"Keep moving! They're gaining on us!" Raf urged as he spurred Knockout to quicken his pace. The red Raptor screeched as he pushed himself and the small human faster, trying to keep ahead of the unseen predators lurking about.
The light of the torch flickered in the moonlight as its dying flames grew dimmer and dimmer, the heavy darkness beginning to engulf them. The sound of bushes being trampled could be heard further back in the darkness as multiple bipedal footfalls began closing in. Glowing nocturnal eyes and acute senses of smell honed in on the fleeing prey as they stormed through the forest floor.
"Come on Knockout, we're almost out of the Redwoods!" Raf could see the endless trees giving way as the sounds of a rushing river grew stronger. The bipedal dinosaur gave another burst of speed before exploding out of the bushes into the open river bank.
Raf climbed down from the Raptor's back to give him a moment to breath as he held his torch high, metal pickaxe grasped tightly in his other hand.
"Come out!" he ordered their assailants.
From the shadows, 3 pairs of glowing yellow eyes shone brightly in the heavy shadows, staring threateningly at the straggly piece of meat that dared challenge them. The bright eyes then snapped their gaze to the side before screeching at another animal beside it, receiving a challenging CAW back at them.
The predators squabbled before the eyes disappeared into the darkness, yet footsteps still moved to challenge the human-dinosaur duo. Raf held his torch out as Knockout hissed, ready to pounce on whatever dared to harm one of his alphas.
Moving into the torch light, the predators revealed themselves. Sharp beaks were attached to a tall body, covered head to toe in brownish and grey feathers. Large avian eyes absorbed every bit of light emitted by the torch and the moonlight. Strong and thin legs more than made up for the pathetic appendages that had passed for these creatures' wings.
The 3 Terror Birds sized up their opponents. They had already heard what they were capable of thanks to a scout when one of their adolescents had tried to foolishly attack the strange pack on his own. Though he had succeeded in piercing the scaled one's hide on its back, the strange ape creature had lodged a pointy stick into the bird's eye and the rocky one had shattered its legs like twigs. The poor fool didn't stand a chance as the scaly one pounced onto its back, tearing into the young bird's flesh.
Before he died though, the adolescent had released a death call to his packmates, and they would not let their blood brother's death go unpunished.
Raf trembled as he stuck the torch onto Knockout's saddle, pulling out his crossbow with his finger on the trigger. The torch lit standoff came to an abrupt end when the eldest of the birds screeched. It was time to pay.
"Get away you overgrown pigeons!" Raf cried as the eldest bird attacked Knockout with the bird that flanked him to his right. The one to his left screeched as it barreled forward at the human.
Raf aimed his X-bow and fired, catching the Terror Bird on in its chest and causing it to screech in pain. The bipedal predator tried to snap at the boy, but he bludgeoned his X-Bow into the side of the bird's head, disorienting it. This allowed Knockout to break off to his right to snap his jaws on the animal's neck, suffocating its airway. Before he could deliver a fatal blow though, the Raptor was tackled aside by the bird's pack, tossing him beside Raf.
"Hold on Knockout! We can do this!" Raf tried to ensure his Raptor, but as soon as he finished his sentence, the elder Terror Bird leapt up and drove its extended leg into Raf's body while its packmate stood atop Knockout.
"Ack!" he shouted, now at the mercy of the predator on top of him. The Terror Bird's eyes screamed bloody murder. Raf closed his eyes, waiting for death to take him as the sharp beak descended to snap shut on his neck. He just wished he had the chance to say goodbye...
Hours earlier...
Team Prime gathered around the fire in the house as they each told their tales from the day. Raf and Miko has been enthralled with Jack's stories while they were collecting metal, especially about a certain glowing Raptor.
"Alpha Raptor? What's that even mean?" Miko asked.
"Maybe it's the strongest raptor around? It's an alpha after all?" suggested Raf.
"Look, all I know is I got chills just from being in the same biome as that thing. As far as we're concerned right now, glow means no go," Jack decreed.
After telling his story, Jack listened intently to what his friends had accomplished when he was busy taming. Thanks to their repeated metal runs, the team now had over 150 metal combined in the base for use. Their constant burning had also created plenty of charcoal, which they combined with some leftover spark powder to make gun powder. Currently, they had 9 rifle bullets ready for whatever they needed them for.
