“We can’t think of any, Son, and believe me, we’ve tried,” Dad said softly, reaching to give him a hug.
Daniel’s cheeks felt damp. “There must be something we can do,” he croaked out, releasing himself from Dad’s hold. Then he turned and headed out of the room.
His heart raced and his throat ached as he trudged up the stairs, entered his bedroom and closed the door quietly. This couldn’t be happening! He took a few breaths, trying to calm himself. As he leaned against the door, he noticed the streak of moonlight that cut through the window and across the room, illuminating the full-length mirror on the opposite wall. He caught a sideways glimpse of himself, his face distraught and his dark hair standing on end where he’d swiped his hand through it several times.
Reflected above the door frame where he stood was an old framed print of craggy hills with a broken stream trickling at their base. It seemed askew. How fitting, he thought. His whole life was about to be screwed up. And he was definitely a mess, too.
Compelled by the distinct patterns of shadow and light in his room, he looked around over his unmade bed with its rumpled homemade quilt, and the clothes strewn across the floor. On his desk, his homework and dinosaur books lay scattered, one of the books held open with a banana peel. There was room for a computer, too, with an Internet hookup for his research, but that would never happen now.
Nearby were his shelves, lined with more dinosaur books and replicas. The mobile of planets and stars hung overhead, and next to it, barely visible in the dimness, were photos of nature hung alongside posters of atmospheric layers, the solar system, and a geological time chart.
Then his eyes lit on the scene through his window: the farmyard and the pasture beyond. The moonlight filtered softly over the yard. The tire swing dangled from the tree by the garage where he’d played for years. And the barbecue pit Dad had dug a few years back, filled with snow now, had been the site for the annual neighbourhood picnic.
He’d spent hours walking over the pasture with his grandfather as he pointed out gopher holes, plants, nests, and footprints from foxes and deer. He’d helped his grandmother pick potato bugs off the huge garden near the dugout. He’d gone exploring on Gypsy’s back more times than he could count. And what about his precious hideout? How many hours had he spent alone out there with Dactyl?
If he moved away, he wouldn’t be able to do any of those things ever again. How would he spend his weekends or after-school times? His family would probably end up in some small cramped apartment like his great-aunt Helen’s place in Regina, where he wouldn’t know anyone. He shouldn’t have complained about all the chores; now he’d have nothing to do to fill the hours.
Cheryl’s fretful cries brought him back to the present with a jolt. Enough whining! He’d have to find a way to keep his parents from losing their land, that very land he was staring at. It meant everything to him.
When his breathing slowed again, he opened the door a crack and strained to hear his parents in the dining room below. Their voices were too quiet to distinguish and he didn’t have the heart to hear any more. The faint smell of the roast chicken supper they’d had earlier wafted up and lingered in the hallway, reminding him that his normal, comfortable, predictable world was about to be turned upside down.
He closed the door softly and climbed into bed, then curled up in a ball and pulled the covers over his head. He lay there trying to calm himself for several minutes. Then he peeked over the bedding and looked again out the hoar-frosted window at the stars twinkling overhead in the cold night sky. He felt miserable.
A while later Mom came into his room and sat on the edge of his bed.
“Everything will work out all right. You’ll see, Danny boy.” She caressed the strands of his hair off his forehead with her hand. Somehow neither his parents’ pet name for him, nor his mother’s touch lessened the pain. “We can have a good life somewhere else, too, if we have to move,” she said softly.
But he wasn’t listening. In fact, he pretended to be asleep. When she turned at the doorway, he heard her add in a whisper almost to herself, “Guess it isn’t going to be much of a Christmas for us this year.”
His sleep was disturbed and filled with images. At one point he found it difficult to breathe.
~
He swam through murky water feeling the currents undulating around him. He floundered suddenly when he became aware of giant shapes all around him.. As a mosasaurus propelled its pointy head and huge body in his direction, he panicked. He struggled to right himself on the soft-bottomed sea, searching for a hiding place.
