Time Crunch Read online

  Zach made a sound like a drunken bee: Phhhhpppps!

  “I wandered away from camp. I mean, I know I wasn’t supposed to, but there were a bunch of baby apatosaurs. They were playing around like a bunch of little kids and I started following them. I mean, they were so cute! I would have been okay, but a couple of dromaeosaurs—”

  “Dromaeosaurs?”

  “Or they might have been deinonychus—”

  “What?”

  “Think velociraptor, but bigger and with a nastier attitude. Anyway, a bunch of ’em got between me and the camp and …” He shrugged. “Anyway, something must’ve happened—guys might have run into the dilophosaurs or something—”

  “Yeah,” Chase said, cutting in. “They told me some people got hurt—”

  “Yeah, I figured it was something like that when I saw the jet fly away. Boy, that’s a sight you never wanna see! Anyway, long story short, I got lost, jet left without me, and here we are.”

  “Huh.” And then: “I like your spear.”

  “What? Oh, this? Yeah, it’s like my hiking stick, and I use it to spear fish. And it’s good for scaring off those goofy dinobirds.” And then, beneath his breath: “Third time the freaky little creeps stole my fish!”

  Chase laughed. They hadn’t even reached Zach’s “surprise,” but his friend was already cheering him up.

  “So, um, I guess there are some pretty scary dinosaurs around? Besides those ceratosaurs?”

  “Well, I’ve seen some allosaurs and dromaeosaurs. And the dilophosaurs, of course.” He gave Chase a grim look. “But the freakiest things are the zachiosaurs.”

  “Zeewhatsis?”

  “Zuh-KEE-uh-sore,” Zach pronounced slowly. “They’re probably siats—”

  “Seewitch?”

  “Siats. It’s spelled S-I-A-T-S but pronounced ‘see-atch.’ They’re not well known, and since I don’t know for sure I call ’em zachiosaurs. I mean, I found ’em, right? Anyway, they’re big and they’re fast. And they’re mean. And once they get your scent they keep after you. Don’t give up on you. Follow you around like stink after skunks.”

  He shuddered.

  “They’re the worst.”

  “Huh.” Chase was certain he didn’t want to run into any of them, whatever they were. He licked his lips. “So what’ve you been eating?”

  “Fish, mostly. But I ate dinosaur once.”

  “You what?”

  “An isanosaur. Have you seen those? Things that look like green giraffes?”

  Chase knew instantly what he was talking about: he’d seen a herd of them from the tree. “Yeah, I’ve seen them.”

  “Not surprised: they’re all over the place. Anyway, an allosaur killed one. He’d eaten his fill and wandered off for a nap, leaving a bunch of little scavengers to finish it off. I ran in as fast as I could, scared off the scavengers, carved off a steak, and hightailed it back to camp.”

  “Huh. How was it?”

  “Don’t recommend it. I mean, you’re eating lizard, right? But you know … when you haven’t had anything but fish for a while, anything different’s nice.”

  CHASE GLANCED around as they hiked. He noticed that Zach was watching the forest, but not nearly as zealously as he might have.

  “You don’t seem too worried out here,” he finally said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Just that you’re walking around like a kid at the mall. Aren’t you worried about a … dilophosaur … jumping you?”

  Zach seemed surprised. “This really isn’t dilophosaur country. We could go find some if you want, but they’ve got to cross Allosaur Alley to get here, and they don’t like doing that. I mean, they don’t like allosaurs any more than I do.”

  He shrugged.

  “Anyway, we ought to be pretty safe.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Well, I’m not, really. But I’ve been watching. And listening.”

  “Listening for what?”

  Zach put a finger up to his lips and held out a hand, gesturing for Chase to listen. Chase cocked an ear. He could hear birds, and bugs, and a cacophony of chirps, chirrups, and chitters from small forest animals.

  “You hear all that?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Next time you see one of the big meat munchers, listen again. But you won’t hear anything. All those little buggers are prey, too, and they’ve got good noses. So when predators are around, they don’t advertise.” And then: “When one of the really big carnivores are around you usually sense it, and hear it, and sometimes even smell it before you see it.”

