No Time For Dinosaurs Read online

  “Calm down, Teresa. You scared...”

  Before Kyle could finish his sentence, Teresa fell through the opening and was on the other side. Sonja put her hands to her mouth in shock. “Oh no!”

  Kyle felt around, found the opening, and followed Teresa. Sonja didn’t want to be left alone and followed as well. When Sonja came through, she bumped into Kyle who was standing motionless. Even Teresa was standing perfectly still, her eyes transfixed on the scene in the valley below. A thick cloud rose from the ground giving the impression they were standing on a high mountain. Lush vegetation jutted above the thick fog and filled the horizon. The trees and plants were bizarre looking. It was as if they had been transported to an alien planet. What caught their attention, however, wasn’t the scenery itself.

  Down in the valley, several long, thick, necks hoisted small heads, as if they were cranes, up above the tallest plants. The creatures were eating leaves off a cluster of tall trees that resembled tropical palms.

  Teresa broke the silence. “Are those—?”

  “I told you I saw a dinosaur. It must have been one of those things. They look pretty harmless—like a bunch of gigantic cows.”

  Sonja crinkled her nose. “What is that smell? It is—horrible!”

  Kyle looked next to the capsule and pointed toward an enormous pile of dark brown dung. Fly-like insects as big as a humming bird buzzed all around.

  “I think our visitor left us a present.”

  “Oh, gross!” exclaimed Teresa. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “Believe me; I’d like nothing better than to get out of here. I looked all over the capsule and there are no controls anywhere. It must be controlled from the lab somehow. Our dads will discover us missing and bring the capsule back.” Kyle thought for a minute. “And then he’ll ground me for a hundred years. Maybe we should just stay here.”

  Sonja said, “Then we should stay in the capsule. If it leaves…” her eyes got wide.

  Something screeched overhead. A large dark shadow crossed the valley over them.

  “What the heck was that?” asked Kyle. “I think we should get back in the capsule. Right now. Sonja’s right. It’s the only way back.”

  Teresa started pushing on the gel at the spot where she came out just minutes ago. Her hands slid across the now solid surface. She looked down when something bright caught her eye. My shoestring! What’s it doing down here? She tried to grab it, but it wouldn’t budge. Half of the shoestring was on the outside of the gel and half disappeared as if frozen inside.

  Kyle and Sonja joined her and started feeling around for the opening. Then they heard what sounded like a hundred violins emanating from with the capsule. The gel began to move. The dinosaurs in the valley stopped eating and slowly craned their necks and looked in the direction of the capsule. Kyle, Teresa and Sonja backed away in horror as the gel began moving faster and faster. They grabbed at their ears as the music reached a high pitch. There was a shimmer—and then the capsule was gone.

  Chapter Seven

  “It looks like the pictures I saw of the Loch Ness Monster,” remarked Dr. Donavan.

  “Just how far back did we send them?”

  “We can’t even be sure we sent them to the same period. Clearly, we have sent them back in time. But how far I can’t say? If they—”

  The sound of violin-like harmonies grabbed their attention. Immediately, they recognized its implications. The capsule was returning. Both men jumped up and ran to the vault-like door. Dr. Donavan pressed his hand against the scanner. He heard a click and waited for the green light to go in. Their stomachs were in their throats with anticipation.

  The door made a loud clanging sound as the locks disengaged and then slowly opened. They both tried to squeeze through the door even before it fully opened. There in the middle of the room was the glowing green capsule in all of its translucent splendor. Any smile trying to form on their faces evaporated. The children were gone.

  ***

  Kyle sat down in the middle of the strange field. Teresa and Sonja were crying.

  “This is all your fault, Kyle!" Teresa wailed. "Now we’ll never see Mom and Dad again!”

  Kyle tried to defuse the situation with his usual inappropriate humor. “Look on the bright side. No more homework.” It was halfhearted and the girls knew it. “We have to get out of here.”

  “How? The capsule’s gone!”

  “Uh…no. I mean, look. The dinosaurs are starting to move in our direction. Even if they are harmless, I don’t want to get stepped on.”

