Thump

Thump

Thump

That's the first thing I felt. My eyes opened up wearily as the thumping continued faintly. Was that Drexel? I wondered, knowing how his size did confuse my own self into thinking that it was something else. But I was wrong. I stared in horror as a huge foot came crashing down right in front of me, clawed and all, three toed and sharpened. It was black and scaled from top to bottom, and dust clogged up the underbelly of each claw. Suddenly, out of nowhere, another claw quickly slapped onto my mouth, silencing it before anything could spill out.

"Stay....down," whispered Drexel. I nodded with widened eyes of pure terror, watching the foot twist and turn in various directions, as if it were searching for something. Or perhaps it was lost. My heart raced wildly as Drexel released his hand from my mouth, then partially slithered on over to a shadowed area of the cave. The giant took a few more steps around the front of the cave, which shook dust from the ceiling, before trampling off in some direction. Everything settled back down into silence, and my breathing finally opened back up into hard inhales, as if panting. Drexel looked outside, relief flooding back into his system, and turned around to face me.

"That was lucky," He muttered, flexing his body into a downward stretch, "What a way to wake up."

"Was it a carnivore?" I wondered, lifting to my clawed feet. My injury from the countdown clock was starting to wear off a bit, so I was able to push in some pressure on the hole. Drexel nodded solemnly.

"Surely was. I think it was a Tyrannosaur-" He cut off as more thumps began to echo the cave, and shrunk back into the shadows where I was.

"Its back again," I whispered, hearing the feet scrape against the sedimentary rocks above and around us. I laid down, feeling the earth thud beneath my belly with fear. I looked around, suddenly noticing something.

"Where's Amberclaw?" I asked him. Drexel looked at me.

"What?"

"Where's Amberclaw?!" I grew more worried, "He's not here!" A ground shaking stomp made the cave quake silently, dropping a few rocks from above to hit below.

"He went to the clock again," Drexel hissed through his pointed teeth, "Said he wanted to learn more about it."

"Couldn't it scent him?" I realized vaguely. Drexel sniffed the air, then shook his head.

"Nah," He lied. I heard another stomp, then a faded one, until it disappeared. But the stomps led directly to where the countdown clock was. Amberclaw! Drexel heard the thumps head in the direction we clearly didn't want it to go and sighed, getting to his feet.

"Crap.....I sort of......lied-"

"YOU THINK?!" I growled, lurching onto my clawed feet with a predatory act. I slid outside, then quickly pulled myself up a few rocks of the cave to its apex. Sniffing the air, I realized that Amberclaw's scent was clearly noticeable by even anyone who was still alive here. Too big of a giveaway from my point of view. But the creature we saw wasn't there. In fact, I would've seen a footprint by now. I moved forwards a bit, keeping my head low, tail high, claws outstretched and ready, but bravery unstable. I sniffed the air, catching any irregular scents. But the wind came from the countdown clock's direction towards me. Certainly there wasn't an aroma that could explain to me where it was. I decided since there wasn't any signs of it, it possibly wasn't even there! But would it make sense that me and Drexel had the same vision or dream? I decided to go back downhill and move away from the cave in search for that scene that we felt, that mysterious creature with the blackened three-toed feet. I trotted forwards for a few minutes, practicing with my partially healed wound deep in my calf. I wasn't in a major limp anymore, more so like a gallop through the barren terrain. After tracking for what seemed like minutes, (which were actually seconds), I found myself drinking in the hole of a small little watering hole. There were footprints around here as well, but with no sight as to where other dinosaurs were, I drank without even caring. The water splashed in my face, and tickled my pink tongue silly, and even cleaned out the tartar from within my teeth. It thankfully quenched my thirst, and part of my internal hunger at most. I kept drinking for a while, I had no idea how long though, but it was worth it. That's when I heard a different sound.

Thu-Thump

Thu-Thump

Thu-Thump

I raised my head and snout from the water, embracing the sound that also thumped in my ear. That wasn't the creature. It never stomped like that, I knew that. I turned around, now alert and eyes fastened on my surroundings. But it was my nose that told me the truth of what was out there. I caught the fresh scent of something a few yards ahead of me, and almost cried out in joy when I saw it come into my vision.

A herbivore!

My lucky day!

My heart began to race as I lowered myself quietly, already positioning myself in hunter mode. The creature was green and scaled sharply, eyes narrow and folded over towards some dead plants. It had some horns on its frill, and its back was like a hill of its own, gently sloping down to the tip of its tail. I've never seen a living creature, or more importantly, a living prey in days, and this sight could provide a great supply of life back into all of us raptors' stomachs. My eyes locked on the hind of the herbivore, and I licked my lips greedily, already thinking about sinking my jaws into fresh meat and fresh blood. My tail was low a bit, though my albino body partially camouflaged into the dead plants that covered the yellow plainlands. For a few moments, all was quiet, making it a perfect opportunity to strike. I flared my nostrils, swallowing in more of the scent to remember. But I was jinxed immediately when I first felt the ground rumble. An earthshake? I thought, without lifting my head up or moving in any direction, I mustn't show myself, not yet. I moved in a bit closer, and the ground shook even harder. The pebbles beside me were actually jumping by themselves. The herbivore seemed oddly familiar with the trembling, and didn't even grow scared in any way.

