Kingdom of Monsters by John Schneider (microsoft ebook reader .TXT) 📗

left at our disposal.  And you're telling me there's not one living pilot left on that base?”

Naomi turned and looked at Jonah.

“Oh God,” she said.  “Maybe.”

Jonah's eyes widened.

“Wait a minute,” he said.  “I can't fly a fighter jet.”

“Maybe?” Rhodes prodded.  “Ma'am, I'm gonna need a little better than maybe.”

Naomi handed Jonah the radio.

“You tell him,” she said.

Frowning, Jonah grabbed up the speaker.

“My name's Jonah Kirkland, General.  I'm a goddamn river-guide pilot.  I've never flown anything like this in my life.”

“Fair enough,” Rhodes said.  “Just letting you know what the stakes are, son.  In case you missed it, the world already ended.  Maybe you can keep our whole species from going out forever.  Or maybe you can't.  Maybe you'd just be giving your life up trying.

“It might even be,” he said, “that you'll be safe out there.  At least for a while.  But I can assure you from the highest level, the apocalypse will finally come for you.  This is an enemy that does not take prisoners.”

Jonah shut his eyes.  At this point, they all knew that enemy.

A parrot-talking little ghoul – a scaly little rat that called itself Otto.

God, he hated those little bastards.

“What are you made of, son?” Rhodes asked.  “What do you want your life to mean?”

Jonah could feel Naomi's eyes on him.

The General was right on both counts.  They would be safe here.

But sooner or later, the final purge would come.

Without opening his eyes, he clicked the radio.

“I'll do it.”

Without missing a beat, Rhodes read off the mission perimeters – payload, coordinates, airspeed, firing mechanisms – all of which Naomi jotted down while Jonah sat rubbing his temple.

“God bless, son,” Rhodes said.

Naomi took the mic.

“Yes, sir,” she said, clicking off.  She popped a new clip in her pistol.

“We've still got to get to the runway,” she said.

“Assuming the planes are still there,” Jonah muttered unhappily, following her back out onto the street.

The runway was perched over the cliff at the very back of the compound, and actually hadn't been touched.

On the other hand, that meant crossing the main grounds, right past what were still at least two live T. rex.

It seemed Jughead might have died – as if in sudden exhaustion, the teen rex had abruptly lain down his head, and there was a thick bubbling as labored breathing through bullet-holes rasped to a stop.

Archie still sat in a near trance, panting like a winded dog, lost in the pain of his injuries, the last sickle-claw's' legs still dangling from his jaws.

Rudy just sat silent, perhaps dozing...  or perhaps eyeing them through that catlike slit in his eye.

If he decided to move, the big rex could be on them in a few steps.

That was assuming there were no more sickle-claws waiting in ambush.

And they knew there was still a troop of Ottos skulking about.  That was undoubtedly why the tyrannosaurs still remained, waiting them out like cats outside their hole.

After a moment, Naomi stepped out into the open, her eye on Rudy, and began skirting her way past.

Mouthing silent curses, Jonah followed.

Rudy's slitted eyes were like a portrait's that just seemed to follow you.

Naomi glanced back impatiently, motioning Jonah to hurry.

Jonah found himself shaking his head, not for the first, but perhaps for the last time.

He just wasn't built for her speed.  There was a fearlessness there he just couldn't relate to.

Jonah doubted Lieutenant Lucas Walker would have been trailing along behind her.

No – he actually knew exactly what Lucas Walker would have done – he would have gotten in that plane and saved the day, even at the cost of his life.  He would have been a hero.

Would?  Had.  Did.

But he'd already given his life last time.  Someone else had to step up.

The base had been on alert – the jets had been prepped for this very mission.

Two F-16s were parked on the runway, missiles already loaded.

The hatch was open and waiting, as if inviting him into his own coffin.

As he climbed into the cockpit, Naomi crawled into the seat behind him.

“What do you think you're doing?”

Naomi strapped herself in.

“You think I'm getting left behind here?  I'm going with you.”

“Of course you are,” Jonah said.  “We're going to crash, you know.”

Naomi sat back.

“Who knows?” she said. “You might pull it off.  You haven't killed us yet.”

Jonah supposed that was faith of sorts.

“Not yet,” he agreed.

“Besides,” she finished, “you're going to need all the help you can get.”

Jonah strapped himself in.  It took him another minute to figure out how to close the hatch.

His hand literally trembled as he ran his hand over the controls.

As he did so, he caught skittering movement just outside.

“Jonah,” Naomi said.  “Look.”

Scampering like three scaly gremlins along the wing of the second jet, also waiting prepped beside them, was that last little troop of Ottos.

They bounced into the cockpit.  A second later, the hatch started to come down.

“That plane,” Naomi said, “is loaded with a nuke.”

Jonah shook his head.

“You can't possibly believe those little lizards can start that thing...”

The jets fired.

Jonah jumped at the sudden roar.

A roar that was answered a second later as Rudy was suddenly on his feet and moving towards them, jaws agape.

Archie started awake as well, clambering upright, his wounds suddenly forgotten.

“Oh shit, Jonah...!” Naomi blurted.

Jonah lit up his own jets.  The roar and sudden burst of power was right up there with the most terrifying moments of his life.

Beside them, Otto's jet launched off the runway, arching into the sky.

With Rudy bearing down upon them, Jonah launched.

Naomi screamed aloud as the big teen T. rex' jaws smashed shut not a yard from their tail, while Jonah skidded them off the edge of the runway like a stunt-car leaping off a bridge, before arcing upwards in a struggling, wobbling climb, leaving the frustrated tyrannosaur roaring and stamping his feet on the tarmac behind them.

Jonah was nearly screaming himself, cussing a blue streak, as he wrestled the joystick, fighting to pull them out of the sheer climb.

Battling centrifugal force, Jonah strained until they bent into a gradual arc, and