Author's note: I recently read this novel called Raptor Red that is written from the point of view of a female Utahraptor. It had no spoken dialogue, but the author did slightly anthropomorphize the animals in the novel to describe their thoughts.

So, since writing this sequel to Speckles the Tarbosaurus/The Dino King the way I was originally, with spoken dialogue, was going slowly, I decided to start over from scratch, writing similarly to how Raptor Red is written (no dialogue, less anthropomorphism). I feel like it will be much better this way.

Prologue:

A Spinosaurus' Rampage

A pair of large eyes watches a Charonosaurus from the cover of the dense jungle blanketing the peninsula. They belong to an adult male Tarbosaurus, one of the largest carnivorous dinosaur species in all of Asia. A smaller Tarbosaurus watches him from a few feet away. This is the other Tarbosaurus' son, and it is his time to learn about hunting. A Tarbosaurus' brain isn't capable of forming words to speak, but if the images he learned as a hatchling could be put into human language, he would call himself Speckles for the dark green birthmark on the right side of his snout. He would call his son, rather simply, Junior.

Speckles is a twenty-five-year-old Tarbosaurus whose life, like most dinosaurs that lived seventy million years ago in what would become known as Korea in the modern era, got off to a rough start. When he was only one year old, a Tyrannosaurus Rex that he identifies as One-Eye in his brain because of an injury he carried, attacked his family's nest. His older brother and twin sisters were killed in the stampede. Their mother had fought One-Eye, but she was ultimately forced off a cliff by the Tyrannosaurus. It was over two decades before Speckles avenged his family when One-Eye was killed by a pair of Tylosaurus during their fight in the nearby ocean.

But losing his mother and siblings is hardly the only tragedy that Speckles dealt with over the past two decades. He found a mate after chasing One-Eye out of his family's nesting grounds and they produced three hatchlings, but a sudden volcanic eruption ruined that all for him. Their only escape route had been through the mountain, and in the resulting cave in, one of their hatchlings was crushed by a boulder and his mate, whom he had identified as Blue-Eyes in reference to her eye color, was wounded saving another hatchling. Blue-Eyes passed on two weeks into the migration toward this very peninsula from an infection in her leg, paired with the slight starvation and dehydration beginning to affect them. Speckles still remembered trying to fight off a pack of starving Velociraptors that saw Blue-Eyes as a better prize than the fallen Pukyongosaurus they had been about to feast on. After a final moment that the Velociraptors seemingly allowed the Tarbosaurus family, Speckles and the two hatchlings had to leave Blue-Eyes' body to the raptors.

It was after this that One-Eye returned for a last battle. He had made it to this peninsula before Speckles' family and the suffering migratory herd of herbivores. One-Eye killed one of the hatchlings before getting what he deserved. Junior is all Speckles has left to remind him of Blue-Eyes. It is exactly one year since Blue-Eyes' passing, and they have not forgotten her, or the other two hatchlings.

Speckles tries not to let his tragic life distract him from teaching his only son how to hunt. He is extraordinarily large for a Tarbosaurus, standing fourteen feet tall at the shoulders and forty feet long, and weighing five-and-a-half tons. His skull is over four-and-a-half feet long. This gives him an edge that most Tarbosaurus didn't have when it came to hunting. He sees further than most ever hoped to see, and by being larger than other, albeit rare, members of his species, he kills the most prey to keep him and his son well fed. Other Tarbosaurus never bother Speckles when he is on the hunt. He only wishes that the Velociraptors had been that way when Blue-Eyes was dying.

The female Charonosaurus is grazing alone out in the field. She is unaware of the two Tarbosaurus watching her graze from the jungle, waiting for the perfect moment to attack. Junior knows he has to only watch how his father hunts this time. So far, he has only chased lizards and harmless insects around their nesting around. But now, Speckles believes he is mature enough to learn how to hunt real prey. Speckles makes sure his son knows to wait here until he gives a signal, then he moves forward to get a better view of the Charonosaurus. She is still grazing without a care in the world.

Speckles digs his claws into the sandy soil, gritting his three-inch teeth together, and then storms out of the forest roaring. The Charonosaurus lets out a panicked below and begins running across the beach. But Speckles won't let her get away. His son is watching and he hasn't seen his dad hunt before now. Speckles doesn't want to disappoint him now, finally teaching him the concept of hunting, of all times. Junior watches his father chasing the Charonosaurus intently, not wanting to miss a thing. He is watching with so much focus that he doesn't notice, nor hear, something moving through the forest behind him.

