Jack didn’t have to give the question any thought. He returned Shelby’s gaze and nodded. Clara was already nodding as well, and Soren still looked sickened by the actions of the other tribe.

  “Yes, we will help you. You can come back to our camp with us, but we are currently on a mission to try and find a doctor. We have sick and injured people that need more help than we can give them.” He said. “It’s at least a day and a half hike to get back to our camp, and I don’t think you all will make the trip in the same time we did, even if you ride Thrasher. Do you know how close the Redwood Tribe is?”

  Shelby looked to Beth, who nodded. She wiped her eyes again and took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking.

  “We encountered them near the edge of the redwoods. Maybe three or four miles from here. But there is a t-rex on the other side of the smaller river, between us and the redwoods. We had to cross the water again to escape it.” She said.

  “Um. You said you are looking for a doctor right? I used to be a vet, before the world ended. I don’t know anything about human medicine, but I know how to set bones and do stitches. I could probably help.” Shelby said. The look of relief on everyone's faces made her smile shyly.

  “That’s good. We have a vet student back at home, but she was in her second year, and really hates being the tribe medic. Your expertise will be greatly valued.” Soren said.

  “Do you think they could make it back to the waterfall if we get them some clean water and fresh meat?” Clara asked, gesturing at the two sleeping women.

  “They need a few days to recover, at a minimum. Do you have a way to boil water?” Shelby said.

  “We do, but this isn’t a good place for us to stay for too long. We’re too exposed here. If you are still being hunted, the smoke from your fire will give us away. There isn’t enough real fuel here to keep the fire going long and hot enough. Plus it’s only a matter of time before one of those big herbivores hurts someone.” Jack said.

  “We should follow the river northeast.” Soren said, pointing towards the redwoods. “We need firewood and to find this other tribe. At the very least they should be warned about the bastards who attacked the ladies. Best case, they have a doctor and we can trade with them while the women stay at their camp and recover.”

  Clara and Jack nodded. They still needed someone who knew how to take care of humans. Shelby would be a great boon to the tribe, but she likely wouldn’t be able to help Gordon. If they were going to fight the other tribe, allies would be nice.

  Shelby stood up and walked over to her unconscious friends. Reaching down, she felt their foreheads and her expression grew more worried.

  “Izzy has a fever. Aster is ok. I think she is just exhausted. Are those baskets strong enough to carry someone their size?” She asked, pointing at the two baskets on the side of Thrasher.

  Jack scratched his head, wincing at the pain from his wounds. He looked at Soren, who shrugged, then to Clara who also shrugged.

  “I honestly have no idea. Our crafters made them. We are the hunting and exploration team. I’m not actually the tribe leader. Our leader broke his arm badly while taming some Styracosaurus, but he is a good guy. Let’s empty the basket of bola’s and see if it will hold up with one of them inside it. Can you wake them up? I don’t want them to come to while being lifted into a basket by men they don’t know.” Jack said.

  The surprise in their eyes that Jack wasn’t the leader was clear, but the current situation was dire enough that they didn’t dwell on it. Shelby and Beth woke up Aster, the blond haired woman who was missing her top but still had leggings on. She was exhausted, barely able to lift her head. She smiled when they told her they were being rescued, and didn’t resist when Jack lifted her into the basket. Soren and Clara held the bolas and Thrasher turned to smell the young woman who couldn’t have been more than twenty. She fit in the basket, but didn’t look comfortable. The crafters had made them very large to be used as transportation for the clay. She had to bend her knees, but the basket held and she was asleep again quickly.

  Isabel was harder to get into the basket. She was delirious, and didn’t seem to understand that Jack and Soren were there to help. She started crying and screaming when she saw them, so they backed off and let Clara and the other women lift her into the basket. They took out the rope and Jack decided to wrap some around his waist like a belt. There was a lot more rope than he expected, so Soren got a new belt as well, then the rest of it was used to reinforce the rough saddle that had been made to keep the baskets on either side of Thrasher. Once both women were safely in their “seats” and they were as sure as they could be that the baskets wouldn’t break, they cleaned up the camp and started to move Northeast.

  “There is one more member of our hunting party you still need to meet. She was hiding in case the fire belonged to someone less friendly and we needed to run or fight. Don’t panic.” Jack said. He whistled, and could feel Tilly’s excitement through their bond.

