4 Pterosaur terror

Chapter Four PTEROSAUR TERROR The wind blew, shaking the conifer. The egg wobbled, but stayed tucked into the crook of the branch. It was a little smaller than a hen's egg. "This isn't good," Tamiko said. She scanned the sky. "If the mother doesn't come back, the egg will be in trouble." The Allosauruses prowled on through the

conifers. Tamiko and Cheng listened as the sound of cracking branches grew quieter. When the Allosauruses were far enough away, they settled close to the mouth of the cave to keep watch for the Archaeopteryx. The cave went completely dark as a huge leathery wing blocked out the light. Tamiko and Cheng drew back. It was Ramphorynchus, another type of pterosaur –a massive one! It landed on a branch in front of the cave mouth, which groaned and buckled beneath its weight. It flapped its gigantic wings to keep its balance.

Tamiko laughed at the astonished look on Cheng's face. "It's… so… huge," he said. "The biggest pterosaur fossil ever found was from an animal called Quetzalcoatlus. It had a wingspan of eleven metres from tip to tip," she said. "Quetzalcoatlus was the largest flying creature ever!" EVER… EVER… EVER echoed the cave. The pterosaur's head swung round towards the noise. It stared into the cave mouth – straight at Tamiko and Cheng. "It's seen us," said Cheng, shuffling backwards as quickly as he could. The large pterosaur swooped down from the branch and dive-bombed the cave mouth, snapping its long

beak. Tamiko felt the brush of a leathery wing tip against her leg as she scrambled back into the cave. "Whoa!" she gasped. The pterosaur screeched and swooped again. Its massive wings clattered against the rockface as it tried to fit inside the cave. Tamiko and Cheng huddled at the back. Tamiko's heart was racing, but she couldn't help gazing at the pterosaur in awe. I can't believe I'm this close to an actual living one! she thought. Inside its long, snapping beak she could see teeth.

"We've got to make it go away," Cheng said. "Otherwise we'll be stuck in this stinky cave forever!" Tamiko sniffed. "You're right, it does stink. And it's not just the Allosaurus poo…" Then she remembered! She put her hand into her pocket and pulled out a handful of ginkgo fruits. "I've got an idea…" Pulling back her arm, Tamiko lobbed the yellow fruit as far as she could. It sailed away into the conifers. With a shriek, the pterosaur soared after the fruit and disappeared into the trees.

"Nice one," said Cheng, sounding a little shaky. "Let's take a closer look at the egg." They hurried over to the Archaeopteryx's conifer. The egg was still sitting safely on its branch. Cheng shaded his eyes as he looked up at the sky. "I can't see the mother anywhere," he said. The egg gave a funny shiver. Tamiko peered more closely at it. Maybe it's about to hatch, she thought with a rush of excitement.