Crucible of a Species (31 page)

“Estes and Simpson, follow the top of the berm. No need to be quiet, keep an eye ahead and into the jungle but stay up with us.”

The marines walked the trail that stayed within the brush-cleared kill-zone of the berm. The jungle ahead echoed with shrieks, calls and low rumbles sounding like a hundred bears and eagles engaged in a catfight that shook the ground as they approached.

“We can see them, Corporal.” Estes called from on the berm. Screams filling the jungle forced him to shout. “There’s a big tussle ahead. Looks confined to one spot, are you sure you wanna do this? I’ve never seen or heard anything like it. As big as those tyrannosaurs are, those damn things can jump and they’re as fast as a big cat.”

Corporal Tyree ran up the side -- Estes didn’t have to point, two hundred yards ahead was a scene from hell. The titans had flattened the berm in their struggle and in that area over a dozen large tyrannosaurs were mixing it up. It was tyrannosaur verses tyrannosaur, equally matched and moving faster than any of the marines would have expected. Three lay dead on the outside of the berm and at least one had made it through before dying on the human’s side. The automated defenses managed to confine the struggle to the relatively narrow area between the functional segments of the berm but inside it now boiled a new form of hell.

Tyree watched the battle in fascination and awe. Thirty-foot tyrannosaurs lunged for the throat of their opponent or, failing that, the back of the neck where they could snap its spine. Most of the attacks only managed to bite into a tail, one of the predator’s small arms or a leg but even then, the results were spectacular.

Having hold of a tail or leg, the four-ton predators pulled their adversary off balance like a jiu-jitsu martial fighter. Then, rolling onto their back or side, they thrashed out with huge, muscular hind legs attempting to rip the soft underbelly or throat with the eight-inch claws of each foot.

New arrivals hopped excitedly around the edges of the combatants looking for an opportunity. Finding an opening, they attacked by jumping high into the air, hoping to knock their opponent off balance with the first strike. Around the entire melee circled smaller scavengers, predators in their own right, like a pack of wolves circling the sheep.

“Oh shit, you’re right.” Tyree commented in awe, “I don’t think they’re even gonna notice us. Okay, Let’s use that to our advantage.”

Shouting above the noise, he turned to the waiting marines, “We’re advancing in the open until we get up to where the dozers pushed that pile of trees to the side. You two stay up here, keep up with us and keep your eyes open. Same operation as before, as we advance, your job is to watch and tell us if anything changes up ahead.

“When we get closer we’re going to move into the jungle and use it as cover. We’ll setup a defensive line covering the breach and block movement into camp. You two stay on the berm but get as close as you can. Don’t bother trying to make something that will protect you, it won’t do any good. Just get something that hides you from sight.

“When you get there, wait for my signal. Do not fire on those dinosaurs in the breach; just let them slug it out. Once we start firing, your job is to prevent anything that might try an end-run behind us. Anything, big or small, passing onto the peninsula is fair game but don’t expose yourself when you fire. Watch and I’ll signal when we can begin pushing them back onto the mainland.

“After we push them off the berm, we’ll move up into a second defense across it and hold. Then it’s just a matter of waiting for help. Remember, we aren’t up here hunting. Do not chase after anything that gets by you but do watch your backs. Our objective is to push them back, hold the line and repair the AutoSentinels.

“Give me a few minutes to organize the others,” the corporal shouted as he slid down to the rest of the platoon.

The first fifty yards of their advance went without incident until a pack of black-feathered troodon with yellow plumes broke through the breach and turned their way. Each of these small raptors were six to nine feet long from tail-tip to nose and they were coming fast. Simpson shouted down to the team and they froze in position. The pack had escaped the larger predators and now had nothing but the open kill zone of the berm ahead of them.

The marines let the raptors advance down the clearing until they were fifty yards off and then opened fire. It was over in seconds. The corporal stood up to get a better view, all but two were down but before he could bring up his rifle, two shots exploded from on the top of the berm. Estes signaled all was clear.

