by Logan Jacobs
I watched as Becka seemed to consider the idea.
“I agree with the plan.” Hae-won said.
I looked at the blonde again, and she sighed.
“Alright,” she said. “We’ll have a look around. But we still don’t have a place to go if it is clear.”
“A dorm room might be the best place right now,” I said.
“My dorm is all the way across campus,” Becka said, sounding nervous. “What am I supposed to do? I can’t go all the way across that dark field by myself. And then what if something attacks in the night?”
“My dorm is really close, you can see it from library steps.” I said. “You can stay there for now, don’t worry.”
“Can I stay, too?” Hae-won asked. “I live in the Boathouse dorms.”
Those were off the main campus, at least a fifteen-minute’s walk away.
“Yeah,” I said, “It’s probably better if we all stay together anyway, at least until we know that this thing is over.”
The girls nodded, and I saw them both relax slightly. I found their relief comforting. I knew the circumstances were terrible, but it did feel nice to be important to them.
“Okay, so that’s the plan,” I said. “We can look around nearby in case there are other students and then we hole up at my place for the night.”
“That sounds alright,” Becka agreed.
“One thing first, though,” I added. “I think we need to get some better weapons.”
“There are more chairs,” Hae-won noted.
“I don’t know,” I said. “The chances of killing another dinosaur with one of them, without getting at least a few bites or scratches, is pretty slim.”
The Asian woman nodded. “Yes, something longer then, so we won’t need to get too close.”
“That’d be good,” I agreed. “But really I’d take anything sharper or sturdier. Let’s search through the building. There has to be something here. I don’t want to go outside empty-handed.”
“What sort of thing should we look for?” the blonde asked as soon as we stepped back into the main section of the library.
“Anything really,” I replied. “Just try to think of everything you see as a possible weapon and if you think it would work better than the chair leg and then let me know.”
“Is that what they teach you in America?” Becka asked. “Just use anything as a weapon?”
I went to protest but saw she was smiling so I decided to play along with the joke instead.
“Yeah, pretty much,” I smiled. “And every school year you go up a weapon class.”
I saw her smile as she turned away, and we all started to look around the library.
“By the way, why are you two still on campus during the break?” I asked as I continued to scan the room.
The question seemed to pull them out of their thoughts for a moment.
“Well, traveling home would take a whole day.” Hae-won shrugged. “Then a day to come back. My parents don’t mind that I stay here.”
I thought there might be a story behind that but I didn’t want to pry so I asked a general question instead.
“Where do your parent’s live?” I asked.
As we talked, I went through all the materials I could see in more detail now that there were no raptors on my tail. Still, I struggled to see anything that would be a good weapon.
“Seoul, South Korea,” she replied.
“What about travelling?” I asked. “Don’t a lot of exchange students just go to Europe on the break? That’s pretty easy to do.”
“I could ask you the same question,” she said. “You’re here, too.”
She sounded a bit defensive, so I tried to lighten the mood with a small laugh.
“Yeah, you’re right,” I replied. “I guess I just didn’t think it was worth the money.” I turned my attention to Becka, who stood a few paces away. “You’re British, though, right? How come you didn’t go home for the holiday?”
“I guess I didn’t think it worth the money either,” She said. “My Mum and I aren’t very religious. Didn’t think I’d bother travelling four hours for a few chocolate eggs.”
“Fair enough,” I said.
“I would have travelled to Europe, I guess,” Hae-won sighed. “But that stupid idiot waited too long to dump me.”
I raised an eyebrow at her comment, but I knew better than to say anything. Still, I noted to myself that she was single and figured she must be right to call her ex an idiot. Who in their right mind would dump someone as stunning and bold as her?
“That’s the trouble with men,” Becka said, “Most of them are right idiots.” She quickly turned toward me. “No offense. I mean, you don’t seem like an idiot.”
“None taken,” I grinned at her, “I might even have to agree with you.”
The brown-eyed woman just smiled and shook her head before heading deeper into the library.
I decided to head back up to the top level while they searched the first floor, just in case there was something I had missed there last time. When I reached the top of the stairs, the organic smell of the two dead raptors hit me like a ton of bricks. I hadn’t noticed it before, but after being outside in the fresh air, there was no mistaking it. Books were scattered in every direction and I could see all the way across the top level to the back of the library. The girls had really done a thorough job in knocking over the bookshelves.
I looked down the balcony into the first floor. Becka and Hae-won were down there picking through different objects and talking to each other. Hae-won’s silky hair swayed around her as she moved, and I saw her brush some of it back and tuck it behind her ear.
I was too far away to hear them, but a small part of me wondered if they could be talking about me. Normally I wouldn’t think either of them would give me the time of day, but I had just saved their lives. If that didn’t give me at least a slight advantage, I’m not sure what would.
