I made my way through the forest, never straying from the path Hailey followed, a huge bag on her back, just like me. I also held two other bags-one in each hand. All around us, huge trees dwarfed us.
"Let's rest here," she said.
She looked back at me and smiled warmly and stopped. I stood next to her as we dropped our bags and sat down. Hailey sat next to me. We both took our backpacks off and unzipped them, taking out our canteens and drinking from them.
It's been four days since I woke up in the cabin. Two days prior, I was able to walk outside. It was another hot summer day in the forest. There were sounds all around us. We were on our way to the grocery store about three miles from the cabin. All the food there was frozen, that way it lasted longer than usual. Perfect for two humans looking for a decent meal.
"If I recall correctly," Hailey said, wiping her lips with her sleeve, "we're about halfway there."
"That's good to hear," I said, putting my canteen back into my backpack. According to Hailey, the path we were taking was the safest one she knew, but we still carried our weapons--my Glock and her one-bladed sword--just in case.
We sat there in silence for some time, but Hailey broke it. "How old did you say you were again?"
"Seventeen," I replied. "I just had my birthday four weeks ago."
"Oh," she said. "I'm sixteen. My birthday was three months ago."
"Cool."
Minutes passed slowly, but after a while, we made our way back to the store once more.
The grocery store looked in perfect condition. Aside from the vines that clung to it's brick walls and that the big neon letters were missing or shattered, it was unharmed. Hailey pulled the two, once functioning automatic doors apart from each other. We both walked inside and Hailey closed the doors behind us. She looked back at me with a smile.
"Okay," she said, pulling a small piece of paper from her white nurse coat pocket. She folded it and ripped it in half. She gave me one half. "Now, just take what's on the list. Meet me here when you're done."
"Okay," I said, nodding my head. Hailey shuffled away to the aisles and disappeared. When she vanished, I looked at the list. Fortunately, there were only a few items.
Ha, I thought. This won't take long at all.
I quickly made my way through the aisles, taking all the items we needed. Despite the fact that it was freezing cold and that much of the perishable food was preserved in thin layers of frost, I moved at a fast pace. By the time I finished my, hands turned to an alarming shade of red. No worries, though.
I made my way to the exit, carrying the bags of food. Hailey waited for me there and she smiled when she saw me.
"You got everything, Toby?" she asked.
I nodded. "All set."
"Okay," she said, lifting her bags. "Let's go."
We left the building, hefting the bags.
When we reached the halfway point of the parking lot--completely empty of vehicles--I heard a hiss. I stopped in my tracks, all of my senses on high alert. That hiss wasn't like that of a snake or an angry alligator: it was a dinosaur, without a doubt.
We were being hunted.
Hailey stopped and looked at me with a curious expression. "Are you okay? Is something wrong, Tobias?"
I slowly looked around, carefully searching the trees and bushes ahead of us. It was the obvious place for a dinosaur to ambush us. And yet I saw nothing.
Suddenly, a creature sprang out from the undergrowth. It was roughly nine feet long and nearly human sized in high. It had a long, snake-like neck and a long, thin snout. It had four fingers on each hand, but only three of them had claws. It's legs were long and slim. It's feathered body was pale purple and the head and neck were a dull orange, as well as the belly and tail bands. It glared at us with hungry red eyes.
The dinosaur rushed at us with blinding speed.
"What the hell is that?!" Hailey cried.
I reached for my Glock and aimed. Without hesitating, I shot two rounds into the dinosaur's chest and a third in it's head. It dropped dead not even ten feet away from us, blood rolling out of the wounds. I then quickly reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. The transparent screen lit blue and I tapped the app named Dinopedia. I looked for a match, which didn't take long.
Coelophysis
(SEE-LOW-FIE-SIS)
Meaning "Hollow form"
Carnivore
Late Triassic Period
One of the earliest dinosaurs, Coelophysis was quick and deadly. Dozens of their remains have been found in Ghost Ranch. They show that these animals ate each other and even their own young in times of famine and drought.
"Coelophysis," I said aloud. "A small predatory theropod dinosaur."
Hailey looked at me with a look of surprise and curiosity. "Wha-"
Suddenly, there was a loud screech.
"Cheeraaaay!!"
I looked ahead and saw seven more Coelophysis charge at us, screeching and hissing. Only one word came from my mouth:
"Run!"
We dropped the bags, turned around, and ran back to the store, the dinosaurs chasing us and gaining ground. I could feel my heart hammer in my chest out of fear and exercise. I thought at first that we weren't going to make it; because of their build, Coelophysis were made for speed and agility. They could home in on their target and pursue them for long periods of time.
