“Thanks, kid,” his mother said, shoving his arm. “I’m so fucking proud of you.”
Mason’s heart leapt. That was a big deal. His mother loved him, he knew. But he was never sure if she was actually proud of him.
“Race you,” his mother said, and she took off behind Kennedy. Mason shook his head. Something about his mother laughing and joking with a rifle slung across her shoulders was a sight that he’d never thought he’d see. And yet, it wasn’t odd. It was like they had always been living the lie, and now they were actually where they were supposed to be.
Laughing, he followed his mother into the shed.
Chapter Forty-Five
Maggie
The T-Rex lunged at her.
Maggie could only close her eyes and picture her kids. This was the end. She knew it.
The bite never came. Instead, a thump backwards as the T-Rex took a step away from her. She opened her eyes. Still lying on her back in the park, the rising sun shone overtop of the dinosaur’s head.
Her kids. She’d ran out of the shed to save her kids. Idiot, she should never have stopped in the park. And for what? Maybe a spare flashlight or a tire iron or something?
A shot rang out and the T-Rex reeled, giant foot crashing down inches from her head. The head turned and Maggie scrambled to her feet.
What was happening?
Another shot rang out. The T-Rex responded with a roar. And a strange sound emerged from down the street.
Was that… music?
The T-Rex retreated from the blaring pop music. The beat grew louder and louder, drowning out the sound of her quad and the small engines approaching.
Another shot. This time it hit the T-Rex’s eye. It whimpered (if a T-Rex could whimper) and, without a backwards glance, it ran past Maggie down the street.
Stunned, Maggie turned towards the shed. Her son was standing with the rifle, aiming it at the dinosaur.
And, beside him, was a group of teenagers on dirt bikes and quads. One of them was holding a speaker above his head.
A speaker playing Emotions by Mariah Carey.
The whistle tone notes hit, and a Pterodactyl screeched from above them, swooping away from the noise.
Maggie approached the kids, heart still racing.
And recognized her son’s best friend, Ellis.
“What the hell?” Was the only sentence she could muster.
“Apparently they hate pop music,” Mason said, an enormous smile all over his face. He kept sneaking glances at Ellis. “Especially whistle tone.”
The five other teens with him were nodding as they leaned over the handlebars of their dirt bikes and quads. Two quads, three dirt bikes. A couple of long-haired boys with bandanas and short-haired girls with dirty faces smiled at her.
“Thank you,” Maggie said, heart rate starting to slow. “Really. Thank you. How did you figure this out?”
“I’m a sucker for Mariah,” Ellis said. “A few of the big dinos broke into my house while I was listening. I had it up loud, and they froze and tried to run. I picked them off with an axe.”
“I thought you were dead,” Mason said. “We went to your house. There was blood everywhere. I thought it was yours.”
Ellis smiled. “I thought that quad looked familiar,” he said. “And nope, I got out of here quick after the Big Bang there. We all hooked up in Walter Murray. The High School was pretty much empty, but we crashed out in the shop class together. Kept the music playing.”
“Well, we have to keep your speakers charged,” Maggie said. “And the phones with their bluetooth need to be charged too. We should head to the University. I know there are generators in some of the labs there. We could probably reset there, get cleaned up and charge some of our stuff.”
Ellis shrugged, “Works for me. We cleaned out the cafeteria. Still hungry, though. Can we come with? See if anyone else we know made their way to the Uni?”
Maggie smiled, “I owe you guys my life. I will make sure you’re taken care of.”
Ellis flashed a smile, “Well, thanks Mrs. K. We appreciate it.”
One of the guys revved his engine. Taking the hint, Maggie straddled the quad, Kennedy behind her. Mason went to one of the girl’s dirt bikes and hopped on behind her. She turned and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Maggie turned away. They had done that before, and she really didn’t want to know when or where.
Without a look behind, the group revved their engines and ripped through the park, Maggie squarely in the middle.
Emotions by Mariah Carey escorted them along the way.
Chapter Forty-Six
Kevin
Grit made it hard to open his eyes.
Well, grit and depression. There was an infinitesimal moment in time, right after he woke up, right before reality hit, that his heart didn’t hurt, and he felt normal. Then it all came flooding back. The emotions of losing his soul mate hit him right in the chest, so hard that it was difficult to breathe.
Alone. In a hotel. With Jake dead.
How was he supposed to get out of bed? How was he supposed to “move on”?
There was no way he could. Light filtered through the hotel window covering.
There would be no more happiness. Only emptiness. The best part of him was Jake. Even recently, when they’d been so distant from each other, he was his reason for living.
And now, in a violent crater of ash and dust, he’d been taken from him.
His one and only. His husband. Gone.
Jake and Kevin had been closeted high school sweethearts. Back when gay wasn’t accepted. Hell, if the rest of the football team knew that the quarterback and wide receiver were sleeping together, they’d have been left for dead in a ditch.
But experimentation gradually blossomed into interest. They’d enjoyed each other’s company, not just their bodies. Eventually, they’d come out of the closet together, both leaning on each other for emotional support.
