Up ahead, Babs appeared, propping up Marty who was hopping on one leg and clutching a mangled prosthetic.
“Where’s Ash and Marissa?” Babs asked, looking between Harper and Becca, confused. She peered behind them then back at Becca.
Harper looked away and Becca shook her head.
“What does that mean?” Marty said. “Where’s Ash and Marissa… Becca?”
“They’ve been… taken…”
“They’ve been WHAT?” Babs cried. “What d’you mean taken? They can’t be taken.”
“They were taken,” Becca said. “One of Big Yellow’s pontoons is intact. We’ll be safe inside. I’m gonna call Reece and tell him to go and get them. Don’t worry, we’ll get them.”
Becca watched Babs and Marty’s expressions crumble as they absorbed the horrific news. Her job had been to keep them safe, to protect them from the dangers of this hostile world. She could see terrible understanding assimilating behind their young eyes. She could see they truly understood that in this world, the environment and everything in it was designed for one purpose, to kill without mercy.
“Get them from where?” Babs croaked, tears pooling at the corner of her eyes.
“We’re all wearing lanterns,” Becca said, nodding to her watch. “We’re all being tracked all the time. Reece can…”
“If they go and get them what about us?” Harper said, jumping as a peal of thunder crackled in the distance. “You hear that? We can’t stay. There’s a dead plesiosaur back there. It’s food for everyth...”
“We’ll be safe in Big Yellow,” Becca said, ushering the group onwards. “One of the pontoons is still intact. It’s made of toughened glass. We’ll be safe in...”
“Minea got…”
“I know, Harper,” Becca said, wincing as an electric shock of pain pulsed through her broken arm and up her neck. “It survived a tidal wave. We’ll be safe, trust me. We don’t have options. Please, Harper, work with me.”
Becca moved the terrified group inland. They navigated the festering carnage that was crawling with giant insects, bugs and crabs. Fat hairy flies and dragonflies buzzed and darted all around. The belly of a nearby sawfish carcass bulged outwards as something squirmed inside. Babs screamed as a centipede, as thick as a python, squirmed out of the sawfish’s mouth. It kept coming and coming, its thousands of legs wriggling as it dragged its slime covered body across the mud.
“Don’t look at it,” Marty said, pulling Babs onwards. “Ignore it.”
“Ich kann es nicht machen… Ich…”
“You can do it,” Marty said. “You have to do it.”
For the first time since the plesiosaur attack, Becca felt something resembling relief as they approached Big Yellow. The lights in the cockpit and the slight hiss told her the oxygen emitters were still functioning. They’d be able to lock themselves in the intact chamber until rescue arrived. There was just enough space for the four of them. It helped that the glass was smeared with mud so they wouldn’t be able to see through it. It would help the kids feel safer. Inland a dinosaur roared. Its call was met with hooting whistles and throaty bleats. The islanders could smell the dead plesiosaur. The dinner bell had been rung and the monsters were coming.
“Hurry, get in,” she said, pointing to the open hatch. “I’ll call Reece.”
Marty and Babs crawled into the chamber and slumped against the chairs, which were at too acute an angle to sit in. The seats were now backrests. Harper climbed in after. He stopped by the hatch and stared at Becca.
“D’you need any help getting in?” He said. “I can help you.”
“Thank you, Harper,” Becca said, smiling. “That’s very kind. Just get in and close the hatch. I’m not going anywhere. I just need to call Reece from the cockpit.”
“Becca?” Harper said. He hesitated. His mouth moved as though he was struggling to find the right words.
“What is it, Harper?”
“Ash didn’t steal my watch…”
“I know,” Becca said. “Don’t worry. We knew all along. He’s an incredible person, that Ash.”
“I know,” Harper said, hanging his head guiltily. “I mean, I saw the news. I know he is now for sure. I just… I… If anything happens I just want everyone to know, Ash didn’t do anything. Minea made me say stuff. She said she’d make me look stupid in her film if I didn’t do stuff. I’m a bit hot headed anyway… I say stuff I don’t mean, like I can’t stop it… I’ve seen doctors, but it doesn’t help. I…”
“Oh, Harper,” Becca said, swelling with guilt and stroking the boy’s cheek. “I’m so sorry we let that happen to you. Thank you for your honesty. When you see Ash you’ll be able to tell him what happened yourself. Come on now, get in and close the hatch. I’ll be right behind you, okay? And Harper… it was very brave of you to admit that. You’re a good kid too.”
