The first thing that Jack noticed was that the air here was clean. As he took a deep breath for the first time in what felt like a year, his lungs sang with the warm, clean air. It was humid, more humid than Colorado had been, but it was nowhere near the humidity levels he would have expected from a jungle on Earth. It was the most refreshing breath of fresh air he had ever tasted. He spent a moment to center himself. He would have to grieve later. He had picked up a few things of note from the strange alien’s warning and advice. A lot of people were being dumped on the planet, but there was a limited number of devices to help them survive. Two million devices may seem like a lot, but it only takes three artifacts to be handed out in one group of a hundred people for another group of one hundred to only get one device. The faster he could organize and get one of the alien devices, the better his chance of survival would be. It also gave him a good reason to not think about potential lost family or friends.

Jack looked around, and let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding when he found Mavis nearby. They were both dressed in the same jeans and simple t-shirts they had been wearing when they were taken. Mavis’s phone was still clutched in one hand and a beer can in the other. Jack took note that she had not been wearing shoes. She was hyperventilating and clearly on the verge of a total breakdown.

He rushed to her, pulling her into a hug and speaking quickly in an attempt to pull her out of a downward spiral.

“Thank god you are ok.”

She squeaked a bit as he squeezed her then returned the hug, mumbling something incoherent into his shoulder as she tried to stop tears from coming.

Meanwhile, Jack scanned the crowd. He was surprised to see that he recognized around half of the people in the clearing from his college. He had a few friends from his various classes and the hockey team he played on that he was happy to see. He also saw some people he could have gone without. His high school bully, Nate Greer, was standing beside a group of football players looking worried. He also recognized a spoiled brat of an art major that he had the misfortune of being assigned as a lab partner during his mandatory chemistry classes during his freshman year. The long-haired man was dressed in a rich suit like he was heading to a fine dinner and looked like he was in the middle of a panic attack. Jack couldn't imagine a worse person to try and survive the jungle with.

Some of the people that he recognized he hadn't seen since he was a child. His old middle school lunch lady was there, alongside a group of young adults who looked like they couldn’t be older than eighteen. Jack had never seen them before, but Ms Margret the lunch lady was doing her best to keep the kids calm as people started to cry out names of people who were not here.

The sounds of desperation were cut off by a distant roar from the jungle. The roar reminded Jack of the lion's roar from old movies and it caused his chest to tighten with fear. People started to search for the source of the noise in the tree line, backing away slowly. The silence lasted for close to a minute. It was impossible to see what had made the sound in the thick jungle, but it was distant enough and didn’t repeat itself, so people lost their fear quickly and started forming groups and calling out for their friends and family. Though slightly quieter this time. No one wanted to see what horrors would come from the jungle.

Jack was shaken out of his stunned silence by Gordon's hand clapping him on the shoulder. His friend was shirtless, and only had one shoe on. He was smiling, clearly relieved to see Jack and Mavis, but Jack could also see the fear in his expression.

“Good to see you man.”

Jack nodded. He went to give Gordon a hug as well but Mavis held onto his arm. Gordon didn’t seem to mind the one-armed embrace.

“You too. I'm glad you are here. Are you ok?”

Gordon nodded. His face turned to the jungle in the direction that the roar came from. The jungle noises of bird calls and insects chirps had returned with the murmur of the crowd.

“I hate to say it, but I feel like I got the best sleep of my life. And the ache in my back is gone. But Ellie isn't here. I need to find her. If I break down now I won't survive long enough to reach her and the twins.”

His voice was determined. And despite his half-dressed state, Jack felt some of that determination inspire him.

Mavis shuddered and pulled away from the hug. Looking up at Jack and Gordon with tears in her eyes. She was barely keeping it together. She opened her mouth but closed it to choke back a sob.

Jack was going to try and comfort her when a deep voice cut through the crowd like a knife, gaining the attention of everyone in the clearing.

“EVERYONE LISTEN UP!” The voice boomed out. Pausing for a few seconds as the older man with short blond hair waited for all eyes to turn to him. He was dressed in simple khaki pants, a light blue button-up shirt, and casual work shoes that looked a bit beaten up. He was clean-shaven, and well-built. He wouldn’t win any bodybuilding competitions, but Jack suspected the man had played basketball or run track at some point.

“My name is Marcus Wright. Yesterday I was an overworked middle manager in the office supply company downtown.”

His voice was heavy with emotion and he took a moment to breathe. He looked determined and his blue eyes held a hint of anger that looked out of place on his otherwise friendly features.

