Chapter Two ~ Splat

“Wow!’ exclaimed Tommy. “That was incredible! An amphibious dinosaur, can you believe it!” Inside Tommy there was a strange mixture of awe and fear.

Inside Jason, however, there was just fear. “What’s wrong with this place!” he snapped. 𠇎verything wants to eat us! We’re never going to get out of here alive!” Jason bent forward, resting his hands on his knees.

“It’s not the dinosaurs fault.” explained Tommy as he flopped down on the ground. “They’re just doing what comes naturally. We’re just food to them.” But Jason wasn’t interested in the dinosaurs point of view. He was tired, covered in mud, and fed up with the local wildlife trying to make a midday snack out of him.

Tommy’s eyebrows furrowed. �n you feel that?” he said.

“Feel what?” said Jason.

Tommy put his hands flat on the ground. It was trembling. Jason felt it too now. The ground was trembling and the trees were shaking. Then came the noise. It sounded like a thunder storm was raging up the trail. Tommy got to his feet. He’d seen just about every dinosaur movie ever made and knew exactly what that sound meant. He pushed Jason off the trail.

“Climb a tree!” he shouted.

In a fit of panic Jason climbed the first tree he saw. Tommy followed. The noise and shaking increased. Climbing was difficult. Jason reached the upper branches but Tommy was having trouble. He was still too low down in the tree to be safe from whatever was thundering up the trail. As he reached for the next branch Tommy lost his grip and fell backwards. He would have fallen out of the tree completely but his foot became caught between two branches. Tommy now found himself hanging upside down right in the path of a large and very mysterious raging dust cloud!

Jason scrambled down the tree and reached out with one hand. “Grab my hand!” he shouted over the noise. Tommy tried but couldn’t.

Jason looked frantically towards the fast approaching dust cloud. Strange ominous shapes loomed within it. With one last burst of energy Jason lunged forward and caught Tommy by the wrist. As he lifted Tommy up, a group of very large three horned dinosaurs stampeded underneath them. Jason tried desperately to hang on to his little brother. If he let go, Tommy would fall into the path of the dinosaurs! Tommy couldn’t see what was going on underneath him but by the look on Jason’s face it wasn’t good.

After a few bone shaking minutes the last of the dinosaurs thundered by and the thick choking dust began to settle. Jason braced himself and pulled Tommy up into the tree. They clung to its branches trying to calm themselves. It had been one horrible surprise after another ever since they had stepped into this bizarre world.

“Are you okay?” asked Jason.

Tommy gave him a shaky smile. “Yeah, I think so. I would have been a human pancake if it weren’t for you.”

“Anytime Squirt,” smirked Jason. He knew how much calling him that bothered Tommy. 𠇋ut I hope that’s the last time I have to save you from stampeding dinosaurs.”

The boys climbed down from the tree, brushed off some of the dust and mud and set off up the trail.

They walked for quite some time, and to their relief, without any more surprises, thinking of home and wondering if their Mom and Dad were worried about them yet. The boys had been gone for almost a whole day. On top of all this Tommy wasn’t feeling very good about himself. He never expected a real adventure to get him into so much trouble, not to mention be so exhausting. So far they had encountered three different species of dinosaurs and each time they had barely escaped with their lives. To make matters even worse, the sun was starting to sink down behind the horizon. They were going to be stuck here... in the dark... which wasn’t a pleasant thought. The warm forest air began to cool.

Arriving at the decision that up high seemed to be the safest place, the boys found a large tree by the side of the trail, and prepared to spend the night in it. Being up out of the way of the unusual wildlife, however, brought them little comfort. Tommy took out his flashlight and shone it about the surrounding branches. Right now he couldn’t bare anymore unexpected problems. Fortunately, the branches were clear.

Tommy curled up on the branch as best he could and rested his head on his backpack. “Goodnight Jason,” he said with a yawn.

“Goodnight,” replied Jason. Soon he heard Tommy’s deep breathing.

Jason shivered in the cold darkness. He didn’t feel there was a chance he would be getting much rest in such a creepy place, but soon he could fight his exhaustion no longer, and drifted off into a restless sleep.

