Jurassic Heart Page 3

  After leaving, I couldn’t get Paige out of my mind. I tried to get my uncle to give me some tidbits about her, but again, he said she was an employee and he didn’t know much.

  I’d have to find out for myself.

  We had three months. Not only would I fully discover the Bronavanasaurus, as unethical as it was, I wanted to fully discover Paige. She had my interest in a way no woman had ever done.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  PAIGE

 

  Dash Winters had booked us all into an expensive hotel. We’d only be there one night, the next day we would take the private plane to Argentina. After checking into the hotel, I was told to report to Winters Institute for orientation at noon.

  I wanted to enjoy the hotel, I knew what was ahead of me. Weeks on end of hot nights in a smelly tent with no real bathroom. The hotel was my last night of civilization.

  My father used to carry this beat up, soft leather suitcase. I pulled it out for the trip and packed what little necessities I would need. I was told I didn’t need to bring equipment. I figured that meant they were supplying everything, which made me happy because I didn’t have any. I did however bring the triangulator I received from Larry. That and the laptop that went with it fit nicely into a box.

  It amazed me how fast Dash was putting things together. I never saw any equipment. Had he taken everything to the site already? And since it was a small team, I also assumed everyone else was either already there or local.

  All the questions spinning around my head would be answered soon.

  Despite the fact that I was on time, I was still the last of the team to arrive at the conference room. It was huge and the table was obnoxiously long. There was a nice cheese tray set out near the end of the table where everyone sat. I was surprised that there were only five of us there. When Dash said small, he had to mean more than five.

  The laborers sat together, I probably would get to know both of those men well. They were like construction superintendents, overseeing the actual excavation crews.

  Sheena Moore was the medical specialist. Actually, she was a doctor specializing in emergency medicine. Having served in the Armed Forces, Sheena did four tours overseas in combat zones working as a surgeon. A big, strong woman with a muscular build, she didn’t look at all like a physician, but she had the qualifications needed on a site. In my mind it was kudos to Dash for thinking ahead. I supposed Dash could have been the doctor, but he was too busy with other stuff.

  The person on the team I couldn’t figure out was, Lou “Frog” Consolo. He was a man of average height and build, but he looked weather worn and older than his years. He wore a safari style hat and camouflage clothes. His hands were thick and stumpy with rough skin. I couldn’t figure out if he was an Australian trying to speak American English, or an American faking an Australian accent. It kept cutting in and out.

  He was a survivalist, specializing in jungle survival. He boasted within the first two minutes of meeting me that he once survived ninety days in a jungle on only cheetos and urine.

  I nodded a fake impressed, ‘Ah’, when it made me cringe.

  Why on earth did we need a survival expert?

  I asked him.

  “Why do we need a survival expert?”

  “To survive,” he said.

  It wasn’t quite the answer I wanted, but it would have to do. We had just finished our introductions when Dash entered the room. He walked all the way to the other end of the long table and stood there. Orientation was about to start.

  DASH

 

  The team was assembled in the conference room, and I was eager to speak to them. It made me happy to see Paige, and I anxiously awaited when I could pull her aside for one on one instructions. We had a full day. I was going to give them the run down of the plan, talk with each of them about their duties, go through what equipment they needed to bring, then after a lovely dinner make sure they had rest, because the next day our experiment began.

  “Thank you all for being here,” I said. “I am excited for this endeavor as I bet are all of you. A lot of us, right here, are the core team. On the ground in Mendoza we have hundreds of workers on site. We …” I moved my hand around. “Are the A team. Well, Hedlin Rush is coming along.”

  “Why?” Paige asked.

  I wasn’t expecting that question. “Why?” I repeated. “He’s the investor.”

  “Yeah, but he knows nothing about this,” said Paige. “He’ll get in the way.”

  “He pays the bills,” I answered. “He’s the money. He wants to go so he goes.”

  She shrugged. “Okay. Just curious. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “I won’t. Continuing …” I pointed to Sheena. “Dr. Moore is our medical specialist …Frog is a master at survival, he’ll be needed in case we run into problems. Paige …” her name glided from my tongue. “Our paleontologist guru and…” glanced over to our two laborers who sat next to each other. Both were men in their late thirties with a strong build, both had dark hair and looked similar. Only Pedro had specks of gray and his hair was curlier. “Pedro and Pete are our strong men. Pete just returned from Argentina and was on the site for a month. I promoted him to team leader. Pedro hasn’t been on a site, but I’m pleased to say he graduated top in his class at MIT for IT work.”

  “Wait.” Frog held up his hand. “If you graduated from MIT, why are you working as a laborer?”

  Pedro leaned forward. “Everyone is an IT man. Jobs just don’t pay.”

  “But I have you now,” I said. “I will familiarize you with the schematics of things, you’ll be compensated for that.”

  “Thanks,” Pedro said.

  “Plus, another bonus, he is fluent in Spanish.”

