by Dan Thomas
Abe lunged forward as Pez commanded the Abelisaur to run. Max frowned as he watched his friend pull away. He wanted to say something to Sam and Chopsticks, he was certain that they had heard the conversation, and he was sure that Pez knew they had, too.
His train of thought was interrupted as Lis, sensing a chase, lowered her head and raced forward, ignoring Max’s command to slow down as he bounced around like a sack of potatoes.
“Okay, Lis. I know you want to keep up with Abe. But if you don’t slow down, I’m gonna fall off.” He gripped tightly with his legs while his fingers ached from holding onto the front of the saddle.
“There’s no use talking to Lis like that,” Chopsticks, who had been quiet since Pez showed up, said sharply. “You know what she’s like when she gets riled up.”
Max focused and commanded Lis to slow. She did, a little. At least enough for Murf to readjust his position. But she was resisting his commands.
As Abe plowed forward farther into the plains, putting some distance between them, Max could feel the dinosaur coiling like a spring, snapping at the air in frustration as he kept telling her to stay slow.
Once seated more securely, he urged her forward, only this time he was in control. Using the weight of his body and mental commands, he caught up with Pez who had slowed to a jog.
“What kept you?” Pez asked.
“I was trying to not fall off.” Max gritted his teeth as he bounced around. Lis’ jog was worse than her flat-out run.
“You’ll manage, it’s just like riding a bike, right?” Pez didn’t seem interested in Max’s near-death experience. “Look.” Pez pointed with his spear toward a small group of trees surrounded by grassland. “Ready to get some fletchings for those arrows?”
“What are those?” Max shielded his eyes as he stared into the distance. He could see flashes of color dancing over the treetops. “Microraptors?” he answered his own question.
“Yep, they’re small enough even for Murf to kill.” Pez flashed his teeth at Max. “If you can catch one.”
Pez and Abe set off for the tree line where a myriad of birds rose in great flocks, shifting as one over the trees as they tried to avoid being preyed on by the little feathered Microraptors, which leaped from tree to tree in search of food. The animals inhabited a strange niche in terms of evolution. They were like a missing link between the dinosaurs and birds that inhabited Primeva, and once upon a time, the Earth.
Max concentrated on keeping control of Lis as she attempted to follow Abe. He could feel her eagerness.
“I’m in control.” Max gave Lis the command to run. She leaped forward, chasing after Abe.
Max ducked down low like a jockey as Lis sprinted across the open land toward the trees, her long gait of pounding footsteps eating through the distance. While the Abelisaurs didn’t have anywhere near the speed of the raptors, the height and lunging stride made it feel somehow more rapid.
Some way ahead, Pez approached the tree line and veered to the left, ducking low over Abe’s neck as they entered the trees. If Max couldn’t bag himself a kill here, he might as well quit now.
Abe slipped through the tight-knit cluster of slender trunks, heading into the copse. As Max approached, he could see that almost all of the trees were Wa-Kau trees. Some player or creature had dropped a fruit some time ago, and the prolific trees had spread into a small colony which stood out in stark contrast to the endless grass and open sky.
The Wa-Kau frequently grew new fruit this time of year, which explained why the flocks of birds had taken up residence, which in turn had attracted the colorful, gliding Microraptors.
“Did you know that the way Microraptors glide from perch to perch in a U shape is called a phugoid flight?” Chopsticks asked over comms.
“Do you think about anything other than dinosaur facts?” Pez answered to Max’s surprise.
“Nope! Glad you’re on the voice call now, Pez, you can listen to more of my dino facts,” Chopsticks chuckled. “Come on, Murf. Get your spear out and let’s skewer one of these suckers.”
“Let’s get farther in first,” Pez suggested. “Let them settle down and then we’ll hunt.” His voice sounded directly into Max’s ear. They were far enough away from each other they’d have to shout over the sound of the dinos running, so it made sense that he’d finally switched to Jabber.
“We’re not using stealth mode?” Max asked as he approached the trees, Lis slowed her run.
