Free Trapped in Time 1: The Time Takers by Saxon Andrew

hit him, “Oh my God, you’re right.”
    Maxus shrugged, “Joshua tells me that the long necked one in the river eats plants. How could we prevent it from destroying what we planted?”
    Andy shook his head, “I don’t know if we could.”
    “Is there anything that monster fears?”
    “It fears the big meat eaters.”
    “So if we chase off or kill the meat eaters…”
    Andy nodded, “We open the door to the really big plant eaters. If they come in, just one of them could decimate any crop we plant.”
    Maxus stared at Andy for a moment and said, “You don’t think the arrows will bring one down.”
    Andy chuckled, “Oh, we could bring one down by hitting it in the head. However, what do you do with the hundred thousand pounds of rotting carcass if all the meat eaters are gone? Plus, the smell of rotting flesh would pull new carnivores from miles away.”
    Maxus tilted his head and shrugged. “Have you thought about a wall?”
    “Maxus, one of those giant plant eaters could knock any wall we erected over in a moment.”
    “Not if it was a porcupine.”
    Andy stared at Maxus, “I’m not sure what you mean.”
    “You saw all the swords against the wall. There are rooms full of them and they’re not being used for anything at the moment. We could build a wall using the swords as a kind of pointed defense.”
    “Do you mean that we should build a wall with thousands of swords sticking out of it?”
    “That’s exactly what I mean.”
    “It would have to be tall.”
    “We have to clear land to plant on it. We could use the trees we cut down to build the wall.” Andy put his hand on his chin and thought about the idea. Maxus said, “We could build a place on top of it for our archers to man the walls. They should keep the carnivores away and the swords will stop the larger plant eaters from getting to our crops.”
    “Do you honestly think you could build a wall strong enough to withstand fifty tons of dinosaur?”
    “Joshua tells me that many of the structures we built in Rome and across the barbarian lands were still standing in his time. We know how to build sturdy structures.”
    “What will it be made of?”
    “Wood initially but then we’re going to cut blocks of stone out of the cliff and roll them on trees to where they will be laid. We’ll cut slots in the stone to insert the blades and also put them between the blocks as we stack them.”
    “Do you have the tools you need to do this?”
    “Come with me for a moment.” They stood up and Andy followed Maxus to a room across the cave where the Romans had settled. Maxus entered a room and picked up a dark blue sword that appeared to be made from crystal. He went over to the wall and held the sword up to the light that was shining at the ceiling. The sword started glowing and Maxus stuck it into the stone wall and moved it to the left. The sword easily cut a twenty inch channel into the stone.
    “Allow me to see that.” Maxus handed Andy the sword and Andy turned it over and saw a plate on the handle. It had something written in a strange language.
    Maxus said, “I think it will operate better out in the sun.”
    “How many of these swords do you have?”
    “There’re fifty boxes of them.”
    Andy started nodding and said, “So putting us here in this cliff wall was perfect for a source of stone to build with.”
    Maxus nodded, “And only a hundred and eighty yards from a free flowing river that we could dam to build irrigation canals, is another bonus.”
    “Someone put some thought into this.”
    “They also put a lot of time into building this place.” Maxus paused, “Why did they do it?”
    “I honestly don’t know.” Maxus raised his eyebrows and Andy said, “I’m not withholding anything from you anymore. If something happens to me, you will have to take my place. You need to know everything in the event that happens. I honestly don’t have a clue.”
    Maxus stared at Andy for a moment and then said something that