CHAPTER 199

There was a booming bellow from above and the sound of crashing trees. Seth, Kyra, and the raptor pack looked up at the opening and saw a dinosaur foot thrust through the mesh of foliage that was laid on top. In an avalanche of tonnage the entirety of a therizinosaurus followed through after it.

The beast fell like a hot air balloon full of concrete mix and slammed onto the pile of bones. With a moan it rolled toward the raptors, kicking its feet and slashing its fore claws. One of the females in the back caught a heel to the gut and was crushed against the cave wall. The other two females were trapped amidst a volley of scissoring blades they could not contend with.

The male at the head of the pack barked at the therizinosaur. When Seth saw that he was distracted he picked up a heavy femur bone and shouted at the male. "Hey!"

The raptor turned, and Seth cracked it across the skull with a bat swing. The male staggered into the slicing claws of the therizinosaur with his eyeballs rolling loose in his sockets. A heavy dinosaur hand swooshed his way and slapped him into the wall.

"Come on!" Seth took Kyra's hand and they maneuvered around the therizinosaur, hugging close to the chamber walls. He pointed past the irate herbivore as it rolled, writhed, and kicked to a standing position. The mesh of foliage had fallen in and piled up below the hole. One branch in particular was leaning all the way from the rim to the cave floor. They reached the pile of foliage and began wading through it.

"Go," Seth said when they reached the long branch that stretched to the surface. With a hoist he gave Kyra a head start to the top. Waiting for her to climb out of the way he watched as the therizinosaurus banged its head on the ceiling of the cave and moaned in frustration.

When Kyra was adequately out of the way Seth followed up behind her. Gripping the branch he began to climb but froze when he heard a raptor screech behind him. Seth's head snapped around and he saw the two female velociraptors dodging past the therizinosaur's feet. The clawed herbivore tromped drunkenly, swinging after them like they were a couple of buzzing flies. Seth could see that the herbivore had hurt its hip in the fall by its off balanced clunking and swaying.

"Seth!" Kyra yelled from above. "Come on!"

Seth gripped the branch tight and started climbing hard. The therizinosaurus clipped one of the two female velociraptors across the back and knocked it to the ground, but the other one launched itself over the mound of foliage and onto the branch. The raptor landed just below Seth and began to climb.

Kyra was near the top and already grabbing at the mouth of the opening. Heaving herself up onto the ground she rolled over and watched for Seth. The velociraptor had snagged his ankle, and Seth was kicking it away, but he was having trouble breaking free. From the shadows of the chamber a set of therizinosaur claws lashed out and slashed the raptor off of the branch. The swipe almost chopped the branch itself in half, and Seth could feel it starting to give way.

"Hurry, Seth!" Kyra stretched out her hand.

Seth rushed up the branch. He was very near to the top when the therizinosaurus took another swipe and obliterated the middle section of the branch. Seth felt himself falling. He reached for the cave wall and snatched at a bundle of roots that was protruding through the rocks. The branch was gone. His feet were dangling freely, and he latched onto the roots with both hands.

Kyra was reaching for Seth's wrists. She grazed the back of his hands, but he slipped down the roots as she was grabbing on. Now she could scarcely touch him at all, and she feared she would fall in if she moved any closer.

"I can't reach you!" Kyra shouted.

Below Seth the male velociraptor was back on his feet and barking at him. Seth let go of the roots with one hand and pulled himself up with the other. His free palm brushed Kyra's hand but he couldn't latch on.

"Try again!" She stretched her fingers.

Seth swung his arm up again and missed another time. "I can't!"

"You have to!" Kyra looked past him and saw the male raptor preparing to pounce upon Seth when he plummeted. "Seth, you can do it!"

Seth heard the raptor below and pulled himself up on the roots. He was about to swing his arm up again when Kyra vanished. A surprised look had crossed her face, then she was pulled away in a swift blur.

"Kyra!" Seth looked up at the jungle. She was gone.

The worst scenarios were crossing Seth's mind as he hung there. She was dead, and he would just be there until he couldn't hold on any longer, and then he would fall and die.

To his amazement a hand shot down and gripped his wrist. The arm it was attached to was longer and didn't belong to Kyra. Focusing on the face beyond it he recognized who it was.

"Mom!"

"Come on, Seth!" She pulled him up, and they hugged. Dianna looked her son in the eye, smiled at him and Kyra, and said, "let's go catch that plane."