Dinosaur World 2

by Logan Jacobs

  “Just keep shooting!” I yelled at the girls. “Aim for the stomach! It’s not as protected.”

  The three guns opened fire again as the beast started to move. More holes opened up along the dino’s body, and the thing slowed down for a moment and shook itself like a dog. Bullets continued to peck at it, and the dino roared in frustration as it tried to figure out what was attacking it.

  The dino’s head swung around and two yellow eyes glared at us. The mouth opened and the stench of rotten meat drifted our way. The dino roared again, and we took the brunt of the blast. Leaves skittered past us, dirt flew into my eyes, and I heard the glass on the nearest window break. When I could crack my eyes open, it was to the sight of the dino charging toward us, its jaws already open as it prepared to chomp down on us.

  I fired toward the open mouth and saw the bullet hit just at the back of the roof. The dino kept coming for a moment, but the bullet must have hit the brain because the dino suddenly wobbled sideways as if it were drunk. The dino stopped, shook its head, then blinked its eyes a couple of times. It looked around as if it couldn’t remember what it was doing, but then it spotted us again. It opened its mouth in preparation for another roar, I was sure, but then it was distracted again.

  Another sound had caught its attention, and the beast looked around as it tried to track the noise. A moment later, a helicopter hovered into view on the far edge of the quad, and the dino cocked its head as it tried to focus on the machine as it moved from side to side.

  “Should we run back to the gallery?” Hae-won yelled over the noise.

  “No,” I yelled back. “I don’t want it to remember we’re here.”

  “What if they use a bomb?” Becka asked as the helicopter continued to dodge back and forth.

  “Over here,” I said as I ducked around the edge of the building.

  The helicopter must have made it within shooting distance, because a moment later, we heard the rapid fire of several large automatic weapons followed by the pinging of bullets against concrete and the crash of shattered glass. The three of us hugged the wall and stayed as low as we could, but during a break in the action, I risked a peek around the corner. The helicopter was still there, though it had backed away for the moment. The dino was still there as well, though it looked uncoordinated as it stumbled around the quad and tried to find the chopper.

  “It’s getting weaker!” I said to the girls over the noise.

  The helicopter closed in again, and this time I saw the flash from the muzzles as the pilot tried to move the gunners into a good position. The dino roared, though it was barely loud enough to be heard over the blades. The beast finally crumpled to its knees, then tumbled forward, its massive head smashing into the concrete sidewalk with a boom. The ground shook from the impact, and the giant lizard twitched a few times before it went still.

  The helicopter didn’t retire right away. The gunners kept firing at the corpse for a few seconds after the last twitch, and chunks of concrete, bits of sod, and even one of the last surviving rose bushes sailed into the air as the bullets cut an indiscriminate path across the quad. We hugged the side of the building again and stayed out of view until the barrage of bullets stopped, and we could hear the helicopter pull away.

  “What the hell?” Becka demanded as we risked a look around the corner. “Are they just shooting anything that moves?”

  “At least we were able to get out of sight,” I replied as I took in the damage.

  Most of the buildings on the other side of the quad were riddled with bullet holes, and the windows were now just gaping holes. Bits of glass sparkled in the sunlight and turned half of the quad into a nasty trap for bare feet. The target of the helicopter’s fury was sprawled across the quad, its massive body peppered with bullet holes and long rivers of blood. The grass itself was turning red from the oozing wounds, and I could almost taste the tang of iron in the air.

  “At least they took him out,” Hae-won observed as we crept away from the building and took in the scene.

  “And then they just effing left,” Becka complained. “Are we supposed to just clean this up ourselves?”

  We crept closer to the quad, and then waited for a reaction from the dino. When it remained still, I looked around the quad to gauge how much damage had been done to the campus. Most of the buildings had bullet holes, including my old dorm, though the area around the gallery seemed to have survived with very little damage. I shook my head as I realized that I probably would have been shot if we’d stayed in the dorms instead of moving to the gallery, and a quick glance at the girls showed that they had come to the same realization.

