No Time For Dinosaurs

by John Benjamin Sciarra

  Kyle sat up fully awake. It all came rushing in. He dressed quickly, rushed down the hallway to Teresa’s room, and knocked on the door. “Teresa? Teresa. It’s me. Kyle.”

  “Go away! It’s Saturday and I want to sleep in for a change. Come back later…like tonight sometime.”

  “You’ll need a year of beauty sleep before it will help.” Kyle caught himself. He couldn’t help but insult his sister every chance he got—even under the worst of conditions—and this definitely qualified.

  I really do have to work on this bad habit!

  “Teresa. I need to talk to you. It’s important.”

  “Oh…okay. Come in.”

  Kyle entered the room. His sister looked younger than the last time he saw her. Her room was a cacophony of colors and posters. He pulled up a chair as Teresa sat up in bed her hair a mess.

  “You look like that lady who turns men to stone. You know…the one with snakes for hair.”

  “Kyle, if you came in here—“

  “I’m sorry. You’re right. This is serious. Listen, I took a trip back to the past again and I was wondering if there have been any announcements in the paper about the monster in Lake Cham—

  “Hey, what are you hiding under your blanket for?”

  “You said you had something important. Not some crazy story you made up. I could be sleeping.”

  “Are you pulling my leg?”

  “Now, why would I do that?”

  “You don’t remember…the trip to the past?”

  Teresa sat back up and looked straight into Kyle’s eyes. “You’re starting to worry me, Kyle. I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”

  “You, me…and Sonja…”

  “Sonja? The Indian girl?”

  “Uh…of course! Who else did you think?”

  “She was with us? You, me…and…we went back somewhere? Where did we go?”

  It dawned on Kyle that things had changed. Drastically. Teresa didn’t remember anything. Not the first trip. Not the creatures from the Lake.

  “Uh…look. I gotta go. Thanks for helping me with my…er…homework. I had to write a…play. Yeah. I’m writing a play about a kid who goes back in time. Thanks for your help. I…uh, gotta go see Dad. Bye!”

  Teresa sat there with her mouth open trying to figure out what was going on with her brother. Something was wrong with him and she was worried.

  ***

  Kyle came down into the kitchen. His mother was busy mixing something in a bowl. The clock on the wall looked like the one in his dream and the table was where it was supposed to be. The picture on the wall was gone and, in its place was a rooster, a porcelain rooster. What was a porcelain rooster doing in his mother’s kitchen? She hated roosters.

  “Kyle! You’re up. Want some pancakes?”

  “Uh, not right now. Thanks. Mom. Is…Dad home?”

  “You know he doesn’t get home until Monday when he’s on one of his trips.”

  “Trips? What…what kind of trip?”

  “What is this? Twenty questions? You know your father and Mr. Bashan always go to New York for their customers.”

  “Uh…refresh my memory, Mom. What kind of customers?”

  “Insurance, of course. Are you feeling okay, dear? You look a little pale.”

  His mother walked over and pressed her hand against Kyle’s head. “You feel a little warm. Maybe you should stay in bed today.”

  “Uh…just one more question. Can I go over to Grandpa’s?” Kyle was certain that his grandfather would remember the trip.

  A look of dark concern crossed his mother’s face. “That’s not funny Kyle. You know your grandfather has been dead for three years.”

  ***

  Stunned, Kyle went back to his room. Toby ran all around him barking and pulling on his shirt trying to get him to play. Kyle was too deep in thought to notice. Had he dreamed all this up? Was he going crazy? Nothing made sense. His grandfather had said there was a fine line between reality and dreams. Echoes of time, he called it. His grandfather. Tears welled up in his eyes.

  It’s just not possible. He thought he must have dreamed it all up. All of it. Every bit. The trips to the past, the future, and the past again.

  Wait a minute! The lab. I have to go to the lab and see if the distortion field is still there. If it is, that will mean I changed the future again. If it’s not there…

  Kyle ran by his mother who stood there with a spatula in her hand as she was making pancakes. He ran as fast as his legs could move. He ran through the neighbor’s yard so fast their rottie didn’t even have time to bark. Over the fence, down the block and across the fields past rows of houses.

  The building was still there. All the buildings were there.

  He ran up to his father’s lab. The sign over the doorway read, “Quantum Insurance.” Kyle scratched his head and rang the doorbell. An older woman meandered slowly down the stairs shakily holding the railing looking as if she were going to tumble over at any minute.

  “Kyle?” said the woman. Clearly, she knew him, but he didn’t recognize her. As far as he knew, he had never laid eyes on her before. “What are you doing here today? You know your Dad is away.”

  “Uh. Yes Maam. I know he’s away. I…uh just wanted to look at his office for a minute. It’s for a school project.” He was getting a lot of mileage out of that excuse.

