What happened to Glowbeak Meadow? It no longer carried an abundance of color but of flames and petrified creatures.
Hold on, that dead flier over there beside the burning woods looked familiar. No, it couldn't have been. "Mom!" I screeched. I shoved Dan, knocking him right off his floating object. He fell face-first into the grass. "Mom!" I called again. I opened my wings, but a searing pain shot up my left one, all the way to the shoulder, and I toppled over. I crawled the rest of the way to her. "Mom, no," I cried. She lay on her front, her wings in tatters, and her beak turned to the left. The fire rapidly closed in on us, but I refused to leave my mother's side.
I heard Dan stop behind me. "Becca. Oh, no," he whimpered. He fell to his knees and rested his claws on my good wing.
I buried my face in my mother's tummy. "Mommy, please." I nudged her. "Get up." She did not move. I tugged her wing, her leg, and even her crest. Still nothing. "Please," I begged again. It was no use. "I'm sorry," I cried. "I should have never left you for that stupid race. If only I had known."
"Becca, it's not your fault." Dan finally understood me. He gripped either side of my furry cheeks. "The dinosaurs did not know this would happen. I don't want you to worry, though." He cuddled close to me. "I'll stay with you until all of this is over."
"Dan, you can't," I grumbled. "You don't belong here."
"But I love you."
"I know. And I love you, my son."
"Wait... son?" Dan let me go. He fell onto his backside and crawled away from me. Squinting his eyes, he hugged his floating object close to him.
I gave him a quick nod. "Yes." Half of my spirit left my body. It changed from a Quetzalcoatlus to a creature that looked just like Dan. She had his short brown hair and large chestnut eyes.
Dan inched closer to me. "You followed me, just like you promised in 3023."
"I said I would be with you—in forms both 'big and small'," I explained. We hooked our claws together and playfully moved our arms back and forth.
With his free hand, Dan rubbed his eye. "Mom," he sniffed.
"I'm here, son." We embraced. Dan hugged my spirit—not the body I resided in. We let go, and I titled up his chin. "You've grown so much in five years, son. But I want you to know something. You do not belong here. You belong front in your time. It's too dangerous for you to stay."
"But, Mom." Dan held my wrist close to his cheek. "I don't want to lose you again."
"You won't," I explained, patting his cheek. "I will always be with you. I need you to be strong for Messummer and her mom."
"So, her name is Messummer." Dan let me go. He peered down at my pterosaur form. She lay down beside her mom and set her beak on her wing.
"Travel back through that wormhole," I said. "Tell your dad I love him."
"Mom? Mom?"
"I love you, Dan." I gave his cheek a quick kiss, and then I dove back into my prehistoric body. The second I did, a bright light flashed behind Dan. In the hot, red atmosphere, PPMC appeared.
She offered him her metallic claws. "Come on, Dan."
"No." Dan grabbed my tattered wing. He moved away when another flier tumbled out of the sky. He coughed through the smoke of the approaching fire. It was a perfect ring, enough to engulf even the largest sharp-toothed beast. "I'm not going to leave her, PPMC. I'll die with her." Dan cried up a storm. However, it was so hot that his tears instantly vaporized. He crawled on top of me and wrapped his arms around my neck. "She's my mom."
"I think this is why we got sent back to the Cretaceous Period instead," PPMC said. "You need to move on, Dan. That's what Becca is trying to tell you."
I nudged Dan, telling him everything was going to be okay. It was time for our kind to die, but not his. He had his whole life ahead of him. As for us, we had our share on the earth. Spending my last few minutes with Dan and my mom was all I wanted.
Dan rolled off me, sniffing. He grasped either side of my beak. "I love you, Becca," he cried, closing his eyes. "Thank you for showing me your world."
"It's my pleasure, Dan." I sniffed his fur like before, and it again stuck up on his head.
PPMC again gave him her claws. He kissed me one last time and hopped into them with his floating object. His friend pulled him toward her black underbody.
"Bye, Mom! Bye!" Dan called. "I'll never forget you!"
"Stay safe," I said back.
"Bye!" With that word, my son vanished into his starship, safe and sound.
PPMC stalled a bit, and then she flew forward. After only a minute, she disappeared, and I was left alone with my mom.
I examined the chaos: the scattering creatures, the earthquake, which shook harder and faster, and the flaming rocks that continued to fall. The enormous, electric storm hit the valley. The heat it gave off burned my other wing. It sizzled like my left, and holes appeared as the membrane tore. Yet, I held both wings to my mom and studied the impending doom. The flames cooked a herd of long necks alive. Their painful cries hurt my ears, and I looked away. The ground split, and more herds fell into the holes.
Memories of Dan calmed my nerves—not just those of my time as a Quetzalcoatlus but also those of when I was human. He was such an adorable baby.
I saw the first time Dan found a fossil. He was only three years old. The valley outside Greenville, South Carolina, reminded me of my Valley of Green. Dan and I spread our picnic blanket on the grass directly before the enormous lake that originated from a meteor. The sun's rays sparkled on the surface of the water.
"Mommy, Mommy, look!" Dan called. He dug into the dirt like a dog and pulled out a strange-looking rock with a creature's imprint on it. "I found something."
I pulled my hair back into a barrette and hurried to him. "Oh, my goodness, Danny," I said, picking him up. Flower petals floated past us and circled the lake's surface. I took the rock out of Dan's hand and examined it. It was about the size of my own hand. "This is a fossil."
"Fos-sil?" Dan asked, tripping on the word.
"It's a trilobite," I said. "It's an ancient ancestor to the horseshoe crab."
"Fossil," Dan tried again. He stole it from me and smiled. "I want one."
"Well, you can have this one," I said. He and I bumped foreheads. I kissed him and pulled him close to my breast. "Your father will be so proud of you."
The memory was all I needed to endure the ancient pain. My body burned with Glowbeak's flames, but I did not scream. How could I? I just spent the day with the most important person in my life. I already missed him.
That got me thinking about my appearance when he traveled to the Pleistocene Epoch. I couldn't do much in the Precambrian Time, but I tried a Hylonomous in the Paleozoic Era, a Quetzalcoatlus in the Mesozoic Era, and now for the Cenozoic Era... Oh, I've got it.
PPMC and Daniel, keep your space pants on. That last thought burned through my brain the entire time the fire incinerated me. I left my mom, friends, and the disaster, but never Daniel Matton.
I am Messummer, his mom, and I am proud to call him my son.
189Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQj3qmY8CWT
Final Word Count: 7,000
ns 15.158.61.48da2
