CHAPTER 163

Bill jumped away from the walls of the shed as they shuddered. It sounded like the whole building was about to come down. "Christ! What the hell is happening out there?"

There wasn't a single window on the shed, so it was impossible to see out into the motor pool without opening a door. The only light inside was a small battery powered lantern they had found in the corner. The lamp was on the final leg of its battery and seemed to be threatening to flicker out at any given moment. This in combination with the quaking walls and monstrous roars from outside created the ambiance of being on some kind of violent haunted house ride.

A roar shook the air and Gary tilted his ear. "That's gotta be a carnotaurus. Shit, they've gotten loose. We're screwed. We're screwed. We are so screwed."

Bill waved his arms spastically. "Keep sugar coating it, Gary! Maybe it'll get even better!"

The walls shuddered again and there was another bellow from outside. Marcus was sitting behind the wheel of a white CJ7 with the stenciling of black tyrannosaurus jaws across the hood. The Jeep was dusty and covered in cobwebs that had to be brushed away to see the gages on the dash. Twisting the key in the ignition he conjured a loud inconsistent series of sputters. A rough cough and pop issued from somewhere below the front end of the vehicle, and then there was quiet.

"Logan!" Marcus shouted over the windshield. "Give that bitch a shot of ether!"

By the light of the flickering lamp Logan leaned below the hood with a can of engine starter and sprayed it into the carburetor.

"Now back the hell up," Marcus said as he turned the ignition again.

As Logan bent away from the motor something of an explosion occurred. Each of the eight cylinders that fired was like a shotgun going off. The engine had caught.

"Hot damn!" Logan snatched the lantern from its resting place beneath the hood and grinned.

"Now close the damned hood and let's get going." Marcus was shouting, but it was virtually futile. With the exhaust coming straight from the open headers it not only drowned out his voice but the sounds of all the commotion outside. Marcus waved at Bill and Gary. "Help him with that garage door. The son of a bitch likes to stick."

At that moment the side door burst open and Seth, Kyra, and the two doctors came rushing in with all the grace of a disorderly mob.

In fear that it was a velociraptor or some other horrible creature coming through the door Marcus, Logan, Bill, and Gary all snapped their guns at them.

As Dr. Conners and the rest of the group slammed the door behind them they saw all the barrels pointed their way and threw their hands in the air.

"Whoa!" Dr. Conners said. "It's just us." Lowering his arms he yelled, "Jesus Christ, that's loud! You weren't thinking about leaving without us, were you?"

Marcus leaned out of the Jeep. "Hell, we thought you all had bit the shit."

Dr. Conners could barely hear him, but he got the point. "Well, we're not dead yet. Can you get that other CJ going?" He pointed to the Jeep on the other side of the shed.

This one was an exact inverse of the first, having black paint with a set of white tyrannosaurus jaws stenciled on the hood.

Marcus shouted, "Logan, give that bitch a shot!"

Logan threw the hood open and quickly worked to expose the carburetor. Dr. Conners saw him spray the ether and then point to the driver's seat and shout what looked like, "give it a turn!"

Dr. Conners jumped behind the wheel. The top was off the Jeep and the doors were missing, so it was easy to get in and out. Turning the key the motor struggled but then rumbled to life. The inside of the shed now sounded like it had a pair of World War II fighter planes running in it.

Not bothering to put the air filters back in place Logan slammed the hoods of both CJ7s.

Dr. Conners grabbed him and pulled him over to Marcus. Everyone else huddled around as they began to converse.

Gary looked to be shouting something like, "Damned good to see you, Doctors," but Bryce really couldn't hear him.

Bryce hollered, "are those bikes gonna work?" He pointed to the three dirt bikes leaning against the back of the shed.

Marcus nodded, "They oughtta do."

"Then we stick to the plan. Dianna, you take Seth and Kyra in the white Jeep. Gary and Bill, you take the other one." Bryce nodded to Logan and Marcus. "The three of us will go ahead of everyone by bike, open the main gate manually, and hopefully corral the gallimimus to create cover."

Everyone nodded and Marcus said, "sounds like a death wish. Let's do it."

Dr. Conners said, "If we get to the plane and someone has fallen behind," he paused. "If the plane needs to take off, whoever is there tells the pilot to take off. Agreed?"

The looks on everyone's face sank, but they all nodded.

Dr. Conners said, "ok, let's go."