In the year 2055, Mr. Eckels enters the office of Time Safari, Inc. This company offers safaris to the past in order to hunt dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. While waiting for his safari guides, Eckels was expressing his relief that Keith was victorious in the recent presidential election. The official agrees that Keith is the best candidate, asserting that Deutscher would have brought about a dictatorship. He takes another moment to reflect on the danger of the expedition, hands over his check, and departs with the safari guide Mr. Travis. Eckels settles into the Time Machine alongside Travis, and two other hunters.
The Machine goes back through time, and eventually the passengers find themselves in the prehistoric past. Travis emphasizes that the travelers must not disturb the environment and hunters must stay on the Path in order to prevent stepping on any plant or animal. Crushing even the smallest life form, could change the future, not just of nature, but of human society too. Lesperance explains that they can safely shoot the specific animal he has previously marked with paint for them. Soon the T-Rex approaches with a sound of thunder. Eckels is frightened when he sees the overwhelming creature, and he wished to retreat. Lesperance tells him to wait in the Time Machine. Instead, he wanders off the path while the other hunters kill the dinosaur. Travis returns to find Eckels in the Time Machine. Realizing that Eckels walked off the path, Travis yells that his error could ruin the company and threatens to leave him behind. They leave for the future eventually and, when they arrive, Travis orders him to leave and never come back. Eckels, however, lingers for a moment, noticing that small things about the office have changed. He slumps down and, examined his boots, and finds that he has crushed a butterfly. Panicking, he asks the official about the election results and learns that Deutscher has won. After a few moments of pleading to go back and fix things, he waits in silence while Travis aims a gun at him. Eckels hears Travis click the gun’s safety, followed by a sound of thunder.