The Valley

by Rick Jones

  Ben looked at Yakamoto, who nodded. There’s the confirmation they’d been looking for.

  “We need to hurry,” said Ben. “We need to find a way in, and then get out. I’m looking at four minutes. Tops.”

  They started to rush down the hillside, nearing the compound. When they reached the fence, they could hear the hum of the electricity passing through the cables. The charge in the air caused the hairs on their forearms to rise. And they could smell something that amounted to the smell of static.

  The horizontal cables were spaced approximately nine inches apart from bottom to top, the cables pulled taut and virtually impassable.

  The Jeeps were only twenty feet away on the other side.

  “So much for your theory about everything having a solution,” said Albright.

  Ben refused to dignify the man with a response.

  But Albright continued. “It sounds as if these cables can kill upon a moment’s impact. I can feel the charge from here, and I’m standing about seven feet away.”

  For once Albright was right, Ben thought, because he could feel the reach of the charge, too.

  Ben closed his eyes, and willed himself to hold onto his faith, his hope, and to search for that solution.

  And while his eyes were closed he heard the sudden sizzle and ‘whump’ of fire igniting as Albright threw his backpack against the wires, testing them, the canvas of the pack in flames.

  “We head north,” Albright said evenly. “No one’s getting through that.”

  Ben looked through the wires, could see a line of Jeeps a stone’s throw away, their sole salvation and opportunity of getting out of here. “I’m not leaving until I find a way in,” he said.

  He began to search the foundation of the compound, looking for any weakness along the perimeter—a crack, a hole, anything. Albright simply shook his head.

  But Ben refused to relinquish the spirit inside him. When Cheryl joined his side, when she began to look, it only reaffirmed his spirit more. Together they would find a way in, he was sure.

  #

  “Can you feed me live on audio to them?” Haynes asked his producer. “I’d like to speak to them without the global audience listening in. I’d hate the show to end before it had a chance to start.”

  “I can patch you through the external speakers,” he told him.

  “Do it. But let’s take it to commercial while I speak to Mr. Peyton for a moment.”

  “Certainly.”

  As The Valley went to a sudden commercial break, the producer linked Haynes’ headgear to the compound’s external speakers, and gave him a thumbs up.

  Haynes could now speak to his budding stars.

  #

  From a speaker attached to one of the towers came the long whine and pitch of feedback before it finally died away. And then a voice annunciated quite clearly.

  “Mr. Peyton, my name is Peter Haynes. I’m the MC for the program for which all of you are starring in at the moment. May I be the first to congratulate you all for getting this far. But I must caution you, Mr. Peyton, you will not find a weakness in that perimeter that you’re looking so diligently for. Believe me, if any part of your body so much as glances across a wire, it’ll be quite fatal.”

  Peyton looked at the speaker. “Can you hear me?”

  “I can hear you.”

  “I’m getting out of here. We all are. And the way out is getting through this fence.”

  “Again: it’s impossible. Your only salvation, Mr. Peyton, the only way out, is for all of you to go directly north to the Gates of Freedom.”

  “I’m going to do this, Haynes. We’re getting out of here.”

  “That is the object of the show.”

  “But I’m gonna to do it by coming through your front door.”

  “You’ll do no such thing, Mr. Peyton. And let’s get one thing straight,” Haynes sounded less of an MC and more of a board-of-director type, stern and straight forward with a my-way-or-the-highway tone. “All of you are here to serve the public’s needs. You’re not guilty. You’re not innocent. You’re not thieves, crooks or murderers . . . You’re entertainment.”

  Ben clenched his teeth, causing the muscles in the back of his jaw to work.

  “So take my advice, take my warning, there’s no way to breach that fence line. It was built specifically to keep things out. Things much larger than you. So head north. The Gates of Freedom were built for a reason.”

  And then the speaker cut off.

  Slowly, Ben Peyton’s shoulders slumped to the crookedness of an Indian’s bow.

