by Steve Cole
“You might as well have the box, too!” Teggs yelled as he hurled the empty crate down at the crowd, flattening a few more flesh-munchers. Then he hooked his tail spikes onto another crate, filled with electronic equipment. Hauling it over, he emptied the heavy machinery down on the ravenous dinos! Dozens were conked on the head and fell, flailing about in alarm.
But with a sinking heart, Teggs realized he couldn’t hope to stop the sheer number of crazed carnivores racing towards Zac’s camp.
“That meat-mad mob have almost reached the veggie camp!” Gipsy wailed. “The fence is in pieces – and any second now, the plant-eaters will be in pieces too!”
Chapter Nine
WALKING ON AIR
In the smoking fields of the plant-eater camp, Iggy and Zac watched helplessly as hordes of hate-filled carnivores stormed through the gaps in the electric fence.
Iggy was glad most of the plant-eaters were still sheltering from the laser-storm. That wouldn’t save them from the invading carnivores – but at least they wouldn’t know what was coming. “Right then, Zac!” he said gruffly. “If we’re going down, let’s go down fighting!”
Zac nodded and flexed his spiky tail, ready to rumble. The ravenous rabble of carnivores charged closer and closer . . .
And then – WHAMM!
It was as if they had slammed into an invisible wall. POMM! BAMM! PHOOM! Again and again the carnivores clonked into a barrier that Zac and Iggy couldn’t see. More and more meat-eaters came piling in, squashing the ones who’d crashed into the solid air first – then crashing into it themselves.
Zac stared. “I don’t get it. What’s happened?”
“Arx happened!” cried Iggy as a weary but relieved-looking green triceratops ran towards them. “You did it, Arx. You managed to boost the shuttle’s force field . . .”
“Just about,” Arx agreed. “I rewired the power systems and inflated the ship’s energy shield until it covered the entire camp like a protective dome.”
Zac gazed in wonder as the crushed-up carnivores bit and snapped at each other, struggling to get clear of the invisible barrier. Then he turned to Arx and bowed. “I don’t know who you really are, or where you’ve come from, or how you’ve done it – but you’ve saved the camp!”
“And look up there!” Arx pointed to Loki’s death-flyer as it zoomed overhead, with two familiar figures waving through the windscreen. “It’s Gipsy and Captain Teggs!”
Iggy grinned. “I wondered what that raptor ship was up to. The captain must’ve stolen it.”
But suddenly the flyer spun round and round, like a raptor chasing its tail.
“What are they doing?” Arx wondered. “It’s as if they’ve lost control . . .”
“I’ve lost control, Gipsy!” Teggs cried, wrestling with the flyer’s flight stick. “This thing’s not doing what I’m telling it to do!”
“I think it’s starting to do what Loki wants.” Gipsy pointed out through the window. “Look!”
Teggs saw that Loki was back in his sedan chair, wielding a large silver handset. “It wasn’t only the rocket weapons he designed to work by remote control. He’s got power over this whole flyer – and he means to use it!”
“Of course,” groaned Gipsy, helping Teggs grip the flight stick. “He couldn’t take his raptors through time with him because he only stole one exo-suit – so he had an automatic pilot built in. Can we smash it like you smashed the weapons remote control?”
“It’ll be built into the heart of the ship,” said Teggs. “We’ll never get to it in time.” Suddenly the flight stick snapped off in his hand in a fizz of green sparks. “Uh-oh, that’s torn it. Time to abandon ship!”
Gipsy’s headcrest flushed electric blue. “We can’t, we’re too high up! We’ll be squished!”
“There are still some crates left,” shouted Teggs, stumbling dizzily to a couple of shiny boxes in the cargo area. “I think they’re made of mega-metal. If we get inside one, it should cushion our fall!”
Gipsy scrambled into one of the crates, which was half full of electrical bric-a-brac. Teggs pushed it over to the open doorway, squeezed his upper body into the box next to Gipsy, and curled his tail against the floor like a giant spring. As the ship stopped spinning and began to move away under Loki’s control, Teggs launched himself, Gipsy and the crate into empty space . . .
