Fearless ≫ Zach Mitchell

viii.

e i g h t

~

"Shit! Zach, go!" Ashton lashed out with her arm, gripping Zach's arm tightly as he struggled to operate the Gyrosphere. In front of them, the Ankylosauruses had noticed the dinosaur, and were beginning to bellow angrily. The dinosaur roared back, lunging forward and kicking the Gyrosphere in the progress.

The sphere went flying, rolling across the rocky ground and straight towards the angry Ankylosaurs. Another ear-splitting roar sounded from the mystery dinosaur, loud enough to shake the seats inside the Gyrosphere. Gray's hand was wrapped tightly around Ashton's arm, trembling with fear as Zach managed to get the sphere working again. Though before they had the chance to move an inch, the Ankylosauruses began running, knocking their hard shells against the ball and causing them to go flying once more. Ashton couldn't help but scream, mocking Gray's terrified sounds as the large dinosaur chased after the Ankylosaurs.

Ashton felt something press against her chest, and she looked down to see Zach holding his arm in front of her in a protective manner. His hand gripped Gray's shirt, his voice barely audible over the chaos going on outside the sphere. "Hold it together, man!"

The Gyrosphere continued to roll, heading straight towards a lone Ankylosaurus that was cornered by the dinosaur. It bellowed angrily, stomping its feet into the forest floor as if it were taunting the largr dinosaur, asking for a fight. As the sphere grew closer, the Ankylosaur lashed out with its clubbed tail. Whether it was aiming for the sphere or the white dinosaur, Ashton could not tell. A loud scream fell from her lips as the bony club came in contact with the thick glass, causing it to scratch, but not yet shatter. The Gyrosphere rolled again, this time hitting the thick trunk of an oak tree and slowly rolling upside town.

"Oh, shit," Zach muttered slowly. He released his grip on Gray's shirt, moving his hand to grab the joystick once more. He thrust it forward, though the Gyrosphere refused to budge. The engine roared, almost as if it were angry that it was unable to move.

"Jimmy Fallon lied to us." Despite the serious situation, Ashton found herself making a joke. "Damn you, Jimmy Fallon."

Now that the Gyrosphere was still, she was able to get a better view of the unknown dinosaur. It closely resembled a T-Rex- so close that if she had only just glanced at it, she would have guessed that's what it was. But it's arms were much longer, armed with gigantic, razor-sharp claws. Its skin was a pale white, it's eyes shining red in the dim sunlight. It's mouth opened and another roar escaped; it seemed as if it were showing off its teeth to the cornered Ankylosaur. Despite her knowledge of dinosaurs, she just couldn't find a species that would fit the appearance of the one standing in front of her. But then she remembered- she remember exactly why she didn't want to babysit. Could this dinosaur be the new asset- the hybrid that Claire Dearing had told her uncle about?

Ashton felt something grip her hand, turned to see Zach slowly entwining their fingers. Despite the life-threatening situation they were currently in, she found herself smiling slightly as their wide-eyed gazes met. On her left, her arm was wrapped protectively around Gray, whose eyes were squeezed shut and silent sobs shaking his body.

Ashton turned forward again just in time to see the white dinosaur flip the Ankylosaurus onto its back. The smaller dinosaur didn't have any time to struggle before its large jaws came in contact with its head, snapping its neck in one swift motion. Unable to watch the larger dinosaur gloat over her victory, Ashton looked away, squeezing her eyes shut and leaning helplessly into Zach. She could feel the blood rushing to her head, making it pound and her feel lightheaded.

"We're safe in here, right?" Gray's small voice spoke from beside her, shaky and raspy from crying. Ashton didn't answer, deciding that it was better if Zach comforted his brother.