Jurassic Heart Page 7

  “All these little flashes of light,” I explained. “Are years. Years soaring by us. The trip will take about an hour and a half. Imagine it like a car ride when you were a child, only there’s no alphabet game to play. We can play ‘I see something you don’t see’, if anyone is up for it. Until we arrive, enjoy the voyage.”

  No one really spoke, they were all engrossed with looking out the front window. Then they started asking Paige questions about what we will see.

  “It will be lush and beautiful,” she told them.

  When she said that I whispered in her ear, “Like you.”

  It seemed like forever, but it was only a blip when considering we were traveling sixty million years.

  Things slowed down in the window and we arrived, oddly enough, it felt like we landed. It probably was from such a long trip.

  We landed in the middle of a forest or jungle. Paige was right, it was lush and beautiful. So green, like money, only worth more, much more.

  “Good thing we aren’t out there,” Frog said. “Bet the air is thick and hot.”

  “Plus, look,” Sheena said. “There’s a volcano.”

  Picture perfect yet cliché of what we’d expect.

  “Hey, guys,” one of the Petes called out. “Look ahead.”

  It came slowly through the trees, it’s body swaying left to right. It paused to roar, and it was so loud it hit our dimension, vibrating my ears.

  “Paige, would that be a T-Rex?” I asked.

  “Yes, yes, it is,”

  Thank God we had her as our expert.

  Everyone stepped back from the window as the T-Rex drew closer.

  It was like being in a virtual, reality game or a dinosaur movie. The beast was so close, he placed his eye near to the chamber, appearing to be watching us.

  One of the Petes gasped and stepped.

  “Holy shit,” Bert exclaimed. “He’s looking at us like we’re his buffet.”

  This caused a brief panic and everyone made these, ‘I’m scared’ noises.

  “People, please,” I stood firm and brave, facing everyone. “I know it looks like he’s looking at us, but he’s probably looking at something else. I am sure if we go to the back we can see what he is eyeing.” I paused when he roared again. “I assure you, and promise you, he cannot see us. We are in a parallel dimension.”

  Just as I finished my words, the T-Rex blasted out an even bigger growl and I slowly turned to the window to see the condensation.

  Then the angry and determined beast widened his mouth and bit down on the Chamber. My eyes widened and everyone around me screamed.

  “My God,” I thought, “We broke through the parallel dimension. We’re actually here.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  PAIGE

 

  What just happened?

  It didn’t make sense. We were supposed to be in parallel dimensions. The T-Rex wasn’t supposed to see us, let alone rapping its snout against the structure.

  Bang.

  Dash proved to me that time travel was parallel. I had gone twice with him.

  “Dash?” I called out his name amidst the commotion. “What is happening here? Why are we … here? Aren’t we supposed to be in another dimension?”

  “The only thing I can figure out is we went so far back we broke the wall.”

  Dash kept his cool just as I suspected he would. I believed Dash, I and Frog were the only ones. The others, Sheena, Tony, the Petes and even Herb were rattled. I assumed Hedlin ran for the bathroom, because his bodyguard, Rocco, stood outside the door.

  Bang.

  Another eruption of screams.

  I watched the T-Rex sweep the room with his eyes and hit the chamber.

  One of the Petes who went by Pedro yelled out. “Nobody move. He won’t see us if we stand completely still. He’ll go away.”

  “Everyone stand still,” shouted Dash,

  “That’s not true,” I shouted.

  “It has to be,” said Pedro. “I saw it in a movie.”

  “Yeah, well, that movie was wrong. The writer didn’t do his homework,” I corrected.

  “How do you know?” asked the other Pete.

  “Really? Really?” was my answer. I shook my head. “A study was done back in 1993 at the University of Oregon, by Dr. Kent Stevens. He called it the dinomorph.”

  Bang.

  I continued. “The Tyrannosaurus rex has big eyes, deep set and close, he found that they have a binocular range of fifty-five meters.”

