The sun rises and shines down on a thick, tropical forest. Two raptors, a male and a female carve out a large dirt nest that is sheltered by a large flowering tree. The beautiful pink flowers attract insects and birds that make a good food source for the raptor pair. The male collects ferns and places them in the nest so that the nest is more comfortable for his mate. The female sits down in the nest and begins laying her eggs. Eventually she has finished her first clutch. There are only five, but it is an investment in the future. Exhausted, she lays down on her eggs and falls asleep. In the meantime, the male goes of to try to hunt for food so they won't starve. Racing throughout the jungle, he eventually comes to a stop to listen to his surroundings. He cocks his head and hears a loud splashing sound, a waterfall! He follows the sound and comes to a huge waterfall giving away to a river. He spots a school of plump fish swimming in the water and snaps at them with his jaws. He misses, and after countless attempts to catch a fish, he gives up and leaves. Heading back to the nest he smells the scent of fresh meat and blood. Following the scent trail he eventually comes to a large dead herbivore. A Parasaurolphus! He digs in and uses his sharp teeth to tear off a large chunk of flesh. Picking up the meat, he heads back to the nest. The female hears the male approaching her and wakes up. She has also laid a second clutch of eggs consisting of 6 eggs. She gathers ferns and covers the eggs with them to incubate them. Starved, the female and the male have a fleshy feast. The two tear off great chunks of flesh swallowing them whole. The female then returns to her duty of caring for her eggs.
6 months later...
The sun arose waking the raptor pair from their deep slumber. The female stands up to stretch her legs and she hears a cracking sound. She turns around to see that her eggs are finally starting to hatch! She watches as her newborns use their "egg tooth" to puncture the thick shell so that they can push their way out. Eventually every egg has hatched and the youngsters are up and about exploring their new surroundings. The 4 females are a light brown color with cream under bellies and white feathers on their tail, arms, and head. The 6 males are a bright lime green with tan under bellies and blue feathers on their head, arms and tail. However, one female was very brightly and unusually colored. She had a skin color of red, orange, and yellow with black stripes going from her neck to her tail, and bright red feathers on her arms, head, and tail, and beautiful amber eyes. Her parents were surprised because they both didn't have that skin color but excepted her anyway. They named the special female Blaze because of her fiery colored skin. The mother looked at her brood with pride shining in her eyes. The hatchlings began to squeal and shriek and she realized that they must be starved. The mother paused and cocked her head straining to listen above the noise of her squealing infants. She heard a lizard scurry by her, chasing an insect. She crept up to it, bunching her muscles ready to pounce on the small Jurassic lizard. Her infants watched her with curiosity because one day they too would have to hunt for their own food. The female waited patiently for the right time to attack. The lizard was eating the insect it had just caught leaving it vulnerable. Seizing her chance, she pounced on the lizard and with a swift bite, killed it instantly. Carrying the plump lizard in her jaws, she dropped it at the feet of her infants and watched as they stripped it to the bone. When they finished off the lizard the youngsters settled down with full bellies and fell asleep. The parents also settled down and went to sleep as well, but the only one not sleeping was Blaze. She was restless and decided to go off and explore the river. Quietly as to not wake her parents and siblings, she cautiously made her way to the forest to go and find the river.
Meanwhile...
A male Spinosaurus is looking for a meal. His body is black and he has a red and grey sail. His left eye was red with a scar running across it. His neck and back were covered in battle scars and his large, crocodile-like jaw was lined with rows of sharp, jagged teeth. He was known as none other than Dread. Dread is a blood-thirsty killer and will kill anything in his way. He heads towards a river and spots a shoal of plump, juicy fish. He creeps up to the riverbank and snaps his jaws at the fish and catches them. He swallows the fish whole but is not still satisfied. He pulls his head out of the water to look for more fish and wades through the water. He spots a large eel and lungs at it frightening his prey. He claps his jaws around the eel and with one brutal bite he shears his victim in two. He gobbles up the remains of his meal and slinks into the bushes to wait for more prey.
Blaze heads towards the river and stalks through the bushes using them as cover. She reaches the edge of the trees where the jungle gives way to a sandy bank. She hears the peaceful sound of the river flowing quietly through the forest out towards the ocean. The river is teeming with fish but she sees blood in the water! Tempted, she sneaks closer to see if she can find a meal but she stops. She lifts her head up in the air and she smells the scent of fresh meat and blood but mixed with it a scent she does not recognize. She sneaks closer to the river and steps in. The water is warm but she senses something watching her. She pauses and then out of the corner of her eye she sees two eyes staring back at her through the bushes. She smells the strange scent again but still cannot identify it. Suddenly, a Spinosaurus leaps out of the bushes! She instantly recognizes it by its one red eye with a scar running across it and remembers the stories her parents told her about a cruel Spinosaurus named Dread. "That must be Dread!" She thought. Dread roars at her and attempts to grab Blaze by snapping his jaws at her. He misses and Blaze dashes off into the jungle to escape the hungry predator. Heading to the nest with the Spinosaurus thundering after her, she shrieks warning to her family that danger is coming! The to adults stand up and guard the nest full of babies. Racing behind her parents for protection she realizes there is no way they can defeat an adult Spinosaurus! Dread growls and her parents bare their teeth at Dread to show that they mean business. The mother and father crouch in front of the blood-thirsty Dread and pounce on Dread's back so they could land a few blows. Big mistake. Dread realizes that the infants are no longer under their parents protection and shakes off the attacking parents causing them to fall off. The nest is still unguarded and Dread rushes forward at the infants and snatches 6 of them in his jaws swallowing them whole. Blaze manages to escape and take cover in a small cave so that she is out of reach from Dread. She watches as Dread kills the rest of her brothers and sisters by crushing them in his jaws. Outraged by the deaths of their young, the mother and father attack Dread with fury. The male pounces kicking his feet with his sickle claws retracted. Right when he lands on Dread he flicks the claws forward slashing the Spinosaurus's flesh. Screaming in pain and anger, Dread picks up the angry father and throws him against the wall breaking his arms and legs. Poor Blaze watches as her parents fight to their deaths. Her mother attacks Dread's leg and Dread hisses and kicks her away. The father cannot move and is paralyzed and Dread puts him out of his misery by grabbing the male's head and swiftly twisting it to one side snapping the father's neck and killing him instantly. Desperately to avenge her family and lost mate the mother attacks Dread but to no avail. She does manage to land a few devastating blows but Dread grabs her in his jaws and slams her against a stone wall injuring her severely and causing her to bleed internally. Blaze stands there in horror as her mother dies. Dread roars in victory and then leaves the bodies to scavengers. Blaze crawls to her mothers side and watches her mother as she gasps for air and she hears her mother's last words. "Blaze, let your heart guide you." "I will always be with you even if you can't see me" she said. Blaze looked at her with confusion and asked, "What do you mean if I can't see you?" "I can always see you" Her mother told her, "I love you my daughter, please, save yourself." Blaze watched as her mother drew her last breath and went limp. Blaze said with tears in her eyes, "I love you too mother." And with that she bid her last goodbye to her parents and raced into the jungle.
Blaze is now the last of her family to remain alive.
