I'm back! This story has remained un-updated the longest, so I'm here to make things right! I won't leave any of my stories hanging if I can help it, there are too many stories I like on Fanfiction that are discontinued, and it's a pity. If anyone is reading this and they want an update, then darn it, I'm updating. :D

Downstairs, Laris was gathering up the supplies she had requested from Janil into a large satchel. She had questioned her son about what he had heard, and he had responded that the man who had fled from the village, ran off before he could question him. That he was in a panic about something.

Laris could feel a swirl of unease within herself, and she felt it would be best to arrive at Darken, prepared for anything that awaited then.

"Janil." She finished packing and slung the bag over one shoulder, tossing a plait of hair away from her face, "Grab your long bow and a good knife, not bone, steel. I'll wait for you outside."

He nodded and ran from the room. Laris meanwhile, was slipping her own weapon into the holster at her waist. She had received the blaster as a gift long ago, from the Chief of a village she had helped save in the past. Laris had not found use for it until now. Perhaps it would help her where a bow could not.

"Mother?" Janil had entered the room with his weapons in hand, casting a worried glance at the weapon at her waist, "Why are you bringing that?"

"Because." Laris said firmly, "I feel the need to, that is all."

Janil quieted then shook his head, "No, there's more to it. You aren't having one of your...feelings again, aren't you?"

Laris turned away, re-positioning the sack on her shoulder, "We have to go. Stay close, keep an eye out for predators."

Janil sighed heavily as he followed his mother outside, "I'm not an infant mother, I know."

He was taken by surprise when Laris turned on him, her lips brushing his cheek. He smelled a scent like green trees before she pulled away.

"You'll always be my child." Laris touched his face softly, tenderly, and he couldn't help looking away in embarrassment at her attentions.

"Mother..." He started.

"Let's go." She turned and began walking through the trees. He only hesitated for a moment before following after.

00Oo00oo00oo00

"Verra?" Rece took a seat on the bed where her sister lay, silent and unmoving, "Are you okay?"

Verra's shoulder shifted for a moment, there was a pause, and then she rolled onto her back to look up at her sister, "I'm just tired, that's all."

Rece nodded, green eyes brightening, "Hey, want to go outside and look around?"
Verra sat up so fast she almost butted heads with her younger sister, who straightened up in surprise, "No! You can't go outside."

"Why not? I wouldn't go into the woods or anything, just to get some air. See what the house looks like? I mean, there might be different colored grass and everything!" Verra rapidly brushed hair out of her face, face tight.

Verra scowled, "We're supposed to wait here until Laris gets back, she wouldn't want us nosing about. Don't forget, we're in another world, you don't know what could be out there."

"Raptors." Rece said quietly and there was a long silence.

Verra broke it with a sigh, "Exactly. Do you really want to run into a giant toothy lizard?

Rece frowned, disappointment painting her features, "I guess not."

The girls sat together for awhile, before Rece jumped to her feet, "I'm so bored." She whined, "Can we at least sit downstairs, look out the window or something? You can't see much out of this one." Verra was not surprised at the sudden enthusiasm, this was a norm for her sister.

Verra pushed away the urge to roll her eyes and stood up on her feet, "Fine, but stay with me."

00oo00oo00oo

Laris followed a path along the cliffs, knowing full well that raptors liked to take the path below it. If any creatures caught scent of them, they would see them before the predators attacked. Janil could dispatch them easily with his short bow, he had done so before.

Yet, Laris felt a strong urge to be in the trees and off the ground. The woman paused suddenly, by a massive ancient tree, black vines creeping around its face, resting a hand on rough bark. She closed her eyes, feeling Janil pause behind her.

She had senses adopted from her mother's people, the Dasharte, who had the power to read a forest. It could not speak, but if one with the patience to listen and the power to, placed her hand on one of the older trees, she could find herself running through their roots, interconnecting with a massive network of underground roots...messages. The forest was connected.

Laris could feel the pounding heart of a hare, as it bounded across the forest floor, pursued by a troupe of tiny raptor-like dinos, a breed only dangerous to small mammals, and merely a nuisance to human kind. Farther off however she found a pack of raptor females drinking from a great lake, smelling faint carrion lying nearby, a fed on stegosaurus, too old to defend herself from young, strong predators. A mile off, she could hear the snap of twigs, the smell of smoke—the screams.

Janil watched his mother as she pulled away from the tree, "What's wrong?"

Laris took in a long breath, "We have to go back."

