That was not to mention other, not so conventional doomsday devices, that all the different governments kept coming up with – such as a super-virus to disable the entire worldwide web, all at once.
Not that the nuclear strikes hadn't been wildly successful – except locally, of course. But world-wide, the disgusting tailless apes that had infested the planet had been effectively cleansed away.
That left only the cleaning of its own house.
Besides straggling vestiges of two-legged apes in this particular region, there was the matter of the rex packs – curiously immune to their domination.
Time to fix that.
The Food of the Gods had run its cycle – by now most of the infected beasts would have died – and where they hadn't, the nukes had burned it out.
There still remained, however, the odd carcass – like that of the rex.
If Otto could have understood poetic irony, it might have appreciated the thought that the rex itself would be the vehicle to finally wipe out the pesky stubborn resistance of its kind once and for all.
The pack of Ottos began to screech and howl, and the call was more than vocal – it was that psychic stench that seemed to reek worse wherever they were in numbers.
There were still 'normals' stocked deep in the woods – all just waiting for their turn at the plate.
It was tyrannosaur territory, but the exodus had brought in killers of all kinds.
None of the big carnosaurs dared the area – not yet. But a few of the larger sickle-claws were already poking out from the brush, eyeing the massive carcass laid out in the basin.
It was a start.
Now they would simply begin again.
The little pack of Ottos hopped discreetly out of the way, as the first of their larger cousins cautiously approached the tantalizing mountain of free meat.
A few of them began to nibble experimentally, pulling at the tough flesh.
Otto watched. They would wait for them to feed.
Soon their eyes would begin to glow green.
And then they would have another rampaging army.
They would wipe out those last pockets of hairless apes once and for all. There would be little resistance this time.
More sickle-claws were venturing from the brush. The little pack of Ottos continued to squawk and howl.
So intent were they, however, that they failed to notice the shadow in the brush behind them.
The rex was a big rogue – nearly fourteen meters long and approaching nine tons. But it could still move with surprising stealth when it chose to.
It had learned to sneak up on these little scavengers – they with their psychic-stench.
He didn't even usually bother to eat them – just stomped them out like fire ants.
It was actually rather therapeutic – just like popping insulation bubbles.
The pack of Ottos screeched and fled, even as the rex's foot came down, smashing the pack of them flat.
Then it wiped its foot disgustedly on the forest floor.
It HATED those little bastards.
Now the rex turned its attention to the gargantuan carcass and the sickle-claws that were now staring doubtfully down from its back.
The rex let out a low, rumbling growl, and the sickle-claws scattered.
Satisfied, the big rogue settled down and began to feed.
At the edge of the forest, another small troop of Ottos emerged.
The little creatures stared up balefully. The rex eyed them right back – just like another pack of insulation bubbles.
The Ottos hissed and shrieked, and the rex felt that sense of static shock – that pepper-spray in the sinus.
The big rex snorted a brief sneeze of irritation.
Then it rose to its full height, growling dangerously – and now its eyes had begun to glow emerald green.
The little creatures turned and disappeared into the forest.
The End
Read on for a free sample of The Valley of Tooth & Claw
PROLOGUE
Gunfire, harsh and sporadic, punctuated the darkness; the unmistakable staccato rhythm shattering the night’s otherwise calm façade. Myriad weapons blazed to life in a flurry of yellow-orange bursts, bullets proceeding to zip through the humid air! The resulting storm saw a host of debris scatter to the wind as volley after volley of piping-hot metal shredded the undergrowth caught in its path. Added to this were the panicked cries of men which only magnified the already hellish din permeating the area… as too did the monstrous shrieks of their assailants; ungodly screeches that seemed to meet somewhere between a bird of prey and some kind of serpent.
