The Dinosaur Keeper

Chapter 18

The two Velociraptors were much the fastest of the three dinosaurs to appear suddenly in front of them. Aided when Bob decided to pause for a minute or two, in order to let out the loudest and most terrifying roar Rex had ever heard.

The Velociraptors whistled passed the rest of the pack.

As Rupert rushed by the Dinosaur Keeper the rest of the herds decided this to be the best time to scatter, making them at least look less suspicious,

“It’s Bob” he shouted back to Rex,

“I know” replied Rex, leaping into the tractor and turning the key.

Forcing it into gear clumsily and pushing the accelerator hard, there was one thing in his mind.

Bob could chase him, frighten the life out of him if he liked, carry Rex off between his massive jaws even, but he must not see the hole.

Pointing the tractor to the right, it sped across the plains until Rex pulled it hard to the left.

Aimed directly at Bob he shot across the plains, the noise and confusion that followed brought downright horror to the Tyrannosaurus’ eyes, forcing him to run towards the other side of the fields, mercifully away from the unfinished trap.

This wouldn’t be enough though, and Rex knew that in a moment or two he would be right next to Bob, and then what?

The tractor was big and loud, but it was also very open.

There was no roof, apart from a couple of iron bars and a loose canvas canopy stretched over the back. Rex was certain that it wouldn’t take long for the Tyrannosaurus to notice that with a carefully planned kick, he could knock the Dinosaur Keeper right out of the driving seat, disarming the motorised weapon, or worse a bite would be swiftly attempted getting rid of Rex for good.

He didn’t care and as soon as Bob looked like he was going anywhere near the pit that everybody had sweated over, Rex would head him off again, occasionally ramming Bob’s foot and causing him to jolt back in pain.

Time passed quickly and Rex’s concern rose just as fast. Bob was only showing the slightest bit of fatigue and seemed to be enjoying the game. Half an hour later and he looked no closer to leaving, but had stopped charging about and was panting heavily at the far end of the field.

Bob stared at Rex, and Rex just stared right back at him.

The rage in his heart consumed him completely, and the only question that leapt into a buzzing head, was why he had let this carry on for so long.

He wasn’t frightened anymore, not in the least.

Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees, he mused.

Each memory of every single altercation, from the first time he had clamped eyes on Bob until now, stoked an increasing ferocious fire in the pit of his stomach.

A thick liquid of hatred, churned over and over again, convincing Rex that pure flames would eventually spill out of his mouth.

He pumped the pedal up and down and the tractor shouted down Bob in mighty roars.

Go on then, thought Rex. Kill me, kill me now! I know I’m not the first to be looking at you like this, and if I’m not the first I’m sure that I won’t be the last.

Somebody will get you, somebody! One day you’ll make a mistake, and I just hope I’m here to see it.

And with this he popped the tractor back into gear and pushed the pedal flat to the floor, racing towards the enemy, his eyes in flames and stomach on fire.

Bob did the same.

There were no gears on him, no petrol smoke, no pedal to be put to the floor, but as he lowered his head level to the top of the massive pumping legs that rippled with excitement, he charged toward the tractor.

The Dinosaurs, on Rupert’s orders, crowded in front of the hole.

“If something happens to Rex”, he had said, “We must preserve the secrecy of the pit. Stand your ground and sharpen your claws”.

In their privileged position, it was all they could do but watch as the tractor and Bob rushed toward each other, not convinced that either would survive, but hoping beyond hope that one particular person did.

The ground was covered in seconds, Bob’s hot breath crashing through smoke and noise in no time at all.

But in the few short moments that followed, Rex couldn’t help but think if this wasn’t the moment he had been waiting for all his life, instead it was his end, his last stand, then so be it. He had done the best he could and glancing backwards knew that he was the only one able to follow the courage of these convictions. The Dinosaurs were brave, fearsome at times, but this wasn’t their job, it was his alone.

Three metres between them and Rex closed his eyes.

Two.

One.

Smash! They collided and the sound of metal against teeth broke the silence of a much hushed land.

Bob had decided to bite, bite! Rex had been quicker though and for all the hatred coursing through his veins, rationality remained, not once had he taken his eyes of Bob. Deciding that this might be the final moment, Rex had stood up pushing the accelerator even further into the tractors floor and let out a piercing scream.

