Dinosaur Breakout

by Judith Silverthorne

  Contents

  Title Page

  Book & Copyright Information

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  If You Want To Know More About Dinosaurs...

  Vocabulary/Descriptions

  Creatures

  Other References & Notes

  Bibliography

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  © Judith Silverthorne, 2004.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.

  This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Edited by Barbara Sapergia

  Cover illustrations by Aries Cheung

  Cover and book design by Duncan Campbell

  National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data

  Silverthorne, Judith, date-

  Dinosaur breakout / Judith Silverthorne.

  ISBN 1-55050-294-8

  I. Title.

  PS8587.I2763D55 2004 jC813’.54 C2004-901621-0

  Available in Canada from:

  Coteau Books

  2517 Vicoria Avenue, Regina, Saskatchewan Canada S4P 0T2

  www.coteaubooks.com

  The publisher gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of the Saskatchewan Arts Board, the Canada Council for the Arts, including the Millennium Arts Fund, the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP), and the City of Regina Arts Commission, for its publishing program.

  As ever, for Aaron,

  my son, and my inspiration on dinosaurs

  And for all of my nieces, a nephew, and their families

  In Canada:

  Michelle & Scott: Emma, Tyson

  Christine & Ryan: Kelsey, Elaina

  Amanda; Amie; Grant

  In New Zealand:

  Tayla; Zara; Shania

  Chapter One

  Something big and dark moved within the small bluff of trees at the bottom of a hill just ahead of Daniel. He stopped and stared. But nothing moved! The only sounds were the light rustling of leaves and the swish of long summer grasses at his feet. Then the cawing of a crow far overhead in the bright sunlight urged him forward.

  He headed across the gentle rises of the land above the Frenchman River Valley in the southwest area of Saskatchewan. Behind him lay the Bringham family farm home, where he’d lived since he’d been born twelve years earlier. Although the farm was situated on reasonably flat land near the top of a valley, the pasture gave way to undulating hills, and ahead of him, the land would soon plunge into steeper inclines until it reached the valley floor.

  He was on his way to his secret hideout, in a coulee at the base of two hills near the edge of the family’s west quarter of pastureland. He hadn’t been there for several weeks, and now that school was out for the summer holidays, this would be the only chance to go for a while. He’d soon be kept busy helping his family run their dinosaur dig tourist operation. This would be their first year of enterprise since their neighbour, Ole Pederson, had found the full skeletal remains of an Edmontosaurus on his property. He had formed a business deal with Daniel’s family and the neighbouring Lindstroms and everyone was busy preparing for opening day.

  Ahead of Daniel, the dry greenish-brown landscape was dotted with clumps of pale green foliage, patches of wildflowers, yellow bunches of sweet clover, and a myriad of grasses and weeds. All of them gave off their own distinct aromas as Daniel brushed by them, especially the abundant sage. As he approached, startled gophers darted into their holes, their squeaks piercing the steady drone of insects about their daily forages.

  Daniel quickened his pace through the ravine to the bottom of the hill, circling the stand of trees. He stopped short. There had been another flash of something moving! Something too large to be Dactyl. Besides, his golden retriever had disappeared over the hills ages before, dive-bombing after a rabbit. Dactyl stayed true to his nature and namesake, the Pterodactyl.

  “Who’s there?” He listened carefully. No response. “Is anyone there?” Nothing.

  He shook his head and turned along the coulee that led to his hideout. Snap! The little hairs on the back of his neck bristled. The sound came from the trees behind him, as if something, or someone, had stepped on some dry twigs. Daniel took a quick breath and veered to his right, in the opposite direction from his hideout, pretending he’d intended on going that way all along.

  He had no intention of letting any outsiders know the location of his secret hideout. It was his special place, where he housed his private dinosaur fossils and rocks, and he had some important business to take care of, which he wanted to do away from prying eyes.

  “Dactyl! Here, boy! Dactyl!” he called urgently, but no answering bark came. Someone must be following him! He was sure there were no large, dangerous animals lurking anywhere around the district.

  Daniel felt his stomach muscles tighten. He had to discover who was out there! Ever since he and his neighbour, Ole Pederson, had revealed their dinosaur findings and the adventures they’d had a year and a half earlier, the location of Daniel’s hideout had been a target for speculation. Especially with the kids from school.

  Daniel had made his best friend, Jed Lindstrom, promise to keep quiet about its whereabouts. But it was only a matter of time before Jed let the information slip accidentally. His whole family had a habit of blurting out confidences without thinking. The good thing was that Jed was directionally challenged and wouldn’t be able to find it easily again on his own. He couldn’t find his way out of a potato gunnysack unless someone led him. And he’d only been to Daniel’s hideout once. But Daniel didn’t trust the Nelwin brothers, the school bullies.

  He had to lose whoever was behind him, and fast. Suddenly, he spotted a pile of rocks a couple of metres up a hillside. Quickly, he headed towards them, weaving this way and that as if he were searching for something on the ground. At one point, he picked up a small round stone. Then, making sure no one could see him from below, he ducked behind the outcropping. Adjusting his backpack into a more comfortable position, he crouched and waited.

