Caught between predatorial dinosaurs and a group of armed men, Kat worries more about the dinosaurs.
Kat, an out Kat, an outdoor video star, tries to make amends with her mother on her home world, an alternate Earth where dinosaurs never went extin...
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Once they reached the trees, they turned right and headed south, always staying within sight of the woods' edge so they could watch for trails entering the woods. Each trail they spotted, they crept up on it and examined it for any sign people had made it or had been on it. Boot prints. Grass or twigs cut by a blade. A thread caught on a thorn. They saw no such evidence.
After several miles of hiking from where they turned south, a buzzing sound came from the sky off to their right and behind them. Faint at first, it grew. Kat scurried behind a particularly large tree, and James followed right behind her. The buzzing grew louder until the quadcopter was almost on top of them, but it flew over and off toward the southeast.
Kat peeked out from the side of the tree as it departed, recognizing the copter as the one belonging to the soldiers. James was right behind her, and she felt his warm breath over her shoulder. His hand rested on her shoulder. She longed for him to hold her and tell her everything was going to be alright.
He stepped away from the tree instead and walked through the woods lugging the fuel cannister at his side. The moment had passed, and she followed behind him as they continued hiking.
They heard the copter return, but it passed to the east of them by some distance. It appeared to be flying in a zig-zag pattern, no doubt searching for them. They marched on.
After a few hours of hiking, the woods suddenly ended as the land in front of them modestly sloped down into a valley. Other than a narrow zone of shrubbery next to the woods, the valley was almost entirely covered with grass. Only an occasional bur oak dotted the landscaped below them. Through the middle of the valley ran a river. The same flooded river that had nearly drowned Kat's mom, only they now stared at a spot upriver from that crossing. At the edge of the woods, a tall oak tree had fallen across the shrubs that had neighbored it. Probably a victim of the recent storm.
James sat on one of the boughs and stared out across the valley. He pulled out his canteen and took a large swig before holding the canteen out for Kat. Hers was empty, and she now regretted having poured the water out on the trail around the treacherous corner above the soldier's camp. James handing her his water was a reminder that her water filter pump was now in the bag her mom carried. And that made her wonder once again whether her mom and dad were safe.
"I don't like our options here." James sighed and looked left and then right. "River's too wide and too fast to cross ahead. We could go to the right, but that's heading toward the soldiers. Left, on the other hand, takes us farther away from the copter, and we have no idea how far we might have to go before we can cross."
Kat didn't like their options either, but she had made up her mind already. "We go back west."
James turned and stared in that direction. "Back toward the soldiers trying to kill us? Was sorta leaning going left."
"My mom and dad are back that way."
"Maybe. Or maybe we just missed their trail."
"If they are out beyond us, then they are probably safe for now. But if they are back there ..." Kat's voice trailed off as she jabbed a finger back toward the west. She couldn't bear to think about if the soldiers had caught her parents.
