Note: I got inspired to write this story from what I know about Dinotopia, and from reading Dinosaur World by Steven Leigh. I guess you could say it's a fuse between the two, but this is a purely original story. Hope you enjoy. :)

Summary: Sometime in the near future, Humans have transported themselves back into the prehistoric era after they discover that dinosaurs were, in fact, intelligent beings living in societies of their own. But something has gone terribly wrong in the future, something that will affect both worlds and it's up to the group of Humans to convince the saurian clans to help them. But when they do arrive in the far past, not everything goes according to plan.

Pronunciations:

Ketsyei (keets-yay)

Chazmochad (kaz-mo-kad)

Flenzor (flen-zor)

Chazmeek (kaz-meek)

Danaveeth (Dawn-uh-veeth)

Binsiyei (Bin-see-yay)

Mevora (May-vor-uh)

Key terms:

Vilorians: Raptor's word for Humans. Vilorian, meaning Intruder. Comes out more like Veegh-lor-eeans in their tongue.

Protectors: The Raptor equivalent to guards. The word is Minjgou in their language.

Necessary Passage: Ceremonial death ritual performed by an unwilling Raptor host.

Illun: Raptor's word for the Moon.

The Raptors of Chazmochad

Somewhere in the land of Chazmochad...

A great stirring grows within the city...

Thrashing could be heard clear as a bell through the dense, green forest near the city of Chazmochad. Running frantically past wet shrubs and vines was a girl. Her hair was the color of dull autumn and her eyes resembled the green, glowing bugs that often dwelled by night near the Gates of Chazmochad. Night had fallen long ago, and her pursuers were not showing signs of stopping anytime soon.

'I have to pause for just a moment,' she thought, keeling over with her hands on her knees. Dirty cuts and abrasions had scathed her arms where her pursuers had tried taking hold of her, without luck and much to their dismay.

Still panting heavily, the girl looked up to the sky. The stars seemed so cold and bright in this world, and nearly twice as big. Tearing her thoughts away from the stars, she coughed once, trying to muffle it, and took several steps foreword. Her mind was numb from the shock with what had just happened, and in all honesty, she had no idea in which direction to run, or where to run to.

A high-pitched snarl and several trill clicking noises burst from a clearing, much too close behind her. With adrenaline kicking in at top speed, the girl lost all notice of her pain and dashed past a tall palm into the jungle, not caring if she left any trace of her presence behind.

Not moments later, ten large, nimble and fully-grown Deinonychus burst out of the bushes and landed gently in the clearing where their would-be-captive had previously been. Deinonychus were of the Raptor family and therefore had the keenest sense of smell.

They stopped altogether and one of them stepped foreword. He was the largest in the group, his scales apure blood-red hue. A single scar ranalong his right bent down and carefully examined the ground, every now and then gingerly touching a clawed finger to the earth. He sniffed twice...three times...

"She went this way," he announced in his own shrill tongue and pointing off to the west.

One of the other Deinonychus gave a short cry. "Then let us pursue!" He was about to take off, but a strong arm stopped him.

"No!" Said the first Raptor, Flenzor who was the Captain of the Guards at Chazmochad, "There is no point in pursuing her now; she is far off."

The second Raptor, named Chazmeek, retorted, "We are faster runners than her kind is; we can catch up to her!"

"No!" Flenzor said again, this time with more edge in his voice, "We will return to The City. We will tell the Emperor. That is all." And with that, he gave a small cry and ran off into the direction towards home. The others followed close by, Chazmeek giving one last irritated snort before following.

The open glade was as silent as ever, almost as if not a single living creature had set foot there minutes before. High up above, a pterosaur flew gracefully on silent wings and observed every detail, every aspect of his surroundings. With a quick glance behind him and with a swoop of his wings, he departed from the jungle area.

Meanwhile...

The young girl collapsed with a painful thud on hard, cold ground. Her vision was blurred, her arms and legs ached like there was no tomorrow, and her mind was bursting with questions. Where was she? How she did get to such a strange place? And what in all of the world were those things chasing her? Sniffing once, the girl forced herself to her feet. She knew somehow that those...those creatures were not chasing after her any more, but that was no reason not to get as far away from them as quickly as humanly possible.

The girl brushed several strands of hair out of her face and willed her legs to push her onward. She suddenly noticed a gash on her right arm; it stood out clearly from the rest, particularly because it was so big and dark. Then the flood of memories came: her stepping into the tall, white machine...someone shoving her onto the floor and pressing...what was it? A button of some sort. Then the door closing...landing on something wet and slippery...and that's where they came in. Those strange creatures that resembled...dare she even think it? Dinosaurs. Raptors. Predators.

