Ch 219: Stomp within the Night

Those raptors charged the trees and we were out of there. Kai took us deep into a forest. Everybody sat on the thick tree limbs. Thump! This loud stomp came from afar. I stared below and saw a clearing where a pack of tyrannosaurus was nesting. Their babies were three feet tall but their hatchlings were no bigger than a newborn pup. This one nest had a huge adult curled up sleeping by its newly hatched infants. The adults and the babies were the same color as the forest, which was like a muddy green color.

"In their pack, they communicate on who hunts or stays behind to watch the young ones," Kai educated me.

While that same distance stomping got close. Then coming out from the thick trees, seven adults and three juveniles came forth with their meal for the day. The one had that raptor in its jaws. Which was sad to see, but I know if they don't eat, they'll die. The rest had slabs of meaty flesh stripped from the bone of a larger dinosaur they must have ambushed.

Like the raptors, they laid the meat on the ground and allowed the young ones to eat. By using their sharp teeth and feet, the adults tore the flesh into smaller portions and put it inside each nest for the hatchlings to eat. Amazingly, there was no fighting and they got along like a well-organized family.

Once dinner time approached, Kai took us back to the camp.

"Some of us need to hunt," Kai informed me. "Rome is in charge. So do as he says and don't leave the stakes."

Before I can make my complaint. He left with Jack and ten guardians.

I huffed, so annoyed and Rome chuckled. "Don't worry, Princess. I only have one rule, which is to stay within the stakes."

The five guardians chuckled at his comment.

"Well, since I have nothing to do. Do you need any help preparing dinner?" I asked, taking a seat on this log between him and a guardian helping Rome with the food.

"If you wanna chop some veggies, I won't stop you," Rome said. "I'm making this more for you compared to us."

Seeing how they're vampires, I understand that comment. I giggled and took the cutting board and knife he handed me. Sitting across us, over the fire pit, two guardians were shaving sticks into pointy tips.

"Are you making weapons," I asked them, but they laughed at me.

"We are weapons," the one guardian answered. "We're making s'mores tonight for dessert."

"That sounds yummy," I giggled, getting a watery mouth at that idea.

"I figured you might like that," Rome chuckled as he was chopping up chicken.

After everything was chopped, we poured veggies, chicken, and rice into a small pot and then hung it over the fire. Once it was nearly done. He poured melted cheddar cheese on it. Then he served me the first bowl. Afterward, Rome and the other guardians each took a small portion and ate with me.

"So the rest of you learned to eat human food?" I asked after I swallowed my food.

Across from us, one of the guardians replied, "Yup, we made that choice."

I frowned and poked at my food. "I wish Kai would change."

Aside from the left, another guardian informed me. "We still have to drink blood and we crave that feeling for the hunt. We don't have control over that need to hunt humans."

I ask because they were drinking human blood from their cups, "Drinking blood from a cup doesn't help?"

A vampire sitting from the right replied to my question, "Unfortunately, it doesn't. Hunting is addictive and we can't always control it."

I stirred my food, frowning.

"Remember, Kai tried a pizza roll only for you, Princess," Rome reminded me, which brought a small smile to my face. Maybe in due time, I can alter his ways.

Kai, Jack, and the ten vampires returned while Rome and I were washing the pot and dishes we used from inside a bucket that was filled with lake water. Once done, he poured the soapy water on the ground, which would filter out by this force field.

Then Rome and the five vampires left to hunt as well. They didn't return until nightfall. The s'mores were bought out and most of us had snacked on them. Six vampires, Jack, and Kai didn't go near them.

Pregnancy sickness only allowed me to have one, so Kai made me mint tea to help settle my stomach. Which worked like magic.

After dessert, we laid out sleeping bags around the fire. Kai snuggles in one with me to keep me extra warm. Since he has extra body heat.

He leaned on his forearm when everyone quietly talked. I figured they were waiting for me to fall asleep since they didn't sleep.

Little did anyone know, I was lost in the sky. A beautiful aqua color shimmered in the sky like a clear ocean. Stars shone like seashells that had been freshly polished. Shooting stars even looked like fish swimming across it. It's nothing like I've ever seen.

"Are you ready to go into the tent?" Kai asked me.

"No, I'm comfortable here," I replied. "That mint leaf helped my stomach."

"Good," he plainly said and I could tell he was trying not to be stingy. But he was almost failing at it, yet I decided to dismiss him.

An hour passed, and my eyes were getting heavy until I heard. Thump! Thump! Thump! I looked into my cup of tea next to me and saw the liquid moving in waves to every beat.

Everyone stopped chatting once they heard it and Kai whispered when he hugged my waist. "Just remember we are safe in this force field, so don't panic or try to run."

My heart was pounding from anxiety. I sat up but Kai was sure to keep me from going anywhere from the way he held my waist. I guess after what I pulled today, I had him on alert.

I looked over to the side and saw a herd of tyrannosauruses walking outside the force field. They went up to the lake and drank from it. Then a few of them collect water in their mouths before they go back from where they came. The sight was astonishing.