by Dan Thomas
“Good boy,” Max muttered as he reached down and pulled the two arrows and the knife out of the dino’s body. It didn’t seem to show any signs of slowing down, but Max was well aware that they still had a lot of action ahead of them.
He looked downhill to where the Carnotaur had managed to get to its feet, limping its way between the boulders where the bulkier Torosaurus and Hesperosaurus couldn’t follow. The two of the Coprolite Crew’s dinos instead stomped their way down the path, intending to cut off the carnivore’s escape.
The first Carnotaur, Maeve still on its back, was running to meet the two herbivores, a brave move in Max’s eyes.
The frilled Torosaurus spotted Maeve and moved away from its ally’s side and began building momentum into a charge to meet the new aggressor.
Max followed suit, the Utahraptor seemed reinvigorated after its kill and eager for its next.
The Torosaurus met the Carnotaur well before Max could catch up. It dipped its head, ready to spike this carnivore in the same way it had the other. But Maeve was ready for it.
The Carnotaur slowed down just before it met the horny frills of the Torosaurus, and with surprising agility for such a large creature, it skipped to the side, the herbivore narrowly missing it with too much momentum to correct its attack.
The Carnotaur wasted no time spinning around and giving chase to the Torosaurus as it slowed down, lumbering around to get its horns in between itself and the attacker.
It couldn’t move fast enough, and the Carnotaur easily caught up, sinking its teeth into the dino’s broad back. The herbivore bellowed as it tried to shake off its attacker, but the Carnotaur had clamped its jaws tight, blood dripping down the brown scales of the Torosaurus from the bite.
Maeve had been keeping an eye on Max and had once again raised her bow, firing down arrows. Max hissed in pain as one of the arrows thumped into his leg, knocking another portion of his health bar off.
Snapping off the arrow shaft, Max leaned forward in the saddle, trying to reduce his size as a target as they reached the Carnotaur.
Swapping his mace for his spear, Max held the saddle tight as the raptor leaped at the Carnotaur’s leg, latching on with its dagger-like claws. It clambered up the dino’s muscular thigh, shredding its scaly skin as it went.
While the Carnotaur didn’t take much notice, Maeve had. As the raptor clambered up to the Carnotaur’s hip, it stopped, snapping its jaws at the spear held out to meet it.
Maeve had turned around in the saddle and was jabbing her metal-tipped spear down at the raptor, which was doing its best to avoid the blade by weaving its head away while clinging on with all fours.
Almost in a standing position with the vertical angle, Max threw his spear, easily hitting Maeve in the chest over the short distance.
The Ravager was almost knocked out of the saddle from the impact, the raptor took its chance to scrabble up onto the Carnotaur’s back, and lashed out with its claws, blood splattering onto the leather saddle.
Max reached down and wrenched his spear out of the dead player’s body, which slipped from the saddle and fell toward the ground.
Staying low, the raptor clawed its way up the Carnotaur’s shoulder, biting down onto the beast’s thick neck.
The Carnotaur finally released its grip on the Torosaurus, rearing its head back as it screeched.
The Utahraptor continued biting down, ripping out chunks of flesh as it raked its talons through the scaly hide.
Trying to dislodge them, the Carnotaur spun around, tossing its head up and down, but the raptor held tight.
Clinging onto the saddle, Max drove his spear down into the base of the Carnotaur’s skull, pushing as much weight down as he could without falling from his mount.
Being able to move freely again, the Torosaurus turned its bulk around and slammed its crested head into the Carnotaur’s chest. Max both felt and heard the crunch of the impact, the Carnotaur lurched backward. With a final groan, it collapsed, the raptor leaping from its perch, landing heavily with a grunt as the Carnotaur crashed to the ground behind them.
Max looked back at the Torosaurus, which was puffing heavily, blood dripping down its crest from its horns as it stood over the body of the carnivore. “We’re not done yet, buddy. Let’s go mop up.”
He turned back to the gate, where the injured Carnotaur had made it out of the boulders, only to be met by the Hesperosaurus, which stood beside it, its spiked tail poised, deterring the Carnotaur from aiding its ally.
