Project Hyrax: Beyond Time

'You can't be serious. Do you know why we provided you with a Shield Dome in the first place? Kid, I don't even kn-'

'I told you, it was inside the shield!' Robin insisted. 'Look, I don't know how they managed to penetrate it, whoever it was, but that's definitely the case. I am not so careless.'

'Fine, kid.' Kael sighed. 'You may be right, although I have no idea how primitive men or animals can possibly do it. But the bigger question is, why would they wanna steal your backpack? And strangely they didn't hurt you or anything?'

'How would I know? At least be happy that they left me alone.'

'So…what are you left with?'

Robin checked his pockets. 'Genogr.a.p.es, flashlight, gun, Shield Dome and the Commune. Oh, Xcio and my watch.'

'Okay, listen up.' Kael dictated. 'You can still continue your journey despite not having the Tracker. 25 degrees north-west, right? Use the compass in your watch to get there. That's our best bet, kid. Just hope that your father does not leave the place. You don't know how far is the distance, though. So, you gotta keep going until you find them, okay? Meanwhile, try to search the nearby area for your backpack. Don't wander too far.'

Robin left the cave and searched the surrounding area. It wouldn't be too difficult to spot a backpack amongst the trees and greeneries. But nothing out of the ordinary was seen. The forest was unusually quiet, save the chirps from a couple of birds and insects. Robin couldn't tell whether the silence signified calmness, or imminent danger. He searched among the trees, hoping that the backpack would be lying somewhere near the trunks, but all he found was an injured monkey. He explored the bushes, but only saw a snake slithering away. He looked up, wondering whether monkeys hung it on the branches. The backpack was quite heavy for an animal to bring it afar, not to mention that it can't be bitten or clawed open, which means at some point the animals would give up on it. Robin could only infer that it was probably not stolen by an animal.

He racked his brains to recall the night before. He was certain that the backpack was securely placed within the Shield Dome. Did the Shield Dome malfunction? That's the only thing that sounds plausible. But Kael isn't going to accept any of those reasons. For now, it's just Robin and his thoughts.

'Nothing so far, general. Should I leave? I can still find them, right?' Robin asked.

'Well, hopefully kid. I believe you can manage it. Don't waste your time, then. Get going.'

Robin relied on his watch to navigate through the thick jungle. He is bothered that he couldn't know how far he is. As he walked deep into the jungle, he saw a tall figure. The figure was standing still, partially hidden by the trees. Robin approached the figure slowly, hoping that it could be his father or any one of the crew. He went nearer to the figure until his view was no longer blocked by the trees. It was then he realized, the figure belonged to a bulky, well-built primitive man, who was facing the other way. Not wishing to witness the wrath of an ancient man, Robin slowly walked backwards, while constantly keeping his eye on the figure. He thought he was at a safe distance, when his right foot accidentally stepped on a bunch of twigs, with a loud 'crunch'. The man turned around. With a blunt, wide nose and thick lips, the man looked menacing. He resembled an ape more than a human with thick curly hair on his body and his long, messy hair flowing down from his head. His stature was somewhat shorter than what Robin expected from a primitive man. He displayed his sharp, yellow teeth to appear fiercer than he already is. Robin recognized that he was facing a Neanderthal. He does not know what would trigger the man more, to run, or not to run? Suddenly, Robin's Commune beeped, and the Neanderthal screamed. He picked up his spear and charged towards Robin, who ran as fast as he could to escape his new-found enemy.

'Kid, what's going on?'

'General, a hairy Neanderthal is chasing me. I am trying my best to escape and I don't know how to scare him away!'

'Use your gun and shoot him, now!' Kael ordered.

'You serious? I can't kill a man!' Robin cried.

'You must!'

Robin reached for his gun in his pocket and overlooked the log lying ahead of him. He tripped and fell face down, his gun flew few feet away. He turned around and there stood the Neanderthal with his savage look. The Neanderthal raised his spear, ready to pierce the unidentified intruder of his territory. Robin closed his eyes, accepting his faith, though deep in his heart, he is hoping for a miracle. 'Please spare me…please…' Robin muttered under his breath.

Robin anxiously waited for his death to occur, for the sharp pain from the tearing of his skin, but nothing happened. He opened his eyes barely, and saw the huge figure still standing in front of him. He opened them wider, the Neanderthal was looking over his shoulder, his eyes fixed upon something, his spear still raised. Robin was afraid to move an inch, but the Neanderthal didn't budge. Robin looked towards his left, his gun was few feet away. Suddenly, the Neanderthal dropped the spear and ran away before Robin could even react. He kept screaming and running as though he was on steroids, and soon, he was nowhere to be seen. Robin was left confused, he slowly stood up and looked around, searching for the cause of the Neanderthal's fear. He picked up his gun. The forest was quiet once again, no signs of any wild beasts that could possibly scare the ape-like man.

'Kid' Kael called from the Commune.

'Still here.' Robin replied.

'You killed him?'

'No…he ran away. He saw something, and he ran as fast as he could.'

'He saw something?' Kael was confused. 'You better hold on to your gun, there must be a predator lurking somewhere…'

'Nothing.' Robin affirmed. 'I looked around, nothing's hiding anywhere as far as I could see. I don't know what made him change his mind.'

'Well, good then, means that animal ran away too. Look, next time, don't hesitate. When you are in danger, you gotta save your a.s.s, not your morality.'

'General,' Robin interrupted. He is not sure why he is telling it to Kael, but he feels like he wants to get it off his c.h.e.s.t. 'There is something that I need to tell you. I saw something last night.'

There was silence for a moment.

'Well?'

