Okay, I present to you Chapter 3. Taking off to where after the herd and the dino birds escape from the museum and wander into the modern city. Enjoy!
Loud. Noisy. That's all the herd could think about as they started running away from the museum, escaping as far as possible from their prison. They passed by so many horrifying sights as they traveled through the city. Strange things were bound to happen at night. They saw things such as cars, streetlights, buildings, you name it. They passed by a bunch of humans and anthropomorphic animals who gave the herd strange looks. They could tell that in this world scary things happened at night.
"This place is giving me the creeps," Ellie said.
"Can we go back and hide out in the box for the rest of the night?", Sid asked.
"We can't go back. We need to stick together," Manny told, "We'll make it through this together. I know it."
But things started getting worse after that. They started passing by what some people prefer to call the Night Weirdos. There were people dressed like animals and animals dressed like people. Some people were dressed like cartoon characters. Some were just creeps that were out asking and begging for money. That's not all. You had street performers playing violins and saxophones. Some were sitting in chairs playing guitars and banjos. It was getting so bad that Shira screamed in fright. Then they crossed another corner where they saw people and animals dressed up in the modern night club designer clothes to get inside, you guess it, a night club. Some of the human girls were screaming in fright, but the human guys were complimenting the herd by telling them they were awesome realistic looking mascots. Even the animals cheered them on. But all the herd wanted to do was get as far away as possible.
And the even more worse came along after that. Along came the traffic. It was the worst thing anybody could possibly imagine with its loud noises and all. Screeching tires, loud motors, horns honking, you name it. It was noise that put you on edge. Imagine living in New York City and having to hear it every single day. The herd couldn't take it anymore. That's when Buck spotted an alley.
"Look!", Buck told everyone.
"Can we hide in there?", Shira asked.
"Yes, we can!"
And so the herd ran over into the alley, knowing that nothing or nobody will harm them. Manny checked to make sure the herd was safe in the alley. After checking around and spotting nothing or nobody, he knew the coast was clear.
"Okay, I think we're safe here," Manny told, "We can hide from whatever's going on out there for the night."
"I don't know about you guys, but I'd rather live out here for the rest of my life," Shira said, "I'm never going back out there."
"This place is nothing like home!", Crash said, "If we stay here, we're gonna die!"
"For once, I agree with you," Diego said.
"There's no way we're gonna be able to live out here," Ellie said, "We need to find a way back home."
"But what if there is no way home?", Eddie asked.
"Then we have to keep searching until we find it," Buck said, "In order to find what we're looking for, we have to take risks. Risks that we never thought we could take."
"Well, I'm not taking any more risks," Julian said.
"Me, neither," Peaches said.
Teddy starts tapping his feet, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starting to feel funny."
"Funny as in 'ha ha?'", Gladys asked, swaying her hips.
"No. Funny as in 'I'm starting to feel like a real rabbit.' Does anybody know what season it is? Am I late doing something?"
"Oh, you're just talking crazy."
"Kiss me, woman," he starts making out with Gladys behind a dumpster.
"Manny, I know sometimes we have somebody else help us, but I think maybe you should give us some encouragement," Ellie told her husband.
"Well, the only thing I can say is everything's gonna be fine," Manny told, "I have to agree on what Buck said earlier. We need to keep searching until we can find a way home. That's our main priority."
"So what do we do until then?", Sid asked.
"The only thing we can do is get some sleep and wait until morning."
"Sounds like a plan," Buck said, "You all get some shut eye and I'll keep watch."
"Thanks, Buck," Manny said as the herd lie down to rest while Buck watches out through the alley.
Even with the horrible stench coming from the dumpsters and the noise of nighttime traffic and street performers, the herd was able to get some sleep, having no idea what will await them in the morning.
However, Scrat had ran out of the museum chasing after his runaway nut. The acorn continued rolling until it made its way safely across the street, careful not to get run over by a car. Scrat's only thought was getting his nut back so he started crossing the street. But lo and behold he got squashed by a car. It remained that way for the rest of the night, which was how long the police were at the museum trying to search for the missing Ice Age displays.
After sleeping in the alley for the night, the sun was shining, but the snow and ice still covered the trees, buildings and small patches of grass. It was weird how none of it was on the roads or sidewalks, but it was probably different in the summertime. But the herd didn't know that. They decided to continue making their way through the city.
"Where the heck are we?", Shira asked.
"This definitely isn't our world," Eddie said.
"Bronwyn, I don't think we're in the Ice Age anymore," Buck told his pumpkin daughter.
"I'm as confused as the rest of you are, but walking around and seeing new things won't hurt," Manny told, "We'll probably be adapting to this new world when we figure out a way back to our old one."
"You're right, Manny. It'll be like taking a tour," Ellie said, "Come on, everyone."
