Dinosaur Breakout

by Judith Silverthorne

All of them remained silent for a few moments, staring out at the panoramic view of the forest and the sea beyond them. The ground still trembled with the approach of something huge. They weren’t out of danger yet.

  Daniel’s thoughts turned to getting home. How would he get them all together with the bark? Plodding footsteps approached, coming closer now with the sounds of cracking branches and snapping underbrush. What-ever they did, they had to do it fast! He was sure the trembling of the earth came from something very big and ferocious. Perhaps another of Scotty’s relatives!

  He was also rather uncomfortable and sure could use a drink of water. Then he remembered he still had his backpack on and some bottled water. Did he dare drink any without offering it to the others? And if he offered, how would he get it to them? No time to lose! Quickly, he dug out his water bottle, took a few gulps, feeling the coolness searing down his parched throat. Then he stashed it away again. He needed all the strength he had to help get them home, especially as he was the injured one.

  “As soon as it’s safe, we’ll go down and I’ll give you some water,” Daniel advised the two brothers, who complained strongly. That seemed to quieten them for a few moments.

  Daniel peered about. He could see the mouth of the river again. Was it the same one from the last two times? Did he keep coming back to the same area? If it was, they must be on the other side of the forest from where he’d been on previous trips. He scanned about, looking for other familiar spots.

  But suddenly, various birdlike creatures took flight, and Daniel knew a T. rex was near. Below he could also see small animals diving for cover. Craig and Todd noticed too.

  “What’s happening?” Todd asked anxiously. His eyes were wide and his voice high-pitched.

  “I don’t want you to freak out, but I think a Tyran-nosaurus is just around the corner. They’re really monstrous and they can swallow you in one chomp,” Daniel explained to them. “Craig, make sure that you’re as high as you can go. When you get to a safe place, make sure you have a good hold and that you won’t lose your balance!” He turned to Todd, “Time to climb higher! I’ll be right behind you!”

  When Todd quit climbing, his white knuckles gripped the limb of the tree, and he’d wound his legs around it too. Craig’s face was ashen, and he trembled. Daniel felt his whole body shaking as he recalled his previous encounters.

  “This is going to be the one of the worst things you’ll see,” he told the others, “but once he’s long gone, we’ll get down.”

  Then he turned to Craig and with grave authority said, “Once we’re safely on the ground, Craig, you’ll give me the piece of bark and I’ll try to get us home. Is that clear?”

  Daniel sounded like he was speaking sternly to his baby sister Cheryl about not touching something, but the two brothers only nodded numbly. He hoped they understood how serious their situation was. All at once, there was a horrific crash and they all stiffened. The T. rex had arrived!

  When it lumbered into view, Daniel thought Todd and Craig would drop out of their trees, because their bodies shook so much, not only from the vibrations made by the T. rex, but from terror. He prayed they’d keep hanging on tightly. The T. rex’s enormous head came into view first, its strong jaw hanging open to reveal sharp serrated teeth. It swung around quickly, using its stiff tail for balance and digging its two three-clawed feet into the ground for support. It wielded its head on a short muscular neck as it peered around for raw food with its ugly yellow eyes, with their stereoscopic vision, which Daniel knew meant it could easily see them.

  All at once, it tilted its huge head with its demented grin upwards, and appeared to sniff the air. Daniel held his breath, keeping his eyes on the monstrous, scaly-skinned beast as it seemed to sense a different kind of odour. Probably human! No one made a sound, although at one point Daniel thought he heard some kind of snivel from one of the brothers. For a brief second, Daniel wondered how they liked to be bullied for a change. Then he turned his attention back to their major problem of the moment.

  ROOOAARRR!!!! The T. rex’s terrifying warning reverberated through the forest ten times louder than a lion’s roar, so loudly that Daniel covered his ears to keep them from ringing. Then the T. rex butted its head against the tree in which Todd and Daniel perched. Todd clung as if he was fused to it. Craig shuddered in the next tree, clinging desperately. Daniel found himself inching surreptitiously upwards. The tip of the T. rex’s head started to push through the branches right below him. His only thought was that he was likely going to die.

