The Mission of No Return

by Frank Cereo

  “Whoa, look at that.” Commander Rescott says to Huey.

  “You don’t have to worry about him. He is a plant eater.” Huey says.

  Out of the trees where the Corythosaurus had just pushed out of the way there came a Tyrannosaurus Rex. A Tyrannosaurus Rex is a meat eating dinosaur with a bone crushing jaw that can usually finish off its prey with one or two bites. Like the Corythosaurus, T-Rex also walked on two legs and like most meat eating dinosaurs the T-Rex had a large head with razor sharp teeth. This reptile was built for speed and agility and was the killing machine of its time period. Standing at forty-feet from head to tail it weighed in at five to seven tons.

  In the opening, the Corythosaurus had no chance of escaping from the T-Rex. The Corythosaurus tried to run but it was to no avail as the T-Rex pounced onto its back. Its massive jaw ripped into the flesh like a knife through hot butter. The Corythosaurus tried to fight back but it had no defenses against the large predator. It was over in minutes. The Corythosaurus struggled and moaned in pain as the T-Rex ripped large chunks of flesh from the dying dinosaur. The T-Rex swallowed the large chunks of meat without chewing just biting and swallowing. The blood from the dying dinosaur painted the open field red.

  “We need to go now. The smell of blood is the air and more meat eaters will come to feed.” Huey says.

  Both men made their way back to the others. They continued moving west towards the Rocky Mountains. It was a slow move through the dense wooded area but they were rewarded when they found a ten foot by ten foot area inside five large trees. The large trunks made a good camping area for the night because the trees would protect them from large predators.

  Chapter 8 – Camp Fire

  As night began to fall the eight crew members sat around a large fire centered inside the five large trees. The hot humid weather was stifling and it took its toll on the astronauts and scientists. The large mosquitoes were brutal because as the sun set they were attacking like dive bombers. The crew ate their condensed food while they brewed a pot of coffee on the open fire. The noises of the large reptiles echoed through the night.

  “Man this is a lot scarier than watching dinosaur movies at the theaters.” Amanda says as she continuously looks around for intruding dinosaurs.

  “Just relax Amanda, we’re pretty safe inside the tree perimeter and the fire should add to our security.” Captain Laird replies.

  “These creatures are probably not afraid of fire because it’s something that they are not familiar with.” Huey adds.

  “Well that makes me feels a hell of a lot safer Huey.” Amanda responds.

  “Amanda I’m just stating a fact.” Huey says.

  “Changing the subject, how far back in time would you say we went?” Commander Rescott asks Huey.

  “From what I have seen so far, I would say we went back about seventy-five million years.” Huey replies.

  “That’s a lot further than I thought.” Commander Rescott says.

  As the conversation ended there was a huge explosion to their east that was followed by a bright fire that burned in the night. There was a loud screaming roar that came from a large dinosaur. The light from the fire could be seen from the camp site as the glow moved throughout the dense wooded area.

  “What the hell was that?” Jennifer says as she jumped from the loud blast.

  “That would be our ship exploding.” Captain Laird replies.

  “What would have caused our ship to explode?” Commander Rescott adds.

  “From the loud roar I heard during the blast my conclusion is a curious large predatory dinosaur.” Huey replies.

  “How large of a predatory dinosaur are you talking?” Commander Rescott asks.

  “To put it in layman’s terms, remember how big T-Rex was. Well this bad boy sounds like he dwarfs him.” Huey replies.

  “You mean there are bigger and badder dinosaurs than T-Rex?” Captain Lairds asks.

  “You have only scratched the surface with T-Rex. There is Spinosaurus and Giganotosaurus that are forty to fifty feet from head to tail. They even outweigh the T-Rex by one to two tons.” Huey responds. “Now the Fearosaurs is a dinosaur to be reckoned with. It stands about fifty-five to fifty-seven feet from head to tail and weighs about eight tons. This dinosaur kind of resembles the T-Rex but it can run faster and can balance better with larger front arms. Just like all large predatory dinosaurs they have large heads and razor sharp teeth. But this one is different not only because it is larger but because it hunts by sound, smell, and sight. It also has a double set of interlocking razor sharp teeth for quicker grinding of muscle and bone. Fearosaurs is also equipped with a sharp boney horn that protrudes twelve to fifteen inches from its thumb area. It uses this horn to kill its prey by goring it to death.”

  The ship’s fire burns throughout the night as it glistened in the eastern horizon. The camp fire was kept burning through the night for comfort and to help ward off the mosquitoes. Many of the crew members slept little or not at all as the sound of the forest echoed throughout the night with little or no let up. As the sun began to rise, the dense forest floor began to brighten. Slowly everyone began to move as morning gave way from the darkness. Stephanie wiped the sleepiness from her eyes and with her back facing to the west. She looked through the hole between the eastern trees within their camp. There stood a large dinosaur looking into their camp.

  “Don’t move a muscle.” Huey whispers in her ear.

