Chapter 2 - The Hidden Dying World
"So who knows what unimaginable mysteries might be lurking on the bottom of the deep seas? That's why some people refer to the ocean as 'the closed pocket of the world'." - Professor Kyohei Yanamae (1954)
Far out in the middle of the Pacific lies a large cluster of atolls and islands known as the Marshall Islands. Though they're small and barely perching up from the surface of the ocean, these tiny specs of land in the vast waters have been home to all sorts of human civilizations and cultures throughout history. Beginning from the Austronesian natives who had lived there for centuries, followed by the arrival of the German and British empires who claimed them as their protectorates, and then its recent status as a major Japanese colony. Now at the end of the great Pacific War, their current new rulers, the Americans, are making their mark on the history of this seemingly unremarkable chain of islands, redesignating them as the Pacific Proving Grounds.
At 6:17 am on the island of Engebi in the Eniwetok Atoll on May 25th, 1952, the darkness of early dawn was suddenly obliterated by a blinding orange bulb of light. A massive fireball rose rapidly into the heavens as the energy of 45.5 kiltons of explosives expanded into the surrounding environment. What had just unfolded was the tenth test of America's nuclear arsenal. Following the conclusion of the Second World War, an arms race between the last two superpowers had sparked as the United States and the Soviet Union scrambled to develop the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. But their mindless pursuit of creating the most powerful bombs has poisoned the environment. Killing and contaminating the ecosystems of their test sites with the radioactive fallout.
But not all life in the Marshall Islands have completely died to these thunderous explosions of hell. Miles away and hundreds of phantoms deep beneath the ocean near Bikini Atoll, our familiar male Godzillasaurus, Shodai, was casually taking a swim near a large marine trench. He spots what seems to be a very large cave near the base of a marine cliff and makes a turn towards it. The large marine theropod dinosaur effortlessly glided into the dark cavern and entered a large tunnel. It is one of several underwater passages that lead to a vast network of other large tunnels beneath the seafloor that covers the entire Pacific. If any submersible tried to enter any of these deep water passages, it would be lost trying to navigate the endless marine underground maze. Luckily for Shodai, he has extensive knowledge and experience navigating through the large underwater tunnels.
After following his senses and instinct for nearly half an hour, the male Godzillasaurus spots a familiar light from above and swims up to its source. The light gets brighter and brighter and soon the shimmering surface of the water could be seen by Shodai's eyes. His leafy dorsal plates break through the surface of the water, followed swiftly by his head and body. Daylight greets the male Godzillasaurus as he finds himself in the middle of a beautiful lake with cycads and conifer trees such as ancient redwoods surrounding its shore. Shodai has not returned to the surface world, but rather entered what is a gigantic prehistoric underground natural sanctuary that is untouched by the surface world. The air is moist and relatively warm. And light is provided by mysterious gigantic glowing crystals that hang a mile or two above on the ceiling of this massive underground ecosystem. The male Godzillasaurus takes a breath of the air before swimming towards the shore of the lake.
Upon the bank of the lake, a herd of other prehistoric dinosaurs are having a drink. They are Anguirasaurus, a modern day descendant of the Polacanthus from the Ankylosaur family. Unlike their herbivore ancestors, these large and heavily armored dinosaurs are also omnivores as their original sources of plant based food are limited and difficult to find. Hence, in their mouths they also have rows of teeth designed to help them chew or bite meat-based prey.
One young Anguirasaurus, hears a buzzing sound and looks up to see a Meganulon, a prehistoric dragonfly, buzzing over her head. It lands right on her forward snout which prompts a sneeze from the juvenile, forcing the Meganulon to fly away. But as she resumes drinking water from the lake along with her family members, a large commotion is heard from the front. She looks up and spots the male Godzillasaurus swimming in the water like a large crocodile near the vicinity of the herd. One of the larger Anguirsaurus bulls lets out a bellow, warning Shodai not to come any closer.
The male Godzillasaurus spots the herd of Angurisaurus at the lake's shore and notices the alpha calling out to him to stay away from this part of the shore. Shodai acknowledges the Alpha male and proceeds to change course to another part of the shore that is about a hundred meters away from the armored dinosaurs. Although he has no wish to hunt them, the male Godzillasaurus knows that Angurisaurus are very territorial and fierce. Even two or three of them could theoretically injure him if they take him on. Thus, Shodai decides to give them their space and let them drink in peace. Besides, he has other matters that require his attention.
