“Who’s the Army Man?” Harold yelled in frustration. Olive could see that Harold’s fists were clenched at his sides.
“Harold,” Olivia said. “It will be all right.”
Steve stepped around Olivia, who had to move back a long way so he could get around her. He is a stegosaurus after all. He looked at Harold and said, “He is a friend of ours.”
Harold looked at Steve and shook his head and turned back to Ricky. He took a deep breath and said to him, “Ricky, what did he say?”
“Well, I told him that I was keeping the key in a safe place until you guys came looking for it and he said he was going to keep it safer by hiding it,” Ricky explained.
“Where did he go?” T. R. roared from behind them.
Ricky turned to T. R. and explained, “He went out the side door.”
“The side door?” Harold asked.
“Yes. It is over here,” Steve said. “Olivia, get on my back.”
“The side door is right here. We could have skipped all of the spiders?!” Harold was yelling again.
“I want to go home,” George said.
“Oh George,” Ricky said to him. “We will get you home. Do you want to ride on my back?”
“Sure!” George said all excited. “I would love to ride on a velociraptor!”
Harold walked over to T. R. and saw that Grandpa was already on top of T. R. He quietly stood beside the dinosaur as he bet down. He climbed on T. R.’s back slightly in front of his Grandpa.
Ricky was the first one out of the side door, followed by Steve and finally, T. R. The sun was bright, and Harold had to squint his eyes as they started on a path that led them back down the mountain. They crashed through the trees as if they were blades of grass. Suddenly, Ricky started running ahead of them.
“What is he doing?” T. R. said to them.
“I don’t know,” Harold answered him as he watched the raptor race ahead and then suddenly turn back toward them.
“George wanted to go fast!” Ricky yelled up at them and returned to lead them again.
Harold began to see where they were going now as the lake appeared ahead of them.
“Are we heading back to where we started?” Harold asked to no one in particular.
They pushed through a line of trees and sitting by the fire they had left earlier in the day was the Army Man. He turned toward them and waved. The three dinosaurs lowered their passengers to the ground, and they all approached the man.
“Hey, Man,” Steve called out.
“Hi Steve,” the Army man said as he returned to pushing a stick through the fire.
“Where’s the key?” Harold asked the man dressed all in green and he wore a helmet on his head.
“It is safe,” the man stood up and walked around Harold and stood in front of the group. “A very safe place.”
“I want to go home!” George whined again.
Ricky stepped to the Army man and slowly lowered his head to be directly in front of his face. He slowly grinned at him displaying the rows of his shiny teeth. He looked from the man to George and back again. The Army Man took a step backward, but he ran into something hard. He looked above him and saw the jaws of a tyrannosaurus rex open wide. He turned to his left and a stegosaurus stepped in front of him. He realized he was surrounded, and he slowly raised his hands.
“Where is the key?” Harold asked again.
“It is there,” the Army Man pointed at Grandpa.
“Me?” Grandpa said. “I don’t have the key.”
“Yes, you do,” the Army Man insisted. “I hid it on you myself.”
“No, you didn’t,” Grandpa insisted. “I was riding on top of T. R. and just now met you for the first time.”
The Army Man stepped toward him and said, “I put it in that robe pocket.”
Grandpa slowly placed his hands inside the two robe pockets. A look of surprise appeared on his face and he very removed his right hand from his pocked holding a key!
“How did that get there?” he exclaimed.
“Magic!” Olivia squealed as she jumped up and down with joy.
Harold grabbed the key from Grandpa’s hand and turned to T. R. and asked, “Where’s the door?”
“What’s happening over there?” George yelled in surprise.
Harold turned to where George was pointing. A door started to appear in the middle of the trees. It first seemed to be dim, but it slowly grew bigger and darker until it seemed to be a solid door surrounded by trees.
“There’s the door,” T. R. said.
“Yes,” Steve said as he shook his head. “It’s time for you to get back home.” He turned to face them. T. R. walked and stood by Steve. Ricky joined them.
“I guess so,” Harold said as he walked toward them. Grandpa placed his hand on his shoulder as Olivia and George walked bide him.
“It was an amazing adventure,” Grandpa said to the dinosaurs. “It was so nice to meet you.”
George left Harold’s side and walked to Ricky and said, “Raptors are my favorite dinosaurs.”
“Mine, too,” Ricky said shaking Georges hand.
Olivia was patting Steve’s head and bent forward and kissed the top of it and said, “Good-bye.”
Harold looked up at the tyrannosaurus rex and smiled. “You are the best, T. R.”
T. R. smiled at him or, Harold thought so. Who could tell when a T-Rex was smiling or not?
Grandpa simply waved at everyone and glanced at the Army Man who was still standing by the fire. “Let’s go home, Harold.”
Harold led his Grandpa and his two best friends to the door. He slid the key into the keyhole and turned it. The door slowly opened, and Harold turned back to the dinosaurs.
“Magic,” T. R. said and slowly disappeared.
“Harold! Harold, wake up!”
Harold slowly opened his eyes and saw his Mom looking down at him. She smiled. “There you are sleepy head. Wake everyone up and come down for breakfast.”
Harold slowly rolled over and saw Olivia, George and Grandpa looking at him.
“Was that real?” Olivia asked him.
“Nah,” George said. “It was just a dream he said knowing that they had all shared the same dream.
“You mean I didn’t really ride on a raptor?” George asked him.
“no, it was only a dream,” Harold said again.
“Okay,” Grandpa said. “You heard Harold’s Mom, it’s time for breakfast.”
The children stood up from the floor and Olivia and George left the room. Grandpa stood up from Harold’s bed and tightened his belt and said to Harold, “Let’s go.”
Harold put his hands in his robe pockets and stopped in his tracks.
“Grandpa,” he whispered.
“What is it, Harold?”
Harold pulled his hand from his robe pocket and in his grasp, he held up a key.
The End
Gregory A. Jenkins & Lincoln Bledsoe – November 28 – December 6, 2020
My First Stories 