Prehistoric Survival | Book 1 | Doomed City

by Sander, K. G.

  “Should we ask her?” Chad asked. “Leave it up to her?”

  “She’s too doped up to answer right now,” Hannah said.

  “Let’s just go do it. Then if Abby finds Gardner, he can look and see if it needs pins.”

  Chad and Hannah nodded in agreement. Set in their plan, the trio returned to Trauma 2 to set their co-worker's leg.

  “I’ll take the shoulders,” John said. He walked up to the head and pushed down on her shoulders. Chad and Hannah went to the left foot. Hannah gently unwrapped Becky’s left leg. The bone still stuck out at an odd angle, and Hannah gulped.

  “Ready?” Chad asked.

  They nodded.

  John leaned onto Becky’s shoulders, using his body weight to help keep her still. Becky’s eyes fluttered open lazily.

  “What are you doing?” She slurred.

  “Deep breath now, Becky,” John said. He couldn’t cry. Not in front of her. But Becky had been his best friend for years. Hell, she even came over for Christmas with his family. Seeing her like this was hard.

  “What are you doing?” She slurred again, trying hard to focus. “Brother, what are you doing?”

  John’s heart fell. Brother. Becky had no one and had called John and Maggie brother and sister for the last four years, practically since they had moved here. But never at work. Never in front of anyone.

  “I’m sorry,” John said to her. And, raising his head to look at Chad and Hannah, “Do it.”

  Becky screamed.

  Abby burst into the Trauma area with Gardner directly on her heels. John, Chad and Hannah were sitting at the nursing station, collective silence as they digested what they did.

  “Sorry,” Gardner said, “Was in surgery. What’s up?” He grabbed Becky’s chart, which was really a lined piece of paper with some scribbles of medication times. There was no way of looking up any of her information.

  “Bilateral tib/fib fractures,” Hannah said hollowly, “we just reset the open left side. The right is completely flat.”

  Gardner nodded. “Take her up. The team is ready. And we need to fix this while the generators are still working.” He took the chart and hurried away.

  “Guess he doesn’t really care about what else is going on.” Chad said. “Least there are no units coming in.”

  “No phones,” John answered, “So no calls.”

  “Hm. Didn’t think of that,” Chad said. “Guy didn’t look twice at the Pterodactyl lying dead in the emergency room.”

  “I told him about it,” Abby said. “Took a bit of convincing that it wasn’t a joke.”

  “Let’s get her up there,” Hannah said. “No sense delaying. Let’s save her legs.”

  John nodded, a smidgen of hope returning that maybe, just maybe, Becky wouldn’t die.

  They rose together, and John’s thoughts turned to his children. If the hospital was dealing with a Pterodactyl, what else was going outside these walls?

  “We need to lock up the emergency room,” Chad said under his breath as Hannah and Abby pushed Becky’s hospital bed out of the trauma room. “You know as well as I do that people are going to flood in. It’s going to be chaos.”

  John nodded.

  “But then do we deny them safe haven?”

  “If we let people crash in, is it really safe?” Chad asked.

  John nodded. “Let’s think about it.”

  His thoughts turned to his family. He wouldn’t be here for long, no matter what the decision was. So really, he shouldn’t be making it. He couldn’t live without his family. Someone had to protect them.

  So really, who was he to say what they should do at the hospital?

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Mason

  Mason ran behind Kennedy, breathing hard. They had a block and a half to go until they hit the house, and that included a small jaunt between the houses. That would be the most dangerous part.

  Trying to monitor the skies and on the surrounding chaos, he looked around as his little sister sprinted away.

  Dinosaurs. Fucking dinosaurs.

  He could think about the insane nature of their situation later. Now was survival mode. And he had to save his sister. The kid had nobody else, not with how much his parents worked. No. It was up to Mason, like it had always been. Lucky, he had found her in the park.

  Kennedy swerved right and took the path between two of the houses.

  Good. At least she could still think a little bit.

  Mason turned after her. A rustle in the trees to the right of the path made his head lurch around.

