Forest Secrets by David Laing Page B

realised. There were still shrieks and cries coming from the cliff tops. Some of the other dinosaurs had not made it to safety. And in his path, as if emphasising the point, he saw the first of the bodies – two muttaburrasauruses that he thought he recognised. Pulling to a halt and throwing back his head high into the air, he roared. He felt something – maybe guilt – he was running to safety whilst around him his world was collapsing, being destroyed. He looked around. There were other bodies – more dinosaurs from the cliffs and many pterosaurs from the sky. Angry now, he thundered on, his mind scrambled, his feet pounding and echoing through the narrow gorge.
    Boom –Boom – Boom –Boom.
    His safe place was waiting.

Chapter 19
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    T he sun had nearly disappeared when I woke up with Shadow licking my face and a sliver of grass tickling my nose. I’d been asleep on the grass next to the creek. Snook was there too, lying next to me, still sleeping. I sat up and shook my head. Dinosaurs, in particular a very big one, were rattling around in there, and they looked like they were running for their lives, but I didn’t know why. Then I smelled something. Smoke. Coming from the other side of the river. Shaking Snook awake, I yelled in his ear, ‘Wake up, Snook! There’s a fire and it’s coming from Blowhard’s camp!’
    â€˜What? What’s goin’ on?’ Snook mumbled, sitting up. ‘How come we’re lyin’ here? Did we go out to it again, or what?’
    â€˜Yes,’ I said quickly, more concerned with the fire than explanations about what we’d seen. ‘It happened again, I managed to blurt out – the kid and the dinosaurs paid us a visit. But didn’t you hear me? There’s a fire! Blowhard’s in trouble!’
    â€˜All I can see are a couple of swans and some ducks,’ Quenton said to Gloria as they propped their bikes up against one of the willow trees that grew down to the water’s edge at the far end of the lagoon. ‘This spot doesn’t look much good after all.’
    Gloria looked at her watch – a quarter to five. ‘I think we might as well head back,’ she said. ‘The sun’ll be setting soon. We don’t want to be too late getting home.’
    â€˜We might as well, I suppose,’ Quenton said, walking over to his bicycle. ‘I can tell you don’t want to be here with me anyway.’
    â€˜How do you mean?’ Gloria asked, following him.
    â€˜You still like Snook. You only came with me on this photo competition thing to make him jealous. Admit it. It’s true, isn’t it? I saw the way you were looking at him back there at the camp.’ He bent over and picked up his bicycle. He threw a leg over the crossbar and waited for a reply.
    â€˜You seem to have read my mind,’ Gloria said, ‘so I might as well tell you everything I know, which isn’t that much. The truth is, I don’t know what’s going on. Snook doesn’t seem to want to have anything to do with me. He snubbed me all day yesterday and today he wasn’t much better, and I don’t know why. All I know is that he’s had some sort of funny turn that’s made him the way he is and I don’t know what to do about it. So I guess I came with you because … because I wanted to find a way … to fix everything. Sorry it’s worked out like this, Quenton. I didn’t mean to hurt you.’
    â€˜Yeah, okay, whatever,’ he said as he started to move off. ‘But maybe you’ll change your mind when I do win the photo competition … and the dinner for two at the Realty Restaurant.’
    But Gloria wasn’t listening. She was watching the billowing grey smoke that was coming from the direction of Blowhard’s camp.
    With Shadow leading the way and with Snook following, we ran up the bank and over the bridge towards Blowhard’s