Chapter 21: School!

Sienna's legs bounced rapidly, shaking the whole bench, but Ethan didn't say anything. He was probably just as nervous as she was. Just a few metres away, just through that door, Teacher Dex was telling his class of eleven years olds about her and Ethan. Teacher Dex had seemed really nice when they had met him at lunch time. He had lots of questions - mostly about what information they were comfortable with him sharing with the other kids and checking his facts - and made them feel liked. He even made a special handshake for them to do when they came in. Apparently all the kids in the class knew it. Ethan and Sienna had practised it non-stop as soon as Teacher Dex had left, but they knew it really well now and had nothing else to do but wait. Audrey and Dr. Santos were with them. They had both managed to get the afternoon away from work - it was probably why they had both worked for most of the weekend - they felt this was too special a day to miss.

Finally, the door opened, Teacher Dex beconning them in, a big smile on his face. Sienna went first. She had her hand all ready to give the shake, but froze when she saw the room. It was bright and colorful, the walls filled with posters and kids work. But it was also filled with kids. Real, actual kids. One near her jumped to her feet. "My names Darah," she grinned, holding out her hand, clearly ready for the handshake. Sienna looked at her startled, but automatically did the movements she'd been practising. Many kids gasped, some clapped or called out. They were super impressed that she had learnt it already. "Welcome to our grade." Darah took sat back down and was replaced by another kid. Ethan had also squeezed through the door past her and another kid was offering for him to do the handshake too. More exclamations rose at his success. The words, "already part of our grade," jerked a smile across Sienna's face. She was suddenly swelling with joy like she had never experienced. It wanted to burst from her belly, her limbs, her back but mostly her face. She couldn't possibly smile any bigger and her eyes began to water.

Three kids did the handshakes with each of them, before Teacher Dex took his turn. "Come over here." He led them to a pair of wobbly stools in front of the kids. Sienna barely noticed Audrey's hand rub her back as she and Dr. Santos found seats behind the kids.

"We are all so excited for you to join us today. Some of the kids have worked out questions for you to answer." Teacher Dex scanned the kids on the floor, before returning his eyes to the guests. "Remember, if you don't want to answer anything, that is fine. Just tell us you don't want to answer. We will understand. And if at any point you want to leave, that is fine too."

"How old are you?" a boy in the back called. Many questions followed and Sienna and Ethan answered them all. The kids didn't mind when Sienna told them she would be uncomfortable with them touching her legs - though one kid did go further to ask if they were smooth like a snake or bumpy like a lizard. That was definitely not something she had ever considered before. She hadn't ever touched a reptile so couldn't answer that. Then the same kid offered for them to come visit her so they could touch her pets. The dimpled girl had a corn snake, basilisk and tegu for them to meet so they could feel them and check. Sienna was too curious to be embarrassed by the idea.

Every kid in the grade had questions for them. Some were even about the compound? "What was school like?" "Why is it a compound when it's in a building?" Again, Sienna had never considered it, but Dr. Santos answered for them, drawing a map on the board to show the part of the building the kids lived in that was actually mostly an outdoor space with a large room for an indoor learning space and a smaller room for their beds. Sienna noticed the much larger shape of the rest of the building. She hadn't realised it was quite so big. She had always assumed the whole place was for her and Ethan. Some of the questions made her seriously uncomfortable - "how do you poop?" and "Do you eat kids?". Others were really strange: "are you contagious?" It took a few extra questions from Teacher Dex to clarify what exactly they thought would be transmitted. Others again were things she had just never thought to ask of Ethan: "can you see through walls?"

Finally, the questions dried up. It was time for the parents, now. Dr. Santos stayed inside with Teacher Dex while Audrey and another teacher, Teacher Jude went outside with all of the kids.

"What do we do now?" Sienna asked Audrey staring at the colorful playground. The kids had all taken off at a run. Many had balls, several kept on running, others climbed. They all seemed to know exactly what they were doing."

"You can go play." Audrey smiled.

Sienna and Ethan inched towards some equipment that they could climb. They climbed a lot on the equipment in the compound. That was one of the reasons Sienna was so good at climbing trees.

"Wanna play compies on the ground?" a girl ran up to them, grabbed them each by the hand and dragged them much faster towards the equipment. "You can't touch the ground, otherwise the compies will get you!" She squealed before leaping onto the equipment and worked her way across it. That seemed pretty simple. Both her and Ethan jumped off the ground before the imaginary compies could get them.

Too soon the kids were being called back in. A couple were grabbed by their parents and ushered away, but most of them returned to the classroom to settle back onto the floor. Now though there were lots of seats behind the floor area, each one filled with an adult. This time there were less questions. A couple of adults gave speeches about welcoming them to the community and that no matter what travesties had brought them here, they could feel safe. One man did stand up though and asked, "how can you make sure you don't gut my little Ryan with that savage claw of yours?" Sienna's toe claws retracted instantly.

"As we discussed," Dr. Santos stepped forward so Sienna didn't have to answer. "Sienna has had them her whole life. She knows when to use them for climbing and when to retract them. Just like your fists. I would hope you don't punch people unintentionally." The man muttered an answer but sat down, crossing his arms tightly.

This second session wasn't too long, though afterwards, several families stayed behind to talk to the kids personally. Ryan's family was definitely not one of them. He grabbed hauled his kid to his feet and dragged him out as soon as the meeting ended. Sienna wasn't sad to see him go. He was the boy who had asked about the poop.

The ones who remained asked questions similar to the children. The reptile girl dragged her father up to introduce them and to ask when they could come visit her animals. By the time it was over and Sienna was climbing back into the car she felt relief. She hadn't realised just how tiring that was going to be! Ethan however seemed to be pumped. "There were so many kids and they were all so nice," he gushed. Sienna let his words wash over her as they drove back to Josh and Ruth's place. It really had been a great day. And tomorrow, they would get to spend the whole day as real students. They'd have to practise the handshake again before bed to make sure they didn't forget it. She yawned. An early night would be nice tonight.

Chapter 22: Routines

Even after days of classes, the level of excitement each morning was high. Both kids raced up and down the treehouse ladders to eat breakfast and find belongings. Both of them gave lots of love to Blue before racing out to the car ready to head into school. Ruth and Josh moved at a more sedate pace. Relaxing over their morning coffees. Though once the kids were in the car and waiting, they always felt the need to move a little bit faster.

Both Audrey and Dr. Santos had already left. They tried to stay overnight when they could, but they were always gone early in the morning. Ruth's home was some distance from where either of them worked, even now that they had their own both were only a phone call away. When Josh and Ruth entered the garage, the kids were in the back seat of the car, Audrey's face displayed on the phone she'd bought them a few days earlier.

After greetings all round, they hung up, ready to look out the windows. Ruth tried to take them a different way to school each morning so they could see something new, though after several days, she was finding it hard to come up with new routes. And the truth was, if these kids were going to stay, they'd have to get used to the normal route. Ruth dropped them off at the gate and watched them run in before moving on to the high school.

