POV: Marcus

The tribe didn’t take long to move once the Alien hologram had vanished. Marcus spent some time organizing people to gather every type of plant, root, and berry they could find in their groups of five and bring them back to camp so he could use the artifact’s ability to determine what was edible and what was not. He brought Jade over and the two of them did a thorough headcount and made sure that everyone was officially added to the tribe. By the time they were done, the tribe had 68 people.

Marcus gradually grew more and more frustrated as he shook hands with everyone and accepted them into the tribe. The gathered hunting party as well as Jade had to make an active effort to not chuckle at his expression of trying to be serious while Mavis held his right hand like a clingy child as she scanned through the Alien encyclopedia with fervor. If Marcus didn’t need the thing to add people to the tribe, he would have just given it to Mavis and gone about his day.

That had been his original plan once her not-so-secret huddle with Jack and Gordon was finished and the young woman had started devouring the knowledge inside the charm. When he tried to remove it with the intention of handing the bracelet to her it actually loosened. But they soon learned that the bracelet was his symbol of leadership, so without it on he was unable to manage the tribe log or add people to the tribe. So he suffered through Mavis holding his arm like a bookstand as she scrolled through the holographic green pages.

He was tempted to tell her to go help the people who were gathering the plethora of fruits at the edge of the clearing. But he noticed that she needed a task she was actually good at. She looked sick with worry, and he could tell she was on the verge of a breakdown. She wasn’t wearing shoes, having been in pink fluffy socks when they were abducted. Her feet were likely raw from just the few miles they had moved through the dense forest. She could use the break, and he could use someone with more knowledge of their surroundings and each type of dinosaur they were likely to encounter. He reminded himself that being a leader meant more than making a plan or making sure everyone was constantly working. It was about making sure everyone had the best tools for the job and could work efficiently.

A rotation of water being constantly boiled and then stored in the spare water bottles, then an orderly queue for everyone to have a turn getting a drink was set up with Ms Margaret the old middle school cafeteria lady and tribe cook in charge. A collection of lean-tos was being set up by Skye and a woman named Taressa so that half the tribe could rest at a time. Mattock took half of the hunters including the young man Nathaniel, who had not helped with the Baryonyx fight, and started organizing a watch rotation. Marcus was keeping an eye on him. He couldn’t blame him for freezing up during the fight, and Marcus himself had lost track of things once the adrenaline had started to flow. He would give the young man more chances, but he might need to be made a gatherer if he couldn’t keep his spear up when the lives of everyone depended on it. He was still trying to ignore the pit in his stomach from the two who had died from the Baryonyx, and the one woman who had run off at the start of that fight. There would be time to grieve later. And he made sure to write down the names of the fallen.

The watch rotation would be keeping their eyes open for the dinos of the wild and keeping the fire burning through the entire night. If that fire went out, they would be in a very bad place. He sent Jade off to do an in-depth inventory of what everyone arrived with. They needed a list of how many shoes, shirts, pants, and hats they would need to craft. Marcus also had her take the shoes from the dead man, and make sure they were put to good use.

Once everyone was added to the tribe, and tasks were assigned to each person, he sat down with Mavis.

“Are you ok?” He asked and felt the young woman pull into herself. He wasn’t sure if it was the situation, or if she was uncomfortable around him. His instincts told him it was likely something personal, maybe family issues. He couldn’t blame her.

Eventually, she pulled her thoughts together and looked back up at him.

“The bracelet is reading your mind somehow. And I think that the Aliens are watching us. They had too much information about us, from our weight to what languages we speak.” She answered. It was clearly worrying her. Marcus had caught that as well, but he was focused on more immediate issues.

“You are right. I won’t pretend to know how any of this technology works. But it clearly responds to my thoughts. But did you notice that you could also scroll through the hologram?” He pointed out. Causing her to freeze and blink. He could almost see her running through all of her thoughts and ideas about the situation with this new information in mind.

“And” Marcus continued. “It lets the dinos we tame know who is part of the tribe and who isn’t. The alien didn’t mention any range limit, or that I needed to be the one to order the dinos around. From how she explained it, I got the sense that anyone in the tribe could. My guess is that the bracelet connects us all somehow. Maybe some type of nanites? Maybe magic? I doubt we would even fully understand how it works if they sat down and tried to explain it to us.” He took off the bracelet and handed it to her. She started to fiddle with it. The action reminded Marcus of how his oldest daughter would play with smooth stones when she was nervous, always running her fingers along them for comfort. He let her think, the silence drifting out for a minute before she spoke again.

“I think they are either using us for experiments or entertainment.” She finally said. And it was Marcus’s turn to think. There was no real way to know. But he got the sense this wasn’t an experiment. It was something in the Alien's tone, the sympathy in her eyes when she had told them about Earth and their situation. He had no doubt that their species had great actors or could deceive them, but his gut told him that wasn’t the case.

“I think you are right. Someone up there is playing games, and I don’t like it. I think they are entertained by us. But so long as they give us their assistance, I won’t mind. Without the ability to bond with the dinosaurs, we probably won’t last a month here. We use their technology, we survive, we get our families back, and once we are ready, we can start digging into the alien’s intentions.” He watched her expression. She looked tired, but she nodded. That would do for now.

