Prince Creek Formation, Alaska, 72 Million Years Ago

At the edge of the Arctic Circle lies a boreal woodland packed with deciduous conifer trees. The ground around them is comprised of various ferns and grass-like plants buried in snow that slowly rises as flakes fall. The dark green of the plants and the white of the snow are hidden in the dark blue tint of the night. Constant Alaskan winds create temperatures as low as 10 degrees Fahrenheit. A few scarce parts of this area have fewer trees and more ferns, drowned in snow. In one of the clearings is a traveling herd of this area's least expected residents, dinosaurs.

There are two different herds, each consisting of a single species. The largest of the two are Pachyrhinosaurus, members of the ceratopsid family that grow to 16 feet long and weigh as much as a white rhino. Their skin, consisting of large dry scales, is a very dark blend of black and brown with white stripes on their back and beige on their underbelly. Much like its other family members such as Triceratops, they sport a frill on the back of their head. The frill of Pachyrhinosaurus, however, differs in that it's narrower and slightly taller with two small horns adorning the very top of it that are curved away from each other. The sides of these frills are also adorned with a series of gray bumps. These creatures also differ in their facial horns in that they lack brow horns and have a large, bony mass on their nose called a "boss." The few males of the herd sport larger bosses and red coloring on their frills as opposed to the smaller bosses and white stripes on the frills of the over 20 females. Snug in the middle of the travelling herd are 6 calves only a quarter of their adult size. While their eyes are larger, their frills are shorter, and their bosses are much smaller. Unlike their adult counterparts who make deep snorts, huffs, grumbles, and moo-like groans as sounds, they instead make higher-pitched snorts, strain groans, and brief honks.

These larger beasts are followed by a group of much smaller dinosaurs. They are Alaskacephale, members of the pachycephalosaur family. Like their other family members, they are two-legged herbivores with much smaller arms and domes on their skulls up to 3 inches thick. Their dry scaly skin is a light greenish blue fading into a white underbelly. Males sport red and yellow coloring on the skin covering their dome heads while those on the females are all gray. They grow up 5 feet long and only half as tall as the average human. Their sounds are primarily higher-pitched snorts, huffs, grunts, and trills. This herd is led by an alpha male who is distinguished by his brighter dome colors and more weathered skin. The alpha is also closely accompanied by the eldest female, his mate, who occasionally nudges the side of his head.

Soon, a change in the strength of the wind causes more snow to fall onto the ground at a greater velocity. The Pachyrhinosaurus and Alaskacephale herds shiver and shake from the freezing winds rushing onto their skin. In response, each herd huddles up to their respective kind, to preserve each other's body heat. The Alaskacephales also lower their heads to avoid being blinded by the onslaught of snow.

The alpha, however, soon stops at the sound of a brief honk. He looks up and opens his eyes to find a curious sight, a Pachyrhinosaur calf. The appearance of this young male is much like the other calves, except that he is only 3 and a half feet long. He does not do anything but stand in front of the alpha, making a soft panting noise while wagging his tail. Perplexed, the elder Alaskacephale can only tilt his head slightly and stare at the odd, little youngster. The calf abruptly turns his head as he hears the deep, moo-like bellow of his mother. He lets out a honk before scampering back to his herd, leaving the alpha Alaskacephale to march forward with the rest of his kind.

As this occurs, the wind picks up even more and accelerates the rate of snowfall to a greater degree. In a rare event in the area at this time, a blizzard is occurring. Snow is now falling at such an occurrence and at such a fast rate that the sight in front of both herds is practically blinded. Every tree, plant, and even the sky is hidden in a mass of white, tinted in the dark blue of the night. Even the sounds of both Alaskacephale and Pachyrhinosaurus alike are muffled by the howling storm wind.

In this blizzard, however, something else can just barely be heard. Soft, thudding footsteps pressing into the snow. Raspy, huffing breaths seemingly occurring every few seconds. The alpha Alaskacephale opens his eyes and attempts to see the source. In the snowy mist, is a faint silhouette; one of a two-legged therapod walking in the distance. The alpha shakes his head before looking again, but alas the figure has vanished. He turns around everywhere, finding nothing but a mass of mist and rapid snowfall. The other sounds have also disappeared into the great howling wind. He continues with the march, cautious about what may be lying in wait.

