Out of nowhere, a second set of deep, booming reverberations sounded, these ones not in tune with those of the G-Rex’s movements, sounding something like the world’s worst orchestra. Watching the swaying tree line behind Brett, a horrible feeling took hold deep down in his gut. Conn looked behind him to the scintillating stretch of lake, then back at the approaching pack of hypercarnivores. Next, he looked back at the G-Rex, and then finally returned his gaze to Brett and the mass of greenery looming behind him.
“Look out!” Conn’s warning to Brett was too late.
24.
Several things happened at once.
To the team’s left, the mangy-looking direwolf pack broke into a run, like greyhounds at the start of a race eager to catch the mechanical rabbit. Muscles twitching in their powerful limbs, the fearsome quartet made a break for their prey, eyes locked on the three exposed humans and Ambie.
Simultaneously, the forest façade to the south burst open, in an explosion of shredded vegetation. Bounding forward on all fours, amidst a churning vortex of branches and leaves, all flying in multiple directions, the Megalania appeared from its sanctuary. With its jaws bared and serrated mouthful of fangs exposed, the monster hissed and roared like some hellacious fiend sent from the underworld.
Brett, without a word, turned to meet the massive monitor lizard head-on. With a slightly confused look on his face, Brett stood frozen on the spot, looking deep into its cavernous reptilian jaws; in particular, at its fleshy, pink-red gullet. Pitching its head to one side, threads of bacteria-ridden saliva spraying everywhere, the Megalania snatched Brett up in a single bite. Its saw-like teeth tore right through the man’s Kevlar, slashing through to the skin and flesh beneath. Standing further back from the fray, not far from their Ford pick-up, Lex and Conn watched in horror as the giant lizard righted its head, biting down on Brett’s body. Blood spurted sickeningly, pouring over the reptile’s crusty, scaled lips, like jam oozing from a freshly-baked donut.
Brett, pinned in place as he was, hung between the creature’s lips, a pained expression etched on his ashen face. He looked to Lex and Conn, hand outstretched, pleading with them to help him. A second later Brett was gone, swallowed whole; signalled by nothing more than a single, sharp flick of the predator’s neck as it slid the helpless man down its trunk-like trachea.
Now, the Megalania watched Conn and Lex, sizing them up with hungry eyes. Ambie hissed at the barrel-bodied monstrosity, aware of the thing’s bloodthirsty intentions. Its dull brown, rough-skinned, scaly hide expanded and contracted as it breathed deeply, inhaling their combined scent, a slender pink tongue flickering as it tasted the hot, dry air.
A maddening roar tore through the fabric of the air, coming from somewhere off to Conn’s right-hand side. The noise was as loud as any blast from an elephant’s trunk, albeit unleashed with the intensity of a lion’s roar. Just like the Megalania forgot about them in that split second, Conn and the others put the Megalania to the back of their minds as well. Snapping their necks in unison, Conn, Lex and Ambie watched the G-Rex approach, each step, slow and methodical, shaking the very earth around them. Conn saw the Giganotosaurus flex the talons at the end of its long forelimbs, as it eyed off the Megalania.
“We need to leave, now!” Lex spoke firmly, but quietly to Conn.
“I know,” he answered, but yet he didn’t move.
The hulking monitor lizard’s mass increased, the beast inflating itself, trying to look bigger, hissing at the towering G-Rex. The theropod let out another roar, widening its stance, and flashing its scimitar-shaped teeth at its four-legged adversary. The Megalania backed up, whipping its tail, repositioning itself as it prepared to attack.
“Oh shit,” Conn blurted out.
All thirty-feet of the Goliath rose up in the air, the Megalania bringing itself to stand up on its hind legs. Lex and Conn stood dumbfounded, taking in the awesome sight before them. Lashing its tail again, trying to steady itself as it hovered intimidatingly before the G-Rex, Conn and Lex watched as the monitor’s appendage unintentionally struck their pick-up, denting the chassis inwards and sending the vehicle flying.
Conn’s heart sank.
In his mind’s eye, Conn saw the F-350 flipping over, but this wasn’t what actually happened. Instead, the vehicle miraculously glided across the tarmac, cutting across the path of the approaching direwolves which he had basically forgotten about. At the last second, the canines were forced to scatter. Lex followed this up by letting off a couple of shots from her AR, but she failed to score a hit.
