Knocked Up in the Jurassic, Chapter 3
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Knocked Up in the Jurassic!
Chapter 3
By William W. Kelso
I woke up with a sleepy snort, and gave Barney an affectionate lick, which he returned. Then the kids insisted on a 'kiss' too, so we spent a little quality time together, nuzzling and grooming. Barney and I opened our jaws wide, and the kids picked at any stray pieces of meat that were stuck between them. We'd eaten well the day before, and were 'fat and happy', our belly's full. I finally got my lazy butt in gear, standing up and stretching, sticking out my hind legs as far as I could one at a time with grunts of pleasure, and snapped my tail a few times. Oh, man, that felt good! Barney; on the other hand, just watched the show for awhile, and then went back to sleep. Big lazy goof ball, I thought, giving him another lick. If I wanted to wander around even though my belly was full, that was fine with him, but HE was going to take it easy. Besides, it was getting hot. Two of the kids took after daddy, but one of the females came along. She was as curious about stuff as I was, and seemed to be quite a bit more intelligent than her siblings. Which made me wonder, was her mind just a little bit human? That maybe as my human and reptile minds slowly merged more it was actually affecting my DNA, and I was passing my higher 'IQ' on to my offspring? It was an interesting theory, or maybe dinos were just smarter than most people had assumed; after all, they were around for hundreds of millions of years.
It was time to check the hilltop, so I moved off in that direction. As I'd hoped there was a new supply of cameras and other gear, and instructions from the Doc. My daughter watched intently as I rummaged through the bag of gear, and picked up one of the cameras and examined it in fascination. She's definitely not your average Allosaurus I realized, most would have ignored the gear, or tried to eat it. She seemed to be trying to figure out what it was. The Doc had sent a portable laptop with oversized keys, and as I watched his message I would have whistled, if I could. A nuke, Holy Shit! Well, that would definitely fry the little fuckers! Ruin their day big time. Well, orders were orders. Doc said I could expect delivery of the 'package' in about two to three days. Now the question was, how to get it as close to the Rats as possible? They were pretty paranoid; thanks mainly to Tina running around biting their heads off; with a little help from yours truly, and shot up anything bigger then a gerbil that got anywhere close to their ship. I left a 'message received and acknowledged' reply for the Doc, then headed back to my family. I got anxious and worried if I was away for more than a short time, I just couldn't help it.
Dr. Braum looked up at Bruce as the male Ceratosaurus was prepped for his next mission back to the Cretaceous. It was a pretty standard operation; or so the Techies thought, but he and Bruce knew better. The small heavy case Bruce was holding didn't contain a new 'field test kit', but instead the small nuclear device Gen. Lee had delivered, as promised. Dr. Braum tried to act as nonchalant as possible, but was convinced someone would notice how nervous he was. But no one did, and as Bruce vanished in a corona of brilliant light, he thought, Good luck, and God help us.
I heard Bruce roaring in the distance, and knew what that meant. Barney didn't seem happy when he heard the roar, it meant another large predator was in 'our' territory, and he wanted to go have a look, but I put a stop to that. But there was no way I could go to meet Bruce right away as Barney would not let me wander off alone if he knew a threat was in the neighborhood. I gave him a nice long lick; which he really liked, the big galoot. Of course I'd do the same for him, and we'd both die protecting the kids. I managed to slip them some of the knock-out pills Doc had provided; they looked, and smelled, like small chunks of yummy meat. I hated to leave then all sleeping peacefully like that, but anything that caught a whiff of a family of Allosaurus's was unlikely to hang around to say 'Hi'. It was amazing how fast the surrounding area cleared out when we showed up, and this being our territory the other predators gave it a wide berth, so I was pretty sure they'd be safe. Besides, as strong as the sleeping drugs were if anything tried to take a bite out of Barney or one of the kids they'd all wake up, and they wouldn't be in a good mood.
Bruce was waiting for me on the hilltop, and when I showed up I didn't get too close. I knew that wouldn't be a good idea, the more I went 'native' and became more feral the less I could control certain 'instinctive' reactions. So getting very close to another predator I saw as a dangerous rival was NOT recommended. Even if he'd been another Allosaurus it would have been the same. We are NOT social creatures, at least not with other Allosaurus's who aren't members of our family group. He knew that too, and kept a cautious eye on me. He set down a small case, and I walked over and looked at it.
"Hi Bruce, I said, that the nuke?"
"Yep, he said, small but very nasty. It should take out just about anything within a two mile radius, and turn their junky spaceship into glowing slag. The only real problem is, how do we stuff it up their asses?"
I snorted in amusement, "We'll figure it out, we'll have plenty of time on the way there."
"Where's the husband?" Bruce asked nervously.
"Barney? I said, he's sleeping, I slipped him a Mickey. So don't worry about him for right now. But on the way there you'll need to hang back at least a few miles behind us, or parallel our path. If he gets your scent and thinks you're a threat, well, it wouldn't be pretty. If you hear me roar, run like Hell in the opposite direction."
"Oh, don't worry, I will!" Bruce said, hissing quietly.
"Are they sure they want to do this?? I asked, don't get me wrong, I don't care much for the smelly rodents, but this is kind, of, well...final."
"Hey, Bruce said, 'Thiers not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die', as the old poem goes.
"Great." I said, 'Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of death, Rode the six hundred." I finished.
"You know your Tennyson." Bruce said.
"Yeah, and we're the six hundred." I said.
Bruce took off to follow us at a respectful distance, and I went back to my family, running I was so worried. But they were OK; the three kids snuggled up next to dad. So I kept watch until they woke up, and Barney being a little miffed at himself for sleeping for so long. But a snout bump and nice lick let him know I forgave him for his 'dereliction' of duty. Then I gave an 'up and at'em' snort, we were moving out. The kids grumbled a little bit as they were full and still sleepy, but a grunt from dad put a halt to that little insurrection, and they fell in, myself at the front, kids in the middle, and Barney bringing up the rear.
I kept going until we were a few miles from the alien ship, and Barney and I brought down a good sized browser; the kids helping as they were old enough now, and we feasted. I wanted them fat and happy; and sleepy, while I went to take another look around. They were perfectly happy to rest it the shade while mommy went snooping around. The more intelligent little female tried to follow, but went back when I gave her a 'stay!' snort. She didn't like it, but obeyed. She knew better then to mess with momma.