A couple of miles upstream, another theropod dinosaur is on a fishing excursion: A reddish brown Titanosaurus. This female, a descendant of the Spinosaurus, is also an aquatic dinosaur like Godzillasaurus. Almost 19 meters long, she boasts an impressive set of yellow sails to keep herself cool. One on her head that acts like a crest, and another big one that extends from the upper back of her body all the way to her tail which connects to a fish-like fantail to help her swim in bodies of water more efficiently. The Titanosaurus also has another unusual adaptation unique to its species within the Spinosaurids family: a pair of antennas like a catfish which sprout out at the back of her head. No one is sure what their use is for, but it is speculated that they function as a pair of natural sensors to help the Titanosaurus search for prey in the murkier and darker depths of the ocean.
Today this female is hunting for sawfish, a natural favorite delicacy for a Spinosaurid eons past. She stands motionlessly in the middle of the river, head bent down with its golden eyes carefully scanning the rushing water for any signs of her prey. She spots a school of them following the river current and heading her direction. Saliva drips from her crocodile like jaws, it's been a while since she last ate as food is relatively scarce in this prehistoric natural haven. The Titanosaurus needs to time this right. One wrong ill-time move, and the sawfish school will scatter making it difficult to pursue and catch them in these shallow waters.
But just as the sawfish were about to pass by her legs, a loud screech from above broke her concentration. She looks up and to her annoyance and dismay, a pair of two horned descendants of Pteranodons were glide bombing towards her position. Angered by their sudden intrusion of her fishing hunt, the Titanosaurus snapped her long jaws at the flying reptiles, trying to chase them off. She misses them narrowly as they dodge her attack. One banking to the right and the other ducking and flying low to pass under her massive tail. The two Pteranodons quickly regrouped just above the river's surface before proceeding to dunk their beaks under the water. Moments later, both of them pull out a sawfish each and begin to flap their wings to climb back up to higher altitude with their prizes.
The Titanosaurus watched helplessly as the Pteranodons flew away with her intended prey and made a trumpet-like howl of rage as they disappeared from sight. After giving off an indigent huff, the Titanosaurus decides to make her leave. She will have to hunt somewhere else down the river. She took a few huge steps onto the bank of the river and began to make her reluctant trek south, following the downhill route where the rest of the sawfish had swam. However, that route takes her dangerously close to a certain pair of Apex predators that had made their turf in that part of the woods for the past few years. But hunger compels the Titanosaurus to take the risk and thus she still marches forth.
Meanwhile, several miles south deep in the forest, Shodai is casually taking a stroll with his head looking at the branches of trees above him. He inspects dozens of them before choosing a couple of his liking that are thick with an abundance of leaves. Using his mouth, Shodai bites and plucks them out from tree to tree before gathering about a set of five bundles of branches to carry in his mouth before soldering on deeper into the woods.
An hour later, a very familiar scent greets the male godzillasaur's nostrils. He steps forward into what seems to be a small clearing where in the center is a massive mound of broken tree trunks, branches and dirt. Sitting next to the pile is Maki, his mate. The female Godzillasaurus notices his arrival and rises to her feet, making a welcoming bellow. Shodai returns the greeting with a deep huff just as Maki steps forward to nuzzle Shodai's snout fondly, snorting in contentment. Without warning, she suddenly proceeds to take a massive bite out of the bushy branches, pulling Shodai a little forward to her. The male Godzillasaurus grumbled in protest as he nearly lost his feet's balance. The female Godzillasaurus greedily pulls one massive leafy branch bundle out of Shodai's jaws and begins to wolf down on his snack, giving her mate a cheeky glint in her eyes.
Shodai made a sighing huff from his nostrils. He was already used to his mate's playful antics. Knowing that Maki hadn't eaten in a while, the male Godzillasaurus decided not to reprimand his mate and let her dig into the bountiful vegetarian meal he provided. Shodai turned his attention to the natural scrap mound Maki was lying next to and walked towards it. He bent his head down at a certain part of the pile of wood and began to brush some of the branches aside as if digging for something. Soon he manages to uncover a clutch of six to seven eggs incubating safely inside. They are quite large even by theropod standards with each almost twice the size of a bowling ball. He sniffs each one of them, checking the condition of each of them. Maki had laid them almost five months ago and it was any time soon for their offspring to be born.