Right before they went off to bed, Miko's eyes widened in remembrance. "Oh! I almost forgot. I made 3 of these while everyone was gone."
Going into her inventory, the Asian teen tossed out two packages to her friends as they examined the contents.
"I should've known you'd come strapped as soon as you reached level 34," smirked Jack as he and Raf whipped out the revolvers they had been given.
"You know it. Here you go," she said before reaching into a little hide pouch she'd fashioned herself. Pulling her hand out, she tossed 6 simple bullets each to the two boys. Just enough to fully load their guns. "Should keep you two alive until we make another big batch of gunpowder," she japed.
Jack popped out his cylinder and slid his bullets into the chambers. "I'd say so," he said before putting the cylinder back in, leaving the gun primed and ready. He then stuck it in his implant data as Raf did the same.
"Thanks Miko," the younger boy smiled. Even though he respected nature, he had to defend himself on such a wild island.
"No prob Gramps, just don't go mistaking me for a T-Rex without your glasses," she joked. Raf awkwardly laughed along before they each went to their rooms and retired for the night.
Jack stretched and yawned as he climbed out of bed, ready to start the new day. Looking out his window, he noticed the sun was awfully high for just waking up. Curious, he opened his implant to check the time.
"Holy Primus!" he shouted, unable to believe he had slept until 4pm. Scrambling out of his bed, he quickly went into his large storage box to grab the firearms he had left in there along with their ammo. Busting out of the door, he hurried downstairs, only to find Miko and Raf waiting for him on Sunstreaker and Camo.
"Look who decided to finish hibernating," joked Miko as she saw the frantic teen standing on the staircase. "Come on, we already made an Ankylo saddle. We can get the hide for the other one later."
Rather than say anything, Jack simply nodded and went outside to await pickup. Before they left though, he had a peculiar feeling about today, almost as if something was bound to go wrong. He wanted to dismiss it as just him being grumpy about waking up at 4, but his gut told him to be safe rather than sorry.
"Hey, Raf, can you take Knockout with you? Something tells me we're gonna need him today," he requested.
"In the Redwoods? Are you sure?"
Jack simply nodded. "He can protect us in case anything goes wrong while airlifting the Ankylosaurs," he reasoned.
The yellow shirted teen nodded as he brought Knockout out from the pen Jack had set up when he got back. "Hey boy, looks like you're coming with," Raf said as he patted his feathered head, gaining an excited trill from the Raptor.
"Alright, I've burnt enough daylight. Let's get going back to the Redwoods," Jack said before Miko swooped him up.
The flight back to the Redwoods shelter was uneventful, at least until they arrived back at metal mountain. From a bird's eye view, Miko noticed something very alarming going on by their little shelter shack.
"Jack, just what color was the glow on the Alpha Raptor from yesterday?" Miko hurriedly inquired.
"Red, why?"
"Get that rifle out now!" she ordered before dropping him on top of an elevated rock.
Peering over the side, the teen could see the red glow of the Alpha Raptor from yesterday as it tore into the shack. The wooden dinosaur gate had been reduced to splinters on the ground as the alpha predator attempted to get at the two panicked herbivores inside. Jack had already begun loading the longneck rifle when a cry of pain alerted him back to the carnage.
The Alpha Raptor had its jaws around Rockefeller's neck as the Ankylosaur cried out. He tried to unlatch the carnivore when he was dragged off his feet and into the open, flipping him from sheer force. Roxanne panicked as she tried to help her mate by smacking her tail into the red beast, only to miss as the Alpha ducked its head.
The Raptor looked over her current prey laying on its back, unable to get up. Its soft underbelly laid exposed just begging the predator to tear into its delicious insides. It placed its sickle claw down on the fallen Ankylosaur's neck and pinched, severing the vertebrae. Rockefeller managed one final death bellow before the fire of his life was ended.
WWRRRGHHH!
The body now laid lifeless against the rocks. Satisfied with the clean kill, the Alpha Raptor ducked its head down to haul the dead Ankylosaur somewhere she could safely eat.
BANG
"You're not going anywhere, you monster!" hollered Jack as he held the smoking gun in his hands.
The Alpha Raptor barked in surprise and pain as the sharp pain burrowed into her flank. Looking towards the source of the pain, she saw the strange ape creature from the other day had returned with a strange smoking stick, the cowering fear she had smelt replaced by cold fury. She curled her lip at the challenger. This was the one who had pelted her with the stinging ones earlier. It was time to pay.
