by Brian Rowe
He ran across the roof and crawled through the open window. I panicked. I didn’t know which way to run. I needed to find that Explorer, and fast.
The rain pelted the ground so hard I struggled seeing more than five feet in front of me. But I ran like an Olympic sprinter, leaping over a lawnmower, dodging five beach chairs. I found the front yard and turned to a first-floor window to see my dad running down the stairs.
“Frankie!” I yelled as loud as my little body would let me. I ran across the front lawn, toward the sloping driveway.
“Zipporah!” My dad yelled from the front door. “Zipporah, get back here!”
I charged down the hill so fast I was bound to fall, but I didn't. My dad was still at the top of the driveway when I slammed up against the car.
I opened the passenger door and jumped inside. “Frankie! Go!”
“What happened?” he asked. The car wasn’t even turned on.
“For God’s sake, drive! Just drive!”
“Who is that?” Elle asked from the back, pointing toward the looming figure in the rain. “Is that a witch?”
“Worse. It’s my dad. Now drive!”
Frankie turned on the ignition and pulled out onto the street. I looked in the rearview mirror to see my dad run toward us, but then stop to jump into his Lexus at the nearest curb.
“What the hell happened in there?” Frankie asked. “Did you find her?”
“No… I…” I struggled to catch my breath. “Go faster.”
“What happened?” Mr. Balm leaned forward and rested his hand against my shoulder. “Why in the world was your father in Mira's house?”
“He wants to take me back to Kansas. I won't let him.”
I glanced at the rearview mirror again, searched for his headlights. The rain, the black sky, made it difficult to see anything.
I grabbed the bottled water on the mat in front of me and downed the rest of it.
“That was your dad?” Elle asked.
“Yes.”
“He seems kind of… scary.”
“Trust me, you don’t know the half of it. Which is why we can’t let him find us.”
“Too late,” Frankie said. He pointed at the mirror. I didn’t need to look. My dad's high beams lit up our entire car.
“Go faster!” I shouted.
“How fast do you want me to go?” Frankie shouted. “We’re in a goddamned neighborhood!”
“Frankie, look out!” Elle shouted.
“Look out? For what?”
My dad collided his car into the back of ours, launching Mr. Balm down to the floor. I hit my head against the glove compartment, and Frankie’s forehead smacked against the steering wheel. Elle stayed put, and Judy jumped into the back and started barking.
Mr. Balm shook his head, climbed back up to the seat. He pulled Elle close. “What's this guy’s deal? Don’t we have enough problems with the dinosaurs?”
“I know,” Frankie said. He tried to stay concentrated on the road. He blinked a few times in rapid succession.
“Are you okay?” I asked. “Are you hurt?”
“My head…” He bit down on his bottom lip, and groaned.
“No. Not the concussion—”
“I’ll be fine. Where are we going? Is there a plan?”
I looked out the window and tried to see through the rain. It was still dark out. “We need to find the nearest lake.”
“Owww!” Mr. Balm shouted, doubling over.
“Oh God, now what?” I turned around.
Mr. Balm started breathing real hard. Beads of sweat dripped down his face.
“Your heart again?” I asked.
He nodded, and stared at me with panic, like he didn’t know if he was going to survive this one.
“You're going to be fine, Mr. Balm.” I put my hand on his knee. “You understand me? Just breathe.”
My dad struck his car against ours a second time, this time not as hard. Elle tugged against my shoulder. “Zippy, I’m scared.”
“I’m scared, too. But you know what? There’s four of us, and one of him. He can’t win.”
“But what if it comes down to him and me? Just me? I can’t win! I don’t have the…” She stopped.
“The what?”
“You know. The courage.”
The car accelerated toward us a third time. But I made sure it wouldn’t hit us again.
I pointed. “Frankie! Turn here!”
Frankie veered the car to the right. He ran over a person’s front lawn and zipped back onto a wider residential street. I looked in the mirror to see my dad try to turn right, but he was going too fast; his Lexus collided against a barrier and came to an abrupt stop.
