Messummer

“Messummer, what are you doing?” Mom’s harsh voice passed through the tallest rock towers of the Valley of Green. It held so much power that I almost fell off the disjointed ledge down to the watering hole. It ran through the heart of the valley. The constant rays from the sun and blue sky made that river the clearest one yet.

I peered over my furry, brownish-gray shoulder at my mother, but I almost poked her with my sharp beak. “What does it look like, Mom? I’m practicing for the Great Flying Race. These wings are ready for action.” I opened my long, membrane-covered wings and showed off my muscles, as well as the three claws at my elbow joints.

“And how many times do I have to tell you?” Mom bumped my red crest with her delicate chin. “You’re not old enough to fly in it.”

“I’m two years old! Give me a break! Watch this.” Without asking for permission, I let myself drop off the ledge’s side.

“Messummer! Messummer! Oh, you are in so much trouble!” Mom dug her claws into the dirt that surrounded our nest–where I once had my four brothers and sisters, but then a sharp-toothed monster with scrawny arms ate them.

Not to mention the Volcanic Lowlands incinerated my dad when he tried to confront the beast. Now, it was just Mom and me.

I flipped onto my front and held my wings out to my sides. The warm air currents gushed through them, giving me lift. I flew under the vast blueness: through archways that jutted out from other rock towers, and white clouds that temporarily blinded me. Yet, I relied on my instincts to find the invisible path, and it took me to the green forest below.

I landed gently and skewered the moist sand with my claws. Speckles of sunlight washed over every inch of my large body: my skinny legs, fur, and small, hole-like ears. “How’s that, Mom?” I called into the atmosphere.

No answer. She did not follow me down. I wondered why. Perhaps she was finally giving me some leeway? I hoped so because... Wait, what was that? My nostrils picked up something... something fresh... something tasty. Eggs, my favorite. Where was that smell coming from? Over there by the tall grass? Over there by the Yellow Meadow? Over–oh, there they were.

The nest was completely exposed and bundled up in a cluster of leaves next to a small river that fed into the watering hole. Three, large eggs waited for me. It wasn’t their whiteness that grabbed my attention; it was the black spots that dotted each egg. My beak would soon puncture those little eyes. Blind your prey, first, and then make your move. That’s what Dad taught me before he died.

I kept my claws in the dirt–to help with my balance–and tiptoed to the nest, hiding behind an overgrown bush. Now all I had to do was wait. Luckily, it wasn’t for long.

Cracks appeared in one of the eggs. A tiny, three-toed foot appeared, and then another one, then a tail, and finally, a head. The sharp-toothed baby flipped onto his backside. A squeaky growl left his lips. Too bad, dude, but no parents meant no protection. If I was going to get him, then right there was my chance. Or not.

“PPMC, what have you done?” The sky shook with the shrill. It scared my prey back into his egg. Except, he had a hard time covering himself with the egg pieces; his arms were so short.

What in the world was that strange sound? I turned my head to the left. It sounded like it came from over there, beyond the Clumped Woodlands.

I pushed myself through the branches. Thorns caught my membrane, but I shook them off. It was so dark and cramped. I tripped over a log and fell into an open meadow–Glowbeak Meadow. We called it that because of the different-colored plants in it. They shimmered at night under the full moon. Except, that wasn’t the case that day. There were two, very different creatures–some I had never seen before–there, instead. One was small, and the other was quite large.

The small creature, who stood on two legs, lifted a part of his body that had five, small appendages at the end of it. It was attached to–what I assumed–was his arm. He banged the silver body of the large creature. I noticed he held one of the different-colored plants in his appendages... claws... whatever they were. “Flowers, PPMC!” he said. “Flowers appeared in the Cretaceous Period, not the Jurassic!”

“No, no,” the larger figure, who had no visible mouth, argued. “Maybe scientists just got the history of flowers wrong.”

“Ah, shut up!”

Something in my throat bounced up and down. Was I laughing? The small creature intrigued me. He looked so different. It was like he was an entirely different species. His friend was the same, but I asked myself if she was truly alive. Her voice did not bounce up and down with tone. It stayed steady. The small figure was the complete opposite.

"PPMC,” he groaned, “I think your time machine dropped us off in the wrong time period.”

Ooh, what’s a time machine? I had never heard that term before. Those creatures were definitely not from around here, were they?

To get a closer look, I plopped down on my front and dragged myself through the colored plants. Dust from them settled on my fur, so now there were yellow dots mixed in with the brown. My dark eyes did not leave the mysterious strangers. I soon noticed that the larger figure, too, had a body part that had five appendages. Hers was white, but the smaller creature’s was tan with some black just behind them. He carried an unusual box on his left arm.

“All right, Dan, if you’re so smart, then why don’t you check your gauntlet?” PPMC asked.

“All right, I will.” Dan lifted his left wrist. He pressed something on the box. Right when he did, a smaller, thinner box left the main one.

“Welcome, Dan,” said a voice that sounded similar to PPMC’s. “Currently, you are in the Mesozoic Era, Cretaceous Period: sixty-five million years ago.”

“Sixty-five?” Dan stamped his foot. “Oh, great, PPMC. We weren’t supposed to go back to any mass extinctions.”

PPMC took hold of his shoulders. She turned him in my direction, so I quickly ducked before they could see me. “Now, Dan,” she said, “does that look like the K-T Mass Extinction to you?”

What’s the K-T Mass Extinction? These creatures were speaking all sorts of gibberish. Perhaps that was why I liked them so much?

Screeches in the sky distracted me. I tilted up my head and nodded to my kind, who flew parallel with the clouds. I should have not done that.

“Dan, duck! Monster!” PPMC pulled Dan to the ground. She covered him with her silver claws. That was what I was going to call them. His face disappeared behind a few of the taller plants.

“Danger, danger!” I heard his box announce. “Quetzalcoatlus! Quetzalcoatlus!” I decided to stop my “what” questions. I would figure things out myself.

“Will you get off me, you son of a–!” Dan shoved PPMC’s claws off him.

That was when I noticed something. The youth had a giant tear in his white-skinned leg. Caked blood surrounded the tan under it. He was injured. Well, that wasn’t a problem. Mom would fix him up. Yeah, yeah, I would take him to Mom.

With a flap of my wings, I leaped out of the cluster where I had been hiding. I zoomed to Dan and grabbed his shoulders in my claws, lifting him into the sky.

“Ahh!” he yelled, suddenly traumatized by my presence.

“Fly, Quetzalcoatlus! Fly!” PPMC shouted from below. “Oh, wait. She’s got Dan.” To my surprise, she tucked her arms and claws into her body. Her round feet rolled across the meadow, and her clear eyes glowed bright yellow. She lifted a few feet off the ground, but then she fell back onto it. “Dang it,” I heard her say.

"PPMC, you owe me!” Dan shouted from my claws. “Help! Help!”

Oh, shut up, would you?