Land of the Lost by Marianne Hering

Author:Marianne Hering [Hering, Marianne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUVENILE FICTION / Readers / Chapter Books, JUVENILE FICTION / Religious / Christian / Action & Adventure
ISBN: 9781684283415
Publisher: Focus on the Family
Published: 2023-04-04T00:00:00+00:00

The Dodo Birds

Patrick and Japheth ran past an empty town with crumbled, burned homes.

Patrick shivered at the sight. The homes had been vandalized and burned. No one could possibly live there. Barely two stones were left stacked on each other. A chill settled on him like a wet blanket.

They ran up a little hill and crested it. The saber-toothed tigers were together now, just over the ridge. A large kangaroo, two alligators, two warthogs, and two raccoons were talking to the big cats.

Patrick heard “giantess,” “cages,” and “arrow in the heart.” But most of all he sensed panic and the words Safe Place.

A group of birds flew overhead. They were so low Patrick could hear their wings flap. Their feathers were colorful like the ones Patrick had seen in books about South America and Africa.

“The woman has fallen!” they squawked, chirped, and tweeted. In seconds they had vanished.

Felina re-ow-owed and raced after the birds.

Japheth said, “What’s going on?”

Patrick answered, “A female person is hurt. She maybe has an arrow through her heart?”

Japheth raised his spear in the air. He let out a Tarzan-like yodel. The veins in his neck popped out, thick and purple. And then he ran down the hill.

Patrick was frozen in shock. Was it Beth? Was it Amora? Was it Amelia? Or was it someone he hadn’t met yet?

Panthero nudged Patrick. “What are you waiting for?” he re-ow-owed.

Patrick woke from his daze. He started to run. His legs felt like rubber when he arrived at a small clearing surrounded by stone houses. Candy wrappers and empty potato chip bags blew in the wind. A few soda cans lay on the ground.

How did all this trash get here? he wondered. He knew he should pick up the trash. But for now, finding Beth was more important.

He saw two large, odd-looking birds searching the ground for food. Next, he saw Japheth and Amora together in an embrace.

Check. The giantess is okay, he thought.

He scanned the area, looking for Beth.

Panthero bolted past him and slipped through a group of townsfolk.

Patrick followed the giant cat. He stood at the back of the group. The townsfolk were muttering to one another.

“I wanted to kill the giantess,” an old man said. “A life for a life. Too bad the boy wasn’t dead.”

“Maybe this other one is,” a woman said. “Then we can get revenge.”

Yikes, Patrick thought. Is the “other one” Beth? Is she dead? He pushed through the group and saw her. Beth was kneeling next to Amelia. He sighed with relief at seeing his cousin. But then he gasped.

Beth’s hand was on the fletching of an arrow. It was sticking out of the left side of Amelia’s chest.

Beth made a grunting noise and yanked the arrow out. The tip was clean. No blood.

Beth lifted Amelia’s wrist.

“Are you feeling for her pulse?” Patrick asked.

She smiled at him in greeting. Then she nodded and said, “Her pulse is strong.”

“Is there any water around here?” Patrick said. “She’ll wake up if we pour some on her.

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