by C. G. Mosley
Jonathon estimated that they’d been deserted on the beach around twenty minutes. He’d spent most of that time doing his absolute best to convince Annie that they were going to find a way to break free. At first, he only said it to make her feel better, but as he felt the knot in the rope slowly loosen, he began to genuinely believe it. Silas struggled almost the entire time, and at one point, he lost his cool and yelled out some profane words that made Annie blush. The words were all directed to Angus and he did his best to make sure the old man heard them. Jonathon knew that more than likely he didn’t hear them, but it made Silas feel better so he let the big man vent.
“Believe it or not, I think the rope is loosening,” Jonathon said through clenched teeth.
Annie perked up. “Really? How do you know?”
Jonathon wiggled his shoulders side to side and tried to slide up and down on the jagged palm tree bark. “Because, I can feel it,” he mumbled.
Annie immediately began struggling frantically, trying hard to mock the motions Jonathon was doing.
“No…don’t,” he said. “You two stay as still as you can and let me wiggle around. If I can just get enough slack to move my arm, I can grab my knife and cut us free. We just got to be patient, but I know I can get it.”
Silas breathed a sigh of relief. “Let me know if I can do anything to help,” he said. “I’ll try to suck my stomach in as much as I can to give you some room to work.”
“Thanks, that’ll hel—”
Jonathon words were cut off by a rustling in the bushes about fifty yards away where the jungle met the beach.
“What was that?” Annie asked, her eyes wide.
Jonathon stared into the bushes for a long moment, watching and listening intently. “It didn’t sound like anything big,” he muttered, then went back to working on the rope.
Annie was unconvinced and she did her best to not blink. She kept her eyes focused on the bushes. Silas sensed her concern. “Sweetheart, it’s alright. Everything is going to be alright. We’ll be out of here in a few more minutes.”
“Give me about fifteen,” Jonathon corrected.
Annie frowned, but finally allowed herself to blink. She dropped her head down, her red hair dangling in front of her face. She wanted to believe that they would be alright. But somewhere deep down, she didn’t.
The bushes rustled again and this time another Parksosaurus hopped out onto the beach. It began to make short little clicking sounds that sounded similar to a dolphin. It paid them no attention; it was as if they weren’t even there.
“What is it doing?” Annie whispered, her eyes widening again.
Jonathon stopped moving for a second and studied the animal and the strange clicking noises.
“It’s almost like it’s calling a buddy or something,” he said.
“Uh, you did say those are plant eaters,” Silas stammered. “They eat plants…right?”
Jonathon began to work on the rope again and chuckled. “It won’t bother us,” he assured them. The rope was loosening more, and he was almost mobile enough to retrieve the knife.
Silas and Annie continued to watch the dinosaur when suddenly another one popped out of the trees. They both made more clicking sounds, this time much more frantic. Then just as quickly as the first one had popped out, four more appeared simultaneously.
“Jonathon, something is wrong,” Silas said softly.
At that moment, all of the Parksosauruses took off in a furious sprint across the beach. The small dinosaurs had very muscular legs that propelled them across the sand quickly and with ease. Suddenly, dozens more of them began leaping out of the jungle, all of them clicking loudly.
Jonathon never ceased working on the rope; he was extremely close to getting them free. He gave the animals a glance and had a feeling he knew what was going on. Something big is after them, he thought.
Annie began crying and shook her head from side to side. She wasn’t speaking, probably because she couldn’t. She whimpered loudly and made no effort to disguise how terrified she was. The animals kept coming, and they all suddenly heard the sound of tree limbs snapping and popping within the jungle. Out of nowhere, a large tyrannosaur crashed through the trees and made its frightening presence known on the beach. The Parksosauruses continued to scramble away, but the tyrannosaur plucked one up off the beach with almost no effort. The animal squealed in pain as the larger dinosaur clamped its massive jaws down, instantly breaking the dinosaur’s back. The tyrannosaur opened its jaws, allowing the crippled animal to drop on the beach, and then it wasted no time tearing the flesh from its body. The white sand under the Parksosaurus quickly turned red, and it actually surprised Jonathon to see just how much blood poured from the animal’s body in such a short amount of time.
Annie glanced at the gore in the sand, then back up to the terrifying jaws that were responsible for it. She shook violently for a second, and then let out a blood-curdling scream.
