by Logan Jacobs
“I want happy dreams as well,” Hae-won agreed. “Maybe we should tell funny stories about things we’ve done?”
“Oh, have I got some stories for you,” Becka laughed. “Like the bloke who used to come in and order two pints, one for him and one for his future self in case he ever invented time travel.”
We all laughed and talked about Becka’s experiences bartending for a while, then it was my turn to share nightmare stories from retail. At the time, the situations had been infuriating, but with enough time and real issues of survival at stake, they made for a pleasant diversion. Hae-won admitted she had never had a job before, and she wasn’t really sure what job she would have when she was done with school. Classical music positions were hard to come by, and what she really wanted was to form her own band.
That led to a discussion about our plans and dreams, though the conversation petered out when we realized that the likelihood of being able to complete a term at the college, much less become professional musicians, or lawyers, or child psychologists was practically nil. In the silence, I tried to figure out why law school had ever seemed so important. It had been more my dad’s dream than mine that I would join him at the firm, and as I sat there with these two amazing women, I realized I would never have been truly happy defending rich teenagers against drug charges.
What did make me happy was the easy camaraderie I had with these women, as well as the other benefits that both seemed determined to lavish on me. At the moment, they were both pressed against me, and Becka’s hand inched ever closer to my crotch while Hae-won drew circles across the inside of my thigh with her finger.
“Well, I don’t know about you two, but I think I’m ready for bed,” Becka announced nearly two hours later. “I think I’ll turn in for the night.”
“Good idea,” I said with a yawn. “I think I will, too.”
“Thanks for talking,” the blonde said as she gave me a smile.
The Brit suddenly leaned in and kissed me, and as she did, I felt her hand come up to caress my quickly hardening dick. She stroked a single finger up the length of it, and I could feel it acutely through the thin fabric of my pajama bottoms.
“Off to bed,” Becka said as she broke off the kiss and stood up.
Before I could respond, Hae-won leaned in for a kiss of her own. Her lips lingered gently over mine, and I could taste the curry and wine on her tongue. The Korean finally released me and sat back with a grin on her face.
“Yes, goodnight, Jason,” the Korean said as she stood up as well.
The girls rinsed out their mugs, then retreated to their mattresses while I was still trying to figure out what had just happened. I was still burning from the rush they had given me, and I was certain that they had both enjoyed teasing me. Not that I wanted to discourage the behavior, though I would probably encourage some follow through the next time. I waited until my blood pressure was normal again, then blew out the candles, locked the door to the staff room, and squeezed onto my own mattress between the two girls.
I wondered if the girls might offer anything more as I tried to find a comfortable position, but the wine and the hard work caught up with me before I could do much more than admire their shapes beneath the blankets. My eyes closed while I was wondering if the aliens would find them as attractive as I did, and then I fell asleep with one arm across my eyes and my toes poking out from the end of the blanket.
I woke up before the alarm went off as a gray light slowly filled the room. The girls were still asleep, buried deep beneath their blankets, and I tried to shimmy off the mattress without waking them. I found my cell phone in the mass of cables and equipment we’d left plugged in the night before to recharge and checked the time. It wasn’t quite seven yet, but it didn’t seem worth it to go back to bed for another half an hour. I switched off the alarm, then moved around the kitchen as quietly as I could as I tried to make a cup of coffee.
“Is it morning?” Becka asked as she sat up and stretched out her arms.
“It is,” I said. “I was going to make some coffee, but I’ll make tea as well now that you’re up. We should eat quickly today, and try to leave on the early side. I don’t want to leave the gallery unprotected for too long.”
“Yeah,” the British girl agreed as she shook Hae-won. “I wouldn’t want to come back and find a bunch of townies poking around the campus. Come on, Hae-won. Let’s get dressed while Jason makes us breakfast.”
The other lump moved under the blanket, but Becka kept shaking her until Hae-won finally emerged with a dramatic yawn.
“Fine,” the blue-eyed woman said, “but I want green tea this morning.”
“I’ll take care of it,” I assured her.
The girls headed for the bathroom while I worked on toasting crumpets and making two kinds of tea and a mug of coffee. I found a package of fruit yogurt cups in the refrigerator, probably left by one of the gallery staff, and checked their expiration dates. It was close, but I opened one and gave it the sniff test. It seemed okay, so I set out three of the cups next to the crumpets.
By the time the girls returned, breakfast was ready. We ate quickly, and though I hated to guzzle the hot coffee so quickly, I drank it down in record time, then made my own trip to the bathroom. When I returned, the staff room was already cleaned for the day and the smelly bag of garbage sat by the door, ready for disposal. We headed down the stairs together with the bag of garbage and our weapons, and then we went through what was now our normal routine before we stepped outside.
Once everyone was in their armor and the barricade had been moved to the side, I opened the door and studied the quad and the roofs of the nearby buildings. I was happy to see that the Pterodactyl hadn’t returned, and the quad itself remained dinosaur free. I stepped outside, ducked around the corner and added the garbage bag to our collection of bags destined for the dump, then returned to find that Becka and Hae-won were already walking cautiously toward the gate. I locked the gallery and followed their trail along the walls of the buildings, and I was happy to see that they stuck to the shadows and constantly scanned for any signs of movement.
