I had lost her. The one I loved, the one I would die for, had perished. I stood over her broken body, as tears trickled down my cheek, dripping one by one onto her blood- the blood which would have kept her alive. The meteors outside the cave didn't stop slamming into the ground, creating an eruption of debris. I closed my eyes, and entered what seemed to be a flashback.

I was a beautiful, sleek Velociraptor. My feathers that covered my body were brilliant scarlet; while the feathers on my wings, crest and tip of my tail where yellow. My belly was white, and sparkling, like snow. I had a narrow jaw, with small, sharp teeth, and a long tail. I was equipped with deadly claws on both my hands and feet, which I used to kill my prey quickly and painlessly.

I was hunting in my pack of six. The names of my pack mates were Blood Drinker, Flesh snapper, Bone Biter, Scale Crusher, Eye Ripper, Meat Slasher and me, Red Fang. We lived in a world of sand, in a climate so hot and dry; few were strong enough to survive. There was very little plant life or water. We strutted up a tall hill of sand. I looked down upon my kingdom. We had little mercy for prey (but we weren't sadistic)… bad news for that Tarbosaurus male below the sandy mountain. He was feasting on a dead Saurolophus. We slowly plodded down the hill, carefully so he doesn't see us. I noticed he had dark brown stripes, which stood out of his sandy body. As I stopped venturing down the hill, I got a nasty close up of those evil- looking jaws, those huge, oversized teeth splattered in blood, those tiny arms and powerful hind legs with robust claws. I nipped Bone Biter to gather up the others and go behind the Tarbosaurus with Scale Crusher, Blood drinker, Meat Slasher and Eye- Ripper, while I will stay with Flesh Snapper, who was my most trusted pack member and my mate. I loved her very much, as she was a beautiful sparkling silver colour, unlike the grey most female Velociraptors have. As they left, I watched the Tarbosaurus and moved ever so quietly towards the dinosaur, with Flesh Snapper trailing behind me. I tilted my head very slightly, to signal the others to attack. Then, they all jumped on the Tarbosaurs side, and started to stab him with their sickle claws. Blood oozed out of the wounds. The Tarbosaurus started roaring. Then, Flesh Snapper ran to the dinosaur and started biting his legs. I pounced on the Tarbosaur, avoided being shred to pieces by his jaws, and, for the finale, I ripped his neck open. The dinosaur fell forward, and the flesh flopped out of his neck with a splat… lunch…

Hours later it was darker, more sinister. Everybody's snout was covered in blood. I saw something in the corner of my eye. Streaks of light where passing by. They were quite bright and only lasted a few seconds.

I then saw a HUGE rock, engulfed by fire, flying across the sky… and it was heading towards this planet.

It was a meteor.

It flew away. Then I heard something. It was like a herd of stampeding dinosaurs, but it was very short, extremely deafening and very bright. I was disorientated, and could only just see things. It was like I had entered another dimension. I felt a faint wind, and in a few seconds, it got stronger- much stronger. I looked up to the night sky and saw smaller versions of that rock of fire, heading towards me. The meteor also sent a wall of ash, rock and debris in all directions… in our direction. I called my pack. We all started sprinting. The ground started to shake. We kept our balance, and didn't stop running, since we knew that if we did, it would be all over.

One of the small balls of fire landed on Scale Crusher. It landed right on top of him, killing him instantly.

We didn't look back- we didn't even slow down.

Then, another landed nearby Meat Slasher, with the blast from the speedy ball of death killing her.

There was a nearby cave. I screeched, telling my pack mates to go there. We sprinted, as fast as we could.

A HUGE one fell near Blood Drinker, Eye Ripper, and Bone Biter, killing them all.

The only ones who remained were Flesh Snapper and I, who were getting closer to the cave every second.

Then it happened.

One stray meteor landed near Flesh Snapper. The debris clouded around her, and I couldn't see her.

My heart stopped.

I immediately refused to run. Not without her.

I quickly moved towards the place she once stood, and grabbed her by the back with my jaws.. She was alive, but hurt.

She wheezed in pain, making heart breaking sounds I would never forget. I dragged her to the cave, as the meteors kept on ravaging the land.

We were finally in the safety of the cave, in a dark, damp, sheltered place.

I turned to face my mate. What I saw was horrendous. The meteor blast she was wounded by had thrust debris into her leg. It was covered in crimson blood.

I lay down next to her, and we looked into each others eyes. You could tell by simply gazing into her beautiful blue eyes that she knew she was going to die soon. I sniffed, as tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn't bear to lose the one I loved, the one I adored, the one I had cherished all my life. She nudged me, lovingly, trying to tell me that everything was going to be all right.

But I knew that she was lying. She was trying to make me feel better, as she knows my love for her would never end, that without her, I'd become a Broken Soul.

I begged her not to die, urging her to hold on to her life, and never let go. She hyperventilated, but even when she was so close to death, she moved her head towards me, and licked my cheek.

I sobbed, which was something I had never done before. She nudged me, lovingly, in her failed attempt to console me. I looked at her, as she weakly smiled at me with her eyes.

She snorted, as she started getting weaker from blood loss. Her breathing began to accelerate, and she cooed, telling me that she had always loved me, and that just because she is dead, doesn't mean our love is dead.

But that didn't mean anything to me. All that mattered was that she was going to die, and no matter what I would do, she would cease to exist.

Suddenly, her head dropped to the floor as she began to feel the effects of blood loss even more. She was still living, as she watched me with fear in her eyes.

I wept; unable to watch her die, but my instinct was forcing me to, as it was the last time I'd ever see her.

I caressed her, in a pathetic attempt to make her feel better as her life began to fade from her body. My tears of despair had created a small puddle.

Her breaths then slowed to a stop. Her eyes closed, and her heart beat against her chest one last time.

She lay limp against the floor. She was gone forever.

Never to return.

I had lost her. The one I loved, the one I would die for, had perished. I stood over her broken body, as tears trickled down my cheek, dripping one by one onto her blood- the blood which would have kept her alive. The meteors outside the cave didn't stop slamming into the ground, creating an eruption of debris.

I opened my eyes, now out of the flashback, into the present. I looked down at my mate, who had now been dead for a little over two minutes.

I knew that my heart was too torn for me to carry on with life. I felt this need to die, so I could join my mate.

I turned my head, and faced the outside of the cave, watching the meteors ravage the land.

That will do. That will be perfect. I thought.

I began to move outside the cave, leaving my mate behind for the first time in years. Without fear, I stopped, standing on a land slowly being destroyed. I watched the huge wall of ash tearing towards me. Any minute now, it will reach me, and kill me, along with all the pain I refuse to live with.

What were only a few seconds felt more like forever, as I waited for the blast to hit me.

I closed my eyes, and waited for deaths claws to take me.

Slow Motion Scene

I opened my eyes, a split second before the blast hit me. The intense heat burned me, and I felt myself begin to melt in the boiling, cruel air. I wanted to scream in pain, but it all happened so fast, I had no time to react. I felt my skin slowly be torn from my flesh as the strong gust of wind in the blast reached me. I began to regret what I had chosen to do, but it was too late. I began to remember my mate, and all the times we had together- from when we first met, to her final breath. Once again, I closed my eyes, and felt myself be ripped from the ground. I was satisfied with my life, however short it will be. Even if I have become a broken soul, my pain will be taken soon.

Epilogue

This raptors story, along with many others, has been forgotten. The many lives taken in the extinction left no trace of their existence. No one has or will ever remember the stories of those who died in the fifth  extinction. No one will remember the Broken Souls.