“What are they?” Ash said, trying to guess how big the flying animals were. He couldn’t be sure as there was nothing to scale them against in the air, but they appeared bigger than the pterodactyls.
“Probably terror-saurs,” Marty said. “They’re called that because they’re terrifying. The biggest winged creatures ever. I watched something on YouTube that said they might have been able to shoot fire from their mouths, and that’s where the myth of dragons came from.”
“Dragons?” Marissa squeaked.
“Okay, people,” Becca said, “They can’t shoot fire and is spelled with a ‘P’ ‘T’ as in pterosaur. And yes, they’re seriously big and dangerous. Be afraid of them. If you see one close up, head into the trees. They can’t swoop down in there and they’re hopeless at walking. You can easily outrun them, even at a fast walk.”
“Wish they could shoot fire,” Harper said. “That’d be cool.”
“Watch this,” Reece said, alerting the group to three furiously buzzing drones that shot out of the trees beside them.
The drones whizzed towards the approaching pterosaurs. The drones circled the massive birds, which began dropping from the sky before catching air above the treetops and swooping upwards. Amazingly, the drones started pushing the creatures back. Soon, the drones and the pterosaurs disappeared into the distant haze above the jungle treeline.
“The drones are equipped with sound cannons,” Reece explained. “They disrupt the airflow across the pterosaurs wings, so they can’t catch air. All of our platforms and vehicles are equipped with similar drones, just in case. Like I said, we’ve made sure you’ll never be in any real danger. Mo and the tower have eyes on everything always. We’ll keep you safe, don’t you worry.”
“Why not kill them?” Harper said. “Make it safe for sure.”
“It was their world first,” Reece replied, gazing into the distance. “But, yeah, those things scare the hell out of me.”
Planetary Fireworks
N ight had fallen and only a thin golden line underscored a purple sky that was fast turning inky-black. The first stars of night twinkled overhead. Amazingly, the jungle only just seemed to be waking up and wails, whistles and whoops drifted on the warm evening breeze. Occasionally, Ash heard buzzing insects that he was glad he couldn’t see, as they sounded far too big for comfort. If one landed on him or buzzed against his face, he knew he’d freak out.
He swatted the air and looked towards Marissa, who was huddled by a crackling fire, chatting with Reece and Becca, picking at leftovers from the delicious barbequed ribs, potatoes and salad they’d had for dinner. Luckily, they hadn’t been subjected to eating dinosaur meat as Ash had feared. Behind the diners, faces glowing in the firelight, the watch tower loomed over the trees. Inside, behind the windows, consoles glowed red, silhouetting a figure inside. It helped Ash feel safe knowing the group were being monitored by a watchful guardian.
Babs was hunched over a telescope, positioned beside railings that overlooked the ocean. An abnormally huge half-moon hung overhead. It was mirrored on the ocean’s surface, grand and glistening. Up until now they’d been too busy building a fire and cooking dinner to get a good look at whatever lived in the alien waters, and now it was too dark to see anything. The camp was located on the opposite side of the plateau from where they’d seen the dinosaurs around the lake. It was in a small clearing beside a concrete bunker, in which fire making supplies and non-perishable food was stored.
“There you go, just don’t touch the telescope,” Babs said, standing upright. “Only put your eye to the eyepiece. If you move it, even slightly, it’ll lose the target.”
“You wanna go first?” Marty offered Ash and Harper.
“’Course I do,” Harper said, barging past Marty. “Is that it? It’s so small. I can hardly see anything. Pah… seen better stuff on TV. Don’t see what all the fuss is about.”
“You would if you lived in London,” Ash said. “We hardly ever get stars. The only thing you see if you look up is street lights or skyscrapers.”
“Perhaps you should try travelling then,” Harper said in a sour voice. “People always moan about what they don’t have. Waaa, poor me, waaa. It’s so boring listening to all the whining. Is all everyone does is whine.”
“Hey! Easy,” Ash said staring at Harper in disbelief. “Why are you always so angry and antagonistic? I was just saying it’s nice seeing the stars as I don’t get to see them much. Have you got a problem with me, with us? Do we have a problem?”