“Whoaaa!” Gipsy helped pull Teggs into the crate beside her. Neither of them knew where they were, or how high up, or how many carnivores were waiting to get them down below, or if the crate would even protect them from their crash landing . . .
But after only a couple of seconds – POMM! The big metal box crunched against something solid.
“Ooof !” Teggs and Gipsy were thrown out of the crate like jack-in-the-boxes . . .
And found themselves sprawled out in thin air, high above the plant-eater camp!
“Captain! Gipsy!” Arx yelled up at them. “You’ve landed on my force field!”
Teggs beamed down at his friends below. “Better than landing on our butts!”
Then a fierce and furious roar from King Rokol silenced the squashed and squabbling carnivores forced up against the force field.
“Newcomer from the stars,” he hissed, rounding on Loki. “You promised us a wonderful night of battle, bloodshed and bone-chewing with your amazing weapons . . . but the plant-eaters have thwarted you and tricked us all. We haven’t had so much as a nibble!”
“And you won’t, either!” Teggs bellowed. “The star-raptor’s weapons are weak compared to the powers of the . . . um . . .”
“The interplanetary plant-eaters!” said Gipsy quickly.
“Right!” Zac bellowed. “With our friends beside us, we’re stronger than you meat-bloated bozos will ever be!”
“Curse you, astrosaurs!” Loki yelled.
“See how your mighty star-raptor fears us?” Arx joined in.
“Never forget, these veggie dinosaurs are well-defended.” Teggs nodded at King Rokol. “And if you’re not careful, we will attack YOU!”
“Nooo!” screeched an allosaurus, weeing himself in fright.
“They have supernatural powers!” a dryptosaurus sobbed. “They’ll destroy us all!”
Rokol scowled at Loki. “What a rubbish end to our last day on Earth!” Angry growls of agreement went up from the carnivores all around. “We shall return to our own camp at once.”
“Wait!” Loki had finally got full control over his death-flyer, which hovered overhead like a giant metal hawk. “Please, your majesty. Ride with me in my, er, star chariot, so that I may share other plans with you.”
“No!” Rokol declared. “Two of those interplanetary plant-eaters have been inside, and I bet they’ve left terrible traps. I shall be carried in my great throne as always. You can do what you like.” With that – and a few barked commands at the chair bearers – he was taken on his teetering way, the carnivore crowds following in his wake.
Loki glared coldly at Teggs and Gipsy. “You haven’t won yet. Just you wait!” And he brought his ship down low and scrambled inside.
Moments later the flyer soared away.
“I thought he’d never leave,” said Teggs, watching as the other carnivores scuttled away over the hills and vanished into the night. “But now that he has – how are we going to get down from here?”
“You may not have to wait long, Captain,” said Arx as the invisible shield began to wobble. “I had to boost the shuttle’s force field to the limit, and any moment now it could go—”
POP! Suddenly Teggs and Gipsy were falling again. Iggy ran and caught Gipsy – while Teggs landed in a muddy puddle with a splash.
“Welcome back,” said Arx happily.
“There’s no time to waste on words.” Teggs jumped up, shook himself dry and marched over to Zac. “We’ve only got tonight to put things right if you’re going to leave before the meteor hits.”
“It’s no good,” said Zac quietly. “I mean, thank you for all you’ve done
to help us, but it’s hopeless.” He pointed up at a bright orange star in the sky. “Look, there’s the meteor. It’s going to destroy almost all life on the planet. And because I didn’t protect this camp well enough, it’s going to destroy us too.”
“No way!”
Zac and the astrosaurs started at the loud, shrill voice. It belonged to Gazell, who was leading a long trail of fellow plant-eaters out of the battle-scarred Soar-a-saurus. Teggs could see nurse dinosurs with first-aid boxes, mechanics with tools clamped in their mouths, builders in hard-hats made from hollowed-out stone . . . More and more plant-eaters came crowding out, dinosaurs who knew that it was their destiny to reach for the stars – or to die in the attempt.
“You’ve done so much for us, Zac,” said Gazell. “You’ve looked after us, you’ve given us a way off this world and you’ve never let us down. We’re not going to let you down now by allowing some dumb meteor to use us as target practice. We’re going to work hard to fix this, and we’re all going to work together.” Her face softened as she smiled at Zac. “That is, if it’s OK with you . . . Chief ?”
