The Lost World Academy pt. 2

I sucked in the cool air of the security office with a feeling of relief. Behind a small table-fan whirring on the main desk was a plump man in uniform probably in his forties. He was turned away from me looking down on the ground at something and talking to it.

"Yes. That's a good girl. Daddy's got a piece of fruit for you....Oh..." He stopped, slightly embarrassed when he noticed me standing in front of the desk. "You must be Donovan. Hey, my name is Bernie Edelstein — chief of security," he said as he nearly crushed my hand with his firm grip. "I have your Student Terminal, we just have to get you registered and SALI can put you into the system."

"Uhhhh..." Before I had the chance to reply there was a clicking chirp that came from behind the desk followed by a bang on the small gate that connected the desk to the wall.

"Hey! Cinnamon! Bad!" Bernie shot up from his chair and briskly walked towards the gate but it was too late. Another impact knocked the latch loose and the gate swung open.

"What... is that?" I asked in disbelief.

A small creature with dark blue scales stumbled through the gate and rolled onto the floor. The creature stood up on its hind legs, balancing it's surprisingly bulky body with its long tail. Around the crown of its head and on its snout were small knobby horns. It reared its little body up and cocked its head to look up at me. It tucked its small arms against its white underbelly.

"Donovan," Bernie said in a hushed voice, "Just stand still. She's challenging you." Bernie walked very slowly — trying to get behind the creature. I, on the other hand, remained still as Bernie instructed. What exactly am I dealing with here? Was this animal somehow dangerous? It seems too small to be a threat.

The creature began to bounce from side to side like a little street fighter preparing to throw a punch. Involuntarily I stepped back causing the animal to lower its head and charge. Before the animal got very far, Bernie scooped it up in his jacket.

Cautiously, I approached Bernie. The creature, still balled up inside his coat, ceased to struggle as he pets it. "Shhhhh... you're ok," Bernie said, soothing the animal. It made small grunting noises in response. "Sorry about that. Your uncle Victor is off-campus today so I couldn't get anyone to look after her. These guys need close supervision at this size. They can become mean and temperamental if they are not socialized properly."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Oh. That's right. This must be your first time seeing a dinosaur, huh?" Bernie said as he gingerly uncovered the animal's head. "Meet dracocephale termaninsis. This little girl is named Cinnamon. Raised her from when she was just an egg."

I took a good look at the little dinosaur. Knobby spikes ran from the edge of its beak up its snout towards its face then to the top of its eyes with the last set of horns curving slightly backward. Its orange eyes had an air of seriousness within them as it stared back at me.

"You can touch her. Just no sudden moves and don't show any fear," Beanie reassured.

"Don't show fear? What? Does it smell fear?"

"No. But dracos are empathetic creatures. They can become agitated if they sense you are not calm. Just show her some respect and she will respect you in return," Bernie said, adjusting his arms a little bit. "Go ahead. Nice and easy."

I carefully placed my hand on the draco's head, stroking the rough scales which felt like smooth stones. She made soft clicks with her beak as I pet her. I was surprised by how she was for something that lacked fur.

"How old is she?"

"She is about four weeks old," Bernie said. "She will be old enough to join the rest of the herd when she is three months old."

"Rest of the herd?"

"Uhh-huh. Draco's are pack animals. That is, they are used for transportation between colonies. We also have off-road vehicles, but they cannot climb up steep terrain like the draco's can," Bernie said. "We have a program on campus for raising them as well as riding lessons. Yours truly gives lessons on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays."

"What about air travel?"

"Hahahahaha. You have a lot to learn about this place don't you, kid?" Bernie said as he walked back behind his desk. He closed the gate and placed the dino onto a bed of newspaper. "Outside the city gates is a world that has been fighting against mankind for over forty years. Even the skies are off-limits to us."

"Why is that?"

"Pterosaurs don't like when we enter their kingdom. However, that doesn't mean we can't. The sky trams fly solely at night when the pterosaurs are grounded. The only nocturnal threat that flies at night tends to hunt things on the ground anyway."

"Look, I am still trying to wrap my head around that animal eating the melon behind your desk," I said pointing to the dinosaur. " Plus I have no idea what a pterosaur is."

Bernie just smiled at my confusion. "Don't worry. You will learn everything you need to know here soon enough. On that note let's get you registered into the system shall we?"

