Terra

by Robert Turnbull

  Dar eventually fell for one of the student teachers that was somewhat of an expert on survival outside of the wheel. He and his dad took Dar along and Sky knew that Dar was always frightened of ‘out there’ as he called it. When his new boyfriend was killed by velociraptors, he was crushed and never went out again. If Dar could fly, he ventured out as if he feared nothing, on foot outside of the wheel was a totally different story as the color drained from his face just walking the protected mile or so to the river bank. But now strangely it was Dar that was pointing out broken branches and that there were more tracks under the ones that the mega-rex had made, apparently with their lives at risk Dar had overcome his fears. Sky smiled softly as she listened to her friend.

  “See Sky, here…and there…” he pointed as they slowed “I think the mega was headed after another normal sized rex, maybe two.”

  “Jesus, guess we should head east a bit.” Sky muttered as they both listened for new sounds as she frowned where Dar couldn’t see; was she second guessing herself? She frowned again as Dar snapped her out of it.

  “I think we’re ok, look at the one smaller rex track, see how the water is seeping into it? It’s fresh too, look!” he pointed to the mega track “See, It hasn’t filled yet? That rex came this way from that direction and the mega must have heard it and charged this way.” He pointed back the way that they had come.

  “Dinner?” she asked keeping an eye out for danger.

  “I don’t know Sky, don’t think so.” sadness fell upon his face remembering his lost love. “Kurt told me once that if megas did exist, they’d be like rexes, in for a fast kill, and then dinner. This sounded more like a fight of some kind.” He no sooner finished and she was tugging on his arm once again.

  For what had to have been minutes for the mega to run down the path he had made in the primordial forest, it took them hours to squeeze under and climb over the piles of fallen trees and limbs that were the size of normal sized trees back close to their home. To them it was far safer than walking out in the open where they could be seen through the trees by any unseen creature with an appetite for humans.

  It was getting close to dark as far as Sky could tell by the lack of sun beams streaming through the mostly dense tree canopy of the giant trees. Where once scattered sunbeams burst through, now only muted light could be seen.

  Dar cupped his hands and smiled at Sky “Ok boss, up and over.” Sky nodded and stepped in his hands as he raised her…but she didn’t pull herself up like they had been doing.

  “Jesus Sky, I mean you have a cute little petite body…for a girl,” he chuckled “but I can’t hold you all day.” Slowly he felt her weight ease and then her hand came down to help him up over the fallen tree. As she pulled and he found a foot hold in the rough bark he looked up to see Sky wasn’t looking at him, but over her shoulder. As he scrambled higher Sky was staring at something, her jaw agape.

  “Come one Sky, nothing can…” as he reached the top his eyes drifted in the direction of his leader’s “Hooollllyyyy shiiiit!” he sputtered as Sky stood and scanned the area before them. Dar joined her and was no longer worried about something sneaking up on them, both were transfixed on the horrific scene before them.

  The fallen tree on which they stood was a good fifteen feet off the ground. Fifty yards in front of that was the body of a t-rex, beyond that, another body of the much bigger mega-rex that was laying upon another normal sized rex; both were dead.

  There were trees and large brush scattered all around and on the bodies. The entire area the size of a football field was cleared of any standing foliage and ravaged by deep scars in the earth that had been made as their huge claws dug in as they struggled in the life and death battle.

  They dropped down and began to walk among the giant corpses, fallen debris, and huge ruts carved into the ground by monstrous claws. Looking at one Dar stumbled over and nearly fell into another deep rut, the scene was horrific.

  Beyond the fallen and slightly around a raised rocky outcropping they froze again.

  Three more rexes laid upon the ground and on top of two of them was the mega they had seen, Dar recognized the scarred foot that he had seen earlier. The mega was severely shredded and bloodied. Still breathing with short labored breaths, its head rolled so the jaw laid on the ground and its huge yellow eye stared at them. There was a slight moan and heavy grunt as Sky walked toward the beast. Dar tried to hold her back, but she jerked her arm from his grasp.

