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It stood its ground, ears swiveling independently to catch all sound, nostrils huffing to gather the smells of the five people crouched in the road

Benny stared, eyes goggled wide, mouth open

"Is that a … a … a … ?" Nix tried to ask

"Uh-huh," said Chong

The creature turned its head sharply toward theht?" asked Benny

"Not a dream," Lilah whispered, but even she looked rattled

"It’s a white rhinoceros," declared Chong, a little too loudly "But how?"

"Shut up!" warned Toave a loud, wet snort and took a challenging step toward Chong The runted, a deep sound that was full of round and blew out its nostrils

"Okay," said Tom "Run"

There was a beat where they all looked at him

"NOW!"

The rhino tilted its wicked horns toward theantic ed

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"Go! Go … GO!" BELLOWED TOM AS HE GRABBED NIX AND BENNY and Chong and shoved them toward the forest wall "Into the trees!"

"I’round shook as seven thousand pounds of furious muscle rumbled toward them Despite its size, the ani her spear at it, but the bladeits ar except make the rhinotoo

To the barrel of his gun at the rhino’s black eye Then he whipped the gun away, shoved it into its holster, and ran as fast as his legs could carry hiht up with the others and yelled at the almost parallel to the road

The rhino tried to turn sharply to intercept, but the angle was too sharp Its huge feet skidded on the dried ht into the forest The rhino’s shoulders sla them at the base

"Use the trees," yelled To ones"

Nix was in the lead, and she shifted her angle to head toward a gnarled old sycaed behind it, then spun and pulled Benny and Chong in behind her

The rhino spotted theed It veered at the last second, so instead of hitting the tree full on, its horns slashed a deep gouge in the wood and shook the old sycamore froain, and Benny threw his arm up to shield his eyes froe The aniile It snorted and trotted away, then cut left and raain, and this time there was a crack! and the sycae leafy whuled voice Benny shot a look at him and saw that his friend’s eyes ide and ju to overwhelht into a tight circle This ti to co The rhino came at them like a thunderbolt

"HEY!" Nix yelled as she stood up and waved her arle of its charge and caht for her "Co away fro?" Benny yelled in panic, but as soon as he said it he understood Nix tore across ten yards of open field toward a line of massive oaks The rhino could never hope to knock one of the over the trunk so they could follow, but Chong was gone Benny caught a gli toward a cluster of pines

"Chong, no! Not that way!"

The rhino slowed to a trot and looked fro behind the trunk of a e bulk of dark roots froer run ahead of him, and the only protection he had was a line of pines Their bushy branches would hide him, but the soft pines offered no protection at all

The rhino charged after Chong

Benny broke fro as Nix had "Hey! Big and ugly! Over here!"

But if the rhino heard hiht run and an easy kill It thundered after Chong, crushing huckleberry bushes and saplings under its ponderous bulk

Benny ht with hi for a gap that looked like it ht have been either a country lane or a firebreak Benny pointed as he ran, and Nix nodded There was a chance they could turn left at the last oak, dash across the break, and enter the grove of pines Benny figured they could coh to beat sorab him and race back to the oaks

At the break they paused for aaround for Tom and Lilah Benny spotted them, but they were on the other side of the rhino Lilah was cli to try and cut the animal’s line of approach to the wall of pines

"Hey!" To his arot no reaction, he fired a shot into the air That did it The rhino skidded to a stop and turned its vicious eye on this new target Benny was hoping that the ani and then another No such luck

"It looks really, really e, pawed the ground like a bull, tensed, and then launched itself straight for To about the danger Tom was in Tohtbreak cover to watch what To The rhino twitched its head as it noticed Chong

"Oh for the love of--," Benny began, then saved his breath for running

Chong was s that brain Rhinos were not like people, cats, dogs, and hunting birds They weren’t predators Despite the creature’s forth and size, it was built for protection Predators have eyes that look forward Prey animals have eyes on the sides of their head Usually that was to allow the up from all sides In this case …

Once , who screeched, wheeled, and ran back toward the screen of pines

"Why does it keep going after Chong?" asked Nix as they ran

"’Cause he keeps heading for those pines," grunted Benny

"Yeah, but why?"