The Bones of a God
The sun had already fallen below the ridge as Alex River crouched in the center of a windswept canyon, his hands shaking as they swept away centuries of compacted soil. At twenty-one, Alex had already been touted as a prodigy in ancient biology—his revolutionary theories on dragonic species and mythic convergences had caused ripples throughout scientific circles. But today… today was different.
At his side knelt the woman who had ignited his passion for the unknown—Dr. Anna River, internationally famous archaeologist, brilliant firebrand with a reputation for pursuing the impossible. Her scarlet scarf flew back and forth in the canyon breeze, a flash of color against the dying light as she hunched forward above the excavation site, every movement calculated, controlled.
"Alex…" Her voice was barely audible over the wind, laced with wonder and disbelief. "I think we've found it."
Alex glanced up from the page of notes he'd been scribbling. His eyes widened at the exposed structure before them. "The skeleton? It's. massive. That frame—those wings—there's no way this is dinosaur."
Anna's gloved fingers hovered over a jutting bone, almost reverent. "This isn't myth anymore. It's real."
The breath stuck in Alex's throat as he sat back on his heels. The sunset tinted the canyon walls gold, but he could see nothing but the fossil spread out before them—buried in a splintered jumble of obsidian and quartz. The bones glimmered with a strange metallic color, untainted by time, as black as forged steel. A six-meter wingspan. A skull ridged with arcane beauty. Scythe-curled claws. As if an ancient deity had buried it under the ground.
His wonder gave way to excitement as the scientist in him reasserted itself. "We need to scan and prep this before first light. If it actually predates mythological records… then this thing overwrites human history."
Anna nodded, already dialing into her starlite satellite phone. "I'll get the university team on standby. We'll need a secure lift with full isolation protocols." A pause. "We could announce it at the Global Prehistoric Symposium next month—maybe Vienna."
Alex couldn't help but laugh, glancing up as the first stars blinked into view. "We'll be legends by morning."
But that morning would never come.
A low rumble rolled across the canyon floor.
Engines.
Not one. Several.
The sound cut through the wind like a clamor bell. Alex braced, instinct seizing him as he faced in the direction of the sound.
Anna's face went dark. "That's not our crew."
Two black SUVs screamed up the ridge, tires screeching against the gravel in vicious protest. They came to a sudden halt just short of the edge of the dig. Doors opening in unison. Six figures spilled out, their movements economical and disciplined. Matte-black tactical equipment. Rifles strapped across their chests. Helmets with dark, blue-tinted visors. No markings. Military moves, but no insignia.
Alex stood up fast, inserting himself between his mother and the strangers, notebook still clutched in his hand. His heart pounded in his ears.
They weren't university people. They weren't press. And they weren't anyone Alex and Anna had seen on any official broadcast or know in person.
Something was wrong with them. Deeply wrong.
His voice strained, guarded. "Who are you?"
The man ahead didn't respond immediately. He moved forward slowly and deliberately. His face was hidden, and his voice was heard through a cold, mechanical filter.
"You don't need to know who we are. Just know—we've been monitoring this site for many years. That fossil doesn't belong to you. It belongs to the Protector."
Anna's eyes narrowed, her tone sharp with disbelief. "Excuse me? And who exactly is this… Protector?"
The man didn't indulge her with details. His head tilted slightly as he gave a command. "You are to hand over the specimen. Immediately. Otherwise, the consequences will be… severe."
Alex's fists clenched by his sides. "We're scientists. Not thieves."
One of the masked men moved forward, picking up a shiny device. A gentle hum sounded as it scanned the fossil. The screen illuminated, and the man nodded to his commander.
"Confirmed. This is the one. The Protector demands it secured."
He turned toward Alex and Anna. "Now give it over… or die.
Anna stepped forward, defiance burning in her eyes. "This fossil is the culmination of my life's work. My whole career has been spent uncovering its history. Do what you wish with me—but I won't relinquish it."
The leader didn't react.
"Fine."
Bang.
The noise was dulled. Accurate. Fatal.
Anna's face changed—confusion, and then comprehension.
She gasped, her hand shooting up to her chest as blood began to blossom across her shirt. A single crimson drop splattered onto the ground—one was flung upward, shooting through the air before landing squarely on the ancient skeleton.
Another drop came next. Then another.
The bones started to glow faintly.
But no one saw.
Alex yelled, racing to her, but she was already toppling, her body collapsing next to the fossil, eyes open, lips shaking as air escaped her lungs. The red scarf that she wore always fluttered once and then dropped motionless.
"Mom…?" His voice broke, shock crashing against him like a wave.
She stretched out, running her fingers over his arm, her voice shattered and weakening.
"Alex… don't… let them…"
But the others never arrived. Her head fell back. Her hand moved away.
He gazed, transfixed. His heart seemed to have been torn out. All inside him broke.
And then—another shot.
It cleaved the night.
Alex looked up. Too late.
The bullet was already on its way.
Time slowed.
Pain burst in his forehead, burning like acid. The blow sent him flying back. His body crashed into the fossil's ribcage, his blood arcing over the ancient bones. His mind didn't close down—yet.
This morning… we were laughing… we wanted to celebrate… why is it ending like this…?
He didn't notice the blood gushing from his wound. He didn't notice it dripping down the fossil's curves.
But the bones noticed.
The dragon skull, thousands of years dead, started to glow.
None of them noticed.
Not yet.
The men advanced, footfalls heavy, reaching towards the body and the relic.
Then the earth shook.
A low rumbling began to build—like a breath released from the earth's belly.
And then…
RRRROOOOOAAAAARRRRR!
The canyon shrieked.
The world itself shook as the bellow tore through the air like a force of life. Wind howled furiously through the shattered rocks, and earth trembled beneath the shockwave.
A naked, feral rage shook the sky. Birds fled in terror. Dust exploded upwards in violent gusts.
The troops spread out over the dig site fell in an instant. Their bodies hit the earth as if yanked by unseen hands—knees folding, palms covering their ears. Blood poured from their noses. Mouths foamed. One by one, they folded into the earth, twitching, shattered.
Alex could feel it too—but it was not his ears. The noise did not go through him. It went into him. It tunneled through flesh and resonated deep within his cranium, to the marrow in his bones.
He lay prone on top of the fossil, immobile. Each gasp was war. His chest seared.
Next to him, Anna's body leaned against the rock, still.
His vision, unfocused and vacant, drifted toward her.
And in that final moment of clarity—
He saw her body begin to vanish.
Light shimmered around her like golden dust, lifting upward in slow, weightless spirals. Her skin turned translucent. Her features softened into radiant particles.
Her face—still, peaceful.
Her eyes—closed.
And then—gone.
"No. no, don't take her. please."
His lips moved, but no voice came. His throat was dry. His will, shattered.
He reached out, attempted to grab her hand one last time, but his fingers would not cooperate.
Darkness packed the periphery of his vision, and something else materialized.
A rent in the air above the dinosaur's fossil. The air cracked apart by some unseen hand. A rift. Pulsating. Breathing.
Out of the middle of the ancient skull came a radiant ball. It hung suspended like a heart ripped from time itself, pulsing slow and fierce, every beat resonating within the canyon.
It came at him suddenly—impacting his chest.
His spine bucked harshly. His mouth opened on a wordless scream.
Fire coursed through his veins. Not warmth—strength.
A sound not of this realm boomed out, not words, but inscribed in mind:
[SYSTEM BINDING: INITIATING…]
There was a tremendous, cracking noise in the night—like really old chains being ripped apart.
And then—the darkness.
A nothingness.
No breath.
No noise.
No hurt.
Just the endless sensation of falling.