The foliage is dense as we make our way through it. I've calmed down a bit, but fear still sits deep in my bones. I jolt and stop when I hear the T-rex's roar. It sounded far away; however, that did little to sooth my fear. My eyes dart around chasing shadows wondering what will jump out at us.
"Are you hearing this?" Lex asks in a frightened whisper. Tim stands next to her, his own fear plain on his face as we all pause and hear another roar.
Dad grabs ahold of Tim's arm and leads us over to the base of a tall, twisting tree. "Come on, Tim. Come on, hurry up. Let's, uh, get up this tree." dad instructs.
"Oh no." Tim mutters in fear. I don't blame him. The last tree we were in did not have the fondest of memories.
"Come on, Tim, y/n, it's okay. Try up here." Dad helps Tim begin to climb the first bit.
Tim pauses briefly and looks at my father, "I hate trees." He says.
"They don't bother me." Lex explains as she begins swiftly climbing the tree. I follow after her trying to keep my limbs from shaking too bad.
"Oh yeah, well you weren't in the last one." Tim retorts as he too begins climbing. The siblings fall quiet as we all climb higher into the twisting branches. I glance behind me at my father with a weary look in my eye. My foot slips and he's quick to place a hand on my back to steady me while I find my footing again.
Eventually we all settle on a few large branches sturdy enough to hold us high above the ground. I settle next to my father while Lex and Tim each sit on large branches extending from the trunk. Tim glances through the leaves and points.
"Hey, those are Brontosauruses. I mean, uh, Brachiosauruses." Tim says. I can hear the smile and awe in his voice. It's good that he's feeling a bit better after the whole t-rex accident.
"They're singing." I whisper in awe as we listen to the Brachiosauruses hoot and bellow. Their voices echo off natural barriers, mixing with the common chirp of crickets and buzz of large insects. The noise helps soothe me as we sit in the tree and for the first time since the storm I feel safe.
We all sit in awe for a moment before my father gets up and climbs to a thick branch a little higher. He puts his hands up to his mouth and mimics the dinosaurs hoots. Two more Brachiosauruses appear as their heads rise from the treetops. With vines of green hanging from their mouths, they look over at the four of us in the tree with curiosity.
Lex hits dad on the leg while shushing. "Shh, shh! Don't let the monsters come over here!" She panics.
"They're not monsters, Lex. They're just animals. These are herbivores." My father explains softly.
"They only eat plants." I add with a reassuring smile when Lex looks back at me.
Tim looks at his sister and grins, "but for you I think they'd make an exception." He adds after I've finished speaking. I shake my head as Lex looks back out at the dinosaurs.
"Oh, I hate the other kind." she mutters.
"The other kind of just... do what they do." My father says as he gets down from the branch and settles next to me in the web of branches. He wraps his arm around my shoulder as I lean against his side. Lex and Tim join on his other side where there is more room. My father hisses in pain before he starts digging something out of his pocket.
"Ooh! What's that?" He pulls out the velociraptor claw we found earlier. I stare at it as I lean my head on my father's shoulder. It seems like so long ago we dug that up, but it was only a couple days. So much has changed.
"What are you guys gonna do now if you don't have to pick up dinosaur bones anymore?" Lex asks from where she lays against the tree.
Dad shrugs, "I don't know, I guess." He fiddles with the claw, "I guess we'll just have to evolve too." We sit there in silence for a moment before Tim speaks up.
"What do you call a blind dinosaur?" He asks.
Dad stops fiddling with the claw and looks at Tim. "I don't know. What do you call a blind dinosaur?" He asks.
"Do-you-think-he-saurus." Tim says with a smile.
I laugh a little as does my father. I look across and see Lex smiling softly as well.
"What do you call a blind dinosaur's dog?" Tim asks.
"You got me." Dad says.
"A Do-you-think-he-saurus Rex." Tim explains.
Dad pulls me closer as we all start to relax in the tree. Tim is quiet but Lex looks over at us with unease, "Alan, what if the dinosaur comes back while we're all asleep?" She asks.
"Well, I'll stay awake." Dad responds. He gives her a reassuring look.
"All night?" Lex asks skeptically.
Dad nods reassuringly, "All night." Lex, satisfied, lays down and closes her eyes. Soon the two of them drift off. I can't quite drift off yet. I stay awake watching the dinosaurs.
"We will go home right?" I ask, my voice quiet so I don't wake the other two.
I feel my father hug me with one arm as reassurance, "Yes, we will go home. I promise." He rubs his hand up and down the side of my arm.
"I'm scared." I whisper.
I glance up at my father and he looks down at me with an understanding glint in his eyes, "I know. It's okay to be scared." He whispers before placing a soft kiss to the crown of my head. I freeze and blink. He hadn't done that since I was really little. I close my eyes as I lean against him knowing that he will always be there for me. He will protect me.
Hours passed as we all slept in that tree. Despite what he promised Lex, dad fell asleep too, with his head resting against the top of mine as I curled next to him. Light glowed against my closed eyelids but it was quickly obscured by shadow. I lay still as I listen to the sound of heavy breathing and snapping twigs.
I peek my eye open to see a Brachiosaurus pulling green from the tree where we slept. I sat up with a smile on my face as I watched it. I look over my shoulder to see my father is also awake. He too smiles as the animal gets close again to pull more leaves.
Lex slowly wakes up and when she sees the dinosaur she jolts awake and tries to put as much distance between her and the Brachiosaurus as she can without falling out of the tree. "Go away!" She screams.
"It's okay! It's okay! It's a brachiosaur!" Dad explains quietly.
"It's a Veggiesaurus, Lex. A Veggiesaurus!" Tim exclaims.
"A Veggie." Lex exhales softly and calms down as she watches the animal.
Tim inches closer to the dinosaur, "Come on. Come on, girl. Come on." He says wanting to touch the creature.
Dad appears with a branch of leaves and greens that he pulled from the tree. He holds the branch out in front of the brachiosaur. "Come on. Come on, baby." The dinosaur makes a loud noise that startles us all. Tim and Lex cover their ears. The brachiosaur reaches and grabs the end of the branch. I watch amused as it appears to play tug-of-war with my dad. "I'm not letting go." He says.
The brachiosaur eventually lowers her head to eat next to us. Tim, dad, and I reach out and stroke her head. Her skin is rough below my fingers. I laugh as a smile blooms on my face and for a brief moment all the terror of yesterday fell away.
"It looks like it has a cold." Tim observes as we continue to pet the creature.
"Yeah. Maybe." Dad agrees.
"Can I touch it?" Lex asks from where she sits.
"Sure." Dad says. "Just think of it as kind of a big cow." He explains as he looks at her. Tim laughs as he reaches out to touch the brachiosaur's nose again.
"I like cows." Lex says. She reaches out to touch the dinosaur but the animal rears back out of reach. Lex reaches farther and calls to the animal, "Come on, girl. Come on up here, girl. Come on. Up here!"
The brachiosaur suddenly sneezes, covering Lex in mucus. I wince as I watch her freeze in horror and disgust. Tim approaches her side and smiles at the dinosaur. "God bless you!" He shouts.
I turn away to hide my smile.