The aviraptor opened its mouth and hissed, teeth flashing in the sun. The sound sent a shiver of primordial fear down his spine. It kicked in the dirt again, its feathered red crest rising, powerful legs spreading to widen its stance, head lowering on its long serpentine neck, thick tail stiffening behind it.
“Come on,” Kai said softly.
It burst into motion almost faster than his eyes could track. One moment it was stationary, the next it was a feathered blur sprinting towards him, forearms raised, talons clutching, jaw stretched wide enough to fit over his skull. A base part of his brain took all this in and screamed at him to run, to turn and flee, find the nearest tree and scurry up it where this monster couldn’t follow.
Jaw tight, Kai ignored that screaming voice and instead widened his own stance, spread his arms as if hugging a boulder, drew a deep breath, and let out a bellowing roar. It echoed across the arena, drowning out the voice of the crowd, nearly tearing his throat as it came out of him.
The aviraptor came stumbling to a halt only four or five meters away. It raised its angular head, turning it from side to side, large yellow eyes watching him. It actually looked confused. Good. Kai didn’t look away, held its gaze and tried to look as big as possible. He took an exaggerated step forward, shouting again. The aviraptor’s head bobbed on its sinuous neck, and it took a step back.
I can’t believe this is working. Now all he had to do was keep it up long enough for Rick to get here.
He took another step forward and gave another shout. The aviraptor backed up, crest flattening, looking cowed. Around him, the crowd was voicing its disapproval, booing and hissing. Bottles and bits of stone began to rain down into the arena. Kai ignored it, even as he felt heavy objects bounce off his back. Looking away from the aviraptor now seemed like a very bad idea --
Estelle gave a cry of pain, and -- despite himself -- Kai glanced around. She had fallen in the dirt and was holding her head, blood trickling through her fingers.
Shit.
A hiss drew his attention forward. The aviraptor was no longer looking at him, its yellow eyes now focused on Estelle, nostrils flaring. “Hey!” Kai shouted, lunging to the side to put himself between animal and woman. “Me! Look at me!”
The aviraptor focused on him, but now it didn’t seem quite as intimidated. A bottle struck his right shoulder, shattering, and he felt it cut his skin. Warm blood began to trickle down his arm. The aviraptor’s crest flared once more.
“Ok,” Kai said in a soothing voice, trying for a different tactic. “Let’s just --”
It charged him, again bursting into motion with terrifying speed. It closed the gap before Kai could think to do much more than dig his heels in and brace for the pain, raising both arms --
It was like being clobbered by a truck. The full weight of the aviraptor hit him, knocking the air from his lungs, and Kai felt himself being lifted off his feet like snow before a plow. Instinctively he reached out, hands grasping for that serpentine neck. He caught it just below the jaw in a tight grip and could do little more than hold on as the aviraptor continued to charge, barely slowed by its collision with him.
For the second time the breath was forced from him as his back slammed into the arena wall. He slid down it, still gripping the aviraptor’s neck, then was lifted back up as it bucked and began to thrash. It was like trying to hold an anaconda at bay. From head to tail, this thing was all muscle. Its snout jerked forward, jaws snapping at him, hot stinking breath washing over his face. Pressed against the wall, his boots dangling nearly a foot off the ground, it took all of his focus to keep that head at bay, keep those jaws from taking a chunk out of his abdomen. The forearms scrabbled at him, talons slicing through his shirt and into his flesh.
Kai yelled against the pain. He raised his legs, bringing his knees to his chest and lashing out with a powerful kick. He managed to push those swiping talons away, but the aviraptor gave its head a snap, slamming his skull back against the wall. Kai blinked away stars. His chest was burning from a dozen lacerations and his arms were turning rubbery. He couldn’t hold back those snapping jaws forever.
Then the aviraptor did something unexpected -- it took a step back. Kai fell to the ground, landing on his feet, and stumbled forward. Immediately the aviraptor lunged, and he fell into its embrace and towards those jaws. Without thinking Kai raised his right forearm and jammed it between rows of razor-sharp teeth. Pain exploded up to his shoulder. It felt as if he’d just thrown his arm into a wood chipper -- but at least it wasn’t his face.