  “But what if the capsule comes back for us?” asked Sonja. “Should we not stay here?”

  Two of the large beasts were already lumbering up the hill to investigate. That was all they needed to see to convince them Kyle was right. They ran for a small clump of trees, hid behind them and watched. Teresa was shivering.

  “It’s going to be okay. If Dad was smart enough to invent a time capsule, he’ll find a way to come back and get us,” said Kyle.

  They watched as a herd of about twelve dinosaurs sniffed at the ground where the capsule had been. They were about fifteen feet tall with long slender necks and pointed snouts. Their faces were docile and peaceful looking, thick bodies ended in long heavy tails they dragged behind them. Kyle figured they must weigh over ten tons.

  Something came up behind Teresa and she screamed when it touched her leg. Whatever it was, felt wet and sticky. The large dinosaurs stopped sniffing and looked over at the clump of trees.

  “Are you trying to get us killed?” yelled Kyle. Then he saw something rush off in a blur and practically fly to the top of a nearby tree. “What the heck was that?”

  “I don’t know. It…touched me. It was…icky. Yech!” Teresa shivered for added benefit.

  Sonja looked over at Teresa’s leg. “Where?” She was concerned. “Did it bite you?”

  “I don’t think so. It felt…like a wet towel with syrup on it.” Teresa shivered again. “I don’t like this place. I wanna go home!”

  Kyle looked back at the dinosaurs that had resumed their sniffing. Something about the capsule seemed to attract them to it. A rustling noise from the treetop told him their visitor was still there. He wondered if anything else would be coming to visit.

  Sonja picked up a leaf and wiped the spot on Teresa’s leg with it.

  “Ummm…Do you think that’s such a good idea? How do you know if that leaf is poisonous or not? Maybe we should observe the dinosaurs and see what they touch before we touch anything.”

  Sonja nodded. If she had to be lost in time, she was glad it was with Kyle. Then again, she thought, it was Kyle’s fault they were there in the first place. That didn’t seem to matter at the moment.

  “It seems okay. It is not red or anything. Does it hurt?” asked Sonja.

  “No. It seems okay.”

  Kyle observed, “Uh…I don’t want to scare anyone, but our visitor is back. It’s behind that tree over there.”

  The two girls watched and hugged each other, then slowly moved behind Kyle. Kyle, however, was curious. Cautiously, carefully, he walked over to the tree and bent down to see what was there. Two blinking eyes peered out at him from behind the tree. The eyes were large, and though the animal appeared slightly frightened, its curiosity was overwhelming, too. It had never seen a creature like Kyle before. Humans wouldn’t arrive on the earth for another 64 million years or so.

  Kyle reached out with his palm down as if it were a dog. He had no idea what else to do. He only hoped it wouldn’t decide to take a bite.

  The creature backed away a little and Kyle got a better look at it. It didn’t look like any dinosaur he had ever seen in a book or whose bones were in a museum. It was almost delicate—birdlike in its structure and movement. It had wings, but they were vestigial, not fully developed; and wasn’t much larger than the family’s dog, a miniature pincher, and it appeared about as nervous.

  Kyle kept his hand extended and tried not to make any sudden movements. He
spoke to the girls behind him in a whisper. “Don’t move or you’ll scare it. I want to see if it will come to me.”

  The girls needed no coaxing. They weren’t about to move unless something frightened them to action. They were still frozen in fear and shivering.

  The creature stuck its neck out very slowly and then jerked back. It reached out again and took a sniff of Kyle’s hand. Kyle stayed perfectly still. The girls watched in wide-eyed horror.

  “He’s kinda cute,” Kyle whispered. “Come on there, doof-a-saurus. I won’t hurt you.”

  Then the creature opened its mouth and Kyle’s blood froze. The animal’s mouth was filled with sharp teeth running from one end clear to the other. Small or not, Kyle knew this animal could do damage if it wanted. Rather than startle it, Kyle left his hand where it was and fought the urge to pull back out of fear. The animal sensed the change and backed away. Without warning, it opened its mouth and let out a screech.