"Oh... yeah. That thing I came here to do." I was still in shock about what I was seeing. A living dinosaur. I haven't seen many living animals in my life, but I never thought I would see one that went extinct so long ago. I looked up at Bernie. "Can I get my robot registered in the network too?" I slipped Ace off my back and placed him on the desk. Ace's eyes glowed to life and he beeped a small greeting to Bernie.

"Now it's my turn to be surprised," Bernie said. "Not very common to see one of these being carried around these days."

"Yeah, I was wondering about that. I heard only rich people have them. What gives? On old earth, it was not uncommon for people to have a robot. There was so much scrap around someone who was tech-savvy could make their own like I did Ace here."

Bernie searched his thoughts with a perplexed look on his face. "Well, I would have to say it's because many blame the fall of humanity on technology. Machines of war played a role in civilization's collapse although the global nuclear fallout certainly left a mark too. I guess people here just don't want to repeat the same mistakes."

Bernie carried Ace over to some kind of machine. Ace looked at me with worried eyes and I smiled to reassure him.

"By the way. Just to be clear. Here on Termina people don't like to hear about the old world. It's something people are trying to put behind them. You can still talk about it if someone asks but just try to be more careful when mentioning it."

"Oh. I didn't know it was taboo. Sorry."

"It's fine," Bernie said. "Now, I need you to go over to the scanner on the wall over there. SALI will walk you through what you need to do."

I walked over to the terminal on the wall. There was a green light that began to blink accompanied by a virtual female voice.

"Welcome to the student registry. Do you wish to create a new account? If so, state your full name including your middle initial," said SALI.

"Donovan A. Selvic."

"Very well. Hold still as your account is processed."

A green laser passed up and down my body.

"Account creation complete. Welcome, Donovan Selvic. You have been assigned to class Delta. Please hold still as your uniform is marked."

A small mechanical arm protruded off the wall from next to the green light. The arm then pressed onto the right side of my chest and pulled away. There was now a "D" embroidered on my shirt in the same style as the letters that were on the other students.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Donovan. Please take your Student Terminal. If you have any further questions feel free to contact me via your terminal. Welcome to Laurentia Academy."

A small device popped out of a slot on the wall just below the green light. The device was just small enough to fit in my palm. When I picked it up, a hologram of the school's emblem began to spin above the device for about three seconds and then a small virtual desktop appeared accompanied by a chime. The desktop was similar to what I have on my heads-up display in my contacts but a little more compact and I didn't recognize many of the icons. I am going to need to practice using this later. The desktop vanished in a pixelated mist and I slipped the terminal into my pocket.

When I returned to the security desk, Bernie returned Ace to me. "Everything seems to check out," Bernie said, "your little metal friend is now certified with the school network under your account." He inspected my letter. "Huh, Class D. Are you planning on working with technology then?"

"What do you mean?"

"There are four classes and each specializes in categories of trade: military, science, economy, and technology," Bernie said. "They are very general and there are more specialized fields within these classes. This place is pretty much a glorified trade school."

"I see... well... thank-"

Just as I was about to thank Bernie, a man with some serious widow peaks entered the room from outside. He was wearing a grey button-down shirt, black pants, gloves, work boots, and a tool belt. "Hey Bernie, do you know when the next maintenance check on Sali's core is due," said the man in a thick accent, possibly Swedish.

"Hold on a second Oliver let me check," replied Bernie as he wheeled his chair over to a holographic screen on a desk opposite him.

Oliver yawned and scratched his stubble. He noticed Ace slung around my back. "Companion unit, huh? What model?"

"Actually, I constructed him from scavenged parts, he isn't a distinct model," I fired back proudly. "If he did have a model number it would be pretty long."

"That so? I don't suppose you are here for the school's Applied Technology program," asked Oliver curiously.

"I actually didn't know they had a program like that."

"I just assumed with the D on your shirt and all," Oliver said. "Hey, I say, if you have at least some interest then go for it. This school could use a few more people in that field. Most students are here for biology or medical-based fields. Besides, it seems like you already have some skills."

"Ah, here it is," interrupted Bernie, "It says the next check is in about four weeks on the 15th. Why do you want to know? Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, there have been a few glitches in the system and I want to run a diagnostic. I figured I would run an early inspection before it becomes a real problem."

"Oh. Well, you're the expert. Think you will have time this weekend?" Bernie asked.

