Ch 26 - J. Steppe's Lizard

Lucy's macabre discovery had added to the

tension we were already feeling. Looking for a being

capable of cutting a large animal in half was frightening

enough, but finding a body that had suffered such attack

was even worse. The description Boseman had given us,

combined with the location, matched perfectly with a

species, but we had to find it to ensure its survival. The

ground we were walking on now still consisted of mud,

but it had dried out, as in a dry season.

— How is this possible? — I murmured to Lucy.

Much further back, the older members were struggling to

keep pace and could not hear us.

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— I'm not sure yet, — she answered, — but I

will prove that Boseman is doing something illegal in

this area, that's for sure.

— You still think he's a crook? Even though he

meant no harm to the animal that killed one of his

alligators?

— Then why would he lie about why he was

here? And why would he be interested in that carcass

which, by the way, belongs to something we don't even

know?

— So you think another bandit hired us?

— I don't think the world is perfect, Kevin. It can

be much greyer and crueller than you think.

— Well, you are the expert on humans. If you say

that we are surrounded by darkness and lies...

— Since you mentioned lies, do you remember...

that medicine I mentioned finding in Samuel Abal's

cabin?

— Yeah, what about it?

— Well, it was scopolamine pills, a...

— Hey, what's that? — shouted Jacob's voice,

about two meters behind us. How had he approached so

quickly? In the position we were in, we were going

down a slope now, and what he was pointing to was at

the very base of that hill. Following his finger, we saw

something white, half-buried in the mud, about ten

meters ahead. The underbrush gave way to a large open

expanse, with circular edges. The three of us ran to reach

the object. When I reached it, I noticed that it was

composed of calcium and had openings, like a skull, but

was curved like a boomerang, nothing that would match

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an animal from the region, or even an extant animal, it

was...

At this instant, I raised my face, identifying the

animal. Noticing my gesture, Lucy asked:

— You know what it is, don't you?

— Yes... yes, I know! — I answered happily,

almost maniacally. Passing between the two, I looked for

a spot in the mud, anything that might indicate...

— What...did you find? — Frost asked, finally

arriving where we were. Still breathless, it took him a

while to recover to hear the answer. While the dean tried

not to choke, I started to dig through the mud where I

had found a discreet movement mark on the ground.

Answering the question, Keene said with irony:

— Nothing yet, Kevin is playing dog. Maybe

Sicarius inspired him. — As I continued to dig, I paid no

attention to Jacob's nonsense; there was something much

more impressive under those layers of clay, which now

began to get wetter as I exposed more and more soil,

already forming a heap beside me. Perhaps, just a little

more, and...

— Found it! — I announced to the group.

— What did you discover, Kevin? — Lucy asked

with the same smile I had.

— Come and see!

My find was a transparent gelatinous mass,

covering something whose color was rendered diffuse by

the opacity of the mucus that surrounded it. I knew what

lay just beneath that layer, but I was afraid of hurting the

creature. Sensing my hesitation to act, Frost said:

— Well? Go on! Dig what you found!

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— I couldn't, Mr. Frost. You see, this creature

may have skin that is sensitive to chemicals or any other

impurities that I have on the surface of my hands; I could

cause serious illness in a... — The same grave roar

repeated itself, interrupting me this time. Leaving the

hole I had dug, we ran up the hill in the opposite

direction of the noise, hiding among the bushes as

Boseman had done earlier.

From the direction of the noise came a similar

sound, deeper,...closer. We ducked as low as possible,

keeping only our eyes above the low vegetation. On the

other side of the clearing, the grass was stirred up by

something large, which soon became visible — an

orange fin, as vividly colored as the setting sun. The

vegetation soon gave way to the dried mud of the lake,

and the animal revealed itself in its entirety. A being that

looked like a gigantic lizard, like a Varanus, with strong

legs supporting the weight of its body and a long tail.

The being's body was also orange, but without the same

brightness as the sail, becoming more opaque as the

shade moved away from it, so the head, tail and limbs

were of an almost brownish hue. The sail also had a

pattern, like a large circle, located at the base of the sail.

As I noticed each of these specific details and took

mental notes, my eyes sparkled with fascination, as Lucy

would tell me, years after this adventure.

— Steppesaurus gurleyi, — I recited

mechanically, barely noticing that I was doing it and

barely managing to control my breathing.

— What a magnificent dinosaur! — Frederick

Frost exclaimed in a low voice. Perhaps I should not

speak unnecessarily on such an occasion, when we were

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in the territory of a gigantic predator, but I felt it

necessary to correct the statement.

— Eupelicosaur, sir. Eupelicosaur, not dinosaur.

— Oh, I see...

I thought I saw Keene's mouth curve slightly in a

smile of pleasure upon hearing this conversation, but

perhaps it was an illusion. Still on the dry lake bed, the

Steppesaurus approached the hole I had dug in the mud,

sniffing around inside. Then using its large claws as

diggers, it began to enlarge the opening I had made, soon

making it large enough for its huge rectangular head to

pass through the opening. Bending over the hole, he

reached into the opening, biting with his sharp fangs the

creatures that I would not even touch to avoid hurting

them. He then pulled one out of the tunnel — a large

animal, with amphibious features, a yellowish body,

covered with brown stripes and a wide

boomerang-shaped skull. Brought violently out of its

comfortable hibernation chamber, the amphibian writhed

violently in the predator's jaws, but to no avail. To our

horror, the carnivore imposed more pressure on its prey

and cut it in half. With the animal now immobile and

severed, the Steppesaurus could more easily devour the

rest, slicing large chunks of flesh with its teeth. The

scene was naturally terrifying, and proved Boseman's

account. Slowly and quietly, Lucy moved away, still

crouched down, and pulled my flannel so that I could

follow. Noticing our movement, the older members

followed suit, also crouched, until we went over the

other side of the hill, crossed the meadow as quickly as

possible, and reached the boat. We could not all go back

again — that much was clear.