“Look, the treetops have disappeared. It’s going over the river,” Susan said, and moved to the edge of her seat.
The image showed a large clearing opening up. The mighty Lear’s River cut through the dense forest like a winding snake. The drone banked to the left.
Coop’s fingers danced across the keyboard. “Okay, let’s slow things down a bit. I’m taking control of the drone now.” The digital speedometer ticked down to 25 mph, while Coop adjusted the pitch and yaw controls using the drone’s remote controller.
A grid at the bottom of the screen had Alex estimating the river was around 40 yards wide at this point. There were no whitecaps in the water, so he doubted the current was very strong. The drone rolled slightly to follow the path, and once past a few tall trees by the water, one of time’s most incredible scenes imaginable unfolded before them.
“Oh my God . . .” Susan said barely above a whisper.
“Look!” Matt cried out from the front cabin.
The computer screen showed the river gently rolling past an incredibly massive sauropod wading by the bank. It was brownish and lime green in color, with long vertical stripes on a portion of its side. The front two legs were noticeably longer than the rear. Its tail protruded above the water as it moved its small head swiveling on a long neck to reach the leaves of a nearby tree.
“This makes the movie Jurassic Park look homemade,” Alex said. “I didn’t realize the camera was of such high resolution. Look at the details of those markings on his body.”
“When we pass, I’ll zoom in on the head,” Coop said.
The beast turned to look at the interloper, chewing on the last mouthful of leaves. The eyes were relatively small above a wide muzzle and thick jawbones. An arch of bone rose over the snout and in front of the eyes, encircling the nasal opening.
“Look at those teeth. They look like fat carrots,” Ben said.
Matt and Natasha stepped out of the front cabin. Logan let Natasha stand in front of him. He watched the screen over her head, while Matt stood behind him and looked over his shoulder.
“That’s a mighty big hoss right there,” Caveman said.
“I think it’s a Brachiosaurus,” Alex said.
“Barack-E-O-saurus? They named a dinosaur after the president?”
Suge and a few others chuckled. Alex wasn’t sure if Caveman had floated a joke or if he was just demonstrating his acumen. Right now, he really didn’t care to find out.
“Those things can get over eighty feet long and weigh over forty tons. I did read that the neck can lift the head to around thirty feet,” Alex said. “They aren’t meat eaters, but I wouldn’t want to get too close to one.”
“You know what that stuff is between Brontosaurus toes?” Caveman asked. No one took the bait. So after a few moments, he delivered the punchline, “Slow natives.”
A comedian the man was not.
“Are you going to circle and get more video?” Alex asked.
“No, I want to keep going. I—look, there’s more,” Coop said.
More sauropods appeared in the distance, on the opposite side of the river. Three hulking beasts zoomed into view as the drone approached. One was the same color as the first Brachiosaurus. The other two were shaped a bit differently. The front legs were the same length as the back legs. Same long neck and small head, but the tails were noticeably longer.
When Alex thought about it, the Brachiosaurus’ basic build looked similar to a giraffe’s. The body angled upward from the tail, and the long neck gave it a more upright appearance.
The other two sauropods, which were elephant gray in color, had a more elongated look. The tail was as long as the neck.
“Those could be a species of sauropod called Diplodocus. I’m not educated enough to differentiate between the various species of sauropods,” Alex said.
“Man, look at that. Lumbering along, cooling their heels at the beach, not a care in the world. No boats passing by. No people whooping and hollering. No sky-rises in the distance. No garbage. No pollution. No humans to fuck things up. Makes you think that the world was meant to be this way. Makes you wonder if mankind was just one big mistake. Mother Nature’s finest creation might end up being the death of her,” Ben said, the insightful comment was a bit out of place from his usually whimsical demeanor.
“But man is here now,” Natasha said.
“Yes, and we need to make damned sure we don’t fuck things up,” Alex said, not turning from the screen.