Jake’s parents said they’d always known. Kevin’s parents kicked him out. So, he’d lived with Jake and his family. Hell, Jake’s parents had damn near raised him. And John, well John had been there for him the day he’d gotten drunk and totalled his truck.
The shock of John, Maggie, Mason and Kennedy being in the city as well floored him. He’d hadn’t even thought of them, and guilt rose. He loved his niece and nephew. Hell, he and Mason went fishing every summer.
The gravity of the two-hundred thousand people who’d lost their lives hit him. All the people he worked with, all the people he loved.
Gone.
He couldn’t cry. He’d given all his tears for his love.
Anger filled him, edging out the darkness of grief. He would get to the bottom of this if it killed him.
What did he have to lose?
Part VII
Energy Dispersion
Chapter Forty-Seven
John
“Well, you’re just gonna have to jump,” Jimmy called from above him. “Ropes too short.”
“Obviously the rope is too fucking short,” John called back angrily, feet swinging ten feet above the dry riverbed. An Ankylosaurus lumbered beneath him, armoured back only feet away from John’s tennis shoes.
“Now would be the time!”
Fuck. Closing his eyes, he let go of the rope. He fell onto the back of the dinosaur, who was oblivious to the extra weight on its back. It grunted, then lumbered forward to eat a sprouting piece of grass. John balanced himself like he was on a snowboard and took a minute to steady his racing heart. The Ankylosaurus grunted again and walked forward. John swayed with the dinosaur’s back and, when it turned to look behind it, he jumped off and into a roll.
His hands scraped the ground as he somersaulted on the riverbed.
Another grunt and the Ankylosaurus lumbered by him, uninterested in the pink fleshy animal who’d just dropped on its back from the heavens. John skittered back on his butt, but the dinosaur just walked right by him, looking for his next blade of grass.
The awe hit him again. A dinosaur. With plated back and giant legs, it lumbered by him, mallet tail swinging happily side to side.
It really didn’t care about John’s presence, leaving him to just watch the beaked face sniff the ground and look for food. A thump beside him startled John, and he turned to see a smiling Jimmy fall on his butt right beside John. The Ankylosaurus sniffed its displeasure at the alcoholics presence and lumbered away.
“Well, we can’t get our rope,” Jimmy said, pointing upward at the hanging rope in the air above them.
“Yeah, that’s gonna be a problem.”
“Guess we will have to solve it by the time we get across. Which won’t be long.”
“Sure won’t.”
Jimmy reached into his inner pocket of his oversized coat and brought out a mickey of schnapps. Taking a swig, he passed it over to John. Shrugging, John took him up on the offer. The burning liquid hit his stomach, and he thoroughly enjoyed the sensation. His tired mind focused, and he smacked his lips. Jimmy laughed and shoved his shoulder.
“Aren’t you hot in that coat?”
Jimmy took a last hit, then tucked the booze back into his coat. “I like it, I’m the street version of Hagrid.”
John’s jaw dropped, and he stared at the transient. “The what?”
“Like in Harry Potter? Hagrid? He always has fun stuff tucked into his coat.”
“I know what you’re talking about,” John said. He snorted. “I’m just surprised that you’re a… nerd.”
Jimmy laughed. “My kids used to like those books. Used to read it to them every night.” He looked away, memories of his lost children haunting his face. “It’s been a while since I’ve thought of that. Don’t know why it just popped into my head right now.”
John shrugged, “You got a dip for me?”
Jimmy smiled and produced the tin of tobacco, “See? Just like Hagrid.”
John smiled back, for the first time not knowing what to say. John always had an answer, a retort, a shot. But the many layers of Jimmy the Street Drunk from Emergency continued to surprise him.
A Parasaurolophus passed by, smaller than the rest of the herd. It sniffed them as it walked, then continued on its way, crest barely reaching six feet tall.
“Yah know,” Jimmy said, “I always loved dinosaurs. I’m lucky I lived long enough to see them.”
John nodded and spit the brown tobacco juice to the side. The Parasaurolophus sniffed the air, then huffed and moved away from the seated pair of humans.
“The other side seems a lot farther away from this angle,” Jimmy said, nodding towards the steep bank on the other side of the river. “Maybe we should have gone around and try to find a bridge.”
John snorted at Jimmy’s snide smile, “Too late now.” He rose to his feet, wiped off his hands and held one out to his compatriot. “Come on, old man. Let’s get this done.”
Jimmy smiled. “I’m younger than you are.”
“Pft. As if.”
“At heart, anyway.”
John smacked him on the back. They turned and faced the wall of rock in front of them at the opposite bank, easily one hundred yards away, and through a gauntlet of dinosaurs.
“At least they’re all friendly ones,” Jimmy said, stepping forward.
A roar sounded to the west. And it sounded big. The hundred plus herbivores in the river bed all popped their heads up in unison to look behind them. John’s stomach dropped. They were sitting ducks in this riverbed, especially if a stampede started.
They needed to get to the other side and out of here, fast.
Another roar.
They looked at each other.
And ran.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Officer Bennett Kura
“So, this will work?”
