Stop, Drop, Roll...And Run For Your Life

"Dinosaur."

"You got that right. This tech is pretty ancient."

A general calculation pegged the control room on the bridge to be circa 1960s, complete with round screens and dials, protruding knobs like toothpaste caps and sharp-edged consoles, even an old-fashioned landline telephone in a horrible peachy color was mounted at one end.

"No. I mean really. Dinosaur."

I looked over at Mason. Judging from his expression, I knew immediately he didn't mean the outdated navigational equipment on the derelict vessel. He stared at a point behind me and looked like he'd just pooped his pants, in the worst way possible. He even stood funny. That chilly thing that runs down your spine; ran down mine. I swallowed, not particularly wanting to turn around. In fact, I wanted to play the typical damsel in distress and simply scream for no reason. Instead, I found some mild comfort staring at Mason, who conveyed all my sudden fears.

A low growl and waft of hot air brushing up my back was motivation enough for both of us to squawk. Instinct kicked in. Without looking back, I lunged forward, grabbed Mason and propelled us both as far away possible from whatever creature that was blowing me a kiss.

We rolled across the dusty floor, Mason rigid in my arms. It didn't help, considering he was nearly twice my weight and carried most of our expedition gear. I cursed him. I cursed whatever breathed on us. Loudly.

As we came to a stop, under a console, I heard the first thundering sound of something heavy and solid stomping the metal grate floor. The vibrations ricocheted around my innards, jiggled my boobs, not in a nice way, and made me bounce off the floor to its rhythm. A small squeak escaped from me. I looked up from my prone position.

Dinosaur!

My muscle mass melted, and lots of blood drained from my head and limbs. I might as well have turned to not-quite-set jelly.

"Ohh..." was all I managed to croak.

Dinosaur. Or something that looked pretty close to one. It was hard to tell exactly what it was, other than its impressive size, scalding hot breath, and teeth. So many teeth...

T-Rex...spinosaurus...carnotaurus...

Why was I spewing out grade school science stuff?

It reared back its head, as if to chomp down on us in one dramatic fell swoop. It inhaled instead, its mouth cracked open wider as it sucked in a phlegmy rasp.

So many teeth!

"We should...we should run. Now!" I jabbed my elbow into Mason, scuttling backward, eyes riveted to the creature.

Teethosaurus brought its head down, and on an ear-shattering roar, a blast of fire spewed from its mouth. Not dinosaur—

"Dragon!"

I yanked Mason and scrambled to safety. We careened around the consoles on the bridge, and dived behind a solid-looking counter. Hot lashes slapped against our backs. As we tumbled along the floor, tucking as much of our bodies as we could behind the counter, a rush of smoke and flames blasted by. The stench of sulfur and something pretty close to rot assaulted our senses.

Mason screamed from next me, hands clenched around his ears. His inability to move was my motivation to surge to my feet, dragging him as best as I could. I yelled out his name, ordering him to move. He responded like a robot, with fear making his eyes goggle and mouth curve downward. We ran out of the bridge to the sound of the beast in pursuit. Dinodragon's huge body slammed clumsily around the room to a cacophony of noise.