The Charonosaurus bellows out in fear again. It doesn't matter how hard she tries to outrun the pursuing Tarbosaurus. The carnivore is hungry. A hungry Tarbosaurus can reach speeds upward of forty miles-per-hour when it is hungry. The Charonosaurus is forty feet from head to tail, just like the pursuing Tarbosaurus, and weighs a ton more, but it won't help her any. The extra two thousand pounds of weight she has to carry meant she ran slower than a Tarbosaurus did.

But Charonosaurus does have a hidden, potential advantage over Tarbosaurus: She does weight an extra ton than he does, but her body is less bulky than a Tarbosaurus' body is. She isn't capable of running faster than the predator chasing her, but she is less prone to accidents, whether it be turning faster or just avoiding tripping over her own feet. She also has a determination that the Tarbosaurus does not: the Charonosaurus has a will to live, for her hatchlings' sake. Their father was killed by in the stampede caused by One-Eye the year before.

If Speckles knew the equally tragic past of this Charonosaurus, and about her hatchlings that would become orphans if she died, he just might let her live, in spite of needing to teach Junior about hunting. But Speckles doesn't know either of these things. The Charonosaurus, who would simply call herself Chara in her mind if dinosaurs had an understanding of language, picks up the pace.

This sudden increase in speed even surprises Speckles. He has never seen a Charonosaurus run nearly as fast as his own species does. They aren't known for being faster than predatory species, but this female was.

I wonder if she has a reason to try harder than most prey does, the Tarbosaurus wondered in his brain. Maybe she…

It occurs to Speckles when he glances back at Junior, who has obediently remained hidden back in the jungle. He is still watching his dad hunt the Charonosaurus. His prey of choice today is a mother. Much to his son and the Charonosaurus' surprise, Speckles begins to slow down until he isn't even running fifteen miles per hour.

Junior can't believe it when he sees his dad turn away from the Charonosaurus he has been chasing without second thought up until now. He wonders what got into his dad all of a sudden. It isn't like him to just call off a hunt without making a kill when there is no threat of danger, when no one has been hurt.

Speckles looks in the direction of his only son again. At first, he seems content, showing no regrets about letting the Charonosaurus go free. Junior wonders what his reason for this is. But then, just as suddenly as he decided to let his prey live, Speckles' expression changes. He looks absolutely horrified now, as he is looking at his son.

Dad? Junior wonders silently. Now he is worried, but not about his dad. Speckles is now in a dead run back to where he left his son in safety. But Junior's hiding spot isn't safe anymore.

And Junior himself is about to realize that. The ground he is standing on begins to shake, but he knows it's not an earthquake. He's been through those before. This is different, not as violent as an earthquake is. Even a Tarbosaurus as young as Junior is learns to recognize the footfalls of a dinosaur walking, and use them to identify what they belong to. Junior knows it's not another Tarbosaurus. They aren't heavy enough to be that loud when they walk.

Then he hears its roar. It is much louder than any Tyrannosaur species can roar. And it sounds angry. Junior begins to wonder if his dad should have really left him here. The young Tarbosaurus looks back, and now realizes that the jungle behind him is swampy. There is one dinosaur species that calls swamps home, and it is not one that takes kindly to intruders.

That is Spinosaurus, a carnivore even larger than Tarbosaurus is. Junior has never seen one up close and personal before, but he knows how large and aggressive they can be, especially when they feel that their territory is being invaded. Spinosaurus can be anywhere from forty-one to fifty-nine feet long from head to tail, anywhere from one to nineteen feet longer than even the largest Tarbosaurus.

Spinosaurus also dwarfs Tarbosaurus in height and weight, standing upwards of fifteen to twenty feet tall (one to six feet taller than Speckles is), and weighing seven to nine tons. That is two to three more tons than Speckles weights, but none of that extra bulk is fat. Spinosaurus are one-hundred perfect muscle and they are proud of it. They will fight anything that gets in their way by themselves, and they do not show any fear until they break bones. They are the most resilient and aggressive, but also the least common, carnivorous dinosaur in all of Asia.

Native to northeastern Africa, a few Spinosaurus have begun migrating as far east across Asia as South Korea. Instinct drew this one Spinosaurus to the swampland on this peninsula long before Speckles, his son, and the herd of herbivores arrived here. He has not paid much attention to them. Until now, that is. They were getting to close to his swampland territory, and he does not like that. This is the Spinosaurus' territory. He's going to do something about it.

Now is when Junior sees him. First, there is the twenty-foot shadow casting itself over the immature Tarbosaurus. Junior isn't any taller than twelve feet right now. As far as a Spinosaurus would be concerned, he's just another dinosaur to chomp on (even if he does prefer to eat fish from the nearby sea to other dinosaurs, he's no stranger to eating other dinosaurs when he needs to).

