by M. J. Konkel
“Oh, come on,” said Mike, faux protesting. “We don't smell that bad. We showered this morning.”
It occurred to Joe that while Mike probably had showered, the running water would be gone as soon as the supply in the water tower ran dry.
“What about you guys? Has he spotted you?” Mike asked.
“I don't think he cares about us up high in the sky. We're out of his reach, and he knows it – just an odd-looking pterodactyl to him.”
“Definitely odd looking.” Mike agreed as he and Allen got into the truck and got it rolling down the road at about 20 mph. Then the tyrannosaur head rose over the ridge.”
“I think he sees you. He's moving a lot faster now. Can't you go any faster?”
“Mike has it to the floor. We are going as fast as we can,” answered Allen. “You guys are like a big huge weight behind us. It's like being in a drag race, but the parachute opened at the start line.”
“We should have come in a bigger truck,” said Joe.
“Yeah, woulda, coulda, shoulda,” answered Allen. “Point being, what do we do now?”
“Oh no!” exclaimed Joe.
“What?” Then Rob saw it. “Oh shit!”
Rob radioed down, “Hey guys, we have another problem.”
“Another problem? What now?”
“There are wires going over the road up ahead.”
“Ah, shit! We see them. What are we going to do?”
“Maybe the wires will break once the rope pulls across them,” suggested Rob.
“Or maybe it’ll rip the basket we’re riding in apart,” warned Joe.
“Even if the wires break, going under them is going to slow us for a bit. That dino is getting uncomfortably close,” remarked Allen.
Joe pulled out a Bowie knife. “We don't have a choice,” he pronounced as he sliced through the rope tether. The balloon popped free and started to rise. They let a little hot air out so that the balloon stopped rising. They discovered that now that they were lower down in the valley, the wind had shifted so that it followed the contours of the ridges. They were drifting towards the northeast.
The dinosaur turned back around once the truck started speeding away to safety. After his prey had escaped, the rex apparently didn't care for the river valley and retreated towards the prairie land that it knew. Maybe they were territorial, and it was out of its territory.
Joe and Rob started to let the hot air out of the balloon, and they started to descend when Joe saw something across and up the river.
“Do you see that Rob?” He jabbed his finger outward.
“See what? Where are you pointing?”
“Over there.” Joe pointed again.
Chapter 12
Anne and Johnny rested at Anne's house on Saturday. Johnny wanted to go to Brown's Station, but Anne insisted that he rest at least one day to recover. She was sort of enjoying playing nurse to him. Johnny did not protest very hard because he knew that she was right, but he insisted that they delay no more than a day. During the day, they made a couple of trips out to the edge of the ridge to reassure themselves that Brown's Station was still there (it was) and hoping to see La Crosse reappear (it didn't). But for most of the day, they talked. Anne talked about her friends and her high school and her parents. Johnny talked about Tiffany and his family and his dream of becoming a journalist. Mostly they theorized about what was going on. Late in the afternoon around dusk, they spotted a hot air balloon south of them along the ridge, but they didn't think that the people in the balloon saw them even though they jumped up and down and waved their arms as vigorously as they could. They wondered if the people in the balloon were from Brown's Station or had come from elsewhere. And what were they doing up there? At the same time as they saw the balloon, they also saw a bright bonfire on the other side of the valley.
When Sunday came, Anne and Johnny had a breakfast of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and bananas. Anne put her banana slices in the sandwich and called it an Elvis jelly sandwich. Then they transferred Johnny's stuff into a duffel bag and loaded up a backpack for Anne. She put it on her back, and Johnny strapped the duffel bag over his shoulder. Over his other shoulder, Johnny slung a second bag that was smaller and contained food and drinks. They each grabbed a shotgun and headed out the door. Their plan was to head south along the rim of the steep ridge until they came to a ravine that Anne said was their best way down. They would climb down into the ravine and follow it down to the highway on the valley floor. From there, Anne said it would be about another four miles of hiking to Brown's Station.
Johnny threw his borrowed shotgun over this shoulder to start out across the backyard.
Anne ducked. “Whoa! Watch where you're pointing that. It's for shooting dinos. Not me. Okay?” Anne walked up to his side. “Cradle it with two hands like I'm cradling mine. I won't be staring down your gun's barrel for starters if I am behind you. And you can get it to your shoulder in firing position much faster from here.”
“Thanks!”
Anne was pleased with the way Johnny responded. Many of the boys or young men she knew would have been offended to be told how to hold a gun by a girl. “Why, you're welcome, sir,” she said, smiling as they started out down a dirt trampled path.
“Do you know what day it is?” Johnny asked as they walked.
“Sunday. Unless that has somehow changed here too.”
“Yes. Does that mean that today we have God on our side?”
“I know some boys that pray before football or basketball games, but I don't believe God takes sides. I mean like what would God do when there are prayers coming from both sides? Does he judge who is praying better and then favor that side? Or what if the ones that are praying are really the jerks and the ones who are not are good guys?”
“I can’t argue with you.”
“Besides, I don't think that he does things differently on Sunday than on Saturday or Monday.”