He regretted not taking the shot when he could from fear of hitting Rockefeller. Now, he was gone, and the only thing on Jack's mind was to avenge his death.
The red demon roared its shrill roar before charging at the rock. Jack stared it dead in the eyes as he calmly reloaded the gun. Just as the dinosaur leapt into the air to pounce on him, it was intercepted by another red blur as Jack finished loading the next bullet.
The dazed Alpha Raptor got up from the surprise attack and faced her opponent. To her surprise, her attacker was not another strange ape, but another of her kind. She barked at the lesser male to stand down. She was the alpha of this land and he would submit to her.
Knockout only snarled in response before vocalizing at her the crudest of Raptor profanities. This creature had the audacity to both threaten his alphas and kill his new pebbly packmate. The male Raptor cared not if she was the same species, twisted as she was. She would pay with her life.
BANG
Another shot rang out as the two Utahraptors barked and hissed, impacting the Alpha in her thigh. This was the opening Knockout needed. Jumping into the air, the male jumped onto his larger foe's back, clawing and tearing into her hide. The glowing beast thrashed as she knocked the male loose and into the dirt, making to drive her sickle claw into his spine.
Bang Bang BANG Bang Bang
The Alpha squealed as several more bullets laid into her hide, causing her to twist her head and find that the insolent male and the primate had not come alone.
"Eat lead, ugly!" shouted Miko atop the shack as she emptied her bullets into the giant Raptor's head.
"This is for our dinosaurs!" Raf screamed from further down the mountain as he too fired all 6 bullets he had into the glowing monstrosity. Camo waited patiently by Raf's side, ready to bolt should the Raptor shift its focus.
The Alpha Raptor roared in rage at the creatures as she felt the impact of the bullets on her body. The attacks from the older male on the rock hurt the most, but the smaller potshots were like stingers to her scales. Ignoring the unyielding pain, she turned back towards the male to pounce on his flank, but found he had disappeared.
Instead, she was met with the clubbed tail of Roxanne colliding with her cranium as she stumbled backwards and grunted. The enraged Ankylosaur would see to it that she avenges her mate.
Still reeling from the head shot from both the bullets and the blunt tail, the Alpha never saw the other red Raptor come from behind her.
SCRATCH
The Alpha shrieked in pain and horror as she felt blood drip down from the side of her head into her mouth. Turning her head all the way around, she faced her assailant and gave an indignant shriek. Even is she survived this fight, she would never be able to hunt again running around with one eye.
The cold stare she received from her challenger boiled her blood ever so violently. If she was to die today, she would make sure at least one member of this unnatural pack would go with her.
Jack was slightly taken aback by what Knockout had just done. He had not expected their Raptor to go for the eyes, and he had to blink his own in surprise. "Well, survival of the fittest," he reasoned before lining up his last shot. "Just makes it easier to catch her where it hurts."
A hiss sounded from the injured predator before it set its sights on its target. Rushing the male Raptor, she feinted to the left, allowing Knockout's jaws to snap up thin air before clawing him aside and to the ground. Rather than attack him, the Alpha screeched as she rushed the widow of the pack. She had defeated many an Ankylosaur on her hunts, this one would be no different.
Roxanne snorted as the glowing red Raptor charged her, bracing herself and hunkering low. When the predator slashed her armored head, she kept her vital areas away from its reach, preventing it it from clawing her eyes out. With the Raptor off balance trying to reach her vulnerable eyes and nostrils, Roxanne swung her weight to the left, crashing into one of the remaining walls of the shack and pinning the stunned predator.
The glowing animal clawed and bit at the Anky's armored back, but found it did nothing more than harmlessly bounce off the animal's natural shell, only succeeding in driving the spiked back further into its body.
"Miko! Jump down!" warned Jack as he saw the shack beginning to collapse from the struggle. The Asian teen quickly hopped onto Sunstreaker before the structure could give out and flew to beside Raf, spectating the battle now that her bullets were gone.
The Alpha Raptor screeched and tore at the Anky even more desperately, its talons starting to claw closer and closer to its sensitive eye sockets. Before the Alpha could rip out Roxanne's eyes though, Knockout came streaking back in as he vigorously tore into the creature's body. Together, the two dinosaurs kept the glowing beast pinned against the wall, cracking the already weak wooden wall beyond repair.
