Late Cretaceous Part I

                                                      Late Cretaceous

    68.8 million years ago

 It’s a sunny and warm day on the arctic plains and a herd of Ceratopsians can be seen munching on ferns peacefully while the Giant Alamosaurus eats from the treetops as the watchful eyes of predators stalk them silently, waiting for the right moment to strike, and none of them are more watchful than Albertosaurs, most of the time they live in packs of 2-10 but the local pack is the largest in the area with 34 members not a force to be reckoned with. Yet unbeknownst to them the Albertosaur population has been on a strong decline in the last 100,000 years.

 Yet it’s not hunting and eating all the time as the eggs are starting to hatch and from them, Al is born, as he sees the first ray of sunlight and feels the first gust of breeze he crawls out of his little egg, out into the world and its challenges. He is quite small and strange for his age, as he is around 8 pounds instead of 10 and has light gray plumage instead of white. Most of his pack don’t really interact with him only his mother, Ruby and brothers tend to care for him.

    2 years later

 2 years after he hatched and Al now at 1.8 meters long watches his pack hunt from the safety of the clearing. Suddenly a large creature leaps out of the clearing and swallows one of Al’s brothers, in panic they start running around him as two others are eaten. They cry for help but the pack is far away. The creatures corners them against the bushes and approaches them slowly, opens his mouth, Al closes his eyes ready for death……. Nothing and suddenly he hears a giant roar that can only belong to…. His mother!!! She is stunned by this creature it is just as big as an Albertosaurus yet It’s stronger, smarter, and stranger it’s plumage is green and brown well suited for the south but badly for the north. It looks directly into Ruby’s eyes lets out a horrifying screech and disappears into the bushes. Al even though uninjured is traumatized by the experience that took 6 of his siblings away; he can’t sleep at night without his mother’s plumage around him.

                                       picture number 1: AL

                                       picture number 2: Ruby

                               picture No.3: The unknown Creature