  There stood the same T-Rex from yesterday afternoon. Looking eye to eye you could see the dinosaur breathing as his abdominal cavity was expanding with each breath it took. Slowly each person began to waken with the same message. The T-Rex was definitely helpless to retrieve its prey inside the wooden cage. The close knit trees were by far a blessing to make camp.

  “How long do we have to stay here?” Michael asks Huey.

  “We are safe from him inside our camp. The trees are too big for him to knock down. He is testing our intelligence and rattling our patience. He is looking for a free meal with little or no work.” Huey replies.

  “What about the dinosaur he killed yesterday?” Commander Rescott asks.

  “Well Mr. T-Rex ate his capacity yesterday and now he is hungry again. Whatever was left from that carcass yesterday was eaten by scavengers and other meat eaters passing by. Nothing goes to waste here.” Huey explains.

  Then there is some rustling in the bushes from behind the T-Rex that catches his attention. He turns his head and slowly moves towards the noise. Then he disappears into the brush.

  “Now would be a good time to gather our belongings and break camp.” Huey says.

  With that being said, the group picks up their gear and packs everything into their backpacks. The only thing that remains from the fire is the hot embers that the men extinguish with their morning pee. The women relieve themselves just outside the camp perimeter while under close guard by the men.

  “I think we should head due west immediately while T-Rex is preoccupied.” Huey says as the group moves out of their camp exiting through the western trees.

  As the morning sun grows higher in the sky, they move as quietly as possible. Again the sun is hot and the air is humid and the mosquitoes are dormant during these hours. Their white astronaut overalls that are worn under their hard suits kept the crew cool in the hot sun. The remaining three mile journey to the mountains would probably take the rest of the day. It was a slow trek though the thick under forest floor while keeping a close look out for predators. Each person drank their ration of water but five gallons would not last long with this type of heat. Their perspiration mounted to just as much water as they would take in. As the sun reached high noon, the base of the mountains could be seen with the naked eye.

  “How long do you think it will take to reach the base of the mountains?” Michael asks.

  “We should get there around suppertime.” Captain Laird replies.

  The journey is slow but rugged as the group encounters many types of herbivores.
They even encountered a herd of Triceratops just before they reached the base of the mountains. The Triceratops was a thirty foot long herbivore that weighed about six to eight tons and stood on all fours. This dinosaur had a very small brain that limited its intelligence. Triceratops was a dinosaur that made its presence known as it wasn’t afraid to fight anything that threatened its herd. The one physical feature that stuck out from the rest was a boney frill that protected its neck but also the two sharp boney horns that protruded three feet out from this frill. Triceratops was a well balanced dinosaur that would use its two horns and pointed bone on its nose to spear its enemies. In this herd there had to be fifty to sixty Triceratops and they were everything but friendly as the alpha male with four others came out to face them.

  “We need to move away slowly and show no sign of aggressiveness. That way they don’t feel we are a threat to their herd.” Huey says in a low and quiet tone as the group moves away from the herd.

  With the sun going behind the mountains, darkness began to fall quickly.

  “We need to find a place to camp that will be safe for the night. We have one thing going for us and that is that herd of Triceratops that is about two hundred yards to the east of our current position. Their presence will help keep many of the large predators away from this area.” Huey explains.

  Dusk falls as they arrive at beginning of the Rocky Mountain chain. There are peaks as high as two to three thousand feet. The peaks get higher the deeper you go into the mountain range.

  “Hey, just like Huey said this would be the place to camp. Why don’t we use this area to put up a permanent residence? We might as well use that herd of Triceratops as our ally. They can be our first line of defense against T-Rex and all the other large predators.” Stephanie says.

  “You might have a good point there. Let’s break into groups of four and go north and south to see if we can find some type of cave that we can use to make a permanent camp.” Captain Laird says.

  “Over here you’ve got to see this.” Amada yells standing just north of the others.

  The others gather to where Amanda is standing and low and behold a small and narrow corridor. It is about two and half feet wide and three feet tall. If you look straight up it’s only about one hundred feet up in this area.

  “It looks like some type of fissure that may lead to an underground cave.” Stephanie explains as she looks into the fissure with a flashlight.

  Stephanie being the only geologist takes the led into the fissure. She knows what she is looking for. As darkness begins to fall and with no defense no one wanted to stay out on the other side. The path was narrow and cramped as everyone followed into the small cave. They crawled on their hands and knees to squirm through this over sized worm hole. In a few spots they had to even slide through lying on their side. The journey through the fissure took about seven minutes. Stephanie was the first to emerge from the fissure.

  “Holy shit!” Stephanie says as she exits the fissure and stands up.

  “What’s wrong?” Captain Laird asks as his head exits the fissure behind Stephanie.

  To their amazement they have found themselves inside a small opening inside the mountain range. The size of the opening was about eighty feet wide by one hundred feet long. There were no trees just brush, weeds, and grass. Just as the light faded Michael noticed an opening in the mountain about twenty-five feet from the ground. Captain Laird made it plain and clear that no one was going to investigate the opening in the mountain until daybreak.

  “Do you think any dinosaurs can get in here?” Captain Laird asks Huey.

