Carnival of Time

by Alan MacRaffen

  For a brief instant, Caleb had thought it was a mannequin lying across the floor, stiff and motionless. One look at the deep red stains on the wood and walls around it dispelled that illusion. The dead man lay partially propped against the wall, his legs kicked out in front of him and a rifle clutched in his blood-soaked arms. The man’s shirt looked as if it had been torn and shredded in the front, and his chest and stomach were covered in crusted blood. Caleb could see what he thought must be the man’s intestines, hanging loosely out of his stomach to drape across his legs and onto the floor. Nearby were several boxes of ammunition, some of them completely empty. Spent shells lay scattered all up and down the blood-streaked hallway.

  The man’s head was leaned back against the wall, its glazed eyes staring blankly down the hall at a large broken window. Caleb could see a fire escape on the other side of the shattered glass. In the dying light, he could just make out the fluttering shapes of large, downy feathers, glued to the glass and the iron railing with splattered blood.

  Caleb wondered briefly why the body wasn’t also covered in mold, like the bread and fruit, since the blood was already mostly dry. He quickly dismissed the thought, though, saving it for later. Right now they had to get out of this place.

  The two children helped each other climb to their feet, their legs shaking from the grisly scene before them. Suddenly, another series of whistling calls echoed across the town. The sounds were very close now. Caleb quickly tiptoed down the hall, stopping to peek slowly out the broken window.

  The street outside was dark and empty. A few stars were beginning to shine from the deepening blue of the sky, and a gentle wind rustled fallen papers and litter. Caleb almost cried out as a sudden croaking call came from one of the narrow alleys across the street. It sounded harsh and raspy, like the call of a crow or raven, but deeper. Further down the street, several other voices answered with grating clucks and caws. Caleb felt Theresa’s hand grip his shoulder tightly.

  “That was just birds, right?” she whispered in a small and shaky voice. Caleb shook his head slowly.

  As they watched, something stirred in the shadows of the alley. There was a soft clicking, scratching sound, then a sleek shape crept out into the dim blue light.

  Caleb’s eyes widened in amazement. He was caught between extreme elation and utter terror. Here, in the street before him, was the creature that had stalked through his imagination for so long. A living, breathing manifestation of the beast that had filled his dreams and nightmares for much of his young life.

  The animal was small, as dinosaurs go, just over eleven feet from its long, fang-filled snout to the tip of its feathered tail. It stood roughly four feet tall, balanced lightly on two powerfully muscled legs, its stiff tail bobbing behind it like a balancing pole. The creature’s long-fingered arms twitched absently, flexing hooked, sickle-like claws. On its feet were similar claws. The largest and sharpest claw of each foot was held up off the ground so as not to dull the razor-sharp edges. Caleb was surprised to see that the animal stood pensively at the edge of the shadows, as if it was nervous. It glanced up and down the street, its slit-pupiled eyes flashing golden in the dim light.

  Theresa whispered in the darkness beside Caleb, so quiet that he could barely hear her. “Is that a velos-s-, veloso-...” she stuttered.

  “Velociraptor?” Caleb whispered, barely louder than a breath. “No. Velociraptors are almost half that size, not nearly as big as they make them in movies. This is a Deinonychus. Same thing, really, just bigger. More like the movie ones.” He stared at the creature with a strangely awed but frightened expression. “I always wished I could see a real live Deinonychus. But now...” he shivered slightly, “Maybe that wasn’t such a good wish.”

  The animal was now several feet away from the alley. It stood on the edge of the sidewalk, staring intently down the length of the street. It remained still for a moment, then it bobbed its striped tail as if in some sort of display, fanning the long feathers out just like a bird. A short caw prompted a flurry of answering calls from down the street. The children could hear the others before they saw them, their claws clicking rapidly on the pavement. First one, then another bolted into view, trotting lightly up to the first animal and bobbing their heads in some sort of greeting. The first creature (Caleb assumed it was the leader) stood stiffly with its tail fanned out behind it, clicking its jaws in a mock bite at the others. Soon there were at least ten of the creatures circling in the street below, croaking and bobbing at each other busily. Caleb stared wide-eyed, fascinated by the complexity of the displays and gestures. He could see now that the leader had some sort of scar running across one side of its snout, a fairly recent wound, judging by the crusted blood. He almost didn’t notice Theresa tugging nervously at his sleeve.

