Extinction

by Mark Leney

  “Ha, ha! Very good!” Roger winced.

  They exited the vehicle.

  General Courtney grabbed up his grandson and hauled him away from the fence as the tyrannosaurus hurled itself against it. The wire mesh did not even slow it down and the fence buckled and fell instantly beneath its gargantuan bulk.

  “RPG team to me!” the General barked as loud as he could over the roaring of the creature as it bore down on him and his precious charge.

  Even if the General’s order had not been heard then the rampaging dinosaur had been.

  The RPG team ran up. While the soldier carrying the heavy weapon loaded the grenade, his companion peppered the oncoming T-Rex with machine gun fire, drawing it away from the General and Sammy and allowing them to run for cover. The armour piercing rounds from the soldier’s assault rifle penetrated even the tyrannosaurus rex’s tough leathery hide and the creature bellowed with pain and annoyance seeking to put an end to this bite-sized nuisance. It opened its huge jaws and lunged for the soldier.

  The RPG belched flame and the grenade hurtled at near point blank range into the T-Rex’s open mouth.

  The concussive force of the exploding grenade threw the two soldiers off their feet, but it was the T-Rex that suffered the full force of the detonation. The top of its head and upper jaw were violently blown apart, showering the RPG team with gore and bone fragments.

  After a few moments the two gore spattered soldiers gingerly got to their feet.

  It took a moment for their ears to stop ringing from the effects of the explosion, but when they finally could hear again they wondered why they could still hear roaring.

  The answer soon came when they saw that the other fences had also been breached.

  It was apparent that the tyrannosaurs were not just solitary hunters and were also capable of working as a pack and the military base was now overrun with no less than seven of the ravenous carnosaurs.

  The other three RPG teams were being stretched to the limit now that they had multiple targets to contend with. The freshly blooded team that had just recovered from their momentary concussion could only watch in horror as one pair brought their weapons to bear on an approaching T-Rex, only to be snatched up and torn to bloody shreds by another T-Rex lunging in from their right flank. The dinosaur did not even eat the ill-fated soldiers, but merely cast their broken, mutilated corpses to one side before seeking fresh prey. The whole base had very quickly descended into total chaos.

  Angelica had been making her way to the lift to descend to her underground laboratory when the sound of the attacking tyrannosaurs had brought her running back to see what was happening. She arrived just in time to see another of the RPG teams being ravaged in the jaws of one of the colossal predators. Having slaughtered them the T-Rex saw her standing in the main entrance of the HQ building and made straight for her.

  For a moment Angelica was transfixed with terror, but as the dinosaur drew nearer with its long stride she was galvanised into action. She turned and ran back into the building, back down the corridor from which she had emerged. In that split second she had resolved that she must reach her laboratory and do anything that she could as quickly as possible to send these monsters back to when they come from. The pursuing T-Rex had not been in the least bit perturbed by her entering the building. Its mass and momentum had carried it straight into the lobby of the building bringing shards of glass and masonry crashing down around it, but still it came on in pursuit of Angelica as she ran for the lift.

  One of the two surviving RPG teams had seen the dinosaur enter the building; it was hardly a spectacle that anyone could have missed; and they set off to try and intercept the T-Rex in order to rescue the young scientist. Positioning themselves at the end of the corridor they took aim at the rear of the dinosaur as it advanced towards Angelica who had just reached and summoned the lift. The soldier with the assault rifle opened fire to try and draw the T-Rex’s attention.

  “Get down, Miss!” the other soldier with the RPG shouted his warning before releasing the explosive missile.

  Hearing the warning, Angelica threw herself to one side just as the lift doors were sliding open. Feeling the sting of bullets punching into its flank the dinosaur skidded on the polished floor, attempting to turn and deal with its attacker. This sudden movement caused the creature to over balance and crash head first through the wall beside it into the rooms beyond. Just as the grenade that had been intended to kill it rocketed over head and hurtled into the waiting lift!

  Chapter Thirty

  Michael, Penny and Russell watched as the hatzegopteryx came to land and folded its huge wings so that it was hunched over the crash site like a gigantic hideous vampire bat, squatting over its victim. Something inside the wreckage of the helicopter had caught its eye and it started to shamble awkwardly using its clawed wings as makeshift forelegs to pull itself forward.

  “Mum!” Penny cried out desperately.

  Without a word of warning Michael opened the door of the ambulance, snatched up the AK-47 from the seat beside him and jumped out of the vehicle.

  “Michael, what are you doing? Come back!” Penny called, in vain.

  Michael strode purposefully towards the dinosaur that so far remained oblivious to his presence. He popped the magazine out of its chamber and noted that only four rounds remained, but he had the three spare magazines in his pockets so that did not overly concern him. His chief concern was as to whether or not the bullets would have much effect on such a large animal. The hatzegopteryx was lowering its huge beak towards the helicopter.

  Michael cocked the rifle. There was only one way to find out.

  He was aware of Penny’s voice in his ears calling him back to the ambulance, but he made an effort to block her out as he raised the weapon to his shoulder, took aim at the creature’s head and fired.