  “They could have killed us,” the blonde woman muttered as she looked around the quad. “If we’d been in one of the rooms overlooking the quad, we’d probably be dead.”

  “They wasted a lot of bullets,” the raven-haired woman added.

  “They did,” I agreed. “I’d say they were feeling frustrated, which means things must not be going well.”

  We looked at the buildings again, and then at the dino itself.

  “How are we going to move it?” Becka asked. “That thing is massive. It definitely won’t fit on the tow truck.”

  “Maybe we could drag it behind the tow truck,” I suggested as I moved closer. Even on its side on the ground, the thing was as tall as I was.

  “No,” Hae-won said as she joined me. “I don’t think the tow truck will be able to pull it.”

  “So we’ll have to chop it up?” Becka demanded. “Do you know how long it will take us to chop this thing into pieces that will fit on the tow truck? I don’t think we have enough bin bags left to hold all the pieces anyway.”

  I studied the creature for a moment, then glanced toward the sky to check for both helicopters and Pterodactyls. It was hard to think with the weird, peaty smell of the dino stuffing my nostrils, but I had to admit that staying on campus was now starting to look impossible.

  “I think we’re going to have to abandon the gallery,” I said. “With this portal here, big dinosaurs are going to keep showing up, and that means the helicopters will as well. I don’t want to be mucking around in one of the buildings when they open fire again.”

  “The gallery looks okay,” Hae-won said as she looked at our base.

  “This time,” I said. “But next time, they might pin the dino on the other side of the quad.”

  “These buildings have been here for ages,” Becka sighed. “They survived two world wars, angry kings, and a massive fire. And now those bastards just went and turned it all into swiss cheese.”

  It was an apt description. The buildings that had taken the brunt of the attack were filled with bullet holes, and I doubted whether there was enough plaster in the whole of England to return the buildings to their former glory. It was a desolate scene, and the girls looked about as depressed as I felt about the whole thing.

  “Stupid dinosaur,” Hae-won declared as she kicked the corpse. “Why did you come here and ruin everything?”

  “Yeah,” Becka added as she kicked the corpse as well.

  The girls kicked the dino a couple of more times, and then Becka’s face lit up for a moment.

  “I need a souvenir,” the Brit declared.

  “A what?” I asked in disbelief.

  “A souvenir,” she said carefully in case I didn’t understand her. “So other dinosaurs will know we can kill them. And to show all those wankers out there that we can defend ourselves.”

  “Okay, sure,” I said doubtfully as I followed Hae-won and Becka along the mammoth body to the creature’s head.

  The dino’s stare was still unnerving, even in death, and I felt the itch to pull the trigger even though I knew the thing was dead. Maybe that was why the soldiers had wasted so much ammo, though it didn’t make me feel any better about how many shots had been fired well after the thing was down and dead.

  Becka set to work with her sword, cutting at the flesh around one of the large teeth near the front. Hae-won a
nd I watched for a moment, and then I stepped away, ostensibly to watch for other dinos, but I signalled Hae-won to come with me.

  “How do you feel about leaving?” I asked quietly.

  I was curious to hear what the Korean would have to say on that issue. Unlike Becka, Hae-won didn’t have an emotional stake in the outcome, and I knew the Korean would give me a well reasoned answer. As it was, the raven-haired girl watched Becka for several minutes before she responded.

  “I think it has become necessary,” the Asian woman sighed. “There are too many ways we can be killed if we stay here, and the odds that we will die are increasing every day. It’s clear that no one has found a way to close these portals, and until that happens, the whole of the city is unsafe.”

  “That’s what I’ve been thinking,” I agreed. “And having the army shoot up the quad only drove that point home. But where should we go? Should we go north? That’s what Becka wants, and I’m fine to go there, but I wanted to get your opinion.”

