CHAPTER 360
Gigantor shifted her attention from Ms. Murdock and the raptors. She had heard Rebirtha's roar. They all had. Falcon and her clan turned their heads in the same direction as did Ms. Murdock.
In the midst of a quietness, Joan shifted her gaze back over Gigantor and the raptors to see if she could get a gage on them. They were all just standing in stillness and waiting to see what would come from Rebirtha next. Even the velociraptors up on the plateau of pallets were like statues. Gigantor finally gave a grunt and sauntered her whole body around until she faced the general source of the roar. Then she gave a bark that had an agitated quality, after which she stood and waited.
In a crash of wood that cracked and banged, rumbled, and bounced as it fell, an entire section of pallets collapsed outward like chunks of an ice shelf breaking into the ocean. As the pallets scattered and split apart across the concrete pad a very ornery Rebirtha emerged. She was scratched and cut all over. Broken planks of wood stuck in her sides, clinging to her hide with their sharp nails dug deep within her scales. Almost half a pallet hung from the meat of her right thigh. Curling her head around, the tyrannosaur extended her leg and chewed it out. Spitting the ragged hunk of wood to the ground she turned toward Gigantor. Rebirtha let forth the most furious roar imaginable, and then she charged. She was in full fight or flight mode, and in her head Gigantor was simply in the way.
Gigantor braced her body. She lowered at the haunches and prepared to counter the tyrannosaur's attack, but Rebirtha was fired up and came in raging. Gigantor tried to duck to the side, but Rebirtha clamped her teeth over the top of Gigantor's head, covering her eyes. Gigantor was blind as long as Rebirtha kept her teeth locked where they were. The two dinosaurs began wrestling in circles, and the clan of raptors at their peripherals was in danger. Though the two large theropods tugged one way and stumbled another, the path of their battle was drifting toward the clan, the pallets, and Ms. Murdock.
As the thick tails of the two fighting beasts swept closer Falcon barked a hurry of orders, and her clan dispersed to a wider perimeter.
Ms. Murdock watched the velociraptors that were up on the pallets with her backing away. At the same time she saw Rebirtha and Gigantor rumbling closer. Her head went back and forth. If she ran the raptors would surely get her. If she stood where she was the two feuding giants would surely crash into the pallets beneath her feet.
"The options are becoming more insane by the minute." She gave an uneasy smirk. "Though, a moment ago I was facing certain death, so this is a fair improvement."
Joan faced the two wrestling theropods. Gigantor was still trapped in Rebirtha's fierce bite. She thrust her body in such a way that the two of them stumbled right toward Ms. Murdock. Rebirtha's body smashed into the pallets with a crash, and Joan leapt into the air, throwing herself directly at the huge theropods. The crash was enough to make Rebirtha release her hold on Gigantor, and the two hunters broke free of each other.
Ms. Murdock's body hit something hard and scaly, and her fingers grasped a hold of it. As her vision adjusted she realized that she had a large eyeball staring right back at her. As a hot breath wafted across her belly Joan looked at where her fingers were locked and realized she was holding onto the left ridge of Gigantor's massive boney brow. The dinosaur's growl shook her innards and rattled her bones, and this was hardly the half of her worries. Rebirtha's bellow came strong, and Joan turned her head to see the tyrannosaur charging. Her wide maw was coming straight at Joan's face, and thankfully Gigantor turned her right shoulder into the attack, putting Ms. Murdock out of the path of harm.
It was a momentary reprieve, as the two carnivores went tumbling back against the stacks of pallets. Joan surely would've been crushed had she not hoisted herself upon the top of Gigantor's head. Here she held on like an amateur clinging to their last hopes of remaining atop a mechanical bull.
Rebirtha let off of Gigantor momentarily, but came back quick, throwing all her weight into her opponent. The cracking of pallets was great as Gigantor's girth drug and shifted against them. Joan wanted to flee, but she could barely hold on for her life. Gigantor shook her head and knocked it upon the pallets. As Ms. Murdock flopped around she caught a blurred sight of Rebirtha pulling away and then snapping at Gigantor's neck. This was all too close to where she was hanging on. To make matters worse, Gigantor threw herself back against Rebirtha, and the tyrannosaur's jaws slipped up higher, coming within inches of Joan's body.
Joan lost her grip and fell. The first thing she could snatch onto was the lower row of Rebirtha's teeth. Her heart jumped as the tyrannosaur's jaws flung closed. Ms. Murdock hoisted her body up, pulled her fingers out from between the dinosaur's teeth, and clasped onto Rebirtha's nostrils all before the carnivore's mouth slammed shut.
This really seemed to agitate the t-rex, as Rebirtha made loud snorting sounds and started backing away from Gigantor. Rebirtha shook her head and went into a sneezing fit.
