Time Crunch Page 5

  “Yeah?”

  Chase gestured across the clearing: the giraffe-things were still grazing peacefully, a few pterosaurs gliding in the hazy distance. “I saw something a minute ago. It was only there for a couple of seconds, but it was definitely some sort of predator. Don’t think it was one of the things that went after you, but it was big and looked like it had a lot of teeth. Should I say something to Mr. Smith?”

  Bridger pursed his lips, then said: “I’ll tell him. We know the things are here, obviously”—he tapped his bandaged arm—“and we’ve got our eyes out. But I’ll let him know just the same.”

  “Thanks.”

  “In the meantime, don’t wander too far; not without one of us with you.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” Chase assured him.

  CHASE WATCHED THE giraffe-things for another moment—wondering if they were a known species, something he might see in a book—then walked back to camp. Treeck looked up from a pile of pre-packaged meals and asked, “You hungry?”

  “Not really,” Chase said, though he hadn’t really thought about it.

  “Better to eat something, keep your strength up,” Treeck advised. “There’s a rule I always follow in outlaw country: take a leak whenever you feel the urge and eat your fill whenever there’s food on the table.” He nodded firmly. “You might not feel like you need to, but you never know when the sh—crap’s—gonna hit the fan and you don’t get another chance.”

  “Okay.”

  Treeck tossed him a package, along with a bottle of water.

  “And make sure you get plenty to drink. Next to hungry dinosaurs, dehydration’s gonna be your number-one enemy here.”

  “Okay.”

  Chase took the MRE (Meal, Ready-to-Eat) to a fallen log, wondering what Zach was surviving on. He didn’t doubt for a second that his friend was still alive. He couldn’t explain it, but—

  Just wouldn’t be like Zach to get himself eaten.

  CHASE WAS ALMOST finished with a nasty beef ravioli when Smith walked over.

  “We’re gonna make another sweep of the area, take another look for your friend. You wanna go?”

  “Absolutely,” Chase said without hesitation. “That’s what I’m here for.”

  “You could wait here with the pilots. After what happened earlier … might be safer.”

  “Thanks,” Chase said. “But to tell you the truth, sitting around camp isn’t much safer than being out in the forest. Not in a place like this.”

  Smith nodded. He glanced up at the sky for a moment—probably judging how much light was left in the day—then looked off toward a distant mountain peak.

  “So what do you think?” he asked. “What would Zach do in a place like this? Where would you go?”

  Chase nodded: he’d already been thinking about it.

  “I don’t think he’ll be close.”

  “No?”

  Chase shook his head. “All the rules say that’s what you should do if you’re lost. Stay put. Let your rescuers find you.”

  “But Zach wouldn’t do that?”

  “Not a chance. Zach’s not really big on rules, for one thing. And he’s more likely to follow his own instincts than rely on what some ‘expert’ says. He’d go with what he thinks is best.” Smith frowned, and Chase added: “But more importantly, he’d be looking for a safer place to hide out.”

  Smith looked surprised. “How so?”

  “There’s a lot of animals around here,” Chase explained. “There’s a herd of giraffe-looking things in the meadow right now. They won’t bother us, but they’ll attract the kind of animals that will.”

  “Yeah, Bridger told me you spotted something a minute ago.”

  “So you know. Anyway, Zach would figure that out in about two seconds, and he’d look for some place with less animals.”

  Smith reached up and scratched his neck, and Chase hoped he hadn’t gotten a bunch of fleas, too.

  “So where do you think he’d go?”

  “Well, if it was me, I’d head that way,” Chase said, pointing to the west. “The hills are pretty steep over there, and there’s not a lot of vegetation. No plants means no plant eaters, which means no meat eaters, either. Besides, there might be caves.”

  “Okay,” Smith said, apparently convinced. “We’ll head that way.”

  He lifted a small pack he’d carried over. “We might be gone a while, so take this with you. Zadina threw in a couple of MREs, coupla water bottles, flashlight”—his lips twisted in what might have been a granite-faced grin—"and a few first-aid supplies.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  “We’ll leave in about ten.”

