Dinosaur Lake (35 page)

Greer had to catch him from behind and pull him out of the restraints or his head would have thudded down on the controls.

Henry reacted as only someone with emergency training would–throwing himself behind the controls, knowing Greer would take care of Francis. He frantically fought to recall what Francis had taught him days before about working the sub. He hesitated, unsure, the control panel blurring before him.

“Drive it, Henry!” Greer shouted. “Get us out of here!”

The monster was closing in. But the Big Rover was dead in the water. Even the lights inside had dimmed to a frightening twilight. If it went pitch dark, Henry thought, he’d scream for sure. The stench of fear and unwashed bodies were cloying in the compacted space.

“I’m trying!” he hissed, and what he so desperately needed to recall came flooding back. He restarted the engines; they sputtered and kicked in.
Thank God.
For a heartbeat he’d been alarmed they wouldn’t. He didn’t want to die as Lassen had, either. He didn’t want anyone to die.

They sputtered away from the monster, sparks crackling in the water around them. The beast was mesmerized by the fireworks and held back to play with the pretty lights, a delay that probably saved all their lives.

As they left their attacker behind, the submersible motored, crippled but still plugging along, through the cloudy waters.

The men were silent as their eyes observed the creature frolicking through the glass openings.

Henry fervently wished he could escape the sub, breath gulps of real fresh air. Swim away. Wished he could get out because the walls were suddenly closing in.

Justin’s eyes were dilated in fear. “My head’s whirling. My heart feels as if it’s ready to explode.” Groaning in his chair, his eyes were glued to the water world and the creature diminishing in the glass windows. “Why in the world did I agree to come along? I must have been insane,” he grumbled. But Henry knew he was just letting off steam. Relieving his fear.

“Francis has been hurt,” Greer announced. “He’s unconscious. I don’t know how bad, breathing shallowly, but alive. His pulse is strong. I stopped the bleeding.” He’d laid the pilot on the floor between them. “But we’re going to have to drive this thing ourselves from here on in.”

Greer settled into the seat Henry had vacated as the Big Rover wobbled towards the cave and, with Greer’s co-piloting, entered the main cavern before the creature noticed they were gone. Henry brought the submersible to the surface, but was unable to get it completely flush with the rocky shore as Francis had done. He wasn’t that good of a pilot yet.

“Sorry,” he told the others. “We’ll have to swim for it. Looks to be about ten feet.”

“Then let’s do it,” Greer rasped. “Before the bastard sees we’re gone and decides to come after us. We need to get in position to fight it.”

“You mean we can’t just slip into a side tunnel, squeeze into a place the beast can’t get to us?” Justin inquired half-heartedly, as the three hurriedly gathered their stuff, and the weapons, and prepared to depart.

“No, sorry,” Henry told him. “We need to face it now. Destroy it once and for all. No more running. I’m sick of running.”

Greer’s face confirmed the decision. “He’s right. We have to take care of it. Now. We have the weapons and the opportunity. It’ll never let us out of the cave anyway.”

“You’re right about that.” Justin gave in.

“Justin, when we get away from the sub you watch over Francis. Greer and I will take care of the creature.”

What Justin said then made Henry proud. “I’ll get him to a safe place first, but then I’m going to help you two fight that thing. There’s grenades in your arsenal, aren’t there?”

“Yes?”

“I played baseball when I was a kid.” Justin grinned in the dim light of the submersible’s interior, pack strapped to his back, ready to leave. The others were ready, too, heading for the exit. “I was a great pitcher. Got a mean arm. I can hit anything at almost any distance. Don’t leave me out of this. I want to help. Three fighting that monster is better than two. It’s also my survival. Besides, if something happens to you two, and Francis doesn’t come to, I’m stuck in this cave. I can’t operate the Big Rover at all.”

“You got some valid points. All right, you can help us fight. If you get Francis to a safe place first.”

“Deal.”