We were in the vicinity of what I'd come to call the 'Slaughter Field' where the Rats had wiped out large herds of plane eaters, so I went there first to poke around. There wasn't much left of the carcasses by now, just a few larger bones and well chewed pieces of tougher hide. It had been a feast for every predator and scavenger; which were often the same, in the area. A few were still poking about looking for an overlooked morsel, but split when I showed up. For now though I kept to the fringe of the woods, keeping a sharp eye out for any sign of Rats. I did not want to end up being a target for a bunch of trigger happy rodents armed with lasers. I figured with Tina tearing up any she could catch they were probably even more paranoid and trigger happy than usual. If something with big toothy fangs was tearing up my friends I sure would be. But it seemed pretty clear, so I decided to move a little closer to the alien ships landing site which was still a few miles away in the next valley.
As I got closer I started to notice a lot less of the usual smaller critters and there were no signs of larger browsers or predators, so I took it slow and easy. For my size I was amazingly good at blending into the background, so stayed under cover. One thing I did worry about was the Rats sense of smell though; they had pretty big noses, so I always tried to approach a new area from downwind. I could smell them from quite a distance, they stank. It was like old gym socks and unwashed feet, nasty. It appeared they didn't rate personal hygiene very highly. So it stood to reason they might be able to smell me from a distance if the wind was right. At least I took a bath every now and then, well sort of, when Barney was feeling playful he'd lick me all over and I'd do the same, we did it to the kids too if they'd hold still long enough. So I guess a tongue bath was better than nothing, plus the local rain storms did a pretty good job. I did have bad breath though, from all the rotting meat stuck in my fangs, I never could get it all out.
My first encounter with the Rats was from a distance; which was fine by me, and it was a large group with lots of weapons in evidence, including a larger one of some kind mounted on a cart. I'd liked to have gotten a closer look, but they were just too alert. From the looks the cart was electric or something, it moved smoothly and only gave off a low humming sound. Or maybe it was nuclear powered; who knew? They were aliens after all, maybe all their stuff ran off nuclear power or something totally, well, alien. Still, I'd have to see if I could get my claws on one, and I still needed to get an 'un-stepped on' sample of one of their rifles. Plus anything else of interest.
About then I caught faint movement in the woods a fair ways behind the large group of Rats. It was another large predator, if it hadn't moved I never would have seen it. But it was cautious, and I figured it had to be Tina. A normal predator wouldn't have been so cautious that far away from a group of strange animals like the Rats, and would most likely have gotten fried. So it was either Tina, or another Ceratosaurus that had already had a run in with the Rats and knew better now.
With a soft grunt I faded back into the trees and began to move to intercept the other predator. I would be just as cautious with her as I was with the Rats though. If I snuck up on her she might respond first, and apologize later if anything was left. Due to our mental degradation we were very unpredictable and more likely to respond as a predator then an intelligent being if caught by surprise, instincts being hard to subdue on short notice. Though I was larger a Ceratosaurus was a mean customer, and no matter the outcome I knew I'd have one Hell of a fight on my claws. And if it was a mated pair it would be a toss-up as they'd gang-up on me.
It was Tina, I'd been pretty positive about it. As I approached the area I'd seen her I gave some soft chuffing grunts to let her know I was in the area, so by the time I found her; or she found me, she wasn't in 'kick ass' mode. She knew it was me, and we were old 'friends'. Or at least as much as two of the top predators of the time could be. But we stayed a fair distance from one another, out of respect and natural caution. If we were 'normal' dinos it would have been kick-ass time by now.
"Hi Tina, I 'said' via my implant, how's the hunting been?"
If it was possible for a Ceratosaurus to grin, she did. "Oh, pretty good, I've gotten six more of them. I'll get ALL of them."
The way she 'said' that, it was a fact; not bragging or hoping. We can be very single minded. They had killed her mate and children, now she would kill them, it was all very simple. I understood exactly what she meant.
"Well, I 'said', I think I have something that might...help a little bit, even the odds."
When I told her about the nuke her 'smile' got even wider. Then we had a nice long 'talk' about how to go about shoving the nuke down their shorts. We had to get it pretty close to the ship, the nuke was a small one, and we had no idea how well the ship was shielded. After all, it had to survive the radiation and other hazards it would encounter in space. But hopefully now that it was grounded they would have turned off any shields or force fields they might have. But still, if we could stick it up the ships tailpipe that would get the best results.
According to Tina the Rats had really tightened up their security, probably mainly due to her depredations. It made me wish she'd held off, but that would have been too much to ask. The Allosaurus part of me approved of what she was doing wholeheartedly, and the human part did too for the most part. Still, it would make things more difficult. I got her to agree to hold off on her single handed war for awhile; so hopefully the Rats might calm down some. She didn't like it, but recognized the necessity. She'd hold off, for now. In the meantime I was going to see if could get closer and take another look at the alien ship.
I circled around a little to one side and approached through an area with less foliage, but lots of ground cover in the form of boulders and piles of rocks. It went right up the perimeter set up by the Rats. I was able to get fairly close, and using the super neat 'binocular goggles' I had been provided got a good long look at the ship and the activity around it. One thing you had to give the Rats was they were pretty energetic, in the short time since my last visit they'd made a lot of progress in dismantling the ship, but their 'town'; looked more like a dump to me, and was growing rapidly. It was haphazard looking, but appeared well built. Of more concern was the security fence, and the visible guards and patrols I could see, and I had no doubt there were sensors and other security procedures that I couldn't see. I'd already seen that if a larger dinosaur approached through the thick woods the Rats would know it was there, and send out a patrol to take a look. Ground radar? Life sign sensors? Infrared? Who knows? But I'd gotten fairly close by approaching through the boulder field, so evidently the rocks interfered with whatever they had, and by staying under cover I'd avoided being detected. So far so good; one advantage for our side. But there was still the problem of the fence, and the guard posts. I had no doubt that anything that stepped out of the cover of the boulders would be fried instantly, or if it made it to the fence would get the shit shocked out of it. And I did NOT want to know what the fence would do to the nuke if you were carrying it. Getting vaporized was NOT part of my strategy, no kamikaze dino here. I planned on living a long happy; Rat free, life with my mate and hordes of offspring terrorizing the countryside.
