The One Who Preyed on The Survivor

Nature has no mercy

'Sprinter,' I said, as he lay down in his nest. 'We are going to go hunting today.'

'What will we hunt, mother?' He asked, tilting his head.

I sighed. I wasn't sure if we should go on this hunt- it was a dangerous one, but he had to learn sooner or later. It was going to be his most deadly hunt yet.

'We are going to hunt a fully grown Astrodon.'

Astrodon were huge dinosaurs- 9 meters tall, and 18 meters long. They were very dangerous towards my kind, since they have an instinctive wariness around us. They get nervous simply by seeing us, and if a Utahraptor comes too close, they will attack. Astrodons had very long necks, made to feed from the tallest of trees. They had a huge body, with four thick legs, as well as a long tail. Their scales were grey, and they had a white underbelly.

'Mother... do you really think I'm ready?' Sprinter clicked, surprised.

'Yes, son. I have faith in your skills as a hunter. I feel that it is time.'

His face lit up, like the body of a firefly. 'You mean it...?'

Slowly, I tilted my head to the left- the Utahraptors way of saying 'yes' using body language.

We walked far from the nest, for about one hour, until we finally came across a herd of huge Astrodon, peacefully feeding off of tall trees.

'Who will we target?' Sprinter asked, as quietly as possible.

'Do you see that female over there? She is quite far from the rest of the herd, and is quite old. She should be an easy target. Now, stay behind this bush. I will move around, to behind the Astrodon. When I flick up my tail, you will go in front of her, and startle our prey- but do not get too close, for she may attempt to crush you. Then, I will jump out of the bushes, screeching to scare her into running from us. There is a fallen tree nearby- we will lead her there, and if we're lucky, she will trip, leading to a quick death where we will not have to fight.'

It took us only 2 minutes to bring down the Astrodon. It all went to plan- her bad eyesight in her old age failed to alert her fast enough that she was going to trip over the roots of a fallen tree.

We dug in to our lunch, tearing voraciously into her flesh. 'Son,' I said, after ripping into some of the Astrodon's liver. 'I am so proud of you... You have truly proven yourself with this hunt.'

He nudged me in response, then carried on eating.

'I am a bit thirsty,' I cooed to him. 'I will go down to the river for a drink. You stay here,' I nuzzled him, and left.

I walked down to the bank of the river, lowered my head, and began to drink. The cool water washed away the taste of Astrodon blood in my mouth.

He has grown up so fast... soon, it will be time for him to leave the nest. Will I be able to do it...? Will I be able to let him go? He is the only creature to have ever loved me... when I let him go, I will probably never see him again.

I shook my head. No. Don't think of that now. When the time comes, you will do what is best for him.

Suddenly, I heard blood curdling screams coming from the very area Sprinter and I were feasting. I instantly recognized the screeches of pain as Sprinters.

'NO!' I shrieked, and instantly sprinted back.

'He's going to be okay, he's going to be okay!' I kept repeating to myself, as I ran as fast as I could. 'SPRINTER!!!'

I finally made it back. And when I did, the first thing I saw was a pack of Deinonychus surrounding my son. But these were not any old Deinonychus. These were all purple or blue, with white bands- the last pack of the Southern Deinonychus.

A female was on my sons head, slashing aimlessly, while a male was biting his foot, trying to trip him over. The rest of them were snarling, encouraging the other two. Sprinter was howling in pain.

Instantly, I ran forwards, and headbutted the disgusting creature who was slashing at the head of my baby. She fell to the ground, and watched in horror. Then, snarling, I grabbed the Deinonychus gripping Sprinters foot, and threw it away. He landed not too far, and got up, nervously staring.

This species, who I had liked for so many years, who I had respected for such a long time, were just attacking the only thing I truly cared about.

'GET AWAY FROM US!' I snarled, and charged at them. The grotesquely thin and starved raptors must have been truly hungry to dare attack my son. They scattered, and I felt the urge to go in and rip out the throat of every single one of those disgusting animals. But I knew that I had to take care of my son first.

'Son. Are you-' I turned around, and when I saw what they did to him, I was utterly speechless.

'Mother... I can't see anything...' He whimpered. I saw what those abominations had done to my beautiful baby. They had ripped out both of his eyes. Blood was trickling out of his eyelids, and there were deep slashes across them.

Instantly, I felt something in my eyes... something I didn't quite understand. It was some kind of liquid. I felt something inside of me as well. Like love, I couldn't identify it... It felt as though I was broken- like my soul had snapped in two. I stared at Sprinter in horror.

'I just want to see your face, mother... why can't I see you?'

I felt the liquid drop out of my eye, and trickle down my cheek. Trembling, I picked it out of my face with a claw. It felt like water. What was happening to me...?

Suddenly, I collapsed onto the ground, making sobbing sounds in melancholy. 'Sprinter... I'm so sorry... If I was just a bit faster, I could have saved you... I almost made it... but... I was too late...'

I began to feel like a weakling again. Like the worthless little runt I used to be, back when I lived with my mother and siblings. I was trembling, the exact same way I did whenever my brother got the upper hand in a fight.

But, unlike my brother, nature had no mercy.

Stop... stop! I thought to myself. Stop trembling!

I realized that my actions were futile, so I got up, and put my arm on my sons back. He too was shaking in terror.

'Don't be afraid... I'll make sure everything will be okay. Follow me, I will find a safe place to sleep.'