Volume 7: Copal
Issue 11: Plunder
Florian Reyes Honeywell
By Roach
Camilo opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again—hesitating as he watched me. Meanwhile, Hannah clenched her fist around her handmade spear. She raised it somewhat shakily, as if unsure what to point it at. Walking lightly, she then started moving around the pasta bar. She exchanged a look with Camilo, who followed after her.
I took stock of my surroundings. The rest of our group were still at the other side of the food court. Amber searched through the cupboards behind the café counter. I glimpsed the small, downy dinosaur at her side. It looked around itself, appearing alert. Jay, Lucy, and Daniel rummaged through the McDonald’s, undoubtedly looking for any food that might have survived the power outage. Although I couldn’t see them, I heard Daniel’s booming laughter from inside—completely unaware that there was something very wrong about this place.
Lastly, there was the dead man. Unsurprisingly, he remained still by the merry-go-round.
I couldn’t really tell past all of his wounds, but there was something vaguely familiar about him. Another guest, I suspected—maybe from the press conference? At least, the shredded remains of his suit implied so.
A shudder ran through the swarm as I tore my gaze away from his exposed guts. His blood and flesh contrasted the colorful, popping colors of the merry-go-round—casting its shadow over his body.
As I waited for Camilo and Hannah to make their way over, I found myself studying the carousel. Although unmoving now, each ride was surprisingly life-like in appearance. The glossy, almost porcelain-like paint encompassed every detail; from a Triceratops’ crown, the spiny armor of an Ankylosaurus, to a raptor’s downy feathers…
I was about to glance back at Camilo and Hannah; it occurred to me that I should warn them about what they were about to witness. But, just then, one of the dinosaur rides blinked at me.
The raptor.
I stood paralyzed, trying to decide whether or not I had really seen what I thought I saw. But, at a second glance, it all hit me.
The glint of its eyes, the bristle of its brown feathers, a hint of curved fangs…
And, its yellow gaze, now locking onto me.
None of it was painted.
Without hesitation, I spun on my heel, toward Hannah and Camilo. They had departed Pterolini, and were only a few yards away from me. “Run!” I shouted.
I glanced back, catching a glimpse of the Dakotaraptor as it hurled itself toward me. It was terrifyingly silent—a far cry from when I’d last seen the raptors, overcome with an uncontrollable rage. Somehow, I was able to recognize it this time. It was the smallest of the trio, with a blotched brown plumage and a black streak running down its throat.
If one of them were here, no doubt its companions were nearby.
I didn’t wait to start running, while Camilo and Hannah stared wide-eyed at me. Camilo stood paralyzed, processing the events unfolding before him. But the moment only lasted a split second before he snapped out of it, and turned to run.
Hannah, on the other hand, raised her spear further. The sharpened tip swayed before settling into position, pointing somewhere behind me—undoubtedly where the raptor gave chase. Then, bringing her entire upper body into the motion, she sent the spear flying.
It hurtled above me. An instant later, the raptor let out a horrible screech. I glanced back, just in time to see the spear clatter to the ground. And, to my surprise, blood now welled in the raptor’s left eye—like red tears. It looked like she had hit its eye, albeit a glancing blow. Now, the raptor had halted. It threw its head back and forth, shrieking wildly.
I didn’t know if it was a lucky hit or if Hannah’s badminton practice had led to some freakish kind of throwing accuracy, but I didn’t have time to question it. While the raptor hesitated, taken aback by our resistance, our feet pounded against the tiled flooring. Camilo and Hannah breathed hard next to me as we ran back the way we came.
I surveyed the food court. The ruckus had been enough to draw Amber’s attention, who gaped at us from across the room. She scooped the tiny dinosaur back into her arms, spinning toward the exit.
Amber—who had the lead on us—shouted as she passed by the McDonald’s. “Get out. Now!” While I didn’t hear Daniel or the others anymore, I could only guess that they were still inside. Maybe they had decided to hide? Unless, they hadn’t noticed anything at all, and were still searching for food in the back… Hopefully, they would heed Amber’s warning.
