The man's head, neck, and some of his shoulders disappeared in the monster's jaws, but Josh could still hear his dying screams. The killer shook its head violently, blood dripping from its mouth. Joshua could hear the sound of bones breaking.
He watched as a second dinosaur lunged toward the first and clamped its jaws around one of the man's legs. The both growled as they tugged on the screaming man.
In the firelight, Josh could see the dinosaurs clearly. They were about twenty feet long each and a couple of feet taller than a man. They were covered in thick, tan scales. Along their red-striped backs were keels, like those on a crocodile. Their arms were tucked close to their bodies, kind of like a boxer. Each of their hands had four fingers capped with short claws. Their top of their long snouts had a single large horn and two smaller horns in front and above the eyes.
The second dinosaur jerked its head back, ripping off the man's leg. The screaming stopped; the man was dead.
Josh became paralyzed with fear as he watched the violent scene unfold. He could almost hear his heart as it tried to make a beeline out of his chest. Sweat rolled down is face. He felt his body shiver and shake. He had never been so terrified in his life.
The second dinosaur began to tear into the mutilated leg, but the first roared at it aggressively and lunged, making it back off into the bushes just four yards away from the kill. The first animal began to rip the inside carcass with its knife-like teeth, tearing out intestines.
"Josh," he heard Marshall say softly, his voice unable to hide the fear that has gripped him. He wondered if his father was as shocked and frightened as he was.
Then the second dinosaur perked its head up and it slowly, very slowly, menacingly slowly, turned its gaze to Josh.
Josh felt as though his heart froze as the pair of dark yellow eyes glared at him. It was like as if staring right into the eyes of death. Fear froze his blood into ice. His sweat grew cold.
"JOSH!" Marshall screamed. "RUN! DON'T LOOK BACK!"
His father's scream gave Josh enough motivation to turn back and sprint further into the forest. He watched as his father sprinted in a different direction. Josh guessed Marshall did that was to make the dinosaur decide who to chase; which he hoped would be him, not Josh.
Josh heard the dinosaur roar and start running. It became obvious that the monster was chasing after him.
Shit!!
He could hear the big animal's feet as they stomped on the ground, crushing rotten foliage and fallen branches. He could hear the predator's snorting and huffing breath. Josh couldn't see much in the darkness, but he could make out the trees and bushes he passed, even if they were nothing but blurs as he sprinted. He felt a branch slap him in the face hard; then a stinging sensation on his cheek, as if a belt had lashed onto his face.
Still, he shoot through the woods, despite the pain. His breath came out if loud huffs. He could feel his heart hammer with effort. His lungs burned like acid and his throat stung. He could feel sweat roll down his face.
The dinosaur roared loudly snapping the branch off the tree as it ran like a twig. The dinosaur's cry was a sound from a nightmare. An unworldly scream from hell. Josh didn't look back, but he could imagine seeing the dinosaur's maw, ropes of saliva clinging to its teeth and dripping down its lower jaw; the dark yellow eyes narrowed, locked onto him. He could almost feel the hot breath, he could almost smell the rotten reek of carcass.
Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!
The dinosaur's feet slammed on the ground, snapping and crushing anything underneath its feet.
Josh heard a strange screech above him. It sounded kind of like a bird, yet it sounded too big to belong to any bird he had ever heard before.
He looked up above. Through a space in the canopy, Josh could see the silhouette of a huge creature flying above him. He could make out a long, sharp beak, a slender neck, spindly legs, and a pair of massive, membranous wings. He only saw the dark form for a brief moment before it disappeared above the treetops, soaring past him. Then he saw another, then a third. Whatever they were, they were flying high above the treeline, and it was too dark to get a good look at them.
What the hell?!
"Gouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuur!"
The sound of Josh's pursuer made him focus back to running. The beast continued to thunder after him, growling menacingly. Josh knew that the predator was closing the gap between them. It was only a matter of time before it finally caught up and finished him off. It wouldn't be too long now before it killed him.
But even so, Josh continued to run. He just ran and ran and ran. He knew he was going to die, but he wanted to prolong his end for as long as he can. It was foolish, but he didn't care.
