[Trade] Brave New World

Eschaton walked along at a leisurely but not entirely relaxed pace. He looked pensive – the calm, distant expression on his face gave the impression that he was deeply lost in thought. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. The volcanic male, though he certainly did not give that impression, was constantly scanning his surroundings for even the slightest anomalies that any other observer would likely have ignored. Eschaton, however, would never allow himself such carelessness. The years spent at Alpha Labs had sown within him a small, yet ever-gnawing seed of anxiety, which meant he could rarely relax. The male, though he appeared calm and composed, was in fact constantly grappling with a sense of danger which, like a demon creeping onto his shoulders, hampered his movements and squeezed the air from his lungs. Eschaton never felt safe.

Muffled yet still audible sounds constantly reached his ears from behind him. Despite his suspicion, the male ignored them completely, focusing on what lay before him. This was not, however, a sign of carelessness – Eschaton simply knew exactly where that rhythmic rustling of the grass was coming from.

Scoria walked about two metres behind him, also somewhat wary, though far more relaxed than her slightly older companion. The male had already grown accustomed to the presence of this brown female. They had first met quite some time ago, when they were still mere juveniles, and countless alarms had gone off at Alpha Labs – Doomsday had begun. Although they didn’t take to each other at all at first, their childish squabbles were completely overshadowed by the chaos that erupted in the underground bunker. The two lonely juveniles were forced to flee, and in such circumstances they quickly lost their animosity towards one another – both instinctively felt that even such meagre company offered a great deal of comfort in situations like this.

Since then, they had both been learning to live on the outside, which, though it offered many new possibilities, was by no means easy. The first few weeks after their escape from Alpha Labs had been a mercilessly exhausting experience for them. Neither of them had any idea what the outside world looked like or how it worked, so everything they saw after their escape was new to them. Even the fresh, damp, fragrant air was a shock to them – neither of them would have imagined that, taking a deep breath, they might smell anything other than the heavy stench of mustiness.

Adapting to the hierarchy that prevailed here, up in the mountains, was also a challenge for them. At Alpha Labs, a far more isolated place where only a few species lived, things were much simpler – acrocanthosaurus were considered apex predators and, once they reached a certain size, had to worry essentially only about one another. Here, the situation was far more complicated. The problems began with the very issue of recognising other dinosaurs. Until now, both Scoria and Eschaton had been convinced that only a handful of reptile species had been brought back to life by humans. They were wrong, however. Since Doomsday, they had already encountered many other kindred creatures, and both suspected that this was not the end of their discoveries.

The biggest surprise for them was the presence of flying reptiles. No wonder they’d never come across such creatures at Alpha Labs – the bunker’s cramped corridors and dark rooms weren’t conducive to flying creatures, so it was hardly surprising that none were kept there. Their first encounter with the tapejaras didn’t cause much of a stir, as they only saw them from a distance, with small flocks flying high above them from time to time, posing absolutely no threat. It was a different story with the tropeognathus. Shortly after breaking out of Alpha Labs, they came across a noisy and rather large group of these unusual carnivores. Despite the huge difference in size between them and the strange creatures, the encounter caused the two acrocanthosaurus no small amount of stress. Neither Eschaton nor Scoria had any idea whether these enigmatic creatures might harbour ill intentions.

If only they knew that such things as seas and oceans existed, they would both surely be wondering whether dinosaurs lived there too.

Eschaton stopped mid-stride. He sensed a sudden shift in the air, as if it had ceased to circulate calmly and instead had frozen in fear. The male cast a brief glance towards Scoria – that was enough to realise she had come to similar conclusions. Their dulled sense of smell, unaccustomed to the new challenges of the outside world, could not, however, clearly determine what had caused this change.

The path ahead of them was obscured by thick foliage, drowning the view in a sea of green. The vegetation surrounding them looked much the same – the only direction offering good visibility was behind them. They were well hidden, it was true, but they had paid a heavy price for it – they had absolutely no idea what or who was hiding around them.

Despite this crushing uncertainty, they both felt that remaining motionless was not in their best interests. They had to make a decision, any decision, and they had to do it quickly. This time, Eschaton decided – they would simply press on, hoping that no danger lay in wait for them there.

They didn’t change formation, so the male continued to lead the way. He struggled through the thickening undergrowth, cursing the tangle of leaves and clinging stems every time one of them entangled the bony protrusions on his head and back. The volcanic male was ill-suited to such densely overgrown terrain.

Brighter light was slowly beginning to filter through the thinning green wall – they were gradually reaching a clearing in the jungle. This spot could prove to be their salvation, allowing for a faster march, or, on the contrary, a trap where danger lay in wait…

The two adolescents stopped right at the edge of the dense vegetation, trying to determine if anyone was in the clearing. Their visibility was limited, and their sense of smell too dulled by years at Alpha Labs for them to be certain of anything.

All they had left was courage. Or stupidity.

They both took a decisive step forward, breaking formation and standing almost side by side. Immediately after stepping out of the undergrowth, they began to survey their colourful surroundings.

And right in front of them, they saw a huge, blue-black blur.

The golden, piercing eyes of the male standing in the clearing were fixed directly on them, suggesting that the adult acrocanthosaurus had long been aware of their presence – he had been waiting for them. His taut muscles and bared, white teeth told them he meant no good.

Their situation seemed hopeless even then, but it grew even worse when Scoria caught a bright flash out of the corner of her eye somewhere in the shaded part of the clearing – the male was not alone here. A few metres away from him, a cream-coloured, tabby female was also lurking, clearly younger than him, but also quite impressive in size.

If they wanted to get out of this unscathed, they had to act fast. Eschaton intended to do what he usually did in such situations – make use of his unusual, unsettling and fear-inducing appearance.

The volcanic male feigned a charge, roaring loudly as he did so. The adolescent, though frightened, was confident – usually his opponents, upon seeing this display, would flee without a fight.

The adult acrocanthosaurus didn’t even flinch. He treated the charge more as a pathetic antics than as anything that might threaten him. He responded with a loud roar, the depth of which far exceeded anything Eschaton was capable of producing.

Feeling the mounting tension, Scoria ran a little way forward, tentatively closing the gap between herself and the stranger, then bared her teeth with a guttural growl. This did not have the desired effect as well.

The ground was shaking beneath their feet, and their hearts were beating faster and faster. What should they do now?

1339 words