CHAPTER 221

Daniel backhanded the rocket across Vulture's wrinkled face and bolted in the opposite direction. Gary was directly in his way, and he ducked as Daniel came vaulting at him. Daniel jumped onto Gary's back and used him as a springboard to launch himself over the surrounding velociraptors.

When Daniel landed he went right into a full sprint without skipping a beat. Gary was left in the middle of the circle of raptors looking dumbfounded. Vulture growled at him, and the others followed in suit. Every joint and limb in Gary's body began to shake, and the pistols rattled in his hands. He tried to take aim, but the barrels were wobbling so much that there was no chance of it.

He squeezed his right trigger finger, and the pistol fired blindly into the trees. Surprised by the kick, the gun spiraled out of Gary's hand which caused him to unintentionally fire the other revolver. Even less prepared for the second shot the other revolver sprang from his grip as well.

By this point all of the raptors had ducked to the ground. Flailing his arms like an inflatable tube man at a car dealer Gary went running after Daniel. As the guns hit the ground behind him they both went off again.

Gary hopped between the raptors and dashed through the jungle yelling, "Daniel! Daniel! Wait up!"

Daniel was running a fair distance ahead of him. He looked back and saw Gary, and not far behind he saw the furious raptor pack jumping to their feet in pursuit.

Daniel hollered back, "Uh, I don't think so! Hey, where are my pistols?"

"I dropped them!"

"God damn it, Gary! You had one job!" Daniel still had the rocket in his hand, and he threw it over his shoulder to Gary and said, "here, try this."

Gary caught the rocket in a fumbling way. It was still quite hot. "Ow, Jesus! What the hell am I supposed to do with this dud?" He lobbed it behind him into the path of the raptors, and it struck the side of a tree. Upon impact the rocket exploded to its full potential, sending a hot shockwave at Gary's back.

Gary almost fell to the ground. "Holy hell!"

Behind him the tree split into two halves that fell opposite ways, creating a smoldering barrier between him and the raptors. Knowing it wouldn't buy him much time Gary sprinted onward. "Jesus, I thought that was dead!"

Ahead of him Daniel had burst into laughter over the unexpected explosion. He was still a good distance ahead of Gary, but something caught his eye and made him stop.

As Gary caught up to him he dug his heels into the ground. "What! What is it?"

A very large grin was on Daniel's face. He took Gary by one shoulder and said, "Gary, hold onto your butt."

There was a crashing in the trees next to them and a lone brachiosaurus emerged. The herbivore had been agitated by the rocket blasts and was charging through the jungle. The brachiosaur's feet stomped toward them, and then it veered a little so that it curved right by them. The brachiosaurus continued to circle until it was more or less headed in the same direction they had been going. As the titan thundered by, branches cracked and fell from above and rained down on Gary and Daniel.

"Are you ready?" Daniel asked as the brachiosaur's back feet lifted from the ground leaving huge depressions in the earth. Dirt crumbled away from its toes and heels as it tromped onward, and leaves drifted after the beast, being carried by the wake of its enormous girth as it suctioned the air behind it.

"Ready for what?" Gary hollered over the crashing.

"Follow me!" Daniel broke into a sprint as the brachiosaur's tail swept past them. In a matter of bounds he reached the end of the tail and leapt on. Climbing the brachiosaur's tail like a monkey, Daniel was up on top of the dinosaur's hips in seconds.

"Not this shit again," Gary groaned. "Where the hell did Mr. Hammond dig this guy up from?"

Gary jumped as he heard many growls behind him. The raptors were again in pursuit. He ran after the brachiosaurus and caught up with its tail. Even at a full charge the animal wasn't all that fast, but still Gary couldn't figure out how Daniel had jumped on so easily.

Gary made several half attempts, but the tail kept swinging back and forth and bobbing up and down. There was never a point where Gary felt remotely confident that he could make it.

There were more growls and barks behind him. The raptors were a lot closer. Gary did not have much of a choice. Taking a dive he flopped onto the end of the brachiosaur's tail and clasped on with all four of his limbs. Gary felt like he was wrestling an alligator as his arms and legs hugged the thick scale covered muscles while they bent and shifted in his grasp. Now that he was holding on he felt like he couldn't move or change his grip without falling off, but the continued barking of raptors compelled him to try. Shifting his arms he began a slow belly crawl up the tail until he heard a raptor bark in his ear. Startled, he looked to his right and saw the snarling face of a male velociraptor. Its teeth came in and snapped at him just as the brachiosaur's tail shifted left, pulling him out of harms way. Gary then heard a bark at his left ear and saw another male snapping its jaws at him. He was so taken off guard this time that his grip loosened, and he slipped around onto the underside of the tail. Hanging precariously upside down Gary watched the two raptors analyze his predicament. They both gave him a look as though they had much more important things to do and ran ahead. From his awkward position Gary looked back and saw more raptors coming. As the fronds and branches of the low jungle foliage rattled his backside he knew he had to keep moving.