The Mission of No Return

by Frank Cereo

  During their return trip back to camp two of the eggs were smashed and lost. The remaining four made one hell of a meal for the rest of the crew. Night fell as Josef and Michael started to make beds out bamboo that was found inside and outside their camp grounds. Night fell fast as the sun set behind their cave. The orange glow covered the vast forest as the night sounds came alive.

  Chapter 11 – The Savage Storm

  The night was hot and humid and the mosquitoes were murder because they were relentless. The fire provided some protection but only a little as the crew members did nothing but swat at the little pests. Then the wind began to pick up as it howled through the cave opening. It made the eeriest sound that sent shivers down Stephanie’s spine. One by one everyone began to waken to the unexplored sound.

  “What is it?” Commander Rescott asks.

  “It sounds like we are in for one hell of a storm.” Josef replies.

  A streak of lighting sails across the sky followed by a loud crack of thunder. The storm was coming from the west which was behind their cave. As the storm neared, the crew prepared for it as they moved everything to the back wall of the cave for protection. The lighting streaked across the sky and lit up the entire cave. The thunder kept getting louder and louder as the wind velocity increased. The dust on the floor danced in the cave as it was swept up and swirled around like a small tornado on the cave floor.

  “This is going to be a doozy. Let’s get the captain on one of those new beds in the back of the cave.” Commander Rescott states.

  Michael and Commander Rescott pick up the captain and put him in the back of the cave for safety. The rain begins to fall. At first it sprinkles and then an all out down pour. The wind begins to whip and the sound of trees cracking and breaking could be heard in the cave. The sound of dinosaurs roaring could be heard from a distance. The storm continues for two to three hours with little or no let up. No one dares to go to sleep because they don’t want to miss this. As the lighting steaks dance across the sky, you could see something forming in the distance.

  “What is that over there?” Stephanie asks.

  “Where?” Michael replies.

  “Watch over the horizon between those two peaks. There is a cloud formation that is forming. It looks like a tornado.” Stephanie responds.

  The next streak of lighting was bright as it lit the ground below it. The clouds were dense and low to the ground and lighting could be seen inside the cloud formation.

  “I don’t know what it is, but I can tell you one thing it’s nothing that I have ever seen before.” Michael answers.

  The storm could be seen from the cave as it ripped a path of destruction across the forest. Trees could be seen as they were uprooted and thrown hundreds of feet away. The noise was deafening as it shredded this vast forest into a waste land.

  “Wow, this is unbelievable.” Amanda says as she sits at the foot of the captain’s bed.

  The captain remains asleep for the duration of the storm. The loud noises do nothing to awaken him from his slumber.

  “Did you see that?” Jennifer says to Huey.

  “Yes I did see that. You weren’t imagining that.” Huey replies.

  “What did you see?” Stephanie asks.

  “The wind is so strong that it lifted and sent some type of dinosaur through the air.” Huey adds.

  The storm lasted half the night but finally let up just before sunrise. It left a trail of death and destruction in its path. The storm had even managed to cool the air temperature by twenty degrees. It was refreshing to the crew to finally be able to breathe cool non humid air. Even the mosquitoes were absent due to the cooler temperatures. As dawn approached the noise in the forest began to increase as injured dinosaurs were easy prey for the meat eaters. This was going to be an adventure in its own to see what had actually happened during the storm. The crew was going to investigate in the morning after a few hours of rest.

  Chapter 12 – Following the Storm

  The following morning as the sun came over the horizon the crew planned a scouting party to access the damages that the storm had caused and to gather food. This time Commander Rescott, Huey and Amanda would head up the team to investigate. The rest of the crew would remain behind to make the cave a more convenient place to live. They were busy making more beds out of bamboo and vines and using wood for tables and chairs. Even a ladder was constructed out of vines for easy access in and out of the cave. On the other hand the captain slept throughout the night and into the morning hours. Most of the night the captain was restless but as morning drew near he calmed down and went into a deep sleep.

  “The captain had a rough night but seems to have calmed down.” Jennifer says to Commander Rescott.

  “Make sure you change his bandage and clean the wound when he wakes up.” Commander Rescott replies.

  The three make their way down the vine ladder as Huey leads the way. Amanda is second and Commander Rescott takes the rear. They have the captain’s pistol, a camera, and two canteens of water as they make their way to the fissure. Again it’s a slow go through the narrow passageway to the open vast dinosaur world. As they exit the fissure slowly and carefully, they see the skeletal remains of the T-rex where it fell and died. The flesh has been completely stripped from the dead animal. What Spinosaurus didn’t finish the scavengers must have.

  “Take a look at that.” Amanda says as she scurries around the big T-rex skeleton.

  “You should have seen the Spinosaurus finish him off yesterday. It was quick and furious.” Huey replies.

  “I thought you said Spinosaurus wasn’t located in this area that the remains were found in China.” Commander Rescott asks.

