Dinosaur Lake (27 page)

There weren’t any fatalities, though, thank God. The smashed buildings had been empty. Pure luck.

“It’s a good thing we evacuated days ago,” Kiley panted. “We already have one bloodbath back at headquarters.”

“Yes, good thing.” Henry was surveying the mess. One of the buildings was on fire.

He asked Cummings to return to headquarters and have someone call into Klamath Falls on a car phone, if they couldn’t get a cell phone to work, for firefighting equipment. He was sure Greer had already put in a call for medical assistance.

The prehistoric encroacher was nowhere in sight, but they could hear its bellowing voice as it moved away through the park. The air was filled by the snapping of trees and foliage crushed beneath giant feet.

“Where do you think it’s heading now, Henry?” Kiley stood propped up against a tree, his face and clothes filthy. His head hung hopelessly in the fading light, as if he were so weary he couldn’t hold it up.

“Back to the lake, I pray to god, and good riddance, and not towards another populated area, like a town. We’d have a real problem if it decides to leave the park.”

“Wouldn’t we? I don’t even want to think about that possibility.”

“Me, neither.” Yet Henry had already thought about it and it filled him with despair. If that happened he’d have to call the local law enforcement authorities, the Feds and the media. The public had to be warned.

Walking towards the shattered buildings that had once been Rim Village, he gestured for the others to follow. “Anyone have another flashlight?” Though he had his, he wanted more light for their search.

The other two men switched theirs on and they advanced on the ghost village with the beams leading the way. There was only the sound of settling wood and leaking water pipes, the crackle of the fire. If anyone had been in any of the buildings, they were gone now, escaped into the forest or hiding somewhere. Henry prayed they wouldn’t find any bodies buried in the rubble.

“Before we leave, let’s check everything out. Make sure there’s nobody trapped in any of these buildings. Nobody in need of help or medical attention.”

The rangers trailed after him in the gloom as they shifted through the wreckage, their eyes nervous, their movements jerky, as if they were poised to run any second. Henry didn’t blame them for being frightened. They’d seen what the creature could do. But Henry had to be sure there wasn’t anyone who needed help before he and his men could leave.

Later, finding no one, they returned to headquarters and joined the others.

“Come on, Ann,” Henry murmured when he found her sitting, dazed in the dark, on what was left of headquarters’ steps. Those left behind had been afraid to call attention to themselves with lights. “I’ll take you back to Zeke’s.”

He pulled her to her feet and brushed the dirt off her jeans and shirt. He didn’t say a word about George; didn’t question her on why she’d been in the park in the first place. He’d noticed the camera but hadn’t said anything. She was feeling bad enough the way it was. They’d talk about everything later when she could handle it better. He was more concerned about the present whereabouts of the creature and what destruction it was wreaking at the moment.

Ann didn’t inquire about Rim Village, too overwhelmed with what had happened earlier. And helping with the wounded had numbed her the rest of the way.

He’d sent one of his rangers to update Greer, so he didn’t seek him out. All he had to do was get Ann someplace safe, someplace where she could rest and begin recovering from her ordeal. He’d never seen her in the state she was in. Her eyes were darkened with torment over what she’d seen that day and guilt over George’s death.

She inclined her head, and followed him, silently; clutching her camera and her purse like a security blanket. She wouldn’t meet his gaze. There was dried blood on her face, blood in her short hair. George’s blood. Henry pulled her into his arms and rocked her, but still the tears refused to come.

Men were moving around, searching for their missing friends or partners, checking the damage and the dead; shuffling around like zombies.

Dr. Harris was nowhere to be found. Probably still hiding somewhere, plotting ways to capture and cage the monster. Maybe he was chasing it through the woods, like a hound dog on a rabbit, so he wouldn’t lose sight of it.

As they were leaving, Henry saw Greer over a mangled body. He glanced up, recognized Henry, and signaled him to come over.

Ann insisted on coming with him and they walked over. Henry had overheard Patterson that morning talking about how Greer was a decorated Marine veteran. How he’d served three tours of duty overseas and had been a crack-shot sniper. Greer’s long white hair was wild, his face and suit dirty. A bent and smashed MP5K clutched in one hand. He threw the broken weapon against a tree.

“How about Rim Village?” he asked Henry.

Henry slid a glance at Ann, her eyes closed as she leaned against him. He never was one to lie, so told the truth. “Demolished. The beast leveled practically everything. Just like here.”

“Anyone else hurt?”

“Not that we could find. We checked the ruins. No one. Maybe some ran off. I hope so. Good thing we made everyone who could leave, evacuate days ago.”

