Chapter 11: Military Intervention
Audrey rested her head against the window, looking down to the activity below. Dinosaurs were being herded into mobile cages, people being given first aid. Faren was against the other window, their eye on the bridge. Before finding this quiet corner on the top floor they had checked this end of the bridge to make sure the block was secure. It didn't stop them keeping an eye out just in case the creature that they had left on the second floor didn't find its way across.
"I just can't believe how long it took for the rescue teams to arrive." When Audrey had returned to the building to pick up the doctor and their colleagues, she had been met by a small army of people in dark clothes securing the area.
"The official reason is that it takes time to gather people with the right security clearance and the equipment they need for a rescue."
Audrey turned her head, leaving it still against the glass, to look at them. "And unofficially?"
"I suspect they wait for whoever is going to die to die."
"But everything in this building is designed to save lives during an attack. Over and above security clearances."
"Otherwise they wouldn't be able to open their doors. But once the attack has started, witnesses and injured parties talk."
"They made me sign an NDA before they let me in."
"I'm surprised they let you in at all."
"I was able to convince them there was no where else for me to go. The nearest town from here is about two hours away."
"I hope they don't work out who let you in. They'll be lucky to lose their jobs for that."
Audrey sighed. There were reasons she would never work for a company like this. Sure she signed NDAs all the time with her clients, but she was always the one in charge of security.
"What's the plan for the morning?" Faren asked, switching had already had a quick rundown of what each other had gone through. Dr. Santos had been thrilled to learn that the children had made it out of the compound.
"We gear up and head to the tunnel exit. We track them from there."
"Will it be that easy?"
Audrey barked a single laugh. "Not remotely. They will be a good four hours ahead of us, assuming they stopped with time to set up camp before dark. The trail will be hard to follow having let it sit overnight. And it'll be over rough terrain. Any chance you all stuck trackers in them?"
"Of course. But they have limited range. The kids were always in the building. We'll have to get at least within a kilometre for them to function."
"So it'll be old school?" She never minded a bit of methodical tracking.
"I do have a hoverdrone."
"Bring it." They continued watching out the windows for a while. "What do you think they plan to do with those creatures?" Audrey asked finally. So far there had been no sign of them being brought out to the vehicles.
"Who knows?" Faren frowned. "Is it wrong to hope they exterminate them? I don't think I want to return to working here knowing they are under my feet waiting to escape."
"You plan to return to working here?" Audrey was genuinely curious. "I would have thought that after today it wouldn't be possible."
"I can do good work here." Faren frowned, staring into the night. "But I guess it does depend on how the next few days go. The kids running away on their own leaves me blameless." Faren gently bit their lip. "At least according to the company." They shook their head. "I really hope they're alright."
"I hope so too." Audrey rested a hand on their shoulder. She didn't add how unlikely that would be. The wilds was no place for kids to survive long. "You know, we should rest. We have no idea when the next good night's sleep will be."
Torn between seeing the creatures loaded up and knowing Audrey was correct, Faren finally let her lead him to the sleeping quarters where they turned in for the night.
Faren Santos stalked purposefully down the corridor the following morning, Audrey beside him. The faint glow of false dawn glowed subtly through the front windows as they approached. "Let me do the talking."
Audrey shrugged and grabbed the handle to pull the door open. Immediately a figure in black stepped forward, baring their path.
"Off for an early stroll?" she asked. The question was friendly, the machine gun resting in her arms was not.
"My name is Dr. Santos." They ignored Audrey's wince at them using their real name and hoped the soldier hadn't noticed. "I believe one of my projects escaped the compound. We wanted to go after them."
"No-one in or out. Don't worry, doctor. We have an inventory of all the creatures to be found. We'll bring them in for you."
"But they're only kids." The soldier's eyebrows hit her fringe in surprise and she drew her phone out and navigated with one hand, the other securing the weapon. They could see her scrolling through.
"I don't see any kids on here." She shrugged. "Sorry."
"They wouldn't be marked down as kids." They had trouble keeping the frustration from their voice. Somehow, they had to explain without breaking their own NDA. It was a secret project too. This place was filled with them. "But they are … juvenile" they selected a word that would make it seem like they was talking about dinosaurs not humans. "They are out there all alone."
"I'm sorry, doctor," she shrugged again. "Someone will find them soon enough." Blood and guts! Maybe they should have impressed on her that they were human kids. But if she told anyone they'd have the security team after them next and they wouldn't be treated any more kindly than the dinosaurs they'd spent the night shoving into cages. "Just sit tight, doctor. Mr. Woo will be arriving mid-morning to speak to you all. You will be able to leave after that."
Faren shook their head. Mid-morning will be too late. They would never catch the kids with that big a lead. They turned on heel to look at Audrey. "Let's go." And together they headed away from the exit.
"Now what?" Audrey asked as the door swung closed behind them. "You know we can't wait that long."
"I do. We're still leaving. Come on." They trotted quickly down the corridor. "This building is almost identical to the other one, and I spent a lot of time learning all the tricks in the other one yesterday. So we're going to take an emergency tunnel out."
Audrey pulled to a stop. Faren paused with her. "I see some problems with this plan." She said. "First of all, the emergency is over, so all the doors are back on standard operating controls. And secondly, even if we do get out, we will need a jeep. If we're going to catch up to them we're going to have to go fast."
"I was thinking about that last night," Faren barely slept with all the thoughts running through their head. "You said they would be going over rough terrain. We're going to need something smaller than a jeep. Something light enough to throw over our shoulders if we have to hike through denser forest. I'm thinking we take bikes."
"Where are we going to get bikes from? I can't imagine many of the people here ride to work across dinosaur infested land."
"True."
"Wait," she cut him off. "Do you mean dirt bikes or mountain bikes? I think speed would be a pretty important factor when racing away from a t-rex. But you can't throw a dirt bike over your shoulder."
"Also true. But we have genius hour here at dINo-Gen. Many of the scientists have passion projects that they work on and one Dr. Satler has been building an electric bike. As fast as a motorcycle, as light as a push bike."
"And this Dr. Satler is just going to give it to us?"
"Well," Faren didn't love this part of the plan. "We're going to have to steal them."
"Them? So there's more than one? That's good. Where are they kept?"
"That's the easy part. Satler keeps them in the emergency tunnel. Apparently it's perfect for test runs."
"The emergency tunnel that was filled with stenonychosauri just a few hours ago?"
"Yeah. That one. But the emergency crew will have cleared them all out by now. You did tell them the gate was open." Audrey had risked the soldiers finding the kid's footprints by revealing that fact, but Faren had to respect that she had told them so they would be aware of all the dangers.
"Are you still able to check that?"
Faren shook their head. "No. The map application removed itself from my phone the second the emergency was declared over."
"Well, let's just hope they got them all. Or if they missed something it was a stenonychosaurus - their bioluminescence makes them real easy to spot." She shivered.
"I'm sure they got all the creatures." Faren assured her, guessing what had made her shiver. "And none of them even reached the outer tunnels."
"Yeah, yeah." She ran her fingers through her short hair. "I had hoped to pack the jeep full of equipment. I guess we're going to have to manage with what we have in our packs." She started walking in the direction they had been heading. "You coming?" she asked over her shoulder. Faren hurried after her.
Chapter 12: Hot on the Trail
Getting into the outer emergency tunnel had required a bolt-key, which fortunately Faren still had in their pocket. Other than that they had managed to get out to the tunnel entrance without any trouble. The bikes were where Faren had remembered and started without trouble. They had been on charge which they took to be a good sign - the batteries would be full.
At the entrance to the tunnel, Audrey climbed off her bike and did her thing. In a crouched position looking at the mud.
"No luck. The soldiers have completely churned the earth here. I can't see a thing." She rested back on her haunches and looked in the direction directly away from the tunnel. "I say we start looking that way." Standing to her feet, she made her way behind the door and pushed on the palm control. The door swung shut behind them. "Ready?"
Faren confirmed they were and followed behind wheeling their bike. Audrey was walking quite slowly, studying the ground below.
"Got 'em." She stood up with a frown, and turned to face Faren. "Very strange footprints here."
"Yeah?" Although they knew she would find out the truth soon enough, they couldn't bring themself to tell her. Fortunately, she didn't push the point.
"They went this way. Looks like they have a theropod on their tail though."
Dr. Santos felt a chill. They felt responsible for everything that happened to those kids. They couldn't bear it if they were hurt. Or worse.
Audrey followed along in the direction she had indicated. Shortly after, she started laughing softly to herself.
"What?" Santos asked.
"I think they're trying to throw us off the trail. They go through puddles and over bushes… but always in a fairly straight line. "One has quite a stride." She let the comment hang in the air. "Oh! The theropod caught them here. Looks like it leapt right over the top of them - but then stumbled away from them. I wonder what could have made a five foot theropod stumble."
Faren ignored the comment, flicking a hair tie from their wrist and tying their long, black hair into a ponytail. That was better. "Did the theropod catch them up?"
"Not yet. Let's keep going."
Faren followed along behind Audrey, trusting her implicitly. They had first met when she was in charge of a field expedition they had been on. Actually, they had been studying theropods at the time. They became friends after she had saved their life when a pride of coelophysis had become aware of them watching them and had swarmed over their position. Since then, Audrey had been a source of information about every dinosaur they would bring to her attention as well as a good friend.
"Looks like they passed through a herd of maiasaurs here." She had propped her bike against a tree and now crouched and crab walked and turned about. "Here, the theropod landed heavily. Maybe knocked back by the herd?" Dr. Santos held in a sigh. "Maybe somehow the kids kicked it away." She wasn't going to let it go. But she wouldn't directly ask either. She knew how NDAs worked. They wouldn't reveal the secret unless they had too.
Audrey had continued searching the clearing. It really was interesting to watch her work. Until finally she turned on them. "Can these kids climb trees?"
"Yes. They're actually excellent climbers."
"With the foot structure I am seeing, I wonder how."
Finally, Faren released the sigh. It was time. "The toes are remarkably flexible, the claw retractable. Though she was very good at using it when climbing."
Audrey just stared at them.
"I told you they needed rescuing," Faren shrugged. They walked a fine ethical line. Helping such a company progress while planning to sabotage them if need be. Faren wasn't the final word on such decisions, but then Faren only told them what they needed to know.
"They're still kids," Audrey spoke firmly with a nod. "Let's save some kids then, shall we?" She stroked the tree she was standing next to. "They went up here."
"We have to climb through the trees?" The kids were excellent climbers. The scientists who worked with them, not so much.
"I doubt it. There should be some evidence of their passing below." She returned for her bike, then headed into the trees. "Huh. Persistent guy."
"What's that?"
"The theropod continued following them. I would have thought two failed attempts would send him after easier prey. Makes following them easier though. He's done all the hard work. We just need to follow his trail." She jumped back onto her bike.
"Wait!" Audrey put a foot down and turned to them, eyebrows raised expectantly. "It's their dino-mo-gen." She didn't ask them to continue, but they knew she would need more than that. "Dr. Tolmachev was working on a pet for them. One that would be super loyal to them, that would protect them." Faren cocked their head. "I didn't realise the kids had been introduced to it."
Audrey laughed. "By the tracks, I'd say they weren't. The kids were scared of it."
