Project Survival

By Ken Preston

Not all monsters are prehistoric

Following the dramatic climax in Book One of this thrilling adventure series, Daniel has now been separated from his friends Lee and Will. His former bodyguard, Renton, is now his kidnapper, intent on taking Daniel north to the Lake District, and the IntelliCorps headquarters.

Lee and Will trail behind, intent on rescuing their friend from the thuggish American.

On their separate journeys the teenagers make new friends along with new enemies, and find out that sometimes, flesh eating dinosaurs might not be the most dangerous thing they will encounter.

Will Lee and Will survive this hostile world long enough to find their friend, Daniel? And even if they do, will Renton let him go without a fight?

• Language: English
• Publisher: My Creative Writing Life
• Release date: Oct 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781915813039

Ken Preston

Ken Preston is the author of the Joe Coffin books, a vampire/gangster mashup set in the UK city of Birmingham.

Book preview

Chapter One

Daniel snapped awake from one nightmare to another. Before he could begin to recall any of the dream it drew away, out of reach. As if his mind was already deciding that Daniel had enough to deal with in the real world. He didn’t need his imagination adding to his stress.

The teenage boy sat up, leaning against the cold wall. The perimeter of the sports hall was highly coveted, no one liked being in the middle, surrounded by a mass of stinking, filthy bodies. Here at least, at the edges, you could sit up, rest your back against the wall. And there was no one behind you. No feeling of vulnerability, you didn’t have to fight the desire to turn around all the time, check what was happening.

Renton, of course, had got them the space by the wall. They had been here a day and a night and already the others knew to leave him alone. Knew to give him what he wanted.

His appearance terrified them. Daniel had never thought there might be an advantage to Renton’s company, but here it was.

Then again, if it hadn’t been for the thuggish American, they probably wouldn’t be in this situation at all.

The sports hall was part of the Blessed Robert Taylor Catholic Sports College. According to the welcome sign at the entrance, the school had achieved outstanding in their last Ofsted inspection. Daniel didn’t know what they might use the rest of the school buildings for now, but the sports hall was a prison.

He had no idea how long any of the other ‘inmates’ had been here, as no one was talking. The men and women huddled together in tight little groups. Sometimes whispering to each other, casting furtive glances around the hall. Some sat alone and apart, looking shell-shocked and scared. Daniel could relate to that look. Apart from the brief few days spent at the commune with Matt Hooper, that was how he permanently felt.

There were few children in the sports hall. Apart from Emily and a pretty Chinese girl sitting across the other side of the hall, Daniel was the youngest by far. There were no old people, either.

Whenever he got the chance, Daniel would steal a glance around the hall. If you got caught looking at someone else, there could be trouble, the atmosphere was hostile and fearful. One man had become aggressive frighteningly quickly when he thought Daniel was staring at him. It was only because Renton had been there, had used his bulk and his power to intimidate the other man, that Daniel had not been beaten to a pulp.

Again, another reason to be grateful for Renton’s company, for that charred, maimed face.

But now and then, Daniel still risked a quick peek at his companions. Some of them had obviously been in this dinosaur world for a while, their weather-beaten, thin faces etched with exhaustion.

And then there were the newcomers.

There had been a storm. One of the huge, nasty, thunder and lightning end of the world displays that heralded another batch of dismayed newbies. The storm had been Renton’s and Daniel’s undoing, really. It had been night-time, raindrops the size of bullets driven against the van by a gale so powerful they had rocked from side to side like a boat at sea.

Renton and Emily had been arguing about going back to Keele service station. Daniel had hoped that Emily would know better than to argue with Renton by now, but, much like the American, the ten-year-old had no control over her temper.

The argument had been interrupted when the two men arrived with their guns and their attitude. Standing there in the storm, the rainwater running off their slickers, they had looked like monsters themselves, as though they had crawled out of a black, putrid lake only moments before.

They might have been human, but it turned out they were monsters after all.

That storm, though, it had brought in some fresh time travellers. The men with the guns, it turned out they were hunting, gathering up the newcomers, herding them back here to the school sports hall. Some of them had been snatched up so quickly by their captors that they probably didn’t even realise the true horror of their situation.

They didn’t yet know about the dinosaurs.

