The Convergence
Chapter One: The Strange Creature
Nick smiled as he gazed at the tray in front of him. A bowl piled with vanilla ice cream and a full bottle of Coke. Standing in the kitchen in a Star Wars T-shirt and jeans, Castor couldn't be happier. He lived with his parents in a comfortable house in Greenford, just the four of them him, his Mum, his Dad and his faithful Dalmatian, Rex. His Mum was a dentist and his dad was a vet, they both earned high salaries and the family owned a BMW and a Lexus.
Nick attended the local school, and was doing well. He worked hard, finished all his homework on time and got excellent grades in his exams, he was currently in Year Ten and his teachers were very proud of him, as were his parents. He tall and lean, with messy black hair and brown eyes, some people called him a geek and was a nerd but for the most part he was pretty popular.
His parents were currently away in another part of the country on business, so they'd left him and Rex in a hotel, under the watchful eye of the hotel staff. It was all paid for, by day he still travelled to school by bus, spent the day at school, arrived back at the hotel by 4: 00, he ate his meals at the hotel and slept in his room, along with Rex.
It was fine by him, he occasionally missed his parents but he knew they'd be home soon, they called him every night to ask how he was doing, how was his day at school, was he ok, how was Rex, all the usual. And he'd answer its all fine. Then they both wish him good night and he'd put the phone down and go to bed.
Grinning, he grabbed the tray and walked through to the living room, he carefully placed his tray on the coffee table and collapsed on the sofa. Grabbing his disc, he slid it into the DVD player, grabbed the remote, fast-forwarded the ads and pressed Play. He smiled as the film began.
He grinned as the opening scene of Prehistoric Park depicted a herd of Stegosaurs drinking by a stagnant lake before moving away as a pair of Allosaurs arrived at the water's edge hunting for food.
Rex padded over and whined, cocking his head curiously. He pressed Pause on the remote, patting the dog's head. "Hey boy, what do you want?" He whined again and Nick remembered, he'd finished his homework, put away his school uniform and packed his schoolbag for tomorrow, but he still had to feed Rex. He stood up again, walked through to the kitchen, pulled out a can of dog food, opened the can and filled the bowl.
"There you go, boy." Rex buried his head in and ate noisily, his tail wagging happily. Nick patted him, and then strode back into the living room, sat down then picked up his slice and pressed Play. He sat and watched for about ten minutes when suddenly the TV short-circuited and the screen went blank. "Bloody hell!" He groaned, he got up again and checked the TV, it seemed fine. So what had caused it to short circuit?
An icy gust of autumn wind blew in through the window and Nick as he suddenly became of an eerie silence in the room, even Rex's crunching had stopped. He shivered once again in spite of himself. Normally he could hear all kinds of sounds, cars passing in the street, people talking and laughing, horns blaring and dogs barking.
Now there was just a vacant, creepy silence. He felt the hairs rising on the back of his neck; he could feel some primal instinct within him, warning him of danger close by. But where?
He screwed up his eyes and gazed around the room, but he couldn't see anything unusual. Then he noticed Rex had wandered into the room. The dog's posture was tense, his hair was as stiff as wire and he was growling at something in the corner. He wandered over, eyeing all directions and carefully patted the dog "Whatta you see boy?" The dog's growl deepened and he suddenly began barking furiously. Slowly, dreading what he might see, he followed the dog's line of vision.
His eyes widened and his blood ran cold. Icy fingers of horror clutched his stomach and his knees felt weak and rubbery. There. It was there, hanging silently in a corner by the window. It gazed back at him, it's cocked curiously. Despite all his extensive knowledge of animals and the natural world, in spite of all the biology classes he'd taken, he could honestly say he hadn't even the faintest clue what it was.
It had a lean, skeletal body covered in leathery grey skin. It had a large, knobbly head and two tiny slits where its eyes should be. It had four long, spindly limbs each ending in clawed feet. It emitted a peculiar clicking noise, and opened its jaws to reveal rows of razor sharp teeth. Nick could feel himself shaking with terror, and then suddenly, with a ferocious snarl, it lunged, leaping from its spot with its jaws wide open. Nick threw himself to the floor, yanking Rex down with him.