  A sudden squawking of pterosaurs rose from afar, signalling the end of the battle between the Troodon and the Stegoceras. It also seemed to alert the T. rex that its dinner was about to be served in easy fashion. It plunged off at a fair speed, crushing small insects and foliage beneath its hefty clawed feet. Daniel thought he caught a glimpse of a scar on its hindquarters. Was it the same T. rex from his last trip to prehistoric time?

  The noises of slaughter and its aftermath continued for some time, rippling over the forest. The main action, though, was far enough away that Daniel judged it safe to descend.

  “Okay, you two,” he spoke to them in a steady tone, meant to reassure them. “Let’s get down now. Do it as quickly as you can!” Daniel started to descend as he talked.

  Speechlessly, Craig and Todd obeyed, sliding down the last bit, anxious to have their feet on steady ground again. “Come over here.”

  They gathered quickly around Daniel at the base of his tree.

  “Okay, Craig, give me the piece of bark, please,” he said sternly.

  Craig felt in his jeans pockets. Then a frantic look came across his face. He searched harder.

  “I can’t find it!” he barely squealed it out.

  Daniel soothed him. “Calm down, Craig. You have to have it! Take a deep breath and take your time.”

  Sounds of disturbances were coming out of the bushes again. They had to hurry. Craig felt in each of his pockets, one at a time, and then turned them inside out. It was gone! Todd went over to help them, patting his brother down.

  “What about the tiny pocket inside the right-hand one?” Daniel asked a little more desperately. The clamouring was getting closer, something was coming, and whatever it was probably wasn’t friendly. It seemed to be coming at a fast-paced clip, as well, as if it were in a hurry.

  Frenzied now, Craig sought the piece in the obscure pocket. A sudden look of relief came across his face as he drew the precious bark chunk into view. At the same moment, a Dromaeosaurus, a meat-eater with huge, sickle-like claws, raced down a path towards them. In the distance, Daniel could see several more, following the leader. They were ostrichlike in speed, and raptorlike in ferociousness. There was no time to lose. The creatures would be upon them momentarily.

  Daniel grabbed for the piece of bark with one hand, making sure to keep in contact with Craig’s hand, while reaching out and clutching Todd’s arm with his other hand. Sure that he had a tight hold on both brothers, he gave a flip of his wrist and flicked the bark to the ground, just as the Dromaeosaurus sprang at them.

  A terrible screaming split the air. It all happened so quickly, Daniel didn’t know where the sound was coming from. Was the shrieking from the raptor-types, the Nelwins, or him? He felt himself falling to the ground in a whoosh of turbulent wind. Screams echoed around him.

  ~

  Jed stood in front of them, joining in their screams just inside the cave as if they’d never left! Craig and Todd’s traumatized shrieks died on their lips as they realized they were back in the present.

  Everyone stood stunned, staring at one another with their faces frozen in mute terror. A moment later, Daniel sensed Mr. Pederson at his side and then felt himself being gently shaken to bring him out of shock.

  “Daniel, can you hear me?” Mr. Pederson stared anxiously into his eyes, as if looking for a conscious response.

  Bewildered, Daniel turned his glazed look onto Mr. Pederson and then around at the others, as if seeing them
for the first time. Slowly he dropped his hold on Craig and Todd. Jed ran over to him and gave him a brief hug.

  “I thought you were gone forever!” Jed stammered, thumping Daniel’s back. “Where did you go? You just disappeared!”

  Pederson put his arms around Daniel’s shoulders and squeezed him in a bear hug. The old man’s arms seemed to tremble. “I have to admit, lad, you gave us a bit of fright!”

  “I’m okay,” Daniel whispered hoarsely.

  He still couldn’t believe they’d escaped the terrible claws and flesh-ripping teeth of the Dromaeosaurus. The fierce, intense eyes of the creature would haunt him forever. He glanced over at the Nelwin brothers and saw them slide to the ground and lean against the cave wall. He’d never seen them so docile.

  Slowly, the story came out of how Jed wasn’t sure what to do, whether to stay or get help. In the end, he’d run for Mr. Pederson and they’d only just returned when the three boys suddenly appeared again.