  He felt defeated, knowing that the Jeeps were so close and their salvation lost.

  Albright was right, he considered, there wasn’t a solution to everything after all.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Both of the Spinosauruses raised their heads in the direction of the harsh whine of the speaker east of their position. And then they could hear the loud vocalization, a communication. And it drew upon their curious instinct, causing them to gravitate toward the sound with a few cautious steps forward, then hesitance, and then a few more steps until the strides picked up momentum and speed, the pair now racing toward the origin of the noise.

  #

  Yakamoto laid a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “We have to go,” he told him. “Haynes is right. This isn’t the way. It’s too dangerous.”

  Ben stared at the Jeep. They were so close.

  “Ben.” This time it was Cheryl. “We can still do this. We go north. We stay within the thicket as much as we can.”

  Ben nodded. They could do this. Stay within the thicket. Cut their way north. Twenty miles. They could be at the gates in three days. “Let’s go.”

  As they headed uphill toward the fringe of the jungle’s line, they could feel the earth tremor beneath their feet, the telltale signs of approaching footfalls from something that was large and fast and zeroing in on their position. They all looked at the jungle line. And all came to a single conclusion: It was too far away.

  None of them would make it.

  The tremors grew in intensity beneath their feet.

  The owners behind them were fast approaching.

  And there was nowhere for them to go, nowhere to hide.

  They had finally run out of options.

  #

  The Spinosauruses had crested the hill until the compound was in their sights. Four individuals stood idle at the outskirts of the fence, insignificant little creatures, hardly threats as their minds registered easy prey.

  So they approached.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  “All right,” said the producer, “We go live in three . . . two . . . one.” We’re live.

  Peter Haynes quickly reverted back to his jovial MC self. “Welcome back, folks. And welcome to a special edition of The Valley. Earlier in the broadcast, I made mention that we had a surprise in store for our audience, one that will not disappoint you, believe me. But first, a little history of our new introduction.” Haynes put on a serious face, and used his finger to jab the air when emphasizing scientific points. “First discovered in 1995, the Giganotosaurus was excavated right here, folks, in Argentina, and lived approximately one hundred million years ago. It’s a species of the carcharodontosaurid dinosaurs that lived during the early Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous Period, with known creatures either equal or slightly larger than the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Carcharodontosaurus, but, it’s not as large as the Spinosaurus . . . or so it was believed until recently..

  “In 2068, a perfect amber specimen was discovered during a digging that produced a female mosquito bearing the DNA sample of a Giganotosaurus. That’s right, folks, for centuries we’ve been going on the belief that the Spinosaurus was the king of the dinosaur world, usurping the throne of the T-Rex, based on the skeleton of the holotype specimen discovered in 1995.

  “But DNA doesn’t lie, folks. It does not! We have produced in our labs a true specimen from that piece of amber. A creature that’s bigger
, badder, and larger than the current reigning king, the Spinosaurus.

  “So, can our contestants outrun, outthink the newest specimen in the valley? Can they survive the unsurvivable? Is unsurvivable even a word? Well it is now, I just created it!” Haynes stepped aside so the audience could get a view of the blue screen behind him.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the man behind the mission, the brains of the bio-engineering world, the ayatollah of recombinant DNA restructuring, Stan the Man!”

  Stan’s picture came up on the screen behind Haynes, the man looked less enthused, but was able to manage a feigned smile, nevertheless.

  “Good morning, Stan.”

  “Morning, Pete.”

  “Stan, I have one question for you: Are you ready?”

  “I most certainly am.”

  “Then if I may.” He turned to the camera and gave his best smile. “Ladies and gentlemen, people all over the world, I introduce to you the new kid on the block . . . the new king of the throne . . . the new general in the field. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you . . . Giganotosaurus.”

  That was Stan’s cue.

  After hitting a series of toggle switches and buttons, he then hit a red plunger, which opened the bay door of the creature’s pen to the outside world.

