Chapter 1

  Jase woke to the smell of food cooking over the campfire. He fully expected the usual beans and biscuits, but that smelled like something else. That smelled like meat! Had Pa brought something down while on watch last night? At this point, he'd be happy with some rabbit or even some wild Compie. Jase shuffled out of his bedroll and knocked his boots out before slipping them on.

  As he got ready, he instinctively glanced out over the canyon where they had stopped to rest the herd three days ago. He clicked on his arm bracer and checked for any messages, and the drone feed to see the position of the herd. This spot was always the safest place to water and care for the herd before the last push to the San Antonio rail junction. It was the same spot his great grandfather had used for the same purpose almost a century ago.

  He could see his brother Mateo on his Triceratops, Mambo, rounding the far side of the herd with John the trail boss. The two men were huddled close, and Jase noticed John pointing westward, reinforcing the uneasy feeling Jase had already sensed.

  Jase could just make out the silhouette of Cookie and Pa ,Marsh ,standing watch at the top of the canyon right in front of the sunrise.

  He saw his sister, Lin, off on the other side of the camp, tending to Titan, the big brachiosaurus that always pulled the supply wagon. Titan was over 12 meters tall and 30 meters long. He had been stung in the left nostril a few days back by a giant horntail wasp. The problem was that horntails are parasitic, and with their four-inch stingers, there was a chance it could have laid eggs in poor ol’ Titan's nose. Lin needed to make sure nothing was living in there before things got uncomfortable for the old dinosaur.

  Lin was using her cauterizer, a device powered by a small, glowing green crystal, to clean the area. Just one of the many devices Mateo and their Ma had developed over the years.

  The rest of the hired crew was lining up for whatever Grandpa Rudy was cooking that smelled so good. Jase scrambled over to the cook tent to find his grandpa already plating up some food for him, with that half-grin that Jase knew meant he was up to something.

  “Morning, grandson!” said Rudy. “Ready for some breakfast?”

  Jase paused and looked around. Everyone was eating enthusiastically, but they all were watching him out of the corner of their eyes. “What is it, grandpa? It smells delicious.”

  “It’s Trail Huevos Rancheros, dino trail style,” said Rudy as he finished plating the meal with a couple of tortillas on top.

  “Really? Where did we get the eggs? Why does it smell like sausage?”

  Jase poked at the egg-shaped objects covered in spicy red sauce and grew suspicious. He took a bite. It was gamey, but good. With a mouth still half full, Jase asked, “What kind of egg is this?”

  “I didn’t say eggs, son, I said Trail Huevos. You helped pick them fresh off all those lil’ steers yesterday.”

  Jase immediately spat it out onto the ground and began to cough, much to the delight of all the hands present, who seemed to be enjoying their plates of Triceratops testicles.

  “Hey now, don’t be wasting that. That’s a delicacy in some parts of the world,” Rudy tried to say seriously but failed to contain his laughter. “Why, think of the poor starving children in Canada who would love a hot meal of this caliber.”

  Jase shook his head and let them all have a good laugh, then grabbed himself an extra helping of beans to go with his dino-ball breakfast and walked back to his gear.

  As he sat eating, he heard the familiar soft thump and sniffing of a raptor coming up behind him.

  “Morning, Split,” said Jase as his brown and red raptor nudged her head crest against his shoulder, returning from her early morning hunt. He stroked on the neck feathers of the dinosaur, and she responded with a low purr.

  “Was it a good hunt, girl? Catch anything good?” Jase always talked to his dinos like they were going to strike up a conversation.

  Ma , Calli, always said that half the reason Thundersaur Ranch was so successful was because of how they treated their dinos. “You take them in, raise ‘em up with love and care and they’ll treat you like family,” Ma would say. Just like she and Pa did with us, Jase thought to himself, reflecting on their status as adopted orphans of the war.

  “Here, girl, want a treat? I’ve been told it’s a delicacy!” Jase said, tossing the huevos to Split. She happily swallowed them whole.

  “Just don’t tell the starving Canadian children, alright, they might be disappointed,” Jase said jokingly. Split gave a small bark in assent.

  When he finished his meal, Jase saddled up Split. They took off up the side of the canyon toward his Pa. Jase liked to practice their sneaking, silently signaling Split with nudges and hand gestures. This skill was crucial for mastodon season, but it also came in handy for less enjoyable activities like rustlers and bandits. Jase signaled Split to move slowly, cresting the canyon and moving behind cover.

