You're a weakling. You are a stupid, worthless, useless, disgusting, loathsome, pathetic creature. How could something as low as you come into existence? Why do you even exist? You have not done much in your life. You were a liability to your parents. When they got your pitiful self out of their lives, you did nothing but run around, meet other raptors, lose those raptors, and wallow in your self-pity. And then you met that pack. But did you really make a difference in the lives of the three you met? No. They would have been happy whether they knew you or not. In fact, they probably would have been happier not knowing you at all. They cared far more for each other than they ever did for you, because you were not worthy of them. Because you simply do not matter to them.

Black Talon stood in the dark void, completely alone.

'Shut up!' He snarled, angrily. 'You're lying!'

They don't care about you. You don't deserve anything. You allowed yourself to get close to them, you allowed yourself to become vulnerable. How pitifully weak.

'It's not true!' Protesting, blood-red tears streamed down his feathery cheeks. 'Shut up!'

You let them know how much they meant to you. You let the whole world know. This is what you get for allowing yourself to get close to them. This is what you get for being happy. This is what you get for being weak.

'It's not true!! Shut up!!' He collapsed onto his knees, tears dripping into a scarlet puddle below him.

In front of him, out of thin air, a small black raptor only three weeks old formed. It had soft glowing brown eyes. Black Talon looked up at it. It stepped back nervously, but gave him a small, genuine smile.

He noticed that no scars tainted it.

(Not yet.)

You are worth less than nothing.

The eyes of the baby raptor rippled for just a moment.

Even if they were still alive, they would abandon you by the end. Because you have no worth, and you deserve the sadness, the pain, the isolation, because you are pathetic and that is all you can ever hope to be.

Suddenly, the eyes melted away from the young raptor, sliding down its face in huge liquid quantities, turning red in the process. Hollow black holes remained. Still smiling, the baby raptor reached out to Black Talon, extending out its claws, while scarlet saliva streamed from its grinning jaws.

'NO! IT'S NOT TRUE! SHUT UP! SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!'

Responding to the sudden surge of terror, Black Talon hid his face in his hands, whimpering. He dug his claws into his skull, trying to keep everything out, and yet snippets would always find their way in. He felt something repulsive pass through him, making his stomach churn.

You deserve to be alone.

'He's wrong,' a new voice suddenly arose. Black Talon moved his face away from the safe darkness in his hands. He looked down at his palms. There was a flash, and they were covered in blood and scars, then another flash, and the blood was gone, along with the scars. He flinched in fear, averted his gaze, and saw, in the void, Fleet Claw.

Everyone hates you.

'You...' Black Talon snarled. 'You are not real.'

He stepped back. Behind her, Razor Feather formed out of nothing. 'We do care,' she added, with a small smile.

'You're lying, aren't you?' Black Talon growled. 'Don't lie to me.'

You're worthless. You deserve nothing.

'We always did,' Thorn Tooth nodded, condensing from the void.

'STOP!' Black Talon collapsed onto his knees, hands on his head. 'JUST STOP. I KNOW IT'S ALL NOTHING BUT A LIE. BECAUSE NO ONE CARES. NO ONE EVER DID!'

They never cared about you.

'Please, Black Talon, don't cry...' Razor Feather said gently, and put her wing on his shoulder.

'We're all here, and we don't want you to be sad,' Fleet Claw also put her wing on Black Talon.

It is all a lie.

'We love you too, you are not unloved,' Thorn Tooth did the same.

Black Talon looked up at the three, sobbing. Were they really saying the truth? Was there actually a chance that they genuinely cared?

Everything is gone.

---

Black Talon awoke with a start. In front of his blurred vision was Sharp Claw.

Of course it had been a nightmare. He knew that ending was nothing but wishful thinking.

'I'm sorry... you seemed kind of agitated while you were sleeping,' Sharp Claw had a somewhat guilty look on his visage.

Black Talon did not reply. He just wanted to forget what he had just seen and experienced.

'The viral pterosaurs are gone, but it's night-time. Should we go?'

'Yes,' He finally responded to the youngster. Night was more dangerous, but it did not matter to Black Talon anymore. If the world and Life did not care for him, then he would not care for the world or Life.

'Let's move.'

They left the cave, ventured across the open field, and into the forest.

---

Branches stretched out above them, twisted like mangled fingers, almost as if they were writhing in pure agony. Ominous tweets of toothed birds echoed eerily, while the cold moon rested above, watching the cruel world. Its frosty, blueish light were cast upon Black Talon's scars. He shuddered nervously- it had been on a night like this when one of the worst events of his life had occurred.

A single, lone insect chirped quietly in the trees. It almost sounded sad.

Midnight huddled close to Leafie as they trudged on. Leafie occasionally nudged Midnight gently with his head, almost as if he was trying to comfort her.