Unbeknown to Rex his head bobbing above the tractors roll bar had startled Bob and on impulse he had darted toward it, jaws agape.

Still Rex had stared at him and straight away, not even noticing it himself, his left hand had pulled sharply on the steering wheel, turning the tractor onto its side instantly.

Bob howled in pain and clutched the left side of his face, or would have done if one of his arms could reach that far, as his tooth ricocheted off cold metal. Rex had been flung from the tractors seat, such was the force of the impact, and again stared at the sky, flat on his back the memory of this occurring far to often, flooding back. The turn had been so swift, so sudden, that the tractor raised itself onto its two right hand side wheels, acting like a catapult and throwing the Dinosaur Keeper high into the air.

As he zoomed passed Bob’s head there was something unnervingly familiar about the stare returned. The eyes were bright with rage, but behind them was a past that Rex couldn’t remember, but was recognizable all the same, before eventually tumbling to the ground.

Crumpled in a heap, on the plains, Rex eased himself to his knees, instantly checking every part of his body for damage. There was nothing too severe, a couple of cuts, the odd bruise, a pounding in his head and a four ton dinosaur charging towards him determined to finish a job that should have been completed years ago.

Their eyes locked, only this time Rex recalled his mortality and thought that he would quite like to live after all.

Frantically he looked around him, but there was no jar to hurl or place to run to. Nothing but miles of smooth plains returned his gaze, and the flatness was never more obvious than now.

Wheels still idly spinning, the tractor now fully on its side would have offered some protection, if Bob hadn’t just stepped on it to prove his might, squeezing it together the final splutters signifying the death of mechanics.

So there he stood, victorious in every way, apart from the obvious pain in his mouth being soothed by a thick slimy tongue running over the vast teeth.

“Bye bye Rex”, Bob exclaimed looking back at the Dinosaurs, the broadest of grins taking over his face,

“Pity really. Just as you were getting interesting”

A huge black shadow moved across Rex, as he closed his eyes and hoped for a speedy, painless exit.

But it wasn’t Bob’s.

Rex looked at the floor first and prayed that his eyes weren’t tricking him.

There on the grass in the brightness of the sun, were several outlines of long rectangles with a triangle attached to either side, shimmering over each soft blade.

He looked up, couldn’t help it, the severity of the situation escaping any thought, squinting toward the Sun a hand covering to protect his eyes, no consideration for the rest of his body currently inches away from death.

High above in the sky was the distinct figure of a flock of Pterodons, in a perfect ’V’ formation.

One broke away from the rest and plummeted to toward the ground, snapping into focus about half way through its decent. As the lines became harder, the skin less fuzzy, the clawed feet sprang into the centre of Rex’s vision and there beneath the leathery wings was a perfectly round boulder.

A more glorious sight had never been seen and Rex prayed for some words to come out of his mouth, anything that would encapsulate his present gratitude.

“What the?” exclaimed Bob, and Rex had never heard a better poem in the whole of his life.

No verse could ever match the words he had just heard.

“But they don’t even like you!” was next from the cursed Tyrannosaurus and Rex got to his feet to face his foe.

“Maybe so Bob”, he said dusting down his shoulders and triumphantly walking towards him,

“But they hate you!”

Panic was the only word for what replaced the smile from a previously smug dinosaur. Panic and alarm merged into one, only to be joined by confusion and outright dithering. The instructionless Dinosaur moved slightly to left, then to the right, went towards Rex and then back, before standing absolutely still.

“I’d run if I were you”, Rex offered helpfully, pointing into the distant woodland.

“Good idea Rex!” was the reply and finally his legs got the message, hitting the ground hard and turning to the suggested destination.

But it was too late.

Far too late and the first Pterodon tucked its wings into his sides and pointed his beak to the ground, a faultless dart aiming at it target.

You, if you had been there of course, would have heard the squeal of excitement from a much more joyous Dinosaur Keeper, as the sound of a dinosaur plummeting to the ground broke the afternoon’s silence.

A cheer came from the others as the Pterodon opened its wings to full length, pulling out of the lunge at the last moment and releasing its boulder directly onto Bob.

It hit his back with a crack, flattening him to the floor as his legs buckled beneath him. Bob was still some distance away from the safety of trees, even with his two massive legs. Within a second though, as he skidded along the grass, he was back on his feet.

