Dinosaur World 2

by Logan Jacobs

  “Only the classics,” Becka replied as she stood up. “Bridget Jones and The Devil Wears Prada.”

  “It’s going to be a really long, boring day before I’ll watch those,” I sighed.

  “Oh, don’t be such a man,” the blonde replied. “They’re great movies.”

  Hae-won nodded vigorously and gave me two thumbs up.

  “Well, we’ll watch them together,” the blonde said as she wrapped an arm around the Korean girl’s shoulders. “You can toddle off and play video games if you want.”

  “And here, I thought you liked my company,” I replied. “Something about being good looking and smart?”

  “Oh, you remember that part, do you?” Becka snorted.

  I chuckled, but the girls were moving onwards again. We did a quick check of the basement, which now reeked of bleach, but all we found was a storeroom full of classroom supplies. I picked up some extra printer ink and a couple of reams of paper, just in case the library supplies were low, or we found a wif-fi enabled printer somewhere that we could lug back to the gallery to use with the laptop.

  “So, on to the next building?” Becka asked when we’d set our paltry haul on the other side of the window from the dino bags.

  “Yeah,” I agreed as I peered out the window. “But it looks like we’ll still need those umbrellas.”

  “It is too bad the buildings do not connect,” Hae-won noted.

  “Yeah,” I said. “It’s going to be a pain breaking into all of them, and I’m worried that someone or something will hear us breaking the glass.”

  “Actually, they do connect,” Becka said.

  “What do you mean?” I asked. “They’re all seperate buildings.”

  “They are,” the blonde agreed. “But see how close all the buildings on this side of the quad are, especially at the roofline? They practically touch. They did that on purpose, you know, to make it easier for the maintenance men to do work on the roof, like fixing a fan or sealing a leak. They can move between the buildings without having to climb all the way back to the ground and then walk over to the next building and climb to that roof again.”

  “How do you know that?” I asked as I studied the buildings.

  She was right, of course, and it was one of the things I’d noticed when I’d first arrived on campus, though I hadn’t given it much thought since then.

  “Well, I might have smiled really nicely at one of the younger boy-ohs who was working on my dorm,” Becka replied with a grin. “He told me all sorts of fascinating things about these buildings.”

  “How do we get to the roof in this building?” Hae-won asked.

  “Each building has a hatch to the roof,” Becka replied. “And they’re not locked because they never know when they’ll need access or which worker will be sent.”

  “Do you know where the hatch is in this building?” I asked.

  “I think I can figure it out,” Becka replied. “I found the one in the Psych building, just to see if I could, and this one has a pretty similar layout.”

  “Back to the third floor, then,” I suggested.

  Becka nodded and led the way back to the stairs. We climbed to the top floor once again, and then Becka walked to the end of a long hall. She opened one of the classroom doors and peered inside, then shook her head.

  “No, not this one,” the blonde muttered and moved on to the next class. “Here.”

  “Where?” I asked.

  “This way,” she said and walked to the back of the class before pointing up to the ceiling. “That’s the hatch.”

  At a quick glance, it looked just like the rest of the ceiling tiles, a yellowing white color that looked like it had been there since the Victorian era. But a closer look revealed that the panel was metal painted to match, and a small round pull rested flat against the metal. There was no sign of a lock, which was the good news, but without a ladder, I wasn’t sure how we could get to the hatch.

  “One of these days, we really need to find a ladder,” I muttered.

  “We can use this,” Hae-won said and gestured to a side table. “Help me move it underneath.”

  “I’m not sure it will be tall enough,” I replied. “I mean, I could lift you two up high enough to get through, but then what?”

  “Just wait,” Hae-won instructed.

  We pushed the table across the floor until it was centered under the hatch. Hae-won nodded when she was satisfied with the table’s position, then she pointed toward some of the chairs.

  “Pass those up to me,” the raven-haired woman said as she climbed on top of the table.

