Pteranodon Mall by Ian Woodhead

monster which almost made Jefferson lose control of his bladder, moved that jaw bristling with curved teeth. The teeth were the size of Jefferson’s little finger. He felt a pair of hands trying to pull him back into the stairwell, but he shrugged them off. He wasn’t going to run, not now.
    The large dinosaur dropped its head to the floor and sniffed at the tiles. It was acting as though he wasn’t even there! Jefferson then noticed the few spots of blood. He raised the crossbow, making he sure made no sudden moves.
    The dinosaur then jerked up its head, switching its gaze from the corridor. The dinosaur’s eyes finally settled on Jefferson. It growled before running straight at him.
    He squeezed the trigger before he dropped to the floor and rolled out of the way. The sudden roar of pain, which almost burst his eardrums, told Jefferson that his bolt had hit home, but the bastard still lived. The creature’s large shadow turned his world dark. He rolled again, just avoiding the wounded dinosaur’s sharp teeth as it lunged forward, its jaws snapping shut exactly where Jefferson’s head used to be. The crossbow flew from his grip and skittered along the floor. He managed to get to his feet and reach the edge of the next restaurant. His fingers curled around the back of a metal chair.
    He spun around, ready for this roaring behemoth to lunge at him again, only to discover the creature dancing with both Janine and David while they slashed at its flesh with their swords. He let go of the chair, scooped up his crossbow, and managed to push his foot through the stirrup and pull back the string without slipping. He heard the sounds of crying and whimpering. It took Jefferson a moment to realise the noises were coming from him.
    He notched in a bolt and ran towards his friends, needing to put this monster down before the creature killed them both.
    Janine brought the sword down on the base of its tail, the blade sank deep into the flesh.
    Jefferson watched in horror when the dinosaur twisted like a ballet dancer. She lost her grip on the weapon and its tail whipped around, sweeping David off his feet.
    It lunged at the woman, those wicked fangs missing the top of her head by inches. Luckily, the woman saw that massive head falling towards her and dropped to the floor. It raised its foot.
    Jefferson’s heart missed a beat. It was going to pin her to the floor!
    “Over here, you scaly bastard !” he yelled, running up to it. Jefferson’s shout went unheeded; the thing must have decided that he wasn’t worth bothering with. He went down on one knee, steadied his aim, and fired. The bolt plunged into the dinosaur’s huge eye.
    “And fuck you too!” he shouted when it fell forwards and slammed onto the floor. Jefferson jumped over its tail and ran over to Janine. “Oh God, I thought I had lost you!” He helped her up, deliriously happy to be holding her hand again, even if it was for a few seconds.
    Jefferson retrieved her katana and helped David up. He brushed himself down and grinned at the pair of them.
    “What a rush!”
    “I’ll agree to that, David,” she said. “Who needs a gym membership when you can fight dinosaurs?”
    These two wouldn’t even be alive if it hadn’t been for his quick reactions. Jefferson kept that little info nugget to himself. “We’d better go see if those people are okay.” He loaded his crossbow, hoping he’d have enough bolts to last. If they encountered any more of these buggers though, Jefferson decided that their lifespan would be measured in minutes. “Come on, guys, we had better get a move…” His remaining words dried up when he saw they were no longer alone.
    “No,” hissed David, when Jefferson raised his crossbow. “That pack of Coelophysis aren’t here for us.”
    Several of the little brown dinosaurs were dancing and hopping across the concourse, their heads darting left and right. Two of them jumped onto a table a few feet from where they stood, each one