  “Okay,” Chase said. “I’ll be ready.”

  Chase watched the man stride away, then glanced toward the rocky hills and thought about Zach.

  Okay, buddy. … Here we come.

  6 Dilophosaurs

  THE FOREST WAS hot, and humid, and muggy as they hiked. Rivers and Criss remained behind with the pilots and Mr. Jaffa (still pecking away on his laptop), so Smith and Treeck led the way, followed by Chase, with Bridger and Zadina bringing up the rear.

  Middle of the pack sounds safe, Chase thought as he slapped at a mosquito. But the dinosaurs that jumped Bravo Team waited ’til they had the guys surrounded before attacking. So yeah … if we have the same experience, I’ll be just as vulnerable as anyone …

  But he wasn’t really worried about it. Despite what happened earlier, the middle of the formation still seemed the safest place to be.

  Everyone was on high alert. The earlier attack proved this was an alien world that demanded respect. The men were holding their rifles with both hands, ready to fire, their heads moving constantly as they swept the trees, searching for threats. Looking back over his shoulder, Chase saw that Bridger—the “six” man in the rear—was practically walking backward as he watched the forest behind them.

  Chase slapped at another mosquito.

  Dang things are everywhere, he thought.

  He remembered that in old Jurassic Park movies, mosquitos like these were sometimes trapped in dripping tree sap, which eventually fossilized. Scientists then extracted DNA from the millions-of-years-old mosquitos to recreate dinosaurs.

  So if one of these mosquitos bites me, and then gets trapped in tree sap, a 165 million years from now some scientist might extract the DNA and clone me.

  The thought made him laugh. But then he remembered that this wasn’t his world. It was a world parallel to his. And that in a 165 million years there would be another Chase … so if a scientist cloned him, there could be two of them—

  He shook his head: thinking like that made his nose bleed.

  THE TEAM STEPPED from the forest and onto the most incredible game trail Chase had ever seen. Unlike the deer trails he sometimes followed in the mountains back home, this was the size of a highway, littered with the remains of pulverized stumps and trees.

  And with trees this size—

  Holy cow, the dinosaurs that created this had to be huge!

  He checked the ground, looking for tracks. He didn’t see anything right away, but then realized he was thinking too small. There was a track right in front of him, several inches deep. He hadn’t recognized it because of its size: the thing was easily three feet across.

  Wow, he thought in amazement. Concave and shaped like a horseshoe, the track was so sharp and distinct he knew it was fresh.

  But the size! Whatever made this was a monster!

  Treeck saw him gawking, spotted the huge track, and asked, “Know what made that?”

  “Not sure. But it was probably an apatosaur. An apatosaur or a brachiosaur or something like that.”

  “Must’ve been big.”

  “Yeah. The really big ones could be, like, ninety feet long and weigh forty tons.”

  “Two of ’em,” Zadina noted.

  “How do you know?”

  Zadina gestured down the trail. “Here they come.”

  Chase looked and
caught his breath. Two enormous animals had just rounded a bend in the swath. They were so big, and so heavy, Chase could feel tremors in the ground as they lumbered along.

  The apatosaurs—if that’s actually what they were (Chase wasn’t enough of an expert to know for sure)—were grazing as they plodded down the swath. To Chase’s surprise, the animals weren’t stretching their 30-foot necks to graze from the tops of the trees. Instead, the sauropods kept their incredible necks parallel to the ground, using them to reach branches deep into the woods.

  Huh, Chase thought. Always thought they were like giraffes, using their necks to reach the tops of the trees. Never thought of them feeding sideways like that …

  On the other hand, thirty-foot necks had to weigh a heckuva lot. It was possible the animals couldn’t lift them overhead.

  Watching the apatosaurs, he remembered that people once thought they developed long tails to balance their enormous necks. But many now believed it happened the other way around: that the big dinosaurs grew strong, muscular tails to defend themselves, developing long necks to balance them.

  Either way, Chase was struck by the gracefulness of the animals: he expected them to be awkward and clumsy, but they moved with the proud elegance and dignity of majestic cats.

