The Wyvern in the Wilderlands: Planeswalking Monster Hunters for Hire (Sci-fi Multiverse Adventure Survival / Weird Fantasy) (Monster Hunting for Fun and ... Hunters and Mythical Monsters) Book 1)

by Eddie Patin

  Middle-school Jason had even written his main character to come up with a plan to escape a massive, hostile snake made by a magically-animated carpet by leading the pursuing creature to the front door and dodging its attack in a way that sent the ghostly carpet-beast plummeting outside! The carpet-snake monster had landed out on the front yard and was promptly torn to pieces by the Dreadwraith and its vicious hind claws before it could recover and get back inside...

  When Jason was a teenager, he painted a picture in acrylic of that very scene in art class—much to the chagrin of his teacher who wanted him to stick to fruit bowls. That painting still hung on the wall in his house in the hall between the living room and the kitchen, and apparently hung on the wall of his house in other worlds as well.

  There was something about the Dreadwraith that stuck with Jason, emblazoned in his memory throughout his life, always stalking around in the darkest corners of his mind. He figured that his dream of the beast had something to do with his obsession with dinosaurs—a passion that went away for a while after high school, even though the dinosaur data popular in the 80’s and 90’s stayed buried deep in his mind.

  Now, hiding behind a tree trunk but compelled to stare at the massive beast, Jason looked on his childhood phantom with wide eyes...

  It was the Dreadwraith. The goddamned Dreadwraith.

  It was real.

  He watched the monster—the Dreadwraith—slip through the woods at the edge of the clearing with heavy, thumping steps that hinted at the many tons of the huge predator's weight. The dream of a boy was a collection of images seared into Jason's mind that would later come alive in his imagination for his story in middle school and the painting in high school. But here it was—as real as the hot, humid air that Jason was breathing and the line of big ants the size of his pinky finger that walked up the bark of the tree he held onto—right in front of him...

  The Dreadwraith was real.

  It was a Tyrannosaurus Rex. The huge, dark predator was thick with muscles and bulk; so big that Jason’s head would only reach up to the knees of its hulking, powerful legs. Its head was big enough to take most of Jason in one bite and its teeth—visible hanging over its lower lips in the front of its snout—were like steak knives ... or bananas. This wasn’t a T-Rex like in Jurassic Park. No—it wasn’t reptilian and green. The Dreadwraith (just like in his dream!) was almost entirely black with quill-like feathers covering its body in the same way as with the mini-rexes, starting at the top of its massive head and cheeks, running dorsally down its neck, over its back down to its shoulders and halfway down its sides, then over its hips and partway down the tops of its thighs. The inky-black feathers finally stopped at its huge, thick tail, gradually dissipating until disappearing altogether halfway to the tip. The Dreadwraith didn’t have tufts on the end of its tail—not like the raptors and the mini-rexes did.

  All of those feathers were as black as pitch, and the skin—where exposed—was dark like dusty coal with sporadic patterns of dark iron and shadings of murky red. When the monster stepped into the distant sunlight, Jason could see that the bony ridges of its head and brow lightened to a shade of brown. The T-Rex’s long talons were glossy black.

  It was dark and beautiful and as dangerous-looking as a thousand whirling blades.

  The Dreadwraith scared the shit out of Jason, and he also loved it. It was his love of dinosaurs and the mystery of youth and his past. He couldn't think of anything more vigorous and deadly than that monstrous black creature tinged with crimson...

  Maybe the wyvern was more deadly.

  Maybe not.

  Jason wanted to mutter to himself about the absurdity of it all. Holy shit, he’d say. But a cold terror crept through his body and he was too afraid to make any noise, even though the Dreadwraith was so far away.

  The huge predator was hunting, skulking through the edge of the wood, eyeing dinosaurs in the valley that Jason couldn’t see. He suddenly heard the sound again: the deep, low-frequency hum that vibrated his bones and teeth. The sound became a groan, then a huff.

  The Tyrannosaurus Rex was making that sound, stealthily plodding along the trees with its massive mouth closed, watching its intended prey in the valley.

