CHAPTER 91

"Dallas!" Shelly screamed.

Hector and Ms. Murdock both snapped their heads at the sound of the gun. Looking upon the truck bed that now contained one less person they were dumbfounded by the sight of Shelly sitting alone. Her arm was dangling over the side of the pickup like she was reaching to grab Dallas, only he was gone, and her arm just hung there.

Ms. Murdock wanted to yell at her. She wanted to shout and tell her to get her body back in the truck bed before she got hurt, but she couldn't. Ms. Murdock felt her faulty grip on Robinson degrading by the second. She and Hector turned back to a sight of far greater peril than just a moment ago.

One of the three velociraptors at the rear of the pickup had bounded into the air and was pouncing on top of Robinson. There was no way to fight it. As the hunter crushed down on Robinson's body the impact broke Hector and Ms. Murdock's grip with no contest. The cot slammed through their fingers and hit the ground, taking Hector with it. As he flailed off the tail of the truck Joan lashed out and snatched his wrist. Over Hector's boots kicking up a trail of dust she caught the last glimpse of Robinson as he was trampled underfoot by a lagging triceratops.

The three velociraptors were already racing to get Hector. He was like a trolling fishing lure. They sprinted up to his heels with their jaws wide open.

There was a tremendous shudder through the truck. It had struck a dinosaur as it was crossing paths with the pickup. Just as the velociraptors were about to pounce on Hector a gallimimus came tumbling over the roof of the truck. The limp ostrich-like herbivore rolled through the air and cleared the bed of the pickup. From there it plummeted on top of the raptors, knocking them down like a set of bowling pins.

As Ms. Murdock struggled to get a better hold on Hector the truck shuddered several more times as it crashed into more gallimimus that were running by. Most of them rolled down the sides of the truck but another one came crashing over the roof and collapsed straight in the bed.

Ms. Murdock winced and yelled as part of its body came down on her injured leg. It forced her arm to twist in an awkward way, and she began to let go of Hector. Hector saw what was happening and clasped her wrist tight, but she continued to twist her arm and he couldn't hold on. With his other hand he clasped the trailer hitch. Behind him he heard more velociraptors. Their growls and barks drew closer. Hector reached up and tried to grip the bed liner but something grabbed him first. It wasn't Ms. Murdock though. It was Shelly. She had him by the arm. Behind Hector she could see two more raptors approaching.

"Come on!" She screamed with tears streaming down her face. Shelly had locked her knees around one of the legs of the gallimimus. She was well anchored. "Just climb!"

Hector pulled on her arms and she cried in pain, "hurry!"

He gripped onto her shoulders and got one leg up on the bumper. He was pulling himself up over Shelly's back when she screamed, "look out!"

Hector heard a raptor shriek. A set of teeth sank into his ankle, and then there was a shotgun blast. The jaws released, and he was free. Next to him Ms. Murdock fired off another shot, shooting the second raptor. Hector scrambled the rest of the way into the truck bed and picked up his own firearm. With a strong arm he lifted Shelly and guided her back to the front corner of the bed.

"No te muevas," he said.

The truck made a hard turn and cut between two triceratops. One of them rutted at the passenger side as it went through.

"Hold on!" Dr. Conners shouted.

He was steering the truck down the access road that cut through the jungle and lead back to the operations compound. Thick white smoke was billowing out from under the hood and wafting into the cab. The engine was screaming at the same time the truck was loosing power.

"Come on! Damn it!" Dr. Conners was slamming on the gas pedal with no further yield. The truck had nothing left. Through his night vision goggles he could see a brilliant glow from the floodlights at the compound. In short time it was too much to bear. He tore the goggles from his head, using the light alone to guide him back. The truck rumbled down a steep incline in the road. He could see the main gate. It was a clear shot now.

Dr. Conners could make out figures of men rushing to unlock the entrance. He hoped they'd hurry. He wasn't planning on slowing down. "Come on! Get it open!" He yelled through the open windshield.

The front gate parted moments before the pickup raced through. Dr. Conners didn't hit the breaks until he was practically on the steps of the operations building. His heart was pounding. People were running up to the truck and saying things to him, but he didn't hear any of it. He could barely make out their faces. He didn't know who they were, and it didn't matter at that moment. He was just wrapping his head around the fact that they had made it.

His fingers curled around the door handle, and he pulled the latch. The door creaked and groaned, and with a good bit of effort it only opened far enough for him to squeeze through. Dr. Conners slumped against the side of the truck. He squinted through the blaring floodlights. For some reason they seemed unnaturally bright.

Gary Stevens came up and took Dr. Conners by the shoulders. He was asking questions. Dr. Conners felt like Gary was checking to see if he was alright. There was pressure around Dr. Conner's waist. At some point Kyra had latched onto him. Tears coated her cheeks and poured off her face.

"Robinson!" Dr. Conners blurted. "We have to get Robinson to the infirmary!" He pushed Gary aside and rushed to the bed of the truck. There was a fearsome short circuit in his brain when he saw that Robinson was missing. "Where the hell is he? Joan, what happened?"

Ms. Murdock gave him an icy stare.

Through his daughter's sobbing Dr. Conners could make out one word. "Dallas."

His eyes shot around. He saw Seth, Dianna, Hector, and Shelly but no Dallas. Dr. Conner's eyes met back up with Ms. Murdock's. She hadn't broken her stare, not even to blink.

Dr. Conners slumped over the edge of the truck bed. His hands gripped the sides of his skull like he was trying to keep his head from bursting. "Oh, God."

TO BE CONTINUED