"I can't do it."
«Do it!»
She grabbed me again. This time she put her whole body into it. Up! The branch. I flapped my good wing, spun in the air, grabbed. Yes. I grabbed with my second talon and held firm.
«Now, run! Run!»
She ran. At least, she hobbled and staggered away through the trees. And I waited. I waited and tried not to think of what would happen to Rachel if I messed up.
My branch was just six feet above the ground. I felt totally helpless. I was a bird who could not fly. And there is nothing weaker than a bird who can't fly.
I gripped my branch. Noises. Many clawed feet running. A Deinonychus appeared. Its tail was minus about a foot of length. The leader of the pack.
"Heeeeessss!"
He froze. He looked at the mess Rachel had left. But he did not walk under my branch. Then another Deinonychus. This one ran right over and sniffed curiously. He had a jagged scar two feet long down his back. I could see it clearly.
Short-tail turned away. Scar walked beneath me. His head was just a foot below me.
Now!
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K[1]._A._Applegate_-_Megamorphs_02_-_In_The_Time_of_Dinosaurs I dropped. I opened my talons. I sank them into reptilian skin, right along the old scar.
"Hrroooohhh!"
The Deinonychus turned his head to glare at me with one eye. He opened a mouth lined with ridiculously large teeth.
I almost lost it. I had to fight the urge to flap away, broken wing and all.
Focus, Tobias, I told myself. I locked the fear out of my mind. I held tight with my talons. And I focused on the dinosaur.
It may have been sixty-five or seventy or eighty million years b.c., but DNA was still DNA.
Tobias
I acquired the Deinonychus. I absorbed his DNA into me. And he grew passive and calm, like most animals do when being acquired.
When I was done he wandered away, as if he'd forgotten what he'd been doing.
I stood there, utterly vulnerable on the forest floor. And then I heard a roar. Not a saurian roar, but the full-throated roar of a very large mammal.
Rachel!
I focused my mind again. I pictured the Deinonychus in my mind. And slowly at first, then faster, the changes began.
All right, Tobias, keep your mind strong! I warned myself. It was a new morph. I'd have to deal with the Deinonychus's instincts.
My feathers began to stiffen and harden. It was as if someone were coating them with rubber cement or something. The feather pattern remained at first, but they were glued down. And then they began to melt together.
My beak began to extend, out and out, and at the same time the edges became serrated, almost like a saw. And each saw tooth grew and extended, longer and longer, to begin to form the teeth of the Deinonychus.
All the while I grew. Up and up. From standing a foot tall to five times that height.
My tail feathers twined and twisted together and then my tail hardened and grew. Out and out, impossibly long!
Everywhere I could feel the muscles bulging and growing. Layers of muscle over thickening bones. I rose high on legs like steel springs. My talons became less graceful and more deadly. I found I could raise the huge, killing claw. Yes, that's how I would run, with that claw raised so that nothing would dull its razor-sharpness.
I loved that claw. I pictured it ripping open ... no! Already the dinosaur's instincts were struggling to rise up in my own mind.
But that wasn't going to happen. It couldn't happen. Rachel needed me.
But the power! The vivid, electric energy in every cell of my body! Page 38
K[1]._A._Applegate_-_Megamorphs_02_-_In_The_Time_of_Dinosaurs My eyesight grew dim. But not much worse than human eyes, and better in that they could see fairly well in the dark. My hearing diminished,
but again, not by much. And to compensate for those losses, the sense of smell flooded my consciousness. What? What smell was that? I stood up and sniffed the wind. "Roooooaaarrrr!" a deep, hoarse voice bellowed. "Heeeesss! Heeeesss!" A more familiar cry. The hunt was on! The pack had cornered its prey. I had to hurry. Hurry,
or all the best meat would be taken. I'd have nothing but cold carrion.
With my mouth watering, I bounded away, tearing through the underbrush to join the pack. Jake I woke up. It was dark. I was all hot on the side near the fire and
cold on the other side. I heard the gurgling of the stream. I'd been dreaming of home. In my dream I was eating dinosaur-shaped cereal at the breakfast table with my parents.
