CHAPTER 205
Another brachiosaurus was slowly thudding past behind Dianna, Seth, and Kyra as they peered around a mossy redwood. Looking through a staggering of forest they saw the horizontal cables and vertical supports of the perimeter fence that bordered the air strip. More brachiosaurs mingled between these trees. Their legs and bodies could be seen, but their necks vanished into the canopy.
"There it is," Dianna whispered.
They could all see that the forest ended beyond the fence, indicating the open space of an airfield. It instilled in them a sliver of hope that they might actually make it after all.
Seth squinted. "I don't see a plane."
Dianna swallowed her doubts and patted his shoulder. "We're still a bit far away yet. Come on."
She started leading them out from behind the sequoia when Kyra let out a shriek. Something warm and wet had brushed against the back of her head.
Everyone jumped around to face a young and curious brachiosaurus. The juvenile stood twelve feet tall, though it was hunching over to inspect the humans. It licked its scaly lips, sniffed, and then leaned in to slap its tongue across Kyra's head again. This time she chuckled and put up her palms to nudge the dinosaur's snout away. The young brachiosaur blinked and continued to press her snout against Kyra's head.
"Her skin is so scratchy," she laughed. Kyra got another lick right along the nose, and she giggled.
Dianna intervened with two firm yet gentle hands. "Ok. Ok. That's enough, you." she redirected the herbivore away from Kyra and gave it a more vehement shove.
The small brachiosaur chattered, and sniffled, and slipped its head off her hands only to arch back in and give Seth a lick in the face.
"Ha!" he ducked away as saliva strings dripped from his cheek.
"No." Dianna pushed the young herbivore away again.
The youngling gave a look back and snorted. Letting out a little trumpet it made another attempt to work its way back in.
Dianna pushed it harder. "Go on now." She waved her hands and stepped forward sternly.
The brachiosaur's pebbly scales jiggled as it side stepped with reluctance. It nudged at the air many times with little trumpeting sounds before finally turning away and leaving them alone. A dejected look was in its eye as it shuffled away with its head hung low.
"Aww." Kyra put up a hand as it left. "Bye."
Seth waved too, and for a moment all three of them were smiling and able to experience the wonder rather than the terror of seeing a living dinosaur.