CHAPTER 338
Seth felt himself hit a puddle as he fell to the ground. He had no recollection of being removed from the dune buggy, but he was outside of it now, and the cool wet splash of the puddle had shocked his sense of awareness into action.
A pair of boots splashed down next to his face. He looked up and saw Reuben standing over him. The dune buggy was just behind Reuben and turned on its side.
A crash of tree limbs filled the air, and the bellow of the spinosaurus joined it. Seth's eyes widened at the sound, and by the cloud of leaves and twigs hurling through the air just beyond Reuben, Seth knew the beast was close.
"Get up, boy! Get up!" Reuben hoisted Seth to his feet with one strong motion. "The Jabberwocky is upon us!"
Seth could only assume that he meant the version B spinosaurus.
"Move it, boy!" Reuben gave Seth a shove. "We dare not stop in this God forsaken bat country!"
Above the crashing and roars of the spinosaurus came the shrieks of two velociraptors as they leapt into the air from a full sprint. The spinosaurus was taken off guard as Ghost and Needles latched onto her thick scaly hide. Clinging to the spinosaur's rib cage they dug their killer claws. Version B gave a bellow and wrenched her neck into the air, releasing Vulture from the heavy weight of her hands. The spinosaurus turned in circles, and its tail whipped over the heads of Seth and Reuben. They ducked, but the dune buggy was swept away in its wake, disappearing into some thicker foliage with a smash.
Seth and Reuben jumped back to their feet. Now that the dune buggy was no longer between them and the fight they could see it clearly. They could also see that Vulture had freed herself from the fallen tree. Between dodging the wild feet of the spinosaurus, the utahraptor shot glances at the two of them.
A shriek from above pulled Vulture's attention away. Ghost had gotten caught in the spinosaur's teeth. Vulture turned her body and leapt into action. After a few bounds she was airborne, and in another instant she was anchored into the spinosaur's throat. The spinosaurus released Ghost, and he fell into the bracken.
With a swipe of its fore claws the spinosaur swatted Vulture to the ground. Needles remained attached to the large carnivore's thigh, but the spinosaurus was circling for a tree trunk to scrape him off on.
Ghost was bleeding through his pale ragged feathers, but he stood and mustered his strength. Beside him, Vulture sprang back for another attack without delay. Bearing his teeth and claws, Ghost leapt to follow his leader back into battle.
Along the sidelines Reuben and Seth were hunched and creeping away. They rounded a metasequoia trunk and straightened themselves. After not traveling more than a few further paces they spotted the figure of a man emerging out of the branches ahead. It was Daniel.
Seth and Reuben stopped in their tracks.
Reuben put a firm hand on Seth's breast. "Wait here, boy."