A sickening squishing sound could be heard as the tooth-blade crashed into the raptor's head, directly between the eyes, right before the body fell quietly to its side. Lifeless as the surviving dinosaurs, not too eager on sharing their pack-mates fates, ran off into the wilderness of the jungle. They left behind the bodies of two of the beasts, while the four mammals that had successfully fought them off panted from their exertions.
"That. Was. Epic!" Crash yelled excitedly after a moment, turning to his brother and bopping their fists in boyish victory. "Eddie, did you see that shot I made back there? I got a rock right up that one raptor's nostril, it was hilarious!"
Diego rolled his eyes at the possum's brags, sitting down as he started to catch his breath. Watching as Buck walked over to one of the bodies and pulled his knife out of the creature's head, wiping the blood off in the grass. "Thanks for the help; I'm not sure I could have kept that up for too much longer."
The weasel smiled, as he placed the blade back in its belt. "I think you would've done alright without me, you did kill one yourself before I strolled in."
The saber looked over at the raptor sprawled on the ground nearby, smiling a little with pride. It had been a while since he had killed a predator, and it was pleasing to know he still had it in him to take down an enemy. Especially one as vicious and foreign as the dinosaurs he had just fought with. Diego glanced over at his friend again, who was approaching the tree where the twins were perched with a slightly annoyed expression on his face, about to reply to the compliment when he noticed the angry gash in the other animal's back.
"Buck, what happened to you?"
The weasel ignored the question; too busy glaring at the two possums disapprovingly to care. "You two, get down here! Did you find those lizards I told you to look for? We don't have a lot of time-"
"I found one!" Crash interrupted, remembering his discovery when they were first attacked. "I…can't find it now, but I did find one."
"It was right by that rock, maybe there's more around there." Eddie added, defending his brother before leaping down from the tree branch. Finding the one his brother dropped in a matter of seconds.
The weasel redirected his attention to the area the twins had pointed at, trying to speedily locate the lizards he was seeking.
Diego accepted the silent refusal to answer his question with slight reluctance, but knew Buck's stubbornness was equal to his own and didn't push the matter. Instead he turned his eyes toward the ground to search for his new prey, remembering why they were looking for the little creatures to begin with. He tried not to think of how much worse Sid could have possibly gotten in the time they had been gone.
"Ooh! Ooh! I found another one!" One of the boys yelled, catching the attention of the older mammals, both of whom rushed over to the possums to take a look.
"Two should do it…" Buck stated confidently, looking around at the foliage and grabbing a large leaf off of one of the plants. Quickly scrapping the slime coating off both lizards, and folding the leaf so none of it would spill. "Now we need to pick up a couple more items on the grocery list, and then we can head back to the home base."
With practiced skill, he scooped up two nearby coconuts, instructing the twins to each carry three, and marched straight back into the jungle. Keeping his eye up in the treetops, until he spotted what he was looking for. A small, satisfied grin lit up his face as he turned to Diego. "Hold these for me, will ya mate?"
After putting the coconuts in the saber's front paws and placing the folded leaf on his head, causing the feline to remain sitting stiffly in order to avoid dropping the items, the weasel quickly climbed up the tree trunk. Leaving the other three down on the ground, staring up into the thick branches that they were unable to see through, and pondering over what their friend was up to now. A few fallen leaves and mild curses later, and then Buck returned, leaping out of the tree like an acrobat and landing solidly on both feet. Sporting a couple of bee stings and a large folded leaf containing the precious honey he had just gone through the pains of stealing. "Alright, let's go!"
The twins marched on without making any remarks, both fearful of the weasel's potential wrath and eager to get the whole mission over with, but Diego wasn't so keen on staying quiet. He had caught the slight look of pain that had crossed the weasel's face then he had jumped out of the tree earlier, and was unwilling to let it go now that they were on the move again.
"You sure you're alright?"
"It's a minor flesh wound, I'll be fine."
"It doesn't look fine to me…"
Without stopping or slowing his pace, Buck glanced over at the saber walking in step with him. "I had my bloody eye slashed right out of its socket once; I think I can tolerate a little scratch!"
Diego was left speechless, as the weasel pushed on ahead of him. Not another word was spoken for the rest of the trek back to the cave.
"I can see them!"
Ellie looked up at the announcement her mate had made, allowing relief wash over her as she looked towards the opening of the cave. She could just barely make out the outlines of the four mammals approaching them. "Oh, thank goodness…"
"Sis!"
"You won't believe what we just went through, El!"
While the twins, completely forgetting the direness of the situation in their excitement, ran to their sister's side to regale her with tales of their dangerous adventure, the other two members of the group made their way over to Sid as Manny eyed the weasel hopefully. Slowly standing up, looking curiously at the items the smaller of the two carried. He had never left his friend's side.
"Did you get it?"
"Would I be here if we hadn't?" Buck asked somberly, putting down his coconuts and the leaf containing the slime. The one with the honey he put aside, intending on using it later when it was necessary. "You mind sitting him up for me, so he'll be able to drink this without choking on the stuff?"
