by Eric Braun
THE END
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You dare not venture out alone. This is home now. A few more years pass when Jasmine falls seriously ill with a fever.
“It was probably something she ate,” Eduardo says. “Or something in the water.”
Jasmine grows worse by the hour. With no modern medicine, there’s nothing you can do for your friend but try to comfort her. She passes away in her sleep.
A month later, Eduardo goes out to collect food. He doesn’t return. You go out to search for him the next day with no luck. As you’re calling his name, something large stirs in the forest. You hear a roar.
You do the only thing you can. You run. Amazingly, you scramble back to your cave before the beast catches you.
You don’t even know what kind of dinosaur it was. This is your life now. The rest of your days, however few they may be, will be spent as prey. And if the predators don’t get you, starvation, dehydration, or illness will.
THE END
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CHAPTER 3
THE OPEN PLAINS
“This way,” you say, moving to the open prairie. “At least out here we’ll be able to see anything big coming our way.
The plains seem to stretch on forever. Far in the distance, you can see a herd of some sort of dinosaurs grazing. “I think those are Stegosauruses,” Eduardo says with excitement.
“Then let’s steer clear,” Jasmine suggests. “I don’t want to be a Stegosaurus’s lunch.”
Eduardo laughs. “Don’t be silly. They’re herbivores. They wouldn’t eat you any more than cows would eat you back home.”
“Then let’s go get a Stegosaurus burger,” Jasmine jokes. “I’m hungry.”
Jasmine suddenly freezes. “What’s that?” she says.
At first you don’t see anything. Then something bursts out from the tall ferns. For a moment, you think it’s a crow. It’s about that size, and it’s covered with feathers. But it’s no crow. It looks like some crazy cross between a reptile and a bird.
“Archaeopteryx!” Eduardo squeals with delight.
“Well if I can’t have a burger, I’ll settle for some Jurassic chicken,” Jasmine says.
“What?” Eduardo gasps with dismay. “How could you even think of it?”
“We need to eat,” Jasmine answers.
The dinosaur looks at you curiously.
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“Jasmine is right,” you say. “We should take food when we can get it.”
Eduardo looks at you both with disgust. He won’t be any help.
“Jasmine, try to draw its attention,” you say, “I’ll grab it.”
Jasmine starts to dance around, while you creep behind the dinosaur. You inch closer. You lunge, wrapping your arms around the animal. It lets out a screech and tries to break free. It’s strong for its size, but you hold on tight. That’s when it twists its neck and bites your hand.
You scream. The creature’s powerful jaws clamp down on your fingers as your skin tears. Suddenly Jasmine dives at it. The little dinosaur lets go of your hand and darts back into the ferns.
“Well that didn’t go well,” Eduardo says with a smirk.
“OK, OK. Let’s not attack any more dinosaurs for a while,” you agree.
Jasmine rips a strip of fabric from the bottom of her T-shirt and wraps your bleeding hand.
“Do you need a break, or are you ready to keep going?” Eduardo asks.
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“No way,” you whisper. “Did you see those sharp little teeth? Let’s see where it goes.”
You follow the strange creature as it wanders the open plains. Finally, it leads you back to a nest with six eggs.
“Jackpot!” Jasmine says.
When the dinosaur wanders away again, you grab three of the eggs. Eduardo piles some dry brush and focuses sunlight with his glasses, starting a small fire. You cook the eggs in the shells, then crack them open.
“Not bad,” Jasmine says.
“I’ve been thinking,” Eduardo says as he finishes his egg. “We got sent back here when we were imagining the Jurassic. Remember, we put our hands on the Stegosaurus skeleton? What if repeating that might bring us home?”
“Worth a shot,” Jasmine says. “Close your eyes. Imagine home.”
You try to picture the museum in as much detail as you can. But when you open your eyes, you’re still stuck in a prairie, 150 million years in the past.
“Maybe the Stegosaurus was the key,” Jasmine jokes. Eduardo laughs.
But the comment gets you thinking. What if that was the key to whatever happened? Could you reproduce the effect?
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“We need to be serious,” you say. “The sun sets in a few hours. We don’t want to be out here in the open when it does. We’ve got to find somewhere safe.”
The prairie stretches on in every direction for what feels like forever. As exhaustion sets in, the three of you move along, single file, without speaking. The prospects for shelter are few.
“There are a few large rocks over there,” Eduardo says. “We could hunker down there.”
Jasmine points to a bushy tree on the horizon.