Within moments, we had almost reached the McDonald’s as well. Hannah ran a few paces ahead of Camilo and I. As we closed the distance, I readied myself to peer inside—maybe I could see the others there.
As I ran past the Tricerechef—which sported a Triceratops mascot wearing a chef’s hat as its logo—I felt something stir in the air around me. I barely had time to register the ripple of unease washing through the swarm before I saw it.
A shadow prompted me to tilt back my head. Then, from the Tricerachef rooftop leaped a flurry of brown and white feathers.
The raptor hit me before I could react. With a grunt, I collapsed to the ground. Next to me, Camilo shuffled back as he let out a surprised shriek. And, although I couldn’t see her, I heard Hannah’s rush of footsteps come to an abrupt halt ahead of us.
I didn’t try to look for her, my attention instead consumed by the Dakotaraptor on top of me. I recognized it as the largest of the trio, with white plumage covering its head. Now, its talons pressed down on my shoulders, pinning me to the ground. As they dug into my skin, a wave of alarm pheromones clouded the swarm. I squirmed underneath its weight, unable to move.
It lowered its head toward my face. A low snarl rumbled from its throat, its reeking breath sinking into my nostrils. Up close, I could see stains of blood among the white feathers around its mouth. My mind flashed back to the dead body by the carousel.
But there was another way out of this. With a grim sense of recognition, I realized that I had been in this situation before. The monster in the theater had similarly hunted me down…
Back then, wielding the swarm and Camilo’s illusions, we had been able to get out of it.
I instinctively reached for the swarm—my last resort. To my surprise, I also sensed some of the scouts I had sent out in the morning; a handful of bees spread throughout different corners of the Expedition Center. But, they were too far and few to aid me now.
As the raptor’s bright yellow stare locked onto me, a buzz started to build within me. I clenched my teeth together as bees welled up in my throat. Whatever the raptor tried to do next, it was going to sting. That much I would make sure of.
But, even as the bees’ agitation ran through my body like a light vibration, a part of me still restrained them. The last thing I wanted to do was expose myself to the others. Not like this. After all, what would they think of me?
That only a monster could go up against another monster?
While the thought paralyzed me, the Dakotaraptor lifted its claw off my shoulder—that large, sickle-shaped claw on its toe. Instead, it now pointed its sharp tip to my neck. It was huge, more than a foot long, and I had no doubt it could split me in a second. Frozen—only a moment in between certain demise and unleashing my counterattack—I stared back at it, its low growl matched by the bees’ thrum.
Only seconds had passed in between the raptor launching itself from the restaurant and pinning me to the ground. Now, just as its sickle-shaped claw descended toward my neck, pounding footsteps interrupted my focus on the swarm.
To my right, Daniel shouted, “I got you, bro!”
Within an instant, he barreled into the raptor in a full-blown football tackle. The two went sprawling as he knocked it off me.
I scrambled to my feet. Camilo and Hannah appeared at my side, quickly pulling me away from the raptor. Meanwhile, Daniel had wound on top of it—somehow managing to wrestle the dinosaur to the ground.
“Don’t worry guy—” he started, but—in a flash of feathers—the Dakotaraptor flipped him over. Whatever inconceivable strength Daniel had drawn on wasn’t going to last. As it towered over him, the raptor didn’t hesitate. It lashed out against him, wielding its sickle-claw. Daniel struggled helplessly underfoot, wrenching his body away from the beast’s strike.
Too little, too late.
The claw missed Daniel’s neck—instead ripping through his left shoulder. A gash formed underneath it, releasing a gush of blood. Daniel let out a terrible scream, joined by the shrieks of my classmates; from somewhere behind me, I registered the voices of Amber, Lucy, and Jay. They must have come out from the McDonald’s just moments before, emerging as the raptor had been pinning me down. Now, the dinosaur silently opened its mouth, and—as Daniel weakly struggled underneath it—moved to bite his throat.
But, before the Dakotaraptor could make its attack, Camilo made a move. Hannah and I stared in shock as he left our side, screaming and charging toward Daniel and the raptor. The dinosaur didn’t even seem to notice him—perhaps too absorbed by its prey, or could Camilo have used an illusion for cover?
