Linger: Book 2

Chapter 10

Amy shrieked as the ear shattering roar of the Spinosaurus drowned out the sound of her broken voice, the overwhelmingly powerful steps of the creature jumbling the ground so greatly that every step the woman took nearly sent her to the ground. If not for Alan's tight grip on the back of her shirt, she very well might have fallen. Amy, Alan, and Eric raced down the length of the stretching fence, praying to whatever God above that, somehow, there would be some way to get across to the other side. Her hope was quickly dissipating with every cracking step the creature took, its shadow steadily growing and consuming her own as it loomed above her. Then, Eric took a sudden sharp left and dived through a small, ragged hole. Alan was the second to go through, his grip on Amy's shirt only tightening as he pulled her along with him.

Amy felt her foot catch on a jagged piece of the broken metal and she was sent spiraling forward, her full body weight crashing against Alan's side. In a mass of flailing limbs and muffled shouts of both surprise and pain, Amy and Alan blindly crawled over one another in their attempt to get away from the fence and the monster behind. Amy felt a new set of hands grab her arms and she was dragged backwards. Her eyes only just caught sight of Alan scrambling away as the Spinosaurus forced its jaws through the small hole, it's ravenous laws snapping and tongue thrashing at the spot where they both had fallen mere seconds before.

Whoever had grabbed her continued yanking her back, then she realized they were shouting. Amy jumped to her feet, her hands searching for her bearing against Billy as he practically carried her from the fencing. The group ran further, yet only managed to escape a few feet away before their exhaustion overtook them. They all came to a breathless stop, leaning on one another as the adrenaline slowly ebbed from their bodies. The Spinosaurus let out an angry roar, now pacing circles on the opposite side of the fence while pawing at the dirt and sending menacing glares their way. Then, there was laughter. It was first started by Paul, followed by Amanda and Eric as the reunited family finally embraced one another properly after two months apart. Amy looked to Alan, who was bent over his knees and heaving heavily, then she turned to Billy and she laughed. Amy threw her arms around the kid's shoulders and buried her face into his neck and she laughed, her body forming heavily against his own as her strength slipped away. "I'm sorry, Billy," she said in what might have been a sob. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have left you like that-"

A loud, metallic bang shattered the afternoon air, followed by the threatening cries of the Spinosaurus. Amy jumped and spun towards the sound, only to go completely white at the sight of the dinosaur on the their side of the valley, surrounded by a shattered, collapsed mess of metal bars and wired netting that used to form the fence. It had broken through.

There was no thinking, no hesitation from the group, only running. They all took off in the opposite direction of the dinosaur and towards a small building in the near distance. Amy could feel the blood rushing through her ears and felt a burn deep in the meat of her calves, but she pushed on. The wet ground sloshed and plashed with her fleeting steps and the group slipped and swayed, yet they were all able to keep their balance enough to make it to the entrance of the building. Paul reached the front door first and with one good shove of his shoulder, the doors swung open and the group piled into safety. The moment Amy stepped a foot inside, she spun back around and she snatched at the hatches of the door just as Alan, Billy, and Paul did the same. Together, they slammed the heavy slab of metal shut. Instantly, Amy's fingers raced across the rusted locks on top while Alan clicked the bottom half, fully securing the door and locking them into the building. As soon as the last hatch was settled in place, the door suddenly jumbled and creaked as the Spinosaurus pounded its body against the building, doing its best to tear down the very walls from around them.

There was another harsh bang and Amy flinched, her body shaking with anticipation of whether the doors would hold. She took a small, unsteady step back and she touched someone, causing her to jump. It was only Billy, who chuckled breathlessly at the woman and he wrapped his arms around her in another heavy embrace. With his body firmly pressed against her own, Amy let out a hefty sigh and she rested her head against his chest, finally allowing herself to relax as she struggled to regain her breath. To her left, the Kirbys did the same, holding one another silently as the great pounding and cries from outside slowly died down to nothing.