It was now or never as Tommy made his move to release the black crystals. Something grabbed hold of him and violently yanked him away from the meteor. He was hoisted up into the air and the crystals fell from Tommy’s flailing arms to the ground.
He could feel hot rank breath against his neck as the horribly scarred face of Lerix materialized in front of him. The fiendish dinosaur pulled Tommy close.
So we met again creature,” Lerix hissed. 𠇍id you really think I would allow you to destroy my Great Stone? Did you!” He laughed wildly.
Color drained from Tommy’s face. Lerix was quite , quite mad.
I will admit,” Lerix went on. “How delightful it was for me to watch you think you’d succeeded.” He laughed hard and low. “How crushed you must feel right now. Now I have you and the last of those wretched Gwondalians who dare defy me. It looks like my lucky day now. Of course I can’t take all the credit. I really couldn’t have done it without Egbert’s help.”
Tommy blinked. Had he just heard right, did he say Egbert? Sure enough the crazy Oviraptor came strutting into the clearing and bowed before the Mighty Lerix.
Egbert of course did it all for his Lord and Master Lerix.” The dinosaur gave Tommy a crazed toothless grin.
It all made sense now. The lack of a branding mark and his reluctance to fight back when they were being chased. Egbert had been helping the Myrites all along. Anger engulfed Tommy.
You tricked me?” he shouted at Egbert. “You were suppose to be my friend!”
The Oviraptor chuckled.
Egbert says the creature should be more careful who it trusts.” The dinosaur turned around and strutted off like a giant insane peacock.
Get back he--” Lerix grabbed Tommy by the throat and squeezed.
Don’t just stand there!” he shouted at his guards. “Get the others!”
The Myrites darted forward and grabbed Jason and the dinosaurs. The crystals were knocked from their grasp.
Lerix let go of Tommy’s throat and dropped him to the ground. Tommy gasped for breath but despite his pain went into action. With one swift kick, he landed a vicious blow to the Velociraptors knee. Lerix yelped out in pain, clutching his injured leg. Tommy scrambled to his feet and made a run for the crystals he had dropped only inches from the crater.
Lerix lunged at Tommy, grabbing his legs and hauling him down. Tommy hit the ground. He tried to inch forward but the dinosaur was too heavy to pull with him. Lerix stood up and flipped Tommy over. Tommy tried to kick him again, but Lerix blocked the blow. Now it was Lerix’s turn. He lifted his leg above Tommy’s head. Tommy quickly rolled aside as Lerix brought his foot down and the massive claw ripped through the earth beside him.
Jason tried to struggle free to help his little brother but couldn’t. The rest of the Velociraptors did nothing to help their leader restrain Tommy. Lerix made it perfectly clear that Tommy was his to destroy.
Tommy looked around frantically to find any kind of help and noticed a black crystal lying only inches away. Lerix attacked again, this time with his powerful jaws. Once again Tommy rolled out of the way, grabbing the crystal at the same time. The dinosaur’s head hit the ground with a loud thud. Tommy lashed out, striking Lerix just below his good eye. The crystal made a nasty gash in the dinosaurs scaly skin. Lerix squealed in pain and grabbed his wounded face.
Agggh!” screamed Lerix. “You will die for this creature!”
Just as it seemed poor Tommy was doomed, the ground shook and the jungle opened up as dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes streamed into the clearing. The worker who had spotted Tommy on the path earlier must have spread word of the rescue effort. Inspired by this heroic act, the enslaved dinosaurs overpowered their captors to join the fight for their freedom.
Enslaved dinosaurs and the Myrite guards clashed into one big ball of flesh, teeth, and claws. It was a fight just how Tommy had imagined it would be. Each dinosaur slashing and tearing for the right to control its own fate.
Lerix stopped for a brief moment to watch his guards fight the slaves. Tommy took full advantage of this momentarily laps in concentration. He gave the Velociraptor another vicious kick to the knee. This unexpected blow caught Lerix off balance and sent him stumbling backwards towards the crater. Losing his footing, Lerix tumbled over the edge and disappeared.
Tommy ignored the fighting and looked around desperately for his black crystals, and there they were lying only a few feet away. He took a step towards them as a scaly arm reached out of the crater, grabbing Tommy by the leg and yanking his feet out from under him. Tommy landed face down on the ground and soon found himself being dragged backwards over the crater’s edge. When Tommy realized what was happening he screamed and began to claw frantically at the dirt. Lerix was still alive and wasn’t about to fall to his death without taking Tommy with him. Tommy screamed for his brother.
Jason!” he shouted. “Save me!”
Jason saw his brother was in serious trouble. Putting all his strength into it, he stomped on the foot of the Velociraptor holding him. The dinosaur squealed with pain as Jason broke free from it’s grasp. He dove through the air, grabbing Tommy by the arms as he landed, but couldn’t stop them both from being dragged over the edge to certain doom.
Kypou watched as Tommy and Jason struggled.