Faren nodded thoughtfully.
"At least there's a chance they're alive. If you're right. I was starting to lose hope. An animal that persistent is always a problem. But if he's their protector, they may last a day longer, yet. Come on." She settled back onto the bike seat and peddled away. Peddling wasn't strictly necessary, but it slowed battery discharge and many people found it helped them balance. Faren swung their leg over their bike and followed behind.
By late afternoon, the duo were carrying the bikes over the rocky shore of a river. The trail had left quite a story for them. The kids had bundled up the night in an old building, been rescued by their dino-mo-gen, and from then on, were accompanied by it. It pleased Faren to think that something at least was looking after them.
"Judging by the spread of these rocks a sauropod came charging through here. It's hard to see any evidence of the kids in amongst it." Faren had gotten used to Audrey knowing exactly what the kids had been up to and for how long. "Keep an eye out. I'm guessing it was a territory charge. She may still be around. Gashes, this is going to take a while." She rested her bike against a rock and dropped her pack next to it.
"Can I help?" Faren knew she would recheck any area they said was clear, but maybe they could save some time.
"Would the kids have had access to a raft?"
"If they grabbed the emergency packs at the tunnel exit. They would have been accessible because of the safety protocols."
"Great. So that means they could be floating away from us right now, but we have to check here first. Head to the tree line - where there are less rocks. Look for anything that could be footprints, broken branches. If we're lucky the sauropod will have chased them and leave a wide trail for us to follow."
The two separated, though Faren made sure Audrey was always in sight. She had said that it would be unlikely for them to encounter a dinosaur that wanted to eat them. Apparently dinosaurs living in the wild tended to hunt dinosaur prey over humans. There were always exceptions, like with the coelophyses, but she acted like she wasn't too concerned. That being said, she spent a lot of time going back over their trail and using sprays and incense to cover their passing. There had also been times when they had had to move in absolute silence - step where I step, breath when I say - moments that scared them in a different but no less intense way than running at the stenonychosaurus yesterday.
So keeping an eye on Audrey just seemed wise. They wanted her to hear if they had to yell. This came in handy. It took a while of looking at grass trying to tell if it was flattened or a muddy semicircle trying to see if it were a footprint before they found some clear evidence. Trees down was pretty obvious. "Audrey!" They called standing up to look towards her. She bent and moved a rock, before making her way over to him.
"Great. This is where the sauropod left." She searched the area. "It looks like it's following the theropod. But I can't see any evidence of the kids. Maybe the theropod is leading the sauropod away from them. Let's follow it. He should lead us back to them." Faren followed her back to the rocky beach to collect their packs and bikes before returning to follow the trail.
Following a sauropod was significantly easier than kids. They were able to ride along at a decent pace. Until Audrey pulled up. She jumped off her bike and scanned the area. "I think this is the edge of her territory. Look," she pointed to the right. "She's heading back away from the river, but see there." This time she pointed to a bush with several broken branches. "Our theropod went that way." She scratched her fingers through her hair. "He's not heading back to the beach and I still haven't seen any sign of the kids." She paused in thought. "So if he's going to stay with them, he's taking a parallel course. Either the river or the land." She thought a moment longer. "If it were the land, he'll swing out to meet them now he's away from the sauropod. I'd put money on them being on the river." She frowned. "But not their lives. Let's follow this path a little longer." This time she wheeled her bike, still hunting for clues.
Five minutes later, she called a stop again. "Still following the river. Do you have a map?"
"Real or digital?"
Audrey shook her head and Faren pulled up a map on their phone and displayed it for her. "Okay, so if we follow the theropod, we're going to have to move quite a way from the river. And then if they make it to this lake," she zoomed out so they could see the whole expanse. "We'll have to go a long way to get around it." She glanced at the watch on her wrist. "We have maybe three hours of daylight left and we'll need time to make camp… okay, so let's backtrack to here," she pointed to a spot on the river. "Where we can inflate our raft and move more swiftly. I suspect they're not racing so we should be able to gain some ground with a little effort.
"Unless they stopped along the way, we're not going to catch them today. There are a few places they'll be able to stop along the way overnight - and most sheltered by cliffs so they shouldn't have to worry about dinosaurs… I think we should be able to catch them tomorrow!" she looked up, eyes shining. "I feel good about this!" She returned to her bike and raced away. Faren had no choice. They followed.
Faren had hoped that once they were on the river, Audrey would slow the pace a little. There was no such luck. In fact, she pushed even harder. "This is our best chance to make ground on them!" Sighing, Faren grabbed their paddle and followed the instructions Audrey called out. She appeared to know what she was doing on a raft, so they dropped down when she said, and paddled how she said. After the first set of rapids which she had navigated them though nicely, they were convinced. Until she pulled up to the riverbank. "Any chance you have a rafting add-on on your map?" She asked, swigging water from her bottle.
Faren shook their head. "Sorry." Rafting wasn't exactly something Faren thought they would ever find themself doing.
"I figured. Can you get a satellite image?"
That Faren could do and moments later they were zooming in to their position on the river.
"So there's a bunch of white water ahead of us." She checked her watch. "I can't see what level it is." She rested back on the edge of the raft, her elbows on her knees. "We could risk the rapids in failing light. And to be honest, I don't know how much help my eyesight gives me. It's been a while since I rafted anything harder than a three and then I was never the most experienced." She shook her head. "We just can't risk it. There's a suitable beach near here to camp the night, we'll take the rapids in the morning."
"I trust your instinct." Faren was being genuine. They knew full well that Audrey was far more experienced than them in anything outdoors. She didn't seem to take it that way.
"If one of us falls out we could be dealing with a broken leg," she rationalised. "Or worse, we could lose the boat entirely."
As much as Faren trusted her, this caused doubt to well up in their mind. "Could that have happened to the kids?"
"I would say it is very likely," she sighed. "Did they have any training?"
"Not in rafting."
"We just have to keep moving as if they are okay. There is no point in us injuring ourselves. We won't be any use to them if that happens, right."
"You're right," Faren calmed her. They had never seen her in need of calming before. "We'll get to them as soon as we can do it safely. And I can send the drone up. Maybe we can spot them."
"That's a good idea. Okay," she shook herself bodily. "Let's find us a place to camp for the night."
Chapter 13: Camp Out
Audrey, being the guide, had insisted on setting up their camp, locating a good site. It was against a cliff wall. It had a wide rocky beach which become a decent expanse of grass before meeting a cliff wall. With dense forest on either end of the beach, they should be safe here for the night.
The water here was wide and deep with no rapids in sight. The rapids worried her. In fact everything worried her, but her primary concern at this moment, was the kids on the water. If they'd fallen out of the boat on the rapids they'd just passed, they would probably be fine, assuming they didn't hit a head on the way out. She groaned inwardly. Even without the threat of dinosaurs there were just so many things that could kill a kid out here. Even enhanced… her thoughts stepped to her background, gnawing worry - what could they possibly do with them when they arrived in the city? They would be discovered and returned instantly. For a moment, she wondered if perhaps that would be a good thing. Then she remembered the creatures. No child should be kept in that building, no matter the circumstances. She scouted upriver a way to see how accessible their sanctuary was - it would be very difficult for a person to move through the tangle, let alone a sizeable dinosaur. She'd use some of their compi sticks to keep the smaller ones away. Not yet though. She could wait until just before they opened their food. Little buggers could smell food a mile off.
Downstream was a little clearer. If they had to run that way with the raft they could. They probably wouldn't get very far… She heard a buzz behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Faren maneuvering their device and their circular drone lifting off. She knew they would have to get really lucky to catch sight of the kids with trees this thick. But sometimes luck paid off. And it kept Faren busy.
Audrey had plenty to do herself. She used fishing wire with warning bells strung periodically along it. She made sure this surrounded the entire campsite, stringing them at a distance great enough that being forewarned would make a difference. She continued securing the site.
"Do you always go to such extremes?" Faren asked her as she was sharpening several sticks. They were mostly watching their display, but clearly had noticed some of the things she'd been doing.
"You say extremes, I say precautions."
"I'm not complaining…" They coughed softly. "I guess I'm just wondering how likely it is that we might be attacked in the night. I mean, we've barely seen a dinosaur all day."
"That's what I like about you Faren. You do exactly what I say as soon as I ask. No questions asked. Which is why we haven't had any problems. I would like to keep it that way."
"Right." Tilting their head to the side, Faren caught a lock of their hair from their ponytail and rubbed it gently against their cheek. Audrey had never seen Faren play with their hair before. She would need to give them more reassurance.
"I like to plan for the worst eventualities. It helps me sleep to know that I have multiple escape routes. Otherwise I would spend all night thinking about - what if something came from…- this way I sleep better. Worth the couple of hours it takes to set everything up. And since we stopped earlier than I had planned, we may as well use the time well."
Three more strokes of hair against the cheek, then Faren flicked it away. Audrey hoped that meant she had assuaged their fears at least a little bit. She continued working.
After a while, as she was putting the finishing touches on her bolt hole, she was the one to break the silence. "Any sign of them?"
"Faren shook their head. "Just a whole lot of tree tops." Audrey came to look over their shoulder. "There's a couple of beaches - a rocky one, and a sandy one, but they're both empty." Faren looked up at her. "At least there's no sign of dinosaurs either."
Audrey almost teased them for being scared of dinosaurs when they made their living from them before remembering the creatures. Maybe her security measures this evening were a little more extreme than normal. And she hadn't been stuck inside a building with them hunting her. She shivered noticeably.
"Memories or the cold?" Faren asked. She hadn't noticed but it had started getting a little cooler. The sun was probably below the horizon by now - she never noticed the drop in light when she was working with her hands.
"How about we prepare some dinner?" She ignored the question. It was possible that Faren wanted to talk about it, but she needed them to wait for daylight for that kind of a conversation.
"No worries. What can I do?"
"Fill these with water." She held out their two boil bottles. They grabbed them and headed to the water line a good hundred metres from them. She returned to her pack to get out the compi sticks.
Having had a decent meal of soup, Audrey sent Faren to get more water to wash up with. She had moved down the beach to check on the lower border of their camp - the easier one to penetrate.
Satisfied, she turned to head back to their tent when she heard: "Sail in the water!" She swung back to view the river. Even in the low light, she could see Faren clearly bolting up the beach, but it was just that little bit dark to see past the water's edge. "Run!" Faren yelled. The edge of the water slooshed upwards followed by the elongated head of a spinosaurus.
"Gash it!" Audrey cried. "This way!" Good old Faren. Always followed her instructions immediately and this was no different. But this instruction happened to make them change direction suddenly, passing back in front of the sailed beast. It lunged at them, then paused, looking down. The bells jangled loudly before the line snapped. But it had brought Faren the extra two seconds they needed. They bolted up the beach towards Audrey, scrambling on the rocks. The spinosaurus on four legs didn't have quite the same difficulty, but the rocks slowed it down too. As Faren neared her by the forest edge, she yelled, "Watch the rope!" She had explained to them all of her traps over dinner. She just hoped they remembered.