  The AK-47 kicked against his shoulder sending his aim a little wide of the mark, though he did not miss his target entirely. The bullets drilled into the bony crest atop of the hatzegopteryx’s head, shattering a fist sized hole through it. The creature screeched in pain and swung its enormous head round to face its tormentor. As it did so, Michael stepped towards it and fired again. This time the two remaining bullets grazed the side of the monster’s head before Michael’s weapon clicked empty.

  Quickly he ejected the empty magazine, pulled out one of the spares and slammed it into place. The whole process could not have taken him more than five seconds, but in that time the hatzegopteryx had fully turned its attention on him and was lumbering towards him with the point of its beak lowered, ready to impale him.

  Michael again raised the weapon and squeezed off as many rounds as he could into the approaching creature. Many of the bullets ricocheted harmlessly from the carapace of its massive beak, but a few of them found their way past that natural armour plating and into the more vulnerable flesh behind. It was the bullet that entered the creature’s left eye that brought the hatzegopteryx’s advance to an abrupt halt. The creature’s awkward limbs buckled beneath it and it crashed down in a sprawling heap, sending a cloud of debris flying in all directions. The tip of its beak lay just inches away from Michael, who had not moved an inch since the creature’s attack had begun. A trickle of blood leaked from the gaping hole that used to be its left eye socket.

  Michael was jolted out of his reverie as something slammed into him from behind and encompassed him in a constricting embrace. He quickly realised that it was Penny and he turned to face her. She was crying again, clearly pleased that he was alive and unharmed.

  He allowed the AK-47 to dangle from his shoulder as he took her into his arms and soothed her gently. Once Penny’s tears had subsided she pulled away from Michael and punched him hard in the solar plexus and he doubled over with the wind knocked out of him.

  “What was that for?” he wheezed.

  “Don’t you ever do anything like that again, you pillock!” she chastised.

  Michael made an effort to straighten as his brea
th returned to him. He gave a mock salute.

  “I’ll try my best, Ma’am.” He smirked.

  Penny punched him again, and then they went to retrieve the bodies.

  Chapter Thirty One

  Sean, Katrina and Roger had made their way as stealthily as possible into the domain of the spinosaurus. Keeping to the sides of buildings and alley ways they tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. So far though they had not seen any sign of the large reptile, nor of any of its droppings.

  “An animal that size is bound to have a large territory. Oxford Circus is probably just one of its borders.” Roger observed.

  “Meaning?” Sean asked curiously.

  “That maybe we might be lucky enough not to bump into the thing today.” Roger explained.

  “Shush!! Are you trying to jinx us, Roger??” Katrina scalded with a wry smile.

  “I hope you’re right.” Sean replied, “Still, I thought we might have come across some of its droppings by now. We don’t want to get too far away from the people carrier, in case we aren’t lucky and have to make a run for it. I don’t fancy our chances trying to outrun that thing on foot.”

  “Maybe the dinosaur has a set place within its territory which it uses for its toilet, no?” Katrina suggested.

  “Do you really think that dinosaurs are that particular about where they take a dump?” Roger cocked an eyebrow doubtfully.

  “It is not impossible!” Katrina protested with more than a little indignation.

  “I think if we are going to find anything, we’ll need to follow our noses.” Sean reasoned.

  “Shit stinks.” Roger agreed.

  They stopped momentarily and sniffed the air. As one their faces wrinkled with distaste and they altered their course accordingly.

  Once they had picked up the vile overpowering stench they wondered how it had previously escaped their notice. Roger was of the opinion that the smell had always been there and that, accustomed as they had quickly become to their unusual predicament, they had not noticed it until they had specifically looked, or sniffed, for it.

  It did not take them long to locate the source of the rancid odour.

  The pile of spinosaurus droppings was taller than them all by at least a couple of feet and judging from the smell and malleable consistency of the stool it was reasonably fresh.

  Just how fresh was attested by the presence of the spinosaurus nearby.

  As yet it had not seen them so they quickly retreated back into cover.

  “Now what?” Roger hissed in the loudest whisper he dared raise as he did not want to risk the spinosaurus hearing him.

  Sean didn’t answer for a long moment. He seemed to be deep in thought.

  “I’m going to try something.” He said eventually, “I want you two to make your way back to the people carrier. There’s no sense in all of us risking our lives.”

  “No, Sean, that is not acceptable! I will not let you do it!” Katrina exclaimed a little too loudly.

  For a moment everyone was silent. Sean gingerly poked his head around the corner to see if the spinosaurus had heard Katrina’s outburst. He found himself looking into its huge, predatory eyes mere feet away from him.

  “Run!” Sean shouted.

  Neither Katrina nor Roger needed telling twice. They began to run back the way they had come towards where they had left the people carrier. It was only when they reached the vehicle and were about to clamber into it that they remembered Sean had the keys and in that same instant they also realised that he was no longer with them.

  “Mon Dieu! Sean! Where is he?” Katrina cried, sick with worry.

  They hovered beside the people carrier, looking for Sean, unsure of how they should proceed.

  It wasn’t long before they saw him pelting towards them, covered in dinosaur shit from head to toe with the spinosaurus at his heels.

