"Will you move your ass" Joel snarled, prodding Mike in the back with the spear he held. Mike hasten to quicken his pace, he breathed shakily he had no idea what was going. He chanced to look to his left where one Raptor was keeping pace with group. Its orange eye glared menacingly at Mike, the hunger of a predator gleamed within.
Mike gulped as he turned away and looked ahead, more beasts lumbered about, several glanced lazily at the group as they shuffled past, Mike was amazed. He recognised several species as he walked past. A herding group of triceratops and group of five Parasaurolophus, also known as Parasaurs.
Mike could see why his captors hadn't taken on these larger animals even with a pack of raptors, they were simply to big to risk losing their animals and possibly their lives. And Mike realised what he was going on. He was going to be eaten.
Fucking Eaten. Was this place that bad that cannibalism was commonplace?
"Pack of Dilo's over there" One of the captors pointed out.
"I see them" Joel responded, pulling out a primitive spyglass "Yeah that's a pack of Dilo's alright, looks like they're tearing apart a Dodo. Best keep our distance though"
Mike felt himself be pushed to the left and into the brush.
They travelled a little while longer with nothing but a few more lumbering Herbivores lumbering from bush to tree. But then there was a slight incline and Mike, with his hands tied behind his back, was suddenly smacked in the back of the head and he knew no more for the time being.
Mike's journey back to consciousness was hazy with his mind in a terrible fog, the first thing he felt was heat from a roaring fire that was sat in front of him. It was nice to feel warm but the memories flooded back to him as he tried to push himself back up to his feet but he fell back again as he was caught on something.
This was when he discovered he was tied to a pole, with his hands bound around it. He was definitely trapped.
He spotted Joel in the corner of the camp sharpening a sword, the type of sword that could cut through flesh, muscle and bone.
"Listen, you dont have to do this" Mike began.
"Shut it" Joel replied whilst checking the blade's sharpness.
One of the other bandits strode into the camp with a spear and a Raptor tailing him.
"All clear boss" He said as he turned to look at Mike with a look that sent shivers down his spine
"Good, well let us begin" Joel said with glee.
The raptors could suddenly smell blood and looked at Mike with ravenous hunger. Mike could only watch as the three Raptors and three humans approached him. He closed his eyes and waited for the end to begin. Until he could feel Joel's breath on his face.
"Now, lets see how you taste" Joel said, dragging the blade down from the top of his right shoulder to where his rapidly beating heart sat.
But death would not come today.
There was a loud piercing cry that seemed to have come from the sky. Mike's eyes shot open and his jaw dropped as a majestic Eagle dove towards the ground and instantly crushed one of the raptors underneaths its talons.
The Raptor let out a soft whimper as it tried to claw its way to freedom but its strength betrayed it and there was a final gasp of air as the talons punctured its lungs, stealing its life away in a second as the Raptor exhaled its last.
Sat upon the Eagle's back was a girl not much older than he was, chestnut brown hair that reached her shoulders, her clothes slightly torn and tattered. Vicious eyes bore deep into his for the briefest of moments before they turned to regard his captors in turn.
One of the bandits moved nervously towards his leader "Whadda we do boss?" Joel held out a hand to shush him.
"You just killed a very valuable creature to me" He snarled at the girl" The Eagle glared at him and let out a caw in anger, she patted its head to calm it down before looking at the bandit leader.
"Funny, didn't seem all that valuable" She spat back "Release him to me, Now" She said fiercely, pointing towards Mike.
"It's a beach scrub" Joel laughed "the only thing they are good for is bait and food" Joel said waving his hand dismissively.
"I won't ask again, give him to me, now" She hissed reaching out her palm.
Joel smirked in response, he whistled and instantly the two remaining Raptors barked and growled as they darted forwards towards the Girl and her Eagle.
The Eagle leapt into the sky unfurling its wings and cawing towards the heavens gracefully, the two Raptors barked and hissed at the Eagle above them, the giant bird's eyes narrowed and sharpened. Before diving in a graceful freefall and ensnaring a Raptor in its talons.
The raptor let out a terrified bark as the Eagle's talons ripped into it's flesh and began to tear. The Raptors innards feel to the floor from the gaping hole in it's belly with a wet crunch.
The Raptors body soon followed suit and its carcass was released from the Eagle's terrifying grip. Mike began to struggle against his restraints as the battle took place, why did so many people have this intense interest in him? All he knew is that he didnt want to find out.