I snooped around a little bit more, but not wanting to push my luck finally faded back into the boulders after taking quick looks from different angles. As far as I could tell there were two good locations to detonate the nuke, one was in the town the Rats were building; the other was under; or inside, the ship itself. I very much doubted it would survive such a blast no matter how good it's shielding might be. There were several large ramps leading up into the guts of the ship the Rats were using as they dismantled it. The problem was there were Rats all over the place, so there was no way you could walk in, say 'special delivery', and leave again without them noticing something wasn't right. And they were active twenty four hours a day, the area brightly lit up at night. So no commando type sneaking, we were just too damn big. They might be stinky Rats, but they certainly weren't stupid stinky Rats. A raptor or other smaller dino might have done it, but there weren't any observers in forms that small to call on. Tina was one of the smaller ones, and she was still way too big. So the main problem was; how to deliver the 'package'?? Run up close and chuck it? Build a catapult? Leave it in plain sight and hope they'd be dumb enough to take it inside for a closer look?
I think it was a testimony to my deteriorating mental condition that I didn't think of it sooner. The idea came when Barney and I were hunting the next day, and he stampeded a small herd of browsers into my eager fangs. Even as I brought down one, it hit me; of course, a stampede! I got so excited I roared and did a little dance, which got me a quizzical look from Barney. He knew I was a little 'strange, but didn't care, bless his big old heart.
I ditched Barney and the kids the next day; fat and happy from our fresh kill, and headed for a rendezvous point I'd set up with Bruce, and he showed up a few hours later. He'd come up with basically the same idea as well, which miffed me a little bit. Then we had a potential problem when Tina suddenly showed up as well. She'd picked up my scent and had come to say 'Hi'. But at the sight of the strange male she went into defense/attack mode, crouching and hissing loudly, tail whipping. Bruce was backing away, but I could tell that might not be enough, so I moved in-between them.
"Tina, calm down!" I sent via the transmitter, this is Bruce! He's an observer too; they sent him back to help us kill the Rats!" If she attacked anyway I had no idea what my response would be, but more than likely I'd just wait and see who won.
"Help kill the Rats?" Tina replied, her hisses dropping in volume, tail coming to a halt.
"Yes, I said, he has a nice little bomb for them. Boom, no more spaceship, no more Rats."
"Good, that's good!" Tina said, her posture becoming neutral.
"It's OK, Bruce, I said, she's calmed down now."
Bruce stuck his head out from behind a tree, and said "Are you sure? I can come back later...like next year."
"Better if you stay, I replied, you need to meet one another anyway if we're going to make this work. Tina, this is Bruce, Bruce, Tina."
"Um, Hi?" Bruce ventured.
"Hello, Tina said. You really want to help kill Rats? That's good!"
"Yep, Bruce said, I got a nice little present for them." And he held up the case with the nuke, the symbol clearly visible on the side.
"Goood, that's good!" Tina said, gnashing her fangs a little.
"OoooK, Bruce said, any idea how to pull off the stampede? With the three of us we ought to be able to 'round up' quite a few beasties."
"I figure I'll bring up the middle, I said, you two can take the flanks. I'll start the stampede, you keep them 'aimed' at the target. I'll have to slip Barney and my kid's pills to knock them out, then we can get started. The sooner the better, we don't want to give the rats time to spread out or start any other settlements out of the range of the blast. Once the stampede reaches the ship I'll dump the nuke as close as I can, and we run like Hell."
"NO, Tina said, I'll take the bomb! I'm faster, smaller, and will be harder to hit."
"No way!" I said, and Tina hissed at me, so I hissed back. If she wanted a pissing contest, bring it on!
"No, wait! Bruce said, I agree with Tina! Look, she's got a point, she IS faster and more maneuverable, and would be harder to hit. I'd take it, but frankly she's better qualified since she's been here so long, she knows what she's doing."
Tina took a closer look at Bruce, and tuned her head sideways, "Thanks." She said.
Well, I still didn't like it, but it did make sense, a Ceratosaurus would blend in better with the herbivores, and she was faster and more maneuverable. So I gave in, and agreed, Tina hissing in satisfaction.
We decided Tina and Bruce would move out first, then split up and take up positions on the flanks of the corridor we picked. I'd follow the next day and start things moving. We'd start a fair distance away in order to add as many animals to the stampede as possible. There were some low areas between the ranges of hills that lined up fairly nicely with the alien ship, and the last range of hills was the highest, and would keep the stampede from being seen until they were almost on top of them. Our plan made we split up, and I headed back to find the family, before they found us.
As Tina and Bruce left, Tina leading, they kept a fair distance apart since they didn't really 'know' each other yet. Had they been 'normal' Ceratosaurus's that wouldn't have worked as they'd be too territorial, and as it was Tina wasn't terribly thrilled to have company. Bruce kept a nervous eye on Tina, she was bigger then he was, and a lot more experienced if it came down to a fight for some reason. But he couldn't help sneaking looks at her, she was pretty, or so the animal part of his mind thought. Finally, much later towards evening, Tina finally called a halt, and said,
"We'll spend the night here, and then split up in the morning. As soon as the herd shows up just keep in sight of them and roar a lot; that will keep them moving. Don't push them too hard though, or they'll start to drop from exhaustion. We'll goose them when we're closer to the ship."
"OK" Bruce said. He moved a little closer to her, but froze when she gave a low rumbling threatening hiss. "Uh, sorry, I just wanted to show you how to operate the nuke."
Tina blinked, and said, "Sorry, it's just our 'species' doesn't care much for company, unless it's their...mate. Show me what to do."
"I hear about that, Bruce said, I'm really sorry. I don't blame you for hating them."
"I'll kill them ALL!" Tina replied, and snapped her jaws.
"That's the idea, Bruce said. Now, here, it's really simple. Open the case, press the biggest button; it has a ten minute timer, and then shut the case, which will lock and can't be opened again. Then run like Hell, you need to get at least two miles away, or more, to avoid the main blast. And as soon as you hear it go off take cover, then after the shock wave passes keep moving as fast and as far away as you can. The radiation will be minimal, but there will be some."
"OK, Tina said, simple enough. Even a dinosaur can do that!"
"Uh, yeah." Bruce said.
"You hungry, want to hunt?" Tina asked.
"Um, no, can't, my NFG, remember?" Bruce replied.
"Oh, yeah, right. Tina said, OK, I'm not that hungry anyway. Guess we'll spend the night here, it's a good spot."