  “No I’m not.” Pedro shook his head.

  “You speak Spanish, though, right?” I asked.

  “No. Not at all.”

  “Your name is Pedro.”

  “And your point?”

  I cleared my throat feeling uncomfortable. “As I was saying. I know all of you are probably wondering how this will work. We will spend today going over equipment checklists and I will meet with each of you individually to go over details. You will be on media silence for three months. That includes social media. We will be gone approximately two months then return to put everything in order before our findings are released. The main part is location. That’s where Paige comes in. She will lead the labor team in finding what we think is the nesting site. Once we have an approximate location, we’ll know where to put the chamber. It’s not huge, but big enough to house our small team. Exterior cameras will capture the video proof, we have back up power sources and computers. So we won’t get stuck.” I chuckled trying to convey that last part was a joke. It bombed. “Okay, then once that’s in order, we go back. It is hard to pin point when going that far. I am aiming for seventy million years. I am positive we will arrive either in the Campanian or Maastrichtian ages of the cretaceous period, when we travel back in time. If there …”

  I stopped. There was no way to continue. An outburst of one person’s maniac laughter rang in the room. When I glanced to the back of the room, I saw Paige standing.

  She stifled her laugh, held up her hand and said. “Sorry. Excuse me.” She walked to the conference room door and left. Her laughter continued once outside the room and it didn’t stop until it faded from earshot.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  PAIGE

 

  Dash Winters was physically a masterpiece, a rockstar of the intelligent world, but I learned he was absolutely insane.

  I thought it was a real expedition.

  Time travel.

  At first, the notion of it was hysterical and I found my laughter escaped me without control. Like one of those memes on social media that catch you by surprise and you find yourself laughing out loud.

  When Dash said, “Time travel,” I laughed.

  I had to excuse myself. It wasn’t a joke. He
was completely and utterly serious. The best part was, Hedlin Rush bought it too, so much so he was funding the project.

  The others in the room, they didn’t balk, they just rolled with it. Maybe they all knew that the quarter million was going to be an easy gig. Nod, take the money, run.

  I could do that. Pretend, “Oh look we went back in time.” Collect my money and never be seen again. What of my reputation? Although I was a glorified museum guide, my name was my father’s reputation.

  I couldn’t tarnish that.

  I made my escape to the end of the hall, gathered my thoughts and knew what I was going to do. By the time I stopped giggling and had my composure, Dash had found me.

  “Something funny, Paige?” he asked.

  “No.” I shook my head.

  “You left in the middle of my speech … laughing.”

  “Yes. Yes, I did.”

  “Why?”

  “Okay. Don’t be mad.”

  “Too late.” He folded his arms.

  “You said we were time traveling.”

  “I did. And you laughed at that notion?”

  “Yes. I mean. No.” I paused. “Yes.”

  “You’re making a mockery of my project.”

  “Dash, no.” Again, I shook my head. “Time travel. I mean, really ... time travel?”

  “You don’t believe it?”

  “I believe you believe it.”

  “Dear God, don’t give me that.”

  “Those people in the room. They didn’t blink an eye.”

  “Of course they wouldn’t. They … unlike you, know the basis of my work.”

  “Time travel?”

  “Yes. You didn’t know that was my focus?”

  “No,” I said. “I didn’t.”

  “Well it was big news last year. I went back in time five seconds.”

  “You went back in time five seconds?”

  “And it was proved.”

  “Okay, but five seconds versus …. I don’t know, seventy million years is a big difference.”

  “You don’t believe it can be done?”

  I bit my bottom lip. “I’m sorry. I don’t.”

  “I see.” He nodded once. “This way.” He took my arm and started to walk.

  “I can walk myself out. I’ll pack up and go.”

  “I’m not taking you out of the building to fire you. I’m taking you somewhere else.”

  “Where?”

  “Pick. Anywhere. A year. You choose. But let’s go. You’ll laugh no more.”

  I wanted to tell him that I doubted that, but I kept my mouth shut and followed Dash.

  It wasn’t a short walk. We left through the back of the building, across the outdoor employee lunch area to a large yard, and there in the center was an old phone booth.

  “Here.” He indicated the phone booth.

  “You have a phone booth. I haven’t seen one in ages,” I said.

  “Yes, well, they’re pretty extinct. But it’s our vessel.”

  “For time travel?”

  Dash nodded.

  He said I wouldn’t laugh, he was wrong. I did laugh. “Kind of Bill and Ted, isn’t it?”

  “I was a huge fan.” He slid open the door. “After you.”

  It was hard to hide my body language. It all but screamed how ridiculous I thought it was. So I stepped into the booth.

  “Now, I’m not making advances toward you, but the only way to fit is if I stand behind you. Okay?”

  “Sure.”

