Tony sneaked along the tree line staying as low and as quiet as he could until he managed to round the corner. Sandra watched as he disappeared. She fell back little by little until she was sitting firmly on the ground. Looking around now without Tony next to her she felt alone and very vulnerable, but she knew she must hold it together. She couldn’t give in to her emotions and do what she had wanted to do for what now seemed to be a long time, and that was to break down and cry. Just as the feeling to do so became almost too much to contain she remembered what happened the last time people screamed and cried, and with that image still burning in her mind she bit her lip and buried it deep down.
Tony cleared the corner, poking through the thick bushes. He saw what he had felt from where he had left Sandra; there was a pack of four of them standing five to six-feet tall on hind legs. Long, strong forearms with claws and long protruding snouts. Large eyes scanned their environment. It seemed to Tony that they were taking it in turns to stand guard whilst the others drank from the river that now flowed faster than it had only a short distance further back. The guards of the pack constantly sniffed the air raising their noses high and sniffing in large gulps before blowing it back out. Tony’s gaze drifted to their feet, and that’s when his horror took full control of him. Set between their claws was a larger single claw that seemed to be hinged independently to the others and Tony knew instantly what this was for. He shifted his position and carefully pushed his way back around the corner until he was sure he was out of their sight line. He crawled back to Sandra and sat beside her. She could tell by the look on his face that he had seen something that terrified him.
“We can’t go on that way,” he whispered to her. “We need to cross the river and get higher up and then we might have a chance.”
“What’s there?” she asked him, but she really didn’t want to know and she certainly didn’t want the answer he gave.
“Raptors,” was all he said and she knew enough about dinosaurs from the movies and documentaries to know that one wrong move on their part and it would be over for them.
“Have you got your phone?” Tony asked her.
“My phone?”
“Yes, Sandra, your mobile phone, you have it or not?”
She nodded and passed it to him. He pressed the key pad and instantly it lit up.
“Thank God it’s still charged.”
Sandra shook her head. “What are you doing?”
He turned to her whilst changing some settings, though she couldn’t see what they were.
“We need a distraction, and this is it!”
He looked around and found a piece of wood big enough for the phone to sit in. Slowly he inched his way to the water’s edge and placed the wood with the phone on it in the river and gently nudged it and then returned to Sandra. The floating decoy - now in the middle of the river - started to flow downstream and around the bend towards the Raptors. Its 21st century casing of piano black and bright silverwork; contrasting sharply against the dull dead wood that now carried it away from them.
Tony looked at his watch and started to count down: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Suddenly Sandra heard the phone come to life. Its LCD screen lit as the mp3 player started and her favourite band began to sing. ‘Mr Blue Sky’ filled the air and it was instantly joined by the protests of the Raptors.
“Genius!” Sandra smiled at Tony.
“You can thank me later, if this works.”
He grabbed her hand and set off for the river. They ran as fast as they could through the cold icy fast-flowing water. A thousand needles instantly jabbed at their legs as the water soaked through their clothes. They could feel their muscles being drained as every step became harder than the last.
They were half-way across now. They knew they had to make that final push, they had to reach the other side and get up the bank to be safe. Tony could see the animals now from where they were. The Raptors, still puzzled by this thing that had invaded their privacy and silence, jabbed at the water. He pushed on, pulling Sandra with him. His legs became heavier like the dreams he had had as child growing up; he would try and run away from something, something that would terrify him even though he never saw it, but his legs wouldn’t move; stuck fast to floor or in thick treacle. No matter how hard he tried he could never run. Then he would call out to his mother and she would rescue him. She would tell him it was a dream, tuck him back into bed and make him feel safe. But not now; this was real and she wasn’t going to wake him from this, she couldn’t save him this time.
He pushed against the water; his feet fighting for a grip against the smooth slippery stones that covered the bottom. He had another look. The Raptors were still engaged in the hunt, for now they were ok.
Tony’s hand made contact with the mud bank. He took hold of the roots that were sticking out of the wall with his right hand and pulled Sandra to him with his left. His arms and legs ached, his chest heaved and his breathing was laboured but he had to make it up the wall. He knew they were not out of danger yet. Taking hold of anything they could use as leverage they scrambled their way up the bank until they reached the top. Panting heavily they lay on their backs; the hot afternoon sun warming them and bathing them in an almost recharging glow.
The sound of the Raptors splashing the water and barking still carried on even though the phone had sunk below the surface and become silent, but he knew enough about wind direction and the way it carried scents to know that up here they could neither see them or smell them.
Tony turned towards Sandra, “We made it!”
