Dino World

The Chase

"Yikes! Hop for it!" cried out Alex. Moving quickly, the girls activated their Trampoline Heels and began bouncing as fast as they could away from the T-Rex which was quickening its pace in order to catch up with them. The powerful springs in the heels enabled the spies to keep ahead of the T-Rex, but the girls were starting to tire and the distance between predator and prey was starting to reduce as the hungry dinosaur kept doggedly on their tail.

"It's no good!" shouted Clover, her feet starting to ache from all the bouncing. "This giant lizard isn't giving up. Every-time we get rid of one dinosaur, another one turns up! We're not going to get out of this one!"

Sam and Alex were starting to feel worn out too and as the roaring T-Rex got closer and closer, it was starting to look as if this really was the end for them! In just another few seconds, the giant carnivore would be upon them, ready to deliver an agonising conclusion to their spy careers and their lives.

Then, just as it looked as if the T-Rex was about to catch up with them, the dinosaur skidded to a halt and pulled back the way it came.

"Hey, it's giving up the chase!" said Alex elatedly. "Why's that do you think?"

"Um, maybe it's because of the steep drop ahead of us!" gulped Sam as she spotted a steep hillside ahead of them. "Brace yourselves!"

Unable to slow down due to the momentum of their Trampoline Heels, the girls suddenly found themselves in free fall as the ground disappeared beneath their feet and they started tumbling down the muddy hillside. As the slope got steeper, the girls' fall got faster and faster, until finally, they tumbled right off the edge of the hill and plunged right into a large lagoon, the deep water breaking their fall. A little dazed, the girls quickly swam over to the nearby shore and collapsed in a tired heap on the sandy ground.

"That... was intense!" Clover managed to say as they caught their breath.

"Totally!" said Alex as she pulled some seaweed out of her wavy hair. "Yuck! Sure hope this doesn't mess up my perm."

"Never mind your hairdo right now, Alex," said Sam with sobriety. "We need to get under cover before more dinosaurs get on our trail."

Clover looked about and spotted a cave opening in the cliff-face a short distance from them. "Well how about we chill out in there for a bit. It looks pretty sheltered and would make a good hiding place."

"So long as there aren't any dinosaurs already in there," said Alex wearily, feeling too worn out for another chase. Cautiously, the spies approached the cave and peered inside.

"Looks pretty vast in here," remarked Sam. "Perhaps it's the opening to some kind of tunnel."

"Yeah, but leading where?" wondered Alex. "To some more bloodthirsty monsters?"

Before the pessimistic discussion could progress any further, a small growling noise came from further on into the cave. As the girls watched wide-eyed, a Velociraptor emerged from the darkness and began eyeing the spies dubiously.

"Oh great, here we go again," sighed Clover. "Everyone get ready to run for it."

But as the girls tensed themselves to leap away, the Velociraptor did something that took them completely by surprise. It woofed at them!

"Huh?!" exclaimed the spies in unison as the Raptor shifted into a play bow position and began wagging its tail enthusiastically.

"Wait, is that a dinosaur or a dog?" asked a confused Sam.

The girls were still trying to comprehend what they were seeing when a figure emerged from the darkness behind the Raptor. It was a good-looking young man, albeit slightly scruffy and unshaven, dressed in a battered and torn 'jungle explorer' style outfit, complete with leather hat, and he seemed greatly relieved at seeing the girls.

"Hi there," he said with a cheery smile, patting the Raptor on the head. "I was beginning to think I'd never see another friendly face again. Sorry if Toothy here gave you a fright."

"Oh, that's okay," said Clover as she looked dreamily at the man. "We're glad to see a friendly, and good-looking, face around here too."

******

A few minutes later, everybody had gathered around a small campfire in the cave and began exchanging notes on what had been going on. The man in the explorer outfit had introduced himself as Doctor Malcolm Grant, an archeologist who had come to the island on holiday, only to find himself being held prisoner by the 'Dino World' security team.

"They came to my room one night and dragged me out, saying they required me for some task," continued Grant. "I managed to break free and escape into the jungle, only to find myself being chased by all the dinosaur robots that live here. I was only able to loose them when I jumped into a ravine and I've been hiding out in this cave ever since."

"And where does your Raptor friend fit in?" asked Alex as she watched the Velociraptor with distrust.

"Toothy here was sent to hunt me down," said Grant as he scratched the purring Raptor's ear, "but he fell into the Ravine after me and got trapped between some rocks. Luckily I had a degree in computer electronics as well as archeology, so I was able to get to his systems and reprogram him to act like a dog, something more friendly that would help protect me from the other dinosaurs."

"And you've no idea what this task that you were needed for was?" asked Clover.

"No. The only thing I did learn is that it's definitely the computer running the show and it seems to be controlling the minds of the entire staff through those earpieces they wear. They tried to put one on me, but I managed to get away before they could do so."

"Well, whatever is going on, it's certainly big," said Sam. "We better call Jerry for backup straight away."

She opened her compowder and tried to make contact with Jerry's office, but all that came through was static.

"Oh great, there must be a jamming signal being broadcast somewhere," groaned Alex. "Now what are we going to do?"

"We'll just have to tackle the baddies on our own," said Sam. "As soon as everyone's rested, we'll have to find someway of discovering where our mad computer is hanging out so we can take him down."

"Yeah, but if we step out of the cave, we're bound to run into either DAN's brainwashed security force on the main road or more robot dinosaurs in the jungle that want to eat us. And we're not even sure if Mount Muldoon is the baddies' main hangout anyway," pointed out Clover.

"Hey, I might be able to help you there," said Grant. "This cave leads to a number of different passages, and whilst I haven't yet explored them all, I think at least one of them runs right into Mount Muldoon. Maybe we'll be able to find what you're looking for down there."

"Awesome!" said Alex. "That's like the first upbeat news we've heard all day!"