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.‘I asked her if Gran could borrow it for a couple of days,’ he said.‘I told her Gran had broken hers.’‘You jammy -’‘Well, at least we’ve all got something now,’ Duke interrupted.‘We’d better get going.And this time we all go together.’‘Yeah, we should all stick together,’ Spike said.‘Be safer.’He continued pulling on his gloves, seeming not to notice the looks he received from Duke and Meatball.‘Yes…’Terri was starting to feel queasy again.As she helped pack the few things they thought they might need into rucksacks, she tried hard not to think about the things that might be waiting for them on the other side of the portal.‘I know what you mean,’ Doc agreed, as they found themselves walking once more down Thicketts Lane, ‘My legs are still wobbly from the last time.But I think it’s something we have to do.’The snowy fields loomed up ahead of them.‘If it’s any consolation,’ she added, ‘None of the dinosaurs I saw earlier were carnivores.’Terri’s heart sank.‘Oh yippee,’ she said.*Somehow, the fact that none of the dinosaurs were likely to eat her for dinner, didn’t make Terri feel any better, especially in the claustrophobic surroundings of the cave.There might be plenty of other dinosaurs about, she thought.Dinosaurs they hadn’t seen, dinosaurs that might just fancy Terri with a side salad.That was assuming Doc had identified them correctly.She felt something run down her back and prayed it was only sweat.In intense humidity and with normality, home, and fast food sixty-five million years away, she was starting to feel distinctly uneasy.Reaching down, she grabbed Ed’s collar and closed her fingers tightly around it, and then flanked by Spike and Ed, she walked out of the cave into a prehistoric world.Looking up, she shielded her eyes in the sudden brilliance of the daylight.In front of them, Meatball and Duke were studying the hills in vain for any sign of Cornelius Gullivan.Meatball had pulled a pair of ancient binoculars from his rucksack and was using them to scan the dips and curves in the distance.‘He’s probably long gone,’ he said.‘He could be anywhere.Wow! Look at the size of those! We never saw those last time.’He pointed to the far hills of the valley where large, lumbering creatures were visible in the distance, long willowy necks among the treetops.Doc’s eyes were wide with wonder.‘Apatasaurus?’‘I don’t care what they are,’ Terri muttered in reply, ‘as long as I’m not on the menu.’Doc looked at her.‘You’re all right,’ she said, with a hint of impatience.‘They’re herbivores.They won’t hurt you.’Terri glared back.‘Oh, you know that, do you?’In the sky above, a winged creature soared effortlessly through the air, casting a long black shadow across the ground.Terri took a sudden step backward.‘And I suppose that’s not going to hurt us either,’ she said, watching as it flew off into the distance.Wandering over to a thick stem, Ed sniffed it two or three times, then lifted his leg to water it.Meatball put down the binoculars.‘No sign of Gullivan,’ he said, ‘Which I suppose is good and bad really.Good, because hopefully we won’t find a shotgun in our faces; and bad, because we can’t follow him to see where he’s going and what he’s up to.’Spike scuffed at the soil with the toe of his shoe.‘Well, he’ll have to come back to the cave, or he can’t get home.Unless there’s another way.’‘I guess that’s a chance we’ll have to take,’ Duke said.‘Hopefully, we can get back through this cave again, whether he turns up or not.’ He took a deep breath to calm his nerves.‘Let’s have a look down there,’ Doc said, pointing ahead to where the plateau dipped down, sloping away into the lush, green valley.They each took a gulp of water and then with a last glance back at the cave, began to climb the mound.At the top, they stood for a moment, gazing down, watching for movement.It was now or never.Anything could be waiting, Gullivan could be waiting, but there was only one way to find out.At the front of the group, Duke attempted to swallow the fear in his throat, then, with another deep breath, he said, ‘Ready?’They nodded, and then together they started the slow trudge down the valley wall into the unknown.In the moist humidity of the valley, the ground changed from dry, dusty soil, dotted with patches of coarse grass, to thick, green shrubs and vegetation.The warm breeze was gentler, almost caressing their skin and heavy with the intoxicating scent of tropical flowers.Around them, insects hummed and buzzed.Terri jumped as something whizzed past her ear.‘What was that?’‘It’s a dragonfly,’ Doc breathed, still gazing after it in wonder, ‘Look at it.It’s beautiful -’Walking steadily on, the ground became soft, thickly coated with leaves and springy plants.More horsetails came into view; their long curled heads pushing upwards like luxurious bottlebrushes; broad cycad fronds burst from ridged, hairy trunks, splaying outwards as they reached for the sun.Huge, corrugated, glossy leaves paddled against one another as they pushed their way through.Thick, stout tree trunks with bark that curled and split into sections created small reservoirs of water that teemed with life.Above them, large, brilliantly coloured blooms nestled in the crooks of the branches, dripping nectar, their long fibrous roots dangling toward the earth.From the corner of her eye, Doc watched the fleshy leaves of a clinging plant close firmly, trapping its prey within.So many things she couldn’t identify, if only she could study them.She began to pick pieces off for research wherever she could, tucking them neatly into her pockets.Slowly, they plodded on, walking tightly against the incline as the valley opened out before them.The air seemed thicker here, muggy and close.A fine mist dampened their skin and hair, and despite the heat and the sweat, their clothes had the chill of feeling damp.The slight breeze that had ruffled their hair at the top of the hill lessened as they descended, then died completely.They were deep into the valley basin, where the leaves dripped water, and the air was alive with insects, when Ed suddenly stiffened and emitted a low growl.Spike turned to look at him.‘Ed?’Ed was staring at a wall of dense foliage, baring his teeth, the growl rumbling in his throat.‘Ed? What is it, boy?’Ed didn’t respond.Motionless, his long nose fixed on the spot, sniffing hard.Spike moved slowly to his side, and then slid a hand into the bag on his back and pulled out the axe.‘What is it? You smell something?’A slight rustle in the bushes quickly became a smacking sound.Through a sudden break in the leaves, something burst out, scampered frantically past on tiny legs and disappeared into the vegetation behind.Whipping around, Ed lunged, his teeth crashing together with a loud snap, only centimetres away [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]