Dinosaur Lake 3: Infestation (36 page)

“I wish it were so, Captain. But, like your Chief
Ranger there,” he’d nodded at Henry, “I don’t believe they are really gone or
done with this town. They are just laying low, plotting their next move. The
fighting was so fierce here until three days ago. Then, suddenly, the intruders
are gone? Not likely. I’ve been ordered to continue the daily patrols
indefinitely and I will comply.”

“Do you need us to stick around any longer?”

“No, you and Ranger Shore can take off to Crater
Lake. It’ll be dark soon and I wouldn’t want you to be on the road when it is. We’re
fine here.”

Henry had been glad to hear that. Within minutes they
had everyone in the tanks, a tight fit with the two old people and their things,
and were on their way home. If they drove the Abrams at top speed McDowell projected
they would make it by nightfall.

Everyone put their headsets back on and extras were
given to Zeke and Wilma so they could all speak among themselves. The old
people were especially chatty. Zeke asked a hundred questions and had Henry
catch him up on what had been happening everywhere and with everyone. He was
saddened to learn of Ranger Stanton and Kiley’s death. Surprised that Ann and Henry,
and all his rangers and McDowell’s soldiers, were bunked down at headquarters
and it now had a tall stockade fence around it.

But they were barely through town when their
driver, Sergeant Gilbert, cried out, “Dinosaur! No, dinosaurs! On our left coming
in from between the houses and, oh, my God, they’re goliaths!

“And they’ve seen us. Here they come!”

“Evasive measures, Sergeant!” McDowell ordered. “Get
far enough away and fire the cannons at them.” The driver of the other tank had
seen the beasts as well and was maneuvering away from them, raising and aiming
their main gun. Henry’s tank followed and the turret swung around so they could
shoot at their pursuers.

The monitors only showed glimpses of the monsters
coming after them. They were moving in fast and Henry could hear the roars and
screeches over the rumble of the machine.

They must be giants
, he thought,
I can feel the earth beneath us
quaking
.

McDowell was radioing Captain Harvey for immediate
assistance and describing the situation.

Wilma was scared and Zeke was comforting her, but
Henry could see the fright as well in the old man’s eyes.

“It’s all right, Zeke,” he told him over the racket
of gunfire and dinosaur cries. “We’ve been fighting these brutes for weeks now
and, believe me, they can’t get to us in this tank. We’re protected.” He didn’t
tell him about the two tanks pushed over the rim into the lake. No need to tell
him that.

“I believe you, Henry, but it’s still scary.”

“We will be fine, you’ll see.” Then the ride got crazier.

Their tank was bumping and bouncing down the road
behind the first tank, weaving in and out among the houses and businesses,
wherever they could find a conduit to get them away from the advancing creatures.
The guns were blasting, McDowell shooting an AK 47 out of the open hatch, Private
Harmon on the cannon, Gilbert driving; the dinosaurs were chomping up the
ground. And Henry, unable to sit still and do nothing, with McDowell’s
permission, had taken control of the turret machine gun–he’d been shown how to
use it often enough in the last month. And he had deadly aim with it.

The creatures on their tail were five of the
largest dinosaurs Henry had seen so far and he’d seen many. Again of the
species distantly related to the super predator
Tyrannosaurus Rex. These must be the full grown fellas because they
dwarfed the others. They had longer and stronger front arms, though, and their
heads were smaller than a regular T-Rex, which allowed them to move quicker and
more sure footed. Their teeth were as wicked as any T-Rex, yet bigger and
sharper. They were like curved swords sticking out of their mouths. Weird thing
was, the dinosaurs were also the strangest bluish-green color he had ever seen
on any of the over-sized dinosaurs they’d encountered. Just great, big voracious
Smurf monsters.

Where in the hell had they come from? Henry and the
soldiers had driven through these streets a short while ago and there hadn’t
been a trace of any of them. How had they gotten to the heart of town so
swiftly?

