But he did. “Earth to Jack and Casey. If you guys take a picture, it’ll last longer.”
“Uh, yeah,” said Jack, setting me down. “Let’s try something else. Casey, we’ll get on our knees, you climb on our shoulders, and then we’ll boost you up, pom-poms and all.”
I laughed. “Go, Casey, go!”
They both knelt while I placed each foot on top of their shoulders.
“Scoot left,” I said, “and get closer together.”
Mike shifted his body weight, with a stupid grin on his lips, as he said, “I just love when she walks all over me.”
Funny. I could’ve sworn it was the other way around. “Ha ha. Now quit moving around, or I’ll fall, and you don’t want to see where my foot might land.”
They slowly stood while I jammed my hands into a crevice and then dug my fingernails into the wall and clawed my way up like a rock climber, minus the fancy equipment. And Mike and Jack thought nails were just fashionable. A shower of dirt fell on me, but it didn’t slow down my ascent. I reached for the exposed tree root at the very top and pulled the upper half of my body out. Bracing my foot on the root, I pushed off, pulling myself over the rim just in time, right before the entire root snapped.
For a few seconds, I just lay there, my breath coming in ragged heaving. I had done it! I was out of the pit.
“Great!” yelled Mike. “You broke the darn thing. Now how are we going to get out?”
Jack glared at him. “It wasn’t her fault!”
I leaned over to catch my breath, staring at the long, thick root in Mike’s hands. “Sorry, guys. I’ll slide down a long log so you can climb up or something.”
“Don’t worry, Casey,” said Jack. “I’m sure we’ll find another way up.”
My mind raced as I tried to think of a way to get my friends out before they were gobbled up by a bunch of miniature dragons or drowned in the bottom of a giant nest.
Mike’s scream jerked me out of my thoughts. He waved his arms and started yelling, “Look! They’re moving. They’re alive!”
Jack looked up, eyes wide, and caught my gaze.
“What’s he babbling about now?” I asked.
His mouth fell open. “Look! It’s the eggs! They’re…they’re hatching!”
I dropped to my knees and stared into the hole, feeling completely helpless once again.
* * *
I peered down into the hole at the giant mound of shaking leaves, twigs, and dirt. Mike had dropped to his knees, and Jack had grabbed a stick. A shiver ran down my spine, and the crack of an eggshell made me gasp. No way! A face with green scaly skin and closed eyes popped through the tangle of debris. A squeaking lizard, bigger than a cat, crawled up from the vegetation. The baby yawned, revealing a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth that looked like they could bite, tear, and rip though metal—maybe even bone. I wasn’t about to stand there doing nothing while my friends were guinea pigs to put the theory to the test. I needed to get Mike and Jack the heck out of there.
Slowly, big yellow eyes blinked open, flicking out a yellow forked tongue.
“Oh my gosh! It’s a baby dinosaur!” Now I began to think all those sci-fi movie marathons had been worth it, like my own personal edition of Surviving Prehistoric Times for Dummies. I forced my brain into first gear to try and remember what you should do upon your first encounter with a Godzilla baby. Run! Unless you want to meet the parents...or brothers and sisters, uncles, aunts, and so on.
“It’s a freakin’ dinosaur!” shouted Mike, meeting my gaze.
“Gosh, you think?” I stared down into the hole. Water inched up to Mike’s and Jack’s ankles. I clutched my chest. “Oh, man. This isn’t good. How did we land in a nest of hatching lizard eggs?”
“I dunno, but we did!” said Mike.
Freaking myself out wasn’t the best thing to do, and I had to convince myself that Mike and Jack were going to be okay. I needed to keep my cool and think straight.
Jack plucked off a piece of white shell that was stuck on top of the baby’s head like a tiny helmet. His biceps flexed as he picked the creature up and ran a hand down its back.
“Jack!” I called down. “What’re doing? Did you see all those razor-sharp teeth?”
Mike’s jaw dropped. “Dude. Put Bruno down! You want a rabies shot?”
Drawing the infant closer, Jack smiled. “C’mon. Just look at this innocent face. How can I let poor little Bruno drown? He’s just a helpless baby.”
