Ch 7 - The More You Know...

I skirted the rock again, this time in the opposite

direction, taking one last look at the coconut that would

have served as bait if by chance I had not found the large

animal I was now holding. I could have made my way

through the jungle instead of returning to the beach and

then to the flock, but the task would have required the

use of my knife to prune the vines that stood in my way

and having one hand already occupied with the large

crustacean (and sometimes both), it would have been too

risky. Upon arriving at the beach, I stopped for a few

moments to observe the sea one last time before

plunging back into the Ambungi jungle. The waves all

looked the same, but I realized at that moment how

different the feeling of a beach without any living thing

in sight was from the one felt on the first beach we

docked at, where there was the abandoned village.

Where I was now, the feeling was one of isolation and

freedom, on the other, one of pain and death; yes, death,

because that is the only end I imagine those who left

their huts never to return have suffered. I just wondered

why those herbivores had attacked the village and, above

all, where were the bodies? And the survivors? This I

would understand later and I will tell you. While I was

thinking about these words that I would write to you, I

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crossed the forest, holding that crab in front of me as if I

was repulsed by the poor animal. Cautiously, I walked on

until I heard the roars of the Kaiaimunus and reached the

spot where my group was still waiting. Surprised at what

he saw, Lane exclaimed the scientific name of the animal

I was carrying:

— Birgus lastro!

— Aye, sir; the coconut crab, — I replied,

returning the smile.

— But that's splendid, my boy! I knew that these

islands had populations of the species, but I never

thought we would see them after not having found them

in the northwestern portion of the island, — concluded

Lane.

— Well, — interrupted Keene, — what did you

want so badly with the jumbo shrimp to send the boy to

the beach a second time?

— Oh, wait and see, — Lane teased, running his

fingers around the exact spot where I was holding the

animal, mirroring my movements to prevent it from

reacting. Ensuring that the Doctor was already holding it

firmly, I released the crab, and the man set out on his

mission. The female probactrosaurus that had

approached us earlier was now feeding on a cycad, just

outside the boundaries of the Guardians' circle, like so

many other individuals did when not on alert. Slowly,

Anthony Lane approached the gigantic beast, making a

bit of a fuss as he walked, still talking to us and

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whistling, so as not to surprise the dinosaur. When he

was much closer, the female turned her neck and looked

curiously at the old man who was carrying an offering.

— How are you, Mama? — said Lane, in the

strangest of manners. Bending down, he placed the

crustacean in front of the dinosaur and immediately

withdrew his hand to avoid being attacked, then walked

away. The probactrosaurus lowered her neck and sniffed

the crab for a moment. We waited to see what would

happen and what Lane intended with this. Then, without

further ado, the female opened her keratinous beak and

swallowed the huge crustacean. Bringing the crab to the

bottom of her jaw, the dinosaur began to grind it still

alive with her battery of teeth. We stared in shock at the

scene in front of us, and I can say this about Lucy and

Keene because I turned to them and I can guarantee they

had their jaws dropped as much as I did. Laughing with

happiness at having proven his theory, Lane returned to

our group, with an evident expression of pride. Already

knowing what her father wanted, Lucy permitted him:

— Yes, Dad, explain it to us, please. — With a

last chuckle at his daughter's good reaction, the old

scientist went into a trance again as he spoke:

— Herbivores coprolith was found with

fragments of crustacean exoskeletons in its contents. At

first, there was confusion as to why a herbivore had

eaten an animal, and it was even hypothesized that the

ingestion had not been on purpose, but rather that the

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dinosaur was feeding on spongy, already decaying wood,

as some cattle do, simply because they enjoy the

easy-to-chew texture, and that inside the wood was the

crab. However, this idea was soon refuted, taking into

account the size of the animal, which was too big to be

unintentionally devoured by the dinosaur. The

conclusion was the wisest that could have been reached

because it is based on the well-documented biology of

actual beings. Know that cows and other herbivores have

been seen and even filmed devouring other smaller

animals, such as chickens. It was observed that they

were pregnant females, who needed calcium for the

formation of their offspring's bones; a kind of vitamin

supplement. For the same reason, these female dinosaurs

fed on the crabs they found, and so do these survivors.

— We listened with fascination, admiring the vast

knowledge that this old man possessed. How could

anyone imagine that those beings that for more than a

century we thought were exclusively herbivores, actually

maintained an omnivorous diet, even if only during

gestation? Well, the more you know.

