Microsaurs--Follow that Tiny-Dactyl

by Dustin Hansen

  I turned the phone over in my hands and I could see a little scrape where my dad had used a screwdriver to pry the back off. He’d opened it up and shown me how to swap out the phone’s graphics processor chip with a faster one. I still remember what he said when he did it.

  “This could wipe out all the memory, so make sure you back up the videos or any pictures you have on the phone before you monkey with it like this.”

  “So, what you’re saying is it’s okay to monkey with it?”

  “Well, let’s try to keep this one all in one piece. It’s a prototype. A one of a kind. But it’s good to know HOW to monkey with something like this if you ever need to.”

  I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it. I mean, if I lost all the amazing video I’d captured that day, I’d never get it back. It’s not every day that you get to ride on the back of a triceratops and hang out as a half-inch-tall kid with a bunch of Microsaurs. But in the end, getting Lin back in time was more important than anything else. So I took a deep breath and pried the back of my dad’s old smartphone off with my fingernail. I studied the circuitry and processors hidden behind the chrome phone case. Wrapped around all the fancy parts inside the phone were two long wires, one red and one blue.

  “What are you doing, Danny?” Lin asked. “Don’t ruin your phone. We’ll find another way.”

  I checked the time one last time before I zapped my phone for good. “Not in six minutes and twenty-one seconds we won’t,” I said. I threw the smartphone to Professor Penrod.

  “How much wire do you need?” I asked Professor Penrod.

  “Not much. Just a couple of small pieces ought to do,” Professor Penrod said.

  “Get us back, Professor Penrod. Lin’s got a trophy to win,” I said.

  CHAPTER 15

  CRUSHING IT ON THE RAMP-O-SAURUS

  “Well, skate fans, we’re down to the last two competitors. The two you’ve all been waiting for,” the announcer boomed through the speakers at my back. The crowd shouted and I cheered right along with them, my dad by my side.

  “I know it’s hard to believe, Dad. Impossible, even, but I promise it is the truth. Every word. And I have the shirt to prove it,” I said. My dad might be the most forgiving and understanding person on planet Earth, but even he has his limits. I mean, who would ever believe the day that Lin and I had had? And without my smartphone video to prove it, I really couldn’t blame him.

  “Well, your shirt is a mess. That’s for sure,” he said. He ruffled my hair and gave me his best half smile, but it didn’t help.

  I felt like I had let him down a little. He didn’t believe me, I could see it on his face. “Come on. Let’s enjoy the show and worry about the details later.”

  “Next up is B.J. Hooper, last year’s champion. B.J. is trying to make the best of this jump, because this is his last year competing in the Under-12 Ramp-O-Saurus Long Distance Jumping Contest as he turns twelve in just a few days.” The crowd started chanting, “B.J.! B.J.! B.J.!” but I didn’t join in. There was no way I was going to root for him when he was trying to beat my best friend.

  “Hey, I have an idea, Dad. I could take you to the Microterium. We could shrink down and you could meet Professor Penrod and see the Microsaurs for yourself,” I said.

  My dad was clapping for B.J. because he’s a nice guy, and he raised an eyebrow. “Hmm. Well, if you think that will work, I’d be up for a trip like that,” he said, but I could tell he still didn’t believe me.

  I just didn’t feel right inside. Even though he wouldn’t come right out and say it, my dad thought I made up the whole Microsaur story to explain how I lost his smartphone prototype and the SpyZoom Micro-GPS Beacon. And to make things worse, I couldn’t talk to Lin with our SpyZoom Invisible Communicators, because without the smartphone and the app, they were nothing more than tiny earplugs.

  I looked up at Lin. After leaving her old helmet in Twiggy’s nest, she had to use her backup helmet. It was purple, with a row of spikes, which seemed perfect after our day with the Microsaurs. She looked no bigger than she had in the Microterium as she waited on top of the Ramp-O-Saurus. I don’t know how she felt, but if she was as nervous and tired as me, I wondered how she was even going to compete. I hoped she had enough energy left to teach B.J. Hooper a lesson.