“Stealth mode?” Pez asked dubiously. “You do know you’re no longer in Gyromeda?”
“I meant are we hunting from the ground or are we staying on Abe and Lis?” Max sensed an undercurrent of tension remained but at times like this, it was best to move on and not talk about it. Pez would get over it as soon as he’d skewered a Microraptor or two.
Lis squeezed between the trunks of the Wa-Kau trees. Up ahead Max could see the gunmetal-gray body and pale-yellow head of Abe, with Pez seated backward on top of him watching for Max.
“Since you’re so low level and you’re easy prey for almost everything that walks the Primeva earth, we’ll hunt from up here,” Pez called over and patted Abe’s scaly back, before spinning around to face forward again, turning his attention to the thin canopy above them.
Max copied his movement and turned his face upward toward the green leaves, pocked with spots of deep blue, the fruit of the Wa-Kau tree. Throughout the canopy above there were specks of color darting between branches as little birds landed on the fruit, took a few mouthfuls, and then took flight again.
Every so often, there was a larger flash of color as the feathered, four-winged Microraptors, no bigger than three feet in length, sailed between trees, snatching at the flocks of birds.
Max had visions of Murf dangling from a tree branch while being pecked at by a hundred hungry Microraptors. It was the Coelophysis all over again, but this time they could fly.
Focusing his mind, he asked Lis to pull up next to Abe.
Breathing heavily from running, she walked up next to the other dino, the space between the trees giving her just enough room to move. He then gave her a command to step to the right, she obeyed. Then he asked her to back up. She obeyed.
“What are you doing, a dance?” Pez asked in amusement, watching him over his shoulder.
“Yeah, you know what I’m like on the dance floor, so I thought we’d practice our skillz.” Max grinned as Pez rolled his eyes. “This is all new to Murf. Hunting through trees on the back of a dinosaur is not going to go smoothly. Especially if Lis decides she knows better.”
Pez raised his eyebrows and smirked. “Let’s find out.”
Abe lunged forward on command and Pez hefted his spear above his head and took aim at a group of Microraptors who had descended on a large flock of birds that were devouring the Wa-Kau as if they hadn’t eaten for weeks. In his head, he could hear Chopsticks giving him a talk about how the Archaeopteryx birds were some of the earliest discovered birds in history and had flown halfway across Primeva just to eat the Wa-Kau fruit before they left to fly to the islands in the Lariosaur region to nest and raise their young away from the dinosaurs who stuck mainly to the more vegetated areas of mainland Primeva.
Max sure wished Chopsticks was on this hunt with him instead of Pez, who seemed to have something to prove.
Pushing the thoughts aside, he urged Lis forward, ducking under a low branch as she attempted to follow Abe. Max regained control and took her to the left of Pez. With his spear raised in his hand, Max waited for his Crewmate to make his move, guiding Liz farther into the copse, where he hoped the Microraptors would flee once provoked.
Without asking Abe to stop jogging forward, Pez drew his spear back with his right hand and aimed with his left arm as the Microraptors came into range. Pez launched his spear at the small avian dinos up in the trees as they ambushed the birds on the fruit. Max saw the spear pierce one of the Microraptors. As their crumpled body fell toward the floor through the branches, the spear kept flying, landing
some twenty feet away with a dull thud.
As the startled Microraptors wheeled in the air and flew away from their attacker, Max positioned Lis directly in the path of their retreat. He could feel her weight shift as she raised her head to watch the dinos coming toward them, diving and then pitching up again between the branches overhead.
Raising his spear, Max watched as the dinos flew toward him in panic. Drawing his arm back, he aimed his spear right into the center of the retreating birds and threw it with all his strength.
“Gotcha!” The spear flew up toward the group of fifteen or so Microraptors. Squinting, Max saw the tip collide with the body of one of the dinos, sending it twirling toward the ground.
It fell from the air to land limply at Lis’ feet, his spear bouncing away from the impact.
Lis looked down at it with curiosity and sniffed the carcass before opening her mouth ready to swallow the bite-sized meal.
“It’s not snack time,” Max warned.
