Primitive Man

The next day dawned over the village, casting weary shadows upon its inhabitants. Rona and Unami, usually brimming with energy, now bore the weight of exhaustion etched beneath their eyes. As they gathered with the rest of the villagers near the river for some rest, a clear weariness hung in the air, a testament to the events of the previous night.

It was a chaotic night for everyone, but the image of the dinosaur that helped them still remained inside everyone's mind, some people still thinking about what could have happened to them if not for that dinosaur who helped them.

"I swear, I've never felt this tired in my life," Unami muttered, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. "It's like every ounce of energy has been drained from me."

Rona nodded in agreement, her own fatigue evident in the lines creasing her brow. "I know what you mean. It's like we barely slept at all."

Even Gundo, known for her energtic demeanour, showed signs of weariness as she sat among the group, her gaze distant as if lost in thought thinking about her only son.

Suddenly, Gundo stirred, a look of urgency crossing her features. "I... uh... I have some private business to attend to," she mumbled, rising to her feet in a hurry feeling nature's call.

As she hurried towards the edge of the village and disappeared into the forest, a sense of unease prickled at the back of Rona's mind. However, before she could dwell on it further, a low rumbling growl pierced the stillness of the morning and she suddenly got cold feet as the direction that sound came was the same direction that Gundo went to do her business.

Turning towards the source of the sound, Rona's eyes widened in disbelief as she beheld the towering form of the T-Rex, its presence commanding and primal.

"Gundo!" Rona shouted, her voice tinged with panic as she watched her mother-in-law come face to face with the formidable creature and Gundo was on the verge of wetting herself.

Gundo froze in her tracks, her heart pounding in her chest as she locked eyes with the creature before her. Memories of the previous night flooded her mind, intertwining with thoughts of their lost leader, Garnt.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still as Gundo and the T-Rex regarded each other, an unspoken understanding passing between them.

Then, with a graceful movement that belied its massive size, the T-Rex lowered its head in a gesture of acknowledgement before suddenly sniffing Gundo, as if it was enjoying the company of these humans.

None of them understood what was happening at first, but then Gundo started to realize something important.

"This dinosaur! Isn't this?" She said and used her hand to touch the dangerous creature that should be killing her in the process, but unlike what they expected, it started to act more and more familiar with Gundo.

"I knew it! Last night, it was just the silhouette, but after taking a closer look, I can tell this kid is... Garo," Gundo said, causing everyone in the crowd to gasp at what they heard.

Garo, the familiar dinosaur, became an unexpected but cherished member of the village. Despite his intimidating size, his gentle demeanour won over the hearts of the villagers, especially Rona, Unami, Ayra, and Kara and the people who already knew him quickly accepted his company as they knew this big threat was something Garnt raised in the village.

They knew Garo wouldn't hurt any of them, since they played with him when he was a little dinosaur.

Garo followed the villagers for the rest of the journey as if he was trying to protect them, but at the same time, he acted strange as if he was running away from something, just like every other animal in the forest.

Each morning, the four friends would gather near Garo's sleeping area where he often roamed. They'd bring him treats, freshly caught fish or berries, marvelling at the unlikely bond they shared with the prehistoric creature.

"Why did you leave us, big guy, and where did you come from?" Unami would ask, scratching Garo behind his massive ear just like she did when he was a kid.

None of them could believe that the egg they found in the forest would hatch into such a gigantic creature. Additionally, the fact that the same creature behaves like a pup when it's with them astounds them even more.

Garo would respond with a contented rumble, nuzzling against her hand affectionately.

Ayra would join in, giggling as she fed Garo some juicy meat, her eyes sparkling with wonder. "If it wasn't for you we all would have been dead by now, I should be thanking you for saving my life, as well as my family."

Kara, ever the curious one, observed Garo with a mix of curiosity and awe. "I wonder how he managed to survive out here on his own for so long. I mean we didn't teach him anything and he was just a little dinosaur when he disappeared."

Everyone's memory goes back to those golden days, when they were properly managing the village and the question remained, but the new past is not important to them right now. They knew what was important was present and what they were going to do in the future.

But amidst their joy in Garo's presence, there was always a lingering sadness. Whenever Garo caught the scent of the wind, his demeanour would shift, his eyes searching the horizon with a deep longing.

"He's looking for something," Rona remarked one day, watching Garo's restless pacing. "But what?"

Unami exchanged a knowing glance with her friends. "He's searching for Garnt and Maro, isn't he?"

Garo let out a low, mournful growl, confirming their suspicions. It seemed that despite his close companionship with the villagers, Garo still yearned for the two people that he loved the most.

"We'll help you find them, Garo," Ayra vowed, her voice filled with determination. "We will make sure Garnt come back to us, don't worry about that,"

She promised and others nodded, but they knew it had been too long since Garnt went away, and their hopes of his return slowly started to turn into doubt.

"Will he really come back to us? What are you doing right now, Garnt? What are you doing?" Rona whispered to herself with a longing for the warmth of the man they all loved.

***

With a final twist of the wrench, Garnt stepped back, wiping sweat from his brow as he surveyed the completed machine. Mia and the team that supported Garnt stood beside him, their eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"It's finished," Garnt declared, his voice tinged with a mixture of relief and uncertainty.

Mia nodded, a small smile playing on her lips. "Indeed it is, boy. But remember, your freedom is contingent upon this machine working as intended. You can't leave just because you finished this."

Garnt's expression hardened, a flicker of defiance igniting in his eyes. "I've done my part. Now it's up to you to uphold your end of the bargain. I can't wait here until meteor strikes, I have to protect my people,"

Mia chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Oh, we won't have to wait until the meteor strikes to see if it works," she said cryptically, reaching into her pocket and producing a small stone encased in a scientific tube. "Here, use this."

Garnt's brow furrowed in confusion as he accepted the tube from Mia. "What is this?"

Mia's smile widened. "A test subject," she replied simply. 'I kept it hidden just in case a situation like this happens."

Garnt exchanged a thought with Eva, who nodded in silent reassurance. With a resigned sigh, he inserted the stone into the machine, following Mia's instructions meticulously.

As the machine hummed to life, Mia watched intently, her breath catching in her throat. Garnt's heart raced as he monitored the process, his mind consumed with doubt and apprehension.

The whole process was overlooked by Eva, so Garnt didn't have any doubts about the machine malfunctioning, but at the same time, he was scared to know what this strange machine could possibly do.

But then, something extraordinary happened. The stone began to glow, emitting a brilliant light that illuminated the workshop. Garnt's eyes widened in disbelief as the machine surged with power, its gears whirring and wires pulsing with energy.

The stone disappeared but the screen that showed the energy bar of the machine was full only few notches, which was a miracle as he knew electric wasn't able to power up this machine.

Mia's jaw dropped, her eyes wide with wonder. "It... it worked," she whispered, her voice tinged with disbelief.

Garnt's chest swelled with pride as he gazed upon his creation, a sense of vindication washing over him. "I told you it would," he said, a hint of smugness creeping into his tone.

But Mia's surprise quickly turned to awe as she realized the significance of what had just occurred. "Eva... she actually did it," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

"So you expected us to lie about this? Did you expect that because you lied to us?" Garnt ask with displeasure in his tone knowing they weren't so innocent about it.

"Haha! no boy! I'm just surprised. I'm really surprised that bitch gave up on her dreams just because of a stone age boy, you really did some magic on her," Mia said while laughing but it was rather apparent that her attention was fully on the machine.