  “Huh.”

  It made sense, and Chase figured that by now, Zach knew what he was talking about. But he nevertheless kept a sharp eye over his shoulder as they hiked.

  After several minutes, Zach began to slow, and Chase saw he was now glancing back and forth, keeping a closer eye on the woods. Chase stepped up beside him.

  “You hear something?”

  “No. But we’re getting close. We’re in their territory now, so we gotta be careful.”

  Chase felt a chill. “In whose territory?”

  “You’ll see.”

  Another minute passed, then Zach stepped off the trail they’d been following and began bushwhacking through the trees. In time they came to a massive rock that rose from the forest like the wall of an ancient fortress. Keeping hold of his spear, Zach began to climb. Chase took a final look around the forest, then followed.

  It was like scaling the climbing wall at a sporting goods store. There were plenty of bumps and holes and cracks to grab hold of and Chase climbed quickly, but not nearly as fast as Zach, who scaled the rock like a monkey.

  Chase felt a pang of competitive jealousy, but quickly shrugged it off, thinking: I’m still pretty stiff and sore. And besides, Zach’s already been here and done that and knows the easiest way up.

  When they reached the top, Zach motioned for Chase to keep low, then crept to the very end of the rock. He sat down on the edge and let his legs dangle over the side.

  “We’re pretty safe here, but don’t need to let anything see us.” He pointed. “Check it out.”

  They were overlooking a grassy meadow where several twenty-foot theropods were standing around. The dinosaurs had the classic T-rex shape, though they were much smaller, and leaner, and not quite as terrifying. The most curious thing was a crest that ran sideways over the top of their head like a fan; Chase couldn’t tell if it was made of bone or cartilage.

  “I’m not a hundred percent sure,” Zach whispered. “But I think they’re elvisaurs.”

  “They’re what?”

  “I can’t remember their real name—Cryolophosaurus or something; they’re pretty rare—but see that thing on their head that looks like an old-time hairdo?”

  “Yeah …”

  “Somebody looking at fossils thought it looked like Elvis Presley’s haircut. Nicknamed it Elvisaurus.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  “When Dad told me I was gonna get to come, I read everything I could. You know, about the whole Mesozoic Era.” He looked at Chase and grinned. “Have you seen ’em yet?”

  “Seen what?”

  “Keep looking,” Zach teased.

  Chase leaned over, looking hard, then—

  What?

  One of the elvisaurs seemed to be standing guard, peering out over the meadow. And around its feet—

  “Babies!”

  “Yeah! Just look at ’em! They’re all over the place!”

  Now that he was looking, Chase could see them, too. Small little Elvis-things scampering through the grass, darting around and bowling into one another like little kids playing an energetic game of tag.

  Chase laughed out loud. “They’re so cute!”

  “I know, right? I knew they’d cheer you up.”

  “Wow! How old are they?”

  “Just a couple of days.” He pointed. “See? There’s a couple of nests with eggs that haven’t hatched yet.
I’m not positive, but I think they can run as soon as they break outta the egg. But it makes sense: place like this, you’re not gonna live long if you can’t run like your butt’s on fire.”

  Chase checked out one of the nests. Even from a distance it was obvious the eggs were situated around the edge of the nest, rather than the middle.

  “How come they lay their eggs like that?”

  “If you watch long enough, sometimes you’ll see one of the mothers curl up in the middle. I think that’s how they keep them warm. I mean, they can’t sit on top of them like chickens, right? Smash ’em into little dino omelets.”

  Chase watched as one of the youngsters hopped onto a rock, peered into the distance, then leaped forward like a bird going for takeoff. It fell flat on its nose, but was instantly up again, looking around as if checking to see if anyone had seen it tumble.

  “Man, I wanna catch one. Catch one and take it home.”

  “You could try. But you’d have to get past its mother, and they’re a heckuva lot meaner than they look.”

