Walking to the Future

watch?v=qj9qCA91NqA (Intro music)

We a large jungle with tons of trees alongside a steep canyon.

This lush jungle is one of many that now exist across our once desolate world. This is the Madagascar, one of many continents to thrive from the climate change and reoccurring sea levels that have risen.

We see a small pig with curved tusks eating some berries that have fallen from high trees. It then goes over to a nest on the ground, beginning to eat a big egg.

Ever since mankind brought feral pigs to the continent back in the 1900's, they have been terrorizing the landscape though. Devouring everything in sight. But within this green jungle of life lies an even more fearsome predator.

Then out of the thicket a giant emu like bird with black feathers, a blue neck and face with red crests on its jugular, and most of all a sharp beak lunges at the pig, piercing its stomach with talons and pinning it to the ground as it squeals before it picks it up and thrashes it against a tree killing it.

Chapter 5: Chicken Fight

This is a Cockatrice, a terror bird. She is essentially a living dinosaur. In the past her ancestors like cassowaries and emus would fall victim to boars destroying their territories and eggs, but now they have evolved ways to fight back.

We see an elongated curved blade behind its upper foot.

Much like the velociraptor, they have a razor sharp killing claw, but rather on the toe, this one is on the back of their long feet that stab into prey to keep them locked as their new sharp beaks rip into flesh. They are a walking cockfight.

But one weakness this bird shared with its Ice Age ancestors is their size. The Cockatrice's 4 feet tall body means her wings meant for soaring in the sky's are useless to her. She must lay her eggs in large nests on the ground. Usually only 1 or 2 eggs out of a clutch of 6 survive to adulthood, let alone hatch.

The bird whimpers as she examines her raided nests, egg shells and yolk scattered within it.

The odds….have not favored this mother.

She then somberly walks away. We then see her at a Cliffside screeching what seems to be a mourning cry.

But life must carry on, and so must she. The cockatrice begins to call out for a new mate, but with the canyon and jungles being so massive it may take weeks before a male even hears her cries.

We see the jungle and canyon soon zoom in on a lake. A 3 meter long leopard with small sabers is walking up to the water bed, some rodents like squirrels and raccoons, along with a large boar with long tusks scurry away at the sight of her into the jungle. But as she goes up to lick up water she constantly looks around wearily.

Meanwhile, at a lake down in the middle of this forest, other creatures are starting to stir, like this Sabertooth leopard. While in most continents on the planet large cats like the ligers rule, here the forests and swamplands are filled with muddier terrain, and large trees that make it difficult for large cumbersome or speedy animals to hunt efficiently. Tall, slender and maneuverable animals with dexterous spines like this cat or the terror birds thrive, but this female is on the smaller side, and her status in the food chain is evident by her weariness. Lakes are a lifeline for all creatures in the swampland, and with such large predators always around, she cannot afford to be careless. She needs to drink quickly and retreat back to the treetops where she will be safe from the land predators.

We then see from the treetops, a large shadowy figure with red eyes crawling on the tree branch, eyes narrowing on the cat.

But land isn't the only danger zone. With the birds taking to the land for new hunting grounds, the skies have been replaced with a giant new predator.

Suddenly a large red bat lunges from the tree and snatches the leopard. It screeches as it gets flown to the treetops.

This is Dyphilion, a large bat with a 4 meter long wingspan. Forget the tiny fruit and fly-eating bats of the 21st century your accustomed too, these bats are the meanest and largest of their kind ever to roam the planet, and their dangerous carnivores through and through. They owe their success not just to radiation increasing their ancestors sizes unnaturally, but with a new tool at their disposal, they use a kitchen knife-like tooth on their lower jaws to stab into their prey to drink their blood dry. These bats only real weakness is very thin skin which, while increases their mobility, is very vulnerable to sunlight and disease. This makes the dark jungles perfect hunting grounds, as it protects them from getting burned by the sunlight, and the darkness the treetops provides gives plenty of opportunity to ambush. They are, in a sense, real life vampires in the dark and also the only other predator around that can pose a true threat to the terror birds.

The bat bites into the neck of the leopard after thrashing its body against a tree branch, breaking its windpipe and making it go limps as it begins to drink, taking a few bites as well.