Seeing Maeve and her dino go down, it seemed to sense it was in trouble. It swung its head from side to side, sizing up the herbivore, which stood fast, planted on its stocky legs, its tail held high.
The Carnotaur made a break for it. Hindered by its injured leg, it turned to run back into the safety of the boulders.
With speed unexpected from its size, the Hesperosaurus swiveled on its front legs, and whipped its tail out, hitting the Carnotaur hard in the back of its leg. Its leg buckled, and the dino crashed to the ground. The Hesperosaurus didn’t let up, bringing its tail down, again and again, spiking the downed Carnotaur until it stopped moving.
“We might just pull this off,” Max said as he watched the two large herbivores stomp their way back up toward the gate.
He then asked the Utahraptor to run after them. The much smaller dino easily overtook the Hesperosaurus, running up the hill, reaching the gateway.
All that was left of the outer gate was splintered wood and mangled metal from where the Torosaurus with the battering ram had destroyed it.
He could see straight up the walled-in path.
Past the Torosaurus, Max could see the squat, tank-like figure of Taz plodding his way up the hill. Even from here, the bony Edmontonia resembled a porcupine with the number of arrows protruding from his bony plates of armor. Straggling behind him was a pack of boneheads, mostly similar to the Stegoceras Max and Chopsticks had hunted before. His Crew had scooped up the remnants of the herd to supplement the few boneheads they already had at the base. Behind them, standing to one side was a second Torosaurus, the wooden battering ram strapped over its back and horns. From the blood rivulets down its body, it had been the target of a lot of the projectiles coming from the Ravagers, for good reason. It kept its head low so that its crest protected most of its body, but it didn’t catch all of them.
And in among them, Max could see Ticket, peering from behind Taz as she fired arrows up the track toward heads peeking over wooden barricades that had been hastily erected at various intervals up the track, those that Ticket and Taz had already passed lay trampled into the ground.
The Utahraptor raced past the Torosaurus equipped with the battering ram, passing two bodies of players as well as a few dead Deinonychus, slowing down as they joined the pack of boneheads, jostling their way to the front while they all tried to stay in the cover behind Taz.
Max slid his leg off the raptor, landing on the ground. He stayed low, ducking under Taz’s tail to join Ticket, who was crouched low as she followed behind the Edmontonia, TOD wrapped closely around her shoulder, wings tucked in.
“Holic!” Ticket smiled as she saw him. “You took your time.”
Chapter Fifty-Five
Max pulled his bow from his shoulder. “You know me, I like being fashionably late.” He ducked low under Taz’s tail, peering past his rear leg as he lumbered forward against the onslaught of projectiles. “How are we doing?”
“It’s slow. They’ve still got a lot of man and dino power, and I don’t know how much longer Taz can keep taking hits like this.” Ticket leaned around Taz’s other leg as she drew her bow back, shooting another arrow uphill.
With the acrid smell of burning now strong in the air, Max could see the next barricade, some ten yards in front of them, made of wood pallets that had been hastily tied together. Heads kept popping over the top or around the side, most alongside a bow, some with slings that whirred around in the air before launching stinging attacks down the path. Many of the proj
ectiles glanced off of Taz’s natural armor, but just as many were hitting their mark, finding chinks in his plates, sticking into the dino’s thick hide. He kept his head down, grunting as he pulled his weight uphill.
Max glanced back at the ten-strong pack of boneheads that had kept a tight formation, using their armored ally for cover. Most of them were bloodied from cuts and arrows, but they kept pace with Taz as he forged his way forward.
“We’re just going to have to keep going!” Max nocked an arrow, leaning around Taz’s moving bulk and leveling the tip of the arrow up at the barricade.
One of the Ravagers stood up to fire down at them, but before they could loose their own arrow, Max quickly adjusted his aim, letting go of the bowstring.
His arrow shot across the short distance, landing solidly in the Ravager’s chest and knocking him backward. Max let out the breath he had been holding. His aim was so incredibly steady compared to Murf’s.
Max grabbed another arrow, placing it onto his bow and pulling it back in one smooth motion as he aimed at his next target. He loosed it, satisfied as another player disappeared behind the barricade with one more injury.
