AN: Hi people! Time for more fun with the dinos! Sorry if this update took a little longer, but I'm having my senior pictures done tomorrow, and I just got my nails done…so it's insanely difficult to type… * pictures Korean guy grinding away at her nails * Ugh. I'm glad I'm a tomboy and only have my nails this long once a year or so ^__^. Anyways, read and review!

Oh, and I'm stealing a little bit of scene situation from the 1st Jurassic Park movie later on- just because it's a really cool idea and it ends with a really cute scene and a little you-decide-if-it's-slash. It could be or not, depending on how you read it. I'm not going to say definitively because I'm evil like that ^__^.

                                                                                                                                                           

Racetrack

            I slowly walked toward Tibby's, resisting the urge to light up a cigar since I only had one left. It had been a pretty good day of selling, but I had busted myself on a horse that had been a sure winner- until she decided to stop in the middle of the race and roll in the dirt.

            "Heya Race."

            I turned toward the sound of the voice and found Jack standing there with David, and Sarah trailing a bit behind. Jack had tried to explain to her that she shouldn't come to Tibby's every day, but she just didn't listen. She was much too clingy.

            "Hey, Jack. How's it goin'?"

            "Well…" he took a short glance at Sarah, and I nodded, completely understanding. I'll bet he would give anything to be gay right now, just to get her to leave him alone.

            We walked in silence- well, except for David. He kept going on and on about some book he'd read that week- we'd just learned to tune him out when he got onto one of these rants.

            "JACK!!RACE!!"

            We spun around in shock as Specs and Dutchy ran up to us, completely out of breath. They both looked totally panicked, and were covered in dust from head to toe.

            "What happened?" Jack asked as Dutchy almost ran into him trying to come to a dead stop.

            "A giant lizard! It attacked us in da old apartments on 3rd!" Specs said in-between gasps for air. I looked at David, and we both burst out laughing. Jack was trying to hold back his laughter.

            "A giant lizard, huh? How big was it? Da size of a horse?" he asked, mainly as a joke.

            "It's da truth!" Dutchy insisted.

            For a moment, I hovered between believing them and thinking they were crazy. It wasn't like them to make up stories like this, and they were certainly smart enough to know we wouldn't believe them. But still…a giant lizard? Yeah, right.

            "Cowboy! Race!"

            We spun around the other direction as Snipeshooter grabbed onto my jacket and tugged frantically.

            "What?"

            "Kid Blink and Skittery are hurt. Mush just got 'em back to da lodgin' house. They wanna talk ta you!"

            We took one look at Specs and Dutchy, and figured out that something was going on. Maybe not a giant lizard, but something. We headed back to the lodging house, Snipeshooter running ahead to tell Mush that we were on our way.

            "Sarah, stay here." Jack said.

            "No! I want to help, Jack."

            He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

            We reached the lodging house where Mush was busy tending to wounds- Skittery had bandages all over his arms, legs, and back, and Blink was facedown on the bed, cringing as Mush cleaned out the gashes on his back.

            "Dat hurts, Mush!"

            "Well, if you wouldn't have gone after me with rabid lizards running around, then this wouldn't have happened, would it?"

            "No, mother."

            "Shut up, ya bum!"

            Jack looked over Mush's shoulder, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. "What happened?!"

            Mush shrugged. "Just a man-eating lizard as tall as Skittery. Nothin' big, ya know?"

            I think I definitely would've accused them of lying if those gashes on Blink's back hadn't been real. But I couldn't think of any other way that would've happened.

            "Mush, really…what happened?" I asked, sitting down and lighting up my last cigar. I seriously needed it right now.

            And Mush explained the whole thing. How they went looking for Skittery and the lizards basically hunted them down. I took one look at Skittery and knew they weren't lying- he was groaning in agony with each movement, his eyes shut tightly against the pain.

            Scratch, scratch.

