by Logan Jacobs
“Bloody military,” Becka declared. “I can’t believe we’re just supposed to walk around here for three hours.”
“It looks mostly residential,” I said as I studied the street we were on. “So we probably won’t be able to do any foraging.”
“It’s hot in this uniform,” Hae-won added. “I’d rather have my own clothes.”
“Come on,” I encouraged, “Let’s take Corporal Grant’s advice and check the park first. That looks nice and shady. This shit will be over soon, and then we can get our motorcycles back and continue north in a few days.”
We set off slowly as we followed a winding gravel path through the park. The spires of the cathedral were just visible above the trees, and water still bubbled in a nearby fountain. It was all quite idyllic, especially when we didn’t spot any dinosaurs right away.
Near the far end of our little patch, we encountered something that I could only describe as a flying snake. It was about three feet long, with dark green scales and feathers around its head. It had a long snake’s tongue that flicked out constantly, and a pair of wings that were more like a bat’s than a bird’s. There were four proto limbs, as if the thing had been caught in mid-evolution, but it slithered rather than walked.
It was easy enough to take out with a single shot from the Glock, and a ground search of the surrounding bushes didn’t turn up any more of the oddities. Becka took a picture with her phone since the thing was so strange, and then we resumed our pleasant walk. We circled our area twice, and we ventured down the streets assigned to us without finding any more dinos. We found a few crushed trees and shrubs, and claw marks along the sides of some of the houses, but all of the damage looked old.
We were standing under an ancient tree watching the sunset when I felt a tingle on my arms, like an electric current had just darted across my skin, and I heard a loud popping sound from the far side of the park. A whiff of ozone drifted our way, and then I saw the telltale glow that signalled a portal had opened.
“Damn,” Becka muttered. “And we were so close to leaving.”
“Let’s go see what came through,” I said. “If it’s just one big one, we can take care of it quickly and still make it back to the pick-up point in time.”
We jogged across the overgrown grass and dodged around the hedgerows to a stretch of lawn lined by oaks and elms. The portal had disappeared by the time we arrived, but it had left behind a herd of herbivores, who were happily munching on all the greenery. At around seven feet, they weren’t the tallest dinos we’d encountered, but they were long and wide, with a short tail hairless tail that flicked behind them and gray-brown mottled skin that glowed in the last of the sun’s rays. But like their more famous cousin Triceratops, these plant eaters sported a deadly horn just above the nostrils, a large plate that swept back from their heads and curved upwards, and four more horns at the top of the frill.
“They look so harmless,” Becka noted.
“So does a rhino befores it charges you,” Hae-won replied.
“There’s a lot of them,” I noted. “I guess we should call it in and let them know that we might need a hand.”
“Do you really think we will?” Becka asked.
“If they run off after we open fire we will,” I said. “There’s no way we could track all of these dinosaurs on our own.”
I found the switch on my radio and hoped that Hayes wouldn’t ignore us.
“Uh, this is Patrol...One,” I guessed. “We’re in the park, not too far from the cathedral. A portal just opened a few minutes ago and deposited a herd of… some sort of horned herbivores in the….”
“Alley,” Becka supplied.
“In the alley,” I said. “Right now, they’re just eating the trees, but if we open fire, they may run off, and we don’t have a way to track them if they do.”
“Do you have a headcount?” Hayes responded.
“Fifteen,” I said. “Make that sixteen.”
“Alright, we’re on the way,” Hayes said. “Don’t do anything that will spook them. We don’t want to have to track them across the whole bloody park.”
I rolled my eyes, even though Hayes couldn’t see me, and we found a spot under an old chestnut tree to watch the herd. We were spotted by one of the dinos, who sounded some sort of warning to the rest, but when we didn’t move any closer, the horned dinos went back to their dining. It was rather impressive to watch, and they soon had the trees and shrubs nearly picked clean of their lower leaves.
“How did trees survive back then?” Becka mused. “If dinosaurs kept sweeping through and eating all their leaves, they’d never be able to produce any chlorophyll.”
“Maybe they grew leaves faster than they do today,” I suggested.
It was nearly dark, and several of the dinosaurs moved away from the trees and began to poke at the ground, as if they would settle in for the night. I was starting to regret summoning Hayes when we all heard the sound of an approaching engine. Actually, several approaching engines, and the herd, which had seemed so placid and friendly, suddenly looked poised to attack.
“Shit,” I muttered as the larger dinos bellowed and then lowered their horns.
“It must remind them of an enemy dinosaur,” Hae-won said.
I looked behind us and saw the headlights of three armored carriers as they barreled across the park. The dinos had seen the lights as well, but rather than running away, they started to trot toward the vehicles, their horns down and ready to attack.
“This can’t end well,” Becka said.
“I’ll take out that biggest one,” I said. “Maybe that will keep the others from attacking.”
“Can you hit it from here?” Becka asked.
“I can with the grenade launcher,” I replied.
