Having a Tyrannosaurus rex in front of you is a great way to remind yourself how fragile life is.
And judging by the way his entire velociraptor pack was practically radiating fear, Kerl knew damn well they all had the same thought:
Do. Not. Move.
His mind raced at a million miles per hour, calculating every possible outcome, yet something strange happened—
The T. rex… didn't care?
It barely even glanced at them, lumbering forward on tree-trunk legs, focused entirely on something else.
"Hey! I'm tasty enough, get back here and hunt me, bruh!" he inwardly complained—though, in all honesty, he was really hoping the big guy wouldn't turn back.
As the apex predator disappeared into the jungle, Kerl let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
He mulled over the situation. «So I'm not even worth the effort?»
That stung his pride a little.
But it made sense. Scientists theorized that T. rexes weren't built for chase-hunting—too big, too slow. They were more of an ambush predator. Nice to have that confirmed firsthand.
«Hooray for science… if only I wasn't running for my life.» Kerl wasn't impressed
As a velociraptor, Kerl was small, fast, and nimble—exactly the kind of prey a T. rex wouldn't bother with. For a predator that size, something as tiny as a raptor just wasn't worth the energy.
Watching it walk away, he couldn't help but think.
«Man, if I find the time machine, I'm gonna revolutionize paleontology. Solving dinosaur mysteries just by being here is kinda OP.» He didn't forgot to take a mental note.
His mind wandered.
For a moment, he imagined himself returning to the modern world as a revolutionary scientist.
"We love you, mr Kerl Erde! You're the best!" Reporters would gush, cameras flashing in his face.
He also would proof his machine was actually a proper invention to her. His wife, the love of his life and his number one doubters.
Her reaction once he actually make use of this item would be priceless.
"erde... you actually, did it?" Silhouette of her calling him. He could almost see it
«leah» he called back.
He imagined the sweet taste of victory.
Also, he was too deep into this project.
He couldn't let months of hardwork go down the drain.
«she would make fun of me!» He became nervous of failure.
He coud almost imagine her laughing out loud and telling him "what did i told you? it was a fool's errand."
and he... could NOT accept defeat.
A sharp screech snapped him back to reality. He turned around and it was his Dino underling.
«Right... Dinosaur body. Prehistoric death world. No time for daydreaming.»
All of this—the madness, the struggle—was thanks to the Deus Ex Machina that was his shitty time machine.
If he wanted to return?
He had to find it.
besides, he hadn't even fixed it. who knows if what awaits him next, was no machine. what if it was another error?
He looked back to the T-rex and criticised.
«look how vulnerable that fat fella is... not really fat but sure damn he is big! you could feed families for months with that!» he assesed by the look of it.
«coincidentally, i'm a raptor which is the bane of their existence. and i'm housing a group of nimble predators in dire need of food while a gigantic prehistoric killer chicken is walking..» he thought about it again.
«should i just kill that guy?»
After a long careful consideration.. he was in for the idea.
So he decided that even if the T. rex wasn't interested in him… He sure as hell was interested in it.
This was a prime opportunity, while the dino was looking at somewhere else, he could take the chance to ambush it.
He screeched, grabbing the attention of his raptor crew, who all immediately looked at him like he had grown a second head.
Then, using his tail, he flung one of his handmade boleadoras straight at the behemoth.
It landed.
Right on the T. rex's skull.
The massive predator froze.
Then, slowly, it turned its head, nostrils flaring.
«this is a perfect opportunity to solidify my standing as their leader.» Kerl thought.
Before it could react further, Kerl immediately pushed the ground with his leg to propell forward.
The explosive feet of raptors was too fast for the horrible t-rex vision.
The big guy didn't sense anything until Kerl struck him first. Making it quack in responce.
«that was some ominous sounding chirp.. fitting for something that gigantic.» Kerl thought.
At first, the pack was scared of the apex predator. But the sight of Kerl outmanuevering it made them hesitate, losing their fear partially.