  “Well…I guess so.”

  “Thanks!” Kyle bolted past the woman nearly knocking her over in the process and bounded up the stairs two at a time. He opened the door and ran to the large door. It’s still here! He looked all over the door trying to find the activation pad. Apparently that had changed but, if the vault door was here, then so was the capsule—or at least the distortion field so he could go back and get his grandfather. Kyle was near panic when the older woman finally emerged from her ascent up the stairs. Breathlessly she asked, “Wh…what…are you…looking for?”

  “Uh…what’s in here? I have to know? Please! Please, can you open it?”

  “Why…uh… My oh my, you certainly are…in a panic over something. Most peculiar. Yes, most peculiar.”

  The woman walked over to the vault and punched in a code and the door began to open very slowly. Kyle could hardly contain his excitement. The door finally opened and Kyle ran in. Inside were rows and rows of filing cabinets lining the walls and rows lining up and down the length of the vault. He ran around looking for some sign that the capsule was there or had been there at one time.

  The older lady came in and asked, “What are you looking for, Kyle?”

  “The time capsule. It was here! Now it’s gone.”

  “Kyle, this building has been used for the insurance company for many years. Are you sure you’re alright?”

  Kyle sat down in the middle of the floor and brought his hands up to his face.

  “NO. I’m not. And I may never be alright. It’s gone and never existed. I wish I never existed!”

  Kyle returned home and went to his bedroom to sulk. There has to be a way to figure out if any of this happened, he thought.

  Grandpa told me to keep the secret to myself. But, what if none of this ever happened and I’m losing my mind? My parents will probably put me in a home.

  Someone knocked on his door.

  “What?”

  “Kyle, it’s Mom. Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “I guess. Door’s open.”

  Kyle’s mother came in and sat on the edge of his bed. “Your dad and I are worried about you. I called him and he said we should have you talk to the school counselor. So I called and made an appointment for you with Mr. Carlson. He said he could see you first thing Monday morning before your first class.”

  “Really, Mom, I’m okay. I must have had a bad dream or something.”

  “Nonetheless, your grades have slipped lately. You were always an “A” student until this past semester. We’ve tried talking to you, but you don’t seem to want to talk to us. So I really think this is best. I
t won’t be that bad. He’ll just talk to you and maybe he can help with whatever has been bothering you lately.

  “This is non-negotiable. We’ll feel better and maybe you will, too. Okay?”

  “I guess.” An “A” student? Me? This must be a dream!

  “Come down for lunch in a half hour. I have sandwiches.”

  ***

  Well, that’s that, thought Kyle. He wondered what his mom was talking about. I really can’t remember anything. Am I living in some kind of fantasy world? Maybe I have lost touch with reality.

  Then he remembered the tunnels. He wondered if he could find them. They had to be in New England somewhere, but where to begin looking?

  He recalled that the tunnels were not far from the lab, the original one in his fantasy world, if that was indeed what it was. It would be one way to know for sure.

  He went to the living room and pulled out an Atlas of New England. Then he found a large map of Natick. Taking a ruler and compass, Kyle then measured what he thought might be the radius around the lab.

  “Let’s see, we walked about two hours from the ocean. That took us about five miles. So…that means the entrance to the tunnels should be somewhere in the vicinity of Boston.”

  “Kyle, who are you taking to?”

  “No one Mom. I was thinking out loud.”

  “Oh…that’s good. Your sandwich is ready.”

  “Be right there.”

  Kyle pulled out his phone. “Where are there caves in Massachusetts?” He asked Siri, the Google voice search.

  “There are caves in many places in Massachusetts. Here is a list.”

  Kyle scrolled down the list to see if anything jumped out at him. One sign caught his attention.

  It read:

  Oven Mouth

  A Native American Landmark

  Also known as Devil’s Oven

  ________________________

  Mouth of a Tunnel

  Leading to an Indian Cave

  “Hmmm.” Kyle thought out loud. As he read a little bit more, he discovered that Indians used the cave, but for what he didn’t know. However, it was the distance from the Ocean that caught his attention. The cave’s entrance was within the area he had circled. It fit. At least it’s worth exploring, thought Kyle.

  “Say Mom, would you mind if I took my sandwich to go? I’m going to take my bike for a ride. Maybe that will clear my brain some.” Kyle smiled the best he knew how. His mother looked at him strangely.

  “Well…okay. Don’t go too far. And be very careful!”

  “No problem! I’ll be back in a few hours. Just going to visit some…er…friends” Kyle hoped he had some. But other than Teresa and Sonja, he couldn’t think of any.

  “Hmmm. I wonder if Sonja rides a bike.”

