by David Rhodes
“No, let him sleep for a little while longer,” Major Donald said. “He must need it.”
“Did anyone see anything last night?” Ben asked. “I saw several small animals, but nothing came close.”
“I saw all the stars too,” Lisa said. “I forgot how many there are, how we could see them the last time we were jumping. No light to mask them, billions of stars.”
“You’re right,” Ron agreed. “They were beautiful.”
Then Steve cut in with, “What’s the plan for today?”
“I’m keeping Sinewave and Junk on surveillance,” Major Donald replied. “The rest is just like yesterday, keep moving the way Charles points us. It will be slow going because the stuff we are in is thick. It’s good and bad, keeps us from being attacked but slows us way down. I’m hoping for another mile and a half by tonight.”
“You really think we’ll have to spend another night in this place?” Aria asked.
“I’m afraid so,” Lauren told her. “We’ll move as fast as we can, but it will be slow going.”
“We’ll all sleep better tonight,” Major Donald said. “We can deploy the Camp DOPE then no one has to stand guard. The next night too and hopefully we’ll be there the day after tomorrow. Maybe sooner,” she added as she saw Aria drop her head.
“Time’s wasting,” Lost said. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
“Yes, wake up Blonk and let’s get going,” Cat told her. “Maybe we won’t have to be here another night.”
Lost walked over to Blonk and started, “Okay, lazy bones, let’s…” then she trailed off. Blonk’s head was rolled forward and his tongue was hanging out. But his tongue was moving. “No time for games big boy –” she started again when she suddenly jumped backwards and shouted, “No, no.”
Everyone rushed over, and Major Donald asked, “Lost, what’s wrong?” Lost just pointed at Blonk and turned away. Everyone could see something moving in Blonk’s mouth and suddenly a centipede crawled out. It had a bright red head with antennae that were four inches long. Its black and purple segmented body was at least two inches in diameter and as it slowly moved down Blonk’s body it took several seconds for its almost two-foot length to drop completely onto his chest. On its last segment, there was an inch-long stinger. As it crawled off of Blonk and toward the brush, Rover drew her knife and as she stepped forward it reared up on the last third of its body and hissed at her. She cut it in half with a quick slash and then stomped on it several times until it stopped moving.
Major Donald touched Blonk’s shoulder and he slid off to the side and fell face forward onto the ground. In the small of his back, just below his ballistic vest a gaping hole had been chewed through his uniform and into his body. There were several smaller insects in the wound and it appeared they were feeding. Rover quickly cut them out with her knife and killed them.
There was silence and then Major Donald asked Ron, “How did this happen?”
Ron looked pale as he answered, “Even today, some centipedes are poisonous. In South America, the Amazonian Giant Centipede has been known to kill small children. I can only guess, but Blonk was probably stung and possibly paralyzed by that larger centipede. Once they started feeding they probably severed his spinal nerves and ate their way into several major organs.”
“What a terrible way to die,” Lisa said.
“There’s no good way to die here,” Lauren replied.
Major Donald turned to Steve and asked, “How did they get through his DOPE? It’s supposed to stop a dinosaur.”
Steve took offense and answered, “Don’t question my inventions. When the DOPE activates, sensors send a low current electrical charge through the material that changes its molecular structure, so it can’t be damaged.” He turned to the group and continued, “I told you everyone needed to sleep under their DOPE, but no one listened. This is not my fault.”
No one felt like reminding Steve that it was his fault and it was quiet until Sinewave said, “We need to bury him.”
Major Donald shook her head and told everyone, “No. If Blonk is going to be the only one of us that dies then we have to go now. We have to go fast and stick to the plan of making another mile and a half today.”
“But - ”
“What are we going to bury him with and how will we bury him deep enough that something isn’t going to dig him up anyway? He’d understand,” Major Donald said. “Stoney get his gear and everyone else grab yours. Take a moment to say goodbye to Blonk and then let’s go.”
