(A/N: Sorry folks, too much info to put for the descriptions. Just know that Matt, Glenn, and Robert, all wear glasses, and that Glenn is the only adult. And no, Carl's name is not from the movie Karl. I actually know a kid named Carl, and put his name in before I remembered that there was already a Karl/Carl in Dinotopia.)

Dinotopia: Found

Chapter 2

Carl had taken the evening watch, mostly because he was almost too scared to sleep. He was supposed to be fourteen, yes, but being in a place that had man-eating creatures in it probably gave someone that right to be scared. Carl watched as everyone else fell asleep, all cradling their guns like they were a part of them. Well, they would have to be if they were going to live. Carl looked around. The embers of the fire were just dying down, and soon, the entire clearing would be pitch black. The trees around the temple and the river stretched so high that they filled in blank spots where there was supposed to be night sky. Running his hand through his buzz cut hair, Carl wondered what on Earth he'd done to deserve this. Nothing, that's what. Not a single damn thing in hell. None of them had, but Ryan was dead and burned. Now Carl saw that it had been the right choice. If they hadn't burned Ryan's body, then predators would have come upon it, and then they couldn't go back to the beach for more ammo. Standing up, Carl did a 180 to make sure everything was OK. Just as he was about to sit down again, he froze. His green eyes widened as he saw what was happening in front of him. A Raptor had crept up to Matt and was sniffing at him, poking him, almost like it was examining him. Panicking, Carl dropped his AK, instead falling to one knee and fumbling with his Sig Sauer automatic pistol, which was in place of his handgun. Before he managed to take a bead, he fired two shots. Both missed, he knew it, but it was enough to scare off the Raptor. It quickly straightened up, saw him, blinked, then wheeled around and was gone. Recollecting his thoughts, Carl fired all the shots left in his Sig, even after the Raptor had disappeared. Everyone was on his feet now, guns at the ready, looking for the disturbance. But it was already gone. As Carl related his story, Matt frowned, turning and looking into the dark bushes. He wasn't sure, but could've sworn he saw a pair of eyes staring back at him. He didn't raise his gun, but he didn't let the others know, either. He just stared. Slowly, he nodded, not sure what he was permitting. The eyes disappeared. Matt knew that if he never saw them again, it would be too soon.

Quick Killer had been revisiting the camp as often as she could, but it was more difficult now. The humans, starting to adapt to the wilderness they were living in, had started to stay up sooner, sleep only until dawn, and go out on patrols of two or three to explore the jungle. But the most dangerous thing of all for her was that they had increased the guard. Now, two of them sat back to back, watching the jungle. The watch changed every six hours or so. Well, the boys couldn't really tell how long an hour was, having discarded their watches and cell phones on the beach, so they made estimates from the sun. After being fed up with no sun or stars, one of the boys had pulled a shotgun, climbed up one of the trees, and blasted the canopy, exposing the sky. Bad move, as it turned out. As well as exposing the sky, they also let in the rain, and more importantly, predators. Flying creatures, ones that Mat identified as Rhamphoryncus, would sometimes swoop in. They weren't very big, and they were ignored for a while. That is, until one day when one of them flew down and took a chunk out of Sean's arm. That one had been blasted by Alec's rifle. Now, they were blasted as soon as they came below the tree line. Ralphy, the boy who had blasted the hole, had gotten many dirty looks from the others, as well as a punch from Sean's good arm. Now, just about everyone was on alert. After about a week, everyone's trigger fingers were practically permanently curled, and they never strayed too far from one of their guns. Whether it was handgun, rifle, automatic, or shotgun, they'd all developed favorites. For example, Eric had barely been able to handle anything bigger than a 12-gauge shotgun, which, if you didn't know, is a pretty moderately powerful shotgun. However, he'd swapped with Alec, who'd been using his .306 magnum rifle more often than any other gun. Now, Eric had a double barreled 8 gauge, one of the most powerful shotguns in the world, and he could handle it like nothing. They'd all gotten used to the ringing in their ears when they fired, and their guns had grown on them like extra limbs. Sean, during his injured state, had swapped handguns with Carl, and now used the Sig more often than anything else. But, it wasn't like a handgun would be able to do much against most of the predators in this jungle. Matt knew that every horror story that had dinosaurs always had predators like Raptors and T. Rex. So, why hadn't they met anything bigger?

