CHAPTER 170
The black CJ7 was outside of the main compound now and speeding along the road toward the field.
Gary shouted over the roaring engine, "we should be coming up on it any moment."
"What's that?" Bill put a hand up alongside his face. "I think my ears are bleeding. Did you say something?"
"I said, you smell like shit and cigarettes."
"Give me a break. I haven't showered in three days."
Both men chuckled, but at that moment the Jeep shuddered and vaulted into the air as the drive shaft detached at the front and jammed into the dirt. There was a snapping sound and the Jeep crashed down. The back wheels rolled over something, and Bill saw it bounce away behind the Jeep.
"Shit!" Gary said.
Bill fell into an immediate panic. "What the hell was that?"
"The rear drive shaft."
"Oh good, so nothing important then. What the hell are we going to do?"
"Relax. We still have our front wheels. We should be fine as long as nothing else breaks."
"This is the least comforting moment of my existence."
As they came upon the field they both panned their eyes across the span of long grass.
"There they are." Gary pointed. Racing across the field was the white Jeep and three dirt bikes following close by. "Looks like things haven't gone exactly as planned." Gary was noticing the herd of gallimimus that was running off in complete disarray.
"Uh, Gary." Bill shook his shoulder. "Tell me those aren't what I think they are." He was focused much closer by. Only about a hundred feet away the three tyrannosaur youths were overlooking the field as well. The smell of the ceratosaur's kill had drawn them out. Now they looked to be contemplating bullying them away from their meal.
Gary said, "don't worry about them. We can still outrun those guys easily. We'll just make a wide circle around them to be safe. Besides, whatever those ceratosaurs are chowing down on is bound to be more enticing to them than us."
At that moment there was a pop in the engine.
"Oh God, no." The gages started to flutter, and Gary could feel the Jeep losing power. The speedometer was dropping steadily. It soon got to a point where Gary couldn't get the vehicle to go any faster than twenty-five miles per hour, and even that was a growing struggle.
"What about now?" Bill said.
"Uh." The blood was draining out of Gary's face along with every thought in his head.
"Gary, what are we gonna do, man?"
Gary looked away from the dashboard full of sputtering gages to the three juvenile tyrannosaurs. Their predicament was not going unnoticed. Flash had turned her head and was following the Jeep with her eyes. Before long the rest of her body was facing them. Laser and Jigsaw picked up on her lead and circled around in unison.
The CJ7 was now puttering at a shaky fifteen miles per hour.
Gary said, "we'll never make it across that field."
Bill replied, "I take it back. This is the least comforting moment of my existence."
"Don't speak too soon. I'm sure something else will make you feel worse in a second or two."
"Damn it, Gary, what's the plan?"
Gary looked up the road to where the jungle started again. "If we can make it into the trees then we can ditch the Jeep and hide in the jungle."
"That's your plan!"
"For the moment."
"How the hell are we going to get to the runway?"
"Right now I'm just trying to keep us from getting eaten!"
"You've gotta be shitting me, Gary!"
Bill looked back and saw that all three tyrannosaurs were moving toward the crippled Jeep now. There was no doubt they were gaining ground and closing the distance. The juveniles slipped out of the tall grass and steered onto the road. Flash was in the lead with the other two following close behind.
Bill said, "can't you get this thing to go any faster?"
"Why don't you get out and push."
"Why don't you tell another bad joke and see if it'll scare them away."
"Will you just shut up and let me drive, Bill?"
The three tyrannosaurs were continuing to gain on them, and Gary was wondering if they would even make it to the tree line. "Shit." He pressed harder at the gas pedal, but it was already to the floor. "Come on!"
Looking in the rearview mirror he saw that the juvenile rexes were almost caught up to the Jeep. Both he and Bill looked to the tree line and saw that they were not going to make it in time.
Bill turned to him and said, "well, it's been nice knowing you, Gary."