The Isle - A Collage of Dinosaur Short Stories

2

Thunder, lightning, and the hypnotic trills of dilophosaurus' sang throughout the enraged night. A female maiasaura trudged along, her hide slick with rain and blood dripping from fresh scratches along her side. Her heart ached as she thought of her two children, alone and scared with another mother to care for them. It was once in a blue moon where a mother maiasaura was forgotten by her herd, and this was one of those slim chances. By now, they had likely presumed her dead and begun their mourning.

She continued to trudge through the drenched plains, her heart racing with anticipation and fear. Each footstep was another step closer to her family, but another step towards danger as her blood relentlessly fell to the ground. The dilophosaurus was known to be a superb tracker, as they were built with a venom in their teeth that prevents wounds from closing, which allows them to bleed their prey until they were nothing less than a lifeless jumble of skin and bones.

This female, inevitably, had been bit. Under the panic of moonlight and the gnashing of teeth, her herd had defensively surrounded their children and fled. Without her, and into the darkness of the night.

Finally, through the torrents of rain and rumbles of thunder, the maiasaura heard an indistinguishable whimper. It was one of her children! Putting on a burst of speed, she ran. She ignored the ebbing of blood from her injuries and ignored the pain of each bound. She was determined to reach her child, and nothing would stop her—

The mother cried out as teeth ripped into her hide, doubling the pain as daggers sank into her already bleeding injuries. Flesh teared as she stomped at the air, and the dilophosaurus darted away. More flooded over, surrounding her with the tread of footsteps and melodious cries of their brilliant voices. The maiasaura's heart flooded with panic, her vision going sharp and shadowing around the edges. She could hardly see a thing, her vision and pain crippling her.

Another dilophosaurus ran in, and she just barely managed to headbutt him, the satisfying crack of an enemy's ribs splitting through the air. It managed to escape her further retaliations and scurried away into the darkness.

The pack was angry now. As one, three flooded in behind her and began ripping skin from her flanks. She cried out with pain as she could feel nothing else. She tried desperately to shake them off her rear, but she was progressively falling weaker and weaker as she continued to lose more blood than she ever thought possible. Her movements were sluggish and she could barely fight back anymore. A dilophosaurus who's crest was brighter than any other's approached her with a murderous glint to his eyes.

The mother weakly lifted her head in a futile attempt to land a blow, but it was more of a nudge to the dilophosaurus than anything. It hissed at her in confusion, before darting forward and sinking it's teeth into her throat.

Her breath escaped her and she felt everything closing in. The darkness, the pack of hungry dilophosaurus, the pounding of rain, and the fact that she had failed as a mother. Her eyes glazed over with a milky white, and she crumpled lifelessly to the sodden ground.

~*~
Written on February 16th, 2019.