Ch 11 - The Grave Beach

The last morning was as lifeless as the night that

preceded it. With the flock extending beyond the huts,

we had a chance to solemnly carry Lane's body and

prepare a grave for him, dug with the gardening spade

we found in the widow's garden. Sitting cross-legged

around the grave, our pale colors, both in our clothes and

faces, contrasted sharply with the bright colors of the

probactrosaurus around us. On this occasion, even the

native kept silent. Lucy was still crying a little, with

some hatred, even.

— I was finally going to have my father around,

— she said in a low tone, — And...a damn crow took

him away. — I didn't allow myself to correct the animal's

classification, although it was appropriate; it's not what

one should do in a situation of such strong emotions as

this one was. And of course, I myself felt an intense pain

from the loss of my master, but the worst was yet to

come. The pain always grows greater as time passes and

you no longer have your loved one in your daily life.

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Having read about this fact before, the future seemed

bleak to me. And what was to be done? We could only

feel sorry for each other; even the boat was not a viable

idea. Besides, our own salvation was the least important

thing after the irreparable loss of what was the closest

thing I had to a real father.

Our silence was soon shattered by the Leader's

roars, who growled, ordering his flock to move, which

earned him a glare from Lucy, who condemned his

boldness. The effect of such roars was always chaotic,

causing Kaiaimunu mothers to "run" to fetch their young

in the surrounding trees, Guardians to maintain perimeter

formation and, at the same time, march, and finally,

caused adult probactrosaurus to move en masse,

following their protectors; the little bipedal pups running

happily between the adults' legs. Amidst the confusion

that was settling in and the constant noises from the

Alpha, we got moving too, before we were run over by

the probactrosaurus' stumpy legs or another female

Kaiaimunu saw me as a threat.

— Come on, dear, let's go inside, — Norwayan

said, holding Lucy's arm and pulling her away from the

makeshift tomb. Still reluctant, she slowly yielded to the

lead of that huge man holding her. Since we could not

reach Norwayan's boat before the herd left the beach,

and since we could not leave the Abal hut after their

departure, because of the predators around the flock, we

entered the house that the village authority had

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inhabited, and settled in, blocking the door behind us and

the few windows around with the house furniture. We

waited for some time, on the chance that the

Australovenators would attack as soon as the band was

gone, but this was not the case. We waited for hours on

end, having already used up the supplies we had filled

our backpacks with. After so long of silence and

drumming his fingers on the table, Jacob Keene turned to

Lucy and demanded impatiently:

— Well, what's the plan?

— Shouldn't it be our job, as adults, to make the

plans? — questioned Paka Norwayan; his kindly chubby

face now frowned, perhaps for the first time in his life.

— No, no, he's right, — Lucy told the native. —

My father knew that I'm a good leader; he told us to take

care of each other and that's what I'm going to do — I'll

take all of you back home. Kevin, do you think you can

get into that room and fetch Abal's gun? We're going to

need it.

— Is this really necessary? — sounded Jacob

Keene's voice, — Can't you reach a static boat without

destroying the island's ecosystem?

— "Really necessary", Dr. Keene? — Lucy

repeated, turning to his face again, — If you expect to

see your students again, then yes, it's absolutely

necessary, so please start being helpful. — Finishing

saying this, she left the scene, also leaving the

biomedical doctor with wide eyes and a wide mouth.

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Looking at the two of us who were left, he grunted, —

And you? What are you doing, staring at me? — I

immediately left but didn't see the native do the same.

Clearly, he had the intelligence not to fear what did not

offer him any risk. Ready to go fulfill the mission Lucy

had given me, I felt nauseous, apprehensive, and other

things, but certainly not ready. As I approached the door,

I took the place the widow had occupied seconds before

finding her husband's body. The memory of what we saw

in that room was enough to make me take a deep breath

and not breathe out until I left it. Entering the small dark

room, I quickly closed the door so that the odor would

not spread to the other rooms, and tried to locate myself

with the little light that the moon reflected through the

cracks. The window had been closed by Lucy when we

first left the room and now, knowing what she saw

through the opening, I can see that it was a sound idea.

Had she not done so, Abal's remains would have already

been devoured by the Sinornithosaurus, who would have

returned to finish the job. The room I was in was still

damp and stuffy, as it was the first time I was there, and

of course, there was not much hope that would change.

As I splashed in the shallow puddle that had formed on

the floor, I wondered what was to become of that room

— eventually, wood and flesh would succumb to decay,

the ceiling would give way to the passage of time, and

nature would cover the remains of the house, and

perhaps a skeleton if anything remained of it. So it must

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be. Diverging from these thoughts, however, I focused

on finding the rifle lying on the floor and, indeed, almost

let out a relieved sigh when my fingers, groping in the

darkness, found something, but a morbid dread replaced

the relief when I kicked something metallic against the

aluminum shelf. Surprised, I let out a breath, and a putrid

odor assaulted my senses when I realized that my feet

had found the gun and my hands — a decomposing arm.