The creature sailed over his head and hurtled across the room, snarling. It landed deftly on all fours and slid across the polished floor, growling. Nick scrambled quickly to his feet, holding tightly onto Rex's collar as the dog barked furiously.
The creature crept towards him and snarled, jaws wide open. Nick could feel himself shaking in terror; he quickly grabbed a textbook lying nearby and hurled it at the beast, hitting it in the head. To his surprise the creature shrieked in pain, staggered from side to side then collapsed.
He breathed a sigh of relief as Rex stopped barking. Then to his horror, the creature twitched, then leapt to its feet and snarled, Rex began barking in a futile attempt to scare it off. Nick braced himself for the killing blow. Then it suddenly slumped to the floor and lay still once again. Nick nudged the creatures' body gently with his foot, its head lolled uselessly.
He didn't stop to make sure if it was dead. Grabbing his wallet, coat, Oyster card and Rex's leash he fled, Rex bounding at his heels. He threw open the door and stopped dead.
The sight that greeted him chilled him to the core; he felt his stomach heave and churn. Normally the colour red was associated with romance and hearts, but right now it was the colour of death. The entire hallway was drenched in blood. Nothing had escaped the new paint job; every surface was soaked in fresh blood. It had a strong, metallic smell.
The bodies of other residents were strewn across the floor; the bodies were horribly mangled and torn. Nick bent down and promptly lost the contents of his stomach, the smell of the vomit mingled with the metallic scent of the blood. Rex was whining forlornly, his tail tucked between his legs, he reached down and patted the dog for comfort. Then he heard another sound, a sound that he'd already heard once before and hoped he'd never have to hear again; an eerie, unearthly clicking noise drifted down the corridor.
Nick could feel himself shaking in terror. He could hear thumps and crashes above his head. They were moving around on the floor above. Whimpering with terror, he bolted. He ran as fast as he could. He raced down hallways, skidded round corners and sped down corridors, Rex bounding swiftly after him. He raced into the lobby, and felt immense relief as he spotted the double glass doors up ahead. He bolted through the doors out into the street.
He didn't stop running until he reached a side street; he ducked into it and skidded to a halt, and bent over, his hands on his knees, panting heavily. His face was flushed and he felt adrenaline surge through him, he stayed like that for several minutes until he'd got his breath back.
He straightened up and sighed. What WERE those things? They certainly bore absolutely no resemblance to any creature he'd ever seen or heard of. Could they be? He shuddered, no it wasn't possible.
His old biology professor, Professor Nick Cutter, had once had a theory that creatures though to be long-extinct weren't extinct but were still out there, waiting to be discovered by science and reclasssed. His favourite example was the Coelacanth, a species of prehistoric fish, thought to have gone extinct during the Cretaceous period, and then one was caught in the middle of the Indian Ocean in 2007, completely baffling scientists and biologists around the world.
Cutter's theory was that there could be others like it, survivors of an ancient era, and not just sea creatures but even creatures that lived on land, possibly even creatures of the air. He'd only told Nick this theory, as Nick was his favourite student, and Cutter was his favourite professor, until he left. He hadn't seen Professor Cutter in a long time; he'd received a new job at another university and left. Could Cutter have been right? Could this be some kind of prehistoric creature that has survived up until the present, a throwback to an ancient time? But there was no trace of it or anything like it in the evolutionary record.
And if it was a prehistoric creature, what was it doing here in the city? And why were there so many? Why hadn't anyone seen them? So many questions were racing through his mind, then suddenly he remembered the only reason he was still alive was because of Rex, he was the one who'd first seem it, hanging motionless beside the open window. That must have been how it had entered the room without him noticing.
His human eyes had missed it, and those poor people… no wonder no-one had seen the creatures, what if they'd already killed everyone in the area? What if he was the one left alive? He gulped, forcing back tears. He had to be strong, if he wanted to stay alive.
