The scorching sun took its toll on the Scarastan landscape. As it climbed to the zenith of its daily orbit the cloudless sky provided no shelter, no shadow as the searing heat bore down relentlessly. The baked earth was crazed with random patterns, dark rivulets in the shrinking earth created as the moisture evaporated to leave tiny fissures across the arid plain. At the perimeter of these cracks, grains of soil were being disturbed as the ground shook with the approaching Tyrannosaur.
The prehistoric legend sprinted on powerful legs; the upper body projecting forward resolutely like a figurehead on the prow of a ship. The powerful torso hunched over massive hips as the bulging muscles rippled and flexed over the giant skeleton in support of the enormous head. The prominent snout was symmetrical about a central ridge that ranged from the front of its nose right up to the brooding hooded eyes sockets. The formidable head was horizontally bisected by a monstrous pair of jaws, the mass of muscle that bunched around the jowls capable of clamping the huge mouth together with terrific pressure.
Stabilising the huge mass at the front was a tapering tail some twelve foot long that swung pendulously from side to side with each sway of the hips. From those hips splayed the muscular legs that flexed and bounced to convey the huge animal with surprising speed along the deserted riverbed.
The yellow eyes squinted against the blazing expanse of the mid afternoon sun. Ahead of those piercing eyes the elongated nostrils flared intently as it tasted the flavours sailing on the wind.
Food.
Every muscle in the Tyrannosaur strained with effort yet this huge undertaking was exactly what evolution had designed it for; a superb killing machine capable of recycling the corpses of the weakened, the old and the dead. The smell on the breeze drove the animal into an ecstatic frenzy, the excitement blinding it from any other stimulus. Fully committed, the carnivore rushed headlong up from the river bed and burst through the coarse scrub that had shielded it from its unwitting prey.
Tugging at the nutrient rich grass that lined the banks of the river, the solitary Styracosaur consumed an endless if monotonous diet. As it grazed in the shade of the trees that lined the river it sensed a change in its idyllic surroundings. Suddenly it lifted the ferocious looking head, a shield of bone that fanned from the base of its skull that spread out to create a shadow over its shoulders. Beyond this armoured collar were arranged a multitude of bony spikes, each one as thick as an elephant tusk. Now the Styracosaur dropped its chin so every one of those deadly horns confronted the charging aggressor.
The Tyrannosaur balked, desperately trying to respond to this sudden change in attitude. With a clumsy attempt to change direction, its considerable momentum could not prevent the left leg from slamming headlong onto one of the longer spikes. The Tyrannosaur roared in pain and flicked its mighty tail forward but it whipped harmlessly overhead. The smaller dinosaur squinted in rage and extended its chunky back legs to drive home the full might of its armour.
The pair circled warily yet made an awkward spectacle, the T-rex now harpooned and pivoting frenziedly to try and engage its prey. Those deadly jaws snapping away without reward as gouts of saliva were tossed through the air. The spikes of the other animal shook as it succeeded in burying another horn into the unprotected belly of the Tyrannosaur. The Rex bellowed in fury and yelped to free itself of the burden. The herbivore whirled again on its powerful hindquarters, the clawed feet kicking up the earth and gouging great tracts in their wake. The T-rex tried to disengage, snarling furiously but the horns had penetrated too far, locking the animal on to its foe. In desperation the Rex lurched in the same direction as the Styracosaur and successfully destabilised the smaller adversary. In confusion, the horned dinosaur thrust its feet into the ground and enabled the Rex to break free, the horn sliding out with a slick tearing of muscle and skin.
With a renewed surge of adrenalin the Rex began drawing itself up to its full height, a mighty opponent by any standard. The Styracosaur knew instinctively that its choices were limited; stand and confront the attacker or else turn and run. The Tyrannosaur bellowed and the huge head shook with rage. The fury unleashed in that terrible roar seemed to paralyse the latter; it cowered and started to tremble in fear, quaking spasmodically as a jet of dung spat out from under its tail.
