Willard James Glendale stood in his kitchen drinking coffee. The morning sun was beginning to rise, casting the sky over his front yard with a red glow. He could just make out the woods on the other side. Out of habit he scanned for deer, there were none grazing. He chided himself gently for letting his mind stray even that much away from the problem at hand. His whole family had fallen off the map, at least he couldn't contact them. He thought of them all again and considered every possibility and while it was entirely possible that Chayton would neglect to call the others were ore meticulous. So he had tried the U.S. Embassy and they had come up with nothing.
Even when they had learned who was on board the pleasure yacht. If the world learned that the country star had disappeared Costa Rica would likely have hell to pay. That was why he had been told to keep the possibility of his families disappearance a secret and wait. He did not intend to do that. Instead he would contact an old friend of his father's from his time in the army.
His wife Bethany stood near him in her bathrobe and matching blue slippers, he was almost afraid to look at her. She had been frustrated with the whole situation from the beginning. They had not slept at all and her fuse was almost gone. He found that in those times the best course was to let her open the conversation. He did not have to wait for long
" Why do you think this old man can find your dad "?
" He knows Costa Rica and some of the officials there. Chayton told me he was in some war or other down there after Vietnam. He's a trophy guide too, and the president loves to hunt. Besides that he knows Chayton as much as anybody".
"What about the rest of your family? Your uncles"?
"Chayton is the key. He's damned hard to miss".
"I just don't like it'.
"I'm not sure if I do, either. But their government won't tell me anything".
He saw Bethany was resigning herself to his plan.
"What is the man's name"?
"Ben Hamilton".
Across the equator where night had begun. An old man with no identity and no home began a fitful slumber. Near him was a young raptor who held the highest power possible in her world. In the darkness of the jungle lay an old raptor who had failed as leader...again. Beside him his ever devoted mate looked on worriedly. There had been another attempt to wrest the alpha position from them. It had failed. In their place she would have done the same.
Yet even with her admittance of that. She still believed Quick Foot to be more suited to leadership than anyone else. They had been Alpha's in the past, in the old much larger pack . Until they had been usurped by a promising Raptor named Seth. Seth had felt it time for a change since they had escaped the human cage. To the satisfaction of all the great storm had destroyed the cage while the humans left the island. But the island turned to chaos, pitting them into a war with the Browns and later the Greens.
In the end, Seth had taken leadership of the two allied packs and ironically discovered they should separate, to find food. It was Adam that first took the challenge to find new territory. Quick Foot was only too happy to follow him. Soon they returned with news of a valley shining with white stone. Quick Foot had felt that it was a better place for Yellowtail. A place where she would be more protected.
But he was not as strong as he once was and was not used to thinking for himself anymore. He had been a good beta in her opinion knowing when to talk to the alpha. But he would need to become a good Alpha or he would lose his position. They would have to hunt again tomorrow. They could become the omegas if they weren't successful. There was really only one option: She must talk to him in the morning. perhaps they could come up with some plan. She was not quite ready to become an elder without authority. There were a few more years to go yet.
Leon awoke to the last bit of smoke. The fire was near cold. He stared at it for a moment. Then disrobed to put more charcoal on his already blackened body. He had reasoned that the strange animals would fear fire like all creatures. He was reluctant to climb down. He was almost reluctant to trot the little ways to the creek. He trusted himself to no one water source and did not use the same one for all purposes. This time he took the first path he had made. Sand and charcoal with water got last night's grime. He returned the pot to his tree and journeyed to check his traps. He had eaten some of the lizard-like fauna before. He preferred fish. Today he would make a short loop. He did not want to use up his food supply. As he was leaving he glanced at the Hammock he was weaving.
It was still unfinished, he had learned the skill in Borneo, where dozens of tourists made use of so many years sleeping in the treetops off and on he was not frightened. He remembered the first time he slept up high as a child. That was too many years ago.t He had been more agile back then. He had also been shunned by his classmates for his stuttering. He could just think his thoughts to the moss. To the trees. The community he had lived in back in the fifties knew about that too. He had been alone then. It had taken time to overcome his speech impediment. He was still shunned. But he had learned the old remedy's and obtained a commission as a field medic. He had earned a place for a short time. He wandered off after his breakfast still thinking his thoughts to the moss.
Chayton watched the two creatures. They were like the animal in the cave. He believed them to be a pair. He stepped further away from them as quietly as he could. It was not difficult, they were intent on each other, he could hear growls and chirps so he imagined them to be talking.
He was fascinated by the idea. He had been ever since he had met the creature. Soon he would learn her language. He walked away from the two raptors as discreetly as he could. He had fashioned himself a pair of Moccasins by cutting a pieces of scaly skin to a measurement in the sand outside the cave. He cut out two pieces four inches wide and long enough to fit the back of his feet, he overlapped two inches on the sides. Using the awl he pierced holes and using a pair of needles created a saddle stitch over both shoes he tied the seams together and joined the sole to the back of the moccasin by sewing everything together . He decided not to make laces instead creating slip on moccasins. The big female had again watched him with noticeable curiosity.
"I could make you a pair".
The big female seemed to smile and gestured at her own feet with her snout as if to say that she already had a pair of her own.
"These are comfortable, I bet I could make a fortune on 'em back home".
Then he had left the animal/person in the cave and within an hour had fashioned a crude spear to use in a search for food. Waiting to be attacked, then killing the animal for meat had to be the more dangerous option. He had come upon the pair despite his intention to avoid the big female's pack at all costs. Luckily they did not notice, probably due to the plant that masked his scent. His curiosity was piqued and he decided to stick close to them. After a time the pair made their way further into the jungle. They maintained their pace for a while until suddenly stopping to inspect something on the ground. They milled around it before finally taking off at a speed he could not hope to attempt. After they left he went to see what was so interesting about the ground.
