The Extinction Series | Book 6 | Primordial Earth 6

closer. It was moving fast too. Too fast to be a branch or tree drifting in the current. The thing was moving on purpose, and it was heading straight for them.
Rogue took a couple of slow steps back. “Seth. Wake the others.”
“Why?” he asked.
“There’s something in the water,” she replied, pointing straight ahead.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know, but you’d better wake the others.”
Seth banged on the cabin wall. “Everyone up. We’ve got company.”
“Company?” Tony asked.
“Something’s coming our way, and it’s probably not friendly,” Seth replied.
A mad scramble ensued as everyone jumped out of bed and reached for their weapons. Jessica and Seth were the only two with guns. She’d loaned him her pistol while his hand healed. Though not ambidextrous, he could point and shoot well enough with his left hand to hit something big.
The rest were armed with their usual weapons. Bear had his hammer, Paul had a crossbow, David preferred an ax, while Brittany wielded a spear much like Rogue’s. Tony used an array of weapons, including a machete and something that resembled a trident.
Rogue prayed it would be enough. Whatever they faced, it was big, churning the water until it frothed. When the thing was close enough for her to make out, she frowned. “It looks like a fin. A big one.”
Tony burst out of the cabin, shirtless and barefoot. “A fin?”
“Uh-huh,” Rogue said, her eyes growing wide. The fin rippled through the water, picking up speed. An enormous shadow flowed underneath it, so big, she couldn’t make out the beginning or end of it. Realization set in a split-second later, and her coffee cup smashed to the deck. “It’s going to ram the boat. Hold on!”
Rogue spun on her heels and ran toward Seth. He clung to a wooden beam with one hand and reached out to her with the other. Their fingertips brushed together just before a crash catapulted her into the air. She flew past Seth and over the side of the boat, hitting the water flat on her back.
Liquid flooded her chest as she gasped for air, and black spots danced across her vision. She kicked out with her arms and legs, frantic to gain the surface. Her head burst into the open, and she choked. The choke turned into a hacking cough as river water poured from her lips. Treading water, she struggled to breathe.
A tremendous bang filled her ears as their attacker rammed the boat again. Torn loose from its mooring, the boat slewed sideways. An enormous wave hit Rogue in the face, and she went tumbling through the water, head over heels. She pinched her nose shut and pressed her lips together, holding on to the little oxygen she had.
The wave swept her onto the bank, and she scraped across pebbles and sand. Using her hands and feet, she clawed her way onto land, heaving for air. She twisted around and spotted the boat further downriver. It listed to one side, and she knew it was sinking. “Seth!”
The Spinosaurus launched itself out of the water and rammed the boat a third time. The bow crumpled beneath the force of the blow, and the Water Lily shot back.
Jumping to her feet, she tried to run, but the thick growth stymied her efforts. Rough branches slapped at her exposed skin, and sharp rocks cut into her bare soles. Undeterred, she pushed ahead, following the boat. Within minutes, it moved out of sight, swept around a bend. Gunshots peppered the air.
“No,” she cried, pushing forward.
Her progress slowed to a crawl despite her best efforts. Whatever happened, she’d be too late to make a difference. Despair set in, but she refused to give up. One step at a time, she struggled onward. They have to be alive. Please, let them be alive.
A bright red light brought her to a stumbling halt, and she gazed up at the sky in wonder. It rose high above the ground before it exploded in a blinding flash. The starburst pattern lingered, casting its reddish glow on the scenery. It’s a flare!
Tony kept flares on the boat. They were ancient but functional. He was saving them for an emergency, a situation exactly like this one. The knowledge gave her strength, and she pressed onward with fresh determination. Unarmed, barefooted, and soaked to the skin, she struck out into the unknown with the flare as her guide. A lone beacon of hope to show the way. I just hope I’m not too late.
***
The Spinosaurus focused on the foreign object that had dared to invade its territory. It whipped its powerful tail and surged through the green depths of the river. Bubbles streamed from its lips, and its powerful tail propelled it forward at great speed.
It smashed the side of the object with its head before brushing past it. A quick turn and it made its way back for another round. The invader had to be destroyed. After ramming it again, the Spinosaurus reared out of the water. It spotted two-legged creatures running around on the surface, and its rage increased tenfold.
The festering bullet holes in its hide sent shock waves of pain throughout its body, and its ruined eye ached with no promise of relief. Its blood was slowly being poisoned by the lead bullets and resulting infection, driving the creature mad.
The Spinosaurus raised its head and bellowed out its madness and rage, trumpeting its agony to the world. Baring its teeth, it launched itself at the nearest two-legged. This time, nothing would stop its quest for revenge. Nothing but death.

Chapter 8 - Brittany
Distant voices penetrated the fog that surrounded Brittany’s mind. They tugged at her subconscious and nagged at her brain until she awoke. At first, she tried to ignore the words, but they carried a sense of urgency. Even panic.
“Seth. Wake the others.”
“Why?”
“There’s something in the water.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know, but you’d better wake the others.”
Despite her efforts to remain asleep, her eyes fluttered open, and she sat upright in her bunk bed. Stifling