Faren looked where she was pointing, eyes widening, head nodding. Barely missing a beat, they ran high-kneed on tiptoes through the maze of ropes strung backwards and forwards across the path. Even once they were clear, Faren kept running as fast as their legs could move them. "Wait," Audrey hissed. "Here." She dragged them into the fig she had prepared earlier and watched. The spinosaurus was only steps behind, but as it raised its foot, it got caught in the tangle of ropes. Settling that one down awkwardly, it raised the next, it also tangling. The beast fell with a crash.
"Now what?" Faren's eyes were filled with fear, their breath coming rapidly.
"How are you at climbing?" Audrey asked with a shrug. Then seeing Faren's dismay, continued. "I scouted out a ledge on the cliff earlier. Higher than a t-rex. It's going to be uncomfortable, but it beats that." She pointed to where the spinosaurus was writhing and slashing. "Come on, we don't have long."
Running from the bushes, Audrey grabbed a pack of supplies, and extinguished two of the three compi sticks before reaching the cliff face. She was frustrated the third was just too far away.
Before starting the climb herself, Audrey waited until Faren was a few metres up, then climbed up next to them. She had chosen this point as it was an easy climb. Even so, she moved slowly and steadily, as close to Faren as she dared. The whole way she chattered to them gently. "You're doing great Faren… that looks like a great hand hold, I might have to steal it… like climbing a ladder, right? … Bet the kids are much more comfortable than we're going to be, lucky tigers." For their part, Faren moved in fits and starts. Every time there was a new noise from the spinosaurus, they'd falter then rush. She would follow it with platitudes to help calm them. "Look up," she directed, meanwhile looking down herself.
The spinosaurus had finally freed itself and was now on the beach. "We're almost there." She forced herself not to scramble. They were a good four metres above the ground. It was pretty damn big. She just prayed it wasn't quite that big.
"Just keep climbing, climbing, climbing," she sang. The high pitch of the singing should hide any concern she felt from her voice. "Getting closer." Glancing back down, she realised they had been spotted. "Climbing higher." She upped her speed so that she was alongside, then slightly above Faren. "One foot moving, then the other." She paused, face directly on Faren, but really watching the spinosaurus below them, her fingers working the clip at her hip. "Keep your grip now. Hang on tight, yo." She saw Faren's fingers tighten just as a roar sounded below them. "Eyes on me, Far." She stared them directly in the eye and held them. "Out of reach yeah." She continued the song. "We can do it. Look above me."
The dinosaur jumped up, resting its webbed feet against the wall, but giving it that little bit extra height. Too bloody close. Pointing the flare gun she had released from its harness, she fired downwards. Considering the beast took up all the space below them, it was an easy target. If it flinched when she fired, it jerked when the flare hit. It dropped back down to all fours, roaring again.
"Almost there now." She returned her attention to Faren. "Beasty's gone now." She continued staring at them, willing them not to look down again." She moved a little higher, taking her eyes from Faren so they could pay attention to the rocks. "And now I'm at the top." She scrambled over the ledge.
Laying flat on her stomach, she looked back over. "Keep on coming." As much as she wanted to shift her gaze to the dinosaur below, she couldn't afford for Faren to follow it. She kept her eyes on them. "Try that rock here." She continued the rhythm and tone of her song. Faren was so close. "Now this one right there." They were almost up. Grabbing them by their pants, she hauled to help them over the edge. Faren lay exactly where they landed, panting. Audrey couldn't help herself. She looked over the edge. And exhaled. "It's gone." She used her normal voice. "It decided we weren't worth the trouble." She could make out the dark shadow heading back towards the water.
It took a long while before Faren sat up. By then, Audrey had laid out the emergency blanket for them to sleep under. "You think the kids managed to get past that monster?" Their voice almost sounded resigned.
"I'm sure they're still alive, Faren." Audrey sat down next to them and rubbed their back. "It only came after us because our compi sticks use t-rex urine." She showed them an unlit one she still carried with its wrapper on. "I didn't even know they still made those."
"You think?"
"I'm certain." She wasn't really, but she wasn't ready to give up yet. Sleep, on the rocky ledge under a light plasticy blanket, did not come easily to either of them that night.
Chapter 14: Contact
Audrey woke early the following morning. The faintest hint of light reprieving her from the discomfort of trying to sleep. Faren may have felt the same way as they were ready as soon as she stirred. Having a clear view of the beach and the river itself convinced Faren it was safe to climb down the cliff, though it was a super slow process and they looked over their shoulder every minute just to check. Audrey left them to pack up as many of their supplies as they could. She had to remind them of the bolt hole that would keep them safe from anything until she came back, which brought a look of relief across their face. Audrey took the unlit compi stick and forced her way through the thick undergrowth upstream. The plan was to light it and draw the spinosaurus upriver while they escaped down river. That was assuming it still trusted the smell after last night.
She found a tree that snarled with bushes to lodge the stick in, lit and and ran back to camp as fast as she could through the tangles. It should take a determined spinosaurus a good while to break through the undergrowth to reach it. It may even take the time to knock down the tree.
She barely paused in their camp site to check they had the essentials, and grabbed the raft. Faren had flat out refused to get back in the water yet. So, machete in one hand, and raft on the shoulder of the other, she slashed her way through the jungle. They would be making a path that was easy to follow, but soon the jungle closed in around them, so the path became only as wide as the boat. No spinosauri could pass.
It was seriously exhausting work, macheting and hauling at once and Audrey had to take several breaks. Faren offered to take over for a bit, which she accepted gratefully. She had noticed she had been letting her awareness drop in her fatigue, which was as deadly as the spinosaurus they were running from.
Finally, the river swung in front of them, jagged rocks sticking out causing white water. "Do you think the spinosaurus goes past the rapids?"
"I doubt it." At this point, Audrey was so tired she would have said almost anything to get on the boat and rest a while. But she genuinely did believe this. They liked to swim, and they were alright on land, but these rapids would be hard for it to navigate. They were also a decent distance from the spinosaurus now. Their territory was usually pretty big, but she suspected it spanned upriver where it had greater freedom of movement, and the rapids weren't so tricky.
What finally decided them though was the blood smear on the rock. Audrey was the first to see it, but before she had decided that she should tell Faren, they had seen it too. Throwing down the boat, they jumped in and paddled over.
"It's definitely blood." Faren stated. Audrey couldn't tell if they was relieved or concerned. In fact, she couldn't tell if she was relieved or concerned either. She decided to focus on relieved.
"This is good! This is proof that they came down the river. We needed that." Then looking more carefully at the surrounding rocks. "They were lodged in between those two rocks. Can you see the scuffing against them where there is less slime. And look there," she pointed to the higher of the two rocks. "See that gouge. I'd bet that's where your girl used all the power in her legs to push them out of there."
"They made it this far!" this time, Faren's relief was clear.
They paddled their way through the rapids, Audrey navigating them through easily. She couldn't stop herself from wondering if coming through them in the dark would have been safer than being chased by a spinosaurus. She was smarter than that though and pushed the thought aside. She had avoided actual danger for the possibility of danger. That was always the right choice.
More scrapes against trees and the banks told Audrey where they had pulled in and a quick scouting even showed their camp overnight. Thrilled, they took to the river with renewed vigour.
Several hours later their delight increased even further as the river widened into a lake. With such a broad view, they could see a good distance. Including a lump on the surface of the water. A lump that didn't dive below. Pulling out her scope, she sighted them. "It's them!" she squealed her delight. "They're still alive!"
It didn't take Faren long to set up their drone. Audrey, filled with excitement, forgot her long night and exhausting hike through the jungle and paddled both sides, awkwardly, but quickly. "You don't think the drone will scare them off do you?" Audrey asked them.
Faren shook their head. "They've been hunted by a theropod and chased by a sauropod. If that's the worst they faced in the last two days, they'll be desperate to see a familiar face." The drone rose into the air and headed towards them. As it would take a while to get there, Faren set the directions and took one of the oars from Audrey. Together they couldn't have paddled faster if the spinosaurus was still chasing behind them.
Until the sky ahead of them darkened. Audrey rested her oar and pulled out her scope. Faren looked at the display from their phone which showed the view of their drone.
"Tapejaras," Audrey cried at the same moment that Faren called out:
"Pterosaurs!"
"What do we do?" Faren asked. Not what can we do? Faren expected her to know. Mentally she reviewed everything she was carrying. They were too far for a flare. Too far for anything really.
"Can your drone do anything?"
Faren shrugged. "Maybe it will scare them off." They turned their attention to the controls and Audrey found it in view of her scope.
"That's it!" she cried as the drone headed towards one of the tapejaras. The creature didn't miss a wing beat. It swing its head at the drone, sending it flying. Audrey lost sight of it and turned to Faren.
Faren shook their head. "I lost it. It crashed down into the water."
"Grab an oar then!" Audrey grabbed her own and paddled. She felt that each stroke was a strike against the tapejaras that were threatening the kids that they had come so far to protect. She didn't take her eyes from them, the lump getting larger. Maybe.
But then the pterosaurs started flying away. Audrey grabbed her scope again, Faren leaping closer to her almost as if they were trying to look down the single barrel too. "They're in the water." Audrey narrated what she saw for her friend. "And now they're climbing in the boat. Wow! That's some kid - she made it look so easy…" She paused waiting. "And now the boy. She's hauling him in. They're safe. Evisceration, Faren. They're bloody safe!"
The shoreline was filled with a stunning variety of dinosaurs. As they approached, slowly, several darted away, but many remained. This shore, like the beach they'd entered the river on was rocky. With so many herbivores here, they felt pretty safe. If there was a predator close by, they would have scattered, right?
Ethan looked at all the varieties wearily. He was still excited to see dinosaurs, he was just too tired to enjoy them. Mentally though, he listed some of his favourites: triceratops; edmontonias,charanosauri, europosauri - this one had replaced the mamenchisaurus as his favourite sauropod as smaller feet appealed to him more now - pachycephalosaurus, stegasauri; styrachosauri. There were even some smallish carnivores in the mix but they weren't causing any problems here. Too many spikes and horns to consider it, probably.
Surprisingly, the dinosaurs did not move out of their way as they climbed from the raft and started dragging it away from the water's edge. In fact, it proved almost impossible to take the raft with them. I got caught on horns and jammed between thighs. "Should we leave it behind?" Ethan finally asked. It may have been a quick way to travel - especially across the lake, but he had no love for it. He wasn't thrilled at facing more rapids on it.
Sienna stopped and looked back at him, resting the raft on the ground a moment. "I still think a river is our best chance of finding people. But assuming we don't get trodden on, we're probably safe here for a little while. How about we stop for a rest?"
Ethan nodded. The further from the water, the less dense the bodies were, so they were able to find a space that was not so crowded. They sat in the boat to give them a nice border between them and the creatures around them. The size variation was incredible. From compies that were almost too small to jump up into the boat to looming ceratopsians to towering sauropods. Although they were able to rest their bodies, their minds were on high alert, watching for rogue feet or spiked tails. There was nothing relaxing about it. That being said, they only dropped to the bottom of the boat twice, and it was pushed across the rocks maybe three or four times. It was on one of these moments that Ethan first thought he heard his name. But as it was mixed with the movement of rocks below the raft, he assumed he was imagining it.
