The Extinction Trials

by S. M. Wilson

  “I didn’t count on her being so big,” he breathed as he watched the T-rex roar after the fleeing dinosaur. “I’m just glad that triceratops isn’t us.”

  “So am I,” agreed Storm. “That was more reality than I really need to see.”

  The stride of the T-rex’s footsteps on the ground was at least twice Lincoln’s height. Her thick muscular back legs were longer than he was. At full height she must have measured around twenty-five sectars – her eyes would have been able to stare in the second-floor windows of one of the Blocks back in Ambulus City.

  Her tail whipped ferociously from side to side, like a separate lethal weapon, as she stalked around the clearing. Her front arms were much smaller, covered in feathers, along with a small straggly crest of feathers across her head and neck.

  She walked on her toes. Lincoln had never imagined such a massive creature walking like that. And her head flicked around every few seconds. She lived on her senses – smell, sight, sound. She was the most terrifying predator.

  But the worst thing was the smell. She stank of rancid rotting meat, obviously caught between her vicious teeth. The stench alone made him gag.

  But it was the discovery of a torn and bloodied strip of tunic – and, even worse, a foot still wearing its shoe – that had left them cowering in the bushes. Chances were they’d actually known the person who was currently wedged between the T-rex’s teeth.

  So they watched. They watched for a long time, being careful to move position every time the wind changed to try and prevent her picking up their scent.

  It was exhausting. Scared to move, scared to speak. Most importantly, she never left the nest. She was the only T-rex around and she guarded her eggs savagely.

  “Surely she’ll leave soon?” whispered Storm.

  Lincoln shook his head. “I have no idea.” He straightened his legs out in front of him for a second, cringing at the loud cracks from his joints.

  “She doesn’t look interested in anything other than the eggs. She’s not even gone to look for water. What are we going to do if she doesn’t leave the nest at all?”

  “Do you think the fire trick will work with her?” Leif burrowed through the bushes behind them, sounding hopeful.

  Lincoln considered. “I wouldn’t count on it. She seems too clever to fall for that.”

  Storm straightened up too. Her blue tunic was crumpled and torn and her hair all over the place. “At this rate, we might as well head back to the beach.”

  “Suits me,” said Kronar quickly, staring up at the sky.

  It would be easy. It would be so easy to just walk away, go back to the beach and wait it out. The ship would be here in two days. It would take at least a whole day to hike back to the beach anyway – maybe even longer.

  But one egg between four people surely wasn’t enough to get Lincoln what he needed, given that Galen had at least one pterosaur egg. And the raptor egg wasn’t even in Lincoln’s backpack. It was in Storm’s. He wasn’t quite sure how to claim it as his own.

  He needed that T-rex egg more than the others. He couldn’t leave here without it.

  “We need to make a plan. We need to find a way to get her away from the nest. Are you in or are you out?”

  Storm put her hands on her hips. “This is your plan? It sucks.”

  Her hair was matted, her tunic splattered with duckbill blood. Lincoln was holding the knife in his hand and breathing heavily. The carcass beneath them was still warm.

  Everything about this repulsed her. She’d only agreed to help drag the carcass into position. She hadn’t been involved in the capture or the kill.

  Lincoln was in his own little bubble, his own little world. Maybe it was the only way he could do this.

  “Are you clear about what you’re doing?”

  She nodded. “Oh yeah. I’m hiding. I’m dumping the carcass where we agreed and hiding.”

  He frowned. “Take off your tunic top.”

  “Excuse me?” Had he really just said that?

  His face coloured. “I mean swap it for another. We can use that one. It has blood on it, we can use it as bait to make the T-rex move.”

  There was method in his madness, so she turned away and pulled the blue tunic over her head and rummaged in her backpack. She spun back round, not bothering to hide her short top. “We have a problem. The only other tunic I have is red. We don’t know how good the T-rex’s vision is. If they can see colour, I might as well shout, Here I am.”

  Kronar rummaged in his backpack then shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t have any others left.”

