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Joe's snoring could be heard throughout the safe house. Nicky reassured Nile that when Joe snore that loud it meant he really needed to sleep. Nile tried to ignore Joe's snoring but in the end, she couldn't and decided to see what Nicky was doing. Nile found Nicky cleaning out one of the rooms that were filled with stuff they had collected over the years.
"Found anything interesting?" Nile asked when she leaned up against the door frame.
"Well, I found one of my first riffles," Nicky replied and pointed at a black box to his right. "An old Thompson submachine gun from the 1920s. Jammed all the time. You're welcome to have a look at it."
Nile opened the box and looked at the gun.
"There must be a story behind you using..." Nile said when her eyes caught the sight of something big and white. When she removed the cloth over it she let out a gasp. "Is that a dinosaur bone?"
"What?" Nicky asked and peeked over his shoulder at Nile. "Oh that. Yes, Joe found it a long time ago."
Nile took the dinosaur bone that was close to her size. She had seen dinosaur skeletons in museums, yes, but never a dinosaur bone this close before.
"I remember when Joe found it," Nicky said laughing. "He didn't sleep for over a week because he was so sure that he would get eaten."
"Oh, I would rather hear that story," Nile said while looking at the dinosaur bone. "Please tell Nicky."
"Why not? I could use a break from the cleaning," Nicky replied as he sat down on another box. "Joe found the bone on our first trip to the far east back in the late 12th century."
They were travelling through Asia to meet up with their sisters. Because neither of them had ever been this far from home before they took their time to take in everything along the way that they saw. Yusuf would draw as many buildings and statues as he could, while Nicolò was more occupied with learning the language and getting to know the new food.
After leaving another town, they rod even further west until it became dark.
"Need to piss," Yusuf said after taking care of their horses. "Be back in a moment and I will help you with dinner."
Yusuf kissed Nicolò before going behind a tree. Nicolò started to cook the rice as he was shown by a kind elderly woman when he suddenly heard Yusuf scream.
"Yusuf?" Nicolò shouted as he came running with his sword drawn. "What happened?"
Yusuf was lying on the ground and pointed at something that was sticking up the ground.
"It's just a dead dog or something," Nicolò said with a smile. "No need to worry."
"No need to worry?" Yusuf asked as he took Nicolò's hand and pulled Yusuf up. "Have you seen the size of that bone?"
"It's long dead," Nicolò replied. "Come help me with dinner."
During dinner, Yusuf's eyes kept on looking in the direction of the bone.
"I'm not stopping you if you want to dig the bone up," Nicolò said after they had washed their plates. "I will try to get some sleep."
Nicolò kissed Yusuf.
"Just one look," Yusuf promised. "I just want to know how big that dog was."
While Nicolò slept, Yusuf spent the entire night digging and he couldn't believe his eyes as the hours went by.
"Nicolò? Nicolò?" Yusuf asked when he woke Nicolò as gently as he could in the morning. "You have to see this."
Nicolò rubbed his eyes while he looked at a dust-covered Yusuf.
"Ok, show me the dog then," Nicolò said. He didn't expect much but let out a gasp when he saw the size of the bone. "That is not a dog's bones."
"Far from it," Yusuf replied. "I could fear that something around here would end up eating us alive."
"Don't be silly, Yusuf," Nicolò replied. "I mean we would have heard it from the people living here if there was an animal of this size in the area."
"Or maybe they don't tell us it because we aren't from this country," Yusuf replied. "You know eat the strangers."
Nicolò couldn't help it but he started to laugh.
"You're laughing right now," Yusuf said. "Just wait until we meet the animal and its hungry mouth."
"Yusuf, I really don't think that those kinds of animals exist anymore," Nicolò replied. "Remember our sisters told us that they have seen things that don't exist and animals that aren't alive any more. And I think we can trust them on that."
"Well, until I have heard from them that these kinds of animals don't exist anymore," Yusuf replied as he picked up the bone. "I will keep an extra eye out. And you can thank me by doing that when I save your life from the animal."
"We got over a week of travelling left," Nicolò replied. "Are you really planning on dragging that bone around until then? It's almost as big as we're and even heavier."
Yusuf dragged the bone over to his horse.