They got comfortable, both crouching, then rolling on their sides, and a short while later the moon came up. It was almost full, and the moonlight as almost as bright as day.
"Wow, Bruce said, it really is bigger."
"What is?" Tina asked.
"The moon, Bruce replied, what a sight!"
"Yes, it is, Tina replied. The first time my...my mate and I got together it was on a night like this. I thought it was kind of romantic, and he...he..." Suddenly she let out a mournful wail, "They killed him!! Killed my babies!!" And gave another wail of anguish.
Bruce lurched up, startled, not sure what to do. Hesitantly he moved a little closer, and when she didn't react he moved even closer.
"I'm so sorry", he said.
"I...I was scouting for some prey, Tina said, when I heard my mate roaring. I came back as fast as I could, but he was...was dead already, and the rats were shooting my...my babies. My babies!! I got back just as they shot the last one, a little female I called Pixie, and...and, I killed them, killed the ones who killed my family. And I'll kill them ALL, ALL of them!!"
Bruce lay down next to Tina as she grieved, wailing for her family, and cautiously he rested his head on her neck, and after awhile her wails faded to soft hisses, and finally she fell sleep.
Don't worry, Bruce thought, we'll get the bastards, every last one.
When they woke up the next morning they were both a little embarrassed, or as much as a dinosaur could be, but rubbed snouts briefly before separating. Tina had woken up in the night and taken over watch from Bruce, but hadn't chased him away. She found his presence comforting.
"Well, Tina said, guess we'd better split up, Charlie could show up at any time. Give me the nuke."
Bruce handed her the case, and said, "OK, but you be careful, and remember, run like Hell once you activate the nuke. I'll wait...I mean, I hope you'll be OK."
"Thanks." Tina said, and turned and moved off into the trees. Bruce watched for awhile, then turned and headed in the opposite direction.
I checked Barney and kids, and good, out like lights. Should have enough time to nuke the rats and be home for dinner. I hoped. So I left my family contentedly snoozing away, but marked the area with my urine first to let anything that came along know a female Allosaurus was in the area. Anything that caught a whiff of that would turn tail and split, unless they were really stupid. Then I set off to find the nearest herd. There was a good sized open area fairly close that always had scattered groups of browsers, so I'd start there.
OK, I thought, as I scanned the meadow. Perfect, the place was packed with browsers of all types and sizes. So I jumped out of the trees, roared, and the show was on. The browsers took one look, the herd bulls bellowed a warning, and in almost perfect synchronization they turned and ran. I followed, nipping at their tails and roaring to let them know I was right behind them, but didn't push them too hard yet. About half an hour later I heard another roar off to the left somewhere, and soon after that one to the right joined in. Move along little doggies, I thought, yee-hah!
The only real incident came when a pack of smaller predators showed up and cut a calf out of one of the herds, but I just ignored them. The herd was moving more at a fast walk now, and I wasn't pressing them, didn't want to wear them out. But we were nearing the last range of hills. The combined herds were more compacted now as Tina and Bruce had been pushing the flanks in and the browsers were more closely packed, aimed like a spear point right at the alien ship and camp. As the first browsers reached the top of the ridge I gave a roaring bellow like a banshee, and the two Ceratosaurus's joined in, and the herds went into full freak out-panic mode, and broke into lumbering gallops and runs, the smaller animals flowing around the larger ones like water around boulders.
I have no idea what the aliens thought as the herds crested the top of the ridge at a dead run, bellowing, honking, and snorting in terror, as wave after wave poured into the valley. They reacted fairly quickly though, and laser beams; from both hand held weapons and some sort of large fixed emplacement guns, lanced into the milling chaos bearing down on them. They might as well have shot bottle rockets for all the good it did. For every animal that went down five took its place. And we made sure the herd knew we were still right at their heels; roaring like crazy, and they found us to be much more of a danger then anything else, especially something they were unfamiliar with.
As the herd reached the security fence there was a huge 'zzap-bang' and the smell of electricity and ozone, and the fence went down in a shower of sparks. Any Rats that tried to stand their ground went under with very short squeals of pain, but most did the sensible thing and ran like Hell. A few made it to the ship or shelter of some of the more substantial buildings in their camp, the rest got squished. Reminded me of the old saying, 'What do you find between the toes of elephants? Answer: Slow natives.' I started to slow down and veer off, but stuck around a little longer to see what was going on. To my surprise some of the herd ran right up the ramps of the alien ship and disappeared inside! Now that should be interesting, I thought. Then I froze, my mouth hanging open in amazement, one of the bigger browsers had a rider! And from the size and colorings I could tell it was Tina! And she had the bomb! Oh, holy fucking shit, I thought, and turned tail and ran as fast as I could. Feets, don't fail me now!
Tina had waited until the stampede was in full swing, then as the perimeter fence went down she ran into the herd to use them for cover, but quickly found that was very dangerous as the browsers; many much larger then she was, didn't care who they stomped into goo at this point, and she was almost knocked down more then once, which would have been a death sentence. So with a hiss she ran up the side of the nearest; largest, browser she could see, using her claws to dig into its tough hide and hold on. At the feel; and scent, of the predator on his back the full grown bull went crazy, and with a bellow led his herd through the nearest clear opening in the side of the strange cliff in front of them, and up the ramp and into the main hanger and cargo bay of the alien ship. The few aliens in the way were soon just grease stains on the metal deck.
Tina dropped off the browser, and skidding to a halt looked around. She quickly activated the bomb, and then looked for a place to hide it. Animals were still pouring into the ship, and no sign of any aliens so far; living ones that is, and she soon found the perfect spot. The dead alien had been turned into a rather flat gooey rug, so she slipped the case under the pulverized body, and then rejoined the rest of the animals in their flight. As it turned out there was another ramp on the other side of the huge compartment, and with a roar to keep them moving she climbed on top of another larger browser as they exited. The aliens on the other side of the ship in the vicinity of the ramp had fared little better then their fellows, and while a few laser shots followed the herd as it broke through the fence again none came close to Tina or her mount. After a mile or so she jumped off and ran as fast as she could, which was pretty damn fast.
Bruce had decided not to hang around and see what happened, and as soon as it was obvious the large mixed herds of animals had been a great success as a diversion, he turned tail and ran. Got about ten minutes to get as far away as possible, he thought. So, highly motivated, he ran like Hell.