  Moments later, he heard the scuffling of hurrying feet coming towards him. His heart thumped rapidly inside his chest. He tried to slow his breathing and not make a sound. His legs stiffened and he readied to leap with the stone in his hand. As the scuffling came closer, he recalled his first meeting with old man Pederson. What if the person following him was huge and strong? Maybe he’d be better off hiding instead of attacking, until he knew what he was up against.

  The footsteps slowed and Daniel eased himself farther behind the outcropping of rocks, as quiet as his cat Marble waiting for a bird to land within pouncing distance. Just as he thought the person was going to stop and search his hiding place, the footsteps accelerated past him. Daniel waited a few moments until he judged them far enough away, then peeked around the edge.

  Craig Nelwin! He’d know him anywhere. Whew! That was a close one! Daniel eased himself onto his knees and waited for him t
o disappear. Craig was a beefy fifteen-year-old bent on making the world revolve around his whims. He had repeated Grade Eight classes this past year and had a perpetual chip on his shoulder. He also seemed bent on taking any of his problems out on Daniel. Especially since Daniel had become famous locally for his part in the recent dinosaur discoveries in the area. It was odd, though, that Craig’s older brother, Todd, wasn’t with him. The one rarely went anywhere without the other.

  Daniel brushed the rock dust off his pants and walked around the stone pile. A solid body blocked his way. Todd. The tall, chunky sixteen-year-old, muscular from heaving bales, was no one to tangle with! Daniel gulped. Todd’s brooding eyes glared at him from his sneering face.

  “Think you’re pretty smart, eh, Dino boy?” Todd shoved him backwards with his meaty hands. He was bigger and meaner than his brother.

  Daniel braced his feet and stood his ground, clutching the stone in his hand.

  “I don’t know what you mean.” Daniel tried to brush past him, but Todd gave him a harder shove.

  This time Daniel slid backwards and he reached frantically to grab hold of the rocks. Before he connected, Todd slammed his huge hands into Daniel’s chest again. Suddenly, from behind, Daniel’s feet were kicked out from under him. He toppled backwards. Craig had returned!

  Daniel felt himself falling, and then an excruciating pain as the back of his head smashed onto a rock. He heard a sharp ringing in his ears and everything went black.

  ~

  Daniel lay on something damp and smooth. He grabbed a handful and held it above his face. Wet silt! Some peculiar things circled high in the air above him like giant pelicans. Slowly, he eased himself up on his elbow, conscious of his throbbing head. He was on a muddy beach of some sort, right next to a large body of water that stretched as far as he could see. Reeds in the shallows swayed gently in the warm breeze. That’s when he noticed large indentations scattered all over the mud at the water’s edge. He sat up and gasped. Giant footprints! And he was lying in one!

  Behind him, a dense wooded area echoed with odd screeching sounds. Although it looked like a normal forest at first glance, when he studied it, he recognized pines, yews, and magnolia trees with huge blossoms. There also seemed to be sycamores and ferns, and some kind of berry bushes.

  At the edge of the shore, what looked like a Cimolopteryx preened itself. A prehistoric shorebird – how could that be? The knock on the head must have altered his thoughts somehow. Maybe he was unconscious and dreaming?

  Daniel closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Cautiously, he opened them again, but the view hadn’t changed. A loud screech came from directly overhead. He became aware of his heart thumping loudly in his chest like the steady beat of the drum in a marching band.

  Gently he touched the sore spot on the back of his head and felt something sticky. When he looked at his fingers, he found blood. This was too real! Daniel willed himself to wake up. He pinched his arms and legs. Nothing changed. He was still on the muddy beach, amid numerous large, weirdly shaped footprints.

  He heard a droning sound, growing louder, and a giant dragonfly drifted into view. Its iridescent yellowish wings spanned over half a metre, sprouting from a brilliant blue abdomen attached to a bright green thorax. It hovered for a few seconds, staring at him with beady dark eyes, then disappeared into the trees. Daniel gaped in disbelief.

  Moments later, Daniel noticed subtle rustling movements approaching him. A small mammal, like nothing he’d ever seen before, emerged from the underbrush and sniffed the air in his direction. His wound! He had to wash away the blood and stop the flow so it wouldn’t attract predators. Regardless of where he was, he was sure animals were all the same and that some species could smell fresh blood from a long distance away. Already he’d begun to attract attention.

  He climbed out of the huge three-toed footprint and slid over to the water’s edge, carefully easing his backpack onto the ground. Keeping a sharp lookout, he rummaged around until he found his Receptaculites fossil wrapped in an old cloth. He carried his special find with him everywhere.

  The “taculite,” as he called it, had criss-cross markings on it like a ripe sunflower or a plastic netted bag around onions in the grocery store. This “sunflower coral” dated from 450 million years earlier. Daniel carefully removed the fossil and slipped it into his pocket. Then he dunked the cloth in water, and washed his wound with trembling fingers.

