Megaraptor namunhuaiquii

The namesake of an enigmatic group of theropod dinosaurs. Megaraptors lived in late Cretaceous South America as a formidable pursuit predator.

The door shuddered as the beast– the maip– pressed against it. Testing it, Naivan guessed. He prayed silently to deaf Gods that it would not get in. But metal groaned its dying breath and the door clattered down. Steel dust, cracked, corroded, rusted, bled from the shattered lock. 

A monstrous hand, both scaled and feathered, clutched the damaged doorframe. Hefty claws cracked into the wall with ease, the sound making Naivan flinch as he pressed himself under the table. The head snaked into view, lips parted into a soft, clicking growl. Orange eyes searching for prey it could not yet see. Naivan covered his mouth with a shaking, clammy palm. 

The beast’s jaws opened, releasing a shrill, ear-piercing bark. It sounded like nothing alive today, neither like any creatures of the forest Naivan was familiar with, nor any monster he’d seen on the television.