Stoney and Cat slid a broken branch through the handles of the bot and started carrying it between them. There were some tears, and a few looks back as they moved out. Then all they could think about was getting through the thick brush. They found making any progress was extremely difficult and they had gone only about 100 yards after an hour. After a quick break they started in again and suddenly found themselves in an open area. The bots were now able to keep up with them and the drone was able to move through the trees and see what was ahead.
They stopped after about fifteen minutes when they came to a twelve-foot-wide and forty to fifty feet deep ravine that ran out of sight in both directions. “Okay, let’s take a break here,” Major Donald commanded. “Sinewave see if there is a way around this on one end or the other.”
As the drone sped off Danny sat down, and Aria came up to him and said, “Thanks for walking with me at the back. You don’t have to though.”
Danny smiled and told her, “Actually, I do. I can feel myself getting slower and that’s where I keep ending up. I hope you don’t mind walking with me.”
She shook her head and told him, “No, I don’t mind. Maybe we help each other.”
Danny smiled and said, “Yeah, maybe we do.”
As the drone floated back down, Sinewave shook his head and said, “Sorry, Major, it goes for a long way in each direction.”
As Major Donald stood up, Stoney said, “I think I can get us over it right here.”
“How?” Major Donald asked.
Stoney walked along the edge of the ravine to a tree that was about twenty feet tall with a four or five-inch diameter trunk. She pushed on it in different directions for a few seconds then asked, “Can someone cover the other side for me?”
Immediately, Rover, Lost and Major Donald brought their rifles up and pointed them toward the other side of the ravine. Danny and Sinewave kept their rifles pointed in the direction they had come from.
Stoney quickly climbed as high as she could in the tree, up to where it didn’t seem like the branches could hold her. Then she leaned forward, and the top of the tree carried out over the ravine. Then she leaned back and as the tree went backward as far as it could she leaned forward again. As she kept moving the tree began swaying back and forth and each time it went further out over the ravine. Just as the tree passed the center of the ravine she climbed further out toward the end of it and the tree kept moving forward. But instead of crashing down onto the farther edge it just settled down as the tree slowly pulled loose from the ground. She brought her rifle up and asked, “Sinewave?”
“Nothing,” he told her. “I don’t see anything but you over there.”
“Okay, I’m coming back.” She moved over to a similar tree that was near the far edge and in a few minutes, it dropped her down beside everyone. She stepped away from the tree and said, “Let’s move this over so it’s next to the first one.”
No one moved for a second until Ron said, “That was the most amazing thing I have ever seen.” Then everyone started talking and the two trees were quickly rolled until they were side by side. “What now?” Ron asked.
“Watch,” Stoney told him as she straddled the trees and scooted forward about two feet. “Lost, toss me some line.” Stoney caught the line and wrapped the two trees together. She moved halfway across the ravine and repeated the wrapping and then did it one more time near the end of the trees. As she stood up on the other side she said, “That’s the best it’s going to get. Le
an forward as you scoot, don’t lean back and lose your balance. Don’t look down and it will only be a few seconds and you’ll be across. Who’s first?”
Major Donald stepped forward and crossed over quickly. No one hesitated as they stepped up for their turn. Danny helped talk Aria across and Steve was the last to go. He was also the heaviest and he and everyone else thought the trees would break at any moment. But they didn’t and when he was across Stoney said loudly, “Cat, it looks like I owe you five dollars.”
Then Cat asked, “What about the bots?”
“They can’t cross on their own and they weigh too much to balance them,” Major Donald said. “We’ll have to make do with the drone only.”
“That’s not good,” Steve said. “This Walk was going to be safe because we had the drones and the bots.”
“Why don’t you go get them then?” Major Donald asked him.
“We weren’t going to have them much longer anyway,” Sinewave said. “I took their batteries for the drone. We’ll be able to use it longer that way.”
Steve shook his head and said, “We better keep a good lookout then.”