“What’s that? Is that a Tyrannosaurus?” Susan said, and poked the air toward the screen.
The drone banked to the right and leveled out as a large theropod dipped his head at the river’s edge. It certainly looked like a T-rex.
“It just might be. If it is, I don’t think it’s mature. There are other theropods that might look similar. But if that guy was full grown there’d be no doubt about it. Wait until we get a better look at the head,” Alex said.
The dinosaur raised its head from the water after taking a drink and stood upright, its short arms tucked against its chest. The drone was close enough to show the brownish-skinned creature also sported small feathers at the crown of its head. The feathers ran the length of the spine and became larger at the tip of the tail. This species was of a rather plain looking variety. One thing for sure, the massive jaws and rows of sharp teeth made it look anything but friendly.
“It could be an Allosaurus. A grown Allosaurus is only around seventy-five percent the size of a grown T-rex. We don’t know the age of this one. There’re other theropods that are larger than T-rex. There’s a Giganotosaurus, a Spinosaurus, and another one I can’t remember the name of that grow larger,” Alex said.
“Yeah, but the Spinosaurus had a large sail like flap of skin on the back, so it’s not that,” Matt added. “This one’s alone. I read somewhere that some theropods hunted in packs.”
“That’s a scary thought, a pack of these things chasing after you,” Logan said.
The drone flew past and continued its journey down the river.
“I wonder what we’ll see next,” Susan said. Her right cheek pressed on Alex’s left arm as she craned her head for a better view of the computer screen.
“The river’s widening,” Coop said, and shifted the weight of his buttocks on the seat.
Both sides of the river opened into a large expanse, and then narrowed back down in the distance, creating a circular shaped lake of sorts. From the looks of things, this was one popular watering hole; prehistoric creatures abounded.
“Would you look at that,” Alex marveled.
Clumps of dinosaurs surround the water’s edge on both sides, some in small herds. One larger herd contained Triceratops. What would a group of Triceratops be called? Alex had no clue. This bunch had dinosaurs of two distinct colors. One variety was a dull brown, and the other a light green—sort of the same color as a grass snake. Knowing nature, Alex figured the green, more eye-appealing variety were males. Nature had a way of giving beauty to the male species in animals. That certainly wasn’t true of humans. But the way society was headed today, some males worked hard in changing the course of evolution.
“I’m going put the drone back in autopilot. I’m going to have it circle this area so we can get a long look at this,” Coop said.
“That’s going to make me dizzy watching that,” Ben said, and took a step back and rubbed his eyes.
“I’ll put the camera in three-sixty mode. We’ll be able to set a point on the computer for the camera to focus on,” Coop said.
“Oh, great,” Ben said.
“Right there. Click on the Stegosauruses,” Alex said.
The camera fixed on seven or eight of the strange, colorful creatures. Markings on their bodies reminded Alex of those of a reticulated Gila monster lizard. The orange and black pattern covered their bodies, but the black turned into bands near the spiked tails. Spade like armor plates, reddish in color, ran the length from the head to the tail, increasing in size alo
ng the back.
“Those things are magnificent.” Alex let the sight set in for several long moments. “Okay, pan around.”
Different sized theropods, none nearly as big as the T-rex they saw earlier, though, wandered about alone or in small groups. Alex figured some of the smaller ones were of the insect eating variety. Insects would take over anywhere without natural predators.
“What’s that one right there? It has shorter front legs like a theropod, but it walks on four legs like a sauropod,” Ben said.
“Oh, God, let me think . . . might be an Edmontosaurus—see the duckbill? But those things can get huge. Might be a young one . . . there’s a few more over there.” Alex felt like a kid in a candy store; he wanted to stop and eat, but didn’t want to overlook a tasty new treat. “Oh, wait. Stop there . . . those theropods . . . I think those are Velociraptors.”
“But those have feathers and look smaller than the ones in Jurassic Park,” Ben said.
