by Dan Abnett
“Be good?”
“It’s very be good,” she said.
“As I said before,” Cutter remarked as he walked towards the chopper’s ramp with Koshkin, “if this happens again...”
“We know where to find you,” Koshkin finished. “Yes, and thank you.”
The chopper thundered westward. Abby looked down at the endless forests sliding past below.
“Any regrets at all about undertaking this ridiculous mission?” Jenny asked Hemple.
He shrugged.
“Not really,” he said. “Except... I didn’t get to shoot enough monsters.”
“Yeah, where were you?” Connor asked. “We could have used you with Baba Yaga.”
“She’s still down there somewhere,” Abby said. Just after the eerie flash and airshock of the EMP had sealed the anomaly, she had spotted the big female Tyrannosaurus heading out of the ruined camp. Her sleek, black shape had vanished into the trees like a forest demon returning to its lair. Behind her lay the ruined body of the male.
It was an image she wouldn’t forget in a hurry.
Jenny looked over at the brooding figure of Cutter. He hadn’t said a word since take-off.
“What’s the matter?” she asked, coming over and sitting down beside him.
“Oh, nothing really,” he said.
“Come on, I saw the look on your face just then,” she said. “What were you thinking about?”
EPILOGUE
It’s late afternoon on a summer’s day. A hooting chorus echoes up through the woods from the bright river. Dragonflies race and dazzle through the sunbeams. Birds, and almost-birds, flit and dart in the trees. In the distance, there are snow-capped mountains under a blue sky.
Somewhere out there, there is a hunter, a killer, preparing to strike. It’s choosing its moment. No one can see it, and no one knows it’s there. It’s stalking its prey, and its prey doesn’t suspect a thing.
Silently, it comes closer. At the very end, it will rush in, an ambush predator, far faster than its prey can react to. It will rush in and deliver a terminal strike.
The Hadrosaurs commune at the water’s edge. The adults are watching over the young. They have no idea what’s coming.
They know to be wary, though. Experience has taught them that. They know there’s always a killer out there somewhere, waiting for its opportunity. They know they have to be vigilant and ready to sound the alarm at the first hint of danger.
It’s almost time.
There’s a moment, an inkling. The woods go quiet. The birds stop singing. The insects hush. The Hadrosaurs stop hooting and freeze. As is always the case, a terrible silence descends just before the killer rushes into view and strikes.
There is a light in the sky.
THE END
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to thank Adrian Hodges and Tim Haines for their cooperation and inspiration; Nancia Leggett at Impossible; Douglas Henshall, Lucy Brown and Andrew-Lee Potts for not being too distracted by a bloke with a notebook; and Cath Trechman for keeping track of all anomalies.
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