He watched as the girl had now jumped off her mount , her feet hitting the floor, her face never leaving that of Joel's, her face was contorted into anger and rage. The Eagle turned its attention to the remaining carnivore and flew into the sky again.
The girl walked forwards and unsheathed a Sword. Roughly a metre in length with knuckle handgrips that made it look more like a machete than anything, Mike gulped as the blade seemed to glitter into the ever fading sunlight and he hasten to loosen his bonds which was progressing but painfully slowly.
Joel and the two bandits brought their spears up as they walked toward the girl, without breaking stride she reached behind her back and before any of them realized she withdrew a Crossbow, aimed and fired.
The bolt flew at blinding speeds and pierced the face of the bandit on the left, killing him instantly. She threw the crossbow to the ground as the other nameless bandit sprinted forward in rage, charging blindly with his spear. The Girl easily spun out the way and brought her sword down on the man's wrist.
He screamed in agony as he held the stump that was squirting out blood. The girl wasted no time thrusting the blade into his gut, granting him a quick death. His lifeless body crumpled on itself.
She brushed her hair out of her face as she turned to face Joel, the last man standing, among human and beast. The Eagle had torn apart the final Raptor was ease and was now hovering over the two combatants, casting its shadow over the camp.
She smirked at seeing the fear in his eyes as he readied his spear against her Sword of Iron and iron will. He sprang forward with a thrust, she brushed it aside with her blade and went for a swing on his exposed side.
He narrowly avoided being hit but the tip of the blade nicked him in the side, he gasped in pain as the blade tore open his skin and a shallow amount of flesh. His anger fuelled his next attack as brought down the spear towards her, threatening to impale her head with the sharpened end.
The Girl seeing the attack from a mile off moved backwards, the point of the spear only hit air, causing him to lose his balance from the strength behind his swing, she moved forwards, stepping on the end of the spear, ripping it from his hands from the full force of her body despite how light and nimble she was.
She thrust her own weapon into his chest, his heart. He started to violently cough up blood and she drew him in close to her so he could look into her eyes.
"I told you, you didn't listen, now... you die" She said with a smirk, she ripped the sword from his chest, ripping out pieces of heart out with it. He died before the blade had even left his body. She let out a pained smile as the exhaustion of the confrontation overwhelmed her briefly.
With a smile she turned to the post... but the smile instantly fell as there was nothing but a post with broken bonds.
Her eyes widened as she put two and two together, realising what had happened. She spun on her heels running towards her Eagle, scooping up her crossbow as she ran without breaking stride, she swung her leg onto the saddle and kicked the Eagle's side lifting them up into the air.
Mike had never ran so much in his life. His body sweat with exhaustion and his mouth thirsted for water but he needed to get away from there, he needed to survive, he needed to live. So he ran but it was getting dark and he had no shelter, no cover, no weapons in this horribly hostile world.
He collapsed onto his knees, chest heaving, gulping in oxygen like he was deprived because he was. But now the Sun had set over the Horizon and the nearby Green Obelisk illuminated the landscape around him and that's when he heard it.
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
He leapt to his feet as he saw a fearful sight, a ten foot tall Carnotaurus was stomping towards him, its head was lowered, pointing its very large and very dangerous horns at him. Its tail swinging left and right as it thundered toward him.
Mike didnt need any persuasion to pick himself up and started to sprint in the other direction, the Carno snorted as it pursued. Mike knew there was no way out, at his current state of exhaustion and the sheer size of the monster chasing him he knew it was only a matter of time until it caught up with him.
But even then it wasn't the least of his problems because up ahead was a dead end. Somehow he had turned into a small canyon that rounded off at the end and the slopes were just too steep to climb.
He nearly collapsed as he reached the end with the Carno in hot pursuit he spun round to face it and closed his eyes waiting for the end. THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
But like that of a guardian Angel above him he heard the flapping of gigantic wings, he opened his eyes just in time to see a Crossbow bolt embed itself into the underbelly of the Dinosaur. He looked up in astonishment.
And there was the gigantic Eagle above him, looking down at him with a fierce glare, saved from one monster just to be devoured by another, but then the girl peeked over the side and lowered her arm and hand to him
"Come on!" she shouted down to him as she fired another bolt from her weapon, which hit its mark, if the Carno's roar of pain was anything to go by. "That aint gonna stop it forever" Finally shaken out of his stupor he reached for her hand.
With surprising strength she pulled him up with him pulling the rest of himself up with his free hand by grasping onto the saddle. She looked back to make sure he was secure before she lifted the bird away from the ground. "Hold on!" she shouted as the bird nearly went straight up vertically.