But just as quickly another boulder hit him on the side of the neck hard.

He yelped with pain and a frenzy of cheers, never the like seen before on Chunk, came from the huddled Dinosaurs and Rex couldn’t help but join in.

A third hit him squarely on the head, forcing him to go dizzily left, stumbling nearer to the woodland, but still not quite safe.

The herds erupted into chaos, jumping up and down, screaming at the top of their lungs, jeering at the Tyrannosaurus’ demise.

Rex raised his arms high above his head, arching his back and clenching hands into tight balls of fists.

But the Dinosaur Keeper could not make one sound, his eyes stinging slightly at the sight before him.

Standing still, motionless in the void confusion, his hatred vanished as quickly as it had arrived, causing courage to empty from his stomach, a lump strangling his throat.

Bob dragged his shattered body as hard as he could to within a few metres of the trees, only to be greeted by another boulder landing squarely on his right foot.

Again he howled and shot a glance back to Rex, evidence of his own sorrow stabbing like cold ice in the Dinosaur Keeper’s chest.

Another shadow passed along the plains at some speed in front of him, and Rex ran backwards waving his arms above his head.

“Stop!” he screamed, “Stop! Not like this, it’s not meant to be like this!”

The Pterodon’s surprise could be measured by the mile. So shocked at the request was he, that the target was completely missed and the boulder nearly took out the whole pack of Velociraptors, like pins in a bowling alley. The Pterodon itself span off to one side, a Catherine Wheel in full flight that had failed to be secured to a post quite firmly enough.

“No more”, screamed Rex again and he was greeted with stunned silence and the sight of a fully erect Tyrannosaurus.

Still the shame of the group’s actions did not leave one part of Rex’s body, even when he saw that Bob had been stunned more by the actions of the Pterodons rather than the boulders themselves.

Bob shook his head from side to side, and with it any memory of the Pterodons attack left him.

Everything came rushing towards Rex and he found himself running through his previous experiences with Max.

The odd stumble, or accident, that had happened in all his time here had been heralded with a mighty thud and a flaying of Max’s massive limbs. But it was the size and weight of the great Dinosaur that had made him look so helpless combined with Rex’s shock, not anything that had actually happened to the terrific Tyrannosaurus. Any catastrophe, no matter how much Rex winced, was quickly shaken off by Max, resuming his calm composure almost instantly, and the same could be presumed for Bob.

So there he stood, staring at Rex again as if the last few minutes had never happened.

But the stare had changed, the eyes were different contemplating the change in his environment, weighing up how this could be turned to his advantage.

Slowly one giant foot made a step toward Rex, the fear returning to the Dinosaur Keeper again. But Bob turned to Rex and, if he didn’t know better, a little bow was seen before silence and the vision of only plant life, the mighty Tyrannosaurus exciting sharply into the forest.

Stunned, was the only phrase to sum up the rest of the herds current feelings.

Rex panted heavily, not through exertion, but through the wondering of what he had just done.

What had he just done?

His enemy, his mortal foe, the only real problem in the whole of their homeland had been trapped, not by the pit or any kind of planning, but through the sudden surge of teamwork and cooperation, something that Rex would have gladly begged for but a few days ago.

And what had he done? He’d let him go, let him run away, lick his wounds and come back, stronger and with more fire in his belly.

All it had taken was one look, just one.

Sadness, pain, remorse, self pity even, all wrapped up in one longing stare and Rex had crumbled straight away, aborting the best chance they had of ridding themselves of Bob once and for all.

“What have you done Rex?” came the familiar voice of Rupert.

“We had him”, he continued, “We had him and you let him go”.

Rex gasped for air, but his lungs seem to block any trace of it out, not wanting the oxygen but instead relishing the pain and dizziness in his head.

His mind swam, and a large gulp brought Rex to his knees, still trying to get some kind breath into his chest.

“Rex?” asked Rupert, with more than a little concern in his voice, before rushing over and supporting his friend.

There, with the warmth of another body next to him, the air finally filled his lungs pushing his words at last for release,

“I’m sorry”, he said through sharp pants, “But the pain, I couldn’t stand, not even in him”.

