Footprints of Thunder (30 page)

Rosa popped up next to him and confirmed it. “It looks like more than one.”

“Switch with us, kids,” Ron ordered. Quickly, Ron realized the creatures were coming toward the raft. “Hand me the paddle, Rosa.”

Paddling furiously, Ron futilely tried to move the raft away. A thick soup of debris made paddling difficult. Looking back, Ron could see the bobbing heads gaining, but there were more than two. Carmen appeared next to him armed with the knife.

Paddling only slowed the inevitable. The bobbing green heads were mostly jaw, with small black eyes—eyes fixed on the raft. Finally, Ron raised the paddle for battle.

“Ron! There’s a dozen of them!”

Ron drove the first one under with one blow, but it came up snarling. Two more blows sent it down for good, but others were taking its place. Ron struck violently, delivering blow after blow.

“Over here!” Carmen screamed.

Ron spun, batting one off the lip of the raft. As it fell it slashed an air cell. Chris’s scream brought him around to see the other side of the raft suddenly dip. A head appeared and Ron fought to keep his balance, swinging with all his might. The blow stunned the beast, but its claws clung to the side. Turning the paddle sideways, Ron cracked its skull with the blade, the lifeless form slipping into the water.

Ron knocked two more off from behind and then heard Chris scream again. Another animal was crawling up his side. . “Duck, Chris!”

Chris flopped into the bottom of the raft just as the paddle cleared his head, catching the lizard just under the jaw, snapping the neck. Ron swung recklessly now, smacking head after head, driving them back into the sea and away from the raft. The assault ended when another log floated near, and the remaining lizards scrambled aboard. Quickly paddling away, they soon found themselves alone in the fog again.

“What were they, Dad?”

Shaking his head, Ron said “I don’t know. They came from the island, I guess.”

Suddenly a clawed arm reached over the side, tangling Rosa’s hair.

“It’s got me!” she screamed.

Another claw appeared, followed by a head. Rosa sank lower, her hair still tangled in the claw.

The jaws opened, exposing wicked teeth. Ron struggled to his feet, the soft bottom rocking from his efforts. Grabbing the paddle, Ron struck just as a leg flopped over the side, splintering the paddle on its skull. Stunned, the animal hung briefly, then screamed in Ron’s face. Instinctively, Ron brought the handle up and jammed it down its throat. The jaws snapped shut just missing his fingers. Its forelegs frantically clawed at the handle embedded in its throat, as it tottered on the side. Then Carmen jammed the knife in its neck. Without another weapon Ron lunged, shoving with all his might, pushing the lizard back into the sea. It squawked and splashed noisily until it slipped beneath the waves.

Exhausted from fear, the family flopped in the bottom of the raft, Carmen still holding the bloody knife. Ron stroked Chris’s head and hoped they wouldn’t need the knife again. Soon everyone was asleep.

“Uh-oh! Something’s coming again,” Chris shouted, waking the others.

Carmen and Rosa instinctively moved to see.

“Don’t move!” Ron shouted. “We don’t want to capsize. Carmen, you look, and Rosa, stay where you are for now.”

Carmen scooted a little closer to Chris to see what he’d seen.

“I think he’s right. It’s splashing through the water a couple of waves away.”

“Is it like the others?”

“I can’t tell, but it’s bigger. Ron, you better take a look at this.”

Ron and Chris changed places. Ron had trouble spotting it in the fog. Like the others, it looked monstrous, with a human-sized lizard head, and a partially opened mouth lined with sharp teeth. It was having trouble in the water as it splashed inefficiently with small legs.

Ron turned, looking for another weapon. There was, nothing but the knife; a pitiful weapon.

“Ron, it’s here! Oh it’s big. Real big!”

Ron turned to see Carmen backing up, motioning for the kids to move to the other end of the raft. Suddenly the raft wall was pulled down violently, and the massive head appeared. Chris screamed and stumbled back into Ron. The lizard was snapping its jaws, and at the same time scrabbling with its clawed forearms to pull itself into the raft. As the claws shredded the raft, the air emptied from cell after cell. That lowered the side and the lizard pulled itself forward. The raft flooded, but the lizard continued to scramble. Then a huge rear leg appeared.