  “Dar…look at its eye.” She turned to look at him and there were tears in her eyes “There’s intelligence there Dar, I know it.” She turned and walked toward the huge head once again and stopped barely ten feet from it.

  “Sky this is not a good idea. Jesus, if it dies and slides off those rexes, you’re toast.”

  “It’s trying to tell me something.” Sky protested to Dar’s incessant tugging. About then the mega’s eye moved toward a pile of brush and then back to Sky. There was a soft huff and her eye slowly moved back to the brush near the rocky rise. The eye slowly closed and the labored last breath slowly escaped until there was an eerie silence that fell over the forest.

  Dar gently pulled the weeping Sky back away from the beast as he slid his arm around her.

  “He died protecting his mate.”

  “It’s a she.” Sky pointed to the obvious difference “Perhaps…but…” she wiped tears from her cheek and walked toward the rocky hill that they had rounded minutes before. Once again Dar tugged on her arm to get going and she pulled away. Sky carefully walked toward what appeared to be huge boulders covered with brush.

  Sky peeked through the brush, and then looked back to Dar as he followed behind.

  “This is what she was looking at.” Sky muttered sadly as she pulled the brush from in front of her to reveal three eggs.

  “This one is crushed…” she muttered solemnly “poor little thing,” she pointed to the small mega crushed among the huge eggshell fragments “didn’t have a chance.”

  “LITTLE?” Dar shouted “If that thing stood up, it would be as tall as you are?” he tried not to smile as he knew Sky was upset. He patted one of the other eggs and grinned softly “At least these two made it. Why hell, I’d bet…” the egg moved and Dar stumbled backward so fast that he fell “Jesus!” he muttered as he scrambled to his feet

  Sky looked at the eggs closely and saw a series of cracks.

  “Dar, that’s what happened, it has to be. They were hatching and rexes heard them and attacked the male, he fought them off and called for mom. That’s what she was looking at, her brood…” she looked at Dar with soulful eyes “They can’t get out, they need our help.”

  “No fuckin’ way Sky!” he protested “Leave ‘em be…Jesus, you’re out of your fuc…” he sighed resigned to the fact that she wasn’t going to listen to him one bit.

  Sky picked up a small hand sized rock and began trying to crack the heavy shell. She had seen some rex shells in exhibits back in the wheel, but the broken shell was much thicker, so she hit harder until it formed smaller cracks, the smaller cracks became even smaller with another crack of the rock.

  “Sky…wait…” Dar laid his hand on her arm as the light began to fade “What if these things come out ready to eat?” he put his hand on the side arm in his holster “This might work on them, but could draw other things I’d just as soon not mention.”

  “Well I’m not leaving them in here to die, break that other one and open it enough for them to get out. We’ll crack the eggs enough to weaken them, break open the top part so they can breathe.” she winked at her longtime friend and wingman as she added, “If they’re alive and hungry we’ll run.” She chuckled as she pulled a large chunk of shell from the egg. Dar did the same and was surprised that nothing slimy came out. Two more chunks were pulled free and as they fell to the ground he muttered “Too dark to see inside, think they’re still alive?”

  No sooner had he said that, two heads popped up from the two eggs and a soft half roar, half s
queal came from the baby megas. Dar was already running and Sky joined him as her egg fell to its side and the baby fell out and looked at its brother…or sister; Sky didn’t stick around to find out which.

  Running along the route that Dar had headed, she caught up and still trotting to conserve energy, she glanced over.

  “Think…they’re ok?” she huffed and puffed “Don’t hear a thing from back there.”

  “Kurt said baby dinosaurs know better to make sounds when they hatch…” he gasped for air “predators and all.”

  “Think we can stop running now?” Sky muttered between breaths.

