“We have to go,” Sam says.
“We can’t. We’re not allowed, and it’s dangerous.” Both are very good reasons.
“What is so dangerous?” Sam asks.
“You could fall in a well. The chimney could collapse and crush you.” I try to think of another reason. “You could get bitten by a rattlesnake or a mosquito.”
“Why do you keep saying you?” she asks.
“Huh?”
“You should say we could fall in a well and die. We could get crushed by the chimney and die. We could get bitten by a snake and die.” She grabs my hand like we are a crime-fighting duo.
“I never said die.”
“You were thinking it,” she says. “I’m going to the old house to find that condor or whatever it is. You can come with me, or you can stay here. I’ll give you a full report when I get back.” She pulls out her microphone. Sam loves to give full reports.
“Fine, I’ll go with you,” I say.
We wait for Peanut to finish his lunch. We decide to take him with us because it wouldn’t be nice to lock him up all afternoon.
The old house is about two miles away, down an old dirt road. We fill our backpacks. Sam’s has supplies like water, snacks, and her microphone. Mine has Peanut.
Peanut tumbles around in the bag.
“Be good!” I yell at the bouncing backpack. “Or I’ll leave you at home.”
We get our bikes out of the garage. We’re just about to leave when Saurus jumps in front of my bike.
She meows super loud.
“What is it?” I ask.
“You don’t expect her to answer, do you?” Sam raises her eyebrows.
“No.” But I wish she would. She’s either saying “Take me with you” or “Don’t go, because you’ll get hurt.”
I pick up Saurus and put her in the basket on the front of my bike. I think she actually shakes her head no. But she doesn’t jump out.
“Let’s go!” Sam races down the road. She’s faster than me, but she isn’t carrying a cat and a grumpy dinosaur.
Sam makes a turn at the Crabtrees’ ranch. I guess she thinks we need to bring Aaron too.
Soon all three of us are riding toward the old house. My bike jerks and skids over the rough road. It’s kind of fun. I even jump a pothole.
“There it is!” Sam shouts. We can see the old chimney in the distance. And behind it is the Starks’ horse trailer.
A few raindrops land on my face. Dark clouds hide the sun. I definitely don’t want to be out here in a storm.
“It’s raining,” I say. I stop my bike in front of Sam’s. “Maybe we should come back with Gram and PopPop.”
“This is nothing,” Aaron says. “Wait until we get a really big storm with thunder and lightning. I’ve seen the wind rip the roof off a barn.”
“What are you so scared of?” Sam says.
“I’m not scared.” I bike ahead of her. I just don’t want to be eaten by a dinosaur.
We lean our bikes against a tree.
“So this is PopPop’s old house,” Sam says. “I’ve never been here.” She climbs over the stone fence.
“Be careful,” I say. Rattlesnakes like to hide in the scraggly bushes that are everywhere. And the old wells are perfect for kids, cats, or dinosaurs to fall into.
“Is the dinosaur in there?” Aaron points at the trailer.
I nod. “Maybe I should go first. I’ve met Mike before, so he probably won’t eat me.”
“No way,” Sam says. “I’m going first.” She sprints through the front yard and past the chimney. Aaron is right behind her.
I grab Peanut. Saurus takes a step back. She’s a smart cat.
“Wait for me.” I race after them.
Sam gets to the door of the trailer first. She twists the handle.
“He’s a carnivore,” I warn her. “He may be hungry.”
“It’s locked,” she says.
“I got this.” Aaron picks up a rock the size of a soccer ball.
“No!” I shout. I point at the ground where Aaron’s rock had been. “Let’s just use the key. The Starks must have hidden it here.”
Sam unlocks the door and pulls it open. Inside, it’s super quiet. And dark.
“Mike?” I step in. “It’s me, Frank. We met yesterday.” I walk slowly toward Mike’s igloo. Sam and Aaron follow.
Mike pokes his head out. And I’m one thousand percent sure he is not a bird.
“Wha…” Sam can’t talk, which doesn’t happen a lot.
