Chapter Five
‘Strange Trees and Bushes
That Sneeze’
Tommy woke. He didn’t know how long he had slept for or
even if it was morning. Quietly, as not
to wake the others, Tommy crawled across the dim cave to where one of the crystals
was still on. He leaned back against
the rugged rock wall and looked around.
He could just make out the outlines of the sleeping dinosaurs. Even with the incredible excitement of
finding live dinosaurs, Tommy was saddened.
All he really wanted was maybe a picture of the little dinosaur he had
seen near his closet and never dreamed of anything like this; dinosaurs that
could talk and had magical powers. This
really wasn’t how history was suppose to be, was it? Could scientists have been this wrong? Tommy thought about his room back home. He missed it very much and wished he was there right now playing
with his plastic dinosaurs instead of here with real ones. Tommy took off his backpack. He had decided to always leave it on just in
case any fast vacating of the premises was needed. He pulled out his Dinosaur Encyclopedia, opened it and quietly
flipped through the pages. His new
dinosaur friends were nice, but Tommy still wished that they would have just
remained pictures.
Tommy quickly put the book away as
some of the dinosaurs began to stir from their sleep.
“Good morning,” said Tommy quietly
as Bonta and Kypou joined him.
“Good morning,” they replied.
“You’re up very early,” said
Bonta. “Did you not sleep well?”
“No, no, I slept great,” said Tommy. “Very comfortable,” he added.
“Good,” replied Bonta.
Meanwhile, Typhoo woke up and Kypou
tapped the lights on. The noise and
lights, however, did nothing to stir Jason or Peko. They were both still fast asleep.
“It’s mine and Harpi’s turn to collect
breakfast,” said Kypou. “But since he
has not returned Typhoo and I will go.
We will be back soon.” The two
dinosaurs left.
“Harpi still isn’t back?” said Tommy
to Bonta.
She shook her head. Harpi had never stayed away this long before
and Bonta was worried.
Tommy didn’t want to seem ungrateful
but he was starting to wonder exactly what dinosaurs considered as breakfast,
and came to the conclusion that it probably wasn’t cereal. Visions of a bowl filled with little furry squeaking
mice entered his head. Perhaps, he
thought, I’ll skip breakfast.
It didn’t take long for Kypou and
Typhoo to return and by this time Jason and Peko had managed to drag themselves
out of bed. To Tommy’s great relief
breakfast consisted of an assortment of berries. Kypou and Typhoo had also brought something else back...
Harpi. The dinosaur glared at Tommy and
Jason then flopped down on his bed.
Harpi didn’t seem very thrilled to be home.
“Where did you find him?” Bonta
asked Kypou quietly.
“On our way back from gathering
food,” replied Kypou. “I think he’s
still upset.”
Enjoying breakfast for Tommy and
Jason turned out to be difficult with Harpi’s reptilian eyes boring into the
back of their heads. Bonta did her best
to soothe their discomfort.
“How is your leg Jason? Has it given you any trouble?” she asked.
“No,” said Jason shaking his
head. “It feels good.” Bonta smiled with pleasure. “So,” said Jason trying to ignore Harpi’s
burning stare. “How did you know we
were in the trap yesterday?”
“We didn’t,” said Kypou. “You see, we try to check the traps at least
once a day hopefully before the Myrites do.
So it was lucky for you we came along when we did otherwise... Our goal is you see, to free anyone we find
in the traps. We may not be able to
save those already enslaved but we can stop the Myrites from capturing any more
of us. I had no idea we would find you
two.”
“Have you found any more of your
um...Gwondalians?” asked Jason.
“No,” said Kypou. “The traps have been empty for quite some
time now. Which means either the others
are getting better at avoiding them or...” and this was a thought Kypou didn’t
like to think about. “Or there is no
one left. We are the last of our kind.”
Meanwhile, Bonta tried to get Harpi
to eat some breakfast, but he wasn’t interested. He was still sore with Kypou for disregarding his feelings about
the strangers.
Jason finished the last of his
food. He had slept well last night and
now he wanted to go home.
“Tommy and I can’t thank you guys
enough for your help but we really need to get home. Our family is probably worried about us. Can you tell us how to get out of the
valley?”
“It’s not safe for you to be in the
jungle by yourselves,” said Bonta. “Is
it Kypou?”
Kypou nodded. “Yes, it’s much too dangerous. If you come with us, we will do your best to
get you to the other side of the valley.”
He looked over at Harpi, who was
still on his bed.
“Come along Harpi. They will need all of our help,” he said.
Reluctantly and grumbling under his
breath, Harpi followed them up the stairs and into the jungle.