Jamie's Story Chapter II

Chapter II

The day was hot again and the sun was high in the sky, while Jamie trotted along the beach, which became more tiring with every passing hour. He had passed the little Dodo colony long ago and now stood in front of a ragged cliff, which led steeply upwards and ended the long sandy beach abruptly. He looked up, it was clear that he could never climb up, it was much too high and his strength was dwindling. He was not used to long walks, not to mention the heat. There were only two choices: going back or he would have to venture into the forest. He only had to take a short route back, where he had seen a kind of natural trail. Maybe from a red deer or something. Inland, he would certainly find some water. The pitiful remnant in the flask had been drunk some time ago. Jamie decided to go back to the path he luckily found quickly. It led up in a gentle slope and disappeared behind a wooded hilltop. It was impossible for a deer to make a trail such as this one.

The soft rustle of leaves made Jamie jump. Realizing it was only the wind, he briefly closed his eyes to gather strength, then made his way up. The chubby man walked slowly and cautiously, jumping with every little sound. It seemed that apart from a few smaller forest dwellers, there was nothing to fear. From time to time he could hear the chirping of a little bird. Jamie swallowed hard and continued dragging himself up the path that did not look as steep as it felt. Each step exhausted him more and when he finally reached the top, he was completely out of breath and sat down for a moment to rest.

Jamie must have dozed off, because when he opened his eyes, it was dark. Moonlight broke through the green canopy and bathed parts of the forest floor in silver light. The wind had picked up and the constant rustling of the treetops made it hard to hear other sounds coming out of the forest. He felt very unexperienced. He stared hard into the forest, but the dark shadows made it almost impossible. He felt lost, and he was terribly thirsty. To find water he was supposed to go on, but if he lost the path in the dark, he’d never get back. Jamie swallowed the lump that started to build in his throat and decided to go a little bit further. He was grateful for the cool nighttime air.
Branches brushed Jamie's arms and his face from time to time, scratching his soft skin. Once he even stumbled over a root and hit his knees hard. A branch gave him a long scratch on the cheek. He slowly touched the cut and felt something warm and sticky running down, blood. He sniffed and stood back up, stumbling awkwardly through the darkness until he heard a faint rippling sound. Jamie paused and listened. It sounded like the little stream he used to play at in his childhood. He and his foster father had carved bark boats. They had put them in the water so they could swim down the creek. Strange that he now remembered that detail so clearly where the rest of his memories were like a moth-eaten carpet.

Jamie noticed that the steep climb had given way, he was now trotting downhill. The sound of a trickling stream caught his attention. Relieved, he crouched down to drink some of the refreshing water, which soothed his throat. He then washed his face, sitting down on the edge which he easily could make out by the moonlight. Exhausted, he curled up and fell asleep.

When he woke up the next day, it was still early. He was suddenly woken by the noise of strange chattering, he groaned, he would have liked to have slept a little longer. He sat up, slowly and noticed small creature nearby. It looked almost like a very small Raptor. It was partially feathered, especially noticeable was the little feather comb which the little creature had set up while it watched Jamie curiously. The small, long snout was peppered with tiny sharp teeth, protruding slightly from its mouth. The creature looked harmless enough. Jamie tried to place the beast, but had no idea what it could be.
The creature tilted its head slightly to the side and again made a soft chittering noise, whereupon another answered, a rustle in the leaves revealed that it was approaching as well. Jamie felt uncomfortable, and reached for his backpack, staring into the bushes to try to make out the second creature. It was not easy, the brownish color camouflaging it in in the undergrowth.

Without hesitating, Jamie clutched his backpack against his chest and he slowly stood. Before he knew it, a pair of these dinosaurs were standing nearby. One of the them aggressively hissed at Jamie. The young man flinched and could hear further rustling to his left. His head jerked in its direction. The little creatures no longer felt the necessity to hide and Jamie could count a little more than half a dozen of them. He walked slowly backwards toward the creek. He had not seen any there after all, he broke into a run but promptly stumbled over a branch, hitting the floor. The fall knocked the air out of his lungs. Gasping for breath, he tried to stand, but one of the little monsters seized the opportunity and sank its teeth into Jamie's arm. He screamed in pain. The small razor-sharp teeth burned like fire. In a panic, Jamie crawled to the river managed to scramble to his feet. He hit the creature with his backpack, causing it to let go with a furious squeal. Jamie started running, as the other creatures jumped from the bushes.