  When Chase finally tore his eyes away, he saw Smith and Treeck checking the ground and felt embarrassed. The men were too professional to waste time watching the wildlife. Even now they were searching for tracks, checking to see if Zach had been this way.

  Chase took a final look at the massive apatosaurs, then joined the search. If Zach had followed the dusty trail, his tracks should have stood out, but—

  “Nothing,” Treeck said after a minute. “Ground’s too chewed up. Anything more than a few minutes old is already trampled down.”

  Smith thought about it, then pointed across the swath. “Let’s get to the other side, get heading toward those hills.”

  They moved out.

  THE FOREST WAS filled with sounds: chirps and squeaks and chatters from small birds and animals, with occasional snorts, snarls, and growls from larger, more ominous creatures. Most of the bigger animals sounded farther away—not quite close enough to worry about—but there was no question there were dangerous animals around.

  Like the others, Chase looked constantly back and forth, searching for threats. He peered hard into the foliage, often glancing up into the tree tops, as well as into the underbrush.

  Might spot another devil frog …

  He was just glancing beneath an enormous fern when a flicker of movement caught his eye. He did a quick double-take and froze in his tracks.

  There was an eye peering at him from the shadows. As Chase watched, the eye blinked.

  As softly as he could—in his calmest, most relaxed voice—he said: “Smith.”

  Smith recognized the tone of Chase’s voice. He held up a fist, stopping everyone in their tracks.

  “Don’t make any sudden moves,” Chase said, still speaking quietly, his voice barely more than a whisper.

  Smith turned slowly, his eyes peering hard into the forest. After several seconds he whispered, “What is it?”

  Chase held perfectly still, afraid that the slightest twitch might trigger a reaction.

  “Look beneath the big fern on the right,” he said, barely moving his lips. “Gotta look hard.”

  Chase kept his eyes focused beneath the fern. At first, all he could see was the single eye. But as his eyes adjusted he spotted a reptilian head topped by two rust-colored crests. The body was sleek and striped, probably nine feet long with an equally long tail. The dinosaur lay flat against the ground, blending into the underbrush like an old, rotting log. The animal’s nose was pointed straight ahead, but every second or two the eye flicked and Chase realized it was able to see sideways, like a chameleon.

  Able to look around without turning its head.

  Chase could also see soft plumage covering the animal’s back like small ferns, making the creature difficult to see.

  One of the things that attacked Bravo Team! Waiting to ambush us!

  Resisting the urge to turn and look, he realized there must be more of them lying in wait, probably on both sides of the trail.

  That’s what they do, he realized. They flatten themselves in the brush where they can’t be seen … and then wait for something to pass by.

  And once it’s surrounded, they tear it apart …

  “Got it,” Treeck announced.

  “There’s another one at nine o’clock,” Bridger whispered.

  Chase felt his heart pounding, knowing they were about to be ambushed.

  “Options?” Smith asked, just loud enough for the others to hear.

  “Take ’em out,” Treeck advised calmly, as if suggesting bacon on a juicy cheeseburger. “Do it to them before they do it to us.”

  “Agreed. Bridger? Zadina?”

  Bridger: “Got it.”

  Zadina: “Ready …”

  Smith again: “On my mark. Three, two, one, take ’em out.”

  Brraaaaaaat! Brraaaaaaat! Brraaaaaaat!

  The gunfire shattered the forest, blasting Chase’s ears and filling the air with smell of cordite. Bullets chewed through the foliage, chopping up sticks and leaves that whirled through the air.

  The dinosaur closest to Chase exploded from the brush, forearms outstretched, screeching like the end of the world. It sprang directly at Chase—was mere yards away—but Smith and Treeck were already tracking it.

  Brraaaaaaat! Brraaaaaaat! Brraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!

  Chase reeled in horror, holding his hands up in front of him—

  It’s coming right for me!

  —but the animal was abruptly torn apart: it dropped motionless to the grass.

  Chase felt frozen to the ground, but—

  “Look out!” he shouted, pointing ahead.

