Dinosaur: 65 Million: Book 2 Change Them, Survive Them

by catt dahman

  The third night they had been grumpy since the terrain and Dr. Rick’s lessons taxed their muscles and minds, and the last three nights had been spent in sullen unhappiness as thunderstorms pelted the area with hard rain, wind, and lightning.

  “Audrina said maybe the woman Elizabeth was in a cave and washed out. What do you think?”

  “I wish I had thought about it. She’ll get the credit, and I think it’s possible.”

  “Are we going to jail over screwing with a crime scene?”

  Tony laughed, “Nah. What crime scene? There’s no reason to think that woman was killed. I guess she might have fallen out of a plane seventy years ago, but I don’t think it’s going to be nearly that uncomplicated.”

  “Maybe a hijacker had a huge bag of money, he grabbed her, and they parachuted out of the plane. She fell. I saw something like that on the television. DB Cooper, I think was the man. Maybe his bags of money and jewels are around and we can find it.”

  Tony laughed at Shimei, “You have seen way too much Scooby Doo.”

  After dressing, Tony and Shimei joined the rest, calling one another ‘Scooby’ and ‘Shaggy’ like they had a private joke going.

  Over stew and biscuits, they sat around the fire and asked one another questions and posed theories. When they exhausted most other possibilities, they were left with something that wasn’t easily accepted, but had to be the truth: the woman came from the caves where the falls were.

  “We have to climb up there,” Daisy said, popping the last of her bread into her mouth and lighting a cigarette.

  “On the bluff?” Tate asked, “Did you miss the signs saying not to not climb those? The one right next to you?”

  No Trespassing

  Future SSDD Facility

  Daisy grinned as she pushed the sign over with a boot, “What sign?” Actually, there were signs warning to stay out of the vicinity and were marked with US Military and Corps of Engineers logos, “What is SSDD?”

  No one knew.

  “Same shit, different day,” Shimei offered. Everyone laughed.

  Ann pondered, “What would anyone build here in the rocky area of Arkansas in the middle of nowhere? And why? This is stupid.”

  “Maybe we’ll find out tomorrow. Let’s eat and get some sleep,” Rick said.

  Everyone was awake before dawn, all set to go. Although some had been too keyed up to sleep; the coffee, black and strong, helped them to energize, as did the freezing cold pool that they bathed in.

  Tate pointed out that, for all they knew, the water was unsafe since it was restricted. He said, “Maybe it’s even radioactive.”

  “Then we’ll glow,” Audrina muttered.

  The SUVs couldn’t make the steep incline. More signs warned them against trespassing, and while a few people expressed concerns, most felt as if, there in the rocks far from civilization, it would be okay. Even if they were caught, the most they would get was to be tossed off the property; besides, the mystery was too intriguing to just let go of.

  Corrine, Theo, Ed, and Dr. Rick had hiking and climbing experience, and most of the rest had done a little backpacking or were fit and reliable enough to make a small climb. Rick taught them how to pack their backpacks properly as he and the other experienced climbers pulled out a strange assortment of equipment.

  “I have ropes, carabineers, and pitons. These will help us in climbing. These are nuts and cams and are better than pitons,” Theo showed them off. He was wound up to use the equipment and was fully aware that when he was climbing, his physique looked excellent; he wished they had more cameras.

  He and a few others had brought climbing equipment in hopes of having a chance to use it. Some of the others showed an interest in the strange assortment of devices, and Theo enjoyed explaining how to climb in detail.

  Rick made sure they had water, food, knives, three different kinds of light devices, and dry socks. Once they had the basics, they packed items for shelter: tents, tarps, insulated blankets, first aid kits, cooking utensils, and personal items. Theo and he had all of them walk around a little to get the feel of the weight on their backs as they showed how to adjust the straps and belts for comfort and support.

  The first part of the climb was easy. While some places were steep and some people needed a hand up, the climbers made excellent time ascending the bluff.

  “That’s the hard part,” Theo said when they took a short break to eat power bars and drink water. The biggest complaint everyone had was the weight of the packs and the gear they were carrying.

