Biting my lip, I peered around me. “Well, we’ve lost the river.”
He straightened, poised with confidence. “We’ll hike north until we find it. Are you coming?”
I pictured my dad’s furrowed brows and my mom’s frantic tears as they begged the Fiji Navy to keep searching. Jack was right about one thing: We had no proof those UFOs had come from the glass city. I met Jack’s gaze straight on. “All right. Maybe they can help.”
Mike walked swiftly through a patch of ferns. “River’s nowhere in sight, but I’m sure Jack can track it.”
“Are you coming with us to the city?” I asked.
“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I?”
“’Cause those ships that tried to kill us could’ve come from that fancy glass kingdom.”
“We won’t know for sure until we check it out for ourselves,” he said.
“Okay then, let’s go,” I said.
* * *
I was hiking through the dense forest of towering pines when a loud crunch jolted me out of my thoughts. Grabbing Mike’s arm, I stopped to listen and craned my neck toward Jack.
“I heard it too,” he said.
I stiffened and spun around. “We need to be extra careful.” I swept an uneasy glance around the trees, my senses on full alert. “I have a funny feeling we’re being watched.”
“I don’t see anything,” said Mike.
I wrung my hands as my mind raced. “I’m not imagining things.”
Jack’s lips pressed into a grim line. “There was a noise. Someone’s following us.”
“Yeah, someone…or something,” I retorted with a gulp. Angry pale blue eyes flashed in my head. I’d hoped my duckbilled dinosaur days were long gone, just a distant memory. I was sure there was no way that dino could have followed me, but the thing from the beach might have been trailing us. Nah. No way could it have kept up. As I looked away, a shiver slid up my spine. What if it isn’t an animal at all? What if it’s one of those things from inside the UFOs? “I’m not sticking around here,” I said, walking in the direction of the city. “Let’s go.”
The snap of a twig behind us, followed by the unmistakable crunch of dried leaves halted me mid step. I strained to listen, my hands clenched into tight fists. The snap of another twig drifted through the forest. I looked around the trees and high grass, calling out, “Hello! Who’s there?” My heart skipped a beat. “What do you want?”
The sound of singing crickets and chirping birds were my only reply. I jumped, startled, as a sudden flash of orange glinted to our left.
Jack pointed. “There! Did you see that in the grass? What is it?”
I flinched. For a split second, I saw yellow eyes in the foliage. “It’s an animal of some kind, but I only caught a glimpse.”
“Where?” Mike looked out into the surrounding woods.
Jack held up a hand. “Shh. Listen. The birds stopped chirping. This is exactly what happens in the jungle when a predator is following its prey.”
“So…what is it?” asked Mike.
“It could be a harmless animal or maybe another so-called extinct one, possibly a predator.”
The eerie silence made my skin crawl. I’d never been hunted before, and the idea of it happening now, in this strange place, made my insides quake.
A loud call broke the silence. Kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk!
We all screamed in unison, our echoes carrying through the pine forest. The flutter of large wings sent another chill down my spine as a crow-sized bird took off.
I was sure that the sweet-looking bird wasn’t what was causing all the scuffle. I glanced up, my hand over my heart. “It’s only a bird. Still…let’s cruise on out of here.”
Mike motioned us forward. “Off to Glasstropolis then.”
Jack folded his arms over his chest. “Yeah, but what scared that bird?”
“Dunno,” said Mike, “but I’ll keep my eyes peeled.”
I nodded as I started walking. “I will too.”
A low throaty growl rumbled from the left and I jumped. I bit down hard on my bottom lip. The same pair of yellow eyes I had seen moments ago peered through the giant leaves of a tropical bush. My heart lurched.
* * *
A menacing growl broke the silence. My heart thudded against my ribcage yet again as a shiver swept over my skin. A tangle of leaves with serrated edges covered the creature’s legs and part of its orange-brown coat. Even still, I could tell it had to be roughly eight feet tall and at least six feet long. Streams of saliva oozed from the two gleaming eight-inch fangs jutting from its upper jaw. The animal turned its head, locking its fierce gaze on me, of course. From all the things on nature’s buffet, it had to set its sights on me.