  Cookie swung his giant head around and growled at the brush they were moving behind. Marsh called out, “You know, son, I appreciate your dedication to developing your skills, but maybe sneaking up on a T-Rex just for fun isn’t a great idea.”

  Jase rode up alongside his Pa. “Hey, if you're going to test yourself, you might as well go up against the best,” said Jase. “And ain’t no one better than Cookie, ain’t that right, boy?”

  The rex snorted in approval, then hummed a low growl. Jase pulled a dino cracker out of his saddle pack and tossed it to the big dino, who caught the treat effortlessly, earning Jase a frighteningly toothy grin and another growl of approval.

  Marsh said, “How was breakfast? It smelled good.”

  “Yeah, not so much. Rudy’s up to his usual tricks again, not letting anything go to waste, as he says. I’m not sure what time of day tric testicles are meant for, but it’s not breakfast time.” Jase said.

  Marsh laughed. “Ah, good ol’ Trail Huevos. Not my favorite either, but not bad if you're hungry enough. Here.” Marsh tossed Jase a small pouch. “Your Ma always packs me some extra stego jerky for when her dad makes one of his so-called delicacies.”

  Jase sniffed the meat and looked at his father suspiciously. “It's not from the south end of a stego, is it?”

  Marsh laughed. “No, sir, North of the border only.” Marsh continued to smile, but his voice took a more serious tone. “Did you see them over there, son?”

  Jase slowly followed the direction his father’s eyes were turned. Without overtly staring, he scanned the mesa directly across from the top of the canyon. He eventually saw them: three barely distinguishable heads peering from inside a large clump of sagebrush.

  “I see three of them, over on the mesa there,” Jase said, trying to sound light. “Is it the Numunuu?”

  “No, the tribe has been periodically checking on us ever since we entered their territory several days ago,” said Marsh. “That group appeared last night. I’ve counted at least six. No dinos, probably on hover bikes. I’m guessing new to the area too, either from way down south or, more likely, some Eastern city dudes who fancy themselves rustlers now.”

  “How’d you figure that, Pa?” said Jase.

  “Well, their scout clearly didn’t know it gets cold at this elevation when it gets dark, the way he was shaking all night. And one or more of them smells awfully pretty, probably cologne or scented soap. Most of all, the fact that they wandered into tribal territory uninvited; they probably don’t even realize where they are.”

  “What are we going to do about it?” said Jase.

  “They appear to be eyeing the small group of Ankylo pups we brought,” said Marsh. “Go tell John what's happening and tell him to give you three more raptor riders. Get yourselves hidden around the pups. Also, get me two more men on foot, and have Mateo set up his Dawn bulbs around the perimeter. Everyone else carries on as normal, ask Lin to play her guitar over at the chow tent after dinner. Let them think we are all comfortable and off our guard. I reckon that’ll draw them out if they’re gonna try something. Warn Jerry when he comes up to relieve me so he doesn’t give anything away. Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll just move on.”

  “Yes, Sir, we’ll get on it,” said Jase.

  As Jase and Split began to ride off, Marsh said, “And son, remind everyone that this isn’t Thundersaur Valley. We’re on Numunuu land here.”

  Jase nodded. “Yes, Sir, not our land, not our rules.”

  Marsh smiled and then nudged Cookie into motion to carry on his normal patrol.

  The day carried on as if nothing was wrong. The mixed herd of 2,500 young Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and Ankylosaurs grazed quietly. All while the crew of wranglers prepared and carried out Marsh’s orders.

  John the trail boss took Kate, his fellow Allosaurus rider, and rode out the far end of the canyon to appear that they were scouting the trail ahead, but intended to double back after dark and flank the suspected rustlers.

  Jase took Split and the three raptor riders John assigned to him and set up in a cove near the canyon entrance where they had separated the ankylos from the larger animals. This spot usually protected the ankylos and meant they could leave them relatively unattended, which made it apparently a tempting situation for thieves.

  Late in the afternoon as Jase and Split lay hiding in the brush, Mateo and Mambo rode around the edge of the smaller herd as was normal, but what no one could see unless you were in Jase’s position were the small orbs dropping off the small wagon Mambo towed. These were Mateo's prized Dawn bulbs. Jase hoped his father might be right, that these guys would move on, but his instincts told him that if they had found themselves this far out in the middle of tribal territory, they were either very stupid or extremely desperate.