  “Caleb,” she whispered. “I want to get out of here. Caleb?” He looked at her absently, then glanced back at the dinosaurs.

  “You’re right,” he said, an edge of fear returning to his voice. “We have to hide or something. These guys are gonna’ be all over the place.”

  Caleb turned from the window to peer back down the hall. As he did, his shirt caught on one of the jagged chunks of glass sticking up from the window frame. Before he realized what happened, the glass snapped free, tumbling over the windowsill and clinking onto the metal fire escape. Caleb froze in place, staring back over his shoulder at the sparkling shard as it bounced down the metal steps, shattering and clinking noisily on the cement sidewalk.

  Ten pairs of golden eyes turned to stare at the fallen slivers of glass. Caleb stood as still as a statue, not blinking, not breathing. The leader ducked its head menacingly and growled as it stared at the shards. Then it looked up at the bloodstained fire escape, rubbing the side of its scarred snout with its forelimb and snarling angrily.

  It’s been shot, Caleb thought to himself. That guy grazed it with the rifle and it remembers.

  Even as Caleb drew a breath to warn Theresa to run, the lead animal launched itself across the street in a series of bounding strides. Theresa opened her mouth as if to scream, instead only staring and gasping soundlessly. The animal was only a hop or two away from the base of the fire escape as the children turned and bolted down the hall.

  Caleb and Theresa scrambled frantically down the dark hallway, almost falling over the mauled corpse a second time. It wasn’t until they were past the man that Caleb remembered the gun and the boxes of bullets. Can’t go back for it, he thought quickly, or I’ll be as dead as he is.

  A sudden piercing shriek echoed from outside the window, followed almost immediately by a crash of rattling metal as the lead-deinonychus leapt from the street below, landing easily at the top of the fire escape. The animal was perched like a gigantic pigeon on the metal rail, crouching and staring menacingly through the broken window.

  Caleb stumbled wildly as he glanced back at the snarling beast, then turned his gaze forward again just in time to avoid colliding with a closed door. He realized his mistake almost instantly—in the darkness and panic, he had run completely past the stairway! Theresa grabbed frantically at the door, flinging it open and stepping into a small, cramped bedroom.

  Caleb pushed into the room behind her, his eyes darting all around. Small bed, no closet, one window. Behind them, the deinonychus leapt through the window, landing with a light thump on the old floorboards. Its reflective eyes glittered in the dim light, holding the children tightly in its basilisk gaze. Caleb was vaguely aware of the sound of faint, whimpering cries, then noted with some surprise that they were his own.

  Theresa was already across the room, pulling desperately at the small window. Her tiny arms strained and quivered for a moment before her fingers slipped free, sending her sprawling across the floor.

  Caleb stood, statue-like, as the growling dinosaur stalked slowly down the hall, its powerful legs readied for a sudden lunge. His panic-sharp vision flickered back and forth across the hall and the room around him. The window—painted shut. The bed—useless as
a hiding place. The laundry chute just outside the door... Behind him, Theresa was running for the bed.

  “Quick, Caleb! Under here!” she screamed, grabbing at his sleeve.

  “No!” he shouted, breaking into sudden motion.

  Caleb flicked his arm out, grabbing Theresa’s shoulder tightly. The deinonychus responded to the movement immediately, screeching and charging down the hall in a blur of bared teeth and claws. Caleb dove forward, actually moving toward the charging dinosaur. At the last second, he hit the floor sliding, shoving Theresa roughly through the flap-door of the laundry chute. She vanished with an echoing scream of surprise. Caleb lurched forward next. His head and shoulders pushed through the opening, but a sudden impact on his legs whipped him back out into the hall and sent him skidding across the floor and into the wall.

