Free Evolver: Apex Predator by Phil Hester, Jon S. Lewis, Shannon Eric Denton, Jason Arnett

 
    CHAPTER ONE
     
     
    Jackson Savage was nervous about seeing his father for the first time in nearly three months. Instead of fidgeting and staring out the window, he watched a video on his smartphone. He was so absorbed in the video he didn’t notice everyone else got off at the Park & Ride lot.
    The tectonic plates under the earth had shifted and settled, moving pieces of Antarctica away from its home, the narrator said in Jackson's earbuds. The narrator told Jackson about the machrauchenia as they grazed, comparing them to modern day cows. When one of the camel-like creatures sensed something the music rose, then faded when the grazer put its long snout back into the grass. The herd moved forward slowly.
    An unearthly screech tore across the scene and staccato notes crescendoed. An enormous flightless bird with three accomplices charged over the tall grass toward the herd, screaming their intent to kill and feed. Spooked, the herd ran at right angles away from the approaching killers. These terror birds, the narrator's serious voice said, are as fearsome as their cousins velociraptor and the tyrannosaurs, are the apex predators of this time.
    Jackson was so absorbed in the video he barely registered the bus driver announcing, "Clinton and Inverness, ladies and gentlemen. Next stop Clinton and Inverness." He didn't hear the little ding of the bell that signaled someone wanted to get out there.
    In the video, a terror bird caught one of the slower machrauchenia in its hook-shaped beak, its powerful jaws tearing through flesh and bone. It twisted and flipped the mammal, smashing it into the ground. The other birds raced toward the rest of the herd.
    The herd turned again and the slowest of the terror birds didn’t make the angle. It fell sprawling with a shriek then struggled to regain its feet, confused. The bird spotted the herd and prepared to give chase.
    The narrator interrupted the chaos. Smilodon have migrated across the new isthmus up north and found good hunting in the grasslands. It faced the surprised terror bird, roaring as loud as it could and flashing its long, sharp fangs. The bird circled to its left, responding in kind with its own cry. The smilodon stepped forward, ready to spring, then dodged to its right as her opponent snapped at her.
    The terror bird never saw the second smilodon leap on its back and dig its claws in as it was dragged down. The two big cats pinned the monster and the lead smilodon sank her enormous front teeth into the neck of the terror bird. The two cats were joined by the rest of the pack and they all ate their fill.
    Smilodon outlasted the terror birds until the next apex predator came along, the narrator said with an air of authority. Despite surviving numerous climatic changes and upheavals, the big cats and their large prey were hunted into extinction at the end of the ice age by humans. The dramatic music came up as the narrator went on about what would be seen in the next episode of the series and Jackson noticed that the bus was starting to leave his stop.
    "Wait," Jackson said and leapt to his feet, rushing to the door in the middle of the bus which lurched to a stop again.
    "Almost missed it," the driver said, his voice icy.
    Jackson smiled, gave him a thumbs-up and disembarked the bus.
     
    *
     
    It was chilly, even for October and he walked around a brick wall that complimented trees and the well manicured lawn that surrounded the EnviroTech campus. His cell phone rang and he fished it out of his pants pocket and flipped it open. "Hi, Mom. No, it's good. I'm on my way to dinner with Dad. Sorry. Great workout with the team and studying for my organic chem test on Tuesday."
    The young man turned a corner to his left and saw a black sedan pull out of the driveway ahead of him. "No, I won't let anyone tell me --- Mom, that was middle school. I was thirteen.”
    He looked up at the night sky, exasperated. “I've booked the flight to come see you over winter break. No, you