Dinosaur Blackout

by Judith Silverthorne

  Daniel sprinted up the stairs and grabbed his backpack. On his way out, he scrawled a note for Mom and Dad, saying he would be back in a while and that he would be with the two paleontologists. They weren’t aware of it yet, but he had no intention of letting them get away from him.

  Dashing across the yard to the corral, Daniel scrambled through the fence and whistled Gypsy over. His grey pinto mare whinnied as he clambered onto her bare back. Grabbing her mane, he rode her over to the gate, flung it open, and urged her through. Leaning over, he closed the gate and raced across the prairie towards the planned departure area. He didn’t want to lose sight of Dr. Roost and Mr. Pederson.

  As he cantered over the last hill on the way, he could see Mr. Pederson’s truck bouncing across the rough terrain towards their destination. Daniel gave a light kick into Gypsy’s side and she quickened to a gallop. So far, Pederson and Dr. Roost hadn’t seen him. In fact, they weren’t looking in his direction. When they ground to a halt, they hauled out their equipment quickly.

  As they put on their backpacks, Daniel yelled, “Wait!”

  But his voice was lost in the wind. Pounding across the ground towards them, he let out another holler. This time they looked up. He saw Dr. Roost grab Mr. Pederson’s hand and nod to him. He plucked something out of his small notepad. Instantly, they were gone!

  Daniel reined in and Gypsy came to a panting stop, her sides heaving.

  “Good girl,” he said, patting her as he slid to the ground.

  Retrieving his notebook from his backpack, he commanded Gypsy to “Stay.”

  Gypsy snorted and began nibbling on the dry vegetation. She would be content until he returned. Daniel quickly moved to the exact spot where he’d last seen his two friends. He braced himself in anticipation of his journey through time. Opening his notebook, he snatched up his tiny branch. A whirling darkness engulfed him.

  ~

  Seconds later, Daniel found himself on the verge of a clearing, several metres from where they’d landed on their last trip. He recognized some of the markings on the trees that he’d made on earlier visits. Watching constantly to make sure he was safe, he searched for Dr. Roost and Mr. Pederson along the edge of the trees. He spotted them quite some distance away to his left, standing back to back scanning their environment, looking a little like Hansel and Gretel trying to find their way.

  He tucked the branch into his pocket and returned his notebook to his backpack, then crept closer to the pair. Every once in a while, Dr. Roost waved her cane to scare off huge flying insects. She seemed to be allowing Mr. Pederson to pursue his research while she kept watch.

  As they moved around the perimeter of the open area, Daniel kept himself well hidden, but tried to remain not too far behind. The blood pulsed through his veins and his stomach felt like it held a piece of lead. Every nerve in his body tingled with fear. This really had to be the last time he travelled to the Cretaceous Period!

  When he looked up, he saw that the sky was an unusual shade of grey, like dense smog hovering over a big city. Perhaps it was going to rain. Yet there were no dark cloud formations, just a wash of slate grey that covered the entire sky. He pushed forward, watching and listening.

  He tried to ignore the shroud of grey as he followed the two adventurers, who stopped often to take photographs. Daniel couldn’t believe how lucky they all were that no predators were about at the moment. Even sounds were muted and distant, as if this place was allowing them all to conduct a safe journey. But the air remained stifling hot and moist, and he began to have trouble breathing.

  A foghornlike bellow burst through the stillness. Then answering calls. Hadrosaurs! Probably the herd of Edmontosaurus Saskatchewanensis they had seen before. All at once they burst through the trees. Daniel almost forgot all danger as he watched the incredible creatures forage for food along the edge of the meadow.

  Moving on all fours, they twisted off lower twigs and bunches of conifer needles with their toothless beaks, passing the food into cheek pouches where hundreds of closely packed teeth ground it up. Daniel knew from previous research that Edmontosaurus were thought to have had sixty rows of teeth – eight hundred to over a thousand or so – but he didn’t want to get any closer to count them. One of the biggest duckbills ever, they were almost twice the weight of a rhinoceros and more than four times the length.

  The flat-headed creatures moved slowly across the open area, ripping at tough vegetation. From time to time, they stopped and adjusted their position to get a better idea of their environment. The older ones blew their cheek pouches, which created the loud foghorn bellow. The young hid behind the larger adults.

