Unable to run, Consuelo trembled like a leaf as the T-rex advanced. The Velocrapters had fled from the mighty carnivore. She had only two shots left in the pistol before she'd have to reload.
The T-rex's huge head spun and caught sight of her. It let out a huge snarl and a roar. Consuelo screamed, and shot.
Nothing happened. The T-rex slammed a great scaled foot down next to her head. She rolled over and got caught in a tangled bush of thorns. The unprotected throat was under her gun.
She lifted the pistol and fired. The report of the gun echoed through the trees, and Consuelo shuddered, fearing she'd just wasted another shot. Then the T-rex tottered and began to collapse.
Consuelo couldn't move, a long claw caught her thigh and she felt the skin tear. She couldn't scream -- the cry stuck in her throat. With all her willpower, she rose up on all fours and clambered down into a ditch.
The dead weight of the T-rex toppled and with his last attempt to regain his feet, he gouged the earth not five feet from Consuelo's head.
Lying very still, she could hear dirt and pebbles trickling into the ditch, then silence. Kathrina had been unwilling to abandon her and appeared above her. She and Celene helped her out, and redressed her wound.
Ethan counted the bullet holes. "Four!" he said proudly. "Both of yours hit, and Kathrina's father got him two also. You're lucky to be alive -- da -- " he stopped suddenly, stumbling over his words. "Very lucky." his broad sword dripped black liquid.
"You caught your share, too," Consuelo said wearily, and gasped when the gruesome face of the younger Archeaopteryx appeared in front of her. The older one, K-zee, approached her. It was larger than a raptor, and she shrank back, and was utterly surprised when K-zee lowered her horned head in submission.
"K-zee!" she felt herself saying, and she almost cried. "I thought the Rex's got you!" she rubbed a hand on K-zee's head, grateful that the Archeaopteryx she'd raised from a hatchling was still alive. "You ready to give me a ride?" she asked, and K-zee looked at her curiously from one of her bright eyes.