  The crowd roared, bringing me out of my daydream.

  “Another perfect jump by Hooper. You’re looking at your new leader! B.J. Hooper has just set a world-record jump with a distance of sixty-five feet, four inches!” the announcer said. Skate fans from around the world cheered as the news was broadcast on live TV.

  “Not bad,” my dad said as he clapped along. “A new world record. How about that, Danny.”

  I looked up at him and smiled on the outside, but on the inside I was worried. That was until I looked up to the top of the Ramp-O-Saurus. I expected to see Lin hanging her head, or looking bummed out: sixty-five feet, four inches was an impossible distance. But she wasn’t sad at all. In fact, she was cheering louder than anyone in the entire crowd. She pumped her arms and pointed to the bottom of the ramp. She was giving someone the thumbs-up sign, and I looked in the foam pit to see B.J. Hooper give it back.

  I was really missing the SpyZoom app now. I wished I had my Invisible Communicator more than ever so I could ask Lin how she was feeling.

  “Did you see that, Dad?” I asked. “Lin was cheering for B.J. like she was his biggest fan.”

  “I did see that. That’s a good sign, isn’t it?” he said.

  “What? That she’s cheering on the new world champion?”

  “Yeah. It tells me that she’s confident that he won’t be the world champ for long,” he said. Then he cheered in his booming voice. “Come on, Lin! Time to fly!”

  “All right, everyone, it’s time for our last challenger. Lin Song, are you ready?” the announcer asked, and Lin put her skateboard on the lip of the Ramp-O-Saurus. She nodded her head and the crowd totally shocked me because they didn’t cheer at all. In fact, it was so quiet you could hear the cotton candy machines in the background whirling around and around.

  Lin shook all the nerves out of her arms and fingers, took a deep breath, then stepped on the front of her skateboard. The only thing you could hear was the sound of her wheels rumbling down the wooden back of the Ramp-O-Saurus.

  She tucked in so tight that even the wind couldn’t find her to slow her down. Then just as she reached the bottom of the ramp, she crouched even farther.

  The crowd exploded with cheers as she flew off the tail end of the ramp and opened her arms wide. She soared just like Twiggy, graceful and easy as if she belonged in the sky. I couldn’t see her face from where I stood in the crowd, but that didn’t matter. Every inch of her was smiling, I could just tell.

  No flips. No fancy tricks. Just the most perfect glide you’ve ever seen, as she sailed right past B.J. Hooper’s marker and dove headfirst into the foam pit.

  My dad and I both jumped and shouted at the same time, joining in with the rest of the crowd as we realized that she had just won the Ramp-O-Saurus Long Distance Jumping Contest. It was pure craziness all around, people jumping up and down and chanting her name.

  We cheered until our voices stopped working. It was the perfect ending to the perfect day. Well, almost. If only I could convince Dad that I was telling the truth, but I knew that it was impossible without actually showing him.

  “How about a corn dog, Danny? You look like you could use a bite to eat,” my dad said, and he was right.

  “Forget the dog. I could eat a whole corn brontosaurus,” I said, and he laughed.

  * * *

  We found a table away from the noise and sat and chatted about my dad’s new invention while we ate our corn dogs. He had one, and I had two, which was actually my third and fourth for the day. I was about to tell him more about the Microterium, when Lin and her family walked our way. Lin’s dad was carrying her skateboard, and her little sister was wearing her helmet so that Lin could carry her new trophy.
>
  It was almost as tall as she was. But what shocked me the most was that they had a special guest. Someone I did NOT expect to see. It was Professor Penrod, and he was carrying a large leather suitcase that was covered in stickers from around the world.

  My dad saw them, too, and he turned and held out a hand. “Let me shake the hand of a world record holder! Congrats, Lin. That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen on a skateboard.”

  “It was pretty impressive, but you should have seen what she did earlier today. Made that jump look like a little skip. Am I right?” Professor Penrod said.

  “That’s right,” I said as I stood up fast. All the tiredness from the day washed away because I knew that the professor could explain to my dad that my story was totally, 100 percent true.

