The Mission of No Return

by Frank Cereo

  “We need to stay here and retrieve those two guns.” Captain Laird tells Huey.

  “Yeah I know. This may take a while.” Huey replies.

  The morning passes away rapidly as the large creature gorged itself on fresh meat. First it consumed the young adult T-rex, eating all the meat and internal organs. Many of the small bones like the ribs were crushed as they were nothing for the large Fearasaurus to eat. Nothing went to waste as the only thing that remained from the T-rex was its skull and thigh bones. As it approached the Spinosaurus it was still alive with no fight left in it due to the loss of blood. The Fearasaurus didn’t even care that its prey was still alive. It just went to work on the live Spinosaurus by ripping into its abdomen. It tore out all the internal organs and consumed them while the Spinosaurus was screaming in pain. The soft tissue is the easiest to digest and has the most nutrition. At the edge of the forest, you could see the some of the smaller predators trying to get some of the scraps that have fallen to the ground. This lasted until the late afternoon hours when the Fearasaurus finished up. It looked like a battle field filled with blood, guts and bones as the Fearasaurus walked off with a full belly.

  “I didn’t think he would ever finish.” Captain Laird says.

  “Stay low and make sure you don’t stand above the tall grass.” Huey says as the captain moves to retrieve the guns.

  Captain Laird gathers both guns that are covered with Captain Bridges’ blood. He makes it back to the tree line and hands the rail gun to Huey.

  “Come on let’s go back to the camp.” Captain Laird says to Huey.

  The trip back to their camp was uneventful as they arrive at sunset. They told everyone about Captain Bridges and of the events that transpired during the day. No one really grieved the loss of Captain Bridges. They were kind of glad the unstable man was gone. The group sat and ate some dinner that consisted of Ichthyornis stew with sweet potatoes and other vegetables. Ichthyornis was a fish eating bird that was about eight inches long and weighed about five or six pounds. The stew was delicious and everyone ate their fill. After dinner they all turned in for a good night’s rest and to heal their injuries.

  Chapter 18 – The Intruder

  As everyone slept peacefully in their cots something lurked in the cave. It came up from the opening in the back of the cave where they found Captain Bridges and the time traveling machine. The creature was quiet as it maneuvered with stealth. No one moved a muscle as this monster moved on the ground without making a sound. It must have been living in the tunnels that were created by the time traveling machine. The monster seeks out and finds its victim as it strikes with accuracy and silence. One bite and the venom already started to affect the muscles. Jennifer tried to call out for help but she was unable to move as the venom paralyzed her body. The large anaconda, that stretched thirty feet from head to toe, moved into position to ingest its prey as it moved towards her head. The large reptile had not eaten in three days as the jaw opened wider than the object it was going to eat. You could see in Jennifer’s eyes by the frightened look that she was powerless to help herself or to call out for help. As the snake’s jaw expanded and reached maximum width it began to slowly ingest Jennifer starting with her head. The snake, as a predator, knew that as soon as the head of its victim could no longer breathe the battle was over. The snake’s jaw crowned over the top of her head and started to move over her eyes that were wide open with fright. Darkness came to her eyes followed by shortness of breath as Jennifer felt her body moving down to the digestive track of the large snake. Her face began to feel the digestive acids begin to start burning her just before she blacked out. That is when the bamboo cot broke from the weight of Jennifer and the large anaconda. This noise startled the remaining five crew members as they jumped at the loud cracking sound that disturbed their slumbers.

  “What the hell is that?” Stephanie screams as she moves backwards against the cave wall.

  “That would be a giant anaconda and it is eating Jennifer.” Amanda responds.

  At this point, Jennifer is half way down the digestive track of the large reptile. The snake is helpless because it cannot fight back when it’s ingesting its food. The only choices the snake has is to finish ingesting its prey or if it feels threatened it can spit the out prey and either fight or retreat. The snake did neither because before the anaconda could assess the threat, Captain Laird had taken the rail gun nor blasted a hole right in the middle of the snake. Blood and guts spattered everywhere including on the face of Captain Laird. The snake was still alive as it tried to push Jennifer out of its mouth when Josef struck the snake in the head with a home make hatchet.

  “Hit the son of a bitch again.” Huey yells as he pulls Jennifer’s feet.

  Josef slams the snake over and over again spilling blood, brains and bone all over the place. Josef continues to beat the already dead snake like a savage with his uncontrollable temper. When Huey got Jennifer out of the snake’s mouth, the digestive acids had already minimally started to eat away at her skin. The white filmy substance was covering her body from her head to her waist.

  “We need to get her in the shower immediately to wash off the digestive acids.” Huey yells to the rest of the crew.

  Huey and Josef both picked Jennifer up while Stephanie turned on the water. Jennifer was put in the shower clothes and all because time was of the essence. The water was put on high as Stephanie and Amanda striped off her clothes as she was held up by Huey in the shower. Jennifer was still under the influence of the toxic venom from the poisonous snake that left her motionless. Amanda quickly soaped Jennifer up to wash off the acid before it did irreversible damage to her skin.

  Meanwhile Captain Laird examined the dead snake that lay on the broken cot.