To say she was confused at the time would have been an understatement. She had little or no time to think, before pushing herself up and running for her very life, so as not to be captured and what...eaten? Killed? She hadn't stayed to find out. It was too much taking all of this in.

A sudden violent rustle near the bushes froze the girl in her tracks. Fear seized her heart, holding her against her will to that spot. Careful not to make any sudden movements (though reflex demanded it), she allowed herself to stare right at the place where she heard the noise. A long-leafed, bushy plant stood still as a statue. No sign that anything was there.

'It can't possibly be them again,' she thought.

Suddenly, and before the girl had time to think, a tall young man bounded out of the jungle and into the open. He seemed not in the least bit surprised to see her standing there, torn and bloody.

"Ah!" Gasping with anguished relief, the girl fell to the ground, covering her face and wiping away the tears that sprung forth from her eyes.

The man halted several paces away from her, yet there was no confusion in his eyes. Almost timidly, he questioned the girl, "Are you aright?"

She sniffed and looked up at him. "Where am I?" She pleaded, as if it pained her to ask those words. Were she under any other circumstance, she might have thought twice about asking a complete stranger such a random question...but fear took hold of what logic she had.

He covered the distance between her and himself. Kneeling down, he offered his hand to her, which she reluctantly took. "You are in the prehistoric world," he said after she stood up, "My name is Forte," he introduced himself, yet his face was grim.

She sniffed, "My name is Raymona." She was still horribly shaken and didn't trust this stranger, whoever he was.

Forte nodded with a good-natured smile. "Then I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

X

Somewhere in the great Raptor city, Chazmochad...

It was huge, the Grand Hall of the Emperor Danaveeth. Few who were summoned there entered with a brave heart; every citizen of Chazmochad knew what an honor (or grave misfortune) it was to be summoned to such a place, in the face of the Emperor himself. A long, red, feathery carpet stretched out from under the stone throne of the Emperor and trailed it's way to the very tip of the main doors. Protectors lined the Grand Hall with sharp, jagged spears in their clawed hands and shining almost-gold armor. The Grand Hall itself was large enough for a Tyrannosaurus Rex to stand in; huge lantern-like objects hung from the high ceiling, glimmering on and off with fireflies. To an outsider of the city, it would be puzzling as to how the Raptors reach the lamps to fill them with glowing insects.

The Emperor himself wore no armor; only a crown that could have passed for a tiara much easier and was made of red feathers lined with pearls. In his hand was a sort of scepter carved from wood with a large, blue, egg-like figure sitting atop it.

Flenzor, Chazmeek, and several other Raptors from the hunting party were present before the Emperor Danaveeth, all of them trembling with fear of the unknown...all except Flenzor and one of the other female Raptors.

The Emperor slowly arose from his stone throne and regarded the calmer female heavily.

"Ketsyei," he said, addressing her by her name, "Flenzor and his party have failed to capture the new-comer Vilorian...but it is not him I blame."

Ketsyei remained silent, knowing that the verbal storm was about to hit. At heart, she was one of the bravest females in the City, but at the same time, she stuck to her beliefs, which was not typical behavior from a Raptor of Chazmochad. Her parents were strong-willed Saurians and Ketsyei had no siblings; for the most part she had grown up alone. She had, however, made something of herself be enlisting under the most skilled Hunter in all of Chazmochad, her teacher and mentor, Binsiyei.

She and Flenzor were two of his best students and mastered many skills as if they were born with the talent. Ketsyei's parents had swelled with pride for her...when they were alive.

"I was told by Flenzor," continued Danaveeth, "that you deliberately halted the Hunting Party in order to let the Vilorian escape!" The Emperor rarely lost his temper in such a manner, but as Chazmochad rule went, Ketsyei's behavior was outrageous. She didn't dare speak up to him at that moment, despite her habit of being opinionated.

"Quite blandly, young Ketsyei, I am removing you from your position with the next Hunting Party. Flenzor will have much to do and he will not need any more distractions. All depart," he said, and with that, the Hunting Party shuffled out of the huge room.

When the massive, sleek stone doors had closed, Flenzor spoke at last. "You're becoming more unruly every day, Ketsyei." His comment had a hard edge to it that Ketsyei could never mistake in Flenzor's voice.

They strode side-by-side, not looking at one another. "I have my reasons," she said simply.

"That you do, and if you keep voicing your opinions that no one wants to hear," he paused, "how many more reasons will you have to argue with?"

