PREDATORY- Chapter 2: Project Eagle Eye

3 months Later
     The raptor sprinted as fast as it could, jumping on top of a car then leaping toward me, jaws wide open, the killing claw spring forward. I pulled out my pistol and shot it in quick recession. The animal suddenly lurched and fell to the side. I got up, breathing hard and exhausted. The raptor was just a juvenile, and the darts from my pistol stuck out of its skin. I quickly pulled them out making sure to the dinosaur didn’t get an overdose. Although over 10 feet long and 4 feet tall, it was still just a baby. I remembered the first time I faced off against a pack of adult Utahraptors. It was in the dead of night and my jeep had gotten stuck in a mud puddle. It was extremely dark and all I could see was the outline of the trees around me. Then I heard snarling and growling. “Raptors,” I realized grimly. I could see their reptilian eyes glowing green in the night. They were cautious and were creeping up slower than usual. I watched them, getting closer and closer.

I had to think, and think fast. The carnivores were creeping ever closer. I always kept a box in the back of my jeep that contained bear traps, guns and ammunition (which were now useless, there were too many of them to make a difference), and cow meat for bait. Suddenly an idea sprung into my head and I figured it was my last hope for survival. I strung each bear-trap with rope and lashed flint and ammunition to either side of the bear-trap’s teeth. Finally, I added bait to my trap, as a final defiance in the name of survival. I threw the rope around the jeep in a ring, the traps in tow. Then in the cab and waited. The raptors creeped toward me bobbing their heads similar to a bird. They growled and snarled at each other. Then they sprung forward, the pack sprinting towards me, rapidly gaining ground. Suddenly a raptor yelped and tripped, then burst into flames. The other raptors slowed, alert. They barked and roared at each other, as if talking.

    Then the alpha male bellowed and the other raptors regrouped, forming a circle. They again ran forward and suddenly many were falling as they were taking the meat. Some burst into flames, other just tripped and got stuck in the mud. As the raptors stepped into each trap, the jaws closed, catching the raptor. The teeth of the trap would pierce the bullet, spilling the gun powder. The flint on either side of the trap would spark igniting the gun powder, and causing explosions. One by one the raptors fell, some burning to a crisp. The alpha male looked at me and jumped, but as he left the ground he stepped into a trap. Mid air he suddenly lurched to side engulfed in flames.