  “I have never seen a snake like this.” Josef says to Captain Laird.

  “We will have to let Amanda take a look at this, she is the doctor. She will know more than we do on this subject.” Captain Laird says to Josef.

  After the shower, Jennifer was put onto the spare cot. Stephanie applies a skin cream that Josef had concocted out of some of the local plants. They let her rest while one of the crew members sat with her at all times while the toxin worked its way out of her system.

  “She is lucky that the cot broke to alert us because by morning she would have been consumed and the snake would have disappeared back into the cave where it came from.” Amanda says.

  “What species would you classify this snake as?” Huey asks Amanda as she examines the dead snake.

  “It’s definitely an anaconda but no species I have ever seen. You see normal anaconda live in the swamps of a warm climate. They kill by crushing their prey to death and then ingesting it. This species bit Jennifer and that immediately immobilized her and the snake began to eat her while she was still alive.” Amanda replies.

  “Do you think there are any more?” Captain Laird asks.

  “Oh yeah, there is not just one. To be exact there are probably thousands.” Amanda responds.

  “Where do you think it came from?” Josef asks.

  “Well we have been here a few months and this is the first time we have seen this snake, am I correct?” Amanda says.

  “It came from the hole in the back of the cave.” Captain Laird says as he points towards the rear of the cave.

  “Exactly,” Amanda answers.

  “So we are in danger of these snakes coming up and out of that hole every night.” Stephanie adds.

  “Yes, they have a lair somewhere inside that cave. So when Captain Bridges came through the time barrier he either disturbed these creatures or brought them with him.” Amanda says.

  “There is no evidence that during the Cretaceous Period that these snakes ever existed.” Huey says.

  “My point exactly,” Amanda reiterates.

  “We need to close the snakes off in the cave where there is no food and they will either die or kill themselves by eating each other.” Huey explains.

  The five crew membe
rs sat around the fire discussing their options while they kept a close eye on Jennifer. They knew that the time traveler was down below and they could use that to get back to their own time. They also knew that if they stayed they would have to be so careful not to make the mistake of dropping anything that may alter history.

  “Hey we know that a giant meteorite killed all the dinosaurs so why wouldn’t it kill these snakes also?” Stephanie asks.

  “It may kill these snakes but it may also create a new species that survives. What will that do to the future? We cannot take that chance. They must be killed before we decide to go back to our own time.” Amanda says.

  “How can we kill them?” Captain Laird asks.

  “Our best bet would be to create some type of chemical gas bomb and set it off inside the cave. It will only kill what’s in the cave without altering what happens above on the surface.” Huey adds.

  “The poison gas will escape into the air if there are any openings to the surface.” Josef adds.

  “So it will dissipate into the air harming nothing.” Huey says.

  “We will do nothing of the kind. We have the rail gun to kill these predators. We will walk it off and kill any snakes we see. We will make sure there are no other openings to the surface for these creatures to escape into the wild.” Captain Laird adds.

  At that point it was decided that the next day a team of two would walk off the cave and kill of the large anacondas that may exist.

  Chapter 19 – Another Obstacle

  As the sun rose the next morning Captain Laird and Huey decided that they were going to start to walk off the cave system. Stephanie stayed with Jennifer in the cave while she rebounded from the snake venom.

  “How are you feeling?’ Stephanie asks Jennifer as she starts to come around.

  “A little woozy or hung over from a really drunk night,” Jennifer replies.

  “I’m so glad you’re alright.” Stephanie responds as she gives Amanda a hug.

  “I really thought I was a goner.” Jennifer replies.

  “Do you remember what happened?” Stephanie asks.

  “Yeah the venom attacked my muscles and it rendered me helpless while the snake ingested me. All I could see was its mouth open as it came over me. It was so scary that I thought I was going to die.” Jennifer says as she begins to breakdown into tears.

  “You’re safe and now we know it’s out there and we can protect ourselves.” Stephanie says as she wraps her arms around Jennifer for support.

  Stephanie fed Jennifer a flavorful soup for breakfast. The one thing Stephanie didn’t mention to Jennifer was the soup was made from the dead snake.

  Meanwhile in the cave system, Huey and Captain Laird made a few large torches out of tar and tree branches. Each one had one in hand and at least three in the backpacks that they carried as they searched for the snakes and openings to the surface. Even though the fires set the glowing minerals off, they still wanted the fire for protection against the snakes. Captain Laird also kept the rail gun close by his side.

  “I really would have chosen to go outside with the dinosaurs than inside this cave with the snakes.” Huey says to Captain Laird.

  “I agree but someone has to do the dirty work.” Captain Laird replies as both men laugh at the scenario.

  The cave is cooler than outside and it helps the men keep up a good pace. There is no sweating and the consumption of water is very moderate. The cave system was large as each branch extended about a half mile in each direction. The first branch they explored was the one to the west which went under the mountains. There was nothing but a small pool of water at the end of this tunnel. As Captain Laird reached down he could feel the water temperature was very cold.

  “Want to go for a dip?” Huey asks.

  “Shit no, that water is colder than Antarctica in the middle of winter.” Captain Laird responds.