  “Now, I can’t stay. In fact, I’m leaving the country for a while. But I did want to give you this, Danny. You left it behind in the lab,” he said with a wink. He handed me the smartphone and the GPS beacon, which was no bigger than an apple seed now that we were back to normal size. I handed the smartphone to my dad so he could see that it was in one piece.

  “You’re leaving?” Lin asked. “But who’s going to take care of the Microsaurs?”

  “I was hoping the two of you would stop by and check in on them from time to time. Maybe peanut butter up a couple of sticks for Twooee. Take Zip-Zap for a spin. You know, give the Microsaurs what they need most. Love and attention.”

  “What are Microsaurs?” Lin’s parents asked at the same time.

  “I’ll tell you all about it later. Believe me, you’re going to want to sit down to hear this one. You, too, ChuChu,” Lin said as she pinched her two-year-old sister’s cheek. Her sister made some nonsense word that sounded like “flape-blorp,” and Lin laughed because she understood her perfectly.

  “I left an explanation on your device, Danny. It’s right there with all the other videos from today,” Professor Penrod said.

  “They survived?” I said, totally shocked. I couldn’t believe it. I was sure they were destroyed when Professor Penrod used the wiring to send us back through the Expand-O-Matic.

  “Every last one of them,” Professor Penrod said. “Well, I’m off. I have a plane to catch. Give Twoee a snuggle for me, would you? Oh, and no more red shirts, for goodness’ sake.”

  “We’re on it, Professor Penrod. Don’t worry about a thing,” I said. Trusting Lin and me with the Microsaurs was a big thing—huge, actually—but I knew we’d be up for the challenge.

  “Travel safe, Penny,” Lin said as he disappeared into the crowd. “Bring me back a toy!” she shouted after him.

  “Do you know what time it is, Danny?” Lin’s mom asked.

  “No, but I can find out,” I said, and she grinned.

  “Oh, I know what time it is,” Lin said as she leaned against her new trophy.

  “I think I know what time it is, too,” Lin’s dad said. “Let me check.” He rolled up his sleeve and looked at his bare wrist. He wasn’t even wearing a watch, but that didn’t matter because even I had figured it out, too.

  “It’s celebration time, isn’t it?” I said.

  “That’s right,” Lin said. “Time to eat our weight in ice cream. Do you guys want to come?”

  “Can we, Dad?” I asked as I looked up at him. But my dad didn’t answer. He sat back down at the table with his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. “Are you okay?”

  “I think so, but I may need to watch this again later,” he said. He was holding the smartphone. He’d just finished watching a video of me, his only son, being chased by a triceratops. “I think I just saw a real, live dinosaur.”

  “It was a Microsaur, actually, and just wait until you see Twiggy. That’s when things get really crazy,” I said, then I ruffled his hair and gave him a half smile. “Come on, Dad. It looks like you need some ice cream, too.”

  A VIDEO NOTE FROM PROFESSOR PENROD

  “Is this working?” Professor Penrod said as he tapped the screen with his finger. “I hope so. I’m not so good with new technology. I prefer the old stuff, if I’m being honest.”

  He sat back and cleared his throat. Bruno 2 was still chasing Zip-Zap and they zoomed by the professor in the background.

  “Danny and Lin. Today’s adventures were the second-best thing I’ve experienced all year. And considering that I discovered the Microsaurs this year, that is saying a lot. For some time I’ve been looking for someone to take care of the Microsaurs while I go out in the field and search for more, but the right person has not come along until now.

  “Today’s events were a test of sorts. A test I didn’t know was necessary until it was underway. I realize it was a bit risky at times, but it looked like you two enjoyed it as much as I did. You two are brilliant. Adventurous, smart, and dare I say fearless! You followed Twiggy to the barn. You discovered the note in the microscope. You even figured out the clues I left behind on how to enter the Microterium. You two managed every step and obstacle in the way with creativity, brain power, and bravery. It’s exactly the type of team I need to help me grow the Microterium.”

  He smiled to himself as he remembered something. “Oh, and discovering what it was that was driving Twoee crazy: the color red—I never would have guessed. Just brilliant, Danny. You have the makings of a great scientist, that is for sure.”