The sound of the wind is broken by a raspy, hissing bellow followed by a large, 20-foot long, 7-foot tall therapod racing from the mist to bite onto an elder Pachyrhinosaur. The wounded ceratopsid lets out a loud, strained honk as its windpipe is getting crushed. Two more of the therapods appear, each snatching an Alaskacephale in their jaws before running back into the mist. In the chaos, the dome-heads scatter throughout the mist, running from the larger carnivores. Many of the remaining Pachyrhinosaurs form a circle, but some still scatter away, including a small calf. The alpha Alaskacephale lets out a loud trill as he runs about aimlessly in the mass of snowy mist. He stops and turns his head frantically, finding none of his kind, not even his mate. Suddenly, one therapod appears in front of the alpha, peering down at him before opening his jaws and bellowing. Another one appears from behind the alpha, running and ready to bite him before running into the other therapod. They immediately start to bellow at each other before bumping and biting each other's skulls. Amidst the fight, the elder Alaskacephale runs further away. He huffs and pants constantly, all while running as fast as his body will allow him. The alpha looks behind him, seeing faint glimpses of a Pachyrhinosaur being preyed on amidst the snow midst. Abruptly, he trips and is sent tumbling down a steep dirt edge, only stopping when his body crashes against a tree. The alpha lays silent, his body motionless and still.

***

Some time passes and the storm subsides. The dark blue tint of the Alaskan winter night remains, but snow is now falling at a slower rate. The alpha Alaskacephale lies motionless and partly buried in the snow. However, something unknown approaches sniffing his face. It nudges the side of its face with its beak, but no response. It nudges again and the dome-head starts to peak his eyes open. The unknown creature laps its tongue across the side of the alpha's face, causing him to trill and shake his waking head. He looks up to find an unexpected savior... the small Pachyrhinosaur calf. The alpha looks around to find himself and the calf surrounded by a stretch of wilderness. He stands up, reaches his head into the air, and lets out three trilling calls. His sounds faintly echo throughout the woods, but no other sound occurs, not even that of another Alaskacephale.

The alpha dashes away looking for a way out of the woods when he finds where he entered from. A steep, 6-foot cliff made up of mud and permafrost with snow and vegetation at the top. He walks along the side of it, his toes clawing against the cliffside, but to no avail. Again and again, he tries, with every attempt ending only with him sliding down to the ground. As the alpha gets back up, the calf lets out an extended, whimpering honk. He stops and softly whimpers letting his sound echo through the woods. Again, the young Pachyrhinosaur honks, achieving only the same results.

The alpha Alaskacephale walks past the whimpering calf and further through the woods. The calf runs to the elder's side, only to be snorted at and nudged away. The calf honks and runs back to the alpha who stops and turns toward him. Again, he snorts and nudges away the youngster. The calf only stands in place, whimpering even more. The alpha only takes a single step away before looking back at the youngster. He sees the calf lying on the ground, his legs sprawled out, his head lowered in the snow, and streams of tears running from his eyes. The alpha looks around him and even past the calf, seeing nothing but the snow-covered trees, ferns, and horsetails. He looks down at the ground and snorts before turning away. The Alaskacephale stops after a few steps before letting out a trill toward the calf. The young Pachyrhinosaur lifts his head before lifting himself off the snowy ground. He then rushes towards the alpha and starts walking alongside him.

***

Hours have now passed since the unlikely duo embarked together, yet still no signs of either of their herds. Though the alpha Alaskacephale experiences no trouble with the snow, the Pachyrhinosaur calf starts to trudge slower and slower. He stops while panting frequently, his mouth drying up. The calf digs his feet through the snow below him finding cold dirt with frozen roots and horsetails. Clamping his beak down, he tugs at the frozen vegetation, but to no effect. More he tugs, harder with each attempt, but nothing changes. Aggressively, he lets go and joins back with the Alaskacephale.

However, the alpha has stopped and is now looking around with his head tilted upward. The calf lets out a brief honk before being silenced by the trill of the Alaskacephale. He tilts his ear toward the air as faint honking and creaking moans occur from the distance. The calf also tilts his head as the sounds grow louder. He lets out a honk before dashing away to his left. The Alaskacephale trills as he chases after the young Pachyrhinosaur.