Ketsyei knew all-too-well that Flenzor spoke of death, if Ketsyei dared to oppose Chazmochad rule so openly. The Raptors preferred to call it the Necessary Passage. Ketsyei's tail twitched slightly with that notion. The warm night air did nothing to soothe her nerves like it usually did. Trees danced softly with the wind, and night bugs could be heard from every corner of the world, it seemed.

"Pah. The Rule of Chazmochad has swelled these past years." She knew before she even said it that it would infuriate Flenzor. But Ketsyei was not one to hold back, not when she knew it was necessary.

Flenzor spun on her. "Are you implying sedition?!"

She stopped and turned to face him, after walking several steps further. "Not at all."

The red Raptor hissed at her short answer. "If you keep this up, Ketsyei, you will be taking the Necessary Passage in no time at all...and I will not...be...regretful of it."

Ketsyei snorted. "You would have been, once upon a time. Do not try to pretend you cannot remember...the times when we were not completed without the other...when we were bonded to a together that was supposed to be forever."

"I remember," Flenzor replied bitterly, yet with a tinge of memory in his voice, "and all too well. It was a mistake, Ketsyei. We were not for each other."

Ketsyei nodded, knowing that the bitter young Raptor was right. Their relationship had started with calm seas at first, but like all oceans, they had their waves that soon grew into storms that eventually broke altogether. Ketsyei and Flenzor had too little in common to hold a successful relationship with one another. Now they could hardly be called friends, due to their often opposing views on life's matters and constant struggles with one another.

Ketsyei had put the past behind her.

A week ago, she had been allowed in the library and had been able to coax one of the Protectors to leave for a spell. There, she tapped into one of the books that was strictly forbidden to all citizens of Chazmochad, save Danaveeth himself and a few other important role-models among the city. The book was titled: The Coming of Vilorians Into Chazmochad. Ketsyei had never had any reason to read any such book...until she was promoted amongst the Hunting Party, the one that constantly tried tracking down Vilorians whenever they were reported in the area.

Ketsyei was no unintelligent individual, and she liked to know what she was gettinginto before plunging into the deep end of things, as Raptors sometimes did. What she had read shifted her opinion like the changing of the tide at dusk, and she felt somehow that it might be a grave mistake in trying to capture the Vilorians.

Already, the Chambers of Chazmochad had quite a large number of Vilorian prisoners. Ketsyei knew the city's purpose in keeping them there; severe questioning most of the time, in which the Vilorians had proven quite resilient and impossibly stubborn. Sometimes one of the Protectors would inflict physical torture on the prisoners (something that perhaps not every citizen of Chazmochad approved of) and question them in the Vilorian tongue, which had taken some considerable time for the Raptors to learn, but they never succeeded in prying information.

It was a wonder to Ketsyei that the Emperor insisted on having the strange creatures interrogated at all; it seemed to be nothing more than a waste of time in her opinion. She was only glad that she was not a Protector.

X

Forte held out his hand for Raymona to grasp, but she stood up, with a huff, by herself. Forte brushed dark hair out of his shining eyes. "You're not from around here...you must be one of them," he said the last part under his breath, but Raymona caught it.

"...One of...them?" She ventured timidly, tilting her head to the side.

Forte shook his head. "I mean, you're from our time. The Human's time you see..." he paused for a moment and suddenly regarded Raymona with a very confused glare, "How on earth did you get here?"

Raymona stared at the ground, at the details of her shoes and pushing aside a fern. "I don't know! Ok?! I just-ugh!" She put her head in her hands and stomped on the ground. "I was only looking inside the time machine and-"

"Time machine?!" Forte interrupted, "So that's how you got here!" He brushed his hair back again.

"Yes," she answered, "and...I don't know, but somehow I ended up in this...this place! Whatever in the world this place is...!" She moaned.

Forte said nothing and stared off into the jungle, lost in his own thoughts. Raymona folded her arms around her and felt more than a little uncomfortable with Forte's silence.

"Well..." Forte spoke up after several long minutes, "this is all very fine! We haven't had a newcomer in quite a while, indeed," he beamed, "quite right, we have much to talk about, but not here. No, it's far from safe here, but there is a place where we can talk, and there are many more Humans there. Quite right," he whispered and gently prodded the worrisome girl by the shoulder.

Raymona followed the boy closely, feeling somehow that she would be safe near him. She did not speak through most of the journey, though Forte gave off several comments now and then, sometimes about the city, other times about a brightly colored flower they might pass by. Raymona thought him very unique and observant; no one where she came from would have raised an eyelid to a pretty shrub, but Forte did and with much enthusiasm.

