Bladefoot

by David Pratt

  The Troodons took note. They’d never seen a T.Rex keep its catch alive for as long as possible before. Bladefoot’s family looked at Light Foot screaming. In Bladefoot’s eyes, it was poetic justice. He was just sad that he wouldn’t be able to scavenge the scraps once the T.Rex had finished with her. ‘Justice has been done.’ Olla nodded. ‘Maybe we should leave now.’ Bladefoot ushered his family away. Rick loitered behind. He’d never seen a T.Rex before and felt impressed by the power and size of Stan. To him, Stan seemed like the ultimate dinosaur, king of all the land. Rick at that moment felt so insignificant compared to Stan. ‘Rick, come on! I don’t want that male T.Rex discovering we’re here!’ Bladefoot nudged his son away. ‘Aw I want to see!’ Rick squealed in protest. ‘We are leaving now!’ Bladefoot asserted himself as the Alpha male. Rick better get used to it. In only eleven months time Bladefoot will evict both Rick and Serena from his territory so he and Olla could breed again.

  Light Foot fell to the ground with a hard thud, after being dropped by Stan. Thunder Blade lurked in the background, to prevent the Bird-Mimic from escaping. In shock, delirious and confused, Light Foot tried looking around to see where she was. She smelt death and decay. A rotting Edmontosaurus lay nearby along with the remains of a young Triceratops.

  Then she heard a chilling piping noise, similar to those made by bird chicks. But these were not bird chicks; they were two young T.Rexes. They too had doubled in size a month after they hatched and today they were going to be given a life lesson, the most important lesson of all for any apex predator: how to kill!

  Light Foot tried to get up, but her leg was broken in two places due to Stan’s bite. Then with a surge of energy she tried to hobble on the other good leg but was knocked down by Thunder Blade’s snout. The two T.Rex chicks smelt the blood in the air and it excited them. Already they had known to associate blood with food. They trotted towards Light Foot, who tried to keep them at bay with her good toe talons. But it was no good. The T.Rex chicks were jumping out of the way. The female T.Rex chick was the more confident of the two. The male simply hung back, not entirely sure what to make of their visitor. Light Foot tried to rise again but kept on being pushed down to the ground by Thunder Blade. The female T.Rex chick came up to her again and bit into her broken leg. Light Foot cried out in pain! She couldn’t get away now. The thing that had been her survival guarantee was now lost: her speed! The male chick hung back, letting the female try out her attacks. Then the male chick began to take bites into Light Foot’s other leg. The female chick had now jumped onto Light Foot’s side, ripping away her plumage to get at her flesh. Light Foot couldn’t believe she was being taken out by babies a quarter of her size. The parent T.Rexes roared at the chicks, encouraging them. ‘YES! GO! GO! GO! KILL THAT BIRD-MIMIC! THAT IS FOOD TO YOU! KILL AND EAT!’

  The sun was beginning to set as the female T.Rex chick started to bite into Light Foot’s neck, trying to go for the jugular. Light Foot screamed, preparing herself for death. Once she’d been one of the most graceful animals in the Late Cretaceous and a skilled egg thief. Now she was nothing more than baby food! A training exercise for these two little snappers! She screeched out again. Her death wouldn’t be a quiet affair. The female T.Rex chick savaged her neck and Light Foot’s plumage was now soaked in her own blood, soon she’d be drowning in it as the female T.Rex chick began to chew on her jugular.

  The sun rose on a world where Light Foot wouldn’t be in it. One Bird-Mimic died one evening so two T.Rex chicks could live another day; that’s just the way things played out in the Cretaceous Period. Many months had passed and Alberta was suffering from a drought. It hadn’t rained much in weeks, and the rains that were due were at least six weeks late.

  Once again, Bladefoot was up and about in his territory with his family in tow. Bladefoot and Olla had another lesson to teach their two chicks: the art of scavenging from other predators and getting away with it. Now under usual circumstances this would be pretty risky; muscling in on another predator’s kill didn’t particularly go down very well with the kill’s owner. Normally, Bladefoot would scavenge off un-attended kills. But he could wait around in the background until the predator moved away and then got in before the killer returned. Besides, Bladefoot preferred fresh scraps than rotting lumps of flesh that had maggots crawling around in it! He’d seen his father Kane dart in and out of a Nanotyrannus kill. Bladefoot wasn’t about to risk anything like that though! Then again, the location where he was heading would seem like suicide to any sane animal. They were heading directly for the T.Rex nest!