“It’s a s-s-saber tooth tiger,” I whispered, staggering back. Beads of sweat broke across my brow. Sunlight from above filtered through the high branches giving the menacing creature an eerie glow. I turned to run, but Jack’s hand tightened around my arm, pulling me close. My stomach clenched. “What’re you doing? We’ve got to get outta here.”
What’s wrong with these guys? Surely, they had to have some sort of instinct telling them you stop to admire a bunny or deer frolicking in the woods, but you engage in serious cardio when a prehistoric tiger is salivating at you and showing its huge fangs.
“Don’t run!” yelled Jack. “A tiger’s instinct is to chase its prey.”
“Sure, and why don’t I just hold out my hand so it realizes I’m no trouble at all when it bites a chunk off?” I raised my eyebrows, and he loosened his death grip. I pulled myself free and then focused my gaze back on the predator. Jack could say whatever he wanted, but if that big, hungry cat came any closer, I was going to bolt.
The great cat sprang from the grass and dropped on all fours, causing me to shoot a terrified look at Jack. Does he really expect us to stand here and face this thing?
Jack’s face showed no sign of fear as he stepped forward. “Our only chance is to show this thing we’re not its regular prey! This tiger doesn’t want to fight. It just wants an easy meal!”
“Which it isn’t getting from us,” I hissed.
“Exactly. So try to look as tall as you can. Raise your arms and flap them. Yell and shout!”
For once, Mike refused to argue and did exactly what he was told, thrusting his arms high in the air.
For me, though, Jack’s plan was easier said than done. I opened my mouth, but the only noises that came out were thin and crispy. I cleared my throat and swallowed to ease the dryness, but even that didn’t help. My mom used to say my voice could raise the dead, but where was that voice when I needed it the most?
Jack’s strong voice carried out over the snarls. “Casey, you can do this. You have no other choice.”
“I know.” Once I finished, the tiger would develop some major phobia so it never crossed another human’s path again. I gulped down some more air and flung my arms as I cried out; it didn’t really sound all that fierce, but I was just warming up. My voice grew louder with each shriek. I tried to keep my eyes away from the tiger and focus on some other diversion, but my eyes instinctively kept darting between the animal and Jack. Jack looked so mean that I couldn’t decide who was more frightening.
“Can’t we hightail it up a tree?” came Mike’s voice from the left.
“Bad idea,” Jack replied. “Even regular tigers can jump twenty feet.”
Mike huffed. “So throw it a stick or something. Maybe prehistoric alien other-dimension tigers like to play fetch.”
Narrowing my gaze, my lips pressed into a grim line. “Yeah, and while we’re at it, why don’t we teach it how to sit and roll over? Bright idea, genius.”
The animal let out an intimidating roar, followed by a deep growl.
I had a sneaking feeling that it didn’t fancy my company unless I was sitting inside its stomach. Adrenaline flooded my body. I flailed my arms and stomped, screaming like a banshee.
Mike waved a huge branch in the air, flapping his arms like h
e was trying to fly. “You want a piece of me? Huh? Come and get me then! C’mon!”
Snarling, the beast inched closer and closer, baring its teeth. Its fur stood on end, its ears laid back, and its eyes were blazing like the two suns above. If anything, Mike’s acrobatic performance seemed to provoke it even more.
I glanced at him, hesitating. “Uh, Mike…” He didn’t seem to acknowledge me, so I shouted louder. “Hey, yo, Mike! It’s time for Plan B ’cause this tiger isn’t getting the message.”
Before he could answer, the tiger swatted at me with its massive paw, revealing a row of yellowed razor-sharp claws. I jumped back and narrowly dodged its swing. I wasn’t about to become the animal’s dinner, and being torn to shreds wasn’t exactly the way I wanted to go.
I gasped as every muscle in my body tensed to flee, but there was no way I would leave my two best friends, even if they were being stubborn by sticking around. While Mike and Jack yelled and hurled rocks at the beast, I sucked in a trembling breath and scanned the forest floor for a weapon of my own. I spotted a pile of petrified wood and picked up a rotting, moss-covered log. Pieces of bark fell all over me as I hurled it like a javelin at the creature’s face. “Take that!”