  The tribe allowed a marked path for outside travelers to move back and forth from East to West in order to keep the peace. Jase's grandfather had negotiated the path many years ago. But this canyon was way off the designated trail. Also part of the deal set up by his grandfather that allowed the McClintocks to move herds to the central train stations so they could get their livestock to markets in the Central free zone and the Eastern markets in return for a small fee.

  Later that night, Jase sat under the brush with Split squatting next to him, several little Ankylo pups noisily snoring in front of him. Mateo quietly crawled up next to him and pointed to the remote in his hand, giving a thumbs up. He had his Dawn bulbs set to activate on Pa’s signal.

  Mateo pointed to the specialized goggles on his head and gestured to Jase’s pack. Jase quickly grabbed his own goggles, remembering the last time his brother used this particular invention. Mateo had found a way to amplify standard Tesla bulbs to the point where they resembled the sun coming up. It only lasts for short periods of time, but if you aren’t ready for it, you can be temporarily blinded.

  The sound of Lin’s music barely carried all the way to the far side of the canyon, but Jase recognized the tune: The Ballad of Dino Dixie.

  Split began to tap her fore claw, signaling movement. A moment later, Jase could see them in the faint moonlight: nine men, crawling in ghillie suits, spreading out to the edges of the small pack of ankylos.

  Jase strapped on his goggles and quietly pulled out his sidearm. He felt Split begin to tense next to him in anticipation. Two of the men were only a few feet away when suddenly clicks rang out from his ear piece—Pa’s signal!

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Mateo triggered the lights, and in an instant, the world burst to blinding light.

  The two men in front of Jase and Split jumped to their feet. Split instantly leaped and pinned one man while knocking the other one down with a tail whip. That man fell to his back and tried to take his gun out. Jase reached for the short, matte-black cylinder on his belt. With a practiced flick of his wrist, the Snap-Snare hissed open. The rigid handle remained in his grip while twenty feet of weighted poly-fiber cable telescoped out in a blur, the loop blooming wide just in time to catch the man, binding his arms to his sides. Several other shots and screams rang out, mixed with panicked shouting and the sounds of men fighting and frightened baby dinos running about.

  Everything suddenly stopped as the ear-rattling, unmistakable roar of a T-Rex bellowed out, followed by Marsh’s booming voice: “That's enough! Stand down, it's over! Drop your weapons and get on your knees, NOW!”

  Only six of the nine rustlers were still alive. The man pinned by Split was finally able to see what was holding him down—the bared teeth of a Utahraptor staring him in the face. Unfortunately for him, he chose to start screaming and hit Split in the face, which Split quickly answered back by crushing the man's head in her jaws.

  The surviving rustlers were shoved into a group at the center of the ring of eight Dawn lamps directly in front of Marsh and Cookie. Their hands were bound with rope, and they were stripped down to their undergarments while being searched for weapons and gear.

  Lin soon appeared to check for injuries to the crew, thankfully finding only a minor cut to one of the wrangler's arms. After an approving nod from her father, Lin proceeded to check the bound men. She wasn’t checking for wounds as much as she was inspecting the men for identifying marks.

  As she checked one of the men’s necks, he turned and snapped at her, trying to bite her hand. Lin swiftly kicked him in the face, knocking him to the ground. Cookie roared, once again bringing everyone to cower in silence.

  Lin looked up at her father and reported:

  “They all have tech ports in their necks and various cybernetics, and the one with face scars has Alliance military officer tattoos on his chest.” Lin pointed to the cluster of bar code markings over the man's heart. “The biter over there has half a corporate tat on his forehead and what's left of an eastern style obedience collar still sticking out of the top of his spine. No life-threatening injuries, though.”

  One of the Dawn bulbs blinked out.

  Marsh jumped down from Cookie and demanded, “Who's in charge here?”

  They all looked at the man with the severely scarred face and military tats. “I am,” the man said begrudgingly. “We didn’t mean any harm to you. We were just trying to make our way west. We fell into several difficulties on our journey and needed to find food. We would have only taken one or two of these little pups. You can’t begrudge starving men for trying to get some food, can you?”

  Two more Dawn bulbs went out.

