Dinosaur Breakout (11 page)

Even though the hideout was warm and cozy, Daniel couldn’t stop shivering. He knew it was from shock, but he wasn’t sure what to do about it. He wasn’t even sure if he could walk home again. He needed a drink of water, but he was afraid to touch the backpack. Something told him to stay clear of the piece of bark, which he vaguely recalled he’d dropped back inside at the last possible second. He could still feel and smell the horrible breath of the
T. rex
!

Then he thought about the surprise the
T. rex
must have had when he’d disappeared before its startled “3D” eyes. As he tried to imagine the astonished look on its fiercely grotesque face, he began laughing hysterically. Dactyl began barking in excitement. When he gained control again, Daniel sat up and wiped the tears from his eyes. He was parched.

Slowly, he crawled over to his backpack and touched it. Nothing happened, so he carefully opened a flap. He saw the chunk of bark, and licking his lips in deep concentration, he avoided it while he drew a bottle of water from the pack. Relaxing when he had the bottle safely in his hands, he took a long drink, letting the refreshing moisture soothe his dry throat. He swirled it around his mouth and closed his eyes, savouring it. He was grateful for being alive and being able to taste and swallow. If things had gone differently, the
T. rex
would be swallowing
him
right now! Scotty or not, that beast was not a friendly one!

When he finished, he set the bottle on the cave floor and with great delicacy tipped the rest of the contents out of the backpack. Using the handle of his rock hammer, he separated everything away from the piece of bark, being careful not to touch it. Dactyl went over to sniff at it.

Daniel hollered at him. “No, boy! Don’t touch!” He brushed Dactyl away roughly.

Dactyl whined and looked eagerly at Daniel, wagging his tail in short bursts of confusion. Daniel poured some water in Dactyl’s dish to distract him. Now he had to think of a safe place to keep the bark. He should have left it behind and then there wouldn’t have been any more trouble. If only he’d thought of that then!

But he knew, somewhere deep inside him, that he had
too much curiosity and that maybe sometime, if he
planned properly, he’d go back again to explore. For right now, though, he didn’t want the bark to fall into the wrong hands. Nor did he want Dactyl touching it, in case it affected him too.

Then a crazy thought struck him. Pederson wanted proof. Maybe he’d give him the opportunity! He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. The time shift must have addled his brain. He didn’t want to subject the old man to such a horrible encounter. He might have a heart attack or something. There wasn’t anyone he could share the adventure with – Jed would be needlessly traumatized too.

Suddenly, Daniel remembered that Jed would be over soon. He had to get back! He collected his belongings into his backpack and stared at the bark. He didn’t dare touch it – not even to move it with a stick. Maybe if he just covered it somehow. He looked around the hideout and spotted a pot lid. Perfect for now! He placed it over top, careful not to disturb the chunk in any way.

He breathed a sigh of relief and headed for the doorway. At least he’d quit shaking, although he still felt a little chilled. Dactyl had already bounded out and was heading up the hillside, sniffing at the ground.

As Daniel reached the farmyard, he saw Jed pedalling his bike down the lane beside the house and waved to him.

“Jedlock! Over here!”

Jed waved back. He jumped off his bike and leaned it against a shed. They met in the middle of the yard next to the outdoor kitchen and concession stand that had been remodelled from an old shed to serve tour guests breakfast.

“Geeze, it’s hot today!” Jed said, taking off his baseball cap. His fair hair was matted to his head.

“Yeah,” Daniel replied, even though he enjoyed the heat of the sun beating down on him. At least he wasn’t shivering anymore.

“Come on,” he said, “I happen to know my mom was baking cookies for tonight and we have some cold Gator-ade too.”

~

R
efreshed, Daniel and Jed saddled up
Gypsy and
Pepper. They needed to be exercised anyway. Besides, Daniel didn’t feel like any more vigorous activity and Jed had just pedalled a couple of miles down a gravel road.

“Let’s go see the campsite first,” Jed suggested.

Their dads were doing the final preparations for the first tourists on the weekend. The boys followed the trail through the yard and across the pasture. Grasshoppers whizzed at them from all sides, so they did little talking at first, by silent consent. They weren’t taking any chances on swallowing one of the flying insects. It had happened before.

Daniel grinned at the memory. He’d gagged and spit and torn at his mouth as the grasshopper tried to escape. He’d pulverized it unintentionally, and for weeks afterwards he’d kept swallowing at something imaginary stuck in his throat.

He gestured at Jed, pointing at the grasshoppers and then making a zipping motion over his mouth. Jed grinned back at him, holding his mouth tight. Gypsy and Pepper flicked at the insects with their tails and plodded along the grassy trail.

Then they took a dip down a slight incline and rounded a curve. At the bottom of the hill they could see the tree-filled coulee and hear the pounding of posts. They rousted their horses to a slightly faster pace. When they reached the cool shade of the trees, they dismounted and led their horses to a trickling stream, where they tied them to a couple of low trees so they could reach both the water and the grass.

“Hello, boys,” Doug Lindstrom, Jed’s dad, greeted them, as he manoeuvred another post into a hole in the ground and Daniel’s dad pounded it in solidly with a sledgehammer.

They had created a circle of posts to designate a parking area between the camping and picnicking spots. They’d built several tables and set them in strategic places under the shade of the trees. Then they’d cleared out a dozen or so camping spots with just enough room in each for a tent or a small trailer.