The mammoth did as he was instructed. Lifting his unconscious friend with extreme gentleness, as if he were afraid he would break the sloth. Watching, in a bit of a daze, as the weasel cracked open one of the coconuts with surprising strength, and doing so successfully without spilling any of the milk from the two halves. In seconds he was mixing the lizard slime into the liquid, adding a little bit of honey from the other leaf, before going back to the dying sloth's side.
"Sid…" Buck said soothingly, holding one coconut half in one palm and placing the other hand on the animal's shoulder comfortingly. "If you can hear me, I'm going to need you to drink what I'm about to give you. You got it?"
He waited, even though the sloth was too far gone in the fever to reply, and then cautiously poured the mixture into the sick mammal's mouth. Alert for any signs of sputtering or choking, before he did the same with the other coconut half. After giving Sid a chance to completely swallow the drink, he helped the mammoth lay the animal back down. Looking down on him sadly, and praying for his survival, before turning away and heading toward the campfire that the twins had just finished making.
"Now, we just wait…and hope for the best."
"Are you sure there's nothing else we can do, or that that'll even work? Manny asked, his doubts resurfacing without restraint.
"First, you nit-pick over my announcement on how to save our floppy friend…" Buck snapped, turning on the mammoth angrily. "Now, you're complaining as if I'm not doing enough to save him! I've lead you and your herd, voluntarily, through the perils of this jurassic world. Stuck my neck out for you lot, even though I didn't know any of you and could have easily ignored your fish-out-of-water situation without a care! I've done nothing but help you, and have proven more than once that I do indeed know what I'm talking about, as I certainly hope I would considering how long I've been down here. So it would be nice to get some appreciation out of you instead of your never-ending distrust!"
The weasel glared at the mammoth, slowly becoming aware of the gaping mouths of all the others in the group, and allowing the silence blanket them coldly. After a moment taking a deep breath, realizing that Manny had only reacted out of worry and hadn't really meant to question him, and slowly exhaling as his face fell with guilt. He gave the taller animal an apologetic look, running a hand over the fur on the top of his head with weary frustration.
"Sorry, mate. I was out of line; you have every right to have your doubts when you've got the lives of your herd to worry over."
Manny remained silent for a moment more, before giving him a small nod in reply. He recognized that the crazed animal's outburst stemmed from the same anxieties he himself was having over their situation. He also recognized something deeper, a shared need for redemption, and found himself wondering over their new friend's past once more.
"What happened to your back?" Ellie asked, breaking the silence and driving away the negativity with her concern. Soon, everyone's eyes were on the angry gash and the trickle of blood leaking from it.
Instead of protesting, as he had before, Buck simply walked over to the leaf with the honey. Smearing the warm sticky substance all over the natural gauze, and then cracking open another one of the coconuts. "I got it when I fell off a cliff with Rudy, scrapped myself up when I grabbed at the vegetation growing on the side to stop my fall. Would this cover the whole wound, do you think?"
Diego glanced back and forth between the leaf and the injury on the weasel's back. It was a long cut, but it would be easily covered. "Yeah, that should do it."
Satisfied, Buck went over to the campfire and arranged a group of stones over it. Quickly piling them up; two piles on each side, so that a single flat stone could be safely laid across the flickering flames until it had become hot to the touch. Then, he placed the two coconut halves, still full of their nutrient liquid, on top of it. Watching as the fluid slowly began to boil.
"What are you doing?" Manny asked, with curiosity rather than suspicion.
"I'm sterilizing the water so I can clean my wound before putting the honey on it. I've seen the humans do this when they've treated some of their injured." The weasel said quietly, allowing himself to be mesmerized by the bubbles rising in the heating water. "You can learn a lot from those upright-animals, if you take the time to watch them. They're pretty clever; a lot of the things I've picked up from them has helped me out over the years."
Diego could recall, as he watched the flames, how Sid had told them he had seen humans using two sticks to start their fires after the other two had scoffed at him for his attempts at using the same procedure. Realizing, although he wasn't sure why he didn't pick up on it before, that it had been Buck's method as well when they couldn't find the stones they had grown accustomed to using to create the flames. He never would have thought to watch how humans operated outside of a hunt, or to even consider imitating some of their unusual actions.
"So…" Eddie began as he edged himself closer to the fire, with his brother following his lead. "How long have you been down here and how did you even find this place?"
Buck removed coconut shells from the flat rock, ceasing the boiling of the liquid, and set them aside to cool. Returning his gaze towards the flames, and quietly recalling the events that lead him to discover the cave that opened up to reveal the underground world. Smiling, although somewhat sadly, as he remembered those early days.