The great Leader then raised his head and, moved

by the instinctive forces that guided him, roared at his

flock, making the skin of his cheeks tremble with the

deep sound. All the Kaiaimunus immediately abandoned

the plants on which they were feeding, letting fall from

their beaks what they were still chewing, and the females

hurried to reach the trees and turn their backs to the

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trunks. They then produced a purring-like noise, very

similar to the sound the Guardians produced to assure

their group that they were safe. To this, the chicks would

slowly descend from their positions and hug the backs of

their mothers, to make it easier to move around. The

flock of probactrosaurus took a second longer to react,

probably because they did not understand the different

noises of the other species. As soon as the Guardians

moved to surround the shifting flock, though, the

probactrosaurus realized that their protection was about

to depart; self-preservation being the common language

between the species. There were still more hypotheses to

be developed, especially after the body I had found, and

the Leader had prepared me the perfect opportunity to do

so because instead of making a new path through the

woods, the male decided to go along the beach, where

we would have full space to pair our steps and discuss

the matter. This we did, in fact, after following the same

route that I had used to reach the beach where I found

my crab. The huge beasts sprang up on the white sand,

destroying the last branches before resurfacing, and there

we were, walking together like a wall; Lucy and I in the

middle, Lane at her side and Keene at mine, just what I

wanted.

— You see, — I introduced, excited to have

everyone's attention. — When I found the coconut crab,

I also found a Kaiaimunu carcass, already badly

decomposed; an older female, it seemed to me.

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— A carcass, you say? — asked Lane, intrigued.

— How did it die so far from the flock? —

contributed Keene, echoing my question.

— Well, — said Lucy, simply. — Doesn't it

happen among elephants that older individuals move

away from the flock to die? — Lane and Keene looked

at each other. Keene laughed forcibly, as he had done

only a few times before, and inferred:

— Looks like we've been surpassed, old boy. —

It was indeed a nice theory, but something didn't seem

right, not with the marks I had seen on the body. Finally,

I made up my mind to speak:

— Maybe that was the case...but there were large

claw marks on the animal's flesh. Doesn't it seem to you

that she got too close to the Leader during one of his

exhibitions and he injured her?

— And she crawled all the way to the Northeast

beach before she finally died? — asked Keene, with a

note of contempt in his voice. I balked at this last

argument; it truly didn't make sense...

— Oh yes, Jacob? And how do you explain the

claw marks? — questioned Lane, coming to my defense.

— He says that the body was already

decomposing, right? — defended the British man. —

Muscles contract and pull after death.

— I'm afraid he has a good point, — said Lane,

lowering his voice, as if the other man couldn't hear him.

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— Well, there is also the problem with the

generation gap among the Kaiaimunus, — I began,

trying to get the new debate moving. — There are not

many juveniles among the flock, while there is a

relatively healthy population among the probactrosaurus,

with all ages living together.

— Yes, yes, — said Anthony Lane, agreeing. —

We discussed this while you were looking for the crab I

asked you for. It seems to me that the birth rate is very

low, especially when you consider that not all females

have offspring. As you said, there are at least a few

juveniles, like the one we saw being chased away by the

Leader. It is possible that the growth rate is also fast and

so we have this phenomenon of few babies and almost

adult teenagers, with a big gap...between... — But Lane

couldn't finish his sentence here, because he was already

gasping for air. Lucy and I helped him so that he

wouldn't fall, but he assured us:

— Don't worry, children, I'm fine...it's just

getting hard to keep up.

— We can stop and rest, sir, — I suggested.

— We can't, Kevin; we would lose the flock just

to save an already weakened old man. — It seemed that

we weren't quite sure whether we agreed or not, and we

remained silent.

— We don't have to lose them, — said Keene. —

Kevin and I can go ahead and keep pace with the herd,

and if they change their route, we'll come back and let

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you know. — Lane thought about it and concluded

resolutely:

— Well, do that! Lucy and I will catch up with

you soon.

— Sir, we can stop here, if you like, — I said,

still holding his shoulders. — Our water bottles are

almost empty, and all we need is some simple evidence

of the existence of these beings. — Keene then cried out,

without holding back:

— Stop? Now that we're making one discovery

after another? — Lane raised his eyes, staring at Keene's

face, surprised at such lack of understanding, and

replied:

— Okay, Jacob...we're not stopping. Kevin,

please take this man away from here so he can make his

damned discoveries. If I don't succumb, I'll be there to

applaud you, Dr. Keene, — he finished with contempt.

— Well, — Jacob teased, looking into his eyes.

— It's a bloody lovely thing you brought Lucy along,

isn't it?