Though it was a bad day for the leopard, not all creatures in this forest are vulnerable to these monsters, some reptile-like mammals like the Pangylosaur, who graze on the trees, having thick spikes to protect them.

We some grazing on tree branches their long curved claws pull down from trees and eat, a Dyphilion watching them lowering its long red ears annoyed before flying away from them as one growls after pulling down the branch it was on.

Far away, our mother Terror Bird is having a tough time finding a suitable mate to answer her calls.

We see the bird lowering her head panting from exhaustion.

She has been calling for 2 weeks now, and is beginning to grow exhausted. Cockatrices are very territorial, and most don't leave their lands unless in search of prey where theirs was scarce, or to find mates. The odds are not improving for our female Cockatrice.

Now she must switch her priorities, if she is to survive and provide a legacy. She must go hunting.

Later that evening, as the sun begins to set showing an orange sky, light rays penetrating the thick treetops, illuminating the forests, we see a group of what looks like 7 dogs, 2 adults and 5 small young, except they have no ears, merely some small holes on the side of their head, and scales on their forehead and hips, a long curved snout that rips into a young Pyngolosaur carcass.

Reptile-Like Mammals have been flourishing since they appeared millions of years ago. They have the adaptability of mammals, and the protective traits of reptiles needed to survive a variety of harsh climates, to constant rainstorms to prolonged droughts. The Cartenadont is just one of several canines that have evolved such traits, thin snouts able to sneak past even spiked herbivores defenses and strike their vitals like the throat or femoral arteries between the spikes of this young Pangylosaur they killed a week ago.

But even tough reptile-like mammals aren't ever safe from all dangers, as this clan is being watched by our terror bird friend as they enjoy their feast. She normally wouldn't attack such a large pack, but her hunger drives her to make a dangerous decision.

We see the bird lowering its neck behind a log, trying to hide itself as it slowly walks closer to the pack as they eat, careful to avoid the gaze of the alpha female keeping watch in between eating, her face bloodied.

But with such a large girth, this birds strength will be of little use in a large sprint if she doesn't get close enough to lunge for one, such as the youngest of the litter. Runts always make easy targets, even for the pack leaders who may eat them to get nourishment needed in tough times.

The smallest pup gets kicked back while eating a chunk of meat from the lower waist of the carcass, whimpering. Suddenly it begins sniffing the air.

But all Cartenadonts have a strong sense of smell, and an advantage of not having blood over its snout is that this runt makes a perfect lookout for his clan.

The runt soon darts its head to the right, seeing the bird slowly coming out of the log view towards, her head recoiling a bit as she realizes she's been spotted. The pup barks frantically, alerting his family.

"She needs to move NOW!." Narrator says as the bird charges at the family.

"She begins to raise her large wings and screeches at the top of her lungs after being exposed. This is an intimidation tactic, like a cobra sizing itself and its crest up to frighten a small mammal into freezing up for an easy kill strike. She needs it, if these dogs don't buy it and retaliate, she'll become the hunted from their superior numbers and the parents better health and strength."

The dogs grow frightened, they then begin to scatter into the jungle thicket. The bird darts around, biting and trying to kick and slash at a few around it, but they quickly dodge and escape, leaving her alone in the area.

But the packs limbs and superior speed are their saving grace. The scales on their paws make the muddy terrain no challenge to run at high speeds, so the cockatrice won't be getting any fresh meat tonight.

The bird turns around, sniffing the carcass.

The dogs have plucked most of the meat from this week old carcass. She won't get much, but at least she can ease her hunger….or will she?

Suddenly a screech is heard nearby, alerting the female as she drops a chunk of meat from the carcass in alert. Suddenly a larger cockatrice enters the area, but with a red face with black crest and feathers screeching at her.

Unexpectantly a large male cockatrice appears in the area, probably drawn to the smell of blood and noise the female was making. Their kind have the greatest sense of smell of any avian since the turkey vulture before them. This male partly owes his great size to that feature, he is 6 and half feet tall and is big even for his kind. An Alpha male, and like any alpha, he calls dibs on all meals he smells. Male Cockatrices are larger and much more aggressive than the females, especially if they didn't respond to a mating call. To him, she must be no more than a threat to his territory.

