Survivors

34

We had managed to get Mae to sit against a rock but she was still unconscious. We sat around and watched as she had a pained expression on her face.

I sat against the cave wall as I sharpened a stick with my knife, making a makeshift spear.

"She's asleep. The bandages we put over her wounds stopped the bleeding, but I don't know how long that's gonna last. We gotta do something," Sammy said.

"Ben says Kash has a phone. Let's get it, call for help, and get out of here," Yaz said.

"But, what about the dinosaurs?" Darius asked.  "Now that Mae's injured, if we all leave, who's gonna protect them?"

"Darius, Mae is in no condition to stay here. Just look at her," I said, motioning to a whimpering Mae. "Our only choice is that phone."

"We're running out of time. Let's split up and try to find Kash," Kenji said.

A green light shined through the jungle. We all gasped and managed to drag Mae behind a rock before two clankers emerged from the jungle.

"New orders received," a clanker said. The two clankers then split up; one to the left and one to the right.

"One of them could be headed to Kash," Yaz whispered.

"Then let's split up," I said.

So this was the plan; Yaz and Brooklynn followed the clanker going to the left and Kenji, Sammy, Darius, and I would follow the one going to the right. I shouldered my bow and followed the others. I also grabbed the spear I made.

The clanker travelled back through an airlock, ran straight through the tunnels, and then opened a new airlock into the forest biome. We followed it until we had to hide in some bushes. Ahead of us, the clanker had stopped in front of the two T-rexes, Big Eatie and Little Eatie.

Little Eatie was still lying on the ground while Big Eatie was caring for her. The clanker's eyes lit up and scanned Little Eatie.

"Vitals suboptimal. Subject not suitable for test," the clanker said. It then scanned Big Eatie. "Subject suitable for test."

"What test?" Darius asked. I shrugged.

A flock of drone appeared from the forest and surrounded Big Eatie. Bright, yellow lights appeared from the drones. Big Eatie snapped at the drones and an electric shock sound was heard. Big Eatie reared back and shook her head in pain.

It pained me to watch this happen. I buried my head in Darius's chest. I hated seeing animals treated this way. It wasn't right.

The sound of stomping was heard and I lifted up my head. The clanker was destroyed and the drones led Big Eatie away.

"Where are they taking her?"

"We have to find out!"

We ran after Big Eatie, following the sound of heavy footsteps and pained roars. We hid behind a tree as we watched as the drones led Big Eatie further away. A new clanker appeared and continued to usher Big Eatie away.

"There's too much heat right now," Kenji pointed out. "Let's head back."

"The phone isn't here, maybe Brooklynn and Yaz found it," Sammy suggested. Her and Kenji got up and started running away.

Darius hesitated. He watched as Big Eatie disappeared into the forest.

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Darius, we need to go." He looked up at me, put a hand on mine, and nodded. We then followed Kenji and Sammy back to the cave.