Live Or Die

Chapter 4: Man Kills More Than Monsters Do

I watched the sun begin to illuminate the horizon with its orange glow. The waves looked so calming, but the sight of an enourmous shark jumping out of the waters to catch a seagull in middair snapped me back to the reality of my survival situation. I turned round and saw Ruby and Jude asleep, Harvey collecting berries and Dasha walking over. I looked at Ruby then Dasha. I shook my head and watched Dasha sit down next to me. I noticed Bob drooling all over the floor Next to Ruby in his slumber.

“Hey,” Dasha said.

“Hey,” I responded.

“It’s so beautiful… The ocean, the waves… so soothing.”

“Yeah… The sun rising above it all, so tranquil…”

“Agreed.” Dasha looked about and saw Flaps and Prophet comparing frills. “Do you wonder… What else is out there, in the jungle? So many different Dinos out here, so how many are in there? What if there are none? What if there’s a whole city through there?”

“Well,” I began. “Let’s see, when the others are awake. We have enough muscle and skill between us- Harvey’s got enough weaponry to kill an army, Jude says he’s used to the jungle, he should be fine- give me a sword or a weapon and I’ll best anyone here in combat. You’re smart enough to see every threat and fool every lizard, Ruby seems to be able to befriend every living thing in a 5 mile radius, and hey, we’ve got Prophet and flaps- those are prehistoric killing machines and Bob… erm…”

“Bob… keeps us morale?”

“Sure- we’ll go with that.” We laughed and woke Jude, who grunted and got up. He walked to a nearby bush and ate some berries. Bob stirred at the sound of Jude eating berries, and dragged his soggy beak across Ruby’s face as he made his way to Jude. Ruby woke up and picked up Bob, who squarked in dismay as she turned away from Jude. His little beak pointed over her shoulder and squarked at us. We smirked. “Right…” I continued. “Let’s go talk to the others.”

After a while of debate it was settled- we needed resources, and we should try to find civilisation. With no boats littering the horizon and no planes filling the sky, we had to venture inland. That’s when our little journey took a turn. We were a good few hours deep into the jungle, and we saw human tracks. At last! People. We had begun to follow them, but we heard twigs snap behind us and the Dilos gnarled their teeth and flapped their frills. From the bushes lept 6-7 people in more developped clothes than ours, and they held spears similar to ours, a few with bows instead. The leader, a man with blonde hair like mine and a full-of-himself look took off his hat and shouted at us as another 3-4 people joined him from behind.

“My name is Raphiel. Ra-Fie-El. I am your new king, emporer, so bow down and submit.” I gave him a puzzled look and burst out laughing. He snarled, grabbed his spear and thrust it through prophet’s neck- and Ruby screamed. Flaps lept up but recieved 4 arrows too his side, where he fell and died. Ruby held his body and wept. I grabbed my spear, and swinging it round to the side Raphiel blocked, swung it over his head he blocked again. I thrust it towards him and he parried, knocking me off balance. Harvey took the chance to grab my arm and pull me back as Jude grabbed Ruby, who was still holding Flaps’s body, and pull her away. Dasha grabbed Bob, who was squarking in panick, and we all rushed away. We made it too a clearing, where we collapsed and Ruby resumed her crying fit. Harvey smashed his hand against a bush full of black berries, the bitter ones I didn’t like. Bob, smelling the berries, made his way over to them and watched the fluid drip down the rock they were on, over what looked like a piece of rotten flesh and Bob took a big, long, lick. He fell unconcious and Harvey took a closer look. He dubbed it ‘tranqium’. After a few days, Ruby had made us better gear and Harvey had made us better weapons, and he gave me a strong bow and a quiver of arrows. I dipped the arrows in tranqium, and set off alone. I had seen my prey before- a raptor. I didn’t tell anyone, but there was a raptor nest and one mother with her unhatched eggs. From the bushes, I drew the string back, and let loose. After a thrilling chase, she collapsed next to the carcass of Flaps. And that is where we find ourselves- here, with an unconcious raptor, making our way to her nest. The thought of the ‘Empire’ scares us, and we keep looking over our shoulders for the inevitable arrow to smite us down.

-Next in sinomacrops

-Nightfall