Dinosaur Breakout

by Judith Silverthorne

Nightfall covered the forest, and Daniel could barely see any movement below. Once he saw a thirty-foot Triceratops with its expansive bony frill protruding off its shoulders, two long horns above its eyes, and the shorter horn above its parrotlike beak. A small herd of some kind of night-feeder, no bigger than a white-tailed deer, but lizardlike, with sharp claws on short forearms and longish whipping tails, feasted on insects for a while, then disappeared into the dark. Everything seemed to go silent at once, and then he could only hear the odd nocturnal sound. The twilight faded quickly from the skies, but Daniel knew he couldn’t stay where he was for the night, breathing in the horrible stink when the mother returned.

  With the little light left, he sidled his way off the branch and descended partway down to the next branch. As he reached what he thought was solid footing, he slipped. Although he managed to grab a good hold of a protruding limb above and eventually righted himself, he sent a multitude of bark pieces and twigs tumbling below. They clattered into the nighttime stillness, echoing deafeningly like the demolition of a high-rise brick building. Daniel cringed, waiting for the sounds to die away.

  Suddenly, he heard quick, pulsating whooshes. The mother Pteranodon was just above him. Daniel held his breath and closed his eyes tight, tensing his muscles and willing the creature to leave. He clutched the side of the rough trunk, pressing himself against it, trying to blend in. His knuckles went numb. His toes cramped from the tight curl he had them in as he desperately tried not to move and at the same time to keep his sneakers from slipping again. He held his muscles so tight, they hurt. Great drafts of air made by the pterosaur whistled in his ears, and he shivered with the coolness.

  When the gust of wind subsided, Daniel opened his eyes slightly. The huge winged reptile circled above, then swooped back down, heading directly towards him. He was too exposed! Quickly, he searched for a way down or a better branch to hide in. If he could just make the limb to his left, he could scramble into a tight crevice. Although her beak was long and narrow, maybe the Pteranodon couldn’t reach him. He saw the massive dark creature looming closer with every giant wing flap. He had to take a chance.

  Daniel leapt! But he’d left it too long. The force of the gust of air from the downward draft of the wing flap sent him off-kilter. Tiny twigs, cones, and branches fell from above, hitting him. He grasped at a small limb. But the tip of a huge featherless wing caught him across the back, giving him a horrific thump that sent him crashing front-first against the tree trunk. He heard a cracking sound, just before everything went black!

  Chapter Three

  Daniel couldn’t breathe! With the wind knocked out of him, he lay on the ground paralyzed with fear, willing his body and his lungs to work. Several agonizing seconds passed. Then at last he was able to take in a huge gush of air. Sharp pains seared his lungs as he gasped to regain his regular breathing pattern. Even without moving, he felt every part of his body aching, inside and out.

  Slowly, he opened his eyes to see a bright summer sun in a clear blue sky. With his hands at his sides, he clutched at the ground beneath him. Clumps of grass! He was home! Or at least he wasn’t in dinosaur time, anyway, because he knew that grasses hadn’t evolved until later in the Tertiary Period. How long had he been gone?

  He raised his head and, several yards away, saw the large pile of rocks where the Nelwins had ambushed him. In the distance, he saw the figures of Craig and Todd hurrying across the familiar undulating hills. Had they tried to move him? Were they going for help? Or were they just leaving him here?

  Daniel groaned. He had no strength to call after them. He’d best not wait for their return. He lay anxiously in pain, not sure how to move first. He’d just lived through the most terrifying incident in his life and his whole body felt limp, like his Aunt Deb’s overcooked spaghetti. He shivered. Well, he couldn’t stay where he was much longer.

  Easing himself into a sitting position, he examined the back of his head. Gingerly, he pulled the rag away, grimacing as it stuck to the crust of the wound. As he unwound the cloth, something dribbled into his eyes. He brushed at it with his fingers, feeling scratches on his forehead and more blood. He must have cut himself when he smashed headfirst into the side of the tree after the Pteranodon’s wing clipped him. What a close call!