Although the sports hall was filled with people, there was little sound. The mood was sullen and heavy. Very little sunlight penetrated the tall windows spaced out around the hall. Some of them had a fine tracery of cracks running across them, and some of those had traces of blood where a desperate escape attempt had been made. Daniel couldn’t understand why anyone had bothered. The windows were covered with protective metal grills on the outside.

There was no chance of escape that way.

Someone started crying softly, and then another person joined in. Daniel couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman or both. In the gloom, in the stink and the misery of it all, his faculties and senses seemed to have dimmed. His limbs were heavy, his movements sluggish.

Why were they all being kept here? What was the point?

Renton had tried reasoning with the men when they ordered them out of the van, he’d even tried threatening them, but none of it had done any good. The three of them were herded silently through the night, the storm over by that point.

They had stumbled through mud and deep puddles, showered with drops of cold water as they shoved their way through gaps in the green, leafy undergrowth. Whenever Daniel paused to catch his breath, one of his captors prodded him in the back, the gun jammed forcefully against his ribs.

Daniel and Renton and Emily weren’t the first to be captured that night. They soon joined a group of wet, miserable looking men and women, huddled together, eyes cast down.

Some of them tried asking what was going on. They were met with silence. All apart from one persistent man, dressed in a sodden suit and tie, expensive looking shoes caked in mud. He received a crack across the head from the butt of the shotgun for his persistence. He collapsed into the mud and their captors left him where he lay.

At the entrance to the school, they were joined by more men in waterproof gear, shoving and jostling more captives before them. The iron school gates were pulled open, and the prisoners herded through. As a sanctuary from the dinosaur population, the Blessed Robert Taylor Catholic Sports College paled compared to the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham. There was a brick wall surrounding the school, but it was hardly tall enough, or strong enough, to withstand an assault from one of the larger dinosaurs. In the pale dawn light, Daniel could see that the wall finished by the sports fields, replaced by a chain-link fence, making them even more vulnerable.

But there was no damage anywhere. It was as though the residents of this commune had struck a deal with the returned monsters.

They shuffled between buildings and Daniel glimpsed sullen faces peering at them from behind windows. The place looked shabby and dirty, not at all like the sanctuary Hooper had taken them to. Daniel doubted these people had organised themselves enough to keep mussaurus as farm animals for food and milk.

They were taken to the sports hall, where another figure wrapped in camouflage gear unbolted the door and swung it open. There was movement inside. With the others, Daniel and Renton and Emily were pushed through the door.

Those already held captive inside the hall sat down again as they saw they were being joined by new prisoners. Perhaps they had held out hope that they were about to be released, but as soon as they realised what was happening, they lost interest.

Now it was morning, early by the looks of the pale light struggling through the grimy windows. No one had returned during the night to check on them. A few of the newcomers had tried to rouse the others, organise an escape plan, but that had come to nothing.

Daniel had tried talking to Emily, tried to reassure her that everything would be all right. He felt a sense of responsibility for her knowing her age. Knowing that they had taken her away from her mother. But Emily, usually so noisy, so ready with a snappy comeback, kept her mouth shut and her eyes fixed on the middle distance. Daniel couldn’t tell if this was because she was angry with him, or if she was retreating somewhere inside herself, shutting out the nightmarish reality they had been dragged into.

The sports hall doors scraped open, and all heads turned in their direction. Three men walked inside, each of them holding a sawed-off shotgun. One of them, a huge, muscular man wearing a vest top, loose camouflage trousers and heavy boots, looked at the crowd.

Back up, everyone! he shouted, waving the shotgun. Get down to the other end of the hall, now!

Everyone backed up, shuffling as far from the armed men as they could.

The muscular man, he looked like the leader. His long, greasy hair, braided into tight lengths, and his mouth disfigured with scar tissue, the top lip curled up into a permanent sneer.

Renton hadn’t spoken once since the men had shoved them into their makeshift prison camp, except to snarl at anyone who got in his way. He had sat brooding throughout the day and the night, cradling the stump of his arm in his lap. Daniel had wondered if he might say something now, maybe try to bargain or threaten his way out. But he kept silent.

Perhaps that was because the American knew there was no point in trying to reason with these men. If he’d had some kind of bargaining power on his side, then maybe, but Renton had nothing to offer them.