  “GO!” Mason yelled at Kennedy as the rustling grew louder.

  Kennedy turned it on. The kid would be a track star, Mason knew it, and he ran hard after her. His lungs burned, and he cursed his closet use of cigarettes and vapes. Something crashed through the fence behind them.

  Mason caught up to Kennedy, and they ran across the street. The house would be locked tight, except for the window going to the basement. They didn’t have time to unlock the door.

  Mason pulled past Kennedy and ran to the house, sliding underneath the overhang to the basement window. He kicked the screen in and shoved it open, something he’d done with care when sneaking back into the house in the past.

  Kennedy screamed, and Mason looked back. The juvenile T-Rex was almost on her. Mason held out his hand, “Come on, Ken. You got it!”

  Kennedy slid past him and Mason dove in after her, the head of the dinosaur snapping after him.

  Kennedy screamed and ran back towards a crumpled Mason. Confused, he turned over on the concrete floor to see Kennedy attacking the dinosaur with an axe out of the camping stuff that their dad kept in the basement.

  Shock coursed through him as he saw his little sister hack at the giant. It shrieked and retreated back through the window and Kennedy collapsed beside him, panting, bloody axe falling beside her.

  “You’re crazy,” Mason said, gasping right beside her. “Way to go, kid.”

  Kennedy wiped the blood off her hands on her flower jeans. “How d’you know that this window was unlocked?”

  “I leave it unlocked when I sneak out,” Mason answered. There was no use of lying to his little sister.

  “You gotta stop doing that,” Kennedy said. “Mom and dad are gonna get mad.”

  Mason laughed. He couldn’t help it. Kennedy looked at him with surprise, then joined him. A belly laugh escaped both of them and they rolled around on the floor. Tears streamed out of their eyes and they looked at each other.

  “I love you, kid,” Mason said finally, wheezing coming to an end. “Let’s go eat something.”

  Kennedy rose and helped him to his feet.

  “How did you find me?”

  “Well, the school was in an uproar and I didn’t see your shoes at the door when I checked there,” Mason said as they walked out of the concrete basement to the main floor of the house. “So, I figured you bailed, and I ran to the park.”

  “What’s going on?” Kennedy asked.

  Mason flopped on the couch. “Let’s see,” he said, picking up the remote and trying to flip it on. Nothing.

  “Power’s out, dumbass,” Kennedy said.

  “Right,” Mason said. “That makes sense then.”

  “Was that really a dinosaur?”

  “Sure looked like it,” Mason said. “You still have that dino book I gave you for your birthday a couple years back?”

  “Yeah,” Kennedy said, eyes lighting up. “Don’t need it though. That was an Albertosaurus.”

  “How do you know what that was?” Mason said, shaking his head. “You’re too damn smart, you know that?”

  Kennedy shrugged. “I memorized that book. You gave it to me after that trip to Drumheller and I love everything you’ve given to me.” She looked down. “I forgot your skateboard at the park.”

  Mason rose and rubbed her hair, “It’s okay, kid. I’ll get you another one. How do you know that isn’t a T-Rex?”

  Kennedy shrugged and sat at t
he kitchen island, waiting for Mason to make her a peanut butter sandwich. When times were tough, and it was just the two of them, Mason always made her a peanut butter sandwich. Mason didn’t disappoint and headed straight to the pantry for white bread and peanut butter.

  “Smaller,” Kennedy said, shrugging. “It wasn’t a juvenile. Still light and fast, travels in packs though.”

  “So, that wasn’t the one we left behind at the park?”

  “Probably not.”

  “Well, that’s something,” Mason said, cutting the sandwich in half at an angle and passing Kennedy half. “So,” he said, mouth full of peanut butter, “We’re surrounded by a bunch of medium T-Rex’s that hunt in packs?”

  “Yupp,” Kennedy answered, taking a big bite.

  “Well, eat up, kid. We’re in for a hell of an afternoon.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Officer Bennett Kura

  Bennett sat on a bench on the side of the gym. Kids were filing into the gymnasium, some looking scared, others confused, and other’s covered in scratches and blood. There were maybe fifty of them, all looking for someone to tell them what to do.

