“What is this place?” I searched Abraham’s eyes for an answer.
“A killing place,” he replied cryptically. I gestured with my hands at him in an effort to coax out an explanation. He rolled his eyes but continued. “My guess is that they are breeding these animals for death. Many of the dinosaurs have scorch or cut marks from torture. No wonder these dinosaurs attack us on a regularly basis. They are trained to hunt us!”
“Hold on,” I asked, “how can you tell all of that from just observing?”
“Because,” Abraham came very close to my face, although I didn’t think his anger was directed toward me, “I’ve trained animals all of my life. I have learned to treat them as partners. We work together for the benefit of our clan. No one is trying to improve our lives with this place. They are raising these animals as killing machines!” Movement caught my eye to my left and the three of us hunkered lower behind the rock.
I watched as a teenage boy came out of a tent shelter. He carried a whip and a slab of meat. He walked to a corner of a cage containing a slow, spiky dinosaur that paced within its fence. The beast stopped and watched the boy from the corner of its eye, as if anticipating its meal. The boy grabbed a rope tied to the corner of the corral and a pulley hung high above the gate. He pulled the rope and grabbed what appeared to be a hook from the end. He twisted the hook and imbedded it into the slab, pulling it up into the air. The beast moved forward cautiously, smelling the air. Something dripped from the meat onto the face of the animal.
The meat was lowered to just above its head, its thick neck making it nearly impossible to reach. The animal roared its frustration and paced around its cell. The boy pushed a wooded dummy in the corral, weighted at its feet, making it stand up a like a human. He pushed the dummy away from the fence into the cage. The dinosaur backed away, as if scared by the cut-out. Suddenly a whip flashed out, lashing the buttocks of the animal. It cried and appeared fearful of the whip as it advanced closer to the mannequin.
It eyed the dummy more closely but still hesitated to come toward it. The animal must have waited too long, because the whip came out again, which forced the dinosaur to lunge forward. An angry welt grew red on the back of the beast, but the whip had the intended effect. The animal trampled the mannequin into the ground. Boards burst from its weight, and pieces of wood splintered into the air. The boy (I assumed its trainer) lowered the slab of meat to the animal’s faceand it ate greedily. Abraham’s face flashed as red as the animal’s welt. Lucaz had to restrain him from standing up.
“He is a butcher — he doesn’t know how to train an animal. It’s a partnership — not torturing the animal to do your bidding.” Abraham surprised me with his comments. I thought he only cared for himself.
“Getting us caught isn’t going to help us. How many of them are there?”
“Ten,” I said, watching other boys (no girls) come out of two tents. Their clothes were familiar. I had met them before. Lucaz must have read my thoughts.
“They’re Chycle clan,” he stated.
I remembered them on their bikes. They were the first clan to pursue me at the coliseum. Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence. A couple looked familiar when they tried to capture me from the tow truck. They didn’t seem clever enough to stage this place on their own. Who were they working for?
“Look over there.” Abraham pointed, and I saw a row of motorcycles lined up together, gleaming in the sun. “They must know a safe way into the Wastelands to avoid the underground burrows. And a way to hide their wheel tracks.”
I was only half listening as I watched a caged dinosaur stalking one of the Chycle clan. The teenager circled the corral but came too close to one of the corners. The dinosaur kicked its back feet with such force that the fence rattled, sending the teenager to the ground. He grabbed his arm as if it was injured. He reached for a metal prod with his other arm and yelled at the beast. There was something in his eyes that made me shiver.
The injured clan member pushed the metal against the flank of the dinosaur and pressed a button. The end of the prod glowed red, and the beast let out an earth-shattering scream. I had no love for these animals, but I couldn’t help but feel pity for it.
“We have to release these animals. Their torture makes me sick,” Abraham said, and I agreed with him. But Lucaz had a different response.
“No!” he said vehemently. “We release these dinosaurs and they will escape. They’ll invade our lands and kill more people. We can’t let them go!” Abraham and I looked at each other, not understanding his reaction.
