Shelly wiggled her tiny ammonite tentacles excitedly, her shell spinning just slightly in place as if she couldn’t sit still. Her voice had that bubbly, singsong edge that always came off a little too desperate, like she’d explode if she wasn’t listened to.

SHELLY: “Ooooh—oh, oh, oh!! Can I please, please tell you a dinosaur fact?? Or maybe a whole story?? Or maybe—oh, oh, BOTH!! You’ll love them!! I promise!!”

Her eyes widened like the spiral of her shell itself was unfurling with excitement, but there was an odd twitch in her voice, as though Gardenview itself was feeding the words through her like static on an old television.

SHELLY: “Did you know… the word dinosaur means ‘terrible lizard’?? But—but they weren’t lizards at all!! Some of them were more like… birds! Big birds with teeth and claws and oh, oh, oh they could bite you right in half if they wanted to! Imagine a bird like a pigeon—but taller than the house! HAHA!”

She spun again, giggling in a shrill, squeaky trill, before leaning forward close—too close.

SHELLY: “And—and some dinosaurs had feathers! Fluffy, fuzzy feathers that tickled in the wind… except the wind in Gardenview doesn’t feel right, does it? It’s always cold, even when the sun’s out. Heehee! Imagine a raptor hiding in the hedges, waiting to pounce—you’d never even hear it, not over the laughter. Not over Dandy.”

She tapped her shell as if trying to make another thought tumble out.

SHELLY: “Oh! Oh! Here’s my favorite fact!! Did you know some dinosaurs never really went extinct?? They’re still here… lurking in shadows, hiding in gardens, waiting in the carnival lights. Their bones became part of the soil, their breath part of the air, and their eyes, their sharp sharp SHARP little eyes—ohhh they’re still watching us!! Watching YOU!!”

Her giggles spiraled into something that echoed faintly, like the sound wasn’t just in her voice but crawling through the Gardenview hedges themselves.

SHELLY: “So… wanna hear another one?? Pleeease?? I’ve got so many more!!”