Harper nodded, then ducked inside and closed the hatch. Becca chose her footing carefully as she clambered into Big Yellow’s smashed cockpit. She couldn’t risk falling and popping her wrist bone back out of alignment. The pain would almost certainly cause her to black out. She reached around the seat and felt for the medical kit. Mercifully, it was still there. She’d be able to clean and redress her arm. She opened the box and selected an oxycodone syringe, which she ripped out of the packaging using her teeth, before pressing the cylinder to her neck. There was a quick scratch and she sighed. Finally, relief from the pain was coming. It would make redressing her arm so much easier. She took another two syringes and stuffed them into her pocket.
She knelt down to check the power and oxygen feeds. The painkiller was already beginning to take effect. The sharp, stinging pain in her arm was now only a dull throb. They had plenty of power remaining, which also meant the oxygen emitters would have no problems feeding the glass chamber with air. They could seal it tight and remain safe for many hours. They’d definitely be able to camp until backup arrived. Unable to find a headset, she switched communications to loudspeaker.
“Tower, Reece?” She said.
“Becca,” Reece boomed. “I’m en-route in the starjet. I’ve got backup. What’s happening? The lanterns’ feeds are going nuts, has Minea lost her…”
“Minea’s dead,” Becca said, her voice trembling. She lowered the volume, partly so as not to attract unwanted attention, but also so the kids couldn’t hear the conversation. “She didn’t make it, Reece. The pterosaurs took Ash and Marissa. You’ve gotta save them, right now. Don’t waste time. Get them now. Them first, then us.”
“Jesus… I hoped it was a malfunction. I’m tracking their lanterns. They’re moving across the island, fast. Heart rates are elevated but life signs are good. I’ll come and retrieve you, take you back to base, then go get them.”
“No, Reece, you get them first. We’ve got protection and power. They won’t survive out there. You know they won’t.”
“I’m not leaving you…”
“You have to, Reece. You can’t put me first, not now. You have to save them. It’s our job to keep them alive.”
“Oka, but I’m not leaving you alone and unarmed. I’m only a few minutes from your position. I’ll drop in three combat rangers, then go for the kids. If I don’t make it back by morning you need to head for viewing platform three and take the monorail. Get off this planet, Becca. If we’re not back you leave… wait… No, no, no… ahhh, dammit, that’s not good.” He sighed. “They’ve stopped, Becca. Their lanterns are showing they’re still alive, but they’ve stopped.”
“Where are they?” Becca said, her heart thumping. “Quick, go and get them. Where are they?”
She leaned towards the intercom as Reece repeatedly swore. The leaves on the palm trees rustled as the starjet slid overhead, its thrusters whipping up a gale.
“You don’t wanna know,” came Reece’s reply. “Three of you, get ready to abseil when I open the ramp. I need you on the ground in thirty seconds. Protect them with your lives.”
“Where are they?” Becca aske
d again.
“Nowhere good. Don’t worry, I’ll bring them back.”
Incubator
T he pterosaur released its grip on Ash’s shoulders. His arms and legs flailed as he plummeted through the clouds. How high was he? How far did he have to fall? The last point of reference he’d seen before entering the clouds had been the mountains.
A few seconds later his hand and knee brushed against something soft and loose. He reached out and clawed at a strange granular surface that raced up and away from him. It was moving with him now, in a landslide of rushing grains. He managed to roll onto his back and tried to slow himself using his heels.
“Ow oww oowwwww!” He exclaimed, feeling the material on the back of his suit becoming burning hot. “That’s… Ooowwch… hot… hot…”
All of a sudden, his heels dug in, flinging him forwards. The impacts that followed were brief and numerous. The world span furiously as his arms and legs whirled past his eyes. After what felt like an eternity, his face planted into the sand and he skidded to a stop. He lay groaning and spitting crunchy granules as the world continued to spin, round and round and round and round. Warmth seemed to be penetrating the chest of his suit. The longer he considered the strange warmth, the hotter it was becoming.