“Why, Lucaz? This is wrong. This clan is raising these animals to be killers. If we leave them here, they will get worse, and they will be released later,” I replied, trying to find out why he was set dead set against freeing them.
“We should destroy the whole camp and all the dinosaurs with them.” His words were cold. There had to be a reason why. Then I thought about the story he had never finished.
“Your mother? How did she die?” I asked, and Lucaz’s face turned gray. For once, Abraham was quiet. I waited. Lucaz’s body language betrayed his pain. This wasn’t the best time to discuss this, but I hunkered down behind the rock, waiting for him to explain.
“When I was five, we went on a family trip to see the caverns of Lenora. My mother was an expert on minerals and she want to see the ore deposits. She loved the beauty of caves and wanted to share this experience with us. My dad hates going underground but loved my mom enough that he was willing to do it for her. I was a kid and I was excited to be going anywhere.
“We went on a tour with a couple of other families deep underground. I remember marveling at the stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Halfway through the tour, we came to the ore deposit Mom was so excited about. The stones were bright yellow and green and their glow illuminated the cave. She was like a kid in a candy market and despite my dad’s fear of enclosed places, even he was enjoying the tour. So much so that we didn’t even notice the air in the cave was changing.”
The air? I didn’t understand but decided not to interrupt.
“The other group started to cough, and our guide realized what was happening.”
“Toganosaurus?” Abraham said a dinosaur’s name that I had never heard of before.
Lucaz didn’t answer but nodded. “Yeah. They breathe out a noxious gas that helps paralyze their prey. Usually they only go after other dinosaurs, but they have occasionally attacked humans.”
“What did you do?”
“The guide immediately moved us back to the entrance. We turned off most of our lights so as not to warn the creature. Most dinosaurs are attracted to bright lights, and we didn’t want to lead the beast straight to us. We almost made it back to the entrance when I felt something swish through my legs and I screamed like a little girl. It felt like a snake trying to wrap its tail around me. My mom jumped into action. She switched her miner’s light on and flashed it around. The dinosaur was momentarily blinded and roared. Its scrawny arms came up, trying to block the light.
“I haven’t seen one before. What does it look like?” I asked, almost afraid to hear the description. Abraham decided to answer.
“They’re about the size of a cow, with a tiny appendage so they slither like a huge snake. They have three rows of teeth, and their pores pump out fumes to cause dizziness in their prey before they attack.”
“My mom pushed her flashlight right into its jaw and shards of glass burst onto the cave floor. The dinosaur cried out in pain, as if one of the shards was lodged in its jaw. For a moment, I thought she had scared it off. My dad grabbed me from behind and flung me to the cave exit. I remember the lights momentarily blinding me, and when I looked up, it was if everything was moving in slow motion. Dad had me pinned to the ground and the guide had his hand on the exit button, ready to seal off the door. My mom looked back me, the dinosaur roaring in pain at her feet. I reached out to her and accidently flashed on my helmet cave light. My light illuminated the cave behind her and I realiz
ed she wasn’t alone. There were at least another three or four of them.
“What made it worse was my mom smiling at me since she couldn’t see what my light had shown. Before I could scream back to her, a massive tail grabbed her around her waist. She disappeared before she could even yell back to me. The guide slammed the door shut and sealed it closed. We could hear them throwing themselves at the door to get at us. We were rushed to the surface, my dad and I sobbing, wanting to go back but knowing that there was nothing we could do for her. Hours later, search parties found no trace of her or the dinosaurs. It was like they came, took what they wanted, and moved on.” Lucaz’s head was bowed, and I could tell that he was crying. There were no words to console him and I simply put my arm around him. Having lost my mother as well, I understood his pain.
I looked around, hoping Abraham could help, but he was gone. Unfortunately, we had spent too much time talking and not watching our surroundings. From below, clan members were climbing toward us, our hiding place found. Their stride was slow, since they realized we had no place to go.
“Lucaz — come on! They’ve discovered us.” They outnumbered us and they had motorcycles. I didn’t welcome becoming a meal out in the desert. We had only one option.
