Jurassic War

Forty-One

A feeling of vulnerability consumed Tanaka. He spotted the quick-witted, tactical young marine training a bead on him. The intruder meant to shoot him and halt the mortar attack.

Tanaka shook his head and pointed across the battlefield.

Rather than continue squeezing the trigger, the marine slid his finger outside of the trigger guard, then looked where Tanaka pointed. A realization crossed the marine’s face, as he registered the massive dinosaur on the edge of the combat zone. The invading marines were not the target of the mortars.

Tanaka made the final adjustments, then shoved a mortar round into a tube. A moment later, the round struck the firing pin and ignited the propellant charge. Combustion spawned gas that created pressure and launched the mortar round from the tube. It sailed high into the air, then lobbed downward, towards the Spinosaurus just behind the American line.

The mortar round impacted the earth a few yards from the dinosaur’s tail, bursting shrapnel and dirt into the air.

Frightened by the explosion, the Spinosaurus bolted away from the blast.

“Fire!” Tanaka commanded his troops.

Dropping mortar rounds into the other tubes, a couple more ignited and flew into the air. The rounds cruised through the night sky in tandem, and then trajected downward sooner than the first one.

A round struck the ground several feet in front of the dinosaur, while the other hit the dirt next to the beast. Explosions sent debris flying into the creature’s chest and side. It reared up on its hind legs, then rocked forward and pounded its front legs on the ground. The Spinosaurus roared and snarled in anger and frustration. And then, it proceeded to charge headlong onto the battlefield, stampeding over marines and scavenger dinosaurs.

Meanwhile, a fracas had broken out in the midst of the battle, with a melee proceeding between men from both sides, fighting the marauding dinosaurs, and marines shooting at Imperial soldiers, while continuing to seek their objective in the midst of a calamity.

“They still advance upon the garrison,” Tanaka said to his comrades.

“Look!” The older private indicated to a group of marines advancing through the clash between man and beast, wearing bulging knapsacks.

“Must be explosives,” Tanaka concluded. “Let’s fall out and—”

A thunk resounded from the private, then a round burst from his chest.

The stout private dropped to his knees with an awestruck look on his pockmarked face. His head turned to Tanaka, as though questioning what had happened. Another round plinked off Tanaka’s helmet.

Marines have circled around the garrison, he thought.

Shouldering his rifle as he spun to face the invader, Tanaka dropped to a knee and a bullet whizzed over his head. He sighted on the American and pulled the trigger.

His rifle butt kicked into his deltoid and the muzzle flared.

The bullet struck the marine in the chest, as Tanaka heard the sound of his own rifle.

Falling to his knees, the American clutched at the wound in futility. Blood coursed through his fingers. The bullet had penetrated his heart. He teetered forward and tumbled face-first into the soggy ground. More blood gushed from the wound and quickly formed a crimson pool around the fallen man.

Tanaka turned to his wounded private and found him lying prostrate, with both eyes glazed over in the frozen state of death. A smaller pool of blood had spilled out around him, mixing with rain and surface water.

He surveyed the battlefield and found the same circumstances. Everywhere combatants and dinosaurs sloshed through rivulets of crimson ground water, running over the earth.

A scent of copper and pungent damp air hung over the morbid scene.

Turning to the remaining private, he motioned for the soldier to join him in intercepting the marines loaded with explosives. Averting the utter destruction of Imperial infrastructure was a critical objective.

He pressed into the strife with the private trailing a couple feet behind him.

Tanaka focused on cutting off the American demolitions teams and didn’t see the stout leg of the Tyrannosaurus until he almost ran smack dab into it.