  “Get in the fucking car!!” Sean yelled at them. Usain Bolt would have been envious at the speed in which Sean covered the gap between horrible dinosaur death and the relative safety of the people carrier.

  Luckily the doors had been left unlocked so it only required Sean to pile into the driver’s seat and put the keys in the ignition. The stench of the excrement that covered him pervaded the entire interior of the vehicle within seconds.

  “You didn’t?” Roger enquired sceptically.

  Sean nodded as the engine fired and he threw the vehicle into reverse.

  “Yup. I jumped in it.” He confirmed.

  The spinosaurus closed upon them within the space of a few long strides. There was no time for a U-turn. Sean had no choice, but to look over his shoulder and retreat the vehicle in reverse.

  Unlike their previous encounter with the spinosaurus they did not have enough of a lead this time to put a significant amount of distance between them and the fact that they were forced to go backwards did not help. The spinosaurus swung its great crocodilian head and struck the vehicle a powerful glancing blow. Fortunately this attack proved to have favourable consequences as the force of the blow caused the people carrier to spin.

  Sean grappled with the steering wheel, steering into the spin to try and control the momentum which, happily, resulted in the vehicle facing in a forwards direction once more. Sean floored the accelerator and managed to pull a little way from the pursuing dinosaur.

  Then he noticed the fuel gauge... they were almost out of petrol.

  Sean cursed himself inwardly for not thinking to check the fuel levels were high enough before they had embarked on their current mission. There was no option. He would have to try and put as much distance between them and the spinosaurus before the tank expired completely. It was time for some creative driving.

  The spinosaurus was beginning to close upon them once more. Katrina in the backseat could not tear her eyes away from the looming image in the rear window of its crocodile-head, lowered for another attack. The bizarre thought occurred to her that the impending terror of the pursuing dinosaur went some way to help towards distracting her from the potency of the smell emanating from her new boyfriend. In that same instant she realised that if they survived this little encounter she wouldn’t care how badly Sean smelt.

  It was then that Sean slammed the brakes on and the car screeched to a grinding halt.

  This is it… we’re dead! The dinosaur’s going to eat us all! Katrina thought with sudden clarity.

  The spinosaurus was quite unprepared for its prey to stop as suddenly as it did. Its momentum carried it so that it tripped over the now stationary vehicle and it toppled snout over tail into a crashing dive that thankfully did not bring it down on top of the people carrier, but it did land heavily on the hard ground ahead of them. That was not to say that the people carrier came away completely unscathed. The entire back end of the vehicle had crumpled in like a wad of unwanted note paper and Katrina had scrambled to the front of the vehicle to escape injury. As a result of this the people carrier, petrol or no petrol, was not going anywhere.

  For a moment the three companions stared at the prone form of the spinosaurus ahead of them.

  “Have we killed it?” Roger was wondering.

  The spinosaur’s tail twitched and caught the front of the vehicle a blow strong enough to send the vehicle flipping onto its side. It rolled over onto its roof, then its side again, roof, side until it came to a stop against the front of one of the side buildings.

  Neither Sean, Roger nor Katrina had been wearing a seatbelt. Inside the stricken vehicle all was still and the spinosaurus, momentarily stunned though it had been, was now stirring.

  When Katrina regained consciousness she found herself sandwiched between Sean and Roger. A predicament she might not have been so averse to under different circumstances.

  However, from where she lay she could see that the spinosaurus was now back on its feet.

  It seemed confused. Somehow it did not seem to recognise the wreckage of the vehicle as being in any way related to what it had been chasing just moments before.
<
br />   The creature looked from side to side, trying to discover where its prey had escaped to.

  It sniffed the air tentatively, but all it could smell was the pungent odour of its own excrement.

  Katrina watched from the midst of her Sean and Roger sandwich, trying very hard to control her breathing for fear that the creature might hear her.

  The spinosaurus stood there for a long moment. It was facing the wreckage. Could it see them? For what seemed like many long minutes all that Katrina could hear was the dinosaur’s heavy breathing over the lighter, ever so slightly muted breaths of Sean and Roger. Beneath her Roger was beginning to stir. He started to groan from the piercing pain in the side of his head. Katrina could not move her arms, trapped as they were between her two male companions otherwise she would have clamped a hand over Roger’s mouth.

  It was fortunate then that Roger spotted the spinosaurus in time to shut himself up.

  The dinosaur had not heard him. It soon transpired that it had not seen them either as it began to stalk away back to where it had come from.

  Roger and Katrina let out the breaths they had been holding collectively. Sean too was now beginning to recover consciousness.

  “What did I miss?” he moaned as he cuffed fresh blood away from his eyes.

  Roger and Katrina’s reply came in the form of the nervous relief of hysterical laughter.

  It wasn’t long before Sean, despite himself, was joining in.

  Epilogue

  They made their way back to the hotel on foot, keeping to the cover of the buildings and alleys whenever they could. Half way into their journey they discovered that their caution was far from necessary. At one point they were faced with the presence of a large, hungry albertosaurus. They turned a corner and there it was blocking their most direct route back to the hotel. To take a detour now would have added at least an hour and a half to their journey. There had to be some way of getting passed it unnoticed.