Chapter 3
Liam awoke the next day feeling like one huge rash. Thatch might have protected him from the elements, but it was NOT fun to sleep on! "Priority today, make a bed!" He groaned as he made his way out of his pitiful shack, then stopped in surprise. The duck-bill bill from yesterday was sleeping just a couple yards away from the doorway of his house.
Liam found it hard not to smile, despite his situation. "Looks like I might have found myself a permanent companion!" He reached out and knocked on the wall of his house to make some noise, and instantly the animal's head shot up in surprise. It slowly stood up, stretching to wake its sleepy body, then ambled over to Liam, letting out a friendly honk.
Pulling out some more berries from the previous day, he gave his new friend breakfast which was received gratefully. "I wish I could remember what you were called buddy!" Liam told it, slightly annoyed. "Though for now, I think Duck would be an appropriate name."
As if on cue, his arm implant began to flash. He held it up to check the problem, and was met with a screen he hadn't seen before, congratulating him on his new tamed dinosaur. It showed him Duck's physical levels just like his own, and told him two very important things. Duck was a female, and was called a Parasaur. "Well then, I guess you just became a member of the Survivors Club!" Liam cheerfully told Duck, receiving a honk in return. He set off towards the river mouth in the distance, Duck tagging close behind.
The journey to the river didn't take very long, and the entire route was filled with dinosaurs. It was a very humbling experience to say the least, surrounded as he was by animals of enormous size and power. Duck dutifully tagged along behind him, occasionally tearing a leaf off the occasional bush to munch.Whenever they passed a large rock by the water, Liam always made it a point to harvest the stone with his pickaxe, due to the frequency of breakage. Stone harvesting stone made little sense to him, but every strike on the rock would fill his inventory with stone and flint. He then used this to replace his constantly broken picks and hatchets, hoping he could someday access a more efficient tool.
The transition from coast to river bank was very abrupt, as the survivor and his friend entered this strange new land for the first time. The oceanside cliffs to his left gave way to jungle, and he could hear many strange animal calls deep in the trees. The banks of the river were far less populated than the coast, with only the occasional herbivore munching on the plants at the edge of the woods.
By midday, Liam and Duck had traveled a fair distance, moving slowly to avoid unwanted attention. Soon the day grew so hot that the travelers were forced to stop and rest. They took shelter under a large overhanging rock by the river, which provided a clear view of the path ahead. The river appeared to break off in two directions ahead of him, one leading inland, the other breaking back towards the coast. "I'm starting to think we might be living on an island Duck. River on one side, ocean on the other." Duck made no comment (Thank goodness), but seemed a bit on edge. She kept watching the nearby water, as if it could jump up and eat them at any time.
Liam leaned back nervously and looked up at the sky, and quite nearly swallowed his own tongue in pure shock. There, looming in the distance across the river, was a building. A massive artificial structure looking completely out of place in the wilderness. It was completely black on its exterior, the exception being a bright green light shining near the top of the building. The light was emanating from a shape akin to a huge green diamond, magnifying a powerful light at its center. The round structure seemed to be standing on several stilts, but the forest blocked Liam's view of the bottom. He stood, mesmerized, slowly walking forward as if drawn to it. "There's no way the dinosaurs built that. That had to be built by humans…" He continued walking forward, until he stepped into the flowing river in front of him.
It very nearly cost him his life. At the center of the river, the water seemed to part, revealing a strange crest that seemed to be moving toward him. It was dark grey like the rocks in the river, and continued to rise out of the water as it approached Liam at the water's edge. Behind him Duck began to honk an alarm call, trying to alert Liam to danger. He heeded the warning, backing quickly away from the water towards Duck, now standing up in a defensive position. The rising crest accelerated, until the water ahead of it suddenly boiled and burst, revealing a huge set of jaws filled with large teeth. An earth-shattering roar filled the air as a titanic super-predator charged out of the water towards Liam and Duck. This dinosaur was sadly very familiar to Liam. It was a Spinosaurus, and a very hungry one at that.
"RUN!" Liam screamed at Duck, and the two of them barreled toward the trees, the angry Spino right on their tail. The predator was quickly gaining on them, its four long legs spanning a much longer distance than Liam could ever dream of. Duck reached the shelter of the trees first and looked back to see if Liam was safe too, but there was no way Liam would make it. The Spino was seconds away from striking range. Duck instinctively reacted, ready to defend a family member, and charged back towards the super predator with his bony crest lowered for the charge.