“That’s right,” Major Donald agreed. “Remember Team, drink as you need to and watch those flanks.”
They moved forward quickly for another ten minutes and then the bush grew thicker and they slowed down. They fought their way through it for forty-five minutes then they came to a small open space and Major Donald said, “Time for another break. We’ve been going all morning. How are we doing, Sinewave?”
“Almost a mile,” he said excitedly. “And I’m seeing another trail in front of us. I’m bringing the drone back in to change its battery, but I can scout it out and see if we might want to take another chance. What do you think, Ron?”
Ron was sitting against a tree with his eyes closed but he answered, “I still can’t say for sure,” Ron replied. After a pause he continued, “But staying in this thick stuff is getting to me and I’m sure a few others. Maybe all of us. It would be great if we could get some distance on the trail, but I’m still concerned about what might see us.” He opened his eyes and leaned forward and continued, “But, this shouldn’t be up to me only. We must take everyone’s opinion into consideration.”
“Can we be attacked in this dense stuff?” Major Donald asked.
“Yes,” Lauren answered. “Predators in our time use the jungle or tall grass for stalking and their attacks. We could be attacked in here from close quarters with little time to react. It’s just less likely. The trail will allow a lot of things to see us even from far away.”
“But the drone will help us spot things,” Lost said. “Give us more of a chance to defend ourselves?”
“It would help,” Lauren agreed. “But if a pack comes after us, well, this isn’t the same team as before, is it?”
“I know you don’t really want anything from me,” Steve started, “but I’m going to say something anyway. We are all tired. But, if we can get on the trail and make some distance like we did yesterday it will boost morale and help us all keep going. We can have our rifles ready and Sinewave can watch the drone screen. Tonight, if we’ve gone two miles or more we’ll all feel better about tomorrow. I know I would.”
“Major Donald, what do you think?” Danny asked.
“Show me the trail,” she told Sinewave and he opened it up on her helmet screen. After a minute she said, “The trail is about a hundred yards in front of us. But it’s not like a path through a field. It’s at least one hundred feet wide, maybe wider in some spots. It’s well used. As soon as we step onto it we’ll be seen and if we cross over to the other side something could ambush us in there.” She paused as she thought for a moment then said, “But I also think we should take the trail. It runs in the general direction we need to go. We should move as fast as we can as a group and everyone should be on their guard. After all, it’s not if we might be seen, everything will see us. We go as long and as far as we can and then cut back into the jungle.”
“Something might be waiting for us,” Lisa said.
“There’s always that chance,” Major Donald replied. “But everything we do runs the chance of something bad happening.”
“Everything,” Stoney agreed as she stared at Steve.
“Then let’s go,” Sinewave said. “Right now, the trail is clear.”
Everyone stood up, took a quick drink of water, and Major Donald stepped out in the lead as they chopped their way to the trail. It was almost an hour before the trees started thinning and she paused for a second to put away her machete and bring up her rifle. Slowly she walked out onto the dirt trail and everyone followed.
Immediately they felt like they were being watched. Major Donald said, “The trail is not flat, it’s rutted up. Watch out for uneven spots and take care of each other. Let’s go.” Then she started off at a slow trot and the group fell in behind her.
For twenty minutes, no one said a word and most of the group stayed tightly packed together. Aria and Danny were last and then Ron and Lisa who had dropped back to stay close to Ron. Sinewave shouted, “Major,” just as everyone heard the rumble and stopped on their own. They were unsure which way to run when one hundred feet in front of them a Triceratops burst from the jungle on the right side of the trail.
It was huge, twenty feet long and almost nine feet tall at the hips. It whirled around as two smaller Triceratops followed it and then four much smaller ones. As this new group passed it, the larger animal charged back toward the side of the trail using its 3-foot long horns against six animals that were chasing them.
They stood on their hind legs and as they reared up to attack, the largest predators were eight feet tall and almost twenty feet long. The smaller ones in the group were covered in short feathers but the larger ones only had feathers on their forearms. Five of them dodged out of the way of the Triceratops but one was gored and thrown backwards out of sight.