But then he heard, "Sienna." Startled, he stood up, brushed his hair from his eyes and looked around himself. There, over on the lake he could see a raft very similar to their own, with two figures paddling towards them.
People! "Sienna!" he hissed. "There's people coming for us!" Sienna looked up at him, then stood, looking in the direction he was staring in. She squinted into the distance, then pulled out her scope to see better. "They're calling our names.," he told her quietly. "They must be from the compound."
"They know our names?" Sienna sighed. She flopped down to the side of the boat. "But we've come so far!"
A treacherous part of Ethan was glad to see adults. But Sienna was right. They had gone through so much, they couldn't return to the compound now. "What can we do?"
Sienna looked back through the scope, then pulled it back down. "They must have followed us some way. Even with us being so careful." She chewed on her lower lip. "If we try to run, they're going to find us again." Her eyes filled with tears. She heaved in deep breath, eyes closed for several seconds. When she opened them again, the tears were barely a glint in her eyes. "We need to know how they found us. And then… There's only two of them right? And it'll take two days to get back? That's plenty of time for us to find a way to escape them." She looked at him. "What do you think?" Sienna rarely asked him that. She would happily take his suggestions, but wasn't one to seek help.
Ethan scanned the area around them. There were lots of trees - though not a forest so much as bunches of them scattered across a large, flat area. In the far distance, he could make out mountains. He was pretty certain they wouldn't do them much good. In fact, nothing was going to help them hide from people here. Sienna was right. If they had been found once, they would be found again. Slowly, Ethan nodded. "I don't think we have a choice."
So, keeping an eye on the dinosaurs around them and the steadily approaching raft, they waited.
Chapter 15 Confessions
Faren tripped over their feet several times in their rush to get the raft ashore. Finally, they gave up, dropped it and walked quickly, though not so quickly as to startle the many creatures around them, to the kids.
"Ethan! Sienna!" they cried as they reached the other raft.
"Dr. Santos!" the children cried in recognition. They then eyed each other before returning their attention to the doctor. They were worried. Obviously. They had escaped the facility after all. Dr. Santos had time to allay their fears soon enough. For now, they climbed into the kid's raft and swept them both into a huge hug.
"You kids!" They grumbled, as they pulled back away to look at them more carefully. "Are you hurt?" From what Dr. Santos could tell, there were several scratches, but they couldn't see anything more serious.
"We're fine, Dr. Santos," Sienna smiled. She opened her mouth to speak again, but closed it again.
"So these are the children that have caused us so much worry!" Audrey stepped up to their side. "Hi. I'm Audrey." She held out her hand for them to take turns shaking. Again the kids gave each other a long stare before returning their gaze to her. "I'm a friend of Faren's. Sorry, Dr. Santos. They asked me to help them find you, To protect you."
"From the dinosaurs?" Ethan asked quietly. Dr. Santos couldn't tell if it were a question or a statement.
"She's the best around. You should have seen her with the spinosaurus last night!"
"The spinosaurus!" both kids exclaimed at that one.
Dr. Santos briefly retold the tale of their adventure last night, both them and Audrey climbing into the boat, sitting on the edge to get more comfortable. As they spoke, Dr. Santos could see the muscles of the kids relax. Poor things must have been anxious for two solid days.
"And then we came the rest of the way down the river and found you."
"Well, we saw you a long while ago," Audrey interrupted. "When the tapejaras attacked you. We felt so helpless. We were too far away to do anything. But you got through it. I was impressed." Audrey rumpled Ethan's hair. It was hard not to. It was the perfect length for flopping around. She paused a moment when his eyes were fully exposed, then continued. Hopefully the boy hadn't noticed.
During their super fast paddling, Faren had taken their last chance to explain to Audrey what they would find when they reached the kids. Audrey wasn't remotely surprised. She was already certain about Sienna, and had at least an inkling about Ethan.
"And we watched you climb back in the boat," Audrey turned her attention to Sienna, her hand lightly touching the girl's shoulder. She wouldn't find anything out with that touch, Dr. Santos thought. It must just be for comfort. "You are one strong kid. In fact," Audrey looked at each kid in turn. "I am so impressed with how far you have come alone." She gave a big grin that lit up her eyes. Both kids expanded, shoulders dropping, chins rising. Audrey was surprisingly good with kids. Faren had had no idea.
"Now we have to work out what to do with you," Dr. Santos said with a chuckle. They knew they had to tread carefully here. The kids had escaped the facility for a reason. "And right now, that comes down to what you want to do." They gave each child an earnest look. They needed the kids to trust them, but it was really hard to act trustworthy when you were so aware of it.
"What do you mean?" Sienna asked.
"Well, as I see it, you have two choices. You may think of more. The first is that we return you to the company." Sienna frowned at this option. "They may not work out that you were the ones who triggered the intruder alert. But I can't be certain. If they do…" Dr. Santos paused. They really hoped the kids didn't take that option. They would go to great lengths for the kids to never find out what their escape had started. How many deaths they had caused. No-one needed that on their conscience. Dr. Santos knew, because somewhere inside, they blamed themself for giving the kids the idea of escape in the first place.
"What's the second option?" Sienna's voice was cold.
"We find somewhere to hide you." Dr. Santos took a deep breath in and released it. They had to tell them now. "Which will be difficult. You see… you know how you used to ask about the doctors all looking the same. Same shaped legs, same shaped eyes, same ears…" Dr. Santos noticed them studying their features, then Audrey's.
"You're not a doctor?" Ethan asked Audrey. Bless Ethan and his sharp mind. This may be easier than they'd imagined.
Audrey frowned and shook her head.
Ethan lowered his head slowly, a lock falling forward. Then he raised it and looked at Dr. Santos directly in the face. "We're not human are we?"
"Of course you are!" Dr. Santos exclaimed. "You think and speak like a human. You are definitely human. Just with some tweaks in your DNA."
Sienna clearly caught the drift of the conversation as her eyebrows dipped, her eyes shone, her lips whitened. "You did this to us? You made us monsters?" Several dinosaurs close by backed away from the pitch and volume of her voice.
Dr. Santos looked at the ground. They hadn't considered how to explain their role in all of this. "I did not make you. I joined the company with the suspicion that they were doing some things most people would consider unethical. You see, I wanted to stop them. What they did to you was wrong."
"We're a mistake?" Ethan's wide set eyes welled with tears. Sienna wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
Dr. Santos took another deep breath in, buying time before answering. "Your creation was unethical. But that doesn't mean that you aren't amazing people. It doesn't make you less human. It doesn't stop you from having rights. You are not monsters."
"Will the other humans believe that?" Ethan asked barely above a whisper.
"Audrey is other people. Let's ask her." Having seen her interact with the kids when she met them made Dr. Santos confident she could handle this question.
"I admit, I was very curious. But I could see straight away that you're just regular kids. You know some kids are great actors. Some play sport really well or an instrument. You will have your own talents." Audrey's tone was so straight forward, yet soft. "But I already knew a little bit about you. I have tracked your footprints and claw marks for two days now. We will have to be cautious about you meeting new people. Not everyone will understand. But I am sure that there are enough people who will understand that will become your friends."
"Friends?" Ethan's voice was still that whisper. "We can make friends?"
Audrey's face broke into a wide smile. "I already have a couple of kids in mind.
Ethan and Sienna relaxed their hug to turn to each other. "We could have friends," Ethan said. Sienna smiled at him with a nod, then turned to Dr. Santos.
"And we can trust you?"
"We will never make you do anything you are not comfortable with."
"Then I like option 2 best."
"Me too," Ethan echoed before they grabbed each other for a bear hug.
Chapter 16 Terminal
Sienna couldn't believe the relief she felt walking alongside Audrey. For two days she had had to make decisions and worry about Ethan and avoid dinosaurs. And now, that was someone else's job. And Audrey seemed to be doing it well. She and Dr. Santos had studied their map and decided on a village to head for. They finally had a destination! They had also decided they wouldn't need the rafts anymore. Apparently there was a terminal a few kilometres across land from the lake that would get them where they were going.
So they walked. Sienna already idolised the guide. Even the way she walked was lithe. Like a cat. She tried to emulate it. With some effort she could balance on the balls of her feet and toes, especially when she extended her claws to give that little extra support. She found that made her stoop forward though, which Audrey definitely did not. Her neck lifted straight up out of her relaxed, squared shoulders. The guide was constantly swiveling her head, clearly keeping an eye on everything in every direction. Periodically she would alter their direction. The first few times, Ethan had whispered that he had heard something in the direction they had been heading. Ethan's hearing was naturally much more sensitive than Sienna's, but how had Audrey known?
"Sometimes it's a broken bush, sometimes an errant sound or even a lack of sounds," Audrey explained when she'd asked. After that, Audrey pointed out the signs for her which only increased the girl's admiration.
In fact, Audrey was so good at avoiding dinosaurs that even with the large numbers that the lake had shown was in this area, they only saw one hadrosaur, and that was in the distance. Until they were in sight of the terminal.
The wide concrete column rose high into the air above them. Running in two directions from the top was a tube of polynancom glass that extended well past their sight. Other than Audrey, it was the first real evidence that people continued to live in the world outside of the compound. On catching sight of it, Dr. Santos picked up their pace. Audrey however, did not.
"Something's coming," Ethan hissed to Audrey. He too started deferring to her.
Audrey nodded. "The birds have quietened. Can you tell the direction?"
"From behind us."
"How long?"
"We won't make it to the terminal. Sienna maybe, but not me."
"Then Sienna, run!"
Sienna stood there looking at her. "Run! One of us should be safe at least!"
Sienna still hesitated. "Maybe you can find a car or something. Go!"
Feeling like she was deserting them, Sienna turned and ran. At first she took it easy, but then thinking about Audrey's directions, she picked up speed. Maybe she wasn't deserting them after all. She could help them. She looked over her shoulder. Behind her, the three of them had formed a semi-circle, each holding out something in their hands. Caps spray probably. Except Audrey. She also held a black stick-like object. Not great odds against a dinosaur really. She kicked up her speed even faster, lactic acid firing in her burning muscles. She was so close.
A bark sounded behind her. It was familiar. She kept running. "Sienna!" She heard Ethan call her name. She looked over her shoulder and slowed. "Blue!" It looked like Blue! And she definitely wasn't attacking. Turning, she jogged back to the group.
"... after Sienna had given such convincing arguments for you having a pet," she heard Dr. Santos explaining as she drew closer to them. "They bred you a companion." The group had started walking towards her now, towards the terminal. "I wasn't part of that project, but I do know some things. Dino-mo-gens have a history of … turning on their owners. So they bred this one extra loyal. They would bring her into your sleeping quarters each night so she could learn who you were, learn to watch over you."
Sienna reached the group and gave Blue a hug and a scratch on the head. "How did you find us, girl?"
"Your scent would be my guess," Audrey spoke up. "I doubt most raptors could have followed you quite so well, so I assume they increased her ability to smell with her loyalty."
"The perfect pet," Dr. Santos spoke up, however was looking at their device. "Should we continue on then? Get into the safety of the terminal?"
