Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Road To Recovery

Synca knows he can’t take care of Storm if he doesn’t take care of himself. So, before he goes looking for Storm, he must first regain his strength. He’s a little weak from lack of food, so hunting will be a little difficult. Synca decides it’ll be simpler to scavenge a meal.

After a short walk, he finds something promising. The carcass of a half grown Edmontosaurus. It’s not all that old and he has it all to himself. Synca greedily begins to feed. He takes bite after bite of flesh. It’s the first time he’s eaten in days. After stuffing himself, Synca lies out in the sun for a few hours and relaxes. Once he feels up to it, he moves on to find some water. Synca sees a few raptors gathered at the creek, so he charges in at full speed and roars. The startled raptors shriek and retreat. One trips on a log and fall head over heals. Synca almost laughs at the sight. Once all the raptors are gone, he quenches his thirst.

Once he’s refreshed, Synca takes a walk. He follows the creek downstream. He eventually finds the lake it feeds. There aren’t any dinosaurs around the lake, which he finds odd. There’s usually a few dinosaurs at a body of water at all times. Then Synca sees what’s keeping them away. At first, he thought it was just a log. But upon closer inspection, Synca saw it was something much different. The “log” is actually a partially submerged Deinosuchus. Synca’s seen these multi-ton alligators before back in Texas. He had no idea they lived this far north though. The Deinosuchus casually swims around the lake on patrol. Clearly he’s not hungry right now or else he’d have attacked Synca by now. Synca sits back and watches the giant as it gracefully swims through the water.

After almost an hour, Synca prepares to leave. But then something makes him stay. The nearby trees begin to shake a little. The Deinosuchus submerges under the water. A lone hadrosaur moves out of the forest toward the lake shore. Synca knows exactly what’s about to happen. He watches patiently for the attack. The hadrosaur has no idea what’s about to happen. She begins to gulp water down to quench her thirst. Synca can just barely make out the dark shape heading straight for the dinosaur. When it’s only a few yards away, it strikes. The Deinosuchus leaps out and grabs the hadrosaur by the head. He pulls it in as it kicks and struggles. Once the alligator has the hadrosaur in deeper water, he does a few death rolls. This breaks the neck and even takes of the head. The hadrosaur had no idea what hit her. Synca nods slowly in respect for the silent assassin. The Deinosuchus is a near perfect killer and a predator Synca has great respect for. In fact, the only other animal that surpasses the Deinosuchus in Synca’s mind is Tyrannosaurus rex.

As the sun begins to set, Synca prepares for night. He finds a comfortable spot to sleep and curls up. He’s been doing well and finally getting back on his feet. But there’s still something bothering him. A constant heartache he knows he must take care of soon. If Synca is to have a clear conscience, he must find Storm. Slowly, as darkness envelopes the land, Synca closes his eyes.