Nevertheless, it was left with little choice but to notice him as Camilo’s spear pierced its flank with a sickening squelch. The Dakotaraptor let out an ear-piercing screech as it jumped back from Camilo. It easily leaped ten feet, taking the spear—still embedded in its side—with it.
The raptor’s cries filled the air as it nipped and snapped at the spear. Simultaneously, Camilo tried to lift Daniel onto his feet. But the bulky football player only stumbled a few steps alongside him before collapsing to the ground.
“Protect him!” Hannah shouted, rushing forward between Camilo and the raptor. She scooped up Daniel’s discarded spear in the process.“Make us a porcupine!” she continued. “Porcupine, porcupine, porcupine!”
At first, I was bewildered by what she was trying to say. Then it struck me. I shouldered up next to her, raising my own spear toward the raptor—waggling it in the air. Quickly, Amber, Lucy, and Jay joined us. Together, we created a semicircle around Camilo and Daniel, effectively turning us into a porcupine with our spears.
The raptor finally ripped the spear out of its flank. The stick clattered against the floor while the white-headed Dakotaraptor shrieked at us.
Moments later, the first Dakotaraptor—the smaller, brown one—joined it. Although blood still dripped from its eye, its pacing around us wasn’t any less menacing. The two raptors chirped a few soft notes at each other, then lapsed into silence as they stalked in opposite directions around us.
“There’s only two.” I didn’t realize that I had spoken the thought aloud until I said it. “Where’s the third?” I finished, casting my gaze wildly around—trying not to lose sight of the raptors circling around us while also searching for the third. In all our encounters with these dinosaurs, there had always been three.
Where was it?
It suddenly dawned on me that I didn’t have to limit myself to looking around. I could have a bird’s eye view. Remembering my scouts that were scattered about, I reached out with my pheromones.
Find predator, I ordered.
“We need to get out of here,” Hannah said. She motioned toward the exit. “First chance we get, we head that way and see if we can close the doors. Lock them inside.”
Just as she finished speaking, I detected a nearby scout. Here, she said. I sensed her presence ahead of us—her pheromones pinpointing her location to the doorway leading back into the lobby.
Hannah started toward it, waving her spear at the closest raptor—prompting it to back off slightly.
“No!” I shouted—not realizing that I had said it just a little too quickly until Hannah shot me a desperate look. I searched my mind for a better explanation than my bee says there’s a dinosaur waiting in ambush.
Focusing my attention on the bees again, I shut my eyes. My scouts—about half a dozen, scattered about the Expedition Center—emitted faint pheromone signals throughout the building.
Alternate route? I asked them.
Somewhere behind us, one of the signals grew stronger. I opened my eyes again, looking in the direction of my scout. That’s when I saw it—a hallway, just past the Dinorama and Burger-Rex. A few symbols hung above it—toilets and, most prominently, a large gift box.
“That way.” I nodded toward it. “It’s closer,” I said, hoping it was enough of an explanation.
Hannah bit her lip, then nodded.
I turned my attention back to the raptors, now pacing further and further away from each other. As we started backtracking, the duo kept outside of the spear’s range—seemingly having learned to fear it. But, as their distance between each other grew, what they were trying to do dawned on me. If they could get to us from opposite directions, we wouldn’t have enough spears to defend against both of them.
At this realization, I started moving faster. Camilo grunted in exertion, dragging Daniel along. The football player left behind a slick trail of blood behind himself.
“Come on, come on!” Hannah muttered, desperation edging into her voice as the raptors slowly gained on us.
Camilo took the lead as we entered the hallway. The rest of us formed a line behind him and Daniel, backing up to keep our spears facing toward the raptors—which slowly stalked after us.
Then, abruptly, they stopped. The two hunters shrieked—as if surprised, simultaneously leaping backwards. I looked toward them, searching for the source of their panic, but saw nothing. It was like an invisible wall only they could see had dropped in front of them…
“What the hell…” Hannah muttered while I looked back at Camilo.
He locked eyes with me, simply nodding before returning his attention to Daniel. He continued to drag the football player down the hallway, whose breathing grew weaker and more ragged.