They hurried towards the tall column and on reaching it, Audrey palmed the door open. They had to enter one at a time, Blue forcing her way directly after the children. Audrey was last, closing the door behind them. They eagerly took the elevator to the top and soon they had a panoramic view of the land below them. Much of it was trees, but there were sections of grassland towards the mountains, and they were even able to see some of the lake. Dr. Santos hit the call button for the transport, then brought over some food they had got from a vending machine. The kids ate it enthusiastically. They were so bored of protein bars and this was filled with salty, sugary deliciousness.
Filled stomachs, comfortable chairs, and a safe location soon saw the eyes of both kids closing. Even Blue settled down on her haunches, arms crossed, head bent forward in sleep. Audrey eyed the dinosaur, then glancing at Faren whispered, "I'll take the first watch." And soon she was alone, looking out over the view, surrounded by the strangest sleeping companions of her life.
The transport came. Waking the kids, they climbed aboard. Sienna hadn't wanted to wake up to move. She planned to go right back to sleep as soon as she was sitting down again. But as soon as the vehicle started moving again, she was instantly alert. It moved completely soundlessly. Dr. Santos explained that it was designed to avoid attracting attention. No sound, no lights, just swift movement. It was the view out the window that really got her attention though. Having lived her whole life in a school room, bedroom and yard, she couldn't believe how far the world stretched. Even the view from the terminal was small compared to what she could see now. Endless blankets of trees, mountains towering, rivers winding, lakes glinting… it was simply incredible. Occasionally they would see a pterosaur fly past, but they completely ignored the transport. At one point they even saw a quetzalcoatlus. The fact that something so enormous could fly stunned Sienna. She didn't take her eyes from it for the few minutes it stayed in sight.
Probably the most surprising for Sienna though were the birds that burst up from the tree tops before diving back down again. "I thought all the birds would have been eaten by the dinosaurs." She said this allowed. Audrey was resting, so Dr. Santos answered:
"Birds are pretty hardy. Being able to fly gives them a real advantage. And being small enough to hide among the treetops helps. You didn't notice them singing while you were walking?"
Sienna nodded slowly. There had been sounds, strange ones, but she had attributed them to smaller dinosaurs. "Is that what I was hearing."
"Yes. Lots of mammals and reptiles do pretty well too. Pretty much anything that already had a scary predator that it had to defend against is still doing okay. Farm animals didn't do so well. If the farmers couldn't protect them, they became easy targets. Even now it's hard to say just how many species were lost. Some people go out to do surveys, but they only cover small areas of land."
"But there are still birds," she smiled. She liked knowing there were still birds around.
"The town we are going to is a tree top town. There are many birds there. Monkeys too. They're pests, but I think you will like seeing them."
"A tree top town," she repeated. She couldn't even imagine what they was talking about. All the clips they had seen were from the Beforetime. People lived in vast cities with tall, shining towers or in small towns with houses. Other than the open skies, it didn't seem too different from their compound.
"You're going to love it," Dr. Santos beamed, eyes shining.
Chapter 17: Pick Up
The climb up around and around the trunk was long and hard, but Josh knew it was worth it. At the top of the spiral stair was a ladder, which he climbed up and into a spacious room above. The room wasn't why people made the climb though. He wove between several hammock chairs suspended from the ceiling, then strode across to the circular window that gave a 360° panoramic view, and looked out. Laid directly below him was a forest of trees, and just beyond that an endless, blue ocean glistening in the late afternoon sun. It was the perfect time of day, and after ten minutes of waiting and watching, Josh was rewarded. The arched neck of a plesiosaurus raised from the water. He grabbed the telescope mounted beside him to get a better view. Amazing! He recognised it instantly. An elasmosaurus. It's long neck and distinctive black back and white belly making it highly distinctive. He pulled out a small notepad and marked a line. This was the fifth day in a row that he had seen one. He wasn't sure if it was the same one each day or a different one, but five days in a row had to be important. He returned his eye to the scope to look as long as the glorious creature remained above the surface. Watching carefully, he looked for scars or marks or discolouration that might help him identify if it was the same creature tomorrow. But he was just too far away. There may have been the same scar across the back of his neck that he'd seen at least one other time, but it was too light to be certain it was genuinely there. He sighed, noted it down and returned to watching.
Minutes later, to his utter delight, a second creature raised its head above the water. That was definitely new! Eye glued to the eyepiece, he studied their interaction. At first, the knocking together of necks looked like they were fighting, but then it looked more like caressing and playing. They stayed on the surface, swimming south, playing for a good twenty minutes. When finally they dipped back underwater, Josh stepped back delighted. Two elasmosaurus! He moved to the other side of the room, avoiding the other hole in the floor and dropped himself into a seat at a single person desk to write up his notes for the day. There was a lot to write today. He couldn't wait to share it with his mum. And this would be the pinnacle of the information he'd share with his aunty when he saw her next.
Doing one last reread of his notes and adding a little texture to one of his drawings, he was satisfied. He closed the book and slipped it back into his pocket. It was almost sunset now, so he may as well stay to see the view. He loped across to one of the hammock chairs that had been positioned for the best view and slumped into it, his long legs tucked beneath, toes scraping the wooden floor.
Just as he got comfortable, his phone chirped. Probably his mum. She hated him coming home from here after dark. Seriously, what did she think could happen to him here? A quetzalcoatlus could get through the guards and then break in through the window in the hopes that he would be in there? Nothing could get through these windows. And he'd never even heard of anything getting past the guards.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at the screen. Only old people displayed texts. Huh. It was from his aunty. Unexpectedly, she was going to arrive soon… she wanted him to pick her and her friends up at the transit terminal at the pedestrian gate. His mum wouldn't be happy, but any excuse to take the car out was great. Even if he did have to somehow find "the biggest tarp he could". A strange request, but he'd do anything for his aunty. And maybe she had an injured baby triceratops like she snuck in when he was seven. He really hoped it would be something cool like that.
He swiped her a quick message to say he was on his way - with the addition to say she'd need to explain it to his mum. He then extricated himself from the hammock and stepped over to the slide hole. He'd never admit it to anyone, but half the fun of coming up here was taking the slide that ran down the outer edge of the staircase. It was also a super quick way of getting back down. He lowered himself down and let go. In a whoosh, he slipped downwards, around and around until he was almost dizzy. The base let out into a foam pit that was much easier to climb out of now his legs were so much longer.
So it was that in minutes he was back on his way home to collect his mum's car to retrieve his aunty.
Ethan wanted to grumble when Audrey made them get out of the transport. He was still half asleep. But then he remembered who he was with. Audrey, Dr. Santos and even Sienna wouldn't grumble. They were all too brave and heroic for that kind of thing, so blinked hard to clear his eyes and he gave himself a shake. "Are we there yet?" he asked.
"Sorry buddy," Audrey ruffled his hair. He'd never let Sienna do that, but it was okay when Audrey did it. "We have to walk the last connection. The arrival of a transport would alert the terminal master who is supposed to meet everyone who comes in that way."
"We have to sneak in?" he asked with a frown. He and Sienna did run away. They would probably have to sneak a lot from now on.
"They won't let Blue in. No dinosaurs in the town."
"No dinosaurs in the town?" he repeated disappointed. Now that he was safe, he remembered how much he had wanted to see all the dinosaurs when he escaped. The scientists had told him they were everywhere. But they were the same scientists that told him the only humans left were in the facility. Sometimes they had walked through other parts of the building and it seemed to make sense. There were so many people there: maybe a hundred! Not like the clips obviously, but as many people as he could imagine.
"Sorry kiddo. No dinosaurs."
"You want more dinosaurs?!" Sienna burst in incredulously. "I think I've had my fill for a while." She turned to Blue and scratched her head. "Except for you of course."
Ethan followed the group into the lift. This time they only went a short distance. They ended up right beneath the rail of the transport. Looking ahead of them was a long, straight tunnel. He shivered. The last tunnel he had been in was when they left the compound. They were worried they were being chased by scientists until he realised they were being chased by worse - a dinosaur - though looking back now, Ethan realised that that dinosaur must have been Blue. Yet even that didn't comfort him. It was still daylight and the tunnel was mostly glass, yet it looked dark and distant.
No-one else seemed to mind though. They straightened their backpacks or ponytails and headed forward. If there were ever people to head into the unknown with, it was these. That still didn't stop him from listing all the ways that stopped dinosaurs from getting into the transport system. His thoughts paused a moment - he was disappointed that there were no dinosaurs in the town, but scared they were in the tunnel. He sighed, not able to work it out. Then with a small skip he rushed to close the distance that had grown between him and everyone else.
When his aunty burst from the lower door of the terminal, Josh was instantly grateful he had managed to arrive before her. Moments earlier he was annoyed at having to wait. Now he realised it was better him than her. Rushing along beside her were the most unexpected group of people he had ever seen. A tall doctor or scientist, judging by the lab coat, with long black hair caught up in a ponytail; a young girl - maybe twelve - in baggy clothes, looking like a sprinter in the seconds before reaching the rope, her torso and head extended forward; a boy who was shorter and skinnier, but about the same age as her wearing very normal jeans and t-shirt, his too cool long hair hanging over his face. But then there was the thing that was the most surprising, running along beside them was a … judging by the height, head shape and limbs, it was a featherless velociraptor!
Instantly, Josh looked around to see if there was anyone else on the street. Bringing a dinosaur into town was very illegal. Even worse, it was carnivorous. He had no idea what his aunty was thinking, but if they were seen they would all be in serious trouble. He opened the back of the car and grabbed the tarp. Now he knew exactly what it was for… He just wasn't sure a velociraptor was going to allow them to stick it under a tarp. This was no injured baby.
"Sienna, you jump in first. Show Blue that it's safe." Aunty Audrey apparently had a plan. She always had a plan.
The girl raced towards him and the car, her baggy pants flapping from her speed. But that wasn't what really caught his attention. At the bottom of those pants were shoeless… feet. Could he call them feet? They were longer and wider than any girl of twelve, but more than that, they only had four toes on each, very thick, and ending in a claw. Where her big toe should be, was an even larger claw - like that of a theropod.
She didn't look at him with his jaw hanging open, his eyes staring at her feet. Instead, she launched herself into the back of the vehicle, arriving well before the others. "C'mere Blue," she coaxed to the dinosaur, arms outstretched, fingers beckoning. Her feet disappeared into the darkness of the car and Josh was able look away, just in time to be confronted with Blue. Josh froze. Balancing on her tail, raising to her toes, and extending her snout upwards, it felt like Blue was inches from his chin. She backed away, then moved to the side, head swinging back and forth, like a guard checking for approaching pterosaurs.
"Maybe you too, Ethan." Aunty Audrey suggested, her eyes also on Blue.
The boy reached the car, flicked his head back in what could have been a boy greeting, and climbed in the car after the girl. He joined in the coaxing.
"Aunty Audrey." Josh finally spoke up.
""Hi Sweetie. I swear we will explain everything when we're somewhere private.
"That's gonna be a hell of a story." Aunty Audrey's stories were always thrilling. He assumed this one would be extra interesting. "Sienna, right?" Josh turned to the kids in the back of the car. The girl nodded, her eyes wide, now staring at him as if he were the most attractive guy she had ever seen. He liked to think he was good looking, but not so much to get that kind of a look. Especially since she was not the only one: the boy was giving him the same. "I'm going to pass you this. If… Blue ever gets in, you're going to have to cover her up. We'll be driving through areas where there are people around and it's really important they don't see her. Okay?" She nodded and held out her hand. He passed her the tarp.