“If we want to survive in this madness, we need to organize quickly. I have leadership and organization experience but all I want is to survive. I am an avid camper and outdoor explorer, I have some survival and hunting experience. I am also the father of two little girls. They are three and five years old and I will do anything to get them back.” He gestured to the dense jungle behind him.

“You all heard the roar. I know I wasn’t the only one to hear the timeline the alien gave us. Millions of years passing means that this place is full of dinosaurs. We are going to need everyone to work together with a unified purpose if we all want to survive. My plan is to form a tribe, receive the alien device, and then use it to locate a clean source of water and a good place to build and survive until we can get our families back. If you come with me, I promise to do my best to keep you alive. I won't sugarcoat how difficult a task we have ahead of ourselves. This will be hard work. Everyone will need to pitch in and work together to survive. If you can agree to those goals, come with me.”

The reaction to his speech was mixed. Half of the people were still in complete shock, a third of them had been starting to panic and the rest looked unsure. A few people were starting to talk amongst themselves.

Jack had let Mavis out of the hug at some point, but she had stayed beside him as Marcus spoke. The two of them shared a glance but before they could discuss Jack's idea of forming his own tribe, Gordon grunted and started walking over to Marcus.

“Gordon, wait.” Jack called after him but he was too slow as Gordon reached Marcus and the two men by his side and offered his hand.

“Long time no see Marcus. I’m Gordon Gears, Henry’s little brother.. My friends and I would like to join up with you if you will have us..”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

And just like that, Jack’s unspoken dream of forming his own tribe and taking destiny into his hands was kicked out from under him. It only took a second of his stunned silence for Mavis to roll her eyes, clearly knowing what he was thinking. She began pulling him towards their would-be leader.

“Gordon? Wow, you shot way up. It's been what? Nearly twelve years?” Marcus shook his head in remembrance.

“I remember when you were like five. You used to follow your brother and I around like a lost puppy” They exchanged hugs, and Gordon smiled.

“Yeah, you were always getting Henry and me out of trouble. I wish we were catching up under better circumstances. But I’m glad to see a friendly face. Speaking of, these are my friends.”

He gestured to Mavis as she blinked her tears away and put on a brave face to shake hands with Marcus.

“I'm Mavis.” Her voice was quiet, and it was clear to everyone she was doing a poor job at containing her emotions, but still trying her best to not fall apart. Macus’s eyes softened slightly as he observed her.

“Um…Mavis Martin. It's um…it's nice to meet you. This is Jack.” She let go of the handshake and gestured to Jack, who quickly took Marcus’s still outstretched hand. Jack could tell he was physically stronger than the other man, but the office manager’s hands were not soft and he had a firm handshake.

“Jack Wilson. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”

Marcus nodded to them both as they introduced themselves before responding. It was clear he had been surprised by Gordon.

“Likewise. I think we will get to know each other much better over the coming days, but I'm happy to have you. We need as many reliable folk as we can get. Can you three start trying to gather people up? I fear we will need to move from this clearing sooner rather than later.”

He looked towards the jungle, in the direction the roar came from. All around them people were either approaching Marcus and their small group or starting to scream and cry for their lost loved ones.

“All this noise will attract predators, and we don’t have the time we need to help all of these people. Gather whoever you can and try to keep people calm. Also, make sure you don’t drop anything you are carrying. These clothes and shoes, even things like your beer can, Miss Mavis, are going to become extremely valuable. With that, we have something we can carry and boil water in. It isn’t much, but it's a start.”

He looked over the people around him, clearly taking stock of the state of each person who had been attracted to his cause. He frowned slightly when he noticed Gordon only had one shoe and no shirt on, but compared to one man who only had a towel around his hips, Gordon was well off. Several of the high schoolers that were gathered around Ms Margret had school backpacks, and one man was dressed in full hiking gear with a large camping backpack.

When it was clear that Marcus had finished giving his orders everyone jumped into action. It was something to focus on besides the panic of their situation, and Jack and Mavis both took to helping others, suppressing their own troubles now.

They stepped out of the group as Gorden gestured for them to take the other side of the crowd, and Jack started looking for people he knew while Mavis waved a couple over. He didn’t know the couple, but Mavis seemed to know the young woman. The man was nearly a head taller than Jack’s 5’8” and was strongly built. He wore camo pants with a belt knife attached and a simple white button-up shirt that was ever so slightly too small for him. He had green eyes and black hair, with a small scar across his cheek. Jack noticed the man observing him in turn as they approached and they both gave each other respectful nods. The woman he was holding hands with had long platinum blond hair that was bound in a ponytail that reached her lower back. She was at most five feet tall and looked like she couldn’t have weighed more than a hundred pounds soaking wet. She was wearing a grateful dead shirt and had flip-flops on.

