40 Minutes Later

"We'll be coming up on the border of our territory in 5 minutes." Quincy's voice rings quietly from the back seat, and I sit up completely in my seat. Axia and Oliver had fallen asleep not too long after our encounter with the Herbivore Herd, leaving the rest of us to ride in silence. "Axia, Oliver, wake up." His voice still a whisper despite trying to wake them up.

"I'm up!" Axia jolts awake as she feels Q's hand on her shoulder. She looks a little confused for a moment as she looks around and suddenly remembers where we are. "You let me fall asleep?!"

At this point, Oliver was also awake, giving Axia an unhappy look for yelling in his ear. "You're too annoying." He grumbles.

"As I said before," Quincy rolls his eyes at the both of them, amused at their very opposite reactions, "We're about 4 minutes away from our abandoning point now."

"Everyone, get your things together. The longer we stay with the Rover after stopping makes it more likely for a predator to follow. You all know Raptors are very easy to lure." Alaric says loudly, glancing between me and the others behind him as he drives. "Alexandria, can you get mine ready?"

I nod before turning completely around to look at Oliver, "Will you hand me that?" After getting Alaric's pack I quickly rummage through it, checking again to make sure he has everything too. "Why'd you bring this?" I ask, pulling out a book displaying a spider on the front cover. He has a very irrational fear of spiders, why in the world would he have this?

"I- uh. I have it just in case any of us get bit and don't know the type on sight." He replies, clearly unhappy that I had gone through his bag, to begin with. "I said to get it ready, not go through it."

"Awe, you're worried about us?" I tease, a grin spreading across my face.

"Alaric you know I carry stuff that fights any type of insect bite, right?" Quincy then reminds him, stifling a small laugh.

"Just shut up, put it away Alexandria!"

"How many times have I told you to stop calling me that?" I ask, pulling the book out completely to flip through a few pages. "Oh man, this one looks scary." I hold the book up to show Alaric, his face turning in disgust as he glances over.

"Just please stop." He says, a shiver shaking his body as I continue to flip through the book.

"Fine, but only because I know you hate spiders so much. Why would you bring it if you can't even look at the pictures?" I say, rolling my eyes as I put it back in his pack. Just the smallest of spiders give him the chills, I don't know what he's going to do if we encounter a big one, like the one I just saw in that book. Even that was too much for my liking.

"I don't know honestly; it was a stupid decision." He answers, shocking me a bit that he elected to agree rather than go on the defensive.

"Okay, Alaric, stop. We're here." Axia says, prompting Alaric to slam the breaks hard.

"Why would you do that?" Oliver groans and I look back to see him holding his forehead. He must hit my seat when the breaks jolted us forward.

"Sorry. She said stop, not slow down." He replies nonchalantly, "Alright, let's get out of here, cover the rover, and set out. We need to head up the mountains." He then adds.

"Okay, everyone ready?" Axia asks, her voice slightly shaky.

"Yes." The rest of us say simultaneously.

As Alaric opens his door, the rest of us do the same and quickly exiting the vehicle. I quickly grab my gun after slipping on my pack and stand ready as the others cover the rover with a camouflaged cover. While it's rare, some carnivores will attack Rovers even when parked, so it's best to at least have them somewhat protected. The Giganotosaurus is notorious for attacking Rovers whether they are parked or in use. They are one of the more feared predators around Viadon, with only one successfully sedated and tracked in 20 years. From my understanding, if you are in the area with a Giga then you've got a very low chance of survival. They're fast, smart, and extremely large. The apex predator.

"We're headed north into the mountain peaks..." Axia says once they're finished, staring straight down at the device as she turns in a circle, then abruptly stops. "This way."

As she begins to walk, Alaric and the others fall in behind. I stay in the back, a habit I developed in training for protection. You wouldn't think a Carnotaur could sneak up behind an entire group of people, but they definitely can. Of course, Axia and Alaric lead us in since he's the leader and she has the map, leaving me the only one with enough defensive training to take up the rear.

"Remember to keep a close eye around us. The Utah Raptors that are tracked aren't close right now, but that doesn't mean that there aren't more of them." Axia reminds us, looking back towards me with a thumbs up.

"No problem. All good so far." I say with a nod, mocking her hand movement with a smile.

Axia returns with a nod in response before turning forward, continuing to walk through the thick brush. If we were ambushed here, at least one of us would be dead before we even had a chance to raise our weapons. Utah Raptors are solitary hunters, but they travel in small family units. Usually a mother, father, and however many babies they have. If a family is hungry enough, they'll come together.

I look around at our surroundings, feeling a bit more reassured at the sight of the trees. The branches are low, and most of them seem sturdy enough to hold our weights. "Look at the trees." I call out, "We should stay up high, just in case."

