A Whole New World
Harding
“Oh… my fucking… God…” Jay breathed when he looked out to where Matt was pointing.
The storm was starting to clear up a bit, and the sun was trying to burst through the clouds.
“So… I’m not high…” Matt said. “I mean… you see it too?”
Jay nodded and reached back to grab the nearest person, which happened to be Moose, and shoved him to the window next to him.
“What are going on about?” Moose asked. He suddenly froze when he saw what they were talking about.
An animal, which appeared to be a very large, dark green lizard with a duck bill-like mouth and long tail was poking around the foliage outside of their plane. It was about seven feet tall, and was accompanied by what appeared to be its’ baby. They moved gracefully as they grazed from leaf to leaf, tails swinging hypnotically back and forth.
“What is it?” Deirdre asked, trying to peek over Matt’s shoulder. “What do you see?”
“It’s… it’s a… dinosaur?” Moose stuttered. “It’s a fucking dinosaur!”
Padge shoved him aside. “There must be something in the air here, dinosaurs have been dead for ye- what the fuck?!”
The animals were joined by three more of their kind, and had now spotted their plane. They curiously inched forward, noses trying to decipher what they were up against.
“That’s fucking impossible,” Padge whispered. “Those things have been dead for like, a million years!”
“Try 65,000,000,000, love,” Deirdre said. “They can’t be real, though. Maybe they’re… animatronics or something?”
“Yeah, that’s it,” Jay said. “They’re just robots! Yeah, and any second now, Ashton Kutcher is going to jump out from the lavatory and say, ‘Gotcha, pillowfuckers!’”
“Well you don’t have to be so rude,” Deirdre pouted. “But come on, what are the odds that we land on an island where time just… stands still, or something? Let’s be reasonable here.”
“Now is not the time to be reasonable!” Jay argued. “We’re standing on a plane on an island that is part of a chain called “The Five Deaths”, watching parasauralophoguses or whatever the fuck those are eating leaves as big as my daughter! How the fuck can we be reasonable?!”
“Well at least they’re not trying to eat us!” Matt yelled.
The animals outside of the plane started to make noise; some sort of cry that sounded like a whale, but higher pitched. Deirdre grabbed her camera and opened the door. “I’ve got to get a picture of this!”
Padge dashed out of the plane after her and almost tackled her. “Deir, get back in the plane! It’s not safe out here!”
“How do you know that?” she asked. “Look, they’re eating plants! They’re not going to hurt us!”
“Maybe that’s what they want us to think!” he insisted. “Maybe as soon as we get close, they’ll lash out and bite our fucking faces off!”
“Actually, she’s right. They’re herbivores, they only eat plants.”
The two spun around to see the source of the voice. There was a woman with a pair of binoculars standing about three feet in front of them. She was rather short, and wore khaki shorts and vest, with thick explorer boots. Her short black hair only came to her chin.
“Sarah Harding,” she said, extending her hand to them. They each shook it, looking highly confused.
The rest of the men came off of the plane and greeted her as well. She took a minute to survey the group with her eyes before chuckling. “I take it you’re not from around here?”
They slowly shook their heads. “Wales,” Matt said. “Who… erm, why are you here?”
“Matt, don’t be rude,” Moose said, kicking him in the shin. “We were just told that the island isn’t inhabited by anyone, that’s all he meant.”
She grinned. “I don’t live here, I’m here with a friend. Well, a friend, two scientists, and two kids. Not my kids, of course. Now, why are you here?”
“We had to land,” Rodriguez said. “We would have crashed, because of the storm. My radio isn’t picking up signal, do you have one we could use?”
“Sure,” she said. “Follow me back to the trailer. Take anything personal with you, we can’t come back to this spot.”
“Why’s that?” Matt asked. “Did we hurt the plantasaurus’ feelings?”
She grinned skeptically. “Actually, they’re called Hadrosaurs. And no, you didn’t hurt their feelings. I would suggest not coming back because as of your landing, you’re being hunted by the Tyrannosaurs that have their nest not one hundred yards from this area.”
They all looked at each other and dashed back into the plane, grabbing their carry-on bags from under their seats. Padge insisted on taking his ESP Flying V with him, and threw the gig bag over his shoulder.
They followed Sarah down a path lined close with ferns and trees. It was difficult to move in anything but a single-file line, which freaked out Deirdre and Moose tremendously. They were all getting sweaty and sticky from the humidity. After walking for about five minutes, they came across a large dinosaur that walked on all four legs and had thick, sharp plates sticking out of its’ back.
“It’s so cute!” Deirdre squealed, taking a dozen photos of the creature. “What do you call that one?”
“That would be a stegosaurus. It too is an herbivore,” Sarah explained.
“That’s a relief,” Moose sighed. “Getting eaten isn’t really on our list of tour activities.”
Sarah smirked. “Well, unless getting maimed by a dozen or so long spikes on a dinosaur’s tail is on your list, I wouldn’t agitate it. As soon as those animals feel threatened, they swing their giant tails in every direction in defense; check out the spikes on that one.”
They all turned their attention to its’ tail; sure enough, there was about five or six spikes sticking out of the end. Deirdre got a few more pictures before they headed more down the trail. They crossed over a stream and came upon a small clearing, where two immense trailers were linked together and parked, along with a Ford Explorer. They were led into the first trailer, and to the small kitchen area. There was a man sitting at the table, roughly scratching numbers and figures on a worn out notepad.