As the dinosaurs raced after them they tore up the
town behind them. Smashing into and through houses and trees and leaving a wide
path of wreckage in their wake. The town would never be the same, Henry
mourned. It was a pile of rubble miles long.
I hope there aren’t any
townspeople in those houses.
With their immense size the creatures were
leveling everything they stomped on.

Henry shot at them, aiming for the heads, but the
monsters were so fleet on their feet, he missed more than he connected. And the
creatures closed in around them as if they were a tag team circling in for the
kill.

Captain McDowell had her hands full shooting at the
monsters, directing her men, collaborating and strategizing with Captain Harvey
on his way from the police station. The cannon fired over and over and everyone
cheered when one of the T-Rexes cried out and collapsed in a heap to the ground,
taking two houses with it. Its body writhed and its legs twitched at the skies.

“One down, four to go,” Henry breathed as he
continued to plug bullets into the tough hides. Of the four remaining attackers
one was right in front of Henry’s vehicle, closing the distance rapidly while
the other three were blocking the other tank.

Henry shot at the one above them. The cannon
following suit while McDowell fired at the one behind them. And a second and
third beast fell thunderously to the earth, bleeding and clawing at the air.

More cheering. But the celebration didn’t last. One
of the surviving dinosaurs had caught up with the other tank and kicked it
against a thick-trunked tree on the side of the road, while its scaly partner
came in from another direction. The tree shook violently and snapped off half
way up. The dinosaur rammed up against the armored vehicle and tried to bite
it, its huge mouth enclosing the side of the turret the cannon wasn’t on. It
wrenched at the machine and dragged it a distance away from the tree; lifted it
from the ground and shook it. Then the other dinosaur grabbed it, too, a
tug-of-war, and tried to tip it over. Almost succeeded.

Henry aimed the machine gun at the two creatures
and fired, targeting first the one assaulting the other tank. At the same time
Private Harmon shelled them with the cannon. One of
the monsters screamed and crumpled to the ground. The last dinosaur roared and turned
on Henry’s tank, its great long tail whipping out to jab against them. The
vehicle bucked and slid across the grass, stopping at the edge of a deep creek.
If the tank would have gone over it would have stuck in the crevice and been unable
to move.

Wilma had cried out and hid her head against Zeke’s
shoulder. Zeke’s frightened gaze found Henry’s and Henry smiled bravely back.
The old ones had gone through a lot since the dinosaur incidents had begun and
Henry could tell they were tired and afraid. Henry only wanted to get them–all
of them–back to the park safe and sound. He wanted out of Klamath Falls.

“It will be okay, you’ll see. We are not beaten
yet. Only one monster left to kill. Hold on, we will make it.”

Zeke nodded, flashed Henry another smile and a thumbs
up of encouragement.

The final dinosaur rammed into them and Henry felt
the machine sliding…when the other tank, having maneuvered away from the tree
and closer to them also began to shell the monster.

Suddenly they were surrounded by five of Captain
Harvey’s tanks, arriving to help.

“We thought we’d rescue your asses,” Harvey’s authoritative
voice came over the intercom. “But I see by the carcasses spread around you
really didn’t need our help.”

“We can always use your help, Captain,” McDowell
said loudly. “Ready whenever you are.”

“Ready,” Harvey replied and their cannons began
firing at the lone dinosaur.

But no one finished it off. One minute it was
attacking and they were shooting at it and in the next, after posing to roar to
the sky, probably because it realized it was outnumbered by the metal monsters
tormenting it, it spun around and bounded away across the creek and thrashed into
the woods on the other side. Then it was gone.

Henry suspected the reason it ran was because the
other tanks had arrived. The creature was smart enough to know when it was
beaten.

“Wow, can those things travel! Like quicksilver,”
Henry exclaimed. “Now I understand how they have hidden so well from Harvey’s soldiers.
I bet they’re still all around in the woods. They have become proficient at
hiding from the military. Clever bastards.”