Caught in the midst of this chaos, Mateo Hernandez cut through the jungle like a bat out of Hades, his normally tan complexion reddened by the effort of his unexpected retreat. Sweat gushed from the fleeing man’s pores, the salty liquid streaming in rivulets down his terrified features. Vines and branches whipped at his plump and youthful face, lashing out like demons’ claws as he stole through the suffocating collection of foliage.
Heart pounding almost out of control, Mateo’s dark eyes, wide with terror, searched the shadowy world for some way out of his bloody nightmare. All the while, to his aft, the gunfire and screams continued unabated, the hectic reprise near-deafening. Mateo’s thoughts momentarily switched to that of his wife and two children back in Chile. But not for long. The maddening cacophony to his rear very quickly redirected his thoughts back to the here and now.
Stay focused! he told himself, chest heaving and lungs burning.
Grounded in the present once more, Mateo’s mind struggled to process that which he had witnessed mere minutes before. That being said, Mr. Hernandez wasn’t sure he could even call himself a witness to any of it. After all, the man really only caught glimpses of his group’s ambushers. On top of that, the sight of those monsters˗ fleeting as it was˗ ultimately proved enough to send him to flight. In his mind’s eye, the scaled, reptilian forms of his assailants seemed to emerge effortlessly from the dark ether, their long, tapered tails whipping frenetically behind them. Without warning, the ravenous creatures shed the jungle like an old skin, descending upon Mateo and the other workers with a deadly array of sickle-shaped claws and razor-sharp fangs! Most terrifying of all, he remembered how the beasts’ yellow-green cat-like eyes seemed to shine amidst the gloom, haunting in their primal intensity.
In the end, the company’s small band of hired guns proved no match for the devilish things which called this jungle home. With the speed and efficiency of cheetahs, the marauders dispatched the guards in twos and threes, before then turning on the unarmed workers scattering throughout the small encampment.
Demons… Mateo thought to himself. Only demons could move like that.
Pressing further into the darkened rainforest, the gunfire behind him gradually began to dwindle… as did the bloodcurdling cries of his unfortunate colleagues. Although, they never fully died away. Ultimately, the horrid mixture of these sounds became a kind of macabre soundtrack to his panicked retreat. If only for a second, Mateo felt his anxiety lessen on account of the reduced noise. The young man prayed he had somehow managed to put enough distance between himself and his group’s attackers. Yet, something in Mateo told him this was unlikely. Still, he could hope.
Out of breath, he panted desperately for air, eventually slowing to a jog. His overalls were soaked with sweat now. Before long, Mateo was engaged in a rushed walk as he tried to get his bearings; an almost impossible task in this world of midnight. It was then Mateo realized that the bush around him was simply too quiet. There were no birds or insects in attendance, at least that he could hear, anyway.
Perhaps the gunfire frightened them? he pondered the peculiar silence for a moment.
Whatever the cause of the deathly quiet, it unsettled the young man to no end. The hairs rose along the back of his neck, a chill tracing the petrified man’s spine. Fear quickly returning, Hernandez’s eyes scanned the gloomy scene warily, terrifie
d by the mere thought of what might lurk out there in the inky blackness… never mind the reality of what actually existed there.
An eerie coalescence of silhouettes and shadows blanketed the scene around Mateo. As a result, it was almost impossible to decipher anything of any real significance. What’s more, the man wasn’t even sure he was headed in the right direction. As such, landmarks had little meaning. The way Hernandez saw it, the further he got from the gunfire and screams, the better. Or so he hoped anyway.
Lost and wandering, Mateo found himself muttering a prayer when a noise˗ one that belonged to neither bird nor bug˗ unexpectedly sounded somewhere behind him! At least that’s where he thought it came from. Sound travelled in peculiar ways in the jungle. Startled to attention, Hernandez’s heartrate spiked as he tried to both listen and make sense of what it belonged to.
Thump-thump-thump-thump! The man’s ears twitched like a hare’s, the noise growing louder with each beat.
Footsteps! Mateo quickly realized. Coming in fast!