  “Yes you hit it right on the head. Fossils remains were found in China but that doesn’t mean Spinosaurus didn’t live here. It just means no fossils have been found in this area. Now we know different.” Huey responds.

  “Okay let’s get into the forest for cover.” Commander Rescott orders as all three run toward the dense forest.

  The sun was rising up higher in the sky as the mist rose off the forest floor. The ground was wet from all the rain that fell from the night before. The temperature was beginning to rise along with the humidity levels. The group of three moves as slowly as possible through the thick dense forest floor. They try to be quiet as they do not want to disturb any of the large dinosaurs that may be lurking in the area and searching for food. It takes the group about an hour to reach the area that was ravaged by the tornado. The trail of destruction was at least two hundred yards across and extended for miles. There were uprooted trees and dozens of dead dinosaurs that lay upon the ground. Many meat eaters were already there as they ravaged the dead carcasses. The smell of death and blood was heavy in the air as the carnivores fed. There were T-rex’s, Spinosaurus, Allosaurus’s and a pack of Velociraptor’s feeding in harmony because of the abundance of food that lay dormant on the forest floor. The sight was unbelievable as massive blood pools were everywhere. The sound of flesh being torn and stripped while the larger dinosaurs could be heard with their bone crushing jaws. The remains of the dead were indistinguishable because all the carcasses were mutilated and half eaten.

  “This looks like a scene from a movie.” Amanda whispers to Huey and Commander Rescott.

  “We’re living in the past and you’re seeing it live.” Huey whispers back.

  All three stood under the cover of the heavy dense pine trees and the tall grasses that edged the tornado’s path. They kept as quiet as possible not to be noticed, even though it would not have mattered. The carnivores were all happy with full bellies and not having to earn their meal.

  “Come on let’s find something to eat while they are busy dining.” Commander Rescott says.

  They turned and slowly went back into the wooded area. They stood together as Commander Rescott led the way with his pistol drawn. A loud moaning sound could be heard from a distance.

  “What is that sound?” Amanda asks.

  “
Sounds like a wounded bird and a large one at that.” Huey responds.

  They approached the unknown with caution. From a distance it looked like an ostrich with a broken leg. The dinosaur was in severe pain as it hobbled and fell to the ground numerous times.

  “What is it Huey?” Commander Rescott asks.

  “Ornithomimus, it looks like an ostrich but it’s an omnivore. That means it eats both meat and plants.” Huey replies.

  “Is it dangerous?” Amanda asks.

  “Yes, every creature from this time period should be considered dangerous. Besides it’s wounded and that will make it more dangerous as it tries to defend itself from predators.” Huey responds.

  “Do you think we can take it down and will it be good to eat? What do you think?” Commander Rescott asks.

  The Ornithomimus is an ostrich type dinosaur. It is toothless with large eyes and a horned beak. The dinosaur stands about six to eight feet tall with a long neck and a rather large brain. The long neck attributed to its height. The legs were also long with three toed claws on each foot. This creature was built for speed and that was its number one defense.

  “I think it will make a fine meal. Just make sure you shoot at its head and take it down with one shot.” Huey says.

  Huey and Amanda stood back hiding in the thicket as Commander Rescott crept up on the wounded dinosaur. Slowly with steady footing, Commander Rescott neared the injured creature. With the pistol drawn he takes aim at the creature’s head. With both hands on the pistol Commander Rescott steadies himself for the perfect shot when he steps on a small dead branch lying on the ground. The cracking sound alerts the Ornithomimus and it turns towards Commander Rescott. Both the Ornithomimus and Commander Rescott make eye contact. The Ornithomimus makes a loud “caw” sound as it goes down into a crouch to defend itself. With the injured leg the creature finds it hard to balance and it uses it long tail to help.

  “Shoot it now,” Huey says.

  Commander Rescott has the Ornithomimus in his sights as he bears down to make the perfect shot. With sweat dripping from his brow as the heat index rises Commander Rescott moves into position. Trying not to panic he exhales to steady his aim and squeezes the trigger. The Ornithomimus moves in a forward lunge as the bullet penetrates just below the head into the creature’s neck. The bullet severs the carotid artery and sends a shower of blood into the air. The Ornithomimus lets out a horrific yelp as it goes into a fit of rage. It attacks Commander Rescott. Commander Rescott holds his composure and squeezes off one more round into the Ornithomimus’ head. The dinosaur stands straight up from the impact of the bullet and then falls flat on the ground. The dinosaur is dead before it hits the ground because the bullet severed the brain from the spinal cord.

  “Nice shot,” Huey says.

  “I second that,” Amanda adds.