“No! Don’t scream,” Jonathon pleaded.
The tyrannosaur stopped feasting for a moment and whipped its big head in Annie’s direction. As it studied her, it looked at her the way a curious dog would, tilting its head sideways.
“Don’t make another sound,” Jonathon whispered. “And be still!”
Silas said nothing, probably too stunned to speak, although Jonathon could hear him breathing heavily. Finally, he had enough slack to move his arm, and he quickly slid the large knife from its sheath.
“I’m about to cut the rope, but when the rope drops, no one move until I tell you,” he commanded. He waited for some sort of response, a nod, a shrug, a grunt…something. “This is very serious, did you two hear me? I need to know. I can’t cut this rope and have one of you panicking and taking off across the beach. If you do that, you are dead meat. Do you two understand me?”
“Y-Yes, I d-do,” Annie stuttered, barely in a whisper.
Silas glanced over at him, his face pale and ghostly. He didn’t say a word, only nodded.
“Okay,” Jonathon responded. “Here goes nothing.” He placed the blade against the rope and gently slid it upward. The knife was extremely sharp and that was all it took. The rope fell on the sand, barely making a sound. Jonathon eyed the tyrannosaur carefully and breathed a sigh of relief as it apparently had lost interest in them and dropped its massive head back down into its meal. The whole animal was massive, much larger in real life than he could’ve ever imagined. He’d seen his share of reconstructed tyrannosaur skeletons in many museums, but seeing a real live one complete with muscle and skin made it much more intimidating. Its skin was a deep dark green; the hide along the animal’s spine was so dark it was almost black. The belly was green also, but a lighter shade. He studied the animal’s eyes and took note at just how much it resembled a bird’s eyes. Many paleontologists believed that dinosaurs evolved into birds; he was one of them. Seeing the tyrannosaur’s eyes cemented his belief.
“Okay, we’re going to move very slowly toward the trees,” he said calmly. “No sudden movements and be as quiet as possible.”
They both nodded at him and waited patiently for him to make the first move. Jonathon waited and watched the tyrannosaur tear more flesh from the Parksosaurus. He could literally hear a tearing sound as the dinosaur’s teeth pulled meat loose from the bone. When he was certain that the animal was completely oblivious to their presence, he gingerly began to back away from the palm tree and into the more secure shadows the jungle provided. Silas still had enough presence of mind to allow his chivalrous side and he waited for Annie to move next. He held his breath and kept his eyes locked onto the tyrannosaur until it was his turn. Jonathon put a steady hand on Annie’s shoulder and helped her into the dense foliage; the tension in his body was literally beginning to make his muscles ache. Annie kneeled down, and Jonathon put a finger over his mouth to remind her to be quiet. Silas looked over his shoulder to make sure that the other two were still there, then quickly swiveled his head back toward the tyrannosaur. He planted h
is feet on the ground very softly, doing his best not to snap any sticks or twigs as he walked backwards. He felt sweat rolling down his cheek and dripping off of his chin, but he still managed to keep his concentration on the dinosaur.
“Almost there,” Jonathon whispered.
Silas took another step back and his heel caught a tree root hidden under a thin layer of sand. He wind-milled his arms around, desperately trying to keep his balance. It was no use, and he cringed as he fell backward to the earth. The harsh reality stung him immediately as he realized that when he hit the ground, the tyrannosaur would come charging. How could I have been so careless? he thought. He wanted to curse out loud, but refrained from doing so. Suddenly, he felt someone catch him under his arms, stopping him from striking the ground. He glanced over his shoulder and was relieved to see Jonathon struggling to hold him up.
“Nice catch, bud.”
Jonathon gave a weak smile, and then gently allowed Silas to make contact with the ground.
“Gather yourself back up. We gotta get away from here fast,” he said, still whispering.
The three of them stealthily made their way through the jungle until Jonathon was certain it was safe to stop and catch their collected breaths. Annie fell to her hands and knees and began sobbing again, a great deal of hopelessness rained down with her tears.
Silas and Jonathon both kneeled down beside her and did their best to comfort her.
“It’s alright, Annie. We’re going to get out of here, but you’ve got to stay calm for me,” Jonathon pleaded. He looked around making sure there weren’t any more dinosaurs nearby. “We’re safe now, please calm down.”