  The Kraken had finally been released.

  #

  The hanger door to the Giganotosaurus’s pen slowly opened, allowing a shaft of growing light into the area. The light was warm, inviting, and alien. The air coming through the air no longer stale, but more conducive to its biological nature, hot and humid.

  It stepped to the opening, drawn to it, and noted the grassy knolls and distant jungles. It saw the ring of distant mountain walls. It saw birds, strange creatures, take flight. And then it ventured forward, taking prudent steps, the grass beneath its feet soft, nothing like the cement floors it had been accustomed to for its entire life.

  As soon as it was completely outside, the door closed behind it. The Giganotosaurus responded by snapping at open air, then growled deep from the base of its throat.

  And then it moved on.

  It ambled up the grassy ramp to level terrain, and stood next to the compound. Its sensors were strong and instinctively prudent, cautioning it to stay away from the cables, which it did, the creature snapping its powerfully massive jaws at them as a show of bravado, nothing more.

  But then its olfactory senses picked up a true threat, one not so benign.

  The creature, driven by its instinct to protect its territory and take new ground, wheeled on its massive legs to confront this new and viable danger.

  It rounded the compound, set its sights, and saw what its senses had been telling it.

  Two Spinosauruses topped the hill and headed toward the compound.

  They were encroaching on its territory.

  So the Giganotosaurus moved to defend its property.

  It went to take on its opponents.

  Both of them.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  They stood rooted, the group unable to galvanize themselves to run in any direction as the Spinosauruses appeared to be spreading out to flank them.

  Cheryl leaned against Ben, who pulled her close, and she began to sob against his chest. Hope had not only leeched from her, but had completely faded from her heart.

  Yakamoto took position before them, the machete tight in his grip. “It has been an honor to serve by your side,” he told them.

  “And it’s been ours, Suki, to know no better man than you,” said Ben. “I’m glad we met.”

  “Same.”

  Albright could have care less of the exchange between Yakamoto and the others, he wanted to live and breathe another day—not waste his time blowing verbal kisses to one another.

  Albright reached behind the small of his back and grabbed the gun by its carbon stock, aimed it, and began to edge away from the crowd. The ammo would no doubt be like pelting the creatures with rice at a wedding gauntlet, but he could cripple Ben and Cheryl and Yakamoto with leg shots. He could hand the creatures’ game of least resistance, those who were already wounded and weak.

  While they were concentrating on what was before them and not behind them, Albright took careful aim, sighted the target of Ben Peyton’s thigh region, and began to pull back on the trigger.

  It had been a moment he’d been waiting so long for.

  And then the world changed, the target moving as Ben pulled Cheryl aside.

  The Spinosauruses stopped, turned, and redirected their attention to a much greater threat.

  From the periphery of Albright’s right eye, he saw a blur that eventually became solid. It was huge with a massive head that was close to twelve feet long, with large teeth and gripping jaws. It was powerfully built, much stronger looking than the Spinos, who were robust looking in their own right with powerful arms and hooked talons designed for raking deep gashes.

  The Spinos angled their heads forward and roared, trying to fend off this new threat with cries of intimidation, something they were not familiar with, having gone uncontested for so long.

  Ben took Cheryl and hunkered them against the foundation’s wall. The cable sizzled close above them, a reminding factor that sure-death was inches away should they touch them. Yakamoto quickly joined them, and suddenly the cast appeared irrelevant to the Spinos as the tandem team concentrated their efforts entirely on the Giganotosaurus.

  The air filled with earth-rumbling cries that attempted to establish dominance, the roars deep and challenging, a primitive language that evolved little over hundreds of millions of years.

  The Giganotosaurus moved into the area and was quickly flanked by the Spinos, whose crocodilian jaws continued to snap at open air as a show of intimidation, with the enamel of their teeth clacking hard against each other they sounded like a volley of gunshots.