  John the trail boss walked up next to Marsh with a large trunk that had a busted lid. The scarred man frowned and cursed under his breath. Marsh jumped down from his saddle and leaned forward to inspect the contents.

  “We found this with the two fellas they left to watch their bikes, both Eastern Alliance, both dead,” said John. “Also one little girl, scared to death and roughed up pretty bad. She didn’t say much, just cried. No sign of anyone else. We took her over to camp. She's in Buddy’s wagon, Lin.”

  Lin turned to her Father, who signaled her to go.

  Marsh pulled a cloth sac from the trunk and opened it. The trunk itself appeared to be the kind of ornate luggage a lady would use to travel with. He found various pendants, earrings, and jewelry, a fair amount of gold and silver coins of all different types, and a fine steel chain with rings of various sizes. The rings were laced together with the thin shinny chain, all with what looked like a tiny data crystal inlaid in them. They seemed too plain and clunky to be jewelry, but he wasn’t sure of their use. Marsh estimated about 40 plus rings in total. They also had what looked like dried blood on them.

  “What your name, Easterner?” Said Marsh to the scarred man.

  The man straightened his back and raised his chin definitely, “I am Colonel Edmund Franco the Third,” the man said with a growl. “Commander of the 1st battalion of the Northern Army, and loyal servant to the true leader, his Holiness Baron Marcus Andredi!”

  “The Barons are all dead, Colonel. Have been for twenty-plus years now. How do you serve a corpse?” said John.

  “I wait for the day when our true nation rises again and lays waste to the heretical money changers that have stolen the soul of our people!” The camera lens-like tube that was the man's left eye zoomed in and out,”And who might you be, Sir!” He said with no small amount of disdain.

  Another Dawn bulb went out.

  “My name is Marsh McClintock. I’m responsible for the wellbeing of these people and this herd that you planned to do harm to,” Marsh said coolly.

  Edmund paused contemplatively, sizing up the large man in front of him. “McClintock, I know this name,” Edmund's voice took a more sly tone. “Dino rancher, soldier, mediator, owner of all the land south of the Great Canyon down to the southern peaks.” Edmund said with a sneer."You are known to be a just and fair man. Surely there can be an accommodation; we could agree to a restitution of some kind.”

  Marsh took a slow exaggerated breath, “Normally, you’d be right, Colonel” said Marsh. “I don’t usually like to waste lives. Many of my men have a less than wholesome past, as do I.” Marsh stared at the chain of rings in his hand and then held it up to Edmound’s face. He noted the uncomfortable shift in the colonel's men at the sight of them, maybe something like shame. It's always more difficult to read the faces of mechanically augmented men. “Tell me, Colonel Franco the Third, how many of these rings represent a cry for help, a plea for mercy? Better yet, if I asked that girl back in my camp, who's clinging to life and her last bit of hope, what your fate should be, what do you think she’d say?”

  Another Dawn bulb went out.

  Edmund grunted something under his breath and shouted, “Don’t presume to pass judgment on me! I have done only what is necessary to survive in this world gone mad. I will not be moralized to by some hopped up Western dino jockey! I’ve read the stories of how you and a band of miscreants won your little kingdom here. You're no saint either! ”

  Marsh crouched down closer to the incensed man and with a chilled voice said, “Well, Colonel. You are right about that one thing, I am no saint. Never claimed to be. But you're wrong about one thing. You're wrong about whose kingdom you're in. I won’t be passing judgment tonight.”

  The last two Dawn bulbs went out.

  Edmund blinked his eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden darkness. All he could see was flashes and shadows. A moment later, he could finally make out the shapes of people and dinos around him. As his eyes focused, he could see the canyon walls, and the dino riders, and something just past the riders. Moving shadows, dozens of them shaped like men. Then the shadows all suddenly rushed forward weaving through the dinos and the riders, heading straight towards him and his men.

  Edmund cried out, “What is this? What's happening! McClintock, what are you doing?”

  “Not me, Colonel Edmound Franco the Third. Like I said, I’m not your judge. We’re not on my land, we’re on theirs. And you don’t have their permission to be here.”

  The shadows leaped forward, grasping Edmund and his men, including the dead. Edmund finally recognized who they were when he was face to face with them. The black hair, the white and red painted faces. The Numunuu, Dino Lords of the Plains.

  Edmund and his men cried in terror and screamed, “No, NO, NOOOO!”