  He held up the leather notebook no bigger than a wallet. “Remember this? It’s the notebook sent to me by my uncle Penrod. It’s the one that led me to Peru to find the Microsaurs. Well, there’s something I didn’t show you. Here, let me just take you back inside the Fruity Stars Lab with me,” Professor Penrod said. He picked up the camera and the video got all wobbly for a minute while he walked inside the lab. He focused the camera on a small bookshelf. There were five little leather notebooks stacked in a row.

  “What I didn’t show you at the time is that the Peru notebook was one of six notebooks sent to me that day. Each from a new area of the world where my uncle had discovered more Microsaurs. I couldn’t bear to leave my Microterium unattended while I searched for the others, but now that you two are around, I think it’s time for me to go exploring once again. Who knows, perhaps I’ll find Uncle Penrod as well.

  “But there is one thing I need you two to do that we haven’t discussed. I need you to keep the Microterium a secret. Sure, it is fine that your parents know. Parents should always know things of this importance. But that’s it. Nobody else can know about the Microterium. For the safety of Bruno 2, Zip-Zap, Honk-Honk, Twiggy, and all the other Microsaurs, it’s very important that we keep it a secret for now. I’m sure you will understand.”

  He pulled one of Uncle Penrod’s notebooks from the shelf and opened it up.

  “Let’s see. Where to next.” He thumbed through a few pages, then his eyes opened wide and a big smile crossed his face. “Looks like I’m heading to China. Take care, Danny and Lin. And remember, adventure awaits!”

  FACTS ABOUT PTEROSAURS

  • There’s no such thing as a pterodactyl. Nobody knows exactly when people started calling the flying dinosaurs pterodactyls (which means “winged finger” by the way), but it’s more of a nickname than an actual name. The name came from the family name of the pterosaurs, and there were hundreds of different types of pterosaurs. Perhaps even THOUSANDS!

  • If you think pterodactyl (tear-a-DACK-til) is hard to pronounce, wait until you try to find out who Twiggy really is. She’s a pterosaur, for sure, but specifically she is a Quetzalcoatlus (KWET-zal-koh-AT-lus). Quetzalcoatlus were massive, with wingspans of more than thirty feet, and they were taller than giraffes!

  • At first, Professor Penrod wondered why Twiggy was so attracted to shiny objects, but after researching her ancestors, the pterosaurs, it all made sense. Many pterosaurs were fish eaters, and silvery fish scales were perhaps the shiniest thing around over sixty-five million years ago.

  • Don’t let the wings fool you. Most birds today are descended from feather-covered, two-legged theropods,
like Zip-Zap, not from flying dinosaurs. In fact, the pterosaurs are actually more closely related to today’s modern alligators than to birds.

  • The pterosaurs lived on Earth for millions of years. Fossils date back over 120 million years ago and they survived until the end of the Cretaceous period, over 65 million years ago. They also ranged in size more than most typical dinosaur families. The smallest was no bigger than a small sparrow and we know that the largest was the size of a small airplane.

  • The smallest pterosaur fossil found so far is only about ten inches wide. Scientists have proved that it was just a baby but, believe it or not, it could already FLY!

  • And last, pterosaurs were not technically dinosaurs! They were actually reptiles that lived millions of years ago. One easy way to tell the difference is that dinosaur legs extend below their bodies; take a look at Bruno 2, Honk-Honk, and Zip-Zap for examples. But pterosaurs legs and wings grow out from the sides of their bodies, more like lizard legs do today.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  There’s an old saying, that it takes a village to write a book. Okay, I’m twisting that saying up a little to suit my needs, but it still holds true. Actually, having just my name on the front of this book is kind of silly, because so many people had a hand in making this happen.

  Annie, who told me that Honk-Honk honking was more fun than Honk honking. Making her laugh is the sunshine in my life, so—Honk became Honk-Honk.

  Malorie, who loves everything I create, from the first goofy sketches of Danny with glasses and frizzy hair, to the very last drawing of Professor Penrod waving good-bye (for now).