Dinosaur World 4

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  Chapter 1

  Humans liked to think of themselves as the apex predator on the planet. Sure, people sometimes get eaten by a shark or mauled by a mountain lion, but we are not, as a rule, a part of anyone’s regular diet. That all changed when the dinosaurs returned, and we found ourselves in a battle for survival.

  I knew in my gut that things were going to get worse before they got better. More dinosaurs arrived every day, thanks to the mysterious portals that would pop open just long enough to let the great beasts wander through. And despite all of our technology, no one had yet figured out why the portals were appearing or how to stop them from appearing. At least, not as far as the public knew. All we had been told was that the world’s governments were hard at work on the problem, but it wasn’t hard to see that the government was on the losing side of the battle.

  I had started this spring as an exchange student at Cambridge University, and now I found myself driving through the English countryside on a police motorcycle as we tried to reach the small town of Ravenscar in Yorkshire. I have two stunning companions, a blonde Brit named Becka who looked like a supermodel and carried herself like a warrior queen, and Hae-won, the beautiful blue-eyed Korean goth-princess with a mysterious family, an endless array of hidden talents, and a sharp eye with the rifle.

  We had just left Peterborough and were headed north, with a planned short stop at RAF Scampton to deliver a briefcase. I had no idea what was inside the case other than some vague notion of reports and DNA analysis of the dinos. Brigadier Walston hadn’t told us much when he’d asked us to deliver it, and part of me wondered if it was really that important. Surely, if it was critical to the army’s success, they would have arranged for a helicopter to deliver it?

  “You look serious,” Becka called out over the roar of the motorcycles.

  The Brit and I, on our police bikes, rode side by side while Hae-won, on her red and black Triumph, was a few feet ahead. It made conversation with Becka easier, but nearly impossible with Hae-won. We needed to find some communication gear, I decided, so we wouldn’t have to yell over the engines.

  “Just wondering what’s in the briefcase,” I called back.

  “Who cares?” Becka replied. “We drop it off, and then we keep going. Let them figure it out.”

  “You’re not at all curious?” I asked.

  “That never works out well,” Becka said. “At least, not in the movies. The nosey person always regrets poking around in the spy’s business.”

  “But why would Walston give it to us?” I pressed.

  “Because we were going north,” Becka replied. “And he didn’t have anyone to spare.”

  “He could have requested a helicopter,” I said. “He could have sent it with the Archbishop’s chopper.”

  “Maybe,” Becka said. “But there may not be that many helicopters left. We’ve only seen that one since we left Cambridge, and we haven’t seen any airplanes at all.”

  She had a point, and it was yet another reason to worry about how successful the military really was in tackling the dino problem. I started to ponder the possible outcomes if dinos took over the world, and I nearly missed the shadow that flew past us a few moments later. I caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye, and then I saw Becka look up. She pointed toward the sky, and I glanced up to see three large bird-like figures overhead.

  Except these were bigger than any bird I’d ever seen or even heard about.

  “Faster!” I urged. “Let’s try to outrun them!”

  Becka and I revved our engines and pulled alongside Hae-won. She glanced in my direction, and I pointed toward the sky. The Korean nodded, and we tore down the A15, past abandoned cars and broken buildings as we tried to outrun the bird things that were now following us. One of the creatures let out a piercing caw, and I looked up in time to see it peel away from the other two and start to dive toward us.

  The bird was enormous, with a thirty-foot wingspan and a long, flat bill filled with teeth. There were stringy feathers along its back and head, but the wings were more like those of a bat. It had gray eyes nearly the same color as its skin, and sharp talons on each of its four limbs.

  “Shit!” I yelled as I pushed the bike as fast as I could.

  A shadow closed over us and began to grow larger just as we were forced to swerve around an abandoned semi. The rig bought us some space, as the flying reptile was forced to pull back a bit. We shot around the rig and nearly missed the turn in the road, but we managed to stay on the blacktop. The road made another quick loop back to the right, but we ended up bouncing along in the grass and rocky soil in order to avoid a pair of abandoned cars.

  The flying lizards called to each other again, but we swerved back onto the road and hit the gas one more time. We took off just as another dino started its dive, and we managed to move far enough ahead that it was forced to give up and retreat back into the thermals.

  “These bikes were a great idea!” I yelled as we moved out of range of the lizards.

  The dinos still lingered overhead, but they were falling further and further behind. I let out a whoop and revved the engine of my motorbike, and then I leaned in to take another sharp curve.

  A heartbeat later, I had to slam on the brakes and skid to a halt to avoid smashing into the back of a minivan. The girls screeched to a halt as well, and we took in the massive pile-up that blocked the highway. It had probably started off as little more than a fender bender, but throw in dinosaurs and abandoned vehicles, and it had quickly turned into a horrific scene of burnt cars, overturned semis, and bits and pieces of human remains.

  And there was no easy way around it. We were between towns, with walled off fields to either side. There was no gap in the fieldstones that I could see, and no clear path through the carnage. The three lizards recognized our predicament, and another loud caw went up.

  “Get to the wall!” I ordered.