"Ah, what have we here?" He exclaimed and suddenly veered to the right. Raymona's heart gave a jolt and she stood frozen still where Forte had left her. 'Hurry up and come back!' She thought frantically, thinking of those strange scaled warriors coming through the trees behind her, weapons in hand. She had never felt so exposed, so vulnerable. Anything could come at her, and where was Forte? Trampling around in the jungle for God knew what.

A screech was then heard from what seemed straight above Raymona's head. 'Oh my God...' A slight whirring of wings told her logic that it must be some kind of flying creature...but Raymona was not logical at the moment. Fear had melted her rational thoughts and her mind began playing tricks on her.

She was afraid to even look up, but when she did...she couldn't take her eyes off the sight that was before her.

It was a pterosaur, a Quetzalcoatlus to be particular. The size of him was breath-taking! Longer than an automobile, more graceful than a feather floating in the wind, he boldly stared down atthe lone Human, and it seemed to Raymona, who stood still as a statue and who had never believed pterosaurs to be around anymore, that there was a sense of intelligence in the bright eye.

With a mighty screech and a flap of his great wings, the pterosaur took off into the deep blue of the night sky.

"There now!" came Forte's voice from a few meters away. He came bursting through the jungle, "Look what I have found! A bird of paradise...you know, I didn't know these things still thrived in-" He stopped when he saw Raymona's bemused look. Forte slowly stepped towards her and looked up into the sky, expecting to see something truly spectacular...but there was nothing. "Eh...Mona, whatever are you staring at?" He looked up again.

She snapped out of her reverie and suddenly noticed Forte, forgetting all about his disappearance. "You...will NOT...believe what just flew over me...!" Raymona breathed, holding herself and shaking her head.

Forte's expression was puzzled for but a second, before he smiled with a knowing nod. "Was it perhaps a pterosaur?" He ventured, playing innocent.

"My gosh! It was a...wait, how did you know that?!" She asked, incredulous, spinning around and facing Forte with eyes as wide as dinner plates.

Forte laughed softly. "My dear girl...look where you are!" He spread his arms out for emphasis, "You are in the prehistoric times. Our world is eons from now, if you get my meaning. We are hundreds of thousands of years in the past...today."

The girl shook her head. "No..." she breathed faintly. It didn't seem to matter at all what her eyes saw; it was not what she wanted to see, and therefore couldn't possibly be true.

Forte glanced at the ground, acknowledging Raymona's distress. He put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "Raymona," he said in his English accent, "everything can be explained, but it must not be here. We must go to the other Humans."

She nodded viciously, in spite of her trauma. She felt as though she were going to be sick, or pass out. Forte gently led her by the arm, and the two of them continued their trek through the dense jungle on an invisible pathway that Forte knew by memory. Miles ahead of them was a dwelling inhabited by Humans...Humans that have managed to evade the oncoming horde of the Raptors of Chazmochad.

X

"Ketsyei, it is time," Chazmeek's shrill voice cut through the Raptor's thoughts. She had been studying from a new book about astronomyshe had acquired from the library. It had her fully absorbed when Chazmeek came to call her.

Ketsyei stood up and addressed him. "Chazmeek."

"Come," he barked, with a wave of his spear, "the Hunting Party has found something useful. We must go, now." And without another word, he dashed out of the library, Ketsyei in hot pursuit.

"What is it this time? And why am I to go on this Hunting Party?" She asked, remembering the Emperor's orders to have her restrained from this current Hunting Party. For a little guy, Chazmeek was quite speedy and agile. Even Flenzor, who was among the fastest runners, acknowledged Chazmeek's speed. Not to say Flenzor's speed was what failed him in capturing the Vilorian.

"A trinket," Chazmeek replied curtly, "and the Emperor has decided that this situation is far too important for you to miss just because of some political disagreements."

"Trinket?" She inquired, tilting her head to the side as the two ran on, completely ignoring Chazmeek's explanation for her needed presence.

"That's right. It was discovered a fair while away from here, but it is of their make, no doubt," he said, meaning the Vilorians.

Ketsyei's thoughts immediately started wandering. A trinket...but what good could that possibly be of use for? The City had a fair share of prisoners already...why did they need more? And more importantly, what was to be the final outcome of the prisoner's lives? A trinket seemed like a lot of fuss over nothing.

Ketsyei and Chazmeek ran up to meet Flenzor, along with a good twenty other Raptor Hunters.

"It's high time you showed up," Flenzor said with a glare at Ketsyei, "Come now, we've wasted enough time!" He bellowed once with a raise of his spear. The others did the same, and they took off down the large flight of stairs that led to the Chazmochad Gate.