His own teeth clenched so hard they might shatter; he risked another kick at the aviraptor’s flank. His boot connected, but the muscle felt like concrete against his foot, and the animal barely reacted.
It bit down on his arm, and he felt bone crack. Kai let himself scream, and then cut off as the aviraptor began to snap its head back and forth in the same way Amy did when killing her favorite toy. Only this time, he was the toy.
He was very nearly thrown from his feet. The aviraptor shook its head, growling around his forearm, which was coated in foamy, bloody lather and had gone blessedly numb. A moment later he felt his shoulder pop out of its socket and his own head was flopping back and forth, his brain scrambling. Any more of this and his neck would snap.
He raised his free arm and began to punch the thing in the face, aiming for its globular eye. He only landed one or two hits, but it must have been enough, because suddenly he was free and flying through the air. Kai hit the ground hard and rolled. It was hard to tell when he came to a stop, because the world kept spinning. Through his deranged vision he caught glimpses of the aviraptor turning in circles, one forearm swiping at its own eye.
Get up.
It was a very tall order, with the world spinning like that. The arm that had been in the aviraptor’s mouth felt less useful than a sock full of gummy worms, so he pushed himself up with the other one. He lost his balance, fell on his face, then tried again. The spinning was starting to slow. He could hear the aviraptor making hoarse coughing sounds.
At least he wasn’t the only one having a shitty day.
The ground began to shake, and he turned his head just in time to see it charging him once more.
Kai flipped onto his back and lashed a bicycle kick up just as its enormous shadow loomed over him. His heel connected beneath its jaw and the aviraptor did a half-pirouette to the side, one of its massive feet just missing his face as it went stomping past. Again came that coughing sound, but he knew he didn’t have much time.
“Get. Up,” he hissed, forcing himself onto his feet. The crowd was roaring in approval. Apparently he was giving them their money’s worth.
The aviraptor had already come around. Rather than charge him, it began to stalk to the right, regarding him cautiously, every so often giving another hoarse cough. He’d given it something to think about. Kai moved in the opposite direction, not letting it get around him. Blood soaked his shirt and dripped from his arm, which hung limp at his side. From the corner of his eye he could see the skin was shredded like hamburger, a stark white bit of bone protruding from the flesh. He’d compartmentalized the pain, but there wasn’t much he could do for the lightheadedness that was starting to wash over him.
“Come on,” he panted. “What d’you say we just -- just call it a day?”
As if it could understand him, the aviraptor shook its head. It looked away from him, focusing on something to the right. He glanced that way and saw Estelle standing with her back against the arena wall.
“Hey!” But his voice was weak, and the aviraptor had decided he wasn’t worth the trouble. Its red crest flared up like a sail as it sprinted towards her.
* * *
A great many unexpected things had happened on this trip, but out of all of them, being charged by a living dinosaur still managed to register as a surprise to Estelle.
She froze. Her brain simply seized up like an old combustion engine. She’d ridden with smugglers, jumped a train, and hiked into
a warzone, but this was simply too much. Run, she told herself, but she couldn’t move. There was nowhere to go, only solid metal behind her. Even if she could run, she couldn’t outrun this thing -- it was too fast.
It’ll be quick, she told herself, staring into those jaws, remembering how it had manhandled Kai, who had an easy hundred pounds on her, even as another part of her stubbornly refused to believe that this was the end, insisted that this was a dream, a simulation, anything but reality, the end of her life, the moment the world and the universe and everything was simply going to stop.
It was on her. She felt its hot breath on her skin and finally screamed.
The angular head snapped forward, and Estelle could do nothing but flinch back against the wall and squeeze her eyes shut, as if that would make the monster go away. Her entire body tensed.
It never came.
She opened her eyes as the crowd gave a collective sigh. The aviraptor was struggling towards her, long neck fully extended, jaws snapping and splattering her with saliva -- but it couldn’t move.