Rex whined, gazing up at him with intelligent eyes. The dog could tell his master was frightened and worried, and was trying to comfort him. Nick managed a weak smile and patted the dog. "Let's go boy." He said, clipping the leash onto Rex's collar. The dog barked and trotted out into the night, his owner in tow. Casting a furtive glance he walked out into the street
Chapter Two: The Creatures
As he walked, Nick noticed the strangely empty the area seemed. The streets were empty and eerily silent; the entire area seemed vacant and deserted. No voices, no laughter, no sign of people at all. He heard other noises though, a car alarm blaring, a dog barking. Occasionally, he came across victims of the creature's rampage. Bodies twisted and mangled like those in the hotel. An old man, a woman and her two young children, a teenage couple out on a stroll, a business worker heading home, a doctor, luckily not his mum, an old lady. All unlucky victims torn apart by those creatures.
He passed other signs. A BMV, its side window broken, a buckled bike, the metal twisted and mangled lying in the road, a battered mobile phone lying in the road, a bloodied set of keys lying in a gutter, a brand new- jacket, tattered and bloodied lying under a hedge, a tree with jagged claw marks raked down the trunk, a hedge that had been eaten away, stripped to the bare branches, a splintered tree branch lying atop the crushed roof of a car, having fallen off a tall old oak tree, stripped off all vegetation.
A Porsche that had been shunted from one side of the road to the other by incredible force, the side battered and scratched, broken garden ornaments lying in an empty fish pond, a glass window broken and the torn curtains ripping in the breeze, a dead cat lying in the road, its body horribly mangled…
But occasionally he saw signs of life, a curtain twitching, a face at a window, a door moving, a light turning on, a dog barking inside a house. All these small signs gave him hope he wasn't the only survivor. So far, he'd seen no sign of those sinister predators but he still had to be careful. Sometimes, he thought of his parents, were they still alive? But he couldn't worry now, he had to focus, get help, still alive.
Suddenly Rex began barking wildly, leaping up and tugging at his leash. His eyes widened. Had he sensed a predator?
Suddenly a deafening screech split the silence, followed closely by another sound, the beating of….wings? Nick glanced up and his eyes widened as he spotted an ominous shadow gliding above him. It looked like some kind of bird, but if it was a bird, it was one with wings at least ten feet long. Wait, it was circling! Circling him!
The shadow circled around once more and, with a shriek, dove swiftly towards him, he ducked as it passed only metres over his head and, yanking Rex's leash ran into a sheltered alleyway. Once in the safety of the narrow alleyway where the flying monster couldn't follow he peered up to get a good look at his attacker. His eyes widened.
It had a wingspan larger than a modern aeroplane; its wings were spread, wide and leathery. Its body was covered in soft downy fur with bright red stripes running along its back, its clawed feet, ending in lethal talons dangled down. It had a long, dagger-like beak finished off by a slim, bright-red crest atop its head. He'd never seen anything like it. The giant winged reptile shrieked furiously at them then turned and glided away, beating its massive wings. It was only once it had flown away, that he realized what it was. A Quetzocoatlus! From the Cretaceous period!
But then he shook his head that was impossible! Dinosaurs were extinct; they'd all been dead for nearly 60 million years! No human had ever seen a living dinosaur, because there weren't any left! But that was definitely a Quetzocoatlus he'd seen, that was no fake, it was a living Quetzocoatlus, and what were those predators he'd seen, if they weren't prehistoric, then what was?
Castor suddenly felt sick, all those scientists and biologists; they'd all been wrong, dinosaurs weren't extinct, they'd survived and now they were attacking mankind. Suddenly a thunderous roar split the air, deep and brutal, and it filled Castor with dread. He heard a loud shriek and glanced up as another Quetzocoatlus came flying past. He stepped out into the street, now he had to worry about dinosaurs and Pteranodons too. Great.
He stepped out into the street, he passed a damaged Lexus, all its windows broken and a Mercedes Benz that been flipped over onto its roof , shards of broken glass scattered all around, he shuddered, Rex whined. He suddenly heard grunting, and glanced around. His eyes widened.
