The girl tugged at the straps of her backpack, feeling the familiar weight of the heavy gear inside. The streets were alive with the chaos of the riot, but she wasn't here just for the cause. Her breath came in shallow bursts under the mask she wore—an archosaur's trick to blend in. The metal mask covered her face, its engraved slogan "Pro Human" more for misdirection than belief. To anyone around her, she was just another activist, a faceless rioter in the crowd. But that wasn't the real reason she was here today.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out, checking the screen. The familiar notification from DinoChan, a chat forum she frequented, blinked at her. Her fingers hovered over the icon, torn between joining the chaos erupting around her or slipping back into her quiet world of anonymity. She opened the message.
Anon: "Heard the riots are getting bad. You're there?"
She smiled under her mask. He was online. Anon. The human she'd been talking to for months now. He had no idea she wasn't human herself. No idea that the boy she pretended to be was actually a shy archosaur girl hiding behind a persona. She replied quickly.
"Yeah, I'm in the middle of it. Things are getting crazy, lots of cops, some dinos going wild."
She hesitated before typing her next message, her fingers shaking as they hovered over the screen.
"You?"
She waited for his response, her heart beating faster than the rioters smashing in windows and flipping cars around her. She wasn't here for the violence, though. Not really. She was here to finally meet him—Anon. But even that seemed like too much. He didn't know who she really was. He probably wouldn't care either. She was a nobody, an archosaur pretending to be human, trapped in a lie she'd been spinning for far too long. Meeting him in person was out of the question, but watching him from afar, seeing him in the real world...that was enough. At least for today.
Another message from him popped up on the screen.
Anon: "Not there. I'm avoiding the dinos. Can't stand them anymore."
Her heart sank a little, but she wasn't surprised. He hated dinosaurs. She knew that much from their months of chatting. That's why she never told him who she really was. But despite everything, they shared a connection—a bond she couldn't quite explain. And she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe, just maybe, seeing him in person would change something.
She tucked her phone away and glanced around. The riot was escalating fast. Groups of dino students were gathered around the gates of Dino High, where the blockade had formed. Massive Ankylosaurs in riot gear held their position, their heavy tails swaying menacingly as they kept the protesters at bay. Behind them, Triceratops SWAT officers used their bulk to force the crowd back, clearing the way for more reinforcements.
The police weren't just blocking entry to the school—they were making sure no non-dino creature got anywhere near it. The message was clear: Dino High was for dinos, and no one else. Even if it meant violence.
She spotted a group of non-dino students on the edge of the crowd, trying to make their way into a nearby hotel, hoping to find shelter from the chaos. But a pack of Tyrannosaurus thugs descended on them before they could make it inside. The girl watched from the shadows as the gang ripped apart their belongings, tearing up their admission slips, and laughing as they threw their passports into the flames of a nearby burning car.
Her hands clenched into fists. She wanted to do something, to help. But she knew better. Getting involved wouldn't change anything. Not here. Not today. She wasn't a fighter. She was barely even a protester. She was just a girl caught in the middle of a world that didn't care about her, a world that had rejected her from the very start.
She turned back to the crowd, scanning the faces, searching for him. She knew Anon was out there somewhere. She'd seen his profile picture on DinoChan—just a shadowy figure, never anything clear. But she had a sense of who he was. The way he talked, the way he thought. She could picture him. A human boy, angry at the world, tired of being treated like dirt by the dinos that ruled over everything.
That's what drew her to him in the first place. They shared that same feeling of being outsiders, of not belonging. He hated dinos for what they'd done to him, and she hated herself for being one.
The roar of the crowd pulled her attention back to the riot. The police were advancing, pushing the protesters back with batons and shields. Nearby, a line of armored Ankylosaurs formed a wall, their tails swinging in wide arcs to keep the crowd at bay. The rioters weren't giving up, though. They threw rocks, bottles, anything they could find, trying to break through the blockade. Fires burned in every direction, the smoke rising high into the air, thick and black against the afternoon sky.
She heard a voice shouting nearby, and her heart skipped a beat. It was him. Anon.
She spotted him across the street, standing near a group of other humans, his face partially obscured by a hoodie. He was taller than she expected, but there was no mistaking the way he stood, the way he held himself. She'd imagined this moment a thousand times, but now that it was happening, she didn't know what to do. Should she approach him? Say something?
Her phone buzzed again, and she pulled it out, glancing at the screen.
Anon: "Saw some non-dinos getting wrecked. I'm keeping my distance. These dinos are out of control."
She looked at him, standing there, so close yet so far away. He had no idea she was watching him. No idea that the person he'd been talking to for months was standing just across the street. She wanted to call out to him, to tell him who she was, but she couldn't. The lie was too big now. Too real.
Instead, she watched as the riot intensified. The police were moving in hard, pushing the crowd back, cracking down on anyone who didn't comply. The dino gangs were getting more aggressive too, attacking any non-dinos they could find. It was only a matter of time before the whole thing erupted into full-blown chaos.
Suddenly, a loud explosion rocked the street. A group of protesters had set fire to a nearby business, and the flames were spreading fast. The crowd surged, pushing toward the blockade, and the police responded with force. Tear gas canisters flew through the air, and the sound of shattering glass filled the street.
In the chaos, she lost sight of him. Panic surged through her as she scanned the crowd, looking for any sign of his hoodie. But he was gone, swallowed up by the mass of bodies pushing and shoving against each other.
Her phone buzzed again, but she ignored it. She had to find him. She couldn't leave without seeing him, without making sure he was okay.
She pushed through the crowd, her heart pounding in her chest. The smoke made it hard to see, and the sounds of fighting filled her ears. She stumbled, nearly falling as a group of rioters shoved past her, their faces twisted in anger and fear. She kept moving, though, driven by a need she couldn't explain.
And then she saw him.
He was standing near the edge of the crowd, his back against a wall, watching the chaos unfold around him. He looked calm, almost detached, but she could see the tension in his posture, the way his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
She took a step toward him, her heart racing. But before she could get any closer, a group of riot police moved in, blocking her path. They were pushing the crowd back, their shields up, batons raised.
She hesitated, fear gripping her. She couldn't get through. Not without drawing attention to herself.
She watched as he turned and disappeared into the crowd again, slipping away before she could do anything.
Her phone buzzed one last time, and she glanced at the screen, her heart sinking.
Anon: "I'm out. Stay safe."
She stared at the message, feeling a strange mix of relief and disappointment. He was gone. And so was her chance.
The riot raged on around her, but for her, it was over. She'd come here for him, but in the end, it didn't matter. She couldn't be the person he thought she was. She couldn't be anyone.