Sienna and Ethan gave a half glance over their shoulders as they ran into the school. As with every other morning, as soon as they hit the building, an adult told them to slow down, but they still hustled to their classroom. There, Teacher Dex greeted them both with the class handshake as did the three other kids there already. Then they got to their work. Sienna loved to read each morning. She loved the display of books - there were so many to choose from. Ethan switched it up each day. He figured he could read anytime he wanted at home, so instead gravitated to the other kids. Today there was a kid, Ellie, building a fort with blocks that was surrounded by dinosaurs. Ethan settled down next to her to help. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to the towers on the corners.

"The watch towers, silly." Ethan had caught glimpses of towers around the town, but had assumed they were just part of people's homes. "That's how the soldiers keep an eye out for the dinosaurs."

Ethan picked up a thread that was lying on the floor between the walls and the dinosaurs. "Don't touch that!" Ellie cried. "You'll get electrocuted!" Ethan dropped it quickly. He hadn't considered before how they managed to keep dinosaurs out of the town, before. He'd seen the wall when they drove close to it, but it was usually hidden behind trees so he didn't pay a lot of attention to it.

"Is there a… wire around the town?" he asked.

" It's on the second boundary fence." She told him, her tone indicating that everyone knew that piece of information.

"So how will the dinosaurs get in?"

"They can't. They just wait outside to catch any kids who try to run away."

"I think I'd use the transports to run away then," Ethan laughed. Her scenario sounded way too scary.

Ellie sat back on her ankles and stared at him. "That's pretty smart. If I ever run away, that's what I'm going to do."

"Are you going to run away?" Ethan was suddenly worried he'd given her bad ideas.

"No. But sometimes it's nice to think about."

"Where would you go? There's just dinosaurs and rapids out there." He frowned, thinking about his own experience of running away.

He didn't get to hear her answer though because the pack and prep music started. Ethan helped pull all the buildings down and put them away.

By the time the music was finished, all the kids were sitting in a circle waiting for Teacher Dex. Each day there had been one or two more kids than the day before, but not today. And there was no sign of that boy, Ryan. But Ethan wasn't worried about that. He was too eager to begin the day.

Donal set the binoculars down and swept the area with his eyes. There was movement in the east. That wasn't unusual. The tops of the trees shook, and a theropod burst through. Then another, and another. That was a little unusual. Especially when six more joined them, all spaced out in an even line. He grabbed his phone to take a photo. Theropods in a line wasn't something you saw every day. He only just got the shot when they charged, simultaneously, at the second boundary fence. Weird. But it wasn't anything too concerning. Each of them had been thrown back by the vaultage. They weren't going to get through. But, being the responsible security personal he was, he called it in.

Someone answered, but instead of hearing a voice speak, he heard screams. That was less good. He grabbed up the binoculars again and lowered them to the gate, where the commander would have been stationed this morning. There were no soldiers outside the gates where they should have been. And, was one of the gates buckled? He couldn't quite make it out. What was happening? He looked back at the theropods to try and make a connection, but they had all managed to get up and were running alongside the fence. They didn't appear to be an immediate danger, but something just didn't seem right. He grabbed his rifle and took a shot. It smashed into the ground past them. They began to zigzag. Something definitely wasn't right. That wasn't typical dinosaur behaviour. As he tried to line up his next shot, he couldn't do it. The zigzagging was just too unpredictable. Having no idea what was happening, but seeing too many dangers around, he flipped up the cover and slammed the heel of his hand into the emergency warning button. Immediately, sirens blared. Every single person in town should know what that meant: dinosaurs had breached the outer perimeter.

Chapter 23: Dino Drill

Ethan did not know what the siren meant. He was just aware that sound exploded in his head. A repeating, high pitched, loud sound that caused him to bury his head in his arms to escape it. Only moments later, he felt a hand rubbing his back.

"It's just the alarm," Teacher Dex's voice was calm. "We have done drills before, we know what to do." Ethan was aware of movement around him and then felt the hand that was rubbing switch to lifting. He allowed himself to be pulled up and looked around him. All the kids were in a line at the door, Sienna was the one, pulling him to his feet. They joined the line, though Ethan's hands were still pressed against his ears. It was just so loud!

"Are there dinosaurs attacking?" He heard a boy's voice between the wails.

"We're going to assume it's a drill, but treat it like it's real, okay," Teacher Dex responded. "That means, we are going to be super careful, but we're going to be okay." He led the kids out of their ground level classroom, across the grounds and up a stairway that spiralled around a tree that was so wide it would take ten kids to encircle it. Before climbing, Teacher Dex paused for a head count, then led them upwards. The kids followed in a straight orderly line. Another class of kids mirrored them, climbing up the next tree over. It was all so smooth, that if it hadn't been for the blaring siren, no-one would have guessed that there was anything to worry about.

At the top of the stairs, there was a large room suspended between four trees, each one as substantial as their own. Even with his ears buried, Ethan noticed the supports keeping it in place. Considering it was suspended between four trees, it looked pretty secure. The trees were huge and each bridge across to the balcony that surrounded it was short, wide and flat - no crazy swinging suspension bridges here - all supporting the structure in the middle. The wide bridges meant the whole class was sitting cross-legged, in a line, in the room in less than a minute. It didn't take long before several other classes had also sat in their own lines. Each of the teachers were busy calling names and checking all the kids were accounted for.

It didn't take long for the excitement of the drill to fade into boredom. Many of the kids turned to their devices to keep them amused. Several kids called their parents, but most parents either didn't pick up or told their kids to "listen to your teacher", "stay safe" and "I love you", before hanging up. It wasn't until Ethan's sharp ears heard a scream in the background of one of the calls, which cut off almost instantly, that Ethan even considered there might genuinely be a problem. Where they sat, they could see a nice view of a cloud strewn sky, with a couple of treetops poking into sight. But they had no idea what was happening on the ground.

The sirens continued. The teachers started fidgeting. Several bunched together whispering.

"Never go on this long."

"...something serious."

"...safe up here."

Ethan couldn't quite make out whole sentences because of the sirens, but caught enough to alarm him. He wanted to share what he'd heard with Sienna, but didn't want his classmates to hear. Without realising it, his foot started beating a regular rhythm.

"Stop it," Sienna hissed, placing her hand on it. He stopped. "What?" she asked. She knew him too well and could see the anxiety on his face.

Silence.

The cessation of that blaring, constant sound was almost deafening in itself. It was several moments before the kids started stirring, and the teachers gathered together.

"Can we go home now?" More than one voice whispered variations on this theme. Ethan, however, inhaled deeply, feeling his ears sooth. His foot no-longer needed to tap. There was just glorious silence. Even the movement of kids' bodies, their whispers, the sound of the wind outside, the rustling of leaves below - none of that disturbed his feeling of peaceful silence.

