CHAPTER 86
Dallas was watching shelly pace back and forth. Her hands were clutching her head. He could see that she was getting more restless and anxious by the minute, and it was making him nervous.
"Shelly, take a breath. They'll be here soon, and there ain't nothin' we can do till they get here." Dallas peered through one of the bunker's narrow front windows. He didn't see them yet.
Robinson's condition hadn't improved. If anything it was worse, but he was still breathing. It was raspy and shallow, but it was there.
Dallas looked out the window again. The sunlight was fading. At the other end of the village the chopper was still thumping and churning up the air. Dallas felt a cringe throughout his whole body as he came upon a sprawled shape in front of the commissary. He was glad the sun was setting and he couldn't see the details of his father's body as a few straggling comps still nibbled around. He was about to look away when he spotted the truck.
The pickup came tearing up the dirt road, its one working headlight whipping around like a spastic spotlight through the dust it kicked up.
"They're here," Dallas reported.
Shelly's hands dropped to her sides. She looked only slightly relieved.
Dallas heaved open the front door to see the back end of the pickup skidding around to face the bunker. The engine was left idling as a broad, long haired, musclebound man jumped off the tailgate. He nodded at Dallas and then pushed past him. The doors of the truck flew open and Dr. Conners and Dr. Johnson ran out.
Dr. Conners reached Dallas first. He grabbed him by the shoulders. "Get Shelly and get in the truck."
Dallas followed them back in the bunker. The two doctors huddled over Robinson and started shooting comments back and forth.
"He looks terrible."
"He's barely breathing."
"Don't we have anything here we can treat him with?"
"No. There's nothing. Those first aid kits aren't worth crap here. We've gotta get him back to the operations compound."
Dallas' eyes shifted to Hector. He had pulled an armload of shotguns from a rack on the wall and was loading shells into them at a speed that seemed surreal. It was fast. It was mechanical. It was methodic. In moments he was finished and scooping the guns off a table and back into his arms.
Hector met eyes with Dallas and barked in a commanding voice, "Come on, chico!"
Dallas blinked and focused. He snatched Shelly by the arm, and they followed Hector into the bed of the truck.
Hector dumped the armload of shotguns in the corner up near the cab and passed one to Ms. Murdock.
As she took the weapon she flagged Dallas and Shelly forward. "Come up here." She tossed them a bundle of bungee chords and straps and said, "anchor yourselves." Joan nodded to the hooks along the bed liner.
Shelly and Dallas did as they were told. As they fashioned makeshift safety belts around their torsos Kyra and Seth poked their heads through the back window of the cab.
Kyra said, "hey, we were worried about you guys."
Shelly looked up. "We were worried about you too."
Seth chimed in, "are you both ok?"
Shelly's response was non-verbal. It was a look that said, "we'll talk about it later."
Seth and Kyra's eyes shifted to Dallas who hadn't acknowledged the conversation in the least. He kept his head low and busied himself with his straps.
At that moment Dr. Conners and Dr. Johnson approached the tailgate. They had folded up the legs of the cot that was holding Robinson and were using it like a stretcher to carry him. As they slid him into the truck bed head first Hector reached out and helped to pull him in. He and Ms. Murdock took the remaining bungee chords and secured him to the cot. Dr. Conners slammed the tailgate closed, which took a couple of tries as the truck was bent and battered. He and Dr. Johnson jumped back in the cab just in time to hear the radio crackle to life with a concerned, "hello?" It was Ms. Bolton again.
As Dr. Conners stepped on the gas Dianna snatched the receiver. "Yes? What is it?"
"I thought you should know…" There was a short pause. "I'm picking up all kinds of movement on the cameras and motion detectors."
"What kind of movement?"
"The velociraptors are provoking the herds."
Dianna looked at Bryce from across the cab.
He said as he cut through the front gate of the village that they had intentionally left open, "it's not going to be easy getting back." He pressed the gas harder, deeply concerned for what was to come.