Mechs vs. Dinosaurs (Argonauts Book 8)

by Isaac Hooke

  She prayed he remained quiet now of all times. She prayed he didn’t whimper. Sweat trickled down her ribs as the tense moments dragged out.

  The carnosaur’s head rounded the vine-choked trunk, rudely disturbing the lianas overhead. A loud huff came from its nostrils as it inhaled sharply. Again.

  Shaw knew it was sniffing the air. It probably smelled her, but the strange scent confused the dinosaur, and it wasn’t sure if there was actually prey present, or just some exotic plant that it didn’t care about.

  Large biting flies, about the size of moths, descended on her position. Shaw was suddenly worried that the flies would reveal her to the creature, but instead the large insects focused on the Utahraptor—obviously their preferred meal. The carnosaur’s features twitched about as it tried to stave them off, and it swatted them with its head. It chomped at one or two of the insects, catching them between its jaws and swallowing.

  Then the carnosaur stood up straighter and made a half squawk, half clattering sound. A moment later a similar sound came in answer from somewhere in the jungle. The Utahraptor cocked its head, then turned around and set off at a run, vanishing into the undergrowth.

  Shaw exhaled in relief.

  “I suggest you don’t run off again,” Zhidao said.

  twenty-eight

  Shaw jumped, and when she turned, she found the robot resting against the tree beside her. The blaster the Centurion carried was pointed in the direction of the retreating dinosaur, but now that Shaw was facing the robot, Zhidao turned the blaster on her. Several new rifles hung from its shoulders.

  “Unless you want to get yourself killed, of course,” Zhidao continued. The robot arose and stepped back a pace, keeping the blaster trained on her. “Walk in front of me.”

  And so she stood up, bringing Alex with her. Her son wrapped his arms around her neck, and his legs around her waist, and she gripped him tight. Then she walked, prisoner once more.

  She reactivated the comm node in her Implant. There were no friendlies on the overhead map. None at all. She could only hope that some other Centurions still remained out there with comm nodes deactivated, clandestinely tracking her, but somehow she doubted it. They had failed in whatever mission Rade had sent them on, that much was obvious.

  There was nothing she could do but march at the moment. March and obey.

  She tried to move quietly, not wanting to attract the attention of any raptors again. Branches and fronds slid across her like groping tentacles trying to wrench Alex away. Occasionally moth-sized flies flitted past, but thankfully they didn’t bother her. She guessed that her perspiration didn’t “smell” right to them.

  She continued sweating profusely thanks to the oppressive heat, and her fatigues were glued to her back by then. Carrying Alex only made matters worse in that regard, but she wasn’t about to put him down, not in this place, with those giant birds—or rather, dinosaurs—on the loose.

  Alex whimpered softly. His face was pressed against her neck.

  “It’s okay baby,” Shaw said. “Shh. Everything will be all right.”

  Her son didn’t dare answer. Not after the dire warning Zhidao had given him earlier.

  Shaw glanced askance at her captor. “Will you at least tell me why are you doing this? I begged you to let my child go. Begged. And yet you have done this to us. Why?”

  “No reason,” Zhidao said.

  Shaw felt like unleashing a stream of expletives at the Phant, but she bit back her tongue because she knew it wouldn’t help, and it might even provoke the evil entity. She had to remain calm, focused, and do whatever she could to protect her child.

  A few moments later Zhidao finally spoke again. Apparently it couldn’t resist gloating.

  “This is a lesson to your friend, Rade Galaal,” Zhidao said. “When he foiled my plans, I swore that he would pay for what he had done. After I gained access to the database of the starship AI you call Bax, I learned all about you and his children. I decided that you would bear the brunt of my wrath, along with a single child. I chose only one because I want him to remember that he still has something to lose if he decides to cross me again.”

  “He’ll save us,” Shaw said.

  “Unfortunately, he can’t,” Zhidao said. “The universe won’t allow him to return to this time period again. Why do you think he sent the robots?”

