My Dinosaur Akída

Chapter 10

Annie and Mark made their way to Carburn Park. A big throng of people lined at the park entrance. "How do we get in?" Annie said. "There are so many people it's impossible to go through!" Mark said.

They pushed their way through the crowd. "Sorry. Excuse me, coming through." they said as they went along. Little did they know that Jessica was among the crowd. She noticed Annie and Mark as they made their way through. "What's Annie and her dweeb brother doing here?" she thought. When they reached the entrance, a policeman stopped them.

"Sorry, you can't go in there." he said. "But sir, I have to go in there. I left something important there." Annie said. "Sorry, miss. Police only." the policeman said. "That's all right. They're with me." a voice said. An elderly man brushed through the crowd. He put his hand on Annie and Mark's shoulders.

"Who are you, sir?" the policeman asked. "My name is Dr. Jacob Williams, from the Zoo Administration." the elderly man said. "And who are they?" the policeman asked.

"They're my associates. You can trust them." he said. The policeman nodded. "All right, you can go in." he said. The elderly man led Annie and Mark into the entrance. Jessica tried to follow them, but the policeman stopped her. "Sorry, miss. You can't go in." the policeman said.

"Excuse me. Don't you know who I am? I'm Jessica Romano, Gregory Romano's daughter." Jessica said, flipping her hair. But the policeman was unimpressed. "Sorry, but you can't go in." he said. Jessica pouted. She stormed off but then saw a small opening between some bushes. "Hey, Jessica!" a voice suddenly called her.

Jessica stopped and turned. She saw Lisa running towards her. "Oh, it's you. Dino Girl's loser friend." Jessica scoffed. "What are you doing here?" Lisa put her hands on her hips. "I was about to ask you the same thing!" she said.

"Well, I saw Annie and that twerp brother of hers got in with someone. Something tells me she's hiding something in that park." Jessica said, looking at the small opening. "What do you mean?" Lisa asked.

"I'm gonna see it for myself." Jessica said as she crept towards the small opening and sneaked inside. "Hey, wait for me!" Lisa said as she followed her. They crept under the bushes and carefully followed Annie, Mark and Dr. Harkins as they went down the path.

"So, who exactly are you?" Annie asked. "I'll tell you when we get Akida out of here." the man replied. "Huh? How did you know about...?" Annie asked. Suddenly, she and Mark stopped. "Okay, pal, what's the catch? You're trying to take her from us?" Annie asked angrily. "Now, calm down. Let me explain." the man said. Annie and Mark relaxed.

"My real name is Dr. Harkins. I know Akida because I've seen you raise her. You really love her, don't you?" Dr. Harkins asked. Annie nodded. "I know how to help Akida. I just need you to trust me. Did you bring any food?" he asked.

Annie reached into her bag. "I brought some pineapple slices. They're Akida's favorite snack." she said. "Good. Now we have to find Akida and get her away from those people." Dr. Harkins said.

"Earlier, we met a man in the alley who also wanted Akida." Annie said. "Who?" Dr. Harkins asked. "A man with a grizzled beard." Mark said. Dr. Harkins' gaze turned serious. "Did he have a scar on his left eye?" he asked. "Yes." Mark said.

"Sloan Irving!" Dr. Harkins gasped. "You know him?" Annie asked. "Unfortunately, yes. We better go." Dr. Harkins said. "Akida!" Annie called. "Akida!" Dr. Harkins called. Suddenly, Akida appeared from the bushes. "Annie!" Akida said happily.

"Akida!" Annie said as she hugged Akida's snout. "Oh, Akida, I missed you!" Akida licked Annie's cheek. Akida then noticed Dr. Harkins, and growled at him. "Don't worry, he's a pal." Annie said, assuring her. Akida relaxed. Behind the bushes, Jessica and Lisa couldn't believe what they just saw.

Jessica gasped in surprise. "So that creature is her pet all along?!" she thought. Lisa just gaped at what she saw. "Whoa! Annie actually has a pet dinosaur?!" she thought in disbelief. "How can it be?!"

"Akida, we're moving you to a safe place." Annie said. "Here, look what I got for you." she said, showing Akida the pineapple slices. Akida tried to eat the pineapple slices, but Annie pulled them away from her.

"Follow us." Dr. Harkins said. Akida, Mark and Annie followed Dr. Harkins to a small clearing. Jessica secretly followed behind them. "So how are we gonna get Akida out of here?" Mark asked.

"I'll show you." Dr. Harkins said. He took out a remote control and pressed a button. A big sphere-shaped structure suddenly appeared right before their eyes! "Whoa, what is that?" Mark asked. "A time machine." Dr. Harkins said. "Seriously?" Annie asked. "I though they only exist in sci-fi comics." "Well, if dinosaurs are real, then they're pretty real." Dr. Harkins said. "Hop in." They all entered the time machine. Then, without warning, Jessica and Liza appeared from the bushes.

"Aha! Busted!" Jessica exclaimed, pointing at Annie. Everyone was startled when they saw Jessica and Lisa enter the time machine with them. "Huh, Jessica?! Lisa?! What are you guys doing here?" Annie asked, dumbfounded.

Jessica jabbed a finger at Annie. "I knew you were up to something! Fess up, Dino Girl! What's going on round' here?!" she demanded. "Annie, what going on?" Lisa asked. "How did you get that dinosaur? Where did she come from?"

Annie chuckled nervously. "Well, uh....Ha, long story short." she said. "Don't worry. I'll explain everything on the way." Dr. Harkins said as he sat near the time machine's control panel. "On the way? What do you mean?" Lisa asked. "Hang on tight, everybody." Dr. Harkins said as he pressed a button. The time machine doors closed.

"Wait, wait! What's going on?!" Jessica asked, getting very uneasy. "Where are we going? Where are you taking us?!" "What's going on here?!" Lisa asked. "Just calm down. Brace yourselves, guys." Annie said as they all sat in their seats and buckled up. Akida laid beside Annie.

"I don't like the looks of this." Lisa said as she buckled herself. "I wanna go hhhhhhooooooommmmmeeeee!" Jessica screamed as the time machine hovered above the ground, and then disappeared at warp speed.