Zac looked at Teggs. “But you and your friends are the ones who saved this camp. You should take charge – not me.”
Teggs shook his head and lowered his voice. “These dinosaurs need a strong leader to help them through all the dangers and hardships of the voyage ahead. And believe me, they need you to be that leader.” He spoke more loudly: “You’re the one in charge, Zac. Tell us what to do, and we’ll do it.”
Zac gave him a grateful smile. “Well, Arx and Iggy are fantastic with machines. Could they lead a work party fixing the damage to the tug-ships, while you and Gipsy help Gazell organize repairs to the Soar-a-saurus? We’ll need a full report on everything that’s been damaged. Oh, and we should take a register, too, to make sure no one is missing.”
“We’ll work all night,” Gazell promised, and her hatchlings nodded too. “Won’t we, everyone?”
Cries of eager agreement rose up into the night.
If all goes well, thought Teggs, this will be the final night of dinosaurs on the Earth. But if it doesn’t . . .
He shivered as Loki’s last words echoed in his head: You haven’t won yet. Just you wait!
Chapter Ten
AN UNEXPECTED GIFT
The orange pinprick of the approaching meteor burned in the dark sky like an omen of doom. Even as dawn broke over the plant-eater camp, it lingered high overhead.
Not a single plant-eater was idle down on the Earth. With just six hours to go before impact, there was still too much to do.
Teggs yawned and stretched, then got back to hammering rivets into the side of the newly-repaired Soar-a-saurus. A ragbag team of dino-teens and old timers were pushing them into place for Teggs to clobber with his tail.
He looked around. Iggy and Arx were just overseeing the final work on the tug-ships. Gazell and some friends were loading the last crates of food and supplies on board. A gaggle of triceratops students – their horns dipped in ink and with large slates to write on – had been visiting the thousands of cabins on board the enormous ship, making sure that all the passengers were safely inside and ready to go; now Gipsy was checking their findings.
Zac bustled up to Teggs, looking absolutely whacked. “How are we doing here?”
Teggs walloped the last of the rivets. “Finished!”
“And not a moment too soon,” said Zac. “Well done, you guys.”
Gipsy came along. “Well, Zac, we’ve counted five hundred thousand, eight hundred and ninety-nine dinos on board. The rest are all out here finishing work. All the eggs are on board, and the dino-gym is fully equipped so that everyone can keep fit on the voyage.”
“Thanks, Gipsy,” said Zac. “I’m beginning to think we might just get off this planet in time after all.”
“But we have trouble, Zac,” said Gazell, and the hatchlings on her back wriggled around. “The farmers have been checking the harvest. Those awful red lights last night set fire to half our food supplies. We’ll have starved before we reach the nearest star!”
“Can’t you grow plants on board the Soar-a-saurus?” asked Teggs.
“Yes, but there are thousands to feed, and the plants will take time to grow,” Zac explained.
“Perhaps you can stock up again at a nice planet along the way,” said Gipsy.
Zac shook his head. “There isn’t one. The worlds of the solar system are not as abundant as the Earth. The reptiles in local space can barely feed themselves – we were planning to collect them on our way out.”
Gazell pointed past them. “Well, right now we’ve got a worse problem. Look!”
Zac groaned, and the astrosaurs stared in dismay at the sight of a familiar figure in a sedan chair appearing over the hilltop once again.
“King Rokol and his carnivores,” Gipsy whispered. “They’re back!”
“What do they want now?” Teggs saw that Loki was not with Rokol this time – and nor was his wild rabble of followers. Instead, a procession of twenty-four hefty meat-stuffers of various breeds came alongside Rokol, each carrying five huge baskets. And in the baskets were . . .
“Plants?” Teggs stared in astonishment. “Are those meat-eaters bringing plants?”
Alerted by the cries, Arx and Iggy came charging over from the tug-ships to join Teggs and Gipsy.
“What is Rokol playing at?” wondered Iggy.
“Get everyone inside, Gazell,” said Zac firmly. “I’ll see what the carnivores want this time.”