  Becka and I handed chairs to Hae-won as she started to create a small pyramid on top of the table. When she was done, she placed the last chair in front of the pyramid, then stepped back to admire her handiwork.

  “There,” Hae-won announced proudly. “You step on that chair in front, then the next level of chairs, and then the top chair, and then you are through the hatch.”

  “Um, is it stable?” Becka asked suspiciously.

  “As long as you don’t kick it,” Hae-won replied.

  “Right, no kicking,” I said as I studied the structure.

  “It’s very simple,” Hae-won insisted, “and safe.”

  “But what about the other end?” I asked. “How will we get down?”

  “A lot of the art rooms have those snap-together foam floor coverings,” Becka replied. “Like they use in play areas for children.”

  “Yes,” Hae-won agreed. “They are easy to remove for cleaning and they help protect the floor.”

  “I don’t know,” I said as I looked at how far away the hatch was.

  “I will show you,” Hae-won said.

  Hae-won stepped onto the first chair, then she took the first step onto her pyramid of chairs. It wobbled for a moment, but the Korean girl kept going until she was only a few inches from the hatch. She tugged on the ring, then ducked as the hatch swung open. Gray light and rain poured in, but Hae-won pulled herself through.

  “See?” the Korean girl called out as she looked back down at us.

  “You go next,” I told Becka. “I’ll hold the chairs steady.”

  Becka bit her lip, and it wasn’t hard to figure out that she probably regretted making the suggestion. I gave her an encouraging nod, and the blonde Brit climbed onto the table with me and started to climb up the chairs. I resisted staring at her perfect jean-covered ass as she climbed, and at the top, Hae-won offered a hand and helped pull her through.

  Which just left me, so I studied the pyramid one more time, swung the rifle over my back, and started my own climb to the hatch. I felt the chairs shift beneath my weight, but the structure held together, and I was soon at the top with two smiling beauties looking down on me.

  “Come here often?” I teased as I took in the sight.

  “Is that the best line you can come up with?” Becka chuckled.

  “How about, ‘the view up here is breathtaking,’” I snickered as I winked at her.

  “Ohh, that’s much better,” Becka cooed.

  “Hard to think up good lines when I’m worried about falling,” I said. “Do you think you could make room for me up there?”

  “We have free healthcare,” Becka said as she held out a hand to help me onto the roof. “I mean we did, when we had any health care.”

  “Technically, it’s still free,” Hae-won added. “Since we will be the ones giving you medical care.”

  I was on the roof by then, and I only chuckled at the observation. The view was indeed amazing, and the rain was even starting to ease off a little. Becka closed the hatch, then quickly pulled it open again to confirm that we could operate it easily from the roof as well.

  “There, that was easy,” Becka declared. “Now we just climb over that ledge and it leads straight on to the next roof.”

  “Which one is the arts building?” I asked. “They all look the same up here.”

  Hae-won counted the rooftops, and then pointed toward one with a se
ries of chimneys along one edge.

  “That is it,” the Asian girl said. “Those chimneys are probably for the kilns.”

  We started across the roof top and scrambled off the small ledge. The edge of the next rooftop was just a short hop away, though the fall if we missed was a long way down. I couldn’t imagine such a crazy design being used in sue-happy America, but at least we’d have a way to move between the buildings without having to break any more windows or drawing the attention of whatever creatures might be roaming around the quad. Becka had just made her jump when a high-pitched screech filled the air and a shadow passed over us. I looked up just in time to see a Pterodactyl bank back toward us, its long, pointed beak wide open and its talons in position to grab its target. The thing was massive, with a thirty foot wingspan and a body as long as a sedan.

  “Shit!” I yelled. “Go, go!”

  Chapter 6

  “Becka, find the hatch!” I yelled as I pulled the gun around.

  Becka scrambled toward the far end of the building, her head down as she scanned the rooftop for the hatch. I grabbed Hae-won’s hand and jumped after the Brit, then pushed the Korean onto the hard slate while I tracked the Pterodactyl with the gun.

