“I used to buy my coffee at that Starbucks every morning,” Moran said.
“I’m not much of a coffee drinker,” Steven said, “but that bakery had the best donuts in the world.”
“And now it’s all gone,” Bruce said, his expression morose.
Rogue stared at a section of the city that had been sheered off by the Shift. “And to think my dad might be somewhere out there, a million years in the future.”
“Best not to dwell on it,” Bear said. “We all lost someone. I lost my wife and daughter.”
Rogue stared at him. “You did? I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. They’re not here, and that’s something. Where they are, it’s safe, and my little girl can grow up, graduate, and live her life in peace.”
“Yeah, that’s something,” Rogue said with a touch of envy. But it was fleeting. She knew nothing about that life, after all. This was what she knew, and these people were her family now. “Come on, guys. Let’s hustle.”
Rogue cut through the city until they reached the river. From there, it was a straight shot to the boat. Along the way, they spotted a couple of herds by the riverbank. Thankfully, it turned out to be herbivores each time.
That didn’t stop Moran and the others from gawking like school kids. There were scores of Lambeosaurus, Triceratops, Ankylosaurus, and several of the smaller species as well. Even after all the narrow escapes she’d had, Rogue had to admit the dinosaurs were an awe-inspiring sight.
“Are you guys doing okay?” she asked as the sun passed overhead.
“We’re good,” Moran replied with a grunt.
“Do you need to rest?”
“No, Rogue. We don’t need to rest. Stop babying us,” Moran said with a testy note in her voice. “We’ve already stopped twice today.”
“It was only for a couple of minutes,” Rogue protested.
“Long enough.”
Rogue pulled a face. “Excuse me for being worried about you bunch of oldsters.”
Bruce snorted. “I might be old, but that means I can still beat your ass if you give me any more lip.”
Rogue laughed, but she soon sobered. “Anyway, just keep a sharp eye out. This place is crawling with dinosaurs, and very few of them are friendly.”
“Got it,” Bruce replied.
“And I hope you’re up for a long hike. We’ve got many more miles to travel.”
“Just lead the way. Us oldsters will keep up,” Moran said.
Rogue shut her mouth and focused on putting one foot after the other. Truth be told, she was exhausted, and she guessed the others were too. But to keep going was probably the best option. They still had so far to go, and the thought of spending the night in the open filled her with terror. We have to get to the boat.
After another long slog up and down the riverbank, however, Rogue called a halt. “Come on, guys. Admit it. We need a break.”
Moran wheezed for air, her shirt soaked with sweat. “Maybe…maybe just a short one.”
They chose a spot among a bunch of rocks and sat down. Rogue groaned as her cramped thigh muscles got the chance to relax. It felt as if she were a blob of butter, melting into the ground.
Suddenly, her ears picked up the sound of a snapping twig. In an instant, she was on high alert, her machete in her hand. Her eyes peered into the forest, striving to find the source of the sound. “Something’s out there.”
The others immediately jumped up, each armed with their weapons of choice: Bear with his hammer, Moran with her hatchets, Bruce and his crossbow, Steven and his samurai sword. Together, they formed a formidable force, but that meant nothing if they faced a T-Rex or something similar.
With her heart banging in her chest, Rogue waited. Then her eyes picked out a shape emerging from the trees. Her fingers grew numb, and the machete clanged to the ground. “Seth? Is that you?”
Seth stepped out into the open, his expression mirroring her feelings of shock and amazement. “Rogue? I found you. I finally found you.”
“You did,” Rogue cried, sprinting toward him. She jumped the final distance, and he caught her mid-air. She forgot about everything else for several seconds as she rained down kisses upon his face and neck. “I’m so happy to see you. More than happy. Ecstatic.”
“I’ve been so worried,” Seth murmured in her ear. “I knew something was wrong the minute you disappeared.”
“How did you find me?” she asked, still amazed at her good fortune.
“Mostly by luck. I’ve been following your trail for days, but I lost it at times,” Seth said. “I was beginning to think I’d have to scale the walls of Prime to rescue you.”
