Dino Angel
A Tyrannosaurus rex in dino afterlife learns how to be an angel
***
In the year that dinosaurs became extinct, a small tyrannosaur named Trex stopped growing older.
For 70 million years in Dino Heaven, Trex stayed seven feet tall, seven feet long and seven years old. Despite all those years, he was happy, even joyful. What else can you do in heaven?
Then, on another perfect morning, for the 25,550,204,732th time, Trex and Skinny [Gallimimus] were playing "Snack".
Skinny ran, jumped, dug and climbed to not be dragged into such a lunch date, and Trex ran and twisted to catch him.
Usually, Skinny could stay out of Trex's mouth, but this morning Trex’s speed and powerful legs made him faster. And, by hiding in a convenient cloud, he caught Skinny!
Laughing, Trex swallowed Skinny in a final gulp.
From deep in his belly he heard Skinny shout: "No fair!"
Then Skinny added, "Open up!" Trex opened wide.
Skinny hopped out of Trex's stomach and said: "You're supposed to stomp your feet and chase me. You stood still behind a cloud. You knew I couldn't see you."
Trex yawned. "Yah Yah! Bad loser!"
"That was a dirty people trick," said Skinny.
"Say again?" said Trex
"Only a human being would cheat like that," said Skinny.
Trex grabbed Skinny's tail and held him in the air upside down.
"I need to know," Trex said through his clenched teeth, "Just how badly you're insulting me. What is a, what'd you say? human bean?"
Skinny said: "Beings. The Dodo told me about them. He got extincted only a few hundred years ago."
"And where is this dumb Dodo?" Trex said from the side of his long mouth.
Trex and Skinny went to visit the dodo bird.
"Tell him about the humans," Skinny said.
Dodo shrugged. "Not much to say. Big hairless monkeys. Jabber a lot. They know how to kill better than anyone."
"I don't believe this," Trex said, shaking his head.
A passing passenger pigeon settled on Trex's head and said, "You were lucky, you got extincted long before humans evolved. They have power sticks that kill."
"Lucky?" Trex sobbed. "LUCKY?!" he roared with disappointment. He stomped his feet. He raged and rampaged until the clouds turned dark around him.
Trex bellowed, "I never got to eat a human!"
"Not much there to eat," the saber-toothed tiger offered as consolation.
Trex roared, “Then I could have had one for a pet! It's not fair!"
"NOW you've done it," Skinny said, trembling. "You shook heaven. Here comes an angel. It'll send you away to have your attitude adjusted."
"I don't care!" Trex shouted. "Like, I'm scared?"
He yawned to show how cool he was and then said: "I'm going to take a nap behind that big rock."
The angel carried a flaming sword. The angel swished the sword through the big rock and flicked Trex until he hopped out.
"Ouch!" Trex said. “Can’t you ask nicely?”
"You must leave heaven," said the angel. "You are sentenced to return to Earth."
"Oh that's AWFUL!" Trex said.
He winked at Skinny.
The angel said: "There you will work as a guardian angel."
"I don't want to be no sissy guardian angel. I want to be the Angel of Death," Trex told the angel.
The angel spoke on: "You will be guardian angel for a human child. His name is Nuke."
Trex said, "He better be bad."
The angel smiled. "He's just like you."
"Alright!" said Trex, "that's who I want, a mean kid with smarts and speed."
The angel said: "He can't see or hear you. You'll talk to him through his thoughts. But remember: keep him safe. If he gets hurt, you will suffer too."
"There is no problem that being strong and tough can't get me out of," said Trex. "I'll teach the young’un how to rule the Earth."
He looked at Skinny. "I got a great job!"
Suddenly, Trex disappeared.
Skinny said, “If I make a big fuss, can I go to Earth as a guardian angel?"
"Not a chance," said the angel. "Don't even try."
Skinny said, "He'll be an awful guardian angel."
The angel smiled.
"Yes," the angel said.
from the completed book Dino Angel