I didn't want to think about my parents. What they would be going through worrying about me just made me sick to my stomach. "Have you seen anything?" "Yaaahhh!" Cassie yelped. Then, "Good grief, you scared me."
Marco moaned in his sleep. I rubbed my eyes. I could not believe I had actually fallen asleep. But obviously I had. "Ax, how are you doing?"
«I am well. My time-sense has returned fully. It takes a while to calibrate for the rotation of a planet. This planet rotates differently than it does in our own time.»
"How long was I asleep?"
Approximately one of the current hours and fifty-two minutes.» He came close and tossed another piece of wood on the fire. I stretched out my foot and poked Marco. He moaned again. Then he sat
up. "Oh. So it wasn't a dream. Too bad."
"Cassie, you and Ax can -" I stopped. I had looked up at the sky. "What is that?" "It's a comet," Cassie said. "Isn't it absolutely beautiful?" "Yeah. Looks awfully close." I gazed up at the sweep of bright dust
trailing from the brilliant head. «It is. In the last three hours it has grown noticeably larger.» Page 39
K[1]._A._Applegate_-_Megamorphs_02_-_In_The_Time_of_Dinosaurs I glanced over at Ax. He was outlined against the stars, a dark shadow with stalk eyes turning restlessly. "It's not going to hit us or anything, is it?" I laughed when I said it.
«I don't think so. First of all, the odds against any particular comet hitting a particular planet are very large. Millions to one at the very least. Especially since Earth is not large enough to exert much of a gravitational pull. Besides, the comet is now so close and moving so quickly, I have been able to keep track of a rough trajectory. It will be very close. No more than one or two diameters of Earth, perhaps. But I believe it will miss.»
"Well, that's a relief," Marco said. "I wouldn't want to get killed by a comet and cheat the dinosaurs out of eating me."
"You two get some sleep," I said to Ax and Cassie. "Marco and I will take over. But actually, first I have to ... urn ... I have to take a little walk."
I left the cozy glow of the fire and headed into darkness. Twenty feet, and the fire already seemed like part of some different world. It was so dark. I looked back and it was as if the fire and the comet were both floating in the same empty space.
I did what I had to do, then I saw it. A flash! A sudden flash of light. Low on the horizon to the north. Was it a meteorite? A falling star?
No. There it was again. Faint. A tiny stab of red light. Again. Again.
I hurried back to the others. "Look to the north. Do you guys -"
A flash like the sun exploding! High overhead.
The flash lit up the entire landscape for just an instant. But in that instant I saw them: a herd of vast creatures. They stood on four tree-trunk legs. They had tremendously long necks and tails that were just as long. It was impossible to know their actual size, but they had to stand at least four or five times my own height. And from head to tail they had to be forty feet.
I'd seen at least ten of them moving toward us along the line of the stream.
And in that same flash of light, the huge dinosaurs had seen something, too. Coming up behind them, on their trail, like a monster in the night, a Tyrannosaurus.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The big dinosaurs bolted, breaking into a panicked run. Straight for our camp!
"What was that flash?" Cassie cried as I ran for the fire.
&nb
sp; "Everybody run!" I yelled. "It's a stampede."
"Stampede? What is this, a cowboy movie?!" Marco demanded incredulously.
"MOVE!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
It was like the worst thunderstorm in history. Creatures five times the Page 40
K[1]._A._Applegate_-_Megamorphs_02_-_In_The_Time_of_Dinosaurs size of elephants were stampeding. Every step of those big feet was like a pile driver.
"Get across the stream!" I yelled.
"Where is it?"
"What stream?"
"Just follow me."
I ran, making sure Cassie and Marco were keeping up. Ax, I didn't have to worry about. He was far faster than any of us.
The thunder grew louder. All around us. I saw a vast bulk beside me, blocking out the stars. The panicked herd was all around us.
"HRRRROOOOOAAAARRRR!"
