Caleb grabbed the two remaining firecrackers with one hand, his other hand clutching the lighter tightly as he began running up the stairs. He paused halfway up to look back at the stove.
“Theresa!” he shouted, “Stay there! I’ll come back for you, just stay there!”
He thought he could hear her voice echoing from the stove, calling his name as he ran up to the door. Images of Aunt Carol and Nina and Uncle Bill shimmered in his mind.
He had already lit one of the firecrackers when he reached the door. With a jerk on the old, rattling doorknob, he flung the door open and hurled the firecracker into the face of a snarling deinonychus. The beast flinched, surprisingly intimidated by the sparkling missile. Caleb charged forward, slamming into the animal’s shoulder with his elbow. The startled beast tipped to the side, scrabbling at the wall to balance itself.
Caleb dashed past the animal and down the short hall leading to the front of the store. Another deinonychus leapt out into the hall behind him, sniffing curiously at its disoriented companion. Caleb heard the first animal’s claws clattering on the old floorboards as the beast tried to spin around. There was a hiss and snort as the second creature noticed the sparking firecracker, then a sudden boom. A blast of light and crackling pops rocked the hall behind Caleb, followed by agonized squeals of pain and fury.
Caleb didn’t dare look back. He continued through the store, jumping over one of the toppled shelves, then bolted out the door into the street. Behind him, over the hiss of the fireworks, he could just hear the sound of claws pounding across wooden floorboards. With tight, panicked breaths, Caleb continued across the street. On the far side, he spotted an abandoned station wagon lodged halfway into the mouth of a narrow alley. A puddle of glistening liquid lay pooled on the pavement around the vehicle. Caleb clenched his hands tighter around the lighter and firecracker and headed straight for the car. A high, wailing whistle cut through the night air behind him, accompanied by the sound of several pairs of scrambling clawed feet.
Caleb ran faster, the sound of his heart pounding in his ears. He fumbled with the lighter, somehow managing to light the fuse on the firecracker while he ran. The pounding claws echoed closer behind him. He couldn’t believe he had gotten this far. He hoped that when the dinosaurs caught him, Theresa would have enough time to get out of the basement and away from the town. With the dinosaurs closing in behind him, Caleb leapt up onto the car’s hood, skidding across the smooth metal and sliding off the other side. He barely managed to land on his feet. The dinosaurs were almost on top of the car as Caleb hurled the lit firecracker under the vehicle, into the puddle of spilled gasoline.
Bright orange flames blossomed out from the point where the sparking fuse hit the puddle. In the next second, the firecracker exploded in multi-colored light, sending an explosion of billowing flame up through the body of the car. Caleb turned away just in time to shield his eyes from the wave of heat and flame that slammed against his body, throwing him to the ground.
Hideous shrieks of fear and pain rang out from the other side of the car. Several of the dinosaurs were able to veer away or leap back from the flames, but a few had been caught by the full blast of the explosion. The dying animals writhed briefly, then slumped to the ground while their brethren screamed and whistled at the impassable wall of fire.
Caleb coughed the smoke and fumes out of his lungs, rising shakily to his feet. Without looking back, he bolted away from the burning wreckage. The walls of the alley gave way to small side streets and empty yards. Caleb kept running.
He finally stopped at the doors of a large firehouse. With intense effort, he forced his weary legs to carry him to the top of the watchtower, locking and barring doors behind him. At the top, he could see the flames from the car, as well as the flames spreading out of the store, apparently ignited by the first two firecrackers.
He hardly had time to wonder if Theresa had escaped before exhaustion dragged him into fitful sleep.
THE AIR WAS COLD AND CRISP as Caleb and Tess climbed the upper slopes of the Cascade Mountains, bathed in the light of sparkling stars. Tess paused on a ledge a few feet above Caleb, drawing her cloak tighter around her downy shoulders and turning to look out at the vista behind them. Caleb stopped next to her, also turning to admire the view.