The tiger shook its head as the log bounced off its muscular neck. The animal let out a pig-like squeal and fled into the tall grass. I was sure I hadn’t hit the tiger hard enough to hurt it. Maybe I just spooked it. I’m sure it’s not used to its prey fighting back like that. Either that, or there was the slightest chance I was developing supernatural abilities from the weird sand I had laid in earlier; I was beginning to think nothing would surprise me in this place. Still, it had been rather easy to get rid of—not that I was complaining. I frowned as I planted a palm against my racing heart in the hopes of calming it down.
“Great, it’s retreating,” said Jack. “I’m going to go check it out and make sure it really left.” He took a few steps into the jungle, peering around enormous umbrella-shaped leaves.
Mike shook a stick high in the air. “Hey, tiger, is that all you got? Yeah, that’s right…run away!”
“You da man,” I mocked.
He dropped the branch, and wiped his hands on his shorts. “Too bad I didn’t have a chair and whip like a lion tamer.”
I shot him a sarcastic grin. “I figured you for the nut that’d stick his head inside a lion’s mouth.”
Mike wrapped his arms around me. “Boy, you do get me. That’s why you’re the woman of my dreams.”
I cupped his cheek, gazing into his eyes. “Aren’t you the sweetest? We almost got eaten by a tiger, and here you are declaring your undying devotion for me.” Vibrations suddenly shot up my legs as the ground beneath my feet trembled. I broke away from Mike’s embrace. “What’s going on? Did you guys feel that? Was that some kind of…earthquake or something?”
Jack raced toward us, frantic and pointing. “Turn around! Did you really think that tiger was scared of us?”
“Oh, man!” My voice wavered, my fear coming through loud and clear. Another large creature approached this one with a long trunk and huge, slender ivory tusks that curved up and back, almost in a spiral. The animal had to be at least fifteen feet tall; taller than my basketball court in my gym at school. My breathing quickened. A woolly mammoth? Huh? What year is it again?
For a minute, I had naively thought I was safe. Maybe we weren’t going to be dinner for a tiger, but that mammoth could easily use us as a welcome mat. I froze at the sight of the immense creature. My legs refused to budge, as if they were glued to the ground. The animal had an enormous domed head and sloping back. Its shoulders carried a high, distinctive hump. A shaggy, reddish-brown coat trailed down to the ground. As it moved nearer, the Earth (or whatever planet we were on) shook, and twigs snapped underneath humongous circular feet.
Mike turned, his eyes darting around as though he was looking for a quick exit. I knew Mike feared nothing—except elephants. Jack had called it pachydermophobia, but whatever the scientific name of it was, it was sure to have Mike heading for the hills at the sight of the hairy jumbo Dumbo, and the elephant might even give chase on those giant legs. I decided I had to warn Mike before his instincts took over, but Jack’s brain was a step ahead of me, as usual.
“No, Mike! Don’t!” yelled Jack. “It can outrun us. We can only hope it has bad eyesight like a regular elephant. If that’s the case, we could use that to our advantage. Maybe we could get a head start and make some sharp turns downwind.”
I nodded. “Good idea, but this thing seems more harmless than the saber-tooth. Doesn’t it just eat leaves and grass?”
Jack took a deep breath as he peered into my eyes. “Elephants are far more dangerous than tigers, even if they are herbivores. One swipe of an elephant’s trunk can kill a lion.”
As if it was flattered by Jack’s comments and wanted to show off its brute strength, the woolly mammoth lifted its trunk and let out a piercing trumpet-call. It raised its two powerful front legs high in the air, only to come crashing down on a rotted tree trunk, exploding it into a hundred flying splinters. The ground shook, and my heart pounded. Those feet could easily smash a van.
We all screamed and jumped back, tumbling to the ground on top of one another. I covered my ears and winced as the massive beast trumpeted again. But instead of pulverizing us to dust, the mammoth just filled its trunk from a muddy pool of water and sprayed us.
A blast hit me, blinding me. “What do you think it’s trying to tell us? That we stink?”
Spluttering, I wiped my eyes and gave Jack a tug. “You’ve been to Africa countless times and seen lots of elephants. How can we get that head start you mentioned?” I coughed as another flurry of brownish-gray spray hit us, followed by a stream of mud and dirt.