The Alpha Raptor raised its head, the only part of its body not being impaled by spikes or shredded by claws, and gave a long defiant snarl at her two foes.
BANG
The red glow receded almost immediately as the animal's head went limp. Jack had seen his opportunity and taken it.
Knockout and Roxanne gave one final push, allowing the now lifeless body to finally crash through the makeshift shelter. The Alpha Raptor's corpse tumbled forward as the roof fell down over its head in a similar fashion to when the Carnotaurus attacked. When the stone and wood had settled, Team Prime stood victorious over their strongest challenge to date.
Jack hopped down from the rock, feeling nowhere as good as he felt he should. They had defeated the Alpha Raptor and saved their newest tame from a near death experience. Yet, he only managed to save one.
"I'm sorry Rockefeller," he sighed as he stopped at the dinosaur's body. He had only recently gotten the Ankylosaur pair, but he had already grown attached to the lovable herbivores. Now one of them would never lick berries out of his hand or lick his face again.
"Why didn't you take the shot?" Miko asked their leader.
"I-I didn't want to risk hitting him. I wasn't able to get a clear shot in time."
"Well that sure did Rockefeller a lot of good, didn't it?" she ruefully replied as she held back a few tears.
"Well I didn't see you do anything until Knockout started scrapping! What's your excuse?!" he bit back.
"GUYS!" screamed Raf, getting both of their attention. "It doesn't matter anymore. Arguing is just going to attract more wild dinosaurs here, and then we're all goners! Don't you think the least we can do for Rockefeller is to make sure we and his mate survive?" He steadied his breath after his outburst as he gently stroked a mourning Roxanne's head, feeding her berries to help calm her.
"I... you're right Raf. We're sorry. Rockefeller deserves better," Jack lamented.
Miko solemnly held her head down and nodded.
The older boy focused back up on getting them out of their predicament. Glancing at the trees, he had an idea. "Miko, you and I need to hurry back to the swamp and grab as many vines as we can so we can airlift. Raf, you stay here to comfort and protect Knockout and Roxanne. We'll be back before you know it."
With that, Jack whistled Camo over to him and jumped on his back. Miko mounted Sunstreaker before both of them sped up into the sky, leaving Raf alone with the ground tames.
"Looks like it's just us, guys," the young boy stated, continuing to to feed Roxanne comfort berries. The Ankylosaur's tail drooped as it refused to move from its mate's side, giving saddened moans.
The young human took a reprieve from comforting their newest addition to the team as he looked inside his inventory for more berries. He was shocked to find that he had levels. A lot of levels. He earnestly pumped his 7 new points into more health, stamina, and weight. Going to the engram section, he picked out what suited his fancy, for the moment choosing to finally unlock the Pteranodon saddle. The shotgun was more Miko's taste, but he did toss some points into learning the ammo.
Satisfied, Raf moved away from the armored dinosaur and over to Knockout, who had a few cuts and bruises from when he was tossed and scratched. Going into his inventory, he gave the Raptor a few stacks of raw meat to help speed up his healing. The dinosaur appreciated the gesture as it gobbled up the meat, raising its health stat little by little.
Finally, the tech savvy teen hunched down over the Alpha Raptor corpse buried beneath the base remains. He whistled Knockout over before having him help unbury the body. Raising his implant, he peaked inside to see if it had anything worthwhile besides spoiled or raw meat. He was met with surprise when he found an apprentice metal pickaxe and journeyman crossbow along with some primitive metal hand armor called flak.
"Huh, that's a new one," he observed. The highest and only item rarity they had found was ramshackle, and it was only slightly better than their primitive equipment. The pickaxe damage was 142.3% while the crossbow was 161.7%, much higher increases than any ramshackle he had ever seen.
"Better put this away. Don't wanna lose these," he said to himself, deciding to put everything but the flak gauntlets in Roxanne. Before he did though, he used his new pick to hack away at the Alpha Raptor until it rapidly decomposed. Amazed by the prime meat intake, he tossed it all into Knockout.
As Raf finished tucking his new trinkets away, he heard a rustling in the bushes. Suspicious, he cautiously motioned for Knockout to come closer as he and the dinosaurs took a defensive position.
"Who's there? Stay back!" he warned, readying his crossbow on the trigger.
