Hell Creek Survival Part 7

Month Nineteen, One Month Before The End

The End is near. In one month’s, the dinosaurs’ fate will be sealed. None of the terrible lizards were aware that the world they’ve known will be destroyed. For the time being, life for them was normal. For a herd of Edmontosaurus annectens, things couldn’t be more normal. They were stripping branches of vegetation. The adults were titans, measuring twenty feet tall and fifty-nine feet long. Thescelosaurus maneuvered around these giants’ feet, eating the lower vegetation. The duckbills ate blissfully, unaware that they were being watched.

In a nearby forest, a predator was waiting. This was the scourge of the west, Tyrannosaurus rex. This particular individual was eleven feet tall and thirty-seven feet long. He was grayish-black with yellow-orange markings on his head and neck. The Rex, Stan, watched the herd, searching for a vulnerable individual. An elderly female caught his attention because she was walking with a limp; her leg had been crushed by a Tyrannosaurus. Stan readied himself before charging, sending the herd fleeing. It was like Lions chasing Buffalo in the Serengeti, but with dinosaurs. The herd was spread apart, allowing Stan to weave in between individuals, looking for the elderly female.

One hadrosaur rammed into him, and he stumbled as another hit him in the face with his tail, breaking some of his teeth. Stan shook his head as he fell behind the herd before continuing his pursuit of them. He caught up to them and continued maneuvering between the titanic animals. He was on the left side of the herd, but his chosen target was on the right. The Rex rammed individuals that he could out of the way, avoiding the thrashing tails of the adults. The Edmontosaurus were unaware that they were being lured into a trap…

Stan continued trying to get to the right side of the herd, dodging the largest individuals of the group. He slammed his skull into a juvenile, sending it tumbling across the ground. It was inadvertently crushed by its larger brethren. Stan finally got to the other side of the herd. T.rex were nearly as smart as Chimpanzees. With his intelligence, high by dinosaurian standards, Stan deduced that because of her injury, his target would be near the back of the herd. He turned his body around and waited for the herd to pass. He spotted the injured female, who was attempting to hobble to safety. Stan came up on her left, snapping at her. She trumpeted in fear, veering off from the herd into the treeline. Within the dense forest, another Rex waited.

The injured female suddenly saw Trix charging towards her. She honked and changed directions, trying to find her herd. The two Rex flanked her, snapping at her. They couldn’t bring her down, but they were luring her towards a Rex who could…

The Edmontosaurus continued limping away from the two theropods, who snarled, continuing to flank her. Blood dripped down her torso as she panted like a tired dog. The hadrosaur continued limping, with the Tyrannosaurs never too far behind. Hours passed, before the hadrosaur finally arrived at Sue’s location. The largest of the three Rex siblings sprang out of the treeline as the titanic herbivore reared up on her hind legs. The hadrosaur brought her legs down, hitting Sue in the face. She shook her head before advancing, clamping onto one of her forelimbs. Trix bit down on the female’s bad leg, forcing a scream of pain out of her. She hit the Rex with her tail, forcing her to let go. Stan raised his head, his teeth scraping the underside of her neck.

The Edmontosaurus shook her head profusely as blood dripped onto the ground from her wounds. The three Rex circled her before Sue lunged at her belly. Blood stained the jaws of the Tyrannosaurus, who snarled as the Edmontosaurus groaned. The sun beat down on all of them, causing the three theropods to begin overheating. They stepped back, their mouths slightly open as they released heat through the fenestrae on their skulls. This allowed the Edmontosaurus to somewhat make a getaway, but it wasn’t long before her injuries caught up to her. Blood loss and fatigue severely hindered her, and she tripped over a log, breaking her injured leg. She was unable to get up, only able to wait for the inevitable.

Sue approached the hadrosaur, flanked by her brother and sister. She stepped towards the Edmontosaurus, who was helpless as the Rex approached her. Sue turned to face the underside of her quarry’s throat, opening her jaws, an act which revealed her twelve-inch teeth. The front teeth were sharp and serrated like a carnosaur, designed to cut through flesh. Her back teeth were blunter and thiccer, producing the infamous bite-force, which is her species’ primary weapon. Sue stretched her jaws to the maximum, placing them around the bottom of the hadrosaur’s neck. She squeezed with all her power, the Edmontosaurus beginning to scream in agony. Finally, with 12,800 pounds of pure force, her jaws put the Edmontosaurus annectens out of her misery.

The Tyrannosaurus rex threw the carcass to the ground, placing her foot on the neck and releasing a bellow. However, before she could devour her hard-earned meal, she still had one last challenge. Two Dakotaraptor were watching, one of whom was the female who gave her her iconic neck scars. They chirped out of respect for her before turning and dashing away. The three Rex guarded the carcass, awaiting the arrival of their parents, aunt, and uncle. After thirty minutes, they arrived, their tails swaying. Tyroca chirped in great joy, expressing her pride in Sue, Stan, and Trix. Together, the seven Tyrannosaurus rex began to devour the Edmontosaurus, blissfully unaware that their world would soon end.