Chapter One

In the middle of a dark forest...

Chapter One: Journey Through the Night

Nyx screamed as a cavernous mouth full of teeth lunged for her from the side.  She swerved away from death and continued running, dragging her two younger sisters after her.  The pack of large carnivorous lizards, distinctly dinosaur in appearance, raced after her.

There was no ‘to’ in her plan.  She found that when being chased by ravenous raptors, it was the ‘away’ that was important.  ‘To’ could take care of itself or get eaten as far as Nyx was concerned.

She might have had a head start, but Nyx could hear the creatures gaining on them.  Their snarls and snapping mouths were making her panic, stopping her brain from working efficiently.  She didn’t know what to do.  They weren’t exactly taught this in school: How to Survive a Dino Ambush 101.

‘Just keep ahead of the teeth,’ her brain supplied.  ‘Good plan!’  She sped up.

Nyx ran for the denser areas of the forest, where the trees were too close together for the dinosaurs to pass.  She weaved in and out, praying that the creatures would lose interest and go find easier prey.  And for a few moments her adrenaline-based plan seemed to have worked.  Then, too suddenly, a mouth full of serrated teeth was right in front of her!  Screaming once more, Nyx dropped to the ground to avoid the powerful bite.  Her momentum carried the sisters under the huge reptile and right over the edge of a cliff.  Shrieking at the terror coming from all side, the girls shot down the embankment.

They skidded to a stop, completely splattered with mud from the previous thunderstorm.  Nyx was trying to clear her glasses of mud when the raptors leapt down to join them.  One particularly huge reptile landed among the sisters, effectively scattering them.

Nyx wove through the pack of carnivores, desperately trying to reach her sisters while avoid killer jaws and talons.  She even ran straight into the body of one of the creatures.  The only thing that saved her from being sliced-and-diced was that she hit the dull green hide at top speed and bounced way off.

Then a smaller raptor rammed Nyx, sending her flying into Acacia and the dino into the path of the pack leader.  The scuffle that ensued gave the girls enough time to scramble to their feet.

Clutching at Acacia, Nyx gazed wildly around for her other sister, Brier.  There, running towards them, was the little six-year-old.  Behind her, and gaining, came a gaping mouth.

“Run, Brier!  RUN!” shrieked Acacia.  Screaming, Brier did as she was told.

“Zig-zag!” Nyx called to her, already dashing towards her.

That’s when a muscular tail suddenly whipped out and sent the youngest sister flying.  Brier rolled over onto her back just as the leader of the pack came leaping at her.  She screamed and flung up her arms in a feeble attempt at defense.

Nyx froze in mid-sprint as a burst of white light shot from Brier’s hands and erupted against the monster bearing down on her.  Suddenly, where there had been a bloodthirsty carnivore, there were blackened bits soaring through the air.

Nyx stared with widening eyes at the charred lump on the ground.  Even the other raptors seemed to consider the heap cautiously.  Nyx didn’t think they would pass up an easy meal of three kids; that didn’t seem to be her luck.  So, she snatched the stunned Brier from the ground, grabbed Acacia’s hand in passing and focused on putting as much space between her and the monsters as possible.  Moments later, the lizard-things snapped out of their reverie and came after their fleeing meal.

The predators and their prey broke out of the jungle and found themselves in a valley that was no more than a giant bowl.  Meaning there was no way out.  Wherever Nyx looked, the bowl stretched on, no crack or pass in sight, completely smooth, vertical sides as far as the eye could see.

“No, no, no, no!” she screamed in frustration and fear.  She whirled this way and that, searching for safety.

The sun crested the edge of the valley.  Like golden syrup, sunlight flowed down the granite sides, illuminating everything.  Including a large, wooden door set into a great, stone wall.

Finding an extra burst of speed, Nyx bolted up to the door and began banging on it.

“Open the door!”

“Help!  Let us in!  HELP!”

The reptilian hunters stalked forward menacingly, encircling their prey.  It had been a good hunt…and would be an even better supper.

Brier shrieked, throwing her back against the door.

“Do that thing you did!” Acacia yelled at her twin.

“I don’t know what I did!” Brier shrieked back, sobbing in terror.

Nyx didn’t stop pounding on the door.  If it wouldn’t open, she was determined to break it down.

The wood suddenly moved under Nyx’s fingers.  Hands were reaching through, pulling them to safety.  Then the door shut heavily on the snout of one raptor.  Round, hooded faces peered down at the terrified girls.

‘Safety,’ whispered the not-quite-a-voice on the breeze from the caves.  ‘You’re safe.’

Nyx couldn’t take it any more.  She fainted.

Author's Note

Does this make you want to continue reading? Any advice? Suggestions? Pudding?