Bladefoot

by David Pratt

  A dinosaur roared in the far distance. Bladefoot’s head pricked up and he aimed his keen eyes everywhere. Then he spotted a lizard, who was hunting insects amongst the mowed down shorter ferns. Bladefoot knew he had to catch it before it had to catch to scuttle back down its burrow. ‘I am an ambush predator. I blend in with my surroundings. I do not move a muscle. I never take my eyes off my prey. I follow its movements, tracks its thoughts, foresee it actions. It must not sense my presence until the final second.’ Silently, Bladefoot flanked the lizard from behind, carefully stalking it, edging closer and closer until he was in striking distance. As soon as the lizard put its head down to creep up on a cockroach, the lizard itself became the prey as Bladefoot pounced. The lizard stood no chance against an adult Troodon and Bladefoot was quick to snap the lizard down his jaws.

  Bladefoot had been walking through the fern prairies for hours now. The only sound he could hear were the sounds of crickets and grasshoppers. As looked up he saw that the skies were getting darker and cloudy. Then he heard the flash bang of lighting echo through the sky followed by the rumble of thunder. ‘Storm’s coming.’ Bladefoot knew it. Being caught out on open ground in a thunderstorm didn’t sound appealing. Already he felt a few drops of rain on his plumage. He scanned the horizon, trying to find some shelter. Then he saw salvation: trees! Trees meant forest and that meant he’d now found his own territory, provided that no other Troodons had taken residence. ‘Yes! I may have a new home!’ Bladefoot became excitable. As he made his way towards the trees in the distance the rain came down. The volcanic soil beneath his feet turned to mud and thunder/lighting roared in the skies above. Bladefoot then picked up a new sensation. He felt a vibration in his feet, soft at first but becoming more and more powerful. ‘Is that an earthquake?’ He questioned, but realised earthquakes came and went quickly. This was something else, something even more hazardous. Bladefoot looked around, trying to locate the source of the tremors. ‘It’s like thunder, but goes through the ground.’ He thought. Then he saw it. He saw the herd, a herd at least one-hundred members strong. Bladefoot’s heart felt like it was going into the back of his mouth. This was no prey herd: it was a herd of Torosaurus!

  Torosaurus: the very name of these Ceratopsians (Horned Dinosaurs) struck fear and awe into the hearts of most predators. They were formidable beasts, measuring twenty five feet long and weighed up to three tonnes. Although they were herbivores, they were not pushovers in the slightest. Torosaurus had elaborate neck frills and had the longest skull of any animal of all time of six feet and six inches. The large skull was kept light weight with two large holes, which the Triceratops lacked.

  Like their Triceratops cousins, they had two long brow horns over each eye and a short horn on the snout. Their huge horny beaks were best suited for ferns and cycads. Torosaurus migrated everywhere in huge herds for defence and they were not easy to bring down. They could flush blood into their neck frills illuminating red eye spots to confuse predators. They could band together and special joints in their shoulders and front legs enabled Torosaurus to make quick turns to face attackers. They could also run for great distances at a top speed of fifteen miles per hour and had robust feet to support their weight. The bodies were covered in a thick brown hide with pale belly scales.

  This particular herd had migrated down from Alaska to escape the Arctic Winter, but unfortunately for them a storm has caught up with the herd as they were making their way down to their new feeding/breeding grounds here in Alberta.

  Bladefoot watched in horror as the oncoming herd stampeded in his direction. All around him thunder and lightning bellowed through the sky and the earth beneath his feet shook at the sound of the Torosaurus. He couldn’t run towards the trees to evade the herd for there was no time for that now. He couldn’t turn back either. Instead he turned and fled south as herd members stampeded past him. Before he knew it he was surrounded by panicked Torosaurus. Bladefoot sprinted as fast as he could. It was the most terrifying, awesome sight he had ever seen. A moving wall of beasts that would mow down anything caught in its path. If he wasn’t in the way, he could really marvel this wonder. Although Bladefoot was fast, the Torosaurus were all around him.