            All of us looked toward the stairs at the same time. Mush had just finished both his story and Blink's bandaging, and had just helped Blink put his shirt back on over the bandages when the noise was heard.

            Then, we heard sniffing. And we knew what was coming before it even appeared in the doorway.

            There were two of them. Huge, snarling creatures that growled as they saw us, and sniffed the air heavily.

            "What do we do?" I whispered, noting that Skittery wasn't going anywhere unless he was carried.

            Blink leaned forward slowly. "We need a distraction."

            All eyes locked on Sarah, who was so ditzy that she had absolutely no idea why everyone was looking at her.

            A split second later, a screaming Sarah was shoved into the midst of the lizards and the door was slammed shut, and we all ran for the window, Mush and I each working to help Skittery out. We closed the window and lowered the fire escape, climbing down and practically running to Tibby's to warn everyone else.

            By now, the whole city seemed to have noticed. The lizards were slowly sneaking into buildings and attacking people, and there seemed to be no place that you could go where they wouldn't be.

            "Specs!" Dutchy yelled as Specs suddenly turned and started running in a different direction. Specs turned around and stopped, and he and Dutchy argued shortly- a first that I'd seen, at least. Then Specs turned around and shouted, "We's going ta check on Spot in Brooklyn! Go on ta Tibby's! We'll meet ya there!"

            At first I wanted to object, but Jack grabbed my shoulder and pulled me onward. I didn't want to have them out here alone, but Jack leaned over and whispered, "Dey can take care of themselves. We need ta get ta Tibby's and start boarding up windows. We'll need all da help we can get, and Brooklyn will take care of dem."

Specs

            I tried to convince him not to come. I didn't want to have anyone else in danger because of me. But I also knew that if I didn't just let him come, he'd follow me anyway, and that could be more dangerous.

            The entire city was buzzing about the 'mutant lizards'. People were sitting in their carriages holding guns, families were boarding up their windows and doors, workplaces were closing, and policeman were frantically searching out and shooting any creatures they found. But there were just too many.

            We spotted a Brooklyn newsie just across the bridge, sitting by the side of the road with a stack of unsold papers beside him.

            "Where's Spot?" I asked as we approached, and he shot us a glare.

            "Who's askin'?"

            "We're from Manhattan. We're here on behalf of Jack Kelly."

            The boy hesitated, arching an eyebrow at the mention of Jack Kelly. "Spot's at the docks."

            I threw him a nickel for the information and we headed for the docks, but it would take a few minutes to get there. And things were in the same condition here, if not worse.

            But we didn't quite make it to the docks.

            And I thought those little lizards were bad.

            I stopped in the middle of the street, hearing lots of screams and suddenly realizing that the street was rhythmically shaking. I took one look at Dutchy's panicked face, and I realized that something was behind me. Something that I probably didn't want to see. But I could already feel hot breath on my back.

            "Specs…don't…move." Dutchy whispered. "I don't think it can see you if you don't move."

            It seemed like an eternity that I stood there, but then a shadow fell over me- a shadow in the shape of a three-toed foot- and Dutchy grabbed my arm. "GO!" he screamed, and we both took off running.

            A roar filled the air, and I stumbled at the sheer volume of the cry. It was so loud that the ground seemed to tremble under my feet, and we turned a sharp corner, but it was still right behind us. And I still hadn't seen it.

            As I looked over my shoulder, I wished I'd never seen it.

            It was as tall as the buildings around us. Its feet were the size of carriages, and it had tiny arms, but a mouth that could've swallowed a horse. Oh, and its teeth? The size of my hand. Yep. One tooth.

            "Let's split up!" I yelled, and Dutchy dived under a nearby carriage and I went to the other side of the street, ducking into a doorway. The streets were practically deserted with this thing running around.

            I watched in horror as the monster went straight after Dutchy, crunching its teeth down on the carriage. Dutchy laid underneath, unable to see what was going on above him but obviously hearing it, because he looked terrified.