Maybe Jack had a point. It wasn’t like the baby was trying to eat us whole like in some bad horror movie. It was adorable how Bruno cuddled into Jack’s neck for a nap like a newborn puppy. Who knew lizards could be so cute? I let out a long sigh. “Awwww. I can’t believe he’s letting you hold him like that.”
“Just remember your own words, Einstein,” said Mike. “Wildlife can be unpredictable.”
Jack ran a finger down the length of Bruno’s body. He smiled as he patted the baby softly on its back.
I stared at the creature. He had huge back legs, small forearms, and long claws. He was adorable, in his own lizard way. “He reminds me of a Komodo dragon.” Once on a trip to Indonesia, a Komodo dragon had ventured pretty close. I could never forget the way its thick tail wagged from side to side as it crossed my path, shot me a look, and lumbered into the trees. My guide had told me I’d never see anything that would come as close to a dinosaur, but boy, was he ever wrong.
Jack swished the baby around in the water and washed off the clear jelly-goop covering its body. He held the newborn tightly as Mike touched the shiny green scales on its stomach.
“Cool,” said Mike. “I wonder what kind of species he is.” The dino let out a tiny squawk and Mike leaned in closer. “What’s the matter, little fella? Are you hungry?”
Mike lightly patted the baby’s head. The dino let out a low growl as he snapped at Mike’s finger.
“Whoa!” Mike lurched back and the baby let out a piercing yelp.
My eyes widened and I called down, “Oh my gosh! Mike! Are you okay?” The poor baby probably just got startled, that’s all…but with those teeth, he could easily take off a finger in one tiny bite.
Mike gasped and threw his hands up. “Did you see Bruno try to eat my hand? What’s next? My face?”
“Man, sorry about that,” said Jack. “Did he bite you?”
Mike sucked on his pinky like he had a cut or something. “I’m fine,” he muttered. “He didn’t break any skin.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God.” My tour guide had told me a Komodo dragon carried fifty to eighty strands of bacteria in their poisonous saliva. Who knew how many this little guy carried?
Biting my lip, I looked down at Jack. “What are we going to do with Bruno and the rest of the eggs?”
“We can’t leave them here in this pit. They’ll drown, and that’s our fault.” Jack had such a strong connection with animals and nature. It was one of the things I loved most about him.
“Okay, so let’s assume we try to carry them out.” Mike peered around us. “If we even manage to scale the dirt wall, what chance do you think they’ll really have out there, Beast Master? You know they’ll die up there too.”
I looked from one to the other, listening to their argument. As much as it pained me to admit it, Mike had a point. Still, watching the just-hatched lizardlings die wasn’t an option.
“Not if their mother is somewhere close, which she probably is because it isn’t like a mother to stray too far from a nest,” said Jack. “She’ll hear their cries and take care of them.”
Mike shook his head. “No, I think we’ve messed with the eggs enough. This is the way nature works. Yeah, it’s sad, but it’s the cycle of life.”
How could he say that? I wondered as I stared at the adorable sleeping creature in Jack’s arms. “You know, I’m still working on your surfing portrait. If you don’t be quiet, I might make a mistake or two. Just a single stroke of the brush, and you’ll be an orange-haired freak with horn
s.”
He threw his arms up in the air. “Fine. You win, but I still think we’re wasting our time—which we don’t have a lot of, considering that Jack and I are still stuck down here. I’m not sure it’s wise to walk into Glasstropolis at midnight. They might mistake us for burglars and shoot us in self-defense. And who could blame them? We look pretty scary caked in all this mud.”
I couldn’t hide my smirk. “What’s a little mud? Maybe we’ll start a new fashion trend.” My gaze then locked on Jack’s. “Every creature should be given a chance at life.”
Jack nodded. Besides, I still hoped they might reconsider their plan of walking right into the aliens’ trap. Scanning the ground, I grabbed the longest stick known to man. I tossed it down to Jack and said, “Quick…tie your shirt onto this.”
“Why does he get to take off his shirt and I don’t?” asked Mike.
I glanced down from the rim. “’Cause he wants to help and you don’t.”
Mike shrugged. “They’re reptiles, Casey—freakin’ lizards that have already made it clear that they will grow up to be people-eaters. I think we’re a little bit more important at this point. What if this hole floods?”