  Beth and Shelby looked confused at his words, until the Saber Tooth trotted out of the grass and calmly claimed her head scratches from Jack. The women spent a moment gawking at the big cat.

  “Is that a Saber Tooth Tiger?” Shelby asked, her voice full of excitement for the first time. Jack chuckled.

  “Yep. Meet Tilly. The newest member of our little family. She tried to kill us last night, but Clara here is a good shot with the bola, and managed to get her all tangled up. We tamed her, and she has already been a great help at keeping the raptors away.” Jack said as he scratched behind Tilly’s ear.

  “Tilly, this is Shelby and Beth. They are friends. Don’t hurt them.” He said. Unsure if they were considered part of the Roaring Falls tribe or not at this point. Tilly didn’t seem to mind them, but better safe than sorry.

  The two slowly walked up beside Tilly, and after getting a nod of encouragement from Clara, they started to pet her. Jack could see some of their stress leave them with each stroke of the kitty’s fur.

  “I didn’t expect her to be so soft.” Beth said.

  Tilly suddenly tilted her head to the side, her ear pointed up. Jack felt a surge of excitement, and then she was gone, vanishing back into the tall grass. The girls looked disappointed, but Thrasher was getting further away so they started walking again.

  “She will keep anything nasty from sneaking up on us. Her sense of smell and hearing is much better than ours. The only difference between her and a guard dog is she will probably kill whatever it is, rather than just scaring it off.” Soren said.

  “Incredible.” Shelby said, staring off in the direction that Tilly had run. “Was she the one who cut up your arms?

  “Yeah. Soren did his best to stitch me up. But I won’t lie, it stings a lot. Would you mind taking a look at it when we next stop?” Jack asked.

  “Yeah. Do you have an actual needle and thread?” She asked.

  “Sort of. We have the twine here, and a needle made from raptor teeth.” Clara said.

  “That’s impressive.” Beth said.

  “Hope so. We plan on trading it with the other tribes in the area.” Jack said.

  “Trading it for what?” Shelby asked.

  “Alliances. Trade deals. Supply drop rotations. And hopefully help in destroying the tribe that attacked you.” Jack answered.

  “Supply drops? What are you talking about?” Beth asked. Soren looked to Jack and Clara. He gave them an uncomfortable smile that Jack felt. They didn’t know about the aliens using them for entertainment, or the supply drops that would start coming down any day now.

  “Well, we learned some stuff about the aliens that dropped us here. Long story short, they have and will be watching us. They find us entertaining, and each faction of their government wants something different from us. Some want us to thrive, but others want us to fight. They are going to start dropping supplies for us. They say that there aren't enough to go around, so they are going to drop them between tribes and make us fight, or be diplomatic and share. That's the goal our tribe is aiming for.” Jack explained.

  They walked in silence for a while. The ladies processing the information. After a few minutes Beth finally spoke up.

  “So, those assholes could get rewarded for kidnapping women? Will the aliens give them more supply drops for being entertaining?” She asked.

  “We don’t know.” Jack said. “There haven’t been any drops yet so we don’t know what will actually be in them or how tailored to the local tribes they will be. But I wouldn't put it past them to give better rewards to the people who entertain them more.” Jack answered.

  “How do they watch us?” Shelby asked. And Jack just raised his arm to show the bracelet.

  “They have other ways, we just don’t know them. Could be telescopes, could be nanobots, could just be magic.” Clara said with a shrug.

  They had to detour around a herd of Gallimimus that had gone down to the river for water, cutting further into the tall grass to avoid them. Jack noticed some rustling ahead of them. He stopped the group and pointed ahead. Soren passed him a spear. Beth and Shelby looked confused as they stopped. Thrasher moved behind the rest of the group at Clara’s urging, keeping the baskets with the sick women safe. Jack wasn’t sure where Tilly was, but he had no doubt she would show up when needed. The grass ahead of them had gone still, but no one moved yet. The wind picked up, blowing the grass in long waves across the valley.

  “Should I toss my spear?” Soren asked, not taking his eyes off the spot they had seen.