'It's…' Robin hesitated. 'I don't know how to describe it, but last night when I was sleeping, I felt weird, like someone was there. You know the feeling when someone is stalking or staring at you? That kind of feeling. I opened my eyes, and I saw a pair of eyes staring back at me. It took me a moment to realize what I was seeing, when I woke up in a jolt. I looked around, no one was there. But those eyes seemed very real, and I felt as though it was observing me to the core, like trying to see inside my mind. I don't really know what it was. Not sure whether it's the same thing that scared the Neanderthal away.'

'Kid…' Kael sighed. 'I know this whole thing was very tough, and umm…unpredictable. But you gotta keep your hea-'

'I am not hallucinating!' Robin argued. 'Look, you told me to tell you everything, and that's what I am doing. If you not gonna help me-'

'Alright alright. Calm down, kid. Whatever it was, it is gone now, right? So keep going. If it comes back again, you have your weapon with you, fight it.'

The forest remained unusually silent as Robin trekked through. There were couple of birds and monkeys on the trees, but no big animals were spotted. No signs of primitive men either. All he could see were different shades of green of the trees and shrubs.

'Anything?'

'No.' Robin replied.

His shoes were covered in dried leaves and mud as he kept crushing the twigs between the bushes. He stepped upon a thick branch and was relieved to find that it wasn't a snake, but his fear lingered. As he ventured deeper into the forest, his heart kept pounding, he tried to think of positive things, like meeting his father, coming back to the world, but none ameliorated his feelings. All he could, was to hope for things to be better. He wondered whether he could have fared better if he had faith in the Higher Power.

The silence was slowly fading away as sounds of water gushing forth was becoming more audible. Robin approached the river bank and checked his watch. The river was flowing towards the north-west direction. He thought probably by following the flow of the river, he could find them. Perhaps, that's what the other crew did as well.

'General, I am following the river. It's flowing in the north-west direction. Maybe I could find them soon.' Robin updated.

'That's good, kid.' Kael said.

The river mellowed its flow as it moved further away from the higher ground. The turbulence was soon replaced by quiet, steady waters, almost tranquil. Robin was eager to drink the water in the river, he has not stated any real food or drink ever since he arrived here. He cupped his hands and was about to take a sip, before he stopped himself. The pills are sufficient for him. He does not need to give in to his body's tendencies to follow its usual habits. Among the huge weathered rocks occupying the base of the river, there was something afloat near the river bank. Robin approached closer. It was a raft.

Could it have been built by his father's team? He couldn't tell. Neanderthals were capable of building wooden structures, and this raft fitted the primitive look. He decided to ask Kael's opinion on the raft.

'General. I found a raft. But I am not sure who built it. Lying near the river bank. Is it possible that my dad could have used it to cross to the other side?'

'How does it look like?'

'Tied together with prop roots. Kinda small. Some…blood stains.'

'Hmm, doesn't tell much.'

'Should I use it to cross to the other side?' Robin asked.

'Up to you, kid.'

Robin picked up the poorly crafted wooden paddle and climbed onto the raft, balancing himself as not to fall into the waters below. He does not know how deep it is, and despite being a good swimmer, he fears the unknown waters. He slowly paddled as the raft followed the rhythm of its occupier. Robin was halfway across the river, his fear of unexpected dangers kept growing. His heart was beating furiously as he kept paddling, without looking down towards the waters. He continued paddling, until he heard a sharp 'crack'. He stopped and observed the raft, nothing happened. Probably caused by the prop roots, he thought. He continued paddling, and this time he heard a louder 'crack'. The prop roots began to stretch apart. The raft snapped right where Robin was standing.

He fell into the river, his Commune dropped onto the broken raft. He swam towards the raft to pick up his Commune. There was something else floating in the river. As it approached closer, Robin realized that it was a crocodile. Robin grabbed his Commune and quickly swam back to the river bank where he came from. The gigantic predator almost grabbed his leg, but had its teeth stuck between the wooden pieces of the raft. Robin climbed onto the bank and ran away from the river as fast as he could. He stopped in the middle of the forest, panting. He checked his pockets, all the things were still there. He sat down and took deep breaths.

'Can you stop breathing into the Commune? And what was the commotion all about?' Kael barked.

'Almost got ripped apart by a croc.' Robin croaked. 'The raft broke down halfway. I swam back to where I came from.'

'Kid, I gotta tell you…you have an extremely poor sense of judgement. You better sit and clear that head of yours before you start moving again.'

Robin g.r.o.a.n.e.d and put back the Commune inside his pocket. He didn't feel like resting when his heart was pumping like crazy. He took out his gun. This time, he was ready to shoot whatever beast that charges towards him.

There were many insects of unusual sizes crawling on the trees. The birds didn't seem normal as well. Some had feathers plucked all over them, one had its left wing ripped away. Yet, the silence in the forest could only mean two things. Nothing is out of the blue, or a grand danger is imminent.

Robin's knees felt as though it was carrying two bodies on top of it. He was too tired to walk or run. He grabbed another Genogr.a.p.e and temporarily felt energized.

'Any signs?' Kael intruded the silence.

'Yea, probably, if you had sent more people for this mission, instead of handing over two young ones like baits.'

Kael's anger was apparent in the sternness of his voice, although he restrained himself from yelling.

'I have told you clearly on why you were chosen for this mission. Now, it would better for you to just focus on what's going on and update me instead of whining like a-'

'Wait! There is something here!' Robin exclaimed. He rushed towards the bushes and picked a shiny object off the ground. It was a chronograph, with a broken screen.

'What you saw, kid?' Kael was too curious that his anger quickly faded.

'Finally, a clue! My dad's watch! It's lying here, right outside a small cave. It's definitely his, I can see his initials on it. Maybe they went inside the cave?'

'Well, the only way for you to know, is to enter the cave.'

'Let's pray for good news.' Robin blurted the words almost impulsively while crawling into the small cave opening.