“You asshole.” Helen wiped her eyes. “Okay. Because I know if he sees me, he’s more likely to come with us.”
“Okay?” Drake’s brows went up. “Seriously? I was only joking about you coming.”
Helen shrugged. “You’d be dead in a minute without me. And besides, I figure if we don’t do something, then this world, or rather this time, might end up just as deadly as the one of the Late Cretaceous.”
Emma sat back and folded her arms. She shook her head, and her eyes watered. “I’m sorry; I can’t.”
Ben reached across and put an arm around her shoulders. “I know, and you shouldn’t. Your priority is Zach. As is mine. You need to stay to look after him. I need to go to ensure he is safe in the future. That we all are.”
Emma nodded, but then paused. “Maybe he’ll come home by himself. When the portal opens, he might just decide to come home.”
“Maybe. And maybe the changes we’ve seen so far are all that is going to occur,” Drake said.
“No, he won’t come home,” Helen said. “But, I’m betting his scientific curiosity will draw him back to the plateau to observe the doorway opening again. He won’t be able to resist that.”
Ben nodded. “He’ll be there, and so will we. Snatch and grab, and then we bug out.”
“I’ll organize some hardware.” Drake grinned. “And I’ll make damn sure it’s appropriate this time.”
“Jesus, you guys.” Emma shook her head. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
They waited.
Emma scoffed. “Ben, you first went when we were 30. That was 20 years ago. Now you’re in your 50s. I know you guys have trained hard and maintained your fitness. But seriously, the one thing you both know is that surviving on that plateau is the most arduous thing anyone could do at any time anywhere.”
Ben sat back. “We don’t intend to be there long. We can’t afford to be.”
“So we’ll need help.” Drake rubbed his stubbled chin, making a rasping sound. He began to nod. “I know some people. They’ll bulk us up on muscle and firepower. But they’ll cost us.”
“It’s not right,” Helen said. “Remember last time? There’s no way you can make someone believe or be ready for what that place is really like.” She turned to Drake. “All those years ago when Emma first spoke to you about it, did you believe her?”
“Nope,” Drake said. “And even now, I still find it hard to believe it was even real. That was, until a few days ago.”
Ben used a thumb and forefinger to rub his eyes for a moment. “I don’t think we have any choice. The world is at stake, and it doesn’t even know it.” He opened his hands, palms up. “Sorry, Helen, but what we’re doing is bigger than just our little lives, or even anyone else’s lives who comes with us of their own free will.”
Ben then gave Emma a crooked smile. “I know you get it. Bottom line, even if we don’t go back, it seems the past is coming after us anyway. Maybe coming after Zach and all the other Zachs.”
Emma seemed to melt and grabbed his hand. “No, I’m sorry. Bring Andy back, save our world and its future.” She lifted her chin. “Just leave me a damn big gun.”
CHAPTER 13
“Hey… ” Jim Henson adjusted the lens on his massive telescope and amplified his view aperture. He leaned across to bring the computer online, and then jammed his eye back over the eyepiece.
“What have you got?” His colleague, Andy Gallagher, sounding vaguely interested, continued to type data into his own computer.
“Got some traffic,” Henson scoffed. “Little fella coming out of the void.” He quickly leaned an arm out to type furiously with one hand. He then looked across to check he had the details right and began to record the astral fragment.
“Asteroid?” Gallagher asked.
“Yeah, nice size, and going to come close enough for us to get a real good look.” Henson went from his eyepiece to the computer screen, satisfied that what he was seeing was now on the screen.
To the novice, the screen looked black on black with a smattering of pinpricks of light. But to a trained eye, it was an astral snapshot of a segment of space, well out into our solar system.
“Thought you were going to tell me that Primordia was on its way back.” Gallagher leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “Our lucky number year again —‘8’—and our clockwork traveler, P/2018-YG874, is coming back for a visit.”
“Yeah, sure, but this is something else.” Henson froze, and slowly turned. “He-eeey, you don’t think…?”
Gallagher frowned. “Don’t think what?” His brows went up. “No way… collision?” He snorted. “Are you on drugs…? I mean, even more drugs?”
Henson guffawed. “Hey, what do I look like here?”
Gallagher grinned. “You look like Santa Claus, if he didn’t comb his hair or beard, and wore sweatpants.”
“You flatter me, sir.” Henson straightened in his chair. “And Santa Claus with an astrophysics degree from Caltech, remember?”
“Yeah, and mine’s from Princeton, honors, and we both know our orbital mechanics — space is basically empty, and the chance of two tiny astral bodies colliding is millions upon millions to one.”
“And yet it happens.” Henson folded his arms and watched the moving speck on the computer screen. “P/2018-YG874, Primordia, has been traveling perhaps for millions upon millions of years.” He turned. “Eventually everyone and everything’s luck runs out.”
“Impossible,” Gallagher said emphatically. And then, “But it’d be pretty cool if it did.” He looked up. “Hey, you spotted it, you name it.”
Henson stroked his beard for a moment. And then raised a finger. “I name thee… Lord Vader.”
Gallagher groaned as he grinned. “Lord Vader it is. And may the dark side be with you.” He turned back to his screen. “So let’s keep an eye on him, just in case.”
CHAPTER 14
The huge theropod eased forward and gently placed a foot the size of a small car down on the soft ground. It did the same for the next step, and then became motionless for several minutes. It finally angled its head slightly, a little like a monstrous dog, as it listened for a moment, before taking another careful step.
It inhaled deeply, drawing in all the odors and scents of the surrounding jungle. It was tracking something, something it couldn’t yet see, and for now could only smell. But its predator senses told it that the thing was close.
The alpha theropods were huge beasts and happy to feed on carrion, but also liked the thrill of the hunt and kill as well. Their eight-inch, tusk-like teeth were all backward curving, designed for gripping, tearing, and sawing through the flesh and bones of the massive animals of its time.
It remained frozen, and even with its towering size and bulk, it was near invisible in the dappled light of the jungle. Its mottled hide was a patchwork of brown and green with some banding on a thick tail held out stiffly behind it as a counterbalance for its huge head. At around 40 feet from nose to tail tip and weighing in at 15 tons, it was one of the largest carnivores in North America during the Cretaceous Period.
It turned its head again, slowly, scanning the jungle floor, but also searching for the scent trail. Minutes passed, and then it took another step, and then another, and paused to search again.