Rushing to leave the room, I leaned against the

closed door and breathed in the cleaner air outside,

trying to rid myself of the odor that seemed to cling to

my nostrils.

— Good, boy, you got the rifle! — greeted Paka

Norwayan. — This is a bit discouraging to ask, — he

continued, holding the back of his head, — but did you

remember to get ammunition? — Traumatized as I was, I

could only respond by reaching into a pocket and

emptying the contents before Norwayan, to calm his

worries. Taking Abal's belongings from my hands, he

enunciated:

— And now, leave it to the adults. — Then

looking down the barrel of the gun, he went on to say:

— If those overgrown birds show their faces, I'll

take them down for good. We're ready, Lucy!

— I'm just checking...if there's no more food...or

medicine, — she replied, pausing to look for the items.

Our captain then headed for the door, with the

three of us right behind her. After removing the desk that

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blocked the front door, she turned to our faces and said

in a teasing tone:

— Ready to run?

Her calculated words sent a shiver down my

spine, caused the native to flinch and Keene to stutter. It

was perfect for us to have the perfect amount of fear —

enough to shut our mouths, but not to stop us from

leaving the cabin.

Still stuttering, Keene attacked Lucy's plan:

— Sorry, is that your brilliant plan? — he

complained, fastening the leather strap of the camera

around his neck.

— Not if you have a better one, — she replied,

and with an exasperated sigh, she continued, — Now,

please, listen, this is neither the time nor the place to

argue, okay? I'm sorry we have to take down some of

these animals, I really am. Believe me, this is not my

idea of fun, but... I failed to save my father... and I won't

let that happen again.

Facing the darkness, our leader turned the knob

to what seemed like a horrifying new world. There was

something reassuring about the herd's presence; at least

we knew the Guardians were protecting the perimeter.

Now, though, the attack could come from anywhere, and

there were two attackers. The door to the Abal hut was

left open, as there was nothing important inside and any

extra noise was not only unnecessary but also dangerous.

All around us, the bushes seemed to move and shadows

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seemed to lurk behind each hut, peeking at us in that

dimly moonlit night. The tiny village of Amge now

seemed to stretch for miles, as we tried to get to

Norwayan's boat without making too much noise. After a

few minutes of walking at a moderate pace, we spotted

his hut, where we had spent the first night on the island,

and his boat lying on the beach not far away. We would

have let out cries of joy if the situation had been

different, but in this case, we heard only sighs and

murmurs. Looking around me, I too was already smiling

broadly, imagining being safe again, drawing in black

and white what had been that night — that we would

placidly get to the boat and row towards civilization. We

would then return to America and reveal Lane's

discovery, immortalizing his name in the science books.

Unfortunately, this was not how that night ended.

A sense of normalcy came over me during what I

thought were the last steps I would take in Amge.

Absolutely everything was normal — the sand sank

beneath my feet and the refracted moonlight cast long

shadows from the surrounding rooftops. Like a child, I

was already counting those rooftops and their shadows.

Something, then, caught my attention and interrupted my

counting. More than that, it momentarily took my breath

away — the roof shadows — almost all of them were at

the same height. Almost. On the walls next to where we

were standing, the shadow of the neighboring roof

followed the pattern of the others that were lined up, but

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there was a smaller one, lower, maybe two meters off the

ground. It was not as tapered as the roof shade. Only

then did I understand what it was — it was the shadow

of a snout.

With a wee trembling voice, I murmured the

name of our leader, which I had to repeat, as there was

no answer. Turning to me, as did the adults

accompanying us, she followed the direction my finger

was pointing, to the wall of the huts, and stood still

before the sight. With her eyes wide open, she said:

— Guys...remember the plan? — Saying this, her

legs were already moving and we shot off, without any

time to agree. Going forward, Lucy threw herself against

the cabin door, opening it to our passage. Within

seconds, we closed the door and propped up the only

glass case in the house. With the jerky movements of

pushing the cabinet, the fragile framed photographs

smashed on the floor, covering it with sharp shards.

There was only time for Norwayan to look at the pictures

disconsolately, because a gigantic impact hit the door,

pushing the cabinet along. The three of us threw

ourselves against it too, pushing as hard as we could, but

it was already obvious that we were not strong enough.