“Whatever,” Hannah finally said, backing away from the bewildered raptors. “Let’s get out of here.”
Camilo nodded down the hall, at a gift shop. “Let’s go in there,” he muttered. “I don’t think Daniel can keep going much longer.”
“No guys…” Daniel gasped for air, before finishing, “We can make it.”
Ignoring him, we retreated into the gift shop. As soon as we had scrambled inside, Camilo let go of Daniel. He sprawled onto the ground, still oozing blood.
I hesitated by the entrance, watching over the hallway. At the end of it, the two raptors stood where we had left them—appearing to study Camilo’s illusion. The white-headed one reached out a tentative talon, as if trying to touch something. Just then, it blinked in realization—before bursting into the hallway. The other followed at its heels.
While Camilo’s illusion had bought us some time, it wasn’t enough.
“Move it,” Jay muttered. They stood by the entrance, while I backed into the shop. Once I had moved out of the way, they hit what at first glance appeared to be a light switch. But, with the power being off, nothing happened.
“Fuck,” Jay muttered.
“What were you expecting?” I said.
“The shutter,” they said, glancing up. “We’ll have to pull it down.”
While Camilo, Amber, and Hannah had gathered around Daniel, I helped Jay and Lucy shove a nearby display table toward the entrance. I used my arm to sweep off a collection of dinosaur plushies and shirts, sending them to the floor. Collectively, the three of us climbed the table and reached for the security shutter. Obviously, I had seen these shutters slowly roll down whenever a mall reached its closing hour. But Jay’s familiarity with the switch almost made me wonder if they worked at a store of some kind.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Not that it mattered right now. The raptors had long since bypassed Camilo’s illusion. I glanced back the way we had come from. Light flooded from the food court down the hallway, interrupted by the shadows of the Dakotaraptors.
There were not two silhouettes, but three.
The third had finally rejoined the others.
We were just barely able to reach the very bottom of the shutter. I felt my fingers slip through one of its gridded holes—something I was sure I had been tempted to do many times as a kid at a mall. As I started to pull at the shutter, its resistance took me aback. Even with the help of Lucy and Jay, I strained to make it budge.
But it came undone. With heavy creaking and a violent rattle, the security shutter unraveled—finally hitting the ground.
I jumped down from the table, backing off. For a moment, I stared blankly at the shutter with what I could only describe as a numb relief.
The moment was short-lived. The shutter trembled as a force pushed against it. Lucy let out a shriek while Jay flinched, both of them backing away now. A yellow eye peered through one of the holes—the white-headed raptor pressing itself up against the gate.
A second raptor slammed its body against it, prompting another rattle.
But it held.
I turned back to the others. The shutter had cut off most of the sunlight from the hallway, leaving the gift shop dimly lit. Amber had slumped down to the floor, while the baby dinosaur rested its head on her lap. The tiny creature stared at Daniel. I couldn’t be sure in the faux-twilight, but I thought I saw it lick its lips.
Meanwhile, Hannah leaned over Daniel—pressing one of the shirts I had flung off the table over his wound.
“I found this in the back,” Camilo announced. He emerged from between two aisles, holding up a first aid kit.
“Gimme,” Hannah said. He handed it over. While she searched through it, another bang sounded against the security shutter. Right outside, the raptors hissed in agitation—their claws catching on the grids as they scratched at the gate.
“Guys…” Lucy trailed off, her voice bordering on a whimper.
Hannah clenched her jaws, maintaining her focus on the first aid kit. Camilo returned my stare with his own wide eyes, while Amber squeezed the baby dinosaur a bit closer to her. Muttering something to herself, Hannah proceeded to rip a tear through Daniel’s shirt, exposing his wound. I looked away as more blood squirted out. At least the bleeding had slowed, although it didn’t look to be over yet…
“Camilo,” I said. His clothes sodden with Daniel’s blood, he looked even more worn-out than before. “Can you…?” I left the second half of my question unspoken: Can you use your illusions?