Shodai felt Maki's body nudging him aside and turned to see his mate growling defensively at him but in a gentle manner. She bent her head down and nudged the branches and leaves to conceal the eggs once more, determined to keep them safe. Shodai makes a reassuring rumble from his throat back at Maki as she sat down down on her legs like a cat guarding its home. Playful as she was, at least his mate was taking her job as a mother very seriously. And for good reason too.
Suddenly, Shodai felt a faint and familial tremor beneath his feet. It got stronger and stronger resulting in the vibrations causing the pebbles on the ground to shake and bounce. The nearby trees started to shake, sending a rain of loose leaves all around the two Godzillasaurus. Maki cried in alarm as she too felt the tremors which were now causing the large nest they built to destabilize and collapse on itself. The female Godzillasaurus made a panicking bellow and she tried to use her snout to hold the foundations of the nest together. Shodai also rushed in to support her and he too also crouched down on his legs and used his body to hold the nest together. Eventually the earthquake began to settle down and within minutes the tremors soon faded away.
Maki instinctively began to frantically dig through the slightly collapsed pile of wood with her snout with Shodai joining in. She makes panicking bellows, fearing for the eggs' safety. It wasn't the first time. Almost four years earlier in the middle of 1948, a series of three earthquakes had demolished their first nest with the last of which destroyed Maki's first clutch of eggs that she had ever laid. The female Godzillasaurus was left heartbroken and traumatized from the event that she wouldn't want to lay any more offspring until recently when she got over the tragic event. Both Godzillasaurus tried to be careful when building their second nest when Maki was about to lay her second batch, making sure it would survive another earthquake should it occur again. So far their efforts seem to have held up a bit as the nest hadn't completely collapsed but both Godzillasauruses couldn't be sure if the eggs inside were safe until they dug them out.
After minutes of removing branches and pieces of wood for two minutes, they uncovered one egg, and then another and another. Soon the entire clutch is all found to be mercifully intact. Both Shodai and Maki let out breaths of relief with the former nuzzling his mate to comfort her from the scare. Their efforts to protect their unborn offspring had paid off. But with the nest in shambles, the Godzillasaurus pair would have to work on rebuilding it back to its original form. Maki uses her snout to adjust the eggs' arrangement inside the hollow area of the nest while Shodai begins to use his jaws to clear some of the misaligned and disarrayed branches that have toppled all over. It was going to be a long day for them both.
The next morning, both Shodai and Maki were sleeping right by the nest with each one sleeping on opposite sides to guard the nest. The snoring made a steady rumble and purr as they breathed in the fresh moist air as dew were forming on the grounds and nearby plants. At that moment, Shodai suddenly shifted in his sleep, his ears disturbed by a very faint chirping sound. It is constant and distinct. The male Godzillasaurus' eyes went open before bobbing his head up to look around the nearby trees. The sound doesn't seem to be coming from the surrounding woods. Shodai turns his head back at the nest. The chirping sound seems to be coming from within the mound. Instinctively, Shodai rises to his feet and makes a barking call to wake his mate up. Maki yawns before shaking her head to clear some flies that were flying near her nostrils. Her eyes widen as she too hears the chirping noise from the nest, stumbling rapidly to her feet awkwardly, the female Godzillasaurus makes strides towards the nest along with Shodai before the two proceed to uncover it.
Within a few minutes, both Godzillasaurus were able to open up the nest revealing seven newly hatched Godzillasaurus chicks, chirping anxiously for their parents to feed them. Maki makes a delighted grumble as she bends down to let her newly hatched offspring nuzzle her snout. Shodai also follows suit and feels his children as they rub their tiny heads against his head. Suddenly a snort from his nostrils causes one of them to fall over, much to Shodai's concern. But soon the infant easily got back on its feet, shook its head and continued nudging alongside its siblings, begging for food. Shodai retracted his head from the nest and grabbed some leftover leaves and vegetation that was meant for Maki with his jaws and dumped it over his offspring. The infant Godzillasaurus are showered with vegetation which startled them but soon they begin to feast on the leaves with a ravenous appetite.
Shodai makes a low rumble from his throat, content that his babies are eating well. But soon his mate nudges him on the back of his head a little hard, growling in displeasure while gesturing with her own snout to the pile of vegetation that was reserved for her. The male Godzillasaurus grunted back at Maki as if to voice his displeasure of his mate emphasising of reserving her food reserves for her own rather than their newborn children. Maki growled back in protest and swung her head towards the forest urging Shodai that he should get some more food. Shodai gives a reluctant huff and obliges, taking several steps back into the forest. He pauses to turn back at Maki and growls back to remind her to guard the nest at all costs. Maki growls back in affirmation with a nod with her head before Shodai resumes his stroll into the forest.