  Leif did the same, casting an anxious glance at Lincoln. “Me neither, but I’m sure it will be fine. You won’t be the one getting close to it anyway.”

  She turned to face Lincoln. His eyes were stuck on her abdomen, following the scar lines that came from her back and wound around her body like a fine spider’s web.

  The unspoken questions were written all over his face. But she didn’t have to answer them. She pulled the red tunic over her head and handed him the blue one.

  “How on earth do you expect to bait a T-rex with this without getting eaten?”

  He gave a nervous smile. “Wait and see.”

  Please let this work. Please let this work. Lincoln repeated the words over and over in his head.

  It had taken three hours to catch another duckbill. It had then taken all four of them to hold it down and wrap the tunic around it with rope. Thankfully it was a baby they were dealing with – there was no way they could have persuaded an adult-sized duckbill to do anything it didn’t want to.

  Nothing about this plan was easy. If a dinosaur could squeal, this one was doing it big style.

  “Are we ready?” his voice was hoarse. His muscles were aching and the duckbill was squirming constantly in his arms.

  Kronar grunted in response. “Everyone know their safety spot?”

  It was a joke really. Was there anywhere on this continent really safe from a T-rex? Climbing trees only worked for the raptors. A T-rex would just trample the trees and knock them to the ground. There was no loch or beach close enough to be of use. Not that many of the creatures in the ocean or in the loch would be any less terrifying or fatal than the T-rex.

  They’d found some caves. They’d almost missed them. There was only the thinnest gap in the pile of rocks in front of the entrance that a human could squeeze through.

  It was their only chance of safety. Kronar and Stormchaser were going to try and herd the duckbill to run in the direction they wanted – straight past the T-rex nest. How would a T-rex be able to resist an easy dinner – particularly one that was covered in the stench of blood? If it kept going, both dinosaurs would eventually reach the fail-safe, the beast they’d already killed. Hopefully that would keep the T-rex away long enough for them to grab the egg and make a run for the caves.

  How they would get out of the caves was anybody’s guess. In the meantime, they’d stored all their supplies inside. If they had to wait it out, they could. They just had to hope the boat wouldn’t leave without them.

  “My arms are breaking here,” wheezed Leif.

  “Are you ready, Storm?”

  She fixed him with her violet eyes and gave a nod. “Ready.”

  “Then let it go.”

  She ran like the wind on one side, with Kronar on the other, keeping pace with the duckbill, which was surprisingly fast. By simply keeping in its line of sight they steered it towards the hill, where the T-rex’s nest was. The animal was easily guided, it was used to being part of a herd and taking direction from others around it. Storm slowed as it rounded the crest of the hill. Her part was done. She turned and kept running in the other direction, Kronar keeping pace next to her. By the time they reached the narrow entrance to the cave, Storm was wheezing and even Kronar had broken into a sweat. She leaned over and put her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

  A noise bellowed from over the hill. The T-rex. They could only hope it was on the move.


  Lincoln was crashing through the trees, his legs burning. As soon as they’d let go of the duckbill he’d headed for the forest to camouflage his route to the T-rex nest. The duckbill had already squealed past and the T-rex had snapped its wide jaws.

  For a second, he thought she hesitated, before raising her head in the air and thudding after the fleeing duckbill. She must have caught the scent of the blood – that, coupled with the live specimen before her eyes, would be too tempting to ignore.

  The whole ground trembled as she thundered past. Every tree, every bush shook, dirt jumping from the earth next to him. His breath caught halfway up his throat, every hair on his arms stood on end and his heart thudded against his chest. It was terrifying. He couldn’t let his brain even think about what he was about to do.

  He bolted from the trees, hoping his dark green tunic wouldn’t attract her attention. The nest. He had to reach the nest. He could hear Leif running behind him.

  His eyes scanned the landscape as they ran. There. Something else.

  Galen and his team.

  They were using his plan. His distraction.

  He pushed his legs harder into the ground, he couldn’t even feel the burn any more.