  The men were silenced, and all of them disappeared with the shadowy figures into the starry night. In less than a minute the night was silent again, the only sound coming from a few mewling ankylosaurs pups.

  The next morning, the crowd around the breakfast campfire was much quieter than the day before. Rudy still smiled and made jokes as was his way, even informing Jase that he still had leftover “trail huevos” if he would like to try them again. Jase declined, offering to have them sent to those poor starving Canadian children.

  Jase grabbed two plates of beans-n-biscuits and two coffees and headed over to Buddy’s med trailer. He carefully poked his head in first to see if it was okay to enter. Lin looked up and gestured to him to wait outside.

  Jase sat down on the steps of the trailer and set the food to the side. Buddy’s head suddenly appeared right next to him, giving him a friendly nudge. The Bronto’s long neck reached over the top of the wagon from the other side.

  “Well, good morning to you too, big fella. How are you doing today?” Said Jase. Buddy gave a quiet trumpet sound in response. Jase was always amazed how gentle and quiet Buddy could be for such a huge dino.

  Jase pulled some dino crackers from his pocket and placed them in Buddy’s huge mouth, and scratched the spot under his jaw that he liked. Buddy seemed to smile and nudged him again in appreciation.

  A few minutes later, Lin emerged from the wagon with a full-body stretch and a deep yawn. She sat next to Jase and sighed tiredly. Jase handed the food and coffee to her. She smiled appreciatively, but the exhaustion was etched around her eyes. She needed a meal and quiet company before she could be herself again. She downed her coffee in two big gulps, so Jase handed her his. She looked at him hesitating, but he nodded and pushed the cup closer. She smiled and drank the second cup.

  After several quiet minutes, Marsh and Mateo appeared from the side of the wagon. Marsh sat on the other side of Lin and leaned down, kissing her on the top of her head, causing the young woman to smile at the gesture.

  “Good morning, Rancher-roos!”

  That line had always brought a smile to the three siblings' faces since they were little. Marsh put his arm around Lin as Buddy greeted Mateo, earning the dino some more crackers and scratches.

  “How are you holding up?” Marsh said to Lin.

  Lin lifted her coffee and said, “A few more of these and I’ll be just fine, Pa.”

  “How's the patient?” said Marsh.

  “Physically, she has multiple cuts and contusions, she's suffering from dehydration, shock, and a small infection causing a slight fever. Her right wrist is also broken, but she should recover. She also has no trace of nanites in her blood,or cyber augmentation of any kind, so I have no way of identifying where she's from.” Lin reported, her tone shifting to professional. “Mentally, she has been severely traumatized. She's spoken a little, basically just to tell me her name, Sarah, 6 years old, but she mostly just cries. I gave her a sedative, got her cleaned up and comfortable.”

  Lin took a deep, shaky breath, her medical training momentarily failing to mask her empathy. “I contacted Ma on the comm and gave her the info. She's going to contact the Marshall office in San Antonio and see if they can find her family, but it will be difficult without any identifiers. For now, I’m just going to try to keep her comfortable and let her rest.”

  Marsh nodded, squeezing Lin’s shoulder. “Good work, Lin. Let me know if you need anything.” He paused, then pulled the chain of rings from his pocket, turning them over in his palm. The simple metallic bands and the small jewels glinted in the morning light. There were dozens, enough to fill the entire chain, and as Marsh turned them, the delicate click of metal against metal sounded oddly loud in the quiet morning air.

  “Do you think they were robbing travelers on the Pilar Path?” said Mateo.

  Mateo gestured vaguely to the northeast. The Numanu had allowed free travel through their territory to anyone moving east or west as long as they stayed to the provided path, a large trail stretching the length of their territory marked by large stone pillars placed about every 20 meters. It was an impressive feat of engineering and raw labor. There was no mistaking the giant 4-meter tall rock landmarks with their elaborate carvings. This was on purpose to make sure travelers didn’t accidentally break the only rule and leave the path. The Numanuu's message was silent but clear: follow the path, and we ignore you; step off it, and you cease to exist. The Numanu did not police or regulate the trail, so travelers were on their own as far as safety was concerned; only if you left the marked trail did they interfere. And it was widely understood that if you trespassed on their land and were caught, you were never seen again.