  “Speak English, Paige,” said Dash.

  “Plainly, he sees better than us."

  “So what do we do?” asked Herb.

  “Hide, get out of his sight,” I replied. “He can’t smell us, that’s a good thing. He’s trying to assess what we are and what we’re in. Our best bet is to get behind the wall, out of sight, out of mind.”

  Bang.

  “That won’t work,” Dash said. “There are no ceilings, he’ll see right through. It’s like looking into a glass covered maze.”

  Bang.

  “Still, our best option is behind this wall,” I pointed. “He won’t think to peer in yet. He hasn’t figured that out. Or else he’d be looking down at us. Our best chance to get through this is to go to the other side of the wall. He’ll be confused for a moment, which gives us time to hide under blankets and then … don’t move. What do you guys …”

  Before I finished my sentence, everyone had bolted through the door to get to the other side of the wall.

  “… think,” I finished my sentence.

  Dash was the only one in the control room with me.

  Bang.

  “What do you think?” I asked.

  “I think, we may have to consider returning and redoing this trip with a better chamber structure. One built for the actual trip, not for sightseeing. And … I also think … that.” He pointed to the T-Rex. “Is one scary looking creature. But for now … let’s run and hide.”

  As fascinated as I was by the living breathing sight of my life’s work, I couldn’t agree more.

  DASH

 

  The hiding beneath blankets and coverings worked, and the banging and shaking of the chamber finally stopped.

  We had achieved what we sought … or so we thought, until we realized the T-Rex was sizing us up and backing away only to get a running start.

  It was a horrifying sight watching him charge our way. I honestly held my breath, fearful he would topple the chamber.

  “Here’s the deal,” Frog said, “That … thing.” He pointed back. “Is determined. He charges us again, we could flip and then that’s it.”

  “What choice do we have?” Sheena asked.

  “Not stay here,” Frog said.

  “He’ll eventually give up once another prey comes along,” said Paige. “We abandon ship.”

  Hedlin then asked. “If we leave, how do we get back?”

  I had the answer for that. “The quantum rod.” I pointed to it. “We are on auto return in three days. That rod is our ticket home. The one end is removable, that marks a circumference for travel, as long as we are in that perimeter, we all should go back.”

  “An hour and a half,” Herb said, “Floating exposed through nothingness. Doesn’t sound that safe to me.”

  “That’s worst case scenario, I said. “We’ll figure out something. Who knows. Once we’re out of here the T-Rex should leave this alone, maybe it won’t get damaged, we time it and return.”

  “How do we get out with that out there?” Herb asked.

  “We distract it,” Paige answered. “While you guys head to the door, I’ll go to the opposite side of the chamber and distract him.”

  “Correction,” I said. “We will do that.”

  Everyone seemed okay with that, until of course, the T-Rex began his pursuit again. He slammed into the chamber with such vengeance I swore it tipped.

  Everyone shouted in worry.

  “Please.” I held up my hands. “This structure is made of polycarbonate, I assure you, he may shove us and tip us, but this will not break.”

  I really had to rethink after I said things. The moment I said that, I heard the terrifying sound of the plastic breaking as a crack ripped up the wall after the T-Rex bit into it.

  The sound of a whistle brought silence, except for the roaring, angry dinosaur right outside the chamber.

  Frog stood on the ledge before the console, he began barking out orders as if he had trained for his moment. “Everyone please grab your survival bags, now. Your bed rolls should be attached. Petes, under the kitchen cabinet are two boxes off pouch food.” He tossed them a duffle bag. “Fill this with as much as you can.” He turned his body. “Dash …. grab the time rod. Tony … in the hallway, outside the sleeping quarters, is a fire box with a small ax. Get it.”

  Tony nodded.

  “Herb, hallway linen closet, top shelf, there is a box. Inside is a gun. Get it. Speaking of guns … Rocco. How are you fixed for ammunition?”

  “I’m good.”