“Lucky for them.” Greer rubbed his jaw with a shaking hand. He studied Henry. “Thanks to you. Park authorities wouldn’t have pushed the park evacuation at all. But you went over their heads and did it anyway.” The exagent paused, his shoulders falling. “There were enough deaths and injuries here.”

Henry was surprised at the emotion he sensed in the man. Greer had feelings after all. And by the way he was behaving; he now had a quest as well.

“You were right, Chief Ranger, in one way,” Greer added with determination in his eyes. “That monster needs to be
dead.
That’s all. Not brought in alive. Not put in a cage like some tamed zoo animal.

“But in another way, you’re wrong. You don’t believe that creature is evil. And, maybe, it isn’t really all evil. But as far as I’m concerned, if it keeps on killing–and I believe it will, until someone stops it–that’s my definition of evil, whether it’s intentional evil or not, human or animal. So damn the world and the creature’s right to live in it because it’s one of a kind. Damn Harris and his wealthy friends. Damn the Governor.

“We have to track the S.O.B. down and exterminate it as soon as possible.”

Henry smiled at the man, and remembered the story he’d recounted about that serial killer. The man believed in retribution. “My way of thinking exactly, Greer.”

He looked down at the woman huddled in his arms. “You seem to have everything in control and before anything else happens, I’m taking my wife to town so she’ll be safe. When I return we can discuss what we’re going to do next. I have some ideas I need to pass by you.”

“I’ll be here.” Greer was staring around at the wounded that had been gathered. The dead. Some were covered, some weren’t. Henry couldn’t bear to look at them any longer. They’d been friends. There were at least four dead, three rangers, including George, and one maintenance man who’d been in headquarters that day repairing the plumbing, and two wounded, whose groans filled the evening. There was only one dead body, though, because the creature had completely consumed George and two others of its victims.

“I’m sorry about your friend, George,” Greer whispered. “I saw the whole thing. He was a courageous man.”

A lump caught in Henry’s throat, but he managed to answer, “That he was.”

“Get your wife out of here.” Greer’s voice was normal again. “She looks like she needs a quiet place to recuperate.”

“How will we get to Zeke’s?” Ann said, suddenly seeming to be back with them. “My car was destroyed. It’s up the road a ways.”

Henry glanced at the smashed vehicle he’d been using the last few days. The beast had danced on it, too.

Greer was looking at the same thing.

“Here.” He handed Henry a set of keys. “Use my car. The black Chevy over there. It’s in one piece and I won’t be needing it for a while.”

“Thanks.” Henry took the keys. “I’ll return it after I’ve dropped Ann off in town. I won’t be gone long. I just want her someplace safe.”

“Don’t worry, Ranger, I’ll hold down the fort here until you get back. I don’t think our visitor from a horror film will return tonight, but I’m not sure, and we have to get these wounded out of here in case it does.”

“And we still don’t have those bigger weapons.”

“About the weapons, I’ll be making a call to someone concerning that soon as the ambulance picks our wounded up. I’m tired of waiting for what we’ve ordered through proper channels. I have a special friend, who I’m sure will help us–without questions and right away.”

“Great. That takes one worry off my mind.”

Henry steered Ann towards the car, helped her in, got in himself, and drove into the dark. He fought the desperation, the fear, in his gut, aware that his headlights could be seen for a long distance, and tried not to speed too much. It was hard. He wanted to be back with Greer and the others. There was work to do and they might not have much time before another assault came.

He and Ann talked little on the way. She was so sorry she hadn’t listened to him and came back into the park. So sorry George was dead. But she couldn’t bear to really talk about it yet, as if by not talking about him would change what had happened. She cried. Henry consoled her, driving one-handed, fighting his own grief, as well. He couldn’t afford tears or they’d end up in a ditch somewhere. Not a good idea. He had no clue where the monster was.

But during the drive all he could think about was when the creature would reappear. Where? Who would it butcher next? And how in the world were they going to stop it, before Harris brought in reinforcements to protect the damn thing?

For it was a certainty that if Harris wasn’t dead, he was off somewhere bending someone’s ear, trying to safe guard the monster.

Over my dead body,
Henry swore. And meant every word.

***

The creature stalked the forest searching for more of the funny, puny two-legged critters that tasted so good. Though the critters did make an awful racket when it caught them. Its belly was full, but it was an eating machine. It’d eat until there was nothing else to eat. Then it would root out more. It was smart enough to know that its supply of food had been dwindling. First the tasty swimming things in the lake and now the critters…they were getting harder and harder to find. It had to search further out. Even in the daylight. If it was to stay alive, it must eat.