  Cautiously, the Troodons approached the Rex nest. Rick and Serena had never smelt anything like this before. Death was everywhere. Rotting dinosaurs lay everywhere along with bones and entrails. Rick sniffed a freshly killed Ornithomimus. The Bird-Mimic appeared to have its neck broken. Suddenly Bladefoot stopped.

  The adult T.Rexes’ were only a few feet away now. Every Troodon felt fear. They were right now risking all their lives in the domain of the Tyrant Lizard King and Queen. Bladefoot tried his best to control his anxiety. He stayed where he was, relying on his wits to dart away from danger. The rest of his family looked around.

  All the T.Rexes’ were at the nest. Their two chicks were chewing on Triceratops sinew. The chicks were not the concern though for Bladefoot and Olla paid close attention to the adults. ‘What are we doing here? This is madness!’ Serena wanted to run. ‘You’ll see. Stay together everyone.’ Olla signalled. Rick was the bolder one. Serena interpreted Rick’s bravery as stupidity.

  The air was thick with flies and maggots seemed to crawl around everywhere. Serena moved to the back of the group planning that if anything did go wrong she’d be the first to dart away. The Troodons had positioned themselves where the T.Rexes couldn’t smell them. If they had smelt them they would have stood little chance.

  Suddenly, Thunder Blade began to move away from Stan. This was the signal that the parent Troodons had been waiting for. ‘Let’s go.’ Bladefoot signalled to his family.

  The waterhole in Bladefoot’s territory now seemed more like a sink-hole. The surrounding vegetation had now been stripped of their leaves by the plant eaters so now only skeleton-like trees remained, some of which had been stripped of their bark.

  The water itself was algae ridden and stagnant; perfect for breeding mosquitoes. The sun beat down mercilessly on the volcanic soil, which burned under the feet of the dinosaurs that did come to drink here.

  Most plant eaters had migrated further south in search of new pastures and water, but a few species were lagging behind. Amongst those were the biggest of the ceratopsians, Triceratops!

  At thirty feet long they were large animals which, like their Torosaurus cousins, migrated up and down North America in vast herds. Their most distinct feature was their two long brow horns over the eyes and a short horn over the nose. Their neck frill was massive with no holes in it but was bordered with small bony knobs. Their powerful shear-like jaws and horny beaks made short work of most browse in the Late Cretaceous. Their front legs were slightly sprawled while the back legs were straight. Although this lowered the animal’s top speed to ten miles per hour, it did however allow more manoeuvrability. Triceratops used its horns both as defence against predators and for males to compete for mates.

  Today, the Triceratops herd shared the sink-hole with a herd of Thescelosaurus and an armoured Edmontonia. This sink-hole, as disgusting as it was, still attracted many dinosaurs. Sky Rider soared in the skies above. As he looked down he saw the dead carcasses of many hadrosaurs and ceratopsians. He didn’t dare land at the sink-hole itself because giant crocodiles infested that stagnant pool and Sky Rider had lost count on how many thirsty dinosaurs he’d seen dragged to a watery grave. Recently, he’d watched as several Triceratopses from this herd had been pulled under. Sky Rider hoped to ambush another Thescelosaurus, or scavenge one that had died of thirst. After all, dead prey didn’t run away! But there wasn’t much of a place to set an ambush as most of the young t
rees had been pulled down. Water too was also a concern. Most of the streams he’d preferred drinking at had dried up and he didn’t want to take a chance with a giant crocodile. Sky Rider circled, impatiently waiting for a feeding opportunity. All he saw though were the female Triceratopses grazing on the few horsetails that were left while two males seemed to get into an argument.

  The younger male was named Rumble and he had his mind set on challenging the herd’s old leader and taking over. But that was no easy task for Rumble. The old male was a combat veteran, seeing off many rival male Triceratopses in his lifetime. As far as Rumble saw it, it was his turn to mate with any females without young.