Soon, the calf arrives at the edge of the forest and is greeted by an open clearing of snow. The alpha arrives shortly after finding the calf standing still and staring across the clearing. The Alaskacephale looks in the same direction, finding the source of the youngster's attention.

It is a massive herd, not of Pachyrhinosaurs or Alaskacephales, but this area's biggest visitors. They are Edmontosaurus, one of the largest members of the duck-billed hadrosaur family. Their bodies are large and bulky, weighing as much as a hippo and up to half as long as a tennis court. Their dark, gray skin is made up of large, pentagonal scales, scattered among small round scales. Their backs are bumpy, and their underbellies are white. At the top of their heads lies a fleshy, half-circle-shaped comb that's colored bright red on the males and faded dark red on the females. Much like their family's nickname suggests, their mouths are covered with a keratinous duck-like beak. Their over 50 teeth are absent from this structure, instead being hiding in the back of their mouths. These mouths are the source of their deep honks and creaking groans that echo for miles around them. While their two back legs have three toes, the toes of their front legs are joined together in keratinous structures shaped like hooves.

These large hadrosaurs have become quite common across western North America, from as far south as Colorado and as far north as here in Alaska. With such an extended range comes a wealth of knowledge of where to find the resources needed on their travels. Thus, the elder Alaskacephale knows wherever a herd of Edmontosaurs goes, food and water are soon to follow. The alpha trills as he looks at the calf on his left side. However, the young Pachyrhinosaur is absent. The Alaskacephale continues to trill before finding the calf slowly walking back into the woods. Quickly, the alpha follows, finding the little youngster sulking with tears running down his face again. Slowly, the Alaskacephale moves closer to the crestfallen calf. Ever so gently, he nudges his head against the youngster, grazing his cheek. Gradually, the young Pachyrhinosaur lifts his head back up and returns the rub to the Alaskacephale. He then lets out a strain honk whose sound faintly repeats throughout the woods. The calf does it again this time followed by the alpha trilling at the same loudness.

Each of their calls continues repeatedly until the Alaskacephale stops and freezes. The little Pachyrhinosaur stops too, hearing a sound creeping in. Soft footsteps followed by raspy, huffing breaths, something both small dinosaurs are familiar with. Immediately, they rush away, combing the woods for a hiding spot. They soon find a fallen tree, and the Alaskacephale jumps over it and ducks behind. The Pachyrhinosaur calf attempts to do the same but finds himself stuck on top. Thanks to some squirming and lifting, the youngster's predicament lasts only for a moment before he falls over to the other side.

The two travelers peer their heads above the log only slightly as the huffing sounds become louder. In place of the tracks, they left behind, they see a large, three-toed foot stomp into the snow. Their eyes scan upward and finally see the fearsome carnivore, a Nanuqsaurus, the "polar bear lizard." Its body is robust and covered in a coat of white and faded gray, hair-like feathers. Only its feet, hands, and face lack these feathers, exposing its black, scaly skin. Much like other members of the tyrannosaur family, its arms are small with only two, clawed fingers. And just like the namesake of its family, the eyes of the Nanuqsaurus are wideset and faced forward, giving it exceptional depth perception and the ability to see long distances. A trait that alone is dangerous enough to be worth avoiding.

The alpha and calf duck back down under the log, but in the process scratch against it making a snapping sound. This makes the Nanuqsaur jerk its head in the direction of the log and steadily step toward it. As it inches ever so closer, the predator employs another trick up its sleeve, its nose. Much like its famous relative from further south, the olfactory lobe of the Nanuqsaur's brain is unusually large, granting it an extraordinarily strong sense of smell. So, even if this predator can't see the small dinosaurs, it will still smell them. Nevertheless, the two companions stay tucked under the log as the Nanuqsaur stands over it, sniffing the air.

However, another problem starts to arise. The predator starts to press its left foot down on the log, breaking and snapping it as its weight bears down. In the process, part of the log bears on the small companions. The calf whimpers softly, struggling to force himself quietly, despite the wood inching closer and closer. Now stuck between a rock and a hard place, the two small dinosaurs can either run and risk getting snatched by the Nanuqsaur or stay and get crushed under the very thing hiding them from it.