  “I think we’re safe because if there are no dinosaurs in here now they are too big to get in. The only threat we have is the flying dinosaurs. Let’s get into the thick brush over there for cover and get a good roaring fire going and eat some grub.” Huey responds.

  With the safety of the enclosed area, the group of eight sat around the fire and talked about the day’s experience. They ate their rations and drank their water and brewed a pot of coffee.

  “We need to find a fresh water source tomorrow and we only have six to seven days of food rations remaining.” Commander Rescott explains to the group.

  “That will be our priority tomorrow. Everyone needs a good night’s rest. Each person will stand guard for an hour and half and I will take the first shift and each person to the left will follow in order.” Captain Laird says.

  The conversation went on for about a half hour as each person enjoyed a cup of coffee. Within an hour the whole group with the exception of Captain Laird was fast asleep. The fire was kept well stoked throughout the night as loud snores and sighs could be heard throughout the camp.

  Chapter 9 – The Next Morning

  As the sun rose on the second day on planet Earth during the cretaceous period, the eight crew members slept sound for the first time in forty-eight hours. There were little or no worries of their space craft crashing or being eaten by a giant predator. Without a cloud in the sky the sun was up but not yet shining inside in their new haven. This helped a little as the heat index from this time period didn’t begin to build inside their new camp as quickly as it did outside the perimeter. You could see the sun shining on the peaks to the west of them as the sun began to climb. Each person yawns and stretches as the new day begins and they prepare for breakfast.

  “Rations are beginning to run low captain.” Commander Rescott says.

  “Yes I know, but we need to find fresh water first. I think we have a fresh source of meat available.” Captain Laird replies.

  “You mean dinosaurs meat?” Jennifer asks.

  “Well do you see any cows, pigs, or chickens?” Captain Laird answers.

  “Well I’m not going to eat any of that shit.” Jennifer replies.

  “Hey you don’t know what dinosaurs taste like. They could taste like chicken.” Captain Laird says with a smirk on his face.

  “I’m still not going to eat dinosaurs.” Jennifer stammers.

  “Your choice, but another thing is plentiful on this beautiful planet is eggs.” Commander Rescott adds.

  “Let’s see what we can find useful inside our new camp.” Captain Laird says. “Break up into groups of two and we’ll meet back here in let’s say twenty minutes.”

  Captain Laird teamed up with Jennifer and went to the eastern quadrant of the camp. This is the wall that protects them from the dinosaurs that are on the other side. They looked for edible fruits, vegetables, and roots while looking for fresh water. The end result was an edible root that looked like a sweet potato so Jennifer pulled a few out of the ground for testing.

  Commander Rescott and Amanda teamed up and investigated the north quadrant. They found some type of red berries and no water. Commander Rescott pulled a few berries off the bush and attempted to put them him his mouth to test them. Amanda slapped his hand just as quick while knocking the berries to the ground.

  “What did you do that for?” Commander Rescott asks.

  “Are you crazy or something? You don’t know what type of berries they are and if they are poisonous or not. They could kill you immediately or slowly. We need to test these berries before we ingest them.” Amanda says as she shakes her head in disgust.

  As for Huey and Stephanie, they went to the south with little results. They did find a nut that grew on a prickly vine. They very carefully pulled a few of the nuts off the vine without pricking themselves on the thorns. They covered the entire southern area without the luxury of finding water.

  The west was covered by Michael and Josef. They moved slowly as most of the thickest dense bushes were located in this part of their new fort. The bushes were heavy and hard to move as they pushed and stomped through the thicket. The further they waded through the dense and thick brush the closer they moved to the cave opening that was just above them.

  “Do you hear that?” Michael says to Josef.

  “I sure do. It sounds like the trickling of water and it’s coming from inside the cave. Do you want
the honor or shall I?” Josef responds.

  “I got this.” Michael says as he prepares to climb the twenty-five foot wall to the cave opening.

  The mountain side is rough and rocky but climbable as Michael takes his first step by reaching for a protruding rock just above his head. He balances himself as he starts the climb up the steep incline. One hand gets a good grip then the second hand gets a good grip as he pushes upwards with his legs. The climb is slow but it’s necessary because their water supply is getting very near the end. As Michael reaches fifteen feet up a loose rock below his feet becomes un-lodged and drops to the ground leaving Michael hanging. With his weight suspended by his arms only Michael tries to find a place to get a good footing. The rock that falls ricochets off the bottom crest of the mountain and flings just to the right of Josef. The noise is loud enough to get everyone else’s attention.

  “What the hell are you doing?’ Captain Laird yells from the other end of the compound.

  “I got it, I’m alright.” Michael yells as he reestablished his footing on the mountainside.

  “There may be water in the cave captain.” Josef yells back.

  The other six crew members gather what they collected and met at the bottom of the mountain cave as Michael continues to climb. You could see the anger in Captain Laird’s face but he kept his composure. He didn’t want to yell at Michael and break his concentration from the climb. The one thing he didn’t want was Michael to fall from that distance. Captain Laird figured there would be a time to reprimand Michael and this was not it.

  “I made it.” Michael says as pulls himself onto the ledge of the cave.

  “What do you see?” Captain Laird yells up.