“Rainstorm’s over, the suns are out, and it’s not like you’re in immediate danger. The water’s only up to your ankles and trickling down the walls at a snail’s pace. We have plenty of time.” I winked at him. “Trust me. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“Besides, it’ll take less than five minutes to get these little guys out.” Jack sat the baby down in the puddle of water and whipped his shirt over his head.
“Dude, you so just did that to impress her,” said Mike.
For a moment, all I could do was stare. Wow! Why haven’t I ever noticed how toned he was? Jack wasn’t like Mike, all-gym-and-muscle-toned, but well proportioned, with broad shoulders and a well-defined torso. Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I had to turn away. I turned my focus onto a few pieces of floating eggshell swirling around in the water. He’d go to all this effort and even give up the shirt on his back to save these creatures? Awww! How cute is that?
Jack secured his shirt to the knobby stick with a double knot. “It may surprise you, Mike, but some people like helping others without having ulterior motives.” He gently stuffed the baby into the makeshift net and tied another knot. “All right. You’re good to go.”
Wrapped up in Jack’s shirt, the baby looked even cuter, and it seemed to enjoy the sling. Little Bruno opened his mouth and let out a soft yelp that sounded more like a yawn and then closed his eyes as if he wanted to fall sleep. I reached down and wrapped my fingers around the stick, giving a fierce yank to pull the dinosaur up.
The creature felt much lighter in my arms than I expected, and it snuggled against me like it already trusted me and accepted me as its mother. Smiling, I unwrapped Jack’s shirt from its leathery body and tossed the makeshift net back down. Jack caught it and shouted up a thanks, but I was too busy inspecting the little creature to pay him any attention. Its skin was mottled black and green, covered in small bumps. I used some leaves to wipe off the excess mucous from its face and head, wishing I hadn’t returned Jack’s shirt so quickly.
The dino squeaked, and I stroked its cheek and gazed into its bright eyes. The baby rubbed its skin against my finger, making me laugh. “Moisturize daily, and you’ll get rid of those rough, dry patches.” The dino squeaked again, and I went on with my motherly advice. “But I’ll admit, I’ve had days when I’ve felt a tad reptilian myself. Nothing a ton of vitamin E and aloe can’t fix.” The creature let out a long squawk, but this time more loudly. “Shhhh! Don’t call for Mom and Dad—at least not yet.”
“Hey, Casey! We’re not here to adopt the wildlife,” called Mike. “Do you think you could hurry up?”
“Sure. Send up the rest of the eggs.” I shot the dino an apologetic smile. “So sorry about him. He’s the mean one. You see the dark-haired guy? That’s the one you’ll be able to wrap around your finger—as long as you don’t intend on making a snack out of him.”
I pulled up one egg after another until all were rescued. By the time I retrieved the last, my arms were burning from the effort, and my wet hair was glued to the nape of my neck with a thick paste of sweat and mud and jungle dirt. I quickly gathered a collection of giant fan-shaped leaves that were folded like an accordion, and built a nest under a nearby tree. It wasn’t exactly a padded bassinette, but it seemed cozy enough and should prove useful in hiding the baby dino’s helpless siblings from any eagle-eyed predators. Within minutes, two more lizards hatched, leaving four eggs.
The three babies burrowed deeper under the leaves and cuddled together as though searching for comfort, squeaking excitedly. I squatted on the bare ground and held out my hand, letting them touch me with the tips of their pointed tongues. They seemed shy, but not frightened. Really, they had no reason to be scared. Natural instinct told them to follow their mother, and as far as they knew, that was me. I sure didn’t look like them, but a human was the first thing they had seen after hatching.
Turning, I inspected the remaining eggs. New brothers and sisters would be joining them soon, and if their chattering continued, it might just be an all-out family reunion. Suddenly, the thought inspired me to speed up Operation Rescue. I threw down Jack’s shirt and he caught it with one hand.