  Another ten seconds passed without any movement. Jack held his spear in his right hand, and his club in his left. Beth and Shelby were carrying the torches.

  “All of us throw together. Get your other spear in your off hand and swap as soon as you toss the main spear.” Jack said, readying his spear to throw. His party did the same, Clara had a wooden spear ready to throw and her stone spear in hand.

  “”Three, two, one. Throw.” Jack counted down, then tossed his spear with all his might. The three spears shot into the grass, taken slightly off target by the stronger wind. The loud thunk of wood meeting flesh was drowned out by a shrill cry of agony. It was so loud that Jack’s ears were left ringing. The predator stood from the tall grass, two of the spears had only caused light wounds and were knocked free, the third had found its shoulder and was buried deep into its flesh.

  The dinosaur was covered in green feathers that helped it blend into the tall grass. It was around twelve feet long and seven feet tall. It had a long jaw full of razor sharp teeth, but its most distinctive feature was the two bony crests that ran along its entire skull. They were a brighter red in coloration, reminding Jack of a parrot with its colors. It had a similar body shape to a T-rex, though much smaller, its body sleek and nimble. He couldn’t see its feet, but its hands had delicate looking claws. He had no doubt that they could tear him apart with them, but he guessed that it’s main attack would be with its bite. Jack didn’t recognize the dinosaur species, but that didn’t matter right now.

  Jack heard the women behind him scream but he didn’t turn around. He couldn’t make out what they were saying with his ears still ringing. The creature was clearly in intense pain. It seemed like their spears had been much more effective against this dino than they had been against the Baryonyx. He swapped his club to his right hand, and wound it back for a strike. He took a step forward and the dinosaur’s eyes snapped to him. They were full of anger, and it shot forward with far more speed than he had expected from something that size. Its jaws opened as it shot towards him, and he knew his swinging club wouldn’t connect with the creature’s skull in time. His brain seemed to slow down as death approached. He let go of the club and kicked his feet out to the side and fell hard to the ground. The dinosaur’s jaws snapped shut inches above him.

  It wasn’t giving up though. It took a step forward and was over him. It had four very long, hooked claws. For some reason the first thought Jack had as he saw them coming towards his chest was that this thing could probably climb trees really well. He rolled, trying to get away from its foot as it came down. He wasn’t fast enough and received a long gash across his chest. But he wasn’t crushed by it.

  Soren threw another spear into the creature's side and it roared in pain once again. Blood dripped down its feathers and splattered the ground around Jack. Its long tail whipped around to try and swat Soren, but he was too far away. It was just lashing out in pain and anger at this point. Its ambush had failed.

  Clara ran towards Jack and when the dinosaur nearly crushed him, she aimed her stone spear at its chest and thrust forward. It turned to tail whip Soren, which made the angle she aimed at awkward, but she followed through with another step forward and stabbed again. This time the spearhead pierced easily through its feathers and hide. It cut though its lean muscle and broke several rib bones. They were apparently very delicate, and the shattered bones poked out of its skin with a spray of blood. Unfortunately, she missed its heart. That wound would probably kill it in a few minutes, but they would have to survive that long.

  Its jaws turned to snap at Clara, but her spear was between its head and hers. It bit down on the spear shaft and splintered it into dozens of pieces. Some of the splinters got lodged into its teeth, causing more blood to spill from its mouth, but Clara was able to leap backwards, away from its deadly hooked claws.

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  The dinosaur seemed unsure of what to do next. It’s head whipped around to glare at both Soren and Clara, but it was also eyeing Beth and Shelby. It seemed to have forgotten Jack for now. It was fast enough that none of them were safe. Its jaws could easily catch someone with a few lighting quick steps. He wasn’t sure if it would run or fight, but he wasn’t going to risk it. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Sabertooth tiger fang. He stabbed at the largest tendon he could see in the back of its leg, and the tooth pierced it easily. The creature’s scream turned from anger to panic as it tried to flee. As soon as it put its weight onto the damaged leg it collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

  Jack started to stand, and the large cut on his chest began leaking blood. His hearing hadn’t recovered from the screeching roar, so he couldn’t hear what everyone was shouting. Shelby ran up to him and put her hand on his shoulder, pushing him back down to the ground. She said something as she pointed to his wound.