“Meet Mike,” I say.
“What is it?” Aaron asks.
“He’s a Velociraptor,” I answer.
“But he has feathers,” Aaron says.
“Lots of dinosaurs had feathers,” I explain. “That doesn’t make them birds. And it doesn’t mean they could fly.” It feels good to be right.
Peanut fights to get out of my arms. He whines and makes a clicking noise in his throat. I’m not sure if he wants to meet Mike or have a battle. It would be the first dinosaur fight in sixty-five million years.
Mike doesn’t like the sound. He inches back into his igloo. We can’t see him anymore.
“Hold Peanut.” I hand him to Sam. Then I get down on my hands and knees and look inside the igloo. There is a small chance Mike will jump out and attack my face. But my dino senses are telling me he’s more scared than I am.
Mike is curled up. His long snout is tucked under his feathery arms. I can’t see his killer claws.
“It’s okay, Mike. We’re all friends.” I wave to him.
Mike doesn’t move.
“What did you bring for snacks?” I ask Sam.
“Cookies and potato chips. A couple of apples and some spinach for Peanut,” she says.
“Nothing a carnivore can eat,” I say.
“I have some buffalo jerky.” Aaron reaches into the pocket of his shorts. “It’s barbecue flavor.”
I take a piece of jerky from Aaron and hold it out to Mike. “Come on, buddy.”
Slowly, Mike crawls toward the meat. I move back a little. If he wants it, he’s going to have to come out of his dino house.
Peanut whines and twists in Sam’s arms.
When Mike is all the way out, I let him have the treat.
“Good boy,” I say. Carefully, I reach out to pat his head. He sniffs my fingers before letting me touch him.
“Where did he come from?” Sam asks. “Did he hatch from an egg too?”
“I don’t know. Mary said her parents have had him since before she was born.”
“You guys have a dinosaur,” Aaron says. “And Mary has a dinosaur. It’s not fair. I want one. I call dibs on the next dinosaur we find.”
“Fine. You get the next dinosaur.” Sam rolls her eyes.
I feel bad for Mike. If Mary hadn’t shown him to me, maybe he would still be with his family and not out here all alone.
I give him another piece of jerky.
“We have to tell Gram and PopPop,” Sam says. “I bet they’ll adopt Mike.”
“I already tried to tell them once,” I remind her. “They didn’t believe me.”
Sam nods. “They believed you until Mrs. Stark lied. I knew grown-ups lied. I’ll never trust another one.”
“Maybe we should wait to tell Gram and PopPop,” I suggest.
“Why?” Aaron asks.
“If we tell them, you know they’ll say something to the Starks,” I explain. “And then the Starks will leave. That means no documentary.”
Sam gasps. “No!”
“And no money for Peanut’s new house,” I add.
I give Sam and Aaron a minute to think about it. That might be the longest they’ve thought about anything all summer.
“We’ll wait and tell Gram and PopPop after the documentary is done. Agreed?” I ask.
We all put our hands in. “Agreed.”
I have to wait a whole day before I can sneak off again to see Mike. Sam and Aaron have soccer practice. I should be there too, but I pret
end that Peanut ate my shin guards. PopPop is running DECoW. Gram and the Starks are digging up fossils and filming it.
This time I pack more supplies, like my notebook, a scale and tape measure, and meat. Peanut comes along. I think he’s worried I might like Mike more than him. That would never happen.
I ride my bike to the old house and trailer. The key is right where we left it.
“Hi, Mike,” I say as I open the door. “It’s me, Frank. And Peanut.”
Mike meets us at the door. Actually, he tries to run through the door. I drop Peanut and tackle Mike before he can escape.
“You have to stay here. Mary would miss you if you ran away.” I pet his head. He seems to relax. Until he sees Peanut sniffing around his dino house.
Mike squawks. He lifts his arms and fans his feathers out like a peacock.
Peanut yelps. Then he runs. But there is no place to really run in the trailer.
Mike chases Peanut. I chase Mike. We go in circles like we’re playing duck, duck, dinosaur.
