The One Who Preyed on The Survivor

Family

I had a family, a very long time ago. Before I ever knew the definition of true suffering, I used to live with my mother and three brothers.

We were a family of Utahraptors. My kind were strong, powerful predators. We had a long, thick snout with small but razor sharp teeth fitted onto our gums. Our necks were muscular, and our long arms had pointed claws at the end of three fingers. We had hulking bodies, and long, powerful legs built for pure strength. Our elongated tails were stiff, and our feet had one sickle claw on each side.

Most female Utahraptors were brown with light speckles on their body. Males were normally red or orange, with long plumes of yellow feathers at the end of their tail, and on the head, making a vibrant crest. I was not like any of those descriptions, for I was jet black- a rare colouration that was caused by the fact that my Grandmother had the same mutation that I had. I also had blood red eyes that flared violently.

I was not a particularly strong Utahraptor when I was young- in fact, I was the weakest of my siblings, therefore the least respected. At that time, my entire world consisted of food, sleep and family. We all lived in a small nest, and it was nearing the time that my mother would take us on our first outing. But before she did, she warned us of a dangerous creature that we must kill on sight if we saw one as an adult. I never understood why she said such a thing until I was much older...

17 years ago...

My family's nest was surrounded by long grass, which helped conceal it from predators. I was playfighting with my brothers. We tumbled around the nest, impatiently waiting for mother to bring food to give to us. Since I was the weakest, I always got the least. In fact, my brothers, with their aggressive behavior, had attempted to kill me before. This was not abnormal for my kind- the runt is always going to be attacked. My mother didn't care very much, since I was weak, and in nature, the weak do not survive. Because of this, I never really had a strong bond with my family. I was always pushed around, always hungry. 

My biggest brother was pinning me onto the ground. I struggled, trying to get out of his grip, but he was just too strong. I tried to slash at him, whipping out my clawed hands in his direction, but he grabbed my arms in his hands. I growled, staring into his eyes. 'Are you challenging me?' He snarled. My heart stopped- I knew I had gone too far. He quickly nipped my shoulder- though it was quick, it was very painful. His teeth had broken through the skin, and a small rivulet of blood was trickling out. I squeaked in surprise, and began to tremble uncontrollably in my fear. 'Let me go! Don't hurt me!' I begged. I couldn't believe what I had just said- I hated to give up, and though I detested what I had just done, I knew that if I didn't, it would greatly increase the chances of him killing me on the spot. My brother looked into my eyes threateningly. Then, his grip on my body softened. 'You're free.'

Afraid, I scurried away to the corner of the nest.

My mother- a dark brown Utahraptor with yellow eyes- finally returned to us. She had the corpse of a small rodent laying limp in her jaws. Excitedly, my brothers scurried towards her, salivating in anticipation. I nervously approached, sniffing the sweet scent of a fresh carcass. This was when all the bickering would happen, when my siblings would fight over their food while I nervously waited in the corner, doubting I would eat at all.

My mother let the dead mammal fall from her jaws. It hit the ground, and my sibling pounced on it, ripping into its delicious flesh while I watched.

'Listen to me, all of you,'  She growled. My siblings looked up at her while they chewed on some meat.

'Before we leave the nest to explore the outside, you must listen very carefully. Out there are very dangerous species, but only one is considered to be a Utahraptors worst enemy. It is known as the Deinonychus. They are like us, but only half our size, and much weaker. But, they are vermin- if you ever see one when you are an adult, you must kill them.'

'What did they do wrong?' I asked, looking up to my mother. She sighed in annoyance, then said;

'We compete for food'

I didn't quite understand why this was so severe. When my mother said that, I instantly pictured how my brothers always prevent me eating my fill. With Deinonychus being so much weaker than my kind, then maybe they knew what it was like to be the runt. Maybe they knew what it was like to be me...

'W-well, they're only trying to survive.' I chirped. My first impression of these creatures was a good one.

'You dare justify their species?' My mother snarled, lifting her lips. 'Their entire existence is the single reason as to why so many Utahraptor starve to death. They are a danger to us- in fact, they sometimes target young, inexperienced Utahraptor for food. So stay away from them if you wish to survive! And, when you are older, if you ever see one, you have to kill it. They are overpopulated, but if us Utahraptor worked together, we can destroy them forever.'

I looked at her, somewhat intimidated. 'Okay, mother...' I clicked. I didn't agree with what she said- the Deinonychus reminded me of myself. Weak, picked on, disrespected.

Little did I know it would be the Deinonychus that would ruin my life.