  The fastest Torosaurus sped past him and Bladefoot did his best to weave in and out of their huge bodies. He thanked fate that he had learnt to chase down mammals at high speed. Those skills were being put to the test now. He jumped over rocks and leapt in front of the Torosaurus to reach a safer path. Bladefoot caught sight as to what was making the Torosaurus stampede in the first place: Nanotyrannus!

  Nanotyrannus was a smaller green sixteen feet long cousin of the T.Rex. While T.Rex was a typical giant killer that worked alone or in pairs, Nanotyrannus’ were pack hunting scavengers of the plains. A key difference between T.Rex and Nanotyrannus, asides the size, was that Nanotyrannus was a fast runner, chasing down its prey at a top speed of thirty miles per hour, so had no trouble keeping up with the Torosaurus.

  Nanotyrannus engaged in co-operative hunting, using co-ordinated attack patterns to bring down prey larger and more dangerous than themselves, such as hadrosaurs and ceratopsians. This particular pack had stalked the Torosaurus herd from the tree line, waiting for them to appear on this migration route as they had done year after year. This was a typical Nanotyrannus strategy: running down the herd, singling out any weak, sick or old individuals.

  Already one Nanotyrannus was sinking its teeth into a Torosaurus flank. As Bladefoot ran, he wondered whether this was a simple plan, or part of a well devised plot of something else entirely. The Nanotyrannus had smelt blood in the air amongst the wind and rain and were going for the stragglers.

  One Nanotyrannus distracted a Torosaurus from the front while the other attacked from behind. Together, they brought it down quickly and efficiently.

  Some of the Torosaurus were counter-attacking and already one Nanotyrannus laid bleeding and dying from a brow horn stab wound to the ribs. All Bladefoot could see amongst the stampede was a bloodbath but the majority of the Torosaurus were still escaping. As the Nanotyrannus fed on the felled Torosaurus, the rules were far from democratic: the will of the strong rules all. Weaker pack members were being driven off kills by the larger stronger ones.

  As Bladefoot raced through the herd, he noticed they were slowing down. ‘Why are they slowing down? Hunters are still in pursuit, do they know that?’ Bladefoot could see the Nanotyrannus in the background as he looked over his shoulder. Then as he turned back, he could see why.

  A river had burst its banks in the storm and had now become a raging torrent. The herd had been drawn to a halt at the crumbling banks. Bladefoot was now sandwiched between the swirling waters and the Nanotyrannus’ hunt. To make matters worse, the storm wasn’t letting up. Some of the Torosaurus began to jump into the river to escape the Nanotyrannus. Others lost their footing on the slippery mud-slopes and fell. Being a herding animal, the other Torosaurus soon followed suite. Bladefoot knew that he wouldn’t survive in that deadly river. Although he could swim he wasn’t built to cross raging waters. ‘Now there are giant crocodiles!’ Bladefoot’s problems only seemed to rack up as thirty nine feet long Deinosuchus slide into the river from the other bank. They too had known that the Torosaurus were coming and were going to seize the feeding opportunity.

  Bladefoot’s only choice was to run along the collapsing river-bank as he was now caught up in the various hazards! The Torosaurus themselves either drowned in the raging river or were caught by the Deinosuchus. A few of them made it to the opposite bank. The dead ones were swept further downstream. Bladefoot dodged and jumped to avoid the oncoming hazards. It seemed like he was trying to fight a wall of dinosaurs. Then he could see the edge of the herd and he sprinted to safety as the riverbank collapsed behind him.

  Exhausted and soaking wet, Bladefoot stopped for a rest, knowing that he wasn’t at risk from the Torosaurus anymore. If anything he could see a patch of trees growing on the riverbank up ahead where he could shelter until the
weather improved. Bladefoot couldn’t walk another step. His joints felt like they were going to fall apart. His legs burned as he had been running so much. ‘I can’t believe I’m still alive after that.’ He marvelled at his ability to survive most things. A deafening roar sounded behind him and it wasn’t from the thunder and lightning. A Nanotyrannus had been stalking Bladefoot, viewing the tired Troodon as an easy, tasty snack. Bladefoot used the last of his energy to spin around and face the Nanotyrannus. He tried to run but his body wouldn’t allow it. The Nanotyrannus had turned its back on the raging river, fully focused on the exhausted Troodon. Suddenly, a bow wave swept through the deep waters towards the Nanotyrannus. The jaws of a huge Deinosuchus burst out of the river and clamped down on the Nanotyrannus’ left leg. The Nanotyrannus screamed in terror, trying to snap its jaws at the attacker, but could do little as it was dragged into the river. Seconds later, a pool of blood floated on the surface. ‘It feels strange to be saved by a giant crocodile.’ Bladefoot counted himself lucky.