Oliver raised his hand and waved it dismissively. "I will add it to my checklist," he said in a passive tone. "Anyway, I got to run. Thanks, Bernie." Oliver turned to me and presented me with his hand, "Oliver Stormare."

"Donnie Selvic. Nice to meet you," I said while receiving his handshake.

"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Selvic. Next time you will have to tell me more about that work of art you are carrying on your back," he said with a wink and he made his way out the door.

"Will do," I replied. I then turned to Bernie. "Why didn't Cinnamon get restless when he entered the office?

"Probably because she can smell that you are a traveler from another world," he said casually.

"Really?"

"Nah. She has already been introduced to Oliver," Bernie said laughing. "Tell your Uncle I said "hi" and just let me know if you need anything."

"Sigh... will do Bernie. Be seeing you."

Bernie tipped his hat to me as he left the security office.

*****

The afternoon sunlight glinted off the gigantic glass dome of the Botanical Gardens. I decided to take the long way to get to my Aunt and Uncle's house in Zone B. My aunt did say to head directly there once I am done with my security check-in, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to get a better idea of the layout of the campus.

Zone C was like a research center, even though it was a little less glamorous looking than the academic buildings of Zone A it had a few decorations here and there. For instance, in front of the glass doors of the Science building was another ancient statue of a woman in robes. She had a crown made of two large horns as well as a mask covering her face. In one hand she held a sphere just like the other goddess and in the other handheld a whip which coiled around the space surrounding her body. This time I decided to investigate the statue. At the base, there was a plaque that read: Prima - Goddess of Nature.

Below the title was an inscription that said: Donated by Dr. Solomon Morrison. In memory of the Bavi people.

"Morrison," I mouthed. "Like my aunt and uncle. I wonder what the relation is."

I had so many questions. Why didn't my parents mention one of them had siblings? And how did they end up living here in the first place? In the end, I decided it would be best to ask when I meet them. If I meet them. I couldn't help but still be bitter over the fact that they couldn't take the time to greet me when I woke up. I stared at the statue silently collecting my thoughts for about a minute before I decided to continue on to Zone B.

The trail I followed became enveloped by a canopy of tropical palms. I glanced at the map in the corner of my virtual heads-up display just to make sure I was heading in the right direction. From what I could tell. Once I passed the animal containment facility, if I kept right, I would eventually end up at the bridge to Zone B.

I stopped.

On my left, just a few yards off the trail was a large fence with horizontal iron bars that stood roughly fifteen feet tall. Vines grew all over the fence obscuring my view of what was inside. There was another trail that branched off to the left and ran parallel with the fence terminating at a parking lot where a couple of off-road vehicles were parked. The fence connected to a large two-story metal structure that looked almost like some kind of barracks. Large floodlights hung underneath the overhanging corners of the roof. The label on my map confirmed that this was indeed animal containment, but it was no pony stable. Whatever was inside this place had to be large.

Well, it wouldn't hurt to look right? As long as I stay on the outside.

I approached the building until I was just on the edge of the parking lot. There were two other smaller buildings here as well. One had the words “Food Storage” in big letters and the other said “Compost.” The air was ripe with the smell of animal dung.

I looked over at the sliding gate built into the side of the fence — it was open.

Open. Why was it open?

Then.

A guy stepped out from the opposite side of the gate. He was wearing a jumpsuit and his blonde hair peeked out from underneath his red bandana. He was about to start to cut the vines off the fence with a pair of electric shears he was carrying when he noticed me.

"Hey, they said this lot was supposed to be cleared this hour so I could work undisturbed," the bandana dude said impatiently.

"So sorry, I am new here and I was just curious and wanted to see what the animal containment building looked like that was all."

The bandana dude held up his student terminal. As soon as he did, my student information appeared in a hologram on his terminal. "You're sure as heck a newbie! Class Delta," he said. "They couldn't even put you into a proper class. They put you in the technology division. Hahaha."

"Hey, you don't need to get all up in arms. I'll just leave and you can go back to what you were doing," I said, feeling attacked. The bandana jerk sneered at me. I felt like I had already seen him today but I couldn’t remember where. I decided to think nothing of it and started to walk back the way I came.

"Yeah, that's right. Take that tin can of yours and go back to where you came from."