  This T-Rex—the Dreadwraith—must have been the apex predator in this area.

  No wonder the wyvern never came over here! Jason thought, finally finding feeling in his limbs again and sneaking forward to another tree to watch more closely. The wyvern controlled the west side of the ridge; the T-Rex probably dominated the east.

  A plan of sorts suddenly came alive in Jason’s mind.

  He needed to kill the wyvern in order to have the cave to himself—he’d need the time to experiment with the portal to find his way home.

  What better way to kill the wyvern than with the T-Rex? Jason thought with a smile.

  If he could somehow draw the T-Rex to the other side of the ridge—maybe to the north by the lake then down through the valley to the wyvern’s cave—then Jason might be able to get the two monsters to fight over the wyvern’s territory! If the wyvern was like any other big predator, it would either fight or ... or just leave, right? And there was no way that the Tyrannosaurus Rex would fit into the cave, even if it stuck around. Jason would be able to stay inside working on the portal...

  With the idea fresh in his mind, Jason set to thinking of how to get the T-Rex to leave this area and challenge the wyvern. He felt at the Glock 26 in his waistband to make sure that it was still there. It was. When he'd shot the young duckbill in the valley, the mini-rexes came over, drawn by the shots. If Jason could head up to the lake, and somehow keep ahead of the monstrous Dreadwraith—i.e. not get eaten—he could probably get the beast to follow him in the same manner. If he could make it all the way to the wyvern’s cave without being devoured, surely the wyvern would emerge to drive the T-Rex away, or perhaps fly off and abandon its home!

  "Yes," Jason whispered, watching the dark monster stalk through the woods ahead.

  When the T-Rex suddenly paused, Jason immediately felt a flush of fear sweep through him. His heartbeat started pounding. He felt a crushing regret that he made too much noise...

  But the Dreadwraith wasn’t interested in him. It had stopped stalking—looking his way for an instant with a head the size of a table—before setting its sights on the green and brown forms of some duckbills in the sunlit valley that Jason hadn’t noticed before.

  Jason felt the deep bass of the T-Rex’s grunt an instant before the monster burst from the trees out into the sun, exploding into action and thundering toward the herd of grazing herbivores! The duckbills all scattered with bleating grunts and cries of surprise, their own heavy weight shaking the ground, and Jason watched...

  The T-Rex was massive and powerful, but it wasn’t running as fast as he figured it would—not nearly as fast as the fictional one from the Jurassic Park movies. It made sense. The creature was truly huge and very heavy. If it went as fast as it did in the movies—45 mph was it?—it would probably kill itself under its own weight if it ever tripped and fell down. As big and tall as the T-Rex was, Jason figured that he might be able to outrun it.

  The big black and red Dreadwraith slowed to a stop when its ambush failed, heading back to the tree line with thumping steps that seemed to shake the leaves in the trees.

  Might, Jason repeated in his head. If he could stay far enough forward and give himself enough of a head-start, he might be able to keep enough of a lead to not be gulped down by that massive, toothy maw...

  Jason moved to keep the tree trunk between him and the distant T-Rex. He took a sip of water from his pack. Peering up the ridge, back to the high backbone of granite where he’d have to cross over again, he felt the plan—the real plan—coming together in his mind.

  Now it was time to head home, flesh out the plan, and come back in the morning...

  Flesh out the plan? he thought. What’s to flesh out?

  Jason knew what he needed to do: he had to head to the n
orth, almost to the lake, then fire a shot to capture the Tyrannosaurus Rex’s attention. Then, he’d have to run like hell around the top of the ridge to the valley on the other side. The T-Rex was sure to have sharp eyesight just like the mini-rexes did, and would chase—

  A thought struck Jason and he stopped his inner dialogue. "T-Rexes see by movement," he whispered under his breath, thinking back to the movies.

  Bullshit, he thought. That was just Hollywood mumbo-jumbo. The huge, black T-Rex in this valley was clearly hunting just fine and it probably had similar eyes to the mini-rexes. Those bastards had spotted Jason easily from hundreds of yards away.