“We could climb to one of the higher limbs, out of reach of the predators.”
The idea of sleeping in a tree isn’t very appealing. But then, neither is being eaten by a dinosaur.
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You nod your head in agreement with Jasmine. “The tree seems like our best bet.”
The sunset blazes brilliant orange by the time you reach the tree.
“I’ll take this limb,” Jasmine says, claiming the biggest, straightest limb.
You and Eduardo try to get comfortable in twisted crooks in the tree. It’s a miserable night. A full moon shines brightly on the open plain.
“Is it just me, or does the moon seem bigger here?” Jasmine asks.
She’s right. You’d swear the moon was bigger—or closer—here in the Jurassic. The moonlight shows the dark shapes of predators roaming the open plain. One of them approaches the tree.
“Allosaurus,” Eduardo whispers. “Predator.”
Thankfully, you’re far out of its reach, and it moves on.
“I’m not doing that again,” Jasmine says as the three of you climb down in the morning. “Let’s go find a Stegosaurus.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” you argue. “Last night proved how badly we need to find shelter.
Eduardo gives you a shrug. “Sorry, I’m with Jasmine. Let’s go.”
You watch as they head off in search of a Stegosaurus.
“Are you coming or what?” Jasmine calls.
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To split up and continue the search for shelter, press here.
To go in search of a Stegosaurus.
To go with them.
None of this makes sense. Why shouldn’t you go in search of a Stegosaurus? It’s as good a plan as any, and you can keep your eyes open for shelter while you look for a herd.
As the three of you move across the open plain, you try to process what has happened to you. None of this should be possible. How could a Stegosaurus fossil send you back in time? A squeal of delight from Jasmin
e interrupts your thoughts.
“There they are!” she cries.
There are hundreds of them. The Stegosauruses remind you of the bison you once saw at Yellowstone National Park. As you draw close to several stragglers in the herd, you begin to have second thoughts. These animals are huge. They’re covered with sharp-looking plates. The ground shakes as they move across the plain.
“Let’s go!” Jasmine says. “Look, there’s a smaller one. Let’s all put our hands on it and think of home.”
Smaller is a relative term. The Stegosaurus still dwarfs even the largest bison. If it gets spooked, you’ll all be prehistoric pancakes.
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There’s no time for rest. You strike out across the open plain. You come upon a river. It has carved deep cliffs in the landscape, leaving a steep, rocky bank.
“This is limestone,” Eduardo says. “There might be caves. It could be a perfect spot to take shelter.”
You spend the rest of the day searching for caves. Jasmine spots one halfway down a particularly steep cliff.
“That would be the perfect place to take shelter,” Eduardo says. “But I’m not sure we could make the climb. Falling to our deaths isn’t really any better than becoming a dinosaur snack.”
“I’m willing to take my chances,” Jasmine says. They both look to you.
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The rocks don’t offer much shelter. But at least you don’t have to worry about falling out of a tree in your sleep. The three of you collapse to the ground, backs against the rocks. You’re all exhausted. You can only hope you’ll be safe here.
After the sun sets, a full moon shines down on the open plains. A scratching sound from the ferns sets your heart racing. You scan the horizon, searching for the shape of some great predator. But there’s nothing. Then, out of the brush, something emerges. It’s a dinosaur, but it’s tiny—not much bigger than a house cat. You let out a breath.
“Hey little guy,” you call out softly.
The little dinosaur locks its gaze on you. It takes a careful step forward. Then another. You watch with curiosity. That curiosity turns to terror as another emerges. And another.
Soon, you’re surrounded by the tiny beasts. One of them seemed cute. But dozens of them suddenly are terrifying. And when they charge, you have nowhere to run.
The little dinosaurs, which Eduardo would have told you were Compsognathuses, are lightning-quick, strong, and ferocious. As you face your doom, you can’t help but feel cheated. At least if you were going to be eaten by a dinosaur, it could have been a big, terrible lizard. Dying at the hands of a pack of little ones just seems so unfair.
THE END
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You won’t be a part of this. Maybe if you just strike off in the opposite direction, they’ll see that you’re right. They’ll follow you.
But they don’t. And by the time you have second thoughts, they’ve disappeared into the prairie. They’re gone, and you’re alone.
You’re faster and more efficient on your own. You find eggs and seeds to eat. A rushing brook gives you fresh water.