The rest of the Dinosaurs crowded round him, even the Diplodocus’ had moved swiftly, much to their own surprise.

The silence, it has to be noted, was long and awkward, but nobody seemed to mind, much preferring this atmosphere to one where somebody said something inappropriate.

“So what next?” asked Henry after a few minutes passed, braving the fact that his comments may appear foolish.

“We carry on with the plan”, replied Rex much relieved to be experiencing a regular heartbeat, “He still has to be caught, but I can’t harm him. We can’t harm him”.

Rex looked at the rest of the herds and each one of them accepted this reply as if it was themselves that were to be trapped, nodding in agreement.

The awkward silence was gently knocking on the door again, making sure it was alright to return, when with much aplomb Max appeared, looking like he had been the one running around the field in fear for his life,

“Sorry, I heard shouting”, he stated quizzically, rubbing the side of his cheek, “Is everybody alright?”

Rex eyed him up and down for a while, thoughts whirring in his head, but eventually conceded that everything was okay by nodding his head. He was quite glad of this interruption, as the arrival of somebody else shook them all back to reality.

“Bob’s been”, Rex finally managed after turning over how best to sum up the recent events.

“Well it looks like he’s gone now”, replied Max staring right where Bob had exited a few minutes ago, finally giving up on rubbing his cheek, as his arms really weren’t quite up to the job.

“Why on Chunk didn’t somebody look out for him?” asked Max, “What if he had seen the hole?”

Rex was absolutely stunned. There he was, cuts visible through his badly torn clothes, blood trickling down his cheek, and if both of them weren’t enough of a clue, he was currently nursing a rather large bump on his forehead, which was swelling to the size of a small tangerine.

Completely taken aback by the lack of his supposed friends concern Rex chose sarcasm as the best form of response.

“No I’m fine thanks Max,” turning sharply toward Rupert,

“What did happen while you were watching him Rupert?” derision still edged on every word and Rex turned one eye toward Max in time to see him burn with shame, although still nervously looking at where Bob had exited. He also managed to ask the question in such away that he could assure Rupert he didn’t blame him at all and just wanted the facts straight in his head.

“He left mid-morning”, Rupert started, “but came back after an hour, and just sat for the afternoon, dozing silently”.

Rex churned this information over, already looking for any patterns in Bob’s behaviour from yesterday.

“Well at least he didn’t come to the plains, he couldn’t have done unless he stayed for about five minutes”, Rupert went on chuckling slightly, “Of course ten minutes after he left, Ruben and I immediately thought we should have followed him, but we were just so stunned, the speed in which he was up and out of his nest was remarkable”

Rupert looked genuinely amazed as he recalled the events, but quickly added,

“I promise though Rex, it’ll never happen again”.

Rex was certain he should be piecing together something by now, but for the life of him couldn’t put it together.

The seconds ticked away as the herds looked at him strangely until eventually, noticing that he was being very rude, he shook the puzzle from his head and said,

“Sorry Rupert miles away, continue!”

“Anyway we both managed to spot him in time on his return, and found really good hiding places, certain he wouldn’t see us”, Rupert ducked down slightly at this point, showing how they had hid behind a now imaginary bush.

“So, again like yesterday, he walked between Ruben and me, looking at roughly where Ruben was first”.

Rupert remained crouched for a second longer and then drew in closer to Rex, making Max lean in a bit further so he could here what was said.

“So next he looks at me, right at me though, straight into my eyes”, the other Dinosaurs started to make nervous noises and Rupert lowered his voice slightly, increasing the tension but trying to soften his voice so not raise alarm,

“So I did what you said Rex!”

Rex started to nervously look in Max’s general direction, but it was too late and the Tyrannosaurus swooped in,

“Really Rupert! And what was it that Rex told you to do?”

“Well”, began Rupert feeling that he had done something wrong,

“I winked at him!” he continued nervously looking round,

“He went chunking mental!”

Rex wasn’t quite sure if it was the expletive or the recount of what Rupert had done, but there was a sharp gasp from everyone, except himself and Max.

Rex braced himself for a stern telling off, it was obvious what he had instigated and in his head he heard Max saying what a chunking chunkite he had been to put one of the Dinosaurs in such mortal peril.

But no such words came forth.