As if on cue, out from the bushes came a tall and stocky bird about the height of Knockout that came charging out of the bushes at said Raptor. Caught by surprise, the bipedal dinosaur barked in pain as the sharp beak dug into his backside, thankfully missing his spine. He tried to snap at it, but it ducked its head under his before backing up and roaring at them. The other dinosaurs snarled back in reply and locked into a standoff.
Leaving the human of the group a perfect shot at its most sensitive area.
The Terror Bird screeched as it suddenly found itself unable to see from its left eye. Raf stood his ground as it writhed in pain.
"We aren't losing anyone else today."
As the Terror bird tossed itself to and throe to stave off the pain, it found its ankles were swept out from under it, as well as its kneecaps that now bent the wrong direction. The avian howled in pain as it flopped to the forest floor, leaving its flank wide open. Knockout wasted no time running up and jumping onto its side, digging his razor sharp teeth and claws into its sensitive feathered hide.
CAAAAAWWWW!
Before the Raptor could finish it off, the Terror Bird gave one last loud cry that echoed throughout the Redwoods, scaring the Microraptors out of their trees. It was immediately silenced as the red Raptor slammed his foot into its head and dug his sickle claw in, ending the bird's life.
"Oh no. Ohhhh no," panicked Raf. That scream must have been heard from miles away. Anything with ears could have heard that, including plenty of predators. Or even worse, the dead bird's nearby packmates.
"This is bad. This is REALLY bad," he said as he paced. He was so caught up in his troubles that he hadn't noticed the sound of wing flaps until they were right behind him.
"AHHH!" he screamed, only to see it was Jack and Miko holding some vines. They landed Sunstreaker and Camo next to the Anky.
"Whoa, easy there Raf. We got the vines to make a makeshift airlift," the older boy said.
"What's got you so spooked?" Miko inquired.
"You need to get Roxanne out of here as quick as you can. There's going to be Terror Birds closing in on us any minute now."
The two older teens raised an eyebrow. "Uhhh, excuse me?"
Raf ignored their confused looks. "There's no time! Quick, we need to tie Roxanne up with the vines. Hurry!"
Miko and Jack complied as they rushed over to the Ankylosaur and started tying her up. The rocky dinosaur gave a groan of protest, but was soothed when Raf fed her a few narcoberries to calm her nerves.
"It'll be fine girl. We're taking you home," comforted Jack as he tied the vines in front of her hind legs.
Soon, the three humans had constructed a series of knots that were reinforced with fiber to make a makeshift Anky airlift. Attaching the vines to the Pteranodons, Raf quickly started nudging his friends towards the flyers.
"Alright, now you two need to go and take her home," he directed.
"And leave you here? No way Jose," Miko refuted. "It's almost night time and you're in the Redwoods."
"Me and Knockout are able to run and hide until you get back. Roxanne is as fast as molasses. There's no way she'll be able to outrun a pack of Terror Birds," Raf argued. His logic was sound, because neither of his friends could argue against him.
"Alright, you made your point. But stay low and out of sight. Don't try to fight if you don't have to," Jack instructed, speaking from experience when he tamed Razor Wing.
"Will do," Raf complied.
Just then, the vengeful squawks of some very angry birds could be heard from behind the Redwoods mountain.
"Go, now! Take off before they find us!" the younger teen urged. Miko and Jack immediately jumped onto the Pteranodons as they started lifting off, taking Roxanne along with them. Before leaving however, Miko turned to the younger boy and gave him a green firearm.
"It's a flare gun. When we come back I'll fire one into the sky. When you see it, fire this one and we'll come to you," Miko instructed.
"We'll be back as fast as we can!" called Jack before they flapped out of sight, once again leaving Raf and Knockout alone.
"Come on boy, we gotta get moving," Raf said gently but urgently, hopping into the saddle and taking off into the forest.
The Terror Bird pack had just closed in on the area the final squawk of its fallen member had come from. Rounding the mountainside, the group of 3 did not take long to see the signs of a struggle.
A strange ape-creature cave lay in shambles, rocks and wood strewn across the forest floor. Blood from more than one creature was splattered across the area, soaking into the dirt. Nearby, one of the armored ones lay dead, its corpse already beginning to decompose, as well as the smell of death mixed with the glowing red beast's scent.
Ignoring the other stimuli that bombarded its senses, the eldest bird approached one body in particular while her packmates fed on the rocky one's corpse.