  Now the whole environment seemed to awaken at once. A pandemonium of rustling and squeaks of small creatures skittering through the underbrush, along with the buzzing of oversized insects, filled the early morning air. Daniel wrestled off a small branch and waved it about, in case any of them decided to take a nibble of him. He became so intent on watching the ground, he forgot to look ahead and nearly plowed into a huge Triceratops grazing on low-lying plants. He’d done that before because, he supposed, they blended in so well with their surroundings. And they made very little noise except for rooting and the odd grunt.

  He circled around it and momentarily lost sight of the old couple. When he saw them again, he was astounded to see they had crept into the meadow, closer to the hadrosaurs. He was ready to charge after them, when all of a sudden a Stygimoloch appeared. Followed by another and another. The small herd almost blocked his view of the hadrosaurs and of Dr. Roost and Mr. Pederson.

  The plant-eating Stygimoloch stood alert on two legs, moving slowly like deer at the edge of a field. They were shorter than either Dr. Roost or Mr. Pederson and about two to three metres long. Their unusual domed skulls seemed to have some kind of thick covering that was a dark brown, compared to the light orangey-brown of its body. The skulls were adorned with three or four boney spikes, the largest about a hundred millimetres long. Several other knobs protruded around the nape of the neck.

  Pederson shifted his attention from the hadrosaurs to the grazing Stygimolochs and began making notes on them, careful not to move too quickly. Even at this distance, Daniel could see the enthralled look on his face. Dr. Roost snapped photographs, not daring to go any closer.

  Daniel found he was holding his breath. Creeping forward, he again checked for signs of peril. He peered up at the sky to look for pterodactyl-like creatures, but all he saw was the grey blanket that seemed to grow thicker as he pushed onward. When he was within a few metres of the action, he nestled down under a cycad and watched the Stygimolochs feeding.

  He became fascinated by their small, curved, serrated teeth as they wrenched tufts of foliage from the ground and held it between their clawed, five-fingered hands. They ate quickly, only bending their heads to grab at their food, then standing upright as they munched, reminding him of kangaroos. He marvelled at how their stiff, heavy tails waved about in the air as they ate, balanced on long, powerful hind legs with three-fingered, clawed toes.

  When Daniel looked up again, he noticed that the sky seemed even darker and specks of dirt seemed to be floating about, making breathing uncomfortable. Daniel reached for his bottled water to sooth his scratchy throat.

  Other species joined those feeding in the meadow. Daniel wasn’t sure what they all were, except that they were plant eaters. He did recognize Thescelosaurus and Torosaurus, and even an Ankylosaurus wandered through. Mostly the different species moved placidly near one another, oblivious to the other browsing groups. As they foraged, one of them would stop and take stock of their surroundings, perhaps startled by an unusual sound that might signal danger.

  Mildred Roost seemed to be focused on the behaviour of the Stygimoloch herd. One of these small creatures always watched for predators and kept a short distance away from the others for clear sightlines. They also kept aloof from the hadrosaurs, paying them little attention as the herd made their way to the opposite side of the meadow.
Daniel knew from experience that the Stygimolochs were headed towards the river, their ritual watering hole.

  As he advanced a little closer to the Stygimolochs, Pederson coughed. The watcher instantly became alert. Pederson stopped in mid-movement, both hands tight over his mouth, until the plant eater lowered its head and went back to grazing. Slowly, Pederson raised his binoculars. He seemed to be examining the beasts’ hides.

  As Daniel sat on the ground, he felt a little tremor. He kept his hand pressed to the earth and waited. Yes, there it was again. Something very large was approaching. He had to warn the others. Just as he stood up and was about to shout, the herds of Edmontosaurus and Stygimolochs began shifting uneasily. The hadrosaurs moved quickly and disappeared into the trees on the opposite side of the meadow.

  Dr. Roost and Mr. Pederson noticed the change and stood on guard. They appeared not to know which direction to take, watching as the Stygimolochs moved towards the safety of the trees. Each creature would take a step, then check around for danger. Another step. Another check. Step. Check. Step. Check. One tentative step after another, they progressed back to where they had emerged. They were almost to the edge of the woods when the unmistakeable thunderous roar of a deadly Tyrannosaurus rex sounded. A sudden cacophony of noise reached almost deafening levels as various creatures rose to the sky or scrambled for safety, screeching and

  bellowing their warnings. The herbivores stampeded away, disappearing into the bush.