“Let’s move!” Lex grabbed Conn by the shoulder, ignoring Ambie’s rasping this time.
Mesmerised, Conn remained where he was for a few more seconds. Craning his neck back to the two monolithic reptiles, Conn watched the Megalania charge the G-Rex, rushing forward on its hind legs. However, the G-Rex wasn’t intimidated. It refused to move, bracing instead for a collision. The two scaled giants collided with one another in a thunderous crash, their chests slapping together. Conn felt the vibrations from the impact deep in his bones. Screeching and roaring, the two beasts wrestled like a pair of rikishi, frantically clawing and biting.
At first, the monitor lizard forced the G-Rex backwards, the claws at the end of the latter’s feet tearing deep gouges in the bitumen as it slid backwards. Then without warning, the theropod shifted its weight, and shouldered the Megalania like a defensive tackle, forcing the monitor lizard onto the back-foot, turning the tables in mere seconds.
In the meantime, the direwolves had regrouped, and were preparing to make their attack. One of the wolves, sweeping around the side of the pick-up, located farthest from Conn and Lex, moved unseen, poising itself to ambush them. However, its plans came to naught, when the Megalania came crashing back to earth, landing flat on its back, sending up an eddying haze of dust as it touched down. No longer able to keep its balance, as the G-Rex rammed it rearward, the humongous monitor lizard lost its centre of gravity and collapsed on top of the unsuspecting direwolf, crushing it. There was short, pathetic yelp from the canine and then simply silence.
Belly exposed, the Megalania roared and thrashed about, trying to flip itself over. The burgundy G-Rex quickly approached, trying to maintain its upper-hand in the fight. Standing over the downed quadruped with its maw bared, the behemoth poised itself to deliver the killing-blow.
“Move!” Lex screamed in Conn’s ear.
The G-Rex’s massive, ridged head, descended on the Megalania’s exposed neck, making to clamp down with its curved fangs. The deadly attack was interrupted when the Megalania lashed out with one of its forelimbs, raking four long claws across the theropod’s big neck, tearing through the relatively thin membrane of skin that made up its drooping dewlap. The Giganotosaurus let out a piercing shriek as the claws shredded its coarse skin. Retreating, the G-rex stepped off, streams of blood cutting through the air, painting the tarmac.
Rolling over, the monitor lizard righted itself, swatting at the theropod with its tail, fending the G-Rex off and buying itself some more time. As it did this, Lex pulled Conn towards the grey pick-up. Unexpectedly, a dark grey figure appeared, climbing onto the truck’s hood, over the windscreen, and up onto the roof of the vehicle. Lex and Conn skidded to a stop, Ambie squeaking nervously.
The direwolf looked down on Conn, Ambie, and Lex, growling and salivating. The long, stringy muscles in its front limbs tensed before the savage-looking canid pounced. Gliding through the air, fangs slick and glistening, the wolf fell on them. Conn stumbled backwards, landing on his rump, as Ambie’s ivory silhouette slid down his armoured chest. Lex stood her ground, assault rifle raised, finger on the trigger.
Crack-crack-crack!
Lex fired off three quick shots. The first went through the underside of the wolf’s throat, the other two puncturing its chest, all of the projectiles exiting out the other side of the beast’s leathery, bald form. Still, the wolf’s body kept coming at her, lifelessly flying towards her. The cadaver slammed into the you
ng woman, driving her into the hard bitumen, its weight working to trap Lex underneath it.
Conn was about to go to her aid, when a mouthful of drooling fangs appeared by the side of his head. The curved incisors snapped shut around his right shoulder, piercing the fabric of his vest, and sinking into the flesh beneath. Conn howled in pain, a kind of fire burning through his body. Desperately, he looked about for his gun as the direwolf yanked him backwards, seemingly trying to take him somewhere.
Somewhere to kill me? Somewhere for me to die?
The young man’s Beretta was out of reach; at his feet, just beyond his boots. Conn figured he must have dropped it when he fell. The direwolf bit down harder, its teeth grinding unbearably against bone, the ferocious action managing to elicit an agonizing scream from Conn. Ambie, seeing that Conn was in trouble, dashed up his chest, moving swiftly. With its miniscule fangs bared, the tiny raptor let out the world’s sharpest war cry and clamped its jaws shut around the canine’s exposed snout. Ambie’s needle-like teeth painfully punctured the soft, fleshy pair of wolf nostrils, drawing blood. Yelping, the burly canine shook itself loose from Conn. Withdrawing its yellowed fangs, it backed up, shaking its head as if it was trying to rid itself of the pain. Conn scampered forward on his hands and knees, reaching for his gun as Ambie clambered into position on his shoulder. Snatching up the pistol, Conn reared his head back, locking eyes with the direwolf as it sprang for him.