"We think that means that everything's going to be fine," a tall lady addressed the room. They had been introduced back on the day Ethan and Sienna had come to visit the school. She had had loads of questions and seemed really important, but they hadn't seen her since. "We're going to sit tight a little bit longer though. We want to be really certain everything is safe before we head to ground." She gave a big, warm smile that reached her eyes, but it dropped maybe a second early.

Ethan's ears, still relieved, curiously attended to one soft noise after another. He would have noticed the thuds outside anyway. Lots of thuds. Climbing to his feet, he headed down the line of his classmates to stare out the window. Closer to it, he could see the trees below. Trees that were shaking and jerking. It was not the gentle rustle of a breeze, but sharp motions of things knocking against them. Many things.

Ethan startled as Teacher Dex rested a hand on his shoulder. He had been aware of footsteps approaching, but had been too focused by what was happening below.

"What is it?" Teacher Dex asked, eyes scanning the view.

"Dinosaurs," Ethan whispered. He didn't want the other kids to know. "Lots of dinosaurs."

"How about you keep a watch here, Ethan," Teacher Dex spoke aloud. "It can be your special job." He then stepped carefully across the rows of kids and made his way towards the important lady. They whispered together, then Teacher Dex crossed to another teacher.

Ethan was only kind of paying attention, so was a little surprised when one of the teachers started playing a guitar. It was just a gentle strumming at first.

"I can't seem to get anyone on the phone just yet, so we're going to stay up here for a while." The important lady's voice rang out across the room. "Teacher Tru is going to play for us so we can have a sing-along."

The strumming got louder and soon several kids started singing. Slowly, others joined in until almost everyone was singing. Ethan was surprised they all knew the words. He definitely didn't. It also made it harder for him to hear what was happening below.

Not that it mattered. A second later, the floor juddered beneath them. A kid squealed, but Teacher Tru played louder. A second judder. Several voices started singing really loudly, but some stopped. One even started sobbing. The important lady and a couple of other teachers stepped outside, and returned moments later. The important lady - Principal Laura - the name just popped into Ethan's mind - Principal Laura made a back and forth motion with her hand at her throat, and Teacher Tru stopped playing.

Another shudder.

Chapter 24 Gashing Compies

"So, kids. We're still doing okay," Principal Laura called out over our heads. "We're just going to head over to the tree trunks. Maybe fill up the stair cases. It mightn't be -" thud. "...as comfortable as it is in here, but we'll be fine."

Not even seconds later, each teacher was directing their students. And the students walked one behind the other. Thud.

With a scream, a blonde kid dashed out of line to overtake everyone. Principal Laura was there instantly. She stumbled at the next thump, but it didn't stop her catching the kid. Ethan couldn't hear what she said, but she was whispering in his ear and patting his hair. Ethan continued to look out below. There was not a lot to see, with the leaves covering most of the view. But then Sienna was dragging on his arm. It was their turn to leave.

It was tricky to walk across the floor that juddered periodically, but they made it without anyone slipping. Fortunately the short, wide bridges meant all the kids managed to get across to one of each of the three trees that were not currently shuddering. No-one went near the fourth.

Soon, the guitar started again as the kids settled their bottoms on to the steps. They easily fit three on each, but there were tussles over which kid would be the lowest. In fact a couple scrambled back up to pile into rows of four or five. Ethan didn't blame them. Clearly whatever was bludgeoning the fourth tree was down below.

And then it stopped. It took several beats for Teacher Tru to realise and stop the guitar to listen, but the barrage had definitely stopped. Teacher Dex headed back up to Principal Laura who was on the middle bridge, surveying all three stairways.

Grabbing Sienna's sleeve, in the same way she had done to him earlier, Ethan pulled her down the stairs. Not too far. He didn't want to go all the way down, but low enough to see what was happening.

"This is dangerous, Ethan," Sienna hissed at him.

"I know. But I have to see."

"Why? We're safe up here."

Thud.

This one shook their own tree trunk. Ethan stumbled, his feet no longer beneath him. His bum slammed down onto the step below, but he fell no further. He stood up, brushed himself off and pretended like nothing had happened. "I thought I heard something. A command maybe." His right hand found the railing which he grasped tightly. "I need to get where it's quieter. And maybe we can see something further down."

They shuffled down the steps, making sure they were holding securely before lifting a foot. The thuds were coming at unpredictable intervals, so they had to expect one at any moment.

"There it is again," Ethan muttered. "Compies."

"What?"

"We've gotta get back up quickly." Ethan ran on ahead. He felt bad overtaking Sienna and racing up the stairs without her, but he had to reach the top quickly, and stairs were the only time he could run faster than she could. Even with practice, her careful foot placement simply slowed her down too much.

He reached the lowest level of kids pretty quickly, but kept going, trampling on feet and fingers, but not stopping to apologise. He could do that later. By the time he reached the top, he was gasping for breath, his chest heaving. Both Teacher Dex and Principal Laura tried to stop him to talk, but knowing he didn't have time to catch his breath to speak, he ignored them. Instead, he dodged around the principal and leapt across the bridge. Grabbing an emergency pack, he raced back again. The adults saw and let him pass before following behind. He heard murmurs of them telling the kids to stay where they were and to not worry. Grateful, he pushed on. Going back down again meant more stepped on body parts, but at least he could breath a bit better.

Hearing a yelp from Sienna below him, he pushed on, his hands searching in the bag as he ran, not willing to lose a second. He rounded a bend in the stairway and saw her. Sienna was on her butt, using her legs to kick away dozens of compies, but the tricky scavengers were leaping over her legs to her torso. She was able to tear off several and throw them over the edge, but not all of them. A couple managed to nip at her face or shoulders before she could pry them off.

"Cover your eyes!" Ethan commanded as he popped the lid off the spray and depressed the nossel. The compies screeched, backing away, giving Sienna some space. Ethan handed her the spray while he grabbed out the compi sticks and the lighter. She had to spray off two attacks before he got the sticks lit, then another two attacks before the smell caught their attention and they fell over themselves to get back down the stairs.

Sighing with relief, Ethan turned and saw the adults pulling up behind them. "They might send compies up the other trunks. We need to light a compi stick at each of them." He felt kind of weird telling adults what to do, but Principal Laura didn't hesitate. She raised a walkie-talkie to her mouth to instruct the teachers who were still up above to do what Ethan had instructed.

"What are you two doing down here?" Teacher Dex hissed at the same time that Sienna said,

"How did you know they were coming?"

"I came down here so I could see and hear better. And I heard the command to send in the compies." Ethan felt like he had answered both of them adequately. He was still heaving to catch his breath.

"Whose command?" the teacher demanded.

Ethan just shrugged as the tree shuddered again. It had stopped while the compies were attacking, but now resumed again. "It's not a normal voice. It's really high pitched."

"Okay, the teachers are lighting compi sticks low down on each trunk." Principal Laura unknowingly interrupted their conversation once she had tucked the walkie talkie onto her belt. "Now what?"