  Dr. Roost and Mr. Pederson seemed to make an instant decision. They ran hand in hand, their gear pounding against them, following the lead of the Stygimolochs. When they reached the edge of the trees, they clung to one another, trying to see what was coming.

  Daniel crouched beneath the cycad, trying to figure out where the T. rex was headed before he made a move. He didn’t want to step into its path and accidentally find out if the theory about the T. rex having poor eyesight was right or not.

  The crashing through the dense foliage became louder. All of a sudden, the deadly creature emerged only a few metres from where Pederson and Mildred Roost hid behind a tree. It swung and headed straight for the Stygimoloch herd. Mr. Pederson and Dr. Roost were in its path. They seemed to realize it at the same time.

  They flung their backpacks off and drew out something that Daniel couldn’t quite see. A bright light streaked across the meadow. Dr. Roost helped Pederson steady it and aim the powerful laser beam into the eyes of the T. rex. It roared as if in horrible pain, floundering until it came to a total stop, swivelling its huge head as if to shake away whatever was in its eyes. While Dr. Roost tried to keep the laser beam on the gigantic creature, Mr. Pederson drew something else out of their backpacks.

  Moments later, Dr. Roost set the laser down and the pair of them donned hooded gas masks and grabbed canisters from the ground. They pulled at some kind of plugs at the top of the containers and threw them as hard as they could towards the disoriented creature. The T. rex continued to advance erratically, unaware of what direction it was headed. It gave another horrendous roar, drooling huge gobbets of saliva from between its long pointy teeth, which resembled deadly grass-cutting scythes. Its orange eyes glared like hazard lights from a semi barrelling down a highway towards them.

  Mr. Pederson picked up the laser light again, but it was almost impossible to aim the beam while the T. rex jerked and heaved. He joined Dr. Roost, and they kept pitching canisters – maybe twenty in all. As they did so, they backed away as best as they could, ducking behind one tree after another, but the T. rex kept advancing in a crazed fashion. Daniel was powerless to help them. All he could do was watch in horror as the Tyrannosaurus staggered towards the old couple. Why didn’t they drop the leaf or whatever vegetation they had and get back to the present? They seemed immobilized by terror.

  “Drop your plant!” screamed Daniel.

  They jerked around at the sound of his voice. Dr. Roost yanked on Ole’s arm and they careened around a tree trunk and fell to their knees. Finally, the enraged beast seemed to be slowing down, but they had run out of ammunition. Then the creature roared again. Pederson dug frantically in his pockets.

  All of a sudden, whatever was in the containers took effect. The T. rex froze and then crashed to the ground in slow motion. The echoes boomed over the landscape. The loud Haru-u-umph-ph-ph it exhaled as it hit the ground sounded like air escaping from a giant balloon. Its head lay only inches away from Dr. Roost and Mr. Pederson.

  When Daniel was sure the creature wasn’t moving, he raced towards them.

  “No!” Dr. Roost yelled. “Don’t come any closer. You don’t have a mask!”

  Daniel stopped in his tracks. While they righted themselves and staggered over to Daniel, he stared at the huge fallen beast. Barely heaving sides indicated it was still breathing, but Daniel wasn’t sure how long the chemical would keep it immobile. They’d better get out of there fast.

  When they reached Daniel, Dr. Roost was shivering, and as she drew off her mask, sweat streamed from her forehead. Ole Pederson trembled.

  “That was a close one,” he whispered, snatching at his gas mask and letting it hang around his neck.

  “What were you thinking?” Daniel demanded, staring from one to the other.

  “We wanted to see things up close and do what we could to save the Stygimoloch herd,” Dr. Roost gasped out.

  “At the cost of your own lives?” Daniel asked. “You two are crazier than I thought.” Daniel realized he was sounding like he was their parent.

  “I admit it was a dodgy decision,” said Ole Pederson.

  “Well, are you satisfied now? Can we all go home?” Daniel asked, gritting his teeth. Every fibre in his body vibrated.