We need about twenty of them this morning, the leader said to the other two men. Go get them.

Daniel’s stomach tightened up at the thought of being picked by these men. This was like some hideous reminder of his schooldays, waiting to be picked to be on the team. Hoping he got picked to be on the winning team.

Only there would be no winners here, that was obvious.

The two men, one of them small, fat and sweaty, the other one wiry and limping heavily, approached their prisoners. They started separating people out, but Daniel could see no logic to their choices. The small fat man approached Daniel, looking him up and down.

This one’s hardly got any meat on him at all, he said.

Then take him, the leader said. We ain’t got time to fatten him up.

The man grabbed Daniel by the arm and pulled him roughly to one side where he joined the others who had already been picked.

Leave him be, Renton growled.

You what? the fat man said.

I told you to leave him be, Renton said again, louder this time.

The wiry man limped towards them. You having trouble, Dave?

This one here thinks he’s a tough guy, Dave said, brandishing his gun at Renton.

Looks like a piece of meat been left on the barbecue too long if you ask me, the other man said. You’re never going to win a beauty contest, mate.

A tear trickled down Renton’s charred face, leaving a wet rail in the scar tissue. The two men looked at each other and laughed.

Aww, the big soft sausage is crying, Dave said.

Daniel knew this wasn’t true. The eyelids on Renton’s right eye had been burnt away, and that eye watered all the time in an attempt to lubricate the exposed, bloodshot eyeball. And Renton’s breathing was always laborious and forced, the air bubbling through the two holes in his face where his nose had once been. The teenage boy was still amazed to find that Renton woke up every morning. He couldn’t explain how the American was managing to live with his injuries.

You’re so worried about the lad, you can join him, Dave said, and prodded Renton with the shotgun.

Daniel thought Renton would lose it and attack the man called Dave. His left eyelid flickered, and his lips twitched, but he didn’t retaliate. Just walked over and stood by Daniel and the others.

That’s enough! the leader shouted. Let’s get them outside, we’re running late.

Running late for what? Daniel thought.

The limping man stood by the entrance to the sports hall whilst their leader and the fat man pushed their prisoners through the doorway. Daniel risked one last glance at Emily left behind in the sports hall as he was shoved through the doorway. She looked small and frightened, alone amongst all the other adults. The limping man closed the door and bolted it shut once they were all through.

The morning air was cool and refreshing on Daniel’s face. He was relieved to be free of the stink inside the hall. But his stomach was tied up in knots at the thought of where they were being taken, and what was waiting for them there.

The group of prisoners huddled together, waiting to be told what to do. The leader waved his gun at them.

Go on, get moving, he snarled. Over there.

They all began shuffling together, headed back for the gates where they had been brought in the morning before. There was a low mist hanging over the Victorian buildings. Something buzzed past Daniel’s face and he flinched.

One of the men laughed. Look at the boy, he’s scared of a little flying thing.

Renton muttered something under his breath.

Nige, go and unlock the gates, the leader said.

The man called Nige limped ahead of them and started the process of unlocking the padlock holding the gate shut. Daniel could only just see him through the white mist, but as they drew closer, the limping man became more solid, more defined. The gate, wide enough to admit a car or a lorry, swung open with a rusty squeal. Daniel’s stomach tightened up even more as they shuffled through the school’s entrance.

They were being taken outside.

Where the dinosaurs lived.

Come on, keep moving, the leader said, as everyone paused at the school’s perimeter.

They walked them along the edge of the school grounds. The wall gave way to the chain-link fence. Through the slow swirls and eddies of the fog, Daniel could make out some of the sports field, part of the running track. Outside the school grounds he could see the shapes of houses and abandoned cars, some of them crushed whilst others looked untouched, apart from the growth of creepers covering them. The jungle was everywhere, breaking through the tarmac beneath their feet, strangling the buildings beneath long, thick vines, their leaves dripping with moisture.

The school hadn’t escaped the ravages of nature, but the buildings were mostly undamaged. Again, Daniel wondered how this could be. What was preventing the dinosaurs from crashing through the fragile defence of a fence to stomp around the school, eating everyone they found?

All right, you can stop here, the leader said.