“Ian, we have company.”
The storm was starting to clear up a bit, and the sun was trying to burst through the clouds.
“So… I’m not high…” Matt said. “I mean… you see it too?”
Jay nodded and reached back to grab the nearest person, which happened to be Moose, and shoved him to the window next to him.
“What are going on about?” Moose asked. He suddenly froze when he saw what they were talking about.
An animal, which appeared to be a very large, dark green lizard with a duck bill-like mouth and long tail was poking around the foliage outside of their plane. It was about seven feet tall, and was accompanied by what appeared to be its’ baby. They moved gracefully as they grazed from leaf to leaf, tails swinging hypnotically back and forth.
“What is it?” Deirdre asked, trying to peek over Matt’s shoulder. “What do you see?”
“It’s… it’s a… dinosaur?” Moose stuttered. “It’s a fucking dinosaur!”
Padge shoved him aside. “There must be something in the air here, dinosaurs have been dead for ye- what the fuck?!”
The animals were joined by three more of their kind, and had now spotted their plane. They curiously inched forward, noses trying to decipher what they were up against.
“That’s fucking impossible,” Padge whispered. “Those things have been dead for like, a million years!”
“Try 65,000,000,000, love,” Deirdre said. “They can’t be real, though. Maybe they’re… animatronics or something?”
“Yeah, that’s it,” Jay said. “They’re just robots! Yeah, and any second now, Ashton Kutcher is going to jump out from the lavatory and say, ‘Gotcha, pillowfuckers!’”
“Well you don’t have to be so rude,” Deirdre pouted. “But come on, what are the odds that we land on an island where time just… stands still, or something? Let’s be reasonable here.”
“Now is not the time to be reasonable!” Jay argued. “We’re standing on a plane on an island that is part of a chain called “The Five Deaths”, watching parasauralophoguses or whatever the fuck those are eating leaves as big as my daughter! How the fuck can we be reasonable?!”
“Well at least they’re not trying to eat us!” Matt yelled.
The animals outside of the plane started to make noise; some sort of cry that sounded like a whale, but higher pitched. Deirdre grabbed her camera and opened the door. “I’ve got to get a picture of this!”
Padge dashed out of the plane after her and almost tackled her. “Deir, get back in the plane! It’s not safe out here!”
“How do you know that?” she asked. “Look, they’re eating plants! They’re not going to hurt us!”
“Maybe that’s what they want us to think!” he insisted. “Maybe as soon as we get close, they’ll lash out and bite our fucking faces off!”
“Actually, she’s right. They’re herbivores, they only eat plants.”
The two spun around to see the source of the voice. There was a woman with a pair of binoculars standing about three feet in front of them. She was rather short, and wore khaki shorts and vest, with thick explorer boots. Her short black hair only came to her chin.
“Sarah Harding,” she said, extending her hand to them. They each shook it, looking highly confused.
The rest of the men came off of the plane and greeted her as well. She took a minute to survey the group with her eyes before chuckling. “I take it you’re not from around here?”
They slowly shook their heads. “Wales,” Matt said. “Who… erm, why are you here?”
“Matt, don’t be rude,” Moose said, kicking him in the shin. “We were just told that the island isn’t inhabited by anyone, that’s all he meant.”
She grinned. “I don’t live here, I’m here with a friend. Well, a friend, two scientists, and two kids. Not my kids, of course. Now, why are you here?”
“We had to land,” Rodriguez said. “We would have crashed, because of the storm. My radio isn’t picking up signal, do you have one we could use?”
“Sure,” she said. “Follow me back to the trailer. Take anything personal with you, we can’t come back to this spot.”
“Why’s that?” Matt asked. “Did we hurt the plantasaurus’ feelings?”
She grinned skeptically. “Actually, they’re called Hadrosaurs. And no, you didn’t hurt their feelings. I would suggest not coming back because as of your landing, you’re being hunted by the Tyrannosaurs that have their nest not one hundred yards from this area.”
They all looked at each other and dashed back into the plane, grabbing their carry-on bags from under their seats. Padge insisted on taking his ESP Flying V with him, and threw the gig bag over his shoulder.
They followed Sarah down a path lined close with ferns and trees. It was difficult to move in anything but a single-file line, which freaked out Deirdre and Moose tremendously. They were all getting sweaty and sticky from the humidity. After walking for about five minutes, they came across a large dinosaur that walked on all four legs and had thick, sharp plates sticking out of its’ back.
“It’s so cute!” Deirdre squealed, taking a dozen photos of the creature. “What do you call that one?”
“That would be a stegosaurus. It too is an herbivore,” Sarah explained.
“That’s a relief,” Moose sighed. “Getting eaten isn’t really on our list of tour activities.”
Sarah smirked. “Well, unless getting maimed by a dozen or so long spikes on a dinosaur’s tail is on your list, I wouldn’t agitate it. As soon as those animals feel threatened, they swing their giant tails in every direction in defense; check out the spikes on that one.”
They all turned their attention to its’ tail; sure enough, there was about five or six spikes sticking out of the end. Deirdre got a few more pictures before they headed more down the trail. They crossed over a stream and came upon a small clearing, where two immense trailers were linked together and parked, along with a Ford Explorer. They were led into the first trailer, and to the small kitchen area. There was a man sitting at the table, roughly scratching numbers and figures on a worn out notepad.
“Ian, we have company.”