Triceratops’ neck vertebrae. The animal screamed, emitting a series of high-pitched screeches. The tyrannosaur squeezed harder and the screaming stopped.
A branch from above hit Tim’s hand, almost knocking h im off the cliff. “Oh, fuck yes.” He grabbed it. “Pull me up, now!”
As the others hoisted Tim up the rock wall, the tyrannosaur turned. The beast clearly saw him, but did not care. It leaned forward and opened the Triceratops’ gut. Mounds of intestines filled with fermenting plant matter spilled out. The predator sunk its head into the chest cavity and fed.
“Get me the fuck away from here,” Tim said through hitching breaths as he came over the top of the cliff.
[ 22 ]
Callie held Hank’s hand as t hey walked through the woods. The ground sloped gently upwards. No one had said anything since they had pulled Tim over the wall and quietly disappeared into the trees above the cliff. Hank led the group, and he seemed to be steering them slowly to the right, back toward the river. Callie wondered if the café was still there.
“Guys, look over that way,” Al said. Everyone stopped. He pointed at a cluster of mossy stones among the trees off to the left. “I think we should head in that direction.” In the distance, larger formations of rock loomed in the shadows.
Hank took one look and said, “Nope.” He started walking again.
Callie stayed right beside him. It made sense to get back to the café and she wasn’t about to leave Hank.
Al called after them, “This is the perfect time to search for shelter. That tyrannosaur has all the food it needs.”
“No shit!” said Morgan. “It totally worked that Triceratops. Poor guy. Triceratops is my favorite, you know.”
Hank responded without looking back. “We’re going to help the old woman. She needs us. You keep searching for your Fort Knox as long as you want.”
Callie gave his hand a squeeze. “What about the rest of them?” she asked quietly. “ We shouldn’t split up.” Hank stopped and they both looked back.
“There’s also the woman on the second floor,” Tim said.
Al rolled his head around, looking at the canopy above. “If she even exists. Are you sure you didn’t imagine her?”
“I saw something. ”
William turned to Al. “We need to get back to Helen. And we all need to stay together.”
Lisa pulled Al close and looked up at him. “I want to get back to my store. If something else shows up, I won’t be able to run very fast.”
“How is your foot?” Callie asked.
“It hurts.”
So far, Lisa had limped along without complaining. As a runner, Callie had experienced blisters that felt like gaping holes on the bottom of her feet. When she actually looked at them, they were always smaller than she expected and only skin deep. Lisa had an actual hole. Callie had seen muscle fibers inside the wound when wrapping it up.
Al took a deep breath and looked around , swinging his head from one person to the next. Callie thought he looked like a cornered animal. “Okay,” he said.
Hank gave a snort through his nose and they all started up again. Callie took his arm. “Thank you for the whistle,” she said quietly. “Back by the river. I thought I was a goner.”
Hank pulled his lips wide. He made the shape of a smile, but he wasn’t smiling. “I thought I was a goner too. We gotta be careful, babe. After what happened to that girl, we gotta really look out for each other. We should make some ground rules when we get back to the river. For all of us.”
“Like what?” Morgan asked. Callie guessed that Morgan was not a big fan of rules.
“Like how far away from the building people should go. Maybe some kind of watch duty. And we clearly should not make any more loud noises.”
“Loud noises did chase away those duck-bill dinosaurs,” William pointed out.
Hank nodded. “But it was obviously a mistake to assume that trick would work with the other kinds. The noise brought that T-rex right to
A branch from above hit Tim’s hand, almost knocking h im off the cliff. “Oh, fuck yes.” He grabbed it. “Pull me up, now!”
As the others hoisted Tim up the rock wall, the tyrannosaur turned. The beast clearly saw him, but did not care. It leaned forward and opened the Triceratops’ gut. Mounds of intestines filled with fermenting plant matter spilled out. The predator sunk its head into the chest cavity and fed.
“Get me the fuck away from here,” Tim said through hitching breaths as he came over the top of the cliff.
[ 22 ]
Callie held Hank’s hand as t hey walked through the woods. The ground sloped gently upwards. No one had said anything since they had pulled Tim over the wall and quietly disappeared into the trees above the cliff. Hank led the group, and he seemed to be steering them slowly to the right, back toward the river. Callie wondered if the café was still there.
“Guys, look over that way,” Al said. Everyone stopped. He pointed at a cluster of mossy stones among the trees off to the left. “I think we should head in that direction.” In the distance, larger formations of rock loomed in the shadows.
Hank took one look and said, “Nope.” He started walking again.
Callie stayed right beside him. It made sense to get back to the café and she wasn’t about to leave Hank.
Al called after them, “This is the perfect time to search for shelter. That tyrannosaur has all the food it needs.”
“No shit!” said Morgan. “It totally worked that Triceratops. Poor guy. Triceratops is my favorite, you know.”
Hank responded without looking back. “We’re going to help the old woman. She needs us. You keep searching for your Fort Knox as long as you want.”
Callie gave his hand a squeeze. “What about the rest of them?” she asked quietly. “ We shouldn’t split up.” Hank stopped and they both looked back.
“There’s also the woman on the second floor,” Tim said.
Al rolled his head around, looking at the canopy above. “If she even exists. Are you sure you didn’t imagine her?”
“I saw something. ”
William turned to Al. “We need to get back to Helen. And we all need to stay together.”
Lisa pulled Al close and looked up at him. “I want to get back to my store. If something else shows up, I won’t be able to run very fast.”
“How is your foot?” Callie asked.
“It hurts.”
So far, Lisa had limped along without complaining. As a runner, Callie had experienced blisters that felt like gaping holes on the bottom of her feet. When she actually looked at them, they were always smaller than she expected and only skin deep. Lisa had an actual hole. Callie had seen muscle fibers inside the wound when wrapping it up.
Al took a deep breath and looked around , swinging his head from one person to the next. Callie thought he looked like a cornered animal. “Okay,” he said.
Hank gave a snort through his nose and they all started up again. Callie took his arm. “Thank you for the whistle,” she said quietly. “Back by the river. I thought I was a goner.”
Hank pulled his lips wide. He made the shape of a smile, but he wasn’t smiling. “I thought I was a goner too. We gotta be careful, babe. After what happened to that girl, we gotta really look out for each other. We should make some ground rules when we get back to the river. For all of us.”
“Like what?” Morgan asked. Callie guessed that Morgan was not a big fan of rules.
“Like how far away from the building people should go. Maybe some kind of watch duty. And we clearly should not make any more loud noises.”
“Loud noises did chase away those duck-bill dinosaurs,” William pointed out.
Hank nodded. “But it was obviously a mistake to assume that trick would work with the other kinds. The noise brought that T-rex right to
Similar Books