With sheer body weight, the Australovenator had already

opened a gap between the door and the wall and would

soon be in there with us. Already hopeless, but guided by

instinct, I put all my weight against the piece of

furniture, still seeing my feet being pushed backwards,

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and heard the low sound of the dinosaur, a guttural sound

interrupted by cackling, like that of an eagle. It was not a

roar, like the sound produced by the large animals we

had come to study, it was a variety of noises that

interrupted the low notes, making my blood run cold. A

second impact came from the next wall, and Lucy

screamed:

— The second one! It's here too!

At that moment I heard a loud cry, followed by

curses against the animals, and turned to see Keene,

cowering in the corner against the wall. Maybe that's

why it was so hard to push back, but of course, I hadn't

looked before. Enraged and losing all guidelines of

respect, I shouted:

— You damn coward! Come help us!

— No! — he cried out with his hands covering

his face.

Amidst the hell that was being established there,

I felt the weight increase even more — Norwayan had

also stopped pushing. Wielding his rifle, he pointed the

barrel at the opening gap and shouted:

— You hungry? — The old gun went off with a

loud bang and a sound similar to the shoving was heard,

but this time it was the animal falling to the ground.

— I hit it! I hit the bastard in the head! —

celebrated the native.

Without the powerful creature pushing in the

opposite direction, we forced the glass case against the

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door, sealing it again. To our right, now, the second

Australovenator continued to charge at the wooden wall,

which was already beginning to give way to the animal's

weight, bulging in our direction, long splinters already

flying from its fibers. Firing at the opposite wall,

Norwayan shattered a window and broke its wooden

frame with repeated blows of his rifle, and ordered us:

— This way! Get out, I'll deal with him alone!

— No, you won't! — protested Lucy. Grabbing

her by the arm, I then dragged her over and pushed her

through, despite how much she struggled.

Obeying immediately, Keene dashed, as fast as

the wind, straight to the window, and Mr. Norwayan

returned to his position in front of the wall where we

could already see a crack forming. As a hole opened, the

animal emitted its hideous sound, a cackling that

resembled laughter, filling the cabin. After Keene, Lucy

passed and then me, but only one leg; before passing the

other, I looked back and shouted:

— You have to shoot now, Mr. Norwayan! Now!

— Don't worry, kid. I want to look him in the

eye, like the other one, — he replied.

Suddenly, the sound of thumping against the wall

ceased, and the animal's snout was no longer visible

through the gap. Still staring at it for a few seconds, the

native tried to concentrate, but failing, he turned to me

and ordered:

— Run, Kevin! He must be coming after you!

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At that moment, the wall behind him was blown

away in one blast, destroyed by the animal that was, not

going after us, but taking momentum to throw itself one

last time. Not allowing our dear host time to turn and

shoot, the huge carnivore fell over his right flank.

Unable to turn around or use his gun, he could only

scream again and tell me to run. Turning my face away, I

obeyed, still hearing the shrill cries and noises of a

carnivore that was already starting to feed.

Not far away, I spotted the figures of Lucy and

Keene, who were already arriving at the rowboat. When

I finally reached them, they were throwing it into the

ocean; also throwing themselves into it, where only two

oars lay. Each grabbing their own oar, they started

rowing hard, while I pushed the boat into deeper water.

After getting into the boat, I received a terrified look

from Lucy, who wondered what had happened. Shaking

my head, I squeezed my eyes shut to say that we had lost

our host. Still in shock, she slowly looked away and

came to rest her eyes on Jacob's neck.

— Professor Keene, — she said, her voice

trembling, — your...camera.

— What about it? This is not the time to take

pictures, miss, and...God, no, no, my camera! I must

have dropped it while we were running away!

— Do you still have the feathers that Kevin put

in your backpack?

— I would imagine so.

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— That'll do. Kevin! Can you get the binoculars

from Dr. Keene's backpack? Is that demon still following

us?

Of course I could, Keene sat right in front of me.

On second thought now, I believe she was asking if I was

still physically or even mentally able to do it. Unzipping

it as quickly as my hands would allow, I rummaged

through the contents of the backpack and, lost among

fruit scraps and medicine cartons, I found Keene's old

binoculars, which were covered in sun-baked fruit syrup.

Turning to look through the lenses, I caught a glimpse of

the outlines of the village we were leaving — row after

row of roofs, a house larger than the others near the edge

of the forest, and a much smaller but cozier one that I

could no longer see. When I could focus on the beach

and the sea, I saw that something was moving in my

viewfinder. Standing on the beach sand, the outline of a

large predator stood erect, its snout in the air, as if

sniffing something. Walking a few steps further, the huge

predator stopped at a point in the sand and sniffed again,

then dug in. He had found the beach grave.

— So? It's following us? — repeated Lucy. To

spare her the horror of the facts, I lowered the binoculars

from my face and simply answered:

— No...i-it's not.