Not a Drill (Summer 2024)

It was a rather warm day as Ochei, Pickle and Xylitol left their home cave and travelled down to the beach. They had heard, from dinosaurs passing by to get back inland, that the beach was filled with fish they had never seen. Hammerhead sharks. They had mentioned that there were so many that you could practically jump in and just grab one right out of the ocean.
None of them had really fished before. They had eaten fish for sure, but it had not been caught by themselves, however this seemed like the perfect opportunity to go try it and see if it was something they could do.

The edge of the forest seemed like a wall. The bright light almost blinded them as it passed through the trees. The sand was just beyond the edge of the trees. The three Albertosaurus looked at each other as they let their eyes adjust to the brightness beyond the treelines. They rarely left the comfort and shade of the forest.
Pickle was the first one to walk out through the last trees and down onto the beach. Ochei and Xylitol smiled at each other as they followed her after her. The warmth hit them immediately. It was in no way cold in the forest during the summer. But the leaves typically helped against the sun by dispersing the warmth a bit. They all stretched out as the sun hit their backs, enjoying it thoroughly. Ochei knew immediately that he didn’t like the beach. He was by far the darkest of the three. It felt immediately hot and the salty air stung in his airways. But he could stand it. He rarely complained. Especially not when the other two seemed to enjoy themselves so much.

Pickle was also the first of them to step out into the sand. They eagerly followed. It felt like their feet were scorching as they sunk deep into the loose, fine sand. It was incomparable to the leafy substrate that they were used to in the forest.
There was no time to just stand and watch the ocean. If they didn’t make it down to the water that slowly washed up on the sand, making it darker, they would most likely burn. The water, unlike the sand, hit with a heavy cold, but it was more comfortable than the sand for sure. All three of them looked at each other. They could see the fins of sharks out further to the sea. But there were no clearly visible sharks near shore. Perhaps they had been too late. Perhaps the sharks had already started to leave the area. Had they missed their chance?

Ochei walked further into the ocean, until half of his legs were covered by water and watched the surface of the water far away from them. Fins kept popping up just slightly. He looked back at the other two. They wouldn’t just leave. They could stay for a bit. Enjoy the beach. They most likely wouldn’t travel here again in the near future. So why leave just because the sharks had left.

It was very sudden. And as quickly as he had seen the shadow by his feet as quickly was it gone. But something had, with speed, travelled up to him and hurried away from him. As if it had tested him to see if he was dangerous. Something was as curious as they were. He stood still and it came back, it did the exact same thing again. Whipping past his feet. Testing him to see if he would chase it. He kept still. It felt like hours before it happened again and he carefully looked back at Pickle and Xylitol. They walked in a far, half circle around him. Out into around the same depth as he was at.

The first shark opened the path for many more, they tried to get as close as possible before getting scared and swimming away. He wasn’t really scared of them. They looked weird. But they didn’t seem dangerous. The majority of them weren’t even that big. He wondered what they thought as they kept on testing them, occasionally splashing water up on their bellies as they whipped away quickly. Or perhaps they were sizing them up. Maybe they were dangerous. Ochei figured he could take the chances.
He kept still. Watching the hammerheads pass underneath the water in front of him. A cold breeze occasionally reminded him how hot the sun was as it kept its place high on the sky above them all. It was amazing to think that these creatures lived their entire lives in the water. He knew, of course, that there were other dinosaurs like them who lived in the water. But it was such a different world other than his world that he felt overwhelmed trying to comprehend it.

He lowered his head slowly, carefully, towards the surface of the water and let it pierce it slowly when there were no sharks nearby. He kept it still, slightly opened. The water was salty on him but he kept still. Closing his eyes. Just feeling the water. He could feel the sharks testing him. Getting scared by this new thing that was in the water. He just kept still. He had to wait for the perfect moment. He knew it. One wrong move and it would all be over for him. He would never be able to catch one if he did this wrong. He couldn’t tell how long he had been standing there. He could feel them getting more secure. The shadow he cast on the water gave them a false sense of security. He even thought that he could feel small fishes nearby his legs. Taking cover from any potential fish eating birds that could try and grab them from the water. He felt the water wave, but he kept still. The heat on his back grew. He kept still.

Suddenly he felt it. The tip of something, brushing just barely against his teeth. The water gave him a hint at what direction it was swimming. He plunged his head down into the water as fast as he possibly could and bit down with his teeth as hard as he could. For a second it felt like he had missed it. That he had missed his chance. But he kept his jaw clenched as he flung his head out of the water. No more chances. The hammerhead struggled against him as he turned around and hurried up on the sand. He had caught it by its tail. Barely. But it was caught. He made sure to carry it all the way to the dirt ground just before the forest.
He had managed.

He laid down by the now still shark and watched as Pickle and Xylitol stood still in the water. The sun worked hard on warming his now cold legs that had been in the water long enough for him to lose feeling. It pinched in the warm sun and sand. 

He was quite happy with the day. He had managed, and he now knew that fishing was not something for him. He would rather stay in the forest. But seeing Pickle and Xylitol happy made it all worth it.