Chapter Text
Orick, California, 3,277 miles northwest of Costa Rica.
The unusual summer rain had stopped, leaving mud and an earthy smell behind.
“I’m gonna go outside for a walk Mom!” Chris called out as he shut the kitchen door behind him.
Chris looked out at the damp yard, as the sun came over the horizon. Rain was sparse around these parts, especially during the summer. It hasn’t rained much ever since we moved out here, he thought. He had learned in school that all the dry plants were causing a pretty big fire danger. So anytime it did rain, it was a pretty big deal, and Chris had to come outside to look around.
Chris walked through the yard, his shoes leaving footprints in the mud. He walked along the wooden fence. He passed the shed at the end of the yard, and walked onto the muddy back road.
Chris noticed something on the road. They looked like holes in the mud. He walked closer and bent down to look. No, they aren't holes, they’re pawprints. They led from the neighbor’s large yard, through the mud road, and into the forest. The pawprints had three toes and almost looked like bird pawprints, but they were way too big. They’re several times bigger than Dad’s footprints! he thought. His head cocked to the side. It couldn't be from a bear, those have five toes, or a deer, those have hooves. These pawprints didn’t match anything Chris could think of.
So he turned and ran back to the house.
“Mom, come look at this!” Chris yelled.
He rounded the corner of the shed, and ran along the fence.
Ellen poured water into the coffee machine. She then opened the box of ground coffee, got a scoop of grounds, and… spilled it onto the counter. She cursed and rubbed her eyes.
“Damn animals, what were they all upset about last night?” she asked herself.
Chris burst through the kitchen door.
“Hey Mom, come outside!” Chris said.
She looked over.
“What is it?” she asked.
“There's some strange animal prints on the ground!”
She sighed. It’s nice having a curious kid, but still, it’s pretty early in the morning. And besides, animal prints weren't uncommon here. They had lived here for a few months, Chris should know that by now.
“So? It sounds like Bambi’s visiting again!” she said.
Chris shook his head.
“No! It's big and it's got three toes!” he said.
Eh, the footprints are probably just a little deformed from the rain.
“Chris, please-”
“Mom, please, just come out and look for a second,” he pleaded.
She took a deep breath. She rubbed baggy eyes that stood out on her light skin.
“Fine, just for a second, alright?”
As he led her along the yard, she looked around, and she had to admit, the sun shining through the tall redwoods was beautiful. The weather here was so much nicer than back home, staying warm all the time, rather than the scorching days and freezing nights of the desert. A soft breeze blew on her back. I guess getting some fresh air isn’t bad, she thought, taking a deep breath.
Her contemplation ended when Chris started babbling about the footprints.
“So you know how bears have five toes right, well, these kinda look like a bird’s prints but they’re gigant-”
Bears? she thought. Anxiety suddenly washed over her. Why didn’t she think of that?
Was this a good idea?
“I was walking around and saw something on the ground and I got interested-”
Even if it is just a deer, they probably shouldn’t approach it.
“So I walked over, and I saw they weren’t deer footprints, or bear footprints, or-”
Well, if Chris found the footprints, then the animal was long gone by now. However, her anxiety remained.
“That’s nice sweetie, uh, where were these pawprints again?” Ellen asked, interrupting Chris.
“I saw them over there, beyond the shed! Look, this way!” he said. He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her along. Ellen tried to steady her nerves as they neared the shed.
It’s probably nothing, it's probably just-
They came around the shed, and there it was.
It's a dinosaur, sniffing the ground. Its grey body was 10 feet tall and almost 30 feet long. It walked on two legs and had two arms; on its head, there was a crest, and a mouth full of sharp teeth.
Lots of sharp teeth.
They gasped.
The dinosaur turned its head and stared right at them.
Ellen dragged Chris behind the shed, out of the view of the dinosaur.
“Be quiet!” she whispered.
They needed somewhere to hide. It was too dangerous to run. But where could they go?
Chris pressed his back to the shed and felt something cold in his back. He looked behind him and realized he was pressed up against the latch of the shed door. The shed , he realized. They could hide inside of the shed! He undid the latch keeping the shed closed.
“Mom, inside!” Chris said, squeezing into the shed with Ellen following shortly after.
They slammed the door shut. This shed couldn't keep it out for long.
Ellen looked around for some kind of weapon. There were many assorted tools in the shed, she could pick from a shovel, axe, fire extinguisher, chainsa- wait, she could spray the dinosaur with the fire extinguisher!
She picked up the extinguisher and yanked out the pin.
“When I tell you, run back inside the house and get Dad. You hear me?”
Chris nodded. She grabbed the axe. They heard the dinosaur come closer to the shed, and heard its breath on the thin shed wall.
“And one more thing…” she said.
“What?!” Chris asked, panic in his eyes.
“I love you.”
A horrible noise reverberated through the shed. The dinosaur had begun tearing open the thin siding.
“Wait!” Ellen shouted.
She raised the extinguisher, and squeezed the handle, spraying it into the dinosaur’s mouth and eyes. The dinosaur was enraged by the spray, and chomped at her.
“GO!” she shouted.
Chris slipped out through the door.
He sprinted as hard as he could back to the house. His mind raced as his legs began burning.
Why is this happening? What is that thing? What is going on?
What the hell is going on? Mike thought as he pulled on his shoe.
He heard a loud crash coming from the kitchen.
“Dad!” Chris shouted.
Mike looked up as Chris barrelled through the bedroom door.
“What's all the commotion about?” Mike asked, confused.
“Dad!” Chris said, struggling for breath.
“It's,”
“What?”
“It's a dinosaur!”
“...what?”
A piercing scream echoed from outside. Mike’s eyes widened.
“Call 911, now! ” he shouted.
He dove down onto the floor and pulled out a locked box from under the bed.
Shit, the key, he realized, grabbing his keychain from on top of the dresser.
“Come on, come on,” he said, fumbling a key into the lock.
He opened the box to reveal a double-barrel shotgun, and a box of buckshot shells.
He grabbed the shotgun and a handful of shells.
He got up and rushed through the house, out the back door.
He fumbled the buckshot shells into the breech as he ran, dropping a shell onto the ground, before slamming the shotgun shut.
“Ellen, hold on, I’m coming!” he shouted as he ran, stumbling in the rough mud.
He rounded the corner of the shed, and stopped.
The dinosaur was holding Ellen in its jaws.
“NO!”
Mike raised the shotgun at the dinosaur, placing the sight squarely on its chest.
BOOM-BOOM!
Two blasts rang out in rapid succession.
The dinosaur was startled by the sound and sharp pain, and it dropped Ellen. It let out a howling roar before running off into the woods.
Mike ran over to where Ellen lay in the mud. Tears formed at the edges of his eyes.
“Ellen, no, please-” he said between shaky breaths.
Her body had been torn open by the teeth. She was clutching an axe.