  But how had he ever gone back into prehistoric time? As he thought about his situation, pangs of hunger jabbed his stomach. He hungrily opened his backpack, ate another sandwich, the bag of chips, and the piece of cake, washing it all down with big gulps of water. Revived somewhat, he decided to head for home to clean up. He also had to find his dog.

  “Dactyl, here, boy!” Daniel shouted feebly, but the words didn’t have much volume behind them. “Dactyl!” he called again.

  He didn’t have the strength to call any louder, so he started for home without his pet, knowing he’d eventually show up. But it wasn’t until he reached the flat part of the pasture leading to the farmyard that Dactyl came scampering up to him. When Daniel bent to pet him, the dog sniffed, and whined, and sniffed some more. Then he gave a snuffling sneeze and ran ahead.

  “Thanks a lot, pal!” Daniel called after his retreating pet. “You’d smell bad too, if you’d been where I was.”

  When Daniel finally arrived in the yard, he found his mom in the garden weeding with Cheryl. His two-year-old sister chortled in delight when she saw him, running to him on chubby little legs. Mom wasn’t quite as pleased to see his condition.

  “What on earth happened to you?” She demanded, dropping her hoe in the row of string beans and hurrying over to examine his wounds. “You’ve been gone less than a half-hour and look at the mess you’re in.” Her brown eyes widened in concern.

  She picked up Cheryl and marched Daniel into the house. He didn’t mind the fuss his mom made over him. He was just glad to be home.

  Mom directed him to a chair at the kitchen table and quickly filled a basin with warm water. She dabbed at his wound with a warm washcloth, removing the grit and flaking dried blood.

  “Let’s just say I had a little run-in with a few rocks,” Daniel explained when Mom pressed him for an answer.

  “What were you doing?” She examined the dirt and the rips in his t-shirt.

  “Climbing. Maybe where I shouldn’t have been,” he answered, not sure how to explain where he’d really been. The thought of the attacking Pteranodon made him shiver.

  “It looks like a little more than that,” Mom said, dabbing at his wounds with iodine.

  “Ouch!” he complained. “Take it easy.”

  “Let’s hear the whole story, then,” she said with concern, pushing a straggle of blonde hair that had escaped from her ponytail out of her eyes.

  “Oh, all right! It was those Nelwins again!” he admit-ted. “They tripped me and I landed on some rocks. No big deal, Mom.”

  “No big deal! Look at you, and your torn clothes!” Her face got that angry, determined look Daniel didn’t like, because it usually meant trouble for whoever crossed her.

  “First I’m taking you to the hospital to have you checked for concussion, and then I’m going to march over there and speak to their father about this.”

  “No, Mom, don’t. You know that’ll only make it worse. Their dad will only get mean to them, and they’ll get meaner to me. And I don’t need to go to the hospital!”

  She checked Daniel’s eyes carefully, lifting his lids and moving her fingers in front of them to make sure he was tracking properly.

  “Fine, I’ll talk this over with your dad when he gets home,” Mom said, efficiently bandaging his cuts. Then she gave him some Tylenol and told him to lie down for a while until it kicked in.

  “I don’t want you to go out there again today,” she said, scooping up Cheryl and heading back outside.

  “Aw, Mom, they’re gone now. There won’t be any more trouble.”

  “Well, maybe not, but I’d rather you stuck around here.” She anxiously scanned him from top to bottom.

  Daniel gave her a witherin
g look. She stopped short and smiled at him.

  “Oh, all right. I guess there’s no sense in punishing you for something they did wrong. Go ahead when you’re feeling better. But be careful to stay out of their way.”

  “You bet I will,” answered Daniel. Then to himself he added, “Easier said than done with those two wily guys!”

  Wrinkling her nose, she added, “You could use a bath and some clean clothes, too.” With that she carried Cheryl out the door.

  Daniel rested on the couch, where he watched the last few minutes of a cartoon show. His eyelids felt heavy. He vaguely recalled his mother tiptoeing in to check on him at one point. He awoke fully an hour and a half later to the sounds of his family coming in for lunch.

  Scrambling upstairs for a quick shower, he then joined them at the kitchen table for another “snack.” Dealing with dinosaurs had made him hungry.