To the young Pachyrhinosaur, the answer is clear. Quickly, he scampers from under the log with the Alaskacephale following not far behind. The Nanuqsaur sees the pair and moves forward, only to break the log and tumble over. The calf and alpha continue rushing through the increasingly sparse woods, gushing snow from the ground with every step. The Alaskacephale looks back finding the Nanuqsaur running towards them, inching ever so closer. The pair may have speed on their side, but they may not be able to keep it up for long. Even the calf is starting to lag, growing ever so tired. The alpha looks back ahead to find a tree with a patch of exposed dirt and permafrost in front of it. With only seconds left before running into it, the Alaskacephale snorts and turns to the right, with the little Pachyrhinosaur doing the same. The Nanuqsaur attempts to turn as well only to slip and fall on the ground, sliding into the side of the tree. The alpha looks back and trills before turning back forward, unaware of the calf becoming ever so slower.

Soon, the Alaskacephale stops, finding himself at another edge of the woods near an open valley of snow and exposed rocks. Not far away, he finds a partly frozen river with a herd of Edmontosaurs on one side and the other, the Alaskacephale and Pachyrhinosaur herds. The alpha chirps and trills excitedly as he turns back to the calf. Much to his shock, however, the calf has lagged far behind and is slowing to a near stop. The Alaskacephale trills even more and even louder as he runs to his young companion.

Suddenly, trouble appears and the Nanuqsaurus emerges from behind a tree near the little Pachyrhinosaur. The calf narrowly avoids the large predator's jaws and scampers into a nearby burrow, just barely fitting in. The Nanuqsaur bites around the entrance of the ground hole. In the process, he grazes the skin of the little calf causing him to let out a squealing honk. The alpha stands nearly frozen bouncing his sight between the Nanuqsaur and the herd he's been desperately searching. His turning stops, pointing toward his next destination. After all this time, after all he went through, he now knows what to do.

After much struggle, the predator manages to grasp its jaws around the little Pachyrhinosaur, dragging it out of the burrow, kicking and honking. The Nanuqsaur presses his right foot on the calf's tail and gets ready to land the killing bite. Suddenly, the alpha Alaskacephale bashes his dome skull into the predator's left leg at full speed, causing it to let the youngster go and let out a loud raspy bellow. This noise echoed wide and far even being heard by one member of the Pachyrhinosaur herd. One adult female looks at the woods and finds the calf and alpha Alaskacephale confronted by the Nanuqsaur. She lets out a huff before squinting her eyes.

The alpha and calf, now reunited, stand together, and make their calls against the large predator. The Nanuqsaur, however, bellows back shaking the two companions to their core. Despite this, they still stand firm letting out more of their calls. The predator starts to move forward, its jaws opening wide, till suddenly, its face gets bashed. The Nanuqsaur topples over in front of a tree in a daze. It looks back up, not only seeing the calf and alpha but also the calf's mother, heavily snorting as she breathes. The predator stands up wobbling and struggles to bellow with his loose jaw. In response, the mother Pachyrhinosaur stomps her front feet down and lets out a loud, honking bellow. Her calf does the same, attempting to mimic his mother. Defeated and wounded, the Nanuqsaur limps away, heavily panting.

As the predator disappears into the woods, the mother Pachyrhinosaur turns around letting out a deep mooing groan. Her calf honks back before rubbing his face against her rumbling mother's. She does the same to the alpha Alaskacephale before the march all out of the woods.

Finally, the two companions, along with the mother Pachyrhinosaur, arrive at their herds, now joined together as one. The Alaskacephale soon finds his mate who runs to him. After such a long time apart, they nuzzle each other, trilling louder than they ever have before. Not long after, they all start drinking from the river, ingesting its refreshing, ice-cold water. The young calf walks next to the alpha nuzzling him. The Alaskacephale immediately reciprocates nuzzling back his Pachyrhinosaur companion.

Suddenly, both the pair and the rest of the herd are met by another surprise, not from the woods, or even from the ground, but instead from far above. In the night sky, a massive aurora borealis flashes and waves across the land. The cold land of Alaska is illuminated by the dancing shine of white, blue, green, purple, and yellow. Surely, nothing could be a more refreshing sight after everything that happened in the past day. At last, they had found a perfect spot to rest and refresh on their long journey. However, it is still far from the end of their arctic retreat.