Ethan looked over at Sienna and shrugged. Teacher Dex had other ideas. He started heading back up the stairway. The group followed, stopping a full rotation below the kids. Taking the opportunity now they had stopped, Ethan closed his eyes, trying to listen intently for any more commands.

Instead, what he heard was, "Yeah, so we're at school and someone is sending dinosaurs after us." He opened his eyes to see Audrey's image displayed from Sienna's phone.

"Where are you? Exactly?"

"Do you remember the multi-purpose shack? We're all on the staircases on each of the trees leading up to them.

"Do you know what dinosaurs you're dealing with?"

"So far they sent compies up the stairs, but Ethan set compi sticks to keep them away. Otherwise, something that has been battering at the tree trunks."

"I'm going to link Santos in. They might know how the dinosaurs are receiving their commands. If you get the chance, film what is happening -" Audrey disappeared. Sienna tried calling her again with no result.

"That wasn't as helpful as I had hoped," Sienna tucked her phone back into her pocket. "She's probably on her way, but it'll take her over an hour to get here. We're on our own"

THUD.

The thuds had continued throughout the whole phone call, but this one, at the end of that statement, seemed remarkably poignant. Especially as above them, something cracked and fell, bouncing off branches all the way to the ground.

"I can't hear anything from up here. Maybe if I go back down, closer to the ground."

"No!" Teacher Dex cried. "It's far too dangerous!"

"Not really. The compi stick will keep the little guys away and I'll be able to hear if anything else comes close."

"I still think it's a bad idea." Teacher Dex looked to the principal for support.

"I'm going to return to the rest of the children and the staff," she said, clearly. "I think you will be safer coming back up with me." She started up the stairs, the children following her. "I wish there was a safer way to know what was going on down there though."

"What if I went down?" Teacher Dex sighed, striding after her. It sounded like the last thing he wanted to do was get any closer to the dinosaurs down there.

"I could never ask you to do that." There was something formal in her tone.

"Laura," he tried to speak calmly. "Just so we're clear. I am only going down there because you want me to." He turned around and started downwards.

"You'll be safer with me," Ethan called, then turned and followed his teacher. Sienna turned too, but Principal Laura caught her shoulder.

"I think two people risking their lives is more than enough." Then gently push-guiding her by the back, they moved back up the periodically jerking stairs.

About seven meters from the ground, Teacher Dex stopped. "This is close enough." He jammed the compi stick he'd grabbed into a metal loop on one of the posts. "If you can't see or hear anything from here, we're going to manage without knowing."

Ethan stretched out looking through the trees. At this height, he could see the creature battering their tree - or at least, he could catch its dark silhouette as it paced backwards and ran forwards. He could see a vaguely bipedal shape that had its head lowered like a pachy. He could hear its heavy footfalls as it moved backwards and forwards.

And then he caught the next directive. "We've gotta get back up to warn them!" Ethan yelped as he turned and raced for a second time back up the tree trunk. Teacher Dex had no choice but to follow behind.

Chapter 25: Balancing Beam

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 26 Timber!

The rope caught them, swinging them towards the trunk. Towards the staircase. As they got close several students grabbed at the swinging duo. Sienna felt many fingers slide off her slippery legs. But then she felt herself being drawn slowly closer to the stairs rather than swinging further away. The kids had managed to grab the little boy's legs and were guiding them both over the railing and to the safety of the stairs.

Screams turned to cheers as the teachers rushed in to check them both, but their elation was short-lived as there was another cracking thud and the tree itself started tilting.

"Everyone to the other side of the trunk!" Sienna heard a teacher yelling and the students started scrambling in every direction. Sienna slipped out from the rope and followed the bigger group of kids. They were making their way up the trunk, but stopped once on the top side of the falling bole. Following the teacher's directions, they clambered from the steps and found a spot to lay down. Many kids were close to the stairway, so Sienna had to stepping stone her way to find a better spot, while the tree sunk swiftly towards the ground.

By the time Ethan had caught up with his teacher, Teacher Dex was already on the short bridge across to the suspended building. Several people were yelling at him - mostly other teachers from other trunks - but he continued on, clinging tightly to the railings so that he wouldn't fall on any thud. He had just made it across when the first crack accompanied the thud, causing Teacher Dex to turn sharply. Ethan stumbled, taking three steps back before crashing into another kid and falling into a pile on the ground. By the time he was standing again, Teacher Dex had disappeared into the building.

Ethan stepped out to follow him.

"Stop!" a voice boomed across at him. He froze jerking his head up to see who it was. Ethan didn't recognise the teacher yelling at him, and was surprised such a loud voice came from such a small person. "Don't take another step!" The teacher continued.

Ethan didn't want to disobey her, but also didn't want to leave Teacher Dex alone either. He looked back across the bridge.

"He doesn't want you to follow him." The teacher was booming at him again. "You know that. And if I have to come over to your tree to stop you, I will be deserting all these kids here." Ethan felt a wave of guilt. She was right. There was no way Teacher Dex would want him crossing. With a sigh, he stepped back so the teacher understood he had listened. But he remained at the edge, waiting for Teacher Dex to reappear.

Which he did. He started crossing the bridge when the second bigger crack occurred and the tree started tilting. The bridge creaked. A look of terror widened Teacher Dex's eyes. They traced the distance to the falling trunk then the distance back to the shack. The shack was closer. He leapt for it, making the distance easily.

Turning, Teacher Dex raised the rope ladder and heaved it across the breaking bridge. Ethan moved forwards to catch it. It fell short, but one part arched out further than the rest. It tangled in Ethan's hands as he caught it and then realised the platform he was standing on was slipping away from him. He scrabbled for leverage while trying to hang onto the rope. Soon he was sliding, but was caught by another kid before he went too far. He grabbed hold of a post that was part of the railing. There was no way he was going to be able to climb down to Sienna, so he looked up to Teacher Dex. He immediately wished he hadn't.

The collapse of the bridge and the supports leading from the tree forced the shack onto a steep slant. Teacher Dex was flat against the balcony floor, mimicking a spider. One foot pushed against a bridge post that had survived, another on a railing post. One hand was holding onto the doorway, while the other waved back and forth as he tried to find something to pull him up into a better position. The whole thing was making cracking noises. Ethan wasn't sure how long Teacher Dex would have to save himself. What he did know was there was nothing he could do.

He glanced down at the rope ladder in his hand. It wouldn't help him get across to this side… and Teacher Dex wouldn't be able to catch it anyway… Ethan felt utterly helpless. He just stared at his favourite teacher hoping for the best. Teacher Dex released the door frame so he could bend his knees. He recaught the door frame, this time with both hands, and was able to get his elbows up over the edge. Ethan's breath caught. Maybe he was going to make it.

