Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A New Threat

A few years pass since the first few lessons. The chicks have grown up quite a bit. They’re now the same size as a raptor. It’s mid-morning and Synca is getting hungry. He’s not the only one. The entire family is starting to get hungry too. Brutus gives the signal and the pack sets out. They’re gearing up for a big kill. A single Ornithomimus is no longer enough. Time for some big game.

As the pack sets out, Synca catches the scent of some potential prey. Brutus scenes it too. It’ll be a dangerous kill, but a rewarding one. He gives the battle cry and the pack goes running.

They break the treeline and find themselves on the open plains. They are charging straight at one of the most dangerous dinosaurs in Texas. Synca gets an eyeful of his first Triceratops. The bull is old, but experienced. His broken brow horn indicates he’s a survivor. He will not go down easily. The bull quickly sees the charging Nanotyrannus’. They surround the Triceratops, cutting off any means of escape. Although the siblings are not all that big yet, they make up for it with speed and agility. The bull bellows at his attackers and shakes his remaining horn in an aggressive manner, hoping to deter an attack. It does not work. The Nanotyrannus pack snarls and growls at their prey. When the bull’s not looking, Brutus attacks. He leaps in and tears off a chunk of flesh from it’s back leg. The Triceratops wheels around to face Brutus. But this leaves his back exposed again. Shethorne and Synca rush in and slash his tail wide open. The bull’s age is catching up with him. He can’t turn as quickly as he used to. Linea and Pratum move in next and grab a back leg. Linea lets go, but Pratum holds on. Big mistake. The bull swings his bloodied tail and manages to strike Pratum in the flank. She falls hard. Fog and Synca go into a raging fury at the sight of this and attack furiously. They leap on the back of the bull and hold on with their claws. They slash and tear with their long teeth. Shethorne gets Pratum out of the way in case the bull ends up stepping on her. Brutus joins his sons and attacks. The bull lifts his head and bellows loudly. This exposes his throat. Brutus moves in quickly and rips his throat out. The life blood of the Triceratops pours out on the ground. Finally, he succombs to his injuries and slumps to the ground.

Pratum wakes up and sees her family surrounding her. Once they see she’s just a little bruised, they get down to business. They greedily begin to feast. Brutus tears open the stomach cavity and feeds on the internal organs. Synca and the rest of the family feed on the flesh of the bull. Seven tons of meat will go a long way for the family. But their meal is quickly interrupted. An earth shaking bellow splits the still air. The family turns to see the greatest predator the earth has ever witnessed exit the forest. Then, he’s joined by two more. It’s a family. A family of Tyrannosaurus rex.

The father, Diablo, and his mate, Ripper look to their half grown son. He’s not even an adult yet and he’s already covered in scars. Most of them are on his face. He’ll grow up to be one of the most feared Tyrannosaurus’ of all time. This is Scarface.

Brutus and his family roar at the oncoming dinosaurs. Brutus knows from experience that this is a family of killers. He’s watched Diablo and Ripper bring down anything they wanted to simply for the thrill of the kill. He has no doubt they trained Scarface to do the same. Brutus quickly realizes it’s futile to try and scare them off. They are only delaying the inedible. He turns to his family and motions for them to leave. Shethorne knows they should go too and tries to guide her young away. Fog, Linea, and Pratum go willingly, but Synca is harder to persuade. He sees no reason as to why they should give up their hard earned kill to a pack of bullies. He shoves past his parents and roars at their rivals. Scarface steps forward and roars back, louder. Everything inside Synca wants to fight the Tyrannosaurus, but he has enough sense to know it’s suicide. Eventually, he backs down and leaves with his family. As they leave, Synca turns and looks back one more time. Scarface digs in and pulls his bloody muzzle out of the steaming carcass as if to mock Synca. A snarl comes across Synca’s lips as he stares his rival down. This new threat will be difficult to deal with.