Project Sorna

Eighteen

                                    With the humid sun tanning the back of my neck, I trotted on to where I spied the disguised soldier hanging around. I scouted the ledge, but he disappeared from sight. Almost like the environment swallowed him up for good. I knew it was wrong to get lost on this island so fast.

                                   Then, I peered into the tree line where I saw him go past some tall foliage. I was then deciding if I really wanted to go after him with the frustrated clicking of my tongue. Little did I know my decision would be made for me.

                                  The foliage closed behind him, steps receding into somewhere else. Then, the pitter-patter of small feet caught up to him and there was a yell. He was attacked and was probably down, as I had assumed. With my bravery in check, I took a long stride over and pushed the foliage aside to see a hoard of long-necked dinosaurs attempting to nip him.

                                 With his rifle on the ground, he jerkibly took a swipe at the stalkish Gallimimus juveniles. The stocky one in the lead leaped, giving a cute but pained yelp! The man looked from his rifle, then glared at his attackers with an intenive hate, almost. He took in his hand a baton and cautiously waved the blunt object in defense.

                                 I never did think his flimsy buton could compare to the ferocity of the yippy Gallimimus'. Any plant-eater on high-alert to immune to give a nasty attack. And these innocently-toothed Gallimimus' appeared to be no exception. One must've briefly attacked, I saw the shred on the soldier's jacket.

                               But I had to do something. I pushed myself through the ferns and intercepted. "No-don't anger them!" I exclaimed, and attempted to drag his weight.

                             He shrugged me off and shot me a look of adrenaline, launching at a beige-stripped Mimus with the baton raised. My mouth gapped, but a bigger two-legged figure pranced into view just before things turned really bad. The mother. A healthy, tan-skinned individual. At least 7 feet tall at the hips.

                            And boy, did she look angry.

                            One look at her made me paranoid. The mother had absolute dominance on her mind, I knew, with her tail waving like a banner and eyes bulging. She skittered to a stop and yielded her neck, screaming at the stranger with feet scratching up the earth.

                           Spooked, he yelped backwards with the baton back in his belt and squirmed his arm at me, pushing me back with him. in a sudden panic. We stumbled out of the tree line and back out to the ledge. I thought we had some distance.

                            Then, without warning, another Gallimimus-probably the father-jumped out at us with a hissing sound. He showed his claws and waved them in the air wildly, against the man's face.

                            The animal shrieked, "EEEEEEEEEHH!"

                           My 'savior' kept backing up against me, his weight against mine. "Dammit, you get--"

                           But just when he was going to lash back with words, I sensed his footing was loose. Looking down, I saw his boot tramp down on the muddy soil and he stumbled clumsily. The worst happened after that. With the Gallimimus father unleashing a final, grim strike, he threw my stranger friend down the loose embankment, his back slipping off me. I squat against a hard rock tucked just above the ledge and trembled as his yells distanced.

                          The Gallimimus barely seemed fazed. He eyed the crumbled embankment then switched to me. I curled up with his shadow casting down on me, and my hand gripped the talon in my boot.

                        The dark-green figure gave an odd, but low-key snarl, stretching his neck to examine me with his warm breath on my face. He only saw the fear in my eyes. The father Mimus didn't see that I was armed. And that turned out futile for him.