He ran as fast as he could, the little beasts close behind. He heard their aggressive hisses and squeals behind him. One of them tried to jump at him, landing hard on the ground behind him, knocking one of his pack members down with it. His lungs burned, his breath became painful and heavy. His bleeding arm burned painfully. He knew that he could not run much longer and the little monsters behind him were persistent. Jamie had no choice, he had to keep running despite being exhausted. Somehow, he had to shake the beasts off. He ran on, panting, towards one of the trees. The sight of the big tree was like a flash of light. He did not even have to climb high, just enough to be out of reach. He used the last of his strength to climb the tree. He slipped off several times, one of the animals locked its jaws onto Jamie's pants.
Desperation pushed him higher into the tree, as he finally manages to get to climb onto a thick branch. The little dinosaur still clung to his pants like a little bulldog. He found a rage inside of himself that he didn’t know, reaching for the knife in the backpack, stabbing the little creature. All of the anger that was building inside him was spent on that little creature, his anger overwhelmed him. He remembered the people that treated him like shit with no care of his suffering.
The creature cried pitifully, its painful squeals reached Jamie’s ears. Bleeding and mortally wounded, the beast let go. It fell out of the tree, screeching as it did, and without a second thought the other creatures consumed the poor thing. Jamie began to cry, as he stared at the bloody knife. His body trembled, and with a grunt he chucked the knife into a bush beneath him. He clung to the thick branch and wept.

After some time, he wiped his eyes with his uninjured arm and looked down. He was a little dizzy and his arm was still throbbing with pain, although it had stopped bleeding. The little beasts had disappeared. Either they had given up or the meat of the dead had filled them for the time being. It was probably time to climb down and find the knife, which he now regretted tossing away. It was a wonder he’d managed to climb this high up, he had never been the best climber. About three meters separated him and the ground, how in the world would he get down now? He moved slowly backwards towards the tree trunk, maybe shimming down would be easiest. His arm burned and throbbed, and he lost his grip.

He clumsily crashed to the ground, falling on his back. The fall forced the air out of his lungs and Jamie coughed and tried to breathe again. He whimpered briefly, it hurt, but he was thankful he could still move. He stood up slowly, swaying slightly and began to look for the knife, feeling dizzy. Jamie picked up the bloodied knife and decided to clean it later, as he put it in his backpack. Unaware of where to go now, he looked around and decided to continue in the direction he had run. It made no difference in the end. No matter where he went, he would not know where the path would lead him.

He had completely lost any sense of time, and had the worst headache of his life. His arm throbbed, and he also noticed the dizziness had gotten worse. A large river lay before him, kneeling down in the damp grass he placed his arm in the water, in the hope that this would ease the pain a little. Although his arm ached, it wasn’t swollen and didn’t look like it was infected. The coolness of the water felt good on his sore body, he also decided to fill his canteen. The river was too dangerous to swim across, so there was only one path to follow. How he would have liked to just lie down and sleep, but his fear that those creatures may be following him was too great. He didn’t dare close his eyes.

Jamie stood up shakily, deciding to follow the river in the opposite direction. He had to find a secure place where he could relax. A small cave or a rocky outcrop would be enough.

Another hour passed, his feet dragged across the surface of the forest floor. Dawn was rising when he found a small cave. It was a little higher and nestled in the wall next to a small waterfall and a small ledge in the rock behind the led to it. It offered a good overview and at least a little safety. He dragged himself up the ledge, almost slipping on the wet rocks as he tried to steady his shaky legs. He collapsed in the small cave in exhaustion, unable to even notice the hardness of the ground under his tired body.

The next morning Jamie felt like his whole body was on fire, but he was freezing at the same time. He was sure he had a fever, a high fever. He felt sick, the world spun around him as he just managed to crawl out on all fours before throwing up on the rocks. He vomited until his stomach was empty. He crawled back into the cave, wrapping himself into the blanket in an effort to fall asleep. His head hammered as if a whole herd of elephants were dancing on it. He had never felt so ill. The burning in his arm had subsided, but he was sure that there was something more to that little creature’s bite.

The next few days Jamie was delirious. Drinking was the sole occupation in his day, the memory of how he had done it faded into a feverish dream in which he was repeatedly attacked by the little creatures. In his dream they always caught him, eating him alive. He often screamed out while dreaming, the sound of his voice echoed in the tiny cave, unheard by human ears.