  Just then, a lightning strike brought down a nearby tree and it crashed into the river. As another Deinosuchus tried to catch Bladefoot, the Troodon defied the burning sensation in his leg muscles and leapt onto the tree trunk. The crocodile’s jaws snapped a few centimetres behind him. Bladefoot scrambled onto the log as the river swirled around him. Using his claws and talons to cling on, he couldn’t help but wonder where he would end up as he was carried away from these Cretaceous killing fields.

  Chapter 5

  The storm had passed and a new day dawned on Alberta. The sun tried to break through the dispersing clouds. Bladefoot felt the warmth as he clung onto the fallen tree, still drifting downriver. His plumage was slowly but surely drying off. Once again Bladefoot felt hunger, but the pang in his belly was the last thing on his mind. He could see both banks of the river but knew better than to try and swim for it. Already he could see a Deinosuchus swimming around but it was too pre-occupied with a dead Torosaurus to bother Bladefoot.

  He felt the sun warm his body. Although he was warm blooded like his bird relatives the heat did feel lovely after being blasted with cold wind and rain. He sneezed out water from his nostrils. ‘Where am I going?’ Bladefoot pondered as the fallen tree continued on its un-determined course. Bladefoot tried to be at peace but never really felt it. He was constantly checking over the sides to see if a Deinosuchus was stalking him beneath the surface. Luckily for him no attack came. If anything, Bladefoot could see the odd shoal of fish swimming beneath him. He tried to snag one in his jaws but they were far too quick. ‘Father never taught me how to fish.’ Troodons were not natural fish eaters, unless they came across a dead one washed up on a riverbank.

  All around him, Bladefoot took note of the plant and animal life. Cypress trees grew along the banks of the river along with vast swathes of horsetails. On the far banks he could also see other deciduous trees and flowering bushes. Various species of turtles sunned themselves on floating bogwood or sand-banks. Water birds such as proto ducks and geese were everywhere. The sound of cicadas, frogs, water birds and dinosaurs echoed around him. ‘Need to get off soon but don’t want to risk water predators.’ Bladefoot kept thinking. Being in the middle of this strange environment stressed him. He didn’t want to make too much noise, bring too much attention to himself.

  At last he saw a familiar sight, an Edmontonia grazing horsetails along the riverbank. Bladefoot calculated that he must be so far away from his home land now.

  His father, and Cutter, felt like only a distant memory. Bladefoot had long since seen new things, interacted with new dinosaurs, dealt with new hazards, hazards that his family wouldn’t believe. Even if he could return to them, how would they believe tales of the Alamosaurus, the fact that Bladefoot ran amongst a Torosaurus stampede and that he was saved from the jaws of a Nanotyrannus by a Deinosuchus? His thoughts were distracted by a dark shadow. It was Sky Rider the Quetzalcoatlus, who was flying above the river looking for more Thescelosaurus.

  Sky Rider was a rare sight. No other Pterosaurs could be seen. The water birds flew away at the sight of him, not that Sky Rider cared. To him, the Cretaceous skies were nothing more than a playground. He spied a Troodon clinging for its life to a floating log. He could’ve sworn that was the same Troodon he saw the other day as he flew amongst the Alamosaurus. The sight of it hanging on for dear life was something that he hadn’t seen before. He couldn’t see any small prey though. What he was really looking for were any young crocodilians or unattended bird nests, but those were in short supply. The turtles were too hard to swallow and slid away as he flew above them. With a stroke of his leathery wings he gained some altitude. Up ahead he saw a flurry of activity.

  Bladefoot could see a bend in the river and the fallen tree was heading straight for the bank. But it was not an empty one. The bodies of dead Torosaurus lay scattered on the shore where they had been washed up. ‘It’s feeding time!’ Bladefoot jumped off the log as soon as it hit the bank and was glad to be rid of his wooden prison. Without much hesitation, he began to feed on one of the carcasses, even if the meat was tough and chewy.