Mike, in a panic, threw his arms around her lower body. Both teens couldn't ignore the electricity that sparked through them as his arms grazed her hips where the clothing was torn or ripped. It sent shivers down their spines. Below them the Carno has charged again but it hit the canyon wall at ferocious speeds, it roared in pain as it looked up at the Bird and its passengers, letting out one final futile screech before the Bird flew off.
Mike peered below them to see that they were very far off the ground and his grip around her tightened a little bit, getting a horrible sense of vertigo. The bird flew the air gracefully with the Girl lightly holding into its reins. Rider and Bird were in perfect synch with each other.
They Flew in silence and Mike took the time to look around, the Green Obelisk was an ever present reminder of the strange world that he was in. Tree's and rivers seemed to be the dominant terrain here, with grasslands interspaced between the two here and there.
His eyes turned back to her, his rescuer.
"You know it was very stupid of you to run off like that" She said lightly, as she turned the bird right to go further inland.
"I have no idea what's going on, it seemed like my only option"
She considered his words for a moment "Fair" she said in agreement.
"Who are you?" He asked.
She glanced over her shoulder at him, her brown orbs connecting with his own briefly "El, just El" She replied, looking ahead again.
"I'm Mike" He said, eyes narrowing if remembering something "Short for Michael"
She hummed her acknowledgement. There was a short, almost awkward silence.
"i have never seen a bird like this before" He said
"It's called an Argentavis, but I call him Ravanger" She said giving the bird an affectionate pat on the side of its head, it cawed softly under her touch. She leaned forward on the bird which began to descend.
"We're here" She said simply.
Mike saw nothing but blackness "How can you tell?"
She gave him a knowing look "I always can" the bird soared through the tree and landed gracefully, folding its wings away, El climbed off the birds back and walked forward through the darkness. Mike's eyes gradually adjusted to the dark and saw a small outline of a hut, no bigger than four metres in circumference.
"You live here?" He asked stooping near the entrance.
"Yes" She said with a bite of defensiveness.
"Cosy" He remarked.
She snorted with derision. There was sudden warmth and light as she lit the campfire that sat just outside the huts entrance. Mike automatically moved toward it, being drawn to the warmth like a moth.
"Hungry?" She asked him, just then his stomach rumbled with assertiveness.
"Starving"
She nodded as she slapped a hunk of meat onto the makeshift spit that hanging over the fire. He looked at the meat suspiciously.
"That isn't..." he began
"Human? No, I still have morality and my sanity" She said, as an afterthought she added "It's Dodo meat"
He nodded as he sat down, the two enjoyed a more relaxed and comfortable silence.
"You thirsty?" she asked
"Yeah" he said, she nodded and reached towards a box and pulled out two waterskins, throwing one to Mike she uncapped hers and took a swig, Mike inspected his curiously before uncapping it and taking a small, experimental swig. Cool water graced his parched throat and it felt like Heaven.
Placing the cap back on the waterskin, he looked at El, who looked back at him when she felt his eyes on her.
"Thank you" Mike said with a small smile.
She gave him a smile in return. It was almost a shy smile. She took the meat from the fire, cooked to a perfect medium-rare. She handed him the meat that was still on the spit.
"We'll find some more rounded food tomorrow, I spent most of today looking for you" She said.
"Oh this is perfect, thank you" He said again.
They ate in a comfortable silence, Ravanger, the Argentavis was fast asleep itself, perfectly still but ready to spring into action when needed. Soon enough Mike felt his eyes droop and soon enough the day's events had lulled into an exhausted sleep.
El watched him eventually fall asleep, she sighed and shook her head, carefully walking into her hut she grabbed makeshift blankets that she had crafted out of animal hides and pillows that were also softer but still made out of hide and walked back outside.
She carefully placed the hide blanket over his sleeping form. She lifted his head gently and placed it on the more comfortable hide pillow. Luckily for Mike the place where he chosen to fall asleep was on top of a pile of thatch that she had gathered a day before. She gently placed her own pillow and blanket down. Snuggling underneath them to keep warm she turned to look at him. "Night Mike" She whispered before she let her eyes close and allowed the comfort of sleep to lull her away.
And soon the Campfire embers died away, enshrouding their sanctuary in darkness once again.
(A/N) Taking a small break from the Mark of Cain for awhile, so I thought i'd work on some stories that needed completing. This story shouldn't be to long, 5 chapters at most as this is meant to be a short story! Lol
As always guys, review! And until next time, peace!