The fever remained consistently high for more than two weeks and his body fought against an invisible enemy, he was more dead than alive. Jamie was not even able to stand, let alone hunt or gather food. He hardly noticed his surroundings, finding the way to the water and back only by instinct. On the 16th day, his fever started slowly to break, Jamie’s mind seemed to clear. His body ached, but he could feel his strength returning to him. He sat up with much difficulty, and leaned against the cool wall of the cave, wrapping the blanket around him. He noticed his stomach was empty, but in his present condition, he knew better than to go outside. Lost in his thoughts, he managed to nod off again, this time so exhausted that he did not even dream.

Jamie had curled up against the wall and woke up the next afternoon. With the hunger there also came the thirst and so the young man had no choice but to get up. It was hard for him and he had to lean against the wall, but he could stand. The pants he was wearing started to slip and the shirt was too loose. Jamie even had to hold the pants. He walked slowly to the backpack and searched for the belt he had seen days ago or weeks ago ? Jamie had no idea how much days had passed. He found the belt. It was a plain army belt that Jamie tried to thread into his pants. His hands were shacking and he needed several attempts.

Surprisingly, he could pull it closer than expected. He was not really aware that he had not eaten anything the whole time, only when his stomach growled and his generally weak condition made it clear he needed something to avoid getting sick again. He took a deep breath and slowly made his way to the waterfall to have a drink. At least he was able to quench his thirst and at least feel a little better. Washing would be a good thing to do as well. His own smell was pathetic. But that would have to wait. He looked over the small lake and could see at the edge of low bushes, which resembled those he had already seen with the Dodos. With luck, he could find those blue berries there. It would not be the most nutritious food, but at least a start.

It felt like an eternity before he got there. It was exhausting in his dull condition and he had to watch every step. He was lucky. The small bushes were full of berries and so he decided to sit down and picked some of them to eat them slowly, even if he would like to have to gulp them all down. His instinct, however, told him that it would had overwhelm his stomach. Even though they were just berries, Jamie felt better after eating some of them he stayed sitting for a while. He looked around, grateful that it was calm here. Insects hummed softly over the bushes and small flowers that grew along the river's edge, birds chirping in the trees. Jamie ate some more berries and slowly got up. He walked slowly to the small lake, where he shakily took off his clothes. He sniffed it and grimaced in disgust. He never thought he would ever stink like that and sat down in the water. He sighed, because the cool wet was good, even it made him shiver again. He pulled his pants and shirt to him and began to clean the whole clothes slowly bevor he started to wash himself. He saw small fish in the water and their scales sparkled in the sun as they shot past. Jamie wondered if he could catch any of them, but without a fishing rod it would be difficult. He did not even have a spear or anything like that. He looked sadly at the water before he remembered that he had the knife. He could use it to sharpen a stick to hunt the fish. He smiled slightly.

He sat for a moment, then pulled himself up and walked slowly back to the small cave. He put the wet clothes over the rocks to dry in the sun and wrapped himself in the blanket. From the little trip he was completely exhausted again. At least now he had something in his stomach, even it was not much. He curled against the cave wall to fall asleep. His sleep was restful for the first time since his illness and no nightmares plagued him. He slept quietly into the next morning.

Jamie spent another two days resting feeding on the berries growing in the area. The fever had stopped in the meantime and this morning the young man felt steadier on his feet and decided to gather a some wood to start a small fire. While doing so he was looking for a stick from which he could carve a spear. Jamie did not venture far into the woods, fearing that some of these little dinosaurs would reappear, but still he found enough wood to bring back to the small cave. He laid it down at the edge and piled some of it. He stuffed a few dry leaves underneath and tried lighting it with the flint and steel. It took him some time, but after a few minutes the leaves caught fire and he managed to set up a small fire. He fired it with some more wood before he went downstairs again. This time he took the knife with him. He had decided that one of the small trees might be best suited for carving a spear with which he could hunt fish. It did not take long until Jamie found a suitable tree. He cut it down which was more exhausting than expected. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, breathing hard, after he finally made it.
The young man had lost a lot of weight in the weeks passed and now the formerly chubby man looked almost haggard. The illness had scared his body, as well as the lack of food and the pants were now too loose around his hips and was only held by the belt. His finding in his hand, Jamie went back to the cave and was about to climb the path again when a soft rustle made him stop. He tensed, fearing that those little monsters had found him and returned, but none of them appeared and he could not hear the typical buzzing and jarring sounds.