  Smith wheeled around, already firing as another striped dinosaur raced in.

  Brraaaaaaat! Brraaaaaaat!

  The dinosaur screeched in rage but kept coming.

  Brraaaaaaat! Brraaaaaaat! Brraaaaaaat!

  The striped dinosaur seemed to stumble, but then was on its feet again, rushing back into the forest.

  Bridger and Zadina were yelling behind him, firing furiously, and Chase whirled around just as two more dinosaurs were cut to pieces.

  Brraaaaaaat! Brraaaaaaat!

  And then … nothing.

  The forest was abruptly still, and quiet; even the small animals had gone completely silent. The air was thick with the smell of gunsmoke.

  For several seconds no one moved, the commandos looking back and forth—looking hard—searching for threats.

  Smith finally turned to check on his men.

  “Everyone okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Here, too.”

  Treeck turned to Chase. “You okay, kid?”

  Chase opened his mouth, but no words came out. He tried again, but suddenly realized he was shaking uncontrollably. He gasped for breath—tried to keep his knees from knocking—then finally nodded.

  “Just breathe easy,” Treeck said, whispering to keep the others from hearing.

  Chase could only nod. Now that it was over, he realized how scared he’d been.

  Scared’s not the right word, he realized. Terrified, horrified … none of the words seemed strong enough to describe the intense, blood-chilling fear he’d just experienced.

  Jeez, Louise, he thought, breathing hard. I can’t believe that just happened!

  Still holding his rifle ready—still sweeping the trees with his eyes—Zadina stepped off the trail to look at an animal that had been within a couple of feet of reaching him.

  He glanced back at Chase.

  “Any idea what these things are?”

  Chase shook his head, then made a sound that was more croak than voice. He cleared his throat and finally managed a shaky whisper. “They might be dilophosaurs. I’ve seen pictures, but I didn’t think they were this big.” />
  Zadina reached down to touch the carcass, but Chase snapped: “Don’t touch it!” And then: “The ones that attacked Bravo Team were crawling with fleas. Get too close and you might get ’em, too.”

  Zadina jerked back like he’d been stung. He quickly wiped his hand against his shirt, took a step back, then glanced at Chase. “Thanks, kid.”

  Chase just nodded; his knees had turned to jelly and he struggled to keep from shaking.

  Treeck nudged him and asked, “You sure you’re okay?”

  “Pretty rattled, but yeah. I’ve never”—he shook his head—“I mean, that was pretty scary.”

  “Yeah, it was.” And then, a little louder, as if making sure everyone heard: “You know you just saved our bacon. If you hadn’t spotted that thing … well, they would’ve torn us apart.”

  “Well, sure,” Chase said, not knowing what else to say. “But I was saving my neck, too.”

  The man nodded and clapped a hand on Chase’s shoulder before turning back to Smith.

  “What’cha think?”

  Smith glanced up at the sky, judging the position of the sun, then shook his head. “There’s not much more we can do out here today. And this has left us short of ammunition. Let’s head back and regroup.”

  “What about Zach?” Chase asked.

  “If your friend is anywhere close, he’ll have heard the gunfire,” Smith said gently. “He’ll know we’re here, and he’ll know where to find us.”

  Despite his fear, Chase wanted to keep looking, but didn’t say anything.

  The team reversed course, heading back the way they’d come. But every man—including Smith—thumped Chase on the back as they passed.

  Chase took a couple more deep, relaxing breaths—still trying to quiet the shakes—before following.

  THE TEAM WAS in the middle of the wide apatosaur highway when it happened.

  Chase was climbing over a crumbling log when something shrieked in the distance. The screech was followed by an unearthly bellow. There was a howl, more roars, sounds of a violent attack.

  And then rifle fire—

  Crack! Crack-ack! Brraaaaaaat! Crack! Crrrrack! Brraaaaaaat!

  Everyone froze, looking into the distance even though there was nothing to see. Chase felt the shakes coming again, hitting him hard, and he grabbed hold of the log to keep himself steady. There was a trumpet-like blast from a nearby dinosaur, followed by thunder—