Days turn to weeks. The flat plains slowly give way to rocky land. It provides plenty of nooks and crannies that offer shelter. As you travel, you see countless dinosaurs. Great herds of armored Stegosauruses and giant Brachiosauruses graze on ferns and brush. You steer clear of the terrible Allosauruses, Ceratosauruses, and other meat eaters.
You make your home on a cliff along a rushing river. You fish. You even learn to set traps for small mammals and dinosaurs. Somehow you survive and grow old. Your hair slowly turns gray.
One day, when you’re foraging, you spot something far in the distance. It’s a human!
You run. You shout. It must be one of your friends, after all these years. But the person is too far away. He or she doesn’t see you. By the time you reach the ridge, there's no one there.
You’d assumed Jasmine and Eduardo had died. But now your heart is filled with hope. You will not rest until you find whomever it was you saw in the distance. Maybe you won’t have to spend your final years alone after all.
THE END
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You’ve come this far, why stop now? You take a deep breath and follow Jasmine. Eduardo is right behind you.
The Stegosaurus is munching on some low ferns. If it notices you approaching, it doesn’t seem to mind. Now that you’re close to it, the size of the beast truly astounds you. It’s more than twice your height, and as long as a bus. Jasmine places her hand on the animal’s huge rear leg. It doesn’t stir. Eduardo does the same. They both look back at you, waiting.
“Here goes nothing,” you mutter under your breath, reaching out your hand.
The animal’s hide is rough and leathery. It’s warmer than you expected. You close your eyes and imagine home. You concentrate on places and people, imagining what it’s like to live in your time.
Suddenly you feel a familiar sense of dizziness. You start to fall and then pass out. When you wake, you’re on the floor of the museum. The Stegosaurus skeleton towers over you.
Your mind is fuzzy. You have strange memories of a distant place and strange adventures. Jasmine and Eduardo sit up and rub their eyes.
“Did that really just happen?” you ask.
The three of you catch up with your class in the Ancient Egypt exhibit. By the time you leave the museum, you’ve almost forgotten all of it, like a dream fading away with morning light.
Was it real? As the years pass, you’re not sure. Maybe it was your imagination. Or just maybe, you had one of the strangest adventures of all time.
THE END
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“This is a bad idea,” you say, backing away.
As you move, you stumble over a rock and let out a yelp. The sound spooks the Stegosaurus. It lumbers forward. Eduardo tries to dodge the beast, but it swats him with its massive tail.
The blow sends Eduardo’s limp body flying. Jasmine screams. The dinosaur whips its tail again, now in her direction. You can only watch in horror.
Just like that, you’re all alone. The herd moves on, leaving your friends lifeless on the ground.
You never do go home. Somehow you survive into old age. Your life in the Jurassic is difficult and lonely. There are times you almost wish the Stegosaurus had gotten you too.
THE END
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Your hand is throbbing.
“I think I might throw up,” you say with a grimace. “I need to rest.”
You quickly drift off to sleep. You awaken with a start. Jasmine is screaming. Eduardo is tugging on your shirt. The sight of a towering dinosaur looming over you reminds you very quickly where… and when… you are.
“Allosaurus!” Eduardo shouts.
Your friends are running, but the Allosaurus is gaining on them.
“Ed! Jasmine!” you shout.
Without even thinking about it, you rush after them, toward the dinosaur.
“Hey!” you shout at the beast, waving your arms in the air.
You just want to distract it long enough to let your friends escape. But then the dinosaur turns on you. It covers the open ground between you with blinding speed. There’s nowhere to hide. It’s too fast. As yo
u frantically try to zig and zag out of its path, you can feel its hot breath. Its jaws open wide. It strikes.
You’ve given your life for your friends. You just hope they took the chance you gave them to get away.
THE END
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Ed is right. The climb down might be more dangerous than taking your chances up here.
“Keep going,” you decide. “If there’s one cave, there should be more.”
The sun dips low in the sky as you search.
“There’s just nothing here,” Jasmine says with exasperation. “We’re running out of time.”
Dusk turns to dark. When the predators come, Eduardo can’t even tell you what the horse-sized dinosaurs are. There’s not enough time. The pack surrounds you, cutting off any avenue of escape.
You only wish you’d tried to take shelter in the cave. Three humans, exposed on the open plains of the Jurassic at night, never had a chance.
THE END
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The climb is treacherous. But so is your current situation. Jasmine lowers herself down, grasping plant roots for support, until she reaches the small opening. Then she disappears inside. A minute later she sticks out her head, smiling.