They need our help!” he shouted to the others. Kypou then landed a vicious elbow to the stomach of the Velociraptor standing behind him. It crumpled up. Kypou took off his bow and struck the guard holding Harpi in the side of the head. Harpi broke free and together he and Kypou attacked the Velociraptors still holding Bonta, Peko, and Typhoo captive, then all five rushed to the boys’ aid.
Everyone grab hold!” shouted Kypou as he got behind Jason and wrapped his arm around his legs.
One by one the dinosaurs linked up behind Kypou to form a chain . Together they pulled but Lerix and Tommy were too heavy, and now they were all slowly being dragged towards the crater.
Little Peko was at the end of the chain trying to hang on to Bonta’s tail. He wasn’t big enough or strong enough to help. Then the little dinosaur got an idea. He let go and hopped on to Bonta’s back and scrambled across the chain of dinosaurs until he reached Tommy. Bonta shouted as he rushed over her.
Peko! What are you doing? Come back here!” But the little dinosaur wasn’t listening.
Peko crawled on to Tommy’s back and made his way towards the snarling Velociraptor. Clinging precariously to Tommy’s sweatshirt and dangling only inches away from Lerix, the little dinosaur reached out with his slender neck and sank his teeth into Lerix’s forearm. The scarred dinosaur let out a howl of pain and took a swipe at Peko with his jaws, but Peko quickly dodged out of the way. Lerix snarled wildly, shaking Tommy from side to side causing chain of rescuers to slide a little further towards the pulsating meteor.
As Lerix tightened his grip around Tommy’s legs, little Peko chomped down on the Myrite leader’s arm once again, but Lerix refused to let go. Peko tore his jaws away from his arm and lashed out at Lerix again, raking his sharp little claws across the Velociraptor’s already bleeding eye. Lerix cried out in pain, covering his gouged eye with both hands, and letting go of Tommy.
The Mighty Lerix, fell screeching with anger towards the Great Stone! His cries rang out through the jungle like thunder!
Little Peko turned and scrambled up Tommy’s back and onto solid ground.
Pull!” shouted Jason to the others. They did and Tommy was at last returned to safety.
Jason grabbed his little brother and held him tight as they sat on the edge of the crater. Everyone looked down just in time to see Lerix land on the Great Stone and be instantly vaporized!
Upon hearing the Mighty Lerix’s death screams, the now leaderless Myrites dropped their weapons in panic. Cheers of joy and triumph filled the air as the defeated Myrites fled in to the pre-dawn jungle.
Jason and Tommy got to their feet and looked around. There wasn’t a Velociraptor in sight. Only the victorious dinosaurs from the mine remained. Many were injured but all were happy. Tommy and Jason’s dinosaur friends rushed into the crowd, and were at last reunited with their families.
After a few minutes of greeting their loved ones, the boys saw Typhoo walking towards them with another dinosaur who looked just like him.
Tommy, Jason,” said the shy dinosaur. “This is my brother, Allron.” The boys said hello to the dinosaur. They remembered Typhoo mentioning earlier he had lost his brother and was happy to see them together again. Jason gave his brother a hug. Just one more thing left to do and they were on their way home.
Kypou, Bonta, Harpi, Typhoo, and little Peko left their families momentarily and joined the boys.
We have to finish what we started, don’t we?” said Kypou.
Tommy nodded. “It’s the only way to truly be free from Myrite rule forever,” he said.
Once again they gathered up the crystals and with all eyes watching them, they walked to the crater’s edge. The unlikely group of friends dropped the black crystals into the crater.
The crystals tumbled down and landed on the surface of the Great Stone.
The reaction was immediate. The meteor began to fizzle and spark, sending off thick clouds of black smoke into the red dawn sky. Everyone backed away as large sparks flew into the air. The pulsating increased and the Great Stone’s glow grew with intensity. Almost at once everyone dove to the ground and covered their heads as the meteor exploded with one tremendous flash of red light. The roaring blast echoed through the jungle and then there was silence.
Slowly, humans and dinosaurs alike began to uncover their heads. The valley was still there.
The air was heavy with smoke and the smell of burning rock. Getting to their feet the on lookers moved carefully towards the crater’s edge.
As the smoke began to clear, the growing morning light revealed, a giant smoldering black ball. The Great Stone was no more.
It was a strange historical occasion for the population of Gwondala. The had spent all of their lives living under it’s spell. Now their future was filled with uncertainty. At least it would be a peaceful uncertainty.
Jason pulled Tommy aside. He was puzzled by one thing.
If the Great Stone was responsible for the dinosaurs abilities, and the Great Stone is now gone, why aren’t they acting like normal dinosaurs?” he said quietly.
Tommy shrugged his shoulders.
I don’t know,” he replied. “This is just a hunch but maybe dinosaurs could talk all along or, maybe it’ll take some time for the meteor’s effects to wear off.”
That didn’t really explain it for Jason but it was probably the best explanation he was going to get.
Well,” he added. “Let’s just hope that if it does wear off its not until we’re out of here.”
They laughed.
Jason tousled his little brother’s hair.
Come on squirt,” he said. “Let’s go home.”