The crocodile-like snout confirms for Junior that this is a Spinosaurus. That is all he sees of it, however, until it gets closer. Other than its telltale snout filled with dozens of four-inch serrated teeth, Junior saw its five-foot high sail on its blood. Its rusty blood-red color stood out against the green of the forest.

Finally, the Spinosaurus stuck its head through the canopy, jaws wide open and roaring furiously at the Tarbosaurus whom he felt is an invader in the swamplands that are traditionally his family's territory. He isn't going to hand it over to a lesser carnivore species, especially not one that is just a juvenile, without a fight.

Junior lets out a frightened roar, then he charges right out of the swampy forest in a hurry. He is fast, but he is also young. The Spinosaurus has no trouble catching up with the intruder. This Spinosaurus, who thinks of himself as Shriker in his much larger brain, has never been so furious before. All it took to set him off is a non-Spinosaur species invading the swamplands. He didn't like dinosaurs that aren't in the same family of species as himself, except if he is going to have them for dinner. And when it came down to letting his own species in, they better be family to him, or a female looking for a mate.

Shriker has not yet mated. The only Spinosaurus, other than himself, he has seen lately have all been males who are not related to him in the least. He chases them out of his territory without second thought. Many of the females were no different. If he didn't feel like they would be a good mate, he chased them off, too. This is his family's nest, and he won't let just anyone into it. Shriker is not a generous Spinosaurus and he never has been, nor will he ever. He's been through too many tragedies to trust just anyone, not even much of his own species, anymore.

Dad! Junior screams in his brain as he runs to where his father was hunting. But now, Speckles is running to his son. He saw the Spinosaurus before anyone else had, but he was too late to get his son out of there before it attacked. Now, all of the gathered dinosaurs are watching this unfold. They knew who Speckles was, and remember him as the Tarbosaurus that saved their herd by fighting off One-Eye the year before. Many of them died, including one of his hatchlings, but it was Speckles alone who prevented further loss of life on that day. So they are all willing to let Speckles live on the peninsula with them, accepting the fact that their hero of sorts must also eat them to survive. They would rather have Speckles here to deal with someone like One-Eye again than not have him. And it is looking like today, Speckles might just have to do that. They have never seen a Spinosaurus on the peninsula before, and are assuming he is a rogue carnivore trying to steal territory from them just as One-Eye did to Speckles on many occasions throughout the Tarbosaurus' life.

Junior feels Shriker's hot breath when jaws clamp down just behind his neck. They narrowly miss making a fatal bite into Junior's jugular vein. With teeth that large and jaws that powerful, he would have bled out in a minute if Shriker had scored a direct hit. But missing only makes Shriker more furious than he already is.

The Spinosaurus kicks up dirt and picks up the pace. Junior panics. His dad is still several meters away from the case. The young Tarbosaurus has never been chased by a larger predator before. He doesn't know what to do, except for keep running. But his young legs haven't had the time to build up their muscle bulk, and Junior is growing tired fast.

Shriker senses this. He can hear his target breathing heavily. His instinct tells him that this young Tarbosaurus is growing fatigue quickly. He won't last much longer, Shriker thinks. I'll teach him for walking blindly into my family's traditional nesting grounds like he did.

Then it happens. Dad! Junior wants to cry out, but since his dinosaur brain can't form words, he just roars happily. Speckles body slams the much larger Spinosaurus. This catches Shriker off guard, and he almost falls over onto the swampy beach.

Oh? Shriker thinks hatefully. Now there are two of you? Fine. I'll just kill you first, then I'll get your son.

Shriker starts off the fight with a swing of his powerful and lengthy right arm. The three knife-like claws graze Speckles across the face. Speckles doesn't realize what hit him until he sees tiny bits of flesh hanging from Shriker's claws, which are dripping with his blood.

The site of his own blood sends Speckles into a rage. He attacks the Spinosaurus, locking his jaws around the attacker's throat. But Shriker quickly shakes him off. With the extra three tons of pure muscle weight he has on Speckles is a lot of extra strength that his enemy can't even hope to ever have.

He has another advantage that Speckles' kind never will: longer, three-fingered arms.

Now, Shriker uses these arms to grab Speckles across by the head, and throw him to the ground like a ragdoll. The Tarbosaurus roars as he falls to the ground. It is a distress call.

Junior responds. Instinct replaces his natural fear of this Spinosaurus and he rushes in to defend his father. Shriker is unaware of this until he feels a tearing pain in his muscular hind leg. The Spinosaurus' head whips around furiously to see who dare attack him.

That brat! Again? Shriker thinks. I'll teach you to attack me like that. You'll respect those stronger than you are after I'm done. If I don't kill you first.