Tommy woke with the warm morning sun on his face. He’d had a nasty dream about stampeding dinosaurs. Yawning deeply, Tommy sat up and looked around, noticing right away that he was sitting in a tree. Tommy sighed. It hadn’t been a dream. He reached over and shook Jason. Jason practically jumped out of the tree.

“Their back! Their back!” he shouted.

Tommy patted his brother's arm. “It’s okay Jason, it’s me. I was trying to wake you.”

Jason let out a long sigh of despair. “Man,” he groaned. “I don’t think I’m going to survive this.”

“We should get going,” said Tommy. “You know we should use as much of the daylight as possible.” They climbed down and resumed their journey home.

Eventually the boys came upon a right hand bend in the trail, leading away from the river. If they continued to follow the trail they could end up anywhere. Following the river was their only guide back so the decision was made to continue on straight ahead. This lead them off the trail and into the forest which lined the river. As the boys struggled through the thick foliage, they began to hear the sound of rushing water. Pushing their way through a row of trees, Tommy and Jason found themselves at the edge of a high cliff, and gazing upon a most fantastic sight. Cascading down the face of the cliff was the biggest waterfall they’d ever seen! Even bigger than Niagara Falls which they’d visited last summer vacation! It roared down the cliff sending off rainbows of water spray. The bottom of the falls emptied into the river that flowed through a huge green valley. Tommy knew immediately that they were on the right track.

The waterfall, however, was going to be a problem. How were they going to get passed it? There wasn’t a way down that either of them could see. Jason left Tommy to think and wandered off along the cliff edge. He scanned the area and something caught his eye.

“Hey Tommy,” he called out. “ I think I found something.” Tommy walked over to where Jason was standing. Below them, going down the cliff face next to the waterfall was a series of stone steps, leading down behind the falls. Where the steps went from there they didn’t know.

Jason scratched his head. “Well, it’s worth a shot.” he said. “I don’t see any other way down. Do you?”

Tommy shook his head. “No,” he replied.

Getting to the first step, however, was a real challenge because the drop from the cliff edge was higher than the boys were tall. Jason went first. He laid on his stomach and carefully worked his way backwards off the edge. His stomach churned and his heart was pounding so hard he thought it was going to break through his chest. One wrong move and he would fall to his death. It was a very long way down. Jason , reluctantly of course, had to let go of the cliff edge and drop down the last few feet. He steadied himself on the narrow step and tried not to look behind him. Then with his help Tommy followed. The rest of the steps leading down were laid out at an angle and much closer together. They had little trouble managing them.

The boys entered behind the falls. It’s moist vapors clung to their hair and clothes. Neither of them minded however, as it had been the closest thing to a shower they’d had in over a day. The heavy wet air was almost suffocating. There were more steps leading out from behind the falls and down the other side to the valley floor.

The change in climate was instantly noticeable. Atop the falls had been warm with a mild breeze. But down in the valley it was hot and humid with no breeze at all and tropical like a jungle. The heat did its best to zap them of what precious little energy they had left. The trees were covered with thick green moss and draped with jungle vines. Everything was green except for the ground which was covered in moist black dirt. It was like entering a world inside a world. This adventure got stranger with every step.

Tommy looked up at the tree tops. He could see the sun fighting its way through the dense jungle canopy. Time was not on their side. Trying to ignore the eerie feeling this place gave them, the boys set off into the jungle, and had not gone very far when they came across a very disturbing sight. Scattered on the ground around them were bones. Tommy pushed some of the battered bones around with his shoe. He immediately recognized some of the skulls.

“They’re dinosaur bones,” he announced.

Jason gulped and looked around. “What do you suppose did this?” he said in a quiet voice.

“I don’t know,” said Tommy. “Maybe other dinosaurs?”

Their situation didn’t look hopeful. If animals who lived in this environment ended up dead, what chance did they have. This was yet another sign of how dangerous and unforgiving this world was, but they knew they would have to carry on. Home wasn’t going to come to them.