Mavis pulled her into a hug as Jack shook hands with the man.

“Haden Caine, ex-army.” His handshake was sturdy and he looked directly into Jack’s eyes.

“Jack Wilson, hockey player” He returned the handshake and the two smiled at each other.

“You go pro?” Haden asked with a raised eyebrow, but Jack shook his head.

“I was working on it. I broke my leg my senior year of college, that put a pretty big damper on the recruiter's attention for me.”

Haden nodded in understanding and rolled his shoulder.

“I'm sorry, I know how that can be. I tore a ligament in my shoulder a few months after I completed basic. Honorable discharge, but it was still a shitty year.” The two men took a moment to acknowledge their shared suffering and failed careers before smiling at each other and turning to the women who had been having their own conversation. When they noticed that the boys had finished chatting, the short girl that Jack did not know introduced everyone.

“Honey, this is my friend Mavis. We were roommates during my freshman year. Mavis, this is my boyfriend, Haden.” She turned her eyes on Jack and as they shook hands he tried to remember what his friend had told him about her college roommate. A story he had remembered Mavis telling him about her roommate dragging her to a nightclub during her first week of school came to mind and caused him to smile.

“It's Skye, right? Mavis has told me a bit about you. I’m Jack. It’s nice to meet you both.”

She brightened as he remembered her name, and nodded.

“Yep. Skye Hollows. It's nice to meet you. Are you guys going with that Marcus fellow?”

Jack and Mavis exchanged looks and both nodded.

“Yeah.” Mavis said, seemingly having mastered some of her previous anxiety.

“He seems motivated and fairly organized. And his plans aren’t bad. At least his initial ones aren't. I think he is as good a choice as anyone.”

Haden grunted and gestured over his shoulder at a growing crowd behind them. The people were all in their early to mid-twenties, and almost all men. Some of them had the local college’s football jerseys on, and some others had hoodies with the logo of the largest fraternity on it.

“There is an idiot named Shane Gerling getting that group riled up to form some sort of elite macho tribe or some nonsense. They wanted me to join them but didn’t want me to bring Skye or anyone who, in their words, would be dead weight.” His expression was dark as he repeated their words, but Skye patted his arm and he seemed to calm down.

Jack took a look at the gathering group, but he didn’t recognize anyone in particular. He shrugged and gestured for the couple to go talk to Marcus.

“I don’t think you are missing out on much if that is their great survival plan. Marcus said he wants his family back, and that is something I am willing to fight for. One of our friends has a wife and kids, so that was always going to be our goal as well.”

Haden and Skye both nodded in sympathy, and moved to introduce themselves to Marcus as he finished shaking hands with an older man in overalls with deep tan lines across his arms.

Jack was stepping over to speak with a man who was just staring blankly into the sky when suddenly a massive beam of green light shot down from the sky and surrounded Marcus. Before anyone could move or speak a small stone fell from the sky and stopped inches above his palm. The entire crowd took a step back in surprise, then watched intently as the small black stone cracked open and revealed a bracelet made of what appeared to be green glass. Three charms dangled from it, one shaped like a book, one shaped like an apple, and the final one shaped like a tooth.

Everyone stared blankly as Marcus put the bracelet on over his right hand, and it shrank to fit snugly around his wrist.

No sooner than the beam of light had vanished, a bone chilling roar tore through the clearing. It sounded like a massive creature, and multiple people swallowed in terror. Jack knew he wasn’t the only one mentally comparing it to the roar of the t-rex from Jurassic Park. This one was much louder, and it seemed to trigger an instinctive fear response in every person in the clearing. Some of them turned and ran into the woods while others fell to the ground and tried to make themselves small. Jack had to catch Mavis’s arm as she tried to run and Marcus and the others who had agreed to join up started herding people towards the edge of the clearing.

A second beam of green light descended into the cluster of frat boys, moments before the jungle parted at the far side of the clearing, and a massive form pushed through the ferns. It stood easily twenty feet tall, with three long horns and a bony frill tipped in spikes told Jack that it was dangerous. Everyone was still reacting to the roar from before, and the sight of their first dinosaur triggered a mass stampede into the jungle. He did recognize the dinosaur from the movies, but he wasn’t going to stick around to study it.

The Triceratops, likely fleeing from the roar of whatever predator had been so annoyed by the bright green pillars of light, continued to move away from the danger and unknowingly chased the frightened humans deeper into the trees.