THE EPOCH CHRONICLES | ✔

twenty-eight

Bradley's Marsh
Camp

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AMELIA BEAMED while Bradley frowned at the small, pathetically weak baby Tanycolagreus. Compared to its terrifying older relatives that had nearly killed her - multiple times - she was shocked by the fragility of it.

The Tanycolagreus was no bigger than a large chicken, with pale browny-grey skin and slight downy feathers lining the back of its head. Its feet were almost comically large in comparison to its body. Large eyes were screwed up tight while its mouth was open, revealing tiny white pinpricks of fangs.

"Well, what do we do with it?" Bradley questioned, mimicking Lale's pose by crossing his arms. Amelia looked up at him from her position leaning against the beam holding up the hut, her face now creased with her own frown.

"Well, obviously we'll keep it. Try and tame it - see if it's possible. It'd be good to have a dinosaur on our side." Amelia pulled the Tanycolagreus closer on its space blanket, and it squirmed a little, offering a plaintive cry. She used this as an excuse to dodge Bradley's question; even though she had originally wanted to keep the egg to test on it, now that it had hatched, priorities had to be shifted.

Everything she had said was true, she knew, but Bradley seemed to have different opinions that made her blood boil. "So you can name it Fido?" He muttered scornfully. "Put it on a leash? Let it eventually eat us?"

"Amelia's right." Shaunia, the last person she had expected to her come to her defense, piped up. She was leaning against the beam across from her, eyes widened expectantly. "Dinosaurs could be especially useful. Think about it - we don't have horses or chickens which would provide us with transport or eggs and meat. We could also use them to prevent any Jurassic diseases that could get into us. Y'know. Like test subjects."

"And we could raise it on a non-human diet," Amelia added, locking eyes with Shaunia gratefully. Those were all great reasons to want to keep dinosaurs handy, and Bradley seemed to realize it too, as he relented.

Truthfully, Amelia hadn't realized the egg would hatch, and she once again felt a fist of doubt tighten in her stomach. They wouldn't have proper shelter, or proper supplies, until everyone piled to the container to take everything out. If they couldn't provide for themselves, how could they do so for a young dinosaur that would eventually grow?

Everyone was silent as they gazed down on the creature. Even though she was a little worried, Amelia couldn't deny her happiness. She was looking down at a living specimen of the very animal that had been extinct for most of her life!

This is why I'm here, she reminded herself, and she felt more content than she had in a long while.

Finally, someone broke the silence. Lale rolled his shoulders and looked to Bradley. "Well, Brad, even though marveling at a cute baby dinosaur has been fascinating, is there anywhere we could get cleaned up? Like a five-star lake with soap?"

That sprung some murmurs of agreement; everyone was tired, and dirty. The smell of vegetation, Amelia guessed, overwhelmed the scent of sweat. She knew she looked no better (and maybe even worse, with the blood smeared across her leg), and she too would've appreciated a bath at that moment.

Clever Lale, Amelia grinned internally as Bradley brightened. Nice way to change the subject.

"This way. The marsh gets deeper and leads to a lake further on." Like a tour guide for some safari resort, Bradley gestured westwards and led those who were anxious to be less caveman-like towards outside to that five-star lake.