A few minutes passed before he regained his composure. Turning to lie on his front he now had a full view of the river and the Raptors that seemed to be still occupied with the strange item that had spooked them. Two of them were still dipping their snouts under the surface to try and find it and he decided they must have been juveniles because the larger animals of the pack had given up and now barked at them as they turned and headed away in to the trees. Instantly the two in the river gave up and followed.
“Ok, then, go get my phone back!” Sandra said with a smile.
“Yeah, right.”
Tony and Sandra stood and walked along the top of the bank; the cold water now becoming a lost memory as the heat of the sun found them out in the open. Up here there were no trees to provide shade and for now Tony and Sandra were happy to walk hand-in-hand with the sun for company.
It wasn’t too long before they had the answer as to why the river was gaining speed. Before them was a sheer drop, to their left a waterfall where the river ended and no doubt the brave little phone’s journey would have come to end had the Raptors not sunk it when the music had started. To their right the cliff edge ran as far as their eyes could see and straight ahead of them was a valley. In the distance on the opposite side of the valley - almost as far as the eye could see - the skyline was dominated by a volcano. A mountain range ran in a circular pattern down both sides, ultimately meeting the cliff where they stood. Below them the valley was a fertile green carpet. What looked like birds circled above it, and in the middle was a huge lake where Tony decided the waterfall must eventually run into after it had weaved its way through the trees. As the sun shone down into it they could see different shades of green that made up the canopy and in the clearings below them a multitude of different coloured plants and flowers. After the dense jungle and ragged riverbanks it seemed to them that they had reached some sort of sanctuary in a place were fear and death were constant travel companions.
He took hold of Sandra’s hand and gently squeezed it.
“There really is no way out, is there?” Sandra’s voice sounded tired and defeated, her face had a look of inevitability about it.
“No, this is it, Tony, this is where we are.”
“What do you think they’ll tell the family?” Tony asked.
“Once they realise the plane is missing they’ll probably make up some story of a crash with no wreckage or survivors. Let’s face it, the truth wi
ll never be known,” she answered.
“What now, then?” he asked.
She turned towards him and let go of his hand, pointing down in to the lush valley that stretched out before them, she spoke softly, “We go find somewhere safe to live, for as long as we can!”
Chapter Nine
The camp fire was now nothing more than glowing embers. William, Marcus, Nick, Amy and Sarah had sat outside this evening while they dined on one of the rear legs they had managed to get back to the plane, but as the sun started to set and the atmosphere of this strange environment started to change, they had decided not to relight the fire, but instead let it die out as they climbed back into the safety of the plane.
The remaining meat was left outside and none of them were particularly happy with this, but given the only other choice was to let it rot inside the cargo hold it seemed the best idea.
Sarah was the first to climb inside followed by Amy.
“Do you think we should move the other leg?” asked William.
“Move it where?” replied Marcus.
William shook his head and waved his right hand around pointing generally anywhere away from under the plane.
“I don’t know, Marcus, but should we really leave it here?” he replied.
Marcus looked at the leg and then out around their darkening surroundings. William had seen this look before and he knew Marcus was weighing up the options.
“I don’t think it would be a good idea to go dragging it out away from the plane now, it’s almost dark and to be quite honest, we don’t know what exactly might be looking at us right now, but at least here we have some safety.”
Nick agreed with Marcus. “It’s not ideal leaving it here, but Marcus is right; its better than wandering out there.”
“Ok, we’ll leave it till morning,” William replied to both of them. He knew they were right but he also knew leaving it under the aircraft was equally as dangerous.
William was the last to climb in through the door. They pulled the cargo net in and winched the large metal door shut. William pushed the metal locks in place and sighed with relief. He knew once they were locked they were safe and only then could he truly relax.
“Good hunting today, men, time for a good night’s sleep.” Marcus’s parting words, as he climbed up the ladder into the galley, rang a chord with William. He felt exhausted and it had been a long day. He climbed up last and dropped the hatch into place. Nick was standing in the galley leaning against the racks of cupboards. The sun now hung low in the sky and its bright orange glare penetrated the closed blinds on the windows; bathing the interior in a soft glow that contrasted with the few remaining overhead lights that they had left switched on since they had landed.
Amy moved through the passengers’ compartments. She noticed Sarah - who had settled back into her usual position next to Holly - who had now been asleep for two days. She pushed on through the curtains, noticing Nick and William deep in conversation. She made her way onto the other side and into the economy cabin. As she did, Marcus emerged from the toilets and made his way to his bunk. He gave a courteous smile, as if he was slightly embarrassed about her seeing him coming out of the toilet. She smiled back and carried on with the routine she had adopted almost from the first night here. She walked the length of the interior checking that all the doors were secure and all the blinds were pulled down as David had instructed them to do before he was taken.
Satisfied with tonight’s inspection she started to make her way to her own bunk in business class. She wasn’t far away from the galley when everything inside the plane went dark as the last remaining lights were starved of the power they needed and the low humming noise that came from the generators slowly wound down to silence.