She listened to him and nodded in agreement, but she couldn’t help herself. She cried a few minutes longer until it seemed there weren’t any more tears left for her to cry. Silas put an arm under her and took care in helping her up.
“It’s gonna be alright, dear. We need to keep moving. Everything will be alright, you’ll see,” he said soothingly.
Jonathon shook his head. “Actually, I think we should wait here a moment,” he said.
Silas frowned. “For what?”
“I just need a few more minutes to think. We’ve got to find a way to get you two back to the ship, but we can’t exactly go back that way,” he said, pointing in the direction of the tyrannosaur. He crossed his arms and stared at the ground, deep in thought. “Maybe we should just wait here for a while and give the tyrannosaur time to leave. I’ll take you two back to the beach and see that you both get on the ship.”
Silas grinned and pulled his shirt tail out of his shorts in an effort to find some comfort in the uncomfortable environment. “And just what do you plan on doing? You think you’re gonna leave us on the ship and take off?”
Jonathon stared into his eyes. Silas read them and got the answer he needed. “Jonathon, you can’t go after them. When we get on the ship, we’ll radio for help.”
“You’re assuming Captain Blackstone and Denny aren’t in on this,” he shot back. “They both work for Angus Wedgeworth, don’t forget that. Besides, we have no idea how long it’ll take to get some help here. I’ve got to go after her. It’s not a choice. There aren’t any other options right now.”
Silas took a breath. “Lucy will be fine. She’s a tough girl. She knows these animals better than Angus does. He’ll listen to what she says. He talks big, but he loves himself too much to do something that’ll get himself killed.”
Jonathon clenched his jaw and shook his head. “Okay, let’s say you’re right and he does listen to her. It doesn’t matter. If a dinosaur wants to eat them, it is going to. The rifles they are carrying are nowhere near big enough to stop an animal the size of the one we just saw on the beach. They are very vulnerable out there. If anything happens to Lucy, I’ll never forgive myself. The whole reason I came on this suicide trip was to look out for her and that is what I intend to do.”
Silas stared at him and didn’t have any idea what to say to convince him he was wrong. The unfortunate truth was that he was right. “Alright, I see there’s no talking you out of this. If I were in your position, no one would be able to talk me out of it either,” Silas said, conceding. “You’re the boss; we’ll wait around until you lead us out of here.”
Jonathon smiled and was relieved that Silas understood. “Thanks.” He walked over to Annie; she looked back at him, but there didn’t seem to be much going on behind her tired green eyes. “Annie, I promise you I’ll get you out of here.”
She licked her lips and nodded slowly. “I need another beer,” she said, her voice hoarse.
Jonathon smiled and put an arm around her, squeezing her shoulder tightly. “There is still plenty of that on the ship for you to drink when we get there,” he responded with a chuckle.
Chapter 15:
Travis slashed through the dense vegetation with a machete and led the others single file through the path he cleared. Osvaldo and Lucy were immediately behind him with Angus closely following. Armando walked ahead of Frank, visibly shaken by the fact that Frank kept a rifle pointed at him the entire time. They’d been travelling for about half an hour and none of them had said a word since they’d left the others at the beach. The only sound was the occasional bird chirping, or some squeaks and groans from some of the smaller dinosaurs scurrying nearby.
Lucy didn’t know whether to feel fear or anger at her current predicament. Perhaps anger was the better option and who better to direct it to than herself? Jonathon had practically begged her not to go on this trip. He told her that Angus was a man that couldn’t be trusted. She didn’t listen to him and now she found herself in an extremely dangerous situation. And if that wasn’t bad enough, she also felt tremendous guilt and responsibility for Jonathon’s life. It should’ve been her tied to a tree and left for dead. It was her reckless decision that led to the both of them being there. Deep down, she told herself that he would find a way to get loose, but there was still a nagging feeling that reminded her she may never seem him again. That terrified her more than meat-eating dinosaurs. She wanted to do something to make things right. But how could she? As they walked through the jungle, Angus held a gun firmly against the small of her back. She noticed that Osvaldo seemed to be leading them. He occasionally stopped, looked around, and pointed in a direction that they should go. No one ever questioned him and it was almost as if they were heading somewhere specific. She was beginning to think that there was something else on the island driving Angus besides dinosaurs. She couldn’t help but notice how little the Parksosaurus excited him when they all saw it. For a man suddenly so obsessed with dinosaurs, he sure seemed unimpressed. Ever since they set foot on the island, very little that happened made any sense.
