Fossil Fuel

The forest shook with explosive energy. Before the dust settled, herds of feathered ankle-high dinosaurs scurried out. "It's happening," Amelia said, craning her neck to see beyond the treetops. Lenny bent down to examine the river of lizard birds flowing through his legs.

A single quetzalcoatlus flew overhead, even seeing it at a distance Lenny couldn't help but feel diminutive in comparison. As the world around them blossomed Lenny and Amelia overflowed with anticipation, this was the moment they had worked so hard for. It was finally happening.

Their joy was short-lived. As Lenny and Amelia stood embracing, they heard the steady, thunderous footsteps of an approaching T-Rex. "Did he escape his cage?" Lenny asked. Amelia stood silent; the answer was obvious.

Terror took over their consciousness as the duo realized they were out of options. They would have to fight. After frantically grabbing the closest makeshift weapons available, a 10 inch metal pipe and a handful of jagged rocks, they took a deep breath, and launched forward.

'I know we can take them down!', he yelled trying to overcome the fear. 'Come on, when have I ever been wrong?!', he continued trying to get her attention. 'I can't count that high!' she replied, while charging forward and waving the metal pipe in the air.

She swung as hard as she could at her first adversary with the confidence of an MLB player lining up an underhanded softball...and majestically whiffed, spiraled out, and hit the floor with a THUD. "Oof" she uttered, with a smirk. Then, out of the shadows, a wild Boag appeared...

The Boag looked just how you would expect it would, because everyone knows what a Boag is.

I was determined to fucking pet this thing if it was the last thing I did. Settling my nerves, I put my hand out, palm up, and inched closer while making baby-soothing noises, believing coo's repeating the B sound would decrease my chances of being bitten.

Boy was I wrong. Within seconds, it lunged at me sinking it’s teeth deep into my hand. I couldn’t believe this is how I would leave this sweet world. “What a way to go” I thought as I dropped to my knees in pain.

My gaze shifted from the creature, now scurrying into the underbrush, to my hand with two fresh holes, which pulsed with my heartbeat. My vision began to fade, but before it did, I noticed something suspicious about my blood in the moonlight.

As blood dripped down my forearm, spilling to the ground, I noticed a change of color. At first I thought it was the moonlight playing tricks, I paused to study closer. An illuminating iridescence began radiating within what had become a small red puddle.

Just as I had suspected. They’d been pumping me full of the stuff for months. Despite the nausea induced by my sudden realization and my throbbing wound, I decided to stay for one more song.

“Tell me why are we so blind to see that the ones we hurt are you and me.” My body was crashing, but my mind was lucid and clear. I stood there listening to Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” and finally understood. I knew what I needed to do.

Dangerous minds aren’t ever free, it’s too damn dangerous. So I walked away. Clean slate. I changed my name - no need to tempt fate - and became a sandwich artist. I’m ok. Once in a while I check out Instagram to see how they’re doing, and I’m glad I got out. Too many filters.