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hands grab them and pull them inside.
    The bull stopped by the sidewalk and let out a low, coughing honk. Across the river, the rest of the herd lumbered down to the opposite shore. Half of them waded across.
    Lisa wailed. Al took her in his arms and held her. Everyone shifted deeper inside, trying to disappear into the darkest recesses. The wall containing the bookshelves blocked their view of the bull hadrosaur just a few feet away, but they could see several of the others across the water.
    The herd seemed to relax now that there were no longer any people visible. The other dinosaurs waited while the alpha took a long drink from the river , and then they all took their turns, two or three at a time. A pair of juveniles, each the size of a camel, stood close by their mothers.
    The dinosaurs spread out around the mud flats, most of them keeping their distance from the structure in the middle. The bull hadrosaur walked alongside the building and sprayed three gallons of urine against the outside wall as he passed.

[ 10 ]
    Callie squatted with the others on the black rubber mat behind the counter. She felt light headed.
    “Will someone please explain to me what is going on?” pleaded Helen. Callie realized that the woman had not seen the attack.
    Beth, breathing hard, said, “There’s a herd of duckbilled dinosaurs outside and one of them went on a rampage and charged that Patricia lady and it trampled her, and -”
    “Sweetie, you can talk faster than I can listen.”
    “We are in the past,” explained Callie. Saying it out loud made it sound silly. She had to be dreaming. She needed to pee and any minute now she would wake up and walk to the bathroom. She would tell Hank about her dream in the morning and they sure as hell would not stop at the café after their jog. She took Helen’s hand. “We are in the time of the dinosaurs, and one of them just killed a woman.”
    “Killed her?” said Morgan, trembling. “It pounded that bitch into the ground! ” He somehow whispered and shouted at the same time.
    “Hey,” said Hank. “Call her a bitch again and I will throw you out there.”
    Morgan rolled his eyes. “It’s just a word, pops. It doesn’t mean I actually think she’s a bitch.”
    Callie wished Morgan would stop pressing Hank’s buttons. If he lost his temper here it wouldn’t help anything. Her bladder groaned at her. She really did need to pee. Just a quiet moan for now, but she knew it would get louder.
    “I’m supposed to meet my grandson,” Helen said. “He works downtown and he meets me here every week.” She looked from face to face. “He must be wondering where I am.”
    “Lady, your grandson is lucky he isn’t here,” snapped Hank. “ We are in some serious fucking trouble right now.” Helen hugged her purse close against her chest.
    Callie put a hand on her fiancé’s arm. “I’m not sure that’s helping, sweetie.”
    “What’s your name, ma’am,” asked Tim, who sat across from her.
    “I’m Helen. Helen Davies.”
    “Nice to meet you. I’m Tim MacGregor. I was supposed to meet someone here this morning too.” He gave her a sympathetic nod. “A woman named Julie. We just started going out. I was looking forward to seeing her again.”
    Callie smiled. Tim’s friendly drawl seemed calming. “I’m Calista Grey and this is my fiancé, Hank Atherton.” Before anyone could comment on their age difference, she turned to her right. “And you must be William.” She pointed to the embroidered name on his UPS uniform.
    “That’s right. William Crockett.”
    Al said simply, “Al Stevens. Stevens Information Systems.”
    “I’m Beth. I work here. Worked here anyway.” She gestured toward her boss. “Lisa owns the place.”
    Lisa nodded . “How is your leg doing, Helen?”
    “ Oh, it’s better. The bleeding has stopped. I’m so sorry I created such a fuss.”
    “That’s nothing! L ook at my face,” said Morgan. He twisted his head back and forth to show off