Instantly, Blue was there, sniffing him. Sniffing the material. At that distance, the kids took the chance and grabbed Blue, pulling her into the car. The doctor and Aunty Audrey jumped in behind to help. Josh went to swing the back door shut behind her, but Aunty Audrey caught his hand. "Not yet." Blue spun around to the people who had manhandled her rear quarters. Aunty Audrey stood there, arms raised. The doctor copied her. The kids patted her and whispered to her until she hunkered down into a squat. It was a good thing she wasn't the size they originally made velociraptors or it would have been much squishier in there. Finally, Aunty Audrey closed the door, and turned to her nephew. "It's so good to see you, Sweetie." She wrapped him in a big hug. She always ignored the fact that he was almost an adult, and he let her. When your aunt is as big a badarse as Aunty Audrey, you let her give you hugs.
She peeped through the windows. Blue wasn't letting them cover her with the tarp. Before she could offer them advice though, the kids were pegging the corners in the windows of the seats in front of them. The three adults climbed into the front of the car and saw the kids were holding the tarp against the back window, creating a barrier around three sides. Only someone looking directly in the front window would see anything and with headlights on, that shouldn't be a problem. "You know Mum's going to freak." Josh glanced at his aunty as he pulled away from the terminal.
"Yeah, I'm not sure how Blue will like being inside your home…"
"She'll be fine," the doctor spoke up.
"Sorry, Faren. Josh." Aunty Audrey took a moment to introduce everyone before Faren explained:
"She's spent her whole life in the facility. She is used to moving through corridors and being still in bedrooms. It's these two that will mess up your house!" Faren nodded to the kids.
"Hey!" Ethan cried. "We always put our toys away!"
Faren laughed gently. Then sighed. "You're good kids. Awesome kids. And we're going to find a way to look after you."
Awesome? Josh wondered. Creepy. Strange. Maybe even interesting, but he wasn't sure about awesome. Aunty Audrey had promised to explain though, so he was going to ignore the fact that the girl had dino-legs. Instead, he worried about getting home, weaving his way between tree houses smoothly so as not to throw Blue around. There were still people out and about, but none paid them any real attention other than neighbourly waves from those who recognised the car. Soon they were pulling up at Josh's home, pulling the car into the square garage nestled between four broad trunked trees. Completely out of sight of any nosy neighbours.
Chapter 18: Time for a story
Sienna was seriously disappointed when she climbed from the back of the car. She had caught glimpses of trunks and buildings in the headlights, but they got out into a very ordinary looking garage. Four walls. Tools on the wall. A workbench. And the car obviously. Not a lot of space other than that. At least there was a couch opposite the bench. Maybe she could have a little nap. She had slept in the transport, but it just hadn't seemed enough. Ethan burst out behind her, and judging by his face was equally disappointed. Blue was already out, sniffing every corner she could find.
Sienna didn't know where they were to go or what they were to do, so she just hovered, awkwardly. When she thought he wasn't looking she took the chance to stare at Josh. He really did look like all the scientists, but he was so young. Almost as young as they were. Like the people in the clips from the beforetime. She wasn't very good at being discrete though and he caught her more than once. Each time, he ran his fingers through his hair. There wasn't a lot of it, shorter even than Audrey's. On top anyway. Why was she analyzing his hair? She never gave Ethan's or the doctors' hair any thought ever.
"We could wait until later to raise Blue up on the platform. Once the neighbours are asleep. Unless we can leave her in here?" Sienna wasn't sure what the platform was that Josh was talking about, but she doubted Blue would be happy to be locked in here if they were out there.
"Blue should be fine in here," Faren cut in. "She'll be able to sense the kids aren't too far away… though she may want to see where they are, not just smell them." Faren rubbed their chin with their thumb. "She's been trained to be away from them during the day in the facility, but now that they're out… she's pretty clever, she could break out of here looking for them… maybe we should wait until later."
"We'll need to put the barriers up on the platform if we take her up," Audrey cut in. "That thing isn't exactly an easy ride. Harder with claws on your feet."
"That's not a problem," Josh said, his eyes flicking to Sienna. She darted her own eyes away too quickly to see his lingering on her feet, before returning them to Audrey. "I made a new barrier that stays up most of the time. It's annoying to take down when we need to but it's much safer than the old one."
"Good, good," Audrey murmured. Sienna tuned out of their conversation. She didn't care where they were. She hadn't noticed a house or any building other than the garage, so she wasn't sure where there was to go. She eyed the couch wondering if she could sit on it. Ethan beat her to it. He threw himself down so he was lying taking up the whole space.
That decided her. She sat on his legs.
"Sienna!" he whined. "I was here first!"
"You can't take the whole couch!" She wiggled so the bones in her bum would annoy him.
"Get off!" he growled so loudly the adults turned to them.
Sienna leapt to her feet, face flushing that everyone saw her being so childish. Audrey! Josh! Dr. Santos didn't count. They was used to it.
Fortunately, Ethan seemed equally mortified and drew his legs up as soon as they were free. Awkwardly, Sienna, sat back down, using her body to hide her hand and she gave him a sharp pinch. He grunted, but not loudly enough to give her away.
"Are you kids going to be alright if we leave you here alone for a little while?" Dr. Santos asked.
"I'm not sure I want to leave them alone after all they've been through."
"We'll be fine," Sienna cried. She wanted them to know that "all she had been through" wasn't that big a deal.
"I'll come back down in a minute with some food. Do you like books?"
Both Ethan and Sienna nodded. "I'll see if I can find something good for you."
The adults left through a smaller door at the back of the building and for the first time, since being found, Sienna and Ethan were alone.
"I think they're good people." Ethan stated after they had sat silently for a couple of minutes, each in their own thoughts. Ethan had clearly been thinking similar things to her.
"I think so too."
"What do you think will happen next?" Sienna thought about all the stories she had read and watched. Most of them had the strange girl falling in love with a normal boy and their love fixes everything. Either the girl becomes normal or they find a place where everyone is strange. She didn't think either of those were going to happen any time soon. In fact, she was worried. She had seen a lot more stories where the weird kid got treated badly. She couldn't tell Ethan that though.
"I think Dr. Santos and Audrey will find a home for us. Where we will have friends, and there will be dinosaurs for Blue and lots of sky."
Ethan sighed. "I don't think it's going to be that easy." Beneath his fringe, his lips puckered in the right hand corner. It was his worried mouth.
"Maybe not," she leaned over and ruffled his hair.
"Quit it!" he interrupted, swiping her hand away. She removed it, but continued talking:
"But we have to believe we can find a home. Somewhere better than the compound."
"I hope you're right."
A few minutes later, the back door opened and Josh entered. He had the straps of a bag in his fist which he placed on the bench. "I hope you two like adventure stories." He glanced over his shoulder as he laid everything out from inside the bag. Both Sienna and Ethan crossed the room to see what he had brought. "It's just sandwiches. I didn't want the neighbours looking down and thinking there was something weird happening."
Sandwiches sounded amazing! After eating protein bars for two days any type of real food would be awesome.
"Yum!" Ethan yelled grabbing the closest one. "Not for you, Blue!" he swatted their companion away. Obviously Blue needed to investigate also.
"Here," Josh removed the lid of a container, only just withdrawing his fingers in time. Blue had already emptied it of the raw steak that was inside. "I thought she might like that." Blue removed herself a little to chew on her meat. She still watched them carefully between bites though. "And I have a couple of books for you. We thought it might be best for you to wait until the neighbours go to bed before coming up to the house. I can stay here with you if you like. Or I can get Faren or Audrey to come back."
"We're fine," Sienna had already picked up one of the books and was reading the blurb on the back. "Blue will look after us." She grabbed the unclaimed sandwich with the other hand and was already on her way back around the car to the couch.
"Right, then. I guess I'll leave you to it."
Ethan had grabbed the other book and raced to beat her back to the couch. "Stay away from my side!"
Sienna took her eyes from the book long enough to roll her eyes at Josh, so he would know she wasn't as immature as Ethan. Then she slumped back down to read. Josh grabbed a screwdriver and slipped back out the door without either of them noticing.
"I think you can stop worrying that the kids think you deserted them." Josh dropped the screwdriver on the counter in the kitchen and rejoined the others in the living room. He dropped into a recliner facing Faren. Audrey was stalking backwards and forwards across the room, like a caged tiger. "They barely noticed me once they had books in front of them!"
"That sounds like my kids," Faren laughed proudly.
"I got onto your mum," Audrey cut in. "She'll be home soon and knows not to put the car in the garage."
Josh nodded. He had worried about the explosion if Blue and his mother encountered each other unexpectedly.
"I'm glad the kids are fine." Her voice was quiet as if she wasn't really paying attention to him.
"You know you haven't touched your sandwiches." Josh prodded. Apparently he wasn't the only one she wasn't noticing.
"Oh yes." She sat down and picked one up. It didn't quite make it to her mouth before she was up pacing again.
Josh had no idea what the two adults had been talking about while he was ground level, but he doubted they were having much success with what to do. Seriously, what did they think they were going to do with a dinosaur girl and a velociraptor? Maybe if they found clown shoes for her, people might not notice, but they'd have to lose their pet. Whatever. It wasn't Josh's problem. He got out his notebook and tried to turn his thoughts to the elasmosauri pair, but they kept coming back to the two kids and dinosaur in the garage. Neither adult made things any easier, both lost in their own thoughts.
Josh was relieved when his mother finally arrived.
The story Aunty Audrey told was every bit as incredible as Josh had hoped. Genetic experiments on the kids, their escape, tracking them through the wilds. Soon, Josh hoped his mum would let him apprentice with her. He was more eager after this story, even if his mum was aghast at several points. And then they arrived at the predicament. What to do with two (Two! Ethan was a dino-kid too!) dinosaur kids.
"They are clearly human, then?" Josh's mum asked.
"I didn't even realise the boy was part dinosaur. They act just like regular kids." The fight over the couch reminded him of him and his mates.
"The corporation has no legal grounds to detail human beings. No matter what they did to them genetically." Faren and Audrey shared a glance.
"True," Faren flicked the end of their ponytail around their finger, then dropped it. "They will want to keep this quiet."
"I'm concerned about the lengths they will go to keep it quiet." Audrey said this in almost a whisper.
Josh froze. He had watched stories about evil corporations - they were some of his favourites. But would a real corporation kill a couple of kids and everyone who knew about them? It definitely wasn't legal to … detain children. But murder?
"And you brought this to my door?" His mother's tone was icy.
"They're children, Ruth."
Josh's mother buried her face in her hands. His mother might not be a badass like Audrey, but she was usually on top of everything.
"How many people would they stop at killing? Can we tell ten? Twenty?"
"You know I never play the odds, Ruth." That was true. In all her adventures, Aunty Audrey never took unnecessary risks.
"So we either tell everyone or hide them."