I'm not sure exactly how far away I was when the blast went off, but it was pretty far. The flash of light came first, throwing my shadow on the ground in front of me, and I dodged behind some large boulders and took cover. Then as an even larger second flash followed there came a hot roaring wind, then the wind changed direction back in the direction of the blast, and it was over. I stuck my head over the top of the boulders and watched the mushroom cloud slowly rising. Wow, I thought, then started running again.
Tina had just run down into a deep creek bed when the flash of light came, and she crouched down behind the bank. Then there was a second flash, and as soon as the hot wind was gone she threw her head back and gave a victory roar as she watched the mushroom cloud climbing into the sky. All, I killed them ALL!! She thought, and she roared again, before starting to run.
Bruce was in some dense woods when the light and wind came, but other then getting pelted by some small branches nothing happened, and he kept running without bothering to look back. The second flash had surprised him, and he wondered if maybe the first blast had set off something else, like maybe the ships engines or a power source. Whatever it was made the blast even larger than expected. He ran low to the ground along with other animals, leaping over logs and other obstacles with ease. The others just ignored him in their mutual flight from a greater threat.
I ran until I was exhausted, finally having to stop until I could catch my breath, mouth open as I panted and gasped for air. What had I run, five-six miles at a steady lope? Man I was pooped. The cloud was still rising, but was beginning to disperse, and I was glad to see the wind appeared to be blowing towards it. I could smell a faint whiff of smoke, and figured the blast had started some fires, but since the area I was headed into was fairly open and the trees were starting to thin out I should be OK. I'd seen a few other fires before that were started by lightening, but they usually burned themselves out fairly quickly. Now to find Barney and the kids and have a nice long nap, I was totally worn out.
After my reunion with the family; Barney gave me a solid head bump to let me know he was upset with me for running off like that, but when I gave him a lick all was forgiven, it was back to normal, more or less. I'd agreed to meet up with Tina and Bruce back at the hilltop where the portal opened, and drop off the cameras so Bruce could take them back. There was bound to be some fantastic footage on them. I chucked the binocular glasses as they'd stopped working for some reason. After we reached the general vicinity of the hilltop Barney and I brought down a good sized browser, and we feasted. We settled into our usual routine of hunting, eating, and sleeping, etc. I also started looking for a good spot to lay my eggs. I was picky, it had to be dry, sheltered, and most of all, defensible.
About a week later; give or take a day or two, after we got back, I decided to wander over to the hilltop for my daily check, and Bruce had finally shown up. He had been lying down, and stood up warily as I approached. He looked kind of ragged and starved, and was acting kind of squirrely.
"Hi Bruce, I said via our link, how'd it go on your end?"
"Oh, just fine, we blew that ship to Hell. Have you seen Tina? I tried to find her on the way back, but no luck. That's why I took so long."
"Nope, I said, you're the first to show up. You OK, you look kind of, I don't know, beat?"
"I'm starving!" Bruce said, the appetite suppressant shots are wearing off.
"Well, I said, you should have gone back and reported, you could always come back later."
"No, I can't", Bruce said, and held up something, and it was his NFG pack. "EMP from the blast took it out, I've been compromised. I can't go back, I'm stuck here as a great big freaking lizard!"
Oh shit, I thought. It was quite a shock, to realize you'd spend the rest of your life as an animal, but with a partially human mind. "It's really not so bad, I said, once you get used to it. My advice, let the dinosaur mind take over for the most part, it will eventually anyway. Once that happens you'll be fine."
He hung his head, and replied "Yeah, I guess. It was pretty wild being like this, I mean I always liked dinos when I was a kid, but to be one for the rest of my life wasn't in my itinerary. I was going to retire after this and open a BMW dealership." He looked at his stubby arms and nasty clawed fingers, and gave a deep grunt of resignation.
"Well, I said, here's my camera's. I guess we can leave them here for the next observer to find. I'll hang around and see if I can give them a verbal report to go with the footage. We really took out those Rats, didn't we!"
"Oh yeah, we really ruined their day, Bruce replied. I think I'll go look and look for Tina; I hope she's OK, and find something to eat. He drooled and snapped his jaws a couple of times, I'm fucking starving!"
"OK, I said, if you go in that direction you'll avoid Barney, and after about three miles there's a waterhole, hunting is always good there. Good luck."
"Thanks, same to you." Bruce said, then turned and left.
I watched until he disappeared into the trees, and hoped he'd learn to accept his new life. It really could be quite nice, if you just gave in and accepted what you were now. I hoped Tina would turn up, but after what I'd seen I wasn't betting on it. She'd certainly got her revenge. With a snort I turned and headed back to find Barney, and get my nest ready. I knew I'd be laying in the next day or two, I was about to pop.
Tina found herself on the other side of a rather large lake, and not wanting to backtrack into the blast area yet she ended up following the shoreline. Since it was too wide to cross it took her quite some time to finally walk around to the far shore, and then back into familiar territory. It was pretty uneventful; except for a nasty little run-in with a pack of smaller raptors who didn't appreciate her being in their territory. When they pushed it she tore one up, and the rest decided not to mess with her anymore, other than to follow at a distance hissing and displaying. She just ignored them. She wanted to go back and make sure ALL the Rats were dead, but knew it was too soon, so was pretty agitated and not in a good mood. She thought about just setting up a new territory as the area had plenty of game and water, but felt she owed it to Charlie and Bruce to at least report in, plus she wanted to see if they were OK. She felt kind of unsure about Bruce though, she'd found herself thinking about him on more than one occasion. He was sleek and handsome, and she felt a...yearning. She still missed her mate and children horribly, but it had come to a peak when she'd grieved that night, and having Bruce there had been strangely comforting, to both her human and animal parts. She hoped he was OK.
Bruce ripped another large chunk off the carcass off the small herbivore he'd brought down, after several embarrassing failures. He threw his head back and gulped down the bloody meat. Man that's good! He thought, I could get used to this! He saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and with a loud hiss he turned and snapped at an overly inquisitive scavenger, and with a loud squeak it took off. MINE! Bruce thought, snarling, then turned back to his meal. He clamped his jaws down, violently worked his head back and forth as he tore at the meat, and throwing his head back gulped down another large chunk. Then he threw back his head and gave his first victory roar.
Tina froze as she heard a distant roar; someone had just had a successful hunt! And from the sound it was a male Ceratosaurus, their vocalizations had a deeper base tone. She stayed still for awhile listening, but when no other sounds came she started in the direction the roar had come from. She realized another reason she was interested in finding a male was she was going into estrus again, for the first time since her mate had been killed. And she was lonely.
