It took minutes to reach the top, and before they had the chance, both Ethan and Teacher Dex felt the effects of the last command. The ladder rocked and shook under them as they tried to keep climbing. The barrage of attacks had intensified by a hundred dinosaurs, and all Ethan could think about was telling those at the top what was happening. His lungs felt as if they were tearing, his thigh muscles screamed, but he climbed that height for the third time that day.

He heard the kids before he saw them: cries and screams piercing his sensitive ears. And then he had to try to weave in and out of them. They were glued tightly to the railings of either side, the increased barrage of thwacks making their position far more perilous than earlier. Somehow, Ethan, with Teacher Dex a step behind, had to squeeze through the limited space in the middle. They dodged and squeezed as the ladder beneath their feet quaked and jerked. Several times, Ethan fell face first into the steps, kids or the tree trunk, but that was far better than the times he wavered over empty space as he stumbled backwards. Fortunately, Teacher Dex was keeping up and managed to catch him by the t-shirt and push him forward, just in time to stop Sienna.

Sienna didn't notice when Ethan and Teacher Dex pushed through the crowd of kids to see what was happening. Neither had anyone else. They were all distracted by the scene in front of them.

Principal Laura and Sienna had arrived up the top of the stairs, just as the battereing had escalated. Students who were just getting okay with the almost rhythmic thump had maybe relaxed a little too much. One small boy had been doing a little dancey-jig. Then the intensified pounding started and the metal step below him had tilted sharply, toppling him over the side. He had been lucky to be caught by a branch not too far below. The teachers were now down at that level, trying to get him back across to safety, but his position on the branch was just too far away from the ladder to do anything much. They had tried dropping a rope down to him, but the boy hung onto the tree branch too tightly to even slip the loop over his head. That probably wasn't a bad thing. Every wallop against the tree caused the branch to jerk. With such a constant barrage, a tight grip was the only thing keeping him from falling again.

With little else to do, Sienna had climbed upwards so that she was standing on a step that was directly above the boy.

The teachers were trying to sooth him with calming words, but it wasn't working. Everytime the tree shuddered - so more than once a second - their voices squeaked or grunted.

The branch wasn't too far below Sienna's step - just a little bit higher than Sienna was tall…

"Don't you even think about it." Teacher Dex's voice startled her. He was panting almost as hard as Ethan was. "You two seem to think you're heroes. But you're kids. So no more heading down to the dinosaurs." He looked at Ethan. "And definitely no jumping down to a branch below." That one was directed at Sienna.

Sienna felt her face burn. That was exactly what she had been thinking. But wasn't that what people did? In all the clips she had seen, people did brave things to help each other.

"Now, you." Teacher Dex turned to Ethan. "What is this?"

Ethan was bent double trying to catch his breath but managed to answer: "a stampede. Hundreds of dinosaurs were funnelled this way."

"So it'll be over soon?" Sienna asked. Ethan shrugged, but the thuds did seem to lessen and then disappear. There was an occasional thud, but nothing so serious as before.

"Do you think they can make that happen again?" Teacher Dex looked at Ethan.

He shrugged again. "I only hear what they say. And only when I'm close."

Teachers Dex looked down at the boy below, and the rope that was still attached to the railing.

"Na-ah," Sienna told him. "That rail might be strong enough for him, but definitely not you." Teacher Dex nodded and then scanned for a better anchor. "We already tried to find something more secure. Unless you can think of a way to get the rope all around the trunk, we're stuck with what we have."

"Too bad we don't have Dr. Santos' drone," Ethan said. "It could probably do that."

Teacher Dex looked thoughtful. "There may be a drone in one of the classrooms. But since they're on the ground, that's not much help."

"Maybe I could be your anchor," Sienna suggested. "I have really strong legs."

"Definitely not! We'd both go over!"

"So that leaves me then. I'm light enough for the railing."

"Still no." Teacher Dex wasn't giving ground on this one. "Wait. There's a rope ladder in the multi-purpose shack. Maybe we could get it between this level and the teachers."

"Great idea. Go get it!" Sienna encouraged.

"Don't even think about rescuing him yourself Sienna." He glared at her, holding her gaze. "I will not be responsible for anything bad happening to you."

"Fine," Sienna muttered. That seemed to be enough for the teacher as he disappeared back up the tree.

"Do you think it'll be safe for him to cross over to the shack?" Ethan asked.

"Gashes! Probably not." She looked at the rope hanging uselessly by them. She almost grabbed it, but now the stampede had eased, the little boy might try to use it. "You know what. I wanna stay here with him. We may still think of something. You go after Teacher."

So, leaving Sienna and the rope behind, Ethan ran once more, up the stairs, this time behind his teacher.

Ethan had been gone less than a minute when the heavier periodic pounding resumed. The boy below Sienna, who had just been brave enough to grab the rope dropped it again and started sobbing. Sienna watched him, feeling helpless. She turned her head up the stairs, but it was far too soon for Teacher Dex to return with the rope ladder. Thud. She returned her attention back to the boy. The teachers were still calling out encouraging words, stretching their arms out uselessly towards him. Thud. Crack!

This time, the sound was different. The tree jerked downwards as screams rose. The branch was now on an angle, and the little boy was slipping. Sienna couldn't wait any longer. She pulled the rope up, then slipped the loop over her head and under her arms and climbed over the railing.

"Teacher Dex told you not to do that." The voice came from one of her classmates who had been watching the whole thing.

Sienna didn't respond. She tried to find a way to lower herself down, but there wasn't enough space between the rail posts to support her weight. So, she jumped.

The branch shuddered under her weight, causing the boy to scream in panic. Sienna dug her claws into the wood to stop herself slipping, then lunged downwards to grab the boy's ankle as he slipped down the branch.

Though some of his weight was being suspended by the branch below him, the angle it was on was pulling both the boy and Sienna downwards. Reaching back with one hand, she grasped for the rope. It took a moment, but she found it and circled her wrist so the rope wrapped around it more securely. From there, she hauled on it, helping to right herself into a better position, shifting, so her bottom was wedged between the large branch and a large knot jutting from it. Allowing the rope to slide over her wrist, she found herself enough slack that she could reach down and grab the boy's knee by the jeans encasing them. She guided it into a position so that it was propped around the branch, his ankle snagged by a slender limb. This gave Sienna the time she needed to let out more slack to reach further and hook her fingers into the waistband of his pants. From this position, using every muscle in her body, she drew him towards her so he was almost sitting on her knot himself. Sienna wrapped her arms around him, shifting him those last inches, when bang. The tree juddered again. The branch beneath them snapped and the two of them dropped.