Rogue laughed. “I’m glad you didn’t.”
“Er, excuse us,” Moran said, clearing her throat. “Aren’t you going to introduce us to your new boyfriend, Rogue?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Rogue said, blushing to the roots of her hair. “Seth, this is Moran, Bruce, Steven, and Bear.”
Seth greeted them all in turn. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Moran. Rogue has told me a lot about you.”
“That’s funny because she’s hardly said a thing about you,” Moran said, quirking an eyebrow.
“Yes, well. I was going to,” Rogue said, still blushing. “Anyway, shouldn’t we get moving?”
“Where were you headed?” Seth asked.
“To your boat.”
“You’ve made good time,” Seth said. “It’s not that far now. Maybe a mile or two.”
“Excellent,” Moran said. “Enough time for us to get to know each other properly. Right, Rogue?”
Rogue sighed. “Right.”
***
As the sun dipped toward the horizon, Seth pointed toward a spot in the distance. “There it is. We made it.”
Moran sagged with relief. “Thank goodness. I was beginning to think we never would.”
“Is it safe?” Bear asked.
Seth nodded. “The boat’s made from steel, and I secured the doors and windows with bars.”
“Good. I could use a good night’s sleep,” Bruce said with a pained grunt.
As they drew nearer to the boat, Rogue noticed a sudden silence. She paused, one hand tugging at Seth’s shirt. “Why is it so quiet?”
Seth froze, his head cocked to the side. Then he blanched. “When I say the word, you run. Got it?”
“What’s wrong?” Moran asked.
“Listen,” Seth said.
In the deep quiet that followed, Rogue’s ears picked out a single sound.
Click.
And again.
Click.
Click. Click.
The blood in her veins iced over, and she whispered, “Oh, shit. Raptors.”
“Run!” Seth screamed.
Rogue broke into a sprint, herding Moran toward the boat. The rest followed, running as fast as they could. The distance between them and the boat shrunk, but not quickly enough. Not with a pack of raptors on their heels.
A row of bushes burst open as two raptors broke cover. With an earsplitting screech, they pounced. Rogue veered to the side, dragging Moran with her. One of the raptors missed them by inches, charging past them toward the riverbank. It tried to turn, but its claws scrabbled at the dirt, and the embankment collapsed. With a splash, it fell into the water and got caught in the swift current.
Bear roared as he swung his hammer mid-flight. It whistled through the air and smashed into the second raptor’s chest. Bones and cartilage crunched beneath the blow’s force, and the creature went down in a tangle of limbs. It tripped up a third trying to launch an attack, while a fourth stopped to survey the carnage. It snapped at its wounded mate, tearing into the open wound. The third raptor joined in, and a killing frenzy ensued.
Rogue saw all of this in passing, her terrified heart pushing her onward at speeds she didn’t know she was capable of. Together, she and Moran reached the boat’s gangplank. She shoved Moran upward with a yell. “Open the door!”
Then she turned to look for th
e rest, her machete held ready to fight. Steven and Bruce were right behind her, and they lined up below the boat. Bear and Seth lagged in the distance, fighting a running battle with two more raptors.
One ran alongside Seth and lunged at him with its razor-sharp teeth. Seth ducked, and the beast’s jaws snapped shut right above his head. Seth retaliated with a wide swing of his knife. It cut into the raptor’s leg, and it slammed into the ground with an agonized scream.
Steven took aim with his crossbow, and the bolt sunk into the final raptor’s chest with a meaty thunk. It continued running for a few more feet until it collapsed, its heart pierced by the metal head.
“Come on,” Moran cried, waving at them all. “Get inside.”
Seth and Bear reached the boat, and they charged up the gangplank toward the open door. The moment the last person stumbled over the threshold, Moran slammed it shut and slid the bars into place.
A thick silence fell over the interior of the boat as everyone waited. Waited and wondered if another attack would come. Nothing happened, and it seemed the raptors had enough for the day.
Seth managed a shaky grin. “Welcome to my home, everyone.”