  Both of Clara’s spears were gone, so she kept her distance from the dying dinosaur. Soren grabbed one of his spare spears and started to approach. The dino had gone still, blood pouring from its wounds, but it was breathing. As soon as Soren stepped within reach, its head whipped around. It’s bloody jaws aimed at his head. Before it connected, Tilly burst from the grass and landed on its neck, slamming it back into the ground and digging her fangs into the back of its skull. Her claws slit its throat, and after a loud crunch it falls to the ground dead.

  Soren stumbled back, falling over in fright as his foot caught on something in the grass. Clara helped him up. Tilly unhooked her jaws and let its neck drop to the ground. She made a happy chirping sound and walked over to Jack, nuzzling her head against his hip while he reached out to pet her head. The group gathered around Jack.

  It took a minute for his hearing to come back and in that time, Shelby had looked over his wound. She tested each of his ribs and had used some of the loose grass as a makeshift cloth to clean some of the blood off his chest. It didn’t work very well, but it was enough to let her see the cut. It stung, but it didn’t feel as deep as the gashes on his arms.

  “You are stupidly lucky. If these were even half an inch deeper you could have died.” She said, reaching over to Soren who handed her the bone needle and some thread.

  “That was way too close. I had no idea something that big could move so quickly. What is that thing?” He asked.

  Beth and Clara were making a small fire pit, cutting back the tall grass and digging a small hole. They tossed the torch into it and then covered it in the grass they had cut away. It wouldn’t last long, but Shelby only needed a minute to sterilize the needle. Soren bent down beside Jack and lifted his hand up. He pointed the bracelet at the body.

  “Fair point. Identify.” Jack said, and a second later the screen appeared.

  Soren and Jack both read the classification then looked at the body.

  “I thought those things were supposed to be half the size of a person.” Soren said.

  “Guess the movies got that wrong.” Jack replied. Shelby had finished with the needle, and returned to Jack’s side.

  “The one in the movie was a baby. But it’s good they don’t spit venom. That would be extremely annoying.” She said.

  “Yeah. And that thing’s jaws were deadly enough without venom. Thanks for the save Tilly.” Soren said, petting the Sabertooth who purred. Once she was satisfied with the pets, she got up and went to take a few bites from her kill.

  “If we were back on Earth I would have guessed that you wouldn’t need stitches for this. You would get a scar, but as long as you didn’t touch it or move much it would heal fine. Here though. I’m going to stitch up the worst of your cut. Hopefully it will heal faster and give you a bit more movement if you need it. Still, try your best not to tear them. This isn’t exactly medical grade twine, so if you move too much they will break.” Shelby said, and brought the needle to the edge of the cut.

  “Wait.” Jack said. “Soren, could you grab me a stick to bite or something?”

  Soren nodded, and quickly grabbed one of the unlit torches. Jack bit down on it, and then nodded to Shelby.

  “Alright. I’ll try to go fast. I don’t want to stay here long if scavengers come running.” She said and started to stitch Jack up. The twine was thicker than it needed to be, so it took longer and did not look pretty. It was less painful than when Soren had stitched him up, and it went much faster. As soon as they were done, Clara helped Jack up. She had been butchering what they could from the body, taking its sharp claws and some of the teeth. It didn’t have a lot of meat on it. Once they got around the feathers they found that the Dilophosaurus had been very skinny. Tilly had enjoyed what she could and the tail proved to have a few decent cuts, but it would take a lot of work to harvest any more from it. Jack knew carnivore meat wasn’t the best to eat as they were more likely to have parasites in them. He couldn’t remember if there were other reasons, but he knew it was almost never done back on earth.

  “Sorry to cut the break short. But we have a herd of Triceratops headed towards us. It’s time to go.” Clara said.

  Jack nodded and lit the torch he had been biting. He took a breath and pushed the stinging pain from his mind. “Let’s go.”

  They moved quickly. Beth had checked on the two unconscious women, the travel was hard on them. The sooner they found the tribe, the better. The group walked northeast along the tributary river for two more hours. Jack saw three Bayronix beside the riverbank. Two of them were catching fish in the water that went to their knees. The other was resting in the mud, using it to keep cool in the hot sun. The group kept their distance, and fortunately the predators seemed happy to enjoy the fish.