Bennett looked incredulously at the contraption in front of him. A battery with a chip on it, the mic from his radio attached, with a giant metal antenna.
“Should,” Padma said, shrugging. “It’s an FM transmitter and receiver.”
Shoji played with a small knob they’d attached to the computer chip. Static emerged from the speaker they’d taken from Bennett’s radio.
“So why is nothing coming out?”
“Patience,” Shoji said, focused on the dial. He turned it in small increments, yet only static replied. “Might be ‘cause the concrete walls are messing with the incoming and outgoing signal.”
“Meaning…?”
Bennett knew what it meant. But he did NOT want to go to the roof.
“We need to bring the antenna to the roof,” Shoji answered, reading his thoughts.
“Dibs out,” Bennett said. “Have you seen what’s out there? I saw a lady get eaten by a Pterodactyl yesterday. There’s no way I’m going to the roof. That’s just closer to the man-eating birds are in the sky,”
“I’ll go,” Cleo said from her perch, sitting on the lab table beside Padma and Shoji. “Need the fresh air.”
“Well, you’re not going alone,” Bennett snapped. “Not in a long shot.”
Cleo smiled at him, “Well then, I guess you’re coming.”
Bennett frowned. “Not cool.”
“We should all go anyway,” Shoji said. “Me and Padma have to be there to troubleshoot any problems. If all goes well, you will send a call for help and listen to anyone else who is sending an SOS. Plus, maybe people will be able to congregate here.”
“Death birds,” Bennett muttered. “Ya’ll are forgetting the death birds. Plus, the Velociraptors, who are turning out to be no picnic. There’s probably bigger fuckers lurking. And like bugs or a snake or something.”
The students all stared at him, Cleo and Padma trying and failing to hide smiles.
“What’s so funny?” He snapped.
Cleo snickered. “Death birds”
“Shut up, all of you,” he said. Pulling his handgun out of his holster, he said, “I go first. Yell if you see any death birds or anything.”
“We probably want to go to the roof of the Observatory,” Padma said. “Guaranteed open skies, plus it’s small and we can see anything coming.”
“Of course, you want to go to a different building,” Bennett sighed. “Why wouldn’t you? Where is this observatory?”
“Like a ten- minute walk from here,” Padma said. She hopped down from the lab table where she was sitting beside Cleo. “Shorter if we bust through one of the windows on the ground floor here on the South side.”
“Goody.”
“Positive attitude, Bennett,” Cleo said, hopping down to join Padma and Shoji by the door.
“Why are you guys so excited to die a gruesome death?”
“We’ll be fine,” Cleo said. “We got you.”
Bennett shook his head. “Where are we going?”
“Head towards the hospital. The observatory is between here and there, a little south.”
“Don’t use all your bullets,” Shoji added. “Gotta save a few for the death birds.”
“You guys are assholes.”
“Ready?” Cleo said, walking towards the door.
“Seriously, why so excited to die?” This time Bennett was serious. There was no teasing undertone to his voice. No hidden smile.
Shoji turned to him. “We’d rather die doing something that could help a lot of people, than to die hiding in a lab in the basement.” He nodded towards Bennett’s badge that he wore proudly, “Pretty sure that’s what got you into your profession.”
Bennett sighed. The kids weren’t wrong. They needed to help instead of cowering in a basement with no food or water. They needed backup. They needed others. And the humans of Saskatoon needed to band together to make a safe haven. None of that happened if they were hiding in the basement lab of the physics building.
“Stay close to me,” Bennett said. “We don’t split up. Everyone together got it?”
They all nodded gravely.
Bennett walked towards the door.
“Ready?”
They
nodded again.
He opened it, “Then let’s go.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
Maggie
The trip to the University was kind of fun.
A few minutes in, Maggie felt herself starting to relax as she drove the quad, guided by teenagers blaring whistle tone pop music.
Dinosaurs ran from them as they approached, the blaring music scaring them away before they even got a look at the incoming gang of dirt bikes and quads.
They had to keep the revs of the engine low so that the blaring music beat them to the dinosaurs. Maggie didn’t mind. The wind through her hair was a welcome reprieve from stifling humidity that she still hadn’t gotten used to.
Besides, her youngest, her daughter, her Kennedy was pressed up against her and whooping for joy as Maggie drove the quad.
After all the death and destruction she’d seen, this was a welcome reprieve. A moment, if only small, of actual happiness. No worry clouded her head, no increased awareness of her surroundings. For the first time in a day and a half, she felt safe.
The feeling didn’t last long.
The group stopped on the south side of College drive to look at the burned-out remains of the hospital. Maggie shook her head. Those crazy bastards had actually burned it down. It hadn’t been a joke or a bluff. They’d burned the largest hospital in Saskatoon to the ground.
The air was taken out of her lungs. Her palms were sweating, and she was finding it hard to breathe. The loss of life, just in that one building, was staggering.
The enormity of the loss of life that must have occurred in Saskatoon hit her, and she went limp in her seat on the quad. So many people, gone. And she had no idea how they’d ever get back to the time they were supposed to be in.
Prehistoric Survival | Book 1 | Doomed City Page 17
