Dinosaur Patrol: The First Journey. G. A. Tupper

You know about this kind of stuff."

      "Sorry, Bill," he said quietly. "I never read about anything like this."

      Oh, boy—we were really in trouble if Fred never heard of it, I thought.

      "Hey, everybody," Amy yelled. "—Look behind us!"

      I spun around, and a cold chill traveled down my spine. "Bill, look!" April gasped. "It's our house. The little room is in the sky!" Sure enough, there it was, suspended in the clouds like a movie screen. It was as if we were looking from the dinosaur painting out into the room. The little room looked the same except for one thing—we were missing. The space on the floor where we were sitting was vacant. This means that we actually were in the painting!

      "What did you say, Amy?" Fred asked. "You said something right before we were zapped!"

      "It was just a little poem," Amy replied, lowering her head. "I didn't think it would get us in trouble."

      "Bill, look at the clock on the corner desk," Fred said as he pointed at the vision. "From what I can see, the clock hasn't moved in minutes. Unless it's broken, time seems to be standing still."

      "It was working earlier," I replied. "I remember checking it because we were spending so much time in the room."

      "We must be in one of those time things," April said, scrunching up her nose.

      "You guys," Amy said in a quivering voice. "That dark pile of rocks on our left side just began moving!"

      "It's not only moving," Fred yelled. "It's a Tyrannosaurus! —Run!"

      I grabbed the carpet, and we scrambled down the long hill. The river below was lined with trees, and it looked like a good place to hide. It was the only nearby shelter that we could run to.

      "Hey, Bill," Fred shouted as we jumped a few small rocks. "That Tyrannosaurus was the same one in the painting. If I'm right, he'll stay busy eating that Styracosaurus and won't bother with us." That somehow made me feel better!

      CHAPTER 6

      Gray dirt turned into soft, green plants as we reached the river. The cool shade of the trees felt good. "I hope we put enough distance between us and Mr. Rex," April said, catching her breath.

      "I'd like to put sixty-five million years between us," I shot back.

      We gathered around the trunk of a large tree. My legs felt like rubber bands, so I unrolled the carpet and sat down. The others joined me, and for at least a few minutes we relaxed.

      "We should try and remember what Amy said in her poem," Fred suggested. "It must hold the key to this whole mess!"

      "Talk about pressure!" April whined.

      Our eyes squinted in concentration. "I've got it!" Amy blurted out. Fred searched himself frantically for something to write on as she began to speak. "A long, long time ago, before cars and stores, I wish..."

      "We were in the land of dinosaurs!" I snapped, finishing up the poem.

      "I copied it all down!" Fred sighed.

      "What did you use?" asked April.

      "Oh—I found a little stump of a pencil and wrote on the edge of a dollar bill," Fred shrugged. "Remind me not to spend it."

      "Why don't we try and go back right now?" I asked.

      "I don't think we can," Amy sighed. "I can't even see the little room from here. We lost it!"

      "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure we'll see it again back on the hill," Fred noted. "When we were running, I caught a glimpse of it slowly disappearing. It was just like jogging around the back of a painting."

      "I think we should get close to the spot where we arrived," April suggested. "That way, we can wish ourselves right back into the little room."

      "That makes sense," Fred replied. "But it's going to be a while until the Tyrannosaurus is finished eating his dinner and leaves the area." Why did Fred have to mention dinner? I had already missed lunch, and Sunday supper was millions of years away!

      This was a strange world of smoking volcanoes, strange smells, and dangerous dinosaurs. I could only imagine what would happen if this strange environment appeared over our hometown one day. The school principal would probably come on the intercom. "Due to unexpected volcanic activity today, school will be dismissed one half hour early. Band practice is canceled."

      I laughed to myself when I realized how crazy it was to be thinking about school. Maybe this is all just a dream, or maybe I'm losing it!

      Amy pointed to a huge cloud of dust pouring from the top of the hill. "Something's coming this way!" she yelled.

      "It must be a herd of dinosaurs!" Fred exclaimed. "They're probably heading for the river. We've got to get out of here!"

      I swung around to see Fred and Amy scaling a large tree behind us. "Get going, April!" I shouted.

      "Bill, pass me the rug," Fred yelled from somewhere in the tree. "We might need it to get us back!"

      After heaving the rug to Fred, I pulled myself onto the first limb. The tree was thick with branches, which made climbing easy. The patrol was already about ten feet above me, passing the rug to each other as they went.

      "Hurry, Bill," Amy screamed. "They're almost here!" As I reached for another thick branch, a thundering dust cloud swept beneath us. The animals hit the water with a splash!

      A wet spray shot through the tree as I joined the others. They had found a nice resting area with thick branches to sit on. "What are they?" I asked Fred.

      "They look like Centrosaurs," he replied. "See their single horn? —Wait, there are some Triceratops too. This is great!"

      "They have three horns, right, Fred?" April asked.

      "Oh—oh, yeah," Fred mumbled.

      "I think we should leave him here!" April said, tilting her head. "Here's your rug, Bill. We probably won't need it to go back anyway."

      April passed the rolled rug to me just before another herd of dinosaurs made a dash for the cool water. "Whoa!" Amy shouted as the tree was struck by the large, running beasts.

      "Hold on tight!" I exclaimed.

      Leaves and dead branches poured down around us. A large clump of leaves fell nearby my secure perch.

      "It's moving!" April gasped as she backed up in horror.