“His only problem is himself,” Babs said. “Don’t waste your energy.”
“He’s only acting up for her,” Marty said, pointing to Minea, who was standing in the shadows, filming them. “He only does it when she’s about. It’s textbook gutter celebrity behaviour. The most obnoxious gets the airtime. Apparently being a billionaire isn’t enough for him.”
“You’re right,” Ash said, staring between the camerawoman and Harper, who looked like a child who’d just been caught stealing money from their parent’s wallet. “You’re just doing it to become a celeb? I hope that’s it ‘cause, mate, you’ve been a complete spanner since I met you. You’re making everyone uncomfortable.”
“Getting cold,” Harper uttered. “Going to the fire.”
At that, he turned and trudged off.
“Looks like we hit a nerve,” Marty said. “I think we were right.”
“I guess we know not to feed the troll,” Babs said, hunching over the telescope once more and making a few adjustments. “Quick, Ash, look,” she said, beckoning, “before it moves out of the field of view. If this is your first time seeing something like this, you’re in for something else.”
Ash peered through the eyepiece and marvelled at the incredible sight. A bright orb, with bands of cream and orange clouds hung in space. He could make out four moons orbiting the planet. One of them radiated blue light. The planet slowly swept across his field of view, rippling as though behind a wall of heat.
“Wow… just, wow. That’s an actual planet, in our solar system?”
“Yeah it’s in our solar system,” Babs said, chuckling. “You can’t see planets outside it with telescopes like this. That’s Jupiter. Can you see the red spots?”
“Uh-hu. It’s almost out of range, but yeah.”
“Those are giant storms, many times larger than the Earth. In our time there’s only one large storm, so we’re the first people to have ever seen this Jupiter. I guess that makes us true explorers. It’s our first discovery. Wahnsinnig, nicht wahr?”
“Wansinnit what?”
“It means I can’t believe it either,” she said, smiling.
“Let’s have a look,” Marty said, bouncing on his prosthetics. “Come on, let…
A chorus of electronic beeping noises cut Marty short. Ash pulled away from the telescope and stared at Babs, who was grinning and pointing to the flashing screen on her watch. The four LED lights on Ash and Marty’s watch were also blinking.
“Seven thirty,” Babs said, the firelight flickering across her excited face. “It’s time!”
Becca and Reece hopped up and dashed over, followed by Harper and Marissa.
“Don’t look at us,” Becca said, pointing. ”Out there, over the water.”
Ash turned and peered over the railings, into the moonlit darkness, the ocean gently rising and falling. He didn’t know what he was looking for. Maybe he’d missed it. Suddenly, his eyes shot wide as an orange explosion blossomed on the horizon. A second later, a deafening boom cracked through the night. Then there was another explosion, closer this time. Flaming balls spat from the top of a mountain peak. The water surrounding the distant island, on which the volcano stood, sparkled red and yellow as chunks of burning rock splashed down.
“It’s the pull of the moon,” Becca said.
Everyone gasped as three giant volcanoes detonated in symphony, lighting up the sky with golden, fiery rain. Two more volcanoes erupted on small islands close by, sending up smoke an
d debris, that pattered into the island’s forest and surrounding waters. The most distant volcanoes had already stopped spewing magma and their peaks glowed like Halloween pumpkins at midnight.
“That moon does us a massive favor,” Reece said, amidst a further peal of explosions that sounded like cannon fire. The horizon behind them, above the palm trees, glowed orange. “The magma chambers never get full enough to cause any real damage,” Reece continued, “just a planetary fireworks show. The downside is the sulphur they release. That’s the eggy smell. But, you can’t have everything.”
“It’s not over yet,” Becca said. “Look. Can you see it coming?”
“This bit’s nuts,” Reece said. “Remember you’re safe. Really, you are. We’re high up. Completely safe.”
“There’s something scarier than actual erupting volcanoes?” Marissa said.