It's doubtful the Spino had ever had its prey turn to face it, and was caught completely unprepared by Ducks body-slam against his head. A couple of the Spino's teeth went flying as it staggered backwards, roaring in surprise. Duck didn't waste its shock, and raced after Liam, who had just made it to safety. By the time the monster had shaken off the hit, Duck and Liam were safely concealed by the trees. The last thing they heard was the Spino's angry roar filling the air, as they plunged deeper into the unknown forest.
Liam had thought that the Spinosaurus attack was as scared as he could get today, but he was wrong. There was something extremely unsettling about the jungle, with the constantly echoing calls of the residents of the canopy. Every now and then he could hear some small creature scurry away through the underbrush, making him jump every time. He walked beside Duck every step of the way, refusing to leave her side. "I don't know if you understand what I tell you, but thank you for saving my life back there. I hardly deserved it, since I've only ever given you berries in return…" To his surprise, his friend seemed to understand completely, and pressed closer to him for support.
The forest shouldn't have lasted as long as it had, as this small island they lived on didn't allow for much room. The problem was that they had no idea where they were going. Several times they doubled back on themselves, trying to find a way out that didn't send them back into the Spino's jaws. Liam couldn't even follow the sound of the ocean, as it was drowned out by the sounds around him. Even though the ocean would lead them to cliffs, he knew the trees at the top left a large open clearing, so he and Duck could follow the edge of the cliff back until they hit the beach in safety.
Nearly an hour passed before Liam finally realized he could hear the pounding of the ocean's waves. "This way girl! Come on!" Duck let out a joyful honk as they turned to follow the sound of the waves, only for Liam to suddenly stop. Duck did as well, then sniffed the air. Her demeanor suddenly changed, lowering her body and swinging her tail back and forth. Liam had stopped because he realized something… he could hear the ocean because the noise of the forest had just stopped.
Completely.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw a slight rustle in the brush on the forest floor, and called out his stone hatchet from his inventory. Behind him, Duck turned towards the woods behind then and lowered her head, snorting aggressively. A sickening smell drifted into the air, the scent of rotting meat. His hand tightened around his weapon, his head on a swivel. For a moment everything was quiet, and it got to the point where he was starting to question his instincts.
When the attack came it was so sudden and violent, he had trouble processing it. A lithe shape darted out of the bushes and ran past duck, slashing with small but sharp claws. Duck let out a painful howl, swiveling to face her attacker. As soon as she did so, a new shape came from behind her, repeating the same process. This one however didn't dart into cover as fast, and Liam got a good look at their enemy. It was a Raptor, a smart and deadly pack hunter with sharp teeth and strong claws. He realized he wasn't their target, but he refused to let them harm Duck again. He watched Duck turn again to follow the second Raptor, and then ran behind her. Just as he predicted, another raptor darted in for another attack on Duck. This one however received a slice across the face from Liam's weapon. It stopped its attack and backed up slightly, hissing at Liam. Seconds later, Duck's tail sent it flying sideways into a tree trunk.
As soon as the Raptor pack realized their strategy wouldn't work with Liam covering Duck's blind spot, they all charged in at once baring their teeth. Liam and Duck fought for their lives, doing their best to cover each other from rear attacks. Duck swung both her tail and bony head in wide arcs, sending two raptors flying. Liam meanwhile swiped his weapon at a third Raptor, leaving it with several cuts to the nose. It lashed out with its jaws in response and grabbed Liam's hatchet, tossing it aside. It charged again, but Liam simply took out his pick and brought the point down into the Raptor's head. It collapsed, stone dead.
Moments later, Liam screamed in pain as claws slashed him across his back. Then a heavy weight landed on him, and he could smell the stench of the raptor as it moved to bite his neck. Then the weight vanished, as the Raptor was knocked aside by Duck's powerful head. The remaining few Raptors gathered nearby, analyzing their next move. Not wanting to weaken their pack too much, they withdrew. Liam got to one knee and watched them go, feeling the pain of the scratches on his back growing.
Then he looked at Duck and his heart sank. She was bleeding heavily from many wounds, barely able to stand. With a slight moan she collapsed, breathing hard. Liam immediately ran to her side, ignoring the pain in his back. He grabbed every long leaf he could find, desperate to stem the flow of blood on his friend, but there was far too much blood. He couldn't hope to stop them all. Still he tried, pressing the leaves on as many injuries as he could. Duck lifted her head slightly, looking at Liam with intelligent eyes. She let out a small honk, as if to acknowledge that she knew he tried. Then, as he watched, the friendly dinosaur's head dropped, and she let out her last breath.