Amy stopped in her tracks. Nick and William joined her from the galley. “William, what’s just happened?” Amy asked in a startled tone. “Well, at a guess, Amy, I would say that the on board generators have finally given out and that there is no more power left!” “Welcome to the stone age,” Nick added.
Amy made a sarcastic laughing sound at Nick’s reply. “Yeah, you’re funny!” she said.
The evening light was just enough to illuminate the cabin for only the very basic navigation. Marcus appeared through the gap that lead to the galley. “Power’s out then,” he said as he joined them.
“So now what?” Amy asked him.
“Well, we have the lanterns from the camping equipment, they’re battery powered and may last a few weeks if we’re really careful with the usage,” Marcus replied and then continued, “I would suggest we use them to get bedded down and then switch them off.”
“What about a fire?” asked Amy.
Marcus smiled at William and Nick. “I’m not saying anything to that,” he said with a slight laugh. “If the plane burnt out we would be completely unprotected and vulnerable,” William said.
“We have another problem as well,” Nick added.
“What’s that?” asked Marcus.
“The toilets were powered by the generators, so now they’ve gone as well, and of course the heating for when the winter comes.” He paused… “If it comes.”
“Let’s just deal with the lights and toilets first, we can sort the heating out when and if it starts to get cold, but for now it’s getting too dark to do anything. I suggest we bed down before it gets pitch black.”
Marcus replied, “Ok, I’ll take the flight deck tonight and let Sarah know what’s going on with the power,” William said.
Amy eagerly agreed. She didn’t like the dark even in the comfort of her own home let alone on this plane stranded in this place. She followed Marcus and Nick through to business class and settled down just behind Marcus as Nick headed again for the captain’s bunk. William closed the flight deck door behind him and made himself comfortable for another night of restless sleep.
He wasn’t sure how long he had been asleep. When he awoke it was still dark; pitch black in fact. All he could make out were the droplets of rain on the windows that were illuminated by the large moon that hung over them in the night sky. As his eyes slowly adjusted he could see further past the windows. He could make out the outline of the trees and the large foliage that skirted around them. The rainwater reflected off the leaves giving them an almost French polished appearance. He could see shapes swaying back and forth as the wind - that had picked up during the night - pushed them one way and then pulled them another. He adjusted in his seat, pulling his blanket further up and rubbing his eyes; yawning as the sound of rain tapped against the metal roof and thick glass and the sound of the wind whistled as it ran around the smooth curves of the nose. For what he was convinced was the first time since they had landed here he started to feel quite restful, he could even feel a smile starting to spread across his face. His stomach was full and he was warm and comfortable whilst outside the wind and rain kept the normal sounds that came at night quiet. He decided that whatever creatures they were they too were keeping out of the storm, but as always in this land his feeling of satisfaction was short lived.
He noticed movement out of the corner of his right eye, first. The shrubs that glistened now seemed to shimmer and the trees swayed, but not with the wind as the rest of them did, they seemed to move against it. Slowly he turned his head round to the right and stared as hard as he could. Something was there, just on the edge of the clearing but he couldn’t quite make out the outline. William reached over with his left hand and slid the small pilot’s window open. The sound of the rain and wind instantly increased but then another sound came and it was one William recognised: a dull thud followed by another and then a low resonating growl.
William snapped the window shut and then froze in his seat. The sound of his heartbeat seemed to become louder and louder. He placed his right hand on his chest as if to quieten it down. He kept his breathing to short deep breaths, he was simply terrified. The dull thuds became louder and more frequent as the animal broke through the tree line and got closer to the air
craft and as it did its outline started to take shape and William’s worst fears were confirmed as the T Rex crossed the front of the plane and walked past William’s side window.
He couldn’t move; he was rooted to the spot. He followed its progress with his eyes, turning them in their sockets as far as he could. He watched it stride past him and as the back of its head passed over William’s shoulder and out of his vision, he found the strength he needed and slid out of the pilot’s seat and headed for the door. He exploded through it and then collapsed against it pushing it closed. He felt at any moment the T Rex would burst through the door behind him and he would be powerless to escape.
He looked down the business class compartment; everyone was asleep and then the silhouette appeared in the closed blinds of the small windows. It passed next to him, within inches only the thin metal and glass separated them. He dropped to the floor and made his way crawling past the seats. As he did the outline of the huge head just outside kept pace with him, but he knew he would have to wake his friends. The last thing they needed was for someone to wake up and panic he was sure that if the T Rex heard a commotion inside it would have the strength to puncture a hole in the side of the plane and whilst it probably wouldn’t be able to get in, the hole it would leave would allow something smaller in.
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