Maybe he'd never find out. The tree was dropping fast and soon the building, and Teacher Dex were well above Ethan's head. He craned his neck to see what was happening but it was just too far above. An errant foot kicked him in the shoulder, drawing his attention back to his own situation. He seemed pretty secure, hanging on tightly to his post, riding the tree trunk as it timbered its way down to the ground. The branches of other trees that crumbled beneath it whipped past his face, the trunk tilted picking up speed as it got closer and closer to the ground. Not knowing when that final collision was going to happen, Ethan tried to relax his muscles, bent his knees, stayed loose so that he'd be as springy as possible. He even tried thinking springy thoughts, but was pretty certain they weren't going to do a lot to help him.

Chapter 27 Triage

The fall took a surprisingly long time. Ethan was nearly ready to tense up to change position when they hit. The judder felt as if a diplodocus had decided to sit on him, but from underneath. The air was knocked from his lungs and he gasped for breath. Others clearly still had their breath because the screams that had accompanied the fall continued at an even greater strength. Ethan looked at the kids around him. One was sobbing, another comforting him. Another was already bounding from one branch to the next to reach the ground. There were at least a couple of serious injuries, blood flowing from one girl's head, and he could see the bone sticking out the elbow of another. She didn't look too good, her face was pale and she wasn't making a noise.

Staying in the tree wouldn't do them much good and a glance down reminded him he still had the rope ladder clutched tightly in his hand. Finding a large, broken tree limb, he hooked the first step of the ladder over it before tugging on the ladder with all his strength. He didn't have time to determine if it was strong enough before the first kid was already scrambling down, followed by another and another.

Once the ladder was in place, he returned to the injured kids. He had to work out some way to get them down. Problem was, both he and Sienna had been given rudimentary first aid training, so it had been drilled into him that you should never move the patient. But could they stay here? Although the trunk was broad and felt sturdy, he was also aware that they were balancing on top of a cylinder. It was something to ponder while he pulled a wound pad from the emergency pack that he'd still had slung over his shoulder. It wasn't long before one of the older kids joined him. "Want a hand?" she asked.

"You're not racing to get away from here?" he muttered as he tried to find something more permanent in the pack. It wasn't easy having one hand pressed firmly against the head wound.

"I doubt it's any better down there." She placed her own hand over his, applying pressure to the wound. Gratefully he rifled two handed through the pack and slid out the small tube of rapid bandage. As he began sealing the wound with the rabid bandage, his assistant started trying to get the patient's attention - blowing in her face, calling her name. He was thrilled when the eyes fluttered open.

"Keep talking to this one," he instructed, before heading over to the broken arm. His head swirled when he looked at the bone poking out through the skin, so he tried really hard to keep his eyes focussed on the kid's face. "Hey," he greeted kneeling down.

"Ethan, right?" An adult's voice sounded from over his shoulder. He turned. A teacher was standing in front of him. "You're doing a wonderful job there, but I would like to take over now."

"Sure." The teacher was probably far more capable than him at treating students. After all, he had forgotten to get a response from Head Wound before treating her. He shuffled out of the way, so the teacher had space. While the teacher spoke to the child, Ethan found a immobilising cast and handed it to him. The teacher accepted it without taking his attention from Broken Arm, talking and reassuring the whole time. Ethan scanned the area, looking for more injured people, listening for…

"Gashes!" he hissed, looking quickly at the teacher to make sure he wouldn't get into trouble for his language. Then he shook his head at the ridiculousness of the idea. "I have to get away from here," he said louder, to the teacher. "I'm sorry to leave you." He ran for the ladder, giving a nod to his brief assistant before shimmering down. He hit the ground running, heading towards a classroom. "Sienna!" he yelled. He'd heard exactly where she would be and made straight for her. "They're tracking us!" He didn't have time to wonder why Dr. Santos had failed to remove their chips.

Sienna looked up at the sound of Ethan's voice. It had seemed so long since she'd seen him. The terrifying ride to the ground, being thrown from the tree when it thumped to the ground, spraying the compies that had appeared so suddenly. And now, they were being tracked.

"There!" Ethan pointed and she followed where he was looking. A tall man in khaki coloured clothing was pointing something at her. Then, presumably hearing Ethan, he turned towards her brother. It took him less than a second to smile creepily before raising the object again. A second was long enough.

"Ethan!" Ellie threw herself at him. A small dot appeared on her shoulder.

No! Sienna knew what that dot meant. They had seen velociraptors train by chasing laser-targeted animals and drones. And they always destroyed the target. One of the scientists even told them how they took down a targeted triceratops once. Being targeted was a death sentence. Fortunately, Ethan seemed to be aware of the danger. He hoisted Ellie up and bolted towards the building behind Sienna. Sienna scanned the area to see how much of a lead they had, and bit her lip to hold in a scream. It wasn't a velociraptor that was sprinting towards them. It was one of the creatures that Santos and Audrey had told them about and it was fast. Ethan paused at the door and Sienna slammed her palm against the door control and hit open. The dull metal door slid upwards and they dove under it and into the building behind. While Ethan untangled Ellie from around his neck, Sienna slapped the internal door control and the door dropped down behind them. These doors were designed to keep dinosaurs out, so they had a minute. Though since they were controlled by a human, with a human shaped palm… "We gotta move!"

They crossed the atrium at a sprint and headed down a corridor towards the dining hall. They had eaten the delicious lunches that the school provided every day, so knew exactly what to expect. Several groups of tables with chairs. It took a lot of weaving to race to the other side. Sienna was certain that the creature who followed would have no such problem. It would simply jump from one table top to the next. She had no intention of finding out for sure if she was correct though. Sienna and Ethan slid through the door at the back that led into the school kitchen.

"How long do you think we have?" Ethan asked her as they crept between two long metal benches.

"Not long." Sienna hissed back. "You can't hear it yet?"

Ethan shook her head, and Sienna felt relief. She knew she could trust his sensitive hearing. They had a few minutes yet. She looked around the kitchen. It was pretty standard. There was a cool room in one corner and a kitchen garden opposite it. A mist of coloured water sprayed down over the plants. Nothing there to help them, unless the beast happened to be allergic to basil. There were some knives hanging against the wall, but they were small. They would use a laser cutter for anything big or think… the laser cutter could work, maybe. Except they were designed specifically not to cut anything they weren't programmed to. If they had more time, they could maybe program it to cut like a weapon. That could be plan B. The problem was, everything was so compact and safe. Food would be processed using the laser cutter, then it was put into the cooker and set to cook in the manner you chose. Her mind wandered momentarily to clips she'd seen of old timey kitchens with vats of bubbling golden oil. That she could use. But there was nothing like it here. She wouldn't be able to through scolding oil at the creature. But maybe… she sprinted to the dry goods store. It didn't take her long to find tins of what she needed. Food might no longer be submerged in oil, but it was still used in some dishes. And here was a huge container of it. It was so big she had to drag it instead of carry it.

"What are we going to do with that?" Ethan asked. Then quickly followed with, "no time to explain, it's in the building. Whatever you're planning, do it!"

It was a fairly simple idea. Just pour the oil across the floor. It would become to slick to run on. But then what?

As she tipped the oil out, she asked Ethan for ideas.

"Oil's flammable right? Could we light it up?"