“Yes!” Frankie shouted. “That did it!”
“Oh Daddy,” I said, and pushed my hands against my cheeks. “I hope he's okay. Do you think he's hurt?” I peered out the back window.
“Do I think he's hurt?” Frankie said, louder than he needed to. “Do I look like I care? The man just tried to kill us!”
“He wasn't. He just wanted to stop the car.” I glanced in the rearview again. I saw my dad jump out of his Lexus, unscathed. “Oh good,” I said.
“What?” Frankie darted his eyes at me.
“Nothing, nothing.”
“Where to now?” Elle asked.
I didn’t answer her. My attention was on Mr. Balm, who was curled up in a fetal position. His arms were wrapped around his chest, and his head was pressed up against the side window.
“Mr. Balm! Are you—”
“I’m fine,” he said. “Just keep going.”
“We need to get you to a hospital.”
“Zippy, it’s fine. It’ll pass.”
“Are you sure? You look really sick!”
Frankie tapped me on my shoulder. “Over there!” He pointed, and I turned back around. “Did you say something about a lake?”
We climbed to the top of a steep road. I peered out to see another suburb, and a giant bed of water in the distance.
“Yes!” I leaned over and kissed Frankie on the cheek. “That’s it! Okay. Get as close as you can. We’re looking for a green lighthouse, at the end of a private beach.”
“A lighthouse? Why?”
“Cuz that’s where Mira is.”
“What? How do you know?”
“I just do.”
Frankie chuckled. He kept one hand on the wheel, while he gesticulated wildly with the other. “Zippy. It’s pouring rain. The whole world has gone nuts. Your girlfriend’s just sitting in some lighthouse waiting for you?”
“Yes.”
“That’s absurd. I'm sorry.”
“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my entire life.”
“Oh really? Like you were certain she’d be in the house? Look where that got us! Your crazy maniac father just tried to crash our car!”
“He's not a maniac!” I rolled my eyes. Why was I defending him? “Look, she’ll be there, all right? I know she will.”
I don’t know why I was so confident. Of course it was possible she wouldn't be there. But I had to believe.
“Listen,” I said. “If she’s not there, then I'm done. Okay?”
“And I can go try to find my dad?”
“Yes.”
“Promise?”
“Yes.”
He took a deep breath. “Okay, Zippy. You’re on.”
Frankie pulled up to an intersection and slowed down. I was able to see more than I expected; despite the rain and the darkness, every direction was illuminated with dozens of tall streetlamps.
“What are you doing?” I asked. “Why'd you stop?”
“Should we go straight or left? Which way will get us there faster?”
“I don’t know. Let’s see.” I tried to stay focused.
“Uhh, guys?” Elle asked.
I looked through the windshield, then leaned over Frankie and peered down the adjacent street.
“Hmm,” I said. “Maybe we should go left.”
>
Frankie nodded. “I’m thinking that, too,” Frankie said.
“Guys...” Elle said, a little louder.
Mr. Balm pointed to the left. “I think I see something,” he whispered, in a pained voice.
“What?” I asked.
“I think I see a lighthouse. See that green tower over there? Beyond the trees?”
I strained my eyes for a few seconds. “Where? I don't see anything—”
“Zippy!”
I finally turned around. “Elle? What? What’s the matter?”
Her eyes opened wide, as she pointed out her window. Judy jumped on Elle’s lap and started barking.
“What is it?” I asked, and turned to my right. It didn’t take me long to see it. My whole face dropped. I had seen a lot of crazy things in the last two days, but nothing compared to this.
“What’s everyone looking at?” Frankie asked, and leaned over my shoulder. “Oh, holy shit.”
“Frankie,” I said, not turning from the unthinkable, terrifying, awesome sight in front of me. “I would suggest… we go left.”
The Tyrannosaurus rex didn’t notice us at first; the creature clawed its way through a giant trash bin on the side of the road. But as Frankie started backing up to make his left turn, the dinosaur spun around fast and let out a roar so monstrous I swallowed my own vomit.