They passed a pile of dead trees pushed up by the bulldozers. Tyree directed them into the heavy brush and began stationing fire teams every twenty yards at the edge of the cleared area. “Hit only the individuals that head for your position. If a group breaks out then wait until you get a clear shot. Don’t all fire at the front runners, pick your targets and don’t clump your shots.”

Tyree was still forming his line when the marines began firing, three of the big Daspletosaurus tyrannosaurs were heading their way.

The tyrant lizards soared across the clearing, moving low and fast. Their attention was still on the berm when the marines opened up. The front tyrannosaurus dropped to the ground as though cold-cocked with a mallet, the other two leaped reflexively into the air. They rolled when they landed, instinctively switching direction. They had no idea what hit them and they didn’t get much further. The marines fired their second fusillade quickly dropping the last two.

Firing ceased and they noticed the tone of the fighting on the berm had changed. One-by-one, the tyrannosaurs pulled back and began smelling the air. Suddenly, six of the monsters broke off, heading onto the plateau on a path that would take them directly through the hiding soldiers, the others hesitated and then followed. Snaps and snarls broke out along the edges of the group but their hearts were no longer in the fight. At their edges followed the smaller, deadly scavengers.

Privates Dan Difer and Juan deCarlos’ positions were to the right side of the line’s center, they were the focus of the charge. Dan took aim on the nearest tyrannosaur and waited. He felt the approaching monster stare into his soul. The spectral enhanced sights of his Pulsar provided a clear, target-tracked image of the twenty-foot tall predator.
Perhaps a bit too clear.
Daniel thought as he watched saliva, tinged with blood, dripping from its mouth. The predator’s nostrils expanded and closed with each breath as it accelerated. Daniel took a breath and squeezed the trigger. A spread of three hypersonic projectiles left his Pulsar striking the tyrannosaur just below the jaw. They passed through the soft tissue, turning the monster’s throat and spine into jelly before exiting.

The dead, thirty-foot long predator ran on reaction and adrenalin for two more steps before collapsing, driving headfirst into the loose earth of the cleared area. Momentum carried its body forward, digging a shallow furrow into the ground directly towards the marine. Dan jumped to the side, slamming right into Juan. The projectiles from Juan’s ruined burst hit the second tyrannosaur in the less critical area of the chest where they tumbled through its soft insides before shattering against its back rib cage. The force of the blow spun the smaller tyrannosaur but its body tumbled on, sliding into the bushes. Nearly two tons of nerve-driven, churning meat struck the marines throwing Dan onto the shoulder of his fallen tyrannosaur and crushing Juan as the thrashing body slid over him.

Dan was stunned. The predator, now thrashing in its death throes, slashed a small forearm out in reflex, catching the private as he tumbled, crushing him against the dead animal lying next to it.

The marines to either side of their position fired on full automatic. Rounds cut into the charging animals like hypervelocity buzz saws. The tyrannosaurs in front fell, tripping those behind. The charge collapsed under the concentrated fire of the marines except for three who managed to leap completely over their fallen comrades and the humans. This trio of death escaped the trap to disappear into the jungle of the plateau.

Smaller scavengers, mostly seven-foot long troodons, had been following behind the charge. They had no idea what had just happened to the fearsome tyrannosaurs but the world for them had changed. The smell of death saturated the air. Strange, new odors from the humans also rode the breeze. They scattered in fear and confusion to the right and left of the pile of dead meat. Estes and Simpson, still on top of the berm, took out all of those passing below and managed to get an additional three or four scavengers heading across the opposite side of the breach.

Tyree walked out into the clearing and motioned them forward, carefully avoiding the deadly tangle of dead and dying predators as the squad advanced toward the damaged section of the berm. Soft, newly churned ground within the breach was only half the height of the original whose walls now formed a low slope on each side. Large boulders lay scattered around the area.

“Hsu, go and see if you can do anything for deCarlos and Difer. Saren, I want a fire team here in the center of the breach. Set up over there, near the plateau side of what’s left of this raised area so you aren’t too close to the mainland.