Axia stops the group and looks up at the branches, before quickly giving a nod of approval. "Lexa's right, The Raptors born last year could be anywhere, and none of them are tracked. The ones who do have devices are scattered everywhere; it'll be hard to keep up with them all." She agrees.

"Let's do it quickly then," Quincy adds in, moving up to the side of a tree in order to find a way up.

"We don't need to do that; we're close to the mountains anyway." Alaric then intervenes, a frown prominent on his face.

"No, Alaric, she is right. We can't risk being down here unable to see." Oliver suddenly jumps to my defense. He usually sides with whoever he thinks is right, even though Alaric is his longtime friend. His loyalty only goes as far as his safety.

Alaric seems initially surprised at Oliver's words, but it's immediately replaced with a look of defeat. "Fine. Let's go then. Oliver and Axia, you two first." He grumbles, walking towards the tree that Quincy still stands at.

"We'll help you up, Q, don't worry," Axia says as she approaches, a sly smile spreading across her face.

"Hey now, you should be quiet. I'd hate for a certain giant carnivore to hear us." He replies jokingly, the fear in his voice now gone.

Axia pauses as she's about to climb and gives him a slight frown. "I was only joking..." She says seriously, prompting a quick and stuttered apology from him before beginning to laugh. It's a trick he always falls for.

While earlier Quincy was worried about the possible ground threats, he is incredibly scared of heights. Climbing this tree and staying in it is going to be the worst part of Testing Day for him, no doubt. Axia is the only person allowed to make jokes about his debilitating fear, and she is also the only person who can coax him into being okay. They've known each other for a long time even before training, so it makes sense.

Axia and Oliver reach the strong branches in just a few minutes, and next Quincy starts to climb. "Go ahead, Alaric. I'll keep watch until you're all up." I say, figuring there's no reason for him to stay since there's enough room for two to climb.

"And leave you all alone?" He asks nonchalantly, his eyes not even leaving the tree.

"Well, you're turned the wrong way if you're supposed to be helping me keep watch," I reply, rolling my eyes at his ignorance.

Alaric gives an exasperated sigh before stomping his way into facing the same direction as me. "You really think we wouldn't hear something before you'd see it?" He retorts.

Just then a series of roars erupt through the woods around us, sounding as if they had come from every direction. I know that roar. We all know that roar, and there wasn't just one. "Go, now!" I yell, pushing Alaric towards the tree.

He wastes no time hauling himself up, and at a safe distance turns to help me up as well, but instead, his eyes widen. "Jump away!" He yells, and I barely have the time to do as he says before a Carnotaurus' head slams into the tree where I was just standing.

I land on the ground with a thud, gasping as the Carnotaurus falls as well, just mere feet from me. Its jaws snap as its eyes focus in on me, so I quickly jump to my feet and run. I only have a few seconds before it's also back on its feet and chasing me.

"Lead him back this way, we have 2 darts in him!" Oliver yells, and I huff in frustration. This isn't going to be easy. Carnos can take anywhere between 5 and 10 tranquilizer darts to be put to sleep. I won't have the time to turn and do it myself. If we can just get him slow down I can get up high.

I quickly turn left, making a wide turn to throw the beast off balance, before fully sprinting directly back towards the tree my team had climbed. I hadn't gone too far, because within seconds I can see the tree together with the indention the Carnotaurs head had made. It also doesn't take long for it to catch back up, as I can feel the thundering of its footsteps as I run.

"Lexa!" I hear Quincy's voice and look up to realize he's on a branch much closer to me, his arm extended. "Jump!"

I do so, grabbing onto his long arm and using my momentum to swing me upwards just as the Carnotaurus runs under me. However, as my legs go to swing over a branch in front of me, it breaks, leaving me dangling by Quincy's arm. "Shit!" I hear him curse, his plan to get me to safety failing.

"Got him!" Alaric yells happily before a large crash startles Q and he drops me to the ground. Evidently, they had been shooting while I was running away, which led to a perfectly timed takedown.

"Get up here, Lexa!" Axia urges as I stand, but another roar comes close and a feeling of dread washes over me. I glance towards the sleeping Carno in front of me and frown slightly. It's still big, but this specific one is a juvenile. One who's clearly just learning to hunt.

"Quincy... help me up now," I say, immediately reaching up to grab his hand once again. As our hands connect and he begins to pull me up, another roar, then another, and then a third erupts before suddenly 4 different Carnotaurs walk in front of the downed one.

I pull up quickly and sit still on the branch beside Q, my eyes never leaving the five threats in front of us. The fur lining their spines stands straight up, a clear sign that these dinosaurs are not happy about the fact that we have injured one of their own. "What do we do?" I say quietly, knowing all too well that if one branch already broke on me, all of the ones in this area are potentially dangerous. The other three are safely tucked away on thicker trees, while Quincy and I are dangling dangerously close to death.