Josh took one last look behind him. The dinosaur was only just a few yards from him. In just a matter of seconds, it would have him. In a matter of seconds, he would be dead.
BLAM!!!
The sound of a gun firing pierced the night. The dinosaur flinched and yowled. It stumbled over its feet, losing its balance before it came crashing onto the ground. Josh felt himself fall and hit the ground as the giant animal skidded to an abrupt stop. Pain shot through his body.
But despite the agony, Josh quickly scrambled back on his feet. He saw that the dinosaur was still alive. Josh moved away from the beast as it quickly got up onto its feet and shook its head, as if to clear it. It snarled and turned its head back, its eyes narrowed at the offender. Josh followed its gaze.
It was glaring at Marshall, who held his rifle aimed at the dinosaur.
"Get away from my son, you ugly son of a bitch!" he screamed angrily.
Josh felt a sense of dread rise as he looked fixedly at his father. Marshall looked at the threat with an angry scowl, the scar on his face seemed to flare. Josh had never seen his father look so infuriated before in his life, not even once.
It took a moment before Josh knew what Marshall was up to; what he planned to do. The very thought of it rattled in his bones. He couldn't. He wouldn't.
But he was about to.
The big animal bellowed and charged toward Marshall. Its hungry eyes were fixed onto its prey, its jaws open, saliva dripping, teeth gleaming. Marshall stood his ground and shot at the dinosaur again and again. Small bullet wounds appeared on the dinosaur, dark red blood against tan scales, but it didn't slow down. It hardly even flinched.
"Dad! No!" Josh cried out.
Marshall looked at Josh, his rage face fading a little bit. "Run, Josh!" he yelled. "Get as far away from here as fast as you can!"
The dinosaur closed the gap between them and made its move. It bit down on the rifle and swung it out of Marshall's hands before tossing it away. Before Marshall could even look back at the creature, it rammed him with its horned skull. The force of the assault sent him back airborne. Josh saw Marshall land behind the bushes with a thump, hidden from his view. He heard Marshall groan.
Oh shit! he thought. Dad! No!
Josh heard a loud snort and he turned his attention back to the dinosaur. It growled menacingly and rushed to where Marshall had fallen. It raised its big head, its maw wide open. In a blur, it brought its head down. Josh couldn't see his father, but he could definitely hear him.
Josh heard Marshall scream nightmarishly as the dinosaur attacked. He could hear the sickening sounds of flesh ripping and bones crunching. He saw the predator violently move its head around as it tore into Marshall, his blood splattering on the foliage. Sometimes, the head would lift up for a brief moment, making Josh see its mouth soaked in blood, before disappearing behind the bushes again, starting a new level of terrifying screams.
Josh tried to move, to run, to do anything. But his body refused to. All it did was shake in fright. He just stood there as he watched his father die a gruesome and agonizing death. Fear had clutched him in a paralyzing grip. The sounds of his father's dying screams seemed to never end. They only seemed to grow louder and louder, they seemed to rattle inside his head. His father's screams filled his heart with terror.
Then the screaming turned into a choking gurggle. And then it turned into silence.
Josh saw the dinosaur raise its head up. Blood covered its mouth and teeth. Hanging from its jaws was a ragged length of intestines, pale and slick. It shook its head, ripping the flesh like a saw. As the dinosaur swallowed it whole, it glanced at Josh. Josh felt the urge to run, but it seemed that the monster had lost interest in hunting him down now that it had a kill. It snorted and continued to feast on Marshall's unseen corpse.
Josh felt the hot tears streak his cheeks and he ran. He sobbed uncontrollably, his eyes squeezed shut. He occasionally stumbled and fell, but he'd just keep going. He didn't care if he was hurt. He didn't give a damn if he was injured or in extreme pain. He just didn't care! He wanted this pain to be inflicted on him.
He only felt his emotions: grief, fear, and anger. His father had sacrificed himself just to save Josh. Now he was dead. Killed by a monster. And there was nothing Josh could've done to stop it. And he hated it. He hated it with a burning passion. He was mad. Mad at the dinosaur. Mad at is father. Mad that he couldn't stop it.