  The girls screamed in response, but Kyle held his ground. He knew enough about animals to know that if he ran, it would chase him down. He treated it much as he would an angry dog. He stood up to his full height of 5’ 7” and stared the animal down. The creature’s response was to look down at the ground in submission. Apparently, thought Kyle, the pecking order is the same here as it is, or rather, will be in the future.

  “What do you think we should do with him?” asked Kyle.

  Sonja asked, “What is it?”

  “I’m not really sure,” said Kyle scratching his head. The creature watched with rapt interest at every movement Kyle made. “It reminds me of a Velociraptor, but without the hooked talons. See the front foot? Remember those things from the Jurassic Park movie?”

  “The ones that chased the kids and ripped everybody to shreds?” exclaimed Teresa.

  “Yeah. But this one’s a baby. I think.”

  Sonja looked around. “Where are his mom and dad? I do not think we should be playing with it. What if they get mad? Really. We should go.”

  “Where? The capsule’s gone. We can’t leave the area in case it comes back, can we? We have to find somewhere to hold out for a while. Maybe we could build a lean-to.”

  “What about the creature? What if he follows us?”

  “I’m open to suggestions, ladies.” The creature was sniffing Kyle’s leg and trying to taste the material. “Hey! Get outta there, you doof-a-saurus.”

  The creature cocked its head as if trying to understand what Kyle was saying. Then it made jerky head bobbing motions while squealing.

  “Now look what you did, Kyle. You hurt its feelings,” said Teresa as she moved over to the creature and kneeled down to the ground. It came right over to her and put its head in her lap. Just like my dog, she thought. Teresa stroked its head. “It feels…weird. It looks like feathers, but feels more like a crocodile’s skin or something like that. I think it likes me!”

  Kyle was astonished and just stood there with his mouth open. “I can’t believe it!”

  “What? That it likes me?”

  “No. That it has such bad taste in people!”

  Teresa ignored him. Sonja came over, leaned down to the creature as well, and began to stroke its head. “It does feel like…like…leather. It is not very pretty. None of these animals are very pretty. I thought they would all be so colorful. The ones in the books and the movies all look…beautiful!”

  “Yeah,” said Kyle. “I noticed that, too. Not even the plants are very colorful. I mean…everything’s green, but its such a dark green. And the stink. It smells like…like…what does it smell like?”

  “Like sulfur?” said Teresa.

  “Yes. That is it,” said Sonja. “It smells like sulfur. And did you notice how we are wet?”

  “I’m soaked!” said Teresa. “I was so shocked, I didn’t even notice. The air is so thick. It’s like—”

  “—fog!” finished Kyle. “The air is thick with water. I’ll bet it doesn’t even rain here. It’s like a tropical rain forest!”

  The large dinosaurs began leaving the hill to return to their fertile valley. All agreed that Kyle’s idea of building a lean-to was a good one and they began gathering branches. The small raptor followed the girls, running first to one and then the other as it watched them with wide eyes. They wanted to have the shelter built by evening; from there they would watch and wait for the sound of a hundred violins signaling their rescue.

  A sound that would be music to their ears.

  Chapter Eight

  Dr. Donavan and Dr. Bashan sat at the computer screen and ran the videotape they extracted from the returning capsule. They were startled when Teresa suddenly popped up crying for help. Tears welled up in the doctors’ eyes. They felt so helpless. All their science, all their math, and all their technical abilities, couldn’t bring the children back.

  “We have to send the capsule back,” said Dr. Donavan. “I don’t know what else we can do. At least we know they were transported in one piece.”

  “Why can we not go back for them?” said Dr. Bashan excitedly. “If they can survive, can we not as well?”

  “Hmm. That’s a good idea. Better yet, let’s set up one more test first—just in case. We can remount the video camera and set it the same way as before. Then we’ll wait for the capsule to return. In fact, if the kids are nearby, they might even jump back in! That way we’ll know for sure.”

