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Two figures raced through the wicked jungle that was Primeval's Eye, creepers reaching hungrily for their ankles and branches stretching to block their escape. Escape from what, exactly? A Grundle, an ancient predator that should've been long extinct, was hot in pursuit of the two athletic appetizers.
Harumi tripped on the root of a tree, falling to her palms with a gasp. Lloyd held out the hand of his uninjured arm to pull her up. "Come on."
They had not a moment to spare by the time they'd gotten to their feet; the Grundle was just behind them. They reached a steep slope of clay, having no choice but to charge down it. They were deposited in a narrow hole in the ground, hidden by a thin blanket of vines. They sat paralyzed for three terrifying seconds as the Grundle inspected the ditch's entrance, gelatinous drool dripping from its maw. It grunted and retreated.
"Phew," the green breathed. He winced slightly, having fallen on his injured arm in their tumble.
"Are you okay?" Harumi questioned.
"Yeah. Just need a second," he panted. "Man, I hope the others are doing better than us right now . . ."
ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ✩‧₊
The ninja were hard at work repairing the Bounty. Kai, Jay, and Cole worked on the totaled thrusters, standing on rickety bamboo scaffolding. Zane was in the bridge, waiting for their signal to fire up the engines.
"Any sign of Lloyd and Rumi?" Pixal inquired.
"Negative," Zane responded. "Should I gather a search party?"
Pixal stared out into the vast expanse of trees. "In this jungle, it's better to stay with the Bounty. Let's get her mended and the computer up and running so we can reestablish our comlink."
Cole whistled to the baby in his arms. "What do you think that baby's name is? You think he looks like a Cole Jr?"
"I think you should put the baby down and help us out," Jay deadpanned. He backed away from the thruster. "Okay, Zane, give it another try."
"Zane? Come in, Zane," Kai tried.
"Oh, great. Now the radios aren't working," groaned Jay.
A thunderous growl echoed in the distance, sending chills down their spines.
"What do you think that was?" Cole asked nervously.
"Probably just some cute little critter?" Kai suggested hopefully, voice coming out as a squeak.
"Or a big critter. A great big vicious critter with lots of teeth and claws and pinchers," Jay described with a shiver.
Cole snapped, "You can't tell all that from how it sounds."
"Oh, yeah? If you listen real carefully . . ."
"You guys say something?" Zane asked through the radio.