The three of them escaped from the Big Rover, bringing along an unconscious Francis. Greer and Henry also assisted Justin, who wasn’t a swimmer, get to the cave’s floor. When Francis and Justin were safe on dry land, Greer swam back to retrieve the grenade launchers. He stood on the top of the Big Rover and tossed them, one at a time, to Henry.

Henry had the second RPG-7 in his arms when behind him Justin howled, “Earthquake!” The word reverberated and bounced eerily around the rock cavern, repeating itself over and over.

“Shit,” Henry railed, crouching down to keep from tumbling over with the heavy weapon. “And it’s a bad one!” Of all times!

The initial rattling of the earth, as the water surged, knocked Greer off the sub into the water. He swam through the choppy waves to the others as rocks, some the size of a man’s skull, thundered down around his comrades from the roof of the cavern.

Smaller stones pelted Justin and Henry as they huddled, waiting for Greer, cutting the flesh on their faces, slashing their clothes. They tried to protect themselves. Justin, grunting as the falling rocks hit his back, hunched over and covering Francis’s body.

Now there was no way they’d be able to hide deeper in the cave, even if they’d wanted to. It was collapsing, the walls crumbling.

“If we’re going to kill that thing, we’d better do it,” Justin yelped at Henry, as the ground rumbled and the water around the submersible boiled and changed colors as active lava tinted it. “This cave is no place to be right now.”

“Soon as it shows itself. We’ll take care of it.” Henry’s words were barely heard over the rumbling of the earth and the screaming of the dying cavern. His hands fumbled with unpacking the weapons, but his eyes were on the water as a great churning arose near the submersible.

The monster hadn’t yet made an appearance. That was about to change.

Greer burst from the water. He only had time to warn, “
It’s
behind me. Give me a grenade launcher!” when the monster exploded out of the water like a monstrous jack-in-the-box.

The creature’s first lunge almost gave it Greer. It didn’t seem to care it was raining rocks and the cave was shaking itself to pieces.

It wanted the men.

Greer moved faster than one of those painted wooden men on a toy stick with the string that Henry used to play with as a child and narrowly got away. It was remarkable how fast a man could swim when there was a monster chasing him. He pulled himself up onto the rocks and stumbled towards Henry.

Justin was preoccupied with getting Francis to a safer spot as Henry shoved a launcher, ready to fire, at Greer, and claimed the other for himself.

The ranger fell to his knees, but Greer remained standing, as they raised their weapons. Their faces were shiny with sweat and the flickering of the fires that’d broken out all around them in the cave. The lava was seeping through the earth’s crust, creating burning rivers and turning it into an inferno.

Greer yelled something, but Henry couldn’t make out the words because of the ruckus the earth was making. It didn’t matter.

For the monster was hulking above them, filling the cave with its giant presence and its angry voice. Rocks were slamming against it; a large boulder hit its head, near one eye, and distracted it for a few precious seconds. It shook its bloody head, dazed, then its gaze cleared and malignant eyes zeroed in on the humans.

Nothing would deter it from its desire to get its meal. The world was crumbling around it and yet it wouldn’t give up the hunt.

Was its vendetta personal? Henry wondered. The creature was intuitively cunning. It remembered, and planned. They’d declared war on it, came after it and tried to hurt it. Shocked it with electricity. Shot missiles at it. Did it know they’d destroyed the other eggs, its unborn sisters and brothers, deep in the cave? Did it know it’d be alone now forever?

Henry wouldn’t put that knowledge beyond the beast’s awareness.

And did it sense they were its sworn enemies and if it could vanquish them as it had all the others it would be the supreme victor? The king of the hill? The boss? The one with the most strength, best defenses and ferocity would win. As in prehistoric times, it was survival of the fittest.

The victor would be king of the park.

The monster spooked Henry. It wasn’t some dumb killing machine. It seemed cognizant of what was going on and what it was doing.

Greer was sighting it in with the RPG-7, using the lava’s fire to see by, as the earth rocked beneath his booted feet. He fought to remain standing, the metal barrel of the weapon kissed by dancing beams of crimson reflected from the burning lava.