  “Remember,” Paige added. “Conserve ammunition. Some of these species will only get pissed if they get shot, it won’t hurt them.”

  “What about me?” Hedlin asked.

  “Try to keep up,” Frog said. “Or you’ll be the first picked off.”

  While everyone shuffled off to do their part, I placed the quantum rod in my survival bag and looped my arms through attaching it around my chest so the bag was secured to my back.

  It didn’t take long, a minute maybe, for everyone to return. The noise grew louder as the T-Rex continued shoving and biting at the chamber.

  “Paige and Dash,” Frog spoke loudly over the noise. “I need you to go in the back to cause a distraction. Once this beast moves, I’ll lead the others out. Remember, it will be hot and muggy, the air may be hard to breathe.”

  “How will we know where to go?” Sheena asked.

  “I did my research.” Frog held up a rolled up piece of paper. “I have printed a map of the region that Sterling Bronavanavanavich created years ago on what he believed the area was like. It has everything, including the volcano. He was brilliant. This will get us to safety. Numerous caves are mentioned.”

  “Oh!” Sheena gushed with a hand to her chest. “Thank God for you, Frog. What would we do now without you?”

  Following an ear piercing roar, the polycarbonate plastic shattered when the jaws of the T-Rex finally bit through. In a split second, the drool filled mouth opened wide, reached down and chomped into Frog.

  I was frozen for a moment, yet I was able to see that Paige thought clearly. Without hesitation she snatched the map from Frog’s hand, as the T-Rex manipulated its jaws to bring our survival friend into his mouth.

  One of the Petes shouted out. “He’s distracted. Run!”

  As vile and cold hearted as it seemed, Pete was right. The T-Rex was distracted and we took that opportunity to flee out of the chamber door.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  PAIGE

 

  As fate would have it, I ended up being the first one out the door, leading the team into the perils of the land from long ago. Immediately upon racing out it was abundantly clear that the earth had changed, the atmosphere had changed. I wasn’t ready.

  The air was thick, as Frog said, sluggish, almost like trying to breath in water. And there was this stench, this horrendous, god awful sulfur stench that I became aware of in the middle of my run.

  A hundred feet was all we had to go. I found us refuge in a small dip in the ground under a fallen tree.

  I stood waving the others to hurry. At first I thought Hedlin was a goner, because I didn’t see him. Then I realized he rode piggy back on his bodyguard’s back.

  Dash was the last. I begged in my mind for him to hurry, but I knew we were out of immediate danger when I watched the T-Rex, Frog’s legs dangling from his mouth, as he leisurely walked away.

  “And we stopped, why?” Dash asked.

  “Because we don’t know where we are,” I replied. “Right now, the chamber is still intact. That could be our vessel back. We need to know how to find it again. The map is the key. I know exactly what map this is. It will tell us what areas to avoid based on the bones uncovered.” I unrolled the map. “Thank God Frog was overly prepared.”

  It seemed as if everyone sadly murmured his name.

  “Now, I know this is an odd question, but does anyone have a compass?”

  “I do,” Herb said and handed down a small, palm size compass on a keychain.

  “Thank you,” I said. “I can’t believe you had one.”

  “Actually,” Herb replied. “We all do. Frog put one on each of our bags.”

  Again, everyone groaned out Frog’s name in sadness.

  My father had marked the map with north, south, east and west. Frog drew the time complex. I matched up north on the map with the compass.

  “Okay, we are here.” I showed them on the map. ‘We go about a mile south and there will be water, my father marked caves there.”

  “Hmm,” Hedlin said smugly. “We're relying on a map, which was based on theory.”

  “No,” I said. “All this was an area we excavated, he’s basing it on what he found.”

  “Why can’t we go back to the structure?” Hedlin asked. “It’s only partially damaged.”

  “Because we can’t take a chance on the T-Rex coming back. Yes, right now it only has damage, but it’s our only safe vessel to return to our time.”

  “I thought the time rod thingy was,” Herb said. “He’s got it, so if our place gets destroyed, we’ll still be able to go back.”

