Dinosaur Armageddon Vol. 1: Vengeful Promise

Chapter 13

The silence that followed was a mixture of shock and terror. I saw the expressions on everyone's faces. Hailey was obviously scared; there was no hiding it as she shifted her legs nervously. Vincent frowned, his brows knitting behind his glasses and resting his head on his knuckles. Walter looked down, a finger under his chin, as if in thought.

This is real trouble, I thought. If there's a Coelophysis nest nearby, they will run us down without us having a chance to fight back. We don't know where they are or how many there is. If we don't figure out something and soon, we'll be killed.

Do we run? Or do we fight?

"So," Hailey said, after a while, "what do we do?"

Walter lowered his hand from his chin. "Well, I think the best option we have is to leave the cabin before those things find us."

"No!" Hailey immediately cried out. I saw the panicked and upset expression on her face. "No way! This cabin is our home. It's the only safe place for miles. We can't just abandon this place. I refuse to leave. This cabin is the only thing I have left of my parents. My family and I would come here every summer and winter to get away from the city.

"I refuse to leave here without a fight!" she concluded powerfully.

I looked at Hailey closely. I have never seen her so stubborn or so fierce about anything before. Normally, she is calm, gentle, and patient. This was not like her. And yet I admired this side of her. She looked like she was ready to defend this place, even if it cost her life in the end.

Maybe we all should feel the same way, I thought.

"I understand how you feel," Walter said. "But we all have lost things that were precious to us."

"I don't care about that!" Hailey cried. "I won't abandon my home!"

"Listen to me--"

"No! You listen to me--!"

"ENOUGH!" I shouted. At that moment, the two stopped their arguing. They all looked at me; it was clear I had their attention. I cleared my throat.

"I have to agree with Hailey," I said. "This cabin is the safest place around. I don't think it would be wise to leave here, unless we want to take our chances out in the open and risk being attacked by something that's worse than the Coelophysis." I gestured to Walt and Vinny. "You two should know that already, seeing that I had to save your asses from the Torvosaurus. Plus, a few weeks back, Hailey helped me survive an attack from a rogue Allosaurus."

"Fair point," Walt said. "Not to mention the fact that me and Walt spotted a Tyrannosaurus rex some ways to the North. And judging by the collection of scars all over it, I'd say it's seen a lot of combat"

I felt everything in my body stop for a brief moment. My mind slowed, but my pulse quickened. I looked down at my legs.

A battle scarred T. rex? I thought. I felt a deep and burning rage boil in my blood. Flash backs played in my head; the burning trees, Claire's severed head, a huge Tyrannosaurus looming over me, blood splattered on its lipless mouth.

It's Akuma. There can be no doubt about it. It has to be Akuma. That sack of cocks! What's he doing here? Why is he here? Where is he now? That bastard! I'm going to fill him with lead!

"Uh, Tobias?" Hailey said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Are you okay? You look pissed."

I then became aware that my fists was tightly clenched, my nails biting my palms, a vein bulged; I relaxed my hands. I silently took a deep breath and then let it out. I couldn't let my thoughts of getting an eye for an eye cloud my judgment. I also had to keep it from showing.