But by some miracle, we made it. Hailey quickly opened the double doors and let me inside. She followed me in and slammed them shut, keeping the raging Coelophysis out. We gasped for breath as the dinosaurs ground to a halt in front of the doors, clearly pissed off that we got away. They snapped their narrow jaws, flashing their numerous sharp teeth, their red eyes staring at us with a thirst for blood.
"That was close," Hailey sighed.
"Yeah," I said, "but these doors won't hold them back for long."
As if they heard me, the Coelophysis pack started to kick and headbutt the glass of the doors, creating a spider web of cracks where they hit.
"Fuck!" Hailey cried.
We turned tail and rushed away from the doors and through the aisles.
CRAASH!
The Coelophysis managed to break the glass.
"Arrrooah!"
Hailey looked back. The expression on her face said everything: the predators were getting closer.
Then she looked back at me, fear in her eyes. "What do we do?"
My mind raced like a hare being pursued by a fox. I looked around, but there wasn't much of any escape routes, just a bunch of aisles.
Wait...
I noticed that some of the shelves weren't freezers. They had cans or packages, but all of which were much to decayed to eat. I could smell the rot that infested them as I could smell the horrid breath of the dinosaurs chasing us.
I had an idea.
"Climb the shelves!" I shouted over the predators. Hailey looked at me for a brief moment and then at the shelves. It took her a minute, but something clicked in her head, making her beam. Narrowing her bright green eyes, she jumped onto one of the shelves and climb her way up to the top. I followed her and made my way up. I just barely made it as a Coelophysis leaped up and nearly sank it's teeth into my battle boats.
Panting, I looked down at the predatory dinosaurs for the first time since they broke in. The hissed and screeched angrily, jumping and snapping their jaws, trying to make a grab for us.
For now, we were out of their reach.
"Smart move," Hailey said, panting. "Now what do we do? They'll eventually reach us at some point."
"Just let me think", I muttered, not looking at her. Instinctively, I reached for my gun, only to find it wasn't there. A cold realization struck me.
FUCK! I thought angrily. I must have dropped it while we ran!
I looked at Hailey. She looked utterly terrified, like a mouse cornered by a cat. She was obviously thinking that we were doomed. Suddenly, my eyes drifted to her sword sheath. The blade was still there.
Another idea.
"Hailey!" I said. "Give me your sword!"
She looked at me, then at her weapon. She gripped the hilt and pulled out the sharp blade with a shiiiing. Looking at me with a look of understanding, she nodded and tossed it to me. I managed to catch it by the hilt. I was surprised how light it was. I looked at the fine blade, which reflected my face. It only took one look to know that this sword was fully sharpened. It was perfect for what I intended to do.
I looked at Hailey with a firm look. "Wait up here," I said. I then looked down at the leaping dinosaurs, narrowing my eyes.
Alright, you bastards, I thought. Let's party.
I stood up and crouched down. I then jumped off the shelf, over the Coelophysis pack, and landed on my feet behind them. I looked up at the creatures. They shrieked and snarled, often licking their teeth hungrily. As I rose, one of the group barreled towards me.
But I was ready.
I thrust the sharp blade into the dinosaur's chest, impaling it's heart. The Coelophysis screamed in agony and shuddered. I then snatched the blade out of the dinosaur, which fell to my feet in a puddle of it's own blood.
While the other dinosaurs snarled menacingly, I smirk.
"Come on!" I roared. "Kill me!"
The predators lunged all at once, but even then I was ready. I sank the sword into the next dinosaur's belly, spilling it's guts. For the next two, I swung the blade, slitting their throats, causing blood the geyser out and spray onto my face and arms. The fifth dinosaur lunged forward. With a shout, I swung the sword, cutting off it's head. It squirmed, as though to screech in anger, and then ran off, like a decapitated chicken until it fell to the ground.
I looked back at the remaining, who hissed angrily. I held the weapon in front of me, growling, ready to strike.
Instead, however, they snarled and ran away from me and out the broken doors.
I lowered the blade and sighed with relief. The fight was over. I looked up at Hailey, who was looking at me with wide eyes and her mouth open, which made me smile.
"It's okay to come down, Hailey," I said.
She then snapped out of her condition and jumped off the shelf, landed on her feet, and rushed over to me. "How did you do that?" she asked.
"My dad taught me," I replied, giving her sword back. She took it and slide it back into it's sheath.
"We should leave," she said. "I have a feeling those two'll come back with reinforcements. Plus you need to really get all that blood off of you."
I laughed. "Yeah, I suppose I could try to clean myself up."
And with that, the two of us left the blood-soaked battle scene and out the door, taking our bags--and my gun--back to the cabin.