The One Who Preyed on The Survivor

Sprinter

A few years later

Nervously, I stood by my nest, waiting for a single egg to hatch. Only six months ago, a male Utahraptor had approached me with the interest of mating. Most males were too afraid of me, but this one was brave... And so, I obliged. Of course, he was gone in a few days- Utahraptors do not mate for life. Instead, the male will only stay if there are no other females nearby.

I originally had six eggs, but because of my inexperience, five of the babies had died before they had even come close to hatching. Only one remained, and I could hear the baby inside, chirping as he gently pressed his snout against the eggshell, trying to get out.

I chirped back, responding to his calls. I noticed, by the horizon, the silhouette of a Deinonychus. My opinion of them had not changed, even though they feared me and I occasionally killed them for food.

Mother told me there were two kinds of Deinonychus- the native variant, which were a grey colour and my mother didn't like- and the Southern variant, which were normally blue or purple with white bands- the one my mother detested more than anything. But, I liked them. Both of them. Apparently, the Southern ones came up North to escape a deadly virus killing them by the millions. They were seeking sanctuary, but they didn't get it. Utahraptors began to starve when the Southern Deinonychus began to overpopulate, so now, we are all raised to kill them on sight. But I didn't, unless I was hungry of course. I felt sorry for them, in a way. Recently, they were getting rarer and rarer by the day.

I saw cracks appear on the eggshell. I cooed to the baby, and then, I saw some of the shells fall out. The small face of a tiny Utahraptor peeked outside, seeing the world for the first time. He then turned to look at me. He squeaked in happiness, instantly recognising me as his mother. His head came out of the hole in the egg- he was covered in red feathers. He stuck out his tongue, and licked my snout. I snorted in contentment, and nuzzled him, lovingly.

'Your name shall be Sprinter,' I said, noticing his build. He was more slim than other Utahraptors- seemingly not built for strength, but rather, for speed.

'My little Sprinter...'

Over many months, I looked after him. He was weaker than the average Utahraptor, but there was no way I would treat him the way my mother treated me. I cared for him, more than anything in the entire universe- more than myself. From the second he was born, I felt an emotion towards him that I had never felt before. It was love- something I had heard of many times, but had never felt before this point. After all, no one had ever loved me previously.

Soon, despite his weakness as a Utahraptor, I took him on his first hunt. Though it took time, I helped him build up his strength, so he may one day become my successor. Though, it wasn't brute strength he had- it was speed. His speed was what made him such an impressive hunter.

I would show him many places whenever we would leave the nest to explore- forests, rivers, even the sea. The look of awe on his face never failed to amuse me. Soon, in a few days, the snows would start coming in- he would surely enjoy that. He was a playful creature, and he was kind- too kind. Sometimes, he liked to play with other species. It would not be such a problem if they weren't so dangerous, the ones he would want to approach were not small rodents or lizards, but rather, young Astrodons and Iguanodons. I couldn't allow him to go near such creatures- they know that us Utahraptor are dangerous, barbaric even, and will go to great lengths to kill our young for the safety of their species.

Of course, with the Deinonychus, I didn't raise him like other Utahraptors would. I told him that they were misunderstood creatures, and though they had the potential to be dangerous to young ones like him, he should stay away from them, but should not kill them out of hatred when he is older, for they are slowly dying out.