It was bored, too.

Lonely. Deep in its brain it knew there should be others like it. A herd of others like it. Running and playing, feeding, together. Swimming the caves under the lake. Who would be its mate when the time came? Who would help it raise the little ones coming? It’d never seen another one like itself, but in its genetic memories it sensed they must exist. Somewhere. It was looking. Forever looking.

It looked up at the dark sky, growled at the tiny sparkling pieces of fire embedded in the black velvet. The call of the peaceful, warm water; the safety of the caves, its home, was too strong to resist and it returned to the lake. Dived deep and swam hard. It was a powerful swimmer. But it would become stronger as it grew.

It was young. Still growing and learning. It needed more food.

Entering the large underwater cave that was its home, it remembered when those peculiar floating things that chirped and flashed with pretty lights, putted across the lake’s surface like big bugs. It had loved to play with them. Chase them. They had been creatures nearer to its size. Strange companions, but still companions. Now they were gone, they’d all died, it seemed, and now were empty shells beached along the shore which no longer had the spark of life.

It missed them. It’d pretended they were its own kind. But they were never strong. It always beat them. They fell apart, when it nudged them. It hadn’t been able to eat them, either. They hadn’t tasted good. Hadn’t filled its belly. Whereas the small critters, at least, did that.

It entered the subterranean cavern and swam back into its world. A world of stone, water, and molten lava, of darkness and bones. Of long past whispers. A world of dead skeletons that stared out of the rocks at it, but never stirred. Just bones. Lifeless.

But it was a world where there weren’t any of those queer tiny beings shouting and running, throwing things that sometimes stung. They made it angry hurting it as they had. It had come to enjoy hurting them back and smashing their frail hiding places made of wood and stone.

It scooted into its cave, its world of warmth and safety.

Its home and once the home of all its family. Brethren now long gone but for whom it was forever searching. Someday it’d find them. Someday there’d be more like it. It sensed that.

Ann needed a sedative that night to sleep. Zeke had some mild pills he deemed were safe enough for her to take and gave her two.

Henry tucked her into bed and closed the door quietly behind him, leaving Laura hovering over her mother, playing the worried nurse. He couldn’t bear to hear Ann crying any more.

Ann had confessed what she’d been doing in the park; explained about how Zeke was going to shut down the newspaper, and that was why she’d risked reentering–for the pictures and the story. She’d told him about the camcorder she’d been looking for and that’s when Henry divulged he’d had it all along. The realization had made both of them feel worse. If only he’d told her. If only she’d asked. It made George’s death seem more unnecessary.

“There are forests, miles and miles of woods and other lakes around here. I wouldn’t have given away the precise location of where the creature was, Henry,” she’d confided in a guilty voice. “That would have put other people in danger. All I needed was the pictures.”

He wasn’t angry at her for George’s death. Ann could have, should have died that day, and he was relieved beyond thankfulness she was still alive. George had selflessly given up his life for her as he would have for any number of people he’d cared about. The park, the safety of its visitors had been important to him. Henry would have done the same.

Ann claimed the blame for George’s death anyway. It’d take her a long time, if ever, to forgive herself. George hadn’t been just a man who’d worked with him, she’d known George, had been his friend, had laughed at his jokes, lame as they’d usually been; served him her best meals and homemade pies, for the time they’d lived in the park. Because George and her husband had become fast friends the minute they’d met when Henry had first arrived

“None of this was your fault,” Henry said, trying to console her. “It’s that monster out in the woods that killed George and the others.”

He hadn’t breathed a word about the doomed Deep Rover and Mark Lassen’s death to her, but as he gulped down a cup of coffee in the kitchen, he told Zeke about it and the attack at Ranger Headquarters and Rim Village.

Zeke listened, somber faced, and didn’t once ask if he could print the story, though Henry knew as well as the old man that it would have saved his dying newspaper. And the thought came to Henry that Zeke might in part blame himself for Ann’s misadventure, and perhaps, indirectly, even George’s death, because she’d done it for him and the newspaper.

Zeke offered him a tuna fish sandwich, but Henry wasn’t hungry. He needed to return to the park and prepare for the creature’s next onslaught, make a few difficult phone calls and help Greer fend off the press. Because there’d be questions to answer; questions they wouldn’t be able to avoid this time. Henry couldn’t hide the bodies or what had happened to them once the ambulances made their way back to the hospital. And then there’d be hell to pay.

“Tell me something, son,” Zeke asked Henry. “That monster going to stay in your park, or do we here in town have something to worry about?”