How the heck am I gonna get those two out of there? I thought it best to look for a thick branch or something. Suddenly, I felt chilly water swirl around my shoes. I glanced up at the river and gasped. It flooded over the bank, soaking ferns, grass, and everything in its path. Then it struck me: This probably happened during every rainstorm here. The ground must not be level, so that’s why the eggs fell into the hole in the first place. A current must have swept them away from their warm nest to that pit. Boy, Mom needs to pick a better spot next time. Something else flashed across my mind. How could I have ever thought I was in a nest created by Mama Dino? Duh. No dinosaur could even reach down there to lay a clutch.
The water coming toward me only looked to be about two inches deep. It was actually harmless, unless you were trapped in a rather deep hole that might quickly turn into a lake.
Mike’s scream pierced the air, causing my head to whip around.
“We’ve got a big problem!” said Mike.
Peering into the pit, I threw a hand over my mouth. Water was trickling over the sides, filling up the narrow space more quickly than I had anticipated. The water had already risen up to our knees. “We have to figure out a way to get you guys out of this hole…and quick, before you drown!”
“Now who’s playing Captain Obvious?” said Mike, looking around him at the rising flood.
Glancing up, Jack watched water spill over the sides. “Hey, what’s going on up there?”
“The river’s flooding,” I said.
Mike heaved a sigh. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Thunder rumbled in the distance, echoing through the forest. I peered back at my two friends. “Hey, guys, do you hear that?”
Another roll of thunder clapped, this time much nearer. I jumped, startled, and the fresh batch of tiny dinos cowered under the leaves.
Mike leapt and tried to grip the wall, but fell back, water splashing around him. “Maybe another storm’s coming.”
I thrust out my hand as Jack tried, missing him only by inches. “Maybe it’s time one lifts the other. I’m not going to be able to catch you.”
Another noise rocked the nearby trees, making me jump as shudders ran across my body. I scanned the surrounding area. “This is no normal rain shower,” I whispered.
“It’s…something else.”
“What?” Mike called. “Didn’t hear ya.”
“Just hurry up!” I shouted.
“Hold down the stick,” said Mike.
I looked down at the narrow branch, wondering how much Mike weighed. “It’ll never hold you. I’ll keep looking. Meanwhile, you two get your butts into action and keep trying.�
� Peering around me, I searched for anything I might be able to use. Off to the left, hundreds of long, rope-like vines dangled from towering trees.
Perfect! I raced over, splashing through the muddy water, and pulled hard on one of the vines. It came off halfway and fell to the ground. Bending forward, I noticed a familiar pair of tracks in the mud; the same bird-like footprints we had noticed at the beach earlier stretched across the mud to the other side of the shore. Oh, man, this can’t be happening. Whether I wanted to or not, I had the strong feeling I might not be able to avoid an encounter with this thing.
My stomach twisted as I dragged the vine back to the hole and threw it in, “Hey, guys? Remember those giant footprints? The ones we saw in the sand?”
“Yeah, back at the beach,” said Jack. “What about them?”
“Well, I just saw them all over the place.”
The water rose to Mike’s waist as he eyed the vine. “Great. Add that to our list of problems.”
“We need to really get out of here!” Jack grabbed hold of the vine and pulled, almost throwing me off when he tried to test it.
Mike’s eyes grew wide. He was always so reckless that seeing him worried made me even more impatient to get away from there. “C’mon, Jack! Just hurry up.”
“The hole’s going to cave in!” Jack turned to Mike, pushing him forward. “GO!”
“No, man. I’m a skilled free diver. You should get out of here first.”
I blew out a breath. “Jack, grab the vine and climb up. Mike, don’t you dare try to go on some crazy diving expedition.”
Jack reluctantly grabbed the vine and called up, “Ready?”
I wrapped the rope around a tree trunk to make a pulley. I planted my feet firmly into the ground to steady myself. The earth shook beneath my feet. With trembling hands, I pulled the vine taut, bracing myself against a tree, and signaled for Jack to start climbing. “Okay. C’mon!”
I hoped it was just your average earthquake, something we’d grown slightly used to in California. Please let it be that. Not many people would wish for something so awful, but given my options, I’d gladly take a natural catastrophe over a Japanese nightmare like King Ghidorah. People survive earthquakes, but not a golden three-headed dragon.
Trapped in the Hollow Earth Novelette Series Omnibus Edition (Books 1 - 4) Page 22