"What?" Janil stared at her, surprise clear on his face, "Why?"

"There isn't much time." Laris quickly ran by him, braids swinging back behind her, "Hurry!"

"Wait! What about Darken? They need us!" Janil ran after her, his heart beat drumming in his ears.

"No, they're already lost." Laris yelled, "We have to get back home. They will be on the move soon."

"Who?"

Laris stopped, Janil nearly running into her. She turned, grabbing both of his shoulders in a tight grip. He swallowed as she looked into his eyes, "Sleg."

He started, eyes wide in surprise, 'What? That can't be..."

"Yes, it is true." Laris pulled back, wiping hair and sweat from her forehead. She took in a deep breath, trying to calm her thundering heart, "There are many of them. An army. And not just the Sleg. There are new beasts, unfamiliar monsters." The woman could scream aloud in frustration. She should have checked the trees earlier, far earlier than now. Time was a fleeting thing.

Janil shook his head, "That can't be right, they were defeated long ago, by the-"

"Listen." Laris hissed, the forest around them falling deathly silent. She pressed herself close to Janil, and he could feel her heart matching beats with his own. He said nothing, feeling prickles of unease run down his spine. He could hear nothing.

"The forest animals." Laris whispered, "They can smell a new type of predator in the forest, and even the raptors are wary. Can you not feel everything around us, escaping? While we are standing here like fools.

"We have to run."

He looked into her eyes and nodded.

Soon they were running swiftly back where they had come, foot falls barely heard, in the deafening silence around them.

00oo00oo00oo

"Wow!" Rece pressed her face up against the window, "I can see mountains."

"Get down from there!" Verra's voice was tight with impatience, looking up at her sister with a frown.

Her sister was currently standing atop a wooden chair, staring into a large high window. She supposed it was for safety reasons, the window being so high up, so giant lizard monsters couldn't crash through it.

Rece jumped down off the chair, boots hitting the hard floor with a thud, "You have to look! It's so pretty."

Verra shook her head, scratching the top of her nose, "No thank you, I think I'll stay on the ground."

Her sister laughed in response, "Don't worry Ver, if you get stuck I can rescue you."

Verra just sighed in response and took a seat at the table. Rece pulled the chair she had been standing on over and took a seat as well.

"So..." Rece started, "When you do think they will be back?"

"They just left ten minutes ago."

"How do you know?" Rece said, "Did you count in your head this whole time?"

"It hasn't been long, okay?" Verra replied, "Just try and be patient."

Rece settled down in her seat, a pout on her face, "I'm just so bored, and it's hot in this place. I wish I could open that window."

It wasn't really that warm, in Verra's opinion, but that might be because she had the chills. Whenever Verra was stressed or upset in any way, she got the worst tremors and chills. Luckily all she was experiencing at current was the chill part. Her fingers were currently clasped together, un-twitching, and she was wearing a mask on her face, of complete calm. To Rece, she seemed to be the usual calm-and-in-control sibling she had known since she was a tot, and Verra did this only to help her sister.

She couldn't let Rece know how afraid she really was.

00Oo00oo00oo

Laris moved gracefully through thick vegetation, her son moving just as fluidly behind her. They knew where to step and how to move through the wild green of the forest, unhindered by creeping vines and bristling shrub.

Janil paused at creek bank, moments later, taking in several small, quick breaths-sweat dotting his face, "Wait...I need a drink."

Laris stopped, turning to face him, her own face wet with sweat. She brushed away the wet, pressing her face upward to catch the forest breeze. He bent down to scoop up some water in his hand, moving one arm to re-position the longbow on his back, so it didn't catch on the ground and snap as he rested on one knee.

The water was cool and clear, and he felt calmer as he splashed it on his face, and stood up. Laris had also taken a drink, cupping water in her hands and letting it fall over her face and hair. She shook the remnants away, brushing back the white hairs that stuck to her face, "Let's go."

He moved to follow her, but stumbled as the earth rumbled beneath his feet. He heard a snapping noise behind him. Janil turned to see what had caused the sound, but found himself being pulled sharply to the left by a strong grip at his shoulder.

"Down!" Laris shouted, pulling him aside, as a great shadow fell towards them.

They hit the ground rolling, falling down a sharp drop near the creek's edge, splashing into the waters. Janil spluttered as liquid filled his mouth and nose. He hurriedly kicked himself out of the water, face breaking the surface, spluttering and hacking, and blinked in the light, water rippling chaotic around them.