We. Have. To. Get. Out. Of. Here!” Justin had crawled over to the two men, leaving Francis behind a large boulder. He’d been hesitant to drag the unconscious man into the tunnels because of the quake. “The cave’s unstable.”

“We haven’t anywhere to go. It’s blocking us from the sub,” Henry shouted.

Greer lifted the launcher to his shoulder. “We take a stand and kill it or we don’t leave. Grenades are in my pack, Dr. Maltin.”

The creature emerged from the water.

“Oh, Jesus. We’re all going to die,” Justin muttered, rummaging in the backpack on the ground. He didn’t run. He could have. With the monster coming towards them he had to be as panic-stricken as that night on the lake or on the rim when they’d last crossed paths with it. Instead, trembling, Justin yanked out a couple of hand grenades. Greer had shown him how to use them when they’d first entered the cave.

The monster was practically on top of them.

“Fall back, Ranger!” Greer shrieked. “If I don’t get it, you’ll have your shot.”

Neither one of them had to be reminded one shot each was about all they might have. The beast was too big, too swift, for them to have more.

Justin prepared and threw the first of the grenades. His arm was shaking so badly, though, it went off course and exploded in the water, missing its target completely. He pulled the tab on another one and aimed it for the monster’s looming and now open jaws. At the last moment, the jaws swung to the side, and a claw swiped the tiny bomb away like it was hitting a baseball. The grenade struck the side of the cave. The detonation showered stone and debris over the men.

Justin gave his comrades a sheepish grin but continued tossing grenades.

Greer, in the meantime, had shot off the first of his specially-made phosphorus rockets. The monster hunkered down and the rocket narrowly missed its head, disappearing into the water behind it. Greer wasted no time and reloaded.

As frightened as Henry had been in the submarine, he was dead calm as he loaded in a rocket. His hands didn’t shake. Unlike the shooting incident years ago, he felt in control. He had no other choice but to stand and fight. He was going to end the situation once and for all. Here. Now. Or die trying. No more running. No more fear. Knowing that was a relief.

That creature not only killed his friends, it’d changed his world. He wanted that world, that life back. All of it. The park the way it had been. The happy visitors swarming all over. The peace. Purpose. He wanted the tranquility and contentment back. The sweet life he and Ann had had since they’d arrived in the park.

And he wanted revenge for George, Lassen and all the others.

Henry aimed and shot the RPG-7 and time seemed to stand still as the rocket hit monster flesh somewhere in the abdomen and burst into flame. The moments afterwards seemed to last an eternity; every motion made, even the crashing rocks around them and the cracking earth, existed in another time and place. Henry had to keep shaking his head to avoid spinning off into space. It was such a strange sensation. Here he was firing rockets at a prehistoric monstrosity straight out of a science fiction nightmare. How unreal.

The creature howled and the sound boomed about the walls of the cavern and spiraled through the connecting tunnels, an out-of-control siren. The creature’s screams made the men’s minds numb. Froze them like store mannequins.

What took place then happened so quickly, that later Henry wouldn’t be able to recall it without dizzying confusion and gut-sickening horror.

Greer thawed and sent off another shot, an arc of dazzling light that sped towards the creature as it hunkered down at the men’s level with barred teeth and jaws stretched open to devour. Inches from Greer’s head.

Somehow the rocket found dead center of the beast’s head.

The monster let loose a screech that would have made a banshee envious, worse than before, nearly breaking their ear drums, as it rose up in surprised pain. It went berserk, swinging its arms in the air, stomping the shuddering earth in fury, tail whipping so the men could feel the wind from it. It gnashed its teeth and, throwing up its head, roared.

Dry-mouthed, Henry wanted to drop the RPG-7, cover his ears and run away.

Then it struck. It was burning from the inside but reached down and plucked Greer up as if he’d been a helpless doll. The weapon clattered to the earth.