“Good,” Zeke said over the intercom, “and they can
just keep traveling. I want my town back, want my house back. I’m sick of being
homeless.”

Henry glanced at the old man. “Me and Ann, too. We
all want to be able to go home.” Someday. It hadn’t escaped him that if these
big monsters were concealing themselves so expertly in Klamath Falls that possibly
they were still hiding out in the park’s deep woods as well. Waiting for heaven
knows what to resume their attacks or an organized full-fledged assault. And
suddenly his optimism about his park being clear drained away. It couldn’t be
that easy now, could it?

“Should we turn around and return to the police
station Ranger Shore,” McDowell asked, “or do you want us to continue on to the
park? Captain Harvey says we have the choice. He knows the town isn’t free of
dinosaurs but he says they can handle it. He is giving us a green light to
leave.”

“Yes, onward to the park. We need to be there
because I don’t believe the dinosaurs are done with us, either. They’re hiding
out somewhere and eventually they will resume their raids.”

They said thank you and their goodbyes to Captain
Harvey and his soldiers and the two tanks continued their passage to Crater
Lake.

And Henry was relieved…for he could hear Ann
calling him. Ann needed him. Something was terribly wrong. He could feel it in
his heart.

“Let’s move it,” he said.

“You got it,” McDowell responded. “We are on our
way.”

They couldn’t get there fast enough for Henry. He
had this really
bad
feeling. It’d hit him that Ann hadn’t called him all
day and that was unusual. He pulled out his cell phone and tried calling her,
but he was only able to leave a message. It wasn’t like Ann not to answer her
phone.

Something
was
wrong.

*****

They rolled into headquarters as twilight’s gray
fingers crept in around them. They’d heard the gunfire, squawks and roars of
dinosaurs, though, long before they got near the compound. Well, so much for
the dinosaurs being gone from Crater Lake. That dream hadn’t lasted long.

As they drew near Henry saw the dinosaur army, of
every species they’d met so far, surging against the stockade. The larger ones
trying their best to tear down the fence and the smaller ones trying to jump
over it. There were sections that were weakening. One was partially down. It
wouldn’t take much more to collapse it and let the monsters in. Bullets and
shells were flying everywhere. The air was full of drifting gun powder and the
cries of the combatants, human and reptile. It was like a scene out of Hades. Horrifyingly
chaotic.

Henry had tried to contact someone inside but never
reached anyone. It made sense now. They were busy fighting and trying to stay
alive; couldn’t hear the phones.

Captain McDowell, using military communications did
contact the soldier she’d left in charge, Lieutenant Becker, and was informed
the compound had been under heavy attack almost since the time they’d left that
morning.

“How are we going to get in?” Henry was looking in
all directions through the video screens, spying on the battle. “No way we’re
getting through that crowd of hissing mutants.”

“Lieutenant Becker knows we are out here and I’ve
asked him to send out backup to guide us in…as soon as there’s a break in the
fighting. In the meantime, we can do a surprise rear attack and help our inside
people.”

And that’s what they did.

It was almost morning by the time the creatures
were turned away from the stockade and chased off, or what was left of them
anyway. The dinosaurs wouldn’t give up and kept coming. The soldiers and
rangers kept killing until they’d devastated the mass; scattered the remnants. The
two tanks Henry and the others were in killed many of them and managed to evade
their grasp by moving around the outside of the stockade at a high speed the
whole time.

Henry and McDowell didn’t receive their escort into
headquarters. When there was a pause in the fighting Lieutenant Becker alerted
them and told them to get to the gates in a hurry and they’d let them in. Which
they did. The gates opened and both tanks drove through.

Ann was waiting for him as he climbed from the vehicle
and after hugging and kissing each other, she hugged Zeke, who protested but
allowed it, and then Wilma. She was so happy to see they were with him.