At any rate, I'll give the summary of the story for those of you who haven't read it:
Spoiler! :
Anyways, this is an alternate for that last part of the story, when we learn of the changes that have taken place. The other big kick to this is that I had to make myself the main character, instead of Eckles. Since my dad would freak out otherwise, I've replaced my name with 'Ranger', if that's alright with you guys. (I'd have just done a different name, but I'm hoping to try to retain at least some of the original effect.) The scene begins with young Ranger stepping out of the time machine, with Travis, the understandably furious safari guide, close at her heels. (Travis, by the way, threatens to kill Eckles in the middle of the story, so I'm sticking with that.) Woo! Long explanation - but now we begin...
The Sound of Thunder that Came too Late
“Get out,” snapped Travis. Ranger unquestioningly did as he asked, glad she was home. Now she could just leave and be done with this horrid business.
“Well?” demanded Travis, stepping out of the Machine. “Is everything alright?”
“Yeah,” answered the man behind the desk. “No attacks while you were gone.”
“No what?” Travis stared, then whirled back towards a horrified-looking Ranger. He fingered his gun, lifting it, his index finger touching the–
Skreet! Skreet! Skreet!
Alarms roared and the room suddenly flashed red as Travis snapped his gun upright, pointing the barrel all over the area in search of the threat, and Ranger yelped, jumping at the sound. However, the man behind the desk simply stood up, gathered his wallet and keys, punched a code into a nearby door, and calmly entered the room.
Ranger stared; then she slowly lifted her foot to examine her boot. A tiny thing was stuck to the sole – a rodent of sorts, simple-looking and quite dead.
“Good God…” she breathed. Travis began to lift his gun again, and she waited for the worst; but then there was a startling sound – a scream from outside.
Travis dashed outside. Ranger, not sure what else she could do, followed him.
The streets were completely empty – there were no cars. They were more like huge sidewalks – sidewalks that, as of now, were unoccupied. Travis searched in both directions for the source of the cry, his gun swiveling, moving in unison with his gaze.
“Travis,” Ranger whimpered. “Shouldn’t we get inside?...”
But she stopped. She felt a certain presence in the air, a sort of undercurrent of an evil scent riding the faintest of winds. Something wasn’t right with the air, the streets, the silence. Her whole body tensed; her mind slowed; her heart quickened.
The silence was broken all at once. Around the corner, at the nearby end of the street, something roared. Ranger froze; Travis whirled at once to the sound.
The beast leaped out of nowhere, yowling, massive claws extended like ten round daggers. Travis cried out in surprise, whirling to follow its movement as it barreled straight past him. Ranger tried to back away, to turn, to run, something, but her legs wouldn’t move, and even if they could, there was nothing she could do anymore. Travis pulled the trigger, barrel aimed straight for the beast’s head.
There was a sound of thunder.
But it was too late for Ranger to hear it.
Spoiler! :
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