Um," Josh broke in. His aunty and mum always respected his opinions, but this was a conversation where they might not welcome his thoughts. "Shouldn't we ask the kids what they want?" Everyone's eyes looked at him. "Like, if we tell everyone, law enforcement, media, then those kids will be known wherever they go. They'll never have a normal life." Everyone was listening, so he continued. "And if they go into hiding, they will always be on the move, always hiding. They'll never have friends or a normal life that way either. But shouldn't they decide which way to ruin their lives?"
"What about blackmail?" Those words from his mother's mouth made Josh choke.
"I wouldn't want the kids to be a part of that decision." Had Aunty Audrey already considered blackmail?
"It still wouldn't solve all our problems."
Audrey still not sitting, crossed to the windows and peaked out. "I think the neighbours are asleep. Let's get the kids in here and we'll sleep on it tonight and hopefully by morning we have some other solutions."
Chapter 19: Tree House
As much as Ethan enjoyed reading, he had gotten bored of it far sooner than Sienna did. But that was alright because he had a dinosaur to play with. Ethan had found a worn out fuzzy yellow ball on the floor, tucked into the corner of the couch. So far, not only was Blue great at playing fetch, she'd also play find the ball too. No matter where Ethan hid it, she was always about to find it really fast. Too fast really. That game got old really quick.
Ethan was trying to teach her to sit when the door swung open again. This time, Josh was accompanied by a short, soft woman with long, messy blonde hair. "Hey group, this is my mum, Ruth."
"Hi kids," she bustled over to Sienna and pulled her up from the couch by both arms. "Look at you! Let's get you both upstairs where it's comfortable. Oh and this must be Blue," she turned to the dino-mo-gen. "Isn't she a sweet little thing?"
Sienna shook her hands free, slipping one finger between the pages of her book. "Nice to meet you Ruth," she said politely. They had both been taught good manners in school.
"Hi Ruth," Ethan echoed.
"Now, we've turned all the external lights off, so no-one will be able to see us. Do you think you'll be okay in the dark?"
Ethan laughed at that, rolling his eyes at Sienna,
"We'll be fine," the girl clarified.
"Well, grab what you need then. Will one of you bring Blue?" Her voice sounded light, but the look she cast at the velociraptor was accompanied with a shiver.
"I've got her," Ethan declared. Sienna looked like she was about to argue, but then her eyes swept by Josh and she clamped her mouth shut.
The parade from garage to platform was quite strange with Josh leading the way, Sienna loping slightly behind. Next came Ethan half dragging and half coaxing his theropod, leaving Ruth to turn out the light and close the door behind them.
The platform was exactly what it sounded like - a large rectangle of wood. It had a wooden barrier around the outside though and in each corner a post with pulleys attached at the top. All of them seemed connected to a system in the centre back where Josh situated himself. Once they were all standing on the wood, Josh started hauling on a rope which began to engage the pulleys and raised the platform relatively smoothly.
Ethan was enthralled with the system, looking at each pulley in the corners, looking to see where they joined and where the rope Josh pulled on was connected. Josh, who had built the system was happy enough to answer any of his questions and seemed more than happy to allow the younger boy to pull on the rope.
They reached the top without incident only to discover what Dr. Santos had been telling them about the houses in trees. Ethan hadn't really considered where the platform was going until it arrived at a wood and rope bridge leading to a darkened building that appeared to be wrapped around the trunk of the tree. Josh led the way, stepping confidently out onto the bridge. Sienna was close behind. Ethan was a little slower. He was excited about crossing the bridge, but it was tricky trying to get Blue to the narrow entrance.
Once she was in line, Ethan took his first steps on the bridge to show her what to do. However, Blue's first step onto the unsteady surface caused the whole length of it to ripple and swing. Ethan stumbled, catching the rope barriers on either side to steady himself. The rope shook again, the wooden slats swinging left to right. It was a struggle just to turn around to face the dinosaur. As he reached about 90 degrees where he could make out her shape in the dark, she slashed wildly, her forclaw catching on the rope support. The claw caught, causing the bridge to shudder again. Trapped, Blue flung her forearm about. It popped free, the sudden release sending her stumbling backwards into Ruth who was still behind. The older lady stumbled back, tripping over her feet and landing solidly on her bottom, legs outstretched. Blue then tripped over her legs and stumbled sidewards this time. "No!" Ethan yelled diving for her before she disappeared over the edge of the platform. He fell way short, landing on Ruth's legs, but Blue dexterously caught her footing and her balance, her tail, swinging, then propping and she came to be still.
Moments later Josh, Sienna, Dr. Santos and Audrey all arrived on the platform, Audrey apologising profusely that she hadn't considered Blue crossing the bridge. It took some time, some failures and too many scratches to finally get Blue across the bridge. Partly with Sienna demonstrating foot placement, partly Audrey and Santos on either side of Blue stopping her from flailing about, Josh muttering under his breath about maximum weight on the bridge. But succeed they did, so that finally they reached the first of four tree houses.
"How do you kids feel about sleeping here for the night?" Ruth asked as they watched Blue be maneuvered those last steps. "The real bedrooms are over there." She nodded her head towards a tree house across another bridge in the dark.
"I think this will be fine," Ethan nodded. He was too tired to consider trying to get Blue across another bridge tonight.
"I'll go get some sheets and blankets. You'll be nice and cosy inside. Why don't you go in. Get yourselves nice and comfy."
The kids eyed the windows of the building. There were thin slithers of light shining through gaps of the curtains, but that was all they could see. Sienna shrugged and headed towards the doorway, Ethan a step behind. Seemingly happy with this, Ruth disappeared across a bridge into the dark.
Stepping inside, both kids were impressed. It really was a tree house! In the centre of the room was the tree trunk. There was an island bench about a metre from it, long enough to need to be arced. And a meter from that was the living room set - couch, recliners even hammock chairs hanging from branches that disappeared up into the ceiling. The windowed wall was another metre beyond the furthest chair and circular all the way around. They didn't get the chance to explore what looked like the kitchen on the trunk-side of the bench or see anything on the other side of the trunk before Dr. Santos, Audrey and Blue came in.
Blue circled and sniffed both kids as if they were the ones who had been in danger, but quickly settled into her haunches by the door.
"You did promise us a tree house," Ethan grinned at Dr. Santos. "This is excellent!" He stepped over to the window to peep out. Being completely black outside he let the curtain fall back again and returned his attention to the room. "That lady said she was getting us some beds."
"I think you'll find sleeping in here, even on the floor will be a lot more comfortable than your last couple of nights," Santos said with a smile. "But we have some things to discuss before you go to sleep if you're up to it."
"Sure," Sienna stepped forward. "We got plenty of sleep on the transport."
Ethan sighed. He would have liked some sleep - he hadn't slept anywhere near as much as Sienna had today. Between the boat and the transport he was surprised she'd stayed awake long enough to walk from the final terminal. But he followed Dr. Santos' gesture towards the lounge setting.
He dove for the hammock chair, turning to look proudly at whomever he had beaten to it, only to discover that no-one else had tried. Their loss. He settled back down into it, pulling his feet up under him. Sienna took the other one in a calm manner. She was trying to act adult. Ethan rolled his eyes at her, then lowering one leg again, used it to swing himself. Moving faster than he had expected, he found himself face to face for a half moment with Audrey before the downswing pulled him back away. Fortunately, Audrey didn't seem to mind. She gave him a grin before lowering herself on to the recliner, perching on the edge as if she were ready to leap off in a second.
"So, what do we need to discuss?" Sienna asked once the adults were both comfortably seated.
"Your choices," Dr. Santos replied. Unlike Audrey, they leaned back into the couch, one leg propped up so the ankle rested on the knee of the other. "We have several options, but I'm afraid-"
"We want to go to school!" Sienna burst in just before Ethan had managed to say the same. "With other kids though. Not like in the compound."
This had been a central point to many of their planning discussions. They really wanted to meet other kids and make friends. Having each other had been great, but the idea of making friends with other kids like in the beforetime clips was tantalizing.
"Okay," Santos leaned forward, resting their elbows on their legs, right hand raised up to their chin. "Let's talk about what that might look like. We spoke earlier about how the other kids will look different to you. They will have never met children with dinosaur genetics before. You could be up front with them, and show them your legs," they indicated to Sienna, "and your eyes." This time to Ethan. "As much as it pains me to say this, this may scare the children and children can be cruel." Ethan looked at Sienna and noticed the dismay on her face matched his own feelings. "The alternative would be to hide. Baggy pants, big shoes, long hair. You would constantly be afraid they would discover the truth and they may still tease you for your disguises." Ethan pulled his leg back up and hugged it to himself. They had never really considered it might be hard for them in a school. They only really imagined how much fun they would have. "Maybe when Josh returns he can help you decide. He would have more of an idea of what the kids would be like."
Sienna lowered her head, then raised it, her big, dark eyes staring at Dr. Santos. "Okay."
"What about dINo-Gen?" Ethan asked. They would have to wait for Josh to answer the first problem, so he wanted to move onto the next.
"I will return tomorrow morning. I plan to tell them I thought I had found your tracks but was mistaken. I found no real evidence that you had left the building at all. Audrey's name is well regarded. When I explain I had her with me, they should trust that." They glanced across at Audrey who shrugged slightly, her eyes narrowed in thought. "With luck they will believe something happened to you. They will take many days to know for certain, if they ever do."
"Because security is in a mess right now," Audrey cut in. "They won't know anything about anything for ages."
"Yes, a big mess."
At that moment, Ruth entered, followed by Josh, both their arms full of blankets. It wouldn't get too cold here, it never did, but blankets would be soft to sleep on.
"Oh, you don't have anything to drink!" she exclaimed on entry. "Josh, get them something while I set up the beds." She disappeared around the far side of the tree. They could hear her bustling about.
"What do you all want?"
"Just water thanks," Sienna voice was barely above a whisper. Then she turned to Santos: "should we help her with the beds?" The doctors were always able to answer any questions they had about people they saw in clips. This seemed like a protocol.
"How about I do that so you can stay and ask Josh your questions." Audrey arched to her feet and disappeared after her sister.
"What questions do you have?" Josh asked after receiving everyone's drink orders and handing them out.
"What are kids like?" Sienna asked just as Ethan blurted:
"Are we freaks?"
Josh laughed kindly. "You know, they're both really big questions." He took a sip of his own glass of water. "I've definitely never seen anyone as unique as you two. But I can also see you're a lot like me, so hopefully you're not too freaky." Ethan laughed at this, Sienna focused on wiping the drips of water that she'd managed to spill on herself. "You know when I was your age, we had a boy come into our grade whose brain worked differently to the kids already in the class. The teacher explained why and what that meant for the kid and gave us a chance to ask a whole bunch of questions, so later, when the boy joined us, we knew all about it. We were a little awkward at first, wondering what we could or couldn't say, but it didn't take long for us to start talking about regular kid stuff and soon we didn't even notice his brain worked in a different way - well, sometimes we did - sometimes he did something we thought was strange until we remembered why and we accepted it. I think if you talk to kids they're pretty wise."
"I hadn't thought of looking at it that way," Dr. Santos spoke up, eyes shining. "I didn't always have great experiences in school, but the good ones were when I was able to communicate honestly. It might take some effort to organise, but if you're keen we'll give it a shot."
"Yes! Please!" both kids cried.