Shriker shakes off the attacker who is half his height and turns to deal with him. He thinks of this young dinosaur as nothing more than a minor annoyance. But if he must deal with this brat first, then so be it.

Leave my dad alone, is what Junior is thinking. He has almost forgotten about being afraid. He doesn't want to see his dad die. But he can't fight something as large as a Spinosaurus is.

And he learns that now, when he feels three dagger claws tearing through the skin over his ribs. This attack is immediately followed by Shriker kicking him in the gut. He is lucky this second attack doesn't split his belly open. Junior falls to the ground, doubling up in pain. The young Tarbosaurus emits a low, guttural growl that is a mix of pain and admitting defeat.

This will be your last mistake, Shriker thinks. I'll rip you out of this world like I'll rip your throat out, then I'll finish off your dad too.

Junior sees the crocodilian jaws about to lock around his throat. He brain tells him to react, but he is too hurt to get up fast. He closes his eyes, ready to accept the fate that is about to befall him. He expects to feel his throat being torn out before dying any minute now.

What feels like an eternity passes, and Junior doesn't feel any more pain. But he does hear what sounds like two dinosaurs fighting. He finally opens his does, and sees his dad fighting Shriker! Weakly, Junior stands up to watch. He won't be able to interfere again, and he won't be able to run away either, if he has to. Junior is sure Shriker broke a few of his ribs with that brief onslaught. His chest is throbbing painfully. Four of his ribs do not feel like they are connected together anymore.

Leave my son out of this! Speckles wants to yell at the Spinosaurus.

Speckles is biting, clawing, and roaring at Shriker simultaneously. He appears to be gaining the upper hand, but then a set of crocodilian jaws lock down over the back of his neck. He can't maneuver freely anymore. Speckles bellows, painfully, for his son to just run for his life.

Junior refuses. He can't let his dad die here. He's all he has left. But what can he do? He's just a juvenile Tarbosaurus, and his first attempt at trying to help his dad earned him three broken ribs.

Somebody! Help! Junior wants to cry out. It comes out as a distress roar.

The Tarbosaurus juvenile wants to cry. He knows he is going to lose his father. There's nothing he can do to stop the Spinosaurus. But then he looks over to the herd of herbivores who had only been watching the fight until now. Relief begins coursing through Junior's body when he sees a Pukyongosaurus alpha male charging across the beach, with two other large males of the species following him.

Shriker pauses. His jaws remain around the Tarbosaurus' bleeding neck. His teeth continue digging into the back of Speckle's neck. He isn't anywhere near the jugular vein, but Speckles is already bleeding profusely. The sand has run red with Speckles' blood.

But something is distracting the Spinosaurus now. He wonders if it an earthquake. Then he sees them, three furious Pukyongosaurus males storming across the desert like eighty foot-long and forty-eight foot tall tanks. They leave sand clouds in their wake.

Shriker drops the Tarbosaurus onto the swampy beach. He'll deal with him later. If these three Pukyongosaurus want a fight, they'll get one. He'll tear their throats out just like he will to the Tarbosaurus family.

The Spinosaurus charges the shortest of the Pukyongosaurus. He expects to lock his teeth into the sauropod's chest, but he feels something strike against his ribcage hard. He feels upwards of five rib bones breaking at once and nearly falls to the ground. Weakly getting back up, Shriker realizes that the Pukyongosaurus alpha male struck him across the side with its whip-like tail.

He roars weakly and thinks this through now. Shriker considers his odds of actually killing three enraged Pukyongosaurus, looks up at these towering beasts, and then turns away. He limps off away from them as they bellar loudly, feeling defeated. The Spinosaurus is holding his broken ribs as he limps off. The Pukyongosaurus' attack sprained a bone in his left leg, too.

Even if he doesn't die from this, the Pukyongosaurus alpha male thinks, they won't see this Spinosaurus again. He'll know better than to come here again.

Junior has gotten back up. He barely notices that Shriker has left. All he cares about is his dad. The adult Tarbosaurus is still laying on the ground, groaning in a low tone of agony. Shriker not only tore up the muscles in the back of his neck pretty bad, he broke one rib on each side of his body, clawed the left side of his face-up, and nearly tore one of his small arms clean off. His right arm was broken, dangling there uselessly. Speckles was too hurt to get up.

Dad… Junior thought as he limped toward Speckles. Please don't die. I can't go on without you.

The young Tarbosaurus lays his head down on his father's head. If his body chemistry allowed his eyes to make tears, he would be crying. He fears his father is dying. Not much can help a wounded animal seventy million years ago except for their will to live.

Speckles can only rely on himself to get better. He will die if he doesn't want to recover from his injuries.