Under the Starry Sky

By Dinohunter55


Chapter 1: Into Darkness

The world sang with a high-pitched ringing and a sound like clashing mountains shook Sophia to her core. For a moment, she could not remember what was happening or where she was. She tried to move but her leg ached and sent bolts of pain racing up her spine. She cried out and looked to the sky for relief. A gaping maw snapped shut before her eyes.

Sophia screamed. The spinosaurus was upon her, trying to eat her as it had done her mother. The memories rushed back in a torrent and all seemed still and became silent as the beast let loose a guttural roar.

She remembered running, running so fast that her lungs burned with the effort. And Silver Claw, he was with her. Where was he? Then she remembered falling and darkness. The jaws snapped shut again with a sickening clack.

Panic gripped her and she wanted to stand, to run. But her legs failed her. She could only crawl and crawl she did. The rasping of her claws on stone was lost as the spinosaurus let out another roar and shifted its body to send a powerful limb into the crevasse after her.

The claw reached for her but without a line of sight, the beast groped blindly. Sophia mustered the strength and kicked at the arm. Her claw bit deep and the spinosaurus roared in pain and fury. It recoiled sharply and sent Sophia sliding into a cave. She screamed as waves of pain rolled through her.

And then, the ground trembled and the sides of the crevasse gave way. A wall of choking dust engulfed Sophia. Darkness consumed her.

Terror gripped Sophia and she tried and failed to run, again and again. Each time she tried to rise, her body gave out and she collapsed. In the darkness, she was blind but even so, her eyes darted between imagined shapes and recoiled at snapping jaws in the shifting blackness. It was not until she hit a wall that her senses came back to her.

Each breath was painful, a short sharp shudder. The dust filled her mouth with a dry earthy taste. Her nostrils itched. She closed her eye and forced herself to calm. Then the muffled roar of the spinosaurus broke the silence and her eyes shot open. It was going to get her.

The earth trembled and a small patch of debris shifted. A single shaft of light pieced the darkness. Sophia stared through the swirling dust but then realized that the beast was moving off. She was safe, at least for now.

But where was Silver Claw? Had the spinosaurus caught him? The spinosaurus roared again a short distance away. It was after something. Sophia struggled to move back towards the collapsed entrance. She had to know.

After a minute of fighting the pain, she managed to get her head close to the hole. She saw only the crevasse, a shallow tear in the earth made of the black volcanic stone that permeated the island. At the far end, the unobstructed entrance to another cave. A thin layer of soil covered the floor from which jagged rocks protruded.

Along one wall, a streak of blood marked where she kicked the beast. A small amount of pride welled up inside her. She wounded it but she wished she killed it.

A shadow fell over her. It was back. She strained to see the beast and soon a bloodied snout appeared. A fresh wound poured blood near its nostril. Silver Claw! Sophia's heart sank. It got him. A part of her wanted to cry out and just end it all now, to let the beast kill her. She would not give it that satisfaction however.

After a moment of sniffing around, the spinosaurus disappeared and the ground trembled as it moved off into the jungle. For a while, she felt the slight tremors in the earth with each heavy step the beast made. Then all was silent but the ringing in Sophia's head.

Sophia lay still, breathing in short gasps and listening. In time, the ringing subsided but a throbbing pain replaced it. She tried to move but the pain overwhelmed her and left her dizzy. When the pain passed, she tried to look at her legs. The one was likely sprained but the other glistened with a dark luster in the dim light.

She was bleeding. Sophia looked back out at the black rocks jutting from the soil. She must have landed on one. Without her pack to help her, the injury was very serious. She could rest at the nest while the others brought her food or helped her to the stream. But alone in a cave, her odds were grim.

A wave of dizziness overwhelmed her and left her sick. The world spun and Sophia's head dropped to the ground. "Silver…" Darkness took her.