Standing ten feet stood a hulking, fully-grown Triceratops. A male. It had a massive, scaly body supported on four thick, sturdy legs ending in massive feet. It had a long, thick lizard-like tail behind it. It had a large, beaked head with an imposing-looking head crest, made up mainly of bone. Its two lethal, dagger-like horns protruded up from its huge head like Medieval daggers, with a smaller, spiked horn on the end of its beaked snout. It stood close to a metre high and weighed as much as a family car and right now it looked very angry. Rex growled angrily, and he dropped the leash, the dog backed up several paces and stood at a safe distance.
It was stood in the middle of the road, next to a badly damaged car, the windows had been broken and the windscreen had a gaping hole. The buckled side door had been torn off and thrown across the road, landing on top of a nearby hedge. Broken glass lay scattered all around it, the car had been shunted several centimetres to the right and one of the seats had been slashed open, stuffing spilling out into the road, Nick gulped
The creature let out a low grunt and slowly swung its gigantic head back and forth. Nick realized it was challenging him, it groaned at him and stamped its huge foot. He spread his legs wide and stood his ground, even though he was shaking in terror. Seemingly losing interest, the dinosaur seemed to decide he was not worth the effort. It let out a deep, throaty bellow then turned and plodded slowly away, its footsteps shaking the ground. Nick could barely believe it, a relived grin spread across his face and he almost burst out laughing.
He'd seen off a fully grown Triceratops! Rex bounded over and barked, he grinned, reaching down to pat him "We did it boy!" The dog barked and Nick set off again, feeling just a bit better.
Nearly half an hour had passed and Nick had seen a Hetzegoptyrix, a towering Sauroposeidon and a Stegosaurus, he felt scared even though the gigantic reptiles were peaceful herbivores. He wished his parents were here.
He heard another loud, menacing roar close by and shuddered, that could be either a Spinosaurus or even a Tyrannosaurus Rex. He had no wish to find out; he was walking across a massive field. Tall trees towered over him and he no wish to know what was lurking in the darkness beyond.
A loud screech from a circling Pteranodon sounded, followed by another thunderous roar, He spotted a small Pterosaur, a fish eating one with long jaws filled with tiny-needle sharp teeth perched on a branch, and he heard the deep throaty bellows and loud grunts of Triceratops calling to each other. He spotted hulking shapes moving around in the next field and much smaller shapes cantering amongst the massive adults; Triceratops! A whole herd!
He quickly walked on, not wanting to upset the gigantic herbivores and suddenly a new noise: a deep trumpeting noise that sounded like an elephant, but much louder and much more menacing. He caught sight of a group of tiny, bipedal dinosaurs hopping and scurrying through the grass. He saw their dark green skin and their cunning yellow eyes, Coelophysis! Two were feeding on the mangled carcass of a dead Hadrosaur, chirping and snapping at one another. More fish-eating pterosaurs circled overhead. It was like he'd been transported back in time.
Rex growled at them, but he pulled the dog on, he didn't want to get involved and risk attracting the attention of whatever was letting out those roars, or that thing that had trumpeted, it sounded dangerous too.
Chapter Three: Mammoths and Pterosaurs
Nick sighed as he passed an old tree; suddenly he noticed Rex had tensed again. He shuddered as a chorus of unearthly squawks rang out behind him, Rex turned and barked loudly. He slowly turned. There, lined up along almost every branch of a massive old oak tree, sat dozens of ugly, bird like reptiles.
They were small with glinting red eyes and long, narrow beaks filled with long, knife sharp teeth. Their leathery wings were a shimmering blue black. All the other creatures he'd encountered, aside from those grey things, had been amazing in their own way and he'd felt almost proud to have seen them.
The Triceratops herd had looked strong and majestic, the Quetzocoatlus had looked graceful and powerful, the Coelophysis looked wily and cunning and the fish-eating pterosaurs were agile and nimble, but these things just looked downright evil.