“Stop, dinosaurs. Stop right now!” I yell. They don’t listen. So we keep running until I can’t run anymore. If I had wanted exercise, I would have gone to soccer.
Finally, I give up. I plop down on the floor and try to catch my breath. Peanut jumps into my lap. And then so does Mike.
My lap isn’t big enough for two dinosaurs. I push them off. Peanut bites Mike’s tail. They start chasing each other again. This time, Peanut is It.
“I’ll just wait until you’re done playing.” As they run laps around me, I take out the scale, tape measure, and notebook.
I’m not really worried that Mike will eat Peanut. Mike is a carnivore, but I bet the Starks have been feeding him carrion. Carrion is dead meat. Mike doesn’t know how to hunt. And the Starks have trimmed the killer claws on his back feet.
I write all of this in my notebook.
When Mike and Peanut finally tire out, I give them a snack. Mike gets lunch meat. Peanut gets carrots.
“Time for your physical, Mike.” I gently lead him onto the scale by dangling another piece of meat. He puts only one leg on the scale, so I have to guess his weight. I write down Twenty-five pounds.
Getting his height and length are just as hard. He likes to bite the tape measure. Two or three feet tall. Three or four or five feet long.
I also want to count his teeth, but after he bites the tape measure in half, I decide to estimate the number of teeth. Teeth: a lot. And sharp.
While I write up my notes, Peanut and Mike play chase again. Then they wrestle. And then they curl up together for a nap.
I watch the two dinosaurs sleep and think I’m the luckiest kid in the world. Until I look at my watch.
“Peanut! We need to go.” Soccer practice ended thirty minutes ago, and DECoW closes soon.
Peanut jumps at my feet. I pick him up. Mike whines and circles us.
“Sorry, Mike. We’ll be back. I promise.” I smooth the feathers on his head and give him the last slice of lunch meat.
Peanut and I rush out of the trailer. We get on my bike and ride to the house. We try to sneak in through the back door. Gram spots us right away.
“Frank, there you are. You won’t believe—”
“Hey, Gram! How’s it going? I’ve had a really, really boring day! Nothing exciting happened here! Nothing at all!”
“Frank, stop yelling,” Gram says.
“Sorry.”
Then Gram gives me a big smile. “Well, I did have an exciting day. We found another fossil today. This one is much smaller. Almost Peanut’s size.” She takes him from me and rubs a spot under his chin. “I think it’s safe to say that this little guy is a pack animal.”
“Yeah. I already knew that.” I want to tell her that he even likes hanging out with carnivores, but I keep that to myself.
The Starks are already at the site when Gram, Sam, and I get there the next morning. Mr. and Mrs. Stark are setting up. Mary plays in the dirt.
Sam whips out her plastic microphone. “Testing. Testing. I’m ready for my first scene.” She dashes out of the truck and goes right to Mrs. Stark.
“Where’s the new fossil?” I ask Gram.
“Where all the cameras are pointing,” she says. There are only two cameras, but they are both aimed at the same spot.
I hop carefully into the pit. Only part of the fossil has been cleared. There could be a lot more in the rock.
“That is a rib, right?” I ask Gram.
She nods. “I believe so.”
“And this is the base of the skull.” I point with my finger.
“Yes, and that tip right there—”
“Is the peanut-shaped horn,” I say. It’s amazing.
Mr. Stark walks over. “Good morning, Frank. Glad you’re back on site today. We missed you yesterday.” I wonder if he’s saying one thing but means something else. Grown-ups do that sometimes.
“Dr. Mudd, we’d like to get your opinion on some of yesterday’s video.” He points to Mrs. Stark and the computer.
“I’d love to,” Gram says. And she is definitely saying one thing but means something else.
I pick up a brush and start clearing away some of the rock around the fossil. Sam jumps down beside me.
“Mrs. Stark says she doesn’t need me in the scene today. Can you believe that?” Sam asks.
“Maybe they’ll need you later.” I just say it to make her feel better.
“What are you digging at?” Sam doesn’t offer to help.