It didn’t seem like we were having much luck in finding any weapons, though, and I really needed to find something, so I turned my attention away from the two women and toward the balcony itself. There were vertical wooden poles holding the banister, and they looked like they might be a good bludgeoning tool, so I wrapped my hands around them and gave them a shake. The British did have one thing going for them: solid construction. The balcony didn’t give at all, so I would need to find something else.
The rest of the top level turned up nothing. I went back down stairs and checked near the doors, and I spotted a fire alarm that gave me an idea.
“A fire axe,” I said to myself.
“What?” Hae-won asked. She was standing nearby and started over toward me.
“Sometimes places have emergency fire axes, in case there’s a fire and you can’t get through the door to escape,” I explained.
“We don’t really have those,” Becka said as she joined us.
“No?” I asked. “Not at all?”
“I mean, a few places, but it’s not common,” she snickered. “We can’t just leave axes sitting around like you yanks and your assault rifles.”
I sighed, I liked London, but they did tend to over regulate things. I had been beyond amazed when one of my British friends told me they weren’t even allowed to carry mace since it was considered a firearm. That combined with the city's near total security camera coverage, CCTV, made me wonder how they managed to keep the crime rate so high.
“Did you two find anything?” I asked.
They both shook their heads, and I tried not to feel too disappointed.
“What about that room?” I asked and pointed to a thin door next to the front desk. “Did either of you look in there?”
“No.” Hae-won said.
Becka shook her head again.
I went over to the door which, thankfully, was far enough away from the desk itself that I could avoid looking at it.
It wasn’t locked, so I opened it to reveal a small maintenance closet. There were a few brooms and mop
s, a mop bucket, cleaning cloths, dusters, and a shelf stocked with extra paper towels and soap. There were also various colorful plastic bottles that gave off a chemical scent. I guessed they were different types of cleaning liquids.
I got excited when I spotted a tool box in the corner. I pulled it out and looked through the contents, but as I looked my face fell. It was a small basic set of tools. There was a box of nails, a hammer, duct tape, two screwdrivers, scissors, and a couple wrenches. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, maybe something more like a high powered nail gun.
“Did you find something?” Hae-won asked.
She sounded hopeful, and I hated to disappoint her, but I shook my head.
“No, not really,” I said.
I placed the tool box on the ground, looked back in the closet again, and saw there was a thin plastic blue rope coiled up on the ground. I pulled that out and started wrapping it up around my arm. There was a good amount of it, and I figured it could help secure the door of my dorm at least.
When I had the rope wrapped up around my arm, I looked back at the closet. I stared at the brooms and mops and thought of something that might work. Hadn’t Hae-won said something about needing a longer weapon so we wouldn’t get as close?
“Grab some of those mops,” I said.
Hae-won was by the door and she passed me one. I felt it, considering if it would work. This one was plastic and seemed durable. The broom and another mop had a wooden handle that should be fairly strong as well.
“I think we can use these to make spears,” I said.
I turned the mop over and looked at the plastic handle. It seemed like it just unscrewed, so I handed it to Hae-won and grabbed the wooden mop.
“See if you can unscrew that top for me,” I told her and started to look at the top of the other mop. This one had a metal connector, but I gave it a sharp tug and it came off in my hand. I passed that handle to Becka and grabbed the broom. The top of that came off just as easily and in no time we had three long spear handles.
“How are these going to be spears?” Becka asked. “Are we going to sharpen them or something?”
“Well, that’s a good idea but all we have here are a pair of scissors.” I said. “It would take us way too long to sharpen these that way. I have a couple pocket knives back in my dorm we can use, but until then, I have another idea.”
“What is it?” The dark haired woman asked.
I reached into the toolbox and pulled out the duct tape.
“You know how one of the raptors went through the window?” I asked. “I bet there are a ton of glass shards in the grass where he fell. We can find some sharp pieces and tape them to the ends.”
“Are you sure that will work?” Becka asked. “What if the glass breaks, or the tape isn’t strong enough?”
“I guess the glass might break, but if it breaks while we’re using it to attack a dinosaur, it will probably still cut them,” I replied after I considered her question. “You saw how the window glass tore it up. If we can get at least one good, deep stab in, we’ll be in a lot better position.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” The blonde said.
“And we can at least sharpen the wooden ones once we get back to the dorm,” I offered. “Those will be more sturdy.”
“I think it’s a good plan,” Hae-won said. “I’d like to be able to stab them.”
She smiled at me, but I wasn’t sure right away if she was just being honest or morbidly comedic. I could see from her outfit that she liked to dress on the gothic side, but not so much that it was obvious.
“Stabbing would be nice,” I agreed.
“We’ll have to look at that horrible dead thing, though,” Becka said.
“Yeah, but we can be quick,” I countered.
“I’d like to see it up close,” Hae-won said. “If it is a dinosaur, don’t you want to know what it’s like?”
“Yeah, I guess,” I agreed. “If it isn’t crushed or anything, it could be interesting. I mean, how many people have actually seen something like that up close?”