“Yeah, that’s how I know they’re Velociraptors.”
“Okay, got it,” Ben said, as if he wished he could have taken his ignorant comment back.
“There’s one, two, three, four, five of them,” Alex counted.
“They’re all huddled up. What are they doing?” Natasha asked.
“Looks like they might be hunting something. Coop, pan over to the left a bit,” Alex said.
The camera moved over; three Triceratops had drifted away from the herd, two adults, one male and one female, and the other a young calf. The younger one was light brown in color. Alex assumed it was a female too.
The Velociraptors hid in wait for attack. Nature had a dark side, and those that survived depended on those who would have to die.
The male led the way, with the female close by, and the calf waddling behind. The rest of the herd meandered in tow.
The Velociraptors sunk low near the ground in wait of the ambush. Alex almost cried out a warning, and realized the total futility of such action. Two of the Velociraptors’ tails began to twitch; they were the first to spring out and attack.
The Triceratops bull abruptly came to a halt as distance quickly closed between him and the predators. In no time, he spun around and ran faster than Alex thought possible back toward the herd, passing the cow, and the calf, too. The whole herd caught wind of the ordeal. The exodus was on.
The cow ran past her calf, which saw the coming danger. Awkwardly, the calf turned near the edge of the bank and tumbled down to the river a few feet away.
All five Velociraptors dove over the edge. The first two attacked the calf in the water, one sinking its chops into one side of her frill, the armor crown that rose from the head. The other lowered itself near the water. Its teeth searching for the soft spot of the neck. Another chomped down on the back, trying to keep movement at minimum. The poor little thing opened her beak-like mouth, in what Alex could only imagine was a tearful cry for mercy. The small horn on the tip of her nose and the two bull-like horns above her eyes were too small of a deterrent for the ferocious Velociraptors.
“The poor thing! It’s going to die!” Susan screeched and dug her nails into Alex’s left arm.
Cries of exasperation burst from behind.
“Oh no,” Natasha wailed. She turned and clung on to Matt.
Alex turned at her cry and caught a brief glimpse of his love holding onto another man. His anger kicked up a notch, as if Susan already didn’t have him in a pissy mood, and he turned back to watch the slaughter.
The Triceratops calf clung to life, her legs submerged under water, but fighting for all she was worth. Another Velociraptor bit onto the frill, and the group worked to move the calf toward dry land. The fifth Velociraptor raised its body up. Its head snaked back and forth—as if watching something in the distance.
“What’s that in the water?” Susan said.
Something long and large slowly floated toward the fray.
“It looks like a log,” Ben said.
“That ain’t no log,” Caveman said.
About that time, the log opened its mouth and attacked the Velociraptor by the water’s edge.
“It’s a crocodile!” Ben yelled.
The Velociraptor jumped backward as two rows of teeth chomped the air between them. The raptor didn’t flee and was determined to stand its ground. It snapped and bit the croc on the long tapered snout. The croc thrashed its thick tail about and jerked itself free.
The croc wasn’t giving up now. The Triceratops’ tail was right there for the taking. The croc bit down and tried to steal the prize.
“No!” Natasha squealed.
The tug of war was on. Four Velociraptors pulled on up the bank while the crocodile pulled toward the water. The struggle continued for over a minute.
“I can’t believe this. How is that Triceratops still alive?” Ben said.
With great effort, the Velociraptors inched the calf away from the water until they had her on land. Amazingly, she still stood on her own accord—refusing to fall and be gutted by the predators.
The croc had its front feet on the bank when the fifth raptor bit down on its neck. The croc let go of the Triceratops’ tail, and with a violent shake of its body—pulled free of the raptor—and sought refuge in the river.
The Velociraptors surrounded the Triceratops; their teeth sunk into her body, patiently waiting for her to fall.
“That’s a tough little sumbitch, there,” Caveman said.
Alex couldn’t help but agree. Still, it would be only a matter of seconds before a fatal bite would take down the relativity small dinosaur.