  “Wonderful idea! If we can get them back today, we won't have to tell their mothers.”

  “If they come back, the whole world is going to know. Set everything exactly the same as the last time. Then, let’s send the capsule back.

  ***

  The temperature soured to around a hundred degrees Fahrenheit, the humidity permeated the air so that the heavy mist reached up into the hills. Palm trees dripped moisture and rained down on the children hard at work preparing their temporary home. Kyle’s experience from numerous camping trips with his grandfather came in handy. He knew exactly what to do and how to do it. He wished his grandfather were with him now. He seemed to know everything about everything—at least to Kyle. His dad, however, treated his grandfather almost as bad as he treated him. He always referred to him as “the Old Coot.” Out of earshot of his mother; he was her dad.

  Once they had made their lean-to out of leaves and branches, Kyle went back over to the place where the capsule had been. Enormous piles of droppings from the large dinosaurs littered the landscape and reeked terribly. Kyle could stand odors, but this was far beyond even his tolerance. He remembered that the large beasts were called Apatosaurs and, at one time, were thought to be the largest dinosaurs ever to walk the earth. In time, he would find that clearly not to be the case. Before long, he would find things about the dinosaurs that would be the envy of every paleontologist. For the moment, he was thrilled just to see one. He hoped he would be able to return and tell people what it was really like. He had seen so many movies and read so many books about dinosaurs.

  To actually see a living creature, he thought. No one has ever seen anything like this! Unless, of course, they came back in time, too. But, if that were the case, wouldn’t I have seen someone from the future? Unless…I didn’t get back and they abandoned the idea all together! He told himself to stop thinking—it was scaring him.

  Kyle knew the girls were counting on him. He had to be the man. He had to be the leader. As he wandered around the area where the capsule had been, he was careful not to stand directly in its place. The last place he wanted to be when—if—the capsule returned was on the very spot it would land. As he contemplated his disintegration into atoms, Kyle noticed something near the base of the landing area.

  In the grass, he spotted Teresa’s shoestring. Odd, he thought. It’s only a half a shoestring. He reached down and attempted to pick it up, but it was as if it wasn’t there. Kyle stood back up and scratched his chin. Now, why is the shoestring acting so peculiar? It must mean something, but what? He’d have to give it some thought. Besides, it was getting dark al
ready; which was weird because he didn’t think they had been up all that long.

  It was then that he heard the sound of distant thunder. Black clouds rushed across the distant sky like a tsunami wave breaking across the ocean. “Of course! A rain forest,” he said aloud and ran back to the girls who were chasing the doof-a-saurus around the lean-to.

  “Let’s get inside and put branches over the front. I think it’s going to rain,” said Kyle. The raptor ran through his legs, into the lean-to, stood in the middle, and bounced up and down.

  “I think Priti wants us to come in after her,” said Sonja.

  “Pretty? You named this ugly thing Pretty?”

  “Don’t say that out loud,” scolded Teresa. “Besides, that’s P-r-i-t-i. And be careful. You’ll hurt her feelings!”

  “Whatever. Uh…how do you know it’s a girl?”

  “We don’t. We just decided that’s what we think it is and wanted to give it a name. If we call her Priti, she’ll think she is.”

  “Oh come on. You don’t believe it understands, do you?”

  “Priti!” said Teresa. “Come!” The raptor ran back through Kyle’s legs and over to her and sat with its strange-looking claws outstretched. It screeched and Teresa handed it a piece of what looked to be bark.

  “See? She knows her name.”

  Kyle rolled his eyes. “Women.”

  “At least you admit it.”

  The sound of thunder rumbled closer and the sky glowed with orange and white flashes of lightning. Priti acted nervous. Kyle thought that was strange since he figured the animal would be used to it if it were a common occurrence. If it were frightened, then maybe there was cause for concern.

  He looked down where the Apatosaurus had been grazing and was surprised that they weren’t there anymore.

  “Did you guys see the big dinosaurs leave?”

  “No,” said Sonja. “I did not hear anything.”