Sam cried out. Max turned to see her pulling an arrow out of her arm.
“Taz isn’t going to take much more of this, and I think he’s going to go down before they run out of ammo,” Max said, keeping pace with the Edmontonia.
Sam grabbed a bandage from her bag, winding it around her arm. “What are you thinking?”
“Let’s charge them. It’s only a short dash to the barricade now. They won’t expect it, and once the fire is off of Taz, he can bring up the rear with the Torosaurus.”
Sam chewed her lip, glancing back at the Torosaurus some way behind them. “All right. We’re going to have to do something because this isn’t working.”
Max glanced at his raptor, telling it to stay close to him before he loaded another arrow. “Ready?”
Sam nodded. “Ready.”
Max darted out from behind Taz. He covered his head with his bow arm, sprinting blindly for the palisade. His legs pumped as he moved as he activated Dash to move as quickly as possible. As he shot across the ground, Max also activated Brace.
And not a second too late. Pain exploded in this leg, and he stumbled, just managing to keep on his feet and keep his momentum. Arrows whistled past him and snapped underfoot where the Ravagers shot at him, many missing as he stayed low and moved fast.
Within seconds, Max was at the short wall and leaped into the air.
Time slowed down as he reached the barricade, putting a hand on the top of the wood and vaulting over. As he hung in the air, he snapped his hand forward to draw his bowstring. While two of the Ravagers kept shooting downhill, three faces turned to look up at him, one was Suzaro who brought her spear tip up toward him.
Max quickly found his target, launching the arrow at her. Suzaro took it to the shoulder as she thrust forward, the force of the hit enough to put her aim off from a fatal blow to a stinging cut across Max’s side.
He hit the ground and rolled, grabbing his mace with his free hand.
“Get him!” Suzaro shouted, lunging at him with her spear.
Max knocked the attack aside, kicking her in the leg. Suzaro went down on one knee but rolled away from Max’s swing, which zinged through the air.
Max staggered forward from a blow across his back. He spun around as one of the noobs raised their club again, but Max’s Self-Preservation Trait triggered, and his character darted backward out of the way before he could react manually.
The noob’s heavy swing thudded into the ground. Max didn’t give them time to recover, charging forward, and shoulder barging into them, taking them off of their feet.
He glanced back at Suzaro, who was already back up, her arm held high as she threw her spear at Max. Max pitched himself backward with enough speed to avoid being hit, but too much to maintain his balance, and he felt the ground rise up to catch him as he landed.
The noob with the club was already mid-swing, aiming to crush Max’s head.
Shit, was all Max could think as he twisted himself to try and roll away.
The feathered mass of the Utahraptor appeared behind the noob. Its long neck snapped out as it clamped its jaws around the noob’s leg, pulling backward. The noob was taken off his feet, his arms flailing as he fell head over heels on the dirt before the raptor swiftly stamped its foot down onto their neck.
Max looked away, getting to his feet.
Once back up, he could see that Ticket had sunk her knife into the chest of one of the other noobs, now having to fend them and another two off, her movements almost a blur as she ducked and weaved between the swings of their weapons. As if one being, TOD would stick out his tail or a wing to counterbalance Ticket as she leaned out of the way of a stab, beating its wings to push Ticket back as she stepped away from another swing.
Suzaro had run to retrieve her spear and was skipping around the fight with Ticket, trying to get a clear shot to skewer her enemy.
Max felt the ground beginning to shake underfoot and could see Suzaro look away from the fight and over the barricade.
“Oh, shit!” she yelled and turned to run.
The barricade exploded into a shower of splinters as the Torosaurus’ head shattered through the flimsy construction. It didn’t slow down in the slightest from the obstacle, plowing straight into the melee.
Sam moved much quicker than the three noobs, throwing herself out of the way and into a roll, as the bulky dino stampeded over the ground where she had been moments before. The noobs tried to scatter away from the freight train coming their way, but all reacted much slower.
One wielding a spear was knocked down to the ground, immediately being trampled under heavy feet as the dino ran over him, another was flung into the air as the Torosaurus flicked its head, catching them with its frill, while the third managed to scrabble just out of the way.