A water well with a hand pump stood between the two areas at the edge of the parking lot. Two outhouses – outdoor bathrooms – were tucked behind some trees in the camping area. Daniel had torn down an old bin for the lumber for them. When their dads had finished building them, Daniel had painted them. He looked at them now with pride, fresh white with green trim.

“You boys here to give us a hand?” Dad asked. “Nah, I didn’t think so,” he guessed before they could answer.

“What do you need done?” Jed asked, always ready to help.

“We have a little time before I have get back to do chores,” Daniel agreed reluctantly.

“You could gather up those branches and put them on the back of the truck,” Dad suggested. He pointed to a huge pile they’d cleared when they carved the beginning of the hiking trail that led into the camping area.

Daniel sighed. Just what he needed! He grimaced at Jed, who looked as crestfallen as he felt.

“You and your big mouth!” Daniel whispered at him jokingly.

“Sorry,” Jed answered, as his dad went to back the truck closer for them.

They worked quickly, stacking the branches into the truck box, and a half-hour later they were finished. Sweat poured down their faces and their t-shirts clung to their backs. Their arms were all scratched, red, and itchy. Mercifully, not too many mosquitoes had bitten them.

“Good job, boys,” Dad said, striding over to take a look.

“Yes, you two are good workers!” Jed’s dad agreed. “Fast, too. You must have time for something else.”

“No way! We’re out of here!” Daniel said. “I still have chores to do!” And his head was beginning to throb.

“Yeah, we haven’t had any time to ourselves yet!” Jed complained.

Their dads laughed.

“We were only joking,” Dad said.

“Good,” Daniel said, heading towards the horses. “Come on, Jed. Let’s get out of here before they change their minds!”

~

A
stride the saddles again,
Daniel and Jed headed across country, around the coulee and up a different side of the hill. That’s when they spotted a couple of figures in the distance, peering down at them from the top of the hill.

“Bet it’s the Nelwins!” Daniel yelled, urging Gypsy faster. “Come on, let’s check it out!”

Jed, on Pepper, followed close behind. Whoever it was ahead was on foot, so they should be able to catch up to them in no time. However, moments later, when they reached the top, they couldn’t see anyone. There were so many coulees and dips in the hills in that particular area that the two people could have gone in any direction.

“Darn! It’s not worth looking for them,” Daniel said, reining Gypsy in and turning to face Jed. “But I’m sure it was the Nelwins spying on us.”

Daniel told Jed about his encounter with them the day before. He left out the part about going back into prehistoric time. He still wasn’t ready to tell anyone the details of that experience.

“I heard what you and Pederson did for Lucy, too,” Jed said. “Sure wish there were something we could do about that pair!”

“I’m sure there is. We just need to come up with a plan.”

“Yeah, right!” Jed mumbled. “Got any great ideas?”

“Well, I might,” Daniel said, thinking about the piece of redwood bark. No! That would be too mean! And too dangerous! He just wanted them to stop their bullying. He didn’t want to injure or kill them.

“I’ll think it through before I say anything,” he said quietly.

Jed said, “Okay, count me in, whatever it is!”

Daniel just hoped he didn’t have to do anything!

Chapter Eight

D
aniel opened the door to Ole Pederson,
who arrived before the Lindstroms that night. He held a book in his hand for Daniel.

“The one Tim Tokaryk recommended to you this morning,” Pederson said.

Daniel took the book in surprise. “Thanks. That was fast!”

Pederson patted Daniel on the shoulder. “No time like the present, I always say!” He had an excited glint in his eyes that Daniel recognized. It meant Pederson had a viable plan for the paleontology dig. He could hardly wait to hear it!

He led Pederson into the dining room where Mom had set out a tray of chocolate chip cookies and saskatoon muffins, and two jugs of iced tea on the table. Dad sat at the end of the table opposite from the stack of glasses and napkins. He had his usual array of papers spread out, along with a calculator and various coloured pens and pencils.

Pederson sat around the corner from him as Dad
passed him a paper with a chart drawn on it with coloured lines. Jed and Daniel slid onto chairs near them to hear the discussion. Cheryl played with a cookie in her highchair beside Jed, who made funny faces at her.

“Evening, Ole! Good to see you!” Dad said. “Here are my projections for the year. Of course, these aren’t set in solid stone. We can still chip away at it.”

Jed and Daniel groaned at Dad’s attempt to make a paleontology-related pun.

“Well, Ed, we may just have to change these projections a little.” Pederson said. “But let’s wait for the others so I don’t repeat myself!”

“How about some iced tea?” Mom asked, standing behind him with the jug and a glass in her hand. She nodded at Daniel to pass the tray of desserts.

“Don’t mind if I do!” he said, accepting a glass from Mom.

Daniel grabbed the tray and offered it to Mr. Pederson and then Dad. Jed stood beside him with the napkins. That’s when the Lindstroms arrived. Jed’s mom, Greta, sailed into the dining room.

“My, aren’t we the helpful host?” she teased Jed, setting down a plate of cherry squares.

Jed blushed and rolled his eyes at his mom. His three sisters entered next and took their places respectfully at the table. Their dad brought up the rear, as usual.

“Evening, everyone,” Doug Lindstrom said in a jolly mood, and scraped a chair across the floor and sat on the other side of Daniel’s dad.

All at once the room filled with chattering and laugh-ter as everyone talked at the same time. Once the greetings and small talk were over and everyone had been served, they focused their attention on Ole Pederson.