The next day, the Orso Loobas villagers gave the group some berries and water for their journey. One of the healer bears gave Maggie a first aid health kit along the way, in case of emergencies. The trio offered their thanks to the villagers; the king warned the humans to be careful as the Miletis could show up at any point to strike. They knew they had to be mindful of their surroundings.

Everyone said their goodbyes as Tommy, Maggie, and Antonio left the bear village. After a short time walking, they took a small break and check in on Sam and Mandy through Antonio’s laptop.

“So, how is the portal coming along?” Antonio asked through the projector.

“It’s going fine,” Mandy replied. “I’d say we’re more than halfway done with building the portal!”

“That’s awesome!” Tommy cheered.

“Wait, what do we do while waiting, then?” Antonio questioned again.

“Oh right,” Maggie spoke up as she remembered something. “I still have this.” She pulled the crystal out of her backpack.

“Really? Where did you get that?” Antonio inquired, leaning closer to inspect the object.

“A cave, I think?”

“Maggie, you should know better; those are dangerous!” Sam warned her.

“They seem to contain an incredible amount of power!” Mandy added.

“You need to put that away or else!”

“Or else what?” Maggie retorted.

Sam groaned in disbelief as he massaged his temples. “Will you just—?”

“Why do you always have to—?”

“Uh, guys, I think my laptop is about to die...” Antonio interjected.

No sooner had Antonio announced the impending death of the laptop, a large black shadow overtook the group from above. Violent stomps shook the ground from beneath them.

“Oh no, guys, look out!” Sam and Mandy cried. “There’s a dinosaur right behind—”

.-.-.-.

The monitor went dark just as the imposing shadowy figure came into view. Sam and Mandy stood there motionless and speechless with their mouths gaping open in disbelief. Did they get the warning in time? Did they escape from whatever that shadow was? Sam tried his best to get the networks back online, but the system wouldn’t cooperate. Mandy covered her mouth and took a step back, trying to piece together what happened.

“NO!” Sam slammed his fists on the keyboard. “Not them too! What do we do now!?”

“Maybe they’re on the run and can’t communicate with us at the moment?” Mandy guessed out loud, once she calmed down. “I’m sure they’re still alive; we just need to find an alternate route and track them there!” She exclaimed, trying to stay positive.

“I…” Sam sighed, rubbing his temples. “I guess it’s worth a shot.”

“Yeah, right? We can’t give up on them now, can we?” She tried to encourage him and at the same time, convince herself that there was still a chance.

“No, we can’t, not now, not ever,” Sam murmured.