  If true, that meant Zhidao had elected to send Shaw and Alex back to a time period that coincided with the original mission. Shaw hadn’t known that. She wasn’t sure how it helped her, though. That none of the Argonauts had been there when she arrived told her Rade and his team were far away, probably aboard the Elder ship by then.

  “If we die, he’ll hunt you down to the ends of time to enact his revenge,” Shaw said.

  “As I told you, he still has something to lose,” Zhidao said. “So he will not. But if he does, then I assure you, I will take away his other child as well. The one you name Sil.”

  Shaw felt fresh tears welling. “You’re the embodiment of everything evil in this universe. A killer of worlds.”

  “Thank you,” Zhidao said.

  “Kill us and be done with it,” Shaw said.

  “Oh, I am not going to kill you,” Zhidao said. “At least, not directly. I am not so cruel as you paint me. I believe in giving every animal a chance, even a member of a species as disgusting and lowly as your own. Besides, there would be no sport in merely killing you. Not for you, not for me.”

  Shaw continued walking for many more minutes, and finally Zhidao called for a halt.

  “This will do,” Zhidao said.

  Shaw stood in front of two large tree trunks spaced relatively close together. Around both trees, the foliage was relatively clear, making the bare trunks visible to any passing predators for several meters around.

  “Lower the boy,” Zhidao said.

  Alex sniveled.

  “It’s okay,” she told her son as she lowered him to the ground. Shaw tried to stand, but Alex refused to let go of her neck.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Shaw said. “I promise.” A part of her shriveled inside as she said those words, knowing them for the lie that they were.

  Alex reluctantly released Shaw. She still felt the phantom pressure of his hands against her neck even as she stood up, and she rubbed the area.

  “Stand against the rightmost tree, boy,” Zhidao said. “Mother, remain where you are.”

  Alex looked to Shaw for confirmation.

  She flashed what she hoped was a comforting smile. “Go ahead, sweetie.”

  Alex walked hesitantly to the vine covered trunk.

  Giving Shaw a wide berth, Zhidao finally stepped into view from behind her. He approached Alex, pausing to tug at a thin liana that hung down from the tree above. It broke away, plunging to the ground, forming a lengthy coil of rope.

  “Arms to your sides,” Zhidao ordered the boy. The robot holstered the blaster, then scooped up the liana and proceeded to wrap it around the trunk and boy. Zhidao moved in a blur, his servomotors humming loudly. When the robot finished, Alex had a thick band stretching from wrists to elbows that encompassed his entire waist region. His hands were free to wiggle underneath, but her son was otherwise held fast.

  Blaster in hand, Zhidao turned toward Shaw. “Please approach the other tree.”

  Shaw walked to the bare trunk opposite Alex and pressed her back against the coarse surface.

  Zhidao broke away a larger liana for her, essentially a thick cable, and proceeded to similarly secure her. As the robot worked, Shaw inhaled deeply, attempting to expand her chest more than usual. She opened her hands wide and flexed her muscles, trying to make her forearms as thick as possible.

  The thick cord pinned her arms to her side and dug into her abdomen. She could feel the rough material pressing into her bare skin, and then in moments it was done. Like Alex, she was bound from wrist to elbow.

  She released the air in her lungs and breathed normally. She carefully tested her restraints,
not wanting to draw Zhidao’s attention. There was some give, but she doubted it would be enough.

  When Zhidao paused to survey his handiwork, Shaw pretended to strain against her binds, putting on a show for the robot.

  Apparently satisfied, the possessed Centurion stepped back to admire the two prisoners.

  “A mother and her son,” Zhidao said. “Trapped in a forest filled with carnosaurs. Touching.” The Centurion tapped its polycarbonate chin. “Did Galaal explain to you how time travel works? You must return to the site where we first arrived if you hope to return. The ‘recall’ site. You must be there when the expiry time comes to pass. In our case, I set the recall time to one hour. If you are not there with me at the designated time, you and your son will be trapped here forever.”