Lis snapped her long sharp teeth together and raised her head with a low grumble as Max commanded her to leave his kill on the ground.
“You did it!” Pez bounced over on Abe, his own feathered kill draped over the front of his saddle. Swinging his leg over the back of his saddle, Pez slid down to the ground, grabbed the limp Microraptor by the tail, and reached for Max’s spear, handing them up to Max who lay down on Lis’ neck to reach them.
“Nice,” Pez said as Max grabbed his kill and his weapon.
“Thanks.” Max looked up at the trees as the birds continued to feed hungrily. “Enjoy your meal, birds.”
“Come on, let’s get moving.” Pez looked around the small clump of trees. “I wouldn’t be surprised if someone saw us enter the trees. Two large dinosaurs wedging themselves into a small group of woods is going to look suspicious.”
“What’s wrong? Don’t think we’d be able to take on anyone who comes in after us?” Max asked, feeling good about the day’s events. At least so far.
“I’m afraid we might not be able to take on anyone who comes after us. And that I might have to waste another night running around after Murf.” Pez vaulted up the ladder and onto Abe before pushing his mount on to leave the trees. Max followed close behind with his spear in his hand, ready for an opportunistic kill if one arose. It didn’t.
“We can head out into the wider open plain and then pluck the feathers from the dinos and finish the arrows.” Pez’s tone had returned to normal, their earlier conversation about Jag and Max’s visit to Gyromeda seemingly forgotten for now.
They quickly made it to the edge of the trees, back onto the open plains, where land met sky. Some way behind them was the jungle that grew around the river Max had ridden on the raft. The same jungle extended toward their left, bordering the plains. In front was nothing but horizon for miles, only punctured by the vague shapes of herds of dinosaurs moving across the open land. The wide expanse sent a shiver of excitement through Max, this was home, the prehistoric world he loved, and somewhere in the distance, beyond that horizon, was their base.
“Race ya!” Max gave the command to Lis and the dinosaur sprang forward leaving Pez behind. He ducked down and held onto the saddle as Lis lengthened her pace, each stride eating up the distance between Max and their home.
The thundering sound of heavy footfalls behind him told him that Pez was hot on his tail. But Lis was going flat out, her neck fully outstretched as she ran across the grass. The air ruffled his hair and a sense of freedom hit him. Behind him, Pez whooped loudly as Abe followed behind Lis. Max could almost forget he was in Murf’s body and not his usual Holic character.
Until Lis stumbled and Max nearly flew off sideways. Awkwardly gripping the saddle with his spear still in one hand, he asked her to slow down to a jog and then a walk. “This do?” Max called over his shoulder as Pez caught him up.
“Sure, they’ll be able to move at this speed for some time. All we need to do first is stop long enough to pluck the feathers and attach them to the arrows.” Pez scanned the plains around them.
“Right now?” Max asked.
Pez shrugged. “It’s as good a time and place as any.”
“And you’re just going to sit and watch?” Max asked as Lis came to a stop. He dismounted by climbing down the saddle ladder and told Lis to stay put.
Max untied the arrows from his belt and placed them on the ground.
“You need the experience, not me.” Pez jumped down off Abe and untied a spare bag from around the saddle rig. Placing it down on the ground, he dug around inside for some food and water. “I’ll just sit here and supervise, there’s not much else I can do unless you want me to do it for you.”
“It’s all right, this shouldn’t take long.” Max went to Lis and pulled the Microraptor from her back.
Laying the dead beast on the ground, he spread out its four limbs as best as possible before rigor mortis set in. The Microraptor looked almost like a cross between a bat and an eagle, but instead of two wings like a bat, its legs had feathers stretching across them as well, making a second pair of wings, while its tail was wide and flat, also completely feathered.
Max ran his hands over the coarse wings, feeling the larger, stiffer flight feathers.
With a short, sharp rhythm he plucked the feathers one at a time and set them aside. Max plucked more than he needed and placed them inside his bag, so he had a good supply for later use.