Quick Killer and the rest of her pack had found a small convoy. It wasn't much, just a young Brachiosaur and a few Styracosaurs. But, all convoys held smoked fish, which meant food. Ever since the strange humans had come into the jungle, it had become harder and harder to hunt. It wasn't too unusual for one of the hunting parties to run into one of their patrols. Over the past few weeks, the pack had lost two more Raptors. They were now down to about ten, Quick Killer and Two-Moons included. The Raptors had resorted to stealing from the humans while they weren't looking, picking at the carcasses of shot animals. They would've done fishing, but they weren't built for it. Not only that, but the humans were now blasting the water, getting fish, and eating them. Now, it was almost like this convoy was a blessing. The convoy leader had panicked and ordered the fish to be dropped as soon as the Raptors had been seen. Seeing the way all of them fell onto the fish with such enthusiasm and need, the Protoceratops translator, a young specimen named Berhuam, became curious, and asked them why they were so hungry. After Two-Moons explained their situation, Berhuam became even more curious.

"Newcomers in the Rainy Basin? For a little over a month? How is that possible? How could they survive?" asked the convoy leader, a young man named Tristan Proudfoot.

"Apparently, they have some weapons, but what they are, I don't think I can tell you." replied the Protoceratops, looking back at the feeding Raptors. "The Newcomers killed three of their pack, and are now hunting for food in the Rainy Basin. No wonder the Raptors are starving."

"What's this?"

The question was practically yelled through the town, as the news that Tristan and Berhuam provided spread quickly. Even more surprising was the fact that two Raptors had been brought out of the Rainy Basin. Quick Killer and Two-Moons had accompanied the convoy over the bridge to give more information to the matriarch of Treetown, a girl named Patilla, daughter of Norah, the previous matriarch of Treetown. Patilla had very little experience in these kinds of matters, but she knew she had to do her best. As Two-Moons and Quick Killer gave the location of their nesting grounds, then their hunting area, then, finally, the Newcomers' camp, Patilla found that the Newcomers were camped out near the largest group of ruins, known simply as the Temple Ruins. It was about two miles off the usual route the convoys took between Treetown and Waterfall City. Easily accessible. If only it would all be that easy.

Matt crept forward, clutching his Thompson. They'd been running low on food for some time, and Glenn had authorized a hunting trip. They'd drawn straws, and Ralphy and been allowed to stay back at the campsite. Now, the hunter was about to become the hunted. An Allosaur lay in the middle of the clearing in front of him. It had been about a month since they'd been stranded on this green hell, and they were finally starting to succeed. In the brush around the Allosaur, the other members of the hunting party got into position. All they had to do was wait for the signal, and they would all pounce. Matt licked his lips in anticipation of fresh meat. The stuff that they'd been eating lately had started to rot. When Eric had thrown up just by smelling the meat, they knew they had to throw it out. Glenn had also been sending some boys out to fetch some plants as well. They'd tested whether or not they were poisonous by setting traps for little mammals. They were actually beaver sized squirrels, but they worked. The most common plant the boys ate was a sort of root that tasted a little like apples and lemons mixed together. It was kind of sour and bitter when eaten raw, but actually tasted very good when boiled. Matt began to draw a bead on the Allosaur with his Thompson. What was taking so long? And then the signal, which came in the form of some automatic gunfire from the bushes right in front of the Allosaur. Immediately, Glenn's voice pierced the jungle.

"FLANKERS OUT! GO! GO! GO!"

The 'flankers' consisted of Eric, who had mercifully recovered from his encounter with the rotting meat, Sean, Scott, and Robert all armed with shotguns coming out and blasting vital parts of the Allosaur's legs. Two to a leg, they shot tendons and bones, until finally the predator couldn't rise from the ground.

"ALL RIGHT! GO!" came Glenn's voice again, and everyone else burst from the bushes, all firing at the Allosaur's head and belly.

Matt ran right up to the carnivore's face and put a few rounds into its eye. Big mistake. The Allosaur jerked its head up, knocking Matt back down, then tried to swing its head over to take a bite out of Matt. However, Glenn, thankfully, put a few rounds from the Uzi into the back of its throat. The dinosaur roared in pain as more shot started to penetrate the thick skin.

"CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE!" shouted Glenn, waving to get the boys' attention.

Immediately, the gunfire stopped, and they all watched as the Allosaur struggled to take a few wheezy breaths, still alive, but dying. Glenn turned to Carl, who had his Ak-47 trained on the dinosaur's head.

"Carl, put it out of its misery." Glenn ordered his son.

Carl had been experimenting with different 'chemicals' and how unstable they were, so it wasn't a surprise if an explosion ripped through the jungle once in a while. Slinging his AK over his shoulder, Carl pulled out a bottle of whiskey that had been on the boat. Pulling the stopper out, he shoved a rag into the neck, shaking it a bit as he did so. The smell of the liquor quickly joined those of the clearing as the rag soaked up the liquid. Taking a match out, Carl struck it once, twice, then smiled as it lit. Putting the match to the rag, Carl quickly dropped it, then stomped it out as the cloth caught fire. Glenn nodded, and Alec put another bullet into the dinosaur's belly from his rifle, which made the carnivore open its mouth to moan. Carl rushed forward, tossed the bottle in, then pulled out his handgun, a Colt revolver, and shot the bottle from further back. There was a muffled BOOM as the bottle exploded, and fire came out of the Allosaur mouth, nostrils and eyes. It let out one final breath, then collapsed to the ground. Matt walked up slowly, poked it with his gun, then put a few rounds into its head via the eye socket. When the dinosaur did not move, he gave the thumbs up. Everyone cheered as Glenn, Carl and Blake stepped forward and pried open the mouth. Scorch marks were everywhere along the inside of the mouth of the predator, and the tongue was no more. Eric, Robert, and Scott stepped forward and debated for a moment before all grasping a single tooth and pulling. The knife-like incisor came out with a sharp crack! as it snapped. Collecting teeth was how the boys counted how many kills they had made. Moving around to the ribs, everyone started pulling the meat off, ignoring the blood that splattered their hands and clothes. There was going to be a feast that night.

Back at the campsite, Ralphy was huddling in the temple, aiming his rifle out the door. Their campsite had been moved inside the temple complex, which was surrounded by a ten foot wall. With a definite barrier, everyone would be safer. Or so they thought. Ralphy had decided to explore, but hadn't found much inside the temple. A crude sort of gate had been constructed in the archway, but Ralphy doubted it could hold back much. It was simply some bones, a few pieces of wood, and some metal from the boat all tied together with vines. Ralphy was about to start thinking about what could so easily knock it down, when he heard it; a soft thump. Then again, thump. Ralphy frowned. He'd been around dinosaurs long enough to know that the sounds were too spaced to be anything like an Allosaur. Slowly, with his rifle up, he walked out into the complex and looked around. Then, hearing a noise above him, he looked up. The last thing he saw was a mouth full of teeth and a gaping throat.

Matt and the others were taking a small break on their way back. The meat was heavy, and he wondered if they should make another trip to try and get anymore of it. Alec, Scott, and Carl were making jokes about things back home. Matt smiled. All those things that seemed important back then, money, girls, video games, all seemed trivial now. That's when the scream cut through the jungle. There was silence as each boys' eyes widened when they all recognized the scream. Only one person said anything, though.

"Ralphy!" shouted Robert, dropping the meat and rushing forward.

After a quick glance, all the others did the same, rushing to find out what had happened to their friend. They arrived just in time to find Robert bursting through the gate, then being dragged down with another scream.

All the boys raised their guns as Glenn formed a quick strategy; "Half of you on the left, half on the right. I'll take center."

He said this with deadly calm, but Matt knew they were all shaken. Quickly, all the boys took up their spot and finally burst in. The first thing they did was drop their jaws. The second thing was fire. Three Raptors had gotten over the wall and had been gorging themselves on Ralphy and Robert. In six shots, plus a few bursts from the automatics, all three lay dead.

"Robert!" screamed Eric, rushing towards the body of his brother.

Everyone else simply stood and stared. That night, two more piles of ashes joined Ryan's on the jungle wind.