Behind it stood Kai, teeth bared in a grimace, his one good arm wrapped around the aviraptor’s tail. He was on his heels, leaning fully backwards to keep it from reaching her.
“Go,” she heard him grunt.
Her brain clunked into gear and she danced to the left, sucking in her stomach to avoid those snapping jaws. She ran, following the wall, knowing there was nowhere to go. Her breath was coming in great ragged gasps and tiny lights were flashing in her vision.
Estelle came to a halt. She had reached the arena entrance. The gate was shut, a padlocked chain in place to keep it from being opened until the show was over. For a moment she contemplated climbing it, but the top was lined with razor wire and two guards stood behind it. One of them was the man wearing her glasses. Faces leered down at her from atop the wall, and a guard jabbed playfully with his long cattle prod.
There was no way out.
Then stop running.
She wasn’t sure where the voice had come from, but it made her turn back to face the arena. Kai was on the ground again, wrestling with the aviraptor. It was standing over him, and as she watched one of those large toe claws sank into his stomach. He screamed in pain.
Estelle stared, frozen. I have to do something. But what? He’d barely managed to stand up to the aviraptor; what hope did she have?
Kai’s motions were growing weaker. He was holding those jaws at bay, but she knew it wouldn’t last, couldn’t last.
Turning on the spot, she looked desperately for help she knew wouldn’t come. The guards on the other side of the gate called at her in a language she couldn’t understand. Voices shouted down from above, whistling and catcalling. The long cattle prod jabbed in her direction again.
Estelle stared up at it. Then, as if she had always intended to do so, she dashed forward and began to climb the gate.
“Hey!” One of the guards started forward, waving his rifle. “Get down!”
“Leave her,” said the other, laughter in his voice. “Where’s she going to go?”
Estelle ignored them, climbing higher. In the distance she could hear the awful growls of the aviraptor. Kai had stopped screaming. Come on, she thought. Come on, do it --
Sparks erupted from beside her head. It took all her focus to not flinch away and lose her grip. Glancing up, Estelle saw the guard waving his cattle prod and grinning. Egged on by the crowd, he jabbed it at her again, striking the gate near her right hand. More sparks flew, some burning her face. Any closer and the current would probably travel through the metal and into her body.
Come on.
He struck again. Estelle let go of the gate in the same instant, grabbed the end of the prod with both hands -- just above the prongs -- and fell backwards.
There was a moment of resistance, and then a shout as the guard was pulled from his perch, got tangled in razor wire and dragging coils of it down with him. Estelle hit the ground hard, landing on her back. Gasping, she rolled to the side as the guard fell beside her. He’d lost his grip in the fall, but she hadn’t. Coughing and wheezing for breath, eyes full of tears, she scrambled to her feet. The guard was groaning in pain, legs caught in the wire, but his eyes were on her. They were full of anger. She saw one hand moving to the holster on his hip.
Without thinking, she flipped the cattle prod around and jabbed it into his chest. The guard went rigid, spasming, the pistol flying from his grip. On the other side of the gate, the soldiers were shouting. Estelle ignored them. Hefting the cattle prod into a proper grip, she turned and sprinted back into the arena.
The aviraptor had Kai’s arm in its mouth again and was shaking its head as if to tear it free. The man lay motionless on the ground.
“Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead,” Estelle heard herself pant as she ran.
Don’t think about the dinosaur, don’t think about the cattle prod. It’s just another attacker on the lacrosse pitch -- just another player to squash.
She was feet away when the aviraptor turned towards her. It opened its mouth to hiss, Kai’s arm dropping like a boned fish. She shoved the cattle prod right down its throat.
Sparks flew and her nostrils filled with the scent of burning flesh. The aviraptor jerked backwards, coughing and screeching. That sound struck something deep at the base of her brain, making her want to get as far away as possible. Instead Estelle moved forward, standing protectively over Kai’s body where the aviraptor had been. She raised the cattle prod in both hands, holding it like a spear, and jabbed. “Go! Get back!”