Suddenly, the Velociraptor on watch took a step or two back and rose up in defiance.
“Something’s up. Can you zoom out a bit?” Alex asked.
The camera pulled back, and the lead Triceratops had grown a set and returned for his calf.
“Look at that! Poppa bull says he wants a piece of that ass,” Caveman said.
But it wasn’t just Poppa bull, the rest of the herd followed close behind him. A Triceratops is more than six times the size of a Velociraptor. Even though they were slower and didn’t have the assault capabilities of the theropods, they were a massive force to deal with. Poppa bull edged his way in, and with head low to the ground, jutted forward—leading with his horned beak and two horns of his head, forcing the Velociraptor to flee down the bank a ways. The raptor stopped and turned back toward the bull, who then charged with horns lowered—sending the theropod scampering away for good.
“Damn! I can’t believe that raptor pussed out like that,” Ben said.
“The Triceratops’ head is like armor,” Alex said.
The other Velociraptors continued the death hold, unwilling to let go of their victim, which by all accounts, from what Alex saw, was the stupidest thing possible. If they killed the calf they’d never get a chance to eat it. The herd of Triceratops could stampede them to death in an instant.
The bull returned to the herd, which had a few of the other braver bulls edging up to the Velociraptors piled around the calf. Not all of the Triceratops had what it took to stay in the fight, despite the size advantage. Some would instantly retreat when a raptor snapped to stand its ground.
After tasting victory, Poppa bull must have felt invincible. He charged one of the raptors—his horn jabbing it in the side. With a quick thrust of his head, the Velociraptor sailed through the air and landed flat on the ground. It immediately rose and fled like a scalded dog.
Cheers erupted from behind Alex. This would be a fight of historical proportions.
And then there were three. The theropods held their prey but remained as low to the ground as possible.
The herd inched its way toward them—an impenetrable wall of mass and armor.
The raptors let go of the calf. It trotted on shaky legs into the herd.
More cheers and thanks rose from the expedition members.
“This is about to get good,” Caveman said.
With the Velociraptors clearly outnu
mbered, they at least had enough sense to get while the getting was good. One leaped up and ran down the river’s bank as fast as its two legs would carry it.
The other two remained low, and when a female Triceratops attacked from the side, the other two decided it was time to leave, too.
“I can’t believe, after all that, that the calf lived,” Susan said.
“That was simply amazing,” Alex said, feeling physically and emotionally drained after the ordeal.
The image on the computer screen abruptly shifted from the ground, past the trees, and then turned up into blue sky. The imagine darkened for a few seconds and then turned to blue sky again.
“What happened?” Alex asked.
“Not good,” Coop said. “Not good at all.” He tried to maneuver the drone with zero successes. The computer screen went blank.
“Th-th-th-tha-tha-tha-that's all, folks!” Caveman said, imitating his beloved Porky Pig.
“Something got the drone,” Alex said.
“I’m afraid so. Probably a pterosaur. I was afraid something like this might happen,” Coop said.
“I’m sure we don’t have another, right?” Alex said.
“No, show’s over, folks,” Coop said.
Alex slapped the table in frustration, and then brought his hands up to his temples. He let out a deep breath, and asked, “Okay, so what’s the plan now?”
Coop put the remote control on the table and closed the laptop. “Time to pack up. Wagon’s heading southwest.”
Chapter 13
The drone had been the window to this savage world, but in reality, Alex knew they were smack dab in it—just at the edge. There wasn’t much left to the imagination now as to what dangers lurked beyond. Getting up front and personal with the indigenous wildlife wasn’t the best of ideas. Still, it was a shame that contact would be limited to creatures that happened to wander across their path.
It took a little more than an hour to put away the canopy, pack up the rear cabin, and fill in the latrine holes. The most evidence that man had come through were slight imprints on the ground from the Warthog’s and Mule’s treads.
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