As Tina headed in the direction the roar had come from she froze as she ran across a scent trail. Rats! There was no mistaking that foul scent, and she wrinkled her snout in disgust. They hadn't gotten them all! Somehow some had survived! Well, she'd take care of that little problem! With a soft snarl she started following the trail, time to finish the job. From the trail there were several, and they had one of those floating cars, and she had no doubt they would be armed. The trail was about a day old, so she hurried to catch up.
Bruce was dozing under a stand of trees after his large meal, and almost didn't notice the strange humming sound, but woke up with a snort when it slowly got louder. What the heck was that, he thought, it definitely didn't sound 'natural'. With a grunt he got up, and decided to take a look.
Tina caught up with the group of Rats a couple of hours later. There were six in the group, and as far as she could tell all males. If no females had survived they were pretty much doomed to 'extinction', but she didn't plan on giving them any more time. Two were riding in one of the hovercar or whatever it was, and the other four were plodding alongside. They looked pretty despondent, which was understandable considering the circumstances, and weren't very alert. They were moving along a tree line bordering a creek, taking it pretty easy. With a soft hiss she darted across the clearing and into the trees, then began to parallel them using the creek bed for cover. It was time to hunt.
Bruce stopped as he reached the edge of a fairly wide clearing, and saw the source of the strange noise. It was Rats! Several of them were walking along the edge of the other side of clearing, and they had some sort of floating car or platform with them, and from the loud humming it sounded like it needed an overhaul. Crap, he thought, some got away! Then he noticed a slight movement in the trees just behind their party. He squinted, and saw the dappled shade move across hide, and saw the female Ceratosaurus as she stalked them. Then he noticed another group of rats, just two this time, straggling behind the larger group, and the female was so intent on the first group she hadn't noticed them! He knew it had to be Tina, and she was in danger! If she moved into the open the stragglers would see her, and at least one was carrying a weapon! Moving as fast and quietly as he could he headed for the smaller group of rats bringing up the rear, and as he left the tree line he saw Tina attack the first group. The suddenness and speed was terrifying.
Tina waited until the four rats on foot were on the side of the sled facing the tree line, and with a roar of fury and hatred she struck, pinning the four surprised rats against the sled with nowhere to run. She landed in their midst and used her jaws and claws; with both her arms and legs, to rip and tear into them. Two died instantly, the other two a few seconds later. She slammed into the hover car and its gyros couldn't compensate for the sudden attitude change, and with a loud sizzling sound the power pack shorted out as the car flipped over and the two rats were thrown free. Neither was armed, and didn't last long as Tina turned her attention to them. As she tore the last Rat to shreds a sudden beam of intense light suddenly lanced past her just as she lowered her head to worry the last squirming Rat, using a foot to hold it down as she tore it in half. With a roar she raised her head, and saw two more rats she hadn't noticed before, and one was aiming at her again! There was no way he could miss, he was too close, and there was no cover. Then she heard a loud roar, and saw the large form closing in on the two Rats from behind, and roared herself in surprise.
Bruce kept his head low as he ran through the tall grass, and was as quiet as he could be. He needed to get close enough to attack before they saw him. But as he saw the Rat fire at Tina he gave a roar of rage, and the Rats turned to face him, and the one with the rifle hesitated, then took aim at Bruce since he was the closest danger, the other Rat turned and ran. The Rat fired just as Bruce closed with him, his jaws gaping wide.
Tina shrieked as Bruce and the rat disappeared in a tangle of kicking legs and dust, a beam of light lancing into the sky. Then the dust thinned to show Bruce with the Rat in his mouth, shaking it like a cat shaking a mouse, the body limp as blood sprayed through the air. Then he dropped it, roared, and taking a few staggering steps, collapsed in a heap.
Tina thought about pursuing the surviving Rat that had run into the woods, but when Bruce collapsed she shrieked again, and ran to him. As she neared him he rolled upright, and groaned in pain. She ran up to him, hissing worriedly, and saw a long nasty burn seared into his hide on one side. Bending over she started licking the wound, and he grunted in pain, but stayed still.
"Hi Tina", Bruce said.
At first she didn't reply, just kept licking the wound. She instinctively knew it was the best thing to do. "That was stupid! She finally said, you roared too soon! Gave yourself away."
"But if I hadn't he'd have shot you. Bruce replied, I...I didn't want that to happen."
"Well, still, I...thank you." Tina said, and settled down beside him so she could get at his wound better. "It doesn't look too bad; it's just a surface wound, thank goodness. Still nasty though, but at least it cauterized itself." Gently she began to run her large wet tongue over the nasty burn again.
"That feels good, Bruce said, thank you." He flared his nostrils and took a good deep whiff of Tina's scent, and she smelled...different. He felt a new kind of interest awakening in his animal mind, and took another whiff. She smells really...nice, he thought. It suddenly occurred to him what it was. He took another whiff, and leaning over gave her neck a gentle lick. She paused in her ministrations, and with a hiss licked him back. Bruce felt his pain fade away as the intense new emotion flooded his senses, taking precedence over everything else.
With a sort Bruce got up, and began to circle Tina, nuzzling against her sides and the base of her tail, giving deep soft grunts as he courted her, not really knowing why he was doing it, it just felt right. She let him circle her, turning her head to keep him in sight, waving her tail enticingly. The first time he tried to mount her she hissed, and snapped at him, turning and backing away. But it wasn't a serious rejection, just 'foreplay to help arouse them both even more, she'd already decided he was acceptable. She gave a soft moaning groan as he rubbed his snout against the base of her tail; his claws gently scratching her hide, his scent filling her nostrils and exciting her, and crouching her lifted her tail and presented herself to the eager male.
Bruce roared in ecstasy as he mounted Tina, his still painful wound entirely forgotten as they responded to their natural urges and needs. He had resisted for awhile, but as the scent of her estrus increased in potency he had given into the needs and instincts of his body and began courting her. She had already decided he'd make a suitable mate; he was young and strong and had fought for her, so what more could she want? And he was so handsome, and so male, the scent of his own growing arousal driving her almost crazy with lust, so when he finally made his intentions known she teased him a little at first, then she'd crouched and lifted her tail with no hesitation, and bellowed in pleasure as his weight settled on her back and his sex slid into hers. He took her in a way that might seem brutal to most; thrusting into her with powerful lunges, but to their species it was the best way a male could show the extent of his love for his mate.