There were three toed tracks. Larger than the sickle clawed creatures he had been watching since the time he awoke. To say nothing of the creatures that spit stuff as thick as K-Y jelly. He put both of his hands, one after the other, in the print and still there was room. He thought of the one creature he had seen that could possibly match, and a plan came to mind. He would distract the chameleon beast himself, possibly the way he had done before . The trail was not hard to read and within a minute he had in his mind what the creature was doing. It would stalk the big clawed lizards, or at least it was a distinct possibility.
The stars shone over Colorado. It had reached the midnight hour . Willard had spent all day getting ready for his trip to New Mexico. He and Bethany were still very much awake. He knew she was still not in favor of him "using a crazy old man to find a crazy old man". He simply couldn't think of anything else. He wondered if Chayton had ever felt so out of options. He didn't think so, he could think of no one more capable. No one was as inhuman as Chayton. He thought of the many things Chayton had taught him about the woods. Yet there was never enough time. He thought of the month his father had spent in rehab after taking enough alcohol and drugs to kill a bull elk. That had been the last straw between his parents. That was when he had discovered that no one was as human as Chayton.
His wife could sense where his thoughts ran, and took pity on him. They made love for the first time since he lost his family. In that time nothing else mattered.
Chayton would find no food. That was the only outcome to any action he took. This would not be an easy matter, it was not as if it was right to kill the creature after what had happened. He could only foil it for a short time. Where could he take it? The creature was trapped in a box canyon. The creature in the cave could survive without him was his final decision. It did not escape him that simply following the animal could very well alert it to his presence. It might lay for him like a bear.
He could feel every stick and rock through the soft sole of his shoes. He was worried that he would not realize the creature was there. He had a habit to stop and listen to his surroundings, and he hoped that he would hear the animal like he did before. He had a feeling that he had been a man of the world in his time. It would certainly explain his abilities. His eyes were tired of being wide open, peeled for any ripple in the foliage. He imagined he needed glasses sometimes. that was another thing he refused to dwell on. He pressed on warily. The trees thinned out a little and he could see the field that spanned the center of the canyon. In it were many grazing animals.
They were all strange to him except one a lone animal with triangles on its back and tusks on the end of its tail. He did not remember what the creature was called but he did recognize that it was a dinosaur. He was dumbfounded. He knew that they were housed in old dusty museums he probably hadn't gone to since he was a small child.
there was one thing he knew for sure about them whatever they were called as groups. They were all dead.
The ones in front of him were very much alive. He briefly wondered how but dismissed it as the first sickle clawed beast rose out of the long grass. The herd became agitated as the sleek predator walked calmly towards them. Chayton's quick eyes found the other's in no time. The herd had not. They were still focused on the animal that had stood up. Chayton was almost sure he would see a kill, with the one animal being a distraction from the rest of the pride. But there was a predator to find, so he reluctantly left. He had not gone far before he heard the unmistakable cry of death.
He knew the creature was near. He figured that like many mated animals its instincts would be to hunt down its mate's killer. Since his scent was masked, the creature would go after the big female's pack. He was careful to listen for the same heavy breathing he had heard before. A minute passed. Then another. His mind was busy thinking of ways it could ambush the pride. It seemed to him that it would want to stay out of the sunlight. And it would most likely wait where the pride would return after feasting on the kill.
He made his way to where he had found their tracks and waited. Perhaps the animal would simply steal their kill. Somehow, he doubted it. The pride was a long time coming. He stood still on the edge of the tree line for almost three hours listening to the feasting being done. Soon after he could hear them coming his way. He believed some of them were carrying meat which indicated a nest. He watched carefully and when the first reached him. The chameleon beast showed itself. There was a great bellow then a hiss and before anything had time to react. He poked it tauntingly with his spear. Twice.
Blood trickled out of the small wound he had made. The animal gave another roar and Chayton was gone. He hoped the creature had blocked the pride's view of him. He could feel the animal hot on his heels. He was hurting all over. He was even itching. His lungs ached with every breath. He could hear the snarls of the pack that must be chasing them both. He dodged trying to keep trees between him and his pursuers. He could practically feel the breath of the beast.
The animal gave several bellows as it saw its prey start to slow from exhaustion. He was nearly done for when he saw an odd thing to his left. There seemed to be a hole in the ground. It was slightly off his path. It was huge. That was the only thing that he could see. Somehow he found more energy than he thought he had. He had changed direction and despite thinking he would die anyway, He made it his life's goal to see what the hole led to. He jumped in without a thought or even a concern for what awaited him.
The hole was much deeper than he had realized. He had landed hard, and his muscles screamed at him in protest. His impact with the bottom left him curled up in a fetal position. The pain was so intense that he wondered if he would ever learn the language of the dinosaur he had saved. He could hear the snorting of dinosaur's snout as it tried to seek him out. He could no longer hear the smaller creatures. Finally, the creature left bellowing irritably. He sat still listening to the footfalls of the giant. The hole was deep. Too deep. Around him were crumbling clay walls. He was so deep he could see the stars overhead. As if night had clasped it's cold hand early upon the island. He was too tired to care. He wished he had his guitar. He had been playing it every chance he got and the big female enjoyed it. Or, at least seemed to. He couldn't be sure. There was one thing he was sure of. He would die here.