“So what’s the plan?” Becka asked as we stood next to Tim.
“We’ll move Tim first,” I said. “Then we can move some of the other cars into place.”
“There are still three cars out there that are wired already,” Hae-won pointed out. “They should still work.”
“We’ll use those, then,” I said as I unlocked the armored carrier. “I’ll move Tim, you two start the first two cars and move them into place.”
We soon had the three cars in place, and though the gate was blocked, it wasn’t quite as imposing as having Timothy in his place. It would also be easier for one of the locals to climb over the cars and get inside the campus, and for a moment, I reconsidered our plan. But we needed to grab lots of supplies, and only Timothy had the storage capacity for a large haul. We piled back into the armored carrier with me in the driver’s seat and Becka seated next to me with the directions we’d printed out.
“All right, Becka,” I said and looked over at the gorgeous blonde. “Just tell me where to go.
“Make a right at the next block,” the busty blonde replied as she stared at the map. “About a mile on, we’ll make another right.”
“Okay, got it,” I said as I shifted into first gear.
We passed a few bombed out buildings and dodged around chunks of debris and the body of another Torvosaurus. The city looked beaten down and the gray light and lingering fog didn’t help. It was depressing to take in all the destruction, but the dinos apparently didn’t care much for the weather, either. Other than a few scattered corpses, we hadn’t seen a single lizard, and I was feeling optimistic about our mission.
“There’s something behind us,” Hae-won said as she leaned in close to the side mirror.
“I knew this was too easy,” I sighed.
I tried to check the rearview mirror, but we were on one of the main streets and it was filled wi
th abandoned cars. It was difficult enough to steer the oversized truck that was Timothy through the maze without dealing with whatever was behind us. I just hoped that whatever kind of dinosaur it was, it wouldn’t be able to keep pace with the carrier.
“Umm… Jason,” Hae-won said in a strained voice as she shot me a worried look. “I think we’re in trouble.”
“What do you mean?” I asked as I pictured a T. Rex bearing down on us.
Before she could explain what she meant, there was a loud amplified voice from behind us.
“You in the vehicle!” the voice demanded. “Pull over and turn off the engine! You are in possession of stolen property!”
So much for the army pulling out of the city.
Chapter 12
“Seriously?” Becka snapped as she tried to peer around Hae-won’s shoulder. “I thought they were supposed to be pulling out of the city?”
“Halt immediately, or we will open fire!” the amplified voice demanded.
“Shit, what do we do?” I said. “Do you think it’s the real military?”
“It seems like the real fucking military,” the British girl replied. “How else would they know this truck was stolen?”
“It wasn’t stolen,” Hae-won protested. “It was abandoned.”
“I doubt they’ll see it that way,” I said.
“Jason, just stop the truck,” the blonde girl said. “We don’t need to risk it.”
“Fine,” I said.
I pulled over to the curb, though it seemed silly given the condition of the road. More importantly, I didn’t want them to shoot out the tires, which would render Timothy useless. After that, we just had to find a way to escape the encounter with Timothy and all the supplies.
The armored carrier immediately behind us pulled around Timothy and parked at a slant across the road while a second carrier stopped behind us. We were effectively boxed in, and I scowled as I watched several soldiers pile out of the vehicles. They were all heavily armed, and they approached us with their weapons pointed at us. Near the back of the pack, a large, square man with aviator sunglasses and a neatly trimmed mustache watched the soldiers surround our vehicle, and then acknowledged a hand motion from one of the men.
“You in the truck,” the mustached man bellowed. “I’ll give you one opportunity to step out of this vehicle and move away from the area. If you comply, you’ll be allowed to leave. Any other response will result in your arrest and indefinite detention.”
“Should we give it back to them?” Becka asked as we stared at the armed men through the windshield.
“I don’t want to lose the supplies,” I said. “And if we need to leave the city, I’d rather do it in this than a car.”
“They can’t get in here,” the Korean girl added. “They are just trying to scare us into opening it.”
“Well, it’s working,” the blonde whined.
“And they can shoot out the tires,” I said. “If they do that, we’ll be stuck here.”
“No, listen,” Hae-won said. “They don’t want to shoot the tires if they don’t have to, and even if they do, we can still get away. See these buttons?”
I nodded as I glanced at the console. I’d noticed the buttons before and guessed that they were used for adjusting tire pressure for moving across different surfaces, but now I realized Hae-won was right. It might not be ideal, but we could probably roll away if we needed to.
“So, what, do we just sit here?” I asked.
“I don’t like that plan,” Becka said as she eyed the rifles and the men holding them. “They look very determined.”
“We just have to wait until they have to respond to another emergency,” Hae-won replied.
“But won’t they call for more soldiers to come and surround us, then?” Becka asked.