Oh God, Bruce thought as he serviced Tina, he'd never felt anything remotely this pleasurable before, it was an intense sexual ecstasy that was overwhelming, his only purpose and desire to fill the female with his seed, to make her his mate, now and forever. With a snarl of lust he bit the back of her neck as she bucked and heaved under him, her cries of pleasure shrill and filled with joy. He lunged into her, taking her brutally as there was no way he could even try to control his lust and need, the beast entirely in control, but he knew that was what she expected, a strong and virile mate who could dominate her, and would sire strong young. Finally the ever increasing pleasure built to an unbearable peak, and he threw his head back and roared at the watching moon as he orgasmed, his whole body shuddering in ecstasy as he filled her womb with his seed. He paused, panting for a minute, gently licking her neck, and then began lunging into her again, and she bellowed her approval as she felt his fangs sink into the back of her neck again. It was brutal, and feral, and how she loved him!
Tina lay next to her new mate, hissing softly as she licked and rubbed his snout, and he returned her affections. It had been glorious, but now they were both spent, at least for awhile. During their mating they had never even said a word via their implants, words hadn't been necessary. Each knew they were a mated pair now, and were quite happy, both the animal and human parts. She'd had mixed feelings at the first as her need had grown, and he had begun to respond to her rising estrus. Part of her still missed her first mate, and their children, but she also accepted that they were gone forever, and she was still young and needed a new mate. And she'd found an exceptional one, she thought, as she gave him another long, slow lick.
Bruce was quite happy, and somewhat overcome, by the new development as well. Maybe, he thought, being stuck in the past as a dinosaur won't be so bad after all. He'd been a confirmed bachelor in his 'human' life, and while he had enjoyed sex very much, this had been, well, something entirely different. It had been the best sex he'd ever had, but had also been so much more. He listened to his mate; and yes, she was that, rumbling quietly, and returned her licks of affection. She was so sleek and powerful, so beautiful. Even his wound had been forgotten, the sole object of his attention was lying next to him filling his nostril with her wonderful scent. But as he shifted his wound twinged, and he gave a grunt of pain.
Tina responded to her mate's minor distress by moving her gentle licks to his wound, and he grunted again, but this time in pleasure.
'Thanks, that feels good." Bruce said via their link.
'Does it hurt much?' She asked in concern.
'Not as long as you're doing that.' He replied, eyes half closed in bliss.
'You were magnificent, you know.' She said.
He leaned over and gave her muzzle a bump and lick, and replied, 'You weren't too shabby yourself. Think we should go after that last Rat?'
Tina gave a low snarl at the thought of the last Rat, but said 'No, he won't last long on his own. There are some raptor packs in this area, and he'd make a nice snack for them.'
'Well, maybe, Bruce said, but I think they have better taste then that.'
'True, Tina chuffed in amusement, they are picky little things. They'll probably just tear him up as a matter of principle though, or in revulsion. Rats stink, and taste horrible.'
'Yeah, I noticed." Bruce said.
'You feel like moving on? Tina asked, we need to find Charlie and make sure he's OK. That was one Hell of a blast, it was stronger than I thought it would be.'
'Oh, I'm fine, Bruce said, she's probably OK though, those Allosaurus's are pretty tough.'
'An how, Tina replied, well, let's get a move on then. She's probably worried about us too.'
I was just about to give up on Tina or Bruce when they both showed up, and it was instantly obvious what had happened. They approached cautiously, and I said,
'It's OK, Barney and the kids are watching our nest. He won't leave it for ANY reason, and congratulations.'
'Is it that obvious?' Tina said, and gave Bruce a gentle head butt.
'Well, yeah, I replied, no way two carnies like you would let another one get that close without it being whup-ass time, and I can tell from your scent you're gravid. Double congratulations.'
'He fought for me, and saved my life.' Tina said, rubbing her snout against Bruce's.
'She saved my life too, Bruce said, and still has a lot to teach me about being a predator.'
'He's a quick learner.' Tina said.
'Well, I'm glad for you, I said. It would be hard enough being alone in our situation, but at least you have one another.'
'And you have Barney.' Tina said knowingly.
'Indeed I do, and he's all I need, or want.' I replied.
'Any contact from HQ?' Bruce asked.
'Not a peep, I said, and they haven't picked up the cameras yet either. I'm getting kind of worried, maybe the drop off site's been changed, or shifted, you know how hard it can be to get the coordinates perfect every time.'
'Well, not much we can do about it, is there? Tina said, I mean, we're pretty much on our own anyway, no matter how things turned out.'
'You got that right, I said, this is home now, whether we like it or not.'
Tina gave Bruce's snout a rub with hers, and said, 'Could be worse.'
I chuffed, and replied, 'You got that right, sister.'
'Well, Tina said, Bruce and I need to establish a territory with good water and hunting. I found a large lake awhile back, and I think it would be perfect. We don't think we'll stay in this area, don't want to have any run-in's with Barney or any of your kids. So I guess we'll be moving on, I want to get there before I lay my clutch.'
'Well, I said, I'll miss you both, but I can understand. Who knows, maybe or paths will cross again. I'm going to hang around here a little longer, and then we'll probably move on too, the game is getting a little thin around here.'
'I hope we'll meet again too.' Tina said, and Bruce nodded.
But we knew it was pretty unlikely, and even if we did, would we still be capable of recognizing one another after years had gone by?? I kind of doubted it. I froze as Tina moved a little closer, but her posture was unthreatening, and when she gave me a friendly bump I returned it.
I watched as they neared the tree line, and throwing my head back gave a victory bellow, and they paused, and then threw their own heads back and echoed the cry. Then they turned and disappeared into the trees, walking side by side. Good luck, I thought, then headed back to the nest, worried about my eggs.
Dr. Braum looked up, startled out of a mild doze, as the computer chimed for his attention.
"Warning, the computer said, anomaly detected."
Dr. Braum froze for a second, and then said, "Intensity? Chances of correcting?" It was every time traveler's nightmare; that an event in the past caused by the traveler would have an effect in the future. Many claimed that was impossible, but they had installed monitors in various time periods at regular intervals as a warning, just in case. And now it would seem it WAS possible to change the past. If it was a minor event there was always a chance of 'correcting' it if there was an opportunity, if it was minor it could be overlooked. But those hopes were soon dashed.