Crack!
The bullet entered through the wolf’s left eye, leaving a bloody exit hole at the rear of its wide cranium. Slumping over, the direwolf was dead instantly. Standing up, Conn turned to help Lex, who was still trapped under the other dead canine. As he spun around, Conn found the last, living direwolf was creeping towards Lex, who was unable to use her AR-15 to ward it off.
“Lex!” Conn cried out.
Levelling the pistol, Conn squeezed the trigger repeatedly, until the magazine went dry, Ambie flinching with every bang. The direwolf’s sinuous shape fled into the brush, an outcome which was good enough for Conn. He rushed to help Lex up, shoving the dead wolf’s bald carcass off her, albeit with something difficulty, his shoulder burning from the other wolf’s bite.
“Thank you,” Lex hugged Conn close, much to Ambie’s annoyance.
Getting up from the near-blistering tarmac, Lex picked up her AR-15, making for the waiting Ford straight away. All of a sudden, Conn grabbed her, yanking her out of the way, as the Megalania’s big body blundered backwards, the thigh portion of a thickset rear leg smacking into the grey vehicle, shunting it further down the highway. Tumbling over, Conn and Lex landed in a heap, to watch as the G-Rex forced its four-legged opponent backwards, shrieking and gnashing its powerful jaws. Manoeuvring themselves, the pair of battling behemoths moved in front of the truck, cutting off the team’s retreat.
The Giganotosaurus thrashed its whip-like tail at the monitor lizard’s stubby head. Lunging forward, maw already partly open, the Megalania dug its teeth into the lashing appendage. Vigorously shaking its head, the monitor used its saw-like teeth to gnaw away at the G-Rex’s trapped tail. Wailing with agony, the theropod tried to retrieve its tail but this only made the situation- and the pain- worse. The Megalania’s teeth were designed not only for gripping and trapping prey, but slicing off chunks of flesh. Desperate to free itself the G-Rex rounded on the monitor, aiming for the latter’s barrelled neck. Biting down, the G-Rex’s dagger-like teeth struggled to pierce the monitor’s scaly hide, closing around its shoulder area. Holding onto one another the two reptiles did a kind of brutal dance, spinning on the spot, refusing to let go of one another.
“Okay, time to get out of here!” Conn urged Lex.
“That’s what I’ve been saying!” Lex shot back.
With the two colossal monsters locked in battle, Conn, Ambie and Lex sprinted for the pick-up.
“You can drive,” Lex told Conn, heading straight for the passenger’s side.
“Yes, ma’am,” he smirked at her, climbing in.
Turning over the ignition, Conn reached out to shut the door when a pair of wide, greyish jaws snapped shut around his forearm like a sprung trap. Conn screamed, looking down helplessly at the blood gushing everywhere. The direwolf tore into his exposed arm, aggressively whipping its head side to side. The devilish beast was pulling hard, trying to get him out of the pick-up’s cabin, its yellow-orange eyes burning with a wild, primordial intensity. Ambie was squealing like a baby, totally useless this time around, too frightened to come to Conn’s aid. Furthermore, Conn’s Beretta was out of ammo.
“Lex!” Conn screamed. “Help!”
Leaning across Conn and Ambie, Lex unloaded her assault rifle into the killer canine. The red-hot missiles bored through the direwolf’s dark, beefy hide, opening up deep, pink-red wounds, revealing the flesh beneath. The big mongrel screamed before it collapsed on the spot, dead. Conn strained with every ounce of strength he had left to yank the door shut a second later.
“Are you okay?” Lex tried to inspect the wound.
Conn mumbled something unintelligible, in reply.
Going with her first-aid training, Lex ripped a length of fabric loose from her top, and began tying it around Conn’s arm. He cried out when she knotted it over, his breathing becoming shallow and quick. Lex gave him a second to gather himself, questioning whether or not she should drive. Glancing at the colossal battle being waged up ahead, the young woman watched in amazement, forgetting about Conn for a second.
