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I know it won't be to everyone's tastes - probably by quite a long way for most people - but have you ever had one of those moods where you absolutely have to write a brief and slightly tramply snuff scene featuring a sleek and powerful anthro raptor easily overcoming a super-lameo human challenger in an arena?
Well, me too. So I did.
Nothing sexual, and just a smidgen of not-very-gory violence, but this is still all about death. If they'd made a movie of it thirty years ago, it would have been an 18-only movie because it deals with adult themes, albeit relatively cleanly. But if someone makes a movie of it now, like a film producer who may or may not be reading this, but hopefully is, and will make a movie of it, it will probably just be a parental guidance movie because it doesn't contain anything gratuitously overt enough to make your imagination redundant.
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Haden edged into the arena, sweat already beading on his brow as the summer sun beat down relentlessly through clear blue sky. At the far end, movement caught his eye in the shadows behind the iron gate and he tightened his grip on the meagre sword and wooden shield he had been given. The sound of rusty metal pierced the air, making Haden jump despite his determination to appear unafraid before the braying audience. Slowly, the gate rose and his opponent stepped from the shadows. Haden swallowed, backing instinctively away as the blood drained from his face.
At an easy eight feet tall, intensely muscled, and coated from head to toe in smooth, jet-black scales, the anthro raptor looked more suited to fighting humans by the army than taking them on one-at-a-time. A toothy smile spread slowly across the black reptilian lips as the tall dinosaur looked Haden over, fangs gleaming with predatory malice; slowly it drew its own curved, wicked-looking blade and pointed it at him.
It was all he could do not to fall to his knees there and then, to throw himself at the mercy of his scaly foe. The thought, however, of doing so in front of hundreds of spectators was sickeningly humiliating, and there was no guarantee that it would stop the raptor from killing him. He had to fight it. It towered over him by more than two feet, but there was a good chance that the extra size would slow it down. He had to be fast, nimble.
The creature was approaching him already, its broad, clawed feet displacing generous amounts of sand as it walked - it was clearly very heavy, but the slim build of its smooth, athletic body left no doubt in his mind that the weight was entirely muscle. Haden grit his teeth and lurched forward on leaden legs to meet the creature, adrenaline churning inside him as he approached it. Its black scales gleamed in the midday sun, heat shimmering off them as they stretched and slid over the muscular contours beneath. Sweat dripped off Haden's chin, tingling as it ran down his bare chest. He couldn't prevent his frightened gaze from flickering to and fro between the eyes of his opponent, searching for signs of weakness, but the yellow eyes only gazed steadily back, remorseless and unblinking. The raptor swung at him.
Haden had only an instant in which to haul up his shield, and the curved blade thudded deep into its wood, the impact knocking him backwards. Reflex alone allowed him to keep possession of the shield as he stumbled, fingers gripping tighter to prevent him from falling, but then his attacker pulled back, wrenching the shield from his grasp, blade still embedded. Haden was yanked forward onto his hands and knees as he lost his grip, and he scrambling to twist out of the way as a savage clawed talon lashed out, sickle claw raised to slice through his vulnerable flesh. Stumbling backwards, he clamboured to his feet and brandished his sword, but the sleek reptile ignored him, using its foot to brace his shield against the ground as it tugged its sword free.
The wooden shield splintered with an unresisting crunch as the raptor stepped forward, yellow eyes locking upon the retreating human, its smile returning. Haden didn't even hear the jeering of the audience as he backed against the far wall, its cool stone comforting against his back. The lithe dinosaur followed him, its every movement calm and controlled and radiating confidence. They both knew that he was completely outclassed; at this rate it was only a matter of time before Haden was overwhelmed and killed.
In an effort not to be cornered by so powerful an opponent, he began edging around the arena wall. The raptor edged with him, its wide, easy paces and smooth movement mocking his own shaky retreat. Haden scowled at it, feeling anger displace his fear for the first time. It was mocking him, toying with him, flaunting its physical supremacy by using him for sport in front of the gathered crowds. Its victory over him would be nothing but the anticipated conclusion to an amusing game while the manner of his death provided, perhaps, a brief source of interest before the next human was brought out. Haden grit his teeth and vowed silently not to be slaughtered without a fight. There were advantages to being smaller than one's opponent...
As the raptor resumed its careful approach, he gathered himself, feeling his muscles tensing for the unbidden rush of an animal cornered. He watched the raptor's feet taking slow, measured steps forward; toes spreading and claws burrowing in the sand as they spread alternately under the weight of the big reptile. Step after slow step. He could hear the hiss of its breathing and the grinding of sand in its footsteps. After a moment its outstretched sword crossed the invisible boundary around Haden. He launched himself out of the shade of the wall and into the sun, flight singing through his veins as he tried to dodge past the raptor, but it leapt, moving its large body with astonishing speed to counter him.
Haden's subconscious reassessed his options in a fraction of a second. He swung at the raptor, lunging forward as a cry of adrenaline-fuelled rage burst forth from his dry mouth. His sword clanged against his opponent's and was swept aside as the powerful reptile parried. Haden grunted, his sword arm thrown wide, and as he reeled, the raptor's turning kick caught him squarely in the unprotected chest.
Ribs cracked loudly and Haden was flung backwards to hit the ground at a low angle, sand grinding against his back as he skidded to a halt. He gasped, doubling up reflexively as his stunned diaphragm heaved to re-inflate his flattened lungs. The pain was excruciating. Haden rolled onto his side, squirming and coiling like a snake in the midst of death throes. The ringing in his ears drowned out the sound of the raptor's footsteps, but as the big reptile's shadow fell over him, Haden groaned, his senses returning, and he strained to shuffle backwards from the approaching raptor. It caught him with smooth efficiency and pinned him under a large black foot, muting his frightened cries to a strained gurgle as its heavy limb emptied his lungs and splintered his ribs further. Haden flailed, but the hot sole remained firm and unrelenting upon him, the tall dinosaur holding him underfoot with almost casual indifference. The wicked, curved sword gleamed in the blinding sun as its owner brandished it, laying its blade against the side of his neck. Haden gasped for the air to scream, pain stinging through his chest as he struggled to grab the heavy, restraining foot, but the blade pulled back, deep yellow eyes gleaming down at him, and it shimmered as it swung down through his neck in a spurt of crimson.
An odd stinging heat cricked sharply and the world tumbled, coming to rest at an odd angle. The image that seared down into Haden's clouding eyes as they quickly starved of oxygen was that of the anthro raptor standing tall and proud over his own beheaded corpse, one foot rested victoriously upon his chest. Its arms were folded across its bare black-scaled torso and it was grinning up at the cheering audience. Haden briefly wished the raptor would look down at him, acknowledge his passing, but it didn't, and he spent his dying seconds watching its smooth, long tail sway out behind it, tracing slow, graceful arcs in the clear blue sky.
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