by Logan Jacobs
“Yeah, just die!” Hae-won added, and then she shouted something in Korean.
I grinned at the sight of the two fierce warrior women for a moment, and then I quickly turned my attention back to the other dino. It looked toward the sound of the other rifles for a moment, but then it turned to study the transept again. I heard people yelling at each other, and I could swear that the dino grinned.
It pulled down the cross hanging from the ceiling and knocked over another statue as it put on a display of its power for its next victims. I knew I couldn’t let it move into the transept, where it would be out of sight and probably be able to finish off the people in there before I could reach a spot with a clear shot. So I lined up the barrel of the rifle with one green eye and as the dino lifted its head for a moment, I pulled the trigger.
Despite the noise in the cathedral, the crack of the hunting rifle seemed to carry over everything else. The world seemed to pause as the sound reverberated off the stone, and I could see the burst of flame and the trail of smoke as the shell cleared the tip of the barrel. I felt the power of the blast as the rifle kicked against my shoulder, and I saw the dino’s head swivel slightly for a better view.
But the trajectory was true, and the dino’s eye imploded as the shell found its mark. White and yellow goop oozed out from the socket, and then I saw a flash of bone before blood rushed into the wound. The dino roared and started back toward me, but it had a hard time judging distance with just one eye. I let it take two steps closer to me, and when it lowered its head to try to get a better view with its good eye, I fired again.
The next round caught the dino between the eyes, near the top of the cranium. The hole looked tiny in the massive head, but the dino only managed one more step before it tottered and then collapsed against the columns. The weight of the beast as it fell brought down the columns and a chunk of the outside wall, but at least it was down.
The last dino had found shelter beneath the arcade on the other side of the nave, where it could hide in the shadows and behind the columns. The girls would still fire shots when they could, but it was hard to set up a clear angle.
“I’ll move toward the other side,” I called out to the girls. “I’ll try to lure it out from the arcade. Be ready to shoot.”
“Are you crazy?” Becka replied as she fired two more shots.
“We got you,” Hae-won said cheerfully.
I pushed my way through a handful of locals who were cowering in the aisle and moved to a spot on the other side of the nave, behind the holy water. It was still a tricky shot, but at least I had a better view of the dino.
I could also hear the Marines closing in on the church, as could the dino. There was no way the giant lizard could know what was making all the noise, but it seemed to have an instinctual understanding that the sounds it could hear meant trouble. It stood, head lowered, and glared at the missing door as it tried to decide what to do. It was seriously injured, and the easy meal was proving more difficult to catch than it had imagined. It also seemed really angry, and the anger finally won out.
The dino roared, and then started to charge toward the sunlight that streamed in through the wide open front of the church. I waited until it was near the end of the pillars, and then I fired two quick shots toward the head. One shell plowed into the jaw that left a line of blood and cracked bone. The second shell hit along the side of the head, just above the neck. The dino reared back, stumbled between the columns, and was quickly engulfed in a barrage of fire from Becka and Hae-won. The body crashed to the floor amid a growing pool of blood that spread across the white marble floor.
After a moment, I realized that the only sound I could hear was the crying of the locals and a stern voice ordering people to evacuate. I looked around and saw just how much damage the dinos had managed to do. The front and side were missing, and the second story arcade along one side looked as if it were about to fall down. The altar was gone, and ceiling tiles laid in cracked pieces on the floor.
“Everyone out!” a Marine shouted. “Get out now!”
The survivors began to gather themselves, and they picked their way across the rubble and out through what was left of the front end of the cathedral. I found my companions in the crowd, and we joined the flow of people as they scrabbled through the debris.
I spotted Hayes nearby when we reached the small parking area where the Audi still waited for its passenger. The captain looked apoplectic, and I had no desire to listen to whatever threats and curses he was about to rain down on anyone and everyone. I tugged the girls toward the side of the cathedral where we had left the bikes before Hayes spotted us, though I was sure he was looking for us among the survivors.
