6Chapter 5: Stegosaur encounter
"Did you know that the Stegosaurus lived further away from the Tyrannosaurus Rex than we are from the Tyrannosaurus Rex in time?"
— Jonah Peretti
The morning sun had risen a few hours ago, casting its light across the island of Isla Sorna. Already most of the inhabitants were up and going about their daily lives. Several Pteranodons flew across the sky over a large open field, where a pair of T-rex adults with their youngster as he wobbled around, preparing to eat a small dead Dryosaurus his parents have killed.
The female was looking towards her left towards the edge of some trees as she growled softly and gently nudged the youngling, who growled playfully before he started eating his breakfast. His father, a big bull T-rex took two steps closer to his family before looking in the direction his mate was staring, growling softly.
In the direction he was looking, there was a herd of herbivores with strange plate like structures sticking out of their backs, a small head, and tails with four spikes. These dinosaurs are known as Stegosaurus, the name meaning "roof lizard" or "covered lizard", in reference to its bony plates.
These creatures were quite common in Isla Sorna, mainly inhabiting the West the South areas. All the herds were led by an alpha male and female and usually had numbers ranging from four to ten. This particular herd consisted of six adults and two younglings. They were quite aware of the three carnivores standing at least thirty feet from them. The alpha female stopped briefly and looked at the rexes, giving a howl to warn the rest of the herd behind them.
The two younglings also looked in the meat eater's direction before moving slightly faster towards the alpha female. Thankfully for the herd, the T-Rex family were uninterested in them at the moment; seemingly content with what they are doing.
Satisfied, the alpha female continued walking alongside the alpha male and younglings. A Pteranodon landed on the branch of a tree while the rest of the flock flew on. It screeched loudly into the crisp morning air.
Some time passed before the Stegosaurus herd found themselves in the rich forest again. It was a place quite familiar with them; having passed here several times. The last time they did was a about a week ago. Back then there was only five of them before they met up with three others.
The alpha male stopped, shaking his plates as a signal to his herd. The herd stopped as well, waiting for his next orders. He snorted softly as he turned his head left and right, the alpha female doing the same.
A quick watch to make sure they were alone.
Satisfied, the two adults moaned a confirmation. The rest began milling around to feast on the shrubbery and drink from the stream. While one of the younglings followed his parent, the female wandered towards a spot where some ferns were at.
Even though she was eating, the baby Stegosaurus would pause every two minutes and look around the area. To the casual observer, it would look as though she was trying to be cautious in case a predator comes.
This was not the case.
She wasn't watching out for predators. She was looking for something else. A strange creature she had met a week ago.
It was before the two adults and the male hatchling joined the herd. She had been in this particular spot, eating the same kind of ferns. That's when she met the creature.
One week ago…
The time came for the herd to rest and eat. While four adults did their own business, the baby stegosaur contended herself by going to a small area where some ferns grew. They were very tasty for her. She bent down to use her beaked mouth to pull some ferns from the dirt. She munched happily.
Suddenly a strange scent came to her nose, followed by the sound of movement in front of her. With a small growl of surprise and caution, she looked up. In front of her, was a creature unlike anything she's seen before.
It had a strange black face with pale soft looking scales. It had a single eye that seemed to reflect her image right back at her. Some odd stringy red things covered its head.
The baby Stegosaur tried to stay still. The creature made a click noise. And then the black face moved down and a pale face with two eyes appeared.
She was greatly surprised by what she saw. The black thing was not its real face. Was it a strange rock? She wasn't so sure.
The pale creature's mouth curved upward. Somehow the baby could sense that the creature was happy. The baby also realized that base on its scent, the creature was female.
It had green, bluish eyes.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, instincts were telling her, "Danger. Strange new creature. Dangerous." On the other hand, her curiosity won over.
The female creature started to lift one of its arms towards the baby. So the pale skinned thing had arms like some of the other dinosaurs on the island. Fascinating.
The arm started to reach for the baby's head. Snorting, she reared her head back out of reach. But there was no hostility in the pale animal's movements. It was slow and gentle.
Her instincts then told her to trust the creature. She complied and bowed her head. The hand began stroking her head gently. It felt nice. It was gentle. The baby purred and closed her eyes, enjoying to affection. She whined gently. Whatever this creature was, she was nice and gently. Like a mother.
The female creature smiled happily, matching the baby's feelings at the moment. The young Stegosaur was so pleased with this new friend that she let out a happy howl.
All too soon the petting stopped. She looked back at the other female who now seemed to slowly stop smiling. She was debating whether to take a photo at this range or not. The baby Stegosaur had other thoughts running through her head.
Did she scare her? Is that why she's not being petted anymore?
The female creature stared at the baby stegosaur for a few seconds. Then it uttered some strange noises. Somehow the baby understood them.
"Claire. I'll call you Claire."
Claire? Was that what she called her? The baby Stegosaur found herself liking the name. Claire. She tried to repeat the word back, only to let out a gently coo. The female creature smiled.
Then the creature lifted the black shiny rock again and it clicked. Suddenly a strange alien came from it. The pale creature attempted to make it shut it up. The baby, or Claire as she is called now, gave an annoyed howl at the black rock.
She wanted it to shut up so she can spend more time with the pale creature.
Just after she howled, an answering howl echoed behind her. This one sounded more adult and angry. Claire and the female creature looked in the direction of the howl. The adults were charging in their direction, roaring loudly.
Claire turned back towards the pale creature. It appeared to be signaling something behind her before the alpha male appeared close to them. The female creature ran off with him in pursuit, leaving a surprised and worried baby Stegosaur behind.
PRESENT TIME…
Human. That's what the adults called it. A human. Claire was warned that they were extremely dangerous and that they needed to be avoided at all times. The new additions to the herd had claimed that they were caught by the humans on that same day.
Claire had inquired on how they got away. Much to her joy, she heard that a pale skinned human female with a male companion at set them free. What happened to the female after that was unknown.
In spite of the adult's warnings, the baby couldn't stop thinking of her now missing friend. How she wanted to see her again someday. How she wanted to be petted again.
That was why Claire was here in this particular spot. This was where she met her new friend. She was sure the human would return, and they can enjoy each other's company. She will wait this spot every time her herd comes here until they have to leave.
Though Claire's hopes were high, she couldn't exactly get rid of a single thought in her head. A thought that brought to her a lot of sadness.
You will never see her again.