The sprawling wilderness of southern Oregon was spread out around them, illuminated by the pale glow of the stars. The foothills of the Cascades rolled out beneath them, spreading out into the flat expanse of lush forest and swamp that was once known as Klamath Marsh. Far to the east, the rugged outline of Yamsay Mountain rose above the horizon, crowned by the golden glow of the rising moon.
Caleb glanced at Tess out of the corner of his eye. She shivered slightly as she stood staring at the moon, its golden light reflected in her shining eyes.
“Here,” Caleb said, starting to pull off his cloak to hand it to Tess.
“It’s okay, I’m fine,” she said, pulling her own cloak tighter around her as she bent to sit on a smooth rock.
Caleb paused, then tugged his cloak back over his shoulders and sat beside her.
“Do you think we’re close?” Caleb asked quietly. They had been searching the peaks of the Cascade Range for several days, certain that they had found the area where the secret dinosaur city was hidden. So far, they had found no signs of habitation.
Tess nodded, still staring at the moon. “I’m sure it’s right around here, somewhere,” she said. “You and Garner checked the maps enough times, and all the stories from the other old-bloods we’ve met over the years match up with ours. It’s probably right under our noses. We just have to keep looking.”
Caleb nodded distractedly, struck by the way the growing moonlight shone on Tess’s face. Despite the touches of saurian anatomy, her face was very human. Very human, and very beautiful, Caleb thought.
“I’m sure we’ll find it soon,” Caleb said, looking away nervously as Tess turned her golden gaze on him.
“It’s really important to you too, isn’t it?” she said. “You risked so much to help us get here.”
Caleb shrugged, “I just... It was nothing.” he stammered.
“Nothing?” Tess said incredulously. “It was a hell of a lot more than nothing. I can’t think of anyone else I’ve ever met who would have done what you did for a bunch of strangers.”
Caleb was silent for a moment, his face flushed.
“I lost a lot of people when I was a kid,” he said, “When the lights went out.”
Tess nodded silently. Caleb almost jumped when she reached out and took his hand in hers. She started to pull back, a slightly hurt expression on her face, but Caleb held her hand fast, looking up into her eyes. Her skin was surprisingly soft and warm.
“We all lost a lot back then,” she whispered, squeezing his hand gently. Caleb could just feel the tips of her razor-claws brushing his skin. His heart pounded in his chest, but he didn’t know if it was from fear or excitement. He found himself reaching up with his other hand to touch her cheek. Like her hand, her face was soft and smooth, the scales deceptively delicate. He could hear her breathing quicken as his heartbeat raced.
Suddenly uncertain, he began to pull his hand away from her warm cheek. He stopped in mid-motion as Tess pulled him closer, wrapping her other hand around his shoulder. He flinched ever-so-slightly as her claws pressed gently against the back of his neck. Tess stopped and stared into his eyes, a rare look of nervousness on her moonlit face.
“Caleb,” she whispered, her eyes wide and luminous. “Do I scare you?”
Caleb sat silently for a moment, his thoughts caught in a jumble of emotions. He felt Tess’s hand shake faintly, the fierce raptor-woman suddenly vulnerable. The truth poured from his mouth.
“Yes,” he breathed, even as he pulled her closer. “But I like the way you scare me.”
Tess’s face broke out in a broad grin as Caleb leaned forward and drew her into a tight embrace, human and more-than-human lips meeting in a long-anticipated car
ess.
For a while they simply lay holding each other, wrapped in their cloaks with arms laced together and fingers intertwined. Neither dared nor desired to do anything more that night—the moment was complete.
Caleb awoke from a half-sleep to find himself alone, wrapped snugly in his cloak under the starry sky. He glanced about nervously for a moment, wondering what might have happened to Tess, then breathed a sigh of relief as he heard her light footsteps approaching quickly from up the slope. He sat up slowly and turned to see Tess’s cloaked form bounding excitedly across the brush and boulders.
“Hey,” he called quietly, “where were you? I thought...”
Tess cut him off, skidding to a stop on a rock a few yards away and stammering breathlessly.
“Heard something...” she gasped in the cool mountain air. “Up the slope... You can just see the lights. You have to see it, Caleb—It’s amazing!”