Just as the mosasaurus gained on him and opened its giant sharp-toothed mouth, he reached land and scrambled onto the shore out of reach. He lay gasping on the marshy beach beside a dome-shaped rock. Suddenly, the rock moved and a huge turtle-like creature plodded into the sea.
Daniel sat up quickly and looked around. The landscape merged and changed. It was his farmyard, only covered with lush birch and cypress forest, and beautiful plants in reds, yellows, and purples. The buildings were interspersed amongst the foliage. He decided to explore. As he wandered, small mammal-like creatures scurried through the underbrush, while overhead giant birds screeched.
When he rounded a tall bush, he stopped short. He gazed up at a huge Edmontosaurus nibbling on branches nearby. It stood almost fifteen metres long and was surrounded by several young. When the creature spied him, the balloonlike flaps by her nose inflated and she bellowed loud and long. The hard ridges on her back stiffened and her powerful tail swung.
All the youngsters bounded into the forest for cover, their tails straight out behind them as they scattered. Then the massive beast turned to confront Daniel, but he’d already dived into the bush and crawled through it to the other side. She lumbered around the thicket, and just as her three-toed hoofed foot was about to come down on him, he rolled away and curled up into a tight ball....
~
He woke up, sweating and cramped from holding himself taut. He lay panting and gulping for several minutes, then switched on the light and went to the bathroom for a glass of water. When he got back to his room, he sat on the edge of his bed, appreciating his familiar surroundings before taking a deep breath and crawling back under the covers again.
Once he’d snapped off the light, it took him some time to fall asleep. He saw three a.m. on his alarm clock and yawned groggily.
~
Daniel landed with a thud onto wet sand and when he rose, he was staring at little white crosses that punctured the ground sporadically over several metres. As his eyes shifted, more crosses would pop up. He stepped forward to take a closer look at one, but it vanished. In its place a huge nest of branches and ferns appeared, with a baby Edmontosaurus curled in the bottom. Everywhere Daniel looked, the crosses turned into baby dinosaurs.
All of a sudden, the sand shifted and gave way under his feet, trying to swallow him up. He flung his arms out, scrabbling and reaching for anything within his grasp as he sank. The dinosaurs changed back into white crosses, as he yanked on something soft and billowy nearby....
~
He awoke out of breath, clutching his pillow, with his bedclothes a total mess. But as he recalled the crosses in his dream changing into dinosaurs, he suddenly knew that the little white cross on Pederson’s property was not marking his wife’s gravesite. It was probably another excavation site! He’d take a closer look next time he was there. And he’d figure out a way of persuading Pederson to speak up. Then he could convince his parents of the importance of staying on their land.
Chapter Seven
Daniel finally woke up for good at seven a.m., bleary-eyed and groggy. The nightmares of the long night had left him feeling sluggish and distant, like he wasn’t really part of his body.
He rose slowly, dressing and going through the motions of his daily routine. When he reached the kitchen his parents weren’t speaking to one another, just sitting at the table sipping their coffee. He decided to do his chores before
eating. Cheryl gurgled with pleasure when she caught sight of him, but he only gave her a quick tickle under the chin before heading to the door.
“Where are you going?” Mom called from the kitchen. “You haven’t had breakfast yet.”
“I’m not hungry,” he said. “Maybe I’ll have something later.”
When he stepped outside, it was still dark and the wind whipped around him. He gasped in sharp breaths that made him feel more alive, but barely. As he walked towards the barn, Dactyl joined him, trotting along at his side. He seemed to sense Daniel’s subdued mood.
Daniel’s stomach felt knotted and his thoughts were a jumbled confusion. One minute he was afraid of losing the farm and of having to move. The next, he was excited at the possibilities of being able to doing something good with Pederson’s phenomenal discovery.