“Oh God,” I said.
When the T. rex charged toward us, we all screamed—even Mr. Balm. Frankie sped up to 30 MPH in a matter of seconds, but the dinosaur gained on us, its every step catapulting all five of us into the air like we were in a child’s bounce house.
“Faster,” Mr. Balm said.
“Go faster!” Elle shouted.
“Frankie, please,” I said. “It's gaining on us!”
His eyes kept darting back and forth between the road ahead and the rearview mirror. “I can't! The cars!”
The T. rex didn’t slow down, and we failed to pick up more speed. Frankie had to swerve around too many parked cars on the road. The dinosaur plowed through a truck and two Jeeps, and smashed its cranium against the side of the Explorer. Elle shrieked loud enough to burst all our eardrums.
“Elle!” I shouted. “It’s going to be okay. Just look at me. Stay focused on me, all right?”
“Zippy, I’m scared!” Tears streamed down her face.
“Just trust me!” I stuck my hand out, and she took it. The two of us stared at each other for a moment. I didn’t want this seven-year-old to lose faith in me.
Frankie passed the last of the stopped vehicles and increased his speed to 50, allowing us to finally outrun the dinosaur. But as soon as he sped up, he started slowing down again.
“What are you doing?” I said. I let go of Elle.
“Oh shit,” Frankie whispered.
In a few hundred yards orange cones cluttered the street, and a ROAD ENDS sign took all our breaths away.
“You've gotta be kidding me,” I said. I jerked my head toward the rear window. The T. rex stomped right toward us. “Can you turn back? Can you drive around it?”
“I can't.”
“What do you mean you can't?”
His eyes met mine. He tapped his finger against the side of his forehead. “My headache's finally gone, Zippy. I can think clearly now.”
“Okay...”
“I've got an idea. Do you trust me?”
I looked at Elle, then at Mr. Balm, then back at Frankie. “Of course I do. Why?”
“Good,” he said.
“Good?”
The T. rex approached us again, and aimed its head for the back of the car.
“Frankie, do something!” I screamed.
“All right,” he said. “Here we go!”
Frankie veered to the right, sped back up to 50 in a matter of seconds, and sent us straight off the road, and up a big hill.
“What are you doing?” I screamed. “What are you—”
“Hold on!”
Frankie floored the pedal to the metal and launched us up into the air. We all closed our eyes, and let out high-pitched screams, until the car landed loud and hard against a strip of dirt road.
“Whoa!” I shouted. “What the hell was that?”
“You got to pull that stunt with the raptor,” he said. “That was my turn!”
“Is the T. rex still coming?” Elle asked.
I glanced in the rearview mirror, then back outside. I didn’t see it anywhere.
“No,” I said. “I think we lost it. I think—”
The Tyrannosaur crashed through a bed of trees and almost stomped its feet right on top of the Explorer. We all screamed, again, and watched as the T. rex whipped its tail through a dozen trees and sent a third of the forest down to the ground.
“Oh shit, shit, shit!” Frankie shouted.
“Keep it together!” I said. “Goddammit, go faster!”
“I’m trying!”
We headed down another hill, this one headed for the water up ahead. The car bounced up and down, so much that my head kept bumping against the ceiling. I looked in the rearview to see the T. rex close behind, its jaws opened wide, its teeth sharp enough to tear through us in a single snap. Its tail whipped forward again, this time missing the back of the car by mere inches.
“Faster, Frankie!” Elle shouted, pulling on her frizzy hair.
“Faster, faster, faster!” Mr. Balm screamed, his eyes closed.
“Yeah! What they said!” I cried.
I looked out my window. I saw a strange vision deep in the forest, one even stranger than the Tyrannosaurus rex chasing us from behind. It was my mother, again. She glowed white in the distance, a bright light from the sky shining down on her. She was waving at me.
“Mommy?” I whispered.
“Where’s the dinosaur?” Elle asked. “Where’d it go?”
