50 Million Years from Now

Act 15

Vall looked at Kay for a bit, still slightly confused by his question. Kay sighed and repeated himself, "What happened when both you and Zgall were together?"

"He... well... I mean..." Finally, Vall relented, "Zgall threatened me."

Kay just stared at Vall for a second. Then just as soon as he started staring, he stopped and looked the other way. "I'm sorry for that."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I should have been there to stop him."

"Kay, it's not your fault. He just got angry."

Kay was about to say something, but instead he turned away.

"Thunder Wing told me that Zgall wasn't always that angry. What did he mean by that?" Vall asked.

This caused Kay's blood to freeze. He knew exactly what Thunder Wing had been talking about, but he couldn't tell Vall, or rather he wouldn't. He tried to change the subject, but Vall was very persistent. Kay kept deflecting his young friend's attempts until finally Vall snapped.

"KAY! Just tell me!" the albino Black beak shouted in his friend's face. This sudden outburst surprised Kay. This was the first time he had ever seen Vall this angry. Finally, Kay just let out a weak growl before turning to Vall and said, "Alright, alright."

Vall just kept glaring at Kay, his eyes burrowing holes into his friend's soul.

"Alright... A long time ago, at least for Black beaks, Zgall hatched out of his egg. Now I was just a hatchling myself so I cannot remember that much. But that is besides the point. From what the other Black beaks told me apparently most of the brood Zgall was from never even hatched. They were false eggs. Only one other hatched. That was Zgall's sister."

"Wait, wait, wait... what? Zgall has a sister?"

"Had. Her name was Nool, and Zgall loved her more than anything else. He would have done anything for her."

"What happened?"

"Well, it's complicated. You see, Nool was a hunter just like us. Honestly, she was one of the best. She could take charge of her group with ease and take down the biggest creatures. Truthfully, she would have been my second."

"Kay, what happened?" Vall began to growl. He knew Kay was trying to stall. He also knew that his friend was avoiding telling him something important. Every second Kay didn't speak, he could feel Vall's eyes staring back at him. Kay opened his beak and looked at Vall, about to say something, but Vall interrupted, "Kay, I don't want to hear it. Just tell me what happened to Nool."

"Okay. It happened during the herds' migration. We were getting ready for the hunt. Everyone was here, getting ready. Then the Titan horns arrived."

Titan horns were a descendent of the Thomson's gazelle from the twenty-first century. They got their name because of their incredibly long spear-like horns that stuck out of their head. Their lifestyle was very similar to that of the wildebeest, always going where the food was. They had the body shape of a moose, but their head was like that of their ancestor. Measuring two meters tall at the shoulder and having horns that were one meter long, they were a force to be reckoned with.

"They are what we are waiting for, correct?"

"Well, one of the creatures we are waiting for. I mean there are others."

"Kay, I know what you are trying to do. Continue with what you were saying about Nool."

Kay sighed in defeat, knowing that his attempt to change the subject had failed yet again.

"Alright. So, when the Titan horns arrived and began to cross the lake, that's when we attacked. We were using our spears to crowd them together. When they were close enough, the other group of hunters came down from above and began to jab their spears into the Titan horns. It was a very dangerous tactic, but it was working. Then, River crocodiles arrived. They began to grab some of the Titan horns and pull them away from the herd. They were basically picking them off. Unfortunately, when they arrived, we were low to the water. So, some of them tried to grab us out of the air. Most of us were able to get out of there in time. Unfortunately, some got bit. I remember one hunter, I cannot remember his name, he got bit on the end of his wing and instead of letting himself get dragged in, he used his talons to sever the tip of the wing that was in the River crocodile's mouth and cannot fly any more. Things were not going so well. And then, those "things" arrived. I don't know what they were, but they were too fast. All I remember is a whitish-brown blur and then blood. Whatever those things were, they began to tear huge chunks out of the Titan horns. Then before anyone else knew it, they would swim away. The best look I got occurred when one of them was having difficulty pulling its prey away. It looked like a fish, but its mouth was full of teeth. And those eyes. They were completely white. I know of no creature with pure white eyes. Then, that's when it happened. One of those things grabbed Nool. Zgall was with her when it happened. That thing grabbed her lower body and Zgall, he was desperately trying to pull her out of that creature's mouth. He was yelling for help. I tried to get there, but when I finally did, it was too late. That thing had ripped both of Nool's arms. Nool, she was still alive but... she was bleeding a lot. So, both Zgall and I, along with a few other Black beaks, flew back to the cave. There the healers did their best, but... by nightfall,"

Kay didn't finish. He just turned away. Vall knew what Kay meant. He didn't push anymore. They were silent for a bit. Then, Kay said something.

"From that day on, Zgall has been blaming me for her death. I tried to get there as soon as I could, but he won't believe me. That's why he's so angry. As well, that is why he threatened you. Every time the herds come and go, Zgall gets angrier. When that happens, he doesn't even care about the rules. Once, he even tried to hit me."

Vall's eyes opened wide at this. "Then why isn't anyone trying to do anything about this?"

"No one can do anything. Zgall is just too angry. There's just no reasoning with him. The only thing we can do now is just leave him alone."

After that, they didn't trade anymore words. Therest of the day passed normally, but the whole time, Vall couldn't stopthinking about Kay's words. He then decided something: if no one else was goingto try to stop Zgall, then he would. As determination grew within him, likevines on a tree, it suddenly seemed that the whole earth was encouraging him todo it. Vall began to think of a plan. His mind raced. He thought and thoughtand then, an idea hit him.