Hell Creek Survival Part 3

Month Fifteen, Five Months Before The End

(Read Tyrants by Emperor GorillaGodzilla to better understand the references in this chapter)

Five months before The End, another disaster plagued Sue’s family. One day, during a heatwave, they tried to relieve themselves from the sweltering heat. The seven Rex walked over to a stream, hinging their legs as they laid down in the water, beneath a waterfall. Trikes and hadrosaurs dropped left and right, overheating from the high temperatures. The Rex fell asleep as their scales glistened with the water, hoping the heat would stop. Hours passed, and eventually, the sun vanished as the clouds rolled in. However, what followed was something they did not want. The dark skies were lit up with a flash of lightning, which struck a tree.

The tree, set ablaze by the lightning, collapsed, the flames spreading quickly through the dense vegetation. Thunderstorm clambered to his feet and bellowed to his pack, awakening them. He trilled, telling them that they would have to move out before the wall of fire cut them off. His six pack mates stood to their feet before moving as fast as they could. Triceratops and Edmontosaurus panicked as the red death spread to all corners of their territory. Our seven Rex kept going as trees crashed to the ground. As if this wasn’t bad enough, they were also hungry and needed to eat.

Panicked herbivores were all around, but there was no time to make a kill as the fire was spreading quickly. Continuing to power-walk, the Tyrannosaurs settled for some Pachycephalosaurus and Thescelosaurus as they picked them off the ground, crushed them, and carried them in their jaws. Groups of Ornithomimus and Dakotaraptor, including the sharp-clawed alpha- female, sprinted past the flames. The screams of herbivores rang their ears, but they were soon drowned out by another sound...a sound that sounded like...almost laughter…?

In fear, the Rex turned around; at the edge of their line of vision, they saw a silhouette illuminated against the orange flames. It stood upright, and it appeared to have spikes running down its back. Whereas many dinosaurs succumbed to the fire, this...demon thrived on it. It walked over to an Edmontosaurus trapped under a collapsed tree trunk and slowly, painfully cut its side open with its massive hand claws. Intestines spilled out onto the ground as the demon grinned and stepped on the herbivore’s entrails, liquid squirting everywhere as it grinned in sadism. A flaming tree fell on top of it, singing its skin and crushing its bones.

However, the demon pulled itself free, crawling like a Dimetrodon as its pelvis, legs, and back fluctuated, healing. It stood up, appearing as if nothing had ever happened to it; this demon was unkillable, unstoppable, only able to die to one being.

By now, the Rex had fled, traveling north. They had escaped the fire, as their old territory went up in flames. Sue watched as her childhood home was burned, trilling in sorrow as she followed her pack. They hiked for miles, the air becoming cool as they traveled more north. Eventually, they heard the rushes of water and the bellows of herbivores as they arrived in a land known as Bone Butte, still part of Hell Creek. The sun rose over this new land as the Rex entered a densely-wooded forest dominated by conifers towering over the land. They saw the bones of a Triceratops with a thigh gone. Still, vast numbers of Trikes roamed the area, making up the largest portion of the area’s population. They were accompanied by Edmontosaurus, one of the most widespread and common duck-billed dinosaurs across North America. The family of Tyrannosaurus observed this, satisfied with what Bone Butte had to offer.

A few miles away, a single being, about the height of a man, dashed over to the edge of a cliff. This was the alpha-female Dakotaraptor, accompanied by her mate and a new group of subordinates. She looked at the area, raising her head and releasing a series of chirps and trills, tapping her claws on the ground. They then turned around and trekked down a hill, entering the beautiful valley.

The Tyrannosaurs had also began to explore this new land, entering a section of Bone Butte that was a vastly-populated plain. They saw the bones of one of their own kind, Tyrannosaurus rex. The creature had been dead for over a year now, when its neck was snapped by the Tyrant King--who was not present right now. They could tell its neck had been snapped because of the deep tooth marks and cracks in the vertebrae.

However, they could not further examine their territory as a lone, solitary, nomadic Tyrannosaurus emerged into the taiga. Thunderstorm stepped forward to confront the other Rex, whose scent was familiar. It was an alpha-male, without a pack to accompany him. His eyes were amber, his scales reddish-brown with a yellowish cream-white underbelly. The sun was at the perfect angle as it shined upon him as if he were some savior of life--which he was, unbeknownst to Thunderstorm. His powerful leg muscles were well-defined, and a large scar ran from his neck to his thigh--indicating that he has fought and won bouts against other Tyrannosaurus.

The reddish-brown Rex also recognized the Lightning Rex, who cooed, inquiring where his pack had been. The nomad, his feather-covered tail lashing from side to side as his head was lowered, simply let out a low growl, indicating that they had been killed by a demon seven months ago. Seven months of isolation from his own species. Seven months of having to kill and fight for himself, with no assistance from his mate or siblings. Seven months of lonely wandering around Laramidia with no accompaniment. The Rex shook his head and snorted, walking off.

However, a battle of dominance would still need to be won to claim this territory, as seven predators--the likes of which have never ever been seen before in Hell Creek--snarled at the Rex. The alpha-male, covered in orange scales with some blue accents on his skull, stepped forward, hissing. Thunderstorm, being the alpha of his pack, approached the other theropod. They had been traveling north in search of new lands, originating from Argentina. This was a pack of Mapusaurus roseae--working together, this particular group had brought down an Argentinosaurus huinculensis, the largest dinosaur ever to walk the Earth. The alpha, named Earth, bellowed at Thunderstorm, who simply released a bellow of dominance. He lunged forward, clamping down on Earth’s skull with a vice-like grip. Earth staggered back, shaking his head profusely before he and his pack left.

Having secured this area, the tyrants were free to explore their new territory, as well as eat their next meal. However, their hunger could wait, and they laid down to rest, having found a new home. It was better than their old one due to its closer proximity to the legendary Golden-Land, Dhahabi’ard. This would help them, for the end is near.