Epilogue
Late that night, Rogue and Seth lay side by side in their makeshift bed. Rogue snuggled closer to Seth, one hand caressing his bare chest. “Finally, it’s just you and me.”
“Yeah, I thought Moran would never stop asking me questions,” Seth said, wrapping his arms around her. “She gave me a proper third-degree.”
“I’m surprised she agreed to let us sleep in here…alone,” Rogue said, her eyes traveling around the crowded storeroom. It had taken a bit of rearranging, but they’d managed to clear a space to sleep while Moran and the others took the main room.
“I don’t see why not?” Seth said. “You’re not a kid anymore.”
“No, but she’s always been overprotective of me,” Rogue said.
“I can understand why. You seem to get into a lot of trouble quite regularly,” Seth joked.
Rogue pulled a face. “Not by choice. Bones is crazy. Insane, really.”
“He’d better pray I never get my hands on him,” Seth growled, his face reddening.
Rogue nodded. “I just hope I don’t ever have to see him again.” She traced a pattern across Seth’s skin with one fingertip. “I’ve told you everything that happened to me, but what about you? What happened after Bones took me?”
“I knew something was wrong the minute I heard you were gone. Olivia told me you never went home after your argument, and that didn’t sound like you. Then they found the dead guard. I left not long after that, following your tracks as well as I could.”
“What about my mom? Ric? The others?” Rogue asked.
“Your mom believed the same as me. That you’d been taken by someone from Prime. She begged me to find you,” Seth said.
“And Ric?”
“He didn’t believe us at first. He thought you ran away with someone from Prime. He said you were a spy all along.”
Rogue gasped. “He truly thought that?”
“He did until David and Brittany came clean about the hunt. That’s when he realized he’d been wrong about you all along,” Seth said. “As for the rest, they’re divided. Some still think you’re a spy, while the others side with your mom.”
“I see,” Rogue said, her emotions a swirling hotbed of confusion. “They didn’t want to join you, though? To look for me?”
“No, they decided to stay and petition the council to attack Prime. They thought if you were taken back there, overthrowing Prime City would be their best chance to get you back.”
“Huh, that’s something, at least,” Rogue said, somewhat impressed.
“I know you’re mad at Olivia for lying to you about the council, but she loves you very much. So much so that she’s willing to tear down a whole town to save you.”
“I love her too,” Rogue said, tears pricking her eyelids. “It’s all just a big mess.”
“You’ll get the chance to sort it out when we go back. They’ll have to believe you now,” Seth said. “Especially with Brittany and David telling the truth.”
“What about the raptors?” Rogue asked.
“They’ll be gone by morning. This isn’t their territory. They probably followed your scent, especially with your friends being wounded,” Seth said. “So there’s nothing stopping us from leaving tomorrow.”
“I don’t know if I want to go back,” Rogue admitted. “Why can’t we stay here forever and ever?”
“I wish it were that easy. Maybe if we could turn back time, but everything’s different now. Prime knows about the Zoo, and they’ll attack sooner or later,” Seth said. “Your mom is in real danger.”
“I know,” Rogue said. “It would’ve been nice, though, just you and me.”
Seth chuckled. “Now you see it my way. Where’s the woman who said she could never live out here with me alone?”
“That woman was pretty stupid,” Rogue said, smiling back.
“Not stupid, just stubborn,” Seth said, drawing her in for a kiss. “How about we pretend it’s only you and me? For one night? The rest of the world can wait.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Rogue said, a delicious shiver running down her spine. And she did pretend for one sweet, blissful night.
Glossary
Primordial Earth (Book 2) – Glossary
Glossary terms are listed in alphabetical order and without reference to their locations within the book.
Generally speaking, physical location references are not listed in the Glossary.
Measurements are provided in both metric and US/Imperial units.
Alamosaurus – A genus of sauropod dinosaurs containing just one species that lived in the late Cretaceous period. (See Cretaceous.) Specimens suggest they could measure up to 30 meters (98 feet) in length and weigh as much as 79 metric tons (88 tons). For comparison, the largest living land animal in the present day is the African elephant which can weigh up to 6.3 metric tons (7 tons). (Wikipedia.)