“What? Hey, wait for me!” he called, gathering his cloak around his shoulders and scrambling up the slope after her. He could barely make out her excited words as she dashed across the rocks.
“It’s there, Caleb! You were right—we found it. We found Carnival!”
The afternoon sun bathed the mountains in a wash of warm, golden light. The old-bloods marched with a solemn excitement through the stands of towering conifers and random patches of loose boulders. The larger travelers forged a path through the patches of thick brush, stopping occasionally to shift an unsteady boulder or lift a smaller old-blood over a fallen tree. The more agile among them flitted between the rocks and trees ahead of the rest of the group, scouting a path through the sharply sloped terrain. Garner walked at the head of the group. His gaze flicked back and forth constantly from the trail ahead to the precious maps he kept clutched in his two-fingered hands and tucked under his short arms. Next to him, Caleb and Tess walked happily, hand in hand. No one questioned the sudden closeness, as Caleb had feared. Instead, the others simply smiled and nodded. Behind these three, Chuck and Krezahu padded along, chirping and growling quietly to each other.
The group had been traveling for several hours now. Caleb and Tess had rushed back to the camp the previous night, elated with their discovery. The entire group had been in an uproar, cheering and dancing and singing. They went to bed late and rose early, but had still taken most of the day to find their way through the chaotic terrain. It truly was a perfect place to hide. Every time they thought they had a clear path, a sheer cliff would appear before them. Every time they thought they saw open ground ahead, the trail ended in a perilous drop. They had been twisting and turning their way through the hills for hours, constantly backtracking and retracing their path. It was now well past noon, and although their minds were all still filled with excitement, their bodies were exhausted. Some in the group began to wonder if it might take several days to find a clear trail. Caleb and Tess assured them that the hidden city was very near, but even they were beginning to wonder if they were on the right path.
The group soon came to rest at a small area of level, shady ground. Waterskins were passed and rations were shared. Several travelers suggested setting camp now and resuming their search tomorrow. Garner simply grunted and scowled at the maps. Caleb, unable to sit still despite his exhaustion, paced around the edge of the group.
“It has to be close,” he mumbled. “We saw it last night. There’s no way we wandered past it.” He glanced around, looking for any sign that they were on the right path. Tall trees and rough rock surrounded them on all sides, with patches of clear blue sky showing through between the trunks and branches. Trees. Rocks. Clear blue sky. Caleb’s gaze was suddenly caught by a patch of particularly striking blue, just visible through the jumble of trees. He stared for a moment, then began walking forward, craning his neck for a better view. His walk became a trot, then an outright run. Several others noticed and began running after Caleb, calling out to him. In moments, Caleb reached the edge of the thick tree growth. He skidded to a stop at the top of a massive cliff, Garner and several other old-bloods rushing up behind him. He heard them gasp in surprise as they caught sight of the view before them.
The cliff was part of an immense wall of rugged rock that stretched out for miles on either side of them, a gigantic crater that encircled a lake of shimmering sapphire-blue water.
Rising out of the crystalline waters of the lake was an island. Roughly a half-mile wide and shaped like a pointed green volcano, the island was dotted with gardens and grassy groves, as well as hundreds of stone-and-wood houses. Several graceful roads and paths wound up the island’s wooded slopes, all intersecting at the top. The roads ended at a stout stone wall that ringed a small crater at the hill’s peak. Caleb could just see that inside the crater was a small pool of sparkling water. Rising from the center of the pool, a massive tower of carved stone looked out over the island and the surrounding waters. The water from the pool trickled out of a large gate in the surrounding wall, flowing down the hill along either side of a massive stone path that descended from the top of the hill to its base. The path ended in a circular courtyard surrounded by large buildings of timber and brick.
Even more amazing than the fanciful landscape and architecture was the sight of thousands of figures moving through the streets and gardens of the city. Old-bloods of every imaginable size, shape and color wandered casually among the streets and houses. They walked alone or in groups, carrying baskets and pulling carts. Some of them led dinosaurs with elaborate saddles and wagons, laden with vegetables from their gardens. Others drifted in small wooden boats, leisurely casting nets and lines and returning to the shore with large, plump-looking fish. From somewhere along the small, shaded streets, music and singing echoed over the waters to the ledge where Caleb stood. Soon, the entire group stood along the edge of the cliff, standing and staring silently at the wondrous city.