Not a bad idea. Except we wouldn't want to get caught in it ourselves. There was a back door that we could escape through. But to where? Would setting the creature on fire be enough to stop it

Chapter 28: Kids in the Kitchen

As Sienna skidded into the kitchen, she realised their school friend wasn't with them. "Where's Ellie?" she asked.

Ethan's wide-eyed shrug wasn't comforting.

"Stay here," Sienna instructed. "Find somewhere for us to hide. I'll bring her back."

Ethan nodded as Sienna ducked back into the dining hall. It took only a second to register where the girl was - her heaving sobs giving her away. She was curled up under a table, clearly terrified. She flinched as Sienna skidded down next to her.

"Hey Ellie. Wanna come with me?"

The girl's big, dark eyes spilled tears. "I - want - to - stay - here." Her words came out as independent hacks.

"It's just not so safe here. You saw how easily I found you, right? Let's go find Ethan in the kitchen. I think he'll have found the perfect hidey hole for us.

"Do you think?"

"I sure do."

In the distance, they heard the sound of the outer door slam closed. "Ready to go?" Sienna;s voice quavered. She knew exactly what that slamming door meant. Ellie slid out from under the table and climbed to her feet with unbearable slowness. Sienna had to refrain from grabbing her by the pig tails and hauling her to her feet.

The door at the entrance to the food hall slammed open, hit the wall and bounced back again.

Sienna couldn't hold herself back any longer. Grabbing Ellie by her armpits, she dragged her across the hall. Her powerful legs crossed the distance quickly, even dragging the extra weight.

As she dove through the kitchen door, Sienna glanced back to glimpse the creature leaping across the room, table top to table top.

"Here!" Ethan threw a metal rod at her, which she deftly caught and thrust through the door handles securing them.

"That's not going to hold for long." Sienna cried, backing away from the door as the creature smacked up against it.

"That's just part A of my plan." Ethan sounded confident, so she waited to hear the rest. "Ellie, come over here. Sienna - to the freezer."

Ellie didn't need convincing. She ran across the kitchen and tucked herself into the small cupboard he had open, waiting for her.

Sienna was less convinced. "You want me in the freezer?" The door to the kitchen thudded under the creature's weight.

"No. By the door."

Sienna looked at the floor by the door of the freezer and sure enough there was a large metal canister sitting there, open.

"Spill it in front of the entrance." Sienna understood straight away. She tipped the oily contents across the entryway. It was now seriously slippery.

But Ethan wasn't done. "Now grab the laser cutter."

That instruction took her a second. The object sitting on the bench was no longer a laser cutter. It had been dismantled. She had grasped it just as the door handles popped off the door with the sound of distressed metal, and clanged to the floor. The creature was already hurtling inside. Hurtling, then slipping. The oil on the floor made it impossible for its feet to grip and it started wheeling across the floor. Neither kid had the will to laugh at it though. It was still a deadly predator.

"We need it between us for the laser to work." Ethan called. He needed to use his really big voice to be heard over the stumbling monster.

That was easy. Ethan had planned this manoeuvre carefully so that they were both already in a pretty good position.

"Are you sure this will work?" Sienna asked, more terrified than dubious.

"It worked at a short distance." He nodded towards a carrot that lay in two pieces on the counter by his elbow. It was now too late to test. The creature had managed to pierce a countertop with a claw and it was using it to lever itself upright. "Now!" Ethan yelled.

Sienna raised her device into the air, and saw that Ethan did likewise with his own device. At first, they couldn't tell if the laser had reached the relay Sienna held, but Ethan had that sorted too. He blew a fist full of flour across the room. Sienna altered her position until the green line of the laser stretched between them. She froze, maintaining the position of the beam. The creature had no idea what they were doing. What it saw was Ethan standing, helpless in front of itself. It lunged. Right into the path of the laser cutter. And it did work at this distance. Ethan initiated the slicing function. A single haunting shriek pierced the relative silence of the kitchen and was cut suddenly short. The beast slid to the floor. Sienna didn't stop to look to see if it had been cut in two like she imagined or something worse. She was too focused on just getting out of there. Ethan paused only long enough to open Ellie's cupboard and grab her hand, pulling her along as the three of them ran through the door out the back of the kitchen.

Chapter 29 Conscientious Classrooms

Randomly selecting a classroom, they climbed into a cupboard set into the wall. It was cramped and dark and far from comfortable. Down the corridor they heard doors slamming open and a rough masculine voice called to them. "Come out come out you freakish science experiments."

Each time a door slammed open, Ellie gripped Sienna's knee ever tighter. It seemed in her impending danger that she didn't notice the bumpy, smooth scales.

"I'm pretty impressed with what you did to my predon. Impressed. Angry."

"This guy can open all the doors," Ethan hissed. "He's got human hands."

"What do you think?" Sienna replied. "We should try a window? We're on the first floor."

"It's gotta be safer than in here-"

"Why don't we take the tunnels?" Ellie spoke up. Both Sienna and Ethan looked at her in surprise.

"Every year we do a drill where we have to take the tunnel. We all practise opening it - you know, in case a dinosaur gets into the school."

"'Show us!" Sienna had to clamp down on yelling in her excitement. She shifted so that Ellie could reach the door of the closet. Instead of slipping out into the classroom, she switched on a light overhead. She then slid the back of the cupboard aside to reveal a metal access panel. Next she slid open a small side panel to remove a bolt key and used it to release the panel. It slid open easily. Turning out the light, they stepped through and sealed it back up again.

"I guess this escape route wasn't designed for running from people," Ethan commented, morosely. "He's going to see that access hatch as soon as he opens the cupboard doors."

"Hopefully he doesn't carry around one of these." Ellie held up three vaguely rectangular shapes which they could just make out in the phosphorescent strip lights on the floor. "I grabbed the spares too, so I hope no-one else needs to come down here."

"The bolt keys!" Sienna exclaimed, giving Ellie an approving squeeze around the shoulders.

"That'll slow him down for sure!" Ethan cried. "But let's not waste our advantage." The three of them sprinted as quietly as possible down the long, dim tunnel.

The heavy darkness made the run through the tunnel feel eternal. The sight of the lights making a different pattern made all three of the kids want to cry in relief. Instead of two diagonal lines almost joining together in the distance, they now reached vertically with a horizontal line connecting them.

They slowed as they neared, then halted. It had become apparent that the structure being outlined by lights was actually a door. Ethan took a step forward, his eyes catching sight of a podium holding a panel. As he approached it, it lit up so the others were able to see it too.

There was an outline of a handprint. All they needed to do was place their palm on it and they would be outside again.

"Or we could wait here. Where there are no dinosaurs." Sienna knew exactly what Ethan was thinking. "We really could." He continued. "I haven't heard our hunter behind us. We at least have some time."

"Or they're tracing us and they'll come at us from there." Sienna pointed at the door.

"They did seem to be targeting our tree." The hope that was echoing in his voice had disappeared.

