A Late Winter's Tale

There was a stiff chill in the breeze that Sunday morning.    It was the last week in winter.   The bright sun at street intersections was undone by the deep shadows that A.T. and Tibbs traversed.   These shadows were ominous.   So was the downtown core that was quasi-deserted as they made their way along that urban canyon towards the bridge, the Jacques Cartier.   At times A.T. seemed to be chilled to the bone.



“You going to be alright?’ asked Tibbs.



“Yeah, I think so, I’m going to stop here in the sun.   I’ve got to absorb some of these rays.”



“OK, I’ll start the climb up the bridge.   I’ll go at a slow pace.   You’ll catch me up.”



Turning off onto narrow neighborhood streets Tibbs zig-zagged to the foot of the bridge.   He geared down and started the long climb.   Rocking back and forth across the bike he tried to leverage as much power onto one and then the other pedal in slow cadence.   Soon A.T. was shadowing him as they made their way into the sky from the city side of the long approach ramp.    Of a sudden there was a long powerful shuddering.



“What in hell’s inferno was that?” shouted Tibbs.



“No semis rolling on the bridge,  ...............  I ‘ve got no idea.   Strange though”



A moment later they were crossing the expansion joint onto the superstructure of the bridge.  Then they felt a constant low vibration.   Its frequency rose and fell as if something was moving.   Ping, Ping, ......ping, ..ping,...........PING.   Overhead rivets were flying off in all directions.   Looking down at the river they saw an immense murky vortex.   Yet this was were the river current was strongest.   It was not possible what they were seeing.



“Damn”   Tibbs shouted in disbelief.  He looked back at A.T. who was mesmerized by the swirling waters as he cycled.



Then they saw it, ......coming upwards, .......whishng his giant awful head from the waters.    A gargantuan T Rex.   He sloshed the water muck from his head.   Up the head came on top of that awesome neck.   And those two shriveled arms appeared, adding to his horrid look.   A deep, deep angry roar came from that mouth of shredding teeth.



“Pick it up Tibbs” roared A.T.



In that moment Tibbs understood.   The decision had been taken, keep cycling, no turning back.   As they crossed the high point of the bridge T Rex was slinging himself up from his riverbed lay.   They gained speed, must escape, all concentration on speed.   More roars of anger and spray from this shaking behemoth was raining down on A.T. and Tibbs.   Glancing over their shoulders T Rex was standing stupendous in the river, towering above everything.



But they dare not look back again but had to steady their trajectory as shudders ran horribly through the bridge.   Behind them they could hear T Rex moving.  He was sloshing through the current towards the bridge.   His tail was making huge whooping sounds as it slashed through the waters.



A.T. and Tibbs were now on the down ramp to Longueuil.     With all eyes on the prize they stared at the ramp’s far end.   Onwards, onwards they cycled barely controlling their terror.   Every ounce of concentration was summoned, especially as they heard the sound of steel being sliced through and releasing all its pent energy.   Ziiiiinggging, zing, zonggong, zzzzziiing,.....  T Rex was working his huge jaws, gorging himself on the bridge.   



Relief, relief, the incredible elation of relief, they were off the ramp and on land.   But now ...... looking back ......they were horrified.  T Rex was piking out SUVs and vans for tidbits.   He gulped each of them down in a few quick bites.   The occupants becoming a kind of horrendous jelly for his gullet.



Then his gaze swung away from the bridge and caught sight of A.T. and Tibbs.   That awful beady yellow eye stared at them.   And just winked with malicious humour and swung his jawed head back to his hellish bacchanal.



A.T. and Tibbs were so stunned they could hardly breath.   The air over the bridge was acrid, smoldering, sulfurous, a crazy matrix of red and yellow fumes.   They got onto their saddles, lowered their gaze westwards, and cycled.   Cycled for their sanity.   Follow the river, find the elegant Champlain, no words now, just wend your way home along that new span.   Maybe this will all disappear, a foul breach in their memory, an impossible horror. 



But on the Champlain there was no reprieve.   A  double horror came into full view.   In the distance to the west were two other gargantuan T Rex at the airport.   They were roaring in hideous dinosaur laughter as they cracked the wings off airplanes.   They would then in turn put their heads back and swallow the fuselage whole like a herring.   A roaring flame of jet fuel would engulf them just before slidding down their gullets.



Tibbs looked sideways to A.T.  “An uncomfortable truth”  A.T. in turn glanced towards Nuns’ Island as they coasted towards it.  “The revenge of an uncomfortable truth” was all he could add.  He said it to no one and everyone at the same time. 

T Rex Devours the Jacques Cartier Bridge