Once the female Godzillasaurus sees that her mate is out of sight, she turns back to her own food pile and grabs some leaves and greens with her jaw. She then hovers it above the nest before gently lowering it down to her children. The baby Godzillasaurus stumbled and scurry towards her and began to feast on the bunch of leaves held in Maki's mouth. The female Godzillasaurus made a cooing noise of contentment, blissfully happy that she gets to feed her young all on her own. Her eye drifts towards the forest where Shodai had gone and it glints with a hint of a teasing smirk.
Far away from the nest, near the boundary edge of this prehistoric natural haven, lies an area of the forest where the trees' leaves are crimson red. But it is not due to an autumn season which is non-existent in this hidden world's climate. In fact, these parts of the woods are mostly dead or dying trees as they had been poisoned from absorbing an awful amount of radiation. But how did it come into the prehistoric haven? The answer lies within the boundaries of this hidden world.
Near the tall endless cliffs that surround the entire prehistoric ecosystem, a young Ligocristus, a descendant of the Hadrosaur family, has lost his way due to his senses being poisoned by the radioactive air all around him. His herd had previously wandered in these parts during a trek to find better food and healthier air. However, when the Earthquake struck, the entire herd had dispersed and scattered in fright, leaving the poor youngster behind in the chaos. Now the young adult Ligocristus is blindly stumbling about trying to find his family again, crying out high pitched bellows hoping to get a response. But there is no one to respond to his cries. Eventually, he has found himself right at the base of the massive cliffside that seems to ascend endlessly up into the clouds above.
As the Ligocristus looks around his surroundings trying to find a way beyond the endless cliff face that extends endlessly from all sides, he spots what is a large cave at the base of the cliff and decides to walk towards it out of curiosity. The young dinosaur galloped on his four feet up the rocky slope and found himself staring inside the entrance of the cave which seems to extend deep into an endless dark tunnel. More worryingly, the tunnel itself seems to be radiating out more of the toxic air which has poisoned the surrounding environment. If the little Ligocristus stays here any longer, he could be fatally poisoned by the radiation.
Having determined that the cave was not a good place to take refuge, the young Ligocristus blindly tries to stumble away from the entrance but his senses and sight are dulled by the strong radioactivity in the air which gives off some burns on his scaly smooth skin. He could barely feel or hear anything, making him almost numb to his surroundings. He fails to take notice that the pebbles on the rocky hill he is trying to walk down have started to vibrate and rumble at a steady pattern as if reacting to the thumping of large footsteps approaching him from inside the tunnel.
The hadrosaur moans painfully, bellowing pitifully for his parents and siblings to come and save him once more. He barely registers a large shadow that falls right on top of him. By the time he looked up to see the source, a large pair of jaws with many serrated teeth lunges downward on top of him, clamping on him between them. The Ligocristus screamed in terror as the sharp jaws of the predator, revealed to be a green large carnivorous theropod, lifted him up in the air before crushing him in a sickening and bloody crunch! The theropod carnivore quickly swallows the carcass whole before staring out at the beautiful landscape in front of him. He made a huff of relief as he viewed his new surroundings, welcoming the artificial daylight which seemed to elevate his weary soul from the long trek inside the tunnel he had emerged from.
Meanwhile, Shodai was deep in the forest plucking bundles of leaves from the branches of trees. He has only gathered half of the required amount of vegetation to feed his mate and children that could last at least for two days and knows there is still more to harvest. But just as he plucks out the bundle and places it down to the bigger pile near the tree truck, a familiar scent in the wind catches his attention. Shodai raises his snout and sniffs the air to identify it. His brow hardens, it is the scent of another predatory dinosaur which appears to be encroaching on his territory's borders judging by how faint it smells. The male Godzillasaurus growls in concern. With his newly hatched children, it was way too risky to have another predator dinosaur to be in his tuff. With an annoyed huff, Shodai abandoned the pile of leaves and began to trek towards the source of the scent. Looks like getting more food for his family would have to wait.