My knees turned to jelly. I tripped. I hit hard. The wind was knocked out of me.
A massive, taloned foot landed inches from my head. I rolled. I slammed into a tree trunk. No, the leg of the long-necked dinosaur.
"ScreeeEEEEE!" the terrified animal cried as the Tyrannosaurus bent low. I saw teeth glittering in moonlight. I saw a glowing yellow eye. I heard the chomp of the Tyrannosaurus's jaws as they clamped down.
I was beneath the long-necked dinosaur as it fought. If I'd stood up and stretched, I would have just reached its belly. Tree-trunk legs pounded around me in a frenzy. And all the while the two animals roared and screamed and bellowed in terror and rage.
I covered my ears and screamed. A battle of giants right above me. I couldn't see anything but darkness blotting out stars and the faintest outline of a creature the size of a whale.
I was a cockroach being hunted with sledgehammers. The ground jumped and slammed into me with each impact. I couldn't even see the legs scuffling and pounding. At any second one would crush me. I curled up in a ball and tucked my head down and shook.
What morph did I have to fight these titans? Nothing. This wasn't my world. I was nothing in this world. All my powerful morphs were nothing in this world.
"ScreeeEEEEEE-uh. ScreeeEEEEE-uh!"
"Huh-huh-RoooAAAARRRR!"
A final cry of the big dinosaur ended in a gasp and a collapsing rattle.
The Tyrannosaurus had won. The long-necked dinosaur was done for. Nothing left but for him to fall. Nothing left but for him to drop down onto me.
Rachel
They were around me. All around me. Maybe ten of them. Deinonychus, Tobias had called them. Like wolves. They circled me like wolves.
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K[1]._A._Applegate_-_Megamorphs_02_-_In_The_Time_of_Dinosaurs They were not big, certainly smaller than my grizzly bear morph. Maybe ten feet from half-grinning mouth to rigid tail. But they were dangerous. Even with my dim grizzly bear eyesight, I could see their bristling weapons. The scythe-clawed hands; the huge ripping talon; the razor-sharp teeth.
I had weapons of my own. I had strength enough in my arms and shoulders to push over a Toyota. I had my own evil, ripping claws. I had teeth. But I was not fooled. I knew my only hope was that the Deinonychus would be discouraged by the fact that I was unknown prey.
Maybe the pack could be scared off. Maybe they wouldn't like the smell of bear. I wondered if Tobias was safe up in his tree. I hoped so.
The leader, the Deinonychus with the shortened tail, stepped to the front.
"HhhooorrRAAWWWRR!" I roared, and rose up erect to my impressive seven-plus feet. In my own time, there was no land predator as large or with as much raw power as a grizzly. But this was a whole different time. And a way, way different standard of large.
I knew these Deinonychus shared an environment with Tyrannosaurus and probably a dozen other very big, very dangerous lizards. And they thrived in that environment. How was I ever going to scare them?
The leader cocked his head and listened to me roar. He looked directly at me, considering, wondering.
Then two of them leaped!
"RROOAAARRR!" I bellowed. I swung my meat-hook claw with all my might. It was a lucky blow. I caught the closest Deinonychus across the neck. He collapsed.
With no signal that I could see, they all backed away. The leader sniffed at me. He sniffed at his comrade, who was no longer moving. Intelligent eyes considered.
This time I heard a signal. It was almost the cheeping of a songbird. "Neep!"
The Deinonychus pack circled around. It was so precise. So planned, almost rehearsed. They were not running away. They were not giving up. Instead they were preparing a more concerted attack.
They were prepared to take losses. That meant they would press the attack this time. Press the attack till I was down. Till I was food.
But something wasn't right. I could see it in the leader's eyes. He was glaring hard at a Deinonychus that had just arrived.
This new dinosaur stepped forward. He sniffed at me from a safe distance. And then, without warning, he leaped!
A slash with his left foot claw ripped a two-foot-long slice in my chest. It hadn't cut deep into vital organs but it hurt.