Ash leaned over the railings, moving his head from side to side. He couldn’t see anything, but heard a sound like wind rustling through trees. Perhaps it was birds? Then, from left to right, across the ocean, he saw a faintly glowing silver line.
“Tidal wave!” Marty screamed. He turned to run, but Becca caught him.
“It can’t hurt you,” she said. “Just watch.”
The foaming white water grew and grew until a towering wall was barrelling towards the island, rising up and blocking out the stars on the horizon. The rustling became a rumbling. The water surrounding the island’s coastline was being sucked out and seaweed covered rocks gleamed in the moonlight. Ash could feel the ground shaking underfoot as the wall of water pounded into a nearby island. He backed away. The wave looked massive and was moving with terrifying speed, its white peak foaming like the mouth of a crazed, rabid dog. The railings started to rattle.
“Watch this,” Becca yelled over the noise. “It’s amazing.”
Suddenly, the wave doubled over and crashed down, roaring as it tumbled and tore inland. It looked like the world was ending, that the sea had decided to claim the land for itself in one final, furious scream. Then, slowly, ever so slowly, the snapping and crashing sounds subsided and the foaming water slackened. No one spoke. Ash wondered if he’d ever be able to speak again. The might and fury of Mother Nature was terrifying. He’d seen things like this on TV and on YouTube, but seeing and hearing it up close and in person, it was unbelievable how small and vulnerable he felt. This planet really was no joke. Reece was right, on Jurassic Earth you could have the best time of your life or the last time of your life.
Basecamp
A sh, Babs and Marissa sat on sofas in the common room at the Jura base, excitedly recounting stories of the day, as though they were explaining what they’d seen to someone who’d not witnessed any of it. Rain drummed against the structure. Most of the doors that led from the basic, yet comfortable room, led to individual bedrooms. Harper’s door was open and he stood inside, in front of a mirror, busily adjusting his hair whilst pouting and dousing himself with far too much cologne.
“D’you see Marty run when that wave came in?” Marissa said, laughing. “I would’ve gone first but my legs wouldn’t work.”
“I know right,” Babs said, scrunching with laughter, “That… that noise… they better not let oldies come here otherwise they’ll definitely have heart attacks. That was like a living nightmare. Cool now. But damn… mein gott!”
“Oldies, what about us,” Ash said, holding his fore finger and thumb an inch apart. “I was this close to ruining that high tech suit, if you know what I mean. I swear, I was.”
“Me too!” Marissa squealed, laughing.
Marty came in through the main door and headed for a table laden with snacks next to the watercooler.
“Your turn to be interviewed, Ash,” he said. “A word of warning. She wants you to cry for the camera. She’s asking all these really annoying questions.”
“Like what?” Ash asked.
“Oh, you know, like stuff about my parents break up,” Marty said, dipping his hand into a tube of Pringles, then stuffing a few into his mouth. “Dad lives in New York and Mum lives in the Hague. She wanted me to get all, I wish they’d get back together, boo hoo, but I don’t. I have two homes in two different countries and they’re a lot nicer people apart. Together, they make that wave look like a cute little bunny twitching its nose in a dewy field on Easter morning.”
“They can’t be that bad,” Babs said.
“Worse,” Marty replied, shoving in more Pringles. “It’s like the house that hell built when they’re together. Scary. A full-blown horror special.”
“My parents got like that sometimes,” Ash said. “Is it just me or does marriage seem like something that most people shouldn’t be allowed to do?”
“Hey,” Marissa said, thumping his arm. “When I get married it’ll be happy and for life, to someone I love, like my parents. I know there’ll be tough times. Not everything’s easy. Arguing can even be healthy. You don’t have to agree on everything. I think that’s most people’s problem nowadays, someone disagrees with them and they lose their minds, like those maniacs on social media.”
“Gribble, the gribble, that what my mum calls them,” Ash said. “Wormy little creatures that burrow in everywhere and destroy everything. It’s amazing anyone listens to them, bulging-eyed keyboard-crazies. The angriest most easily triggered people in human history. Nothing will ever be enough for them. Obey or be destroyed,” he added in a robotic voice, tracking across the room with his arm, like it was a cannon, then pretending to fire a shell and ballooning his arms as the imaginary projectile detonated against the wall.