Still hesitating to take our eyes off Lane and to

let go of my tutor and leave him, we took our time to

finally pull away. We sped up, then, to keep pace with

the herd that had gained an advantage from our delay,

and I looked one last time to see my master, still weak,

hooked on Lucy. His body was sore, about to collapse,

but not while Jacob Keene could turn and see him on the

ground. Soon, though, we made the gentle curve that

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describes the island and no longer looked back. I know

that Lane fell at that very moment and that Lucy

worried, thinking that her father was about to faint.

— I'm fine, my dear, — he said, to calm her

down. — I'm perhaps morbidly exhausted. Oh, thank

you, — he said, before emptying the bottle of water

Lucy had given him. — You know, I can't deny that I

like the idea of staying longer before eventually coming

back and rubbing these pictures in the faces of those

teenagers who attend my lectures as if they were in a

circus...but it's time to leave this paradise behind. I no

longer have the energy for this kind of expedition. I

assure you that if this is the last one before I retire, it was

the best one of all, honey.

— I'm glad you feel fulfilled, at last, Dad. You

could... talk more firmly to Dr. Keene about ending the

trip here.

— No, I can't. I don't have the same gift of

leadership that you have. — Lucy smiled and remained

silent. There was nothing to correct the old man further

about, let alone something to disagree with. Finding

something friendly to say, she spoke in a low tone:

— Let me just support you. — Feeling guilty for

receiving something he never provided, Lane felt a sharp

pain in his chest and muttered:

— Thank you...thank you for coming.

⬫⬫⬫

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As for us, we could not see him for the rest of the

day, as we had followed the huge flock, already for

hours. The animals no longer stopped to feed, and I felt

my body clamoring for sleep, which I hadn't had in two

days. To my right, Keene trotted along like a child

returning from his first day of school, so happy he was to

be there with those creatures. Sometimes he also looked

at the horizon of the ocean and even the sky, which he

explained when he noticed my questioning look:

— I am afraid that someone else will see this

large group. Imagine if a single plane flew over the area

and saw our creatures! The whole degenerate modern

world would know! — I restrained myself from

correcting him when I heard "our creatures" as if the

dinosaurs belonged to us, or something like that.

— Now, Doctor, if Muneipe called us, do you

think he kept the secret from anyone else?

— Even if he hasn't, who would believe a man

without proof?

— Well, if you are worried about this, remember

that we will soon reach the beach of the abandoned

village, which is well exposed. — But before he could

elaborate on anything else to say, we heard roars coming

from the area before us. We raised our eyes and saw that

the probactrosaurus roared furiously. The Guardians

were brandishing their scythes, menacingly, looking at

various points in the jungle.

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— What the hell are they doing? — asked Keene,

confused.

— It looks like they are ... defending themselves?

— I ventured.

— From what? You can't see anything and there

is no smell. — I looked again at the probactrosaurus and

got terrified when I understood what was happening

there.

— We have to hide! — I fired out these words,

without explaining myself.

— What?

— We have to hide now! — I shouted, already

waving my flannel in the wind as I ran. Away from the

sand, a leafy tree was growing strong and I climbed it as

fast as I could, knowing that Keene was right behind. We

climbed as far as we could, hanging to a branch and

watching the herd.

As I kept my eyes glazed over and my expression

still one of terror, he asked again:

— Will you tell me now what you are afraid of?

I couldn't utter a word, so I gestured with my head,

pointing at the probactrosaurus.

— What is it? What do you see that I don't? — he

returned, still not understanding. Perhaps nothing

seemed abnormal to him; the Guardians surrounded the

flock, the females stood with their backs to each other, as

a last line of defense for their young, and the

probactrosauruses roared in one direction only...unlike

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the Kaiaimunus. Looking in their direction, we could see

a dark area of the forest, whose dense vegetation did not

allow us to see inside.

— So that's it, — Keene concluded, finally

understanding the situation. — There is something —

hidden — and the probactrosaurus smelled it.

— Before it attacked, — I said, finishing his

thought. I felt that I already had more spirit to speak, so I

went on with the theory. — They seem to have a better

nose than the Kaiaimunus, but they don't have weapons

as threatening as the latter. This is why they often join

together, for the better protection of both bands. — We

watched in silence to see what would happen, and just

before the sun disappeared completely, the Leader

commanded the group to keep moving, following the

formation they had adopted for the attack. The group

moved quickly, and as soon as they were some distance

away, we saw some vines move into the area that the

probactrosaurus had previously faced. From it jumped

two bipedal animals, each about six meters long and

taller than a man. Both had a thin layer of orange fuzz,

like a coyote, and were slender. They then followed in

the footsteps of the herd and we looked at each other;

Keene now having the same expression of horror that I

had. When I realized the implications of that, I pondered:

— We must tell Doctor Lane about this.