Instinct told him that the footsteps were too heavy to belong to even the biggest of men. As this frightening realization sank in, Mr. Hernandez felt his panic increase ten-fold, his pulse skyrocketing.
They’ve found me… those things have found me! He shuddered at the thought.
Sadly, he was right. Although the poor man couldn’t see it just yet, Mateo’s pursuer was closing on him˗ and with ease. Crashing through the jungle, the dexterous animal bounded over felled trees and ducked beneath low-lying branches. Next came a shriek like nothing the Chilean had ever heard before. Ear-piercing and laced with hunger, the utter savagery of the cry was undeniable. And it was reserved entirely for him! Of that, Hernandez was convinced.
Chilled to his core, poor Mateo voided his bladder then. In that moment he was reduced to a frightened child. The adult˗ the father; the protector of, and the provider for, his family˗ was gone. Vanished in an instant. Still, he didn’t stop moving. Rather, the man’s terror quickly translated to reinvigoration.
Taking off once more, albeit soaked in a combination of piss and sweat, Mateo pressed on into the night, determined he would survive; that he would make it through this awful night of blood-soaked carnage. His motivation was simple: he wanted to return home to his loving family; Maria and the boys, Javier and Tomas. After all, Hernandez only accepted this job offer because of them. Providing them with a better life was the sole reason he was here in this leafy, Godforsaken shithole in the first place. Which ultimately begged the question: what kind of life would they have without him?
#
Hot on the heels of its prey, the monster zeroed in on its quarry with a ruthless efficiency; its agile movements seemingly discordant with a creature of its size. In truth however, the animal and its kind, large as they may have been, were built not only for the kill but the chase too; their species molded by millions of years of evolution and thus finely attuned to their environment.
Nostrils flaring at the end of its elongated cranium, the hunter inhaled its would-be victim’s scent, eager to put an end to this hunt. Held aloft on two powerful legs, the excited creature hurtled onwards, salivate dripping over its craggy lips. The end was nigh, of that it was sure. In fact, the monster could practically taste it.
#
Something in Mateo (a foolish sense of curiosity perhaps) made him sneak a look at the bipedal horror trailing after him. Needless to say, the young man immediately wished he hadn’t. What he found waiting for him could only be described as terror incarnate.
Bathed in moonlight˗ for only a second˗ he discovered a maw full of yellow, dagger-like teeth, alongside a pink, serpentine tongue dripping with spittle. Worst of all, it was waiting just for him. Added to this terrifying mien were the creature’s flexed talons, poised to strike!
“Jesucristo!” Hernandez gasped.
Too terrified to look for more than a second, Mateo snapped his neck back around. To his horror, Hernandez barely had time to decipher the second scale-laden figure waiting for him. Jaws cranked wide, the second monster barreled into Mateo, forcing him to the ground in a bloodied frenzy of slashing claws and gnashing teeth!
Knocked clean off his feet, the poor man landed with a bone-jarring thud! amidst the detritus, the last of the air torn from his already weary lungs! Winded now, stars danced before Mateo’s eyes, his world spinning horribly all the while. Pain filtered through the man’s abused body, coming in one huge, incapacitating surge. It was several seconds before Hernandez realized he had been disemboweled, the excruciating pain somehow managing to take him off-guard when his system finally registered it.
It was over, Mateo understood as he lay there, writhing helplessly like a newborn without its mother. Then again, he never stood a chance. Not against these… demons. None of his crew did. If truth be told, Hernandez was lucky to last as long as he did.
Thus, Mateo’s agonized screams came to fill the night. They reverberated throughout the rainforest for miles as the two frenzied beasts continued to eviscerate him. Using a combination of their curved teeth and claws, they gorged on his supple flesh, working vigorously to expose the precious organs buried beneath. In between the man’s pained screeching, Mateo thought of his wife and kids back home. Their loving faces would be the last thing his broken mind was able to conjure before the darkness finally claimed him.
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