  LOOKING OUT OVER the forest, Zach pointed out the area claimed by the dilophosaurs, which was where he thought the landing area was.

  “I haven’t been back,” he said. “Those dilophosaurs scare the crap out of me. But I know we landed in dilophosaur country, so I’m sure that’s the place.”

  “What about these zachiosaurs? Where do they hang out?”

  Zach shrugged. “Zachiosaurs are apex predators. At least, if there’s something bigger, I haven’t seen ’em yet. Anyway, they go wherever they want. Same with apatosaurs. They’re too big to mess with, and between their feet and their tails, they can take out anything they don’t like.”

  “Huh.”

  Chase looked off in the direction of the landing area. Zach recognized the look on his face and asked, “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking I want to go back. I mean, I didn’t want to, but … well, some of the guys might have survived. Some of ’em might even be hurt … might need help. Anyway, if there’s anyone there, I think we ought to team up.”

  Zach frowned. “Bad idea, man. I mean, between the dilophosaurs and ceratosaurs, if there’s one place you don’t want to go, that’s it. A lot of times you can tell when something big’s sneaking around. But when they just hide in the grass waiting for you”—he shuddered—“well, that’s scary.”

  “Yeah, I know. Still—”

  “Okay, I’m not disagreeing, but”—Zach spread his hands—“even if someone survived, chances are they’re not there anymore. I just can’t picture anyone hanging around there for long. So even if we go back, everyone’s probably gone.”

  “I know,” Chase repeated. “I just can’t think of a better idea.”

  He glanced up at the sun, remembering how Smith judged the time, then looked back over the forest.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Zach said.

  “What’s that?”

  “You’re not gonna give up. You’re gonna worry about it until I take you back.”

  Chase looked at his friend and grinned.

  “Then what are we waiting for?”

  THE FOREST WAS warm and humid. Game trails crisscrossed the woods, but Zach preferred bushwhacking.

  “Trails are made by dinosaurs,” he explained. “So whenever you’re on one, you’re likely to run into something.”

  Well, that makes sense, Chase thought.

  He kept his eyes peeled for threats, but was fascinated by the variety of bugs, rodents, and animals that crept, crawled, climbed, burrowed, flew, and buzzed around everywhere. He saw spiders the size of baseballs, beetles the size of rats, and centipedes that could have carried away small neighbor children. There was an almost nonstop buzz in the air, made from the wings of thousands of flying bugs.

  Once, as they passed a massive tangle of roots, Zach stopped and pointed.

  “See that big fern leaf over there?”

  “The one that looks wet? Yeah?”

  “Don’t touch it. The shiny stuff is really sticky and it’s almost impossible to get off. And it burns like crazy. One touch and you’ll go running hard as you can for the nearest stream, and plain-ole water doesn’t help a bit.”

  “You learn that the hard way?”

  “Oh, yeah. It burned so bad I ran right past a hungry allosaur. It chased me, but I hurt too bad to care. I almost let it catch me just to put me out of my misery.”

  Chase wasn’t sure how much of the story was true and how much was exaggeration, but he filed the information away for future reference.

  Okay, important safety tip: don’t touch the sticky ferns!

  Zach began hiking again, but had only taken a couple of steps before stopping. He held a hand up as a signal, then began jerking his head back and forth and up and down as he scanned the trees. Chase began looking too, but didn’t see anything. After a moment he eased up beside his friend. He didn’t have to be told to be quiet.

  “What is it?” he whispered.

  “Listen,” Zach whispered back, his head still darting around.

  Chase listened for a moment, then said, “I don’t hear anything.”

  “That’s what I mean.”

  Chase instantly understood. The small forest animals had become quiet, as if knowing the slightest sound meant being eaten for lunch. The forest suddenly felt hotter than usual, and Chase felt a bead of a sweat trickling down his back.

  Almost in slow motion, Zach took a step back and then—without taking his eyes from the trees—motioned to Chase.

  “See those big roots behind you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “We’ve gotta get under them. But slowly! Don’t make any sudden moves. And don’t make any noise!”

