Chapter Fifteen
About half way up the mountain, Calvin and Hobbes had walked right into the middle of an area with white clouds over the ground.
There were tar pits everywhere, and the white cloud was obviously carbon dioxide.
Calvin turned a grin onto Hobbes.
"See, Hobbes?" Calvin told him over the radio. "I am prepared for anything!"
Hobbes gave him a bewildered stare, and didn't answer.
"However..." Calvin said. "We had better hurry up, and get out of here."
"Why?" Hobbes asked. "How much oxygen is in this helmet?"
"It's not air, we need to worry about, Hobbes." Calvin said. "when dinosaurs roam into clouds of this stuff, they suffocate, and die. This is the perfect feeding ground for predators."
Hobbes blinked
"Calvin, the predators would suffocate too." Hobbes said.
Calvin turned a stare onto Hobbes.
"I'm talking about predators that can stand above the carbon dioxide clouds." He said, darkly.
Hobbes licked his lips, and hurriedly caught up with Calvin.
They continued walking up the mountain.
"Worst of all." Calvin said. "My MTM doesn't work in non oxygen environments. Which means we're perfect, unarmed targets for anything around us."
Hobbes turned a sharp glare onto Calvin.
"Would you please shut up?" Hobbes asked. "Any more bad news, and I'm turning my radio off."
Calvin and Hobbes continued walking through the deadly mist.
Finally, after much climbing, they reached the summit of the mountain, and they could see out for miles.
"ALRIGHT!" Calvin said. "Hobbes, there's the lake! And I see a herd of... something over there. Let's go check it out!"
Calvin looked downward to what he and Hobbes were about to climb down.
His grin faded.
"Oops." He said.
Hobbes' eyes shot at Calvin like bullets.
"What do you mean, 'oops'? What did you do now?"
Calvin pointed downward.
Hobbes looked down.
He saw, uh, a rock slide, several steep cliffs, and more tar pits with carbon dioxide.
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Hobbes yelled.
They stared at the way down, for several minutes.
"Well," Calvin said, finally. "We better go, now."
"It's steep."
"Yes, it is."
"It's dangerous."
"Perhaps a smidgin."
"It's jeopardizing my physical health and well being."
"Oh quit being such a weenie." Calvin said. "We'll be fine"
"I'll bet."
Calvin and Hobbes slowly started down the mountain.
Calvin propped his foot against a rock, and turned to Hobbes.
"OK, Hobbes," He said. "Let's make sure we don't step on any loose rocks. It might cause a rock slide."
"Of corse."
Calvin and Hobbes slowly climbed downward, avoiding the tar pits, and trying to step on sturdy rocks.
Some of the rocks were pretty big, though.
And every now and again, Calvin and Hobbes got blocked, and had to find another safe route to go down.
However things got better.
The tar pits ended, and the carbon dioxide got thinner.
However, Calvin and Hobbes kept their suits on, just in case.
After about twenty minutes of climbing, Calvin and Hobbes paused for a breather.
"How much further?" Calvin gasped.
"I'd say about two miles to the next three inch long stretch of grass before the rock slide continues." Hobbes said.
Calvin continued panting.
"Hobbes, this is ridiculous."
"I could have told you that."
"I'm completely out of energy! I can't go downward for another two miles!"
"Uh huh."
"Do you think we could make it a little farther, though?"
"No idea."
"Me too. Well, we might at well try and continue our march, what do you say?"
"Uh huh. There's a raptor staring at us."
"Exactly." Calvin said. "This is a totally insane quest and... what did you just say?"
"When?"
"Right now, you tuna!"
"Well, let me think here. I don't remember."
"Think Hobbes! Rummage through your record of memories, and pull out the answer!"
"Well, OK. Let me think here."
He thought.
Calvin stood there, waiting impatiently.
"Something about birds." Calvin said.
"Birds. birds. Birds? Birds. Birds! Birds?"
"Predatory birds."
"Predatory birds... hmmm."
"Raptors."
"Raptors? Hmmm. Oh yeah, now I remember. There's a raptor standing on that rock behind you. He's staring at us. And I think he's going to eat us for supper."
Calvin stared at Hobbes.
He didn't know if he laugh or give Hobbes a tongue lashing for interrupting him.
He decided on the tongue lashing.
"Hobbes, did your mother ever tell you that it's rude and uncouth to butt into other people's lectures?"
"Yes. But you weren't..."
"Let me finish." Calvin said. "First of all, raptors do not come onto rock slides, Hobbes. They stay in wide open terrain where they can run their prey down, more easily."
"Yeah but..."
"Shut up. Second of all, at this time of day, the raptors would be eating lunch,not supper. So your testimony already has another leak!"
"Calvin, they're getting closer."
"Shut up. I'm not finished. And third of all, you said, raptor. not raptors. Hobbes, raptors roam in packs. therefore, following simple logic, one would say the plural of raptor, and thus acquire a true statement. Do you see a whole bunch of raptors or just one?"
"No, there's just two. and they're getting closer."
"So there you have it." Calvin said. "You are hallucinating and seeing things, and now we can move on."
"But Calvin..."
"Hush."
Calvin and Hobbes continued down the rock slide.
Hobbes was moaning and groaning, but Calvin ignored him.
It was then that Calvin became aware that Hobbes was walking heavier than usual.
It sounded like there were three people behind Calvin instead of one.
It started getting annoying.
"Good grief, Hobbes! Pick up your feet!" Calvin yelled.
"Calvin..." Hobbes whimpered.
"I don't want any excuses." Calvin said. "Just walk."
They continued walking.
Calvin still heard three sets of footsteps.
Calvin stopped.
The footsteps stopped.
"Hobbes, your still not picking up your feet."
"Calvin!" Hobbes whispered.
"Shush. continuing our march."
They continued walking.
Hobbes was still shuffling his feet.
Calvin stopped.
Hobbes stopped.
The heavy footsteps continued. Then stopped.
Calvin rolled his eyes around.
"Hmmm, Hobbes. I'm beginning to pick up those footsteps you mentioned."
"Yeah. They're raptors. And they're still following us."
"There are no raptors, Hobbes. The so called raptors were a figment of your imagin..."
"CALVIN!" Hobbes yelled, nervously.
"What?"
"Look behind you!"
"Fine, I'll look behind my shoulder, and thus prove..."
HUH!
Hobbes was standing in the middle of a rock.
Behind him were... uh... raptor resembling creatures.
They looked somewhat like raptors.
A lot like raptors, actually and...
Sharp teeth?
The raptor like creatures had pretty sharp teeth and...
A moon shaped claw on the end of each foot.
Huh.
Calvin's eye went from one raptor like creature to the other.
Then his eyes fixed on Hobbes.
"Hobbes," He whispered. "I don't want to alarm you, but I think we've stumbled into a nest of raptors."
"I know." Hobbes said. "That's what I said. But you said raptors didn't come onto rock slides."
"I never said that, Hobbes." Calvin said. "I was misquoted. What I really meant was, uh, Hobbes, those teeth are pretty sharp, and I'm beginning to feel my second wind, how about you?"
"Yes."
"How fast do you think we can run on these rocks?"
"Fast."
"So do I. I'll see you at the bottom of the hill, Hobbes."
There was a blur of orange, and Hobbes vanished.
And Calvin thought that was a pretty good idea, so he followed.
The raptors started screeching, and then took off at a dead run after Calvin and Hobbes, their moon shaped claws ready for tearing.
However, just then, Hobbes leaped onto a rather large rock, causing it to come loose, and...
All at once, the deadly, bloodthirsty dinosaur carnivores had become the least of Calvin and Hobbes' troubles.