He started as one let out a loud croak, then flapped its wings and sprang from the branch, followed by another and another, howling like a frenzied swarm of giant bats. He threw himself flat into the dirt, covering his head and face. Rex growled and snapped but it didn't do much good. Once it was finally over, he climbed shakily to his feet, wiping dirt off his face. Rex growled and he sighed, patting the dog's head. "I know boy, I don't like it either." Picking up the leash, he tugged the dog around and they set off again.
They'd been walking for about twenty minutes when a deep trumpeting sound split the air. Nick jumped, dropping the leash and Rex growled angrily, his posture stiff. His growl deepened, and then he went off into a bout of frenzied barking. Castor was surprised "What is it? What is it boy?"
But he kept barking, and then Nick felt the ground trembling, slowly at first then more violently until he was staggering about, he could hear a loud, heavy pounding coming towards them. As it got closer, he realized it had a rhythm to it. Footsteps. Another loud trumpet rang out, much closer now, until a great, hulking shape stepped out of the darkness.
Standing less than a metre away stood a Columbian Mammoth. It had a massive, bulky body covered in soft fur supported on four thick, tree-trunk like legs. It had a large domed head with a long trunk dangling down. It had two small ears fanned out on either side of its head. Two curved ivory tusks, each well over three metres long stuck out on either side of its lower jaw. It stood well over three metres tall and weighed as much as a truck. The creature threw up its trunk and bellowed at him angrily, a deep, angry sound.
Then it charged. It put its head down and plodded towards him, quickly increasing speed until the beast was running after him, its huge feet shaking the ground, Nick turned and fled, Rex growled then turned and bounded after him, the mammoth let out an enraged trumpet as it stampeded after him. He reached a tall oak tree and frantically shinnied up, clambering into the leafy branches until he was high above it. Rex appeared at the foot of the tree of the tree, and gazed up at him, whining. "Go boy! Go, get out of here! Hide!" The dog finally understood and dashed off, disappearing into a thick clump of bushes.
He felt momentary relief that his dog was safe before the Mammoth came charging up, trumpeting its rage. It briefly glanced at Rex's hiding place but then turned back to him and he could see the fury blazing in its large eyes. HE was the one the beast was after, not Max. He leaned down and shouted "Come on then, you ugly thing!"
The Mammoth threw up its head, raising its trunk up as it trumpeted in rage. Then it took several steps back and charged the tree, he quickly wrapped his arms around a branch, wrapping his legs around the branch he was sat on and cringed. He heard a sickening crunch as the Mammoth hammered furiously against the trunk with its tusks, as the tree shook with the impact. The animal backed off then thundered towards the tree again, its domed head smashed into the trunk as its tusks slashed at the bark, the tree shuddered wildly, as the bark splintered under the impact.
The enraged creature turned around, walking back several paces then rumbled and thundered towards the tree a third time. Its tusks hammered into the bark as its head slammed against the trunk, the tree lurched to one side as its roots gradually lifted out of the ground. The mammoth bellowed and sent its long trunk snaking upwards as it tried to grab him. Nick frantically clambered higher up into the branches as the tip of the Mammoth's trunk brushed against his foot.
The creature trumpeted in rage then reared up onto its massive hind legs and leant its full weight against the stricken tree. The bark splintered and snapped, Nick cried out as he lost his grip and tumbled out of the tree, he was aware of falling towards the hard ground far below. He quickly reached out and grabbed hold of a sturdy looking branch. He hung on by his arms and sighed in relief. The tree was now leaning at such an angle that he could get down, he let go of the branch and dropped to the ground, sprinting towards the lake, Rex burst out of the bushes and bounded after him.
He heard the enraged trumpeting of the Mammoth followed by a deep cracking and splintering of wood, at the tree gave way and collapsed, followed by a thunderous crash as it hit the ground. He hoped that had least stopped the mammoth chasing him, but as he risked a glance over his shoulder, he could see it plodding it after him, each one its strides matching twenty of his. It was catching up fast. He put on an extra burst of speed, and was relieved to see the mammoth falling behind; it finally came to halt and trumpeted angrily at him then turned and lumbered away into the darkness.