  It all started that morning when Rumble had managed to find a female in season. He had been standing next to her, looking after her needs and making sure no harm would come to her. The female seemed to like Rumble and did want to mate with him, but there was one problem: he didn’t clear it with the top male. ‘I AM THE ALPHA MALE HERE! YOU WILL NOT MATE WITH ANY OF MY FEMALES!’ The old male had roared at Rumble, dipping his head and waggling his brow horns at him. ‘I HAVE SPOKEN. IT SHALL BE SO!’ The old male bellowed, asserting himself.

  Usually this would have been enough to settle matters, but Rumble wanted to prove something. He was young and full of potential. The old male was fifty years old and his head showed the various scares of fights with rivals and T.Rexes. Rumble was the same size as he was so the odds were pretty even. Leaving ‘his’ female, he rushed to challenge the old male. ‘YOU RAINE IS AT AN END OLD ONE. THIS IS THE TIME OF RUMBLE. I SHALL RULE NOW!’ He roared in defiance. He wasn’t going to be pushed around by this old codger! The two rivals faced off. ‘FINE; I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE!’ The old male signalled. ‘YOU SHOULD QUIT NOW IF YOU WANT TO LIVE.’ Rumble taunted. This was more than enough for the old male. He lurched forward and engaged horns with Rumble.

  The attack took Rumble by surprise as he was forced back, but he was quick to react, swiftly pushing back against the old male. All the horns locked together in mortal combat! The two rivals paused as fighting for animals this size was exhausting. Then after a quick rest they came at each other again, each trying to shove the other into submission or gore one another. The female and their few young looked one as the two males fought for the ultimate prize of life: the right to mate! Their horns clash together over and over again, as if this fight was set to carry on for the rest of their lives.

  The noise and commotion caused the other dinosaurs to stop and turn. The Thescelosaurus herd bolted. They’d rather be elsewhere! In the skies above, Sky Rider circled, impressed by this glorious spectacle. He’d seen loads of fights between horned dinosaurs during his travels and he never got bored of it. Even the Deinosuchus’ were surfacing to watch the action!

  The two males battled again and again, neither appeared to be winning. ‘AS YOU CAN SEE, MY COMBAT SKILLS ARE FAR SURPERIOR TO YOURS. YOU SHOULD BACK DOWN!’ The old male snorted. ‘I THINK NOT!’ Rumble countered. Rumble charged again and with a twist of his neck, inflicting a deep gauge on the old male’s head crest. The old male cried out in agony as the wound bled out heavily.

  Rumble stood as the victor and the other females seemed pleased at his victory. But as glorious as Rumble felt right now to have won his first fight, he knew his victory would be short lived. One day, another male would come along and topple Rumble from his new throne. But he didn’t have to worry about that just yet. Battling to keep his crown can wait for another year.

  All Rumble cared about right now was passing on his genes to the next generation. Rumble turned back to his female who showed the signs of accepting him, while the old male slunk away.

  An hour later, the old male Triceratops was seen by the Troodon family sulking away from the rest of the herd. His pride was dented having been beaten by the best.

  But he plotted a new plan. He would follow the herd at a safe distance and when the time was right, challenge Rumble for the leadership of the herd. Or he could just find himself some new females and breed with them. But all that he wanted to do was find some new pastures and replenish his energy as the fight had sapped away some of his strength. His wound wasn’t showing signs of healing rapidly. That was another worry for the old male as insects began to drink the blood from it.

  Tired and delirious, he hadn’t spotted the family of Troodons nearby, nor did he have a clue about the two T.Rexes’ stalking him. The old male Triceratops wandered on, seeking out any green plants in this barren forest. Only the trees seemed untouched. Everything else had been stripped of leaves or whittled and died.

  The old male reacted too late as Thunder Blade bust from her hiding spot. He tried to run, but Thunder Blade managed to sink her dagger-like teeth into his flank. He turned to face her as she backed away. An experienced hunter like Thunder Blade knew better than to try and hold onto a struggling Triceratops. The old male, despite being wounded, roared at the female T.Rex, showing off his horns. ‘YOU WILL DIE FOR THIS CRIME AGAINST ME!’ He declared. He charged Thunder Blade but she was quick to side-step out of the way. The old male spun around and faced her again.

  But the fatal blow came not from the front, but from the rear. Stan had revealed himself and sank his teeth into the old male’s hip. ‘LOOK BEHIND YOU!’ Thunder Blade taunted. Nothing could help the old male Triceratops now. Against one T.Rex he may have been alright. But two working together, he stood no chance. Thunder Blade quickly ran around and targeted the un-protected neck, just behind the head frill. The old male Triceratops cried out as he fell to the floor. Satisfied that their prey was dead, the parent T.Rexes called to their chicks. Both of them ran over, excited by the prospect of food.