An hour later as the Male Godzillasaurus followed the scent of the intruding predator, he soon realized that the direction of the smell was taking him close to the river. Shodai made a grunt from his nostrils, already guessing who the suspect was, especially that the scent was now stronger than ever. Not willing to give off his own position carelessly, Shodai tried to make slow and gentle footsteps on the ground as the noise of the rushing water of the river could be now heard. The male Godzillasaurus begin to slowly stalk between the dense trees like a big modern cat. Eyes and nose alert for any sudden movement from the unknown intruder that was still out of sight. Soon the river was in view between the gaps of the tree trunks and Shodai immediately caught sight of the culprit in question. It was a large reddish brown Titanosaurus.
Shodai gave a quiet breath out from his nostrils as his assumption was proven correct. He began to keenly observe the intruder. So far the Spinosaurid had not noticed his presence as her head was bent downward with eyes glued to the river, apparently hunting for her usual diet of fish. A sudden moment later, the Titanosaurus dunked her head into the rushing water and quickly held up a large sawfish in her narrow jaws. The spinosaurid made a victorious deep trumpeting sound before beginning to gulp and swallow the sawfish down her throat. As the Titanosaurus huffed in satisfaction, she bent her head down back at the river and resumed her fishing excursion, hungry to catch more.
The male Godzillasaurus continued to watch the oblivious Titanosaurus and wondered what would be his next move. Judging by the coloration and markings on its beautiful sail and tail, Shodai recognized this specific Titanosaurus. On a few occasions in the past, he had encountered the Spinosaurid in the past. Though not actively hostile to one another, the two shared a rivalry where both alpha amphibious dinosaurs briefly fought against each other a few times over hunting grounds as rivals. Shodai mostly lost out in the open ocean due to the Titanosaurus' superior swimming abilities but on land they were on par. But since Maki had become his mate, the odds have recently turned against the Titanosaurus' favor forcing the former to stay a clear distance away from the pair.
While it may be obvious that Shodai's old rival had come to feast on the freshwater fish that swam down the river, the Titanosaurus still posed a direct threat to his children if she chose to venture further into his tuff. Perhaps he needed to scare her off to prevent the Titanosaurus from venturing too close into his territory for comfort.
On the other bank of the river, the Titanosarus plunged her narrow head once again into the water and reeled up yet another large sawfish in her mouth. Before she could enjoy her hard earned meal, she heard some foliage being trampled on by a large animal from the other side of the river. The Titanosaurus looked across the river and froze: The male Godzillasaurus was right there! The two amphibious dinosaurs stare at each other from opposite shores, both barely moving a muscle. The female Titanosaurus was anxious. If the male was here, the female would be close behind and she would be severely outmatched, especially on land. Despite wanting to look around to see if the female was nearby, the Titanosaurus couldn't take her eyes off the male any moment he might lunge forward for an attack. As Shodai made a low warning growl, the Spinosaruid began taking a few slow steps back, hoping that her actions would prove to the Godzillasaurus that she wasn't a threat.
Shodai continued to eye the Titanosaurus' movements very closely as she slowly retreated from the river to the shoreline. Once her feet were back on the dry ground, the Titanosaurus turned away and casually made her way upriver away from Shodai. The reddish brown aquatic dinosaur glanced back at him with an almost apologetic look before continuing on her way, chomping the sawfish that was still in her mouth for her to eat. The male Godzillasaurus continued to stare at the Titanosaurus until she went a fair distance away from him. It appears that the Titanosaurus had not meant to intrude at the perimeter of his territory and knew her place. With that potential threat being settled, Shodai also turned back and went into the forest to resume his collection of vegetation for his nesting family.
Further upstream, the Titanosaurus was relieved that she got away scott free. It was too close for comfort for her liking especially when it came to the Godzillasaurus duo in this region. Mercifully, it seemed that the female was absent. But even if it was only Shodai, the Titanosaurus was not eager to fight against her old rival. It just didn't benefit either of them. Nonetheless, there was still a problem of finding better fishing grounds within the entire length of this river. With at least four to five large predatory dinosaurs living in this prehistoric sanctuary, finding food without intruding on others' turf was difficult especially with her fish based diet which was constantly on the move. Perhaps she should try finding a different body of water to hunt or probably head for one of the tunnels that leads to the ocean.