"I wasn't always a vagabond, and when I first came to this terrifying oasis I wasn't alone." The weasel said after a moment, surprised by how easily the past he wanted so badly to forget was bubbling out of him like water from a fountain. "Honestly, there isn't very much to say when it comes to my old life. My brother, Mike, and I had left the rest of our family behind that summer, eager to go off on our own and explore the big bad world around us. My best friend, Daisy, had come along with us. I was thrilled about that, of course, because I'd always fancied her more than just a friend…although, I had never told her that. Was terrified of ruining a good thing, you know? Anyway, maybe a month after we left home we became an item...as it turns out, she had always fancied me more than a friend too."
Ellie smiled a little at the mention of the love story, recalling how she and Manny had gotten together. Her mate however, while smiling a little at first, soon frowned as a sense of foreboding washed over him. After all, there had to be a good reason why their new friend was alone now.
"With item-hood comes the joy of upcoming motherhood, as I'm sure you can tell us of, love." Buck continued, jokingly. His smile quickly fading as his mind flashed over everything that had happened all those years ago. "Daisy and I were soon proud parents, and Mike became the fun-loving uncle. Not too long after that, I'm afraid, is when it all fell apart…"
The weasel blinked, he could feel tears beginning to form in his eye, but shook it off stubbornly. Telling the group of the stampede that had killed the children a few weeks after their birth; devastating the guilt-ridden adults, who had done all they could to save their kin. Revealing how Daisy had been so grief-stricken by the loss, and how she had begun to slowly deteriorate over the months that followed the tragic incident. Buck; fearing for his mate's life, and insisted that they return to their old territory, and reunite with their own parents. Having high hopes that familiar grounds would help pull her out of her depression.
Daisy's unexpected leap into a raging river a few days after his suggestion had shaken Buck to his core.
"We gave up on going home after that…" He sighed, testing the warmth of the coconut water with a fingertip. Satisfied that it had cooled down enough, he poured the lukewarm liquid onto the aching slash on his back. Tenderly washing away the dried blood and loose fur, and grateful for the slight relief in his discomfort. "So, we continued onward into the unknown. Two blokes seeking a new start…although, I admit to being tempted to follow Daisy into the abyss. Mike could see it in my eyes I suppose, because he never let me out of his sight. It took time, but he pulled me out of my brooding. With a little help from this place…"
Pausing, Buck grabbed at the honey covered leaf. Making sure the entire thing was saturated with the sticky substance before turning to Diego. "Would you mind putting this over my wound, mate?"
The saber quietly complied, giving the weasel a silent apology for the hardships he had endured.
"Wh-what happened after that?" Crash asked, hugging his brother tightly as if they had been listening to a horror story. The twins both had tears glistening in their eyes, and made no attempts at hiding it.
"Winter was setting it, and one night the two of us got caught in a horrible blizzard!" Buck continued, sitting back down next to the fire and staring moodily into it. "Mike had seen the cave opening first; he always did have a sharp eye. We dashed into it, a little recklessly I'm afraid, and were dumbfounded to discover there was no end to it. I don't remember what had caused the cave-in that blocked our way out; I just remember being terrified to going deeper into that blackness. Imagine our surprise when we saw light, and then saw this wonderland sprawled out before us!"
The herd members all smiled a little, they could completely relate to the younger Buck's awe. Diego still couldn't believe such a place existed underneath their world above.
"Discovering this place cheered me up at first, but it didn't last." The weasel frowned sadly, glancing over at Sid's still form. "Mike didn't know what hit him when he walked past that flower…I stayed by his side until the very end. I wish I knew then, what I know now. I could have saved him…"
Manny's eyes widened, as he was sure the others around him had done as well, and he stared in shock at the strange animal. It made sense now; the way the weasel had panicked when he saw the blossom, his extreme care over Peaches and Sid, his remark about knowing what it was like to see a friend so close to death and feeling helpless to stop it. Buck had experienced it all, first hand.
The mammoth didn't need to ask how his new crazed companion had learned of the antidote he had given Sid. Instead, he came to the conclusion that Buck had used his keen observation skills to uncover that tidbit of information. Had probably seen one of the dinosaurs lick or eat one of those lizards directly after being shot by the poisonous darts.
Manny couldn't begin to imagine how maddening it must have been to discover such critical information after losing someone so close to him, who had needed that knowledge to survive.
"A day or so after burying Mike, I encountered Rudy." He continued, a humorless smile forming on his lips at the memory. "I died that night, only to remarkably find myself reborn. An adrenaline rush ignited my senses in those moments when I was about to be swallowed alive, it stirred something in me, and you lot know the rest of the story…I've never been the same since."
Silence, an ever-present blanket over the group that evening, remained cloaked over the unusual herd as they stared into the flickering flames of their campfire. No words could be spoken, nothing could be said to soothe such old wounds. They could do nothing but wait; wait for the morning, and hope that they all made it through the night.
Well, one more chapter to go! I'm in a rush to post this before I head for work, so forgive my hastiness if I failed to catch a grammar no-no. Hope you enjoyed this, and I hope you'll stick around for the conclusion!