The daytime was way more different than nighttime. It was filled with better stuff. Plus it was quieter. There wasn't a lot of noisy traffic and less street performers. The herd saw all sorts of things they had no idea about. The mammals saw things that never existed in the Ice Age such as clothes, shoes, pictures, signs, metal, phones, food hanging out as window displays -doesn't that just make someone feel uncomfortable- as well as seeing fruits and vegetables in wooden carts. They also saw people and animals inside buildings getting their daily work done. There were butchers chopping meat, bakers making bread, office workers typing on computers, you name it. The herd had no idea what was going on, but they were impressed with the scenery. It was better than what they experienced during the night.
But there were some things that made them uncomfortable. People kept giving them weird glances and they kept seeing people left and right doing things that they thought would never exist.
Even Louis was hating it. Well, that's normal in his case, "This place is giving me the creeps. How I wish I could bury myself underground," then an acorn bumped into the back of his leg.
Scrat was finally able to escape the traffic and scurry along, but after another near death experience, he ended up tripping over a crack on the sidewalk and dropping his acorn again. He chased after it, wishing in his mind that for once his nut would stick to him like glue. The acorn ended up bumping into Louis' leg. He turns around and sees the nut on the ground. Scrat ran by and gave the molehog a look that told him, "That acorn belongs to me."
Louis picks up the nut, "Hey there, little fella. Does this belong to you?" Scrat nodded. Louis hands the nut to him. "There you go."
Scrat was happy to have his acorn back. He looked at Louis. Most of the time he would get angry and yell at somebody for touching his nut, but Louis was so kind as to return it to him. He decided that the molehog was allowed to touch what belonged to him. As long as he had his permission. Louis looked at Scrat and smiled at the squirrel.
"Do you wanna meet my friends?", he asked. Scrat gave it some thought and nodded. "Okay, come on." Louis walks up to the herd with the saber-tooth squirrel in tow. "Hey, everyone. Look who I found. It's a cute little squirrel."
"That's nice, Louis," Ellie said, "You know, just by looking at him, he reminds me of one of those little squirrels from back in the Ice Age."
"He probably ended up like we did," Sid said, "Poor little fella."
"I bet he hates it here as much as I do," Shira said.
"I think he's kind of cute," Louis said.
"You're right, weiner," Crash said, looking at Scrat, "He does look cute."
"Yeah. Pretty ugly cute," Eddie said, as both twin brothers start laughing.
Louis sighs and rolls his eyes, "Well, I'd like to keep him as a pet."
"Aw, that's sweet of you, Louis," Peaches said.
"I can tell why Louis is one of your best friends, Peach," Julian said, "He is so awesome."
Louis walks over to Manny with Scrat in tow, "Manny, do you mind if I could keep this little guy as a pet?"
"Sure, whatever," Manny said.
"Wow. Thanks, Manny," Louis looks at Scrat, "You hear that, little buddy? Manny said I could keep you as a pet. Welcome to the herd."
"Just so we can call him something, how about giving him a name?", Shira asked.
"Good idea. It might take me some time."
The herd continued on with Scrat this time. Since Louis wanted him as a pet, he decided to stick with the mammals. It's about time he was given a new home. Plus he might even be treated with more respect. And get pampered. He was pretty sure pets get good treatment. Just when he thought that, he tripped over a rock.
But the coolest thing happened. He didn't drop his nut. Normally the acorn would fly out of his hands when he fell, but this time it didn't. It was like his precious treasure was glued to his paws. He started thinking about why it didn't escape. That's when a lightbulb shined above his head. It was because he was now a part of the herd. Before the herd he would always lose his acorn. Now that he was with them, the nut wouldn't leave his arms. It all made sense. He was the happiest squirrel alive. The herd was a gift. They were like magic. Why didn't he find them before? No need to ask that question. As long as he was with the herd, he would never lose his nut again. So he decided to stick with them and be a part of their ever growing family. It was a miracle. He would never lose his acorn again.
The herd continued traveling through the city until they ended up in a large park covered with snow and ice. They looked to see that it was late afternoon. The sun was beaming brightly, but it still didn't meet the cold winter that replaced summer.
"It's gonna start getting late soon," Manny told the others, "We need to find a better place to sleep tonight."
"Good," Brooke said, "I don't particularly like strange smells when I sleep."
"Why don't we ask someone?", Ellie asked.
"Who can we ask that won't be afraid of us?", Diego asked.
Just when Diego said that, an elderly woman walked up to them. She had three young teenagers trailing behind her.
"I hear you need help finding a better place to sleep tonight," the elderly woman said, "Allow me to help."
The herd had their chance to give the woman a strange look. They were surprised by her and the teenagers. They weren't frightened by their appearances. But the herd was frightened. There were four humans standing in front of them.
That's the end of Chapter 3. I let Scrat become a part of the herd and never losing his acorn again. I decided to give the squirrel some happiness in his life. Also, I apologize for this chapter being short. The next chapter will be longer than this. Give credit to ninjagogirl luvs iceage21, because she helped me with this chapter. Comment below on what you think of this chapter. No harsh comments or anything like that. Next chapter will come next week.