He shook his head weakly, turning his gaze down. One look at him was enough to tell me that he was running on fumes. I thought back to whatever barrier had stopped the raptors from first pursuing us—whatever that was, it seemed naïve to think that it would fool them twice, even if Camilo could pull it off…
“I don’t think we have forever,” Jay said—standing frozen in front of the rattling security shutter.
“There’s a back door,” Camilo replied. “Just through the storage room. Where the first aid kit was.”
“Need a minute,” Hannah said, her attention on Daniel unwavering. “Camilo, grab some water bottles.”
Camilo scurried to the dead refrigerators on the other side of the room. Although warmed up by now, the water would still be good for cleaning the wound, I realized.
While Hannah continued to patch up Daniel—with Camilo working as her assistant, holding Daniel still or handing over gauze when she asked for it—I faced the door alongside Jay and Lucy, each of us pointing our spears toward the raptors. The shutter whined and rattled as they scratched and nipped at it. Amber shuffled further back, watching in horror.
Each time one of the raptors threw itself at the gate, another shudder rushed through the swarm. My attention was entirely on them—they way they moved through my body like electricity, ready for an attack. If the raptors breached the gate, maybe I could buy the others some time to get away.
Then, the white-headed raptor slammed its body against the shutter, leaving a dent in its side. Lucy jumped back, while her spear trembled in her hands. The two other dinosaurs followed suit, quickly slamming in succession against it.
Behind us, Daniel groaned and heaved for air. I glanced back, glimpsing Hannah as she wrapped gauze around his shoulder—securing the bandage underneath his armpit. Her quick, nimble motions made me question whether or not this was the first time she had done something like this…
“Okay.” She exhaled heavily as she rose. “Let’s move.”
Not a second too late, I thought as the raptors left another dent in the shutter.
“Thank you,” Daniel murmured, his voice barely more than a hoarse whisper. Camilo helped him up to his feet again, and we started our retreat toward the back room.
I glanced back at the shaking gate, where splinters had started to form in the grids. The Dakotaraptors let out a long hiss as we made our escape.
We stumbled through an Employees Only door, into a growing darkness. Like Camilo had said before, it appeared to be a storage room. In the dark, I could just barely see the stacks upon stacks with boxes and crates.
Next to me, Hannah ran her hand over the wall. Then, she pushed open another door.
A gaping darkness stared back at us. Wherever this hallway led, there were no immediate light sources. There was a click, followed by the beam of Hannah’s flashlight carving a small light through the dark—reflecting off the cold, sterile linoleum flooring. Even this glimmer of light wasn’t enough to show me how far this hallway went.
Hannah took up the front, guiding us down the corridor with her flashlight. Just behind us, Daniel leaned against Camilo while Amber carried the baby dinosaur next to them. We stood closely packed together, with Lucy and Jay making up the back of the group.
We moved as quickly as Daniel was able to—which was not very fast at all. Although only slightly slower than a normal walk, it felt like we were treading water. Hannah tried the nearest door, but it didn’t budge. Locked.
A terrible crash sounded from the gift shop. Our group came to a simultaneous halt. From behind us, I could hear bits and pieces of something falling and clattering against the floor.
Then, it was eerily quiet. The hisses and slamming noises of the raptors had dissipated.
“The gate,” Jay said under their breath.
Hannah turned off the flashlight. The last thing I saw before we were cast into darkness once again was her soft, brown eyes, widening in horror.
Had we closed the doors behind us? I couldn’t remember, and—glancing back—I couldn’t see either. And, even if we had, could the raptors figure out how to get to us?
As we stumbled through the hallway, I bumped into someone else. Daniel? I wasn’t sure, but when it happened, I dropped my spear—partially accidentally, partially because I didn’t want to hit anyone. I vaguely reached out where I thought it had fallen, but I was really just fumbling for anything to help orient myself.
Then, through the darkness, my hand found someone else’s. A delicate, warm hand grabbed onto mine. Hannah’s, I realized—her light steps coming to a halt ahead of me.
And, behind me, my fingertips met another surface. A slender arm, its skin covered in scratches. Camilo’s?
Instinctively, I found myself gripping his hand as well. Although no one said anything, an unspoken agreement unfolded through our group. There was quiet shuffling, and soon, we had formed a chain—replacing spears for hands, connecting each of us in the dark.
