Chapter 29- Spiky reptile
The lake was a popular camping spot in the summer. The lake was more than one hundred kilometers in diameter, and was great for fishing. She tried fishing with Michael once but she found she couldn't sit still enough for a fish to bite.
Now the lake was empty, the area around it had been cleared after the attack happened. A group of soldiers had already been sent out to look for any trace of the anomaly or the creature that may have come through.
She approached Claudia who was talking to Nick about what the creature may be.
"Well it could be anything. The girl was in too much shock for us to get a clear description." Nick said.
"Were there any tracks or other signs left behind by the creature?" Avery intercepted.
"There are some near where the girl was found." Claudia lead them over towards Stephen who was looking at some bushes near a collapsed tent. The tent was muddy and broken in several places as if it had been stepped on. Avery hopped no one had been inside when that had happened.
"Stephen what have you found?" Nick asked squatting next to him.
"The footprints are wide and circular in nature with four dull claw marks. Also these bushes have been chewed on."
"The creature is probably a quadruped herbivore." Abby chimed in. She had seen similar tracks with the elephants back at the zoo.
"And quite heavy too considering how deep these tracks are." Nick added as an afterthought. "Claudia tell the men to be careful. The creature may be heavily armored and they will attack if they feel threatened."
"Creatures." Avery added.
"Pardon?" Claudia said.
"Creatures. There is more than one set of tracks I would say there are at least two. One is a kid, some of the prints are smaller." Avery had walked to another set of tracks further away from the tent. The tracks overlapped, and where slightly different in their size.
There was a crackle from Claudia's radio and she lifted it to her mouth. "Say that again… Ok we'll make our way over." She put the radio in her pant pocket and turned to face them. "That was Ryan they think they found the creatures. Their saying its quite bulky and low to the ground and at the end of the tail there's a thick club like appendage."
"Let's go." Nick said.
They saw two ankylosaurs grazing on the low shrubs. One was about twenty-five feet long and its back was taller than Nick. The other came just up to her waist, and was cowering close to the adult. Both were broad-beaked herbivores, heavily armored with bony horns, plates, studs running along its head and back, over bony plates, with a clubbed tail.
The older one was watching them wearily, snorting when one of the soldiers came too close.
"Back away slowly everyone. We're making it nervous." Nick said warning some of the soldiers back.
Avery was reminded of the first creature they came across, a scutosaurus from the Permian era. This was younger by a geological standpoint. It was from the late cretaceous.
"I think we have it from here Ryan." Avery said. Ryan looked to Claudia, and when she nodded, he told the other soldiers to fan out and keep looking for the anomaly. Three were left behind for extra protection, but Avery doubted their guns could penetrate the ankylosaurs thick armor. If they were to fire they would need to aim for the soft parts of its belly.
She joined her father and Abby as they kneeled a couple of meters from the dinosaur, making sure to say in its eyesight.
"Can you believe it's our first dinosaur?" Avery said smiling widely.
"No. Isn't it wonderful." Nick said. There was a slight gleam in his eye as he watched the young one eating beside the older.
"First dinosaur. What about the other creatures we came across?" Abby asked confused.
"Well the first two we came across were from the Permian era. Ancestors of the dinosaurs, though they were reptiles. It's the same for the mosasaur, it's a marine reptile. No dinosaur lived in the sea." Nicked replied.
Abby nodded in understanding. "They must be cold though. Their probably not used to this weather."
They could see the warm air breathed out by the creatures in the sunlight. The younger one was moving around it slowly. It was groaning in a high-pitched wail, perhaps complaining about the cold to the older one.
"Yeah. We should try and get them back to the Anomaly soon." He stood up and walked over to Claudia. "Have Ryan and the others found the Anomaly yet?"
"Not yet." Claudia replied.
"Well keep looking."
"What if the Anomaly has closed already?" She said nervously.
"Then we'll need to contact Lester. Try and get them out of the cold as soon as possible."
Nick watched as the younger Ankylosaur approached Claudia. It snuck up behind the brunette and bumped its head into her legs. With a small shriek Claudia jumped back, Nick catching her.
The creature started making sounds, rubbing its head against her. Nick tried to hold back her laughter as Claudia tried, and failed, to push the creature away.
Nick had another idea, and with a small smile he crouched down in front of the ankylosaur and placed his hand on its head. The ankylosaur pushed his head more against him. Nick was reminded of the mother and daughter Rhino pair he met in Africa a few years ago. The little one kept bumping into him as well, and their caretaker said it was out of curiosity.
Avery approached as well, crouching next to Nick. Tentatively she reached out and could feel the toughness of its bony head, and the spikes coming off it. She had in her hand some of the shrubs the mother was eating and held it out to the young one. It sniffed it quickly before snapping ripping some it out of her hand with its bony beak. It may have been small but it was still bulky and strong.
She watched the young one's tail move as it ate. It had a big round boulder looking club on either side of its tail. She watched out of the corner of her eye as the older one approached. With its head it nudged the younger one away slightly, before ripping the rest of the shrubs from Avery's hand.
"They don't even seem threatened by us." Nick remarked. The younger one had gone back to him when the mother wanted Avery's attention.
"Well she is bigger than us. And so far, we haven't done anything to appear as if we are a danger." Abby added walking over. She stood next to the crouched Avery and lightly ran her fingers over the mothers neck. "I hope we can get them home soon. I don't think Lester has anywhere to place these two."
"He'll find somewhere." Claudia added. "You may not get along with Lester too well, but he is resourceful and good at his job."
"Wow!" They heard a shout and turned towards the sound and saw Conner there grinning at the two ankylosaurs. As he approached Nick the younger one turned to him and tilted its head. "Hello little one." He said. Slowly he placed its hand under its chin and started to scratch the leathery hide. The Ankylosaur let out a happy shrill and pushed more into his hand.
Avery was happy to see that Connor was still able to smile, and she knew the others were too. They stayed there for a little while feeding and petting the two dinosaurs.
A/N You know how Abby and Connor have their own pets. I was also thinking of having one for Avery. My favorite ideas so far are a Raptor or a bird-like dinosaur like a microraptor or archaeopteryx. Currently the idea is up in the air. It would be great to hear what you would like.
