Tunnels 04, Closer

whispered. "The ones behind it are younger."
    "But their ears look weird, and what's wrong with their trunks?" Will asked. "They're half the length of a normal elephant's."
    "Nothing's wrong with them -- they're meant to be like that. Can't you see the two pairs of tusks?" Dr. Burrows said, breathless with excitement. "Will, don't you have any idea what these creatures are, and how important this is? These creatures are either Gomphotheria or Palaeomastodons. Yes, I reckon they're Palaeomastodons -- early ancestors of elephants from the early Oligocene period. Yet more living fossils!"
    "But are they friendly?" Will asked, as the nearest Palaeomastodon, which also happened to be by far the largest, continued to approach them. As it did so, it raised its stubby trunk as if sampling the air.
    "It can smell us," Elliott whispered, raising her rifle.
    The gigantic beast kept coming and then, some twenty meters away, it chose a tree stump to make a display of its strength. With a bellow, it whipped its head to one side, striking its more prominent upper tusks against the rotten stump, which toppled over with a dull thud.
    Peering out from behind Elliott, Bartleby made a deep growling noise deep in the back of his throat.
    "Shh!" she said.
    Maybe it was because he was so alarmed by the sight of the animal, but the Hunter suddenly did the last thing any of them expected. He leapt out from the undergrowth and landed right in the middle of the trail. His back was arched and the muscles in his shoulders bunched as he hissed loudly at the Palaeomastodon.
    "Bartleby!" Will cried.
    There was a moment in which Bartleby, although he was dwarfed by the larger animal, locked eyes with the Palaeomastodon. Then the Palaeomastodon let out a bellow and, moving more quickly than Will had seen it do before, reared its head and began to tramp away.
    "Preservation instinct," Dr. Burrows laughed. "I bet the nearest thing it can compare Bartleby with is a jaguar or saber-tooth tiger, and it doesn't want to tangle with him! It thinks he's too much of a threat."
    Will wasn't amused. "Get back here, right now, you daft cat!" he chided the Hunter.
    The remainder of the journey was uneventful. As they emerged from the trees and the pyramid loomed before them, they were all hot and exhausted. For a second, the three of them simply regarded the giant edifice, which appeared to be identical to the one by their base camp.
    Will wiped the sweat from his forehead. "So... pyramid number two. I thought you said the journey here would be a doddle," he grumbled to his father.
    But Dr. Burrows wasn't going to allow his fatigue to affect him. He had that intense look in his eyes -- he was only interested in one thing. He stormed toward the pyramid and, as he reached it, whipped out his journal and began to inspect the first tier.
    "That's him happy," Elliott said, as she and Will slumped onto the ground beside each other. She undid her rucksack. "I've brought some food along if you're hungry."
    "Starving," Will said.
    Elliott produced a package, well wrapped in layers of cloth so as to conceal the smell from any over-inquisitive animals. "This is an experiment of mine," she said, removing the cloth to reveal several green bundles. "I cooked the meat in palm leaves, and I think it's turned out quite well." Will took one of the bundles from her and, just as he began to eagerly peel the leaves away, a shout echoed around the trees.
    "Will! Here! I need you here!" his father demanded. "Now!"
    Will acted as if he hadn't heard, biting off a hunk of meat. "Mmmm! This is delicious," he said.
    "Will! Will!" the shouts came again.
    "It's antelope, isn't it? You've really outdone yourself this time," Will complimented Elliott, chewing slowly as he savored his mouthful.
    "The Doc's calling you," she said, amused by the way Will was completely ignoring the summons.
    "Know something?" he muttered, shaking his head with a mock serious expression.
    "What?" she replied, unable to keep a straight face because Dr. Burrows was still yelling frantically, as if the world was about to end.
    "In the old days in Highfield, all I wanted to do was go on digs with him. I didn't really think about anything else."
    "And?" she asked, as he stuffed his mouth with more antelope.
    "Reckon I was a bit of a saddo then. No wonder I didn't have any friends." He grunted as he got to his feet and, still munching his food, stomped over to the pyramid. He saw his father was on one of the uppermost