The Tyrant's Roar: Chapter 13

Chapter 13:  Attack

Within a millisecond of the wind’s change in direction, two events occurred.  The attack came from behind, in the direction of Tytus’ flank.  But without even seeing what was coming, Tytus swung his long heavy tail.  Contact was made, and the attacker stumbled across the clearing.

Tytus turned to see what he had hit, and gasped in horror.

There was Hades again, in the flesh.  He looked different though, as if he had changed.  Hades stood at the opposite end of the clearing, breathing deeply and evenly, as if he could not tire.  His head sported a black hide with electric blue stripes, brighter than ever before.  Not only that, Hades was standing very tall, a sign of steely confidence and dominance.  Tytus also saw that Hades’ eyes did not have the crazed unfocused look to them like last time.  Instead, they looked hungry, murderous, and above all, focused.  Those traits made Hades’ 6.5 ton, 46 foot-long frame inconceivably larger and more threatening than it usually did.

Tytus was so scared that he didn’t bother with any displays of dominance.  Instead, he went right into a series of mock charges directed at the old Giganotosaurus.  Each time Tytus mock-charged, he snapped his powerful jaws shut, filling the air with a horrific crunching sound.  He hoped that his actions would goad Hades into fighting him, so the battle would end sooner and that he would have the advantage.

Back and forth Tytus went, shifting his colossal body towards Hades and then quickly retreating with one step.  Every time Tytus brought his foot down, the ground shook.  But eventually he stopped because his bluffs weren’t working; Hades stood stock still, except for his chest, which rose and fell steadily.

Hades calmly watched Tytus’ frantic confusion.  It pleased him to be in control.  His mere presence drove Tytus berserk, and just as Hades suspected, Tytus was too scared to use his killer instinct.

Very slowly, Hades bent his knees and pawed the ground.  His massive toe talons scraped the dirt, leaving behind huge trenches in the soil.  The Giganotosaurus’ muscles rippled threateningly, and an evil hiss oozed from his throat as knife-like teeth were bared and facial scars were stretched disgustingly.

Then, without warning, Hades ran towards Tytus, with his jaws wide open and his claws outstretched.

Tytus reacted as quickly as he could, but he couldn’t accelerate fast enough.  The two therapods collided in the middle of the clearing.  Both the Tyrannosaurus and the Giganotosaurus felt the great impact of their bodies slamming into each other’s sides with a combined force of 13.5 tons, enough to launch both of them four feet in the air.

They staggered back, reeling from their tremendous body check.  Both Tytus and Hades sustained severely bruised collar bones and a few broken ribs, making it very hard to breathe.  Despite all this, Hades was able to shake off his stupor faster than Tytus.

Hades steadied himself and regained his footing, while Tytus shakily tried to stand properly.  Hades launched himself forward just as Tytus brought his head up to keep his opponent in sight.  All Tytus saw was a pair of massive jaws with countless eight-inch blades advancing directly towards his head.

Hades bit down hard on Tytus’ upper jaw.  Blood squirted everywhere, covering both monsters and the ground red.  As Tytus screeched in agony and tried to pull his snout out of Hades’ mouth, Hades began to swing his head up and down.  The results were painful for both warriors, but Hades didn’t care.  His teeth drove themselves deeper into Tytus’ head and gums, causing even more bleeding.  But Tytus’ upper teeth punched holes through Hades’ lower gums, displacing many lower teeth, and his gnarly nose ridge cut into Hades sensitive palate.

Tytus violently shook every part of his body to get out of Hades’ jaws.  He wildly shook his head and neck in every direction, hoping that Hades would let go.  But Hades pulled back hard, even while Tytus dragged him around for several metres.

Finally, after several minutes of thrashing, Tytus wrenched himself free from Hades’ bite.  Ivory teeth, saliva, and blood flew everywhere, adding to the violence and chaos.  Both dinosaurs were exhausted from their fight, but Tytus was tiring faster.

Mustering all the strength he could, Tytus swung his large head towards Hades.  Tytus’ skull was incredibly robust and durable, as all Tyrannosaurus skulls were.  He could do a lot of damage with his head without even biting, and Hades’ thinner skull probably couldn’t take the impact.

When Tytus began to swing his head, the memory of his head-swinging duel with Achilles from two months ago flashed in Hades’ mind.  He remembered how bad his head wounds were, and knew that if Tytus landed a solid blow, he would be doomed.

So instead of meeting the collision head-on, Hades ducked just in time to see Tytus’ bleeding head sail over him.  The great amount of momentum from the arc caused Tytus to lose his balance.  He staggered to the left, trying not to fall over.

The perfect opportunity opened for Hades to end the fight and kill the reigning king.  With Tytus in a weaker state and a vulnerable position, Hades stomped over to the teetering T.rex, simultaneously dislocating his lower jaw.  Hades swung his head up high, baring his wickedly sharp teeth.  Before Tytus could do anything, Hades brought his upper jaw down hard into the top of Tytus’ neck.  The tremendous force was such a powerful shock to Tytus’ system that his legs gave out from underneath him.  All seven tons of him hit the dirt of the clearing on his belly with a thunderous BOOM!

Hades was brought down by the momentum of his hatchet bite as well, but managed to stay on his feet.  Squinting through the shower of hot blood that poured from Tytus’ neck, Hades repositioned himself so he could use his lower jaw to inflict more damage.

Amidst his sickening shrieks and gurgling, Tytus groggily struggled to get up, but his legs just would not work.  His neck erupted in fiery pain as Hades’ fangs buried into his neck and throat.  With every bite, Hades’ fangs cut deeper through the massive muscles and blood vessels, slicing their way ever closer to his cervical vertebrae and his major arteries and veins.  On top of that, Tytus’ head was spinning, and Hades’ left foot was on top of his hips, pinning him down as large talons contracted and shredded his lovely green skin.

Tytus’ strength was diminishing rapidly.  He was losing too much blood, and could not shake off the Giganotosaurus again.  Every time Hades closed his jaws, the closer Tytus came to death.  He could hear Aries and Celeste wailing in fear from far away.

With his vision and other senses blurring, Tytus was losing his grasp of life.  He felt so ashamed that he could not defend his home and his children.  But most of all, he was heartbroken that he and Poppaea would never get to stare into each other’s eyes and feel their love ever again.

As the thunder echoed through the sky, and the ground flooded with blood, Tytus felt himself leaving his body behind.

“I am a failure,” thought Tytus.  His sombre and final thoughts were deafening in his brain.  “I am so sorry everyone!  Goodbye…”