Landing Party: A Dinosaur Thriller Read Online Free PDF Page B

notice something funny?” Anita asked the group, her blonde eyebrows furrowing above sky blue eyes.
    “What’s that?” Skylar didn’t look up from adjusting the straps on her backpack.
    “We split the two teams into men and women.”
    All four women of the Boat Team looked around at one another and burst out laughing. “Probably better that way, no distractions, right?” Lara said.
    “On my go, people…” The pilot’s voice put an end to their banter. His hand moved over the controls as he steadied the aircraft a few feet above the lake’s surface, now whipped into a frenzy of whitewater by the rotor wash.
    Anita grabbed hold of a rope tied to the raft. They had fastened a weight to the nose of the raft to make sure it would drop down and not get buffeted into the rotors, destroying their boat and possibly the helicopter, too.
    “Here goes.” She and Skylar kicked the little boat out the door.
    Even with the added ballast, the lightweight raft caught an updraft, and for one heart-stopping moment, it seemed the raft was going to hit the rotors, but then it slanted down at an angle and hit the water. Their luck wasn’t perfect, however, since it landed upside-down.
    Anita cursed the turn of events. She still held the rope attached to the raft, keeping it from being blown across the lake by the rotor wash.
    “Now what?” Joystna asked. “Haul it back up and try again?”
    It was the helicopter pilot who answered. “No way. That was too close to the rotors. We’re not trying that again. Deal with it. Get down there and flip it over.”
    Before anyone could say anything, Anita jumped out the door, splashing into the lake a few feet from the boat. Those in the helo looked down on her, waiting to see she if was okay. What if the water was still almost boiling hot? They’d all heard the predictions, based on science—it should be about the same as the surrounding ocean water, maybe a little warmer—but still. Here she was, actually taking the plunge. Another unsettling thought—what if the water wasn’t that deep and she hit the bottom hard?
    But Anita gave a casual wave to let them know she was okay after making the drop. Then, using the rope, she pulled the raft to her. It was light enough that she was able to flip it over herself. She did so and then shrugged off her pack. She chucked it up and over, into the raft. Then she got in herself, kicking until she was able to flop inside.
    Skylar Hanson was next to jump, followed quickly by Joystna Chandahar and Lara Cantrel. The chopper rose up and out of the volcano as soon as all of the passengers were clear, lessening the rotor wash for the swimmers. Anita helped the others aboard the raft, and then they craned their necks upward to watch as the pilot lifted the helicopter out of the cone and flew away from the island.
    Expedition Gaia had landed.

 
     
     
    Chapter 5
     
    All of Boat Team, including Skylar, the geologist, had thought that the water in the lake would calm down once the helicopter had left, that all of the churning had been due to rotor wash. They could see now, however, that this was anything but the case. All around them the lake—which was in fact ocean water that had been trapped in the center of the forming volcano cone—bubbled and sputtered, with gasses rising off of it giving the whole place an eerie, ethereal feel.
    Skylar picked up the paddle, but seeing Anita reminded her that the professional explorer on Boat Team was an experienced boater, so she gave it to Anita. Skylar wondered if Anita might be irritated that Richard’s comments about her boating experience were coming to pass, but these thoughts were interrupted by Anita, who asked, “Where to?”
    All of them looked around, and Skylar produced a powerful flashlight to use as a search beam. She directed its illumination onto the jagged shoreline, sweeping the beam around in a clockwise circle.
    While she did this, Joystna put her hand in the water. “Warm. About the