  “You look dreadful,” Jed said. “What happened to you?”

  Stuttering and stammering through his story, Daniel again felt the terror. He began with the first time he’d been knocked out and transported to the prehistoric world.

  “I knew something uniquely extreme had occurred,” Pederson said. “Something so real you were afraid to talk about it, and something you didn’t understand or think was possible, but I didn’t imagine for a moment it would be repeated.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything before?” Jed demanded, giving his friend a slight punch on the arm.

  “Because,” Pederson answered for Daniel, “who would have believed him? Do you even now?”

  Jed thought about it for a minute or two. “I guess it is hard to imagine it happened,” he answered truthfully. “But I do know they disappeared somewhere right before my eyes, and look at his clothes! His pants are muddy and wet and his shirt is torn. It wasn’t before.”

  Daniel looked at his attire. He’d already known about the pants, because they’d landed in the shallow lagoon, but the rip across the chest of his shirt came from something knifelike. He almost fainted when he realized how close he’d come to having his flesh ripped open. Then he noted the tear in his pant leg and gulped again.

  “This time, though, he had witnesses,” Pederson continued, looking over at the Nelwins. “Well, boys, how was your experience?” he asked with a slight twinkle in his eyes.

  “Well, uh...” Craig started and stopped, totally lost for words.

  “I didn’t believe him at first, but...” Todd added and couldn’t say any more.

  “Do you now?” Pederson inquired.

  Both boys nodded.

  “That’s the main thing!” Pederson said.

  Daniel suddenly remembered Todd’s accusations, and couldn’t resist. “Okay, Mr. Pederson, I think we can turn off our dvd projector now!”

  The Nelwins scrambled to their feet, abruptly indignant and angry. Pederson and Jed looked puzzled.

  Daniel chuckled at the Nelwins. “Get a grip! You know it was real!”

  Daniel explained to Jed and Pederson how the Nelwins had thought he was playing a trick on them.

  Uncomfortably, the brothers slung their hands into their pockets and bowed their heads in embarrassment.

  “It was incredible!” Craig said in awe. Then he turned to Daniel. “Now I think I see...I mean...uh...I can understand your interest in dinosaurs and stuff!”

  “For sure,” Todd agreed. “That was awesome!”

  Daniel nodded. “I know.”

  “Something we’ll never see again!” Craig’s eyes widened in wonder.

  “Let’s hope not!” Daniel said.

  Todd turned to Craig, “And we got to do it! Just us and no one else.”

  Craig nodded his head towards Daniel.

  “Yeah, and Daniel, of course,” Todd agreed.

  “That was plenty enough for me!” Craig added.

  “That’s for sure!” Then Todd said to Craig, “Let’s get out of here!”

  “Just a minute,” said Pederson, blocking the doorway. “We have a couple of things that we need to deal with. First, we have the problem of what you did last night to Daniel and to the Bringhams’ property. Then we have to deal with what you’ve done here today.”

  Daniel had almost forgotten about the damage to his hideout. Both boys looked guilty and scared as they peered around at the shambles they’d made. Pederson and Jed stared in silent amazement at the destruction the Nelwins had caused in such a short time.

  “It’s up to Daniel what he wants to do about this mess.” Pederson turned to Daniel then. “Daniel, do you think you can handle this part?”

  Daniel nodded. Jed left the hideout to let Daniel work things out and waited patiently outside.

  “I told the police what you did last night,” Daniel said, eyeing them with confidence. “I’m surprised they didn’t talk to you yet.”

  “Guess we weren’t home,” Todd shrugged his shoulders in more like his old attitude, then dropped his manner abruptly.

  “Then how did you know I’d called them and they were looking for you?”

  “We haven’t been home since last night. We camped out in the hills,” Craig said as if that answered the question.

  Daniel knew this probably meant the boys were staying clear of their father and his latest binge until he sobered up. Now that they were older, they had figured out how to escape his violent rampages. Daniel also figured they’d seen the rcmp vehicle at their house and had been hiding.