"And they had no trouble following us through the school."

"So you're thinking it'd be better to have more than one escape route?"

Sienna considered a moment longer. She had been merely discussing options without an opinion, but it was time to make a decision.

"Let's keep our options open."

Ethan didn't wait for her to change her mind. He slapped his hand against the panel and the door slid upwards, stunning them with bright daylight.

They squinted and stumbled forwards.

As their vision cleared, they found themselves surrounded by chaotic adults. They were in a part of the town they didn't recognise - even so, they knew it was a mess. Cars were crumpled or flipped on their roofs, trees and fences were strewn across roads, walls of building lay in rubble piles and people were running, seemingly in no particular direction.

"Did you just come from the school?" A woman demanded as she grabbed Sienna's shoulders. "Are the other kids coming?" She didn't even give Sienna time to answer. "Have you seen my son? Darian. He's -."

"Back off, Meredith," another lady interrupted. This one wore a red sweater. "They're clearly upset. Give them space."

"We did come from the school," Sienna told them. "Things aren't good there. There's a lot of dinosaurs loose."

Sienna didn't soften the news. Her world had been filled with scientists who were only interested in the stark truth. That was just how she spoke to adults. Meredith's face crumpled as she let out a loud wail before darting away.

"We thought as much," Red sweater said. "It looked like the dinos were headed towards the school. Did they go right on past?"

Ethan and Sienna exchanged a look - more proof that they were being traced. "No," Sienna continued being blunt. "The school was their target."

The woman's face paled. "Why go after the kids?" She flipped out her phone and scrolled for a second, before lowering it, dejectedly. "I guess I should head there to help."

"Or-" Sienna spoke up. "Can you help our friend here get home?"

The lady looked at them in surprise - maybe wondering why they didn't take her themselves. Ellie did her part by looking up at the lady with pleading eyes.

"We need to get home too," Ethan jumped in. "It's just we're heading in the opposite direction."

"I guess. I can do that." The lady's tone was filled with relief. It was understandable that she wouldn't want to head into the dinosaur zone.

"What are you thinking now?" Ethan asked Sienna as they watched the woman disappear with Ellie.

"I hadn't got further than making sure Ellie got far away from us."

"Well, we left the tunnel so we'd have more than one escape route…"

"But without having an escape plan." Sienna caught the idea and started thinking aloud. "And with gashes knows what tracking us."

"Do you remember what Santos said about how far they can track us?"

"About a kilometre, I think."

"So if we can put some distance between us and them?"

"The transports?"

"What are the chances there'd be a transport waiting when we get there? Not to mention they'll probably intercept us before we get to the terminal…"

"We could steal a car?"

"Did they teach you how to do that?"

Sienna ignored the scorn in Ethan's voice. "No." It wouldn't help to get annoyed at him.

"Well, standing here is not a plan. I vote we take our chances with the transporter."

Sienna considered a moment more, but as no other options came to mind, she shrugged and started jogging. It didn't occur to Ethan as he started to follow that she had no idea where the transit terminal actually was.

They had been running a while when they finally recognised where they were. The street was one they had taken to school - except it was Aunty Ruth's tourist route, so recognition didn't help locate themselves.

"This way!" Ethan heaved out. He was out of breath but pressed on. Sienna nodded and followed him, angling more to the left than they had been running.

Ethan skidded to a stop.

"What's wrong?" Sienna asked. He didn't need to answer as an australovenator stepped towards them. "Oh." She pulled her can of caps spray from her pocket.

Chapter 30 Dinosaur Standoff

A movement caught Sienna's eye and she swung her head towards it. A second australovenator stepped into view, its long, sharp claws looking like scyths. Sienna and Ethan stepped back, moving instinctively so they were positioned back to back.

A third theropod stepped forward completing the circle. Sienna braced her legs, preparing to lash out as soon as one got close enough to spray.

The first darted forward.

Rubber squealed over the roaring of an engine. Ruth's car spun, knocking the attacking australovenator into the one on the right. The third now launched itself at this new threat, landing on the roof, tearing at it with its claws. Josh, now visible in the driver's seat, trod on the accelerator. The dinosaurs's claws screeched as they dragged through the roof, its body thrown back off the vehicle before thudding down to the ground. It moved to get up, but collapsed as its leg rocked, then dropped under its weight.

The first theropod lay in a heap out of the way, but the second chased after the car. The car wasn't looking so good at this point with dents down one side and shredded metal peeling up from the roof, but it could still drive. Josh took off - not too fast. Just fast enough that the dinosaur couldn't catch him as it chased him down the street.

"Gash it." They knew that voice. Ethan and Sienna turned to face the hunter. "Dinosaurs make wonderful attack dogs. That is until something else threatens them." He swaggered towards them. "Then they run off to destroy it." Another of the creatures - a predon - followed half a step behind. It almost walked like a man, but had a slight toddle to its gait like a chimpanzee walking on two legs. "Don't believe for a moment that you will be quite so lucky again."

Sienna and Ethan shared a glance. Ethan wished he could signal to her. Let her know what he could hear, but he couldn't afford to alert the hunter.

"This is better, you know. More humane. You two can come peaceably with me now and all the dinosaurs will leave with us. How does that can all be over."

Ethan didn't respond. He was too busy watching for an indication that the hunter could hear what he did. He was sure it would distract the man for just enough time to do something.

The hunter's eyes shot to the air, hunting for the helicopter that he finally heard. Ethan grabbed Sienna's hand and dove for some nearby bushes.

"Stop!" the hunter yelled.

CRACK! The sound of a gunshot exploded in the air. They froze.

"If you force me to target you, you won't live to return to the centre."

A glance at Sienna's determined expression was enough for Ethan. He dove to the side, hoping the sudden movement was too quick for the laser beam to catch.

The noise of the chopper was too loud now to hear if the predon was after him. He turned to look just as it leapt through the air at him.

Some force made it wrench violently forwards before it dropped into a heap.

Ethan looked up to see Audrey sitting in a helicopter still hovering above the ground. She held a high powered rifle and was pointing it towards the hunter.

A woman with a camera on a stick jumped from the helicopter to the ground. She turned, allowing the camera to capture the hunter, the wounded australovenarors and finally, the predon. Ethan sunk back into the bushes, away from the camera.

"...what appears to be some sort of twisted human-dinosaur hybrid. I'm not exactly sure what dINo-gen has been working on, but I can assure you, dear viewers, it's my new mission to find out."

The reporter headed back towards the hunter. She put her camera down for a moment before securing his hands with zip-ties. Her over-the-shoulder glances showed she was being careful that Audrey's rifle always had him in full view.

Once tied, she retrieved her camera and spoke to the hunter. Judging by his scowls and head shaking he didn't seem to like her questions.

The helicopter landed and Audrey climbed out. Keeping an eye and the rifle on the hunter, she approached the wounded dinosaurs. Her craned neck and the swivelling of her head in all directions made it clear that she was looking for something else though. The reporter came up behind her and after a brief conversation that included Audrey giving a slashing signal, turned her camera off.

