Mandy turned off the monitors that displayed Antonio and the others before dimming the lights down. When she finished doing that, she turned to glare at her partner.
“Why did you say that?”
“I was just being honest.”
“But couldn’t you have said it better?” Mandy inquired, placing her hands on her hips.
“I don’t know.” Sam slumped back against his seat.
“You don’t know?”
“Look, I feel sorry for her, but what she did was still wrong.”
As they gathered their scattered research notes, the two found that their door, which kept suspecting people away, broke apart. Mandy went to fix the control panels while Sam attempted to put the doors back up to repair them. They both knew they still had a lot of work cut out for them and didn’t have much time, or else the two of them would be in big trouble.
A noise interrupted their train of thought as the two scientists looked over to the main computer screen to find a notification on it. When Sam and Mandy went to turn it back on, Antonio appeared on the other side of the screen, awake and refreshed.
“Good morning.” Antonio greeted and waved.
“Good morning...?” Sam replied, tilting his head in confusion.
“Is there something wrong?”
“Is it already dawn where you are?”
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“Yeah, why?"
“I guess we have different timelines then...” Sam predicted, placing a hand on his chin.
“Wait, you mean you haven’t—”
“Come on, you guys; hurry!” A female voice next to Antonio shouted impatiently.
“Hang on; we’re coming. You don’t have to rush us!” A male voice roared. “Are you ready to go, Antonio?”
Antonio moved his laptop over to show that Maggie and Tommy had put their stuff away and were about to head out. He nodded in response to Tommy’s question.
“Antonio, where are you guys going?” Mandy questioned, leaning closer to the screen.
“We plan on exploring the areas here and finding some food, water, and better shelter to sleep in,” Antonio responded, showing them their packed items.
“I’m leaving without you,” Maggie muttered, storming off.
“Hey, wait!” Tommy exclaimed as he ran to catch up with her.
“You should go with them,” Sam mentioned to his nephew sternly. “Be careful and stick together. Who knows what this place has in store...”
“It’s dangerous. I won’t lie there,” Antonio added. “But we’ll try to manage and survive until you get us out of here.”
“Don’t you worry, we’ll bring you back; I promise you.”
“I know, uncle.”
The groups said their goodbyes as Antonio signed off, closed the device, and headed out to meet up with the others outside the cave.
.-.-.-.
“All right, first things first, we must find some food and water.” Maggie declared as the group set off in a less grassy area.
“What kind do you think we’ll find?” Tommy asked, stretching his arms.
“Probably either fruits or seeds, knowing this place,” Antonio predicted, adjusting his glasses.
“You sure took a while talking to them...” Tommy pointed out.
“Well, yeah, I had a lot to say, though...” Antonio chuckled, scratching the back of his head.
“I’ll leave you behind for real if you do that again.” Maggie threatened.
“Sorry, sorry,” Antonio raised his hands in the air.
Maggie sighed in disbelief. “Let’s just keep going.”
“You started it,” Tommy muttered.
“Tommy, you better not start again,” Antonio uttered through his teeth.
As the three continued walking, they came across a black T-Rex munching on something on the floor. Maggie informed the two boys that the dinosaur was a Leucoplocerex and that they shouldn’t bother it, especially during mealtime. The three tiptoed back into the tall grass and went through the bushes before getting spotted.