They were at a junction. There had been a smash up involving several cars, probably back when the dinosaurs first arrived, and the wrecks sat tangled together at the intersection of the two roads. The wreckage was rusted, the car tyres flat and the rubber rotting away.

But the blood splattered over the metal and plastic and glass was fresh. There were puddles of dark blood on the road, and a trail of it smeared on the tarmac and disappearing into the fog.

Nige limped over to the cars and started fiddling with something, the clatter of metal against metal only slightly muffled by the mist. Daniel didn’t have long to wonder what the man was doing, or what the noise was. When the man called Nige moved along the wreckage to repeat the operation, Daniel saw the handcuffs hanging from the car’s twisted door frame.

There were more handcuffs dangling from the wrecks, and Nige was unlocking them all. As he continued working, the other man, the one called Dave, selected one of the prisoners and pulled her over to the first set of handcuffs. She struggled and pulled, starting to cry as she realised what was happening.

Dave was too strong. He clipped the cuff around her wrist with a click and backed up, grinning.

No, no, please! the woman cried. What are you doing? Please, please!

She pulled against the cuffs, reaching out to the others, straining to reach them. Her face was smeared with dirt and her clothes hung from her thin frame. Looked like she had been here for a little while, but not born into this world.

Meanwhile, Dave had grabbed somebody else, an older man. To Daniel, he looked completely shell-shocked, and he allowed himself to be led to another of the mangled cars and handcuffed to it. The woman was screaming and crying, sobbing helplessly. Daniel couldn’t look at her, wanted to clap his hands over his ears to block out the sound of her cries. But he was scared that if he made any kind of movement, Dave or Nige would notice him and decide that he was next.

Daniel glanced at Renton. The big American looked on impassively at everything that was happening.

Dave selected his next victim, the young, pretty Chinese girl Daniel had seen earlier. She struggled and spat at Dave and tried to claw at his face. Dave swore and slapped her so hard she fell over into the tangle of undergrowth. Pulling her roughly to her feet, Dave dragged her over to the wreckage and snapped another set of cuffs around her wrist. The girl didn’t cry out once, or beg for freedom. She just stared at the man called Dave, her eyes afire with hatred and anger.

That’s enough, the leader said. Let’s move on.

They continued walking beside the school’s perimeter. Something rustled in the fog, a quick, darting movement. Dave and Nigel glanced nervously at each other.

We’re later than usual, that’s all, their leader said. Let’s get this done quickly.

They urged the captives on, guns prodded into backs, commands barked at the prisoners. Soon they reached their next destination, more cars with empty handcuffs dangling from their frames.

And scarlet blood sprayed across the metalwork and over the ground.

You, Nige said, and grabbed Daniel roughly by the arm, his grip tight.

He dragged the teenager to the nearest car, where Dave was already unlocking the handcuffs. Nige slipped them over Daniel’s wrist and snapped them shut tight. The metal bit into his flesh, and Daniel had to clamp his mouth shut to keep from crying out in pain. He looked at the others, just visible in the fog.

Renton stared back at him, his one bulging eye weeping.

Looked almost like he was crying after all.

When the two men had finished handcuffing victims to the various cars, they rejoined the group, much smaller now than when they had left the school grounds. Renton was still with them.

Okay, one more stop and then we’re headed back in, the leader said.

The three men urged their remaining captives on, and Daniel watched as they disappeared into the swirling mist.

The mist quickly muffled the sounds of the group, as well as hiding them from view. Daniel tugged at the handcuffs, but, as he expected, they were firmly attached to the car. The other end of the cuffs had been locked around the passenger door frame. The window had been smashed in, and the seat was covered in shattered glass. Daniel pulled at the door and opened it wider, the hinges complaining noisily.

Stop making all that noise! What are you doing?

Daniel twisted around to see who had spoken.

We’ve got to keep quiet, a man said. There are things out there, I can hear them in the fog.

He was wearing a raincoat over a suit. Daniel remembered all the rain in Birmingham, the thunderstorm which brought the dinosaurs back from extinction in the blink of an eye. This man looked like he had been on his lunch break, or maybe he had been heading for the train station, running through the driving rain. Just another bad day at the office.

And then he had been deposited here.