Pteranodon Mall by Ian Woodhead

dinosaurs right now, though. He pushed that question to the back of his head, just happy that he’d worked out exactly what they were.
    The similarity between the raptors and these upright feathered lizards were plain for all to see. They were evolutionary relatives; it was like comparing him to a monkey. Ha! So much for his alien theory.
    The raptors and the small assembled humans were now rubbing shoulders in the middle of the concourse, separate from all the other shoppers. One lizard man walked around the perimeter and placed cylindrical objects around the two species before returning to join its companions.
    The air around the group shimmered before what appeared to be a glass dome formed around the group, then whatever spell the iguana men had over the group vanished. The slaughter that followed burned into Franco’s retinas as those hooked claws sliced through human skin and muscle.
    This energy field might have stopped all that deluge of blood from escaping, but it didn’t stop those bird-like screeching and the short-lived screams from reaching his ears. Franco looked away when the interior of the dome turned completely red.
    The squawks stopped a few seconds later, so he guessed that the feathered men had used those pipes on the raptors again. When he looked back, he found to his horror that the energy field was no longer on. The raptors were busy guzzling down the remaining pieces of meat. What made Franco’s heart miss a bit was the feather men were all looking directly at where he was hiding. Two of them raised their pipes.
    Franco reached the door which led into the town’s sewer network. He needed to work out what to do once he reached home. He hadn’t given his future much thought until now. It’s obvious that he couldn’t contact the police. Those bastards could all suck on a plate full of frozen shit. No way he could allow the authorities to get in on this one.
    He had a couple of shotguns hidden under his floorboards, and with the help of a couple of trusted buddies who lived close by, Franco reckoned he’d be able to bag a couple of those raptors and get them out without anyone realising. Hell, he might even be able to grab a birdman as well. He nodded to himself, yeah why the fuck not ? After the stress they had put him through, he deserved some kind of recompense. It was only fair. Also, he so wanted to lay his hands on one of those pipes. The fun he could have with a device like that just boggled the mind.
    He wasn’t exactly sure how to explain his adventure to Danny and his older brother, but Franco should be able to come up with something plausible enough for the lads to follow him back into the sewers.
    Franco placed his hand upon the door handle. His thoughts of coming back just fizzled away. He smiled and let out a quiet giggle. Franco loved his job. He had some great friends, and he knew he shouldn’t be down here, not when the mall was about to get busy.
    The pet shop owner slowly turned out and walked back the way he came still grinning, and why shouldn’t he grin. After all, he loved his job. He had such terrific friends. In fact, he could see two of them right now skittering towards him, both of them holding a length of metal pipe.

 
     
    Chapter Six
     
    Opening his eyes had to rank as one of the worst decisions that Desmond had ever made. He was still in that dirty chamber with the fluffy dinosaur still in that corner, glaring at him with those hateful green eyes. Since he’d fallen into dreamland, the dinosaur must have gone out for another takeaway as it now had a naked human torso next to those blood-stained claws.
    “Come near me, you fluffy fucker, and I’ll bite you on the snout.”
    The raptor growled at him before it lowered its head and sank its teeth into its meal, while still glaring at Desmond.
    “I would not recommend pursuing an agenda of aggression. You are a prey animal, act like it. I do not have enough power to keep this device at running at full