The One Who Hunted The Merciless

Haunting Pasts

After a few hours of weeping over my mothers body, I got up, and left her. I was not the best hunter, but I had killed a few lizards and rodents before. And so, I taught myself. I only caught small creatures at first, but as I grew larger, I began to hunt larger game- birds and big fish. Deinonychus were pack hunters, so it was very difficult to bring down, say, a young Iguanodon, but I learned. 

It took time to get used to being alone. My species were sociable, and liked to be around each other. I never quite liked to be alone. Sometimes, in my dreams, I see my mother and the rest of the pack. We would run around and play, enjoying life. But then, I wake up, and I remember that reality is cruel. I, as the last of my kind, am constantly haunted by the inevitable fact that I would never be able to find a mate to love, or raise some young as the next generation... I would never even communicate to another Deinonychus again. It makes me ask why I even exist, if my entire existence is to be alone and weep about the past.

Sometimes, I would look up to the sky whenever it was full of stars, and I would remember my mother. I would remember my purpose in life, that became clear on that fateful day all those years ago. I had to fulfill it.

 The Merciless was a killer without remorse. Utahraptor were extremely aggressive creatures who attacked my kind on sight, but not in the way she did... The joy that exploded in her eyes as she tore into my mother... The hate on her face as she glared at me with pure fury... It was like nothing I had ever seen before.

Sniffing the air, the scent of The Merciless grew stronger and stronger the closer I moved towards it.

The moment is close, mother. I will finally grant you and the rest of our fallen pack vengeance...

Point of View of The Merciless

Finally, that wretched survivor seemed to have found me.

I had murdered his entire family. And all these years, I thought he had died. He looked so weak- a waste of life- and yet, he has made it this far.

His kind are vermin. This eternal vendetta between Utahraptors and Deinonychus, that has existed ever since we appeared, wouldn't stop until one or the other went extinct. And I am so close to destroying his species...

A generation or two back, we had Deinonychus here, and they were unpleasant enough. But, then, some began to come from a different land- the Southern variant, in their attempt to escape a huge contagion killing them by the millions. Now they- they were despicable. They began to settle in and multiply... that was when we realized we had to kill them- all of them. Them being so successful was a threat to my species- some of us Utahraptor even began to starve. Our massacres, though, were even more successful than their birth rates. Soon, they were nothing but a single pack, fighting to survive.

I couldn't let them live... I slaughtered them out of spite. What they had done to my son... it was unforgivable.

Twelve years ago, I was out hunting with him. I had named him Sprinter... he had beautiful red feathers that covered his sleek, graceful body. As a male, he had more colourful feathers than I- mine were jet black. He was the only thing I loved in this world- the only thing I cherished with all my heart.

The day my life changed happened when he was a month from being allowed to leave the nest.

We had brought down an Astrodon together. We feasted on the long necked herbivore, digging in to our delicious food. 

I am a bit thirsty, I cooed to him. I will go down to the river for a drink. You stay here,  I nuzzled him, and left.

I went down a hill to drink, but only a minute after leaving, I heard horrified screams coming from him...

Screeching, I sprinted back, only to find that very pack of Deinonychus ganging up on him.

One of them had pounced onto his head, and was slashing at his eyes. Furiously, I headbutted that vermin off my baby's head. But I was too late...

His eyes- both of them- had been slashed out. I chased the disgusting abominations away, then turned to take care of my poor son.

Mother... I can't see anything He whimpered, as blood trickled from his eyelid.

I just want to see your face, mother... why can't I see you?

I couldn't stop weeping when it happened. Without his sight, Sprinter had no chance of survival.

And I was completely correct. Only a few hours after the incident, he had strayed too close to a herd of Iguanodon while I was hunting.

I tried to run back, abandoning my hunt ... I tried to save him... but it was too late.

If the Deinonychus had never taken his sight, he would never have met such an end...

I killed four of the Iguanodon that had hurt my son, but the rest of the herd began to run towards me. I had to escape.

It was at that moment, I knew, their kind deserved no sympathy. The Deinonychus are a sly, murderous species, and they must be eradicated. 

I have only one wish- to kill that last survivor of the pack that murdered my little Sprinter.