The male shoes the female away with a large screech actually slashing at her as she panics and darts backwards away from the carcass, which he begins eating.

But the female, while keeping her distance, does not immediately leave the area. And its not just for the vain hope of getting leftovers. His size and many scars on his neck and waist, no doubt from surviving many rival challenges, must make him, in her eyes, a very attractive male. She is hoping that after he eats her fill, it will increase her chances of getting a new mate. Females are very choosy over the males, but she'll have to play it cool, VERY cool. One false move, one step too close before the time is right, and she just might be this males next meal. She doesn't have much energy from lack of food and failed hunts, she'd stand no chance. It all comes down to luck.

1 hour later…..

We then see the Pangylosaur carcass, nothing more than a skeleton with claws and some scattered spikes plucked and discarded. The male is grooming himself as he sits beside what remains of his meal. Slowly, the female begins to draw closer, giving of small coos and clicks as she tilts her head curious at the male.

The male stands at attention, giving off warning screeches to her. He is weary. Even a smaller female's curved claw could deliver lethal wounds to him if not careful.

He then begins to show off his as a warning, giving a few slashes in her path that don't hit her, but make her step back if she draws close.

But the female gives off some coos, and makes submissive gestures, like opening her wings, making herself purposely vulnerable as she also waves her neck, flapping her red organ sack to appeal to him her intentions. This is a mating dance, one cockatrices give off to larger breeds of their kind regardless of gender.

The male stops clawing, looking perplexed at this display. He kicks some leaves on the ground as he slowly approaches the female, sniffing her as she curves her neck a bit expectantly at him. Soon he nuzzles her cheek.

Finally, the male relents and accepts her.

The male soon begins to circle around her, mounting himself on her back as he begins to thrust, mating with her.

Though an uneasy alliance at first, once males and females mate, they form a strong family tie to each other till one dies, both sticking around to raise the young till they grow to adulthood, while one hunts the other guards, then they only abandon each other and their brood once the job is finished 5 years later. This is an astoundingly long commitment for birds, and has worked in these birds favor for millions of years.

But, the first step is to mate, and this…..is when Cockatrices are most vulnerable.

We then see a Large Bat flying by, mounted on the treetops branch as it looks down on the pair mating.

In their courtship, the female and male are completely unaware they are being watched and prey'd upon.

Soon the bat lunges at the male and disrupts the process as he flails violently with the bat on his back as the female backs off in shock.

This female lost her last mate during the mating process, as he was too vulnerable to attack from leopards while mounting her, thus leaving her to fend for her young by herself.

The male rolls on the ground, knocking the bat off him as it tries to bite him. The bird tries to slash at the bat, but he keeps above him with flight, trying to bite at his neck repeatedly with its long tooth, but he keeps withdrawing. The bat soon tackles the male, pinning him to the ground as he tries to bite again, but the bird dodges narrowly by moving his neck.

The female watches concerned, then lowers her head as she gives off aggressive clicks.

"But she is not about to let history repeat itself." The narrator says as she charges at the bat, using her legs to stab into his wings, making the monster shriek in pain as its wing membrane bleeds profusely, its neck arching backwards at it shrieks and the female bites its ears, forcing the Dyphilion off the male Cockatrice a bit, letting him tackle the bat now in retaliation, cutting into its jugular with a shark beak as it uses its back claw to stab into the bats chest, the beast going limp as it plops to the ground before the birds, dead.

The birds then begin to feast on the new carcass.

The pair have managed to avoid death's grip and are rewarded not just with a new meal...

We see a new nest, 3 eggs soon beginning to hatch, showing some chicks as the father watches expectantly. Soon joined by the female who brings in a small raccoon for the young to feast on.

But a new family months later.

https/watch?v=RM1_8HJc_Ow (ending ost)

Birds will remain as top predators on some island continents, while Ligers remain in power on more widespread plain continents for the next 50 million years. However, in the long run they both will stand no chance at keeping their throne as a new gargantuan king is set to take their place in our last program to come. Out of the seas comes one of the most fearsome predators ever to roam since the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

We see a large scaly beast with a crocodile-like snout, thick claws and a gator-like tail and back spikes roaring into the camera viciously.

THE DINOSAURS, ARE BACK!

FIN