  “Yeah, almost too dark to see now.” He shot back as he stopped running and looked around. “Now is that a break or what?” Sky looked to where he pointed to see another but much higher boulders covered hill. Next to it was another and they looked as if they had been split apart, to the side of the tallest hill was a cave and the boulders in front of it were just parted enough for a human to walk between.

  Sky pulled her light and scanned the deep cave to see it bent in a slow curve and out of sight. Due caution prevailed as they searched the cave to the end about thirty yards back to a solid granite wall.

  “Well, only one way in, now all we need to do is figure if that’s good news or bad.” She laid her light on the cave floor so it lit more of an area.

  “Guess that depends upon if we get trapped in here and can’t get out…or if something our size lives in here.” he looked around “Don’t see any bones, don’t see brush that might be a bed or nest.” he grinned “What say we bed down for the night and grab some food?” Dar pulled out some small lights and tossed them around to cover about ten yards from the solid stone wall that was the end of this comma shaped cave.

  “Man I sure hope nothing does come in here” he nodded to the rear of the cave “not much farther for us to run…anyhow, I need food!”

  Sky grinned as she lifted her backpack and pulled a silver packet out. She tossed one to Dar and kept one for herself as she shook it violently. The liquid mixed and solidified

  “You call this food?” she chuckled as she ripped open the packet.

  “Well, it’s better than…” Dar froze as a loud snort came from the darkness just around the bend of the cave…and it was followed by a second snort. As both leaned to try to see in the dimness of the small LED lights as they slowly reached for their side arms. In the darkness beyond the glow of their lights were two sets of glowing eyes. Sky reached for Dar’s flashlight to shine into the blackness, but it was too late as two baby megas rushed toward the pair of bewildered pilots.

  “Don’t want to see them die in the shells, she says.” Dar shouted as they dashed toward him at full speed and he fumbled to get his pistol out of the holster “Aww…we’re so fucked.”

  Chapter 3.

  Sky had no time to get her pistol out so she threw what she had in her hand, her compressed dinner which bounced off the nose of one of the startled mega-rex babies. At a full sprint now, one rex hopped over Sky’s light, one of Dar’s smaller lights, while the slightly smaller one that had a reddish hue to it, snapped the silver foil wrapped meal in its mouth and dashed past Sky who had thrown herself against the cave wall and slid down it to the floor. The first rex gave a giant hop and cleared Dar who was in the process of falling backward, hit the cave floor and rolled to see where the two giant rex babies had gone. Half expecting to be eaten he saw them both cowering against the granite wall at the rear of the cave.

  Both rexes crouched low and pressed their sides to the solid stone and looked outward toward the two startled humans. They made low soft squeaks back and forth as Dar looked at Sky.

  “What the fuc…Sky?”

  “My God, Dar they looked frightened.”

  “THEM?” he shouted as the four foot high baby rexes cowered close to the floor “Jesus Christ! They’re scared…really? I think I just shit my flight suit!” the trembling Dar shakily stood.

  Sky wasn’t sure if Dar was serious or not as she had come close herself, but she looked back toward the rexes as she holstered the gun she had fumbled with seconds ago. Glancing over her shoulder and around the curve in the cave, she frowned.

  “Dar…it’s dark outside and…aw crap…think about it.” she slowly slid one step toward the baby rex closest to her side of the cave to get a better look and neither shied away from her, but kept looking past her to the dark bend of the cave.

  “Turn up the light I want to get a better look at these guys…oops guy and girl.”

  “Uhhh, Sky, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Dar cautioned as Sky took another step closer to the slightly smaller of the two that had the reddish hue to its scales.

  “Dar remember the professor that taught ancient Earth? Remember that part about some birds imprinting on the first thing they saw?”

  “Holy shit…you mean us?”

  “Exactly.” Sky reached out toward the smaller female rex and the foil packet in her mouth; again it didn’t shy away from her. As she slowly reached out and grasped the foil package the baby rex released it. She took the package and pulled it open, took out the rectangular square slab of food and held it out keeping her fingers as far away as possible from the basketball sized head and the inch long teeth.