Struggling over rotted trees, through thick jungle vines and along damp ground, the boys pressed on. Finally stopping at a most unusual obstacle. Towering in front of them was a high wall of twisted vines that curved off to the far left and far right. They found a place in the wall where the vines didn’t grow. Hoping to find a short cut through the barrier the boys climbed through the opening.

The air was suddenly alive with color! Giant flowers with stems like tree trunks grew out of the dark wet soil. It was very beautiful in a bizarre sort of way and was certainly the weirdest garden Tommy and Jason had ever seen. They wandered among the towering stems and tried to imagine what kind of crazy gardener had thought this place up. It took them more than an hour to make their way around the inside of the strange enclosure, only to find the vine wall completely surrounded them and the garden. They split up and scanned the wall for any sign of a doorway out. It was Tommy who found one. He turned to call Jason over but Jason wasn’t there. Now where did he go? Jason wouldn’t wander off without telling me, would he?

“Jason? Jason, where are you!?” called Tommy. “This isn’t funny!” But Jason didn’t respond. Tommy was starting to get nervous.

“Come on Jason, your wasting time!” This time Tommy got a response. It was a faint muffled noise. Tommy slowly turned around trying to find where the noise was coming from. He paused in front of one of the huge stems and looked up. Atop the stem, inside a giant flower head with its petals tightly shut... something was moving!

There was the noise again but this time it was louder! Tommy gasped! Was that his name being screamed? Yes it was! It was his name! Tommy knew he had to get the flower open, his brother was trapped inside!

He ran to the wall, grabbed a thick piece of stiff vine and pulled, but it wouldn’t budge. Tommy started to seriously panic. What was he going to do! He let go of the vine and looked around for ideas. That’s when he spied a jagged rock lying on the ground near him. Tommy picked it up and began to hack at the vine. It finally broke free and Tommy ran at the plant, swinging like he was Mark McGuire down by a run in the bottom of the ninth. He whacked the stem several times without anything happening. Then one of the huge plant leaves took a whack at Tommy, sending him flying through the air! He landed on the ground several feet away. Without missing a beat Tommy jumped to his feet. He wasn’t going to give up that easy and was about to try again when a thought came to him. Tommy sat on the ground and with the rock in one hand began to cut away at one end of the stiff vine until it was a sharp point. Once again he charged at the plant. Ducking under the dangerous leaves he plunged the sharpened vine deep into the stem then quickly backed away. The mutant flower shuddered and shook then keeled over. Seconds later the flower opened and Jason tumbled out. Tommy rushed over to him and pulled him away from the deadly plant. Jason coughed loudly. He was covered with sticky pollen.

“Are you okay?” asked Tommy.

Jason was visibly shaken. “That plant tried to eat me!” he shrieked. “I couldn’t breathe!”

“Will you be able to go on?”

Jason got to his feet. “I want to get as far away from here as possible!” He had a feeling he’d never look at a flower the same way again.

The boys ran through the doorway Tommy found earlier and back out into the dense jungle.

Once again the sun began its journey behind the horizon. Jason slumped down on a wet log, rubbed his hands through his hair, and took a good look around. All he saw was the same horrible wet jungle they had been traveling through all day.

“We’re never going to get home are we?’ he said softly. “We’ve been walking for hours and we’re not getting anywhere.” Jason was feeling totally defeated. “It’s hopeless, just hopeless. We’re going to end up a pile of bones just like the ones we saw earlier.” He put his face in his hands and went quiet.

Tommy sat on the ground and did his best to comfort his brother. “I know our situation doesn’t look good but I’m sure we’re on the right track.” Tommy felt like this was all his fault. If it hadn’t been for his stupid need to get a picture of a dinosaur, they’d be at home right now.

“Jason,” Tommy said quietly. His chin quivered.

“Yeah, what?” said Jason.

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.” said Tommy. Tears rolled down his face.

Jason sat on the ground and put an arm around his brother’s shaking shoulders. ”on’t cry Squirt. You didn’t know any of this was going to happen. Besides, it’s not all your fault. I should have done more to stop you.”