The monitor was up on its hind legs again, rushing the G-Rex. The two reptiles were chest-to-chest, a second later. The sight reminded Lex of bears fighting. The monitor fought to get a grip of the G-Rex, whilst the latter struggled to break free from the former. Suddenly, the Giganotosaurus pivoted on its feet, and clamped its mouthful of curved fangs shut around the Megalania’s shoulder and lower neck. Blood spurted as the G-Rex’s incisors punctured through the skin, the hot, red liquid cascading down the monitor’s long body.
“Conn,” Lex put a hand on his face to get his attention, “are you good to drive?”
“Yeah, I’m good.” He grabbed the handbrake, pushing her hand away. “Now let’s get the fuck out of here!”
Pumping the gas, Conn drove the pedal all the way down to the metal, working through the gears as quickly as possible. Spinning the wheel, he aimed the nose of the F-350 at one of the G-Rex’s legs, speeding forward.
“What are you doing, Conn?” Lex screamed. “We’re gonna crash! Move out of the way!”
“Trust me,” Conn looked Lex dead in her eyes, “I know what I am doing!”
At the last second, Conn swerved the bulky Ford to the right, swiping the G-Rex’s hyperextended ankle, throwing the big dinosaur off-balance. Zipping past the two monsters, Conn made off down the highway, tyres screeching as he righted the pick-up. Looking in his rear-view he saw the Megalania fall on top of the Giganotosaurus.
Slamming down into the ground, the impact generated by the combined weight of the two monsters sent a spider-web of cracks zig-zagging through the tarmac around them. The Megalania struggled to stay on top of the theropod, its downed opponent still very much a threat. Desperate, the G-Rex was kicking its legs, and slashing the air with its hooked claws, trying to get back on its feet. The Megalania couldn’t allow that.
The giant monitor used one set of its stubby, powerful forelimbs to press down on the G-Rex’s pale chest, keeping it in place. With the other, the monitor held onto the G-Rex jaws, clamping them shut, and forcing the head back flush against the bitumen, exposing the neck. Rearing its head and roaring victoriously, the Megalania slavered over its defeated enemy. The sound of its victory was heard for miles around, accompanied by the panicked cries of the downed G-Rex, fighting with everything it had to escape the Megalania’s powerful clutches.
Wasting no more time, like Dracula swooping on a damsel in distress, the Megalania sank its teeth into the G-Rex’s thick neck. Piercing the dinosaur’s supple flesh, the monitor tasted its adversa
ry’s life’s blood. The sticky liquid surged forth from the myriad wounds inflicted by the monitor’s collection of serrated teeth, washing over its leathery flesh to pool around its flaccid corpse.
Once more the oversized monitor lizard raised its head to the sky, roaring triumphantly, this time its maw dripping with the blood of its vanquished enemy.
25.
Cruising down the otherwise deserted highway, the grey F-350’s wide body cast a stretching shadow along the road. All the same, the vehicle’s dark sibling wouldn’t be around much longer to keep the big Ford company on its lonely trek. Darkness was creeping back into the world as sundown continued unabated. Only a thin sliver of the previously blazing orange-red sphere remained above the horizon now to light the way ahead.
Inside the truck’s cabin, Conn was seated behind the wheel, driving one-handed (the other limb heavily bandaged, and too sore to use properly). He was wide-eyed and alert, hectic images of the titanic battle replaying in his mind’s eye. For the most part, the young man kept his eyes on the road. Occasionally though, Conn craned his neck to sniff at Lex’s hair as she rested her head up against his wounded shoulder, using it like a pillow. She was exhausted and sleeping soundly now. It hurt to have her leaning on his shredded shoulder, but Conn didn’t care. The young man was just happy to be close to her.
Ambie was much the same as Lex, dead to the world, but content nonetheless. Curled up between them, the albino raptor hadn’t made a peep in hours. Once the coast seemed clear, following their flight from the warring titans, Ambie had initially refused to allow Lex to get close to Conn. The tiny raptor hissed and snapped possessively every time she got too close for comfort, brandishing its onyx claws and pointed fangs. Finally, with lots of encouragement from Conn (some of it heavy-handed), Ambie eventually acquiesced to Lex’s perceived encroachment on its ‘territory’.
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