Albertosaurus – A genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaurs that lived in the late Cretaceous period. (See Cretaceous.) Specimens suggest they could measure up to 10 meters (33 feet) in length and weigh as much as 2.5 metric tons (2.8 tons). (Wikipedia.)
Ankylosaurus – A genus of armored dinosaurs that lived at the very end Cretaceous period. (See Cretaceous.) Specimens suggest they could measure up to 10.6 meters (35 feet) in length and weigh as much as 5.9 metric tons (6.5 tons). (Wikipedia.)
Ballistae – Plural form of ballista, an ancient weapon that hurled large stones, javelins, or bolts. The weapon dates back to the 4 th century BC Greece. (Wikipedia.)
Bambiraptor – A carnivorous dinosaur that lived in the late Cretaceous period. (See Cretaceous.) Estimated size for an adult would measure 1.3 meters (4.3 feet) in length and weigh 5 kilograms, (11 pounds). (Wikipedia.)
Brachylophosaurus – A genus of hadrosaur dinosaurs that lived in the late Cretaceous period. (See Cretaceous.) Estimates suggest that an adult could measure at least 9 to 11 meters (29 to 36 feet) in length and weigh as much as 7 metric tons, (7.7 tons). (Wikipedia.)
Clidastes – A genus of large carnivorous marine lizards called mosasaurs. An average size specimen could measure 2 to 4 meters (6.5 to 13 feet). A large one could be 6 meters (19.6 feet). It existed in the late Cretaceous period. (See Cretaceous.) (Wikipedia.)
Cretaceous – The Cretaceous period is defined as beginning 145 million years ago (mya) and lasting until approximately 66 mya. (Wikipedia.)
Dryptosaurus - Pronunciation: drip-toe-SORE-us, Name meaning: ‘tearing lizard’
Dryptosaurus is a genus of tyrannosauroid that lived approximately 67 million years ago during the latter part of the Cretaceous period in what is now New Jersey. Dryptosaurus was a large, bipedal, ground-dwelling carnivore, that could grow up to 7.5 m long. Estimated Mass: 1 500 kg (Wikipedia)
Lambeosaurus – A genus of hadrosaurid herbivore dinosaurs th
at lived in the late Cretaceous period. These dinosaurs had duckbills and could feed from trees as high as 4 meters (13 feet). (Wikipedia.)
mya – an acronym for “million years ago”, also “m.y.a”, used in astronomy, geology, and paleontology. (Wikipedia)
Nyctosaurus – A genus of nyctosaurid pterodactyloid pterosaur that lived in the late Cretaceous period. An adult could have a wingspan of 2 meters (6.5 feet). Compared to terrestrial dinosaurs Nyctosaurus were small-bodied and weigh less than 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds). (See Cretaceous.) (Wikipedia.)
Prime City - A settlement of survivors that formed around the former Prime hotel, owned and run by the self-proclaimed Senator Douglas. He used the Watch to patrol the walls and keep the people in line.
Parksosaurus - A genus of hypsilophodont ornithopod dinosaur from the early Maastrichtian-age Upper Cretaceous. A small, bipedal, herbivorous dinosaur. Length: 2,5 m (Estimated) Height: 100 cm Mass: 45 kg (Estimated)
Pterosaur – Pronounced “tero saur”. Science considers pterosaurs to be flying lizards that are distinct from dinosaurs. Pterosaurs existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous period. (See Triassic.) (See Cretaceous.) (Wikipedia.)
Stegoceras - is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now North America during the Late Cretaceous period, about 77.5 to 74 million years ago. The first specimens from Alberta, Canada, were described in 1902, and the type species Stegoceras validum was based on these remains. (Wikipedia) Height: 1,2 m Length: 2 – 2,5 m Mass: 10 – 40 kg
The Extinction Series | Book 2 | Primordial Earth Page 13