Dinosaur Fallout: Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Predators

It was high noon when the group entered the center of Pripyat. The temperature had risen a bit and the sun was shining. For all intents and purposes, it was a great day. But Matt knew the weather was deceiving. It masked the darkness that surrounded them.

For a while, the air was still and quiet. Then the team heard a blood curdling screech from a nearby alley. They all trained their guns on the end of the street, waiting for the dinosaur. First it was just the tip of the snout. Then the whole animal came into view. Five feet tall and ten feet long, the Pyroraptor was every bit as big as a person. Matt noticed the giant claw on each foot quickly. He had no doubt this was the dinosaur responsible for the deaths during his first trip to Chernobyl. The raptors feathers were bright orange, but mottled and patchy. Like the other dinosaurs, this one was in a very bad way. The raptor noticed the people, but didn’t even flinch at the sight of them. He just stared at them with his cold reptilian eyes that showed a great deal of intelligence. Finally, after a staredown that lasted over two minutes, he howled at the top of his lungs. From alleys and side streets all around, a dozen or so raptors appeared. The team was caught off guard. They made a rough circle, keeping their guns pointed at the dinosaurs. The raptors began to close in on them, snarling the whole way. They clearly had every intention of attacking. The pack stopped just a few yards from the group. The first raptor the team saw stepped forward. He was the alpha. He stood up to his full height. He could almost look Matt in the eye. He just stood there, studying his trapped prey. After a short while, he dropped back down to his horizontal standing position and screeched. The raptors charged. Led dropped one quickly, as did Zach. The dinosaurs were temporarily caught off guard at this. The group took the opportunity and made a run for it. They ran for the nearest building, the raptors closely following behind. Matt could hear the panting, could practically feel their hot breath on the back of his neck. It smelled of rotting flesh. Colt got to the door first and flung it open. The group poured into the building, with John getting in last. He slammed the door shut and locked it. The raptors hissed and snarled at this. Some threw themselves against the windows and one cracked, but the glass held. Matt noticed they had run into an old bank, so the glass was extra strong. It was a lucky break. Pretty soon, the raptors gave up and moved on. Matt watched as they dragged away their dead pack mates. He knew the dead raptors would not satisfy their insatiable appetites for long. They would be back.

Matt let the group rest for a half hour before moving on. Instead of going right outside, he decided to try the roof. Vasyl, Colt, Zach, and John opted to stay on the ground floor and watch the main door. Matt, Sarah, and Led made their way to the roof. They walked up four flights of stairs before reaching the top. The door didn’t open right off the bat and Matt had to push a little. Once it opened, Matt saw the roof was quite large and open. A few old ducts and vents were present, but it was clear overall. The bank wasn’t very tall compared to the other buildings, but he still had a decent view. Matt looked down a street and could see Chernobyl in the distance. He looked down another and saw the Jeep and Ford. Unfortunately, there was another pack of raptors hanging out around them. The cars were in working order, but everything inside them had been trashed. Equipment lay everywhere, including their communications, the seats were torn apart, and some of their food containers were clearly broken into. Matt shook his head at the sight of it.

“Looks like we’ll have a little trouble getting to the cars,” he said.

“Led, do you think you could hit those raptors from here,” Sarah asked the hunter.

“I think so, but I’d waste a fair amount of ammo on that one pack. There’s at least nine down there,” he pointed out.

“We’ll think of something-,” Matt said before being cut off by the howl of a raptor.

The three of them looked down the side of the bank to see the first pack of raptors scaling the walls. They managed to grip the brick and glass well with their claws. The alpha looked straight at Matt and hissed. Matt fired at the raptor, but it moved and the bullet burrowed into the street below.

“We have to get back inside, now,” Sarah yelled.

Led ran for the door and forced it open. But instead of an empty stairwell, a raptor stood in front of him, jaws opened wide. Led reacted by shoving the muzzle of his rifle in its mouth. He pulled the trigger and the bullet ripped through the raptors mouth and out the back of its neck. Led shoved the body aside and the group ran through the door. Matt slammed the door shut just as the first raptor had made it on the roof. On the way back down the stairs, they found a broken window in an office where the raptor got through. They continued down the steps and reached the main floor. The others were standing there waiting, with another dead raptor lying across a counter.

“We have to go, now,” Matt ordered.

They looked out the windows. No raptors in the street. It was their only chance. Zach opens the door wide open and they make a break for it. Led and Colt watched their backs while Matt and John take the lead. They manage to slip past the raptor pack undetected. They’re only a few blocks from the cars now. Matt watches the cars, trying to think of a plan. There are too many raptors for them to fight. Suddenly, the raptors become very uneasy. They’re alert and snarling at some unseen threat. The alpha howls and the pack runs off.

“Wonder what’s got them all riled up,” John asks.

“Doesn’t matter. This may be our only chance to get to the cars,” Vasyl says.

“Maybe, but if I know anything about predators, they only fear one thing. A bigger predator,” Led pointed out.

“Then I don’t wanna stick around and see what it is,” Vasyl shoots back.

“Fine, but it’s on you if this doesn’t go well,” Matt warned.