  I agreed without thinking, Dash slipped in the booth and closed the door. It was tight. A piece of paper couldn’t separate our bodies. I felt his chest against my back. His arms reached around me to the elongated computer on the wall where the phone once was. He lifted what looked like a headband.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  “My go cam. It makes a great video. There are cameras on the outside.” He pressed buttons. “Do you know the history of the grounds?”

  “You mean here? Winter Institute?” I asked. “Yes, it used to be West Land Amusement Park.”

  “Yes it was. Pick a year.”

  I suggested “1955.”

  “Oh, good year. The amusement park was in full swing. And this booth is positioned right where …”

  There was a high pitched whirling sound followed by a slight vibration. Within seconds there was a feeling of pressure and everything around us went from dark to bright continuous flashes of different colors.

  “What kind of show is this?”

  “It’s not a show. Watch.”

  The flashing sped up and then slowed down, bringing it back to dark until it was bright again and I found myself staring at the tracks of a roller coaster.

  In fact, it was as if were in the middle of the tracks.

  “What the …” I looked left to right. The grounds were gone and what I believed was the West Land Amusement Park was all around us.

  “Get ready,” he said.

  “For?”

  He pointed to the tracks. Roaring our way on the tracks was a cart full of people. They held their hands in the air, screaming. My eyes widened as the cart sped down the tracks, directly at us.

  “This is insane!” I screamed. “It can’t be real. It’s going to hit us.”

  I held my breath, that was all I could do when a split second and that cart flew right through us and kept on going.

  “What … what …” I shuddered and shook.

  “We aren’t really here, in a physical sense.”

  “So it’s a hologram?”

  “Oh, no. It’s 1955. We’re here, but we are in a parallel dimension. They can’t see us, but we can see them. That’s my theory on ghosts, too. But …”

  “I don’t believe it. This has to be a trick.”

  “No, it’s no trick,” Dash said. “We transported. We just have to be in the location we choose to time travel. You can’t watch Apollo 13 launch unless we move the device to that location.”

  “That’s why we’re going to Argentina?”

  “Only way to really see and video a Bronavanasaurus.”

  “This is amazing.”

  “It is.”

  “Dash, since we’re going back seventy million years, is there any way to make a pit stop?”

  “Are you talking about seeing your father once more?”

  I nodded.

  “For you. Absolutely. On one condition.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Will you stop laughing at my time travel device?”

  I lowered my head with a smile. “Absolutely.”

  “Good, now let’s get out of here before another coaster flies through us.” He reached up and pressed the buttons.

  DASH

 

  I don’t know what it was, but typically had someone on my team scoffed or ridiculed my work, they would have been out before I could prove how wrong they were. But not Paige, I wanted to impress her, show her my work not only had merit, but succeeded where others had failed.

  I wanted Paige to embrace everything I told her. I wanted her to turn to me and just verbally bathe me with her thoughts of how impressed she was.

  I wasn’t disappointed. She didn’t bathe me, but her expression said it all.

  It was written on her face after the demonstration. She was convinced. My agreeing to help her see her father again was the cement that was needed.

  My demonstration wasn’t over.

  Not by a long shot.

  We left the phone booth and headed back to the building.

  “So we will have a booth in Argentina?” she asked.

  “No, not at all,” I replied. “It will be a huge room. I want us to be able not to just visit and see, but to stay and observe. We will be amongst the prehistoric beings. That’s why it is imperative to find the perfect location.”

  “This is now so exciting.”

  We walked into the building.

  “This has been exciting for me since I broke the boun
daries.”

  “So how do we prove we were there?” she asked. “I mean, footage can be faked, CGI and stuff.”

  “Yes, it can.” I opened the lab door. “But this cannot.” I motioned my hand to a computer monitor and placed my hands on the keyboard. “Remember I said there was an external camera?”

  “I do.”

  “Watch.” After a few clicks, I folded my arms and stepped back.

  Paige was in awe. I could see it. Her eyes didn’t move from the computer screen.

  I had slowed the footage down as much as I could, it still moved quickly.

  “Oh my God,” Paige said. “That’s time going by.”

  “It is.”

  She had seen it. The images outside the booth were captured. Flickering images of a changing world with each passing moment in time.

  “Reminds me of the movie, 'The Time Machine',” she said.

  “That was my first thought as well. When you watch it at normal speed, it’s just flashing lights. But really that’s time rushing by and when we slowed it down, we saw it.”

  “So the farther back you go, the longer it takes?”

  “Yes. This short trip took a few seconds. When we go back in time to the dinosaurs, it will take almost an hour.”

  “Will it have any physical effect on us?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. I don’t think so, but we’ll find out, won’t we?”

  Paige shifted her eyes from me back to the computer. There was a bit of nervousness about her, after a moment, she faced me. “Dash, I’m sorry. I am really sorry I acted the way I did.”

  “No worries.”

  “I promise you will not have that behavior from me again.”

  “I believe that,” I said. “The only thing I want from you is your commitment. Deal?”

  She firmly grabbed my hand and shook it. “Deal.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  PAIGE