  “Well, I think you’d better contact the police and let them know where you are,” Pederson said. “You know you can’t get away from them, and there’s no point in trying?”

  They nodded in agreement.

  “Now we need an apology,” Pederson directed.

  “Sorry, Daniel,” Todd said, sincerely.

  “I’m sorry too,” Craig stated, shuffling his feet in the dirt.

  “Well, that’s a start!” Pederson seemed pleased. “But you still have the consequences to pay for the incident the other night.”

  Daniel interjected, secure in his demands, “And I want some sort of restitution for what you’ve done here today too! And I want my arrowheads back!”

  “Please don’t lay any more charges against us,” Todd begged, handing over the arrowheads.

  “We’ll do whatever you like to make things better,” Craig nodded morosely beside his brother.

  “Well, for starters, you can clean up this mess,” Daniel instructed, righting his stump and sitting down weakly.

  “Can we do it later?” Todd asked. “I need a rest. And we’re hurt.”

  Daniel looked at the scrapes and bruises on the Nelwins and raised his eyebrows at them.

  “You think I’m not?” he asked, pointing to his bandaged head, and the other marks on his body. “What you did to me hurts too!”

  “Okay, we’ll do it now.” Craig agreed. He began picking up the pails and gathering the rocks. Reluctantly, Todd helped.

  As they worked, Daniel groaned inwardly. He’d have to sort the stones all over again, but he wasn’t going to complain for now. They’d never be able to figure it out. He removed his backpack and searched for his water bottle. When he found it, he took several big gulps, and then passed it to the Nelwins. They took it gratefully, before turning back to their work.

  Abruptly, Daniel headed outside with a slight limp. Pederson followed him, and they stood with Jed at the entrance. They could hear Craig and Todd shuffling and banging around inside.

  “Geeze, Daniel,” Jed whispered, “how did you manage that?”

  “I didn’t give them a choice,” Daniel said, grinning at Pederson.

  Pederson grinned. “Good going, lad!”

  “What else are you going to make them do?” asked Jed.

  “Stay away from my place!” Daniel answered without hesitation.

  They all laughed. Just then Todd stuck his head out.

  “Is this okay?” he asked.
<
br />   Daniel crawled back inside, leaving Pederson and Jed behind. He peered around, not saying anything at first. They’d put things upright again, but his belongings were still greatly disturbed, things were broken, and the dirt floor all cluttered with debris. Not only were they bullies, they were lazy!

  “Well, this doesn’t exactly look like it was.” Daniel said.

  “We can come back again later,” Craig suggested meekly, realizing they hadn’t done a good enough job.

  “And I have a snakeskin at home. I could replace yours with it.” Todd offered.

  Daniel struggled with himself. Should he let them come back and mess with his stuff some more, or did he want to do all the work himself? Which would better teach them their lesson? Suddenly, he felt sore and tired. He needed to go home and lie down.

  “Tell you what,” he finally said. “You can go for now, but I want you to come back tomorrow morning with a shovel, a broom, and a garbage bag to finish it off. Be here by nine a.m.”

  They nodded, satisfied with the arrangement.

  “What about the other charges?” Todd ventured to ask. “Is there any way we could do some sort of restitution for them too and have the charges dropped?”

  Daniel stared at them thoughtfully. “You’ll have to ask my dad about the damages to his property. He may let you work it off, but I can’t say for sure. As for me, well...” Daniel thought again for a moment. Then suddenly he had an idea. “I could use some help until I’m healed.”

  For the first time, it seemed, the Nelwins actually looked at Daniel as a person instead of someone to taunt. They eyed him up and down, noting his bandages, and the cuts and bruises on his head and arms and legs. They seemed to realize for the first time how much they’d injured him.

  “What do you want us to do for you?” Craig asked, sighing.

  Daniel smiled. He still had chores to do, and now he was going to have help. He explained the situation to them.

  “Fine, we’ll be there at five,” they agreed, reluctantly. Then they all crawled outside to join Pederson and Jed.

  “Anything else?” Todd asked, sure there was more to come.

  “You can’t breathe a word about our trip to prehistoric time to anyone!”