Hell Creek Survival Part 8

Month Twenty, The End

The sun appeared in the sky above Hell Creek. This is the last time it would be seen in this area for months, for the day of reckoning has arrived. However, it would be hours before the dinosaurs’ fate was sealed. For now, life in Bone Butte was normal. The seven Tyrannosaurus were sleeping, until Thunderstorm awoke. His good eye looked around to see his sleeping family. He nudged Earthquake awake with his massive skull, and the two trilled, awakening the rest of the pack. Sue chirped, the equivalent of asking what they were going to do. Thunderstorm cooed, saying that all seven of them were going to hunt together.

All of them stood up, sniffing the air. An Edmontosaurus herd was nearby. Thunderstorm, Earthquake, Tyroca, and Orion chirped, stating that they would stay in this area while the faster offspring would lure the quarry into their jaws. Sue shook her head, chirping to her siblings as they followed her. They hiked through the vast floodplain, unaware that this was the last time they would see their current home in all its beauty. The siblings approached the herd, their movements slowing down as they took their positions.

Stan quietly circled the herd, examining it for a possible target. His eyes scanned the hadrosaurs, picking out an individual with large gashes across his body. Some of his cuts were still bleeding, and he walked with a slight limp. Stan tensed his muscles up before charging at the herd. They immediately scattered as the Rex found his target and began pursuing him. The Rex snapped at him, but these were fake lunges, for he was simply luring the hadrosaur towards his siblings. He chased him back in the direction he came as Trix sprang out of the trees, the two keeping pace with the Edmontosaurus.

Sue herd the panicked cries of a hadrosaur, poking her head out of the dense vegetation as he saw her siblings chasing their prey. She launched herself out towards the hadrosaur, who screamed and turned right. Stan mock-lunged at him, and he changed direction, this time running towards the Lightning Rex unintentionally. They continued pursuing him before the four adults lunged towards the hadrosaur. Thunderstorm, being the largest, sank his teeth into his throat, shoving him to the ground as his subordinates clamped onto other parts of the hadrosaur’s body.

The Edmontosaurus died beneath the sheer might of the Tyrant Thunderstorm, who released his grip. They began to devour the corpse, savoring every bite. This was the last meal the family would ever share together, for The End, is here.

***

Far south of Hell Creek, in what will become the Alamo, a herd of Alamosaurus were wandering. The titanosaurs were absolutely massive, several times heavier than a Tyrannosaurus. In the stratosphere, a meteor was coming. The massive object was six miles wide, the size of Mount Everest. It was picking up speed, as a bright streak shot across the sky, slamming into what will become the Gulf of Mexico. The chunk of rock vaporized, leaving a crater over a hundred miles in its wake. The entire world shook with the wrath of the asteroid as thousands of animals were vaporized instantly. This is the end, of the age of the dinosaurs.

In time, the dinosaurs will know what it’s like to lose. To feel so desperately that they’re right, yet to fail nonetheless. Extinction is frightening, turns the legs to jelly. And I ask them, to what end? Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same, and now it’s here. Back in North America, the seven Rex looked up to see a massive cloud of fire, ash, and dust rushing towards them. They abandoned their kill as several panicking herbivores began fleeing from the cloud. In the ensuing stampede, the family was separated, but the three siblings stayed together. Sue spotted a cave large enough to fit them and bellowed to her siblings, entering it. She was soon followed by Stan and Trix, who watched the passing ash cloud. The shock was too much, and the three Tyrannosaurus rex passed out.

***

Several Days Later

Diminished and exhausted, Sue and Trix finally arrived at the Golden-Land, amazed that such beauty existed amidst a Hellish world. Herds of Alamosaurus, Edmontosaurus, and Triceratops dominated the landscape. Stan had been lost, but his death had been avenged by the most powerful animal that ever walked the Earth, the Tyrant King. In the distance, they saw two familiar shapes approaching them--their aunt and uncle, Earthquake and Thunderstorm! They nudged each-other, both parties aware that Orion and Tyroca were dead. The four Rex layed down like Lions on a savannah as a being appeared atop a hill.

The being in question was an alpha-male Tyrannosaurus rex, fifty-two feet long from nose to tail. He towered over the ground at a height of eighteen feet. His steps were labored, drawn out from exhaustion, yet infused with power. He stood atop the peak of the hill, overlooking Dhahabi’ard, his childhood home. For a brief moment, he stared into the sun, seeing three beings in its golden light. The four Rex watched as Tyrance, the Slayer of Nequit Dominum, the Tyrant King of the Dinosaurs, opened his jaws and released a mighty bellow that emanated across the land.

The four Rex let out low chirps, including Thunderstorm, who had fought alongside Tyrance two years ago. They then turned to leave, as Thunderstorm led his mate and nieces to one of the Golden-Land’s many towering mountains. This particular mountain was where he had fought against Tornado, the Giganotosaurus who had killed his parents. His skeleton still lay at the edge of the cliff as the Lightning Rex placed his left foot atop it. He threw his head up, bellowing as his pack-mates bellowed back in respect. Thunderstorm stepped off of the skull as Sue and Trix chirped, saying that they were ready to leave. They were adults.

The two pairs said their goodbyes before Sue and Trix left, looking for an area to call their home. On the way, they saw Tyrance, who was now joined by his mate, Tyria. Sue chirped to Tyrance, thanking him for avenging their brother. The Tyrant King simply stared back in in respect, watching them depart. Sue and Trix walked, laying down on a flat, open plain. They stared into the sun, proud that they had survived. However, this extinction event was nothing compared to what their ancestors had gone through…

***

Siberia, 252 Million Years Before the Time of the Humans

Long before the time of the dinosaurs, life was very different. Instead of the seven distinct continents humans know, there was only one, Pangaea. Animals were free to travel across the land in its entirety, but this would be part of a downfall for most species. In what is now Siberia, lava was welling up beneath the ground. Now, it was going to be released. The Siberian Traps exploded, ripping a massive gash in the ground as lava flowed out, burning countless animals alive. This is the end of the Permian. This is the Great Dying.