  Galen stayed in his peripheral vision, his arms pumping madly as he ran, his face bright red. But they’d started further away.

  Lincoln skidded to a halt at the nest, sending dirt flying into the air. It was empty. No egg in sight.

  “What?” He couldn’t help but cry out in frustration. He spun around to face Leif. “No. No. This can’t be right. She was guarding this nest. She was being territorial.”

  Fury built in his chest. The scant lead they’d had on Galen’s team was fading fast.

  Leif glanced fearfully at Galen’s fast-approaching figure. “Maybe she hasn’t had the eggs yet. Maybe she was about to lay them?”

  But Lincoln couldn’t believe that. He dropped down on to his hands and knees and started pulling all the debris from the nesting area. Leaves, branches and rotten plants all went flying.

  “Stop,” shouted Leif. He pointed a little way behind them. Sitting beyond what they thought was the nest was another area – the rotting vegetation was thicker, and there, nestled underneath the mess, were two perfect eggs.

  They were much bigger than Lincoln had expected, with grey mottled shells. He reached out both hands to grab one – just as Galen knocked him clean off his feet.

  “Forget it, poster boy.”

  The full body weight of Galen was enough to crush the wind from anyone and Lincoln was no match for his muscular build. But Lincoln was too focused to let anyone distract him from his task. He got up even faster than he’d gone down, grabbing an egg with both hands and breaking into a run. The weight and breadth of the egg took him by surprise. That was why they’d been measuring arm spans back at registration, he realized as he ran. Someone on Earthasia knew exactly how big a T-rex egg was.

  His heart pounded against his chest. He had it. He finally had what he’d come here for. Last time around he hadn’t been the one to grab the raptor egg. This really felt like his. The egg that could save his sister. Adrenaline surged through his body. “Come on,” he yelled at Leif as they sprinted away from the nest.

  Leif followed close by. Galen might be stronger and stockier but he didn’t have their agility. His curses followed them on the wind.

  But within a few seconds Lincoln could hear the man’s footsteps thudding behind him again. This was madness. The T-rex could be back any minute. Surely it made more sense for Galen to grab the other egg and go?

  But Galen wasn’t thinking rationally. That much was clear when Lincoln dared to glance over his shoulder. The older man was bearing down on him again, teeth gritted together and fists clenched. It seemed he’d underestimated Galen’s speed.

  Lincoln tried to add an extra burst to his pace, but Galen was closing in fast. The air around them was clouding with dust. Lincoln heard the sharp panting of breath behind him and he panicked.

  Leif was running parallel to him but about ten sectars away. “Leif!” he yelled. “Catch.” He threw the egg. No thought to its fragility. The egg hadn’t even reached Leif’s outstretched arms before Lincoln’s legs were taken out from under him. He landed face first in the grey dust, Galen’s full body weight pushing the air from his lungs.

  But Galen wasn’t finished. He didn’t seem to even notice that the egg was gone. He grabbed hold of Lincoln’s shoulder and shoved him onto his back.

  The first punch was like a thunderbolt. Massive, powerful, leaving Lincoln coughing and writhing in the dirt. As he huddled on the ground he could see Leif running in the distance; it gave him the urge he needed. The T-rex could be on her way back by now. He had to get out of there.

  He lashed out with his feet just as Galen pulled back to deliver another punch. The unexpected kick caught the big man in the gut, leaving him doubled over this time. Lincoln sprang to his feet, determined to get away, but Galen lurched and grabbed hold of his tunic.

  His grip was like a clamp. Nothing would make him let go.

  Except for one thing.

  The roar of the T-rex.

  From her position on the brow of the hill she could see the activity near her nest. She tipped her head back and roared again. It was pure rage. Pure fury.

  The earth shook as she charged at them, heading straight back to protect her nest, while Galen’s team scattered in all directions like feathers in the wind. Galen released his grip and started to run. Lincoln broke into a sprint too.