Henry had never seen Zeke so disconcerted, troubled. “Zeke, I’m not going to lie. I don’t know. So far it’s remained in the park, close to the lake, but I don’t know if it’ll stay there. It’s already surprised us a couple of times. It’s so unpredictable.”

“What are you going to do about it then?”

“Me?”

“Yes, you? I can tell you’re plotting something by the way you’re acting. Got that,
I’m going to take care of it
air about you.”

Henry met Zeke’s eyes. The old man looked tired and older than the last time he’d seen him. According to Ann, his wife’s death and now losing his business was prematurely aging him.

“If I tell you, you have to keep it to yourself. Off the record?”

“That goes without question.”

“Against orders, a team of us are going after
it
. And when we find it we’re going to destroy it.”

“I imagine, under the circumstances, that’s the best thing. Good luck, then.”

“Thanks, we’ll need it.”

As he left, the last thing Henry saw was Ann’s camera on the kitchen table. He must have been in a state of grief over his friend’s death because he didn’t mash it into pieces.

The drive into the park helped clear his mind. He had private time to grieve. Tears glistened in his eyes as he let the good memories of his dead friend slowly overlay the horrific images of his last minutes on earth. George must have thought he owed him something for that time he’d saved his life out in the woods. Poor George. What a terrible way to die.

At that moment, Henry despised that creature more than anything in the world. He wanted to kill it as it had killed George. Nothing else mattered. All his earlier awe and love of prehistoric creatures, dead or alive, had evaporated.

By the time he arrived at what was left of headquarters he was almost himself again. With the absence of lights from the buildings now gone or shuttered in darkness, night, a solid velvet blanket, had settled on the park.

Dim lanterns were in use, hanging from trees, glowing like weak fireflies and softly highlighting the wreckage. Just enough to see by.

No one wanted to draw the monster back to finish what it’d begun.

There were three silent ambulances without lights. People, not saying much, milled around searching for the missing, or parts of them. Outside authorities had been tipped off and officers were everywhere filling out reports while the nearby local newspapers were snapping pictures and asking uncomfortable questions. Everything was being conducted in an orderly fashion and as swiftly and inconspicuously as possible. They’d all been warned not to make noise or call attention to themselves and had been told why. Of course, no one believed them.

Greer had done well, taking George’s place as smoothly as if he’d always been Henry’s second in command.

Henry helped load up a mauled body shrouded in a blood-stained sheet. Greer turned away from the ambulance after the doors closed and said, “We’re having a hell of a time keeping a lid on this with the news media slobbering over us. The ambulances from town lured them out here like flies to carrion. We’ve been fighting them off since you left. Keeping them quiet as to what happened here isn’t an option, either. I’m afraid our cover is blown. The monster will soon be famous.” In the faint light Greer even cracked a sarcastic smile.

“We’ve had to escort at least three newspaper reporters off the premises and one television crew. They were making too much noise and were flashing lights everywhere. One of the television crew, I’m afraid, got film of the carnage. They got away before we could confiscate it. Slippery little devils, aren’t they?” The last thing they wanted was people to panic.

“The media. Most of them aren’t any better than rabid dogs once they get the scent of a disaster.”

“And those Inquirer reporters you talked about have definitely been missed. Their backup is arriving in force.”

“And we thought,” Henry sighed glumly, “we had trouble before.”

“Ain’t seen nothing yet, I reckon.”

“Well, it can’t be helped. Publicity. It was only a matter of time. Too many people disappearing and too many unexplained deaths to keep it a secret now. Let’s just get these people cleared out of here before that monster comes back for dessert. We’ve got to move quickly now.”

“You got it, Ranger,” Greer said. “But first, can I talk to you in private?”

Henry nodded and they stepped away from the crowd to stand behind a mound of wooden debris; all that was left of Park Headquarters. Greer kept shifting his eyes behind and around him, watching and listening. He was a trained soldier beneath his polished ways, always on alert.

“I don’t think it’ll come back here tonight,” Henry tried to ease the man’s fear. “It’s too shrewd for that. It knows we might be ready for it next time.”

“You think it’s that smart, huh?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Oh.” Greer leaned against a section of wall that didn’t look too sturdy but where there was no light. Shadows hid the two men as they talked. The barrier muffled their voices.

It’d been warm that day but the night had brought a distinct chill. There was the scent of rain in the air. Maybe it’d wash away the cloying stench of fresh blood, Henry brooded.

“There’s going to be a next time, Ranger, isn’t there? Real soon.”