"Okay then. That's decided. Tomorrow, I will have to leave early to go back to dINo-Gen. I imagine Audrey will need to return to her job too. Will you be alright here until we return tomorrow night?"
"We get to hang out in the tree houses? Awesome!"
"And Josh tells me he has plenty of books if you get bored. You'll need to remember if you're outside, the neighbours won't understand about you yet, so be discrete."
They both nodded.
"The beds are ready," Ruth announced stepping back into view. "And I think I know just the teacher who can help us out with this."
"Perfect and perfect," Dr. Santos rose to their feet. "I will have to leave early tomorrow to get to work on time, so I'm going to turn in. Don't stay up too late kids."
"Josh, show Dr. Santos where to find their bed." The two of them left giving the kids a chance to explore the other side of the tree trunk. There wasn't a lot there. A book case, and a bed that looked like it was once a sofa. There was also a pile of blankets on the floor in a nest.
"Come here, Blue!" Sienna called. A moment later their pet came into view. "Look, it's a bed just for you." Blue sniffed at it, then settled down next to it, completely disinterested in the comfort or warmth it might provide. "Oh well," Sienna said with a shrug.
"There's a bathroom in the next hut with toothbrushes and clothes to sleep in." Ruth gave more directions about where to find adults in the night and being careful on the bridges before she and Audrey left them to settle themselves down for the night.
Even once they were in bed though, neither kid slept. They were both far too excited with discussing tree houses and schools and living happily ever after.
Chapter 20: A Normal Life
Audrey slipped her phone into her pocket and headed to the kitchen. There was no way around it, she would have to go into work to sort things out. Disappearing for a day after the disaster had not helped her workload at all. She slid the door open quietly and pottered around searching for everything she needed to make herself a coffee. She was quiet, but not too quiet - she hoped to say goodbye to the kids before she went. By the time she was seated on a stool at the counter, blowing on her hot drink, the two faces peered around the tree trunk. "Oh good, you're up," she greeted, raising the steaming mug towards them before returning to blow on it. "I was hoping to see you before I leave. Do you want coffee?" She grabbed the pot and two mugs and poured them each one. "There's sugar in the bowl and milk in the fridge."
The two kids climbed, bleary eyed onto their own stools and sniffed the drink in front of them. That piqued Audrey's curiosity. Had they ever tried coffee before? Would they like it?
"So the day you two escaped was a bit of a crazy day for me at work. I have to go back and calm my clients and fill in a lot of paper work…" The death of a client was always a terrible ordeal in every way. "As much as I would like to stay here with you, I really can't." The two kids eyed each other. Clearly not morning people.
The boy then turned his eyes to his mug and took a sip. The look on his face was amazing. His lips puckered into an upright oval as he spat the hot liquid back into the mug, his eyes closed. Pulling his mouth from the ceramic, he started wiping his tongue with his hand making "uhk" noises. When that didn't work, he jumped off his seat and went around to the sink, sticking his head under the tap to wash the taste from his mouth.
"I guess you're not a fan of coffee." He glared at her with his big eyes and shook his head.
"It can't be that bad," Sienna spoke up. She took a sip herself, her face freezing as the liquid touched her tongue, mug halted at her lips. Slowly she lowered the cup and forced herself to swallow. "See. It's fine." Notably, she did not try for another sip.
"Hey, you're awake!" Josh swung into the room. He grabbed the jug and a mug and poured himself some coffee too. "Mum says I can stay home today with you two. I can show you around, make sure you're comfortable. If we can convince Blue to stay behind, we can even check out some of the town. How does that sound?"
Ethan pulled his head from under the tap. "Cool! Can you show us the school?"
"Not today," Josh took a sip and gave Audrey a satisfied look. "Mum has to arrange everything first. But soon. I can show you the observation tower though. Have you ever seen the ocean?" Both kids' eyes bulged at that.
"The ocean?" Sienna asked. "The ocean?"
Josh laughed kindly. "I take it that's a no."
Sienna shook her head slowly, eyes wide.
"Well, since you're in such capable hands, I'm going to head off. Josh has my number if you need me." Audrey took a last sip of her coffee before tipping the dregs in the sink. To her surprise, as she stood up, both kids leapt to hug her.
"Will you be gone long?" Sienna asked.
"I doubt I'll be back tonight, but I'll be back as soon as I can." She didn't add that her sister would never forgive her for dumping a couple of kids in her lap and disappearing.
"Good." Sienna tightened the hug a moment and then released her, backing back to her stool. Ethan let go a second later.
"Bye Blue," she patted the dino-mo-gen on the head as she turned around. She hadn't seen the velociraptor join them but she was not surprised. She glanced back as she headed out the door. Sienna was taking another sip of coffee. The kids would be fine for today at least. Her career on the other hand… Her thoughts returned to the deinonychus and scientists two days earlier.
Needless to say, she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the previous night. Before turning in, she had read all the messages that had been piling up throughout the day. Today was going to be filled with awkward conversations to assign responsibility and explanations to actions. She would have to explain where she disappeared to… since Faren would tell the company she had helped him, she could at least be partially honest… probably shouldn't mention the kids though… what had she promised to keep quiet when she signed the NDA? Her thoughts roiled as she grabbed her pack, climbed down the stairs and headed towards the terminal. It was going to be a looong day.
Once Aunty Audrey left, Josh started making something a little more substantial for breakfast. The two kids prattled on to each other the whole time, often pausing him to ask questions about the color of the ocean or whether the school was in a tree too. They really seemed like good kids. Ordinary kids. He noticed that Sienna kept sipping at the coffee with the tiniest sips, then tried not to pull faces at the bitterness. He remembered his first drinks of coffee weren't pleasant either. Josh even found himself a little jealous. He never had a sibling himself, but these two, as different as they looked, with their clearly different ancestry, eye shape and body parts, were as close as any siblings could be - even when they were fighting over something.
And then there were the quirks - their enthusiasm over having cereal for breakfast - a food they had apparently never tasted before; questions about "normal" kids . or their shared knowledge of obscure facts. Generally though, it was easy to forget that she had dino-legs and he had super-senses. After breakfast, he left them for a while to shower and read while he went to buy some wood. Not many people slept at ground level since traditionally, it was unsafe, but it had been years since a dinosaur had breached the perimeter of the town and these kids had their own bodyguard. He meant to build a shelter for them to sleep in - mostly so they wouldn't have to get Blue across the bridge any more frequently than they had to.
When he returned he found them reading comfortably in the living room, Sienna lying on the couch, Blue, astonishingly stretched on the floor below her so she could scratch her head. Ethan was back in the hammock chair, swinging himsel, though launched himself from it as soon as Josh entered the room.
"You're back!" He landed with a thump. It was possible the room wasn't built with swing launches in mind… "Can we go to the observatory now? I wanna see the ocean."
Josh laughed, "Sure." It wouldn't hurt for them to build the shelter later.
"Great!" Sienna also jumped up, Blue close behind. Apparently she wasn't so focused on her reading as she had made it look.
Glancing down - he'd have to try to stop doing that - he noticed she had on baggy pants and giant boots. She looked a little odd, but no-one would think she was part dinosaur. The fact that she was already shoed made Josh realise how eager they were. "Looks like you're all ready? I guess we can head straight back out then." The smiles the two kids gave him were the widest he had ever seen. He didn't even regret not stopping long enough to look in the fridge for something to eat. Moments later, only after explaining to Blue that they were leaving the trio headed back out, ready to explore.
The kids were just finishing their dinner with Ruth and Josh when Dr. Santos returned that evening. It had been one of the hardest and longest days of their life, but seeing the huge smiles when those kids leapt from their stools at the counter to greet them helped them see the value of it.
"Josh showed us his elasmosaurus! It was in the ocean!" Ethan bubbled with the news of the day. It seemed theirs was quite eventful, full of seeing dinosaurs and sights from the observatory to learning how to hammer with Ruth as they constructed a basic ground level shelter for themselves and Blue to sleep in. Their excited chatter helped Dr. Santos push away the thoughts of their day. The long trip home on the transport had been enough for their thoughts to circle around every conversation and interactions trying to see if they had let slip any clue about the kids being alive and sequestered away by Faren. They had been super careful, but was it careful enough.
"And Ruth says we can't go to school tomorrow, but maybe on Monday." Sienna was equally excited to share as Ethan was. Even now they were both seated back at the counter, their eagerness was effervescing from them. Dr. Santos couldn't remember either child showing this level of enthusiasm ever before. Not even on chocolate and ice cream dinner Fridays.
"Yes. I told the kids that I had a big secret that they couldn't even share with their parents… and one of them brought up the very good point that their teacher always told them that you shouldn't have secrets with adults that your parents don't share… and I can't fault that thinking. But it means we're going to have to let the parents know. Dex and I have been trying to come up with a way… and I think it's best if we invite the parents to meet the kids themselves. It will be hard for them to be scared once they see such sweet faces."
Her pause and lingering gaze made Dr. Santos think that she was looking for approval of this plan. They tried really hard not to shrug. This was so far out of their expertise. Dr. Santos was a geneticist and studied the children's biology. This seemed more like teaching to them, or maybe psychology? Taking time to think, Dr. Santos moved to the kitchen bench and served themself a plate of food. "I think it's going to be tough," Dr. Santos took the only stool left vacant. "When people encounter something foreign to their understanding for the first time, they may say hurtful things. They may mean them or they may just be saying passing thoughts." Dr. Santos looked at Sienna, then beyond her at Ethan, catching their eyes and holding them a moment. "I want you to be prepared that what these people say, adults or children, might be hurtful."
"Just like escaping from captivity in a facility." Josh piped in. He was sitting on a stool at the far end of the bench. "I bet you knew that was going to be hard and dangerous. But you thought that being free was more important than staying safe." Dr. Santos could see where the teen was headed with this. "You need to decide if you think hearing people say unkind things is worth going to school."
"Definitely!" Sienna almost shouted. So excited. They really were going to do this. The rest of the conversation was around what kinds of things people might say or what kinds of questions they might ask. They discussed whether Sienna would be okay with kids touching her legs and what she could say to remind them that it was her body and that leg touching was not appropriate. Once Dr. Santos finished eating, they used their help to get Blue down to the ground and then excitedly took them to check out their new bedroom. They had only spent a few hours on it so it was very simple. Pallets and mattresses for beds, a rudimentary roof in case it rained. They talked more about their plans though - fencing of an area of dense jungle that Blue would be able to enjoy without the neighbours seeing; creating a corridor between that and the bedroom so Blue could move about when she wanted. They had some great ideas. Long term ideas.
"It sounds like they have adopted you and your home," Faren whispered apologetically to Ruth when the kids were marking out the corners of the 'jungle area'.
Ruth turned to them, biting her lip. "I'm not going to rule it out, Faren. It would be something I need to discuss with Josh and Audrey - and you obviously. But it's a possibility."
When Ethan came back he was grinning broadly. He gave Ruth a big snuggly hug. That kid's hearing was phenomenal!
Audrey didn't arrive back until the kids were in their beds. She looked as tired as Faren felt. She spoke softly to each of them before all the adults returned up top. Faren and Audrey spoke long into the night, each sharing their burden of their difficult day.