The silence was abruptly broken as a number of horns echoed across the lake. The distant music fell silent and figures in the streets paused to listen to the horns. Eric craned his long neck and pointed to a pair of drawbridges that stretched from the island city to a much smaller island, and from there to the shore of the lake.
Caleb could see a number of old-bloods, most of them riding small iguanodons and fleet gallimimuses. They were headed out of the city, already crossing the second bridge. As they watched, one of the riders pointed up to the cliff where they stood and gestured excitedly.
“Welcoming party?” Garner rumbled.
“I hope so,” Eric said, still watching the riders. “They look well armed.”
The riders wound their way along a narrow path that stretched up the slope to the top of the cliffs. When they were within shouting distance, they stopped and stared appraisingly at the group of weary travelers. The one who looked like the leader, a slim man with the features of a nimble ornitholestes, raised his hand and called out.
“Hello, strangers!” he cried, the words having a somewhat practiced, ritualistic sound to them. “From where do you hail?”
Garner muttered under his breath. “Oh, crap, I forgot this part.” Raising his voice, he yelled back, “Uh... We come from all lands!”
The lead rider moved a few paces closer. “And what brings you to this fair city?” he asked.
“We seek the... the hall of mirrors.” Garner stammered.
“And who are you, who speaks for so many?” the rider asked.
“I am the Strong-Man.” Garner answered.
The rider nodded, apparently satisfied by this. “Welcome then, brother. Come and join the Carnival.”
With that, he turned and lifted a large horn to his lips, blowing three clear notes toward the city. An answering call of horns echoed over the waters, and the bridges lowered again. As the riders moved forward to greet their new friends, Garner leaned close to Tess and Caleb.
“Well folks,” he whispered, a huge grin spreading across his face, “It looks like we got ourselves a new home.”
THE PLANTS WERE SLOWLY TEARING THE
highway apart. On either side of the endless stretch of asphalt, the vast fields were covered in a five-foot-high carpet of densely packed grass. Where the fields met the road, newly grown grass shoots were poking up through the cracks in the pavement. The plants were even beginning to protrude from the larger cracks right in the middle of the highway. Some of the smaller chunks of loose pavement at the edge of the road were now several inches up in the air, hoisted upward by the rapid, relentless growth.
Caleb surveyed the sea of rampant greenery as he knelt beside his small bicycle, adjusting the seat. The plants had been getting increasingly overgrown as he traveled. Over the past two days, the mold that had claimed any unsealed food had only gotten worse, enveloping perfectly fresh bread and meat in a matter of hours. The grass, trees and other plants seemed to be entering a state of advanced growth, aided by the unseasonably warm temperatures. Caleb wasn’t certain, but it felt as though it had been getting slightly warmer every day. Strong, unpredictable winds whipped across the landscape, bringing flash rains and brief thunderstorms. The past evening had brought another burst of rain—forcing Caleb to take shelter in the small dome tent he had scavenged, feasting on cold canned dinners. Clear blue skies had arrived with the morning, and the young boy emerged from his tent to stare wonderingly at the transformed fields around him. The grass had grown almost a foot overnight, eagerly sucking up the nourishing rainwater.
Now the midday sun beat down on Caleb’s head as he pedaled down the silent highway, weaving through the scattered clusters of abandoned cars. Caleb paused for a moment to inspect a strange trail of glossy, blackish-green mold that snaked across the highway in a seemingly random path. The mold was different from the stuff that was attacking the food, darker and more moist, with a cloyingly sweet smell to it. Caleb’s eyes followed the trail across the asphalt, where it grew in a large mass underneath a pair of crashed cars. He could see that the growth was clustered right under the other car’s gas tank, even growing out of the small hole where the gasoline had leaked. Caleb wrinkled his nose at the pungent smell, noting a similar growth around the edges of the other car’s gas cap.
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