  The man looked up at the sun. There were a few hours left at least until he had to focus on getting back to his cave.

  I can do it, he thought. He could do it now: get the T-Rex to the front of the wyvern’s cave, hide while they duke it out, then he’d have all night to focus on the portal. Jason could be home by morning!

  He took a deep breath, looking around the tree at the big, black carnivore again. It was still there, stalking around the tree line, watching the duckbills that had resettled and whatever other prey was over there...

  Jason took a moment to eat some meat, drink some more, and take a piss. He tightened everything down, got a good grip on his cane, checked his gun again, then started stealthily hiking north...

  Passing through the trees toward the lake, quietly plodding ahead on the slope of the ridge, Jason eventually emerged in sunshine near the sparkling, blue water.

  The air was humid and the sun beat down on him as the breeze rustled the trees. Small raptors and bird-like dinosaurs scampered around, some pausing to regard him with cocked heads and trills.

  Jason could smell salt.

  He looked out over this world’s version of Lake Granby, surprised at how blue the water was. Looking back toward the valley where the T-Rex was hunting, Jason made sure that he wasn’t being followed by the dreadful carnivore, then he continued. It was time to fire off a shot, but first, he wanted to make sure that the way was clear around the north side of the ridge to the valley.

  Cautiously approaching the gently-lapping shore, Jason scoured the sparkling, easy waves for crocodiles. He could definitely smell salt. His boots crunched in gravel, sand, and tiny shells. Looking down the shore to the west, he saw that the lake went just like it did back home, extending seemingly forever as far as Jason could see. Back in the ‘real world’, there would be a marina up there—visible from here even—but there were no structures or boats in this world at all...

  Jason reached down to the water’s edge with a cupped hand, and brought the lake water up to his mouth for an experimental sip...

  It was indeed salt water.

  He spit it out then took a drink from his bite valve, staring out over the vast, blue lake.

  "What the hell?" he asked himself quietly. "How...?!"

  How could Lake Granby—a land-locked lake in Colorado—be salt water? The ocean was over a thousand miles away! Peering through the shining, gentle waves and the glare of the sunlight glittering on the water, Jason saw the distorted images of reefs and coral; black and red spots—perhaps urchins—and waving, green seaweed.

  Lake Granby was some sort of sea. Amazing!

  Maybe he’d check it out later if Jason was still stuck here after tonight. Perhaps he could do some spear-fishing—it might be easier than hunting dinosaurs.

  But now, he thought, you have a mission...

  Jason slipped his cane into his pack and turned back to the T-Rex’s woods and valley. He clenched the spear in his left hand and pulled his Glock with his right. Staring into the trees, the man peered through the thin area that he knew would lead to the big, open grassland in the middle of the valley. The Dreadwraith was somewhere in there...

  "Ready?" he asked himself, feeling his heart quicken and numbness creeping into his limbs. "Come on—ready? You can do this..."

  The dread was very real. Once Jason lured the T-Rex after him, it would be very difficult to escape the creature. Hell—it was a lot taller than the mini-rexes. If things went bad, would he even be able to climb a tree high enough and quickly enough to get away before the monster caught up to him?

  If he screwed up, he’d be dead.

  It would probably be fast—he’d be torn in half and eaten in two bites—but the fear boiled up inside him just the same. Jason tried to force his imagination to stay quiet for once...

  He looked down at the Glock 26 in his dirty hand. Seven shots, Jason reminded himself. The pistol seemed so small. Shooting the T-Rex directly with a 9mm pistol probably wouldn’t do a damned thing to save him...

  It was time.

  Looking at the woods that held the Dreadwraith from his deepest dreams, Jason raised the muzzle of his pistol into the air, tried to ignore the numbing horror growing inside him...

  He squeezed the trigger.

  Chapter 32

  The 9mm shot went off like something totally unnatural to this world. Its pop slapped at Jason’s ears and seemed to surprise the entire valley.