Ethan took his chance while the camera was off to dash out from the trees.

"Ethan!" Audrey cried, and wrapped him in a warm hug. "You're okay? Where's Sienna?"

"I'm here," Sienna stepped out from her hiding place too and allowed Audrey to absorb her into the hug as well.

"I take it these are the children you rescued?" the reporter asked, raising her camera again.

"No video," Audrey warned. "You know the deal." She released the kids and stepped closer to the other woman. "We'll give you everything you need on dINo-gen to take them down without mentioning the children. After testing their weaponised dinosaurs on a school, you'll have more than enough."

The reporter's eyes lingered over Sienna's legs and Ethan's eyes. The look in her eyes almost matched the australovenator, but she lowered her camera.

"Speaking of the school," the reporter pulled her attention from the kids. "We should head over there and get some footage."

"Let me just secure this guy." Audrey said, nodding towards the hunter. "Then we can take the chopper."

She snapped cuffs around his wrists to replace the ties and took the laser designator from him. Then she manhandled him into the helicopter. This part, she allowed the reporter, who they now knew as Mandy, to film.

"You know," Mandy said once they were all inside with headphones on. "You should let me record your story. That way, you'll have it as insurance. If anything happens to you, I can release it."

"We'd need a very clear contract first,"Audrey told her firmly. "Assuming the kids agree." Weary from their day's excitement, neither kid had paid her any attention.

"Great gashing wound!"

The helicopter trip was less than five minutes long, just enough time that Mandy's exclamation jerked the kids awake.

"The school is a wreck! How'd they take down those trees? They're enormous! Can you find a place to land?" This last was directed towards the pilot who pointed at the school's playing field which was relatively clear of debris.

It wasn't until they were back under the trees and away from the noise of the engine, that they realised this was far from over. There were still dinosaurs doing what they loved most - hunting. They came across a group of compies that were jumping at the trunk of a tree. Audrey quickly used her compy repellant to scatter them, having fresh supplies with her. "You might want to stay where you are for a while yet, though," Audrey called up to the kids who were yelling their thanks down. "There's still a lot to take care of down here."

In the next hour, Audrey showed repeatedly exactly why you wanted a trained guide around. She created safe zones and herded people in and dinosaurs out without harming a single creature. Ethan and Sienna did their part. Having survived in the wilds for days then a full scale dinosaur assault, they were actually very useful. And now that no-one seemed to be controlling the dinosaurs anymore, they were free to roam about. Mostly, they hunted for trapped students. Usually they were easy to spot because there would be a carnivore pacing close by.

A thud behind the third grade courts had the pair running in that direction. Sienna arriving first, pulled up short, Ethan moments behind.

"Tear it up!" Ethan exclaimed, staring adoringly up at the tyrannosaurus rex.

"It's still dangerous, remember," Sienna told him, feeling equally impressed.

"Yeah, but after predons and australovenators, this one's gotta be easy."

There was something to what Ethan was saying. Though they were in full sight of the creature, it hadn't noticed them yet. It was distracted by other prey.

"Tell that to the kids on that bus." They could see half a dozen faces staring out of the window at the beast. With a roar, the tyrannosaurus rex lowered its head to continue its work, trying to open its canned dinner. Its mouth didn't quite reach the distance across the back of the bus, but they heard the pop and crash of the glass breaking in the windows. With a grip on the bus, the t-rex swung its head. The bus dragged along behind.

"You're right. We need to do something. What have we got?"

"Spinosaurus u-" Sienna froze.

Chapter 31 - Da ba di dah ba dye

While they had been distracted by the drama of the bus, a family of deinonychus had managed to encircle them. Ethan looked up from his backpack where he was rifling through.

"Gashes! I wasn't paying attention."

"It's alright. If you've got the urine, it should scare them away too." Sienna barely moved her lips as she spoke as if any movement would cause them to attack.

"I haven't found it yet."

Sienna released her breath slowly lowering her weight into her thighs, mirroring the deinonychus in front of her. It was about to leap and she'd need to get out of the way.

As it sprang into the air, a blue-grey flash crashed into it. Blue's yelps filled the air, as she circled to the other theropods. Pacing from one to the next, she barked at each, her tail lashing. The deinonychus watched. Listened. Turned and raced away.

"Did…" Ethan began, then stopped, knowing his thought was simply too ridiculous.

"I think Blue just told them to back off and they listened."

"They talked to each other?"

"I think s-" Sienna turned her head back towards the bus where things had gotten really quiet. T-rex had finally noticed them. Sienna dove into her bag just as Ethan tipped his out on the ground. They both grabbed their bottles of spinosaurus urine at the same time. The t-rex needed to cover a basketball court to reach them which at his speed wouldn't take him long to cover. In seconds, Sienna and Ethan splashed urine all over themselves. The t-rex pulled up. He was close enough they saw his pupils dilate before he turned and ran. The urine worked! Heading towards the bus, the kids followed the beast. They splashed the urine at him, pushing him forwards, past the kid sub.

The noise on the bus was deafening as the kids cheered in relief, then climbed off.

"We've got a safe place for you all to go," Ethan told them as they gathered around. "Just," he paused, weary. "Listen and do exactly what we tell you to." Each of the kids nodded emphatically. They had seen the two kids before them scare off five dinosaurs. They would do anything they asked.

Sneaking the large group to the safe zone Audrey had made, was time consuming. Fortunately, it was made easier in that there were far fewer dinosaurs around now. They picked up another couple of stragglers locked in the science office, and finally stumbled back into the safe zone.

"I don't think I can go out again," Ethan sighed as the kids found teachers who were collecting names.

"Me neither." Sienna signed. "I think that was one t-rex too many." Blue rubbed her head up against Sienna's thigh, where her fingers were in reach to scratch her head.

"Look who I found!" The kids blinked and turned to Josh who was standing next to Dr. Santos.

"Dr. Santos! What are you doing here?"

"Just handing over all the evidence me and my colleague Julien were able to dig up. People at dINo-gen have been a little distracted by this incursion, so we took the opportunity to break into their system - okay," Santos noticed their disbelieving expressions. "So Julien did that part. But we got everything we could and delivered it to that nice reporter, Mandy. She's busy looking through it now."

"So dINo-gen is done?"

"I expect so. If nothing else, I reckon they'll be leaving you alone for a good long while. Now, tell me about all your adventures here. I'm sure you were both quite the heroes."

"You won't believe what Blue did!" Ethan perked up for that sentence before his next wave of fatigue hit him. "But can we tell you after we sleep?"

In the centre of the safe zone, a general space had been set up into a makeshift shelter where several people, teachers, parents and kids were preparing food and fashioning beds. After a meal of rations, Ethan and Sienna curled up on a bed together.

"Do you know what this means?" Sienna asked him.

"I think it means we get to stay."

"Welcome home, Ethan."

"Welcome home, Sienna."