"Oh, man... Honestly, this height didn't bother me as much when I thought you were going to die." Quincy says, his voice beginning to shake. I glance at him with wide eyes, my mouth slightly open in shock. "I'm only kidding..." He says though it's clear that the fact that he's done playing hero means his courage has gone out the door.

"Hey, Q... Don't freak on me, bud. Wait till after we can get these Carnos away." I suggest lightly, giving him a small nudge on the shoulder with mine. He nods in response, his eyes now trained on our pursuers. I dropped my gun when I fell the first time, something I hadn't noticed until now. I can see it sitting by the sleeping Carnotaur, leaving it completely out of reach.

"Quincy, Alexandria! Stay where you are until we can take them down!" Alaric calls out loudly, gaining my attention away from the useless gun. I've never been in a situation where I didn't have my weapon. It's something I've always learned to have. How did I not notice before?

"None of them are tracked!" Axia calls, and for a moment my eyebrows furrow. Carnotaurs usually stick to flat ground. In training, we were taught that they don't usually go up into the mountains unless lured. Looking around, I notice that we just so happen to be on the only piece of flat ground on this part of the mountain. About 100 meters to our left is a jagged cliff, and on our right is a wall that goes straight up into the Pteranodon nests; it makes no sense for the Carnotaurs to be here. They had to have followed us up here, but that makes no sense either. Family units usually stay near their nests until the babies are fully grown.

"Stay still," I tell Quincy as I watch Alaric and Oliver both raise their weapons.

"That bigger one may be able to jump high enough to hit these branches," Q says, gesturing towards the lower hanging branches just feet away.

"It'll be fine," I reply, though now I'm not too sure that the one we're on will be able to stay up if the smaller ones are destroyed. They are all supporting each other here, creating an illusion that it's safe when really, it's a death trap.

I hear a quiet "thump" as Alaric fires his weapon, the dart hitting perfectly into the hip of the largest Carnotaur. A second hit its other hip as the beast roars again. Quincy and I both cover our ears at the noise, but I'm more disturbed by the animal's odd behavior. The Carnotaurs in training were more berserk, and wouldn't have just stood there staring at us. We've never worked with any untracked dinosaurs before though, it's possible they just didn't know we could attack from the trees.

My thoughts change as the two smallest Carnotaurs charge, simultaneously crashing their heads into the tree beside us. The branches Quincy and I sit on begin to shake, and though it isn't enough to make us fall, it's unsettling nonetheless. "We're fine," I say to Quincy, grabbing onto his arm anyway for extra support.

"Mhm, yeah." He retorts shakily, and I can tell he's trying to believe it. "Even if they're able to knock out all of them, we'll only be able to insert trackers into the two adults." He then adds, turning his head to look at me. I assume this is his way to distract us from the situation.

"Yeah, I know. It'll just be ammo lost, but at least all of us are alive." I reply, chuckling softly at the thought.

"I never would have thought you'd be the one to almost die first." He replies though he doesn't seem to share the ability to laugh about it yet.

A loud thud draws me from responding, and I look up to see that Alaric and Oliver had successfully knocked out the largest one. Now 3 more left to go. I look down towards the two beasts who are consistently attempting to knock us down, their heads starting to become bloodied by the continuous headbutts. The brown scales at the top of their snouts are shining crimson, and even their horns are starting to show clear signs of damage.

"You guys need to take down these two!" I yell to our teammates, who are steadily attempting to tranquilize the second adult. They only have one dart in her, since Oliver isn't the best shot. "They're injuring themselves! Oliver you'll have to take a look!" I then explain, realizing they can't see the two youngster's heads.

Instead of replying, Oliver and Alaric simply do as they're told and begin to shoot darts into one of the juveniles. It doesn't take but a couple of shots for the first one to begin slowing down, its movements becoming unprecise as it continues trying to get us out of the tree. Its sibling stops as the first falls to the ground, seemingly curious as to what happened. Suddenly, it looks back up towards Quincy and me before beginning to jump up towards our dangling feet.

Q lets out a loud screech before pulling his knees up to his chest in a moment of desperation. His legs are much longer than mine, and that first jump was dangerously close. However, his knee-jerk reaction throws him off balance, and in turn causes both of us to start falling backwards. I quickly try and grab onto the branch as I fall, but instead, it falls with me.

"Alexandria!"

"Quincy!"

It's only a matter of seconds before I hit the ground hard, the air knocked from my lungs. I gasp harshly in an attempt to breathe, trying to fight dizziness as I remember where I am. I look to my left and see Quincy, who's on his butt crawling backward with a horrified expression. I turn my head to the right and immediately copy his actions as I see the head of a sleeping Carnotaur just by my head. Another perfectly timed takedown.