He struggled to his knees and patted himself down, checking for damage or injuries. He expected to find blood, but there was none. His knees were getting hot now too. Where was he? What was this place? He scooped a handful of the gray sand and watched it cascade through his fingers. It wasn’t like normal sand. It was much coarser, the granules almost sharp, like melted glass, and definitely warm.
“Where the hell…”
He looked skyward, but couldn’t see through the fog, which was beginning to irritate his throat. Beginning to cough, he slipped off the remains of his t-shirt, then wrapped it around his mouth and nose and tied it behind his ears. The air still tasted bad, but breathing was easier through the cloth, still wet from the wave.
Steam erupted from a fissure a short distance away, spraying scolding water that burned his exposed skin as it rained down. He scrabbled away from the gushing vent, which was encrusted with a vivid yellow residue, almost fluorescent.
“That can’t be good. Gotta find Marissa. Marissa?” He yelled. “Marissa, can you hear me?”
The fog moved as though alive, breathing in and out, becoming thick then slackening. He caught glimpses of his surroundings, a flat pan of gray sand at the bottom of a steep gulley. Vents erupted sporadically. Their spray smelled of sulphur and was tinged with a slight orange glow. He couldn’t see or hear the pterosaurs.
“Oh, no, it’s a volcano,” he said, stupefied as realization struck. “It’s a sodding volcano!” He repeated, hoping his brain would replace the notion with something less terrifying.
He scooped a handful of the volcanic ash again and gazed, entranced as it flowed from his clenched fist, like sand from an hour glass. It felt like he was gazing at a timer that was counting down to the end of his life. He’d heard of this stuff getting into and ceasing up jet engines. If it could do that, he didn’t want to think what it might do to lungs. Was it true, was he really inside a volcano?
He heard a sound like galleon sails luffing in the wind, then something crunched to the ground beside him. He snapped out of his trance and spun around, but he didn’t need to see the creature to know what it was.
“Easy,” he said, holding his hands and backing away. “You don’t need to do this.”
A hulking shape, tall as a house, loomed at the edge of the swirling mist. Ash’s heart pounded relentlessly, so fast and hard it hurt. An elongated snout pierced the fog. Ash noticed an orange v shaped crest between the advancing monster’s savage eyes, which were encircled by a ring of white dots. The beast hissed, then snuffled as its head drew alongside. The creature examined Ash closely, its enormous amber eye like a jewel, split down the middle with a shrinking black slit. Ash froze, hoping if he stayed still the monster might think he was a rock or something. It was the only thing he could think to do. He breathed as shallowly as possible, trying to keep his chest from moving.
The beast suddenly screeched so loudly a piercing ringing filled Ash’s brain, like thousands of panes of shattering glass. The animal reared up on its hind legs. There was an almighty crack as it spread its immense wings, threw open its beak and shrieked again. The mighty pterosaur’s tongue withdrew towards its throat, revealing the pink flesh if its lower jaw and hundreds of needle-sharp teeth. This was it. Ash closed his eyes and prayed for the deathblow to be quick and painless.
To his amazement, as the seconds passed, he realized the pterosaur hadn’t plucked his head off like a grape from a vine. The titan pitched forwards and hammered to the ground, then hooked its snout under Ash’s armpit and hoisted him to his feet. Confused, Ash stood staring at the colossal reptilian bird. He thought he could see intelligence behind its piercing amber eyes. He was sure it was thinking. Perhaps it knew he was different and not of this world, something unique and special. Ash began to wonder whether they’d made friends, like in a Disney movie. A hopeful smile crossed his face and he raised a hand to stroke the creature’s snout.
“There’s a good bo…”
The pterosaur speared its leathery beak into his chest, sending him flying backwards and skidding across the sand, tumbling and bouncing. The suit absorbed the impact but his neck ached where it had whipped suddenly forwards.
“Definitely not friends,” he said, coughing and rubbing his neck.
He heard beating wings and numerous shrieks from the clouds above. He thought he heard sobbing too, but no sooner had the sound emerged, the mist seemed to swallow it up.
