Dylan was almost vibrating with excitement as he followed his mom and three older siblings. Finally. He was old enough to come on a hunt. He couldn't participate, of course, cause he was too small. But the frustration was pushed aside by the fact that he was on a hunt!
"Slow down, Squirt." Flint, his elder brother said with an amused look. "The herbivores will still be there when we arrive."
Flint was a light brown adolescent T-Rex and the best brother if Dylan had anything to say about it.
A laugh from a grayish-brown female T-Rex about the same size as Flint had Dylan glaring at her, but she paid no mind to it.
"If he doesn't scare them away with all the noise." She teased.
A twin to the female, only she was sporting a small dark brown spot under her left eye, snorted. "How can he? He's small enough to barely be noticed by them."
This sent the pair into a roar of laughter. Dylan growled quietly, glaring at the ground.
Those were his elder sisters, Isla and the one with the spot was Tali. His siblings were always making fun of him because of his size-his sisters especially. Always saying he needed a babysitter to watch him or that he needed help constantly. He knew they did to rile him up and that they cared about him, but it didn't mean he had to like it.
The sisters were silenced by a large light brown female T-Rex, their mom Lumen. "Hush, children."
The family of five came to a stop on a hill overlooking a herd of Hadrosaurus next to a small body of water.
Dylan looked at his mother while she explained what the plan was. She was big. A lot bigger than him or his siblings and her roar sounded like thunder. She always knew what to say to cheer him up. She wasn't afraid of anything and the other animals in their territory seemed to respect her. His small chest puffed up slightly.
His mom was a T-Rex through and through. To him, she was stronger than anything in the whole world.
"Dylan, you stay here." Lumen said.
Dylan's chest deflated and he opened his mouth, only to shut it when Lumen gave him a look.
"Remember what we talked about before we left the den. You can only come if-"
"If I don't wander and if any predator or herbivore comes close to me, I have to hide." Dylan finished, kicking the ground a bit grumpily.
Satisfied with his answer, Lumen nodded and looked at her children. "Everybody knows their role? Good. Go get into position."
The three older T-Rex's left while Lumen nudged her youngest carefully with a heavy snout.
"Everything starts small, Dylan. Time is needed." Dylan nuzzled her and she let out a low rumble. "Won't even notice it pass by before you are grown." After a few more nuzzles, she straightened and went to join her other children, leaving Dylan watching her retreating figure
The words his mom said comforted him barely. He wanted to grow bigger and stronger now so he could hunt with the rest of his family and for once not be left behind. Sighing, he settled down to watch the hunt. If he wanted to join the hunt one day, he would have to watch and learn.
Xxx
Flint hid behind a couple of trees, eyeing two Hadrosaurus grazing away from the herd. From his vantage point, he could vaguely see Isla a few meters away.
He stilled when one of the Hadrosaurus' looked up, head turning as it surveyed its surroundings. When its head went back down, Flint waited a moment then burst out of the foliage.
The herd of Hadrosaurus let out cries of shock and the ground rumbled as they began to flee. Flint kept his eyes on his two targets, herding them towards Isla.
She lunged out of her spot with a roar, making the two herbivores scramble to change their course.
Flint was now joined by Isla.
The two siblings flanked the herbivores, keeping them on track and away from the herd. Just as they were coming up on a bend, Lumen and Tali came around and barged into the Hadrosaurus', knocking them off their feet.
The herbivores were no match for the four carnivores. The victory roars of the family soon rang out into the air.
When he was sure it was safe, Dylan came down and joined his family. His quiet roar was lost in the noise.
Xxx
Dylan gorged himself on the tasty innards of the Hadrosaurus alongside his family. Eventually, having his fill, he went off to the side and laid down. The warmth from the sun and the effects of a full stomach made him slightly tired, but he wasn't tired enough to fall asleep there.
The excitement from seeing his first hunt was still faintly coursing through his veins. He had asked his mother about what they do on a hunt before, but just hearing about it wasn't the same as seeing it.
He guessed that it would be also different when he finally got old enough to participate in the hunts.
Dylan blinked when a heavy body settled beside him. Looking over, he saw Flint gazing down at him with amusement.
"So, what did you think, Squirt?" Flint asked.
Dylan ignored the nickname. "It was awesome! The way you and Isla lead those two Hadrosaurus to mom and Tali, then bam! They were down just like that!"
A rumble like laugh escaped Flint at Dylan's enthusiasm.
"Will it always be like that?" Dylan gave a starry-eyed look to his older brother, tail wagging slightly.
Flint huffed. "Not always. That's why you have to be real careful on hunts. They could go wrong at any minute." He looked at his mother. "Right, mom?"
Lumen lifted her head, blood staining her as she nodded. "Right. Do not take herbivores lightly. And always keep a careful eye on your surroundings."
Dylan nodded, filing the information at the back of his mind.
Lumen sniffed the air, eyes narrowing an inch as she looked to the distance and saw grey clouds approaching slowly.
"Everybody full?" The siblings spoke in confirmation. "Okay, time to go home. There's a storm on the way." She turned and began to walk away, her children quickly following after.
The group of five reached their home just as the first raindrop hit the ground, quickly becoming a drizzle. Their home was a cave in a small glade hidden by ferns and trees. Small patches of barren ground sprinkled here and there.