Kerl was running around trying to scratch the T-rex from different angles, doing hit n' run to chip out damage. The thing was too slow to resist, it felt like those chunky boss battle, huge guys but no actual skill.
He waited for his pack to join the fun but they were still hesitating, looking from the sideline. «bruh, this big guy's just an easy target. why are they so scared?? god, dinosaurs are so dull. No wonder they went extinct.»
«fine, i'll show them.»
If anything his life experience have told him— it's that people wouldn't believe unless they see it with their eyes with a long list of argument.
One thing left to do.. is giving them an irrefutable truth!
He rushed in scratching, tail ehipping and hurting the tyrant before running out and screaming on an area the behemoth could see. Confusing it with the sudden movement
Kerl knew he held the upperhand but had to be careful. But he was no amateur. He had plenty experience fighting fatso bullies back at school.
«chop, chop, chop, chop!»
He came running in circles, slapping the t-rex leg from angles, before running off to the opposite direction and running to an area the t-rex's city eyes could see, in hopes of taunting for it's attention.
Followed by the avian's desperate retaliation
During the fight, kerl had a great time. his theory wasn't just right, it was always correct. if not, how would he have what it takes to build a time machine?
What was initially a couple of scratch, bite mark and bruise from tail whip turned into a torment.
Kerl felt a little bad. «now i look like a bully..»
«welp.. not sure i ever imagined me beating up a t-rex but, the jungle is here... eat or be eaten.»
Adrenaline spread as he was immersed in this dangerous game of death.
Kerl was unsure, why he even fought so recklessly when he could've played it safe. But he had one thought. «this is so thrilling, ahahaahahahaha!»
Without his awareness, he had already fell to the primal instinct bit by bit. Letting the reflex of a velociraptor reign control
Soon enough, he found it weird that he went beyond reason. «wait- what?»
Retaining control, he took deep breath while continuing hit n' run. «i got carried away!»
Seeing the big one slowly succumbing to the injuries caused by Kerl's relentless assault, the pack decided they have to be part of this.
They swarmed, biting, slashing, and ripping into the T. rex like prehistoric piranhas.
Kerl kept chucking whatever makeshift weapons he had—ropes, stones, sharpened sticks. Sending them flying as projectiles
«HAH! My impeccable aim, honed by YEARS with Valorant!» he boasted inwardly.
The T. rex roared, shaking the ground as it thrashed wildly, snapping its enormous jaws.
Kerl saw that his pack was getting a little bit too close. «oh no! they're clumped together! this would be bad if the t-rex were to go in an outrage.»
Immediately after, one raptor was squashed under its foot—gone in a single step. From one living chicken to
and the tyrant's repetition of fruitless attack, finally bore fruit and reaped it some benefit. It successfully got another attack in. Using it's massive jaws, tearing one raptor like wooden stick.
Kerl had the honor of watching a fellow raptor getting 80% of their body eaten.
«if i let myself run amok mindlessly.. i might get striked like that.» He kept it in mind to be cautious.
But Kerl wasn't stopping.
If he backed off, he would be dumb. Because he knew, that t-rex was NOT gonna beat him.
Using his raptor agility, he leaped towards the T-rex. His claws sinking on the giant's legs as he cling for dear life.
His confidence wasn't without backing tho, t-rex is most formidable at a distance. With it's long neck and giant maws, they can bite target with their long reach. But T. rexes were built for crushing prey, not shaking off tiny parasites. Their short arms couldn't even scratch their own nose, let alone yank off a raptor
Claws sinking into flesh, he climbed higher to its neck, aiming for a vital point.
The T. rex tried to shake him off and was overwhelmed by the verocity of these little demon, making it fall on it's back. The result? it became even more vulnerable to the pack's assault.
It was dangerous but Kerl held on with all his might, if the dino fell atop of him... he would be squashed, the sheer difference in weight is overwhelming, the only thing keeping him alive is his incredible agility.