“Yes, but on our terms. We’re going to locate that thing’s lair and exterminate it before it slaughters anyone else. It’s killed too many people. Some were good men, with families. I’m going to have to face those families and I can’t unless I’ve gotten rid of that abomination once and for all.”

“I second that. It’s time to go on the offensive. Go after it. We can’t keep letting it make the rules and butcher more people.” Greer gazed off towards the distant trees. Watching. “Because what’s to keep it in the park now? There are people and towns out there.” The man, his silhouette in the gloom stooped, wiped his face with his hand.

A moon was rising and Greer’s predatory eyes gleamed in its soft glow as he tilted his face towards Henry’s.

The two men stood there, listening. The night animals were chattering. The winds were whispering. A light splattering of rain caressed their faces. For now it was safe. All was normal. But for how long?

“I’ve been talking to Jim Francis,” Greer said. “He has an idea how to solve our problem.”

“So Francis made it through the attack? Good.” Henry liked the older man, ponytail, cowboy hat and all.

“He wants vengeance for his friend’s death also.”

Out in the black woods Henry thought he heard George’s ghost laughing. Finally free of human form, George’s Indian spirit was wandering the forest he’d loved. That mental picture, at least, brought a smile to Henry’s lips. It was better to think of George that way than decomposing in some beast’s belly. Around them the wind rustled the summer leaves high up in the trees. Henry imagined it was ghosts, all the humans who’d ever died in the park over all the years, talking among themselves; George now with them.

“Francis is getting another submersible down here. He pulled some big strings and got a four-seater this time called the Big Rover. He’s piloted it before. This sub is not only bigger, faster, but possesses formidable weaponry. He believes it’ll be more than a match for the creature. He’ll bring the sub down from Vancouver in a couple of days, after he informs Lassen’s widow of the man’s death and attends the funeral…well, a memorial, at least, because there’s no body to bury. He’s flying there tonight. He’s already left.

“When he returns, he’ll study the video tapes of Lassen’s exploration of that underwater lava cave. Francis is positive we’ll find the monster in there somewhere. He’s sure that’s why Lassen motored into it.”

“Justin believes our target’s living in one of those caves, too,” Henry recalled. “Humph, exploring that submerged cave isn’t something I’m looking forward to, but Justin’s sure the monster lives in one of its tunnels. I’ve never been in an underwater lava cave before.”

“Me neither. Not an active one like that anyway.

“Okay, Ranger, so we’re going hunting for the creature. If we find it, we have to be sure we can kill it,” Greer’s tone was serious. “So I made that special phone call when you were gone. I think I have the weapons on their way that’ll do the job. A couple of grenade launchers and some other goodies. Should be here tomorrow.”

“You’re a man of many hidden talents, Greer.”

“Thanks, I aim to please.”

Henry thought Greer grinned in the dark, but he couldn’t be sure, the man’s face was in shadow.

An owl mourned for the dead from the tree behind them and brought Henry back to the painful present. For some reason the sound made him nervous. The woods and everything in them seemed alien and threatening all of a sudden. The moon had slipped behind clouds and shadowed the earth. Henry couldn’t shake his growing disquiet.

“You know how to operate a grenade launcher?” Henry grilled Greer.

“Of course. I was in the service. Marines.”

“So was I,” Henry disclosed. “Iraq.”

“Me, too, very beginning of it. But I learned how to use a L.A.W.S. Rocket and grenade launchers. That’s one thing you have to give our armed forces. They teach you how to kill pretty well. The bigger, the more destructive weapons, the better.

“I figure a RPG-7 Grenade Launcher will make a dent in that thing’s tough hide. Hopefully stop it dead in its tracks. Blow it to pieces. And I know some tricks that’ll guarantee it. Bet you do, too.”

Henry didn’t need to answer. He’d been in a war zone and knew the tricks just as well as Greer. Now Greer knew he knew it, too.

Greer went into a crouch then and Henry followed, down to the other man’s level.

“We can doctor up the grenade rockets…fill them with white phosphorus,” Greer said. “When the rocket explodes it’ll burn everything it touches, inside and out, until there’s nothing left. It’ll burn even when submerged in water.”

“Sounds right to me. Should do the trick.” Henry whistled low under his breath. “Good plan, Greer. Couldn’t of done better myself.”

Greer made a noise that might have been a polite grunt. “We better conclude our business, though, before Dr. Harris gets the Governor to send the army in here. They’ll lock up the park tight as a jail and launch an all-out search to seize, capture, the valuable
specimen
.” He stressed the last word. “Harris is probably on the phone with the Governor right now.”