It wasn't until the moon was high in the sky that the Hunting Party finally stopped their ceaseless chase. Flenzor shrieked once and flicked his spear; the signal to stop. By then, most of the Hunting Party members were out of breath, and rather fickle and impatient with one another.

Flenzor nimbly stepped foreword and hunched to the ground. Ketsyei saw a glint of silver fly through his claws. The other Raptors huddled together as Flenzor walked up close to the party.

"Here, we have a trinket that belongs to the Vilorians. There is no doubt in that," he narrowed his golden eyes as he studied the silver necklace.

"What is to be done with it?" Chazmeek asked, ambling foreword in front of Ketsyei.

Flenzor continued to stare at the necklace, but answered, "...We will take it to Mevora to examine. He is the only one who knows how to deal with such trinkets," Flenzor added as a silent afterthought.

Ketsyei shuffled her clawed feet and clenched her spear. Several of the Hunters murmured to one another. Flenzor stayed where he was, his eyes never leaving the object in his hands, as if it were whispering thesecrets of its origin to him and him alone.

One of the Raptors came foreword. His scales were a light tan. The stripes that ran down his back to the tip of his tail were two shades darker, and he had a scar snaking across his chest. He regarded Flenzor with cool, dark eyes. "Do youthink it wise that our Hunting Party traveled all these miles...only to find a Vilorian trinket? There must be something else..."

Flenzorraised his eyes and clasped the piece of jewelry firmly in his hand. He leaned up and faced the light-tanned Raptor. "Surestrike," he addressed, "if you know of anything else there is to look for then please, share it with us; we need all the help we can get."

Surestrike blinked and shifted his weight. "No, Flenzor...I simply meant that we shouldn't rule out every possibility. Surely, if there was a Vilorian here, it might have left something else behind...a clue perhaps?"

Flenzor seemed to consider this. Ketsyei watched his every move, knowing that Flenzor was sometimes capable of acting rashly, and unexpectedly. "You half," he said suddenly, pointing to the left half of the Hunting Party, "go check the western borders of Bitterwood Glade. The rest of us will search the eastern borders. Report back here when the Illun touches the tallest mountain," he waved his spear once, and the rest of them were off.

The ground was warm and hard where they walked, even at night. Locust-like critters and flying insects of all imaginable sorts buzzed and hummed their nightly orchestra as if their very hearts would burst from the thickness of it. There was little wind that night, which made for easier tracking and smelling.

Ketsyei's red scales glinted under the light of the moon. Flenzor's half of the Raptors moved with such stealth and skill, that Ketsyei marveled at how any Vilorian could have ever escaped them. The answer came to her immediately after; they were cunning, the Vilorians. But perhaps that was because they so much resembled...

"Flenzor," Ketsyei trotted up next to the lead Hunter and asked, "what are you expecting to find? Any Vilorian would have left by now, even if they had been here before."

"Starting up another argument, are we?" He paused, "For your information, a Vilorian was here less than half an hour ago. If you had used your nose, you would have known this." Flenzor kept his eyes on the path ahead of him, without turning to look at Ketsyei.

"This means nothing. There are no Vilorians here now."

"Hah. But there may still be clues left around here somewhere. The more we know about the Vilorians, the better."

"We already know a great deal about them," she countered as Flenzor looked up at the sky for a brief moment, "Flenzor, listen to me!" He stopped at once and faced her. The other Raptors went about their duty, some of them scattering. "This is a very foolish mission! We have more than enough Vilorian prisoners in Chazmochad-"

"And yet they do not cooperate with our wishes," Flenzor interrupted.

"Then what is one more prisoner going to accomplish?" Ketsyei said after a moment.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say you weren't enthusiastic about capturing these Vilorians," Flenzor stated, ignoring Ketsyei's question.

"I'm not."

Flenzor gripped his spear. "What are you saying...Ketsyei?" His eyes glinted dangerously in the dark. Ketsyei could always sense Flenzor's anger a mile off.

"I'm saying..." she began slowly, cautiously, "that we should not act so rashly in our situation with the Vilorians. We need to think things through before carrying out with them."

Flenzor snorted. "I've had enough of your thinking, Ketsyei. You do what you think is best, whether it leads you to the Necessary Passage or not, but I will remain loyal...to the Emperor and to Chazmochad."

His words left a bitter sting in Ketsyei's ears. She had somehow felt, all along, that Flenzor was the last person in the world that could be reasoned with, but it was a necessary chance she had to take. She never remembered feeling so alone that night, searching for something she knew she would not find.