There is no way he knows about where I am from. I sure hoped not. Regardless, his comment cut me deeper than it should have. You can insult me, but leave Ace out of it. I turned back to face him. "I have dealt with people like you. All talk but no grit." I took a step towards him. "You want to make an enemy out of me? Fine." Ace tapped into my heads-up display and provided me with a name from the school network. "Blaze," I said.

His face shifted from confident to irritated. "You should have just kept walking punk." He put down his sheers and began to walk towards me. I readied myself.

But then.

A loud cry echoed from the other side of the fence. It was unlike anything I have ever heard before. It sounded like something big. Something otherworldly.

Voices rang out in succession on the other side of the fence. "WE HAVE A LOOSE DRACO!" "WHICH ONE!" "IT'S VERTIGO AND HE'S PISSED!"

Blaze spoke into his terminal. "SALI. Close Gate 02."

Nothing happened.

"SALI!" Blaze placed his terminal back in his pocket. "Damn it all," he said under his breath. "You delta kid. Beat it before you get hurt," he said to me before he ran over to the gate and began to close it by hand.

Get hurt? Wasn't that what you were going to do to me anyway.

In the distance, I heard sticks and leaves being trampled mixed with people shouting. The animal was definitely heading this way.

The gate squeaked in protest as Blaze attempted to roll it down the track. He continued to push it, but there was no way he would get it to shut in time. My thoughts raced but I made my decision. I rushed over and began to help him push.

Blaze was surprised to see me run up alongside him. "I thought I told you to...."

"Shut up and push," I barked back at him.

The gate began to pick up speed.

Almost.

There.

BANG!

A heavy impact shook the gate making Blaze and I unsteady. I looked over to the edge of the gate, my face glazed over with sweat, my eyes stinging. There was an object lodged in the path of the gate preventing it from closing all the way. An animal’s horn.

SKREEECH!

The gate began to slide in the other direction. My feet dug into the dirt and I pushed as hard as I could but it was no use. I was carried along with the gate — unable to overpower the unseen attacker.

"Donovan. We're... we're not going to be able to hold this gate much longer. You need to get out of here before Vertigo makes a mess out of both of us," Blaze said through gritted teeth.

"Like hell I am." My legs burned.

"Fine. Have it yo—"

BAM!

Another impact rolled the gate down the track like it was nothing. Blaze and I were carried by the gate and sent tumbling to the ground when it hit the buffer at end of the track. Ace was knocked free from my back as I rolled in the dirt. Disoriented, I sat up and watched in shock and awe as the mysterious dinosaur stepped through the gate. The animal snorted, a mist of snot sprayed out of its beaked nostrils.

It looked like the dinosaur Bernie had in his office, what he called a dracocephale, but this one was much larger. The animal stood about six feet tall. Just like the small one, this animal’s head was covered in nubby horns, but unlike the baby, the two horns above each of its eyes were massive and curved like ram horns. Its pebbled skin was a mixture of dark and light blues that swirled in complex patterns down the side of its body all the way to the tip of its long tail. The animal scanned the parking lot. I felt a sense of dread creep over me. The dinosaur turned slowly toward Blaze and me, its fiery orange eyes focused on us with a frightening intensity. It snorted again.

From my right, Blaze spoke in a slow and soft voice. "Donovan. Get ready to run." He was standing on the balls of his feet. Ready to move at any moment.

"I thought staying calm is the safest thing to do around dracos." I said, trying not to panic.

"Not. This. One," Blaze said. "When I give the word you run."

The dracocephale stamped its three-toed foot, clawing at the ground, it roared in frustration. It lowered its head as it prepared to charge us.

"Go! now!" Blaze shouted.

I sprung to my feet just as Blaze crossed to my left. I began to run back down the path back toward the Science Building; I glanced back just in time to see the animal catch up to Blaze. It ducked its head down low, scooped up Blaze, and tossed him into the air like a rag doll. Blaze landed on the hood of one of the safari vehicles in the parking lot with a crash. The draco wasn't quite done with him yet. It went to charge again, but Blaze rolled off the hood of the car, just as the draco smashed one of the headlights with its head sending sparks and broken glass into the air. The vehicle moved a few feet — rocking on its axles.

Then.

My body was overtaken with horror when I saw what was hiding under the vehicle.

Ace...

I stopped in my tracks and turned back towards the parking lot. Ace was now exposed. His tiny body was shriveled in a ball as he covered his head with his little hands. The dracocephale looked down at Ace and grunted.