  Echoing endlessly through the humid sky, the Glock’s report traveled far, and creatures burst out of the underbrush and tree branches all around, squawking and scrambling to flee the shocking sound. Jason saw mini-raptors emerge all around running away with their tail tufts bobbing in the air, and several bird-like creatures fluttered away from the nearest trees. In the distance, Jason heard a large dinosaur let out a long, bellowing grunt. It sounded like an Ankylosaurus.

  Jason waited, spear in one hand and Glock in the other...

  His heartbeat was fast and snappy in his ears and he held his breath, staring at the woods where the T-Rex was in there ... somewhere...

  When a monstrous black head accented with brown ridges suddenly emerged fifteen feet above the ground from the trees, Jason felt a flood of fear flush through him. The Dreadwraith stepped of the woods and into the sun a good distance away, clearly investigating the sound of Jason’s pistol. The dark monster looked around with eyes like an eagle's and that goofy carnivore overbite that only made the creature all-the-more terrifying...

  As the T-Rex’s distant gaze landed on Jason, the man saw recognition register in its reptilian face. Food. It started loping his way, making the ground thump under its massive weight. Jason could hear its thunderous steps, then feel them under his boots...

  "Oh my God..." he muttered, fear boiling up inside and threatening to me Jason crazy.

  It’s coming, he thought. It’s coming!

  "The plan," Jason muttered with wide eyes and legs of clay, stuck in place as the massive monster approached...

  Go! he thought. Fucking run!

  Jason finally found his body responsive again, turned to the west, and ran. He ran like hell with wild, long strides—as if a monstrous Tyrannosaurus Rex was behind him—his boots pelting through the gravel along the shore of Lake Granby as he sprinted around the northern end of the ridge.

  When Jason felt the deep, low-frequency rumbling of the T-Rex’s voice vibrate in his body, he suffered a renewed shot of icy adrenaline and pushed himself even farther. His boots pounded the sand and gravel along the water’s edge and the heavy, humid air plowed through Jason’s lungs. He could still hear the thumping behind him and didn’t look back.

  Don’t look back! he thought frantically. Not until you get to the valley!

  Despite his mind's warning, Jason looked back anyway.

  He saw the T-Rex’s long, black form appear at the shore where he started. God, the beast was so big!

  As Jason ran along the lake, focusing on the area where the ridge fell away—the place where the huge valley would be and his way home—he felt like it was crazy suddenly; insane that he was running for his life at the edge of this mysterious, beautiful sea! The breeze was gentle and the waves lapped at the shore easily. The sunshine reminded Jason of the Caribbean. He’d been there with his parents a few times, back when—

  The T-Rex made that low frequency sound
again, like a long groan too deep to hear but powerful enough to make Jason’s teeth vibrate. His thoughts of the Caribbean were dashed away.

  "Oh, shit!" he cried, sprinting on, trying not to look back, carrying his spear high to avoid having its tip crash into the sand and stop him.

  As Jason finally passed the northern edge of the ridge, noticing an odd cave in a nearby cliff bored into the rock perhaps ten feet off of the ground, the man ran for the head of the valley. He eyed an area of bushes where he intended to pause to assess the T-Rex’s pursuit...

  The ground still shuddered under his feet. Rocks and shells on the shore sitting on bigger rocks jiggled with the vibration of the monster's footfalls.

  At last he made it, dashing around the copse of flat-leafed fronds and man-high bushes. Jason stopped to turn and look back, gasping for breath with his heartbeat pounding in his face. He took a quick drink from his CamelBak, feeling the heat suddenly hit him like an assault.

  He felt dizzy.

  More than halfway between himself and the turn back to the T-Rex’s valley, Jason saw the monstrous black and red creature slow to a stop, standing at the edge of the lake. Its long, dark tail waved slowly behind it. The Dreadwraith looked around like a hawk, searching for him as Jason panted in the bush...

  Then the Tyrannosaurus Rex slowly turned, took one step back toward its domain, then started heading back.

  "Shit!" Jason muttered under his breath.

  The man jumped out of the bushes, adrenaline flying through him instantly. He opened his mouth to call out, but for some reason couldn’t make a sound any louder than he just did. He looked down at his hands—his cane in one, the Glock 26 still in the other—and raised the pistol into the air once again.