  Dr. Roost answered lightly. “Yes, I do believe we have enough notes and photographs of the Stygimolochs.”

  “Enough to work with for now,” Mr. Pederson agreed. He paused for a moment until he had their full attention. “But this is a prime opportunity to study a T. rex up close.” He motioned to the giant reptile.

  Daniel and Dr. Roost stared at Ole Pederson as if he’d lost his mind. Daniel felt blood rushing into his head from the overload of adrenalin. Dr. Roost seemed to wrestle with her thoughts, while catching her breath.

  “Sixty seconds, Ole,” she gasped. “That’s all the time you have. And I mean it. But you have to keep your safety gear on. The gas won’t have dispersed yet.”

  He donned his gas mask, grabbed her camera and walked cautiously over to the downed T. rex. He took photographs from all angles, while Dr. Roost noted the time on her watch. She removed some of her gear and dropped it on the ground beside them.

  Daniel stood helplessly by, scanning their surroundings and praying that no other vicious creatures would appear before Pederson finished. The darkening sky with bits of floating debris worried him too. He pulled the piece of branch from his pocket, ready to leave.

  “Time’s up!” Dr. Roost called.

  Ole Pederson returned and handed the camera over to Dr. Roost’s outstretched hand. He removed his mask and let it slip to the ground as he wiped his face.

  Suddenly, Dr. Roost shrieked. “Oh no, not again!”

  Daniel looked in the direction she pointed. A small pack of Dromaeosaurus vaulted towards them. Only half a metre high at the hips with sickle-like toe claws, sharp teeth and big eyes, the meat-eaters were considered very smart and would quickly surround the group, then move in for the kill.

  “Okay, you two, time to go!” Daniel yelled.

  Mildred Roost clutched Ole Pederson’s arm as Daniel stared at them. “And you,” he commanded Pederson. “Drop your plant, whatever it is!”

  Mr. Pederson held his hand open with a flower blossom nestled in the palm. He glanced briefly at them both, then at the rapidly approaching pack of carnivores. With a shudder, he tipped his hand and let the flower slide away. At the same time, Daniel dropped his branch. Instant darkness engulfed them.

  ~

  Daniel’s ears hurt after they returned.
His breathing hadn’t quite returned to normal either, and his throat and lungs were sore. He sat down weakly on the ground. Pederson and Dr. Roost had landed nearby. For a moment, he couldn’t even bear to look at them. The terror of almost losing them was more than he could handle. “Promise me you two won’t ever do anything that crazy again!”

  Dr. Roost smoothed out her clothes and cleared her throat, but she didn’t say a word. Pederson coughed quietly, but didn’t answer either.

  “Did you two hear me?” he demanded.

  “Yes,” they both said meekly.

  “Do you know how close we came to being torn to shreds?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Mr. Pederson answered feebly. Dr. Roost gave a faint nod.

  Daniel realized he had to stop treating his friends like a couple of disobedient kids. He forced himself to take a few slow, deep breaths.

  “Where did you get whatever it was in those canisters, anyway?” he asked.

  “I have a friend who works at a zoo,” Dr. Roost said gruffly. “Liquid nitrogen.”

  Daniel could feel the last of his energy draining away as his adrenalin levels dropped. “Can we call it quits now with the trips back to the past?” he asked.

  They nodded. A haunting fear was still evident in their eyes. The three of them wearily gathered their gear.

  Daniel whistled for Gypsy, not sure if she was still about or had returned home. She whinnied, though, from the other side of the hill and appeared within moments. He swung himself onto her back and loped home, leaving Mr. Pederson and Dr. Roost to return in his truck. Fatigue overcame Daniel, and he allowed Gypsy to pick her own way back as he slumped forward and rested on her neck.

  He wanted to forget the whole ordeal, except that his mind kept mulling over the peculiar bleak skies in the past. The particles in the air behaved like fallout after a fire, although there hadn’t been a burning smell, nor had he noticed any billowing clouds of smoke. The grey-covered sky was more solid and consistent, like a thick blanket. He would have to ask Dr. Roost and Mr. Pederson what they thought might have been the cause. For now, he just wanted to get home and be safe.