  This is what the Troodon family had been waiting for: carrion! Even if the T.Rexes ate most of the carcass, there would still be some scraps left for the Troodons to pick over. Bladefoot had taught his children to always follow large predators at a safe distance in the hopes of getting a free lunch.

  Chapter 12

  Months pass. The night was hot and sticky and the drought still had the land in a firm grip, even if storm clouds were forming in the horizon. Although there had been a few showers the land was still dry and dusty. Bladefoot and his family were stalking the land, but not for mammals. To feed his family now, Bladefoot wanted to devise a new strategy with Olla: pack hunting!

  Bladefoot remembered when he went pack hunting with his old family. He’d enjoyed working with Preston and learning from his own parents. Bladefoot didn’t wonder what Preston was up to now. As far as he was concerned he had bigger worries, such as where was his quarry: Thescelosaurus. Normally, Bladefoot wouldn’t attack one by himself as they were far too big. Now he had Olla, they could work as a pair to bring one down. But he also had Rick and Serena. Bladefoot could exploit that situation to his advantage.

  The moon shone in the high night sky which was perfect for the hunting Troodons. Troodons could see well in the dark and in these clear conditions, luck was on their side! Bladefoot knew that the Thescelosaurus herd they’d been stalking would be at a disadvantage in the moon-light, but they could still smell and hear the Troodons, so even now they’d have to play it extra carefully.

  Amongst the trees and bushes a herd of Thescelosaurus slept, with only two sentries on guard to act as an early warning system against marauding Troodons. Troodons were truly sleek, sophisticated, intelligent predators.

  Rick stalked the herd, knowing that his family had taken up positions elsewhere as part of a well oiled plan. At the start of his life he was stalking small game. Now this quarry was just as big as he was. Rick knew that one day he would be doing this with his own female. Rick was now coming of age and like his father during that time, knew that he couldn’t always stay with his family. He’d have to wave goodbye to them and start his own. But for now, like his father when he was Rick’s age, Rick would exploit their generosity.

  His agile, light-weight body seemed totally stoked for this chase. Rick stayed low as he moved with grace further and furthe
r forward, trying to avoid being spotted by the sentries. His eyes didn’t dare glance away from the herd for a second. His sickle-toe claw was held off the ground, waiting to be brought down on a hapless victim when the time was right. ‘I will not fail.’ That’s all he thought right now. Rick had spent a bit of time moving into position, approaching the herd un-noticed. Rick flexed his legs for now was the time to play his part in the hunt! Rick sprang at the herd as the sentries screamed their alarms calls.

  Before Rick could get to the Thescelosaurus they were already out of sleep and on their feet. The Troodons had already chosen their victim: an adult male. Rick didn’t hesitate to give chase as the herd fled into the night. As Rick bolted after them, he saw both Olla and Serena break out of their positions and harass the Thescelosaurus, trying to get their target. Rick lived just to chase things down! He felt such an adrenaline rush right now. Olla and Serena attempt to break up the herd using their screeches and roars to panic the Thescelosaurus. This excited Rick even more. And now came the grand finale: the master hunter Bladefoot himself.

  Bladefoot saw the oncoming target Thescelosaurus and leapt into the air, claws and talons at the ready. But Bladefoot’s jump attack was mistimed. ‘Damn!’ Bladefoot cursed. The Thescelosaurus swerved out of the way at the last second using its rudder-like tail. So far, all Bladefoot got to bite into was a mouthful of dust.

  The rest of his family looked in dismay as their prey scampered off into the thick scrub. ‘I should’ve had him. I should’ve had him.’ Bladefoot cursed himself as he got back on his feet. ‘You’re damn right you should’ve had him!’ Olla screamed in her frustration. We all did our part!’ Serena joined in. ‘Oh calm down everyone. This will resolve nothing.’ Rick tried to soothe tensions in his family. They hadn’t fed in a while and their failure only added to their concerns. Bladefoot looked at the ground, noticing that the fleeing Thescelosaurus had left tracks for the Troodons to follow. ‘The night’s still young.’ Bladefoot beckoned his family forward.