The One Who Hunted The Merciless

Finale

2 Hours Later

She is watching me. Now, as I stood in front of a volcano, I saw her in the flesh once more. Six years of relentless searching had brought me to this very moment.

She could smell my fear- and yes, I was truly afraid. Her hulking body was covered in black feathers, the teeth inside her jaw looked like they had been sharpened just for me, and those red eyes... They hadn't changed at all. They stared into my soul, flaring. She seemed to be anticipating our coming battle.

You took everyone from me... I growled at her, lifting my lips. She took a step forward, snarling, and watched me the same way I watched her- with pure hate. The creatures around us- herds of Iguanodon passing by, Pterosaurs roosting on the Volcano- watched me, surprised. They knew all too well of the terror The Merciless would bring. She was the apex predator here, even the huge, sharp-toothed Acrocanthosaurus could do nothing but feel afraid in her presence.

With a huge roar, she sprinted towards me, mouth gaping open, saliva flying out. I responded in the same way. As I ran towards her, images of my mothers eviscerated corpse flashed in my mind, reminding me of the very reason I was here.

We jumped up, flying towards each other in the air. Suddenly, we clashed. As I felt her enormous body smash into mine, we plummeted out of the air. I felt all the oxygen in my lungs get thrown out, and an immense pain began to appear in my ribcage. The second we slammed onto the floor, I felt myself get pinned down by the huge claws of The Merciless.

I looked up at her in a mixture of fear and terror, frozen. She snarled, narrowing her eyes, digging her claws into my body.

Why!? I snarled. Why did you slaughter all of my kind!?

She had to have a reason! She had to! Had a pack of Deinonychus killed her mother? Had she lost her babies to my species? Why was she so hateful!?

Of course, I knew that I would never find out. Quickly, I squirmed out of her arms. Before she could tighten her grip, I had slipped out, and I quickly ran around her. She screeched in surprise.

Let's finish this!

I ran up behind her, and pounced onto her back. As I locked my claws into the skin covered in her black feathers, she roared in fury, and vigorously shook her entire body. But I desperately hung on, slashing at her whenever I got the chance. Blood seeped out of her wounds, and stained my claws. I knew I was just a weak and small Deinonychus, but I would never forgive myself if I didn't at least try to avenge the death of my pack.

The Merciless rolled onto her back. As I felt her crushing weight against me, I immediately let go. She staggered up, and thrust her claws into my stomach, screeching thunderously. She dug them in. Blood splattered onto her, and she pressed me against the ground harder. I felt some of the red liquid dribble out of my mouth. With a single hand, she raised me into the air, and threw me away.

I can't die like this! I thought to myself. There was an unimaginable amount of pain in my stomach- she must have punctured one of my organs, but the wound was not fatal- not yet.

I skidded across the rocky floor, grazing myself. As I slid to a stop, I weakly raised my head and looked at The Merciless. She was breathing heavily, slightly slouched in her stance. I raised my body with the help of my arms. We stared each other down, growling softly.

I felt a rumbling sound coming from the ground. We both felt it- we pulled perplexed faces in response. What is this? I thought to myself.

A bright flash of light appeared at the top of the volcano. The Merciless and I opened our jaws to scream in pain, trying to cover our eyes from the light. Both our kinds had amazing eyesight- we were both in the raptor family, after all- but they were a little too sensitive.