“That’s a lot of manpower just to get one truck back,” I mused. “And I don’t think they can spare that many people. Hae-won may be right. If we sit here long enough, they’ll be forced to leave, and even if they shoot the tires before they do, we’ll still be able to roll back at least to the campus. Once we’re there, we can move Tim back into position and then figure out a way to replace the tires.”
“This is your final warning!” the mustachioed man shouted. “Hand over the vehicle now or you will be taken into custody.”
“Oh, my God,” Becka moaned. “How long are we supposed to just sit here? And what if I need to use the loo?”
Hae-won and I both looked at the Brit.
“I said if,” the blonde snapped. “Though I wouldn’t want to be here for an hour or two.”
“Can’t you use a bottle?” I asked.
It was the girls’ turn to look at me.
“I mean if you really have to go,” I laughed.
“How can you be laughing?” Becka asked.
“Well,” I said as I looked back at the men. “This is kinda funny. They can’t really do anything to us.”
“I am amused.” Hae-won shrugged.
“Maybe we can talk to them, and tell them they aren’t getting in so they should just piss off?” Becka asked.
“Weren’t you just scared?” I asked.
“Well, neither of you are.” The blonde shrugged. “I suppose I shouldn’t be, either. Stiff upper lip and all that.”
“I think something is happening,” Hae-won announced as she peered into the side mirror. “The soldiers behind us are moving away.”
The rest of the soldiers were soon moving as well, and the mustachioed man started to bark out orders. Most of the men scrambled toward the carriers, but a few took up nearby positions and trained their weapons to a point just behind us. The world stopped for a moment, and then Timothy bounced as something heavy landed on the ground nearby.
“Do you see anything?” I asked as I looked around.
“Just that,” Hae-won said as she pointed out her window.
Becka and I had to lean over the console, but then we finally saw what had the attention of the soldiers. Two of the acid-spitting Difo’s were locked in battle, their limbs entwined as they snapped at each other. One found just enough maneuvering room to head butt its opponent and send it crashing through the windows of a bank. Alarms started to blare, which startled both of the dinosaurs. The pair stopped to stare at the bank, and then the sound of gunshots joined the ruckus.
“Shit,” I muttered. “I am not hanging around for this.”
I shifted gears even as the soldiers ran past us and started to fire at the dinosaurs. There was a loud screech, someone screamed, and I heard the mustachioed man yelling to watch out for the acid. The drivers of the other armored carriers started to move their own vehicles to provide some protection for the soldiers, and as soon as the gap was wide enough, I gunned the engine and squeezed past the other carrier.
“Where are we going?” Becka asked several minutes later.
“We might as well go to the store,” I replied. “The worst they can do is track us down there and take the truck back. But I’d still like to get some more supplies if we can and get them back to campus.”
“But they’ll be looking for the truck now,” Becka said.
“Probably,” I admitted. “But I doubt it will be a priority. Fucking dinosaurs and all that shit.”
There was another long pause, and then Becka slowly nodded. She glanced down at the map, then told me to stop until she could figure out how to reach the store.
“Okay,” the Brit said. “There’s a roundabout ahead. We’ll take the left hand road two blocks and then make a right. We should be able to see it by then.”
I drove more quickly now, despite the debris and the cars parked in the middle of the street. We scraped against car doors and pushed a stalled delivery van out of the way, and Timothy climbed over a field of bricks that had fallen from the front of a building. We made the last turn, and I scanned the street for something like a Dick’s or a Gander Mountain.
“That’s it?” I asked when I finally spotted the store. It looked li
ke a small-town sporting goods store, the kind that had mostly gone out of business with the arrival of the chains, and I started to doubt whether our run had been worth it.
“Yeah, park in close,” Becka insisted.
I eased Timothy onto the sidewalk and parked by the glass door. Somehow, the store windows were still intact, a sure sign that no one had raided the place yet. I shared a quick grin with the two women, and we stepped out from the truck to check out the store.
“It’s still locked,” Becka said as she pulled on the door.
“Ha!” Hae-won declared as she raised her gun, “I have always wanted to do this.”
“Wait--” I started to protest.
The Korean pulled the trigger and the sound of the gunfire echoed through the street. The glass splintered, and it sounded like someone had dropped a truckload of champagne glasses as it crumbled onto the sidewalk.
“Are you crazy?” Becka yelled. “Someone… or something could hear that.”
“They already heard Timothy.” The dark-haired woman shrugged.
“I suppose you have a point,” Becka sighed.
“Let’s just grab what we can and get out before someone shows up to investigate,” I said.
The two women followed me into the store without further comment. The store was bigger than I’d thought, with a balcony level that was about half the size of the ground floor, but not by much.
“Alright, one of you, check the upstairs,” I said. “I’ll take the right side, and the other person can take the left side.”
“I’ll go upstairs,” Becka said.
“Okay, we’re looking for anything useful for a blackout and for general wilderness survival, so knives, lanterns, batteries, ammo, as well as tents, sleeping bags, and anything thermal,” I reminded them. “Stay alert, too. The door is wide open now, so anything or anyone might show up in here.”
“We will be careful,” Hae-won replied as she started to move away.