We continued down the hallway, moving slowly so as to not make any sound.
Then, behind us, I heard a faint tapping—like a claw against the linoleum floor.
Hannah’s hand squeezed mine. We pressed on, continuing to sneak alongside the wall as quietly as possible. The tapping sound paused, and I wondered what our chances of staying hidden really were. Would it be better to make a run for it? Where would we go? What if everything beyond this point was locked down?
Then, the tapping resumed—much closer this time.
Did the Dakotaraptors already know where we were, preparing to ambush us in the darkness? The soft tap of claws shifted again, and it was difficult to pinpoint an exact location. Were they closer now? Farther away again? Or were they just the clacking claws of different raptors? I strained to see in the darkness, but was only met by an abyss.
Regardless, if we didn’t make a move, it would only be a matter of time before they picked up on the scent of Daniel’s blood. But, as I sniffed the air around us, I noticed something else in it—something entirely foul, detracting from the metallic smell of blood.
Recognition rippled through the swarm. It was rot. The stench was still a ways off, but seemed to come from… my left. I momentarily let go of Camilo’s hand, instead feeling the wall.
A door. I barely touched its knob, trying not to make any noise. The door slipped open with a low creak.
“Through here,” I hissed. I retreated through the opening, tugging Hannah with me. Soon, the rest of our classmates followed through. I heard someone close the door behind us.
We lapsed into silence, standing still in anticipation of the raptors coming after us. But, aside from the soft breathing of my classmates, it remained quiet. There was no footsteps, no slamming against the door.
“Where are we?” Jay finally mumbled from the back.
I still couldn’t see anything. But, as Hannah stumbled through the darkness ahead, I let her guide me. My shoulder brushed against the wall flanking us, and we were funneled into what appeared to be another hallway.
“Don’t know…” Hannah whispered back.
As we pressed onwards, the foul smell began to intensify around me. If there really was rotten meat around here… could we be circling back to the food court?
The stench only grew as we continued to creep through the darkness. As we approached its source, the others began to smell it, too.
“Ugh,” Amber said, barely holding back a heave. “What is that smell?”
“Rotting meat,” I whispered.
Then, I noticed a faint sliver of light. A door had been left cracked open. I pushed it open, and—hoping that the raptors didn’t hear the creaking—revealed a small room. It was barely illuminated by sunlight streaming under the door on the opposite side of us. I could just make out crates on the floor, shelf after shelf of… something, and, to my left, a large metal door that almost glimmered in the near-darkness.
“A meat freezer,” Hannah muttered. She let go of my hand and slowly approached it, nearly fading into the darkness as she did.
I heard the door unlatch, and—with a loud whine—it swung open. Instantly, the smell of rotting meat hit me like a truck. A horde of buzzing flies burst through the darkness.
“I don’t think it was properly closed,” Hannah gagged in the darkness. “Must have rotted as soon as the power went out and the heat got in. Bet the food court’s on the other side of that door.”
Behind me, I could hear similar gagging sounds from my classmates as they were overwhelmed by the stench. “Great,” Amber choked. “We went all this way for a bunch of rotten meat.”
“Isn’t that just going to draw the raptors toward us?” Lucy whined.
“Be quiet,” Hannah hissed at Lucy.
We all fell silent as a chirp echoed down the hallway behind us, through the door we had just entered. My muscles tensed up. I had never heard the raptors come after us—there had been a closed door between us and them… Was there another way around?
I heard the freezer door swing back closed, and was relieved by the reprieve from the stench.
“Sorry…” Lucy whimpered, despair filling her voice. Someone quietly closed the hallway door.
“She has a point,” Camilo muttered.
There was a pause, before Hannah spoke. “Maybe…” she whispered, “we use the smell to cover our escape. We get out of the Expedition Center…”
“I don’t think taking Daniel back into the dinosaur-infested jungle is a good idea,” Camilo muttered.
“No guys,” Daniel wheezed, “don’t let me slow you d-down…”
I couldn’t see him in the dark, but I was pretty sure he could barely stand at this point—even with Camilo’s help. Camilo was right…
“What if…” I started, “we lured them into a trap?”