  “She will go there on her own even if we choose to go somewhere else,” the dark-haired woman replied with a smile. “But I think it is a good idea, even if she didn’t have family there. There haven’t been as many sightings, and there is plenty of open land for farming and such. Becka also knows the area well, which could be very helpful.”

  “And you will come with us?” I asked.

  “Of course,” Hae-won said with a decisive nod. “You are my man. I go where you go.”

  “Ohh,” I said. “I… uhh… I’m happy to hear that.”

  “You didn’t think I would go with you?” she asked as she blinked her blue eyes.

  “It’s not that,” I said. “I just want the decision to be okay with you, too. You are my woman.”

  “It is settled, then.” Hae-won smiled at me. “I’m your woman. You are my man. We go north with Becka. Simple.”

  “What will happen if we get there, and we can’t find her mother?” I asked. “Or we find out her mother is dead.”

  “She deserves to know,” Hae-won said. “Wouldn’t you prefer to know?”

  “Yeah, I would,” I admitted. “I guess the only real question is how do we get there? Tim is great, but I don’t know that it’s ideal, especially if we want to be able to move quickly and hide in small spaces. And I’m guessing Tim will require a lot of gas as well, and I don’t know where we’d find enough.”

  “I’ve been wondering about that as well,” Hae-won replied. “I was thinking about what Becka said about taking a boat.”

  “You think we could take a boat,” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “No, but I think we have been thinking too much about driving there in a car,” the dark-haired woman explained. “I think we might be able to use bikes.”

  “Bikes?” I asked. “Do you mean like bicycles?”

  There were tons of bicycles around the campus, of course, and on most days, when the college was in session, the surrounding area would be buzzing with bike riders. Heck, I’d even thought about getting one myself, but decided it was easier to walk or take an Uber for going to most places.

  “No,” Hae-won giggled. “I mean like motor bikes.”

  I considered the possibility, then felt myself start to smile. Motor bikes would be smaller and more maneuverable, and getting around the abandoned cars on the motorways would be easy enough. We could also hide them in barns or forests, and follow hiking trails when we needed to. And if we found some with a real engine, we could probably outrun most of the dinosaurs we would encounter.

  “It’s a brilliant idea,” I finally said. “There’s just one problem.”

  “What problem?” Hae-won asked with a frown.

  “I don’t know how to ride,” I said. “I can drive trucks, tractors, and I even drove a scooter once on vacation, but I think I was like twelve at the time, and I’ve never been on a motorcycle or anything like it since.”

  “I can show you how,” the blue-eyed girl said. “My brothers showed me how to ride their motorbikes.”

  “And did you ride them often?” I asked.

  “Even when I was told not to,” Hae-won said with a grin.

  “I’ll bet your brothers loved that,” I laughed.

  Hae-won’s grin faded, and her eyes took on a far away look.

  “I hope you will meet them one day,” she said. “I think you would like them. They would like you.”

  “I would be honored to meet them,” I replied. “If we ever get the chance to leave England ever again.”

  “I have faith in you, Jason,” Hae-won replied. “And in us. We will leave here.”

  Before I could respond, Hae-won turned away and started to walk back toward Becca. I watched the two women for a moment, and I wondered if I would have survived this long without them. I shook my head, banished the dark thoughts, then trotted after the Korean.

  We found Becka up to her elbows inside the dino’s mouth, blood splattered across her armor and her arms. The tooth that she was working on was dangling precariously now, but it was still attached to the jawbone despite her best efforts.

  “Need a hand?” I offered as I walked up.

  “Nearly there,” Becka huffed.

  She gave up a moment later and stepped back. She was covered in dino blood and what I hoped was ordinary dino spit. She held up the sword, which had lost its sharp edge and now had several dings in the blade.

  “Right,” I said as I accepted the blade and passed her the rifle.

  I stepped up to the corpse and peered inside the mouth at the tooth. Even though I could move it easily enough, it was still nearly glued into the jaw. I took a couple of experimental whacks with the sword, then decided the better approach would be the one favored by dentists. I wedged the blade into the gumline and started to trim around the tooth. Finally, there was a great crack as the bone holding the tooth split, and the razor sharp fang dropped to the ground.

