cuisine. Some of the keepers had a good time feeding the Ophthalmosaurus as they acted like dolphins. This consisted of the keepers throwing the food in the air and the marine reptiles would jump for it. Of course, that wasn't all the time, but they wanted to play so the humans obliged. In the case of the proto elephants, they were given a meal consisting of seagrasses and a mix of 21st century fruit.
Once they were all fed, the staff began to make their way back to the main hub of the Park. The only ones that remained were Daniel and Hazel. The two of them were doing some last checkups on equipment on the shore. The sun was just about ready to dip down the horizon. Hazel was the one that got done first and was about to head on back. Well, at least she was about to when Daniel stopped her.
"Hey wait!" he called out, making the woman stop.
Hazel felt her stomach and heart jump. She closed her eyes and sighed. Turning, she met the resolute Asian.
"I'm sorry about that," he apologized. "I didn't mean to call you out…and to call you all those things."
The adventurer grimaced. After what happened today, she didn't have the emotional stamina to deal with this. Shaking her head, she replied to try, and push passed it.
"Don't worry about it," she said quickly.
Daniel shook his head, his expression turning guilt-ridden. "No, what I did was uncalled for on my part. I shouldn't have acted out like that. I made assumptions and I shouldn't have."
The woman sighed and crossed her arms. She answered in a slightly angered manner as she was still hurting. "Well…you did accuse me of cheating. And you did in effect accuse me of being a slut."
"Yes…I did. I'm sorry about that. But Hazel," he then grasped her hand. Her face went red again and her heart fluttered. His hand, while soft to the touch, were strong and warm. He was very sincere, from his face to his words. "I want you to know that I really…really do like you."
Hazel felt her stomach jump. Her whole body went hot. Was this really happening?
"Ever since you became my tutor, I've been feeling myself grow closer to you. Everything you did just made me crazy. From how you're so knowledgeable in Park life and nearly all of prehistory, to how you do the littlest of things. I became fond of you. I wanted to get to know you more. I know this will sound corny, but I've met several girls and none of them are like you. You bring out something in me that I thought would never come out again."
He sighed, blinked, and then continued. "That day when you were with Chris at the beach, I asked around for your whereabouts. I wanted to tell you what I'm telling you now. When I arrived, well, the rest is history."
Hazel was shamefaced. She was so glad she finally got her answer. She wanted to hug him at this moment. She wanted him to know how she felt too. The feelings she had bottled up inside needed to get out. Right now, there were some things she wanted to say, things he needed to know.
"Daniel, that's…very sweet of you. I really want to say the same things. There are things that I've kept bottled inside for so long," she said. Her response brightened the man.
But…it was what she said next that shook her and dampened his spirits.
"But after what happened today, with the boat attack, me being flung overboard, the misunderstanding, I have a lot to think about. I can't reciprocate right now."
Daniel's warm smile, the smile that made her feel better just by the sight of it, softened up. It didn't quite fade, but it did remain. Reading him, she did see a hint of sadness. Her insides hurt from her own words too, and from hurting him.
She grasped his hand tightly and placed her other hand over his.
"But that doesn't mean your words have reached me nor that I can't fight off what I feel about you. I am fond of you, but I can't bring myself out fully now," she explained her heartfelt confession.
The downtrodden Daniel nodded. The message she gave him was clear. She needs time. Time to recuperate and time to come to terms with herself. She hoped he understood. After all, if there was something she did learn from her previous relationships, it was that they go both ways. Each partner needed to be open with each other. That was something she never forgot.
She wants the two of them to be a couple. Just not at this moment.
Hazel exhaled, letting go of his hand. His hand fell to his side. She felt in her heart the longing for him. Pushing him aside like this hurt her, but she didn't want to leave him like this.
"I need to get back and log our mission," she told him. "Next time you see me in a situation like what I was in with Chris, come to me first and never assume anything. The moment he and I get together would be when Ankylosaurs like Url learn how to swim."
With her message proclaimed, she turned and made her way back towards the main part of the sector. She needed to get herself washed up in the restroom nearby before heading back. As she walked on, she felt herself shed a few tears.
"Wait for me, Daniel. Prove to me that you and I can be together."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Daniel stared at that part of the dock for what seemed to be several minutes. Even after she was long gone, he couldn't stop looking at where she once was. His insides hurt with longing and sadness.
He clenched a fist. If he could fight himself in front of him, he would. He acted so brashly in front of her, accusing her of something she never did. He was being so stupid. His chances of being with her were swept away like the waves of the ocean.
He even told her he liked her.
As he ruminated on his recklessness, he heard a thump behind him. He saw a shadow that gave away a Pteranodon. His first thought was Aeros. The Cretaceous flyer went off to get some dinner before heading on back. Good, he needed somebody to talk to, and he does owe him an apology for being a little straight today.
Quickly turning, he was startled to find not his partner, but the female his partner was interested in. The Pteranodon female folded her wings and took a few steps up to him.
"It looked like that went well," she said.
He scoffed, almost defeated. "Not sure if that's the right way to put it."
Flia gave him a smirk. "Don't worry, Daniel. She just needs time. If it makes you feel any better, she has been showing signs she's attracted to you."
Oh, so she saw all that. Well, he shouldn't be surprised. Being able to fly and having a good vantage point gives her that advantage. Still, while she is not Aeros, she is someone to talk to, nonetheless. Plus, she is close friends with Hazel.
Daniel smiled. While he was still aching at the notion the girl he was attracted to turned him down, hearing that she does have a thing for him alleviated that pain. It was like Flia said, she just needs time. She has already forgiven him for his actions today. And she basically told him he still has a chance.
He nodded, glad to hear that. "Thanks, Flia. That does make me feel a little better."
The Pteranodon rolled her head, showing off a bit of pride. "A word of advice? Do things that will prove to her that you two can be a match. They don't have to be big. Just little things that will show her how important she is to you."
"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm not about to let her go home on her own." With that, she turned, spread her wings, and took off to the skies.
The dock shook a little with the pterosaur taking off. Where once the pterosaur was, a beautiful sunset remained. Daniel stayed there to admire the view. Aeros wasn't quite done with getting his meal, but he knew he would come to him when he finished. This gave the agent enough time to reflect on today.
Flia's words rang in his mind. He is willing to wait for Hazel. And from the looks of it, she is willing to wait for him.
However, as he thought about her, something else emerged in his thoughts. His stomach churned at the mention of it. His report to Director Rain. He told her the Park's secret. He sent that because of his emotional state. Now, he wanted to fix it. The SAGES can't know about this place. Neither the park nor the organization are ready for each other.
Daniel scanned the skies, looking for Aeros. He needed to get back to the park soon. It wasn't long before Aeros finally returned. As they flew back, he thought of his response to his boss, one that she would find believable.