  ***

  Kyle stopped by Sonja’s houses on his way to find the cave. If he found anything, he wanted someone to witness it. It was a wild idea, but he felt compelled to pursue it. Perhaps he really was sweet on Sonja. But he would never admit it to anyone.

  Sonja was in her yard raking the leaves from the grass under a large tree. Suddenly, his nerves got the better of him. Too late. She saw him.

  “Kyle? What are you doing here?”

  “Um…er…you’re not going to believe this, but I wanted to…um…ask you if you…uh…wanted to go for a ride?”

  “Well, as you can see, I am having such a wonderful time raking these leaves. I would enjoy a ride. Let me get my bike.”

  Kyle was thinking this was way too easy. Something was up. Could it be that Sonja remembers he wondered?

  “Where are we going?”

  “To look at a tunnel about an hour’s ride. Can you make it?”

  “Absolutely. I was wondering when you were going to come.”

  “You…you were?”

  “Of course!”

  “But…no one else in my family remembers. Not even Teresa.”

  “Yes. I know.”

  “But…”

  “Do not talk. Let us ride. I will tell you when we get there.”

  Sonja hopped on her bike and took off as if she knew where they were going.

  “Come on! I have to be back before my parents return!”

  The two of them sped off along the back roads like they were in the Tour de France road race.

  ***

  “Do you remember where the tunnel is?” asked Sonja.

  “Not exactly. I seem to have this intuition about things. Just like you knew I was going to come over and where we were going, but not quite understanding why.”

  “It is very strange. I woke up feeling…peculiar. Different. As if this life is not where I am.”

  “Tell me about it! You must have some residual memory from the trips.”

  “Back in time, right? Dinosaurs! I have memory of dinosaurs and…one of them was named Priti?”

  “Yes…you do remember then!”

  “Not clearly. It is like a dream. When I saw you, I woke up! What do they say…déjà vu?”

  “Exactly. Hmmmm. Echoes of time. Echoes….of time! Yes! That is what we are experiencing! You are very smart!”

  “Why, Kyle! Thank you!”

  “Uh…Okay. Let’s get on with the exploration if we are ever going to get back. In time. Ugh. There’s that word again. I just can’t get away from it.”

  “Where do you think the tunnel is?”

  “Well, it can’t be here where the sign is located. Maybe it hasn’t been discovered yet?”

  “Then you think it may be nearby?”

  “I do. Again, the intuition. It’s probably hiding behind some thick underbrush. We may have to just poke around deep in the woods. It might be better if we split up.

  “Sonja?”

  Sonja was gone.

  “Sonja!”

  “Down here!” she yelled from somewhere out of sight.

  Kyle walked back to where she had entered a small opening in the bushes. Not two feet from where she had entered Kyle heard Sonja call out from an opening in the ground.

  “Kyle!”

  Kyle landed with a thud right next to Sonja who was shining a penlight on a wall.

  “You had me scared there for a minute. I might be too young for a heart attack, but I think I just aged ten years.”

  “Kyle. Look!”

  Kyle jumped up and dusted the mud from his pants. He walked over to where Sonja was shining the light. Her mouth was wide open as if in shock. There on the wall, etched with a rock were the words that would haunt Kyle’s dreams for years.

  Kyle. I am in danger. There are creatures in these tunnels that are after me. They made them. You must come back or the future of humans on earth is in danger.

  Grandpa Caleb

  “Uh oh.”

  “What does this mean, Kyle?”

  “Well…for one thing, if I am ever going to build a time capsule, I’m going to have to take a LOT of math courses.

  “We’re going back, Sonja!”

  Epilogue

  “Okay, Dr. Donavan, ready for launch. Is the camera set to auto?”

  “Yes, Dr. Donavan. I set it myself. Launch sequence initiated. Harmonics set to fifty percent.”

  “Correct, Dr. Donavan. Do you really think the image is a dinosaur?”

  “Either that, or a zoo with very strange animals. It was hard to tell through the gel. Something was there. That’s for sure. There’s no way to tell how far back it went. It could be anytime. Any time, but not any place. The capsule can’t move. It should be right where it is now, but it emerged somewhere in time.”

  “Essentially correct, Doctor. I guess we will never know until we are ready.”

  “Ya know…you two need to get a life. You both sound like a couple of goofballs calling each other Doctor. Come on. You’ve been married for five years already!”

  “Okay, Teresa, don’t get all Mom on me. I am still your older brother.”

  “I warned you, Sonja. He was bad news.”

  Sonja relied, “But i
f Kyle hadn’t built this wonderful machine, we might never have believed him, would we?”

  “Okay you two. Let’s set the sequence for…oh, roughly sixty-five million years. There we go. I still have the touch. Let’s go get Grandpa, ladies!”

  Together they said, “Okay Professor!” In perfect harmony.

  THE END