If only he could convince the old man to speak about it, they might be able to join forces. Then they might kindle enough interest in the government and among the museum authorities to convince them to initiate a major excavation site and a tourist attraction. Sure, it was a dream, but it had happened over in Eastend with the unearthing of the tyrannosaurus rex, so why not at Climax? It could mean money for his family to stay on the farm. He didn’t know how the details would work, but they’d figure it out somehow. Right after finishing chores and having breakfast, he’d go over to Pederson’s and try to discuss it with him.
~
While Daniel ate breakfast, Jed phoned to see if he could come over for a little while. He’d have to be home by noon. Daniel agreed; he’d have to give up his plans of going to the old hermit’s place, but he wanted to talk to his friend about the latest family crisis. Besides, Jed hardly ever had a chance to visit him. His family made him work really hard all the time, and he had hockey. Daniel was also eager to brainstorm about an official archaeology site. Somehow he’d have to find a way to tell Jed about his ideas without giving away Pederson’s secret.
Daniel watched for Jed’s arrival from the kitchen window, and as soon as he saw the Lindstroms’ truck pull into the driveway, he hurried to the back door.
Jed smiled and gave him the high-five as he stepped indoors, then began unzipping his parka.
“Do you feel like doing some horseback riding?” Daniel asked, suddenly feeling the need to do something active.
“Sure, why not,” Jed agreed. He zipped his parka back up.
As Daniel threw on his own parka and grabbed his boots, he called to Mom, who was upstairs bathing Cheryl.
“Mom? Jed’s here and we’re going riding,” he called, pulling his toque onto his head.
“Fine,” she answered, “Just don’t be too long. I want you to help me later.”
Daniel rolled his eyes at Jed. “Okay!”
The boys headed out the door before she could say anything more. They raced across the yard to the barn, their boots crunching loudly on the hard ridges of snow. The sun hung low in the sky, casting a yellowish haze over the farm, and the wind had died down.
As Daniel pushed the barn door open, he found Dad inside, cleaning out the feed room.
“Hi, Mr. Bringham,” Jed said as they walked past him, scrunching up their noses at the clouds of dust in the air.
“Hello, Jed,” Dad nodded as he swept debris into a grain shovel. “What’re you two boys up to?”
“Going riding,” Jed answered for them, and then sneezed.
Daniel unhooked the saddles and harnesses from their posts and handed one set to Jed. They lugged them over to the horses. Gypsy whinnied and stamped her feet as they approached. Pepper shuffled in his stall.
“You take Pepper,” Daniel said to Jed as he patted Gypsy. He murmured softly as he began saddling her.
Jed grinned. “Don’t know why you named this horse Pepper. It sure doesn’t have any spunk.” He patted the horse’s neck warmly, and said, “No offence Pepper, but your spry days are over.”
Dad called over, “If you were as old as that horse and had worked as hard as he had, you wouldn’t have any energy left either.”
They chuckled together as they finished saddling their mounts, and led them out of the stalls. As the horses clopped along, the kittens scampered behind chasing one another.
“Looks like you picked a good time to ride,” Dad said, going over to the barn door to open it for them. As he stood in the doorway, he said, “It’s warming up some. Guess we’re not getting that storm after all.”
He patted Gypsy’s rump as they passed by. “Have fun, boys!”
He closed the door behind them with a rattling bang as Daniel and Jed urged their horses across the yard towards the pasture. Once they cleared the last gate, Daniel made an instant decision and guided them towards his hideout. It was time he showed Jed his secret place. There might not be too many more opportunities.
Gypsy needed no extra urging; she seemed to know where they were headed. Jed followed behind on Pepper, sometimes riding beside Daniel, but the cold air caught in their throats and carrying on a conversation was hardly possible anyway. Daniel grinned at him, happy to forget his cares for a while.
Dactyl trotted beside them, occasionally weaving in and out of the scrubby bushes along the way, following tiny bird tracks. Little ice crystals glistened in the air, and the horses’ hooves made sharp crunching noises on the packed snow. Ahead of them in the sky, they could see colourful sundogs stretching on either side of the sun.