He let his eyes wander, but he saw nothing that could have caused the noise. Maybe it had just been a harmless animal or tree branch that fell to the ground. Maybe Jamie was just too scared. He decided to go back to the cave and since nothing else happened, he quickly forgot all about it. He sat down at his little fire and began to carve a spear.

Jamie looked at his work from time to time, improved something here and there and when he was satisfied with it, he put the sharpened stick aside. Tomorrow he would try to hunt a fish with it. The sun was already low in the sky and it began to dawn. Jamie added a little more wood to the fire and snuggled into his blanket to sleep.

The next morning Jamie woke up early. The sun was just rising and bathed the little lake in golden morning light. The grass swung gently in a light breeze and the leaves rustled softly. Jamie just put on his pants, left the shirt and took spear and knife with him. He was able to gather a few berries down by the river while looking for a place where he could try his luck at fishing. Fortunately, he didn't have to go far until he found what he thought was a good place. He didn't want to go too far from the little cave either. Carefully, Jamie stepped into the cold water to get to one of the shallower stones sticking out of the water scaring away the fish that were swimming lazily in the water. The young man would have to be very patient if he wanted to catch a fish at all. Jamie positioned at on the stones, the spear in his hand and looked into the water. After all, it would be a warm day again, so being near the water brought at least a little cooling. Jamie waited and tried to move as little as possible not to frighten the fish that dared to come back.

The sun was burning hot on Jamie's back and he waited patiently until one of the fish approached far enough to reach him. Unfortunately Jamie hadn't taken the refraction of light into account. He missed the fish when he plunged into the water and only made sure that the fish darted away. He sighed softly. To be honest, he had not expected that he would make it immediately. He spent some time fishing and after many failures, Jamie finally managed to catch a fish, which however, although deadly hit still fiercely fought back and slipped to Jamie's great disappointment from the spear and swam down the river. Jamie sat down on the stone and looked into the water, disappointed.
He took a deep breath and stood up. He would probably have to settle for berries today and try again tomorrow. His stomach growled clearly as he walked along the river. A soft rustling sound made him look up and reminded him of the sound he had already heard yesterday. Jamie looked around and his grip tightened round the wooden spear. He stayed on the spot and tried to spot where the sound had come from, but it remained silent and only the soft wind could be heard. Jamie walked slowly and carefully. His heart was pounding in his throat. The young man was afraid.

Jamie flinched, because a crash in the undergrowth announced that something was coming towards him. Followed by the rustling of leaves and a strange, panic-sounding rumble, suddenly a chubby, monitor lizard-like creature broke out of the thicket next to Jamie. Obviously, the animal fled something. Jamie tightened his wooden spear. Something fast and black shot at the fleeing creature. Jamie just managed to find cover behind one of the trees. The chubby lizard hissed and screamed in agony, without a chance against the being, which squatted on him and bit into its throat. Through his studies, Jamie knew exactly what this was. It was a black Utharaptor whose furry plumage shimmered bluish in the sunlight, similar to that of a raven. Fear and fascination left Jamie standing on the tree as if frozen. He never had dared to dream that he would see such a creature alive. Despite all the fear he felt with this predator, he could still admire its beauty.
The Raptor slowly looked up and turned its head in Jamie's direction, who had begun to hold his breath, in the hope that the black Utha did not notice him. But it stared exactly at the spot where Jamie was standing. Jamie knew he was being watched. Maybe the Raptor was afraid Jamie was after his prey. He had to retreat, slowly, not run at all, because that would only trigger the hunting instinct in the creature, even with the beaten prey at its feet.

It did cost Jamie all his effort to get out of his rigidity and the fear he felt did not make it easy, especially since he could almost physically feel the raptor's gaze. He crouched besides the tree, the spear in front of him without turning his back on the creature. He took a step backwards, forcing his muscles stiff of fear to move. The Raptor didn't let Jamie out of sight until Jamie moved further away. When it no longer saw him as a danger to his prey it gave a short, rough bark. Only a short time later Jamie could see two more Raptors peeling out of the bushes rushing at the dead Lizard, starting to feed.
It wasn't until Jamie was out of sight of the creatures that he started running. He ran as fast as he could back to the small cave to hide in the back corner. He clung to his blanket and buried his face in it. Relieved having escaped alive, he began to cry softly until he finally fell asleep.