  The deinonychus had missed its mark, foiled by Caleb’s sudden dive. Instead of impaling the small boy’s chest with its outstretched toe-claws, it slammed up against his thighs with the blunt heels of its feet. The awkward impact threw the animal off balance, sending it rolling into the bedroom with a tremendous crash.

  Caleb scrambled across the floor on hands and knees, his legs searing with the pain of the blunt kick. Sounds of furious snarling and smashing furniture came from the room behind him as the deinonychus disentangled itself from scattered furniture and blankets. Caleb pushed forward, sliding limply through the chute opening, just as the dinosaur lunged back out into the hall. He heard the creature slam its head through the opening and thrash violently as he tumbled down the narrow shaft.

  The fall was brief but disorienting. Caleb rolled out of the other end of the chute to land headfirst in a pile of scattered laundry, tumbling end-over-end across the floor. He felt, but didn’t see Theresa as she helped him to his feet. The pain in his bruised thighs made him wince when he stood. Up above, the dinosaur continued to thrash and screech as it struggled to squeeze itself through the narrow opening.

  Caleb blinked his eyes and stared intently around the inky black darkness of the basement. There was just enough light coming in through the grime-coated windows to illuminate the shapes of boxes, sacks and broken appliances. Caleb began pacing anxiously through the shadowed stacks of crates, searching for a hiding place or means of escape.

  A loud rattle of metal echoed from outside as more dinosaurs began hopping up the fire escape. Theresa’s breathing became quick and shallow as she strained to listen to the sound of claws creeping along the second floor hallway. With fear mounting, Caleb started poking into several boxes. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but he knew they needed something, some sort of plan. Angry snarls echoed down the laundry chute as the lead dinosaur snapped at its curious packmates. For the moment, the creatures seemed to be staying in place, unsure of how to continue their pursuit.

  Caleb had found a small wooden crate lying in the middle of the passageway near the stairs. There was writing on the side, but it was impossible to make out in the dim light. Still, something about the box held Caleb’s attention. He pulled at the cover, which lifted easily, having already been pried open. Caleb was disappointed to see that the box was mostly empty. He swept his fingers around the bottom of the box but found mostly dust. The only contents were a few small cylinders. They were only a couple of inches long, with a papery texture. Caleb thought for a second that they might be rolls of coins, but they were too light. Lifting one up for closer examination, he let out an excited gasp. The object had a fuse.

  “Firecrackers,” he whispered. “Hey Theresa, come here. I found...”

  Caleb stopped in mid sentence as a growling, snuffling noise came from outside one of the basement windows. Looking up, he saw a black shadow fall across the dirty glass panes. Theresa was staring at the shadow and creeping silently up to Caleb.

  “Caleb...” Theresa whispered shakily. Caleb quickly wrapped his hand over her mouth, gesturing for her to be quiet and pointing to the stairs. Theresa nodded, wide-eyed. The children crept silently across the dusty floor, all the while watching the shadow as it crossed to the next window, sniffing. Caleb went up the stairs first, leading Theresa by the hand in the dark.

  Caleb winced as the first step groaned slightly, but the shadow showed no sign of noticing. He stepped lightly on the second step, then rested his full weight on it. Caleb froze as the step creaked and settled with a loud groan. Out of the corner of his eye the shadow twitched, then growled ominously. Several answering growls came from the far side of the building.

  Caleb took another step up the stairs, only to stop short again as the sound of growling and hissing filtered down from the second floor. The sound of scrabbling claws on the wooden stairs echoed clearly through the building. Caleb spun around abruptly, dragging Theresa back across the basement. He flinched and stifled a cry of terror as the dinosaur at the window began scratching furiously at the old glass.

  Halfway across the basement, Caleb paused and searched frantically for a hiding place. Spotting a squat, black shape sitting in a far corner, he dashed across the room, pushing Theresa ahead of him. A sudden clatter of broken glass filled the room as the dinosaur shattered the panes and poked its head through the narrow opening.

  Theresa began sobbing hysterically as Caleb continued toward the small black object in the corner. He bit his lip, trying to stifle his own cries of terror as the deinonychus began squeezing itself through the small window.