“Maybe, those praying before a game aren’t praying for a win. Perhaps, they are just giving thanks.”
“Perhaps for some, but those that I knew were praying for a win. Say, does Tiffany want a church wedding?”
“What? Tiffany? Oh! We never really discussed any wedding details, but I think she does. Don't you?”
“No. It is so pretty down by the river. I think that I want to get married there. I always loved Ridgeback Island. Especially in June when there are still violets blooming in the fields, and lilies are starting to bloom out on the water. You still smell spring in the air there at that time. I think that is where I would like to be married if my pastor allows it.”
“’I’ve heard of Ridgeback. Is that close to here?”
“Yeah, just a little south of here.
“Hey, look! I bet the view is great from the end of that ledge.” Johnny turned to climb toward the bare ledge.
“Stop! That ledge is not safe; there is nothing under it.”
“Don't worry so much. I am sure that this ledge has been here for thousands of years without falling.”
“I told you, that ledge just juts out over open air. There’s nothing underneath holding it up.”
“I am just going out there for a few seconds to get a look.”
“Well, I am going on 'cause I don't want to witness you dying. Going out there is wishing for a ride in a long black limo. Only, there won't be any limos up here.” She continued down the path they were on. “Maybe a sweet chariot to take you home.”
“All right, all right! I won't go out there. Wait up for me. You have to admit it would be a good view from there.”
“Up ahead over that rise is a safer bluff where you can get just as good a view of the valley. You can see Ridgeback from there.” They climbed to the top and down a bit and stood on the edge of a bluff. “What do you think?” Anne asked, hoping he was impressed. “Is it not what I promised?”
“Wow! What a fantastic view!” Johnny exclaimed. They viewed the river valley as it stretched out far north and south from the
m, contained by the tall ridge on their side of the river and an equally impressive ridge line on the opposite side of the valley. Below them, the sandstone bluff was a shear drop of about eighty feet. The angle of the slope below the base of the bluff was very steep also, going down an additional 300 feet. Anne thought if they fell off the ridge, they would roll all the way down to the valley floor, if they didn't hit a tree first which was highly likely. She took a step back away from the edge. Up and down both sides of the river, they could see numerous other bluffs similar to the one that they stood upon. Johnny saw the rock ledge that he was going to step out onto a few minutes earlier and thanked Anne for convincing him not to go out there. It was just a thin slab of rock sticking out from the bluff.
“Do rocks like that fall down often?” he asked.
“I don’t know why that one stays up. Boulders a lot less precariously placed go rolling down the sides of these bluffs every year. Mostly after the spring thaw or a big storm.”
They continued viewing the valley. Far below them, the mighty Mississippi flowed down the middle of the valley. With its many side channels and numerous sloughs and backwater areas, it looked more like a reservoir than a river. The whole view was majestic, but one thing was odd. Below them and across the river the trees were barren, but far to the north and south they were green. It looked like were in a dead zone, but it was really that their spring was arriving later than the surrounding area.
“Straight across from us is Dead Man’s Curve.” Anne pointed at a stretch of road on the other side of the river. “Part of it seems to be covered by trees though.”
“Dead Man’s Curve? Somebody die there?”
“I don’t know, but with its sharp curves, somebody probably did. Oh, and if you look down there, that’s Ridgeback.” Anne pointed to a boomerang-shaped island that was about ten miles downriver. Due to the distance, it was impossible to make out any details. But they could see Ridgeback rise significantly out of the river, unlike most of the many islands that were rather flat. They were both amazed at the clarity of the air.
Johnny nodded with approval at the island, and they continue to stare out over the valley for a few minutes before continuing.
Anne went ahead, leading the way away from the edge and into a stand of trees. “Do you have a favorite band?”
“I like a lot of different types of music. I think though if I have to name one, I would say Freddie King is my favorite.”
“Freddie King? Never heard of him. Is he like old classic rock or country?”
Johnny laughed. “Neither. Freddie plays the blues.”
“Blues? I never really listen to blues. He's not B.B. King, is he?”
“No, different guy. I like BB also, but Freddie is The King in my opinion. I have a couple of his songs on my phone. If we get out of here alive and if I can get my phone recharged somewhere, maybe I can introduce you to some blues.”
“That would be cool. And it's not if we get out of here, but when we get out of here.”
Upon reaching the ravine that ran perpendicular to the ridge, they climbed down into it, and while it was steep, it was not as steep of a drop as the ridgeline behind them. The bottom of the ravine had a limestone-lined, dry creek bed that only saw flowing water during spring melt-offs and during heavy storms. The going was slow due to the many large rocks and dead tree branches in the bed that made walking treacherous, but it allowed them to follow it down.
“Tell me again about Tiffany. Why do you want to marry her?”
“Well, she is pretty. Very pretty. She is witty and smart too.”
“Yeah, go on.”
“She works really hard. And she laughs at my stupid jokes.”
“Is that why you want to marry her?”
“What do you mean? I just told you why.”
“I expected you to tell me you love her.”
“Well, of course, I love her.”