Using his scraper, Max split a handful of the feathers in half, switching the blunt scraper he had been using for a sharper flint flake after ruining more than one of the feathers. Then, holding the half against the shaft of an arrow, he tied it on with some of the cordage he had left from what he’d made at the riverside. It was a little awkward to hold three of the half feathers in place around the shaft of the arrow while he wound the grass cordage around the split quills, but he managed it without too much difficulty. He tied the line off in a tight knot, then ran his fingers along them to check they would stay in place and that they would help the arrow fly straight.
It was only a few minutes, and too many broken feathers before Max had turned his twelve useless pointy sticks into fully functioning arrows that, with a bit of luck, could kill if needed.
“Anyone would think you’ve done this before,” Pez commented as he tore off a strip of dried meat and chewed it leisurely.
“Lucky for Murf, I have done it before.” Max lifted an arrow, held it up to his eye, and looked along it. “All good.” He stood up, brushed the dirt from his clothes, and tied the arrows to his belt once more.
Pulling his axe from his belt, he raised it above his head and hacked the Microraptor in two. Blood spattered up and the dead creature’s guts spilled out while Max took another swipe at it, hewing it in two. He cleaned off the stone axe blade on the green grass under the watchful eyes of the two dinos who leaned in close and grumbled in anticipation.
“Here we go.” Max picked up the two halves of the Microraptor and threw one half at Lis and the other half at Abe. Like two beasts starved for weeks rather than an hour, they gulped down their food and looked for more.
“It’s all this exercise.” Pez got up from the ground and offered Max some dried meat. “Makes them hungry.”
“They can eat again when we get back to the base.” Max took the strip of jerky, then climbed up the saddle rig onto Lis, before asking her to walk on.
“They might eat you before we get back,” Pez called as he climbed on Abe. Max heard Pez push the dino into a jog to catch up.
“It’s not that far,” Max insisted. “And I don’t know about you, but I want to get back and then exit the game and get some real sleep.”
Pez yawned. “Don’t talk about sleep. I could sleep right now. If I shut my eyes, I’d just pass out with all my gear on.”
“Hey, thanks again for doing this.” Max grew serious as they meandered across the great grassy plain toward home.
“Yeah, well, it was my idea. So, I have to do what it takes.” He gri
nned. “You know I’m going to stick a photo of the Ravagers on my wall and every time I get tired or fed up with seeing Murf and knowing how much work we have to do to strengthen the base, I’m going to look at that picture to remind me why I’m doing it.”
“You’re not going to throw darts at it instead?” Max suggested. “Or maybe you could get a thick black pen and put an X over their ugly faces as we take each of them out.”
“I like the sound of that.” Pez lifted his head and squinted into the distance. “But I do not like the look of that.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Max groaned as he followed Pez’s gaze. “Time to see whether these arrows work or not.” He slipped the bow off of his shoulder.
In the distance, dark gray lumps on the ground that could have been rocks stirred. One stood up from its resting place on the ground on two long legs and turned to look at Max and Pez. Beady eyes under a horned brow regarded them over the distance. Small nostrils at the end of the steeply curved muzzle took in the air while it swung its narrow head, hung on a slender, S-shaped neck, toward them.
Behind the first, five more of the dinosaurs got to their feet from where they had been resting, like lions lazing in the summer sun after a feast.
Max could feel Lis tense as he told her to stop, the mass of muscle underneath him quivering with the anticipation of a fight.
“Shit. Looks like a pack of Allosauruses,” Pez said as he stopped beside Max.
“Luckily they’re not,” Chopsticks said. “Those are their smaller cousins, the Marshosaurus...if they were Allosaurus, you two would be totally screwed.”
“Wow, you really do know your dinos, huh?” Pez pulled his rifle from where it was holstered in a leather sheath clipped to the saddle rig. The sun glinted off of the metal barrel as Pez cocked the lever over the trigger. “I’m gonna have to fork out a small fortune to replace all the bullets I’ve used getting you home.”
“He’s right.” Max pulled his own bow from his shoulder, ignoring Pez. “They’re a lot smaller, and the coloring’s different.”