"Yusuf," Nicolò said. "I'm not saying that we shouldn't be aware of our surroundings but you can't drag that bone around for a week. So why not draw it?"
"I need it as evidence," Yusuf replied. "So let me worry about it."
"Did Joe really drag that bone around for a week?" Nile wanted to know as she looked at the dinosaur bone in front of them.
"You should know by now that Joe is all kind of stubborn, so yes. He did do it," Nicky replied. "But the worst part was the lack of sleep that hit Joe on the fourth day."
It had been a very long week so far for Nicolò because as the days went by, Yusuf refused to sleep because he was scared of being attacked by the big animal.
"Yusuf, please," Nicolò almost begged. "Let me keep an eye out so you can get some sleep."
"No, I got this covered," Yusuf replied as he turned his head around again. "I will keep you safe."
It was one of Yusuf's many ideas, that he needed to protect Nicolò no matter what. Normally, Nicolò found it cute but there were also days when it was almost a curse. Nicolò kneeled in front of Yusuf and took Yusuf's face between his hands.
"Listen to me, Yusuf," Nicolò begged. "You need to get some sleep or else you might end up losing your mind."
Yusuf saw the concern on Nicolò's face and gave in. Yusuf placed his head in Nicolò's lap and when Nicolò started to run his fingers through Yusuf's curls. It was enough to get Yusuf to sleep. It only lastest a couple of hours then Yusuf woke and returned to looking around.
They resumed their travelling towards their sisters and whenever they made a stop for the night, Nicolò got Yusuf to lay with his head in his lap, where Nicolò repeated the same thing. By the time they reached their sisters, neither Yusuf nor Nicolò had slept more than a couple of hours each night.
"You look tired," Quynh said when they got off their horses. "Was the journey that hard?"
"If you only knew half of it," Nicolò replied. "Yusuf found a bone and is now convinced that something will eat us alive, so I beg you Quynh, please tell him that the animal doesn't exist anymore."
Quynh looked at Yusuf who placed the big bone on the ground.
"I haven't seen an animal that big since I was a child," Andromache said as she came out of the house. "One time I almost got eaten."
"See I was right," Yusuf said. "There is something that big out there."
Nicolò rubbed his eyes with a tired look on his face.
"Wait a moment," Andromache said. "Are you telling me you have been dragging around on that big ass bone because you're convinced that something that big is still alive and it wants to eat you?"
Yusuf nodded which made Andromache laugh. Both Quynh and Nicolò gave Andromache the look that said you aren't helping.
"Ok, listen young man," Andromache said. "The biggest animals still alive nowadays are the elephants. And it won't kill you unless you upset it. I give you my word."
"So, please Yusuf," Nicolò begged. "Please will you not join me in bed so we both can get some sleep? It will help you to think more clearly."
"And that's why I know that when Joe is snoring this loud," Nicky said. "It's because he really needs to sleep."
They both laughed.
"But Joe kept the bone," Nile said. "Why?"
"When Joe woke after two days of sleeping, he decided to keep the bone as a reminder of his first time in the far east," Nicky replied. "It proved to be a great idea a couple of centuries later. Do you see the mark on the bone?"
Nile nodded because she could see that there was a missing piece on the bone.
"Nicky?" Joe asked as he came into the room while ruffling his curls. "Bed hair?"
"Nicely tousled," Nicky replied. "Sleep well?"
Joe nodded as he sat down on the floor.
"Yes, I dreamt of you," Joe replied before kissing Nicky on the cheek. "I see you found my bone."
"I was just telling Nile the story about what happened when you found the bone," Nicky replied. "And how you almost didn't sleep for a week."
"Ok, I admit it," Joe replied. "I was a bit silly but remember I didn't have Google to ask back then."
They all laughed.
"You were about to tell what happened a couple of centuries later, Nicky," Nile said. "And why there's a piece of the bone missing."
"I think Joe should tell you," Nicky replied. "Because Joe saved my life with that bone."
"Just doing what I promised you a long time ago," Joe reminded Nicky. "That I would keep you safe until my dying breath."
Nicky kissed Joe.
"Incurable romantic," Nicky said. "Why don't you start on the story and I will make some tea?"