The Ark Plan by Laura Martín Page B

dinosaur takeover. I smiled at a family of chipmunks that watched us with interest. They were so much cuter than I’d ever imagined. When I’d read about them in class, I’d pictured smaller versions of the rodents that sometimes got intothe compound supplies. But these were nothing like the scrawny rats and mice that lurked under supply crates and hissed when cornered. These were little balls of furry energy with their black button eyes and twitching whiskers. I wondered what other animals my science class had failed to do justice to. The thought worried me. To my surprise, the chipmunks didn’t run at the sight of us. They’d forgotten that humans were predators. We probably looked like kittens compared with the giant scaly guys stomping around these days. I thought about the pictures I’d seen of deer. Those gentle souls had gone extinct shortly after humans went underground.
    Three hours later, the sun was high overhead, and we were still alive. I was kind of shocked. We’d lived our whole lives underground, convinced that the topside world was an instant death sentence, but we hadn’t died yet. We were walking in silence, aware that noise could alert predators, when Shawn’s voice made me jump.
    â€œRemind me again why you thought topside was better than the compound?” he asked, slapping at one of the mosquitoes that had plagued us for the last hour or so.
    â€œIt’s beautiful,” I said defensively. “You just aren’t used to it.”
    â€œYou aren’t either. Your face is bright red. I think it’s sunburn.” He pressed a finger experimentally against my nose, and I flinched. “I always thought that was just a myth.”
    â€œI never thought about sunburn,” I admitted.
    â€œHow dare you not think of everything,” Shawn said. And even though I knew he was joking, I suddenly and stupidly felt like crying. Shawn noticed and threw a companionable arm across my shoulders and squeezed. “It’s a little different than the compound, isn’t it?”
    â€œThat’s the understatement of the century,” I agreed.
    â€œWould it have made you feel better if I’d said I told you so?”
    â€œNo,” I said, jabbing him in the ribs with my elbow.
    He grinned. “Let’s take a break and eat something before we pass out.”
    I nodded gratefully, and we plopped down next to a large tree.
    â€œI didn’t grab enough for two people,” I apologized as I dug through my bag. “So we’ll have to make do and keep our eyes peeled for anything edible.”
    â€œIt doesn’t look like you brought enough for one.” Shawn eyeballed my meager stash of stolen supplies. “Here.” He offered me a muffin from his own bag. My stomach snarled greedily as I took it. I pulled off apiece and popped it in my mouth. It was gritty and bland, but it tasted divine. Shawn pulled out a muffin for himself and dug in. Apparently, he’d managed to get more food than I had. Suddenly he sprang to his feet and pulled his gun as he focused on something behind me. I whirled to see a pair of black eyes peering at us from under the gloom of a pine bough.
    â€œCan’t be that big,” he breathed. “It would never be able to come in this far.” The eyes blinked, and then slowly a tiny dinosaur emerged into a slant of sunlight. It stood just under two feet tall and perched on its well-muscled back legs. It had a head like a triceratops, but its two front legs were short and carried in front of it like a T. rex. It cocked its head to the side and sat back on its haunches.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with it?” Shawn asked. “All the other dinosaurs this size avoided us.”
    â€œMaybe it’s just friendly?” I shrugged as I crouched down to get a better look at the tiny creature. “I think it’s a microceratus. I read about them. They are supposed to be really