            At first I thought Dutchy had the right idea- it looked as if the creature couldn't get to him. Then, the huge lizard lifted up one of its monstrous feet…and slammed it down onto the carriage, smashing it into the ground- and onto Dutchy- as it gutted the interior.

            "DUTCHY!!!" I screamed, sure that I had just watched him die. I felt a sob rise in my throat as I made what would be most likely my last bad decision ever- but Dutchy wouldn't be there to chew me out for it anyway. So what did it matter?

            "Hey! Hey, you! Over here!" I yelled, running out into the street and waving my arms in the air. Its immense head swung and it focused in on me, and in half a second, I was running once again.

            I looked around frantically for anything, anything at all that I could use as a weapon, but I'm not as inventive as Jack. And that thing was gonna catch up to me anytime now.

            But did I really care? I mean, for God's sake, Dutchy was probably dead. Which meant that my reason for living was gone. Hell, if it weren't for Dutchy, I would probably be dead right now anyway.

            So it was only fitting that I die with him. After all, it was my fault he was dead.

            I turned around, spreading my arms out and waiting for the thing to catch up. "Come and get me, ya bastard." I hissed, lifting my head to watch my own demise come straight at me.

            Suddenly a figure appeared in front of me, and as the monster leaned over and chomped down, time seemed to stand still.

            There was Spot, almost inside the creature's mouth. And in his hands, a huge javelin of wood which the lizard had bit down on- now driven up through its skull from the force of its own bite. Its own strength had gotten it killed.

            "Bite me." Spot dared as the monster spasmed and started to fall. He let go of the wood and the creature fell over, the wood having been driven straight up through its brain. Spot turned around, the same cocky smile on his face that he always wore. "Nevah fear, Brooklyn is here!"

            I didn't even bother to thank him. I ran around him, back the way I had come. If Dutchy was dead, then Spot didn't deserve a thank you. He should've just let the thing eat me.

            "Specs? Whatssa mattah, huh? I jest saved your ass, ya bum!" Spot yelled, obviously not used to people ignoring him. Especially not after all that. I ran back to the carriage, falling to my knees beside it and trying to pull up. I didn't even realize I was crying until I saw tears landing on the crushed wood.

            Spot leaned down beside me, his voice suddenly turning to be calm and soothing. "Now, hang on. I'll lift it up, and you pull him out. On da count of three, okay?"

            I couldn't concentrate. He grabbed onto my arm, his voice still warm but stern. "Ya listen ta me. He's alive, and we're gonna get him out. You jest do what I tell ya, okay?"

            I nodded and he grabbed onto the carriage. "1…2…3!"

            He lifted up and it came up just enough for me to reach underneath, and I felt fabric and pulled. I grabbed onto Dutchy's shoulders, pulling him out and turning him over onto his back, laying him on the rough cobblestones.

            And then, he opened his eyes.

            "Dutchy!" I gasped, pulling him up and into my arms. He returned the hug, and for at least a minute, I wanted nothing more than to sit there in the street, holding him close to me and making sure nothing ever happened to him again.

            "I thought you was dead!" I choked out between sobs.

            "I's right here, Specs…I ain't leavin'. You's okay." He said, rocking me back and forth gently.

            After a few more seconds, I guess Spot couldn't stand it any longer. "As soon as you two have set da weddin' date, I think we bettah get back ta Manhattan. Dose lizards is all over, and I need ta talk ta Jack."

            "Are you okay?" I asked Dutchy as I helped him stand up.

            "Yeah, just bruised."

            "Are you sure?"

            "Yes! Let's go, Specs…I'm fine."

            "You're certain?"

            He gave me an annoyed look, but couldn't hold it for long and just laughed as we started off toward Manhattan, the streets beginning to come alive again with policeman and disheveled citizens.

                                                                                                                                                           

AN: Review, please! Feed my addiction!