"Major variation from time stream, chance of correcting is zero, event is too widespread, and is affecting all time lines. We are losing contact with monitors at increasing speed." The computer replied in its emotionless monotone, calmly announcing the end of the world, at least as they knew it.
"Time estimate for time line to reform, and stabilize?" Dr. Braum asked, sick with fear. It had to be the nuke, Charlie, what have you done?? What have WE done??
"Time to stabilization approx. three minutes, a more accurate estimate is not possible based on current information."
"Initialize relatively shield." Dr. Braun said.
"Diameter of field?" The computer asked.
"Just the computer center, power supply, and this office." He replied.
"Field has formed successfully, duration ten minutes, fourteen seconds, before power supply will fail." The computer replied.
Well, Dr. Braum thought, at least I'll have a few minutes to see just how badly we fucked up before I cease to exist. He wouldn't bother to tell anyone else, why cause panic?
A couple of minutes later the office shuddered, causing a few things to fall from some shelves, and outside the window the corridor was suddenly replaced by an impenetrable mist of swirling colors and vague shapes, and he had to turn his gaze away after a minute as he felt nausea building as his eyes tried to focus, but couldn't. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, and was surprised to see the corridor was still there when he opened them. But then he noticed...differences.
"Time line has stabilized, the computer said, failure of field in six minutes, twenty three seconds, and counting."
Dr. Braum lurched up, and looked out the window. The corridor was still there, but it was a light gray color instead of white, and the fittings looked a little bit...weird. The walls weren't entirely smooth, and almost looked as if they're been poured, plus the door across from his was oval instead of rectangular. It had some sort of black characters painted on the wall next to it that looked vaguely oriental, and what looked like a keypad of some kind with oversized buttons. Then something came into view, and he stepped back and collapsed in his chair with a gasp.
The strange creature looked in the window, and apparently saw Dr. Braum too as its mouth suddenly opened, revealing very nasty looking fangs, and a crest of colorful feathers stood up on top of its head, and he had the distinct impression it was as surprised as he was. It was bipedal, had two legs, two arms, and was definitely...reptilian. And while it was nude it was wearing a harness of some kind, with pouches and what appeared to be tools hanging from the belt, and metal fittings or decorations on the cross straps. It shut its snout and moved closer to the window, and Dr. Braum stood up and approached the window again.
"Shield failure in four minutes, fifteen seconds, and counting'. The computer said.
Dr. Braum ignored the death sentence the computer was counting down, and looked in fascination at the creature on the other side of the glass, and it seemed just as fascinated by him. He moved closer, and could see it had a long slender tail, and was balanced on two digitigrades legs with three large toes ending in long nasty looking claws, and had an equally nasty heel spur. The head on the long neck had long fairly pointed jaws, a large brain case, and the green and gold eyes looking back at him were bright with intelligence. As he watched it lifted up a hand and placed it against the glass, a hand with three long slender fingers ending in claws, and an opposable thumb. He noticed that its arms and sides had vestigial feathers similar to the erect crest on its head.
"Shield failure in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5...."
Dr. Braum raised his own hand and pressed it against the glass opposite from the anthroid reptile, and said, "How beautiful...'
Suddenly everything seemed to 'twitch', and Dr. Braum remained aware long enough as the time line finished stabilizing to see his hand blur and become a match for the one on the other side of the glass, and as all his memories faded had just enough time to realize he wasn't going to die after all. Then he blinked his eyes and hissed in confusion. What was he doing at the window, and why was he holding up his hand, and what was lesser-technician Grisss doing?? He turned as the door slid open, and the lesser-technician entered.
"Senior researcher!?! the younger male hissed respectfully, what just happened?? I...there was...I saw...?"
"Well, what did you see??" Senior Researcher Kalack hissed back, with an irritated snap of his jaws.
Assuming a subordinate and submissive posture, the lesser-technician replied, "I...I must have been mistaken Senior Researcher! But I swear by the ancestors that the interior of your office was different for a short time, and there was this strange...soft creature inside. I have never seen anything like it!"
Kalack gave thoughtful hiss, he had not seen anything, but he had a felt a brief moment of extreme confusion and disorientation. Though his senses now told him otherwise he still felt that something had indeed happened. He slowly whipped his tail and ripples ran up and down his crest as he thought about it. There had indeed been ...something, but he couldn't quite grasp it.
"I too experienced something unusual, but for now we will not speak of it again until I have consulted others more knowledgeable about such things. So for now do not mention this to any others." He said to the subordinate male.
"It shall be as you command, Senior Researcher. Grisss replied, I will now return to my duties."
Kalack didn't reply as the lesser male left, and the door to his chamber slid shut. Grisss was a reliable subordinate and was not prone to fancy, so, yes, something HAD happened, but what? Finally he decided he would probably never know for sure. He hissed as he realized the time, and closing his system monitor he put on his cape of rank, and exited his chamber to head for the surface. He was anxious to get back to his den; his mate had been coming into estrus the last few days, and should be ready to mate tonight. He eagerly sped up his pace as he thought about it.
About a year after we set off the nuke I found myself in the vicinity of the alien ship again. After the latest clutch had hatched and the young were old enough to travel we set out for new stomping grounds. The 'family' was good sized now, including myself and Barney, the three young adults from our first clutch, and four juveniles from the second. Two males and two females. We, and the older children, kept a close eye on them. I was positive by now that at least the female from the first clutch was much more intelligent then 'normal' for an Allosaurus. Just the other day I'd seen her using a stick to poke around in the burrow of some small animal she'd been stalking, and a couple of the other new hatchlings were showing signs as well.
As we crested the ridgeline that was the last one before the valley of the ship I paused and took a look. The ship was an unrecognizable mass of slagged and vaporized metal, and already the vegetation was making a comeback within the radius of the blast. There was no sign of any Rats, living or dead.
Worried about residual radiation I decided to move several days travel away from the devastation before establishing our new territory. But before I did I threw my head back and gave a roaring victory bellow, and Barney joined in. He probably had no idea why his mate was bellowing, but if she wanted to, what the heck?? She was a little odd, but he loved her. The older children added their own shriller juvenile roars to our own.
'OH YEAH, UH-HUH, I thought, that's right! This is OUR planet, you Rat fucks!'
The End
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