At least, I hoped I could. I lifted the weapon, pressed the butt against my shoulder, and then I peered down the scope at my target. It was an impressive dino, with a horn that could probably skewer the front end of the approaching vehicles without suffering any damage. It was focused on the lead carrier, and it started to run full tilt toward the offending machine. The driver slammed on the brakes, but the dino was closing too fast.
The kick as I pulled the trigger on the launcher was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. I thought I’d braced myself properly, but the butt of the rifle pounded into my shoulder and set me back a step. Somehow, I managed to keep the gun pointed at the spot I’d picked out, and even though the dino slowed at the booming sound of the rifle, the grenade still found its mark.
The armament landed with a whoosh, and a moment later, a bright flash lit up the alley. For a moment, there were flames, and the startled expression of the dino, and then an invisible force seemed to blow outward from the grenade. Chunks of dirt and dino hide flew outward, and even where we were, we could feel the shockwave from the explosion.
“I want one of those!” Hae-won laughed as we ducked behind the tree to avoid the falling debris.
“Are they running?” I asked as I peered around the tree.
“Some of them are,” Becka replied. “But the soldiers are shooting now.”
The quick burst of the automatic rifles was unmistakable, and the confused cries of the dinos soon joined it. It was over in a few moments, but Becka grabbed my arm and pointed toward the streets.
“Some of them got away,” she said.
I could see a handful of the gray shapes running down the streets, in full retreat. I would have been happy to leave them to the professionals, but I wasn’t sure if the soldiers realized that some had escaped and were destroying homes and cars as they did. I looked toward Hayes and his men, who were moving among the bodies of the herbivores to make sure there weren’t any survivors.
“Hayes,” I yelled. “Some of them made it to the streets.”
“What?” the captain demanded in an angry voice. “Are you sure?”
“Very sure,” I replied.
Hayes barked out orders, and two of the armored carriers peeled away.
“What should we do?” Becka asked.
“We need to find those other dinos,” I said. “Before they do any real damage.”
“But those soldiers are following them,” Hae-won pointed out.
“But they didn’t see where they went,” I said. “We did.”
“That’s what radios are for,” Becka said. “So you can tell them what we saw.”
“Do you really think they can find them any faster than we can?” I asked as I started to run back toward the streets.
“You could let someone else be the hero this one time,” Becka replied as she and Hae-won started to follow.
“What’s the fun in that?” I laughed.
Chapter 15
The armored carriers had taken off after most of the herd, but two stragglers from the dino pack had ventured off on their own. We found one near the edge of the park, where it got stuck in the playground equipment. We radioed Hayes, and he told us to leave it to his own men, who would be there shortly. I was about to tell him that we could deal with it ourselves, but Hae-won pointed toward a nearby street where we could hear a dino bellowing.
“The Marines can handle this one,” I said. “We should take care of that other one.”
The dino tangled in the slides, steps, tunnels, and general mess of the playground called out a warning as we ran by, and there was an answering call from the nearby street. We reached the corner and came to a halt, and then we studied the road in front of us. The dino was stuck among brick homes with very few trees and shrubs to munch on. It looked angry that its meal had suddenly disappeared, and it charged one of the homes head on. Bricks tumbled to the ground and a wide crack shot up the side of the building.
“We need to kill it before it causes any more damage,” I said.
“Can’t you use that grenade again?” Becka asked.
“I don’t want to risk it this close to one of the homes,” I said. “Not unless we have to.”
We moved in and tried to find a good spot to set up our shots. The dino shook off whatever momentary disorientation it had, and it took another swipe at the house with its tail and its body. The crack widened, and a moment later, a sizeable chunk of wall gave way. The dino peered into the home, decided there was nothing interesting inside, and turned its attention to the small row of shrubs that I could just see in the backyard.
We found ourselves looking at the dino’s backside, but given how much armor it appeared to have around its head, it was probably the smarter shot. I nodded to the girls, and we each took aim with our rifles. A second later, I fired off two quick rounds, aiming for a spot near the soft underbelly. The whip crack of my shots had just sounded when I heard the girls fire as well. The flashes from our barrels provided a quick burst of light, and then the air was tinged with the scent of sulfur.
The dino bellowed, and despite the bloody holes that had appeared on its hide, it managed to turn around and glare at us from its yellow eyes. A moment later, even as we opened fire again, it charged toward us, head down and horn pointed right at me. This time, the armor plating protected the beast as it charged us, and though I saw the bullets hit the beast’s head and blood start to dribble out, the dino kept coming.
“Jason,” Becka said in a panicky voice as she and Hae-won started to back up.
When the beast was away from the homes and in the middle of the street, I fired several quick rounds, all toward the beast’s legs and underside. The dino finally stumbled as two shots buried themselves deep into a leg, and then as the creature tried to right itself and keep moving on three legs, I blasted away at the soft belly area.
The dino bellowed one more time, but I shifted position so that I had a clear shot of its side, and I fired two more quick shots. One of the bullets hit something critical, and the dino’s roar turned into a choking sound for a moment, and then it flopped sideways into the road. Blood poured out of its mouth as the body twitched for a few seconds, and then everything went still.