Jamie had pressed tightly against the rock wall in his sleep so that his back felt cold and stiff the next morning. His stomach growled noticeable while he was still rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He was alive after all and hunger was drilling painfully into his stomach. Jamie needed something different than berries. They kept him alive, but he would need meat to keep his strength up. Sighing softly, he rose and took the spear and the combat knife and went outside. He had completely disregarded the fire in his fear and it was now completely burnt down except for a few coals. He would take care of it later. His gaze wandered to the river. He would try his luck again with fish but first he wanted to see if there might be bird nests from which he could steal some eggs. He would have to be careful because the Raptors were still in the area and they could kill Jamie with ease. Alone with this thought his stomach cramped, but he had no choice.
Right now everything was quiet except the usual sounds of the forest. That was a good sign, after all. Jamie decided to explore the area above the waterfall today. There he could see smaller rocky slopes with crooked trees clawing into them. He should have a good view of the surroundings from up there.

An hour later Jamie finally found a way to the top of the waterfall. It had been a big detour, but still better than trying to climb and break his neck cause of the slippery stones. He now stood several meters above the cave in which he now lived and looked along the river that meandered through the forest that slowly fainted into a green plain. In the distance Jamie could make out a mountain range with snow on its tops. It would take days to get there. He turned around and decided to follow the river in the opposite direction. At least he'd find his way back. The forest began to become a little lighter here.

The spear in his hand, Jamie walked along the river, which was also rich on fish here, which kept darting away because they felt the slight shock of Jamie's steps. The forest was filled with the buzzing of insects, birds were chirping in the treetops and from time to time a loud sound could be heard in the distance, which Jamie could not assign. Jamie walked on until a strangely large tree trunk blocked his way. He would either have to swim through the water or bypass it. Jamie looked at the thick bushes next to him. They didn't seem very inviting. He was still wondering which option was the better one when the log suddenly lifted to take a step forward. Jamie flinched because he hadn't expected it at all. He looked up scared and only now did he realize that it was not a tree trunk but the leg of a giant sauropod that was about to eat the young leaves from the treetops. Jamie was fascinated by the animal, against which even an elephant looked like a lapdog. How did all these dinosaurs get here? Where was he and who had managed to bring these animals back to life? Jamie was completely confused. What was he doing here? Was this all a bad joke? Jamie just couldn't find an explanation. The great sauropod went on leisurely and ate again before taking the next step, as if there was nothing to fear. The long tail swung slowly back and forth. The direction from which the animal came was sparsely wooded and on its way here it had knocked down one or two smaller trees.

It was tempting to follow this path, but Jamie was too afraid to get lost and stayed by the river he had followed in the hope of finding something to eat. Except for a few berries, Jamie's search was unsuccessful and he turned back. Bummed, he made his way back. He would use the remaining evening hours to fish. Maybe he had better luck today. Jamie trotted along the river disappointed as he was startled by an angry growl. Jamie looked around and after a moment he heard it again. He was almost sure it sounded angry. His stomach cramped in fear and he kept listening as he ducked into one of the bushes. Again and again something hissed and growled, but didn't come closer. Despite the fear, Jamie's curiosity was now aroused and he slowly sneaked towards the direction from which the sound came. It had to be above the waterfall that Jamie could hear rushing in the distance.

The closer Jamie got, the louder the growling became, which more and more resembled a whining. Whatever it was, it was obviously in pain. Curiosity drove Jamie on until a big log blocked his way. This one was huge and reminded Jamie of one of the redwoods he had seen in pictures of American forests. The trunk must have been laying here for a long time, because it was partly overgrown with moss and the lower half had already sunk into the ground. The whining creature had to be behind it by the sounds. To save time, Jamie decided to climb onto the log. It wasn't too high and he could see better up there and he would avoid running directly into the creature.