Mike blinked, rubbing the mud from his eyes. “Maybe it’s just trying to play with us.” Jumping to his feet, he reached his hand down to help me up.
“Just because it gives us a good bath doesn’t mean it considers us playmates.” Jack stood, wiping droplets from his face. “One of my mom’s friends survived an elephant attack. She used the decoy method. We can throw a piece of clothing—a sock or t-shirt or anything. It might go after that, and then we can run off while it’s distracted.”
“Hmm…think that’ll work?” asked Mike.
Jack ran a hand through his wet tangle of brown hair. “Do you have a better idea?”
Mike ripped off his shirt and flung it to Jack. “Here!”
His sculpted chest snagged my gaze, but I quickly returned my focus to the mammoth that could pound us any second. Then, among all that long, shaggy fur, a second pair of eyes caught my attention. Something stood on the ground next to the mammoth! I peered closer and watched a furry little brown trunk wave in the air.
“Hang on a minute, guys,” I said, pointing to a calf, covered in scraggly hair.
“Look! She has a baby.” The tiny mammoth peeked out from behind its mother, its green eyes staring right at me. Even with the tiny tusks protruding below its lower lip, the animal was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. I smiled in amazement. The little creature panted, probably hot from wearing a long natural fur coat in the summer.
Mike and Jack kept babbling about their getaway plan, ignoring me. I had to wonder if they were complete idiots or just immune to the charms of a little baby. I scowled and took a step forward, but no one noticed that either.
The mammoth sprayed her baby and then turned toward us. I threw my arms up to protect my face as a stream of water shot out at me. Following the shower, the animal covered everyone, including her calf, with a fresh coat of dirt and mud.
I wiped the mud off my face and spit out the dirt that had made its way into my mouth. So why was Mrs. Snuffleupagus treating me like a baby mammoth? Then I felt the light bulb flickering to life. “Guys! The mammoth’s trying to cool us and the baby down because it thinks we’re hot.” When the banter continued, I playfully slapped the back of Mike’s head and smiled. “Put your shirt back on
. She isn’t gonna hurt us.”
Mike crossed his arms over his bare chest. “She? How do you know that thing’s a she? I didn’t see you crawling underneath it to look, and I’m sure it’s not wearing mascara.”
“Geesh. You two have been so busy arguing that you didn’t even notice the baby. Don’t you see what she’s trying to do? She saved us from that saber-tooth tiger. It probably preys on baby mammoths any chance it gets. We’re about the same size as her little one, so she must think we’re helpless babies who need to be rescued—and cooled off. She’s just being a good mama!” I pointed to the baby mammoth. “See? She’s spraying her baby again, just like us.”
Mike threw on his shirt, and it plastered to his chest in seconds. “I’d have never figured that one out.”
Jack nodded. “Pachyderms—uh, elephants—are like that. One time in Africa, I watched this elephant trying to help a baby rhino that was stuck in deep mud. She kept trying, even though the mother rhino charged her each time. She risked her life for a baby that wasn’t even hers.”
My heart melted. “It doesn’t take a genius to see she’s welcoming us.”
Mike tugged at his wet, muddy clothes as he gritted his teeth. “Well, she sure has a funny way of showing it.”
I gazed at the mammoth. Ignoring the uneasy feeling in my stomach, I took another daring step forward. The baby was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. I took a deep breath and let out a sigh as I gazed at its eyes, watching her every move as it stayed hidden behind its mother’s legs.
“Girl, you have guts of steel!” said Mike.
“Uh, Casey, if crazy Mike isn’t taking a step near that thing, shouldn’t that tell you something?” Jack called out. “Wild animals can be unpredictable, cute or not. You should know that by now.”
I smiled back at his warning. “Mike’s scared of elephants, remember?”
“You spoke of it,” came Mike’s voice from behind, “and you swore to never speak of it again.” When we were five, crazy Mike had jumped into an arena, where he was almost stomped to death by elephants. That taught him a lesson, and he wouldn’t even go near the pachyderm house at the zoo.
Trapped in the Hollow Earth Novelette Series Omnibus Edition (Books 1 - 4) Page 17
