“Keep both eyes open and look carefully through the telescopic sight. Place the little intersecting lines directly in front of the creature’s breast.”

“Yes Father,” said eleven-year-old Iolana Livonia Dechantagne Staff, pressing her face against the cool wood of the rifle stock.

“How many do you count, dear?”

“I see six, Father. How many should I shoot?”

“You’ll be lucky to hit even the one.” Radley Staff bent down and kissed the top of his daughter’s head. “Achillobators are very fast.”

“Beautiful too.”

“Yes, beautiful too.”

“It seems a shame to shoot them.”

“Well perhaps, but they are very dangerous. You wouldn’t want them coming around our house when your little cousins are outside, would you?”

“No, Father.”

“Alright, let’s see if you can shoot one. Squeeze the trigger. Don’t pull.”

“I know, Father.” The girl jerked as the high-powered rifle let out a deafening report. Then she quickly worked the action, bringing another round into the chamber. She fired again, and cocking the weapon, fired a third time. Then she stopped and looked up at her father, who was beside her, on his knees, peering through a pair of binoculars. “I’m sorry Father. The rest have fled.”

“No, no. You did very well.”

He stood up and then reached down to help her up. Once back on her feet, Iolana carefully smoothed out her dress. Though not burdened with the bustles and corsets of grown women, she was nevertheless covered from chin to ankle in the fashion appropriate to a girl of her age. Plenty of white lace and brocade accented the light gold poplin. One of the lizzies picked up the rifle, while another rolled up the mat upon which the girl had been lying.

“Can we go gather some feathers, Father? I would like some of them for a new hat.”

“Whatever you want.”

Staff waved his hands toward the lizzies, who quickly gathered up the rest of their gear. Staff, his daughter, and the six reptilians were soon stalking through the brown grass of the vast open meadow. He kept looking toward the girl to see if she needed any help, but the few times her dress became caught on a thorn, one of the lizzies jumped forward to unhook it before it tore the material. At last they reached their destination.
Achillobators were feathered dinosaurs about the same size as utahraptors. The latter, covered in bright blue and turquoise feathers and hunting in pairs, had been common along the coastline when humans had arrived. They were becoming increasingly scarce though as civilization spread into their habitat. On the other hand, achillobators were becoming more and more common. Covered in bright crimson with a black breast, they hunted in packs of eight or more.

The three dead creatures were grouped close together. One was as large a specimen as Staff had ever seen, more than twenty feet from nose to end of tail, over seven feet tall when it had stood. The other two were slightly smaller. All three were clean kills.

“Good hunt,” said Teska, the old lizzie hunter who usually accompanied Staff when he went out shooting. A couple of the others hissed in agreement.