CHAPTER 62

The pterosaurs clapped their long beaks open and closed and hissed. They snapped and growled, charging in and backing away with more aggression every time. Now that the quetzalcoatlus were all up close it was clear that there were subtle differences in the color of their skin. The most obvious variation was on the back of their head. Each pterosaur had a different colored head ornament.

The one standing near the boulders sported a vibrant shade of emerald green on its crest. This one lunged forward and swiped Dallas' stetson off Kyra's head. She was thrown to the ground, coughing as the chin strap snapped apart on her throat. From the rear, the other two quetzalcoatlus attacked Seth. One with a brilliant red crest bit his arm, drawing blood. The other, with a fiery yellow crest, rutted him with its beak and knocked him to the ground. Kyra and Seth both recoiled as three beaks speared at them from above. The pterosaurs stomped their scaled hands and feet and tromped from side to side, making it difficult to break through their mob circle. They threw sand at Seth and Kyra, stinging their faces and eyes.

Seth fumbled on his hands and knees, squinting tight. He could scarcely make out what was going on as a beak bit his side and ripped a hole through his shirt. Another snap tore it clean off his back. What he thought was a pterosaur hand came down on his shoulder and crushed his face in the sand. For a moment Seth couldn't breath, but the arm let up and he scrambled onward.

He dove between the front claws of the red crested quetzalcoatlus and crawled beneath its belly. As he tried to scurry past its back feet the pterosaur bit his sneaker and fought to drag Seth to the middle of the circle again. Seth grabbed one of the reptile's ankles and held on. With his other shoe he kicked the animal's mouth until it let go. As Seth crawled out behind the pterosaur he realized that it had actually pulled his sneaker off his foot.

He jumped to his feet and looked at the mob from the outside. The red crested quetzalcoatlus was gnawing viciously on his shoe while the green and yellow ones were stabbing their beaks at Kyra. Seth didn't know what to do. He felt like jumping back in the circle to get her would only result in him getting killed, but he didn't want to leave her either. The sand was spattered in blood. Kyra was tucked in a ball, screaming. She had no way to defend herself or escape. Seth knew if he left her she would be dead for sure. Now the red quetzalcoatlus had dropped the sneaker and was joining the others. As three sharp beaks speared at Kyra, Seth did the first thing that popped in his head.

With a holler he ran and leapt onto the red crested pterosaur's back. The quetzalcoatlus immediately reared up with a bellow. This action seemed to startle the other two flying reptiles as well, because they were both peering at the situation dumbfounded.

Seth held onto the shoulders of the beast with his bare chested body sprawled over its back. He was surprised at how much it felt like a mammal. There was nothing coldblooded or reptilian about the creature. With its short bristly hair and warm body it was more like hugging a large dog.

As the quetzalcoatlus bucked and stumbled about in circles Seth climbed higher on its body and grabbed a hold of its slender neck. With both arms he put the pterosaur in a strangle hold, dangling his feet to apply more pressure on its throat. The pterosaur squawked and gagged, blundering into the other two quetzalcoatlus. As their limbs got tangled Kyra looked up from the sand. She was shocked when she saw Seth's body swinging back and forth from the throat of the red pterosaur. She backed out of the chaotic circle and called his name.

"Seth!"

Seth yelled, "run! Get out of here!"

"Seth, let go!"

"Get out of here!"

Kyra backed away a little more. She didn't want to get caught in the circle again. "Seth, come on!"

The red crested quetzalcoatlus spread its wings and began to flap. Seth pondered whether or not it could actually take off with him on its back. Although it had a forty-foot wingspan Seth could tell the animal was lightly built. By the way it was moving underneath him he felt that it couldn't weigh much more than a hundred and seventy-five pounds.

With a powerful stroke the quetzalcoatlus took to the air. Seth watched the ground drop away as he was thrust upward. Each wing flap carried them higher, but Seth could tell the pterosaur was awkward and unbalanced. As it cleared the tree line and flew over the jungle it pitched back toward the ground in a half roll. Seth could hear the animal huffing with exertion as its flapping became sporadic. Knowing it was doomed to crash, the quetzalcoatlus tucked its wings and plunged through the canopy. In a mere attempt to soften the blow it sprawled just before impact, catching a pocket of air beneath its wing membranes. With a jolt its belly scraped the dirt, and Seth went flying off the pterosaur's back. The last thing he saw was the trunk of a tree hurling toward his face.