He too skidded to a halt and leant over, hands on his knees as he regained his breath. Once he'd got his breath back, he straightened up and patted Rex, then glanced around at his darkness. That wild dash to escape the Mammoth had left him completely lost; he now had no idea where he was. Glancing at his watch, he could tell it would be another three hours till the sun rose; it was going to be a long night.
He patted Rex, then picked up the leash and set off. After he'd been walking for about ten minutes, he spotted the glimmer of moonlight reflecting off water up ahead. Fresh water! He suddenly realized just how thirsty he was; he'd not eaten or drunk anything since lunchtime at 1: 30. He was absolutely starving but his hunger would have to wait, at least he'd found some water.
But as he approached he noticed someone, no, something, was already there, drinking at the water's edge. Some kind of creature, definitely a dinosaur standing on two legs with two clawed arms and a long reptilian tail, it had its head down, slurping thirstily so it hadn't noticed him yet. He should probably leave before it did, he'd get water once it left. But as he stepped backwards, he stepped on a dry twig which snapped with a loud crack, he flinched, and squeezed his eyes shut as the creature raised its head and roared, water dripping from its jaws.
It had a powerful, scaly body supported on two powerful hind legs ending in sharp clawed feet. Clawed arms protruded from halfway up its chest, it had a long reptilian tail, with a row of spines running along its back down to the tip of its tail and a large head with gleaming yellow eyes and powerful jaws filled with rows of dagger-like teeth. The creature stood as tall as a fully grown man. It hissed and opened its jaws to reveal rows of razor sharp teeth. It was a Deinoychus, or Raptor, a fully grown male.
Chapter Four: Triceratops vs Deinoychus
Nick gulped; the creature tilted its head curiously then let out a ferocious snarl and raised its claws, rattling the spines along its back, creating a frightening sound. Rex barked furiously to no avail, the creature ignored the dog and prepared to pounce. Nick closed his eyes and waited for the killer blow. He just hoped his parents would be found safely and that Rex would have the sense to run.
But none came, instead a deep bellow rang out, the Deinoychus hissed and rattled its spines. Nick opened his eyes and glanced to his right. Nearby stood a huge Triceratops with its head raised high and bellowing furiously at the Deinoychus. Nick's eyes widened as he realized it was the one he'd seen off earlier. What was it doing here?
Before he could consider an answer, the Triceratops bellowed and lowered its huge frill, snorting angrily. Castor's eyes widened. It was going to charge! The huge creature snorted then it thundered towards them, head down, bellowing its fury. Nick threw himself aside as Rex leapt to the other side.
The animal thundered past like a locomotive, its footsteps shaking the ground. Nick climbed to his feet and stared in wonder, the Deinoychus leapt aside, dodging the charging ceratopsian and snarled, the Triceratops skidded to a halt then bellowed and shook its frill. The Deinoychus hissed menacingly and the Triceratops grunted. The Deinoychus hissed then raced towards the dinosaur.
In response, the Triceratops lowered its horns, grunting. The Deinoychus skidded to a halt before being impaled on the ceratopsian's horns and shrieked, snapping its jaws. The Triceratops grunted back and stamped its foot.
Nick watched in amazement as the battle began, Rex stood at his side watching quietly. Nick kept a tight grip on the dog's leash to stop him from running off.
The Deinoychus darted away to the side hissing as it retreated, then suddenly turned and raced towards the ceratopsian which bellowed and shook its head, but the Deinoychus leaped into the air and grabbed onto the Triceratops side, slashing with the razor sharp, sickle-like claws on its feet. The herbivore bellowed and struggled to shake the Raptor off to no avail. Hissing, the Deinoychus hung on, inflicting bloody wounds with its claws as the herbivore roared and struggled. As Nick watched in horror, the Deinoychus tore into the ceratopsian with its sickle claws and sharp teeth.
To Nick's relief, at last the Triceratops bucked, throwing the Raptor off. The creature hissed leaping aside as the Triceratops swung its huge frill, grunting angrily. The Deinoychus backed up, hissing as it readied itself for another jump. It hissed and raced towards the Triceratops, aiming for its unprotected back, side and thighs. But as it leapt into the ait, the Triceratops expected its jump and turned itself around so that its armoured head and giant horns were pointing at the Deinoychus.