Joan lost grip with one hand, and she was dangling by just her right arm. Amidst Rebirtha's sneezing she heard raptors barking below her. Managing a glance down she caught sight of two female velociraptors dancing below her. They jumped and they dodged, following her whereabouts as she swung above them, each one looking eager to tear her apart the moment she fell. Joan made an effort to regain her second hand hold, but as she did, Gigantor slammed into Rebirtha.
Ms. Murdock lost her grip altogether and went flying through the air. Her body hit the concrete pad and she rolled many times before coming to rest.
Her hands were stringy with mucus as she got to her knees. She knew her body was feeling pain, and she also knew she didn't have time to feel it or let it slow her down. Joan shook the mucus from her hands and looked in the direction she had come. Gigantor had come between Ms. Murdock and the two raptors, but they were quickly working their way around the large theropod. Joan jumped to her feet and ran. She soon saw that those weren't the only two raptors. More were circling their way back out of the surrounding foliage. As Joan ran she spotted what seemed to be her only escape of recapture. Amongst the pallet stacks she found another narrow thruway. This one being much more slim than the last, it was only a mere two pallet widths wide.
She ducked into it and immediately began tugging at the surrounding pillars of pallets. The more unstable ones toppled, throwing pallets down into the thruway. Joan watched as the oncoming velociraptors became occluded, and the rubble of sharp jagged wood piled high. Joan knew this would not stop them for good, but she was satisfied that they would be slowed down enough for the time being.
Ms. Murdock turned and bolted. She did not get very far before a figure dropped down from above and blocked her path, but it was not a raptor. It was Daniel.
Ms. Murdock stopped hard. She stared at him, and he stared back.
"Are you out of your fucking head? Shouldn't you be securing a boat?" She asked.
"They're a bit inaccessible at the moment." He paused. "In fact they appear to have become a bit of a death trap, so I thought I'd finish tying up loose ends." Daniel said. "You're proving to be a slippery fish, Joan. I'd hate to see you sail off in one instead of me, but if I'm being entirely honest I don't think anybody is leaving here alive, not now."
Joan put up her fists. "We'll see. I myself was ready to die yesterday."
Daniel raised his hands. Ms. Murdock had failed to register the pry bar he was holding until that moment. She squeezed her knuckles tighter and they cracked in her fists.
Daniel smirked, "I've been ready my whole life. Come on Joan, one last dance."
He lunged forward and swung the hooked end of the pry bar at her head. Ms. Murdock ducked back, and Daniel followed through with several more swings, the last of which thrashed deep within the rotted boards of several pallets as Joan had become pinned against them. As the pry bar missed Joan's skull and smashed through the decaying boards several irate compsognathus came squealing out of the hole that was made. Daniel's bar had dug into the side of a nest and its inhabitance were clawing up his arm, scurrying around his shoulders and neck, and biting at his face as he twisted the pry bar free. This gave Joan a leg up, and she maneuvered out from under Daniel's offense. Stepping behind him she kicked him hard in the back.
Daniel's body hit the pallets with a crunch, making an even larger crater into the compsognathus nest. A dozen more of the little dinosaurs skittered out, some of which leapt onto Ms. Murdock's face and chest. She tore them away quickly, and in the midst, saw Daniel clubbing the comps off of his body with the pry bar. Joan pulled a plank of wood from the opposite wall of pallets and whacked Daniel over the back of the neck with it. Although Daniel cringed and stooped, the board splintered to pieces upon contact, as it was rotted, causing little injury. From his stoop Daniel threw the bar into Ms. Murdock's ribs, and then he drove his elbow up under her jaw. He followed with a kick and sent her back into the opposite wall of pallets.
She fell against it. Her mouth was bleeding, and she spit red. Her right palm felt the corner of a pallet, and she pulled a cube shaped block of wood from it. The block was jagged with the spikes of rusty nails, and she came at Daniel with it.
Daniel warded her back with his pry bar, and they danced in circles, taking jabs at each other and dodging each others' blows.
Daniel lost his composure when another compsognathus sprang at his face and bit his eyelid. Joan seized the moment and planted the block of wood into Daniel's face with a strike that sent him to the ground. The comp squealed away, and Daniel pushed himself to his feet. When he turned to face Joan the block of wood was still firmly stuck in his cheek by the nails. He gave her a cold stare and pulled it out. As he dropped the block aside and lifted his pry bar he noticed that he and Ms. Murdock were no longer alone. The eyes of several velociraptors were peering down from above, and the open end of the corridor that Joan had been heading for was blocked by several more of the hunters.
Joan saw them too. "Your move," she said.
Daniel turned and started running toward the raptors.