Nobody Panic!

No one was prepared for the Earth to betray them. No one was prepared for the damage it would cause. Life was tough enough for the herbivores that already had the constant fear of hungry carnivores looming over them. But when the land began to shake with increasing voracity and the plants began to burn, that’s when everything became a true nightmare. 

Awanita was so young, just a hatchling in fact, and very attached to her loving herd. She made sure to stay close to her mother and not stray too far. She hatched during the warm spring months and loved everything about it. The fresh grass, the colorful blooms, the tiny creatures that would scutter by. Though her mother told her to be careful. The period of new growth was magical, but came with the added threat of carnivores searching for easy meals for their own young. She was told to stay close so the herd could protect her. So she did.

As spring warmed into summer, and the flower died and grasses dried, the herd met little trouble. They were always moving. According to her mother, this was so they were harder to find for carnivores, though Awanita still wasn’t thrilled. She liked the forest she had hatched in and wanted to stay there with all the lush greens, but she had to stay close to the herd. Especially because there were a few chases from large carnivores with big toe claws that were very dangerous and even larger carnivores that would sometimes jump out of the water! Though the one with the big toes scared her the most since she saw one of them kill one of their older herd members with it before.

Still, those carnivores didn’t compare to the earth’s betrayal when the ground began to shake. It started with a low rumble Awanita could hear coming from deep within the Earth, followed by distant wailing sounds unlike any she had heard before. Until one day, the ground beneath her feet trembled and cracked, sparking panic in the herd. Amanita tried to keep up the best she could, but it was so hard for her considerably shorter legs. She often found herself racing to catch up with the herd once the panic settled down. What frightened her the most was that her mother couldn’t answer her questions. She didn’t know why the ground trembled and broke, nor why there were wailing sounds in the distance. But there was no mistaking the fright in her eyes and that scared Awanita the most. 

The following weeks Awanita tried her best to stay close with her herd, especially with her mother. Though the trembling was getting worse. They would see other species running or flying in terror. An acrid stench, which her mother called ‘smoke’ filled the air and her lungs, making breathing hard. 

~~~~~~~~~~

One morning, Awanita was startled out of a restless sleep when the ground began to shake violently. Chaos erupted, herd members screaming and bellowing, and everyone began to run. The ground shook so violently, it cracked right beneath Awanita’s feet. She screamed out for her mother, but couldn’t find her in all the chaos. This crack in the ground grew into a fissure and split the ground faster than Awanita could run. She quickly became separated from the herd, who ran off on the other side of the Earth’s fresh wound. 

Red hot misshapen blops jumped up from the new wound, causing the surrounding foliage to catch fire. The fire grew from a small ember to a roaring flame in a matter of seconds, the breeze sending it towards Awanita. She had no choice, but to run even farther away from her herd.

Tears stung her eyes as she ran and ran, despite the exhaustion she soon began to feel in her little legs. The roaring flames seemed to burn faster than she could run, some singing the downy feathers on her rump. She was about to give up to the flames when she suddenly found herself swimming across a dark river. Fighting the current on increasing tired legs, she managed to make it to the other side and turn around. 

The flames burned hot and tall on the other side of the river, but didn’t jump it. The breeze had started to blow the flames in a different direction now anyways, making Awanita feel safe for the moment. She could not see beyond the flames, but she also could not hear her herd anymore. The ground had stopped quaking for the moment. Soot and ash drifted from the sky, sticking to her normally downy feathers which were now slick and heavy with water. Stooping down, she quickly drank some water from the river, keeping an eye on the flames. Now, only the smell of smoke filled her nostrils. She was completely and utterly alone.

Stooping down, she quickly drank some water from the river, keeping an eye on the flames. With weariness settling deep into her bones, she turned away from the flames and trudged away. Where she would go, she had no idea, just that she could not stay there. At least the grass here was tall and there was plenty of shrubbery, so if she was quiet, she should be able to stay hidden from potential threats. The biggest downside to that though, was she couldn’t see where she was going. 

As she continued on, the roaring of the fire quieted and was eventually replaced by an eerie silence. Not even bugs were chirping. In her short experience, silence was not a good thing, though she was sure it was attributed to the fires and shaking of the ground, especially since she didn’t hear any thundering footsteps, which was the usual cause of such silence. 

Lifting herself on her back legs, so she could see above the grass better, she realized she was nearing the edge of one of those human cities her mother had told her about. Her mother had never liked these cities. She said they were full of the skeletons of strange creatures made of metal and looming structures that could fall down at any moment. Her mothers warnings had been enough to prevent her from wanting to be near anything similar to what she described. Though this city looked awfully calm and inviting compared to the chaos unleashed in the fields she had just come from.

The sound of footsteps startle her out of the memory, causing her to duck back down under the grass. They didn’t sound super loud or shake the earth, so she figured they were either far enough away or not from anything super large. Still she decided it would be best to sneak towards the city and find a shelter to hide in. 

As she crept towards the city, she was fully tuned in to the footsteps of the other nearby creature. To her dismay, the footsteps were growing lowder instead of quieter with each soft thump. Still, she slowly crept onwards, moving as quietly as she possibly could. 

Despite her best efforts to be silent, she froze when she heard a voice say, “Uhm…what are you doing?”

Her heart leapt in her chest and she had to resist every urge to flee from the source of the voice. Afterall, her mother told her that fleeing from predators would surely lead to death. Ever so slowly, she turns her tawny head to see not a predator, but a young herbivore standing above her. It was a gray blue in color and on the smaller side. It stood on its two hind legs, looking down at her. It was one of those herbivores that had a duck-billed face and single long horn on the back of their heads. One of those….pompadours? Parasaurs? She wasn’t really sure.

For several moments they just kind of…stared at each other. Not moving, not speaking, just staring. “Uhm, I was just exploring?” Awanita says, not really wanting to talk about everything that had just happened. She especially did not want to admit just how alone she was either.

“Oh, all by yourself?” he asked, scanning the area. “Where is your herd?”

Wow, straight to the point with this one. “I….I lost them…” she murmured quietly. The tears welled in her eyes of her own accord and began to drip down her cheek. With the adrenaline now gone, the hurt and sadness took its place and quickly overwhelmed her. She had to choke back her sobs to prevent her from outright sobbing in front of this stranger.

“Oh, OH, no. Please don’t cry. It’ll be okay, maybe I can help you find them?”

“But my momma told me never to go off with strangers,” she choked out.

“That was very smart of her. Well, if we introduce ourselves, we won’t really be strangers anymore right? My name is Io, and yours is?” The blueish parasaur asked.

“A-Awanita. Can you help me find my herd?” She wasn’t entirely thrilled to be sticking with a mostly stranger, but she felt a little better about just not being alone.

“Of course, of course. Many of the dinosaurs of the island have been fleeing towards the city due to all the fires. Maybe we can find them there?” He nodded towards the city with its crumbling towers and metal corpses.

“M-maybe. I just feel better not being alone,” she admitted, scooting closer to the parasaur.

“I’m sure, being alone can certainly get scary. Let’s go this way, stay close,” Io nodded and headed towards the city. 

Silently, Awanita followed along. She had to trot occasionally to keep up with the young parasaurs longer stride, but was just happy to have the company. It made her feel just a little safer.