  But even before he can settle down to feed another pack of Nanotyrannus approached from behind him. A younger Nanotyrannus chased off Bladefoot roaring. The pack has stumbled across easy meat and they were not going to give up their prize. Sky Rider flew away, not wanting to take his chances amongst the Nanotyrannus. Previously, he was going to try to land and snag any bits of meat. Bladefoot avoided the Nanotyrannus and tried to settle on the edges of this river of death. As the Theropods fed, the noise and blood attracted several large Deinosuchus out of the water and onto the bank. The giant crocs hissed and showed their jaws at the Nanotyrannus. The Nanotyrannus roared back at the crocs as challenges for carcasses began on the riverbank. Both sides are as powerful as the other and Bladefoot decided he’d be better off elsewhere. In the distant future, crocodiles will still be the masters of the rivers.

  It was now the mid afternoon and Bladefoot had lost both the Nanotyrannus and giant crocs. What he had now found was more open forest: perfect Troodon habitat. On the face of it, he’d found his own territory. ‘I have a new home, no other Troodons here.’ He couldn’t smell any other Troodons, well any males anyway. He hoped to find a female in the vicinity soon. Bladefoot would begin to mark his new territory with urine but picked up the smell of more carrion amongst the ferns and bushes.

  As Bladefoot raced through the scrub, he came across a rotting Parasaurolophus. Checking to see if the coast was clear he approached the carcass. Not above scavenging, Bladefoot began to wolf down the rotting meat. Flies buzzed around his head. The food felt good inside him and he wasn’t at risk from those beastly Nanotyrannus. He felt happy now. The first part of his mission was complete. Now he had to lay down the boundaries of his new territory. It was a load off his mind, knowing that he could walk in his father’s footsteps if he survived to breed, and to do that he needed a female urgently. But then, he heard a loud blood chilling roar from behind him, the sound that scared every dinosaur: Tyrannosaurus Rex!

  Tyrannosaurus Rex was the most powerful predator in Late Cretaceous North America. The largest of the Tyrannosaur family, females grew to thirty nine feet long while the males only reached thirty feet by comparison.

  The skull of the T.Rex was short and deep and had a solid structure. The teeth and bone crushing jaws were the main weapons of a T.Rex.

  The teeth were eight to sixteen centimetres long, two centimetres wide with serrated edges designed to slice through flesh. T.Rexes had two sets of teeth with D-shaped ones at the front with thin shearing blades at the back.

  The sense of smell of a T.Rex was one of the most powerful of all time and T.Rexes also had binocular vision and excellent hearing. The arms were short, but for a T.Rex, it was all about the bite! Just like a snake, a T.Rex could even dislocate its bottom jaw to swallow down large chunks of meat.

  Bladefoot didn’t even turn around to face the T.Rex. He just bolted away fr
om the carcass. Once he was at a safe distance was when he turned to face his aggressor. It was a large adult female, who went by the name of Thunder Blade. ‘THIS IS MY CARRION!’ She bellowed at Bladefoot with another deafening roar. Bladefoot knew she wasn’t hunting him. She too had smelt the rotting Parasaurolophus and wanted to drive off the smaller Troodon. She would eat him if she ever caught him, but Troodons were normally too quick to end up as a T.Rex’s dinner. Thunder Blade began to feed herself, paying no further attention to Bladefoot skulking in the background. Bladefoot hoped she would leave some scraps but Thunder Blade was capable of eating a high percentage of the carcass. Strong stomach acids helped her digest the putrid flesh.

  As Thunder Blade fed, Bladefoot felt tinge of sadness. He knew his victory was too good to be true. This new ‘territory’ he’d found housed an adult female T.Rex. But then he had second thoughts. That adult female T.Rex might actually deter other rival males coming in. She could actually guarantee his homeland, provided he could avoid her. However that plan could work against him as female Troodons might be put off coming here too. But for hunting grounds this rich, the risk was worth it. So he would stay here after all, besides even if he did try to move elsewhere he could encounter worse things.