“We should check that house,” I said. “Make sure no one was inside.”
We walked around the dino’s body and approached the house. It seemed silly to stop at the front door and ring the doorbell, given that one whole side of the building was gone, but both girls started up the walkway like they were stopping by for a spot of tea.
“Around here,” I called out as I moved toward the damaged wall.
As I stopped by the crumbled bricks and broken beams, I thought I heard a voice in the rubble. I picked my way through some of the debris, then I stopped to listen again. I definitely heard a faint voice from somewhere in the house. I motioned the girls to follow me as I started forward again, though the voice seemed to grow fainter as I moved through the wreckage.
“Do you hear that?” I asked quietly when the three of us stood inside what was left of a sitting room.
“Where’s it coming from?” Becka asked quietly a moment later.
We peered around the room, and then Hae-won tiptoed toward a tumbled bookshelf. It had fallen on top of a loveseat, along with a pile of bricks and crumbling mortar. I spotted two sets of feet encased in slippers sticking out of the pile, and as I drew closer, I could hear a man’s voice faintly calling for help interspersed with sobs from someone else.
“We’re here,” Becka said as she tried to remove some of the debris. “We’ll get you out.”
“Hae-won, call Hayes and tell him where we are,” I said. “Tell him we have people here who need medical help.”
Hae-won nodded as she keyed her radio to life, and I returned to helping Becka. All I could figure was that the couple must have ducked down onto the loveseat just before the bookshelf and wall had crashed down on top of them. The back of the loveseat had kept the couple from getting crushed, but even as Becka and I pulled at the debris, I could hear the ancient piece of furniture starting to groan. It wouldn’t last much longer, and when it gave way, everything would collapse onto the people caught beneath the pile.
My hands were raw by the time we swept the last of the bricks from the bookcase, and I saw that Becka’s hands had a few cuts as well. Hae-won had joined us by then, and somehow, the three of us managed to lift the heavy wood shelf from the loveseat. We let it fall backwards onto the remnants of the wall, where it crashed down with a loud thud and a sharp crack amid a cloud of white dust.
We all coughed, but I ignored the sudden dryness in my mouth and throat as I took in the couple we had uncovered. They were elderly, in their eighties at the least, and they had indeed hunkered down on the love seat. The man was draped on top of the woman, who was lying flat against the cushions with only her legs jutting out. They were covered in bruises, and the man had a nasty cut on the back of his head. His white hair was turning red, and a spot on the floor was nearly black with blood.
“Can you move?” Becka asked in a raspy voice as she knelt by the couple. “Can you sit up?”
“Yes, I think so,” the man replied weakly.
He tried to lift himself into a sitting position, but his body didn’t seem to want to move. Hae-won eased him into an upright position, while Becka turned her attention to the woman.
“Ma’am,” Becka called softly.
“My back hurts,” the woman replied. “I’m not sure I can move.”
“The soldiers are coming,” Hae-won said. “They will take you to the hospital.”
“Is there anyone else in the house?” I asked.
“Just us,” the man replied as he looked around. “Just us.”
I heard tires squeal outside, and I picked my way back through the wall to wave down the soldiers. Two had already climbed out of the back and were looking at the dino we had taken down, while two more emerged more slowly from the back of the carrier.
“In here,” I called out as I waved. “The woman says she can’t move.”
The two who had just emerged from the carrier ran toward me, and I was happy to see that they both carried medical equipment. They took in the scene of destruction, and then
the elderly couple on the loveseat.
“We were able to get the debris off, and the old man was able to sit up, but that was all we’ve done,” I said.
“We can take it from here,” one of the soldier’s replied in a Jamaican accent.
“You can get them to a hospital?” I asked.
“There’s one nearby that’s still open,” the Jamaican replied as the pair started to climb over the debris. “We’ll get them stabilized and then transport them there. What about other victims?”
“The man said they were the only ones here, but we haven’t had a chance to look at the other houses,” I said. “We can do that now.”
The medics were by the loveseat by then, and the girls backed away to give them room. Becka and Hae-won watched for a moment, and then they clambered back over the debris.
“Time to check the houses?” Becka asked.
“I didn’t see any other homes that had been damaged, but we should make sure,” I agreed.
The three of us retraced the path of the dinosaur as far as the edge of the park, and though we found a few scrape marks and a smashed in shed, we didn’t find any more injured people. One woman opened the window to ask what had happened, and a middle-aged man offered us glasses of water after we inspected his house, but the worst of the damage had been limited to the elderly couple’s home.
Satisfied that we’d found all the victims, we made our way back to the damaged house. The armored carrier was just about to leave, and the driver pulled up next to us as we arrived back at the scene.
“We’re off to the hospital,” the driver announced. “And then we’ve been told to do another patrol, just to make sure nothing else came through that portal. We can give you a lift if you don’t mind driving around a few more hours.”
“Thanks,” I said as I looked at the girls. “But I think we’ll find our own way back.”
“You sure?” the soldier asked in disbelief. “That’s a long walk with dinosaurs on the prowl.”
“We’ll figure something out,” I assured him.