"The last one's down!" Alaric yells from above, reminding me that the juvenile I landed beside had actually not been the last threat. I don't know how they managed to get the adult down in time as well, but I will forever be thankful that they did.

I relax a bit as I watch the others come down from the tree, knowing they wouldn't have come down if it wasn't at least mostly safe. I lay completely back down to catch my breath, closing my eyes to regain my composure.

"You okay?" Quincy's voice draws me from the relief and I open my eyes.

"Yeah, just knocked the wind out of me," I reply, grabbing onto the hand he extends to help me up. After he pulls me up, I smile at him. "You did well. Thanks for saving my ass."

"I also almost got you killed again so I don't think you need to thank me." He says seriously, clearly disappointed in himself for making us fall.

"Hey, that Carno almost had your foot." I reassure him, "It all ended up fine, it's okay. I'm not even injured."

Quincy gives me a small, thankful smile before turning and going to speak with Axia. I, however, turn towards the two injured Carnotaurs and approach to inspect their wounds. Oliver is applying antibiotic salve to the wounds, which is already helping with the bleeding.

"Are they going to be okay?" I ask softly, bending down beside Oliver.

"Yeah, they'll be okay. His horn is slightly bent backward from the impact, but it doesn't seem like it caused much damage." He replies, his eyes never leaving the injured areas. Once the salve is on, he covers the wound with a bandage and uses medical tape to seal it on. It'll eventually fall off, but it will help keep away infection for now. The base of the horn is swollen pretty badly, and I can see where it had ripped away from the flesh. It would cause more damage to try and move it back than it would to just let it heal, especially out here in the wild.

He then moved on to the next one, and I follow, feeling bad that these two had hurt themselves. "Is there anything I can do?" I ask, glancing around at the others before looking towards Oliver.

"Here, put these gloves on and I'll let you put on the ointment. I'm going to suture this gash." He replies, giving me a slightly pleasant smile in return. Oliver is usually a jerk, so seeing him in his element healing animals is refreshing. It's the only thing he seems sure about.

I put on the gloves and he hands me the tube of salve. I squeeze a bit of it into my hand before gently rubbing it onto the injured areas on the Carnotaur's snout. It's breathing hitches slightly as I touch its scales, and I quickly retract my hand in surprise. Oliver stifles a laugh at my reaction, and I give him a deadpanned expression. "I know it's still asleep, but can you blame me? It's brother almost ate me earlier." I joke, pointing towards the first Carnotaur that had attacked us.

"You're right. You were almost a meal, O'Neil." He says slyly, stifling another laugh.

"Oh, clever." I roll my eyes and then go back to focusing on the task at hand. That joke is one he created when we were first chosen to train as Elitists. Our first training session almost killed both me and Alaric, but I was the only one who's name made a funny joke.

After rubbing the salve over all of the injuries, I quickly take off my gloves and shove them into my pocket before moving to the backside of its head. This one's horns aren't bent, and I'm thankful for that. I reach out and lightly touch the fur on its spine, letting out a soft sigh. "These guys sure went through a lot of trouble for us." I say, "Is that normal behavior?"

"No, it's not. At least not to my knowledge." Oliver shakes his head lightly as he thinks over it, "There's a reason Carnos don't live in this type of terrain. Their bodies aren't meant to climb rocks. They are too top-heavy to jump, which is why this one knocked himself out when he jumped for Quincy's foot. He fell straight down on his head."

"Oh, so that's why we weren't eaten," I say monotonously, realizing that made more sense than them taking out the adult and the juvenile at once.

"Exactly. Don't worry, I gave him a small dose of tranquilizer before I treated his sibling. These guys being untracked makes me believe that the adults are juveniles from last year's mating season. That means they were lured here as juveniles, survived, and then had babies before this year's mating season came along." He explains further. By now, the rest of the team is also listening, which prompts him to continue, "If they're the only Carnotaurs in the area, it makes sense."

"There's no tracked ones on the radar." Axia confirms, "It's safe to assume these are the only ones. We'll need to tell our superiors when we get back home."

"Yeah, for now though, let's put trackers in the parents and head for the cliffs. This will get us two large carnivores, but we should still rack up points with the Pteranodons." Alaric adds in, "We shouldn't waste too much time worrying about why they're here right now."

"Okay, let's get to work. Axia, let's start with the bigger one." Oliver finishes up stitching the wound before standing and heading towards the adults.

"That was a close one," Alaric says to me, extending a hand to help me off the ground.

"Yeah, it was." I reply, though shake my head at his hand, "I'm going to stay here for a few minutes. Make sure the bleeding stops on this guy's head."

"Okay, I'll let you know when they're done." Alaric then walks away to go and help the others with implanting the trackers.