Jamie unexpectedly managed to climb up the log. It exerted him a lot because of his still somewhat weak condition, but because he lost some weight it was much easier for him to pull his body upwards. Breathing heavily, he lay on the overturned trunk and crawled carefully forward to look down, where he suspected the being, which audibly bit on something. What he saw first frightened him. It was the black Utha Raptor, which he had already seen down at the river. He just bit on something that Jamie could recognize as some kind of wire. Something reminded him that he had seen this kind of wire before. It had been a long time and the memory of the event in which Jamie came into contact with such a wire came back slowly. Hunters used this wire to build traps. Clint's father had been a hunter and had used this cruel method to catch animals in the forest. Jamie couldn't quite remember how long ago that was, but he had been little. Jamie had a dog back then, a little half-breed. He was a gift from his foster parents who wanted Jamie to learn to take responsibility for another being.
The young man, at that time still a child had loved this dog, because except the dog Jamie already had no friends at that time. With every moment that Jamie looked at the Raptor, the memory became clearer and also the anger and sadness that Jamie had felt then. Clint had picked on Jamie with his older brother as so often. They had laughed at him and threatened that they would catch his little dog, beat him to death and hang him from a tree. They had laughed and pulled their finger over their throat in a gesture only to point to the dog afterwards.
Jamie had walked home as fast as he could with his furry friend, afraid it would really come to that. Days passed in which nothing happened and Jamie had already forgotten everything after his foster parents assured him that it were just empty threats and that they just wanted to frighten him. Unfortunately, his parents were wrong.
Clint and his brother had set two traps where Jamie often played with his dog and one of these traps became the dog's fate. Jamie's parents had tried to save the dog, but he had been too badly injured and in the end the poor animal had to be put to sleep.

The memory of all this drove tears into Jamie's eyes, which he wiped away angrily with his arm. He wouldn't cry now. He swallowed his tears and looked at the raptor desperately trying to get out of the trap. He must have stepped into it in another place, because Jamie could see that the plug with which it had been fixed in the ground had been torn out and was now stuck between two rocks. The noose itself had pulled tightly around the raptor's leg and with each attempt to free itself the noose tightened and the wire began to eat into its flesh. Jamie took all his courage and climbed down the tree trunk at a safer distance. But he made sure that the animal could see him. He had to help him, because if he didn't, the Raptor would be sentenced to death.

The black head immediately jerked around to the sound source, which now stood a few meters away between the bushes. A deep growl made it clear that the Raptor was not very pleased about Jamie's presence. The yellow eyes were fixed on the young man, who approached carefully.
Jamie slowly placed the spear beside him, fearing that it would only make the Raptor feel more threatened. The feather comb was ruffled up while the animal was bareing its teeth. Jamie had to get close enough to release the plug that was stuck between the stones and he had to manage to release the wire, otherwise it would only be a matter of time before it got caught again. Jamie swallowed heavily and his hands trembled. He was afraid that the animal would simply bite him to death, even so trapped it would be an easy thing for the great Raptor to kill Jamie.
"Hey... all right. I'm just trying to help you." He began to talk quietly and calmly to the animal in the hope that his voice calmed the being before him. He had always been able to build up a good bond with animals. Maybe it worked here, too. Despite his fear, Jamie continued to approach. He simply could not allow the animal to suffer, not even such a dangerous creature. That he just risked his life was completely forgotten.

Jamie moved slowly around the Raptor without letting it out of his sight, who also kept an eye on him and growled. "I won't hurt you." Jamie kept on talking quietly, much calmer than he felt. He slowly approached the stake and thus also the Utha in front of him. The growling had died down a little, but the beast's gaze followed every little movement Jamie made. Jamie's hands were clearly shaking as he tampered with the stake. The plug was out of metal and at the end it had barbs that made it hard to pull it out of the ground. Jamie was surprised that the Raptor had managed to do this, because it must have needed enormous strength.
The barbs didn't make it easy, but after several attempts Jamie finally managed to undo the plug. He kept looking at the animal that was watching him, almost as if he knew exactly what he was doing. Now he only had to remove the noose from the foot of the animal. It was still on the ground, but slowly seemed to realize that it was no longer trapped. Jamie knew he didn't have much time and so he approached the injured leg. The wire had already eaten deep into the flesh.

Jamie approached without hesitation, making the Raptor growl again. The young man looked directly at the animal. He was so close that it would have been an easy thing to kill him, but the black Utha didn't. The yellow eyes fixed Jamie, who was now kneeling directly on the leg of the animal. "I'm just gonna take this off..." He made a cautious movement towards the leg, causing the Raptor to tense significantly and the large sickle claw on the foot twitched briefly. Jamie took all the courage he could find and simply grabbed it. He loosened the wire as quickly as he could and pulled the loop over the foot, which led to the black raptor barking up furiously for a moment. After that all went quickly and Jamie did not understand what had really happened. He only remembered that the Raptor had jumped up, hissed briefly and then disappeared.

Jamie was still kneeling in the same place trying to process what had just happened. He breathed quickly and trembled all over his body. In the end he realized what he had just done. He got up shaking and picked up the spear again, picked the metal plug with the wire loop up and started running. He did not stop until he was back down by the lake where his cave was. Panting he went to his knees and tried to catch breathe again.

More in Chapter III.