Fuzzy was asleep, and was curled up peacefully on Sharp Claw's back. His fur was a bit wet, glistening softly.

Sharp Claw was moving slightly ahead of Black Talon. He was attentive, keeping out an ear to make sure that Black Talon was near him always. His golden eyes shot around, always watching for something, though Black Talon could not, for the life of him, guess what that something was- nor did he care.

It's probably just virals, but there aren't any nearby. And would it really be so terrible if we were attacked? This world is wretched, cruel, and violent. It wouldn't matter to anyone about what happens to us, because that's just how it is.

'Black Talon...?' Sharp Claw asked, slowing up a bit so Black Talon could catch up to him.

'What?'

'Were you ever scared of the dark?' His eyes shifted from side to side, never stopping.

'Of course not! I actually like it,' Black Talon snorted. So that's his problem... He thought to himself.

'Well, I remember my old pack... they helped comfort me whenever I got scared... I miss them...' He mumbled to himself, shutting his eyes melancholically. 'What was your pack like?'

'I've been in many packs,' Black Talon replied, hoping Sharp Claw would ask a different question.

'Well, what about your last one? The one you had before all this happened?'

'It was fine, now can we please just stop this conversation?' Black Talon narrowed his eyes, furrowing his dark brow. Sharp Claw paused for a moment, then smiled. 'It's okay if you miss them. You don't have to talk about them if you don't want to.'

Black Talon grunted, not really knowing what to say. He was just glad that Sharp Claw wasn't going to pester him more with that subject.

'Sorry... talking always got my mind off the fear I felt in presence of the dark. Do you have any fears? Anything that really scares you?'

My greatest fear already came true... Black Talon hated to admit it, but it was reality. Isolation, loneliness, it had all happened, and there wasn't much he could do against it.

'... I am afraid of heights...' He admitted to himself. That was, in fact, true, though not quite as terrifying to him as the more psychological fears he had.

'Hahaha! Really? Why?'

Black Talon shut his eyes, trying to block the memory that ultimately caused the terror he felt every time he had to go up high.

'Bad experience.'

Suddenly, there was a flickering yellow glow by one of the ferns. Sharp Claw jumped in surprise.

'Don't worry, it's not a viral...' Black Talon snorted. From the plant, the glow grew stronger, until a tiny winged insect flew out, with its body shining with bioluminescent light.

'Wow... it's a firefly...' Sharp Claw whispered as the insect buzzed over to him, hovering in front of his snout.

From up above, more of the creatures began to stir, lighting themselves up and coming down to the forest floor. Soon, hundreds of them sifted across the air, making Midnight and Leafie huddle closely with wonder as they flew around them. Even Fuzzy awoke and clambered up Sharp Claw's back, whiskers twitching as he stared at the multitude of golden lights around him.

Black Talon did not feel the wonder that the others felt. He felt too drained to feel happiness, awe, or joy. He simply felt a yearning- a yearning for the simpler times he had before everything went wrong. He just wanted everything to go back to the way they were. He wanted his friends, his pack, his life. But he knew it was all gone, and nothing would bring it back.

Truly, everything was gone. The world had forsaken him. Life had forsaken him.

In front of his snout, a white butterfly fluttered. It was medium sized, with delicate wings.

His jaws salivated as anger filled his mind. At that point, anything and everything got on his nerves. He eyed the white creature malevolently, contemplating....

'No!' Sharp Claw ran over and pushed Black Talon away from the butterfly. Black Talon felt all the air forced from his lungs, and the harsh forest floor jab against his ribs as he was thrown against the ground.

'What do you think you're doing!?' He snarled furiously, narrowing his dark eyes.

'I know you were going to kill her!' Sharp Claw retorted with anger. 'You can't! Look at her! Isn't she so beautiful?'

Black Talons eyes shifted over to the butterfly, then back to the young Acheroraptor.

'You must never kill such a beautiful creature! This world has become so ugly, so violent, that we cannot destroy the things that are preserving its beauty.'

Black Talon got up, growling. So, he couldn't eat the butterfly because it was 'beautiful'? Beauty did not matter to him. Because one being was born better looking than another, did that mean that it had more of a right to live? If that was true, then he should have died a long time ago.

'Please, leave her be,' Sharp Claw said, more quietly this time as the butterfly had settled down on his nose. Its antennae twitched, then it took off again, flying away into the forest trees.

Black Talon felt the surge of anger in his body ebb away.

'Well, that was interesting...'

Black Talon and Sharp Claw quickly cast each other a nervous look as they heard an unfamiliar crow from some other raptor. They looked around themselves, unable to catch a glimpse of their stalker.

'Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you,' the voice stated calmly, with a relatively friendly tone.

'Who are you!? Show yourself!' Black Talon growled.

'Calm down, he hasn't even done anything yet!' Sharp Claw nudged Black Talon. The dark raptor growled as he frantically searched around him, ignoring the youngster.

