How sublime is the silence of nature’s ever-active energies! There is something in the very name of wilderness, which charms the ear, and soothes the spirit of man. There is religion in it.
—Estwick Evans, in Roderick Nash’s Wilderness and the American Mind
YUCATAN PENINSULA PRESENT TIME
They were two valleys away when the pyramid blew. The sun was just down when the sky lit up like day, and then came the distant rumble. A tower of fire rose a thousand feet into the sky. It was unlike any explosion John had ever seen. The birds took to flight, and the monkeys panicked, leaping from tree to tree. A minute later the pillar winked out as quickly as it appeared.
They slept in trees that night, John now the expert on survival.
He remembered some of the tricks they had learned on the way in, and planned on finding a herd to mingle with, gambling there wouldn’t be another coordinated tyrannosaur attack.
Rosa was in good shape, and, despite the deep cut on her chest, Carrollee managed a good pace. Emmett was overattentive and Carrollee scolded him.
“Em, you’re making it harder, not easier!”
“Sorry, I thought you were dead when I saw you on that altar. It scared the hell out of me.”
“It wasn’t any fun being on the altar, either.”
“I can imagine. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“That’s sweet,” Carrollee said, hugging him. “If something did happen to me you would have reason to be afraid. You would have to face my mother.”
They made good progress, John wondering about their luck. He remembered that the pyramid attracted dinosaurs because of the magnetic field that surrounded it. Was the field gone? If so, the concentration of dinosaurs might be dissipating.
They climbed another hill, John wishing he had thought to bring one of the swords used by the Maya. Without a machete, he had to find a path, not make one, and he didn’t want to use paths traveled by dinosaurs. They crested the hill, finding a meadow. It had been recently grazed and there were huge piles of feces. He led them around the perimeter, finding where the herd had exited. They were traveling east, not the direction they needed to go.
Now John led them across the clearing, everyone relieved to find the going easier. They were nearly across when birds erupted from the trees ahead.
“What is it?” Rosa whispered.
“Trouble,” Carrollee said, already backing away.
Suddenly a flock of hypsilophodon broke from cover, the small green bipeds flowing from the undergrowth and around the humans. Startled, they let the little squealing beasts rush on to wherever they were going.
“That wasn’t so bad,” Rosa said.
“It’s what they’re running from that we need to worry about,” John said, getting his dinosaur gun ready.
When it came it was nothing they had encountered before. Ten feet high, thirty feet long, it was a carnivore with a thick neck, but smaller head and jaws than a tyrannosaur and more functional front arms, but the same powerful back legs. It easily weighed three tons, as the ground vibrated with each step.
“What is that?”
“Allosaurus,” John said.
“We need to run, don’t we, John?” Rosa said.
“Any second now,” John said, raising his rifle.
The allosaur spotted them, head lowered, tail stretching out.
“It’s going to charge,” John said. “Get ready to shoot and run.”
John cocked his rifle. The allosaur crouched lower, emitting a deep rumble. Suddenly a helicopter shot overhead. The allosaur cringed, like it had been attacked. The helicopter circled, the roar of the twin turbines deafening, the backwash blowing up a dust cloud. A man in the door threw objects and gas grenades blew in front of the allosaur.
Shocked, the allosaur bellowed defiance. The gas cloud spread, and the allosaur backed away, tears running from its eyes. The helicopter landed behind them and they ran to the open hatch. A soldier in the door manned a machine gun, ignoring them and keeping his eyes on the allosaur. John and Emmett helped Rosa and Carrollee inside, then were pulled up themselves. They scooted deeper into the helicopter’s hot interior. The helicopter lifted off, taking them to safety.
“Nachos!” Carrollee cried, excited.
“Nice to see you Doctor Chen-Puglisi,” one of the crewmen said.
John recognized the crewman from their trip to the village where they had started their mission.
“Now I expected to find you, but not Dr. Puglisi.”
“It’s a long story,” Carrollee said.
“Have anything to do with that explosion?”
“I think so.”
“How is it you can fly?” John asked.
“After the explosion the magnetic interference dropped to near zero. We started searching for you immediately.”
Nachos let them alone, and they settled in, trying to get comfortable.
“We’ve got to get to a telescope,” Emmett said. “And find out what happened on the moon.”
“First, we’re going to see Lee and Emma,” Carrollee said.
“Of course,” Emmett said, embarrassed.
“By the way, Em, I had a few unexpected charges on the Visa.”
“Charges?” Emmett started to ask.
“Hey, doctors,” Nachos interrupted. “What’s a five-letter word for lethargic?”
“Inert,” Carrollee and Emmett said at the same time.
Now Carrollee and Emmett wrapped their arms around each other, holding each other close, the Visa charges forgotten.
“That looks good to me,” Rosa said, and then pushed her way under John’s arm.
It was hot, and they quickly stuck together, but neither minded. Soon Rosa was sleeping, lulled by the constant drone of the helicopter blades. Carrollee and Emmett were asleep, too, and John felt exhaustion creeping through his body. Nachos studied his passengers, then duck-walked close to John, speaking loud enough for John to hear.
“I need a word that means ‘take out of circulation.’”
“Me,” John said, closing his eyes and running his hand across Rosa’s back.
She snuggled closer, pressing her breasts tight against him.
“Not enough letters, sir, it has to be six.”
“Retire,” John managed to say just before he fell asleep.