The adolescent lay dead, killed by its own eagerness. It had suffered a brutal death, the price it paid for going in alone. Had the scout not reported in, he surely would have fallen too. Its eviscerated torso and the shattered legs revealed that more than one creature had worked in tandem against it. If not for anything else, the pointy stick lodged in its eye was certainly no scaled one's doing.
Leaning down, the elder caught a whiff of what had killed their packmate. It smelled of the swift feather scales along with one of the ape-creature. It nocked its head to the left and discovered drops of blood heading further into the woods.
UUURRGHH!
The elder's packmates ceased their feeding as they heard their alpha call. She had picked up the scent of the one who had killed their brother. Scarfing down the last of the meat, the ancient avians cawed and squawked loudly before taking off into the woods after their alpha.
The hunt had begun.
"Easy does it Miko, we don't want to break her ankles," Jack warned as he noticed his partner descending too fast for Roxanne's liking. They had just arrived back at the house after the slog back home through the sky.
"Well I'm sorry that I don't feel comfortable ditching our friend alone in the woods!" she snapped.
Rather than be angry at her remark, Jack just held a hand up. "Look, I know you're stressed out, but arguing isn't going to safely land Roxanne any faster. And it sure isn't going to help us get to Raf any quicker."
Miko exhaled loudly as she let go of her current frustrations, concentrating on the task at hand. Slowly descending into the dino pen, the two Pteranodon riders let the Ankylosaur settle down into the sand comfortably beside Spitfire and Razor Wing. The dinosaur appeared to be happy to finally be out of the air permanently as she immediately plopped down on her stomach and went to sleep.
"Alright, now that that's done with, we can let the Pteranodons rest a bit and fly back for Raf and Knockout," Jack stated. The two of them quickly ran inside of the house to pack and craft whatever they needed, grabbing arrows, crafting a few bullets, and stocking up on food and water before running back out. Jack also took the reprieve as a chance to finally slap the saddle on the Anky.
"Alright, get your butt in gear. We've gotta go save Raf," Miko said as they took off, worry streaking across her features. "If there's still a Raf to save," she thought grimly as she watched the moon crest to its peak.
Present...
"Hold on Knockout! We can do this!" Raf tried to ensure his Raptor, but as soon as he finished his sentence, the elder Terror Bird leapt up and drove its extended leg into Raf's body while its packmate stood atop Knockout.
"Ack!" he shouted, now at the mercy of the predator on top of him. The Terror Bird's eyes screamed bloody murder. Raf closed his eyes, waiting for death to take him as the sharp beak descended to snap shut on his neck. He just wished he had the chance to say goodbye...
"RAAAAAGHHHHH!"
Raf opened his eyes at the sound of a deep guttural battle cry before the Terror Bird standing above him screeched in pain. Confused, Raf watched the bird of prey stumble off his torso. Once it had hobbled over to the side, Raf could see that a spear had pierced its right flank.
"Jack? Miko?" the young human said, thinking his friends had arrived just in time.
Instead, sharp ivories clamped shut just feet away from Raf's face, frightening the life out of him Raising his extra torch, the tech genius of Team Prime saw a flash of teal scales, followed by agonizing cries as a wet CHOMP sounded from where his assailant had just been. He scrambled backwards to get away from the much larger predator that'd inadvertedly saved his life.
The cries of his Raptor partner alerted him back to the dinosaur, where the two remaining Terror Birds had shock plastered across their features. They were so busy watching and hearing the gruesome fate of their packmate, they never saw the dark silhouette of a rock raising over their heads...
The second Terror Bird never saw it coming, instantly crumpling to a heap as the rock fractured its skull. The eldest of the pack cried out as it she watched her packmates fall one after the other to these lightning fast attackers. Stepping away from the Raptor on the ground, she gave a shrill roar at the creature that had slain her brother beside her.
In the torch light, the figure made itself known. Another of ape-creatures, this one much larger than the adolescent one she had hunted thus far, sporting far more hair atop its head and body. The hulking figure of a man stood almost as tall as the Terror Bird itself. The creature was less covered in the false skins the other one war, only wearing some kind of hide pants that reached down to its legs, allowing it to show off its extremely muscular physique. In his hand was one of the pointy sticks, only much larger than the one that'd pierced its packmate's eye.
Raf couldn't believe it. There were other humans on this island.