The Torosaurus was followed closely by the Stegoceras, which charged with their domed heads down. The Ravager that had avoided being hit by the Torosaurus turned to face the pack. He swung his club, smashing it into the leading bonehead, knocking it off course as it ran, but before he could recover, the next dino reached him, slamming its round head into the player’s chest, bashing him to the ground.
As he pushed himself back to his feet, the bonehead headbutted him again. With a sickening thunk, the player hit the dirt.
Suzaro ran to the player who had been sent flying, helping them to their feet, watching Max and Ticket with their group of dinos with seething eyes.
“So, you all finally plucked up the courage to fight back, then?” she shouted at them.
Sam reached down and grabbed her knife out of the fallen Ravagers. “We got sick of putting up with cheaters.”
Suzaro snorted. “That’s what you think, huh? And that’s why you had to bribe Bullet to spy on us, to plant the bomb, and help Chopsticks to sneak in, right?”
Sam twirled her hunting knife in her hand. “All right then, let’s settle it in a more traditional way.” She stepped forward, holding the knifepoint forward, lowering her body. She craned her neck to look at TOD on her shoulder, who with a whir jumped down onto the ground, lying down like a dog, wings tucked in.
Suzaro glanced at TOD, then up at Max and the dinos who watched on, before locking eyes with Ticket. “You’re dead.” She lowered the tip of her spear.
Max looked up at the lookout tower next to the wall. It seemed empty still, Pez’s raptors must still be keeping everyone inside and off the wall. “Uh, Ticket, we’re kind of in a hurry here.”
“I won’t be a minute,” she said without looking away from Suzaro.
The noob looked between the two women before backing well out of the way.
Suzaro made the first move, running forward, spear leveled at Ticket’s torso. Ticket stood her ground, bending her legs like a coiled spring, ready to leap out of the way.
At the last step, Suzaro stopped, darti
ng to her right and swiping in a wide arc at Ticket. Ticket ducked, and Max was sure he saw strands from her hair cut by the metal blade of the spear. Now under Suzaro’s guard, Ticket surged upward, grappling around her legs. Ticket pushed forward and flipped Suzaro over her shoulder.
She spun around, the knife held high but stopped dead as Suzaro rolled over and quickly raised her spear to bring it in between them.
Sam stepped back, beginning to circle Suzaro as she got to her feet.
Suzaro raised the spear high over her head with both hands, lashing down at Ticket who sidestepped the thrust. Suzaro stepped into the attack and flicked the spear sideways to try and catch Ticket before she could back away. Ticket turned to protect her vitals, taking a slash across her arm as she spiraled out of the way.
Sensing her advantage, Suzaro chased, stabbing at Ticket’s face.
Sam tilted to the side, the spear lancing over her shoulder. With the speed of lightning, Ticket’s free arm shot up and grabbed the shaft of the spear as Suzaro tried to pull back. Ticket used that force to right herself, stepping forward to take a swipe with her knife.
Still holding the spear, Suzaro contorted her body out of the way, Ticket having to turn to maintain her grasp.
The Ravager whipped her own obsidian knife from her belt, swiping at Ticket, forcing her to step back.
As she moved backward, Ticket flicked her arm out, her knife a dash of silver as it spun through the air, slicing into Suzaro’s collarbone.
She cried out, letting go of the spear to clutch the blade.
Sam dropped the spear to the ground, bringing her fists up into a guard as she rushed forward, jabbing her fist which connected with Suzaro’s face.
Suzaro swiped blindly with her blade, Ticket leaned away from the attack before bouncing back, landing a second hit.
Suzaro leaped backward, wiping blood from her face, staring daggers at Ticket as she pulled the knife out of her shoulder and flicked it at Ticket, who easily moved out of the way of the sluggish toss.
Keeping her guard up, Ticket advanced again. Suzaro stabbed at Ticket’s neck, who brought up her arm to block the blow. Suzaro then kicked out, hitting Ticket hard in the side. She staggered from the hit, looking as though she was about to fall to one knee, but instead dropped low and punched Suzaro in the ribs.