“It’s another fossil,” I say. “It’s like the big fossil Gram found, but smaller.” I don’t mention Peanut on purpose. The Starks could overhear.
“That’s cool, I guess.” Sam leans back against the wall of the pit.
“You guess? Of course it’s cool. All fossils are cool. They’re more than cool. They’re awesome!” I shout.
“Okay.” Sam shrugs. “I just don’t see how you can get so excited about a fossil when you have a real dinosaur waiting for you in the garage.”
“Shhh! Someone might hear you.” I turn my back to Sam and brush the fossil. She just doesn’t get it.
“Whatever,” she says.
“Why don’t you go jump in front of a camera again?” I suggest.
“I am in front of a camera,” she snaps back. “And look. That one is on!”
Huh?
I stand up. One of the cameras has a glowing red light. It is on!
“Sam.” I pull her up and whisper into her ear, “You just said stuff in front of the camera you weren’t supposed to say.”
“What? About Peanut being in the garage?” She slaps a hand over her mouth.
I scramble out of the pit, pulling Sam with me. “Come on. You have to help me erase it.”
I hit a button. The red light goes out. Good. That’s step one.
“Hey, what are you doing with that camera?” Mr. Stark yells from the far side of the pit.
“Quick, erase it.” I push Sam into the camera stand.
She presses every button. She flicks every switch. I don’t think she knows what she’s doing.
“I’m better in front of the camera,” she says.
“Don’t touch the equipment,” Mrs. Stark says in her scary-substitute-teacher voice. The grown-ups are running toward us.
There’s no time. I yank the camera off its stand. I was going to run away with it, but Sam grabs it from me. She throws it into the pit.
“No!” screams Mr. Stark.
Everyone stops. The camera is still in one piece. I kind of expected it to blow up like a bomb.
“You’re in trouble. You’re in trouble,” Mary sings.
Mrs. Stark picks up the camera and plays with it for a minute. “The lens is shattered. The circuits are shot.”
I let out a big breath.
“Yes!” Sam says. She tries to give me a high five, but I don’t move.
“What has gotten into you two?” Gram is standing in front of us. Sam and I just stare at our feet.
�
��Get in the truck. You are done here.”
The Starks make some phone calls and find a place that can fix their camera. The repair shop is over an hour away. Mary doesn’t want to go, so PopPop suggests she stay with us.
“It’s the least we can do,” he says.
“Yeah!” Mary exclaims. “Can I meet your dinosaur now?”
“I don’t have a dinosaur,” I say. Again!
Mary, Sam, and I watch TV and play Memory Match. We can’t go outside because of the rain.
PopPop works the front desk at DECoW, and Gram goes to the dig site. She wants to cover the fossils with a tarp to protect them from the weather. I’m not allowed back there. Maybe not ever.
I set up another board game. We hear thunder. It sounds far away.
“I don’t like thunderstorms,” Mary says.
“It’ll be okay,” Sam says. “We’re safe in the house.”
Mary nods. She’s okay until there is another boom of thunder.
“What about Mike?” she asks. “Will he be safe too?”
Through the front window, we see black clouds over the hills.
“He’ll be fine,” Sam says.
“Mike is all alone,” Mary says. “And he hates thunder too.”
I bring Mary into the kitchen and pour her a glass of chocolate milk. She doesn’t drink it.
“I’m going to check on P-E-A-N-U-T.” I spell out his name so Mary won’t know who I’m talking about.
Peanut has been quiet all morning. I should have known something was up. He broke free from the pen in the garage and found a box of Halloween decorations to play with. Pieces of a plastic pumpkin are everywhere.
I give him a carrot and try to clean up some of the mess.
“For a small dinosaur, you are a lot of work.” I fix the hole in his pen and put him back in it.
When I return to the kitchen, Mary is alone.
“Where’s Sam?” I ask.
“She went to get Mike.” Mary smiles.
“What?” I run to the window. I don’t see Sam, only lightning flashing behind DECoW.
The Dino Files #2 Page 3