“The dinosaurs did something to it,” Mateo said. “I don’t know how, but it shut down yesterday.”
“You must know what to do,” Kat insisted.
“I wish I could help,” the engineer said. “But I’m still learning after all these years. The guy who was my boss is the only one fully-trained to restart the system.”
“You must have some idea,” Becka cried. “You said you’ve been here for five years.”
“There’s a lot to do here,” Mateo said with an apologetic look. “Arnie worked here since the place was built in two thousand and eight. He’s the guy who knows how it all works. I just worked for him.”
“Well, where the fuck is he?” Becka snapped, and she huffily crossed her arms.
“He left,” Mateo said. “Over a week ago. He wanted to get to the other base nearby. He had a colleague over there who he was worried about.”
“We need to go there,” I said. “We’ll bring him back.”
“I really wouldn’t recommend that,” Mateo said as he shook his head. “You’ll die the second you step outside.”
“Where is the base?” I asked as I ignored his comment. “We have the ships, we can get there.”
“You can barely get a few paces out the door,” the engineer argued. “I saw your guns, and they look pretty advanced, but that won’t matter when two hundred of those bastards decide to attack at once. I’m telling you.”
“We have no other choice,” I said firmly.
The engineer looked at me for a moment, and then he got to his feet with a nod.
“This is real?” he asked as he glanced over at Leo. “You guys can really save us if it starts up again?”
“We can.” I nodded. “We will.”
Mateo pushed his glasses further up his nose and gave Hilda a steely glance.
“Okay,” he agreed. “Let me find the coordinates to the base.”
“Thank you,” I said, and the engineer started to shuffle through the notebooks that sat on the edge of one of the desks.
Hilda watched us from behind her barrier of the desk and chair, and she scowled as Mateo handed me a scrap of paper.
“Here,” he said. “Does your, uh… spaceship have a mapping interface?”
“A better one than you will have.” Leo nodded, and I couldn’t help but snort with laughter.
Then I folded the piece of paper carefully inside my jacket pocket and looked over at the girls.
“Ready to go back out there?” I asked.
“Why not?” Kat sighed. “I was just thinking that we hadn’t had enough danger in our plan.”
“It’s a disgrace,” Hilda muttered. “Years of work being tampered with by some lilac freaks.”
Hae-won, Kat, and Becka erupted into arguments in response to the insult, and Adhara watched with wide eyes as the girls defended her.
“Shut the fuck up, Hilda,” Mateo finally muttered, and then he collapsed back onto the sofa and closed his eyes.
“Let’s go,” I said as I threw a final glare at the red-haired scientist. “We have more important people to worry about.”
“Exactly,” Becka sniffed. “And maybe run a brush through your hair before you try and insult anyone else, bitch.”
I held the door open for the girls, and we left the two CERN workers to argue as we hurried back down the stairs.
“That went less than perfectly,” Kat said. “Why did the main scientist guy have to go running off?”
“Do you think he will be alive?” Hae-won asked, and I didn’t want to answer.
I was still trying to go head-first into this mission with nothing but optimism, but I couldn’t help but worry about the guy’s chances out in the world with that many dinos.
He probably didn’t have any weaponry, unless he had his own gun, and scientists weren’t known for their hand-to-hand combat skills.
We raced back down to the wooden ramp and headed into the huge lobby area.
“What if they’re still out there?” Becka hissed as we neared the entrance.
“We’ll have to do something to distract them,” I replied, and we slowed down as we reached the door to quiet our footsteps.
I slowly opened the doorway just a crack, and I could see the remaining kosmoceratops were still in their protective stance around our ships.
“Fuck,” I muttered as I watched them.
There were three left, and there was a fair chance we could kill them and get into the ship without incident. However, the risk of other herd members hearing was too likely, and there was a chance a hundred dinosaurs could suddenly join in the fight.
That wasn’t a chance we could take.
The outdoor walkway around the globe was sandwiched between the building walls and the wooden planks. The path curved right around the structure, and I figured if I played my cards right and didn’t get eaten, I would be able to get a good view from the back.
“Distraction it is,” I decided. “I say we fire a blaster out at a dino on the other side of the building, blow it to shit, and hopefully those horned bastards run off to investigate what the noise was.”
“Sounds good to me.” Kat nodded.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll make the shot, and you guys run for the ships the second the dinos start to move. If they start to move.”
“And you will be right behind us?” Hae-won asked.
“Of course,” I replied.
“Be careful,” Adhara said. “Remember how many ommati are out there. Stay hidden.”
“I will,” I promised. “You guys just be ready to run, okay? I’ll be back with you as soon as I shoot. Now, there’s going to be a second when I’m exposed, right when I leave the doorway and jump onto the walkway. The wooden planks should hide me well enough from there, but there’s a chance I could be spotted when I step outside.”
“We’ll cover you,” Kat assured me. “We’ll leave the door open a crack, and if those bastards come for you, then they’re dead, and we’ll find a better plan.”
I nodded, and Hae-won grabbed the handle of the door as I swung my blaster around to my front.
