The Lost World
act 3

REFUGEES 

      The tyrannosaur's roar echoed across the island. It was
somewhere in the valley.

     "Come on, let's get to the boat." Callie said nervously.
     "Yes." Lynx said. " But we should hurry, It's getting late, and
the predators do most of their hunting at night."

The tyrannosaur's roar got them moving. Everyone raced to the van,
with T-bone at the wheel.

     The road was mostly loose gravel and was often on a steep
incline, making their progress slow. They had gone about a mile when
Lynx told T-bone to stop. To the right of them, a path led into the
dark forest. Lynx said that that the path led to a small shed. He
explained to them that inside there should be some flashlights. It
was dusk, and night would fall before they reached the boat. The boat
was a hundred yards from the road and the path was not lit.

     "Is anyone coming with me?" Lynx said.
     "I'll go." Felina said.
     "Same here." Razor said.


     It was foggy in the forest, making it hard to see the path. They
couldn't see the shed.

     "How far do we have to go?" Razor asked, nervous.
     "It shouldn't be too much farther." Lynx said.
     
     A snort emanated from the jungle. They turned to face the
direction of the sound. It sounded big, too big, and it was moving
toward them. 

     "I hope that's not what I think it is." Lynx said.
     "Whatever it is it's getting closer." Razor said.

     A stegosaur ambled out of the jungle. They all sighed in relief.
It snorted, and moved on, ignoring them completely. But then Felina
remembered Lynx saying that the predators did their hunting at night,
and that something might be stalking it.

     "We'd better hurry." She said.

     The shed was very small, no bigger than a walk-in closet. Felina
and Razor made their way to the back of the shed, while Lynx stayed
at the front. There was an eerie quiet around them...

     Back at the van, T-bone yawned. The three seemed to be taking
forever. He wondered how much longer it would take them to get back.
He started to dose off. 
     Suddenly the van shook. He opened his eyes long enough to see a
huge black mass pass in front of them. It was going into the jungle,
in the same direction that Razor, Felina, and Lynx had gone...

     "I found the flashlights." Razor said. "What else are we looking
for?"
     "Some first aid kits would come in handy." Lynx said. Then he
noticed that Lt. Feral had stopped searching and was now staring at
him. Or behind him.

     "Um, Lynx." She said. "Get away from the door."
     "What's the problem?"
     "Just...DO IT."
     
     A thunderous bellow echoed behind him. He scrambled to the back,
and nearly passed out. A huge beady eye stared in at them. It was the
tyrannosaur. It moved it's head so all they saw was the toothy snout
as it pushed it's way inside. But stopped. It couldn't fit it's
entire head in. The three were just out of reach.
It removed it's head, took one last stare at them, and then left.

     "That was too close." Razor gasped.
     
     As if in response, the wall shook violently. They heard the
tyrannosaur bellow, and the wall shook again, this time making a
lateral crack. It was breaking the wall down. It slammed into the
wall again, and one of the boards fell out. Razor saw it pull it's
head back.

     "Get back! Get back!" He said.

     The enormous head rushed toward them again. It was almost
through.

     "I'm getting out of here!" Lynx said, and he bolted out of the
shed.
     "Lynx, NO!"  Felina shouted.

      Obviously, the tyrannosaur saw this, and in two strides was on
top of him. They heard a loud snap as the tyrannosaur lifted him into
the air. It reared it's huge head back, in the manner of a crocodile,
and swallowed him whole.
     The tyrannosaur didn't return.

     The two survivors walked back down the path to the van. Felina
noticed Lynx's arm, severed at the shoulder. She picked it up. Blood
dripped from the stump onto her shoes.

     "Real bright, Lynx." She said.

     Feral saw his niece and Razor coming toward the van. Felina
stopped at the window.

     "Where's Lynx?" Feral said.
     "Right here." She said, and held up the severed arm. Callie
gasped in alarm.
     "How did that happen?" T-bone said. The tyrannosaur roared,
distant again.
     "One guess." Feral said.
     "Hey, the sooner we get to the boat, the better I'll feel."
Callie said.
     "I second that." Felina said.
     "If you guys don't mind," Razor said, "We'd like to get back to
the Turbokat."
     "Suits me."  Feral said.
     "Okay then, we'll meet you at the dock."

     The van tilted sideways, nearly tipping over. It had been hit,
very hard. The tyrannosaur peered inside. It's eye seemed to glow in
the dark. Callie screamed. It roared at them, the agape jaws blocking
the windshield entirely. 

     "What do we do?" One of the enforcers shouted.
     "Shoot it!" Feral said.
  
     The tyrannosaur slammed into the windshield, shattering it. The
enforcer shot at, it had no effect but to anger it further. It tried
to push it's but once again was stuck. T-bone aimed his glovatrix,
and fired, striking the dinosaur's shoulders, wounding it slightly.
It gave one final roar, and returned to the jungle.

     "That was too close." Razor sighed.
     "I don't think it'll be back." T-bone said. He tried to start
the van, but nothing happened. "Aw crud! It smashed the engine!"
     "I guess we'll have to go on foot." Felina said. "You guys still
going back?"
     "Yeah. Like I said, I don't think it'll bother you again."
     "I think we've gone about a mile." Razor said.
     "Lucky you, we've got an eight mile hike through dinosaurland
ahead of us." Felina said.

     At that they parted.


TRAITORS

      Night had fallen by the time the SWAT Kats reached their jet.
It was intact, save for a gas leak.
Razor got to work on patching it.

     Meanwhile, the Feral's and their posse continued their hike too
the boat. The roar of the tyrannosaur made them freeze in their
tracks.

     "This is nuts!" The enforcer whispered to his partner. "These
guys are gonna kill us!"
     "What are you talking about Tom?"
     "I don't want to be dino-chow!"
     "What do you suggest?"
     "We're much closer to the SWAT Kats' jet than we are to the
boat."
     "You don't mean-
     "Yes, I do. Just do as I do..."

     He slowly sneaked up behind Feral, and hit him with the butt of
his gun. Feral collapsed, unconscious.

     "What the," Felina said. "Sanderz! Tom!"
     
     The report of Tom's gun echoed through the jungle. Felina fell
to her knees, clutching her shoulder. She watched the two enforcers
as they disappeared into the jungle. 

     "Commander!" Callie gasped. "Commander! Wake up!"
     "What happened..." He said, coming to.
     "The lieutenant's been shot."
     "Felina! Are you all right?"
     "Ow, I think so..."
     "Where's that first aid kit?
     "It's right here." Callie said.
     "Can you bandage her up?" He reached for the radio. "SWAT Kats,
can you hear me?"
     "Loud and clear, Feral." T-bone said.
     "We have a small problem, the two remaining enforcers have
turned on us, we think they're after you now."
     "We'll be on guard." T-bone said...