Scrambling quickly, Rex decided he wanted to brush over this as soon as possible, so that if Max did say something it would be a bit trickier to broach, his window of opportunity passed.

“So what happened next?” the words tumbling over each other in the rush to get out.

“Well it was kind of strange”, continued Rupert, “But he let out this massive roar, ear-splitting it was!”, and to prove his point both himself and Ruben clamped their hands to there heads.

“Go on!” encouraged Rex, feeling less nervous by the second but keen to be bit further away from the previous disclosure.

“Well”, continued Rupert, “We were off like a shot, but we needn’t have bothered to be honest. It was a good few minutes before he started chasing and then when he did, he kept stopping as if tired out or something, until he got to the edge of the plains where he sort of had a burst of energy and well, you know the rest, that’s when we saw you”.

Rupert decided to sit down, as if as much as exhausted from the tale as the chase itself.

This made no sense to Rex at all. Pacing himself? Even Max could run flat out for half an hour, in fact if anything Tyrannosaurus’ seemed to like running.

“Well I’ll be off”, offered Max, “You seem to have everything under control now Rex”, and with it exited rather more hastily than usual, right at the spot Bob had vanished through a few minutes ago.

The rest of the Dinosaurs looked absolutely shattered. So Rex said that was enough for the day and told them to get to bed, making sure they were up bright and early the next day.

As he headed home himself, he felt that at least a disaster had been averted, and some solace was drawn from that, although his aching head may not have agreed.

Having a bad feeling about today, he sloped off to bed a little earlier than usual.

Supper was pre-packaged and pre-prepared, which wasn’t helped by a terrible incident with a savoury dessert.

Creaking up the stairs Rex was filled with resolve that from this moment on, no matter what it said, Steak and Kidney Pudding would be served in his household as a main meal not as a dessert. This aside, he was just as resolute about the quickening of the digging, but unsure how he was going to tackle that yet.

But to his first thoughts, the meals had been a bit odd actually, and Rex was quite pleased that he had had two savouries, even if he had to scrape the custard off the latter. Both meals were very tasty, a little too salty for Rex, but the steak and mince, for all its flavour, had the texture of Dumdum and Rex was more than a little suspicious that this was exactly what it was. Fortunately this only lasted for as long as it took him to go to sleep.

Which was about two seconds flat.

The morning came far too quickly for anybody’s liking. Through grunts and groans they proceeded to dig, shift the soil and move boulders as and when they appeared. With every Pterodon that took flight Rex winced and as much as he disliked Bob, hoping that he was alright, any damage not lasting, occasionally worrying that a late concussion had left him out cold in his lair, alone to die.

But as quickly as this thought came round, it was just as fast replaced by the image of a fit and well Bob. A Bob that had stood before him seconds after a pummelling of the highest order, as if it had merely been a quick shower, brushed aside with one casual flick of a claw.

The pit was wide enough for almost all of the Velociraptors, by the end of the week, to the point that he let Rupert and Ruben off watching duties, so they too could pitch in with the digging, although he made them attend Bob for an extra day, more out of concern for him than anything and was pleased with the news that he seemed fine.

As the first week turned into the second, and eventually the third, a Max less environment started to pray on Rex’s mind, to the point that he wondered if he had offended him.

It was nearing the end of the forth week, that he eventually appeared and scared the hell out of everybody to be honest. For some reason he had elected to not shout “Only me!”, as he approached, causing everybody to panic and a couple of the Pterodons to take flight, clutching boulders beneath them.

Rex was some way in the distance near the perimeter fence, the more routine the days had become the less he felt the need to manage. Everybody knew their duties and him standing over them made them nervous, the occasional boulder dropped, or trailer tipped over. So he had decided, after asking Henry to put it the right way up again, to spend his days trying to fix the tractor, Dinosaur Manual held aloft as he read every single passage on tractor maintenance.

It hadn’t been many days when the first, put, put, put of the engine was heard, and even the Dinosaurs were impressed by the speed that Rex had learnt his new task.

The engine was sound, and all it really needed was a reattachment of a bracket every now and again, or a squirt of oil where water had got in. Rupert had bent the crossbar back into shape, and apart from a dint in the bonnet, it all looked as good as new.

So Rex had joined in with the production line, dragging a boulder that was too big for the Pterodons, or whizzing round the plains at night, lighting the fires in record time and even finding some space to do his other general duties.

