Primordial and Beyond #1: The Divided Ones

Chapter 7

Trex woke up beside the shore of a large river. He slowly got up to his feet and looked around, confused.

Huh? How'd I get here?! He realized he was nowhere near his cave, but in Triceratops Territory.

Trex let out a startled roar. There was blood on the grass where he had slept. He looked at his foot-claws—they were blood-stained as well.

"Hey! YOU!"

Trex whirled around and saw Agnes and her mate, Binky, coming their way. Agnes was scowling at him with her horns lowered, looking like she wanted to charge at him. Binky was narrowing his eyes.

Behind them was an elderly male Triceratops, with a bloody slash-mark across his side.

A bloody slash-mark.

Trex suddenly felt his head throb. He began to hear a strange whirring noise in his ears....something he hadn't experienced in a long time.

And his mouth began to water.

"....hey!....Hey Trex, are you listening to me?!"

Trex gasped. He realized Agnes was speaking to him, her teeth clenched. "Wh-what?" He must've been entranced by that blood on the elderly Triceratops's side that he hadn't even noticed whatever Agnes had just spat at him.

"I said one of my elder members was attacked last night," Agnes snapped, her uptight voice sounding louder than usual. "He said he was getting a midnight drink from the water, and on his way back, a tall, two-legged Flesheater jumped out and slashed him."

Binky nodded, giving Trex a half-frown. "He barely remembered any other details about the Flesheater except that he thought he had his eyes closed." Then the indigo Triceratops gave a scrutinizing gaze at Trex. "Bro, I think you were sleep-walking. You should probably have Zara check you for any subconscious flesh-eating impulses."

"I don't need another dino telling me if I have flesh-eating impulses or not—I know I don't have any! I've never struggled with them!" Trex stomped his foot, feeling a surge of fury. Then he felt another sense of passion course through him. The smell of that Triceratops's blood was making his mouth water again.

Trex shifted his eyes to that slash mark. A sudden flash of images ran through his head. Images of himself tearing apart the Triceratops and devouring it as his first Leafeater meal in ages.

Trex's frantic gaze turned into a grimace. He gave a low growl and lunged forward, snapping his jaws at all the Triceratops in front of him.

Agnes, Binky, and the elderly Triceratops dodged aside, letting out started bellows.

Binky charged forward and rammed his horns into Trex's side, preventing him from clamping his jaws at Agnes's tail.

"Agh," Agnes grunted. "Get Zara and the Assassins. Tell 'em to chase this monster out of Saurotopia!"

At those words, Trex's ferocious face slowly faltered. The throbbing in his head began to die down as he realized what just happened.

He widened his eyes with shock. "Oh no...no, no, no..."

The elderly Triceratops gave a grunt. "Hmph! Well that settles it! He definitely was my attacker!" He turned and stomped away. "I'm leaving before I become breakfast."

Trex gazed after the Triceratops with shock. Then he let out a frustrated roar and raced away, barely hearing Binky and Agnes shouting behind him.

I can't be fighting this again! Noooo!

Trex felt tears stream down his face. The stress of losing Tyranna and his children several months ago must be catching up to him.

Trex slowed his pace. He began to smell something....more blood. He looked around and noticed blood splattered across several tree trunks. He then had some hazy flashbacks of a Triceratops strolling through this part of the territory. Then Trex saw himself jumping out and slashing his foot across its side, splashing its blood on these trees.

Trex gave a quiet gasp. So this was where he had attacked that elderly Triceratops. He truly had done it.

"No..." Trex's voice was full of sadness.

Then he smelled blood again—blood within a body that was coming up to him. Fury coursed through him.

Trex let out a roar and delivered a forceful kick at the incoming body, knocking it over on its side. The figure let out an anguished bellow as Trex stepped on its side with his foot, sinking his claws into its flesh. Trex stared down at the helpless creature with a fierce, murderous look in his eyes, his mouth watering voraciously.

"Trex?!" A voice called from behind the trees. Bronto, Celia, and Quinn stepped out in the clearing.

Trex's vision blurred, and he felt a sudden surge of shock. When his vision cleared again, he gave a quick shake of his head. What just happened?

"Oh my gosh!" Celia screamed. "Agnes!"

Trex gasped, realizing he was still stepping on a Triceratops, with his toe-claws sunken into its flesh.

The Triceratops....it was Agnes.

"Ahhh!" Trex drew his foot back and jumped back as Agnes almost sliced his legs with her horns. Trex backed away, wide-eyed with horror. What have I done?! "

Celia gave a soft gasp, her eyes wide with horror. "Trex...wh-what's going on?"

"AHHH! I DON'T KNOW!" Trex let out a frustrated roar.

"Argh! It's OBVIOUS what's happening!" Agnes stomped her foot, fixing Trex with her stern, yet horrified, gaze. "Trex is becoming the monster he was destined to become—the monster he always was!"

Trex stiffened, feeling a pang of hurt. Then he clenched his teeth, clenched his fists, and let out another frustrated roar. He kicked at a tree, causing it to fall and nearly knock Quinn out of the sky.

"Irk...!" Quinn hastily maneuvered to the side.

The tree toppled to the ground, falling on the tail of an Iguanodon. The Iguanodon let out a pained bellow.

Bronto, Celia, and Quinn gasped.

Trex jumped. "Ahhh! Oh no...I'm so sorry!" He hurried over and kicked the tree off the Iguanodon's tail. "Are you alri...." He saw that the tip of its tail was bleeding. His mouth watered. He leaned forward....then leaned back, feeling his face grow hot with frustration. "AGH!" He whirled around and stomped away.

"Trex!" Bronto paced after his friend, but Trex turned and faced him with a ferocious glare.

"Just stay away from me! STAY AWAY! ALL OF YOU!" Trex broke out into a run and didn't look back.