“We’ve got to get out,” Ron said. “Over the side.”

But Carmen was already helping Chris into the water, and Rosa rolled off backward like a skin diver. Ron looked back to see the lizard struggling into the raft. It didn’t look vicious, it looked scared—just trying to survive like Ron and his family.

Ron was about to jump when he remembered the survival supplies. Quickly, he grabbed a net bag and jammed four plastic quart bottles of water in it and jumped over the side. They had to push debris out of their way as they swam. When they were far enough away to feel safe, they turned to see the raft had collapsed, the lizard’s weight pulling the sides in over its head. As they watched, the lizard continued to struggle frantically, succeeding only in wrapping itself more and more tightly in the shredded fabric. Finally it sank from sight, the raft as its shroud.

The family bobbed in the water in stunned silence. With no life jackets to support their weight, Carmen and Ron soon began to tire. The family formed itself into a ring, the parents using the children’s life jackets to support as much of their weight as possible. It was at best a temporary solution.

The wind was still strong, but the sea had settled some. They were still riding a roller-coaster ocean, but the dips were smaller. The sky remained black, and the fog thick and sulfurous.

“Hey, Mom,” Rosa said. “There’s something over there.”

Ron looked at the same time as Carmen. Something dark was moving slowly through the water—shaped like the inverted hull of a ship, about twice the size of the
Entrepreneur’s.

“It looks like another capsized boat,” Ron volunteered. “Swim for it.”

They angled toward the moving mound, gently brushing up against it. Carmen tried climbing up the side first, but the movement of the mound made it difficult.

“Ron, this doesn’t feel like Fiberglas.”

“Just climb, Carmen. We’ve got to get out of the water.”

Finally, Carmen lay spread-eagled on the side of the mound and reached down and managed to pull Chris up next to her, but Rosa and Ron found themselves falling behind, Ron struggled to get Rosa up on the side, but she could only use one arm effectively, and the net bag with the bottles was heavy. Ron realized the mound might pass them by and he panicked at the picture of Carmen and Chris floating off, out of sight.

Desperately, he pushed on Rosa with little strength. Then his foot hit something. He planted both feet and heaved Rosa up, hearing her gasp from pain as she flopped on her side. Ron pushed her higher and then inched up next to her, repeating his efforts until they joined Chris and Carmen. The four linked hands and lay flat against the surface.

Ron was so exhausted it took time to realize Carmen was right; this was not the surface of any boat he had ever seen. It was smooth, but still rougher than a fiberglass or painted surface. He put his cheek to it and felt definite, almost mechanical rhythm. A right-and-left rocking motion. He was still trying to figure out what it meant when he heard a splashing behind him.

Ron turned to see another lizard angling toward them. This one was much smaller but had the same large head and a bony collar around its neck. About a quarter the size of the larger one, it looked like it was going to climb up on the mound with them.

As the lizard used razor sharp claws to climb its way up the side, Ron thought he felt the mound shudder. The lizard was twenty inches long with a triangular head, bony neck collar, and fat stubby body. A foot of tail trailed behind it. Ron kicked the lizard full in the side with every bit of strength he had left. But the lizard was quicker than it looked. As the blow knocked it back into the water the claws, raked across Ron’s leg leaving three gashes. Though the lizard came up swimming, it fell behind, and Ron could see it wouldn’t catch up. He felt sad. He had just condemned it to a fate he and his family were fighting to avoid.

Ron returned to his family and lay back down again, totally exhausted. He fell asleep only to be shaken awake by Rosa.

“Wake up, wake up! But be quiet. Mom says we’re in trouble.”

He started to sit up but Rosa held him down.

“Move very slowly.”