He was mad with the whole world and everything and everyone in it.
Damn you, Dad! Josh screamed in his mind. God damn you! Why did you do that?! You fucking bastard! You should've let me die! You asshole!
Josh then came to a stop and got down on his knees, looking straight down at the ground. He clutched his chest where his heart was. He hiccuped and sobbed, feeling helpless as his tears hit the earth. The pain all over his body had flared, but he wanted to suffer.
Through his sobs, he thought he heard something in the distance. He sniffled and went quiet. Something didn't seem right. He thought he heard the sounds of sirens blaring and hundreds people screaming some ways off.
Josh got to his feet and quickly made his way out of the forest. He knew his way around. If he remembered correctly, he was near the edge of the forest, close to the town. He moved carefully but briskly. As he got closer, the sounds grew. He started to hear the calls of numerous animals. Big animals.
Finally, he made it out of the trees and out into the open, standing on a tall hill. Josh looked in the direction of the town.
And what he saw was the stuff of nightmares.
The town was in total chaos. People screamed in terror and anguish. Fires raged, burning buildings and anything else in its path, the orange-yellow blaze lighting up the sky like torches. Clouds of smoke rose into the night air. Josh couldn't see the people running, he could only hear their screaming. There was also the loud sounds of giant creatures rampaging in the city. The sound of dinosaurs.
No... he thought, falling down to his knees. No...
Josh heard the screeching sound again and looked up. The three flying creatures flew by. Josh could get a good view of them. They were massive, about the size of a Cessna 172 aircraft with a wingspan the length of a bus. Their fluffy down were lit with the orange light of the distant flames. They flew over Josh and right towards the city.
Josh thought his tears had run out, but he was wrong. They returned with such force, he couldn't fight back the pain and grief inside him.
Josh had now lost everything; his mother, his father, and now his home. Everything and everyone he loved was gone. Gone! And he couldn't prevent any one of them. There was nothing he could do to stop it. He was powerless, insignificant.
Josh throw his head back and screamed only one word. A word that stung his throat raw:
"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!
The man's head, neck, and some of his shoulders disappeared in the monster's jaws, but Josh could still hear his dying screams. The killer shook its head violently, blood dripping from its mouth. Joshua could hear the sound of bones breaking.
He watched as a second dinosaur lunged toward the first and clamped its jaws around one of the man's legs. The both growled as they tugged on the screaming man.
In the firelight, Josh could see the dinosaurs clearly. They were about twenty feet long each and a couple of feet taller than a man. They were covered in thick, tan scales. Along their red-striped backs were keels, like those on a crocodile. Their arms were tucked close to their bodies, kind of like a boxer. Each of their hands had four fingers capped with short claws. Their top of their long snouts had a single large horn and two smaller horns in front and above the eyes.
The second dinosaur jerked its head back, ripping off the man's leg. The screaming stopped; the man was dead.
Josh became paralyzed with fear as he watched the violent scene unfold. He could almost hear his heart as it tried to make a beeline out of his chest. Sweat rolled down is face. He felt his body shiver and shake. He had never been so terrified in his life.
The second dinosaur began to tear into the mutilated leg, but the first roared at it aggressively and lunged, making it back off into the bushes just four yards away from the kill. The first animal began to rip the inside carcass with its knife-like teeth, tearing out intestines.
"Josh," he heard Marshall say softly, his voice unable to hide the fear that has gripped him. He wondered if his father was as shocked and frightened as he was.
Then the second dinosaur perked its head up and it slowly, very slowly, menacingly slowly, turned its gaze to Josh.
Josh felt as though his heart froze as the pair of dark yellow eyes glared at him. It was like as if staring right into the eyes of death. Fear froze his blood into ice. His sweat grew cold.
"JOSH!" Marshall screamed. "RUN! DON'T LOOK BACK!"
His father's scream gave Josh enough motivation to turn back and sprint further into the forest. He watched as his father sprinted in a different direction. Josh guessed Marshall did that was to make the dinosaur decide who to chase; which he hoped would be him, not Josh.
Josh heard the dinosaur roar and start running. It became obvious that the monster was chasing after him.