I let out a sigh of relief when I saw the bikes and the grenade launcher were unscathed despite a few bits of fallen masonry nearby. We slung the rifles over our shoulders and hopped onto the bikes without saying a word. We made it past Hayes before he could stop us, and we were near the edge of the park when another pair of armored carriers turned into the lane and came to a stop directly in our path.
“Should we see who this is or just go around them?” Becka asked.
The passenger door on one of the carrier’s opened and Walston stepped out.
“I guess we should tell him what happened,” I sighed. “But don’t get off your bikes. If he tries to get us to stay, we’ll ride away.”
Walston walked up to us, though his gaze was on the cathedral behind us.
“I hate being right,” Walston murmured.
“There were at least three large ones,” I explained. “The Marines took down one outside, but the other two were able to crash into the cathedral. We took down the other two, but not before they ate Rhys.”
“Bloody hell,” Walston sighed. “This is going to be a clusterfuck. The church will be calling for heads to roll, and I don’t suppose they’ll care all that much whose head rolls.”
“I would guess Hayes is the one in real danger,” I replied.
“One would think so,” Walston mused. “But these things rarely work the way you would expect.”
“You’ll be fine,” Becka insisted.
Walston finally turned to look at us, and I recognized the speculative look in his eyes.
“We’re not staying any longer,” I said quickly. “That was the deal.”
“Absolutely,” Walston agreed. “And that material does need to reach Scampton. But are you sure you wouldn’t rather come back here? I could use your help, and I know the soldiers and civilians would be happy to have you back. You’ve done what no one else could, and you’re quite good at killing dinosaurs.”
“About time someone recognized that,” Becka muttered. “But no amount of compliments will get us to stay. We’re heading north, and that’s that.”
Walston looked at Becka and then at me.
“So that’s that?” the brigadier pressed.
“It is,” I replied.
I had respect for Walston and the soldiers under his command, and I knew they would fight until the end to keep the power station operational. But I also knew, deep in my gut, that life in merry old England was going to get a good deal worse before it started to get better, and it was only a matter of time until the plant fell and the cities and towns that depended on it descended into chaos. We’d already seen that happening in Cambridge, and I didn’t want the girls or me to be anywhere near that disaster when it happened.
“Then you’d best be on your way,” Walston said. “I see Hayes heading this way, and I suspect he’ll insist that you stay and answer his questions. Oh, and no doubt he’ll want that rifle back. You should get on.”
“Thanks,” I said as I extended my hand toward the man. “I know we butted heads a bit, but I’ve got a lot of respect for you. These people would be dead without your help, and I know it isn’t easy. I’d imagine your queen is proud.”
“And you might be an annoying yank,” Walston said as he shook my hand, “but you might just be my favorite yank. I’
m sure your president would be happy with your bravery here.”
“Maybe we’ll meet again some day,” I said when we released our handshake.
“Let’s hope so,” he said. “Over a pint.”
“See ya, then.” I saluted the brigadier, and then the three of us drove the bikes around the carriers, across the grass, and bounced back onto the road.
“Our badass man did it again!” Hae-won whooped as we slowed down our motorcycles so we could talk over the wind.
“Even after all that exercise last night!” Becka laughed.
“Just wait,” I replied. “We haven’t even made it halfway to Ravenscar yet. I’ve got plenty more to show you.”
“Then let’s drive faster,” Hae-won encouraged. “So you can give us more demonstrations soon.”
“I like that suggestion,” Becka replied.
We turned the bikes northward, through the quiet streets of Peterborough and back toward the highway. We’d only just started on our journey to Yorkshire, but we’d already killed more dinos than most people had probably even seen. Yet, I felt more alive than I ever had before, and I knew that with my two warrior women by my sides, we would make it to Ravenscar and find our own haven from the dinosaurs.
End of book 3
End Notes
Thanks for reading Dinosaur World 3! I’ll start writing book 4 when this book gets 100 reviews, so please leave a review right here. Thank you!
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2020 by Logan Jacobs