The aviraptor danced away, yowling at her reproachfully. Estelle’s heart felt ready to burst, but she felt a savage thrill of satisfaction. She took a step forward, lunging again with the prod. The aviraptor leapt out of reach, determined not to be shocked again.
Shaking its head, it trotted away, back towards its container. It crouched down before the closed door and tucked its head beneath its arm, apparently ready to return to its cage.
The crowd was booing, but she ignored them, instead turning her attention to the man below her. Kai’s eyes were closed, his face splattered with foam and blood, his beard tacky with it. More was seeping through the tatters of his shirt. The arm that had now been twice chewed barely resembled a limb anymore, the hand as broken as a stepped-on spider.
She dropped to a crouch and pressed a hand against his thick neck. There was a pulse, faint but there. She wasn’t sure what that counted for right now, but it flooded her with relief nonetheless.
I just fought off a dinosaur. With the thought came a manic, bubbling feeling, and she began to laugh.
A rattling sound made her turn, and the laughter died in her throat. Three soldiers were hurrying towards her, the two who had guarded the gate and the one she had stolen the cattle prod from. All three bore rifles. None of them looked particularly impressed by her display.
She stood, raising the cattle prod defensively. As if it would do anything against the guns trained on her. “Drop it!” shouted the nearest soldier.
“Why?” She hadn’t meant to say that, and the question seemed to catch the soldiers off guard. Estelle continued, babbling now. “Why? What happens if I do? Do you let me and my friends go? Do I get to go home? Does all of this end? Tell me! Why?!”
The soldiers glanced at each other. “Drop the weapon,” one said.
She shook her head, panting. “I don’t think so.” The sight of her glasses on that soldier’s face lit a spark of anger inside her. “I think I’m done with this shit. I just fought a dinosaur, man.”
None of the soldiers looked impressed, but they seemed less certain. Perhaps nobody had ever gotten this far before.
They began to advance on her.
* * *
Booker had been given a front-row seat to the spectacle, brought to the top of the arena wall to a section removed from the rest of the spectators and held at gunpoint, made to watch as the aviraptor savaged Villeneuve. The man put up an impressive fight, but
the conclusion seemed inevitable. Bit by bit, the animal wore him down.
Harsh as it was, Booker realized he was only rooting for Villeneuve because the man was keeping the aviraptor from attacking Estelle. When it grew tired of fighting him and instead turned towards her, Booker rushed forward, nearly tripping into the coils of razor wire that topped the wall.
“No!”
His captors grabbed him by the arms and dragged him back. Booker struggled, but it was no use. Immobile, he watched as the aviraptor lunged at a clearly-paralyzed Estelle. He wanted to close his eyes but also didn’t, because it would feel like betraying her, like leaving her alone, and the thought of doing that was somehow worse than the prospect of witnessing her death.
Then Villeneuve, somehow moving faster than anyone in his condition had a right to, was on the aviraptor, dragging it backwards, and Estelle was running, and Booker was cheering. When she climbed the gate he cheered again, even though he knew it was hopeless, even though he knew she wouldn’t be allowed to escape.
And when she snagged the cattle prod from the guard, and actually charged the aviraptor, he felt a mingled swelling of pride and fear like he’d never known before. And when the animal retreated, Booker allowed himself to think -- to hope -- that everything might be ok.
And then the gate opened, and the soldiers entered.
“No.” It came out as a grunt, as if he’d been punched in the stomach. “No, that’s not fair.” Behind him, his guards snickered. Booker rounded on them. “That’s not fair! She won!”
They were laughing openly now, exchanging amused glances, rifles held casually at their sides.
Rage flared in Booker’s breast. His hands curled into fists, and he took a step forward. The laughter died immediately, both men raising their weapons. Booker stared down the barrels, knowing it would be foolish to do anything. Even if they hadn’t been armed, he was in no condition for a two-on-one fight. Hell, outside of sparring in the gym at Quantico, he’d never actually been in a fight.
Useless. A burning, twisting sense of powerlessness flooded his gut, the same choking sensation he’d felt as Jane Baum began to die in that hotel room. Only this was worse, because this was Estelle.
A Covenant of Thieves Page 40