But I did.

I felt a horrible sinking feeling of worry crawl up my tail, and completely disobeying my orders to stay still, I lifted my head up. It was too late anyways. I felt a wall slam into my unseen left side hard, throwing me right out into the open dust. A wave of nausea flooded into my system, clouding my vision, but somehow I got to my claws, and lowered with bent knees in a threatening snarl. Out of the shadows and foliages of plants came a huge male Triceratops, eyes locked, steam bursting from his nostrils, and horns pierced and sharp. For a split-second after seeing the male's enormous bodily features, I wanted to run off like a cartoon character with dust spilling behind me. But I had to stand my ground. I had to find a way to get the meat we deserved. I curled my clawed fingers, exposing them sharply, and hissed with danger, eyes narrow, tail up, toe claw extended out below me. As defense, it let out a roar that shook the air around us, then stomped powerfully onto the ground with one foot, cracking the crust of the dry earth. Its head was low, showing its horns towards me in preparation to fight. Usually as a predator, you strike fear into prey to take them down. But now it was the alternative direction, facing towards me. This was something I've never hunted before, something I've never seen before or fought. He was huge compared to me. But I had to try. Especially since my life was on the line. No matter what I did, he'd catch up and attack me. So it was better off to face him rather than run.

I need all of my ancestors to help me with this, I thought, growling at the Triceratops, who began to turn towards me in a circling walk, I need a lot of help. I twisted my body, growling once more, before all hell broke loose.

That's when he lunged first.

I avoided the first attack and jump upon his side, slamming my toe-claw into his hide with fury. His body thundered loudly and bounced around, and eventually automatically detached me from his side. I fell with a hard thud on my back, then cried out, spinning to the side before a large foot crushed in the area I was previously in. I struggled to my feet and lunged back onto the Triceratops, sinking my jaws onto its top frill. A thundering squeal floundered out of his beak, and he shook hard to detach me once again. But then, my body jerked forwards suddenly after drawing out really deep cuts in his back, tossing me forwards right to his beak. He caught my arm and yanked downwards into the ground, whereas I struck the earth back-first with a skull-breaking crash. My vision clogged up again as I urged myself to get back on my, now shaky claws. I dodged another attack, then quickly brought my jaws down upon the Triceratop's neck. The caterwaul screech from the creature sounded like a dying animal, similar to claws scratching on metal rock. In anger, the herbivore yanked hard, which did again release my grip, then headbutted me hard with a twist of its frill. I felt my body leave the earth, only to fall back down on my back head. I flipped over to my belly, lying in pain and agony from the throbbing crash of the herbivore. Dust fluttered from my sliding crash, but this time, I couldn't get up.

I could only watch.

The Triceratops looked triumphant, as if he wanted to beat me, and slowly lumbered over to my position, eyes darkening, and breath heavy. For a few seconds, I believed that I'd die here on the dry earth, fighting a useless fight that served no purpose for either of us. I thought that he'd end my life slowly and painfully, to recall all the lives that were taken to fulfill my needs. His paw went up above me, preparing to slam down with full force, like a death shadow from my eyes. But before he could end my suffering, a familiar sound shook the earth.

Thump

Thump

Thump

And then a roar.

The Triceratops didn't have time to react to whatever was coming, and before I knew it, that same carnivore I saw from underneath a cavern down on the horizon, saved me. He twisted his head hard, knocking the male backwards into the other, almost hunted, Triceratops with his large bony head. For a few seconds, I heard grunts, groans and angry roars from both of the creatures, until the Triceratops finally snorted in defeat and annoyance, walking off to wherever he originally came from to attack me. The T-rex, if that was what it was, stood there in defiance and superiority over the herbivore. He seemed pleased and overly enthusiastic over what he did to save me.

If he did intend on saving me.

My heart was racing as I laid there, unknown as to what really happened, and decided to walk away without saying anything. But during the fight, I knew I injured something. And when I checked back on the cobweb that Drexel gave to me on my calf, it was soaking red blood, deteriorating its shape and opening up into a reborn fresh wound.

Things got even worse when I couldn't even put pressure on it again! I pulled myself to my feet and tried to walk, but the hole bled deep and shot pain spasms all over my leg, which in turn dropped me like a rock back to the ground. I couldn't walk this time. And that led to another problem. Problems always lead to more problems.

