CHAPTER 183
Bill heard the sound of trickling water. It was hollow, like it was sprinkling down on a slab of rock within a cave or rocky crevice. Splashes of droplets struck his face until he flinched and woke up. His vision was blurred with water. He blinked it away. Then he found himself looking down the same cliffside he had seen before he blacked out. Bill gasped in shock and grabbed onto whatever he could. When the initial fright had passed he realized that he was draped over the roll bar of the CJ7 and that the Jeep was upside down and somehow suspended alongside the cliff.
As Bill gathered his wits he looked around. The Jeep was wedged in the crook of a large tree that was growing about three quarters of the way up the cliffside. There was a mesh of roots and vines that were also snagging around the vehicle. The vegetation was dripping wet from a spring that was trickling out of the rocks somewhere above.
When Bill looked down there was a flat slab of rock at the bottom that the spring was pouring onto. From there it flowed off into a shallow pool and then down a gurgling stream.
"Gary!" Bill exclaimed as he realized he was nowhere in sight.
Bill shifted his weight and reached for some nearby branches. When the Jeep groaned he froze.
"Easy. Easy." Bill moved with more caution. His feet were ensnared among some roots, and he twisted to free them as he repositioned to get a better view.
Moving off the roll bar he slithered onto a thick branch where he had a more clear view of the whole cliff face. Inspecting the area again he found Gary tangled among another cluster of branches just a little lower on the rocks. He wasn't moving.
"Gary!"
He did not respond.
"Shit." Bill began to work his way down, climbing along roots that were growing out of the rocks. He hadn't gotten very far when he saw a male velociraptor zip up to the pool's edge at the base of the cliff. The raptor looked up directly at him, analyzed the situation for just a moment, and then barked.
Within a second's time two females were at his side. All three of them were scanning the cliff face, searching for optimal ways to ascend.
"Oh, for craps sake. Gary!" Bill descended toward him faster. "Gary!"
He scaled the roots a few more feet and then ventured out onto the branches where Gary was strewn.
"Gary." Bill shook his shoulder. Beneath his foot he felt a branch crack, and he repositioned himself.
"Gary, we gotta go, man."
Gary groaned but did not move.
"Gary, seriously." Bill shook him harder. When he looked down all three velociraptors were climbing the wall. They had ascended about ten feet and were using mostly the roots and branches as Bill had done.
Gary shifted and his eyes opened half way. "What time is it?"
"Snap out of it!" Bill jerked his arm. "We've gotta get the hell outta here!"
The raptors were climbing fast. They were twenty feet up.
Bill pulled on Gary and he started to budge. Gary looked around and began to process what was actually happening. "Oh shit." His body stiffened, and his eyes widened. He hunkered down on the branches like a child who was afraid of heights.
Bill yelled, "don't stop! We've got company."
Gary shifted his eyes and saw the velociraptors. They were about half way to them now. The panic within him increased ten fold. "Oh shit!"