  “An hour,” Shaw said. “But what about the time that has passed already?”

  “Very astute of you to ask,” Zhidao said. “Forty-five minutes have already elapsed. That leaves you fifteen minutes to escape these binds and return to the site.”

  She glanced at the time on her Implant, confirming that forty-five minutes had indeed transpired since her arrival.

  “It doesn’t matter anyway,” Shaw said. “Even if we escape, you’ll never let Alex and I onto the site. You’ll shoot us down before we ever reach it.”

  “Maybe, maybe not.” Zhidao stepped back, approaching the thick shrubs that bordered the small clearing. An ominous squawking sound echoed in the distance. “Though I somehow doubt you’ll ever present me with that choice. But rest assured, if you survive long enough to escape, your life in this age will not be very long. It will be a small mercy when the starship impacts, ending your wretched existence. Though perhaps your friend Rade Galaal will find a way to prevent that strike, if only to save you.”

  “And doom the rest of humanity?” Shaw said. “He wouldn’t do it.”

  “Don’t be so sure,” Zhidao said.

  The squawk came again, somewhat louder.

  The Centurion placed a hand to its lips and then departed through the foliage. Zhidao moved quietly, disturbing the foliage very little, until Shaw lost sight of the robot entirely.

  She exhaled, shrinking her chest cavity, clenching her fists, and then tried to wiggle free. She attempted to slide downward first, but she only managed to move maybe a few centimeters, roughly scraping her backside against the bark in the process.

  Next she tried forcing herself upward, and slid twice the distance in the opposite direction, but once again her motion stayed. She would just have to keep wiggling up and down like that. Maybe friction would cause some part of the liana that bound her to wear away against the sharp tree, eventually granting her freedom in a few hours.

  Too bad she didn’t have a few hours.

  She gazed into the living jungle, distracted by the distant birdcalls and other strange sounds. Her frightened eyes shot toward every sound, or rather where she thought those sounds were coming from, as the tall trees and shrubs provided ample surfaces for echoes.

  Biting flies hovered nearby, but they left her and her child alone, so far. She was glad for that, because she was essentially defenseless against them at the moment.

  She kept wiggling up and down, trying to break free. She glanced at Alex, who was staring at her with a strangely calm demeanor. There was still fear in his eyes, yes, but he was facing his demise far better than she expected. Maybe he thought it was all a game. She could only hope.

  She tried to give him her most reassuring smile.

  “Can I talk now, mommy?” Alex asked softly.

  Shaw shook her head, and she flinched when she heard the crash of foliage nearby, followed by the scamper of tiny feet. She held her breath, and several tense seconds passed. Thankfully nothing emerged from the undergrowth.

  She still harbored a small hope that maybe one of the Centurions had survived. Any time now, it would track her down via her comm node, and give Alex a high-speed piggyback ride back to the recall site so that at least her son could escape in time.

  Any time now...

  But she knew it was hopeless. She couldn’t even call for help, not unless she wanted to attract the attention of the deadly carnivores inhabiting that time period.

  “Are we going to die, mommy?” Alex asked.

  Shaw looked at her son. Her precious, apple of her eye son. And she couldn’t bring herself to answer him. Couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth.

  She glanced at the countdown.

  Only nine minutes left, and she wasn’t even close to getting free.

  Yes, Alex. We’re going to die.

  twenty-nine

  Shaw continued to wiggle up and down. She noticed Alex was doing it, too. She would have thought it cute that he was imitating her if their lives weren’t at stake.

  She ignored him, focusing on her own binds. She had managed to slide her upper body down by ten centimeters by then. And though she sucked in her chest, her breasts kept catching on the upper portion of the tight liana, and she was unable to squeeze much lower.

  She heard a soft thud from Alex’s tree. Glancing his way, she realized Alex had slid himself out of his binds entirely so that he was sprawled against the base of the trunk.

  Shaw stood up, freeing her upper body from the clutches of the restraints so that she could breathe properly, and said: “How?”