  “You’ll be glad we brought it when you have a cozy place to sleep, food, and water,” Rick said. “It’s a new adventure for you.”

  Theo and Ed used their equipment to climb the next, steep bluff and scout ahead. To them, it was easy climbing, but they knew the heights were daunting for some of the others.

  “They make it look easy,” Audrina said. “I can’t use my fingers like that. How are we supposed to get there?”

  “Use your hands, when you can, not fingers,” Ed said. He used a rock and showed her what he meant. “Just think of a ladder and how you reach up and move your feet without over-thinking, but keeping your eyes on the holds.”

  “Come on, you can go first,” Rick told Audrina.

  Audrina’s eyes were big with worry as Rick fitted her with ropes and showed her what to do. She had removed her backpack, and Rick said they would hoist up all of the backpacks at one time. Her job was to go from the ground to the top of the bluff far above her. She wasn’t sure how she would do that, but they promised it was safe and that she would enjoy climb once she started.

  On the other side, Tate was doing the same, getting a harness and ropes hooked on him and being told how to climb. Audrina wanted to get to the top before Tate, but that meant actually climbing.

  There was a nice slant, and she did as Rick had told her, watching the rock face for hand and footholds and moving steadily upwards. She used a belay, and Theo was going to work with her, and if she fell, she wouldn’t go anywhere since she was anchored to the top. He adjusted the rope as she climbed up, making the climb simple.

  It was a puzzle. She had to pick the easy pieces to use to climb. If she made a mistake, she could change her handholds.

  At first, her fingers cramped, but she followed the advice Rick gave her, find bigger hand holds and use her feet to rest her arms and fingers. She looked all over as she climbed, planning footholds and moving slightly to the right or left if she found a better hold. This wasn’t that difficult but had the wall been vertical or if there had been an overhang, she wouldn’t have made it.

  Rick said not to look down, but she did. Way below were the rest; they waved; she smiled at them.

  “Stop looking down. Concentrate on the wall,” Theo called.

  “Yes, sir,” she called back, focusing on the grey rocks. Often there was a wide ledge where she could rest a second. When she made those stops, she looked out behind her and enjoyed the view.

  “Oh, my God,” Audrina breathed. Theo helped her to the top, and she hugged the flat ground again. He grinned at her. “I did it?”

  “You did it. Easy, huh?”

  “Thanks, Theo. That was fantastic.”

  She saw that Tate was up as well and didn’t want to ask who made it first; she’d ask later. Tate gave her thumbs up, and she returned the gesture. She knew that like her, he enjoyed the sights and felt thrilled at having climbed up a bluff.

  Rick joined them, and in a little while, everyone and the backpacks were at the top. They paused to celebrate. Even Ann, as grouchy as she could be, laughed and said she was glad she had made the climb.

  Emma couldn’t stop laughing, “I can’t believe we did it. It wasn’t that hard either. If nothing else, this alone was the greatest moment ever.” She looked like a child with pure delight on her face.

  Theo told them not to go close to the edge since rocks could slide and slip, but they still had a fantastic view. To one side far below was the pool of wate
r; it looked bright blue from there. Although they had no idea what they were looking for, they went over the area closely.

  The day before, they had stood way down there and looked up here.

  The reversal of views made everyone think a little, as Rick spoke, “You have done a 180 in how you are seeing everything. Imagine if we could do that all the time. What is different? What is the same?”

  “Like climbing up here isn’t good enough, you make us think more about it,” Shimei said, “that’s pretty cool, Doc Rick.” They discussed that idea for a while as everyone rested and re-hydrated.

  The mountain went much higher, and Theo wanted to climb to the top, but it was a tough climb, and the rest wouldn’t be able to handle the climb since they had no experience. This was the section that most interested him and Rick anyway.

  All these rocks…they looked as if they were just tossed there from the top,” Theo said, “see how they are jumbled around and don’t look weathered, right? They haven’t sat here tens of thousands of years.”

  Puzzled, Rick ran his hand across part of a boulder the size of a large house; it rose far into the sky, “Look at this. I am stumped, guys.”

  “It looks like something scraped over it, doesn’t it?”