While the Titanosaurus thought of her current options, she noticed that the area that she was in, aside from the sounds of the current of the river, was eerily quiet. Too quiet. A few minutes prior there was the usual chirp and ambience of insects and cicadas chirping and the echoing screeches of distant flying reptiles somewhere high in the sky. But now it was strangely absent. As if the melody of nature was suddenly silenced. The Titanosaurus stopped in her tracks as she suddenly felt that she was being watched. She looked to her left and gaze carefully through the woods, eying for anything inside that looked out of the ordinary. Aside from a few leaves dropping from the trees, nothing seemed to be out of place.
Sensing no apparent danger in sight, she turned to the opposite bank of the river and peered into the woods on the other side. So far nothing. But then her nostrils picked up a particular scent in the air coming from the woods. The Titanosaurus sniffed it again to better gauge what she was dealing with. It smelled like rotten flesh but had a very particular burnt aftertaste that was so strong she nearly recoiled from the intensity. Shaking her head to clear her head, the Titanosaurus resumed sniffing at the direction to the opposite bank for further information. It becomes apparent that whatever was making that smell was now getting closer. The Titanosaurus' brow hardened as she heard distinctive crunches of foliage and branches being trampled on. Something big was heading her way. The Titanosaurus let loose a low pitch trumpting howl and took a defensive posture with her claws poised and her large tail swinging in agitation in preparation for whatever was coming to challenge her.
And then a few moments later, stepping out of the woods from the other side was a large green carnivorous theropod dinosaur. It had two small forearms that had triple fingers each, a row of tiny spikes that start from the back of its head all the way to its tail, and a large jaw with serrated teeth. The Titanosaurus pupils widened in surprise as it recognized the intruder. It was a Gorosaurus! Measuring nearly seventeen meters long and about ten tons, this descendant of the famous Allosaurus was the most powerful predator on land that the Titanosaurus could have dreaded to face. But how was one here? There weren't any Gorosaurus in this prehistoric sanctuary. Nevertheless, the Titanosaurus knew she had to stand her ground and fend off against this formidable foe just as the latter let loose a perimal roar.
The Titanosaurus carefully watched her foe as the Gorosaurus began to walk on the side of the shore, which were taunting her with growls. She currently had the advantage as she still had her size and the strength of her arms on her side while the Gorosaurus had sharp serrated teeth in its jaws and its powerful legs that allow it to run fast and give powerful kangaroo kicks. However, if it tried to rush at the Titanosaurus through the river, the rushing current would drastically slow him down, making it vulnerable to the aquatic adapted Spinosaruid. As the Gorosaurus stepped its foot into the river, the Titanosaurus noticed that her opponent's body was scarred by black burnt marks. It was radiating a very distinctive burnt smell but unlike any she had experienced before. It didn't seem that it was just burnt by fire but something toxic as if it was turning the nearby air into poison. The Titanosaurus stumbled on her feet and quickly shook her head to clear her senses of whatever smell the Gorosaurus was emitted that was overpowering her. After regaining her balance, the Titanosaurus continued to watch her opponent step in further and deeper into the river, seemingly putting itself at a disadvantage.
Suddenly the Gorosaurus let out a choking cough, rasping for breath as if it too was getting overpowered by whatever sickness had gripped him. Its tail and head began to droop and silva was dripping out from its jaws. The Gorosaurus dipped its head down and began drinking huge gulps of water trying to relieve itself of its agony. The Titanosaurus on the opposite side observed as the theropod carnivore was refreshing itself and wondered if she should let him go as he was now vulnerable and open to attack. But soon she soon remembered that he was another apex predator and there were already three adult Godzillasaurus living in this prehistoric sanctuary. Competing for food and other necessities to live and survive would be worse if this carnivore was left alone. It needed to go. After all, it was the survival of the fittest and it seems that the Gorosaurus didn't have long to live anyway.
The Titanosaurus charged towards the Gorosaurus, her legs plowing through the water as she intended to drown it. But just before she could reach it, suddenly two more Gorosaurus bursted out of the woods from both sides and made a dash to attack her! The Titanosaurus stopped in her tracks, her eyes went wide with shock as she realized she had forgotten that Gorosaurus sometimes hunted in a pack! And she fell right into their trap. Before she could take a defensive stance, the Gorosaurus to her right, a large aqua colored one, leaped on its hind legs to deliver a powerful kick to her body! The Titanosaurus bellowed in pain from the impact as she fell sideways into the water with a huge splash.