  It took him a few seconds to get his bearings and realize the direction he should be following to reach the safety of the caves. Leif was barely a dot on the landscape, well out of the way of the T-rex. At least he should be.

  The T-rex’s head flicked from side to side. Every sense on alert. Lincoln’s whole body was tense with fear.

  Then, just short of the caves, Leif fell, the egg rolling from his hands.

  There was a noise beside Lincoln. A choked laugh.

  Galen was matching him pace for pace. He just couldn’t shake this guy. At least he was running for his life just like Lincoln. If they both survived, they could fight about the egg later.

  Lincoln raced across the open ground, heart pumping fiercely – he could hardly breathe. Get up, Leif. Get up.

  Then the T-rex did something unimaginable. She changed direction. She had originally been heading back to the nest, towards Galen and Lincoln; now, it was as if she had sensed Leif had the egg – or maybe it was because he’d fallen and looked the easiest prey – but whatever the reason, she turned and headed directly for Leif and the entrance to the caves. At this rate Lincoln would barely reach Leif before the dinosaur did. Galen peeled off to the side, taking the opportunity of the distraction to head in another direction. He obviously had no clue about the caves they planned to hide in.

  “Get up, Leif!” yelled Lincoln, sprinting towards him.

  Leif stumbled to his feet. He gave one quick glance towards the egg, then ignored it and dived towards the entrance of the cave.

  Lincoln didn’t blame him. It was life or death out here. The egg had rolled away in the opposite direction – retrieving it could be fatal.

  An extra surge of adrenaline spurted around his body. Breathing was optional now – if he didn’t move fast enough he might not need oxygen for much longer.

  The T-rex moved her head from one side to the other. Looking first at Lincoln, then at Galen. Leif, her intended victim was gone. Galen and Lincoln were the only prey left. For a moment they were both frozen to the spot, the T-rex an equal distance from each of them. Then she moved. Like lightning. The swish of her tail seeming to drive momentum towards her thundering legs.

  Lincoln had had no idea a T-rex could run so quickly. He’d assumed because she was big, she must be a slow, lumbering creature. But she defied every expectation.

  Her agility and speed was terrifying. Nobody stood a chance against her.

  Not even Gale
n.

  Her head thrust forward. There was a snap. And a blood-curdling scream.

  Lincoln was still running but he couldn’t help looking round. Blood was spurting from Galen’s shoulder. His arm was gone. His face was frozen in shock. His knees buckled beneath him and he tumbled to the ground.

  The man Lincoln had thought could wrestle a T-rex with his bare arms was squashed like a bug. Galen’s head turned in Lincoln’s direction. Fear. Lincoln could see only fear. The pumping blood began to spread across the ground. Galen slumped forward, a plume of dirt rising around him.

  But the T-rex wasn’t hungry. She didn’t want to finish Galen. Her thrill was in the hunt.

  She spun around. Fixing her eyes on Lincoln, she roared.

  Adrenaline surged. He pushed harder, running for his life. The ground around him started to shake with the sheer weight of his pursuer. He still couldn’t believe her speed. And he could smell her now. He could smell the odour of blood dripping from her mouth. Galen’s blood.

  The next blood in her mouth could be his.

  Every rational thought in his brain told him to save himself – to get into the cave.

  But that grey egg was a lifeline for his sister. Even though it was a good few steps away it felt like a bright beacon.

  A sign.

  A sign that it was meant to be his.

  The caves were close. Even though it looked like he was running towards a solid wall, he knew the opening was there.

  He didn’t plan. There wasn’t time. His pace never faltered, he just tumbled in a tight ball, rolling sideways at breakneck speed and catching the abandoned egg in two firm hands.

  He heard Storm’s scream from the cave entrance. He had the merest of seconds. He didn’t even stand – didn’t even attempt to get up, just tumbled once more back towards the entrance of the cave, reaching it as her arms shot out to grab him.

  She pulled him sharply behind the first boulder towards the gap, just as the shadow of the dinosaur loomed over them. Any closer and he could have cleaned the T-rex’s teeth.