  Bennett thought the word “kids”, but, in all honesty, he was maybe five years older than the median age inside the gym. He was in charge. The uniform did it. And students filed up to him and asked him for help.

  “We’re going to lie low here,” he’d say, “Just until we get word on what’s going on.”

  That was the best he could do. He had no communication to dispatch. The landlines were dead. His cell phone had no bars and there was no WiFi anywhere. There was no way of knowing what was happening.

  He approached the girl he had run with to the doors of the University of Saskatchewan Kinesiology Building. She was sitting alone on the floor of the gym against the wall, reading something on her phone and wiping tears from her eyes.

  “Do you have any bars?” He asked her.

  “What?” She looked confused, then said, “Oh, no. Sorry I’m just reading a text I got from my mom earlier today.” She sniffled and wiped her eyes. “I didn’t have time to look at it until now, I was in an exam.”

  “Bad news?”

  “That easy to tell, huh?”

  Bennett smiled warmly, “Well, I’m major crimes so I have a sense about me,” he joked.

  “My dad was in an accident this morning,” she said, holding back a sob. “He’s in the hospital. Guess someone died in it. My mom texted me and told me to get to the hospital when I could. She knew I had an exam, so she didn’t call…” she drifted off, looking sadly at her phone.

  “What’s your name?” Bennett asked, plopping down beside her. He silently offered her a drink from the bottle of water he’d gotten out of the vending machine earlier. At least the backup generators were still working in this building.

  “Cleo. Cleo Bloomfield. You?” She held out her hand.

  “Officer Bennett Kura,” Bennett said, shaking it warmly. “I never had the chance to thank you for holding the door for me. You’re fast.”

  Cleo smiled. “I’m in cross-country,” she said.

  “What happened there?” He gestured to the coffee stains all over her shirt.

  Cleo blushed. “I was doing my intervals this morning before my exam. Ran full tilt into a Professor carrying coffee. Most embarrassing moment of my life. I bet I ruined her suit. And it looked like she cried.” Tears welled in Cleo’s eyes and she brushed them away. “Sorry,” she said, “Apparently, I’m emotional today.”

  “All good,” Bennett said, watching the students mill about. “I get it. A freaking Pterodactyl ate a woman right in front of me. I didn’t wake up thinking my day was going to go like this.”

  Emotions. Sudden and unwanted rushed through him and he put his head back against the wall, trying to fight back the tears. Sure, Jake was brazen and often told him how annoying he was, but he’d been his mentor. More importantly, he’d been his friend. Now that he was gone, Bennett wasn’t sure he even wanted this job.

  “What kind of accident was your dad in?” Bennett said, trying to switch the subject and get the girl talking again. For selfish reasons. The more he thought about her and her tragedy and helping her, the less he focused inwards.

  “I dunno,” Cleo said. “He’s a truck driver. I’m not sure if he fell or was in a car wreck. Mom’s never texted me like that before, especially during school. I don’t know if it’s bad or not.”

  Bennett’s heart lurched. Small world. Now, did he tell the girl her father was in serious condition, but alive when he left the hospital? Or did he just let it go?

  Bennett let it go. Hell, he didn’t know that Cleo’s father was the truck driver who’d obliterated Jake’s truck. Maybe Cleo was right, and he fell off the top of the semi or something checking his load.

  Bennett knew that he was wrong and that it would be quite the coincidence if this girl’s semi-driving father was in a different accident, but he couldn’t bring himself to talk about it.

  They sat in silence, both looking at their phones.

  A student walked up to them nervously.

  “Hi,” the girl said, “I’m Padma. Do you have any radio reception?”

  Straight to the point. And the girl looked like she had an idea. Bennett liked that. “Nope. Nothing.” And, to demonstrate, he keyed the mic, letting out the low pitch through the lapel speaker.