  Both men got a laugh out of that as they proceed to the next tunnel that went to the northwest. This tunnel also went under the mountains like the first one. Again there was nothing out of the ordinary as this tunnel ended in a dead end. They doubled back and entered the southern tunnel. This tunnel ended in a drop off that went straight down because when they reached it Captain Laird had to grab Huey just before he went off the end.

  “Wow that was close one!” Huey says as he wiped his brow.

  “You really need to be looking where you’re going.” Captain Laird responds.

  “Yes you’re right, thank you.” Huey says to Captain Laird as they turn to go back.

  They reach the pinnacle of the cave system and decide to go down the northern tunnel towards the time traveler. Again as they moved down the tunnel they could hear the humming sound. When they reached the machine that was parked at the end of the tunnel there were no signs of any openings to the surface.

  “So far there is only one tunnel remaining and we haven’t seen any openings or any sign of the snakes.” Huey says to Captain Laird.

  “Let’s not jump to any conclusion. We still have one more cave to explore.” Captain Laird replies.

  The final tunnel that heads to the east is empty with no signs of life or openings to the surface. The tunnel is very deep and underneath the dinosaur world. As the large creatures roamed above the tunnel it would vibrate and dirt would fall from the roof of the tunnel. With this occurring, both men decided it was time to leave as they shook the dirt out of their hair and ran back to camp.

  On the outside Amanda and Josef were moving carefully to find some food for tonight’s meal. The sun was stifling as they made their way through the forest. They made sure they had plenty of water as they perspired just as much as they consumed.

  “I can’t believe we haven’t found anything yet?’ Amanda asks Josef.

  “Hey there is a mustard plant. That a great seasoning” Josef answers as he picks some.

  “Wow look at that, an eclipse is occurring.” Amanda says.

  “Hey you’re right.” Josef responds.

  The day finished uneventful as all the ingredients were found to make a buffet. The understanding of the different species of dinosaurs and their behavior has paid off. Now each person could go out and understand how certain predators hunted and how to approach the herbivores.

  When they all reconvened at the cave, they all discussed their day. It was understood that there was no other life in the tunnels and also no opening to the surface. Jennifer had recovered with little or no side effects from the snake’s venom.

  “Hey we saw a lunar eclipse today. It was totally awesome.” Amanda says to the group.

  “So you saw the moon pass in front of the sun today?” Huey asks.

  “That’s what it looked like to me,” Amanda responds.

  “Yes, I have to agree with Amanda.” Josef interrupts.

  All six of the crew members went out to see if the eclipse was still occurring. They looked at the sun as it approached the peaks for sunset. There was nothing occurring at the time and the moon was nowhere in the daytime sky.

  “Where about did you see the eclipse?’ Huey asks.

  “Well let’s see it was about two in the afternoon.” Amanda says “Why what does it matter?”

  Huey calculated where the sun would be at that time and looks into the sky. With sun setting made it easier to see what Amanda and Josef had seen.

  “We are closer than I thought.” Huey says as he shades his eyes towards the sky.

  “What do you mean?” Captain Laird asks.

  “It’s the end of the dinosaur era.” Huey responds.

  “What are you saying?” Stephanie asks.

  “Remember how you asked me how the dinosaur era ended.” Huey exclaims.

  “Yes a large meteorite crashed into the Earth’s surface and ended life as the world knew it.” Amanda replies.

  “That’s it and its coming right at us.” Huey says.

  They all turned and shaded their eyes as they looked at the incoming projectile that looked like a dime in the s
ky.

  “How long do we have?” Captain Laird asks

  “I can’t say for sure, but from my calculations only days.” Huey answers.

  Chapter 20 – Preparation

  In preparation to exit the Cretaceous Period, the crew would have to learn to operate the time machine to get back to their own epoch in history. This would have to be a crash course due to time constraints that were out of their control. The meteorite that ended the dinosaur era was on its way and there was no way of stopping it. So the astronaut and five scientists put their minds to work on the operation of the time machine. They spent long days inside the cave working inside the time machine.

  “Where’s the glove compartment?” Captain Laird asks.

  “What’s a glove compartment?” Stephanie asks.

  “Back in the twentieth century automobiles use to come with a driver’s manuals that gave you instructions about the vehicle and it was stored in the glove compartment. It was supposed to be a joke.” Captain Laird says with a smile.

  The five scientists didn’t even smile but put their cold work ethic to use. It was all business and no pleasure when it came to working with a time line. They went over all the different portions of the ship with different controls to figure out how to operate them. Each person tried to decipher the purpose of each button and lever. They would take notes and discuss the findings over dinner at their camp. Every day Huey would evaluate the progress of the incoming meteorite. He did this by measuring the circumference of the incoming projectile in the sky. After a week of investigative work on the time machine, the incoming meteorite had grown to the size of a quarter in the sky.

  “How long do we have?” Jennifer asks.

  “From what I can tell with how the meteorite is growing in the sky, I would say we have three maybe four days. I just don’t have the proper tools and equipment to figure speed and distance. I’m only guessing.” Huey says.

  “Then we need to take the time machine on a test run. Just myself and one other person.” Captain Laird says.