Mason Dixon & the Ghost Dinosaur: Mason Dixon, #3

By Eric Asher

Mason Dixon is back, and his problems are bigger than ever. 

Like, Dino-sized! 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Falstaff Books
• Release date: Nov 29, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386826187

Book preview

Chapter One

Y ou knew the trolls would find you eventually, Emma said, smacking the tripod on one of the trap cameras with her fist.

It's just uncalled for, I said. Of course everything looks fake. It’s not an excuse to be so vile.

Well maybe you should take it as a compliment, Emma said.

I grumbled and kicked at the gravel on the side of the road. It probably wouldn’t have annoyed me so much, seeing a dozen nasty comments on our latest video, but that was more comments than we’d had in a while, and it could be seriously irritating when all you heard from was trolls.

My earpiece crackled to life. I can find those trolls for you in five minutes.

I laughed and shook my head. No, Himari. Just let it go.

Just let it go? Himari said. I don't think so, Mason. We have blood, sweat, and CGI in those videos.

I exchanged a glance with Emma.

Sounds like Himari's going to take care of it, she said. The last leg of the tripod broke free, and Emma slid it back into place. This was our third, or maybe even our fourth, trip out to the old abandoned road. It was one of those places that was so remote, you were never really sure if you’d be able to find it the next time. But this place was home to one of the most consistent sightings of an elusive creature called the side-hill hoofer.

Maybe that thing doesn't live here anymore, Emma said. We’ve been to the top of the hill and back down. And this isn’t much of a hill. How many hours of footage do we have now?

I rubbed at the back of my neck and frowned. With today's? I don't know. Must be close to two hundred. Let’s just shoot a quick intro clip.

Another one? Emma asked, turning away from the trap camera she’d mounted.

Always another one. At least until we’re dead.

Emma smirked and walked back to the Bronco to grab her camera. A minute later, she had it on her shoulder, had the mic ready to go, and gave me the thumbs up.

We’re back with another mission, I said. "Some of you were asking about the side-hill hoofer, so I thought we’d go find one. Now, this is an odd critter in the tales, and we know those stories are never wrong. Or at least not entirely wrong."

I crouched down so Emma could catch the odd tracks we’d seen in the mud by the road. Now, I’ve never seen a hoofer myself, so I can’t say if these tracks are from one, but they certainly aren’t from anything I’m familiar with. I pointed to the imprint in the mud, an oblong thing with what almost looked like a single hoof or claw.

Emma kneeled to get the shot level with me again.

We probably won’t know until we find it. But this is flat ground, and the stories say the hoofer lives its life on the hills. That’s the only way they can stay balanced since their left legs are always shorter than their right, or vice versa. I’ve heard told it’s one crazy fight when a hoofer going left runs into a hoofer going right. They’re terrible climbers, so it ends up being more like nature’s version of king of the hill. It’s going to be a fun hunt, my friends, so stay with us until we find that side-hill hoofer.

Emma flipped a switch and lowered the camera. Might have been the best take yet.

I took a deep breath and blew it out while Emma started packing the camera up.

Okay I got them, Himari said, her metallic voice echoing in my ear.

Got who? I asked.

The trolls!

I blinked. And what did you get exactly?

Email addresses, IP's, and in a moment … there we go! Home addresses.

Well, that's terrifying.

What are you going to do with that? Emma asked.

"What are we going to do with that you mean, Himari said. We're going to get on a plane and go Jay and Silent Bob on their ass."

I laughed. Isn't that a little before your time? Was that in the nineties?

No way, Emma said. It had to be after that. Still before Himari’s time.

You mean because my body isn’t falling apart like you two old bastards?

Watch it, kid, Emma said.

Himari unleashed a giggle that could only be described as evil. No, no, you're right. It's one of my brother’s favorite movies. I don't usually watch classic cinema.

Classic cinema? I said, a little exasperation in my voice. We’re not that old, Himari.

I glanced at Emma as I slid the second to last camera into its carrying case.

What the hell? Himari said. The rapid staccato bursts of Himari’s keyboard echoed over the headset. O-M-G! Almost all of the trolls are Noah!

Noah? I said. I'm pretty sure he has better things to do than leave disparaging comments on his hunters’ videos. I'd known Noah for a few years. He was our connection to the church, or at least the part of the church that paid us to eliminate the more dangerous monsters of Missouri. They weren’t thrilled that Emma and I usually rescued the critters instead of killing them, but trolling us online didn't seem like Noah’s style.

I guess someone could have spoofed his IP, Himari said. Or just taken over his account. But this looks clean. It's his address, his IP, and it’s routed through the VPN that I set up for him.

Mason, Emma hissed.

It’s no big deal, I said as I snapped shut the latches on the camera case. I turned back to Emma and frowned. What is it?

Emma stared past me, over me. She took two slow steps backwards, reaching for the tranquilizer pistol holstered at her waist.

What's behind me? I asked.

Emma shook her head slowly and didn't respond.

Emma? I whispered.

Emma raised her other hand. I realized she had a small cell phone camera pointed in my direction.

I turned slowly and found… nothing. Nothing until it moved. In an instant, I understood why our cameras hadn't found anything. I understood why the trap cameras hadn't been triggered and why nothing had been caught on film. It's freaking invisible.

Anytime it stopped moving, the starlight shot through it with no distortion. But when it did move, the slight rolling aberration was almost too subtle to see. A blast of hot breath tousled my hair. The subtle distortion loomed far above my head.

What is that? Himari asked. Her voice squawked through the earpiece.

Not. Now. I hissed out the side of my mouth.

Not five feet from me, the gravel shifted. The realization of how large this thing was sent a shiver down my spine.

The illusion hiding the creature shimmered and slowly fell. Inch by inch, rubbery scales of flesh replaced what had appeared to be an empty space. And instead of some bizarre-looking creature with the inefficient anatomy of a side-hill hoofer, we were staring eye to eye with what amounted to a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

The trap camera flashed, and the rex swung its massive head back to study the tiny bit of technology with the blinding light. The trap camera fired again and again as the dinosaur flinched away.

Truck. Now. I wasn't sure if Jurassic Park had been right about standing still so a dinosaur couldn't see you, but I figured this was as good a time as any to put it to the test. More specifically, the motion test.

Emma and I ran like hell. We covered a good 50 feet before Emma spoke, trying to catch her breath. That's fifteen feet of dinosaur, Mason. That is a goddamned dinosaur!

Just run!

We were within two dozen feet of the truck before the creature grew bored of the flashing camera and decided to just step on it. While the loss of the expensive lenses didn't make me happy, I figured Noah would cover them. What really didn’t make me happy was the rex was now fully focused on us. And yet I still wondered if maybe the SD card survived.

I cursed when the rex took two steps toward us and broke into a sprint.

Chapter Two

We were three quarters of the way to the truck when the thing behind us unleashed a sound somewhere between the roar of a lion and the stuttering squawk of a giant chicken. If