Rick was totally absorbed in watching the herd. It was Joe who first spotted the carnivores. He jerked up his gun and whispered loudly, 'Look at those!'
Rick turned to spot a group of five, mottled green, bi-pedal dinosaurs following the herd. They appeared to be about ten feet long and five feet high. They held their torsos and stiff tails nearly horizontal. Folded against their torsos, like the wings of birds, were long arms that ended in three-fingered hands, tipped with large curved, claws. Their long, flexible necks were held upright. Their quick head movements reminded Rick of birds. The heads were terrible to behold, with large mouths filled with curved, pointed teeth and fierce yellow eyes peering above deep, rounded snouts.
'
'Are they as mean as they look?'
'Meaner. You can't see their toe claw. It's extra big and shaped like a curved sickle.'
'Let's get out of here.'
'We don't look like their prey; we shouldn't act like it either. Better to stay still.'
'That's not so damn easy,' Joe whispered back.
'Just remember—to them, we're invisible.'
'I don't feel invisible. Besides, what are they doing here? They can't take on one of those big, horned mon- sters.'
- 'One theory is they're pack hunters. They might be following the herd looking for an opportunity, an animal that's vulnerable in some way.'
The herd appeared to be aware of the carnivores, but not panicked by their presence. The Torosauruses occa- sionally lowered their horns to warn the pack of Dro-maeosauruses to keep their distance. Each group followed its part in the dance of life and death that had been performed for millennia. Rick and Joe warily watched the Dromaeosaurus pack until it moved to the other side of the herd and was out of sight. The pressure of the herd finally forced the lead animals down the bank and into the river. The water was brown and swollen by spring rains, but not deep. Near the shore, it only reached the ceratopsids' calves. Once the first an-imals entered the river, the herd followed. A peninsula of flesh extended into the river disrupting its flow. A sound resembling rapids arose as the current broke against the trunklike legs of the dinosaurs. Toward the farther shore of the river, the channel was deeper, and only the dinosaurs' broad backs and huge heads were above the water. The crossing at that point became more chaotic as the animals struggled against the current. One of the smaller individuals was swept downstream. The herd ignored its bellows and continued to cross.
The dinosaur was carried by the current about fifty yards to a stretch of water closer to the near shore. There it regained its footing. It stood motionless for a minute, catching its breath before wading to shallower water close to Rick and Joe. Only when the animal was almost at the riverbank did it head upstream to rejoin the herd. It moved slowly, limping with its right front leg. Rick and Joe did not notice that the Dromaeosauruses had entered the river until they approached the stranded animal. Three cut off its path to the herd while the other two approached from the rear. The Torosaurus lowered its head so its horns pointed at the three predators block-ing its way. It made a short, feinting charge, and they backed off. The Torosaurus was still shaking its head at its three foes when one of the other two Dromaeosauruses rushed and dug its claws into the Torosaurus's flank. The Torosaurus bellowed and whirled about. Its attacker re-leased its grip and retreated. Another Dromaeosaurus charged. It dug its claws into its victim's flank, straightened its arms, and jumped. As it rose, it slashed out with its large toe claw. The claw raked through skin and muscle. The Torosaurus, bellow-ing in pain, swung around, but its tormentor leapt beyond its reach. The drawing of first blood seemed to encourage the predators, for they moved in closer. Still, they at- tacked warily, quickly darting in and, just as quickly, retreating. Although the beleaguered Torosaurus was still able to fend off most attacks, the number of its wounds steadily increased. With each long, bloody gash, its abil-ity to defend itself diminished. Eventually, it stood still, seeming unable or unwilling to move. A Dromaeosaurus dug its claws into its prey's ribs and kicked repeatedly at its belly, tearing it open. Intestines tumbled out. The Torosaurus's hoarse, high-pitched wail seemed almost mournful to Rick. Spurred by pain, it sud-denly twisted around and impaled its assailant with one of its horns. The skewered Dromaeosaurus thrashed about as the Torosaurus lifted and shook its head. After a min-ute, its attacker hung limp. The great horned head drooped, and the carnivore slid off into the river. It slowly tumbled in the current, its blood mingling with its victim's. That was the Torosaurus's last act of defiance. Its head remained drooped, yet it stood on unsteady legs. Rick could hear its labored breathing. One of the Dro-maeosauruses bit the intestines trailing in the river and began to tug at them.
'How can you watch this?' said Joe, raising his gun to fire.
Rick stopped him by putting his hand on the barrel. 'It's nature's way. You eat meat, don't you?'
'Not like that!'
'It's all the same in the end.'
The four remaining predators swarmed over their help-less prey in a final frenzy of kicking and slashing. The Torosaurus fell over on its side and lay still in the red-stained water. The frenzy subsided. The Dromaeosau-ruses began to feed. After the violence of the kill, the scene seemed almost peaceful. As Rick and Joe watched the carnivores feast, they saw the Torosaurus move one last time. A huge crocodile had seized its tail. The Dromaeosauruses watched helplessly as their meal was dragged off into deep water and dis-appeared.
'Why this is just a vacation paradise!' said Joe. 'Let's go-' Rick was reluctant to leave, but acquiesced. He turned for