  Becka hadn’t gone for one of the bigger teeth, but the one on the ground was the size of my hand. It was impressive, and would certainly scare away anyone with half a brain. I picked it up carefully so I wouldn’t cut myself on the serrated edges, and then wiped it off with part of my shirt.

  “I guess we’ll have something else to clean off in the showers,” I said as I handed the tooth to Becka. “Your trophy, my lady.”

  “Thanks, Jason,” she answered with a smile. “I’m not sure what I want to do with it, but it’s big enough to chop food like Gordon Ramsey.”

  “I’m thinking that’s the exact plan the dino who used to own it had in mind,” I laughed, and Hae-won giggled.

  “So, to the showers, then?” Becka asked. “Since we’re nearly there anyways.”

  “We could definitely use one now,” I said as I took in my own blood-splattered appearance.

  “I will get the bag,” Hae-won said.

  The Korean girl darted back toward the building where we ducked for cover, then reappeared a moment later with the pack slung over one shoulder. The three of us made our way around the body and passed the bullet-ridden buildings to my old dorm. I’d brought my pass, though the door had been smashed in during the earlier attack. The lock clicked when it sensed the card, and I pulled the door open even though it was only an empty frame now.

  The girls stepped past me, then looked around the hall that we hadn’t visited since that first terrible night. It looked so familiar, and yet it didn’t really feel like my home away from home anymore.

  “Let’s go up one more flight,” I suggested. “It might be safer up there.”

  “As long as there’s hot water, we can climb as many floors as you want,” Becka replied as she led the way to the stairs.

  The blonde definitely had an extra spring in her step as she started up, and it was hard not to watch her tight butt sway back and forth as she practically danced up the stairs. Hae-won seemed to catch Becka’s mood, and the Korean started to dance as well. Halfway up the stairs, the pair were singing something in Korean, and I found myself g
rinning, though I had no idea what they were saying.

  At the top of the stairs, the girls made a final dramatic pose, and then ran giggling down the hallway toward the bathroom. By the time I caught up, they’d already disappeared inside the women’s showers, though they’d left my clothes and shower kit stacked neatly outside the men’s showers.

  I picked up the pile, double checked that I had everything I needed, and then stepped into the bathroom. I could hear the girls giggling across the hall as I did, and it was hard not to picture them in one of the stalls, water dripping from their bodies as they lathered up, their round breasts bouncing as they enjoyed the feel of the steam on their bodies. It was an inane fantasy, I knew that, but I figured I’d earned the privilege of indulging in such daydreams over the last week.

  I hummed an old Chumbawumba tune as I looked around the showers, and I realized the place somehow looked exactly the same. There was the gray tile where the sinks and toilets stood, and the blue tile that marked the shower stalls. The overhead fluorescent lights flickered slowly to life, as did the fan that always sounded as if it were about to die. The same slightly moldy smell blended with the scent of bleach permeated the room even though no one had been by to clean the place in over a week. I actually stopped for a moment just to soak in how ordinary and normal it all seemed.

  I caught my reflection in the mirror, then, and decided I was long overdue for a shower. Despite my best efforts, I was definitely looking scraggly and rugged, and not in a good way. I stripped off the armor and the dirty clothes, then hopped into the nearest shower. It took longer than usual, but somewhere, the ancient hot water heater creaked to life, and I soon had steam rolling toward the ceiling.

  I stepped happily into the hot deluge, and watched as dirt and blood rushed down the drain. I was still coated, but it was a good start, and while I tried to decide what song to hum next, I grabbed my soap and started to scrub.

  “...really?” I heard someone say. “So how was it fucking Jason? … cock… fantastic…

  I looked around, startled, and then realized the voice had come from one of the vents. It had been Becka’s voice I heard, and it was clear the girls were discussing me.