The next day, the deaths of Ralphy and Robert hung heavily on the air. Which of them was next? Who would make the next blunder? They all stayed in the campsite, barricading the gate with some rubble and watching the wall, guns at the ready, in case something decided to leap over. They had food, all right. The three Raptors fed them well for the few days that they stayed fortified in the compound. Not a smile was made, not a joke cracked. Everything was serious. Three dead, about a quarter of the ammunition they'd had was gone, and they were constantly running low on food. How long until they started on each other, then died altogether? No one could tell; but that didn't mean it wasn't on every mind in that camp. And one of them wasn't human.

Dragon Flyer had been watching the humans for some time, snapping up insects that flew around the camp, and getting exercise during the night when everyone but the watch was asleep. But his favorite activity was to simply sit and watch the humans from his hiding place on top of the temple. He was a Dimorphodon, and he was under orders to watch the humans for about seven days, to see what they were up to. He noticed that they ate meat, had ragged, bloody clothes, cared very little for hygiene, and always carried those weapons with them. He'd seen them in action during the Raptor ambush, and had almost flown off when he'd heard the sounds. These humans were very peculiar, and he wanted to know more about them. However, he was able to confirm that they weren't any match against a Saurian at close quarters, so they couldn't be all that strong, so what was the point? Finally, on his seventh night, when the boys were asleep and two of them were on watch, back to back, Dragon Flyer took off into the night, heading back to Treetown. Now that they had a location, they could attempt a rescue. Not only to save the humans, but also the environment that they were starting to swing out of balance.

Patilla finally put down the report that the Dimorphodon master had put together. The news was grim. Two boys had died the other day, and now the Newcomers had settled into a gloomy mood. They had barricaded themselves inside the temple, probably out of fear of what would happen as soon as they set foot outside the fence. If they would only stay there a few more days, then the convoy that was being prepared for their rescue could get to them without endangering anyone.

Quick Killer watched as a group of armored Triceratops from Volcaneum strode through town, heading towards the bridge where two Brachiosaurs were waiting, fully grown, fully armored and fully supplied. There was food, clothing, water, and medical goods occupying one Brachiosaur, and on the other were a few healers, and a human translator. The rest of the seats in the basket were empty, seeing as how they would be carting somewhere around half a dozen boys and one adult out of the Rainy Basin. Also, sent by Captain Oonu from Canyon City were four Skybax and their riders. This rescue mission meant a lot, as all the major cities of Dinotopia had put a little bit of effort into helping out. Just as the rescue convoy was about to head towards the bridge, there came a shout from the edge of town; Mayor Waldo and his family, as well as the famous Scott family, had been spotted heading towards the town! Excitement rose as rumors, guesses and questions flew. Finally, the Mayor and Co. came into sight and progressed through the trees and barns that made up the town. Mayor Waldo stood up upon seeing the rescue convoy, a grim and concerned look on his face. Marion and Rosemary both had to try their hardest to prevent him from slipping out of the basket. Patilla led them towards the highest tree near the bridge, the lookout station. Once the Mayor, his family, and the Scotts had managed to get up, they saw just how big the crowd was.

"Christ, exactly how many people are we rescuing?" exclaimed Frank.

"I dunno, but however many, there can't possible be THIS many. Hey! 26!"

Karl had been having some trouble with the mischievous little Chasmosaur over the past two years as she began to become more curious of her surroundings.

"Relax, boys," said Rosemary, looking back as 26 tripped Karl by running around his legs. "There are only about half a dozen Newcomers to rescue, but it will be a stupendous occasion! Two groups of Newcomers in such short time. First you, then them. You unlocked the way to the World Beneath, so who knows what these Newcomers will accomplish?"

Patella started waving a flag, a signal for the crowd to quiet down. Mayor Waldo stepped up to the railing and said, in his loudest voice that wasn't quite a yell, "Friends! Families! Citizens of Dinotopia! We are gathered here to make the attempted rescue of a group of Newcomers. They are not Dolphinbacks, we know that for sure, because no dolphin would bring a survivor halfway down the Polongo River, then leave him there! So, we do hope that you all can make our guests, and soon to be neighbors, feel as welcome as possible!"

A cheer rose up, and then Waldo nodded to Patella, who yelled "Lower the bridge!" As the rescue convoy stepped onto the structure, the cheers died down almost instantly as loud noises rose from the Rainy Basin; faint screams, roars, and strange sound, almost like fireworks. The rescue convoy hesitated, and then surged forward at full speed.