I could picture Hannah raising her eyebrow in the dark, but all I heard her say was, “What trap?”
“The freezer… There has to be a lock on it or something, right?”
I heard a click and the room was briefly illuminated by Hannah’s flashlight. Before she focused the beam on the door, I saw the tired faces of my classmates and—most concerningly—Daniel’s now grim pallor. He wouldn’t make it if we had to run. He needed to rest sooner rather than later—we had to stop those raptors.
“It locks,” Hannah whispered. I looked toward the door and saw a large handle, clearly turned to point up at lettering which read unlocked.
With a click the light went out, plunging us into a darkness which felt deeper than before. “The smell will draw them in and we can trap them in the freezer. They won’t be able to get out,” I whispered.
Through the closed door behind us, I heard another, now muffled, chirp. They were getting closer.
“I’ll wait in here and lock them in,” I quickly whispered. “You guys can wait in the food court. And, if this doesn’t work, you run.” Plus, I thought to myself, I could swarm the raptors with my bees if things went south—and no one would see.
“Don’t be a hero,” Hannah whispered, grabbing my hand again in the dark. I froze, taken aback. I could feel her breath on my skin as she brought herself close. “I’ll do it. I might be able to outrun them if I have to.”
“Oh, be serious. It’s risky whoever does it,” Amber scoffed. “Any one of us has as much luck as anyone else.” She wasn’t exactly volunteering to go herself, but her tone suggested that she would do it just to shut us up.
Part of me still couldn’t help but think she was wrong about all of us sharing the same risk. As I listened to Daniel’s ragged breathing, I wondered if things could have gone differently had he not intervened when the Dakotaraptor attacked me. At least, I wouldn’t have sustained the same type of injuries… My bees could repair me. While I didn’t want to push their limit and see exactly how much of me they could patch up, my level of risk was still less than anyone else’s.
It had to be me locking in the raptors.
“Can’t they open doors with their, uh, claws?” Jay muttered, interrupting my thoughts. “Sounds like you’re gonna just get yourselves killed.”
“That’s only in movies,” Camilo snapped at them. “I… I think…” he added.
“We can push the crates in front of the door,” Hannah whispered. “Just in case they can open it.”
“So, uh… Whoever’s doing this is going to have to close the door, then push a crate in front of it in case, uh, they can open the door?” Camilo asked.
We were silent for a moment. I heard a faint click-clack of talons against the linoleum floors of the dark hallway. “We don’t have time for this,” I hissed. “I’m going to lock the door. Not changing my mind.”
“I’m coming with you,” Hannah said, tightening her grip on my hand. “I’ll… push the crate in front of the door.”
“I’ll help,” Camilo added. I looked his way and—while I couldn’t see him in the darkness—I felt a sudden rush of appreciation. Even if his illusions were beginning to fray, he could give us the edge we would need to avoid being noticed by the raptors.
Maybe this could actually work.
Before anyone could argue, Hannah continued: “Everyone else, get out of here.” Then, she hissed, “Hurry!”
Jay threw open the door to the food court. Through it, I could see the front counter of one of the restaurant kiosks… Burger-Rex, maybe. Light from the food court’s windows spilled into the room, illuminating our tired and frightened faces. Camilo handed Daniel off to Amber, who put her baby dinosaur on the linoleum to help keep the football player steady. The dinosaur sniffed the air, looking intently at the freezer door—before following after Amber when she snapped her fingers. Jay and Lucy were first out into the food court. Amber was slower than Camilo at supporting Daniel’s weight, but the two managed to stumble through the door without issue.
As she grabbed the doorknob, Amber’s eyes flickered between me and Camilo. “Be careful, alright? Don’t, like, die or anything.”
I just nodded. There wasn’t really anything else to say. Amber shut the door, plunging us into darkness once more.
“Florian, quick.” Hannah’s flashlight flickered back on. “Get behind that box!” she hissed, pointing her light at the corner closest to the freezer door, cluttered with large, half-empty, cardboard boxes. “Camilo, get behind the crate. I’ll join you in a second…”
“What are you doing?” Camilo asked, taking position behind the illuminated crate.