I darted my eyes back to the rearview mirror. The T. rex was gone.
“Oh thank you,” Frankie said. “Thank you, thank you.”
He slowed from 45 to 35.
“Hey!” I said, and slapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t slow down! What’s the matter with you?”
“But Zippy!” He pointed toward the windshield, but I didn’t follow his finger. I leaped over the center console, dove down by his knees, and shoved my foot against the pedal.
“Go faster! The T. rex could come back any minute! It could—”
“Zippy, no! Look out!”
“What?”
I looked out the windshield, just in time to see the end of the dirt road, the beginning of the paved one, and the small barrier behind it. It was too late to stop.
“Oh shit!” I shouted, and covered my face with both hands.
The car burst through the barrier and launched into the air a second time. We stayed in the air so long I didn’t know if we’d ever land—but we finally did. The car crashed down onto sand, flipped onto its side, and came to a stop upside down.
A lot of groaning ensued, until someone finally said, “Are we dead?” It was Elle.
I slumped over to my side and looked up, relieved that the velociraptor had shattered my window those few short hours ago; it wasn't going to be a struggle climbing out.
“I don’t think so,” I said. “Is everyone okay?”
“I’m okay.” Elle.
“Me too.” Frankie.
“Ouch.” Mr. Balm.
Then Judy barked. They were all accounted for.
“Oh, thank God,” I said.
I pulled myself out of the car and landed on the wet sand with a loud plop. A lot of images came to me: the water rushing up the beach, raindrops pelting the sand, the faint hint of sun trying to break through in the distance.
But what caught my attention the most was a small webbed creature standing right in front of me.
“Doh-doh, doh-doh.”
A dodo bird walked past me, oblivious to the freak car accident that had occured. I watched it waddle down the beach, all the way past the lighthouse.
“The lighthou
se,” I said.
“Are you all right?” Frankie asked Elle as he pulled her out of the car.
“My neck is sore. But I think I'm okay.”
“Could’ve been a lot worse,” Frankie said. He patted Mr. Balm on the back after he too emerged from the car, mostly unscathed, with only a few cuts along his right arm. He pulled his backpack out of the car and slung it over his shoulder; through all the chaos and destruction, he still couldn't let go of the damn backpack. Judy leaped out onto the sand, shaken but unharmed, and followed behind Elle.
As the group approached me, I turned around and focused on the lighthouse, which was illuminated even more by the pink colors of the early morning sky.
“Hey, it stopped raining,” Elle said, putting out her hand to check for drops. She looked up at the lighthouse. “Whoa, check that out!”
“I know, right?” I said, in awe, in total shock. “It's incredible.”
“Is this the one?” Frankie asked.
“Yep. I'm pretty sure.”
“How can you tell?”
I pointed. “See that emerald green color? Trust me. This is the one.”
Frankie smiled. “You see? I told you I was a good driver!”
“Anybody see a T. rex anywhere?” Elle said, seemingly the only one of us still concerned about the rampaging dino.
Nobody responded. Even Frankie and Mr. Balm ignored her concern, and stayed caught up in the grand finale of my little adventure.
“But Zippy, what if she isn’t...” Frankie stopped.
“What if she isn't what?” I asked.
“Nothing, forget it. Go to her.”
I took the hands of Mr. Balm and Frankie. When Elle placed her hand on top of all of ours, I tried real hard not to cry.
“I couldn’t have done this,” I said, “I couldn’t have made it here, without you guys.” I glanced back toward the lighthouse, before I returned my gaze to the group. “Will you come with me?”
“What?” Frankie asked.
But then Mr. Balm stepped forward and said, “Of course we will.”
The trio huddled behind me like they were my sworn protectors, and Judy stayed close to my feet. We all walked toward the lush emerald green that shined against us.
I approached the entrance door, but before I tried the knob, I stopped.
“Go on,” Frankie said. “What are you waiting for?”
“I'm scared.”
“Now's not the time to be scared, Zippy. She's waiting for you.”