The large man stood motionless, eyeing the Terror Bird in an attempt at intimidation. In response, the Cenozoic hunter began to back away, making to take off into the Redwoods, when it bumped into something sturdy. Believing it to be a tree, the animal's eyes went wide as it saw the teal coloring, realizing it'd been baited. Craning its neck upwards, the Terror Bird got a good look at the rows of sharp teeth above it, right before they beared down on its body.
The crunch of bone and meat followed as the dinosaur finished its catch. Swalloing vigorously, she turned her sights to the young boy quaking beside his Raptor, regarding them for a moment.
Raf trembled beside Knockout, thinking he had escaped the frying pan only to enter the fire. Getting a good look at its box shaped head, tiny arms, and basic therapodic structure, he was easily able to identify the dinosaur as some kind of member of the Tyrannosaur family, and he gulped at that realization. The Tyrannosaur was smaller than he thought, probably being 10 feet tall, just a little larger than the Carno. It also had a distinct dark and light pattern to its skin, almost like tribal markings. While small for a T. Rex, he didn't think he and Knockout stood much of a chance of beating something nearly twice their size and with twice as many teeth.
The dwarf T. Rex moved its head closer to the paralyzed duo, taking a quick sniff of them before the large man stepped between them. Thinking he was a goner, Raf was stunned as he watched the man pat the Tyrannosaurus on the head gently before vocalizing with it. The large dinosaur rumbled before turning away towards the river, giving Raf a good look at the large fang on the right side of its mouth.
Knockout watched the T. Rex begin to walk away with a shocked face similar to that of its alpha. Before the man that accompanied it could follow though, Raf stopped him.
"Wait!" he said. Grabbing the large human's attention, Raf picked something out of his inventory. "Thank you for saving us," he praised, now getting a proper look at the man. He noticed that the human had some peculiar features. His eyebrows were bushier, his nose was broader, and his chin was wider. Overall, his appearance was closer to a gorilla than a man, helping the young genius realize he wasn't looking at a fellow Sapien but rather a Neanderthal.
The man raised his brow at the young one's words, unable to comprehend their meaning, though his tone sounded grateful. He simply nodded before following after the teal dinosaur across the river when he heard splashing behind him.
"Hang on! Take this with you!" Raf called before offering two things. On one hand, he held a tool that the primitive human knew well: a spear. Taking it from his grasp, he smiled slightly, finding solace in the fact that this young one already knew how to make the tools of survival.
The second object mystified him. The strange curved stick and string had no sharp edge to it, and it didn't look like a very good fire starter. A strange trinket indeed.
Seeing the confusion, Raf tried to use his actions to explain better. Grabbing a stone arrow, he showed the mini spear to the man, showing off its simple design before nocking the arrow on the bow. Aiming for a nearby tree, he released his grip, allowing the arrow to sail through the night sky before piercing the thick tree bark.
"Ahhh," the caveman uttered, understanding now the usefulness such a tool could have on hunts. How had this youngling managed to create such a valuable tool?
"It's yours now," Raf said, nudging the bow and a few arrows at the burly human. Looking over the child again, he gave a grunt of acknowledgement before taking the outstretched bow.
Behind him, the caveman turned to see the red Raptor giving a piece of meat to his Tyrannosaur accomplice before dashing back across the river to its alpha. He then started to walk back to his companion, turning his back to the strange boy and the Raptor.
Thanks again!" Raf called before he noticed the sky beginning to light up bright. "Hey look, it's Jack and Miko," Raf said to his swift partner before grabbing the flare gun from earlier and shooting it into the sky, startling the T. Rex and the Neanderthal.
This boy was strange indeed, but he seemed fully capable of surviving on his own with his Raptor charge. He had a feeling he would see them again.
As Raf watched the receding figures of the caveman and the T. Rex retreating into the night, he paused. "Hmmm, that guy was pretty handy with a spear. That actually seems like a pretty good name for him," he remarked. "And that T. Rex had a really big fang on her right side. Yeah, that fits pretty good."
And so, as he heard the familiar sounds of wing beats, Raf made sure that once they go back to the house, he'd tell his friends to be on the lookout for Spear and Fang next time they ended up on the wrong side of the Redwoods.
Man, I gotta find better chapter endings than Team Prime flying back home lol. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Let's see if you all caught the references at the end there, it's a pretty dead giveaway if you watch the show haha
To Liam199e, thanks! I really appreciate the support