Dylan shook himself off, sitting down and staring sulkily outside. He still wanted to play, but he knew his mother wanted them to stay inside during storms. Huffing, Dylan laid his head down. Eventually, the sounds of his family's moving, his full stomach, and the rain lured him to sleep.
Xxx
Boooom!
The sound like boulders tumbling from a mountain and louder than even his mother's roar had Dylan jumping up, awake and shaking. He looked around widely.
The laughter of his sisters made Dylan growl in embarrassment as he realized that it was just the sound of thunder. The rain was coming down harder now, almost making the forest pitch black.
"Aww~ Little Dylan scared of a little thunder again?" Isla cooed teasingly.
"Shut up!" Dylan snapped back. "I-I was just surprised is all."
"Yeah, right, Dylan." Tali said, still laughing from the spectacle of him jumping.
"Mm, I remember when you girls were also scared of thunder when you were younger." Lumen said.
The twins looked at her aghast. "Mom!"
Luman chuckled lowly while Dylan gave the twins a smug look.
"What about Flint?" Tali demanded.
Realizing what her sister was doing, Isla nodded. "Yeah, was he scared of thunder when he was a hatchling?"
The family looked over towards a peacefully sleeping Flint who wasn't even awake after that noise. The twins and Dylan gave each other exasperated looks.
Once Flint was asleep, one had to work to wake him. He could sleep through an earthquake if left alone.
A cacophony of low alarmed bellows abruptly went through the air, followed by screeches and squawks interrupted the four.
Dylan unconsciously moved closer to his mom. "What's going on?" Was someone hunting? But those calls sounded different from what he heard on this evening's hunt. These calls were filled with fear and pain.
Lumen stood up, eyes narrowed. "I'm not sure." She looked at Tali and Isla. "Stay here and wake up your brother."
Hearing the seriousness in her mother's voice, Tali got up and went over to Flint, biting his tail hard enough to bleed. She moved away quickly as Flint jumped up and let out a roar.
He whipped his head towards her, glaring. "What was that for?"
Tali glared back and motioned over to Lumen.
"Flint, stay with your siblings. If I don't return in five minutes, leave." Lumen ordered.
Flint opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but Luman silenced him with a look. "I understand." He said.
Lumen gave everyone a brief look, then disappeared into the rain, the sound of footsteps quickly being swallowed up. As the siblings waited, they could hear more bellows and calls and a strange scent Dylan never smelled before steadily tinged the air.
It made his nose tickle and something inside him rolled anxiously.
"Stop pacing, Dylan." Flint said. "Mom will be fine." He said that, but even Dylan could see the worry in his eyes.
The silence with thick and tense as the siblings waited impatiently for their mom to return. Just as the five minutes were up and Flint took a step forward, a dark shape ran into the cave.
Lumen panted, covered in a dark substance and the strange smell clinging to her. For the first time in his life, Dylan saw fear in his mother's eyes.
"Quickly, we must leave." She said.
"Wa-Mom, what's going on?" Isla asked, alarmed.
"There's a forest fire. We must move now."
The family of T-rex's quickly left their home and further into the forest. As they ran, Dylan could hear other dinosaurs roaring and see them running the same way he and his family were going.
An intense heat was all around him, what little of the sky he could see through the black smog in the air was painted red and orange, little flakes of light falling. He watched as one flake touched the ground and alarm spread through him when it caught aflame.
What was this monster that made even his mother afraid? Would it swallow them whole and leave them as bones?
"Quit stalling, Dylan." Flint said, urging him to run faster. "Keep with the others."
It was chaos for the young carnivore. Dinosaurs trampled and ran into each other to get away from the fire. He could see a Corythosaurus get pinned under a burning tree, the smell of burnt flesh making Dylan's gag. The herbivore let out a low grown of distress but it was ignored, left to die.
"This way." Lumen called over the noise, going into a crowd of dinosaurs, but Dylan could hardly keep up. His little lungs weren't getting enough air and he was nearing exhaustion.
"Mo-" He coughed. He had closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them, he had lost sight of his family. He whirled around, eyes searching widely for his family. "Mom!"
Dylan kept moving to avoid being trampled, calling for his family, and letting out little roars. A cracking sound caught his attention and he looked up to see a burning tree branch break off above him. Dylan leaped to the side and the branch caught the eye of an Alvarezsaurus instead. It crumbled down to the ground, letting out a terrible screech.
He had to find his family. No, he had to get away then find his family. That's what his mom would've said. Shaking off his dizziness, Dylan kept running, ducking and dodging the bodies of dinosaurs-some dead, others not-as best as he could.
The fire seemed to be everywhere, eating away at anything it could get like some insatiable beast. Dylan was gasping now, lungs struggling to take in precious oxygen. He was so distracted that he didn't see the tail of a rampaging Hadrosaurus coming towards him. It hit him, sending his little body flying over into a ravine.
The waters had risen due to the storm and the currents were rough. A wave pushed Dylan under, the currents tossing him around like a small pebble. He used his remaining energy to swim to the surface, gasping for air. He had jumped from the fire into another problem.
He had to stay awake. He couldn't fall asleep here. Dylan felt his body grow numb, eyes dropping. His little legs paddled weakly to keep afloat. He...had to..see his fami...Darkness overtook him and the waves dragged him down.