But the last day of the dig, and it was, whether Rex knew it or not, Max had appeared and Rex had been rolling a large rock behind some trees, still concerned that any evidence of something unusual going on must be hidden from Bob.

As fast as the tractor had allowed he was over to Max, before seeing his toeless foot and noting that it had sticky marks round the edge of it, as if a plaster had been freshly removed, and was slightly opaque, looking like it had been covered up too long and allowed to sweat.

He hoped his friend was okay,

“Afternoon Max”, he said “We’re progressing nicely”

“Rex,” started Max with a little bit of shock in his voice, “You’re finished!”

Climbing down from the tractor, more than a little concerned by Max’s comment, he peered into the hole and was stunned by what he saw.

There below him were the dozen Velociraptors, only it looked as if they had been shrunk. It was few seconds for the perspective to shoot back at him, and then he understood that they were just far, far away.

“Stop!” he shouted down, cupping his hands round his mouth, thinking he somehow would need to make himself louder, “Stop I think that’s enough!”.

Of course! With his own new role of chief big boulder remover, and with the tractor repair, he hadn’t actually looked at the hole in weeks.

It was so deep that the Velociraptors had taken to lashing tree trunks together, just so that they had some way of getting out at night.

With all of them digging and any objects being moved by Pterodons, the tractor or the line of Dinosaurs, without much more effort the job had been done in half the time!

The last Velociraptor out, both he and Max returned to peering down the gaping pit.

“The sides have a few pebbles in them, they look a bit sharp”, Max eventually said.

“So what?” asked Rex

“Well Bob might cut himself on the way down! Health and Safety and all that Rex”, was the strange reply

“Health and Safety!” exclaimed Rex, “He’s about to fall down a twenty metre drop, I’d be a little more concerned about that if I were you!”

“Yes, good point”, Max replied and called for Henry to come over.

Some suspicious whispering, that at first Rex didn’t like at all, and a moment later the pit was full of straw, the bottom metre or so thick with as much moss as everybody could find.

Rex was unsure about this to start off with, but conceded with Max that it would just break the fall, there was nothing strong enough to help him get out and Rex was certain that trapping him was the best plan, but he didn’t want to see anything approaching pain again.

“Right then,” said Rex, “Just need to put some logs over the top, those rotten ones over there would be best, and we’re done”.

He was still pointing at a blacker part of the forest when he noticed the rest of the Dinosaurs expressions. They were absolutely and utterly done in. It had been a month, a month of back breaking work and none of them looked like they could do anything further.

“Right I’ll go and get some”, Rupert bravely offered, wincing with pain at the thought of it.

“No, no”, Rex said recognising a pointless recommencement of activity at an unnecessary time of the day,

“It’ll wait until tomorrow. Besides we should probably wait a day or so before actually using it. Check it over, you know for, erm, Health and Safety, sharp pebbles and the like. Off to bed see you all in the morning”

The Dinosaurs had all smiled cheerily towards him after that, well the ones that weren’t so exhausted that they just fell asleep right where they were stood.

It wasn’t until later that evening, having discovered that Chilli really was hot no matter how long you left it to cool down, that Rex went over the afternoon’s events.

As he sat on the toilet wondering why his bottom was trying to force something out that patently wasn’t there, the chilliness of the chilli becoming more apparent, remembering his final orders of the day, pondering whether he would ever get to go to bed or if his bottom had sprung a leak never to be fixed.

‘Off to bed’ he twirled absentmindedly round and around, and not one challenge to his command, however trivial it may have been.

Quite the reverse in fact, a few ‘Thanks Rex’ from some and ‘Good Nus’, from others. The weeks had been hard but they had also been telling, and as fearful as the last stage was, Rex felt that his presence was not only tolerated now but rather, allowed. He did hope for complete acceptance, friendship from all even, but to be approved of, however on the periphery, to the group he had just looked at from afar these many years was enough for now.

Also enough for now was the ready meals and sugary sacks. He had felt slightly under par this last month, and was sure it was the change in diet. There would be plenty of time for cooking tomorrow and Rex was looking forward to dreaming of his homemade Dumdum stew with boiled vegetables and no pudding.

That is if he ever got off this chunking toilet.