The giant herbivore bellowed in fury, unable to stop itself the leaping Deinoychus landed atop the herbivore's face, in between its two giant horns. Hissing and snapping, the Deinoychus hung on the herbivore's face as it struggled and bellowed, attempting to throw the dinosaur loose.
The carnivore hissed and snapped at the herbivore's face, driving it wild. At last the struggling Triceratops flung the snarling Deinoychus into the air; the carnivore tumbled back to earth, knocked unconscious by the fall. A tense silence followed as the Triceratops grunted, thinking the Deinoychus was dead but Nick knew better. Such a fall would not kill the most cunning killer of the Cretaceous.
After a moment the creature's eyes opened snarling, it scrambled to its feet but the Triceratops kicked it, knocking it down. It leapt back up as the herbivore's foot slammed down where it had been standing moments before. Then the Triceratops lowered its head and snorted. Nick's eyes widened, it was preparing to charge again.
He turned and ran back towards the trees, Rex bounded after him. Once safely among the trees, Nick crouched down behind some thick bushes and watched, Rex sat beside him. The huge herbivore charged, grunting in fury. The Deinoychus hissed and snapped in a futile attempt to scare off the nine tonne dinosaur but to no avail, the Triceratops charged on, bellowing and snorting. The Deinoychus snarled, then turned and fled, but it was caught between a steep, rocky incline and nine tonnes of charging dinosaur. The raptor skidded to a halt at the base of the cliff, snarling then turned as the huge dinosaur thundered towards it.
Nick closed his eyes. He heard a single snarl followed by grunting. He opened his eyes. To his surprise, the raptor was still alive and was running off into the forest. The Triceratops skidded to a halt then let out a raging bellow that echoed through the forest. The Triceratops had won.
Then it panted, exhausted. Nick looked carefully at the giant dinosaur. It was badly wounded with multiple bleeding wounds along its side with a large bloody gash along its back. Unless treated, it wouldn't last long. The giant herbivore fell to its knees, if it lay down now, it would never get up.
Nick couldn't just let it die. He stood up, signalled for Rex to stay hidden, he couldn't risk the Dalmatian barking and possibly spooking the massive Triceratops, he slowly and carefully approached the fallen reptile.
As his dad was a vet, he'd picked up some tip[s off him over the years about how to deal with injured animals. Well, now was as good a time as anyway to use them. He laid a hand on its brow horn. The creature was docile now and rumbled as he carefully petted its snout. Nick sighed, he had to find a way to getting the dinosaur back on its feet so he could get it some treatment. But how? How do you get an injured, three tonne Triceratops back on its feet.
Just then an idea came to him as he scanned his surroundings. Food! That was it, perhaps he could tempt the creature with some food he wandered over to the treeline and scanned the foliage. The plants and vegetation had changed a lot in 60 million years but there had to be something here that a prehistoric Triceratops would eat but where?
As he continued scanning the plants he heard a low rumble from the Triceratops and loud barking from Rex. He turned and his eyes widened as he spotted a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex pounding through the forest towards him.
The monstrous creature had a muscular body supported by two massive, bulky legs ending in massive clawed feet. Two tiny clawed arms protruded from halfway up its stomach with sharp claws. It had a thick, lizard like tail with a massive head and powerful, bone-crushing jaws. The creature opened its massive jaws, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth. The dinosaur stood as tall as a two storey building and weighed as much as fifteen tonnes, it roared so loudly the ground trembled.
The huge dinosaur roared again as it entered the clearing, the ground shaking under its feet, it scanned the era, gazing first at him, then Rex who was barking wildly then at the wounded Triceratops. As last, it let out a roar then lunged at the wounded Triceratops which struggled to get up then bellowed in alarm, unable to defend itself against a fully grown Tyrannosaurus Rex. "No!" Nick yelled as Rex continued barking in vain at the huge carnivore.