  Dash shook his head. ‘It doesn’t work like that. The quantum rod needs a perimeter to bounce off of. When it is in the case, it bounces off perimeters in the complex. When it’s out of the case, like now. Here let me show you in case something happens to me.” He pulled it out and showed us. “See these ends …” He lifted the silver cap off. “They are sensors. If the rod is center point. I put the sensors out to set up out circumference. For a group of this size, I’d have to set them at least six feet away from the rod to the left and right. If I don’t manually set up perimeters, when it’s activated to go back, because I’m holding it, I’ll be the only one who goes back.”

  Herb raised his hands. “Say something happens to you and we get back to the complex.”

  “Just snap it back into the case,” Dash answered.

  “That should be the plan,” I said. “To be in the complex when it’s time to go back. Until then, we need to stay alive and find a safe place. Those caves, if they’re there, are our best option. We have everything we need to stay alive and safe because Frog thought ahead.”

  It came, as expected, the singular sound of moans from everyone.

  “I say we go to the caves,” Dash stated. “All in favor?”

  Everyone but Hedlin raised hands.

  “I say we find a way to block the windows and ceiling.” Hedlin stated. “Go to the complex. Dash, you know you can override the system. Send us back. Now. We have the proof. Cameras all over that place. Override the system.”

  “For that I need at least a couple hours,” Dash stated.

  “It’s not safe,” I argued. “A couple hours? T-Rex could come back. Or worse … the Bronavanasaurus, which I believe is ten times more vicious than T-Rex.”

  “I’ll go get the lap top,” Dash said, “I’ll figure something out.”

  “I’ll go with you,” I said.

  “No, you have to stay back. You’re the expert here,” Dash told me.

  Tony stepped forward. “I’ll go with you, Dash.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Dash,” I called out to him. “Something to think about. I know you’re being quick to go back, but we all signed up for this. This is why we’re here. To see the past and the dinosaurs, not to run from it.”

  “Those are words to think about,” Dash replied.

  “I don’t know about you,” Hedlin said. “I didn’t sign up to be in the same dimension.”

  “Yeah, well, was I the only one hoping we’d break through?” I looked around. “I don’t think so. This is history and we are making history. I don’t want to leave. I want to see more. I want to see the Bronavanasaurus. It’s three days. We find safety and get back to the chamber in time. It’s three days. What can go wrong?”

  DASH

 

  They looked like seven little peeps in a row. Poking out from the small depression in the ground, peering just over the fallen tree, made it appear as if they were just a line of heads. That was what I saw when I glanced back once more in my mad dash to get the laptop and the solar cell battery.

  It was easy, uneventful, I even grabbed the camera while Tony did a quick assessment of the damage.

  I thought about what Paige had said. How we were there for a reason. It seemed cowardly to run off. Where was our bravery, our sense of adventure?

  It was three days. Not even. Two nights. Like she had said, what could go wrong?

  I believed it until Tony and I returned and one of the Petes were gone.

  Everyone seemed rather surprised, not even noticing that he had disappeared.

  “He was just here,” Sheena said.

  “Which Pete was it?” Herb asked. “Pedro or Pete? MIT Pete or the construction one?”

  “Which Pete was the MIT Pete?” asked Tony.

  Herb shrugged. “Whatever the Pete it was, it wasn’t the one with the food.”

  “Um, excuse me.” One of the Pete’s raised his hand. “He was Pete. I am Pedro, I’m still here and I graduated from MIT.”

  I nodded an, “Ah.”

  “Did you get what you needed?” asked Paige as she approached me.

  “Yes, I did,” I replied. “But more pressing is the fact that one of the Petes is gone.”

  The other Pete grumbled and snapped. “Pete is gone. I’m Pedro.”

  “Either case, this is pressing,” I said. “Did Pete go off somewhere to relieve himself?”

  “You would think he’d say something,” Paige said.

  “No one saw him leave?” I asked.