  “Her ya go little girl, you look…” the rex snapped the food and with one crunch swallowed the entire packet. “Well you sure don’t eat like a lady…” Sky smiled “that’s it…I’m going to call you Lady, what are you gonna call yours Dar?”

  “Shit!” he was stunned Sky wanted to name these things?

  Sky glared at Dar as she gingerly reached out and patted the rex and it leaned slightly into her hand. “You can’t call it that, you jerk!”

  “No I meant, shit, you’re naming these…uh…these…”

  Name yours!” she demanded “Remember the professor saying that if you train animals at an early age they learn better, now name your rex so…”

  Dar slapped his forehead “My God you’re serious aren’t you? You know they’re going to expect you to feed them too?”

  “Us.” She replied as she stroked the baby rex and it responded in such a way that it even surprised Dar…it lowered his head so she could rub it on the neck as it nuzzled her body with long rubs.

  “Feed us?” the thoroughly confused Dar sputtered.

  “No silly, we’re going to feed them. Look Dar, remember Mrs. Daily’s class? Most dinosaurs run from the scent of rexes, even the small ones. If they tag along, they might keep raptors and others away in the long run.”

  Dar slowly walked over to the slightly larger male rex that was a light green over the gray underside and it sniffed his hand. Dar snorted “Yeah, all right…here goes my fuckin’ dinner.” reached into his pack and ripped oven a dinner for ‘his’ baby and it took it in one gulp.

  “Dash…as he dashed right over my head, I’m calling him Dash.” He carefully reached out as the rex watched Sky stroke his sister. The rex looked at Sky, back at Lady, and then at Dar. In one quick move it slammed him against the cave wall as it rubbed against him like a cat…a hundred and fifty pound cat.

  Dar patted Dash a few times and walked him back to the rear of the cave and made motions for him to lay down and to both their amazements, he did! Even more incredible was the fact that Lady followed suit without being told. Dar looked at Sky with his jaw agape “Aww, hell no! Do not tell me these things understand us…no, uh-uh, no way.”

  “Well old lady Daily did say scientists thought these dinosaurs are much like those on ancient Earth, just some seemed to be recorded as smarter that others by our forefathers. Now that I think back just about every teacher said something like that.” She sat on her thermal blanket and sighed “After all we opened their eggs and left them there to fend for themselves. They probably imprinted on us, followed our scent back here; when it turned dark they got scared and came in here to find mom and dad.” she chuckled as Dar wrinkled his nose at her and snorted loudly.

  “Yeah,
laugh if you must, but remember if any of those spinosaurus critters get a whiff of these babies…they are mortal enemies, remember. Just like regular size rexes, we could be inviting trouble.”

  Sky nodded warily “I know…” she glanced over to the two rexes lying curled up on the cave floor and smiled “we have to protect them as long as we can. Mrs. Daily agreed with the other teachers that the dinosaurs on Terra never had the extinction event that Earth had. That would mean that they’ve had as much as another fifty to one hundred million years to evolve, maybe more. We’ve already determined that their brains are much larger then what our history logs show, maybe she and the rest were right, maybe they are smarter than we give them credit for.”

  Dar sighed “Ok, but if they never had their apocalypse, then how come they aren’t more advanced?”

  Sky shook her head slowly “If you didn’t sleep in class all the time, you’d know this planet is much younger than Earth was when our ancestors left…and stop trying to talk your way out of helping these rexes.”

  Dar snorted again and rolled over “Yeah right! …and if one of then shits in this cave, don’t expect me to clean it up.” as he peaked out one eye he saw Dash twitching as if having a bad dream. He grunted, threw back his thermal blanket, and walked over to the small rex and stroked it and whispered to it.

  “It’s ok fella, it’s ok.” the baby rex opened one eye and looked at Dar as it let out what sounded like a sigh and went back to sleep. Dar smiled and started back to his blanket to see Sky sitting up with a huge grin on her face.