  Becka and Hae-won leapt from their bikes and ran toward the nearest stretch of wall even as they tugged their rifles around. I saw Becka’s rifle get hooked on her chest rig, and she let out an impressive string of oaths as she tugged on the weapon. I tried not to grin as I swept my gaze back toward the sky.

  The winged lizards had spotted the girls as they ran for cover, and I took a shot at one of the beasts when it started to circle lower. It squawked as the bullet found the edge of a wing, but it managed to stay airborne. It climbed higher and cawed again, and the other two joined it in a tight formation. I hoped the trio might leave now that the bikes had gone still, but they circled above us and waited for one of us to move.

  I ran to the wall when I saw that the girls were set and had their rifles ready, and halfway there, I heard Becka open fire with her automatic. There was another squawk from above me as I squeezed between the girls, and Hae-won whooped in triumph.

  I looked up and saw that the lizards were still circling above, though one was lower than the other two and appeared to have problems staying airborne. One of the wings was bloody and the tail looked shorter than it had been.

  “Damn thing is still alive,” Becka fumed.

  “We can finish it off,” I replied. “It won’t be able to stay up for much longer. We’ll have to wait for the other two to either move closer or fly away.”

  The injured lizard began to sink lower despite its strenuous efforts to stay airborne. It flapped its wings like a modern bird and lifted its head to try and pull itself upright
, but gravity slowly won out. The bird thing sank lower and lower until it crashed into the road in the middle of the pile-up.

  We could hear it moving around in the debris, and then it finally emerged with its green feathers now covered in soot. One wing hung limply by its side, and I could see streaks of blood along the feathers. The beast sneezed, as if it had sucked in a snoutful of ashes, and it shook itself like a dog. A cloud of dirt and dust concealed it for a moment, and then it stepped forward and peered around the road. It spotted us and let out another shrill caw, and then started to run toward us on its stunted hind legs.

  “How stupid can you be?” Becka demanded as we all opened fire.

  I aimed for the head, and I saw my first shot smash into the long bill and a second shot pierce the flat skull just above the eyes. But the whole body soon jerked and spasmed as the bullets from the girls’ automatics tore into the creature’s torso. Bloody feathers floated in the air and thick blood poured onto the hard surface of the road.

  Up above, the two surviving bird-dinos squawked in anger, and I saw that one of the shadows was growing considerably larger and moving right toward us. I swept the rifle upwards and caught the diving lizard in my sight. It was moving at an incredible pace as it swept toward us like an eagle skimming over the surface of the lake. It opened its mouth, probably to call out, and I took my shot.

  The bullet hit at the back of its throat, and then all I could see was blood as it poured into the creature’s mouth. It did a somersault in midair, as if it had suddenly forgotten how to fly, and then the body fell to the ground and splatted against the top of a nearby car. If my shot hadn’t killed it, the broken neck as it smashed into the roof of the Opel certainly did.

  That left just the one dino, and I saw Hae-won open fire just to my left. I swiveled around in time to see the Korean huntress shred the wings on the remaining lizard and then hit it with two more quick rounds that punched into its torso. The beast dropped like a rock and landed on its back in the field on the other side of the road. I saw the wings flutter for a moment when it hit, and then it went still.

  “Another new dinosaur,” Hae-won noted. “Not like the Pterodactyl back at the library, but probably related.”

  “I don’t really care as long as they’re dead,” Becka said.

  “See any more?” I asked as I scanned the sky.

  “No,” Becka replied, though she remained plastered against the wall.

  “They didn’t attack the bikes,” Hae-won noted.

  “What are you on about?” Becka asked. “They came straight at us.”

  “No, she’s right,” I said. “Once we got off the bikes, they totally ignored them. They were focused on us.”

  “But--” Becka started to protest. “You’re going to say they’re smarter than we thought again, aren’t you?”

  “Yes,” Hae-won and I both said at the same time.

  “It creeps me out when you say that,” Becka sighed. “And I really wish you wouldn’t keep pointing it out.”

  “Sorry,” Hae-won apologized. “But it is interesting.”

  “Why not go after the bikes?” I mused. “They were moving.”

  “Until we got off and ran away,” Becka said.

  “But the bikes are bigger and shinier,” I replied.

  “Also more noisy,” Hae-won added. “All the things that should attract a predator.”

  “Okay, but there aren’t any more around that we can ask,” Becka said. “Maybe we could move this discussion indoors somewhere? Bourne is just ahead. Maybe we could find somewhere to hole up for a short bit and have something to drink while we ponder how intelligent dinosaurs are.”

  “It seems like we only just started out,” I said as we walked slowly back toward the bikes. “Do we really want to stop now?”

  “We’ve made good time from Peterborough already,” Hae-won replied. “A short break would be okay.”

  “Besides, we still have to figure out how to get around this mess,” Becka pointed out.

  “We’ll just have to go very slowly until we get to the other side,” I said. “If it gets too bad, we may have to get off and push the bikes.”

  “Is there another road to Scampton?” Hae-won asked. “Maybe we could try going back to find a way around?”