“Where we headed?” Jed called out as they rounded a hill and started down a slope.
“It’s a surprise,” Daniel said, nudging Gypsy ahead of Pepper. Single file they rounded the last bend and came to the mound of branches and snow. Daniel slid from his horse, and tied her reins to a low bush just outside the entrance. Jed followed suit with Pepper.
Daniel watched Jed staring in surprise at the pile of branches and the string of old bones and cans at the entrance of the hideout. Small animal footprints crisscrossed past the opening, but otherwise there were no signs of disturbance.
“What is this?” Jed asked, poking his foot curiously at a hole he spied in the debris. He rattled the string with the bones and cans. Daniel could almost hear the questions forming in his friend’s mind.
“Come on,” he invited, dropping to his knees under the string and moving a few branches out of the way. Luckily, there had only been a light snowfall since he’d last been here.
“It’s my special hideout,” he said proudly, and crawled inside.
“Wow! So this is it!” Jed exclaimed as he followed Daniel and caught his first glimpse of the dark interior.
Daniel stood up and cleared the overhead opening so they could see better. Jed gazed around the cave, stooping to touch things as Dactyl nosed about the crannies.
“Where’d you get this stuff?” he asked, holding up the deer antlers and staring at all the containers and articles lined up along the walls.
“Just found it all over the pasture,” Daniel answered, shrugging. “Some stuff I brought from home.” He pointed to the sleeping bag, the excavation tools, and the crevice where his dinosaur book was stashed.
Jed sat down on the stump and made himself comfortable. “How long have you had this place again?”
“Since a couple of summers ago,” Daniel answered.
“No wonder you’ve kept it a secret. It’s great!” Jed sounded amazed. “Can’t believe you didn’t bring me here sooner, though.”
Daniel shrugged his shoulders apologetically. “Sorry, but a guy has to have some things totally private. Besides, I didn’t find anything really spectacular until this taculite fossil.” He pulled the rock out of his pocket and they examined it together.
“I suppose I’m not that great at keeping secrets, either,” Jed admitted.
“You’re telling me,” said Daniel, shaking his head and recalling times when Jed had let it slip about some of their plans. “We’d have made it to town on our bikes to see that Arnold Schwarzenegger movie that time, if you hadn’t told your sisters what we were up to.
”
“Heh, that was three years ago,” Jed said, laughing. “Besides our parents would have grounded us for a week if we’d actually made it.”
“The weekend was bad enough!” Daniel chided him.
“I’ve learned my lesson.”
“Okay, then, so make sure you keep this place quiet!” Daniel insisted.
“Not a problem,” Jed gave Daniel a thumbs-up sign.
Daniel pulled over the rolled-up sleeping bag and sat on it beside Jed. He might as well get right to discussing his ideas.
“Do you remember our class trip to the T-rex Discovery Centre at Eastend?” Daniel figured this was the best way to start. Several classes had travelled on a bus to the centre, which was located outside the town and built into the side of a hill. The place was huge, with all kinds of paleontological activities to do and plenty to see in the viewing gallery. They’d even gone to an active dig site.
“Sure! That was way cool,” said Jed. “That fossil-finding stuff was really neat.”
“Yeah!” Daniel agreed. “Well, I think we could do something like that here.”
“Get real,” said Jed, staring at his friend in surprise. “We don’t have anything special like the T-rex to show off.”
“But what if we did? Wouldn’t that be great?”
“Sure, but first we have to find something fantastic, then we have to convince someone to build a place.” Jed eyed Daniel curiously. “Do you know something I don’t know?”
Daniel shook his head, but he kept his eyes lowered. Keeping big secrets from his friend was going to be harder than he thought. In comparison, not telling him about the location of the hideout was easy, because there really wasn’t much to tell. But with Pederson’s discovery there was so much he wanted to discuss with Jed. It could change their whole lives.
“You’re not basing this on finding the taculite, are you?” Jed asked in a mocking tone.
Dinosaur Hideout Page 7