  “I think we are far enough from the T-rex we saw.” Beth said. “We should cross the river and head into the redwoods. I’m not sure where the tribe is. We were much farther south of here, but that was one of their hunting parties.”

  “Ok. Let’s look for a good place for a river crossing. I have been keeping my eyes out, but I haven’t noticed any crocodiles. I think if we are fast we can cross safely.” Jack said. They approached the river. Both Thrasher and Tilly walked up to the water without fear and drank from it.

  “That’s a good sign. Thrasher was the only one who noticed that first crock back at the pool.” Clara said. She checked the bindings on the baskets carrying the women.

  “I don’t see any convenient bridges or sandbars here. But it only looks like it is a few feet deep. That’s probably why the crocs stay in the main river.” Soren said.

  “Should we cross here then? Or keep going until we find a shallower spot?” Shelby asked.

  Jack shook his head. “No. Let's go here. I haven’t seen anything better, and at least we know there are no other predators at this spot.”

  Clara hopped onto Thrasher’s back, she helped Beth and Shelby up as well. The big guy didn’t seem to mind. Soren moved to join them, but she shook her head.

  “Sorry boys. Ride is full.” She tapped Thrasher on the side and he started forward. His long legs and webbed feet made him a natural in the water. Despite not needing to swim, he was happy to cross the river without issue.

  Tilly took a running start, then leaped halfway across the river. She seemed unbothered by the water, and quickly swam to the other side. Jack and Soren started to cross. The water was cool, but it felt nice after having the hot sun beating down on them all day. The clay they had covered themselves in had rubbed off as they hiked over the last day and a half, and it felt good to have their lower bodies clean. The red of Soren’s hair was starting to poke through.

  The water reached up to their hips. Soren was a bit taller than Jack, but he slipped on one of the many submerged rocks and ended up soaked to his shoulders. His torch went out, but Clara had one so their fire was safe. Other than Soren’s slip, they made it across without issue. The ladies had hopped off Thrasher as they waited for the men. Beth was keeping her eyes on the bushes, and Shelby was checking on Aster and Isabel. But Clara was laughing at Soren as he pulled himself from the water. Until Tilly straddled up beside her and shook like a dog, covering Clara in water.

  Jack and Soren both laughed at her, and she scowled dramatically before joining them in laughter. They all pet the big kitty, then turned their attention to the forest. The trees were massive, seeming to span all the way into the clouds. The largest of them was easily four hundred feet tall, and around forty feet thick. Being beside them was like standing in front of a skyscraper for the first time. Each tree must have been hundreds of years old to get this tall.

  There were smaller trees, around fifty to sixty feet tall, and around five or six feet thick. But they didn’t stand out like the others. The light in the forest only came through in long beams, and a slight breeze would cause them to shift and dance. It was beautiful, but made the woods feel dark and foreboding. They were still full of dinosaurs, and they knew for a fact that at least one T-Rex lived in them.

  The nice thing about the redwood forest was that the trees were spread out more. Each one was at least ten feet from any other. There were plenty of bushes and grass, but the underbrush almost felt clean when compared to the mess that was the dense jungle and thick woods they had seen before. There were also smaller trees, though they were thoroughly unimpressive compared to the redwoods. They were mostly fir and maple trees to Jack’s unprofessional eye. He saw bite marks on the leaves of these trees, and could judge that something in here was around fifteen feet tall. The leaves higher than that seemed untouched. He guessed the Bronto’s didn’t like them as much for whatever reason.

  They started moving into the woods. As soon as they got around two hundred feet from the river Jack could feel the humidity change. It was a very strange sensation. Like opening the door into a cool room after taking a shower.

  “What the?” Beth said. Which seemed to reflect what everyone else was thinking.

  “That’s probably the planetary Ai thing the Aliens talked about. The different biomes are walled off somehow. It doesn’t make sense that a tree could grow this big on one side of a river and not at all on the other.” Soren guessed.

  “Weird. But that's alien space magic for you.” Jack said, pushing the group forward. Tilly was staying by their side this time, rather than exploring or hunting. He got the sense she was uncomfortable in this environment. Thrasher didn’t seem to care though, happily moving along like always.