“In the short term, it doesn’t matter what they have planned. We are here, and they have provided help they didn’t have to. We have to focus on keeping everyone alive and healthy. We don’t have a proper doctor, and we need all the information we can get. Will you help me go through all the information we can find in this encyclopedia, and get an idea of what dinosaurs we should be on the lookout for?”

Mavis looked up from the bracelet, meeting his eyes. He could see all the fear and worry, but also the bright curiosity. She needed to be helpful, and he knew how she could help. She nodded, and for the first time, a smile tugged at her lips. She pulled up the encyclopedia again and started to show him what she had figured out while he was adding everyone to the tribe.

That was one person he had helped find a purpose. Even for the short term. Only sixty-six more to go. For the millionth time since he had landed on this planet, he wished his wife was with them.

When Mavis finished giving him the quick version of what she had discovered he sent her to go help the water team. Along with most of the people who didn’t have proper shoes. With a fire going and a watch set, he could finally start with the hunters. The group of them had gathered a while ago, and Marcus approached them with a smile he did not feel.

“We should have an hour or two of sunlight left. Probably. It's hard to tell in this shitty jungle.” He shook his head. “Let's go tame a dinosaur.”

The hunting team consisted of Soren, Gordon, Jack, Lottie, Haden, Clara, and finally Marcus himself. They each grabbed an extra spear and spent a moment taking sips of warm water before heading upstream. They walked stoically through the sparse woods surrounding the creak, and Gordon spoke up once they were out of hearing range of the camp.

“So. What are we searching for? I’ve played a few games with Mavis and we always had the best luck when we got one of the medium-sized herbivores first like those Stegos.”

Clara gave him a disbelieving look.

“Those are the medium-sized ones? The ones covered in spikes bigger than a buffalo?”

Gordon and Soren laughed.

“Have you never seen Jurassic Park?” Soren asked her, but she just looked confused.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“No way.” Jack laughed.

“Don’t tell her” Lottie joined in. “I want to see the look on her face when we find one.”

“O that's not fair. Tell me what?” Clara pouted playfully.

Even Marcus cracked a smile, but he decided to answer the original question.

“I think we try for the first one we come across that we think will be useful. If this thing has to recharge over a day or two, I want to start that timer as soon as we can so that we can start growing. We should only try and get herbivores for now. I don’t want to risk us misunderstanding how the bond works and getting someone eaten. Also, we currently have no meat at all, so we would be adding mouths to feed.”

The others nodded, and it didn’t take long to find evidence of dinosaurs coming and going from the creak. Muddy footprints of all sizes came and went from one of the shallow banks of the creak. They noticed a small group of Compy drinking from the water, noticeably different colors than the first group they had seen. These ones seemed just as interested in chasing the bugs around the stream and didn’t bother with the humans at all.

Ignoring them in turn the hunters continued moving upriver. The trees narrowed slightly as several taller trees had managed to grow tall enough to not be knocked over or eaten by the grazing herbivores and provided cover for more plants to grow around them. The ground slowly turned more rocky as the slope up the mountain increased. After twenty minutes of walking Gordon raised his hand for them to stop moving. He brought a finger to his lips to signal for quiet, then crept around one of the taller trees. The rest of the group moved quietly behind him until they could see a lone dinosaur drinking from the creak.

It was a Parasorolphus. A “medium-sized” dinosaur with a long head crest and a duck-like bill for a head. Its legs were large and sturdy, and they could see that while bi-pedial with a long tail for balance, it could very easily drop to all fours and run. It was about fifteen feet from head to tail, its hands and feet were webbed, and this one had beautiful forest green skin with a deep blue belly and arms. It had a long scar across its tail and back that seems to have healed fine.

The group watched the creature drink from the creak, keeping an eye out for any others and finding nothing. They turned to Marcus.

“Tame or kill? It's alone so I think if we are careful we can spear it and run it down. Maybe if one of us is lucky we can get a clean shot, but there is a lot of meat on that thing.” Soren put the question to the group, and while everyone had their own opinions they waited for Marcus to speak.

Marcus examined the dinosaur and remembered what Mavis had told him about them. It was nearly the size of a bus, and according to Mavis, it had webbed feet. It would make for a great form of transportation, with a large back and plenty of strength he could load everyone without shoes on its back and easily double their speed through the jungle. It would be useful, and despite not having spikes, its tail was powerful enough to break bone if it hit something. The final use that the encyclopedia mentioned was its call. The horn on its head was long and would let it make a wide variety of trumpeting noises that could be heard over a large distance. That could let the tribe communicate if separated. However, it wasn’t what he had been looking for. He was hoping to find a lone triceratops or stegosaurus, those had much better defensive uses.

“It depends on if we think it will be of use. It's big, but not as big or useful as the Stegos. It's alone, which is good for either option. But what can it do for us? I am leaning towards killing it.” Jack said when Marcus didn’t answer.

They all watched the creature for a moment. The creature was majestic in its own way, but it also sort of reminded him of a cow. It was content to graze and wonder, but it was clearly well-built and could probably carry several people at a time without getting weighed down.