Suddenly from the left of the Triceratops five more of the feathered animals ran into the trail and stopped. This caused all of the Triceratops to wheel and run straight toward Major Donald. She turned to her right and shouted, “Run”, and everyone did. They turned to the right, burst into the thick brush, and fought their way through it as fast as possible. As the Triceratops continued down the trail some of the predators turned their attention toward this new prey and ran into the jungle after them.
Sinewave shouted, “Turn and fire. Fire.” The ones that heard him turned and immediately their bullets were cutting through leaves, vines, trees and animals. In just a few seconds every animal that was in front of them was dead. Those that didn’t hear Sinewave; Lauren, Charles and Tony, kept fighting though the brush. Through the intertwined vines and creepers, they could see a clearing.
Danny, Aria, Ron and Lisa had been closer to the right side of the trail and were the first to go in and after just a few feet they suddenly found themselves stumbling into a dusty, fern filled, clearing. As a shadow passed Aria she saw Ron flying forward and as he landed face down on the ground his DOPE activated. At the same time, she heard Lisa shout “Ron”, and Danny shout “Aria”. Then a large shadow passed over her and she stopped. She couldn’t remember what they had told her about the pack on her back. And she didn’t think about her guns. All she could think about was Tony. Then two feathery arms grabbed tightly around her and long, curved claws dug into her stomach. She tried to scream but she was being held so tight she couldn’t even breathe.
As Lauren, Charles and Tony ran into the clearing, Tony looked over just in time to see Aria pulled into the monster’s feathered arms. Her feet were kicking wildly. Its head darted quickly down and as it stood back up Aria’s limp body hung from its mouth. Then it turned and disappeared back into the jungle with three others chasing after it.
Tony screamed, “Mom” and started to run after her. Charles grabbed him and as he was about to break free, Ben grabbed him too. “No, no, no,” was all Tony could shout over and over again until he collapsed on th
e ground. “She was right, she was right. I couldn’t do a thing,” he sobbed.
As Danny stopped and put his arm on Tony’s shoulder, Lisa looked wildly around and called out, “Ron, Ron.”
Lauren touched Charles on the arm and when he nodded that he was okay she shouted, “Dad.”
“Over here,” Ben told them. “He’s in this DOPE.” He quickly deflated the DOPE and said, “He’s still breathing, but he is unconscious.”
At that moment Ron gasped and said, “I was unconscious but now I’m not. Though now that I’m not unconscious I wish I was.”
Lisa knelt down beside him and asked, “Tell us what hurts.”
“Everything.”
Lauren and Danny knelt down beside him and Danny reached behind him into his med pouches and said, “Ron, I’m going to do a quick assessment of you, so we can tell what kind of injuries you have. First, I don’t see any blood so that’s a good start. Now then, as I go through this let me know what hurts when I touch it.”
As Danny finished, Ron asked, “What do you think?”
“For sure a broken left forearm, probably both ulna and radius, left side broken ribs, and your left shoulder is probably dislocated. I’m pretty sure you don’t have a concussion but I’m not a doctor. I don’t know if it was the helmet or your hard head that saved you. You have a few scrapes here and there all over and you are going to be sore tomorrow. Oh, and the left side of your body is not going to work right for a while.”
“What about you, Lisa and Aria?” Ron asked.
“Apparently, they only wanted you and Aria,” Danny told him. He paused and then said softly, “And Aria didn’t make it.”
“I should have been with you,” Lisa said. “And why didn’t we just turn around and shoot them?”
“You’re not trained to turn and shoot, so you didn’t even think about it,” Danny told her. “And we really didn’t know they were behind us until they were on us. It’s just the way it happens sometimes.”
“He’s right,” Ron told her. “Don’t worry about me. The worst is done, and we’re still headed for the new time machine.” He looked at Lauren and said, “I’ll be okay, really.”