Chapter Nine
‘Ouch!’
So there they were, a small
mismatched group of five dinosaurs and two humans. Once again creeping carefully through the jungle of Gwondala,
towards the last place any of them wanted to go.
Tommy really didn’t now where a
large supply of forbidden crystals were to be found. He hadn’t been in the pit long enough to find out and the
Velociraptors hadn’t been very good at giving out important information. He knew his plan was putting them all at
risk. If they didn’t find the black
crystals or worse got caught, he was sure Lerix wouldn’t let them get away
again. Besides, Tommy couldn’t think of
any other way to destroy the Great Stone.
Grade 5 Science hadn’t covered astronomical meteor demolition.
“I have to rest for a minute,” said
Tommy. He still felt a bit weak.
“You shouldn’t have come Tommy. Your still sick,” said Jason.
“I had to,” replied Tommy. “I’m the only one who’s actually been in the
mine or near the Great Stone.”
Leaving Tommy to rest on a log,
Jason joined the others up ahead.
Tommy breathed in deeply. There was a noise behind him. He slowly turned around and found Egbert’s
face peering out from a bush. The dinosaur
put a finger to it’s mouth.
“Shhh. Egbert’s friend Tommy must be quiet,” The Oviraptor whispered.
Tommy took a look to see if the
others had noticed Egbert’s presence but they were unaware.
“I’m glad to see you’re alright,”
whispered Tommy. “I’m really sorry they
wouldn’t let you come with us. What are
you doing here?”
“Ah, Egbert wishes to see if friend
Tommy is fine. Egbert is happy to see
he is.”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” said Tommy.
The dinosaur looked slyly passed
Tommy at the others. His cold eyes
narrowed slightly.
“Egbert says, where is his friends
going?”
Tommy leaned closer to the dinosaur.
“I think I’ve figured out a way to
defeat the Myrites,” he said.
Egbert’s eyes narrowed again. This information interested him very much.
“Egbert says, how is this possible?”
“I don’t have time to explain now,
but let’s just say it has something to do with the forbidden crystals and the
Great Stone. We’re on our way back to
the mine now. Soon you’ll all be free.”
Tommy smiled.
“Tommy, are you ready?” It was
Jason.
Tommy quickly turned around.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’ll be right there.” Tommy turned back to the bush but Egbert was
gone. He couldn’t help feeling sorry
for the dinosaur. Tommy felt he was
being mistreated by Kypou. They weren’t
even giving Egbert a chance. He got up
and followed the others.
Arriving near the mine, the group crouched
down in the underbrush. The jungle was
quiet, almost too quiet. The Myrites
had regained control of the enslaved workers.
All signs of the revolt were gone.
Strangely enough the area was not heavily guarded. Lerix must have been pretty confident that
Tommy and the others would not be back to free anymore of the slaves.
“What do we do now?” whispered
Kypou.
The role of leader had switched from
Kypou to Tommy. Now everyone was
looking to him to finally put an end to Lerix’s domination. Tommy only hoped he was not horribly wrong
and had bit off more then he could chew.
Jason whispered in his little brother’s ear.
“Where are the black crystals?” he
asked.
Tommy closed his eyes and quietly
sighed. It was time he told them the
truth.
“I don’t really know,” he said.
Jason’s mouth dropped open. All this time he was sure Tommy knew what he
was doing, otherwise why would he have suggested such a plan. Before he could say anything, Tommy spoke
again.
“I know, I know,” he whispered. “I know what your thinking. But I’m almost positive that the crystals
are around here somewhere.”
Jason was about to let Tommy have an
ear full when Bonta joined the strained conversation.
“This is no time for arguing,” she
whispered. “We’re here now and I’m sure
we all feel Tommy is doing his best.”
Jason shrugged with irritation.
“Now that’s settled,” said
Bonta. “I think Tommy should tell us
what to do next.”
Everyone looked at Tommy. He swallowed hard.