  Rick turned to Corrine, “That’s what I was thinking as well. It would have to be enormous and powerful to leave these kinds of marks on a rock.”

  The rocky ground sloped the other way, back into the center of the bluff and away from the marks on the boulder. More boulders lay in a giant pile as if they had rolled and slid into a heap from the top of the mountain.

  “We can use the cams and ropes and explore them, but that’s the only way it would be safe. I’d say experienced climbers only,” Ed said quietly.

  They agreed that all of them would make a quick camp so they could eat a hot meal while Ed, Theo, Rick, and Corrine climbed over the boulders to see if anything was there that might solve their mystery.

  Emma gestured with a spoon full of potatoes and bacon, “We need a geologist to clarify this.”

  “You can see where the rocks fell from. They rolled down. It was just an avalanche or whatever they call it when there isn’t snow,” Shimei said. “But that doesn’t get us any closer to figuring out why we have a stewardess in the water below. I like climbing, but how will this help us figure that out?”

  Audrina pointed at the small lake, “Way over there is a spring or something to keep the falls running. It’s over there, and she was over there.” She pointed again. “Rocks in the center. So we can figure logically the lake must turn into a stream below ground and it comes out the side of the bluff as those little falls. They aren’t even falls like we said; they’re like streams down the side.”

  “Below the rocks is a stream, you mean. Like it runs underground in a cave or tube? How did she get into the stream to pop out?”

  “She is seventy years old. Think. Where was she before?”

  Audrina stared at Shimei and Emma a second and then looked back at the rocks. “It’s that simple, isn’t it?”

  Shimei got up and ran over to watch Ed and Rick. Theo and Corrine were not in sight.

  “Theo, stop screwing around,” Rick yelled, looking to his left. Theo had tied off his rope and slipped into the crevice between boulders and then worked his way into another deep crack, vanishing.

  “What’s wrong, Rick?” Ann asked as she slipped into her second-in-command status.

  “He’s….” Rick couldn’t watch whatever he was looking at, yell at Theo, and answer Ann at the same time. “Theo, damnit.” He vanished from sight.

  “Pack everything. Now,” Ann demanded. She walked closer, training the binoculars on Ed. Behind her, all of the group got busy cleaning, shoving last bites into their mouths, and packing their gear. “Let’s be ready to move when Rick says.” Climbing between boulders into a subterranean cavern was foreboding to her.

  “That’s amazing that he can move like a spider,” Daisy said, making everyone chuckle.

  “Ed?” Ann asked.

  “They’re okay. Theo went down between the rocks. Rick followed him. Corrine is down between the rocks.” He leaned down, rappelled another two feet down, and listened.

  “Ed?”

  Ed looked back. “A what? You gotta be shittin’ me. No…oh, Ann?”

  “Yes, Ed?”

  “You won’t believe what Theo told Rick and then what Rick told me they found.”

  “It’s a plane,” Audrina whispered to Shimei.

  Ed called back, “Down here beneath the rocks there’s a….” He gulped. “Guys, there’s a plane.”

  Chapter Two: Into the Lair

  Once Theo, Corrine, Ed, and Rick were back with the rest, there was a discussion, questions, and then an argument. Rick struggled to contain his authority over the class, but with the discovery of the airplane wreckage within the mound of boulders, the class became a set of individuals with strong opinions and over whelming curiosity.

  Theo and Corrine were too excited to sit still for the discussion.

  Tate used a finger to gesture, “We need to leave and report it. None of us have the skills to go exploring in a bunch of rocks. We’re out of our league, but we’ll get some kind of notoriety for finding it.”

  “I don’t want notoriety. I want to see it,” Audrina said. “Why should a bunch of FAA guys and scientists get to see it first when we found the plane? I know I am all about the big picture thing and not about looking at details, but the big picture is when will we ever have something this big come up in our lives?”

  “You saw it, Theo. How hard would it be and how dangerous to climb down there?” Rick asked.

  “It’s unreal. What I saw anyway. We could belay down to the plane fairly easy. There are no handholds, so we’d be lowering down and maybe rappelling if I find a good wall. That’s easier in some ways than the climb all of you just did. I am all about doing this.”