  “I’d rather just go through this if we can,” I said. “Going backwards will only waste more time, and we’ll probably just end up back in Peterborough.”

  “Jason’s right,” Becka said. “We’ll be back at our starting point before we find another road north. But we should be able to squeeze the bikes through.”

  We eased forward, and after we studied the outer edge of the scene, we found a narrow path between the lanes of traffic. We drove into the heart of the disaster, then, and soon all I could smell was burnt rubber and charred meat. The deeper we went, the worse it became, and the cars and trucks in the middle were barely more than metal shells.

  “Fuck.” My eyes started to water from the ash that still lingered, and both girls started to cough.

  The road had actually melted in spots and pools of black goo threatened to latch onto the tires, but the engines had enough power to muscle us through the tar. We drove past skeletons, both human and dinosaur, and then I caught a whiff of clean air and saw that the trail widened ahead.

  I rode the bike past the last few cars and then stopped to watch for the girls. Hae-won emerged first, her waist-length hair now weighed down by the ash, followed a moment later by Becka, whose golden hair was looking less shiny.

  “I could definitely use a water break,” Becka rasped. “My throat’s sore after driving through that.”

  “So is mine,” I admitted and then coughed.

  “Let’s get to Bourne,” Hae-won suggested. “Find somewhere out of sight to take a break.”

  We revved the engines and sped down the motorway far faster than was intended. We were all ready to find a safe place to shelter for a bit, and we weren’t even halfway to Lincoln. I didn’t regret leaving Cambridge, but I was starting to understand just how long it was going to take to reach Ravenscar.

  We reached the edge of Bourne and rode by the sign that welcomed us to the Historic Town of Bourne, Birthplace of Hereward, Lord of Brun. I would never claim to be an expert on English history, but I was familiar enough to know names from Winston Churchill to Henry Plantagenet. I could even remember that the Norman Invasion was led by William the Conqueror, who defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. What I couldn’t come up with was anything about Hereward, Lord of Brun.

  Like most of the towns we’d been through, Bourne was quiet. People no longer walked along the streets or drove to work in the morning, and if someone did have to leave their house, they did so quickly and quietly. And so, we were the only people on the A15 as we entered the town, and it was hard to say just how many humans might still be around.

  There were signs of dinosaur attacks, from damaged buildings to a few spots that looked like they had been hit with some of the venomous acid of the difos. We had to go around the remains of a fire that looked like it had started in a cluster of buildings and then swallowed up everything for several blocks, including cars and streetlights. By the time we pulled back onto the A15, we were in the heart of the town, in the ancient market area.

  And we saw the first humans we’d seen since we’d left the cathedral in Peterborough. Two men stood outside the sandbagged door of a local pub, one with a rusty shotgun, and the other holding a polished cricket bat. They watched us drive up, and though the man with the shotgun lowered the gun from his shoulder, at least he didn’t point it at us.

  “That’s close enough,” the man with the cricket bat said as we rolled to a stop in front of the pub.

  Both men were probably in their late forties, and both had new beards and pale blue eyes. The man with the shotgun was a ginger and still had soil under his fingernails and on his clothes. I pegged him as a farmer, which explained the gun he held in his large hands. The other man had dark
hair and bushy eyebrows and hands that looked like they hadn’t dug in the soil since he was a toddler.

  “We’re just passing through,” I said. “We had a run in with some flying lizards and then had to drive through a massive pile-up on the roadway. We just wanted to take a break and get something to drink before heading on.”

  The two men looked at each other for a moment, and then the farmer scratched at his beard while he studied us.

  “And where would you be heading?” the farmer asked. “A yank on a copper’s bike.”

  “Yorkshire,” I replied.

  “Long drive,” the farmer replied. “Dangerous drive.”

  “So we’ve noticed,” I said. “We’re just happy to see other people. We haven’t encountered all that many. Well, outside of Peterborough.”

  “You’ve been to Peterborough?” the dark-haired man asked in surprise.

  “We’ve just come from there,” I replied.

  “We heard the army had taken over the power station but that was it,” the dark-haired man said. “We just figured they must be doing their jobs because we still have power, although sometimes we lose it for a bit now.”

  “You say you met some folks in Peterborough,” the farmer pressed.

  “We did,” I said. “Mostly army personnel, who have taken over the power station. We helped the engineering team out, and we were at a service in the cathedral this morning.”

  “They’re still holding church services?” the dark-haired man asked in surprise.

  “It was a special one,” I said. “The Archbishop of Canterbury was there. Um, but…”

  I trailed off, not quite certain how to say that the Archbishop was now dead after being eaten by a dinosaur. The two men seemed to understand, though, and they both bowed their heads for a moment of silent prayer.

  “It’s been some time since we’ve seen any strangers,” the farmer said when he finally lifted his head. “And it’s hard to get much news from the internet these days. When we do get service, it’s mostly videos of dinosaurs running amuck.”

  “Can’t reach anyone to talk to them,” the dark-haired man added. “Tried to call London a few times, but that was a no go. Tried to call family up in Scotland but couldn’t reach them, either.”