Aggy and the Dinos

Chapter 14

For the second time in less than a fortnight, Aggy came to in a dark place. For a second she thought she could smell blood, but after feeling around realised that she was lying on a metal floor. It was cold, and a breeze told her that she was outside. She sat up, and screamed.

She was in a cage. A cage within a cage. Thick bars enclosed her in a small pod, but above her was another structure, sticking up into the air. On the ground, lightly covered in leaves was another sheet of metal, attached to her pod with sprung hinges. If anyone, or anything, trod on the sheet, the trap would shut. Could a Dino get her through the bars? Probably. She stopped screaming, and made herself very small of the floor of the pod. She started to cry. Someone had kicked her dog, and now she didn't know what they were doing to him.

Dean would have told her that she didn't know her dog very well. At the same time as Aggy was being placed in the trap, he and Geezer arrived where John was waiting. Geezer shouted at him.

"Where is she?" Asked John.

"I don't know. I found Geezer in a cupboard. That man you hate was there, with a claw hammer. I killed him." He held out the bloodied knife.

"Well done, Dean." John gave him a gun and a box of bullets, and another knife. Then the two men walked back into the colony. They made their way back towards the kitchen. James' body had been discovered. Hasani and another meathead were standing over him.

"Ouch," said John, making them both jump. "Looks like ferret-face finally got what was coming to him."

Hasani began to speak, but John had had enough. He shot the other man and turned him gun on Hasani.

"Where's Aggy?"

"In the woods," said Hasani, with a small smile.

"I don't know what you're grinning for." Said John, and he shot Hasani as well. Footsteps were already echoing down the corridor. Dean and John knew where they were going as they ran back to the shed. John opened the gate, and without a word, the two men left the colony. At first they moved fast, putting distance between themselves and anyone who may pursue them. As they reached the cover of the thicket they relaxed – not many people would follow them out here, into Dino country. They changed tactic and moved slowly, looking for any sign of a disturbance.

Geezer was alert, sniffing the air. He held his tail stiffly over his back, primed like a crossbow waiting for the archer's finger upon the trigger. The air was heavy with anticipation. A couple of times both men thought they heard movement in the trees, although they saw nothing. They walked for a little longer, until the river appeared. John realised that they had scouted around the colony. He saw something else that interested him. There was a wide trail, where the grass had been flattened by something heavy. It crossed their path, and carried on into the trees. He and Dean readied their weapons before following the trail. Whatever had flattened the grass had been large, and very heavy. He could see several smaller trails, telling him that the object had been dragged by many men. It related, no doubt, to what he and Aggy had found in the secret room.

There was a smell in the air like a metal workshop. It was getting dark, and Dean felt as though he could already hear the call of a Dino, or a large foot falling behind him. Geezer suddenly took off, making a high pitched yipping sound. There, in a large metal cage, was Aggy. Geezer was dancing around the bars, trying to get in. Dean rushed forwards, but John held him back.

"The dog hasn't triggered it, but I reckon we might," he said quietly – gesturing at the second set of bars. There was a small click behind him, and a small but significant pressure as someone put the barrel of a gun to the back of his head. Geezer had managed to wiggle through the bars and Aggy was cuddling him, as yet unaware of what was happening outside the cage.