  Her son touched the top of his left ear and flinched. When he withdrew his hand, there was blood. Apparently he had cut himself on the bark while freeing himself. But he didn’t cry.

  Instead Alex clambered to his feet and went to her. “It’s a trick Uncle Bender showed me. He told me: one day when someone tries to tie you up, hold your breath and open your hands as wide as possible.”

  “Very prescient of him,” Shaw said. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. It made her wonder what other “tricks” Bender had taught her son. Then again, Bender might have just saved both of their lives.

  “Press scent?” Alex asked.

  “Never mind, baby,” Shaw said quietly, scanning the jungle uncertainly. She half expected a dinosaur to leap out of the undergrowth and attack them at any moment. “Go to the back of the tree. See if you can untie me.”

  Alex vanished from view around the bole.

  Shaw eyed the countdown on her display. Seven minutes. They weren’t going to make it.

  But they had to try.

  She heard Alex’s hushed voice coming from behind the tree, and she had to strain to hear him.

  “Can’t reach...” Alex said. “Wait, I found a toadstool.” That was what he called anything he could stand on to make himself taller. A moment passed. Then: “It’s knotted like a shoe.” More seconds ticked by. “I got it, mommy.”

  Alex appeared, struggling with the thick liana over one shoulder as if it were a heavy log.

  “That’s a good boy,” Shaw said. Her eyes felt suddenly moist. She was so very proud of her little boy.

  Alex continued to unwind the liana, circling the tree, and after a minute Shaw was able to wriggle the rest of the way free.

  She promptly scooped up Alex; he instinctively wrapped his arms around her neck and his legs around her hips.

  “Love you,” Shaw said.

  “Love you mommy,” Alex said.

  But there was no time to get sentimental. She hurried back toward the recall site, using her overhead map to guide her.

  Though she had deactivated the weak comm node in her Implant for part of her journey through the jungle, the internal gyroscope and accelerometer remained functioning the whole time, logging her position. The location history formed a trail of “breadcrumbs” on her map, showing the route she had taken since her arrival.

  The undergrowth whipped at her face and bare arms, giving her more welts and cuts. She did her best to shield Alex. She had wilderness training, so she knew how to move quietly through underbrush, but she abandoned all stealth now for speed. The back portion of her fatigues was ripped where she had rubbed against the bark, and
she could feel the air against her bare skin there.

  She heard distant squawks during the quieter moments of her journey through the underbrush. She wasn’t sure if those were random calls, or an exchange affected by dinosaurs hunting her. Most likely the latter.

  She struggled to stave off the lingering fear that waited beyond the horizon of her mind, a fear that threatened to spill over into her core and reduce her to a quivering, helpless mass incapable of functioning.

  She wasn’t a bad ass. Not like Rade and the men. She never was. She was a normal human female, with some combat training, like most women who entered the Navy. She really wished she at least had a jumpsuit, something to enhance her strength, but she knew it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, not against dinosaurs. She had to rely on cunning and sheer wit alone if she wanted to survive out here.

  And that cunning shouted at her to slow down.

  But she couldn’t. She glanced at the time on her HUD.

  Four minutes left.

  I can make it. I can!

  No. A glance at the map told her she was deluding herself. It was impossible. She was simply too far away.

  She still harbored a small hope that one of the Centurions would arrive to spirit her child away, but as the final minutes ticked past, it soon became clear that no help would come. Rade had likely done his best to get to her, but failed.

  Those squawks had become louder, and Shaw realized that if she kept running, not only would she not reach the site in time, she would draw her carnivorous pursuers right down on her.

  She slowed, and began stepping quietly through the trees. After several moments she huddled underneath a thick shrub to catch her breath, and to watch the trees for signs of her hunters. Alex released her, and she set him down beside her.

  As she lay there, breathing hard, the timer hit zero. When it did so, unbidden despair overcame her.

  She lay there, cradling her child hard to her chest. She was finished. She had done her best, but she hadn’t been able to save him.