  “More than that, I think,” Marsh murmured, the weight of the rings heavy in his hand. He felt the cool metal pressing into his skin, a grim register of every life taken. “The Colonel and his men seemed pretty desperate to move west, or possibly south. They were running from something and were burning a path of ruin to get away from whatever it was. Something those men traded their souls for. That poor girl in there… I don’t think she was the only one they hurt for this.”

  Marsh felt a cold, deep fury—the kind that settled like stone in his gut. He pictured the gentle slopes of the Valley, the way the sun hit the fields at dusk. What the Colonel had done wasn't just violence; it was a contagion, a moral rot that preyed on the weak and respected no law, written or natural. If they allowed men like that to return, that 'sickness' would take root and destroy everything they’d spent years rebuilding.

  He quickly pocketed the chain. “This is another reason why things had to be handled the way they were. That kind of sickness can’t be brought back to the Valley.”

  He shifted his focus, lightening his voice. “I expect Quirtsquip and his band to appear today. We’ll turn over the ankylos and set out for San An tomorrow. Lin, I want you and a team of riders to go on ahead today and get that little girl to Calli asap. Jase, Mateo, I want you to ride out with me and John today when we meet with the chief. Time for you both to start learning the political side of this business.”

  Lin perked up slightly, seizing a new intellectual topic to focus on. “Pa, do you think there would ever be a chance that we could get the Numunuu to show us how they train those Pachycephalosaurs? How do they all ride them? In the 800-plus years of dino husbandry, no one else has ever been able to tame a Pachycephalosaurus, much less ride one, and they have herds of them able to coordinate attacks and bring down mammoths.”

  Lin’s enthusiasm mounted. “Did you know Pachycephalosaurus are one of the few non-mutated dinos that don’t have the 81st chromosome? Without it, they shouldn’t be capable of the higher brain functions that lead to domestication. Their brains are more like common reptilian brains—all instinct and no abstract thought.”

  “Well, if that's the case, let's just ask Pa how he and Ma got Jase tamed,” joked Mateo. “He runs on instinct without higher brain function, too.”

  All four of them laughed, and Jase gave his brother a rude two finger gesture. “Now, now,” said Marsh, smiling. “Operating on instinct has pulled my fat out of the fire more than a few times. When things get serious, it's good to have someone around who can think and react quickly.”

  Marsh’s smile faded as he addressed Lin. “As for the Pachy’s, I don’t think the tribe is too interested in sharing their secrets. We have developed a good relationship with the Numunuu these past decades, especially in the last twenty years. I’d even go as far to say we're friendly. But Quirtsquip and his people have always kept us at an arm's length, always keeping back anything that was not absolutely necessary. To them, we’re still outsiders and probably always will be.”

  Marsh looked out over the canyon. “They distrust all non-Numunuu, and for good reason. For hundreds of years, it wasn’t East versus West for them; it was their assorted tribes versus the whole rest of the world. The old Barons had made us slaves, but they tried to make them extinct. Right now, it's best not to push our luck.” Marsh could see Lin was a bit crest fallen and wanted to pursue the subject further. So he added, “But who knows what might come in the future,” That seemed to appease Lin’s determined curiosity for now. “Speaking of which, that's why I want you two there with us today. I want Quirtsquip and his people to start getting to know you too, so we can keep this little relationship going. As you know, being able to take this trail through the tribe's land to get our herd to the eastern market is a huge benefit to us. Easily worth the few hundred head of livestock they ask for in return.”

  The two brothers nodded their heads in understanding.

  Lin sighed. “I understand, Pa. It just would sure be amazing to learn their techniques. Maybe we’d be able to apply them to the Spinosaurus problem back home.”

  “That would be amazing,” said Jase. “Imagine being able to ride a Thundersaur just like the stories of Ol’ Dino Dixie!”

  Mateo started humming a tune and tapping his foot while Jase stomped his feet and bared his teeth in his best, and silliest, impression of a Spinosaurs. Lin rolled her eyes and shook her head and said in annoyance, “I seriously doubt anyone will ever ride a Spinosaurus. But if we could get them to not attack every time they see humans or smell Popper plums, that would make everyone's life easier.”

  Marsh silenced his two sons with a glance. Marsh spoke kindly, “Lin, I’m sure if anyone could find a way to work with Ol’ Thundersaur, it would be you. But for now, let's just get through this drive without any more trouble.”

  “Yes, Pa,” said all three siblings.