  Dad did a double take when he stepped into the kitchen and saw Daniel’s bandaged head.

  “Now what?” he asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

  “The Nelwins,” Mom responded before Daniel could open his mouth. She gave Cheryl some homemade macaroni and cheese and passed the bowl to Dad. Then she set the salad on the table and served everyone a hot dog.

  Dad’s face tightened. “Something has to be done about those boys! Their dad sure isn’t going to do anything to straighten them out. He’d never stay sober long enough, even if he did consider disciplining them. Maybe it’s time to bring in the law?”

  By the concentrated look on Mom’s face, she seemed to be agreeing quite seriously with him. For her petite size, she could be feisty and determined when she needed to be.

  “Not yet, Dad,” Daniel protested. “It’ll be my word against theirs and there are two of them. I won’t be able to prove anything. Besides, that’ll only make things worse for me.”

  “Not if they’re locked up for a while!” Dad responded briskly, dishing some macaroni onto Daniel’s plate, then serving himself.

  Daniel shifted nervously in his chair as he picked at his food. “They wouldn’t be there for long. Their dad would have them out in no time.”

  Although he didn’t take much notice of his sons, Horace Nelwin wouldn’t like them spending any time in the slammer. He’d bully everyone involved until they let them loose. Daniel wouldn’t be safe for long, if they were even locked up at all.

  “Even a few hours might give them time to think about their actions and the consequences,” Dad added.

  “At least we’d have a little peace for a few months,” said Mom. Her brown eyes had gone dark and determined.

  “But that’ll only give them time to think of worse things to do to me! How about we hold on a bit?” Daniel objected. “First, let me figure out a way to stop them.”

  Mom opposed the idea instantly. “Daniel, you could get seriously hurt. Look at you now.”

  He was sure he looked quite the ghastly sight with bandages on his head and scratches on his arms. They couldn’t even see the ones on his legs. Daniel bit his lip to keep from blurting out his adventure in the prehistoric world. The Nelwins were nothing compared to the T. rex and the Pteranodon he’d encountered, but he couldn’t tell his parents about that! Besides, he wasn’t even sure if it was real.

  “I don’t think they meant for me to be hurt. They were probably just trying to follow me and find my hideout,” he said, shovelling some macaroni into his mouth and chewing quickly.

  “Great, now they’re stalking you!” Mom said in exasperation.

  “I’ll just keep a closer eye out for them and stay out of their way,” Daniel declared, reaching for the mustard and smearing it on his hot dog. “They won’t be back today, and I won’t have another chance to go to the hideout for awhile.” Then he added hopefully, “Maybe the problem will just go away.”

  Dad rolled his eyes. Mom shook her head, but her mouth was tight in disapproval. Dad glowered at a spot behind Daniel’s head, calming himself down before he spoke again.

  “I’ll be back in time for supper and chores,” Daniel said, rising from the table with his hot dog in his hand.

  “Just a minute, young man.” Mom rose from the table, checked his bandages and his eyes again, and then looked questioningly at Dad.

  Dad shrugged his shoulders. Mom sighed. Daniel grabbed his backpack, and shoved more refilled bottles of water into it. He still had his other snacks, and he didn’t think he’d be hungry again for quite some time. He gave Cheryl a quick tickle and a hug, and then headed towards the door. As he bent to tie his runners, Mom came over and slipped a baggy of fresh oatmeal raisin cookies into his hand. They smiled at one another, and without a word, Daniel left.

  Even before the door closed, he could hear his parents discussing the Nelwins again. He thought he heard Dad say something about “Maybe the boy has to learn to fight his own battles,”’ and Mom protesting. Then Dad said, “We’ll step in when we have to.”

  He stopped to listen more when he heard Dad say, “They’re no different than Horace was when he was a boy. I know. I grew up with him.”

  Then Mom said, “I feel sorry for them, being brought up without a mother and not always having enough to eat, but that’s no excuse for bullying people!”

  “You’re right, of course. It’s just too bad they didn’t have a better role model than their father, or at least some purpose or interest in their lives instead of hurting others.”

