Banished to prehistoric times

Flight and Feathers

As she fell down, Victoria tried to grab a branch to break her fall, something at which she luckily succeeded. She was able to get grip on one, but it did not last very long, for she lost it almost immediately after. She fell for another 5 feet and finally hit the ground with a great thud. "Victoria, are you alright?" she heard as Kathryn hurried down the tree. "Stop yelling!" Jack said and followed, together with Nathan. "We don't know what's out there," he said. "It's okay," Victoria answered weakly, "I'm fine." She groaned as she stood up, accepting Jack's help when he reached out his hand. "Thanks," she said. "Please don't ever do that again," said Kathryn. "What were you doing anyway?" Nathan asked out of curiosity. "I saw something," Victoria answered and looked around, anxiously. "We have to move," she said. "Now." But at that very moment, the bushes that surrounded them started rustling, and it wasn't the wind that had caused it. The companions could hear a low, vicious snarl, and it struck fear into their hearts. Fear overwhelmed them, for the three Velociraptors had appeared before them, slowly stepping out of the bushes. Their snouts first came into sight, followed by the bodies, which were covered in feathers. They were roughly the size of a turkey, but that didn't make them any less fierce or threatening. An especially large, curved claw was located on the second digit of each foot, which matched their killing claws. The creatures kept moving closer, their colorful plumage moving with them. Victoria's eyes grew large while she yelled: "Run!" The Velociraptors bared their teeth in response, hungry and ready to attack. Suddenly the dinosaurs sprinted towards the rebels as they started to flee, starting an impossible pursue that the rebels would remember for the rest of their lives if they still were about to have one. The companions ran as fast as they could while trying to avoid the trees and their roots, but the incredibly swift Velociraptors were gaining on them and did not slow down their pace. Victoria hurdled over a fallen tree while she could hear her pursuers snarling in the distance, moving closer with every second. Her heart was racing and cold sweat was dripping down her face; she knew that they had to move faster. As she looked behind her she could see the dinosaurs briefly, closing in on them. Kathryn ran beside her, together with Jack and Nathan who followed. "They're coming!" Nathan shouted when he too realized that they were going too slow. Once Victoria had returned her gaze to what was in front of her, she grabbed a thick branch from the ground, providing herself with some sort of weapon. It had been just in time, for Victoria could already see something coming towards her from the corner of her eye. The leaves crunched under her feet when she accelerated, sprinting her way to salvation, but it wasn't enough. One Velociraptor had reached her and would have achieved its goal if Victoria hadn't turned around, blocking the creature with her branch as it leaped towards her. She fell on the ground but continued stopping the raptor from eating her face by pushing the branch away from her, against the creature's chest. The sound of its snapping jaws filled her ears as she stared into the dinosaur's fearsome eyes, awakening something in Victoria. She wasn't supposed to die like this, she realized. Now, after all that she had been through, wasn't going to be the moment where she'd give up, so she kicked the raptor in his belly with her boot, causing it to fall backwards. It screamed horribly when she did, but it had created a chance for Victoria to escape. She quickly turned around, stood up, tripped, stumbled and fell, got cuts and grazes, didn't care, got up again and ran. She ran as fast as she possibly could, even with legs that felt like lead. With the branch still in her right hand, she felt secure when she sprinted towards her companions who were still being chased by the other two Velociraptors. Her potential demise, however, had recovered from his prey's counterattack and was now rushing towards her again with great speed. When Victoria noticed this, she turned around and swung the branch with great force, hitting the raptor in its leap. The creature hit a tree after being hurled into the air, bounced off of it and ended up on the ground, unconscious. Victoria couldn't believe her eyes and stared at the dinosaur in disbelief, but she carried on despite it. When she turned around she could see Jack in the distance, struggling to keep the other Velociraptor away. He lay on the ground with the dinosaur on top of him and tried to hold it back, but it looked like he wasn't able to do so for much longer. Victoria immediately ran towards him when she noticed this, strengthened her grip on her branch and preparing herself for what she was about to do. Then, when she had reached him, Victoria lifted her weapon and struck out, giving the Velociraptor a sharp whack. It shrieked, just like its congener, and ran off. The dinosaur cried out again as it dropped out of sight, but this time is was different. Another outcry could be heard, coming from the other side of the forest. Suddenly, the third Velociraptor appeared behind them, softly growling. Victoria swiftly moved and stood in front of Jack, shielding him from the next possible assault. It did, however, not attack. Instead, it moved past them and sprinted into the forest, following the other raptor. As they disappeared, Victoria reached out her hand. "Thanks," Jack said when he got up. He wiped the dirt and leaves off of his jacket and looked around. "Where are Nathan and Kathryn?" he asked earnestly when he couldn't see them. "I don't know," Victoria answered and began to worry. All of a sudden, they could hear the sound of crunching leaves, and they feared the worst. Victoria held firmly onto her branch and was about to lash out when she turned around, only to find herself staring into the eyes of her friend. "There you are!" Kathryn said. "Are you alright?" Nathan asked. "We heard screaming." "Yeah," Victoria answered and looked at the branch that was now about three feet away from Kathryn's face. "We're fine." "Thanks to you," Jack replied and looked at his savior. Victoria looked back and smiled, realizing that Jack had just given her an actual compliment. "Come on," she then said after she had dropped the piece wood that had made their escape possible. "Let's get out of here."