Return To Primordial Island, Rick Poldark [top non fiction books of all time .TXT] 📗

Tyrannosaurus rex stomped off into the trees.

“Great!” said Nielsen. “We can get the hell out of here.” He made for the back door.

“Wait just a minute,” said Peter, grabbing his arm.

“If we’re going to leave, now’s the time,” insisted Nielsen. “Don’t forget, the other two are not far behind.”

“Let’s hear what he has to say,” said Collins. “It’s why he’s here, isn’t it?”

Nielsen huffed in exasperation. “Okay. What?”

“I don’t think it’s really left,” said Peter. He closed his eyes and reached out with his senses. His chest glowed under his tattered shirt. “I can feel it.”

Everyone looked out the side windows facing the jungle. “I don’t see him,” said Nielsen.

“Doesn’t mean he isn’t still out there,” said Collins.

There was an explosion in the distance behind them.

“What was that?” asked Marcy, trembling.

Collins frowned. “That was likely our air support.”

“They took down a helicopter?” cried Nielsen, incredulous. “Impossible.”

“They’re smarter than we realize,” explained Peter. “They hunt in packs. They used a flanking maneuver on your Humvees.”

“Pack hunting?” Nielsen looked stunned. “T. rexes?” He turned to Tracey. “You never mentioned anything about their hunting in packs.”

Tracey stammered, taken off-guard and defensive. “It was only a theory…one I didn’t subscribe to.”

Peter came to her rescue. “It’s not her fault. We operate on data and theories derived from digs in our dimension, Mr. Nielsen. The dinosaurs here behave differently.”

“Or your theories are incorrect,” added Collins.

“That’s equally possible,” said Peter, conceding the point.

“Okay, you think it’s still out there,” said Collins. “How do we test that theory?”

Peter looked around the back of the truck at the equipment.

Tracey turned to Marcy. “What kind of equipment do you have on-board?”

“All kinds of sensory equipment, measuring changes in climate…barometric readings, temperature, seismic activity.”

“Do you have an infrasound detector?”

Marcy nodded. “Yes. It’s an app on my laptop, but I need to hook up the microphone.”

“Of course,” said Peter, obviously amused by something the others weren’t getting. He knew what Tracey was getting at.

“Hook it up,” said Tracey.

Marcy nodded and began to rummage through her equipment strewn all over the back compartment.

“Someone want to fill me in?” asked Nielsen.

“T. rexes use what’s called closed mouth vocalization,” explained Tracey. “They can emit low frequency sound without opening their mouths. Birds can do it.”

“If we can stick a microphone out the window, we might be able to detect it,” added Peter.

 “Which would mean it’s out there, waiting for us,” said Collins.

“Here we go,” said Marcy, fumbling with a large, corded microphone. She unraveled the cord, plugged it into her laptop, and opened the infrasound detector application. “Okay…we’re live.”

Tracey reached out and took the microphone from Marcy. She paused, looking at everyone and biting her lip. “Okay, here goes.”

She turned the back handle slowly and opened the back door gradually, wincing as it creaked on its hinges. Everyone held their breaths, waiting for the Tyrannosaurus to come bounding back out of the jungle. Tracey slipped the microphone outside, keeping her eyes peeled for movement.

“I’ve got something,” said Marcy. All eyes were on her. “I’m picking something up…”

“Is it the T. rex?” asked Nielsen.

Marcy shook her head. “No…it’s the river flowing outside. Let me try and filter that out.” Her fingers darted around her laptop keyboard. “Okay…wait a minute…there’s something else.”

“Can you play it on the speakers?” asked Peter.

“Okay.” Marcy hit a few keys, and the sound played over her laptop speakers. It was a low, vibrational sound.

“That’s nothing,” said Nielsen.

Peter and Tracey exchanged knowing looks. Tracey pulled the microphone inside and closed the back door.

“That’s it,” said Peter. “That’s what it sounds like.”

“Horror movies use the sound as part of their soundtrack, in the background, underneath all the other sound,” said Tracey. “It’s used to induce feelings of dread. We’re kind of hardwired to respond to it, from an evolutionary standpoint.”

“Okay, so he’s still out there,” said Nielsen. “What do we do about it? We can’t stay here.”

“We can take the river back to base camp,” offered Collins.

Peter shook his head. “The current is flowing in the opposite direction. Besides, I almost got eaten by a Spinosaurus earlier.”

“There was a Spinosaurus in the river?” Tracey sounded more excited than horrified.

“We have the light-bending camo,” said Collins.

When Peter looked perplexed, Tracey said, “It’s really cool. It’s a fabric that bends light. Makes you almost invisible.”

“Yeah, but what about its other senses, like smell?” asked Peter.

 “There’s not much we can do about that,” said Nielsen, casually sniffing his armpit. His shirt was drenched with sweat. “How do we get back to base? The other T. rexes are back there, feasting on our weapons team.”

“We could cross the river,” said Collins, looking out the windows facing the river. “It looks deep. The T. rexes are all on this side.”

“It is deep,” said Peter. “The Spinosaurus swam in it, and they’re quite large.”

“Everyone here know how to swim?” asked Nielsen. Each person nodded. “Good. Then we have a plan. We cross the river and return to base camp on the other side.”

“What about the other men?” asked the driver, who until now had been listening quietly.

“There’s nothing to be done for them,” said Nielsen, his tone grave and only slightly dismissive.

“Maybe he can do something,” said the driver, pointing to Peter. “He said he can heal people.”

Peter shook his head. “Only if they’re bodily intact. If they’re mutilated or eaten, there’s nothing I can do for them.”

“We can check for any survivors on our way back,” said Collins. “Are we ready to do this? I feel if we wait too long, something else might come along, like a Spinosaurus or a giant freaking snake.”

“He’s right,” said Nielsen. “We need to return to base camp and regroup.”

“We need