The Korean beauty pressed her ears against the door and then nodded at me before she quickly pulled it open. I moved through the space as quickly as I could and leapt straight into the walkway which had a low partition before the wooden beams began. I crouched down so I was hidden by the partition as I waited to hear if anything had spotted me.
Nothing moved, and it looked like I was good to go, so I cautiously straightened up and began to jog up the wooden path until I had made my way around to the other side of the dome.
Then I looked out at the back of the building through the wooden planks, and a shiver ran over me as I stared out at the biggest herd I had ever seen.
There were dinosaurs I had never seen before roaming everywhere. The fields that sprawled out were packed with dinos as far as the eye could see. Various screeches and roars echoed out, and the horrendous smell of dino shit hung in the air.
Then I spotted a group of long-necked dinosaurs next to a tall tree. They were only about ten feet tall and had a murky green tint to their scales. There were six of them in a group, and they were all laid out on the ground as other dinos mingled around them.
I propped my blaster on my shoulder and steadied myself on one knee like I was proposing. If I hit the group of long necks, they were close enough together for it to hopefully kill more than one. That should be enough chaos to distract the dinosaurs for a while. At least for enough time to get back on board the ships.
There was just enough room for the blaster to fit through the wooden panels, and I carefully aimed right at the middle of the herd. Then I slowly pulled the side lever backward, took a deep breath, and I released it.
The purple ball of alien plasma launched out of the open window and hurtled right at the long-necked dinosaurs. They didn’t have time to do anything but twist their necks to see the explosive as it crashed right into the middle member of their herd, and then the
pile of dinosaurs erupted into a cloud of fiery blood and entrails.
I wanted to stay and work out how many I had killed with the shot, but I needed to run like hell. As I swung the blaster onto my back, I jumped up and began to race back down the wooden walkway as fast as I could, and I heard a thunderstorm of heavy footsteps erupting nearby as furious roars rang out from the back of the dome.
My heart was in my throat as I ran, and I raced like my ass was on fire to reach the entrance of the visitor center. A quick look out at the ships showed me that the kosmoceratops had left the area, and it looked like my plan had worked.
I clutched my sharp gun as I tore out of the walkway, and I kept my eyes on Adhara’s ship as I ran onward. My feet flew over the ground as I raced to the craft, and she had already disabled the forcefield.
A quick glance at Leo’s ship showed me that it had remained unharmed, and I sprinted around to the back of Adhara’s craft.
Hae-won was right inside the doorway with her sharp gun clutched tightly.
“He’s here,” she yelled, and I dove into the doorway just as I heard the sound of approaching footsteps.
“I’m in!” I shouted, and Adhara smacked the button to activate the forcefield.
The gentle buzz protected the ship just in time.
We watched as a kosmoceratops appeared at the doorway and smacked straight into the forcefield. Its horned face was unnervingly close to us, and it screamed out as it watched me run back to the control room with Hae-won panting behind me.
“We were so worried,” Hae-won said as she flung herself into my arms.
I picked her up and kissed her full lips, and I ran a hand through her soft hair as I spun her around.
“I’m totally fine.” I grinned as I gently lowered her. “Blew up a good pile of dinos. Seemed to do the trick.”
“Let’s get going,” Becka said urgently. “We don't want all of them running round here and deciding to try the door.”
Adhara had already started the engine, and she quickly accelerated us up into the sky.
“The blaster did its job, then?” Kat grinned as we saw Leo’s craft rise up beside us.
“Of course,” I said. “I think it’s going to take a hell of a lot more of them to make a dent in that herd, though.”
“That could be arranged,” the soldier snickered.
“So, where is the other base?” Becka asked, and I pulled the scrap of paper from my jacket.
I handed it to Adhara, and she studied it before she grabbed the receiver of the radio and sent a message to Leo.
“Let’s just hope this boss guy is still there,” I said. “And if he is still there, that he’s still breathing.”
“He bloody better be,” Becka said. “Why couldn’t the dinos have taken Hilda instead?”
“Becka,” Hae-won scolded, but she grinned as she said it.
We followed Leo’s ship as he jetted off over the green fields, and I watched hundreds of dinosaurs fly by under us.
It was grim to think that there were spots of Earth that the dinosaurs had actually managed to fully claim as their own, but it sure as hell looked that way out here. Maybe there were entire towns or cities that had been completely taken over, and no humans were left alive.
This scientist had to be alive. I refused to consider any other alternative.
The flight took us just a few minutes, but the walk would have been deadly, and we slowed down as Leo sent us a message over the radio.
I peered down to see a very small building below that was basically a hut, and I was relieved to see there were no dinos in the immediate area around it. There was a large truck parked beside it, and if we landed behind it, then we would be able to get out of the ships without being spotted.
“It doesn’t look like much,” Kat said. “Are you sure that’s the right place?”
“Certain.” Adhara nodded as she glanced at the coordinates.
“There is no chance some guy has survived in that thing all this time,” Becka said, and her voice started to crack again.
“It is very possible he survived.” Hae-won argued, but I knew she was just trying to reassure her friend.
