Landing Party: A Dinosaur Thriller Read Online Free PDF

right. “Let’s check out the outer slope up near the top. This side looked a little better to me, and then from there, we can drop in for the lake shot.”
    No one voiced an argument, although there were no actual agreements, either. Everyone still mulled over the ramifications of the plan, which had them suddenly from a comfortable helicopter ride to confronting the reality that they were going to get out of the aircraft and step onto a highly active volcano. This was not some inviting tropical island with a sugary sand beach and palm trees swaying in the breeze. There was no way to walk onto the isle at all. Or off of it.
    The pilot ascended, and the team watched the pastiche of brown lava rock stripe vertically past their window, where spotty patches of molten lava bubbled up every so often. George pointed out the first traces of new plant life, already taking root in the rocky substrate, eking out a living on this harsh terrain.
    They were jolted from their thoughts by the pilot waving to get their attention. “I can’t land here, but I can hover a few feet off the ground until you can jump out.”
    “I’m game.” Richard raised his hand like an eager school kid.
    “Same here, mate.” Ethan was grinning ear to ear, like this was the best thing he could possibly be doing.
    A couple of seconds ticked by during which the noise of the rotors holding their position over the scorched ground was the only sound. “C’mon, who’s next?”
    Anita raised her hand and Richard frowned. “Really, dear, don’t you think you ought to be on the boat team so we can at least make use of the narrow range of experience you do have?”
    “Perhaps you should try the boat, Richard. Get out of your mountain climbing comfort zone.”
    “Enough!” Joystna, the M.D., raised her voice to a sharp trill, silencing the team. “I would have thought that the team’s two professional explorers, both from the same organization no less, would at least have a working rapport.”
    “I don’t mind being on the boat team,” Anita offered.
    George Meyer nodded. “If we’re splitting up, we should probably split the expertise as well. We have two professional explorers, so one on each team.” He looked at Skylar. “Two geologists, so one on each team.” Skylar was quick to nod her agreement to this.
    “Make sure we split up the sat-phones, as well,” Kai suggested. Every member of the team carried a two-way radio, which would keep them in touch with each other over short distances on the island, but for contact with the outside world, only satellite phones would do. The team had two of them, so it was decided that one would go to each sub-team.
    The group was in agreement, and they quickly worked out a roster for each team, designated Slope and Boat. By the time they had finished with that, the pilot was hovering over the Slope Team drop zone.
    “This is as good as it’s going to get for the slope. Looks like you have a little bit of semi- flat ground to get started on. After that, good luck!”
    The helicopter descended to three feet above a rare level patch of ground and the four Slope Team members, each wearing a backpack, lined up to jump out. Richard Eavesley led the way, followed by geologist George Meyer, photographer Ethan Jones, and translator Kai Nguyen. The crunch of lava rock under boots was drowned out by the helicopter’s engine. After all four duck-walked out from beneath the rotors, the chopper lifted off while the team still on board waved their temporary goodbyes.
    The pilot lifted the craft higher and then moved forward until they cleared the lip of the volcano. In the back, Anita and Skylar worked to unpack their small inflatable raft. It would float the four of them and their gear, but just barely. As they inflated it with a hand pump, they stuck the nose out the door. Meanwhile, the craft descended, and it became noticeably darker inside the volcano, light only penetrating from directly above.
    “Anybody