“I’m going to open the freezer,” she said, “then that door.” She pointed her flashlight to the door that opened to the hallway. Behind it, I could hear the click-clack of talons against linoleum—much louder now—and the occasional chirping vocalization.
“You crazy? It sounds like they’re right outside,” Camilo hissed.
In the dim light of her flashlight, I could see Hannah half-smile, half-grimace. “Good. Waiting’s the worst part.”
With one quick motion, she threw open the freezer door, once again unleashing the stench of rotting flesh in its full glory. Audibly gagging, she clicked her flashlight off and threw open the door to the hallway. I heard her race backwards, towards the crate—her breathing quick as she settled next to Camilo.
Then, just outside, I heard a sharp, loud screech. The clacking of talons intensified as the raptors stalked toward us—moving rapidly, though not quite at a run. The others fell into dead silence as the raptors’ footsteps became louder, entering the room.
I felt the heavy footfalls as the first raptor stalked toward us, sniffing deeply at the putrid air around us. As it closed in on us, I watched it from my hiding place; its brilliant, white head barely illuminated by the scant light which shone from under the door. Its eyes caught the light as it cast its gaze around, like twin stars fading in and out of darkness as the raptor turned its head.
Toward me.
I tensed as it looked straight down at me—into my eyes. The swarm rattled in my throat, ready to be unleashed as the raptor continued to stare for a long moment.
Just as suddenly, it turned its attention toward the freezer. I didn’t know if it was Camilo’s illusions or just the darkness, but I was in the clear. The white-headed raptor was quickly joined by another, and the two chirped and snapped at each other. Together, they slowly stalked into the freezer. I tensed, ready to leap into action—but caught myself before I could. As my muscles tensed, all I could think was,
Where was the third one?
A shiver of anticipation ran through me while the swarm bristled within me. I listened to the raptors squeal as they ripped through the rotting meat inside the freezer. The voraciousness with which they tore through it filled my mind with a sickening image of what they must have done to the man just outside, in the food court—ripping flesh from his bone as he screamed, still alive. I could trap them now, slam the door shut while they still ate. It would take care of two of them… Maybe we could handle the last one ourselves?
Or maybe it was lying in ambush, just waiting for me to do that.
I wished I could see Hannah or Camilo, communicate with them in some way. If I acted now, I needed them to be on board.
But before I could make up my mind, I heard the familiar clack of raptor talons against linoleum. The third raptor stalked into the room, letting loose an ear-splitting screech as it headed toward the freezer. I held my breath as it stood on the precipice…
It turned back toward the room. In the dim light, I saw it raise its nose and deeply sniff the air. I clenched my fist as it took a careful step forward, toward the food court…
I rushed to the freezer door before it could take a step further. With all my strength, I flung it closed.
The raptor screeched as it disappeared from my view, jumping backwards into the freezer. “Yes!” I heard Camilo shout as I slammed my weight against the door. It bucked as I felt the raptors do the same, flinging themselves against it and snarling violently. I was pushed back a few inches as a clawed hand reached out from behind the door, grasping viciously toward me.
“Come on,” I groaned as I slammed against it again, hearing the bones of the clawed hand snap as I did so. With a pained screech, the claw retracted and—stretching my hand toward the lock—I viciously wrenched it to the side.
The freezer’s door latched shut.
I nearly toppled over as Camilo and Hannah pushed the crate forward with pained groans of exertion. I stumbled out of their way just in time for them to shove the crate up to the door, which continued to shake as the raptors flung themselves against it. All three of us retreated back, staring at the rattling freezer door. We waited for it to open, for the raptors to figure out how to turn the handle…
But they didn’t. The door remained shut.
In silence, we took a few shaky steps toward the door to the food court. Opening the door, I blinked against the bright light streaming in from the windows. Amber, Jay, Lucy, Daniel, and even the baby dinosaur looked at us expectantly.
Hannah took a step forward, her hands resting on her hips. She looked down— giggled—then back up at us with a wide grin.
“We did it,” she breathed.