Jurassic War

Thirty-Three

Tanaka spied movement among the fuel tanks. He sighted his rifle on the American flittering around in the distance.

Running towards the water, the invader bobbed in and out of sight. The scout car inhibited a shot as well. He recognized the lanky American as the one who had fired the mercy shot at Osamu. Unable or unwilling to get a bead on him, Tanaka considered the prospect of a lone marine behind Imperial lines.

He turned to the front and took in the carnage. Men wailed as the American fusillade of machinegun fire riddled them. And the Tyrannosaurus continued to prey upon Imperial soldiers.

The fuel dumps were lost.

“Run!” He waved and screamed for the troops to retreat.

A few men looked at him askance.

“Fall back and defend the garrison!” He pointed toward a trail leading into the bush. It began a few yards beyond their left flank.

Some men laid down heavy fire, while others hustled single file to the path.

Bullets assailed them. A few soldiers took hits in the shoulders and chest, and a couple of them spun and fell to the ground, hollering in pain.

The predator leaned over and snatched Private Kondo off the ground. It lifted the man, kicking and screaming, over the defensive berm. A few rounds dug into the dinosaur’s hide. Maddened from the wounds, the T-Rex shook its prey violently.

Its massive head whipped back and forth. Clutching Kondo’s torso in its jaws, the soldier’s head protruded from the giant maw.

Eyes bulging, Kondo’s face was locked in a perpetual state of horror. His incessant screams fueled a continued wrenching of the carnivore’s neck. The distraction gave the infantryman time to clear out.

While his troopers fired at the Americans and attempted a retreat, Tanaka broke for the Yonki. Only moments after seeing the American near the storage tanks, it somehow felt like an eternity. He spied the invader’s mug, sticking out from behind a piling, and within that millisecond, he realized what the man had done.

He slid into the driver’s seat and started the scout car. The small engine sputtered to life, then he mashed the pedal to the floor and raced down the pathway between the first two storage tanks.

Approaching the shoreline, he turned and headed towards the garrison. Tanaka cut around the fuel tank on the right front, and an explosion blasted his ears and sent the Yonki hurling ahead. He almost lost control of the vehicle. Correcting the steering, he immediately knew the tank closest to the water had blown.

He glanced back and the tank was ablaze. Flames wafted upward, like a fire in a barrel with a hole near the bottom that had fed the initial blast. Stepping on the gas, he hoped his troops would clear out before another tank blew.