The Titanosaurus tried to climb back up on her feet but suddenly felt a sharp piercing pain on her tail as one of the Gorosaurus made a slashing bite from her left. She howled in agony and tried to use her large clawed arms to swipe at the Gorosaurus to defend herself. But then the bigger Gorosaurus came to her right flank and used its large angular head to slam into the Titanosaurus' side, forcing her to fall over again. The Spinosaurid cried as she fell into the river again just as the first Gorosaurus, who seemed to be back in shape, made a bite on her beautiful sail, tearing it with a vicious slash from its serrated teeth. The Titanosaurus howled in agony just as she felt more and more bites and slashes from the Gorosauruses' jaws. The trio tore chunks of her reddish brown flesh from her tail, the thigh of her legs and even brutally ripped off one of her arms. The river started to turn red as her blood spilled into the surrounding waters as the Gorosaurus continued to tear the Spinosaurid apart piece by piece with the latter's dying cries echoing throughout the river bank.
As the Titanosaurus began to lose consciousness from both the indescribable pain she felt and the loss of blood, a shadow casted right above her head. She looked up to see the large Gorosaurus, who was clearly the leader of this trio, glaring down at her with remorseless eyes. She made one weak but defiant growl, as if taunting him to end her misery and be done with it. The Alpha Gorosaurus obliged as he opened its jaws wide to bite down on her neck. The Titanosaurus let out a painful gasp as she felt the sharp teeth pierce through her neck. The Gorosaurus then twisted its head, and the Spinosaurid felt the bones of her neck crunching loudly and then suddenly, blackness. Nothing.
The Alpha Gorosaurus opened his jaw and let the Titanosaurus' limp head fall into the water with a decisive splash. With the Spinosaurid dead, he let out a victorious roar into the skies as if to announce his intent to rule this prehistoric then, the other Gorosaurus, the smaller one who had lured the Titanosaurus to her doom, suddenly had another coughing fit. The Alpha Gorosaurus looked towards his comrade in concern and bit off a clunk of the Titanosaurus, placing the meat in front of his ill pack brother for him to eat. The youngest Gorosaurus caught his breath back and began to tear small chunks of the meat to swallow them one at the time. The third Gorosaurus also made a coughing fit, though not as serious as the other, before following suit to feast on the dead Titanosaurus to satisfy its ravenous hunger. As the smaller pair of Gorosaurus feasted, the Alpha Male looked beyond the horizon to survey their new home.
Just yesterday, the trio had recently escaped death by the narrowest of margins when their own prehistoric haven was destroyed by a massive fireball right underneath the Eniwetok Atoll. Luckily they were near one of the giant networks of tunnels and managed to run deep inside for cover before the blast could hit them at full force. Although they initially survived, all three still suffered radioactive burns which scarred their scaly skin. With their home gone, the Gorosauruses had wandered aimlessly through the underground tunnels for hours till they found themselves in this mostly untouched prehistoric sanctuary which became their only chance of salvation.
Though the Gorosaurus were successful in defeating the Titanosaurus, the Alpha Male knew there were more apex predators that laid claim to this prehistoric sanctuary as he recently smelled the faint presence of another large theropod. If they were to live and survive, the Gorosaurus pack would have to go on the offensive and kill or expel that threat before it senses their presence. But for now, they had to eat and gain strength for the upcoming territorial battle that was to come.
A/N: Hi guys, I hope you enjoyed the second chapter of my Godzilla prequel fanfic. Pardon it took a while to be uploaded as I was mostly busy with RL stuff such as finishing my part-time diploma.
If you're wondering that this hidden natural sanctuary is based on the Hollow Earth concept seen in the Monsterverse, that is not entirely true aside from the glowing crystals hanging on the ceiling for light. In fact, most of it was inspired by Skull Island from Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005) as in my personal opinion it's probably one of the best fictional prehistoric havens seen on film as he and the production team from WETA spared no expense to make it feel like a proper living and breathing ecosystem that was slowly eroding away. In fact, the unfortunate hadrosaur that is seen in this story is from the book The World of Kong - A Natural History of Skull Island, a fantastic companion book to the film.
As for when the next chapter gets released, I am currently having my hands full working on my Star Blazers/Space Battleship Yamato fanfic projects, but I think it will be until at least early May when it gets released.
If you enjoyed this chapter, feel free to leave reviews on whether you like this naturalistic documentary take for this story. Please do NOT leave any offers for art commissions as I have no interest to take any. Thank You.