“You think I’m an evil man, don’t you?” Angus suddenly asked from behind her, seemingly reading her thoughts.
“Yes I do,” she snapped. “Maybe if you’d get that gun out of my back I’d reconsider.”
The old man let out a chuckle. “If I remove the gun, you may try and run. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. I’d feel responsible.”
She rolled her eyes. “You can’t be serious. You’re keeping a gun on me to keep me safe? That makes perfect sense,” she said sarcastically. To her surprise, Angus pulled the gun away from her. She stopped and looked back at him.
“You’re right, it doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it?” he said.
She arched an eyebrow at him, unsure about what to say. Travis took the opportunity to stop a moment and rest. He slumped over and put both hands on his knees, sweat dripping off his head.
Angus reached out and put a hand on Lucy’s shoulder. “My dear, I didn’t mean for things to happen this way. Really, I didn’t. Things got out of control quickly and I had to make some difficult decisions.”
Lucy slapped his hand off of her shoulder. “You’re crazy,” she hissed. “Listen to yourself! You sound completely ridiculous. You’re kidnapping us, Angus!” she screamed.
The old man s
miled at her nervously. “Lucy, I’m quite sure that Jonathon will be fine. From what we’ve observed, most of the larger, more dangerous dinosaurs forage throughout the heart of the island. The smaller plant-eaters are more numerous along the borders.”
She crossed her arms and shook her head. “Gee, that makes me feel so much better, thanks,” she replied, her words once again dripping sarcasm. She eyed Angus’s right arm, extended downward along his side, the gun still gripped tightly in his hand. If I can just get him to relax a little bit more…she thought.
“Boss, Osvaldo seems a bit confused about where to go next,” Travis said from up ahead.
Angus looked past Lucy. “What? We’ve just started,” he mumbled as he walked past her. He shook his head. “We don’t have time for this,” he growled, as he approached Osvaldo.
Lucy remained still and immediately looked over to see where Frank was. He watched with interest as Angus began yelling at Osvaldo. Lucy didn’t even know what Angus was yelling about, but she didn’t care. All she knew was that if she was going to make a run for it, now was the time. She looked to her right and surveyed the landscape ahead, searching for any difficult obstacles that may prevent her from escaping. Although the foliage was thick, outside of a few vines there was very little she could see that would present a problem. She glanced back at Frank, then up at Angus and Travis. All three were paying her no attention. Now or never, she thought and suddenly she was off. She ran into the shroud of leafy plants and tore through anything and everything in her path. She felt a thin vine tear into her leg, but it did little to slow her down. Angus called after her and soon she heard someone pursuing her. She assumed it was Travis, but it really didn’t matter. She’d ran as fast as her body could manage and had very quickly put some distance between herself and whoever was chasing her. She noticed that the plants and trees thinned out a bit ahead. Quickly, she decided it would be better to duck and hide than to take a chance and run into the open where she could be seen. She dove to the ground and held her breath. A few seconds later, she heard her pursuer huffing and puffing his way to where she was. She remained deadly still and glanced up at Travis as he jogged by completely oblivious to the fact that she was a mere six feet from him. He ran right by and didn’t stop. She waited until she heard his footsteps fade away into the distance; only then she felt comfortable enough to move again. When she did she moved in a completely different direction from where Travis had gone and from where Angus and Frank were. She decided she’d move back in the direction of the beach, basically parallel to the path Travis had cut through the jungle earlier. Although she was out of breath and her side ached, she knew stopping at this point simply wasn’t an option. She estimated that if they’d walked for half an hour from the beach, then surely if she ran she could cover the distance in at least fifteen minutes. She hadn’t gone far before she realized that it would be impossible to get there as quickly as she wanted. The jungle seemed to be working against her as the plants became more and more abrasive and prickly. She carefully maneuvered her way through a patch of briars and was pleasantly surprised to find a clearing on the other side. A large, oddly shaped tree trunk rested in the center and as much as her heart told her to keep going, the old tree was just too inviting to pass up. It was a perfect place for a short rest. She stumbled toward the log, and when she got within twenty feet of it, the tree suddenly stood up on four stubby legs. She gasped, clearly startled, then the realization set in that the log wasn’t actually a log at all.