“What does the encyclopedia thing say about it?” He asked Marcus, and a moment later Marcus focused on the Parasour and the green screen appeared in front of them.

Species: Parasaurolophus

Sex: Male

Age: 4 Years

Approximate Weight: 17,000lb

Approximate Length: 16’4”

Approximate Height: 9’ at the crest, 8’ at the shoulder.

Parasaurolophus are herd animals that migrate through the wetlands and river valleys of Kittis. They are excellent swimmers and prefer to eat the reeds and waterlogged grasses that grow in the rivers and wetlands. A herd is usually made up of many females and a single bull male. Juvenile males are kicked out of the herd around the age of three years, and they must band together to find their other herds, challenging the males for dominance.

Estimated uses for tribe:

Strong enough to carry weight across long distances.

Potential for livestock animals if their migratory instincts can be satisfied or bread out.

Semi-aquatic travel through the river valleys.

The group examined the read-out of the dinosaur, and all shrugged.

“I say we tame it.” Gordon said.

“Even if we did kill it, most of the meat would go to waste. There is no way to preserve that much food. It seems like a lot of effort to kill something that ninety-nine percent of will be wasted.” Lottie agreed.

Clara and Haden shrugged, not having a strong opinion either way, and Jack and Soren said nothing.

“I think a lone Parasour is going to be the best shot we get for a tame this early. Eventually, we can make traps or bolas or something. But I think we need to pounce on any early opportunities we can. Besides, if we can toss the people without shoes up on its back and have them keep watch while we walk, we will be able to move a lot faster.” Marcus said, making up his mind.

Jack grinned, his excitement for action was clear in his eyes. Marcus made a note to watch this young man as well. He had the opposite problem of Nathaniel, too eager to run into danger. Still, it was impressive how he wielded his club like a madman.

“Ok. What's the plan?” Jack asked.

==========================

Ten minutes later Marcus was standing beside Lottie as they quietly approached the dinosaur. It had moved away from the creak but was just enjoying some of the wet grass nearby. They approached from the water, hoping that not appearing from the jungle would startle the creature as much. They moved slowly and quietly, but not silently. Lottie made a gentle cooing noise, trying to mimic the sound the Parasaur made the one time they heard it vocalize. The dinosaur noticed them immediately, but only turned its head to look at them with large green eyes, then quickly decided they were not a threat and returned to grazing. Apparently, there was nothing the size or shape of a human in these woods that would give the Parasaur reason to worry. So they smiled at each other and moved closer.

Watching every movement, they got within ten feet, and it let out a short huff. They stopped, and Lottie moved around to be in front of it, then slowly approached. Speaking softly to it like it was just a big dumb cow.

“It's okay big guy. It's alright. I'm friendly, see?” She got within five feet of the creature, while Marcus continued to move from the side, slowly, non-threateningly. Lottie reached out and couldn’t hold back a smile as the Parasaur smelled her hand. It seemed largely uninterested in her and went back to eating.

Lottie stepped forward again, placing her hand against its large neck and gently stroking it. It eyed her and let out a grunt, but not feeling any pain the creature simply started to move away from the strange humans. As soon as it started to move, Marcus stepped forward and placed his hand on the creature's tail, speaking aloud as fast as he could.

“Tame. Bond. Whatever. Just do it.”

The charms on the bracelet lit up, and the tooth charm glowed green before the same aura covered both Marcus and the Parasaur. Marus felt a small headache, and the Parasaur let out a trumpet of alarm. But as soon as it had started it was done, and the Parasaur calmed down.

A green screen appeared for Marcus once he took a step back. The feedback he was getting from the strange bond gave him a sense of confusion and happiness from their new friend. He gently petted the Parasour’s neck and looked at the screen hovering above his wrist.

Congratulations

You have successfully bonded with a dinosaur

Species: Parasaurolophus

Sex: Male

Age: 4 Years, 3 Months

Please name the dinosaur to finalize the bonding process.

He smiled, and the other hunters stepped out from the grass they were crouched in to join them and pet their first dinosaur.

“Wow. Good job chief.” Soren said, clearly amazed with the creature as he ran his fingers across its slightly damp skin.

“What should we name it?” Gordon asked. Just as enraptured by the now docile and friendly dinosaur.

“What about. ..Thrasher?” Jack suggested, causing Clara to snort.

“The big softy herbivore? Thrasher? Why?” She asked, clearly happy to return some of the good-natured teasing they had shared earlier.

Jack shrugged and ran his hands over the long bony crest that was its most defining characteristic. The dino huffed and tried to smell Jack’s hand, its head lifting up until it was gazing at the sky and causing the group to chuckle.

“Anyone got a better name? I'm too hungry to think of anything clever right now.” George said. But after a few seconds, they all shook their heads.

“Thrasher it is. May your name strike fear into our enemy's hearts.” Marcus declared, and Thrasher let out a loud, happy cry.

They all chuckled, and giving Thrasher some more pets they started making their way back towards the camp.

“Follow us Thrasher, we will get you lots of nice grass and more friends.” Gordon smiled as he pet the dinosaur. And for the first time since arriving here, the smile was genuine.