“Well, wayyyyyy more today than yesterday,” the blonde added.
“Yes, that is true,” Hae-won said. “But they could be all gone tomorrow.”
“I bloody hope so,” Becka said. “I wonder if it’s just London or if this is happening all over England?”
“From the news on the phone, it seems like it’s happening in the major cities,” I said, “But I didn’t look at a bunch of articles, so I’m not sure. When we get to my dorm, we can look on my computer.”
“I think I should call my mum soon to check in,” Becka said.
“Yeah, you can do that when we get in the dorm and barricade it for the night,” I reminded.
“Okay, fine,” Becka agreed. “Let’s just make the spears and get there quick, then.”
We agreed, and I collected our bags, the handles, rope, and tape and headed for the front door. I considered bringing the tool box with me but it was heavy, despite the lack of tools, and I guessed I knew where to find it if we needed it for something later on.
I saw Becka cringe as she edged around the front desk and into the lobby. The top was still coated in a layer of blood, and the sight sent a shiver down my spine even though I didn’t see his body from this angle.
I looked out through the glass of the library doors and scanned the grounds for any more of the dinosaurs. As far as I could see there was no sign of them.
But that didn’t mean there weren’t any.
I motioned for the girls to stay by the doors, opened the door slowly, and checked left and right as I leaned out. Four large pillars lined the entrance to the library, and I stepped toward the nearest one and put my side to it as I edged around the column for a better view. The other side was clear, so I exhaled a long breath of relief.
I took a few steps out into the paved square that led to the library and listened for anything that was out of place. I could hear a few sirens far off in the distance, but aside from that, it was quiet. Cambridge wasn’t normally a loud place, especially during Easter break, but I had still expected something.
I gave the buildings a more detailed scan and checked the shadows for anything that might be lurking there. In front of me, I saw the field between a row of classroom buildings and the art gallery, and both buildings were all dark and locked up for the break. As far as I could see there was nothing unusual about the building either, and the field between them was empty and looked the same as it always had. To the right there was another columned building like the library, but it also looked closed and empty.
Back across to the left, the heavy stone bricks of my dorm building rose up. It looked quiet, and I couldn't see a single light there. I guessed that shouldn’t surprise me since for half a week I’d stayed there without seeing a single other person.
I looked back to the library and gestured for the girls to come out. They stepped through the doors cautiously and looked in every direction like I had. When they didn’t see anything else, they seemed to relax and continued forward to meet me.
“Is it clear?” Becka asked.
“Yeah, I think so,” I replied. “I can’t see any sign of the creatures or any other people.”
“It looks the same,” Hae-won said.
I knew what she meant. Even though we were in a crazy situation, the buildings, heavily manicured lawns, clean white pavement, all of it was still there and looked just as perfect as it had before. Anyone who looked at it would hardly believe anything had happened.
“Should we look for more people?” Becka asked. “Once we get the glass for the spears, I mean.”
I thought about it for a moment. “Do either of you know anyone else on campus right now?” I asked.
They both shook their heads.
“I’ve been alone here this week,” the dark haired woman replied.
“Yeah.” Becka nodded. “To be honest, I was starting to think I was the only student staying on campus over break until
I saw you two in the library today.”
“I haven’t seen anyone until today, either,” I said. “Maybe we should do a brief lap around the buildings close by just in case, but I don’t think it’s worth wasting too much time searching.”
They agreed, and we started forwards and continued around the side of the building. Before we turned the corner, Hae-won took out her phone and switched on the front light and scanned it over the solid faces of the surrounding buildings and along some of the paths.
“There’s nothing around here,” She said before quickly switching the light off again.
There were no lights on in any of the buildings around the square. In fact, the only light we could see was coming from the library.
“Let’s do a lap around the square as soon as we have these weapons,” I said. “That way if there is anyone around here it will give them a chance to see us and come up to us. Also we can use the building at the far corner as cover to take a look at the main quad area.”
There was no way I was going into the main quad while it was this dark, but it unnerved me to have that big of an open space out there as a mystery. Even if I couldn’t see the whole field or search much of it, I knew I would feel better if I at least took a look.
I turned my attention away from the square and back to the side of the library. Luckily, we didn’t need the phone light to guide us to the right spot, since light poured out of the side windows and illuminated the surroundings. We couldn’t see much of the grass, but the glow from the windows made me feel better somehow, safer.
We walked along the grass trying to spot where the raptor and broken window were. None of us could see it to start out with. I wondered if we had somehow gotten the wrong side of the building and I ran through the event again. It was definitely this side that he fell from.
I looked up and started scanning the windows on the second level. They looked the same for the most part, but about three fourths of the way down I saw a curtain flutter in one of them. I looked closer, it was the broken window and I guessed the wind must be blowing the curtain.
“That window,” I pointed up at it. “That’s where it broke through.”
The girls agreed and we started heading toward the spot on the ground that the raptor must have fallen.
