CHAPTER 143
Stalking in the shadows of the garage the pack leader made her way to a far corner of the building. As she moved she sniffed the air with thorough breaths. Her eyes were vigilant as she panned the darkness.
To her right a forklift was parked with a thick metal cage sitting on its forks. As she passed it her dagger-like gaze pierced through the holes of the enclosure. Placed caddy corner at the far left angle of the garage was a whining air compressor that was roaring with life. Only moments ago this machine had been silent.
The pack leader crunched her face with an increasing suspicion that a trap was set against her. She walked up to the machine and smelled it. Nudging it with her snout the utahraptor then slammed her hands against the compressor and raked her claws along its metal sides. She backed up and let out a shriek, then she kicked it and barked at it. Yielding no changes with her small acts of aggression the pack leader backed up again and gave the compressor an inquisitive stare. It kept whining with the same roaring rush of air. There was no change.
The pack leader looked over her shoulder. Nothing else in the garage was different. She turned back to the compressor and was about to kick it again when she heard another sound. There was a loud clicking noise just to the right of the machine. When the utahraptor looked there was a spool of air hose bolted to the wall nearby. She watched it for a moment. Though the spool remained inert the pack leader noted the end of the air hose had been uncoiled to the floor and trailed off somewhere behind the rear end of the forklift. As she followed the hose with her eyes she saw that it quivered ever so slightly like someone was tugging gently at the end of it. At one point the hose jerked hard enough to cause the spool to uncoil some more, then it lay relatively still again, quivering just a little. The pack leader tightened her poise and took a step to follow the hosing.
Before she could round the side of the forklift Gary sprang out from behind it and shouted, "haaa!" like he was trying to startle the utahraptor.
In his hand he held an air powered nail gun that was attached to the hosing from the compressor. Gripping it like a machine gun he let out a guttural yell and fired the power tool. There was a loud pop, and in the darkness a spark flashed out from the barrel with a metallic clank that any trained ear would've recognized. The gun had jammed.
Gary pulled at the trigger three more times before realizing that something was wrong. A shocked look struck his face, and he held the barrel up to his eyes to make sure the duct tape he'd wrapped over the catch release trigger was still in place. What he saw with his wide pupils was a crunched nail shaft crinkled at the tip of the gun.
His eyes shifted up to the utahraptor who was relaxing out of a recoiled poise and assuming a more offensive posture. The raptor's face still bore a shadow of hesitance, but it faded more and more as she fully realized Gary's weapon had malfunctioned.
Just behind the forklift with a handful of nail magazines Bill saw what was happening and said, "uh, Gary, I think it's time to run." He pulled at Gary's shoulder, but he was petrified.
The utahraptor was beginning to walk toward them, her whole demeanor looking ever more confident.
Bill gave Gary one more tug of the arm, and when it still did not prompt him to move he exclaimed, "shit, man!" Dumping the magazines to the floor Bill bolted back toward the cage where Seth and Ms. Bolton were.
Gary dropped the gun, but his feet were planted. In his mind he knew he should have already been running, but his legs just wouldn't go. His body trembled as the pack leader cocked her muscles for a lunge.
The utahraptor roared and her teeth flew at Gary's face. It was all he could see, just a gaping mouth coming at him like it was going to rip off his head in one bite. As the roar drowned his ears Gary screamed and shut his eyes.