“Run toward that pen!” I yelled as we charged to the nearest cage. The clan members who had walked so casually now broke into a run. It was a footrace to the pen, but I’d rather face a dinosaur than be captured. Lucas was faster than me and almost cleared the metal bars of the pen as he jumped in. I leaped as well, but my foot slipped on the metal bar. Lucaz grabbed my hand and pulled me away before my chin came down hard on the post.
“Thanks.” We leapt into the pen. A pair of hands reached for my foot. I kicked out and felt the resounding contact on someone’s nose. Once into the corral, we looked at the other inmate in the cell. Suddenly, I doubted my decision. The dinosaur regarded us with it head tilted to the side, as if it couldn’t imagine humans any stupider than us. It was the size of large vehicle, with a pulled-out brow that extended over its eyes. Its eyes radiated a simple intelligence, as if it was only capable of a few thoughts. Then they narrowed, as if it had settled on an emotion. Fear. It charged toward us. Lucaz and I separated and ran to opposite sides of the pen. The beast stopped quickly, as if confused by too many options. We had to get around it and open the gate.
“Look at me!” Lucaz yelled, trying to focus the beast’s attention. It turned toward him and he flailed his arms. I slowly walked around, trying to not attract the animal. A spear tapped me on the back sending me into the dirt. I looked up and saw one of the Chycle clan trying to knock me off balance. He jabbed his spear at me, but I jumped over the tip, leaving him behind. I could see the latch at the back of the pen. Twenty more feet and I could unclasp it.
“Let me go!” Lucaz yelled as two of the Chycle clan grabbed him from behind, pinning his shoulders to the cage. He kicked his feet which attracted the dinosaur even more. Do I go back to help him or release the cage? “Get it open!” he yelled, as if reading the indecision in my mind. I ran feeling something jabbed past my thigh drawing blood, but I had no time to worry about my injury. I dashed and then leapt into the air, grasping the latch. I unclicked it once, twice but nothing happened. There was a chain and lock dangling down. It was locked up tight. I was so stupid to think I could open it.
“Sorry, princess.” One of the clan members smiled down but had no kindness in his voice. “These cages are locked up tight. Now, why don’t you give me your hand and I’ll pull you out before you get gored to death?” His face appeared helpful, but his eyes made me believe he was not saving me. I looked back and saw Lucaz had broken away from the other clan members, but the dinosaur was closing in. I reached down, and grabbed some dirt with my left hand and gave my supposed savior my right hand. As he pulled up, I let my dirt fly right in his face.
He yelled and released my hand, scratching at his face. I kicked at the gate, the lock holding it fast. There had to be another way to get this gate open.
“Hey — over here!” I bellowed and searched the dirt for a rock. I found one and threw it at the back of the beast. It bounced off harmlessly, but the animal’s head turned toward me. “Over here.” I waved my hands and tried to make myself as big as possible. The animal cocked its head, and it appeared that I got my wish. It turned from Lucaz and lumbered toward me. I threw another rock which hit the creature in the eye. It squealed and I immediately regretted my action. It charged, barely giving me time to jump aside. I felt the dirt scratch my face but realized it was nothing compared to the pain I had caused the animal. Still the gate held. My actions had not helped. We were still trapped.
The clan member fell beside me; he must have fallen because of the blow to the gate. He lay prone to the ground, but a shiny cluster of keys was gathered around his belt. I pulled hard, ripping them from his belt loop. I counted ten keys — ten chances to get this animal out of its cage. Another body dropped beside me, only this clan member was on his feet and coming at me. I ran to the lock and placed the first key in. It went in but didn’t turn. One down.
“Ouch!” I was tackled from behind and my ribs hurt from the compression. I wheeled around and kicked my assailant in the gut. The clan member doubled over and sank to the ground. I grabbed my keys and tried a second one. This one wouldn’t even enter the lock. Before I could try a third, I heard a yell from behind. Before I could respond, another body went sailing into the fence behind me.
