CHAPTER 69

Ms. Murdock had the doctors jogging at a brisk pace. Above them the pterosaurs were continuing to circle in close proximity. Several times now they had swooped lower with threatening bellows. Ms. Murdock led the group through a labyrinth of lava rock boulders that littered the beach. She moved with haste but left no inch of the sand without inspection.

The group reached a shallow river that carved through the sand and flowed into the ocean. Although Joan trudged into the fresh water and out the other side without skipping a beat Bryce paused to get a look upstream. As a result Dianna stopped with him.

Bryce said, "isn't this the underground river?"

"I believe it is." Dianna answered.

Joan turned around intensely. "Doctors, we shouldn't stop."

Bryce looked at Ms. Murdock. "Don't you think there's a chance they could have hidden in the cave?"

"It's possible, Dr. Conners, but I think it unlikely. They were unaware of its existence. They would've had to come upon it by accident. I believe the odds are greater that your kids found their way to the observatory. It's visible from almost every corner of the ptero-dome."

Bryce looked up at the mountainside. Not far away there was a section where the crater wall jutted out toward the beach. Along this protrusion there was a metal armature that scaled the cliff. The observatory sat at the top of this armature, being level with the summit and resembled a flying saucer with many windows around it. Bryce knew that among the scaffold-like structure was an elevator that went between the base and the crater rim. Ms. Murdock had a fair point. The kids very easily could have used this to get to safety.

Dianna's voice cut into his train of thought. "Oh, my God. Bryce, look." She was fishing something out of the sandy stream bed. Pouring off the water she held it up for Dr. Conners to see.

Without hesitation he recognized the curving shape of a large egg shell fragment. Its grainy texture and brown speckles were also familiar. He'd seen it earlier that day in the velociraptor enclosure. "Oh shit." His eyes shot back up stream.

Joan came over. "What's all this about?"

Dianna showed her the egg shell. "We've got bigger problems, Ms. Murdock."

Ms. Murdock's sights shifted across the jungle. Her gun barrel perked with readiness. "It's all the more reason to move with haste. Come, doctors."

Joan was leading them away from the river when they heard a shout upstream.

Dianna was the first to break off toward the cave. "The kids!" she shouted.

Bryce and Ms. Murdock followed right behind her. They sprinted up the river, and very soon the cave was in sight. The mouth of the lava tube opened up in the side of a small rise in the landscape. Its rocky entrance was just large enough for a car to drive through.

Seth bolted from the shadows of the lava tube cradling three eggs in his arms. Upon exiting he tossed them high over his head and continued running at full speed. "Mom!" he shouted when he saw the rescue party.

Kyra was right behind him. As she ran she twisted around and pitched the last of her eggs down the throat of the lava tube like a baseball. "Daddy!" She called out.

Dianna ran to Seth and gave him a firm squeeze. She looked at his shirtless torso and all the cuts and scrapes in his bare skin. "God. Are you alright?"

He nodded and saw that she was holding his lost sneaker. Grabbing it he said, "Mom, we have to go."

Bryce was hugging his daughter. "Kyra, what in God's name happened to your hair?"

"Dad, later!" She tugged his arm away from the cave.

Six velociraptors stormed out of the lava tube. With snarling faces and claws at the ready they formed a semicircle in front of everyone.

"Get behind me, Seth." Dianna pushed him back with her arm and drew two pistols.

Bryce was guarding Kyra. His rifle was aimed on a male raptor in the center of the pack whose poise was filled with the utmost readiness for attack.

Joan stood ground with her shotgun. She swept the line of hunters with her barrel.

The velociraptors regarded their weapons respectfully. There was a definite hesitation to engage in any action at all. They looked to one another and trilled. After brief deliberation it seemed a consensus was reached. The velociraptors started to bark and stamp their feet. The males among them flared their long quills and shrieked.

Bryce whispered, "They're not hunting. They're defending their nest."

Joan said, "yes, Dr. Conners, but what happens when we walk away? I have a strong feeling they're going to want to eliminate the threat."

Dianna said, "I think it's time we just started shooting the bastards."

Joan grinned. "Dr. Johnson, I appreciate your professional opinion." That's when she unleashed the first shotgun blast.

With a burst of blood one velociraptor dropped into the river. The others immediately moved to disperse. Dianna gunned down another, and between Bryce and Ms. Murdock two more were killed. The remaining two raptors fled into the cave.

"Let's go!" Joan led the group back toward the beach at a run. She shouted at Kyra and Seth, "how many adults were in that cave?"

There was an exchange of uncertain glances before Kyra answered, "too many."

That was the answer Joan was expecting but didn't want to hear. "Shit." She thought for a moment. "Doctors, as soon as the raptors have had a chance to regroup they're going to have the upper hand. I believe our vehicle is too far to risk at this point. We'll make for the observatory." Her breathing grew heavier as she ran. "Doctors, keep a sharp eye."