'I'm right here.'

A green-brown coloured raptor pounced out of the trees, and landed neatly, planting an arm in front of himself for balance, then raising back up to look the two raptors in the eye. His eyes were a shimmering silver, and Black Talon could see his reflection in them. He shuddered, and quickly looked away.

'You're survivors, aren't you?' He nodded at them. He seemed a few years older than Black Talon, and was much larger too. As always.

'Yes, we are. I'm Sharp Claw, and this is Black Talon. The Pachycephalosaurus over there is Leafie, the Triceratops is Midnight, and this little guy on my back is Fuzzy.'

'Is that a rodent?' The stranger furrowed his brow, looking somewhat worried. 'It's not dangerous, is it?'

'No, he isn't. Anyway, what's your name?'

'I am called Fern Foot,' He replied, with a little smile.

'I like that name!' Sharp Claw snickered.

So trusting... Black Talon thought, dryly. He never understood how raptors could be so warm towards others they had only just met. Then again, his friends had done that to him, and they nearly-

No! It does not matter what they did, how they helped. They're all gone now. Stop thinking about them. They do not care about you, not anymore. You need to do the same.

'What are you doing around here?' Black Talon asked, lowering his voice's pitch to seem more intimidating.

'Oh, I'm just doing what everyone else is doing- surviving.'

'Would you like to come with us? You seem all alone, and we're off to find this canyon where it might be safe,' Sharp Claw suggested.

'NO. No no no and no. I cannot have yet another in this ridiculous band!' Black Talon was caught off surprise- he had not expected Sharp Claw to do something as stupid as that!

'Please! Black Talon, look at him! He looks really lonely, what's the worst that could happen?'

Black Talon peeked at the greenish raptor. He seemed to hold wisdom in his eyes, and could potentially be useful. But, he was still a stranger, another being Black Talon was not familiar with.

Black Talon strode up to Fern Foot, ruffling his black feathers to make himself look bigger (his size was not particularly impressive, after all).

'If I see you act in any way that is suspicious, I will not hesitate to feed you to the virals myself!' He stuck his face into Fern Foot's, snorting in a hot-headed manner.

'There's nothing to fear, my friend,' He smiled gently. 'Though you should know, I am from quite far away, from the lands of the east.'

What!? Black Talon felt his chest tense. Was it true? Had the virus spread out to the east?

'How far east did you live?' His eyes narrowed questioningly.

He felt his heart thump loudly. They could not have been too far out, could they? It had only been a few weeks. It could not have gotten out of the area, could it?

The silence was deafening.

'My pack lived far from this place. Very far. By the ocean.'

Black Talon shuddered- the ocean was something he had heard about only once from a particularly adventurous member of his pack. They had only seen it once, and apparently the journey there had been long and difficult. They had stated they would never go there again, though it was something worth seeing at least once in your life.

'When did the virus appear?' Sharp Claw asked.

'Six days ago. I was separated from my pack during our first encounter with it. I'm sure some of them survived, but I decided to leave here and see if I could find somewhere safer than our home.'

'We're heading up north! The canyon I mentioned earlier? According to Black Talon, if we block it off it would be almost impossible for the virals to get through!'

'That sounds like a great thing to do! Black Talon, I understand if you refuse, but please, you don't mind if I tag along, do you?' Fern Foot looked at Black Talon with kind, open eyes which bore no ill will. The dark raptor found them suspicious- he knew that this raptor was hiding something, though he couldn't tell what...

'Frankly, I cannot care less at this point. Do what you wish.'

'That's very nice of you,' Fern Foot nodded at him. Black Talon stared at him, searching for anything strange or questionable. There had to be something. Sharp Claw was too young and innocent to be a backstabber- that was what Black Talon had judged after being with him for a while. Adults were a completely different story. Rarely could they ever be trusted- they always had something to hide.

'I know a good place to rest up ahead! We should rest there, and— '

'No. We cannot rest. There more time we spend doing nothing, the more likely we are to come across virals. So, frankly, we cannot rest. You are welcome to go to your little hideout, just know that we will not wait for you.'

Black Talon hoped with all his being that Fern Foot would deem him not worth following, and just go back to wherever he came from. The last thing he needed was another creature following him, another life he was, in a way, responsible for. Black Talon did not want to care about the others, not one bit, yet a tiny part of him made him feel like he was responsible for their safety- he tried to ignore it whenever he could, but it was very conflicting...

'That's all right. I guess you'll be leading the way now,' Fern Foot smiled.

Black Talon narrowed his eyes silently at the newcomer, making sure that he knew that he was not to be bothered. Then, with a slightly irritated snort, Black Talon began to move forwards, not caring if Fern Foot joined him or not. The fireflies zigzagged around him, almost as if they found the whole situation amusing.

It was going to be a long journey.