The T-rex sensed the subtle shift in attitude and moved in for the kill. Those powerful jaws opening for the coup de grace; the yellow eyes lining up to bring the teeth down upon the unprotected spinal ridge that ran along the back of the Styracosaur. As the mouth opened wide, the fleshy pink tongue darted excitedly between a phalanx of six inch teeth. The dark maw glistened with spatters of saliva as the Rex advanced within feet of its prey.
As those ivory fangs finally pierced the skin the Styracosaur suddenly appeared to erupt within itself. The tough hide began to split apart as slimy tendrils broke forth and flailed around wildly, seizing the head of the Rex and swiftly wrapping around the fearsome jaw. With its snout held fast the nostrils flared and fluttered as it fought to breathe. With terrifying tenacity the barbed tendrils advanced methodically, ramming themselves inside the olfactory openings. The T-Rex was helpless, conjoined to the other dinosaur as the nightmare aberration thrashed around the forest clearing. Distraught, the Rex lurched drunkenly before crashing over the slumped body of the Styracosaur. As the two animals sprawled side by side, the exposed flank of the herbivore ripped open and more limb-like appendages spewed forth to envelop and consume the Rex.
The doomed Tyrannosaur tried in vain to flee from this horrific union but was anchored by the deadweight. The Styracosaur had collapsed under the strain of the attack, being consumed violently from within while fending off the burden of the carnivore. The Rex was tiring, its efforts to break free becoming feeble and ineffective; the injured leg flopping miserably in the air as the tentacles pulled tight around its head and neck. Slimy tendrils passed quickly over the scaly hide until eventually only the yellow eye could be seen, the last glimmer of life dimming from it before it burst with a jelly like ooze that ran down from the tear ducts. The empty eye socket then began to distend and morph into an irregular sickle shape that instantly began to pool with a resinous gel that shimmered like a dark ruby in the sun
It was an ethereal quiet that descended upon the sun drenched copse. With the frenetic violence now subdued it made way for a more macabre and sinister kind of consumption. Both dinosaurs slumped against each other, their emaciated bodies writhing and pulsing with endless activity. Their skeletons collapsed under the force of being pulled together into an unnatural union, accompanied by an awful crackling and rending of bone. The once graceful horn arrangement of the Styracosaur now re-entered the body of the Tyrannosaur without protest, for they were now a shared entity. Whatever had brought them together now consumed them, augmented them; fashioned them for a new alliance of malevolence that would have paled the soul of anyone who had born witness to it.
As the sun passed over the clearing, smaller dinosaurs appeared, taking turns to pluck up courage to rush in and peck at the choice meats on offer. One of the smaller chicken-like Ornithomimus leapt through the air to land on the petrified carcass. As it began to peck enthusiastically at thick hide tiny tendrils flew out to ensnare it, viciously shredding the startled animal. Its blood and viscera burst in a misty scarlet fountain as it was absorbed into the body of the freshly killed carrion.
The other animals fussed and squawked seemingly oblivious to the terrible fate that befell their comrade. They skipped about with uncertainty as the deadly tendrils whipped around furiously, targeting the chicken sized animals with unerring accuracy. Chaos ensued as three more of the animals fell to the predatory menace. Where others had managed to successfully break free their bodies were now covered with toxic spines that buried and penetrated the skin.
As they scurried away with agitated excitement the shapeless horror they left behind continued to feast on the tissue and nutrients of the slaughtered dinosaurs. It grew in size, pulsing and throbbing with new found sustenance. Each devoured cell gainfully redeployed in the never ending quest to enlarge and sustain their new host.
In the dying light very little evidence remained of the prehistoric combatants, instead a new and more sinister organism now occupied their place. Brooding with menace the hideous creature sloped off over the pale grey earth, its fate undecided as destiny once more moved it into yet another uncharted chapter.