“We will land behind large car,” Adhara said. “With back of ship to building, so we can go in fast and secret.”
She quickly spun us around and then hit a button that seemed to be automatically guiding the ship down as it shifted slightly left.
“Does this thing have auto-pilot reverse parking?” Becka asked, and it seemed to distract her from getting upset again.
“Yes.” Adhara nodded. “My ship has many features. Like I say, your technology is--”
“Primitive,” we all echoed at the same time, and for a moment, we all snorted with laughter.
As the ship landed, I made sure I still had my weapons ready to go, and I gripped my sharp gun tightly.
Then I led the way down toward the exit and took a moment to listen carefully before I stepped through the forcefield. Leo was already waiting for us outside his ship, and I nodded at him as the girls jumped out behind me.
The hut in front of us was made of dark wood, and like the other base, it had wood slats covering the windows. There was a small mailbox outside, and the door looked like it was open.
“Shit,” I whispered as I hurried toward the entrance.
The door sat a few inches open, and I felt my soul leave my body as I noticed the dried bloodstains all over the front step.
I didn’t want to believe it. He had to be alive.
I felt numb as I pushed open the doorway, and for a moment, all I could see was darkness.
After a second, my eyes adjusted to the dim light, and I saw a figure slumped in the corner of the room on the floor.
He was face down in a pool of his own blood, and he wasn’t moving.
Chapter 6
I raced over to the man, and my entire body felt numb as I bent down beside him. Then I placed my hands on his shoulders and carefully turned him around.
The man let out a low groan, and relief washed over me. He was alive, but it didn’t look like he would be for much longer.
The guy must have been in his fifties and had gray, curly hair that matched his beard. His pale blue eyes were half-open, and he let out a howl of pain as I helped him lean his back against the wall.
I quickly realized where the blood was coming from. The guy’s shirt was torn up, and I could see deep cuts in his waist where he’d been clawed. A blood-soaked cloth lay nearby, and he had clearly tried and failed to stop the bleeding.
The girls and Leo shut the door of the hut, and we were plunged into darkness. Leo quickly pulled something out of his pocket and threw it into the air, and I was startled to see the cabin suddenly illuminated with orange light.
A small, floating orb spun around slowly in the middle of the room, and I made a mental note to ask about the insane torch device later.
Right now, I needed to focus on the injured man.
“Are you Arnie?” I asked, and the man responded with a pained groan.
“Shit,” Kat hissed as she dove down beside me. “He needs stitches, maybe there’s a first-aid kit here.”
“I will get medical supplies,” Leo announced, and he hurried back out of the building.
The door slammed behind him, and I looked around to see if there was anything immediately useful in the cabin. There was a small table with two chairs, a whiteboard with some scientific equations sprawled on it, and a few cupboards along the back wall.
“Okay,” I said as I tried to remain calm. “You’re going to be fine, we’re going to help you, okay? Just stay awake for me.”
The man spluttered, and more blood oozed out of his wounds. Saliva dribbled down his beard as he coughed, and it very much felt like I was holding someone who had already knocked on death’s door.
“What do we do?” Becka asked as she danced from side to side, and she clung onto her blonde head as she panicked.
“Check the cabinets for more cloth,
” I said urgently. “We need to stop him from bleeding out.”
The girls rushed over to the cupboards at the other side of the room and began frantically searching. They threw out plastic bowls, thick science books, and endless amounts of pens. I was hoping there had been a first-aid kit stored away in one of the cabinets, but it seemed that the scientists hadn’t planned on anyone needing life-saving medical attention in the small cabin.
I tried to hold the guy up as he kept nearly flopping over, and I pressed his shoulder back against the wall as firmly as I could.
It looked like he only had a few minutes of consciousness left, and everything in the world depended on me saving him.
Fuck.
“There’s nothing here!” Becka wailed as the girls emptied the final cupboard.
I let go of the man for a second, and he managed to remain relatively upright. Then I quickly tore off my jacket, yanked my shirt over my head, and folded up the material. I pressed the fabric up against the man’s claw wound with gentle pressure, and he mumbled something as blood soaked through my shirt.
I looked down at the floor and the pool of red.
“I’m Jason,” I said in an attempt to snap the guy back into consciousness. “Is your name Arnie?”
There was no flicker of recognition or understanding on the guy’s pale face, and his eyes rolled back in his head.
The shirt in my hand was already completely red, and the blood oozed through onto my fingers.
Then the door swung open again, and Leo raced over to us with Adhara.
The two aliens dove down to kneel beside us, and Leo swung open a silver box to reveal the weirdest looking medical supplies I had ever seen. There were curved, silver tools, and something that looked like a whistle. One of the corners was filled with different colored pills, and there was a packet of something the size of a deck of cards.
Adhara grabbed a small, blue pill from the box and pushed it into the man’s mouth and down his throat. The man gagged, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as the alien closed his mouth for him.
“This is energy,” she said. “He must swallow. It helps for losing so much blood.”
Then Leo took out something that looked like a patch of lilac skin from the packet, and I wrinkled my nose as it flopped around in his hands.
Dinosaur World 8 Page 9
