Time to finish this chapter! Enjoy!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In Pleistocene Arizona, Nigel and his team have at last found more Hespertestudo, along with a few camels, gomphotheres, dogs and toxodonts.

Unfortunately, they now find themselves caught between a flock of hungry terror birds and a pack of qually hungry hyenas, and there doesn't appear to be any way out of this.

The two groups of predators stare hungrily at the group, eager to sink the teeth (or beaks) into the flesh of the strange creatures. Either one getting ahold of one of the humans would be a grisly sight, indeed.

"Great, we're caught between Scylla and Charybdis," mumbles Sean, both annoyed and enraged by their circumstances. Some fear is also obvious in his voice, though he's clearly trying to hide it.

"Keep your eyes on them," offers Nigel. "And watch Tai: predators always go after the easiest prey, and they'll probably assume that, since he's the smallest, he's the weakest. No offense, of course."

"None taken."

The birds begin their advance on the team, squawking in an effort to get the group to split. The hyenas respond in kind, with similar intentions. Soon, both groups are upon the team.

Then the two predator groups notice each other, and everything goes silent.

At least until one of the hyenas starts yelping at the birds. The scene quickly devolves into a shouting match, allowing a very bewildered Nigel and co. to give the predators the slip.

"Well, now we're out of harm's way, but how do we rescue the herb-WHAA!" begins Elise, before promptly slipping on something. When she gets back up, she notices several red fruits on the ground.

"...These are prickly pair fruits," she notes, surprised to have slipped over one and not taken some spines to the behind. Before she can say more, one of the tortoises (the same one they saw pursuing the herd) moves over to them and begins eating some of the fruit, with more creatures following it. With the predators occupied with each other, they all see this as a golden opportunity to fill their bellies before bolting.

After staring on for a moment, bewildered, Elise turns her attention to Nigel.

"Can you give me the portal?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two minutes later...

The portal springs to life, bewildering all of the animals in the area, except for the carnivores, who are still trying to establish dominance in their shouting match, much to the groups surprise.

With the herbivore's eyes on the portal, Sean, wearing heavy leather gloves, begins throwing fruit into the portal, hoping to entice the herbivores through before the carnivores resolve their confrontation.

While most of the animals are cautious of the portal, hunger is the stronger motivator to the tortoise the group was following, which quickly advances through the portal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

On the other side, the chelonian begins to gorge itself, having a giant bounty of fruit all to itself.

Then it looks up.

The strange people are right in front of it, as is Terence.

A staring match ensues.

Then, without any provocation, the gathering of people splits, offering the chelonian a path to the holding pens. Terence joins them, more curious than hungry at the moment. The rain has lightened, but its affects are clear to all: the dirt near the portal terminus has become incredibly muddy, and is filled with the footprints of human and dinosaur.

Soon, they are joined by tortoise footprints as the hungry giant moves to seek shelter from the rain, though not before letting out a call to the rest of its kind, who soon begin advancing through the portal. They, in turn, are joined by the gomphotheres, toxodonts, camels and dogs, all eager to avoid the hungry carnivores behind them. While they are cautious around the new faces, the fear of the predators they know outweighs that of the ones they don't.

Terence can only stare at this is confusion, though he still feels uneasy for some reason...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back in the past, the remaining animals finally make their way through the portal, allowing the group to let out a sigh of relief: finally, their mission is done. A loud screech, though, soon turns their attention back towards the two species of predators, who are STILL engaged in a squabbling match, much to the group's exasperation.

"So what do we do about those guys?" asks Aiden.

BANG

From the otherside of the portal, the sound of thunder fills the air. The new arrivals make haste for their holding pens, while in the past, the birds and hyenas finally halt their battle and turn towards the source of the sound...

And look right at the team.

"...Oh shit..." goes Tristan.

Then the predators screech/howl in anger, which the team counters with terrified shouts (except for Nigel).

"RUN!" yells Tai. THe team dos not need to be told twice and quickly bursts through the portal, with the birds and hyenas soon to follow.

On the other side, the team only makes it halfway through the tunnel formed by the fences of the holding pen before tripping and making a team face-plant into the mud. As they struggle to get up, the predators finally arrive in the present. The change in scenery leaves them bewildered for a moment, before their eyes turn back to their prey. Their rival forgotten, both species charge at the team...

Only for them to be halted by another grouping of humans, who wield spears, blades and shields. The sight before them is enough to hold the carnivores back as the portal snaps shut behind them, leaving them trapped in the present. Coupled with the sight of Terence, the predators are quickly cowed, if only temporarily.

As the team finally raises themselves from the mud, they notice the people who saved them. They wear strange clothing, making them look like Aztecs, and are of distinctly Native American descent. The strange warriors, for that is what they must be, briefly acknowledge the group, before returning their attention to the carnivores. Slowly, they fall back until they are near the gates to a pair holding pens, which the open, allowing the predators to move into a temporary residence, eliminating them as a threat for now. Then, wordlessly, the men leave.

As the team gets back up, they slowly turn their attention to Nigel.

"...I can explain."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day, the storm has abided, the new residents are in their own exhibits, the temnospondyl has finally calmed down...

And Nigel has finally explained about the restricted zone.

"So, let me get this straight," begins Tristan, "these people are the natives of the island."

"Correct," answers Nigel.

"They know about the dinosaurs, because someone accidentally told them about the dinosaurs, as well as the time portal."

"Yes."

"And, because of that, they offered to move to a smaller part of the island and let you and our dad make a wildlife preserve for extinct species."

"That was the idea."

The siblings and their friends share a look. It's clear that they don't buy the story, but also get the feeling that Nigel won't tell them the truth, for some reason.

"Okay, we believe you. Thank you for the explanation."

"You're welcome."

And with that, the mystery of the restricted zone is solved.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Next time, the team travles back to rescue a prehistoric shark.

(Shot of the team chasing after a shark not much bugger than a crocodile)

Vera continues to bond with her new friend.

(Shot of Vera trying to pet the acro, who stares at her cautiously)

And Bob deals with some hungry hyenas.

(Shot of the hyenas tearing into some meat while BOb looks on, both happy and disgusted).

But for now, calm has returned to Prehistoric Park... or has it?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At T. rex hill, the previous day, following the storm...

With the storm finally subsiding, and his curiosity finally sated for the moment, Terence was quick to retreat back toward his exhibit. Now, it is time to rest.

However, just as he reaches the river, he hears a strange noise as his internal sense of direction goes haywire. Barely able to stand, the tyrannosaur is forced to stop as the nearby ground is illuminated by some kind of light, the source of which is not within Terence's field of view. A strange noise fills the air for one moment, and then it, the light, and Terence's delirium disappear. Confused, the tyrannosaur stares around for a moment, before shrugging off his pain and heading home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off!