Shit!!
He could hear the big animal's feet as they stomped on the ground, crushing rotten foliage and fallen branches. He could hear the predator's snorting and huffing breath. Josh couldn't see much in the darkness, but he could make out the trees and bushes he passed, even if they were nothing but blurs as he sprinted. He felt a branch slap him in the face hard; then a stinging sensation on his cheek, as if a belt had lashed onto his face.
Still, he shoot through the woods, despite the pain. His breath came out if loud huffs. He could feel his heart hammer with effort. His lungs burned like acid and his throat stung. He could feel sweat roll down his face.
The dinosaur roared loudly snapping the branch off the tree as it ran like a twig. The dinosaur's cry was a sound from a nightmare. An unworldly scream from hell. Josh didn't look back, but he could imagine seeing the dinosaur's maw, ropes of saliva clinging to its teeth and dripping down its lower jaw; the dark yellow eyes narrowed, locked onto him. He could almost feel the hot breath, he could almost smell the rotten reek of carcass.
Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!
The dinosaur's feet slammed on the ground, snapping and crushing anything underneath its feet.
Josh heard a strange screech above him. It sounded kind of like a bird, yet it sounded too big to belong to any bird he had ever heard before.
He looked up above. Through a space in the canopy, Josh could see the silhouette of a huge creature flying above him. He could make out a long, sharp beak, a slender neck, spindly legs, and a pair of massive, membranous wings. He only saw the dark form for a brief moment before it disappeared above the treetops, soaring past him. Then he saw another, then a third. Whatever they were, they were flying high above the treeline, and it was too dark to get a good look at them.
What the hell?!
"Gouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuur!"
The sound of Josh's pursuer made him focus back to running. The beast continued to thunder after him, growling menacingly. Josh knew that the predator was closing the gap between them. It was only a matter of time before it finally caught up and finished him off. It wouldn't be too long now before it killed him.
But even so, Josh continued to run. He just ran and ran and ran. He knew he was going to die, but he wanted to prolong his end for as long as he can. It was foolish, but he didn't care.
Josh took one last look behind him. The dinosaur was only just a few yards from him. In just a matter of seconds, it would have him. In a matter of seconds, he would be dead.
BLAM!!!
The sound of a gun firing pierced the night. The dinosaur flinched and yowled. It stumbled over its feet, losing its balance before it came crashing onto the ground. Josh felt himself fall and hit the ground as the giant animal skidded to an abrupt stop. Pain shot through his body.
But despite the agony, Josh quickly scrambled back on his feet. He saw that the dinosaur was still alive. Josh moved away from the beast as it quickly got up onto its feet and shook its head, as if to clear it. It snarled and turned its head back, its eyes narrowed at the offender. Josh followed its gaze.
It was glaring at Marshall, who held his rifle aimed at the dinosaur.
"Get away from my son, you ugly son of a bitch!" he screamed angrily.
Josh felt a sense of dread rise as he looked fixedly at his father. Marshall looked at the threat with an angry scowl, the scar on his face seemed to flare. Josh had never seen his father look so infuriated before in his life, not even once.
It took a moment before Josh knew what Marshall was up to; what he planned to do. The very thought of it rattled in his bones. He couldn't. He wouldn't.
But he was about to.
The big animal bellowed and charged toward Marshall. Its hungry eyes were fixed onto its prey, its jaws open, saliva dripping, teeth gleaming. Marshall stood his ground and shot at the dinosaur again and again. Small bullet wounds appeared on the dinosaur, dark red blood against tan scales, but it didn't slow down. It hardly even flinched.
"Dad! No!" Josh cried out.
Marshall looked at Josh, his rage face fading a little bit. "Run, Josh!" he yelled. "Get as far away from here as fast as you can!"
The dinosaur closed the gap between them and made its move. It bit down on the rifle and swung it out of Marshall's hands before tossing it away. Before Marshall could even look back at the creature, it rammed him with its horned skull. The force of the assault sent him back airborne. Josh saw Marshall land behind the bushes with a thump, hidden from his view. He heard Marshall groan.
Oh shit! he thought. Dad! No!