“Marissa? MARISSA!”
Another pterosaur thudded to the ground beside Ash. It stooped towards him, clamped its beak around his torso and tossed him through the air like a plaything. Ash’s legs and arms whirled past his vision as he tumbled, before slamming to the ground and rolling up against something hard. He heard a scream. Strangely, the scream seemed to be getting louder. Suddenly Marissa flew out of the fog and skidded up beside him. She lay on her side, unmoving and expressionless, her vacant eyes wide and white. Ash pulled down the t-shirt wrapped around his face.
“Marissa, It’s okay. I’m gonna get us out of here. I’ve come to save you.”
Marissa’s eyes lit up like he’d just made the funniest joke ever told and she howled with insane laughter.
“Shhhh, quiet. They’ll hear us.”
She laughed harder still.
“Quiet, Marissa,” Ash said, pushing himself up.
His hand crunched through something brittle. He looked down and picked up a piece of the shattered white object. It was slightly concave, and about the size of a dinner plate with jagged edges.
“Huh?”
He looked behind him and there, half buried in the warm ash, were dozens of person-sized, cracked eggs, with pools of goo at their bases. Their sides dripped with bloody, veiny juices. He immediately understood why the pterosaurs hadn’t eaten the pair. They’d brought them to their nesting grounds, to feed them to their young, to teach their little darlings how to hunt.
“Oh, shit, we gotta get outta here. Marissa, get u…”
His words trailed to silence as something to their right unsettled the volcanic sand. A pterosaur, equalling Ash’s height stumbled forwards clumsily. It tripped on a wing that was caked with slime and granular ash. A giant head bent down, out of the fog, and lifted the little creature out of the dirt. Gently, the mummy bird set the infant pterosaur beside Ash. The infant gave a gurgling cry and stared at Ash and Marissa, through half opened eyes, cocking its head quizzically and snapping its beak. The parent pterosaur warbled softly, as though offering encouragement.
“Oh, shit, it’s feeding time,” Ash mumbled.
Stumbling and rolling out of the fog, more infant pterosaurs were approaching, like bizarre zombie birds, most of them still slathered in veiny embryonic membranes. Ash dodged as t
he nearest creature lunged at him. He yelped and lifted his arm as a beak clamped around his head, the infant’s soft teeth sawing at his ear. Warm blood trickled down his neck. A primal scream erupted from Marissa and she began smacking the pterosaur in the head with a rock that made a strange sloshing sound. Only when the reptile released Ash did he realize the odd sounding rock was her canteen.
“There was me…” Ash said, panting, and staring at the approaching horde, “thinking I was gonna be saving you.”
Marissa jumped on the spot, yelling and waving her arms. The infants bobbed their heads, looking from side to side, unsettled by the noise. A loud mechanical sound overhead made the creatures squeal in panic and scatter into the mist. The adult pterosaur shrieked. Ash felt wind on his face and heard wings flap as the parent took off. The mist parted, revealing a brief glimpse of what looked like the starjet.
“We’re saved,” Marissa breathed. “Actually saved, by people that can actually help!”
Rescue
“W
e can’t land here,” Reece said into his headset, addressing the two security force personnel in the cabin behind, Cotter and Holloway. “The crust covering the main vent won’t hold the jet’s weight. Abseil down and grab the kids. You have shoot to kill authorisation. The kids come first. Animal preservation is no longer a primary focus. Copy?”
“Copy that,” the two men behind responded.
“Good, you ready?”
“On your command,” Holloway replied.
Reece engaged the active nodes on the outer skin, which relayed images to the video-membrane coating the inner hull. A panoramic view of the outside unfolded and he looked down into the mist.
“Damnit,” he cursed. “I can’t see anything.”
The blips on his monitor, from the kids’ lanterns, placed them almost directly below the starjet. The mist was so thick he couldn’t even see the rim of the volcano, so had no idea how deep into the caldera the starjet was hovering, or how close to the sides he was. The proximity alarms would kick in at ten meters, so clearance was still good. All he needed to do was keep the ship level and steady. The combat rangers would do the rest.
Jurassic Earth Trilogy Box Set Page 16