  The dinosaur weighs too much for the group of three to take the whole thing. So it’s agreed that the good leg would be tonight’s dinner and the rest of the dinosaur would be a meal for the scavengers. Commander Rescott took out a serrated hunting knife. He cuts the leg right at the hip joint. As he cuts blood pours from the open wound. The muscle cuts with ease as he wedges the knife into the ball joint of the hip. The cracking sound is distinct as Commander Rescott dislodges the hip and cuts through the remaining muscle to detach the leg.

  “We’re going to eat good tonight.” Commander Rescott says.

  As Commander Rescott puts the fifty pound leg over his shoulder, a loud vicious roar from a T-rex comes up from behind them. The large carnivore smells the blood in the air as it closes in on the fresh kill. Commander Rescott and Amanda high tail it towards camp as Huey stays behind under the cover of two large pine trees. Huey wants to witness the T-rex eating and he waits patiently for his chance. The T-rex doesn’t let Huey down because it arrives right on time to see the dead Ornithomimus lying and not moving. The T-rex goes over to the dead carcass and smells it and then lifts its head to look around. Huey looks on in amazement as the T-rex moves down on the dead Ornithomimus and latches on to dead dinosaurs head. With one quick move the T-Rex bites the Ornithomimus in half detaching the dead dinosaur at the breast bone. Blood spatters everywhere as the remaining half of the carcass falls to the ground from the T-rex’s mouth. The guts and blood spill out on the ground from the impact of the fall. The portion in T-rex’s mouth could be heard as bones and meat were crushed and mashed as the large carnivorous dinosaur mutilated its meal. As T-rex swallowed the first bite you could see the large portion of food pass down its throat from the outside. The second bite severed the dead carcass at the tail as the mid section and broken leg were consumed. The blood from Ornithomimus spilled outside the large carnivore’s mouth as it dribbled onto its large belly and small arms. Even the tail was not left behind as the T-rex bent down and gobbled up the remains left lying on the ground.

  As Commander Rescott and Amanda reached the fissure, the commander noticed that Huey was not there.

  “Where’s Huey?” Commander Rescott asks Amanda.

  “I don’t know because as soon as you took off I was right on your butt. I didn’t turn around to see where Huey was. I assumed he was right behind me.” Amanda replies.

  “You go back to camp and take this with you.” Commander Rescott says as he hands Amanda the Ornithomimus leg.

  “Where are you going?” Amanda asks.

  “To see what happened to that jackass.” Commander Rescott says.

  Amanda dragged the large Ornithomimus leg behind her as she made her way through the narrow fissure. Commander Rescott backtracked into the thicket looking for any signs of Huey. When he reached the site where he took down the Ornithomimus he noticed the carcass was gone and there was a pool of blood.

  “Huey, are you out there?” Commander Rescott yelled through his cupped hands.

  There was no answer for Huey had already started to make his way back to camp when he heard the Commander calling.

  “Oh shit,” Huey says to himself as he begins to sprint back to the Commander.

  Huey moves with stealth as he keeps his eyes moving in every direction. Huey knows the danger that lurks in this forest and every time the Commander yells out he endangers himself and everything around him. To Huey it seems like an eternity to get back to the Commander as every step feels like a mile. Huey knows deep down inside that the T-rex has not strayed far from the dead Ornithomimus location.

  “Huey, quit screwing around get your ass back here.” Commander Rescott yells.

  As Huey reaches the kill site, T-rex has returned at the same time and there was Commander Rescott standing with his back towards the large meat eating dinosaur. As Commander Rescott sees Huey’s face with a look of surprise on it, he knows something is wrong. Before Commander Rescott can say anything he turns around as the mighty jaw of the T-rex closes on him. With one bite and no sounds from the Commander, he is gone. Huey could hear the bones being crushed as he slides his body around the backside of a large pine tree. Huey can’t believe what had just occurred in front of him and the question he asked himself was “Am I to blame”.

  Huey made his way back to camp where he exited the fissure with a concerning look on his face. The Ornithomimus leg had already been put on a spit and the aroma from the cooking meat could be savored throughout the camp. He reached the vine ladder and began to climb and when he reached the top he was aided by Michael.

  “Hey did you run into Commander Rescott? He returned looking for you.” Amanda says.

  “Yes, he came back and helped me. My foot was stuck between two rocks and he helped release me. We started back when the T-rex returned and as we tried to escape it snagged Commander Rescott. I ran from there because there was nothing I could do.” Huey says with a lying look in his eyes.

  The entire crew put their heads down disheartened. Everyone figured this was a playground and that nothing could harm the smartest creature in the forest, but they were wrong. There was a lot to fear during the Cretaceous Period because humans d
idn’t belong here. This was a time when giant reptilian dinosaurs ruled the world.

  They all sat around the roaring camp fire as they ate the leg of Ornithomimus. The weather was warm and humid as the orange glow of the sunset was upon them. The smell of the cooking meat could be smelled for miles as Michael turned the spit by hand. They all gorged themselves on the dinosaur meat because at this point they hadn’t had anything as satisfying at hand.