  By the time he was finished, his dark hair was washed clear of blood. He held the cloth tightly over the gash at the back of his head, and replaced his backpack. He had been joined on the shore by a large turtle with a metre-long reddish brown shell and dark green paddle-like feet. Small, greenish grey, fast-moving lizards scurried across the wet ground, chasing peculiar-looking insects.

  Where was he? And why couldn’t he wake up or shake these weird illusions? If he didn’t know better, he’d think he was in some sort of prehistoric time. Suddenly, realization dawned on him. What if he really had flipped into another time?

  Instinctively, he knew that somehow he’d entered prehistoric time and he was in grave danger. This was no dream. Nor was it his wild imaginings. He wasn’t sure about what time period he was in or what kind of danger he was facing. But he knew he had to hide quickly before something noticed him as easy prey out in the open. Then somehow he had to find a way home.

  Keeping watch for anything that moved in his direction, he crab-walked stealthily towards the trees and several large clumps of tall, fernlike plants called cycads. He made awkward progress, propelling himself with one hand, while he pressed the cloth to his head to prevent further bleeding. He avoided strange-looking insects, flicking them away with small sticks or a thrust of his foot. Oversized butterflies and peculiar bees flitted among the colourful flowers carpeting the ground on the edge of the forest.

  CRACK!! CRACK!!

  A series of huge splintering sounds sent him dashing headlong into the nearest clump of fern. He rolled himself into a ball and shook for a few moments as he tried to regain his regular breathing pattern. He heard little squawking noises nearby. Peering about in the expansive fronds, he wondered what else was in there with him. Then he spotted a nest with eggs twice the size of goose eggs and two very new slimy green hatchlings of some sort, struggling for their voices. Yikes! Good thing the mother wasn’t home. He had to get out of here!

  Down on his knees, he peered cautiously out of the fern, but ducked back in at the sound of another crash of branches breaking and the loud cracking of something moving his way. An Edmontosaurus clumped through the trees, tall as an elephant, seeming to be in a hurry. Several small cat-sized animals scurried into the foliage, instantly skirting Daniel in surprise when they saw him.

  Moments after the Edmontosaurus passed by, there were loud thumping and crunching sounds, then a vicious snapping. The ground shook with giant tremors and a Tyrannosaurus rex lumbered into view. Daniel cowered and made himself as small as he could as it approached. By the time the giant lizard reached him, all he could see were its heavily muscled legs and the broad-based scaly tail. If Daniel stood up, he’d only come halfway to its knees.

  As the massive head with vicious yellow eyes and huge serrated teeth scoured the area, Daniel shrunk tighter against the innermost base of the fern. He held his breath until he thought he’d burst. The T. rex seemed to hang around forever. Its huge head nosed at a patch of ferns as it cleared a path, searching for its next meal. Daniel hoped it wasn’t going to be him! If the T. rex grabbed him in its jaws, one crunching snap and he’d be gone. He prayed it couldn’t smell his blood. T. rexes were known to be carrion eaters, and although Daniel wasn’t dead yet, the fresh blood might be all this one needed to trigger its hunger.

  Another booming crash sounded to the right. The Tyrannosaurus rex raised its scaled head and sniffed in a loud, snorting breath. Its eyes bulged and widened in fierce anticipation. Suddenly, it let out a thundering roar, as if warning off competitors.

  Thwack!!! I
ts huge tale swung past Daniel’s hiding place and crunched into some small trees as it headed after the Edmontosaurus. Huge clawed back feet crushed everything underneath as it moved along on its muscular tree stumplike back legs. The ground trembled. As it passed, Daniel looked up and saw an old healed scar along its leathery back. Maybe it was from a claw wound during a fight?

  The T. rex left small trees uprooted and large patches of ground disturbed where its claws penetrated the earth. Small mammals followed in its wake, snatching at tiny insectlike creatures that lay injured or dead on the ground along a wide swath cut by the clawed feet and flicking tail of the hungry T. rex.

  There was no time to lose. Daniel had to find a safe hiding place. He could hear the squawking in the nest beside him intensify and the mother was surely nearby. He wasn’t going to wait around to find out what kind of dinosaur or other reptile would make a meal of him. But where could he go? And which way was safe?

  Just then something large plunged towards the bracken and into the nest beside him, protesting loudly. Daniel leaped out of the fern. Running in a crouched position, he scoured the skies and the ground, hoping that nothing saw him as he headed for a clump of small bushes. Back towards the beach, he saw several long-necked thescelosaurs, turning away from the water. At the horrific sounds of the T. rex, they lifted their heads and bleated a shrill, eerie warning that echoed throughout the forest. Then they disappeared into the trees.

  With caution, yet as fast as he dared, Daniel separated the branches and peered inside the bushes. Then, sure nothing was nesting or living there for the moment, he crept inside, as close to the centre as he could go, and sat on the ground. He took big gulps of air to quiet the thumping in his chest. He’d never been so scared in all his life! His whole body shook. Seeing a T. rex skeleton was one thing, but seeing a live one in the gruesome, grey, knobbly flesh was horrifying!

  He thought then about “Scotty,” the skeleton of a