  Daniel heard the scrape of the chair as his father left the table, and he tiptoed out the door and headed towards his hideout. The afternoon sun was high in the blue sky, with large puffy clouds that looked like they were in a painting, but there wasn’t a bit of a breeze and the air felt muggy as he headed through the pasture gate.

  The Nelwins really were a problem, but for the mo-ment he didn’t see how to deal with those two bullies. They’d been that way for as long as Daniel had known them. Right now, he was more interested in getting to his hideout and checking out his stash of fossils. He thought about how he’d come to be in the world of dinosaurs and back again. Probably the knock on his head had caused a hallucination!

  He chose a different way to go this time, totally avoiding the heap of rocks and the coulee of trees where the Nelwins had hidden. From now on, he’d stay well in the open so he could see long distances. No one was going to ambush him again. He also kept Dactyl occupied and closer to his side, playing fetch with the stick, instead of letting him dash off to chase gophers and rabbits.

  Once he neared his hideout, Daniel looked at it from a different perspective – that of someone trying to locate the place. The first thing he noticed was the clanging of tin cans and bones tied to a piece of twine that warned him of intruders when he was inside his cave. He could hear it from some distance off, and that meant others could too. It wouldn’t be long before someone found his hideout by the sounds alone. Even his best friend, Jed, who was always getting lost! He smiled to himself, remembering a couple of incidents last summer where Jed had headed across a field in the wrong direction to deliver lunch to his father and ended up at a neighbour’s house.

  A year and a half ago, Daniel had been worried about intrusions from Pederson. Then they’d discovered their common interest in dinosaurs and had become friends. Now he just had to worry about others. Which was worse? Having someone find the hideout because of the noise made by his homemade alarm, or him being startled by someone while he was inside? He removed the twine and carefully put the tin cans and bones away. If no one could find the hideout, they wouldn’t intrude on him either.

  The next thing he realized was that the area around the structure of the cave was too tidy and the entrance too easily observed. Although the hideout was well hidden with branches and logs covered with soil and grass, so that it looked like a natural mound between the two hills, he had cleaned the area around the opening too well. Something had to be done!

  Daniel poked around with a long stick to make sure there were no rattlesnakes coiled underneath the scrub an
d rocks. Then he picked up branches and dragged them across the doorway and around the hideout, making everything look as natural as possible. Dactyl yanked at ends of the branches with his teeth, hoping for a game of tug-of-war. Daniel played with him a bit, but soon took his work seriously, and Dactyl wandered off without his noticing.

  Some time later, Daniel surveyed the work he’d completed from a certain distance away. Satisfied that he’d accomplished his objective, which was that his hideout didn’t stand out in any way, he returned to the entrance and crawled inside. Dactyl appeared suddenly and pushed his way in beside him, knocking down some of the branches. Daniel did a little repair work, then pulled over his tree-stump stool and relaxed under the ceiling opening, through which the mid-afternoon sun streamed in ribbons across the cavern walls.

  He opened his backpack and pulled out some beef jerky for Dactyl, then poured him some water in an old metal pot. He took a drink from the water bottle while he surveyed the contents of his hideout: plastic ice cream pails of rocks and fossils, a tattered research book on dinosaurs, deer antlers, a special rattlesnake skin, an old sleeping bag, his excavation tools, and his emergency stash of snacks, candles, and matches.

  Emptying his backpack onto the packed dirt floor of the cave, he sorted through his things and put them away into their appropriate containers. Besides the bottles of water, which he stashed near the back of the cavern to keep cool, only two things remained on the ground at the end. One was his Receptaculites fossil that he always took with him. The other was a piece of bark he’d never seen before. Where had it come from? He couldn’t remember collecting it. Puzzled, Daniel bent to retrieve it when he heard a shrill, birdlike whistle.

  Pederson! That was their secret code. Daniel hustled over to the doorway and gave a return whistle. Dactyl bulldozed his way past Daniel again and ran excitedly to join Pederson and his dog, Bear. Daniel crawled out and joined the others partway up the hillside.

  “Looks like you’ve been un-improving the place, Daniel Bringham,” Pederson called out as he approached, his eyes twinkling in amusement. Then he noticed the cuts. “With your face, by the looks of it.”