  Chase took a step back, then gingerly, carefully, lowered himself to his knees. And then to his belly. He slowly army-crawled through the duff, easing beneath the thick, tangled roots. Zach did the same, moving backward so he could keep his eyes out toward the forest.

  Chase wiggled around until he was practically beneath the tree, then scrunched himself as hard as he could against the roots, making as much room as he could for Zach. Through the corner of his eye he saw a foot-long centipede scurry away, but forced himself not to flinch: he had more frightening things to worry about. He wiggled a little deeper. Zach eased up alongside, mashing Chase even tighter against the roots.

  Zach whispered in a voice so low Chase could barely hear him. “That as far as you can go?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Crap.”

  Chase hesitated, then asked, “What is it?”

  “Not sure yet. But I don’t like it.” And then: “Can’t you feel it?”

  Chase wasn’t sure what he meant. But after a moment—

  I can feel it!

  He wasn’t sure what it was. He only knew there was suddenly a … presence … in the forest. He could feel it as certainly as he felt Zach mashing him against the roots.

  Seconds passed.

  And then Chase heard a snap from the trees. As if something had stepped on a dry leaf or the tiniest of twigs.

  Zach froze, his body pressed so tightly against him Chase could tell his friend was holding his breath. Chase felt something else and with a start realized: I can actually feel his heart beating!

  Chase felt a chill, realizing his friend’s heart wasn’t simply beating, it was pounding.

  There came a soft crunch.

  Chase held still, though he could hear Zach breathing—

  But no! He could feel Zach … and his friend was still holding his breath!

  Chase clenched his teeth, knowing that whatever was out there was so close he could hear it breathing. Could hear deep, even breaths coming and going like wind in a deep tunnel. He screwed his eyes shut, then forced them open again, determined to keep track of what was happening.

  Seconds passed.

  And then Chase felt a tremor, a slight shake as something heavy hit the ground nearby.

  Chase felt his
body begin to tremble and fought to stay still. Knew the slightest sound, or movement, might give him away. His chest was burning, aching for air, but he didn’t breathe. His legs began shaking and he prayed for them to be quiet.

  Something moved, and an enormous three-toed foot pressed into the earth just inches away, the toes splaying outward as they took the weight of a heavy dinosaur. Chase could see every detail, could see chips and scratches in the claws—

  And he could smell it.

  Could smell the sour odor of spoiled meat.

  He wanted to close his eyes, but couldn’t look away.

  The dinosaur took another step. And another. Chase couldn’t see anything more than the massive feet and claws, but was fascinated by the way each foot swung around to land in front of the other, almost making single-file tracks.

  The dinosaur continued moving, creeping along like a ninja in the forest, barely making a sound, barely disturbing the brush as it moved. A long, thick tail appeared, flicking the brush …

  It felt like an eternity before the dinosaur finally disappeared into the timber, but Chase remained perfectly still. After several long moments Zach finally exhaled, then sucked in a huge lungful of air. Chase did, too, feeling the stress and terror ebbing away. He suddenly realized his cheeks were wet. But—

  Was I crying?

  He didn’t think so. But his cheeks were wet, as if he’d clenched himself so tightly he’d squeezed tears from his eyes.

  Zach relaxed and wiggled around to give Chase a little more room. And then he whispered, “You okay?”

  “Think so. You?”

  “Yeah. Could you see it?”

  “Only part. What was it?”

  “Think it was a zachiosaur. But I didn’t get a good look at the license plate.”

  Chase choked back a laugh, the sound coming out as a muffled cough.

  “Think it’s gone?”

  There was a pause before Zach whispered: “Yeah. Think so.” And then: “Are you sure you want to go back to the landing site?”

  11 Apatosaurs

  “WHERE DO YOU think it’s going?” Chase asked, still wondering about the passing dinosaur.

  The boys had climbed from the roots, brushed themselves off, and were once again bushwhacking through the forest.

  “Don’t know.”