MenoSaurus

Chapter One Reentry Space warps. For time is not linear in this current form; Mother Earth spins; a strong gravitational pull wins; burning, heated rock jettisons toward Earth, slingshot from an atomic blast. Fire incinerates the skyline. I try to focus, eyes fixed on Rion as I go through rebirth protocol for the second time in my life. Encased in a crystal-green liquid, my body spins inside the Mantoid embryo core hurtling toward Earth, and the G-force pulls through my chest. I shudder violently like an astronaut returning from a deep-space venture. I hear the countdown in the reptile language, sounding off every single step, in a haunting methodical tone: “Ten, nine, eight …” Tyrann floats like a baby in a womb, shrinking to the shape of a fetus lizard, hands clasped, eyes squinted shut, tail curled. Rion is lifeless in his nonorganic form, in shock mode. His eyes are vacant. I watch him closely; the weirdness of it all seems to sharpen my sight and my electric mind. Suddenly, to my astonishment, Orion—the hunter, named after the star constellation—opens his mouth wide. His orange pupils circle in a spooky fashion, as if he’s a circus machine. To my sheer amazement, a white orb of sparkling light appears from his mouth. I’m transfixed; paralysis grips me as I watch the ball of light hovering next to Rion. A tear leaves my eye; the light transforms into my father in ghostly outline. He smiles at me gently, his eyes giving me a loving, knowing look, as if to say, “Everything will be OK, Rex.” He nods, gesturing toward me. I gasp, eyes wide. I try to reach out, try to touch his spirit. I feel myself being pulled away from him now by the forces of nature, cells reproducing. I begin to regrow; visions of evolution race through my brain. I see time flashing before me. Fish swim through oceans, then crawl on all fours onto land; the jaws of Tyrannosaurus Rex snap at me; monkeys spring to trees; early man lights fire. We hit the ground like a crashing, seven-story aero-cruise plane. The force of impact ripples through the embryo core, creating shock waves that would cause tsunamis hundreds of feet high. We score through the city like a magnitude ten earthquake, ripping up tarmac, imploding buildings to dust that are caught in our path. My father returns to a ball of light, sucked back into Rion’s mouth. Rion jerks with the force, gulping his throat. His orange pupils swirl in their sockets. He returns to shock mode. Rebirth protocol malfunction flashes in red. I feel us come to an abrupt stop. I open my eyes and reach out a hand, desperately gasping for breath, then slump back. My head feels heavy. Everything fades to black.