While Gazell got busy, Zac and the astrosaurs walked over to meet the sharp-toothed king.
“Hear me, plant-eaters – you have nothing to fear!” called Rokol. “I come with gifts for you all.”
“Gifts?” Teggs looked suspicious.
“It’s true,” Rokol insisted, gesturing to his slaves to set him down a safe distance away from the camp’s broken fence. “I should never have listened to that fool Loki from the stars. But last night . . . well, you know how it is. We’d finished our packing, we had cool new weapons to try out, we had a few cups of swamp beer too many and got a bit carried away trying to squish you and blow you all up. But the thing is – we’re sorry.”
Zac raised his eyebrows. “Really?”
“Really!” Rokol bowed his head. “When you and your interplanetary plant-eaters demonstrated your strength and special powers . . . I was impressed, and so were my people.”
Rokol’s slaves nodded, staring at Teggs and Gipsy. “You walked on the air!” said one.
“You built invisible walls,” said another, looking at Arx and Iggy.
“And you destroyed the magic weapons of the weakling star raptor.” Rokol shuddered. “I do not wish to see these powers used against us – especially since we can’t hurt you back with our rocket lasers destroyed. So! As a peace offering, we would like you to accept these.”
The king snapped his claws and his subjects came forward to place the baskets of potted plants in front of Zac.
“These . . . these are garga-weeds!” Zac stared in amazement. “The more you eat, the faster they grow – which is why the carnivores destroyed most of them.”
“Of course,” boomed Rokol. “There are quite enough plant-eaters about already—” He broke off and forced a chuckle. “But we have learned the error of our ways. And so, now we give them to you freely – as long as you promise to leave us alone.”
“We’ll see about that,” said Iggy. “It could be a trick.”
“This gift might be poisoned!” Gipsy agreed.
“Let me examine them,” said Arx. “I’m a bit of an expert on plants.”
“And I’m an expert at eating them!” said Teggs, his tum rumbling.
The carnivores cringed as Teggs and Arx approached, and pushed forward their baskets.
Arx picked out one of the thick, sticky plants and sniffed its yellow flowers. Then he turned to Teggs and lowered his voice. “I read that garga-weeds grew here on old Earth but were lost on the
great journey into space.”
Teggs couldn’t resist – he nibbled a leaf – and sure enough, another grew to replace it. “Mmmm!” The garga-weed tasted super-delicious. “It doesn’t seem to be poisoned.” He tried another leaf from another plant in another basket. And another. And another! “Mmm, lovely . . .”
Gipsy grinned. “Save some for Zac, Captain!”
Zac looked up at King Rokol. “Thank you for this kind gift. We shall, er . . . let you leave Earth.”
“Phew!” Rokol smiled again as his servants put down their baskets. “I am glad we will know a new age of peace – at least while we journey out through space.” He signalled to his slaves, who lifted him in his chair and carried him off. “Farewell!”
Rokol’s band followed on behind without a backward glance. Soon, all of them were out of sight.
Zac chewed on a garga-weed, and marvelled as its leaves grew straight back again. “Rokol has given us the perfect gift. Now we won’t starve after all!”
Arx beamed. “I’ll run a couple of tests on these to make sure they’re definitely all right . . .”
“And then we must help your passengers get ready for lift-off in the Soar-a-saurus,” said Teggs excitedly. “There’s not much time left, but they’ll make it after all – together with a never-ending lunch!”
Within half an hour, Arx had tested leaves from each enormous basket and declared them all safe. Gazell wasted no time in organizing a work party to heave the haul on board. Then the astrosaurs joined Zac in the control room of the biggest tug-ship.
It was like a huge cube split into three levels. The controls were massive, built mainly into the floor so that the dinosaurs could work them with their clumsy feet. A large pterosaur was perched beside an enormous steering wheel, ready to work it with her beak.
“This is like standing inside an antique,” Iggy murmured, gazing around. “Fantastic!”
“Once the tug-ships have pulled the Soar-a-saurus out into space, Gazell will take full control,” Zac explained. “The tug-ships will then join onto the Soar-a-saurus and their energy probes will help power her systems. We can also use them as our shuttle craft for visiting new worlds.”