“Marriage never works,” Harper said, strutting into the room like a prize peacock at the peacock of the year competition. His hair was slick with gel and the top four buttons of his shirt were opened, revealing an unsightly amount of chest. “Love doesn’t last. It’s a chemical thing.”
“Mine will,” Marissa said. “And it will be an intellectual thing too. It’ll last forever.”
“Sorry,” Harper dismissed belligerently, “it won’t. People let you down, always. That’s just truth.”
“Well, I disagree,” she replied.
“Suit yourself, but you’re wrong.”
“Uch… whatever, gribble.”
“My parents are still happy,” Babs said to Marissa. “If you meet the right person it’ll be the best thing that ever happened. Sometimes things go one way, sometimes the other. There’s no answers about this stuff, but if you never take the chance you’ll never know. It’s risk worth taking, I think anyway.”
“Whatever, losers,” Harper said, seating himself at an awkward angle. He was obviously sitting strangely to present his sparkling watch to the group. No one commented on it, so he sighed, rattled the timepiece and checked the time.
“Nice watch,” Babs said. “Do they make that model for men too, you know, with less sparkles.”
The room erupted with laughter and Harper sat huffing, anger filling his eyes.
“It IS for men!” He flared. “I bought it with my prize money. I wouldn’t expect any of you lot to know anything about fashion though.”
“You spent all the prize money on a watch?” Ash said, stunned. “The whole lot on one watch?”
“Well, I put the prize money towards it. That pocket change couldn’t buy you this little bad boy,” Harper said, breathing on the watch face, then polishing it. “It’s bespoke, a one off. I know the designer personally. She lives in Milan. It’s where all the best fashion comes from.”
“You sure she likes you?” Ash said. “No wait, maybe you just picked the wrong one up at the shop.”
“You! Shut it… There is no shop,” Harper flared. “It’s an exclusive. They delivered it to me personally. People like me don’t have time for shops.” He pulled back his shoulders and puffed out his chest. “It’s an exclusive service, but I wouldn’t expect any of you to know.”
“Harper,” Marissa said. “Honestly, let it go and relax. There aren’t any cameras in here. We aren’
t your enemy. Whatever life you lived at home, or whatever’s obviously happened to you, you can change that here. You don’t need to try so hard. Just be your real self, the part that’s vulnerable and real. I promise, we’ll accept you.”
“You never know,” Marty added, “we might get on really well. You can’t be as bad as you’re acting.”
“I know somewhere in there’s a nicer person,” Marissa said. “You’re overdoing the meanness thing. It can’t be real. We’re not your enemies.”
Harper sniffed and turned his head. Momentarily, Ash thought he glimpsed great sadness behind those eyes. Harper stood up and cleared his throat.
“Getting a jumper,” he said, his voice crackling. “Why don’t they have heating? What are we, animals?”
For the second time that night, Harper trudged off alone.
“Wow… Is it just me, or do you feel like giving the poor guy a hug,” Ash said.
“I’ll break through to him,” Marissa said. “Someone’s hurt him a lot. He needs someone to grab hold of him before he floats away and loses himself.”
Bump in the Night
A t some point during the night Ash thought he heard something bump against the shelter, but was too tired to open his eyes and take a look. The control tower would keep them safe. He drifted back to sleep, where he sat with his little brother at home playing video games. A figure watched over them from the doorway, but he couldn’t see his face. It felt like a memory of his dad.
Ash’s eyes bolted open and his blood ran cold. Someone was screaming. He rolled over, fell out of bed and grabbed his bedside lamp. He backed into the corner, clutching the lamp like a baseball bat, staring towards the closed door to his room, expecting claws and teeth to chomp through and shred him to pieces.
“Where is it?” Harper’s voice screamed. “Someone stole it. Where is it? It’s an exclusive!”
“What’s happening?” Reece said, bursting into the room outside, the common room door cracking loud. “Check everyone’s okay.”
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