“But that's not the first thing you said when I asked you why you wanted to marry her. I thought that you would tell me how you can't live without her. How there is no one else in the world that can make you happy but her. How you would rather die instead of not being with her. Instead, you gave me a list of her attributes. It sounded like you were reading her resume for some job interview or something.”
“It is a beautiful resume. And you sound like a hopeless romantic.”
“I laughed at your jokes too.” she muttered under her breath too softly for him to hear.
“Besides, it is really none of your business,” he added.
They walked on in silence after that for quite a time. Something about the way he answered irked her, and she didn’t know why. After a while, she had to admit he was right about at least one thing. She broke the silence. “I am sorry. You were right. It is none of my business.”
“It's OK. Hey! We are almost to the bottom,” he said, changing the subject. “I can see the road down there.”
The rest of the walk was uneventful, quite a difference from Friday. Their conversation steered a safer course too – favorite color, favorite movie, funniest thing to ever happen to them and who would star as them when their adventures become a movie.
Chapter 13
Karen struggled through the woods. Even though for the most part she kept her weight off her ankle, it still throbbed with an intensity that forced her to stop several times, elevate it and let it rest. Every so often, she stepped down on it to keep from falling when her other foot tripped over a broken branch, an exposed tree root or half-buried rock. Each time she wanted to scream from the pain, but she bit down on her lower lip and kept silent out of fear. Her ankle wasn't broken, but it hurt as if it were. She thought she might have damaged a tendon.
Finally, she made it through the woods without meeting anything more frightening than a couple of squirrels. The flat surface of the road was instantly easier to walk on, and she felt thankful for that.
“I may be out of the woods, but I’m not out of the woods yet,” she quietly said to herself, still wary of everything around her. She was not far down the road when she heard a huge splash to her left, sounding as if a cow had been dropped into the river. She made her way slowly over to the edge of the road and peered through the scrub brush that lined it, searching for the source of the splash. “You know curiosity killed the cat,” she whispered to herself. Then she saw them. “A herd of Brontosaurus! Where on God’s Earth am I?” she whispered in bewilderment. There were three of them, huge beasts about half submerged in the river. One of them dipped its head into the river, producing another huge splashing sound. Karen couldn't help but try to get a little closer and have a better look. She didn't think that they would attack if she kept her distance. As she climbed over the embankment, her good foot slipped, and she went sliding down the bank a few feet before she caught herself. The brontosaurs didn't seem to notice, but the commotion did catch the attention of something else. To her right and down by the river, she saw it emerge from the trees and start coming towards her. It appeared to her to be huge Freddie again. She knew that she could not possibly outrun him. Where could she hide? The scrub brush along the road probably wouldn't provide enough cover. The river? Maybe she could get to the river and jump in. It had to be at least 30 yards to the river. With her swollen ankle she doubted that she could make it there before car-eating Freddie caught her. Was there another option? She didn't have time to search for it, so she had to try to reach the river. He was coming darn fast. She had taken about ten steps when she noticed a large pipe to her right. It was a culvert that drained rain water from the ditch on the upper side of the highway down to the river, and it was only about ten yards away, so she changed course and hobbled toward it. She could feel that Freddie was close by the increasing intensity of the mini-quakes that he created with each step; he was closing on her. She had never been so frightened in her life; she had seen what Freddie was capable of when he demolished her car. She ran despite the throbbing pain in her ankle, reaching the culvert just ahe
ad of Freddie. She ducked inside. The pipe was about two feet in diameter, so she had no problem crawling into it. Freddie was right behind here, and he stomped down on the pipe, flattening the end. The light behind Karen went out, but she had slithered far enough in that she was no longer in danger. She crawled towards the other open end, but did not dare to come out for hours. While she waited she rubbed her ankle and thought about Freddie, the brontos, and the woods and wondered what it all meant. She also thought about her family and was sure that she had seen Joe with his truck. How could she signal him or anyone else for that matter?
By the time she came out, it was late afternoon. She was pretty sure that Freddie went back into the woods toward the north. She found a new walking stick and continued down the road. She bore the pain and made as much progress as she could before it started getting dark. She was wary of what might be lurking in the woods up the bank from the highway. She saw a lot of squirrels, a raccoon, a coyote and a few deer, but nothing dangerous.
She came across a ranch house about dusk, limped up to the door and knocked. No one answered. She tried the door and discovered it was not locked and since she had to find shelter for the night, she opened it. A large animal came out and before she could react to it, she was knocked over flat on her back. She tried to cover her face to protect herself as the animal came towards her face, but she was too slow. It started to lick her.
“Down, boy!” she shouted, realizing she wasn’t in danger. The dog, a honey-colored golden retriever, sat down and panted while looking down at her. Karen propped up on an elbow and noticed that there was a collar with a tag on him. She carefully reached for the tag and read the name.
“Nova. Huh! Is that like an exploding star or like Casanova, the lover?”
“Woof!”
“Lover, it is. Are you going to invite me in?” Karen asked. Nova seemed to understand as he turned around and went into the house; Karen followed.