Back at the base, Maggie and Ruth waited patiently for the others to return. The two stayed silent for quite a while, ever since the other group had left in their search. Ruth glanced over at Maggie, who still felt down on herself.

Finally, the bear spoke up to get her attention. “Hey, are you feeling any better? You've been quiet for a while, and considering what had happened before...” Maggie said nothing in response. “I’m sorry.”

“Huh, what for?” She raised her head and asked.

“For yelling and blaming you for things beyond your control.”

“Oh... it’s all right.”

“Um, is it ok if I ask? Why did you stay behind?”

“It’s just like I said; I’d be getting in the way, especially since I keep on thinking about him,” Maggie muttered, hugging her knees closer to her chest.

“Oh, you mean your dad?” Ruth predicted.

“Yeah.”

“I know how you feel, and I’m glad you stopped me from going. Also, I probably would’ve been thinking about—”

Sounds of footsteps interrupted them; Maggie and Ruth turned, finding that it came from the other side of the door. Could there be someone outside in the hallways? The two peeked from the entrance to inspect where the sound came from, hoping that it was Riku and the other dinosaurs that wanted to find shelter.

As the two walked around and looked over, they noticed a red light pierce through the darkness. Maggie recognized the light that reflected on the faces being a fire crystal, and that those footsteps came from the Miletis, closing in on their base. But how did they find their area, and so quickly?

As Maggie and Ruth rushed back inside the room, Ruth closed the door and tried to barricade it before the Miletis could find and break it down.

“Oh man, what could they be doing here?” Maggie questioned, frantically pacing the room.

“Hey, do you hear something?” A Mileti’s voice spoke up.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“I thought I saw somebody over there not a moment ago.” Another one added.

“You have?”

“Right over there, the door’s locked! Pry it open!”

“We know you're here, so come on out or else!”

“Come out quietly, and we might go soft on you.”

“Come on, tell us where the dinosaurs are, we know they're here somewhere...”

Maggie ran to the control panel and walkie-talkie to get it up and running, or to at least contact somebody. There had to be a way to get others to know, right? Ruth continued to barricade the door, but failed.

The Miletis soon stormed through with their crystals, but Ruth punched them both to make them drop the objects. One of the Miletis struck the bear with a shard, knocking him back.

Maggie and Ruth got backed up into a corner as the Miletis marched over to them when the Raptors stormed out of the walls and tackled the Miletis. Riku knocked down a pot containing acid, making it fall on the floor, and causing the group to scatter and separate.

Maggie and Ruth backed themselves up behind an empty portal. Riku swung its tail to move the potion filled with red content toward Maggie’s hands, in which she caught it.

“Riku, what are you guys doing?” Maggie asked. “You could get captured again!” The Raptors looked over at her and gave her a reassuring face. “Are you trying to protect us? You’ll be all right and can handle this, right?” Riku blinked and nodded. “I understand, farewell. I hope you make it out, ok.”

The control panel got hit, and the portal appeared behind them as the Raptors pushed Maggie and Ruth into and through the portal.

.-.-.-.

Maggie and Ruth tumbled and ended up in the snowy region known as the White Desert. Ruth popped himself out of the snow to prevent himself from getting buried. Maggie felt goosebumps and little hairs coming from her arms and legs. She could feel and sense her breath coming out of her mouth as she wrapped her arms around her body.

Her teeth clattered like crazy as she searched for the vial, realizing that she had brought the thing with her. Maggie took out a flask, only for the content to fall out before landing on impact.

“S—Seriously?” Maggie whispered. “What should I do now?”

“Wait, hold on, I can help,” Ruth said. “My fur is warm.” He wrapped himself around Maggie to give her a warm bear hug.

Maggie moved her arms to wrap herself around Ruth as well and shut her eyes.

“T—Thanks,”

“Don’t mention it.”

Not knowing what to do in this blizzard, the duo planned to search for a shelter to rest in until the storm cleared up.

More rumbling noises occurred as the two looked up to find an avalanche falling from above and coming down fast.

“An avalanche? Why now!?” Maggie panicked.

“Who knows, but we need to run away!” Ruth exclaimed.

The two dashed from the opposite direction. Maggie soon lost her balance, tripped, and fell on the snow. Ruth quickly turned around and ran over to pick her back on her feet. The two couldn’t outrun the avalanche, so they took out a fire crystal to melt the snow and separate it all around them. However, the two accidentally melted the snow beneath their feet as they fell to the ground, screaming along the way.