"HhhhRROOOAAARRR!" I bellowed.
But there was an even louder roar. The leader of the pack screamed at the impertinent new dinosaur. The new Deinonychus jumped back, away from
Page 42
K[1]._A._Applegate_-_Megamorphs_02_-_In_The_Time_of_Dinosaurs me, and spun around to face the enraged pack leader.
The two Deinonychus stood bristling, face-toface. A challenge! That was it. The new Deinonychus had ignored the leader. He'd attacked on his own. And that was an attack on the leader's dominance.
The leader hissed. It was a low, sinister sound. He stuck his tail straight back. The challenger raised his clawed hands, ready for battle.
And it was only then that I spotted the twisted pieces of fabric around the challenger's arm. Fabric torn from my own leotard and wrapped around Tobias's splint.
«Tobias!» I cried. It was Tobias. It had to be. But he had ripped a hole in me ....
I realized what had happened. Tobias had somehow acquired this Deinonychus's DNA and morphed him. But in doing so he'd lost control. The Deinonychus's instincts had pushed Tobias's mind aside and taken control.
And now Tobias was in a showdown with the pack leader. A showdown to determine who would be boss. And who would be in charge of destroying me.
Tobias and the leader circled each other slowly, warily.
«Tobias! Listen to me. You've morphed a dinosaur. You've lost control. It happens sometimes. You need to -»
The pack leader leaped! He landed, deadly feet out, mouth snapping, right where Tobias had been a split second before. But Tobias had dodged left, then crouched low to get in under the leader's guard.
Chomp!
"ScrrEEEEE!"
The leader jumped back, shocked. A piece of his left flank was missing.
Tobias circled again, tail stiff as a pole behind him.
Now the leader was more cautious. He waited for Tobias to make the first move. It wasn't a long wait. Tobias charged. With split-second timing, the other dinosaur jumped up in the air. He met Tobias's face with his own wicked talons.
Slash!
"ScrrrEEEE-uh!" Tobias fell back. Blood gushed from a wound in his face. The pack leader pressed the attack. Tobias stumbled back in seeming panic.
"Hrrooo-HAH!" A cry of triumph came from the pack leader. He leaped.
Too soon! Tobias was under him, ripping upward with his forepaws. He jammed his claws into the other Deinonychus's chest.
The pack leader screamed and flailed. But he could not tear Tobias's teeth away from him. It was over.
Tobias stood up. And he screeched a loud cry of challenge. "Hreee-YAH! Hreee-hrEEEE-YAH!"
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K[1]._A._Applegate_-_Megamorphs_02_-_In_The_Time_of_Dinosaurs He looked at the rest of the pack. They looked at their fallen leader. Then they looked at Tobias. And one by one, like vanquished knights
offerin
g their swords to the victor, they each lowered their noses to the ground in submission. Tobias turned. Turned to look at me. «Tobias, it's me, Rachel. Listen to me, it's Rachel.» I was using one paw to hold my own wound closed. The pain was intense.
But the fear was greater. I saw the look in Tobias's eyes. «Tobias, you are human. You are human. Get control of the morph!» He advanced toward me. He was hungry. The others advanced just a step
behind him.
«Tobias! Listen to me. You are a human being! It's me, Rachel. Your friend. You are human, you . ..» No, I realized. No, that was wrong, wasn't it? «Tobias. You are a hawk. You are a red-tailed hawk. Remember your wings?
Remember flying? Flying high on the thermals?»
His deadly jaw was inches away. He stopped. He tilted his head. And suddenly, his entire body seemed to shudder. «Rachel?» he said.
Jake
Down it came. Like having the Goodyear blimp dropped on top of you. Only much, much heavier. I couldn't see a thing, only feel the air rush aside as the beast fell.
I rolled. WHUUUUUMP! "Aaaahhh!" I cried. I was pinned. My legs were caught beneath the
long-necked dinosaur's belly. Just my lower legs, and nothing had been broken, but when I tried to move I realized I was trapped.