  “I might be able to help?” Padma said. “I’m a third- year electronics engineering student. I have the equipment for an AM radio in my lab. I might be able to set something up that you can broadcast? We may not get a response, but if others are broadcasting, or radio stations are still up, we might hear.”

  Bennett sprang to his feet. “That would be awesome,” he said, smiling back at Cleo, who was scrambling to her feet. “Let’s go.”

  “That’s the problem,” Padma said. “The lab is across campus. We can show you,” she said, gesturing to two students hanging back. “But it’s going to be crazy. There’s… things. Everywhere.”

  “You mean dinosaurs?” Bennett said, half-joking with a quirked smile.

  “Exactly,” Padma said, meeting his gaze. “And there’s people going crazy. We’re too scared to go by ourselves.” Padma shrugged. “Maybe we can help each other. Plus, we need to get out of here before-”

  The lights all went out, leaving only a sliver of light from the windowed door up the stairs behind them. A couple of girls screamed.

  “Before that,” Padma said hastily. “Shoji has some generators in his lab,” she said. Bennett pulled his flashlight out of his best. “We will need them too.”

  “You get him to come?” A young male said behind Padma. He must have hustled forward when the lights went out. Cell phones were produced, and the flashlight functions were turned on, giving the gymnasium an eerie glow.

  “Yeah,” Bennett said, answering him. “Won’t be easy though. If people are going as crazy as she says,” he nodded towards Padma. “There’s only so much I can do.”

  Shoji shrugged. “It’s our best chance to figure out what is going on and how far this extends. Hopefully, others have the same idea. Old technology, but we still use it.”

  Cleo popped up beside Bennett. “I’m coming,” she said. “It’ll keep my mind off my dad, and I need to know how I can get to St. Paul’s. I’m hoping that some AM stations can tell us what’s going on.”

  Bennett nodded, looking at his rag-tag group of students. They were all so skinny. He’d give anything to have a couple street side officers with him. But this would have to do. Time to adapt.

  He shrugged. “Let’s get going then.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Maggie

  Lindsay wasn’t doing well. Maggie could tell. As much as she was trying to grit her teeth and bear the pain, her brow showed a cold sweat and she was having to take a lot of breaks.

  “Just hang out,” Maggie said, helping Lindsay sit down at the gas pumps. “I’m going to find us water.”

 
The gas station was deserted. It was in a residential area, and it surprised Maggie that the dinosaurs had moved this far inwards.

  “I’ll come with,” Dirby said. “You may need help to carry stuff.”

  Maggie wanted to argue. More because she just wanted some time alone to think than anything. But Dirby was right, they needed to restock on water and some food. Plus, Ginny and Trudy had been hauling Lindsay a long way, and they looked exhausted.

  “Alright. Yell if you guys see anything,” Maggie said.

  “Hopefully this overhang puts us out of vision of the really big ones,” Ginny said nervously, looking around.

  Maggie didn’t answer. Gripping the crowbar and synching her backpack higher, she silently walked towards the gas station, careful to watch her feet.

  “Why is everything abandoned?” Dirby whispered when they were far enough away from the ladies. “It’s like the apocalypse out here. And it’s only been a couple hours since…” He drifted off, but Maggie caught the implication.

  Since they ended the world.

  Cars were abandoned in the intersection next to the gas station, some flattened. The rust of blood spatter littered streets, walls and metal. Though they saw no dead bodies or pieces. Dirby was right, it was like an apocalypse film. How had their bustling city come to this in the last two hours?

  “Don’t think anyone woke up this morning expecting to see dinosaurs,” Maggie answered. They reached the door of the convenience store. Maggie held the crow bar overhead and nodded to Dirby. He tried to open it. Locked. “I’m assuming everyone panicked and ran. Maybe to their own homes or congregating somewhere.” Maggie shrugged. “Seems weird we haven’t run in to anyone else though.”

  “Doesn’t it?” Dirby said. He picked up a broken piece of concrete parking marker. “Watch out.”

  Maggie stepped aside and Dirby smashed the glass door. Ginny let out a little scream from behind them and Maggie turned sharply. Ginny looked at her sheepishly and waved.