“Can you hurry up?” Lucaz whispered into my ear. “I can’t hold these guys off forever.” I smiled as he punched another clan member. I tried another key. It went partially in and then stopped. The fifth key went all the way in. Got it! Before I could turn it, I was slammed from behind and dropped to the ground, the breath knocked out of me. I turned, but before I could kick out, Lucaz punched my new attacker.
“I can’t hold them off much longer. Look.” I spun around to see a dozen clan members hanging on the fence. It kept the dinosaur focused away from us, but it was a numbers game; eventually they would overwhelm us. I ran to the lock and tried to turn the key, but the top part had broken off. The key was stuck in the lock!
Lucaz grabbed my arm. Between the dinosaur, the clan members and the gate, we were trapped. Only I had no white flag to wave. Before I could surrender, the cage door slammed open.
“Get out of the pen!” Abraham yelled. He was mounted on a huge dinosaur; its massive head had cracked the pen and destroyed the lock. Being part of the Hunter clan gave him some ability with animals. Some type of dinosaur whisperer. The clan members attacked Abraham. The dinosaur shook its neck and clan members went flying like feathers in the wind. Lucaz and I dashed out of the gate. We jumped to the side as the dinosaur in the pen charged out. Several Chycle clan members tried to corral it back into its cage.
“Try to open more of the pens! We can’t overwhelm the clan on our own,” Abraham yelled and took his animal to the next pen. I grabbed my keys and ran toward the next dinosaur pen. The lock was like the last, and luckily, one of the other keys opened it easily. I turned the handle on the gate and looked at the dinosaur. It was stocky, with a narrow bill and thick legs. It eyes showed fear and instead of escaping, it backed into the corner of its cage, trying to get away from me. Great! Instead of sending beasts to create chaos, I had found the one that feared its own shadow.
“Come on, baby,” I coaxed with my hands. “Be free.” She looked at me with big eyes as she tilted her head and then backed away.
“Go!” Lucaz slapped the animal’s butt and it charged out of the pen. “Sometimes the forceful approach is a bit more effective.” I had no time to thank him as a metal chain sailed over my head, narrowly missing me. We ran forward. The pandemonium of the released dinosaurs had taken the focus of the clan off us. But with all this mayhem, what were we accomplishing?
“Lucaz, take my keys. Go open as many gates as possible. The only chance we have is if this place is overrun by these animals.” I tossed the k
eys over to him.
“Where are you going?”
I pointed to the main building. Destroying this place wasn’t enough. We needed to know why it was here and who had created it.
“Be careful. Abraham isn’t going to like that I let you out my sight.”
“He has his own problems. Besides, we’re in the middle of the desert. It’s not like I can go anywhere.” Lucaz nodded, touched my shoulder then charged toward the next cage. I jumped a fence and ran to the permanent structure. As I got closer, I saw a stack of motorcycles stretched out in front of the building. At least I knew how these guys got out to the desert in the first place. The bikes were dusty and they presented an opportunity I couldn’t resist. I kicked the first bike and watched as the others tumbled like dominos. One, two, three until they stopped crashing, leaving two motorcycles upright. Oh, well, almost perfect.
A Chycle clan member was being chased by two small dinosaurs and crossed in front of me. I stopped and let them go by. None of them gave me a second look. The main building beckoned, and I entered a dark entranceway. Inside was quiet; perhaps everyone had exited to recapture the dinosaurs. The walls were plain and the furnishing was sparse, but there was a green glow coming from the end of the hall. I peeked around the corner and found a small room with a monitor, computers, and a series of binders. It didn’t look like something the Chycle clan had the intelligence to run. What other clan could be involved with this place?
The screen blinked with video footage of the animal corrals. I searched for a video stream of Lucaz, but he wasn’t in any of the rotating cameras. Abraham showed up on one monitor, still riding the same dinosaur. There was a wound on the beast’s right leg and it was hobbling slightly. Yet it whipped its tail and took out two more clan members. I didn’t know what control he had over the beast, but he was much more effective than the Chycle clan’s approach of punishment.
Clan World Page 14
