Triassic by Julian Michael Carver

Author:Julian Michael Carver [Carver, Julian Michael]
Format: epub
Publisher: Severed Press
Published: 2021-09-09T16:00:00+00:00

XVI

The branches of the conifers were still soaked with the rain from the day before. In the heat of the tropical afternoon, the humidity of the sun beat down on the canopy, spawning unbearable heat in the woodland. Insects and strange primitive pests hovered nearby and sucked down the dew drops off the pine needles. Along the ground, ferns and stem plants sat crooked in over-saturated soil among the tangled roots.

Bzzzz!

Severine swatted at a large dragonfly that veered past her eyes.

Damn. Missed!

The bug flew away into the leafy branches to her right, quickly out of swatting range.

They had been following an animal trail through the jungle for an hour, and so far, hadn’t encountered any predatory dinosaurs – or any animals at all for that matter – other than the damn bugs.

In the mid-day heat, the jungle seemed empty. Far off in a distant location, an animal cry echoed through the trees. Severine thought it sounded like a bird, but she couldn’t be certain. Her thoughts often were interrupted by her paranoia, as her eyes looked back and forth through the undergrowth, searching for that quick burst of dark-orange that hadn’t come.

Herrerasaurs...

Apart from the lonely track back at the forest’s edge, they hadn’t caught any trace of the elusive, tyrannical monster. She hoped that their luck would hold out and they could traverse the entire forest back to the ship without encountering more predatory lifeforms.

She was bringing up the rear of the group, holding the X2 pistol in front like a shield, spinning backwards at every snap of a twig.

Ten shots...

That’s how many chances of survival she’d have before she had to climb one of the trees. But by the looks of her surroundings, there were plenty of opportunities for an escape.

The conifer trees were plentiful. Their trunks abundantly encompassed the majority of the area, bordering the thin path on all sides. Occasionally, a tree fern would break up their pattern and add a tropical flare to the backdrop. She studied the branches as she went, looking for an easy way to scurry up in case they were ambushed.

Paluch was helping Jordy walk, but frequently would pause to look at the surroundings and try to guess what flora they encountered. He noted that most of the species were most likely a genus of araucarians, an ancient coniferous tree that resembled modern-day pines and flourished in various parts of Earth in the Mesozoic. He figured its exact species was araucaria angustifolia, based on his assumption that they were hiking somewhere in prehistoric Brazil.

Brett and Julius walked at the front, securing the path. Brett leaned down often to study the ground for signs of danger, such as additional tracks that may have doubled back, but had found none so far. Julius would cover him with the 90 as the private wearily searched along the earth for signs of danger.

“Hey,” Severine called, “if you’re getting dazed, we should take a rest. I don’t want to get lost in here.”

The heat was beginning to affect them.

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