I felt the ground vibrate as the T-Rex came towards me. And my heart skipped endless beats when I saw his enlarged body, sharpened teeth (that were bigger than my whole head), beady eyes, thunderous feet, and a vibrant tail edge closer. I began dragging myself backwards despite of the pain and blood that changed the color of the earth in fear, until his shadow fell over me. I just stared up in fear, unable to move or do anything. He stood over me, jaw gaped a bit, eyes locked on my albino skin, and breathing slow. What was going to happen? I thought horrified, Was he going to eat me? But yet he didn't.

He didn't do any of the things that I could imagine.

Instead he did something else.

He spoke.

"You alright?" He rumbled, looking at me. I twitched my injured leg slightly, then nodded.

"Bruised and battered a bit, but I'm fine," I responded, lowering my fear temperature.

"That's not a bruise," He pointed out to my bloody calf, then sniffed it from afar, "Can you walk?" I tried to stand again, but my leg gave way and collapsed on its own, forcing me back down. I shook my head in mere defeat.

"Not really.....no," I sighed.

"Did Pick do that to you?" He asked another question. I tilted my head.

"Who's Pick?"

"Oh some idiotic three-horn...hates our kinds y'know? Always fighting others like a selfish greedy mosquito." I drew up the image of the dinosaur who attacked me earlier and sighed.

"Sounds like him."

"Why'd you attack Stella?" He questioned me next, looking as if he wanted to threaten me slowly. I didn't know who Stella was, perhaps the Triceratops that laid out before me when I was hunting.

"I was hungry," I muttered, "There isn't a lot of life on this planet anymore. You should know that out of all dinosaurs." The T-Rex grumbled, swallowing in a threat, because he too knew that we needed meat and food, but tagging along with prey makes less of an option to even eat.

"I'm not attacking or eating them because for one, I don't exactly know how, and two, they're helping me," The T-Rex clicked towards the three-horns, "They'll help me find my father. If he's still out there."

"You don't know how...." I trailed off, ignoring the amusing and also embarrassing quote, and continued, "Is there any life out there that I can eat?"

"I don't know," He muttered, "It's barren, hot and dry. To me, there isn't really anything out there besides bugs. And even the bugs are dying out too."

"Oh crap..." I shook my head, "We're really gonna die now." After a while of sitting, I decided to try another chance to get back upon my feet. At first it was shaky, and my knees wobbled like stilts, but then as I took a step, my legs buckled, and my body hit the ground from belly to underside of jaw. I groaned painfully as the blood kept oozing from the injury to the outside world. I took in a whiff of my own injury, already noticing an infection spreading from the amount of meat being exposed constantly.

"Still can't?!" The T-Rex exclaimed. I shook my head angrily.

"I'm going to be stuck here," I complained, blowing up dust with a small breeze of wind.

"C'mon...." The T-Rex playfully grinned, bumping and nudging me forwards. How old was this kid?

"I really can't."

"Fine then." The Tyrannosaurus slowly bent his large body downwards facing me, then partly opened his large and toothy jaw, big enough to swallow me whole.

At first I thought he was actually going to kill me right then and there, and end my suffering with a quick snap like an alligator, but when he picked me up in his mouth, his teeth were gentle, and pressed softly on my fleshy side and back, without drawing any blood in any way. I cried out, panicked at first when he picked me up, and the ground vanished from my toes in a flash.

"Put me DOWN!" I shrieked, strangling against his jaw-like grip. I heard the these species had the strongest bite. So if I were to be squeezed, it'll be the death of me. I gasped in terror at the height I was at from above. Surely dropping me would immediately kill me. So strangling to put me down would quicken that process.

"Easy!" The T-Rex snorted, "I'm trying to help. You can't walk. So I'll bring you over." I felt his hot meaty breath fry my scales and tear up my eyes, but I ignored the best I could. I just didn't want to die like this.

"Over where?!" I kept staring downwards at the far earth with fear, "Where is there?"

"You're friends," He grinned, "Drexel and A-Asthma-"

"Amber?"

"Yes, Amberclaw. I met them first before I found you."

"Is that why you saved me?" I inquired.

"Yep." He mumbled with me in his mouth, "But enough talk, we should go." He began walking forwards, and my body strangely swayed like a limp piece of flesh. I literally felt like a dead dinosaur in his mouth. Each stomp was a ripple and an earthquake in my body, each breath was a firebomb, and every sway made me gag. I couldn't imagine how life could possibly be fine living like a Tyrannosaur.

"By the way, I'm Whiteclaw," I said solemnly, still staring down at the ground where two large feet following each other in a game of Simon Says.

"I'm Shadow," The T-Rex calmly answered back, "And in case you're wondering, I'm pretty young."

"Yeah, I could tell," I chuckled. And together we kept marching on.