He turned his gaze to where they had been standing only seconds earlier, and he found himself looking at a tree lying flat, splintered wood pointing upwards where it had been forcibly uprooted from the ground.

Laris resurfaced moments later next to him, silently, and nearly had him yelling out in surprise.

"Don't move." She gasped softly, wet hand on his shoulder, nails digging into skin as a silent warning.

It was at that moment when Janil felt a presence. He turned to look towards the shore once more, sinking to his nose, into the water.

A huge dinosaur, an ankylosaurus, pushed itself atop the downed tree, shaking its body side to side. It made a slow moaning noise, and started forward, the water rippling around them as it took heavy steps forward, burdened not only by its own weight, but by the weight it carried atop its back.

A metal object rested atop its spine, secured by thick straps across the top and belly of the creature. Laris recognized it immediately.

"It's a war beast. One of the dinosaurs in the last great war. They are enhanced unnaturally, and trained to attack a target with but a single command. Deadly force." She took in a long breath, "We have to halt it."

Janil splashed a bit, earning a sharp glare from his mother as he turned to look at her in disbelief, "What? How are we going to stop that thing? With rocks and arrows?"

Laris said, "Yes, we have no choice. We are at war, it is very clear to see. If we don't stop this monster, it will move onto our home and into Caern. The village won't stand a chance."

Janil watched as the beast continued to move through the trees, its massive form pushing trees to the side, with ease. He felt heavy in the water, and vulnerable, bore down by water logged clothing and his weapons. The boy moved forward, water swirling around his shoulders as he swam. He felt more currents of water brush over his neck as Laris followed. The beast had already disappeared, and the urgency crying out inside both of them, told them to move, now.

"We'll take the valley road." Laris said as they swam closer to shore, "If we're swift, we should be able to beat them home."

"The valley road...it's full of monsters." Janil said, "It's too dangerous, we'll be torn to pieces. It's the breeding season!" He thought of the monstrous Tyrannosaurus fighting for territory and mating rights, and blanched. Last year he had heard a horrible story from a passerby, about a caravan caught in the valley when the cliffs were caught int an avalanche of rocks during a storm. The wagons had been rammed and smashed into bits. People had been ripped to pieces or swallowed whole. There were very few survivors. Four out of thirty-eight of the travelers.

"I'm fully aware of that fact." Laris snapped, "But we have no other choice. If we take the cliff road, we will be too late. As long as we keep our minds about us, and be careful, we should be fine."

He argued no further, knowing Laris was an irremovable force where it concerned anything arguable. She was stubborn and fierce, and he dared not discuss it further.

They reached the shore and he stood up, pressing water from his clothes, boots full of liquid, hampering his movements as he stepped forward. He didn't understand how they would reach home before the sleg found it. This was impossible.

Laris seemed to read his expression easily, "It's up to us now. As long as we try our best, we will succeed."

"How do you know?" He asked her, pulling loose clothing off, trying to rid himself of anything damp and heavy.

"I don't know." Laris said honestly, "But we can do nothing else but try."

Suddenly the ground exploded at their feet and the two jumped backwards, Janil slipping in the rocks and falling onto his side.

Gun fire! Pellets shot into the earth scattering rocks and dust into the air. Laris turned her head away as a sharp stone hit her cheek, piercing skin. She wiped away the spot with the back of her palm, blood staining fingers, and turned to run through the trees, Janil already by her side.

The two ran side by side, equally paced, swiftly racing through the trees. They heard the echo of gun fire behind them as they ran, and the stamping of feet on earth. Laris and her son ducked under low branches and leaped gracefully over fallen trees, Janil no longer hampered by his damp clothing, wearing only his pants, already dry in the sweltering heat of the jungle.

Like high jumping, sure footed plain's deer, they found themselves evading their enemy with ease. As they continued downward, into the valley however, Janil felt only dread. He knew perfectly well that they were leaving one enemy for another.

Both equally dangerous.

"Time." Laris gasped as they ran, "Is all that matters. Don't lose heart."

Yes, but time isn't a friend to man or beast, Janil thought, and how much time do we really have?

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :) Leave me a review and let me know what you think. Also, what do you hope to see in this story? I'd be happy to know. Thanks for reading!

Oh, and no worries. I will keep the Turok chemistry. There will be more blood, etc, and all that good chaotic stuff soon. Bare with me. ;) This story might eventually be M-rated sooner down the road.