Dinosaur Wars

Chapter seventeen - Escape!

Those on the ship's deck grabbed whatever was at hand to stay upright as the barge scraped and jolted along the side of the ship. The sound of rending steel screeched and growled and the whole vessel shuddered. As the barge was so close, they could see the appalling disaster unfolding for the creatures there.

The Brachiosaur family in the center had largely broken free of their frames, but the lumbering adults could barely hold themselves upright on the rocking vessel. The juvenile called in alarm as its parents tried to shelter it.

A Maiasaura either had not been able to wake properly or was sick as she weakly tried to defend the hatchlings around her. A pterasaur perched on her wooden frame and pecked through the openings at her brood. An Ankylosaurus had smashed its way out of its frame and now, panicked, swung the bony club of its tail wildly, breaking frames left and right and sending smaller dinosaurs flying into the sea. Troodons, small carnivorous dinosaurs, scurried about like dogs, scavenging on the fallen, ripping at prone Hypsilophodons, gazelle-sized herbivores, and a juvenile Parasaurolophus, which hooted weakly through its bony head crest.

The crew held on tight, unable to move as the ship slammed and juddered against the barge, transfixed by the tragedy. But even as they watched, the T-rex, snarling with rage, pulled and struggled at its tethers, bending the hoist arm. The Triceratops had ripped its way out of its 'hood'. With a stuttering series of cracks and graunches, the barge and ship lurched apart. The barge was carried up on the waves as the ship meandered off on its rudderless course. As soon as they were apart,the men set about swinging hoist arms out over the side from which to lower the lifeboats.

While trapped beneath the vessels, Miguel saw the edge of the barge like a giant can opener ripping and gouging a huge, jagged gash in the side of Ajax. A cloud of bubbles eploded from the breach. The noise underwater was even worse than that above, a distorted cacophony of metallic shrieks and twisted groans. As soon as they parted, he kicked for the surface.

Water gushed into Ajax. The tear in its side was nearly half the length of the ship, and far enough below the water line that the flooding was continuously at pressure. Water invaded every compartment, pouring into the hold, sloshing around the sleeping quarters, coursing in torrents down companionways and turning passages into rivers.

Sailors pushed the two lifeboats out over the side and on their hoist arms and they swung as they dangled over the heaving water. They winched the boats down as fast as they could. As they did this, other crew members dropped rope ladders to the rocking water. The sea rose up to meet the boats with a smack then dropped away. Then the boats were afloat, surging up and being sucked away again by the waves. The men scrambled down the ladders, desperate to escape the stricken ship.

Addison was adamant that his men and the remainder of the crew board the lifeboats first. Sven, Pat and Luc were the last of his party to make their way down one of the ladders amid the growing rain. Masters and Raker were the last two at the other ladder. They had to grab the bulwarks when Ajax tipped suddenly. The water flooding into its interior was pulling it over onto its side.

All the while, the T-rex kicked and dragged at the rope restraining it. The hoist bent, the rope stretched, then snapped. The beast shunted its legs, pulling itself free.

As Raker climbed over the bulwarks, Masters handed him the satchel containing the eggs.

"Here. Take this."

Raker slung it over his shoulder. Hand over hand, he climbed down.

The ship creaked and tilted further, the speed of its growing incline gathering pace. The Triceratops, still blinded, began sliding down the deck. Suddenly it charged in the direction it was moving, somehow alerted to the danger in front of it. It crashed into the bulwarks and rolled over the side, splashing into the sea that was now only a few feet from reaching the deck. It thrashed briefly, wildly before succumbing to the waves.