The Dinosaur Four by Geoff Jones

around and looked back, face to face with the largest predator to ever walk the Earth.

[ 18 ]
    Al couldn’t stop smiling. They were safe. The tyrannosaur was only a few feet away, but it could not reach them. “Look at him!”
    The tyrannosaur stood in the clearing below, its face even with the edge of the cliff. It clawed at the rocky ground with its feet, but couldn’t get enough traction to move any closer. The seven-ton dinosaur sidestepped back and forth along the base of the cliff. It bobbed its head rhythmically as it moved.
    “ Take this!” Al picked up a stout branch and poked it in the creature’s face, trying to get at its eye. He laughed gleefully.
    “You’re pissing it off,” Callie warned. “Leave it alone.” She gripped her arms across her chest. Tears ran down her face.
    The tyrannosaur turned its head sideways and closed its jaws on the branch. Al released it a split second before being pulled forward. Callie yelped, but Al only laughed again.
    Morgan giggled and s lapped Al on the back. “Hah! Just look at that fucker!”
    Al nodded. The adrenaline rush from the chase through the woods had pumped him up. We can survive this , he realized. Their situation did not have to be a death sentence. The cliff itself showed promise. If they could find a cave or a tall rock formation, they could have permanent shelter.
    The tyrannosaur’s head looked bald, a pale, yellowish pink. The end of its muzzle was covered with mud. Downy grey-green fluff grew on its hide, starting at its thick neck and continuing across its body to the end of its tail. Its eyes were large black globes with no discernible pupils. Its nostrils flared as it breathed.
    The dinosaur snapped at the group again, scraping its chin on the edge of the cliff. Al noticed bits of pink flesh caught between its teeth and suddenly remembered. Beth . She had finally begun to take notice of him and now she was gone. Don’t be foolish , Al thought. Don’t be cocky either. It’s not like you’re going to hook up with more than one girl all of a sudden. Beth had always been cold to him back home, anyway. He knew he should focus on… “Lisa!” Al turned to look for her.
    Lisa sat trembling against a tree trunk, a few yards back from the drop-off. She pressed her fists tightly against her temples. “Oh my God, Lisa!” He ran to her and put his arms around her. She buried her face in his chest and wailed. Al held her tightly and said “I know, I know,” over and over again.
    William pulled Tim to his feet and held onto his hand for a moment. Tim broke free and wrappe d both arms around the tall man. “Thank you.”
    “Hey, you might’a made all the difference there, staying down at the bottom. If that thing had taken the uphill track, we’d still be running. Besides, I owed you one.”
    “It could still get up here, you know,” Callie pointed out. The tyrannosaur could simply walk back to the beginning of the cliff, make a u-turn, and come right up after them.
    “He’s not s mart enough to figure that out,” Morgan said. “Are you, you dumbass?”
    Hank pulled his phone from his pocket and took a picture. “Smile, you son of a bitch.” The tyrannosaur snarled at the flash.
    Al tried to pull Lisa to her feet, but she felt like dead weight. He leaned back to get a better look at her. The bottom of her foot was bright red. “Lisa’s hurt.”
    Callie and Hank came over. Callie’s face was still wet. “Christ, Lisa, I’m so sorry.” Lisa sobbed harder.
    Al held up Lisa’s foot so that Callie could get a look. Lisa had landed on a pointed rock or a branch or something during their run through the jungle. Blood oozed from a dime-sized hole in the center of her arch.
    The tyrannosaur dropped away and turned its head. Hank jumped up and fanned his arms wildly. “Oh no, you don’t.” The movement reignited the creature’s attention. It lurched back in their direction, scrambling against the base of the cliff with its massive feet.