  It seemed uncertain who to grab first, but something about Becka caught its attention, and it started to dive toward her as she dropped to her knees and started to tug at the roof hatch. I fired a quick shot that caught it in the belly, and then quickly rattled off a second shot that caught it near the joint where the wing met the body.

  “Becka!” I yelled. “Lay flat!”

  The Brit obeyed and flattened herself against the roof as the Pterodactyl’s talons brushed the air above her. It pulled up slightly, then readjusted it’s flight so it could grab the blonde from the roof. I heard Becka cry out, and then the rifle boomed again. The third shot left a large hole in the neck and finally did enough damage that the Pterodactyl made a high-pitched sound and veered away. I tracked it as it moved toward the city and took a last shot before it was out of range. The flying lizard rasped again before it moved higher into the air. It’s wings clipped some of the taller buildings as it started to climb, and I heard it hiss in frustration.

  I stayed where I was until the Pterodactyl was nothing more than a dot against the blue sky. I heard the distant sound of automatic gunfire a few moments later, and the Pterodactyl suddenly veered off course.

  “Becka,” Hae-won called as she darted across the roof toward the Brit.

  The blonde was still pressed against the roof, and she didn’t move until Hae-won pulled her onto her knees. Then Hae-won knelt next to her and wrapped an arm around the blonde’s shoulders.

  “Cripes,” Becka muttered when I joined the pair. “I thought I was a goner for sure.”

  “Okay, so the roof doesn’t seem like a safer way to get around,” I noted.

  “I really thought it would be okay,” Becka muttered.

  “It was worth a shot,” I reassured her. “But let’s get inside before some other flying thing shows up.”

  Becka nodded, and then the two women stood up.

  “The hatch on this one is warped,” Becka said. “That’s why I couldn’t get it open fast enough.”

  “We might as well keep going to the arts building,” I replied. “Maybe that one will be easier to open.”

  “Yes,” Hae-won agreed.

  We made the last jumps like we were trying out for England’s Olympic track team, and nearly overran the hatch in our eagerness to get inside. It opened easily enough, though as we peered inside, the floor looked a lot further away than it had in the other building.

  “That’s a long way down,” Hae-won noted.

  “Just hold onto the edge and drop once you’re inside,” I said.

  Becka went first as she squatted down and then dropped her long legs over the edge. She scooted closer until she was balanced on her elbows, then lowered herself through the hatch. She held on for a moment, and then a few seconds later there was a soft thump as she landed on the floor below.

  “It’s all good,” Becka called up.

  Hae-won didn’t look very reassured, but the distant Pterodactyl’s cry sent her scrambling to get over the edge. I glanced up and saw the dot was considerably closer, and I could pick out the wings and the fearsome beak.

  “Go ahead,” I urged the Korean as she inched hesitantly over the side.

  Hae-won closed her eyes, and then her torso and head disappeared from view. A moment later, there was another soft thump, followed by the sound of the girls laughing.

  Another round of gunfire erupted from the city, and I looked up to see the Pterodactyl heading back toward the campus. It was higher than it had been before, but its large, angry eyes were focused on the rooftops as it passed overhead. I was out of time, and I rolled over the edge of the hatch, hung on for a moment, then dropped to the floor below just as the bird’s shadow swept over me.

  For a split second, I saw one of the talons through the hatch, and then the Pterodactyl was gone with an angry screech. I let out a sigh of relief and looked around at the place where I’d landed. We were inside yet another classroom, this one with the promised foam floor and rows of easels and chairs rather than desks. It smelled like paint and turpentine, with just a hint of stale coffee.

  “That was too close,” Becka said. “We really need to learn how to use those guns.”

  “First sunny day,” I promised.