He lunged, sinking his raptor jaws into its eye socket.
The predator screamed.
It stumbled, flailing blindly as the pack took advantage of the distraction.
They struck its legs, underbelly, and throat.
Wounds multiplied. Blood poured.
The T. rex shook during it's attempt at standing back up—
It realised that it was probably not gonna win and started running away, while shaky.
Kerl learned very soon.. that this thing could actually move fast.
«i suppose all creatures when in the brink of the death, could force out a sprint.»
but it's leg were growing weaker by the minute.
As it attempted to escape, the raptors relentless pursuit continued.
they kept adding damage after damage, and the already frail t-rex was struggling to stay coscious.
kerl who was on the giant's thigh had to cling even harder.
The injured tyrant run brought other dinosaur's attention and made them turn their eyes to the spectacle.
kerl saw the tyrannosaurus was moving in zig zag pattern like a bike losing stability, he had to climb higher to not be squashed when the big guy fall.
He saw that the direction the gigantic dinosaur heading was a tree. It was trying to get rid of him from it's back, so with all his power, kerl used leg to propell himself and land on the t-rex's back by stabbing his sharp claw and teeth in.
stabilizing himself, atop the giant's back.
but the t-rex had grown too weak from injury, many of it's feathers have felled and revealed the scars lying underneath— causd by the raptor pack's assault.
it ran out of energy, trip as it crashed onto a huge tree which crashed against it's head.
Then collapsed.
Dead.
Kerl let out a victorious war cry.
"QUACK!"
Silence.
…That was it? that felt like bullying a bodybuilder who had too much muscle and too little mobility.
He had just killed a freaking T. rex, and it barely felt like a fight... Prehistoric animals were just beta test, full of design flaws that led to their own demise.
It reminded him of a quote «The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. And so does those who sticks to one way.»
At this point, he was sure no prehistoric creatures knew how to wrestle like a tiger. Grappling wasn't even a thing yet. Meaning if he just leaned on his childhood WWE memories—with a few techniques from UFC—he'd have an evolutionary advantage over half the food chain.
«So much for being the ultimate predator… i suppose everything on earth is disappointing, be it time machine or the legendary might of dinosaurs.» he thought, as a man who seen it all and made discovery beyond many, he knew how utterly unimpressive the world is.
He turned to his pack.
Two raptors gone—one crushed, the other eaten.
He shrugged, «oh well.. if we dig deep enough in the t-rex belly, we'll reunite with the other guy.»
The survivors didn't hesitate before tearing into the fallen T. rex, devouring their former predator.
Kerl, wasn't very keen about eating a raw dino flesh like some kind of caveman.
He had an idea. «now that they see my ability, i think they wouldn't be scared if i were to do anything more. besides, they're too focused on the t-rex meat.»
He grabbed a chunk of meat, gathered sticks with leaves and was looking for a flat rock.
Excited of a T-rex meat.
He grabbed some rocks and tried smashing them together..«was it like this?»
A little too strong, he broke them.
«alright, retry. even if this one fail, i got the wood.» He prepared backup.
Luckily this time, he succeeded in making a fire.
He piled rocks and added the flat one on top, then rested the slab of meat above it.
Golden-brown, crispy edges, sizzling in the heat. «they really are the ancestor of chicken huh?»
The delicious aroma filled the air.
«Ain't no way I'm eating prehistoric sushi,» he said to himself, flipping the meat.
Too bad that delicious aroma was also an open invitation.
To every hungry carnivore in the area.
A low growl.
Rustling leaves.
His pack froze, heads snapping toward the sound.
They weren't alone anymore.
Kerl realized his mistake.
The divine smell of cooked meat. As well as the trails of blood left behind by the dead rex...
Something these prehistoric creatures had never experienced. a GOURMET
And now, they wanted a taste.
«…Ah, shit.»
He sighed, standing up, getting ready.
"can't even have nice dhit in jurassic, bruh."