  They walked for twenty minutes before their first encounter with the wildlife. A bush covered in purple and golden flowers stood around fifteen feet tall. It looked small when surrounded by the towering redwoods. Several unripe berries lay scattered between the flowers, as the ripe ones were being eaten by one of the strangest looking creatures Jack had ever seen. It was taller than the bush, easily as tall as the bushes. Covered in brown feathers, its head was avian, with a noticeable beak that let it dig through the bush to find the buried hidden inside it. It stood on two legs, and had a long tail that snaked behind it covered in brighter feathers of red and orange. It looked sort of like a mix between an ostrich and a chicken, if he ignored its most prominent feature, its claws. Each arm was the size of a full grown man, and its fingers were tipped with the largest claws he had ever seen. Easily four to five feet long, they were curved like scythes, and gleamed in the light of their torches. The entire party stopped and stared at the creature. No one moved, and it didn’t seem to notice them as it continued to munch on the ripe berries of the tree.

  It had a relatively small head and eyes, but Jack had no doubt it would see or smell them if they got closer with their torches. It might be a herbivore, but with claws like that they could kill them in an instant if it turned out to be aggressive or territorial. He slowly reached for the bracelet and triggered the identification charm.

  “Well, that's terrifying.” Jack said after reading the description. He gestured for the group to back away. They were several hundred feet away from the creature, and no one complained about his order.

  “One of those would be quite the threat on our side.” Soren said. He glanced to look at the bracelet on Jack’s wrist. “Is it recharged?” He asked.

  Jack shook his head. The taming charge was still cold against his skin.

  “Let’s go around it then. We don’t have a lot of light left today.” Clara said, guiding Thrasher around one of the giant trees.

  “Think the tribe we are looking for has one of those?” Jack asked, looking at Beth. She shrugged.

  “They had a young stegosaurus when we met them. But that was the only dino with them.” She said.

  They moved away from the Therizinosaurus, but Jack made a mental note to come back here one day to tame one. Something like that, even if they found a juvenile, would be an incredible asset to tame. Tilly bumped her head against his hip, and he reached down to scratch behind her ear. She had been slowly getting more and more used to the fire they were carrying with them, but still eyed the torches cautiously. He wasn’t sure what the alien technology did during the taming process to make her think of them as family, but he could feel her growing more and more attached to them with each hour. When he focused on her he could feel the vague emotions of curiosity and tiredness. She apparently wanted to sleep for the rest of the night after eating most of the Dilophosaurus earlier.

  He was about to call a halt to the group’s travel, when Tilly stiffened, and he felt a sharp sense pass through their bond. He couldn’t put the feeling into words, but it did its job of warning him. He held his hand up, and the group stopped, looking at him with confusion. Clara had to grab Soren’s shoulder and pull him back. But Thrasher stopped without needing a verbal command so Jack was grateful. Tilly growled softly at one of the bushes ahead of them. Jack didn’t see anything in the evening light that danced through the thick treetops, but before he had a chance to look deeper, the bush moved.

  A man stepped out, holding a large club similar to the one Jack carried, though made from a different wood. He had white skin and blond hair that had turned dark brown from dirt. He had a short beard, large nose, and a fresh scar running down his cheek. His ears stood out to Jack for some reason. It took a moment to realize that one of them had been nearly torn off and was sewn back into place with extremely crude thread. He was shirtless, his chest covered in mud which did very little to hide his muscles. Jack would have called him a body builder or male model back on earth, but here it just meant he was even more dangerous. He had on torn leather pants, and worn down hiking boots. There was a hard look in his eyes as he took in the party. His eyes lingered on Jack and Tilly, then onto the women in the baskets.

  Seven more people stepped out from the nearby bushes and trees. They all carried spears, except for one woman with brown hair who had a very primitive bow. An arrow carved fully from wood was aimed at them. Unlike the buff man, the others seemed more afraid, their eyes falling on Tilly.

  Jack slowly raised his hand, letting his club fall to his side. Tilly growled louder and arched her back. Soren and Clara both looked to Jack, then followed his lead and slowly put down their spears. Beth and Shelby moved closer to Thrasher. They hadn’t been carrying spears in their hands, instead holding torches.

  “Hello. We have come to trade.” Jack said.