  The classroom door was closed, as they all were during the break, so I eased it open and checked the hall. There were no signs of any dinosaurs, so I ushered the girls out of the classroom and then closed the door. I could hear the rain pelting the floor and felt a twinge of guilt, but then a little rain damage was probably the least damage these buildings would suffer in the current world.

  “Is this the same layout as the other buildings?” I asked. Aside from brighter colors on the walls and soft floors, it could have been any building on campus.

  “It is,” Hae-won assured me.

  “It’s a good thing there weren’t any desks in our way,” Becka said and rubbed her calves. “That landing was hard enough. Are you okay? You didn’t even get to lower yourself like we did.”

  “Yeah, I’m good.” I said, though I did feel a twinge in one of my ankles when I landed. “I just need to walk it off. Where are we headed?”

  “I think the next floor down is where they have the metalsmithing,” Becka said as she looked over the different doors in the hall.

  “Yes, that’s correct,” Hae-won agreed. “They might have fun things in there.”

  I wondered why they both seemed to know where all these different classes were even though it wasn’t part of their degrees. I barely knew anything outside of my little History bubble, but then again, that was probably my own fault. I’d always been a one-track mind kind of guy who rarely paid any attention to anything beyond my own little sphere of interest.

  “Do you think that’s the same one we saw before?” Hae-won asked as we got to the stairs.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “If it is, that means it’s hanging around. That can’t be good.”

  “Meaning it could be waiting for us when we leave,” Becka remarked.

  “Unless the gunfire scared it away,” I explained. “Still, we might want to stay away from the roof for a while, just until we’re sure.”

  “I’m sorry,” Becka sighed. “I thought it would be easier than dodging raptors in the quad.”

  “It’s okay,” I assured her. “You couldn’t have known it would appear. Let’s just try some of these doors and find the materials we need.”

  “Okay,” Becka said.

  When we reached the second floor, I opened up the first door on my right and walked in. The place was full of clay, pottery wheels, drying racks, and a collection of other tools I didn’t recognize.

  “I’m guessing the pottery class,” I said

  “I vote we keep going,” Becka said.

  “Yeah, I’m with
you,” I replied. “Let’s check the rest of the rooms on this floor and see if we can find anything useful.”

  The next door led to a room stacked from floor to ceiling with paints in every color, base, and container. There were shelves of water colors, stacks of latex paints, and even drawers full of oil paints. There was a stack of palettes with dried paint in one corner and tins with old paintbrushes on the windowsill. There was also a thick layer of dust, and all three of us sneezed before I was able to close the door.

  The next door led to a classroom much like the one we’d landed in on the third floor, though the paint smell wasn’t nearly as strong. I spotted a collection of colored pencils on the one desk, and several pictures of random objects had been taped on the walls. There was a small platform in the center of the room where I assumed the object of the day’s study would be placed, but that was it.

  I was about to suggest we move to the next floor when something caught Becka’s eye. She moved toward one of the doors and opened it, then waved us over with a little squeal. We followed her into the room and found that the blonde had found the jewelry making class. There were industrial sized spools of wire, racks of rhinestones, and shelves filled with beads and gemstones. There were also wire cutters, crimpers, and even a few kits for soldering metal.

  “Some of this could be helpful,” Hae-won said happily as she picked through the selection of tools.

  While the girls debated which ones would be best, I wandered around the room, and then stopped to consider the wire itself. There were different gauges, some of it really sturdy, and aside from the giant spools, there were several smaller, more manageable versions. With no idea when the dinosaur threat might end, if ever, the wire was too good to pass up. I scooped up what I could carry, along with some wire cutters that sat nearby, and then turned back to the girls.

  “Did you get everything you needed?” I asked.

  “Yes, just one more thing,” the dark-haired woman said and snatched a blowtorch off the metal station.

  “A blowtorch?” I laughed.

  “It will be very helpful,” Hae-won insisted.

  “But I’ll bet you ten pounds that I find you playing with it in the gallery somewhere,” I replied.