A Shard of Amber

Part 7

The foliage is dense as we make our way through it. I've calmed down a bit, but fear still sits deep in my bones. I jolt and stop when I hear the T-rex's roar. It sounded far away; however, that did little to sooth my fear. My eyes dart around chasing shadows wondering what will jump out at us. 

"Are you hearing this?" Lex asks in a frightened whisper. Tim stands next to her, his own fear plain on his face as we all pause and hear another roar.

Dad grabs ahold of Tim's arm and leads us over to the base of a tall, twisting tree. "Come on, Tim. Come on, hurry up. Let's, uh, get up this tree." dad instructs. 

"Oh no." Tim mutters in fear. I don't blame him. The last tree we were in did not have the fondest of memories. 

"Come on, Tim, y/n, it's okay. Try up here." Dad helps Tim begin to climb the first bit.

Tim pauses briefly and looks at my father, "I hate trees." He says. 

"They don't bother me." Lex explains as she begins swiftly climbing the tree. I follow after her trying to keep my limbs from shaking too bad.

"Oh yeah, well you weren't in the last one." Tim retorts as he too begins climbing. The siblings fall quiet as we all climb higher into the twisting branches. I glance behind me at my father with a weary look in my eye. My foot slips and he's quick to place a hand on my back to steady me while I find my footing again. 

Eventually we all settle on a few large branches sturdy enough to hold us high above the ground. I settle next to my father while Lex and Tim each sit on large branches extending from the trunk. Tim glances through the leaves and points. 

"Hey, those are Brontosauruses. I mean, uh, Brachiosauruses." Tim says. I can hear the smile and awe in his voice. It's good that he's feeling a bit better after the whole t-rex accident. 

"They're singing." I whisper in awe as we listen to the Brachiosauruses hoot and bellow. Their voices echo off natural barriers, mixing with the common chirp of crickets and buzz of large insects. The noise helps soothe me as we sit in the tree and for the first time since the storm I feel safe.

We all sit in awe for a moment before my father gets up and climbs to a thick branch a little higher. He puts his hands up to his mouth and mimics the dinosaurs hoots. Two more Brachiosauruses appear as their heads rise from the treetops. With vines of green hanging from their mouths, they look over at the four of us in the tree with curiosity.  

Lex hits dad on the leg while shushing. "Shh, shh! Don't let the monsters come over here!" She panics.

"They're not monsters, Lex. They're just animals. These are herbivores." My father explains softly. 

"They only eat plants." I add with a reassuring smile when Lex looks back at me. 

Tim looks at his sister and grins, "but for you I think they'd make an exception." He adds after I've finished speaking. I shake my head as Lex looks back out at the dinosaurs.

"Oh, I hate the other kind." she mutters. 

"The other kind of just... do what they do." My father says as he gets down from the branch and settles next to me in the web of branches. He wraps his arm around my shoulder as I lean against his side. Lex and Tim join on his other side where there is more room. My father hisses in pain before he starts digging something out of his pocket. 

"Ooh! What's that?" He pulls out the velociraptor claw we found earlier. I stare at it as I lean my head on my father's shoulder. It seems like so long ago we dug that up, but it was only a couple days. So much has changed.