The sight was enough to startle the beasts once more, and the ground reverberated as they took a further few steps back from the new arrivals.

It was enough. The great matriarch that led them fell away from the front of the herd, braying with panic. And then the moan turned into a single scream, cut short almost immediately.

At the loss of their leader, the beasts scattered into the woods, barreling by Bea, Trix, and Yoshi as they dove for cover behind the trees.

Cade staggered, panting, to where the great sauropod had fallen: a pit that had been covered with branches, and then a thin screen of mud and leaves.

He crouched and peered over the crumbling edge. It was a cruel sight. The great beast had been spitted by stakes embedded at the bottom, fire hardened and sharpened to pierce the thick hide and flesh that had fallen upon them.

Even in his moment of triumph, Cade could not help but feel a tinge of regret for having killed the gentle giant. The sauropod breathed a last shuddering breath before its head fell to the ground.

“It worked!” Scott cried. He scrambled up beside Cade and stared down. The look of elation on his face soon faded at the grisly sight below.

The others joined them, equally in awe of what they had done.

“I didn’t think we’d … manage it,” Amber said.

Cade shook his head. “Native Americans used to do something similar for thousands of years. We just used a pit instead of a cliff.”

That hole in the ground had been their personal hell for longer than he cared to remember. It had taken weeks to dig. In fact, it would have been impossible had there not been a natural depression there already, likely carved by a now-defunct tributary of the river.

The gathering of their “bait” had also been tricky, for the sauropods would only be tempted by the tender shoots and buds from the tall branches that even they could not reach. Luckily, Quintus could climb like a monkey, cutting free the branches and gathering the bitter fruits that the great beasts seemed to love. They had left these near a natural bush trail, and had taken turns to camp out there, waiting for the herd to come.

As for the eye banner, Cade hadn’t been sure it would work. But Amber had come up with it when she saw the same markings on a butterfly’s wing, designed no doubt to scare other animals too.

“Now what?” Yoshi interrupted Cade’s thoughts.

“Fetch Amber’s axe,” Cade said. “And Scott, you go up ahead to watch for predators. We won’t have long before they come to scavenge.”

He gripped the knotted rope set in the pit’s side and began to descend. It was going to be a bloody evening.

CHAPTER

2

As the sun slowly began its descent toward the horizon, the team got to work.

The hunt had been one of desperation. Fish, once plentiful, had become scarce, with their stretch of river empty of the small silver shoals that Yoshi had once caught in his nets. They had been forced to make an attempt at big game.