Josh heard a loud snort and he turned his attention back to the dinosaur. It growled menacingly and rushed to where Marshall had fallen. It raised its big head, its maw wide open. In a blur, it brought its head down. Josh couldn't see his father, but he could definitely hear him.
Josh heard Marshall scream nightmarishly as the dinosaur attacked. He could hear the sickening sounds of flesh ripping and bones crunching. He saw the predator violently move its head around as it tore into Marshall, his blood splattering on the foliage. Sometimes, the head would lift up for a brief moment, making Josh see its mouth soaked in blood, before disappearing behind the bushes again, starting a new level of terrifying screams.
Josh tried to move, to run, to do anything. But his body refused to. All it did was shake in fright. He just stood there as he watched his father die a gruesome and agonizing death. Fear had clutched him in a paralyzing grip. The sounds of his father's dying screams seemed to never end. They only seemed to grow louder and louder, they seemed to rattle inside his head. His father's screams filled his heart with terror.
Then the screaming turned into a choking gurggle. And then it turned into silence.
Josh saw the dinosaur raise its head up. Blood covered its mouth and teeth. Hanging from its jaws was a ragged length of intestines, pale and slick. It shook its head, ripping the flesh like a saw. As the dinosaur swallowed it whole, it glanced at Josh. Josh felt the urge to run, but it seemed that the monster had lost interest in hunting him down now that it had a kill. It snorted and continued to feast on Marshall's unseen corpse.
Josh felt the hot tears streak his cheeks and he ran. He sobbed uncontrollably, his eyes squeezed shut. He occasionally stumbled and fell, but he'd just keep going. He didn't care if he was hurt. He didn't give a damn if he was injured or in extreme pain. He just didn't care! He wanted this pain to be inflicted on him.
He only felt his emotions: grief, fear, and anger. His father had sacrificed himself just to save Josh. Now he was dead. Killed by a monster. And there was nothing Josh could've done to stop it. And he hated it. He hated it with a burning passion. He was mad. Mad at the dinosaur. Mad at is father. Mad that he couldn't stop it.
He was mad with the whole world and everything and everyone in it.
Damn you, Dad! Josh screamed in his mind. God damn you! Why did you do that?! You fucking bastard! You should've let me die! You asshole!
Josh then came to a stop and got down on his knees, looking straight down at the ground. He clutched his chest where his heart was. He hiccuped and sobbed, feeling helpless as his tears hit the earth. The pain all over his body had flared, but he wanted to suffer.
Through his sobs, he thought he heard something in the distance. He sniffled and went quiet. Something didn't seem right. He thought he heard the sounds of sirens blaring and hundreds people screaming some ways off.
Josh got to his feet and quickly made his way out of the forest. He knew his way around. If he remembered correctly, he was near the edge of the forest, close to the town. He moved carefully but briskly. As he got closer, the sounds grew. He started to hear the calls of numerous animals. Big animals.
Finally, he made it out of the trees and out into the open, standing on a tall hill. Josh looked in the direction of the town.
And what he saw was the stuff of nightmares.
The town was in total chaos. People screamed in terror and anguish. Fires raged, burning buildings and anything else in its path, the orange-yellow blaze lighting up the sky like torches. Clouds of smoke rose into the night air. Josh couldn't see the people running, he could only hear their screaming. There was also the loud sounds of giant creatures rampaging in the city. The sound of dinosaurs.
No... he thought, falling down to his knees. No...
Josh heard the screeching sound again and looked up. The three flying creatures flew by. Josh could get a good view of them. They were massive, about the size of a Cessna 172 aircraft with a wingspan the length of a bus. Their fluffy down were lit with the orange light of the distant flames. They flew over Josh and right towards the city.
Josh thought his tears had run out, but he was wrong. They returned with such force, he couldn't fight back the pain and grief inside him.
Josh had now lost everything; his mother, his father, and now his home. Everything and everyone he loved was gone. Gone! And he couldn't prevent any one of them. There was nothing he could do to stop it. He was powerless, insignificant.
Josh throw his head back and screamed only one word. A word that stung his throat raw:
"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!