Let the Hylonomus go? What did PPMC mean by that? Dan needed her, and she needed him. At the same time, she missed her family: their wet feet, tongues, and peaceful swamp. What would happen if she accompanied Dan to the Mesozoic Era? The Hylonomus knew; she just had to find the courage for her next step. While it would be tough to let Dan go—it was the best choice. They still had a night ahead of them, though. Dan would get lost if they left now. The Hylonomus guessed this was what people called a “win, win” situation.

She and Dan stayed up late watching 3001: A Space Odyssey. It made the Hylonomus curious if such ships like PPMC were everywhere. Well, maybe not in the Paleozoic Era.

She snuggled under Dan’s hand, and he stroked her while the movie played. “You know, there’s something about you,” Dan said, meeting the Hylonomus’s eyes. “I can’t put my finger on it.”

There was something, but it wasn’t time.

Dan and the Hylonomus woke early the following morning to PPMC lightly shaking Dan. “It’s time, Dan.”

“Five more minutes,” he mumbled, turning onto his side and almost crushing the Hylonomus.

“No, now,” PPMC argued, removing his covers. “We need to move on to the Mesozoic Era.”

Dan groaned. “But I need my beauty sleep.”

The Hylonomus snorted and stuck her tongue in his ear again.

“Yipe!” Dan yelped, tumbling out of bed.

PPMC chuckled. “The Hylonomus says otherwise. Now, come on. It’s a beautiful morning.”

Beautiful it was. The Sun’s rays poked through the swamp’s treetops like a predator watching prey.

Dan carried the Hylonomus to a fern not far from PPMC and set her down, hands shaking slightly. “Thank you, little one, for spending the night with me.”

This isn’t the end, Dan, the Hylonomus mentally stated. In a way, though, it felt like it. Dan’s grief for his mom was powerful but didn’t surpass the Hylonomus’s love for her family, even if they did live in the Carboniferous Period.

The Hylonomus turned toward the hill Dan rolled down yesterday and froze. She stared for a moment and then peered over her shoulder.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Dan finally asked. “You know your way back, right?”

Maybe she did, and perhaps she didn’t. The Hylonomus never left her swamp and private one. There was a lot of forest filled with enormous insects and other creatures.

“PPMC,” Dan called, “I’m gonna take her back.”

“No, you’re not,” she returned, robotic hands approaching him. “Not without me, you aren’t. I don’t need you getting something worse than an injured leg.”

Dan scoffed and rolled his eyes. “What could be worse?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” PPMC crossed her arms. “An Arthropleura could eat you, perhaps, or another meteor shower could crush you. Or a volcano could incinerate you. Prehistoric times aren’t safe, Dan.”

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“Okay, you made your point, but the last I checked, this is my trip, right? What can an AI starship do?”

Gah, those two enjoyed arguing. The Hylonomus hopped off her fern and came between them, glaring.

“You’re right, little Hylonomus; it’s not worth arguing with her.” Dan picked her up. “We’ll just pretend she’s not behind us.”

The Hylonomus wondered how that would play out.

On their way to her swamp, Dan rolled his eyes and said, “I hear you,” to PPMC, who followed, invisible.

She knocked down trees and bushes and stopped Dan before he tumbled down the hill again.

“PPMC, I think it’s hard for a spaceship like you to blend in. Let me do this myself,” he stated.

PPMC reappeared as herself and gently landed on the forest floor. “But, Dan…”

“We’ll be okay. I promise.” That was the kindest face and voice the Hylonomus witnessed from Dan. Her Dan, her little Dan—he was growing up and beginning to change. She had to make these last few hours count until he reached the Mesozoic Era. Something waited for them in the forest, something new and unique. Whatever it was, the Hylonomus hoped it would give her confidence for the future, where she’d tell Dan the truth.

“It’s me, Dan. In forms both big and small, remember?”

But for now, where was her swamp?

***

Time flew by for Dan. He and the Hylonomus found a path in the forest that led to a less steep hill that took them to where he met the reptile. A salty breeze filled his nostrils, reminding him they were close to the beach and the Hylonomus’s family swamp.

Wanting to extend time, Dan pointed left. “Let’s go this way, little Hylonomus.” Was one more walk on the beach before releasing her too much to ask? Dan didn’t think so. A strange aura surrounded the Hylonomus, and he wasn’t ready to let it go.

It appeared like the Hylonomus felt the same. She didn’t fight Dan but went with the flow.

They found the beach and walked down it side-by-side. The water lapped against Dan’s boots and the Hylonomus’s sticky feet. A volcano on a small island across the sea released occasional smoke like a geyser. Dan and the Hylonomus admired it.

A part of Dan wanted him to leave, another to stay. What was it about the Hylonomus? Dan even asked, “Are you looking for another family member, little Hylonomus?”

She answered by jumping over a small wave like a dog.

Dan chuckled, but his smile vanished when he noticed an enormous, dark figure in the blue water before them. It looked like a scorpion, or did Dan see things? Nope, he wasn’t. That was a Eurypterid, one of the top predators of the Paleozoic Era.

“Ah!” Dan screamed. First was the Arthropleura, and now a Eurypterid? Did Dan and the Hylonomus seriously have to score the two-meter-long one? Why couldn’t they have gotten the lobster-shaped sea scorpion?

Dan scooped up the Hylonomus and backed away from the approaching arthropod. Tripping, he tumbled onto his backside, and the Hylonomus dropped onto his injured leg. Dan yelled and slapped her off.

The Hylonomus slid across the sand, stood, and shook her scales.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” Dan crawled to her and picked her up again. “Did I hurt you?” He would feel awful if he did.

The Hylonomus friendlily slapped him, telling Dan she forgave him. Still, he felt guilty.

The Eurypterid was out of the water now with its stinger held high and pinchers in front. One sting from it would kill Dan and the Hylonomus instantaneously.

“Rocket boots!” Dan called. “Rocket boots, we need you!” He couldn’t run far on his leg and sore chest.

The arthropod crept closer, and Dan broke down in sweat. Why on Earth did 3023 send a seventeen-year-old boy back in time?

“Rocket boots!”

Whoosh!

Dan's rocket boots appeared from the forest and soared to him and the Hylonomus.

He strapped himself in and sailed past the Eurypterid. It cried out, and Dan slapped his hands on his ears. Its screech sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

Dan passed the Eurypterid, barely missing its pinchers, and headed for the forest. The insect tried to follow, but he was too fast. “Yeah!” Dan punched the sky and squeezed the Hylonomus to his cheek. “We did it, little Hylonomus! The rocket boots came for us!” He remembered leaving them in the Hylonomus’s swamp, but it looked like the boots could recognize Dan’s voice from a distance.

With a smile, he slowed down in a tree grove and brushed the vines and leaves with his hand. “I feel you, Mom. ‘In forms both big and small.’” He still didn’t understand why the space center sent him on the mission, but he was strong as long as he felt his mom’s presence.

The Hylonomus crawled onto Dan’s head, and for the rest of the trip to her swamp, she nestled in his hair like a baby bird.