  The Giganotosaurus bellowed in return, its rumble causing the atmosphere to vibrate. Then it pivoted on massively built legs and swung its tail in a sweeping arc, a formidable weapon that lashed out and caught a Spinosaurus across its thigh, the momentum of the blow causing the Spino to stumble on coltish legs a moment before it was able to regain its balance.

  The second Spino closed in, angling to fix its jaw around the Giganotosaurus throat. But the Giganotosaurus was quick, and swung its gargantuan head, impacting with the Spino’s snout and cracking the bones within. Immediately the Giganotosaurus was on the Spino with open jaws and closed its teeth around its throat, the two creatures then wrestling in a drunken tango as they tried to leverage themselves into a position of advantage.

  The Giganotosaurus wrenched his head back and forth, its teeth cutting through the flesh of the Spino’s throat, the skin ripping, tearing, a blood gout suddenly erupting in arterial ejection as streams and jets of blood shot everywhere.

  The second Spinosaurus entered the mix and drove its powerful jaws over the back of the Giganotosaurus’s neck, causing the creature to release the first Spinosaurus, which immediately lost its balance and stumbled against the fence line, its incredible weight taking down the wires, causing them to snap and sound off in loud pings, which in turn ignited grand showers of sparks. Its hide began to blacken and burn under the charges. Its legs kicked and moved while laying on its side, the creature reacting on instinct as it sought for purchase so that it could gain its feet. But the Spinosaurus was in the throes of an agonizing death, its throat ruined as blood continued to jettison from an arterial tear. And its breathing began to slow.

  Ben and Yakamoto raised their heads as the other two creatures continued to engage one another, the Spinosaurus now riding the back of the Giganotosaurus, and saw that the fence line was down, the power off.

  Ben aided Cheryl over the wall. Yakamoto quickly followed with Albright after him. And headed for the Jeeps in the motor pool.

  The Giganotosaurus roared and bucked, trying to dislodge the Spinosaurus off its back. But the Spinosaurus clung tight, its long and powerful jaws biting
down with more than 10,000 pounds of pressure per square inch. The Giganotosaurus bellowed as the Spinosaurus tilled the Giganotosaurus’s back with its meat-hook-sized talons, raking deep gashes that showed muscle.

  The creatures continued to dance uncontrollably, their tails swinging crazily about and smashing anything in their path. They had worked themselves into the arena of the compound, the creatures biting, ripping and tearing, the Spinosaurus winning the advantage.

  Their rudderless tails continued to swing dangerously about, the striking power behind them capable of smashing any contestant down to paste upon the moment of impact. So the team hunkered behind the Jeeps, keeping low, until the Giganotosaurus’s tail hit the first Jeep in line and sent it airborne, the Jeep taking flight as if it was weightless and smashing the station’s communication tower, the tower then tilting, then teasing to fall, tilted a little more, and then gave, the tower crashing hard against the roof of the compound, the satellite dishes completely destroyed as well as the power grid.

  The Giganotosaurus roared, this time in anger, and twisted its head hard, enough to free itself from the jaws of the Spinosaurus, and turned on its foe.

  It swung its tail. More Jeeps went airborne, their steel bodies’ twisted and misshapen as tires flew from the ends of axles and bounced along the compound’s concrete staging area.

  Ben Peyton and the others fell back beyond the motor pool, no longer feeling safe.

  The Giganotosaurus and the Spinosaurus started to circle one another, both creatures roaring, their jaws snapping, each looking for an advantage to attack.

  Tails whipped and snapped like the ends of a bullwhip, cracking the air, with the tail of the Spinosaurus landing squarely against the compound door, the metal bending and buckling, the hinges compromised.

  Nobody hesitated. When they saw the door give, everyone raced to the opening.

  The door hung slightly askew with two of its three hinges broken. Ben and Yakamoto tried to force the door back, made minimal gains, then Albright joined in, the door now moving further along, the opening growing wider.