  “Half will go, and half will make camp here,” Rick thought out loud. All spoke at once, but after a while, Rick held his hand up to restore order. “We can do half and half so everyone is satisfied.”

  “Half? Tate, Me, Emma, and Haylee are the only holdouts,” Ann snapped. “We’d have a small camp up here.”

  “I just said it was crazy to go where the plane is. I didn’t say I wasn’t crazy enough to want to do it,” Emma said. She didn’t want to be on the side with Ann and Tate. Haylee said she agreed, rolling her eyes.

  “I think it’s too dangerous,” Ed added, “but whatever you decide is fine by me.”

  “I’m going. Period,” Theo said. “Dr. Parker, I’d like you to lead the climb, but if you refuse, then I’m still going on my own.” Tony and Luke, the other two law enforcement officers, nodded and said they would go with Theo. “ I know it isn’t the safest thing. It’s insane. But, it’s a freakin’ airplane that crashed into the mountain, and we found the stewardess; there is no way I could walk away from this. It’s dangerous, but this is once in a lifetime.”

  “It’s amazing,” Tony agreed, “and if we leave, then we won’t know the facts, just what the FFA says. I am going, no matter what.”

  Ann slammed equipment into her pack, glaring at the rest, “I say it’s foolish.”

  “I guess we’re going,” Rick said, looking at Ann apologetically.

  Rick showed them how to use the lights he brought. They strapped them onto their arms; everyone had two, one as the main one and one for backup. About three times the size of a watch, they put out a tremendous amount of light and would shine for seventy-two hours.

  This time, Audrina wasn’t as excited about learning to climb. She was interested in the airplane and wanted to see it, but it was way down inside the mountain. Scary. She had guessed what was there, but that didn’t mean she understood how it got there or why.

  Her pack was heavy, so she had to lean forward to keep her body straight, but the Xeron light strapped to her arm made her feel more in control as she flashed her light aro
und the hole. She wasn’t naturally claustrophobic, but sliding into the crack between boulders was petrifying, and she had to concentrate on keeping her breathing slow and steady.

  “Okay. It will feel frightening as you go lower. Grab hand and footholds if you want or swing free. You can’t fall, Audrina. Relax and look around. Enjoy your trip,” Theo grinned at her.

  “Right. Enjoying it so much,” she said. The feeling of swinging out into space made her a little queasy; Rick had warned it might, but she tried to unwind. In a second, she felt the first shelf under her feet.

  “You okay?”

  “Feeling fine. I have the ledge.” It wasn’t nearly as bad as she had expected.

  “Walk to the side and keep your light on the wall and down. You’ll get a few holds, so take them. Fifteen feet is all.”

  “Thanks, Theo.” At first, he had gotten on her nerves a lot. All the law guys did. Theo postured and posed. He bragged. He always tried to show off his muscles. But now, as he lowered her rope, Audrina felt secure with him in control and found she trusted his judgment.

  “Audrina?”

  “Still with ya, Theo.”

  “Step off, and you have about thirty feet. Use your light, and look down. You’ll be amazed.”

  She did it, thinking she was almost sixty feet into the mountain. Before fear could pick at the edges of her mind and unnerve her, she saw the airplane below. It was the most surrealistic, amazing sight she could ever have imagined.

  It was huge, dark and dusty, and banged up; its parts were torn away as if the metal had been nothing more than thin tissue paper. The wings were ripped off, and she saw nothing of the right wing; where it should have been were only rocks and dirt. The ground where she came to rest was alongside the windows and afforded her a view of the passenger’s compartment, open and dark inside.

  She got out of her harness quickly so another could be lowered.

  Casting her light inside, she, Shimei, and Tony looked at the plane. They had been first and wanted to be the first to see inside the plane. It felt as if they were ghosts peering in or as if they might see ghosts in the airplane. For some reason, the plane lost altitude, came in low, and crashed right into the side of the mountain, sheering off a cave system and being swallowed by the cavern. Rocks, loosened by the crash, plummeted into the space, covering the airplane. Just like that, there was a crash and it was hidden.