Ferocious Flora

A jungle is never truly quite. Cawing of birds, cries of other animals, even the rustling of the wind meant nothing was ever truly silent. The jungle was not only full of life, but alive itself. Even in the confined of the enormous dome, there seemed to be an abundance of it. It was awe inspiring... well, maybe not for everyone anyways. 

 

Grumbling through the under foliage of the jungle a black utahraptor walked in the new location. Even with the immense beaty of wonder of Atlantis, the raptor just seemed annoyed with it all.

 

"Why don't we explore the new area, I'm sure there's tons to take..." He grunted as he walked, annoyance in his tone, and plastered on his face.

 

"Waste of fucking time... No point in even making the trip to this god forsaken place." The raptor, Anubis, spat the words from his mouth as his feet splattered in the mud below. 

 

He had come here seeking riches and possibly even a place for his pack to set up shop. That being said, all he had seemed to find was plants, plants, and oh yeah, more plants. His patience was thin now, he prayed he would at least find something to bring back to his pack, but his hope was quickly fading. Yes there was animal life for food, but most of it dwelled in the high trees, making hunting much trickier than the streets above they were used to hunting in.

 

Trying to find anything worth while he found himself standing in front of a tree, one much taller than the surrounding ones. Anubis let out a loud sigh before he began the tedious climb up the tree. Surely a better vantage point would mean he could find SOMETHING. At this point, he'd take anything. 

 

After more grunts and curses, he found himself near the top of the tree. Being taller than the others he found himself above the canopy. The view was stunning, one that not many others got to see. Yet to Anubis, it was just a look at a bunch of dumb trees and plants. 

 

"Damn it I climbed all the way up here and for what??? More trees? You've got to be kidding me..." He let out a loud groan and he slumped against the tree, sliding down to a sitting position amongst the branches. 

 

What was he going to tell his pack? That he had wasted all this time for nothing? They were cut throat, even his mate Heaven would rip his throat out to find he had left the pack down a member for a fun sight seeing trip. His mind swirled, each thought making him more and more annoyed. Lost in his thoughts, the vast jungle before him, he almost didn't even notice the approaching... vine? 

 

Jolted from the confines of his mind he jumped from his sitting spot, out further onto the branch at the sudden touch he felt. His eyes darted for a moment, wondering what had just brushed against him but all he saw was the branches around him, as well as moss and a few vines. He let out an annoyed sigh, thinking he was just looking it. Maybe the vine had just brushed against him? Surely it wasn't moving right? Plants don't do that.

 

Just as his mind went over what it was that touched him, he watched the same vine that had touched him begin to inch towards him. He watched in disbelief, it wasn't fast, but it was in fact moving before his very eyes. 

 

"What the hell?" His voice was full of disbelief. He crouched down near the vine, it's movement not super fast, but quick enough to not be anywhere near normal. Carefully he stepped over it, assuming it would continue to go in the direction to go, but surprisingly enough, as he stepped over, it doubled back, continuing to go towards the raptor. 

 

"There's no way..." Anubis whispered as he began toying with the vine. He'd move, it would move. He stepped over it, it would move to follow him. Whatever way he went, it was there. Anubis chuckled slightly. He finally found something, and it was just a dumb vine that followed him.

 

"Wow, so glad I made the trip out here to find a stupid vi-" Before he could finish his snarky comment, the vine darted towards him, faster than any of its previous motions and wrapped tightly around Anubis's leg before violently pulling him off of his feet. His body hit the branch with a thud, the force of it shaking the whole tree.

 

"What the fu-" Before his mind could even comprehend what was happening, the plant violently jerked once more, this time ripping him from the branch entirely. Letting out a yelp of surprise, Anubis found himself falling from his perch. Each branch he passed he slammed into, only for the vine to continue its pull onto the next branch beneath it. Each time he hit with a solid thud, knocking the wind from his lungs, but each pull was quicker and quicker, meaning he had no time to catch his breath. Eventually he found himself falling to the jungle floor, hitting it with a wet thud as mud splattered with his impact.

 

For a moment, all was still. Anubis gasped for air, the numerous impacts causing him not only immense pain, but knocking every bit of air from his lungs. The vine had seemed to stop, at least for the time being. As he caught his breath he angerly looked down at the plant, still firmly wrapped around his leg. 

 

"Get off me!" As he spoke he used his other leg to slash at the vine. Almost as if retaliating the vine once again jerked to life, pulling him along the jungle floor as though he was a child's toy. Anubis cried out, fear gripping him as he was slammed into rocks, roots, and any other clutter upon the jungle floor. What scared him the most though, was what was at the end of the vine. 

 

After a moment Anubis was pulled into a small opening among the trees. Before he could take t he view in though, he was hoisted from the ground by the plant, only to be held in front of a huge flowering plant. If he wasn't terrified for his life, the plant may have actually been quite beautiful, at least until the underside seemingly opened up, revealing a mouth life structure with what looked like teeth.

 

"Fuck this!" Anubis cried out, his fear pushing adrenaline through his veins. Desperately he clawed at the vine restraining him. Slowly it began to loosen up, but as he looked back at the plant, it's maw was not wide, ready to consume him as he was raised above it. Even if he broke out now, he'd just fall in. 

 

"I'm not dying to a fucking plant!" Fear now replaced with anger, Anubis finally broke free of the vine. As he fell everything seemed to slow down. He watched as he began plummeting towards the open mouth, but rather than fight it he turned his body to where both of his feet landed squarely on either side of the jaws. 

 

For a moment he stood atop the plant's hungry mouth, inches from death. Before it would react, Anubis jumped from it's reach, sprinting with all he had left out of the jungle. 

 

"Fuck this, I'm out!" With that, he ran towards the entrance of the dome. Whatever secrets this dome had, it could keep them.