  Caleb reached the blocky shape, reaching down to fumble for a latch or door of some sort. The small door swung open with a metallic creak, and Caleb could almost see Theresa’s look of confusion as she stared at the dusty old woodstove.

  “Get in!” Caleb ordered.

  “What? Caleb, why...” she stammered. “GET IN!” he shouted, his voice wavering with fear.

  Theresa quickly ducked into the small opening, folding herself into the cramped, sooty box. As she did, Caleb drew a large hunting knife from his pack. After a quick glance at the broken latch on the stove door, he shoved the knife into Theresa’s hand and pushed the door shut. The deinonychus was now halfway through the window, its arms flailing wildly in the air.

  “Shove the knife in the latch,” he said quickly. “Jam it in as hard as you can, and hold it there if you hear it start rattling.”

  “Caleb!” Theresa wailed, her voice sounding small and distant inside the stove. “What are you going to do? Don’t leave me in here!”

  “I’ll be fine,” Caleb gasped. “Jam the knife in the latch. Do it, NOW!”

  Caleb heard the clank of the knife on the metal door over Theresa’s sobs and the sounds of breaking glass. He spun around to stare at the dinosaur, now almost completely through the window. One more wriggle, and it would fall to the floor.

  Moving quickly with shaking fingers, Caleb fumbled in his pack. He tossed packages of slimy crackers and fuzzy bread onto the floor, finally withdrawing a small, half-empty lighter. Caleb pulled the big firecracker from his pocket just as the dinosaur’s long legs slipped through the window frame, dropping it roughly to the floor.

  The animal scrambled for a brief moment on the cement floor, then sprang to its feet. Golden saucer-eyes glared hungrily at Caleb as the beast began crouching as if to spring.

  The animal froze uncertainly as Caleb’s lighter flared, igniting the fuse of the firecracker. Before the creature had time to react to this strange sight, Caleb tossed the sparkling cylinder at its clawed feet.

  Caleb stood perfectly still, not even breathing, as the animal slowly bent down to examine the fizzling object. It snapped in irritation as sparks bounced off of its snout, then bit angrily at the firecracker. Caleb’s eyes bulged as the fuse sputtered in dino saliva, then vanished into the creature’s fanged mouth. The animal shook its head furiously, as if trying to dislodge the foul-tasting object. Golden eyes turned on Caleb, blazing with anger from the stinging snack. Caleb whimpered and cringed as the creature crouched down, leg-muscles quivering.

  The beast leapt into the air, sailing directly to
ward Caleb and screeching angrily. Caleb hardly noticed that sparks were still sputtering from the animal’s open maw as it soared toward him. A sudden fizzling, crackling sound tore through the air, turning the creature’s attack cry into a wail of intense pain as the beast whipped past Caleb and crashed into the wall. A series of deafening pops rang through the musty basement air as the animal collapsed against the wood stove with a gurgling scream. Caleb could just make out the wood stove as it tipped to one side and rolled away from the blinding fountain of sparks emerging from the dinosaur’s head.

  The beast was flailing as if it were being electrocuted, legs and arms twitching and kicking savagely at the air as the head was consumed in a flare of flame and light. Caleb realized that the creature’s brain was probably already cooked to a crisp, even though the limbs continued to pump wildly. It’s just like a chicken with its head cut off, he mused morbidly.

  Tearing his eyes away from the grisly spectacle, Caleb squinted into the shadows, trying to see where the stove had rolled. He thought he saw it somewhere near the laundry chute, but wasn’t sure with the strobe-like glare of the firecracker still dazzling his eyes.

  Outside, the other dinosaurs screeched and hissed in anger and fear. One of the closer ones was already peering in through the open window, hesitant in the light of the flashing fireworks.

  Caleb dashed awkwardly toward the crate with the other firecrackers. Behind him, the dinosaur in the window hissed menacingly and began wriggling through the opening. Caleb stared desperately at the shadows where the woodstove had rolled. If he ran back for Theresa, the dinosaur would have them both cornered. At least this way, she would be safe for the moment.