They sat in silence listening to the rumbling of their stomachs. Neither of them had eaten since breakfast the previous morning. All they had were the jellybeans in Jason’s pocket. Although any kind of junk food was great, they still would have given anything to be at home eating their Mom’s cooking, even if that meant spinach. After devouring the last jellybean the boys continued on with the flashlight guiding their way through the dim jungle.

Their surroundings continued to change. The trees grew taller and the moss thicker. The ground vegetation was dense and tangled and Jason swore it was trying to trip him up on purpose. The air was wet and muggy. Condensation dripped from the trees, making it seem like it was forever raining. The boys were convinced they were never going to be dry again. Their clothes clung to them like wet newspaper. The sun was gone now and the bright blue sky above had turned a deep black The boys climbed a large wet tree and perched precariously in its branches. Water drizzled down from the leaves above. It wasn’t going to be a very comfortable night. They stared out into the sinister black that enveloped them. The valley and its’ uncertain darkness scared them both. It was mysterious and had a feeling of danger. Despite how they felt, they knew they couldn’t give up the hope of getting home. Much to Tommy and Jason’s surprise they did however, manage to fall asleep. Exhaustion seemed to be a permanent part of their lives now.

It was Jason who woke first, but not by the warm morning sun shining down on him....something was sitting on his face! He didn’t know what it was and he certainly didn’t have the nerve to open his eyes and have a look but he could feel it. Jason laid perfectly still, hoping that whatever it was would get bored and go away. With his luck though, it’d probably build a nest and lay eggs. After several lifetimes... okay so it was only a minute but it seemed like forever to Jason... he slowly opened his eyes and was astonished to find perched on his nose the biggest dragonfly in the history of the world! It was massive! The size of a cat! The dragonfly was sitting casually on Jason’s nose cleaning its wings. It stopped its personal hygiene and looked at Jason with large unmoving black eyes. The dragonfly seemed extremely disinterested in him and not at all bothered by the fact it was parked on his face. It gently shook its wings and went back to it’s grooming. Jason wanted to scream but didn’t.

At the same time as Jason was contemplating having to spend the rest of his life with a freaky mutant bug on his face, Tommy was waking up. He looked over at Jason and his new friend.

“Jason,” he said. “You’ve got a little something on your face.” Tommy tried not to laugh.

In a very hushed and panicked voice, and trying not to move his lips at all, Jason mouthed one word.... “HELP!”

Tommy shot up, grabbed his pack, and swung. Unfortunately he miscalculated slightly and instead of frightening the insect away, the pack made direct contact with Jason’s face. The sound that followed echoed through the jungle like a thousand eggs being cracked at once..

Tommy cringed and slowly lifted up the pack, only to find a most ghastly sight. Jason covered in squashed dragonfly! Jason glared at Tommy and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“What’s the big idea!” he hissed.

Tommy made an apologetic face. “Sorry. I was trying to scare it away. I guess I kind of missed. Sorry.”

“Oh really,” snapped Jason. “I didn’t notice!” Tommy wondered if he was out of Jason’s punching range. Jason quickly sat up. Tommy flinched. Jason could feel the guts sliding down his face. This was the grossest thing he’d ever experienced.

“Nice job!” he snarled. “Now what am I gonna do, huh? How am I suppose to get this stuff off me!”

Tommy pulled a leaf off a nearby branch and held it out for Jason. “Uh... this might help. Sorry,” he said again. Jason snatched the leaf from Tommy’s hand, grumbling angrily under his breath. Tommy couldn’t make out the words but he was sure they weren’t very pleasant.

Several leaves later, Jason had managed to get some of the disgusting bug goo off, but there was still a lot left. He could feel it starting dry and get itchy. Without a word to each other the boys climbed down from the tree and resumed their journey. Jason wasn’t about to forgive Tommy just yet.

After a few more intensely silent miles of walking they entered a small clearing in the jungle. The ground was neatly and evenly covered with large leaves. Taking no notice of their new surroundings the Barker brothers proceeded into the clearing and with a sudden whoosh instantly disappeared.

Tommy and Jason broke through the trees and were quite surprised when they came out onto a path... a well-used path. Without giving it a moments thought, they ran up the trail and out of sight.