“The rest of you head up to the top of the berm. Choose your sites carefully and make sure someone is watching behind you.

“Estes, see if you can figure out what went wrong with the AutoSentinels.”

“I don’t know if this means anything Corporal,” Private Don Bush commented as he held out a box for Tyree. “I tripped over it. Looks like a nanobot injector case to me but I’m not about to open the damn thing.”

“Good job, Bush. Hand it over.”

“The thing is kinda out of place here, isn’t it. This is ship’s stuff or for lab projects. Do you think maybe this is why the towers went down, Corporal?”

“What would one be doing …. Ah wait, you’re not suggesting someone did it on purpose, are you?”

“I didn’t say anything. Just wondering, that’s all.” Bush replied.

“Good enough, Bush. Come on, get up on top with the others and take a position. I’m expecting more trouble any minute.”

As if on cue, heavy movement filled the mainland jungle. Tyree shouted for his men to stand up, “Get up! Let’em see you. They need to know they can’t come through.” The humans were done fighting from under cover. Tyree wanted to make sure the charging dinosaurs knew that the path through the berm was no longer open.

Three young tyrannosaurs shot out of the jungle at a speed that made the adults look slow and cumbersome. Two immediately fell to the nearest AutoSentinel but the marines had been taken by surprise and it took a half dozen shots before they brought down the third.

A pack of smaller tyrannosaurs, twenty-five foot long gorgosaurs, followed along the edge of the treeline behind the youngsters. The marines opened fire.

There was no room for the gorgosaurs to maneuver unless they pulled back to the mainland and so they died, caught between the deadly fire of the AutoSentinels and this new menace.

One-by-one, firing from the marines suddenly stopped as they stood in awe; not a single shout rose from their lips. No one had seen or heard it arrive but at the edge of the jungle stood the largest tyrannosaur any had ever seen. It wasn’t moving as it stared at them for a few moments. Then its head flicked slightly to the side and two more tyrannosaurs appeared. Slowly they stepped out into the cleared fire-zone of the berm.

“Hold your fire.” Tyree shouted, “Let’s see what they do?”

“What the hell? They’re dinosaurs Tyree. What do you expect …”

The two tyrannosaurs turned and slowly walked off onto the mainland jungle. The big one hesitated before also disappearing into the dense foliage. Soon, the sounds of the jungle returned.

“Well, dunk my head and call me Willey,” Sara Hsu exclaimed from over at the AutoSentinel tower. “You were right, Estes. They ain’t so dumb. They know when they’re beat.”

Hsu stood up and called over to the Corporal, “Couldn’t see anything wrong with the other tower but this one’s got a hole in its base that shouldn’t be there.”

“A nice round hole about the size a NanoBot Injector would produce?”

“Yeah, that’s right Corporal. How’d you know?”

“Okay, get back over with the others,” Tyree said as he squinted at the sun. It was nearing noon. “Day’s only just started and we’ve gotta hold here and keep it plugged. I’m gonna need two volunteers to head back to the Argos and make sure help is coming. Bush and Hsu, you just volunteered. Need I tell you to be careful?”

“All right, you guys listen up. We’re on our own and I don’t know how long we’re going to have to hold on. I expect our problems are gonna come from the mainland. Keep your eyes and ears open. Remember, not every threat’s gonna be a thirty-foot long behemoth. The little ones are even faster and more sneaky, so watch the tree line and keep alert. You’ve been feeding them so you all know how good they are blending into the background.

“The day’s only starting and it’s getting hot.”

Corporal Tyree walked over to the second downed AutoSentinel. He brushed some of the dirt away from its side and slid his hand under the frame.
Yep, there’s the hole. Hsu should have thought of this and looked under the tower. Just can’t really trust her reports.

Now what do we do? What would the sarge be doin’ right now?

Tyree scanned the trees of the mainland as he heard a light rustle of leaves and branches. He strained his eyes for a few moments and then saw the slightest of movement and recognized it. The big tyrannosaur was standing there just watching them.