CHAPTER 55
All three velociraptors charged out at once, roaring with deep guttural bellows. It was the most startling sound that Robinson had ever heard an animal make. The raptors had timed their execution just right. He was in the middle of sweeping his gun from one side of the street to the other when they emerged, so his weapon wasn't pointing directly at any of them. Now he didn't know where to shoot first. He had the two females rushing in from the cabins on one side and the male sprinting out of the jungle on the other.
"Shit!"
Robinson swung his gun toward the two females, hoping he could get them to both disperse at once like they did before, but they stayed their course. He took a shot and the hunters leapt into the air as he fired, and his bullet passed right beneath them. There was a rush of wind at his back and a terrible screech.
Robinson turned his head and a full mouth of sharp teeth enveloped his face. A set of talons dug into his shoulders and he slammed to the ground. The entire weight of the male raptor bore down on his chest, and he struggled for air. The predator's gleaming eyes flared with aggression. Robinson's arms were pinned. His weapon had fallen from his grasp. He could do nothing but look into the eyes of his killer and wait to be torn apart.
Near his head he heard the heavy footsteps of the two females approaching. They bent down near his face and growled in his ears. It was as though they were gloating.
Robinson conjured a ball of saliva and spit it across the male's glaring snout. "Get it over with."
The male velociraptor shrieked, cocked back his head, and curled his lips to bare his teeth. He was ready to kill.
In an unexpected happening a gray cloud of gas burst amidst the velociraptors and fulminated with a rushing hiss into the air. Robinson felt an instant burning in his throat and lungs, like a million pins and needles. As the cloud enveloped him he coughed and wheezed. The raptors gagged and hissed, backing away with reluctance. Despite their coughs and raspy breathing they didn't leave. Through the toiling gas Robinson could see them pacing in a circle around him, shaking their heads in irritation. He rolled onto his elbows and looked at the emergency bunker. Through violent coughing he spotted Shelly in the doorway with her arm in mid pitch. She lobbed a second gas grenade about ten feet short of the first, and it inundated the street with more heavy vapors. She threw several more, each landing multiple feet short of the previous one. Within a short time there was a thick haze of safe passage between Robinson and the emergency bunker.
He crawled on his hands and knees, grabbing at the dirt road with clumsy fists. His cough was so strong he feared he might force his esophagus out through his mouth. As he picked up speed he climbed to his feet and stumbled the rest of the way to the bunker. Through the fog he saw the raptors lingering at a distance.
Shelly was waving Robinson in frantically. She had a wet towel held over her mouth and nose but was still in a coughing fit. As Robinson blundered toward her she pulled him into the bunker and slammed the door.
From his facedown position on the floor Robinson heard her sliding and locking all the bolts. Immediately following, she slumped down beside him, coughing and hacking.