Mesozoic

Chapter 2

We emerged from the bracken of the woodland and out into a wide meadow. There, we spotted our prey.

“Are we going after those large grazers?” one of my hunters asked as he nodded towards the herd of Tenontosaurus grazing nearby.

“Yes. We will locate one of the young ones, and drive it away from the herd”, I replied. “Once we do, Long-Feather and I will frighten the herd towards you, Light-Runner, and Soft-Feather. Understood, Lost-Claw?”

He replied with a snort of acknowledgement.

“I see a young grazer straggling behind”, hissed Long-Feather.

“Then on my count, we rush the herd. You direct the herd towards the others, and I’ll try to separate our target from it. Understood?”

He nodded in response, and then I started my count.  “Five… four… three...” we got into position, prepared to pounce. “Two… one… GO!”

At that instant, Long-Feather rushed the herd, cackling and screeching loudly, and I singled out the young straggler. The herd, in a panic, rushed along the perimeter of the trees surrounding the meadow. The plan was in full effect. In mere moments, the herd left the clearing, now being chased away by the others, and there were no Tenontosaurs left, except for the young straggler I diverted away from the herd. Immediately the other hunters approached from the far side of the clearing, and leapt onto the terrified creature’s back, its legs buckling under their weight. Once it was rendered immobile, I quickly finished it off with a bite to the throat. It let off several twitches and shivers as blood gushed from its throat wound, before falling, limp and still.

“Nicely done, hunters!” I cheered to my companions as we stood on our kill, letting out shrieks of victory. 

We returned to the nesting grounds at the same time the territory patrol returned. We dragged our kill into the storage pit, and bounded over to where the patrol was reporting to my father.

“I’m not sure what it was, but it had such a foul stench that we wouldn’t dare get closer”, the lead of the patrol, Long-Shadow, hissed, an aura of concern in his eyes. “Whatever it was, it definitely didn't smell friendly!” 

“If that’s all you were able to find out, you are dismissed”, hissed my father.

Long-Shadow nodded in response, and he and his patrol dispersed. Curious, I bounded up to my father.

“What’s going on?” I asked. “Why did Long-Shadow seem so…..threatened?”

“Apparently, he and his patrol caught a whiff of a creature foreign to this valley”, he replied, seeming concerned. “And, apparently, it had quite the acrid odor. Long-Shadow made that quite clear.” He looked away for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, and then looked back to me and met my gaze. “I want you to take your eldest brother, Long-Feather, Long-Shadow, and Dark-Feather to where he scented the stench, and scope out the area”, he finally hissed to me. “Take your sister, Sharp-Fang, as well. She could use the experience.”

Although the thought of taking my sister with me annoyed me somewhat, I agreed that she could use the experience. After I had already gathered Long-Shadow, Long-Feather, and Dark-Feather, I went over to where Sharp-Fang was chatting with my youngest brother, Long-Leap. “Chief Sharp-Talon wants me to lead a patrol, and he wants you in it, Sharp-Fang”, I cooed.

“Really? Why me?” she asked, sounding as if she didn't believe me.

“He says you could use the experience, and I agree with him. You don’t get to leave the nesting grounds much, so this should be good for you.” I answered.

Once she heard me say that, her face immediately lit up with excitement. “Well, what are we waiting for?!” she screeched happily. “Let’s get going!”

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“Right here. This is where the scent trail begins”, Long-Shadow hissed once we had reached the location of the awful stench.

“Well, let’s keep going!” cooed Sharp-Fang.

I was amazed at how well she was dealing with the smell, and, holding my breath, followed her. The other patrol members brought up the rear. As we neared the source of the stench, it became more and more unbearable, yet more recognizable: it resembled the odor of decaying flesh. “Are you sure it’s a creature, Long-Shadow? It smells like a rotting body”, I asked.

“Of course it’s a creature!” he barked back.  “It was breathing loudly and made loud footsteps. It had to be!”

“Alright, I’ll take your word for it then.”

We continued to travel through the bracken towards the awful stench, it getting stronger as we neared closer. Eventually, we approached a segment of the valley wall with a large, deep cave hollowed into it. The stench was strongest at its mouth.

“Well, let’s check it out!” barked Sharp-Fang as she strutted towards it.

“Be careful, Sharp-Fang. We don’t know what's in there”, I hissed to her. But she ignored me as she disappeared into the darkness of the cave. As I began to bound in after her, she ran back out, screeching in terror, and took cover behind me.

I tensed as I heard heavy breathing and loud footsteps approaching from the back of the cave, and the smell seemed to worsen for a few moments. My jaw dropped in terror as a massive creature with a long scarred snout and short, rigid fin along its back emerged from the cave. Its sharp-toothed maw dripped with drool, and its eyes glowed a bright red.

“How can I help you, neighbors?” it growled deeply.