***
After several days of crossing through the tall grass that grows high above his head, the larger reptile emerges into the meadow. Not long after, the youngest hatchling comes out of the grass from the same spot.
The smaller reptile must have followed in his path through the tall grass. The youngest hatchling probably ate the scraps of food he left behind instead of going into the thick grass to hunt for himself.
The larger reptile studies the new area. In the meadow, there should be some small food, but there’s nothing big to eat.
Other reptiles find their way out of the grass.
There are many new reptiles in the band. Most of the newer reptiles are younger than the one he thinks of as the Youngest Hatchling, though none of them have been hatchlings for a long time.
The Larger Reptile notices a twinkling in the distance. It reminds him of the bright shine from when he was not much older than a hatchling. The original band of hatchlings were unable to reach that bright shine.
This bright shine is coming from the mountains on the other side of the valley. It’s not far away, but between him and the bright shine is another large field of the tall grass.
The Larger Reptile doesn’t like the tall grass.
He wants to see what makes the bright shine, but in the tall grass, it’s difficult to catch even small food, and there are those little biting creatures.
The biting creatures are a concern.
They look like a small, bluish-gray fruit, on a little flat rock. Six long, stick-like legs extend from the flat part.
The biting creatures can move very fast.
Sometimes, when moving through the tall grass, you run into a few of the creatures. Sometimes, a biting creature drops onto you from the grass above your head.
It’s very annoying how the little biting creatures scurry straight to the scars on his left arm and shoulder. They like to bite at his scars.
More reptiles appear in the meadow between the tall grass fields.
The Larger Reptile doesn’t see many of the original hatchlings. It’s difficult to know if some of them are still in the band.
Since the early days of the original hatchlings, many more reptiles like them have joined the band.
In this area of the meadow, the small food is scarce.
Some reptiles hunt along the thickening edge of the next field of tall grass. Some reptiles drift toward another area of the meadow.
The reptiles know they can’t stay here. The Larger Reptile does not want to go back into the tall grass, but he does want to know about the bright shine.
What is it?
That is the direction he goes, toward the bright shine.
This field of tall grass is difficult to walk through.
The grass extends to well above his head. There are patches of dense growth. In places, the grass stalks are like small trees and too overgrown to get through.
The reptiles find themselves boxed in and must backtrack out. The reptiles exit the impassible area and drift to the right side.
A few of the biting creatures appear.
The reptiles walk faster.
More creatures appear.
The reptiles quicken their pace again.
The clicking legs of the biting creatures is disturbing. The clicking sound grows louder.
The biting creatures are bad in this place.
The reptiles hear an approaching chorus of clicking legs. The frightening sound is moving toward the band from behind, and the left side. The buzz of the clicking legs continues to get louder.
The creatures are coming at them fast!
The reptiles glance around at each other. Then they all bolt!
The reptiles take off running as fast as they can move through the grass.
The loud buzz of clicking legs is right behind him. The buzzing sound expands past him on both sides.
The Larger Reptile tries to run faster.
The buzzing sound is closing in.
From above, a creature lands on the Larger Reptile’s shoulder. The thing immediately bites at the scar on his upper arm.
The Larger Reptile smashes the bug against a thick stalk as he hurries through a dense patch of the grass.
Ahead of him and to the left, he sees a reptile getting swarmed by the biting creatures.
At first, the running reptile thrashes around and sheds some of the creatures.
Then the reptile slows and stops running. It briefly stands on two legs before dropping forward to four legs.
The reptile disappears under a growing swarm of biting creatures as the Larger Reptile sprints past.
Several biting creatures appear in front of him. The creatures are moving in.
The Larger Reptile leaps through a gap in the grass.
The Larger Reptile feels one of the creatures crawling up his back. He lowers his head and pushes through some thicker grass.
The Larger Reptile expects the creature to go for the scar on his left shoulder. It does.
Without breaking stride, the Larger Reptile swings his right claw over. He stabs the disgusting creature through the bulbous top part of its body and into the hard, thin part where the legs are attached.
The Larger Reptile sticks the impaled creature straight out in front of him as he races through the very tall grass.
Another biting creature lands on his extended arm. He expects the creature to run straight up his arm and onto his face.
Instead, the creature skitters down his arm.
The second creature pounces and bites frantically into the squirming creature stuck on the Larger Reptile’s claw.
As he dashes through the grass, biting creatures scurry up his body from below and land on him from above.
All the biting creatures run straight to the one on his claw.
A spastic, crawling mass of biting creatures forms at the end of his arm, voraciously consuming the shrinking lump of the impaled creature.
While still running full-on, the Larger Reptile whips his arm to the side. He flicks the remaining part of the creature off his claw.
The whole mess of swarming, feasting creatures falls into the grass.
The surrounding creatures go after the tumbling, gruesome frenzy.
The Larger Reptile doesn’t see any more biting creatures in front of him.
The buzz of clicking legs fades behind him, but the Larger Reptile doesn’t stop running for a long time.
*
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.