Ron was confused. Why move slowly? Had another lizard scrambled aboard? He lifted his head and chest gradually. The sun was finally cutting through the gloom and Ron could see the sea around him a little more clearly now. Rosa whispered in his ear again.

“Mom says to look forward.”

Carmen was in front of Rosa, and Chris was sitting between Carmen’s legs. Ron looked past them to the sea. Something was rippling the water. In the weak light Ron saw a thick snake-like form emerging. On top of the snake shape was a head. It looked like a sea serpent to Ron and it took him a few seconds to realize the head was connected to the mound they were on. They were on the back of some kind of animal.

31. Luis

Some have said the age of dinosaurs ended because it had all been a mistake in the first place. Perhaps someday the same will be said of us.

—
Robert Winston,
On Things Gone By

New York City

PostQuilt: Monday, 12:02
P.M.
EST

L
uis woke in darkness. His eyes were heavy and blurred. He felt terrible; his head ached and he found blood crusted in his hair. Melinda would be angry. He had broken his promise; he was injured. Luis’s eyes wouldn’t focus but he could see a soft glow. He felt around. Touching a wall behind him, he sat up and leaned back. He didn’t need a mirror to know his face was swollen and purple.

Luis pushed himself up, keeping his back against the wall. The light got brighter as he stood and found himself in a diner behind the counter. Smashed dishes and silverware were everywhere, and the cash register was upside down in the middle of the floor. The light was coming through the—window? Luis shook his head and tried focusing again. The light was coming through the empty frame where the window had been. He stumbled out through the broken dishes to the street, looking around to get his bearings. It was too far back to his brother-in-law’s, and he didn’t want to return looking like this. His own building was close, so he turned toward home and staggered down the sidewalk. He didn’t bother calling for help he knew would never come.

When Luis neared his building he suddenly encountered people. Some looked at him curiously but no one offered to help. They were standing behind cars parked three deep in the intersection at his corner. Luis realized the cars were parked fender to fender on the sidewalks as well as the street. Finally, he understood: The cars provided a barrier between the buildings to keep the dinosaurs out.

Silently, Luis walked up the stairs to his building, feeling for his keys and then his wallet. Both were gone. When he realized the lock had been jimmied, he pushed open the door and went up the stairs. Weak and exhausted he paused often to rest. At the third floor he sat down again, his head hanging, but suddenly he heard a voice.

“Luis? Is that you?”

Luis looked up to see Mrs. Weatherby holding a bag of sugar.

“Oh, Luis, you better come back to my apartment with me. Whatever happened to you?”

“Diablos,” Luis managed to mutter.

“Those horrid young men. What their mothers must think of them!”

Mrs. Weatherby took Luis by the arm, helped him to his feet, and then guided him down the hall.

“Are Melinda and the kids safe? Oh, thank goodness. What are you doing back here? You didn’t come back for me, did you? I told you I would be fine and now look at what’s happened.”

Mrs. Weatherby scolded Luis all the way down the hall to her apartment, but Luis was comforted by it. She directed Luis to her couch and then removed his shoes and covered him with a crocheted bedspread.

Luis and Melinda slept under a larger, similar bedspread— crocheting incessantly, Mrs. Weatherby had turned out a queen-size bedspread for the Ibarra family in less than a year, made up of squares of intricate yellow flowers and green leaves. Mrs. Weatherby had beamed when she saw it in their home and then promised spreads for the girls’ beds too.

Now she returned with a plastic tub of warm soapy water and began washing the blood from his face with a washcloth.

“How did you heat the water, Mrs. Weatherby?”

“Don’t talk, Luis, until I get you cleaned up. When you talk your face wrinkles.”

Luis lay quiet while Mrs. Weatherby cleaned his wounds. While she worked she talked.

“I heated the water with a propane stove I found in the Santinis’ apartment. I know you think I stole it, but I didn’t. I was looking for some sugar to borrow when I found it. Besides, someone had already broken in anyway. All the apartments have been, even yours I’m afraid, Luis. I don’t know what else they took, but your TV and stereo are gone.”