Suddenly a loud trumpeting split the air, stopping the Tyrannosaur in its tracks. Nick's eyes widened, that must be the mammoth he'd seen earlier! The Tyrannosaur raised its huge head, sniffing the air. Then it let out a thunderous roar and stomped away into the forest, its footsteps shaking the ground.
Nick sighed in relief; apparently the Tyrannosaur would rather hunt mammoths than Triceratops. Now, back to looking for Triceratops food. At last he spotted a plant that looked similar to a Cretaceous plant he'd seen in a book once. It wasn't perfect but it would have to do. Plucking a bunch of plants, he wandered over to the fallen dinosaur and waved them in front of its beak" Hey come on boy! This is Cretaceous salad!" "Come on! It's yummy! Yum yum! "To his relief the Triceratops rumbled then staggered to its feet, shaking its giant head. Its hunger must be greater than its pain.
Still waving the plants, he began to walk in what he thought was the right direction. "Come on! That's it! Come on!" Grunting, the dinosaur ambled slowly after him. Rex trotted over and walked slowly beside him, wise enough to know not to bark. "If you're coming with us, you're gonna need a name." Nick said. "I know how about Terrence. What do you think if that?"
The giant herbivore grunted. Nick smiled "Ok Terrence it is. Come on Terrence, easy now." Grunting Terrence followed him. Nick could tell he was a male, a juvenile still young. He smiled and waved the plants to encourage the dinosaur a bit. Terrence shook his head and rumbled hungrily. Nick grinned as they continued on.
Nick was on the verge of collapse. His feet were in agony, his left shoulder was aching and his whole body throbbed with exhaustion. His stomach growled reminding him that he was starving. He hadn't eaten since lunchtime at 1: 30. He couldn't go on another step, yet he forced himself on because he knew if he stopped, a dinosaur, or some creature would find him or run into him. Terrence was doing just fine he plodded along determinedly, with his head high, grunting and chewing. He no longer needed encouragement to follow Nick and was doing well so Nick had let him have the plants
Suddenly Rex raised his head and began barking. Despite his terrible hunger and exhaustion, Nick reluctantly looked up. Lights! Flashing blue lights! An ambulance, that meant people! Nick broke into a run, Rex bounding alongside. Terrence too thundered along beside them, shaking the ground as he pounded on. Nick screamed and shouted, waving his arms "Hey! Hey! Help! I need help! Please!" Rex joined in by barking. Terrence also bellowed loudly. As he got closer he noticed there wasn't just one ambulance. At least ten or twenty of them were parked behind one another in a long line. There were fire trucks and civilian cars as well.
Dozens of people milled about, fire men, doctors, medics, nurses and civilians. At last one of the men noticed Castor and shouted "Holy shit! There's a kid! Quickly someone help me, wait there's a dog with him! Come on! OH MY GOD! What on earth is that?" Two firemen ran towards and Nick sank to his knees in exhaustion. He was saved….
Later as he sat in the back of a fire truck, wrapped in blankets with several energy bars on the seat beside him and a steaming mug of sweet tea in his hands. Rex lay next to him asleep, his head resting in Castor's lap. Castor and smiled and ruffled the dog's fur, he too wished he could just fall asleep.
Terrence stood just outside, grunting and grazing. Everyone had been gobsmacked by the dinosaur, Nick had assured them Terrence was a herbivore and perfectly calm but most people still weren't too comfortable around the Triceratops. Despite attempts by a brave few to lead the dinosaur away, he'd refused to leave Nick, staying fiercely loyal to the one who saved him from death bellowing fiercely and shaking his frill at anyone who got too close. No-one wanted to get too close, so had let the dinosaur be. His wounds would be treated in time, for now he'd be just fine.
He'd recently been informed to his great relief that both of his parents had been found and were safe and well. He would be reunited with them in due course. SAS forces were being sent in to rescue the remaining civilians and try to capture all the creatures, alive. Castor no longer cared; he was safe, both of his parents, Terrence and Rex were safe too.
They were all safe. He leant his head back against the seat and his world turned black as he drifted off into a peaceful sleep…