A message sprung up in my heads-up display with a mini icon of Ace that had the word “help” written next to it.

I watched helplessly as Ace scrambled back under the safari vehicle avoiding the dracos head just as it rammed into the pavement creating a spider web of cracks.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET OUT OF HERE!" Blaze yelled from the other side of the parking lot. He was limping to the containment facility doors.

Ignoring Blaze's shouts, I ran around the dinosaur in a wide arc shouting at it, trying as hard as I could to draw its attention from Ace. The draco craned its neck to look at me. Its eyes burning with rage, locked onto a new target.

I managed to get to the passenger side of one of the safari vehicles. The dracocephale began to sidestep around the vehicle — trying to catch me off guard. As soon as the animal was on the same side of the vehicle as me I got down on the ground and rolled underneath the chassis. Not more than a second later, the animal plunged after me wedging its head underneath the vehicle right next to me. Its horn got stuck on the metal steps underneath the doors. The car rocked and metal squealed. Then the animal snorted, spraying snot all over my shirt. Its roars of frustration rang in my ears as it tried to free itself.

Now's my chance.

I rolled out from under the driver’s side of the vehicle, got to my feet, and ran towards the other safari vehicle. I slid down near the passenger side where Ace was hiding and scooped him up in my arms. I turned to run to safety but before I could get to my feet—

"Frick," I whispered.

The draco was already free and it was standing just a few feet from me. It was too close for me to escape. It closed the distance between us in with slow strides. Soon its head was just a few inches from mine. Its large horns were backlit against the sun. Mucus dripped from its nose as it breathed in deep snorts. It's sickening breath made me queasy as it puffed against my face.

Ace was cowering in my arms. The only chance I had was to remain still. To not show fear as Bernie said but—

Frick. Frick. Frick. I AM GOING TO DIE!

The draco cocked its head to look at me with one of its fiery eyes. Then it roared. As if it was trying to scare me into moving. I didn't move, but my bowels were about to.

I braced myself for the attack but then—

"VERTIGO!" A woman's voice yelled from across the courtyard.

The draco turned his head towards the path that led back towards the science building. There was another safari vehicle that had just pulled up. The door opened and out stepped a woman wearing a blue coat over a military-like uniform. Long dark blonde hair parted in the middle of her forehead over her eyes. Aside from the fact that her eyes were already squinting angrily at the monster in front of me, her left eye had a jagged scar that ran from her eyebrow, through her eye, ending at the edge of her lip.

She spoke again in a low growl. "You are going to go back to your stall right now and you are going to take this medication whether you like it or not!" She held up a box of pills and to my surprise Vertigo lowered his head in fear. "Get. Back. To. Your. Stall. Now." The woman said, clearly at the end of her patience.

Vertigo, head still low, retreated abruptly back to the gate which was then shut behind him by a couple of students that just arrived on the scene.

I tried to get to my feet but my legs were like jelly. When I finally was able to stand, I wobbled over to the woman who rescued me. "Thanks. I..."

"I told you to go to the house."

Then it hit me. "Aunt Felicia. How..."

"Listen. We try to make the school as safe as possible for students but that doesn't mean things like this don't happen." Her voice was cold as ice as she spoke. "My draco was acting up because he has been sick the past few days and the shipment with his medication was delayed till today. THAT IS WHY I WANTED YOU HOME! I had a feeling he was going to get loose as soon as I left campus to get his medication."

"That was the emergency you mentioned in the letter... Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I didn't expect you to believe any of it until you saw it.” She said, "I wanted to explain what was going on here in person. All you had to do was listen to me, but no, the tracking device in the data file I gave showed me you couldn't even handle that." She held up a small device with a virtual map with an icon marked Donovan.

"I'm sorry. I.."

"No. We will talk about it when I get home. Right now, we need to get you and Blaze to the medical station to make sure you two are alright."

I looked at my arms which were covered in scrapes and bruises. Then I looked back to my aunt who was walking towards animal containment. Two students in uniform came over to see if I was ok. I could see they were loading Blaze onto the back of one of the vehicles. Both vehicles started up but had quite a bit of damage.

Feelings of disappointment and shame welled up inside me. How could I have known this would happen?

One of the vehicles pulled up next to me and the door swung open.

Well, I can see I am already off to a great start with my loving auntie scarface.