Dinosaur Fallout: Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Center of Darkness

As the cars pulled up to Chernobyl, Matt noticed the gauge on the Jeep was low. They didn’t have a lot of gas left and he assumed it was the same with the Ford. They’d either have to walk back or find some gas somewhere. The group carefully emerged from the cars, guns ready. Nothing came after them. Matt glanced around and saw the collapsed reactor and building from his first visit here. The thought of it made him shudder with fear.

“Let’s get moving. Got to find some way of communicating with someone,” Matt said.

“Then keep on the look out for a maintenance building or something,” Colt suggested.

The team moved cautiously. Matt was very nervous. He expected the place to be crawling with dinosaurs. Yet there were none. That meant one of two things. They all left or something was keeping them in hiding.

“Somethings not right. Everyone stay sharp,” Matt ordered.

“Calm down Phillips. I don’t see any dinosaurs,” Vasyl said sarcastically.

“That’s exactly what has me concerned,” Matt fired back.

“We have a saying about crocodiles,” Led mentioned. He went on, “It’s not the one you see that you should be afraid of. It’s the one you don’t see.”

Vasyl didn’t say another word after that. The group continued on, looking for a way to communicate with the outside world. Zach saw an old payphone. He walked over to it and picked it up. It was dead.

“Figured it was worth a shot,” he said with a shrug of the shoulders.

As he joined the group again, Matt spied something. He saw the shadow of a large animal behind a building.

“Everyone, run,” he whispered.

Then the air was split by a blood curdling shriek and the Tarascosaurus came into full view. The team ran as quickly as they could. The Tarascosaurus was quickly closing the gap. Matt risked a backward glance and saw it was the male from earlier. That means the female might not be far away.

“Split up,” Matt ordered.

Vasyl, Colt, Zach, and Led all went right while Sarah, John, and Matt went left. The male wasn’t sure which way to go. He stopped for a second and debated which group to chase. Matt figured the female wasn’t around or else the male would have made a choice already. The male roared and took off after Vasyl and the others. Matt stopped and turned around.

“He’s right behind you,” he yelled.

Led turned right around and fired off a shot. The bullet sailed through the air and completely missed the charging dinosaur. Led didn’t try for a second shot and continued running. Matt saw they were heading for a building that would provide them with some safety. He breathed a sigh of relief, but then sucked in his breath again. He saw another shadow rounding the corner ahead of the fleeing group. Before Matt could react, the female lept out of hiding and seized Vasyl in her jaws. He screamed in pain as she lifted him into the air. Led and the others tried to shoot, but the male was right there. They had no choice but to run. Matt watched in horror as the carnivores began to tear apart Vasyls body. He whipped out his walkie talkie and called John.

“John, you have to get back over here. Use the alleys to go around the dinosaurs,” Matt ordered.

“We’ll try,” John replied

After about ten minutes of sneaking around, the survivors manage to reach Matt and the others. Matt looked up and saw the sky was starting to darken. Night would soon be upon them. They had to find cover and fast. Led knew they needed cover too and quickly found a suitable spot. An old utility building just a few yards away that seemed to be in stable condition. A few plants had grown around it and they could use those for fuel for a small fire.

The group carefully filed into the building and locked the door behind them. Matt noticed the windows had steel covers that could be added in case of an emergency of some sort. John and Zach put them up just to be on the safe side while Sarah checked their supplies to see if she could find anything for them to eat. Led offered to keep watch using the small window on the door.

“Colt, you wanna help me get a small fire going. This place has enough ventilation I think,” Matt said.

“Yeah, OK,” Colt replied bluntly.

It took some doing, but they soon had a fire going. Sarah managed to scrounge up some food and the building had been reinforced as much as it could be. While everyone ate the few sandwiches and chips they had, Matt sat back and tried to collect his thoughts.

“Was it really only this morning that he had woken up in his bed in New York,” he thought.

“So how do you think the dinosaurs came back here,” Zach asked, interrupting Matts thinking.

“My best guess is the radiation. After the disaster, the radiation began to seep into the ground and started bringing them back. Can’t explain why, but that’s it,” Matt said.

“Is there any evidence for this,” John asked.

“I think so, yes. Over the past forty years, the radiation levels here at Chernobyl and Pripyat have been dropping faster than most nuclear disaster sites. It’s probably because the dinosaurs had been absorbing it and growing due to it,” Matt proposed.

“Seems logical I guess,” Led said. “Then again, I’m not much of a scientist,” he added.

“What kind of threat do you think these things pose to people? Clearly they’re dangerous. Vasyl learned that the hard way,” Colt asked.

“If they’re not contained or destroyed, they could pose quite a threat. I’m not saying world domination or anything, but they’d certainly cause some problems here. And not just attacks. Disease, crop destruction, property damage, and who knows what else,” Matt replied.

“Wait. Listen,” Sarah whispered.

The group could hear something. Something breathing just outside the building. Led grabbed his rifle and carefully made his way to the door. He glanced out the window and saw a small dinosaur outside, smelling the area right in front of the door. It looked like the raptors, but smaller and with two sickle claws on each foot instead of one. Led turned to the group and mouthed “raptor.” He turned back and saw it was gone. Everyone waited for a few tense minutes. Nothing happened.

“I think it’s gone,” Led whispered finally.

“Just to be safe, we should take watch shifts tonight,” Colt suggested.

“I’ll take first shift,” Led offered.

While Led pulled a chair up to the door, the rest of the team tried to get some sleep. It wasn’t easy, but everyone eventually got a few hours of sleep at least.

Matt awoke as the first rays of sunlight made their way through small window. He saw Zach sitting in the chair by the door, pistol in hand. He must’ve been the last person to take a shift. Matt looked around and saw everyone else was starting to stir as well. He gave them a few minutes and soon, everyone was awake.

“OK, hate to say this, but we’re gonna need to split up,” Matt said. He went on, “Colt, Led, and John will look for any signs of vehicles we could use. Look for a garage or something. Sarah, Zach, and I will check the buildings for any way to contact the outside world.”

“Where do you want us to meet back,” John asked.

“We’ll all meet back here in five hours to discuss what we find.”