Chapter 5
Mother?
BANG
ZAP
"One bugger down, one more to go."
Bryan drew his KA-BAR EK-4 Commando Knife and charged towards a snarling Deinonychus threatening him and Charlotte. The Theropod attempted to swipe at him but he deflected its clawed hand and tackled it to the ground before stabbing it in the neck. Another predator dead at the hands of the human hunter. A third Deinonychus appears but Bryan was ready.
He draws his Springfield Armory TRP Operator and fires two shots squarely into the Deinonychus' chest, killing it instantly. As his reholsters his sidearm, Charlotte and Littlefoot watched from the sidelines in awe. Neither of them expected Bryan to be so proficient in close quarters combat. Sure, they believed that he was a good shot and knew how to operate his weapons, but neither of them anticipated that he could take on a small Deinonychus pack without issues.
Unfortunately for the older teenaged boy, killing Deinonychuses were like kicking puppies in the ass when this beast was around. Out of nowhere, Sharptooth appeared behind them and started pursuing. Both Bryan and Charlotte opened fire with their weapons, hoping to stop the behemoth before he could harm either of them or the Apatosauruses.
But it wasn't an easy task for them. Since Charlotte had to reload her musket after each shot, she could not provide sustained fire on the behemoth. Bryan's MK18 MOD 0 on the other hand, while built to specifications set by the US Special Forces, still had a civilian legal selector. That meant he could not fire his weapon on full auto to provide some form of sustained fire.
One had to reload after each shot and the other was stuck in semi-auto fire, not a very ideal situation. Worse of it all, Bryan's trigger finger was growing tired of rapid firing his weapon, and he slowed down severely. Survival looked bleak for the two humans when suddenly; Richard appeared behind Sharptooth and sent a slug right up his anus. As if he was being… pardon me, raped, the beast's eyes widened and he made this weird grunting noise.
Charlotte and Bryan glared at each other. They half knew what the noise was and they didn't want to bother learning the other half. Both of them took off and ran for their lives while Richard restarted his assault. Several slugs penetrate Sharptooth's back, neck, and tail. He swings around and snarls at Richard, who calmly plants a slug right through the roof of the behemoth's mouth.
Things were not looking good for the undisputed Lord, and it was about to get a lot worse. Already the ground trembled and all signs point to an earthquake. But neither Richard, Sharptooth, nor anyone else could predict how big of an earthquake this was. This was no ordinary earthquake; it was a literal clash of continents. Massive cracks start to form; one in particular would come to be known as the Great Divide.
Up ahead, Bryan, Charlotte, and Littlefoot have been separated from the Apatosaurus herd. They had no idea where they were, and with chaos all around them, Bryan had no choice but to take command and get all three of them out with their skins intact. But Charlotte had another concern; Richard.
"Bryan, we can't go yet." She said to the older male teenager. "Richard is still missing."
"There isn't any time, Charlotte." He replied. "This is a clash of continents. You want to survive, you keep moving. Right now it's everyone for themselves."
"But Richard is your friend!"
"He is my friend yes! But I'd much rather leave with my skin intact than be found with my limbs and head missing. And I have Littlefoot to look after."
"Fine! If you're not willing to help your friend then I'll go help him."
"Go on! I'll see you on the other side if you make it."
Without further ado, both humans part ways. Charlotte charged back through the chaos while Bryan and Littlefoot made their mad dash for safety. As she made her way back, the ground underneath her suddenly gave way. A loud ear piercing scream echoed through the newly opened crack as Charlotte fell deeper and deeper into the abyss.
Back with Bryan, things were not looking up either. All the paths he chose were ripped apart right the minute he and Littlefoot arrived, and now they were running out of options. They had to find an exit point quickly or they too would be swallowed up by the clash of continents. Then, the ground underneath them rose, pushing them high and giving them a bird's eye view of the chaos and destruction.
"Holy shit…" Bryan muttered in shock. "I've read about clash of continents before, but I never thought it'd be this bad."
"Dad, are we safe?" Littlefoot asked. "Will be be fine?"
"We'll be fine. They raised our portion of ground for a reason, Littlefoot."
Both Littlefoot and Bryan hugged each other in an embrace. Right now there was nothing more they could do other than to give each other companionship and comfort.
Darkness has once again shrouded the area. The clash of continents had stopped but now there was a relentless downpour. On a ledge situated within one of the newly opened cracks, Richard slowly opened his eyes. He was dazed, wounded, but alive. The teenaged boy pushes himself back onto his feet with his shotgun and begins stumbling towards a ramp which would lead him out of the opening.
Just then, he spots Charlotte lying on the ledge, millimeters away from the edge. Her musket laid beside her on her right. The teenager nudges his female counterpart gently but got no response. Further attempts were also futile in getting her awake. He checks her breathing, nothing. He checks her pulse. Great news, there was a pulse, a very weak one at that.
There was no time to waste. Richard performs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as well as CPR in an attempt to save Charlotte. With each second ticking by, the chances of saving her grew less and less but then, as if an act of god had happened, he did it. The 18th century teenaged girl gasped for air as she regained consciousness, her male counterpart by her side.
"You okay?" Richard asked.
"Thank you, Richard." She buries her face into his chest and starts sobbing. "Thank you for saving me."
"It was the least I could do."
Richard wraps his hand around Charlotte and hugs her. For a moment the two teenagers from completely different times just sat there in the rain; Charlotte sobbing and Richard hugging her. Then, Richard remembered something. Bryan and Littlefoot were nowhere near them, and now they had to find them.
"Come on, Charlotte." He gently muttered. "We have to go find Bryan and Littlefoot."
"Okay…" she answered.
While the two teenagers slowly prepared themselves to move out, Bryan and Littlefoot were already moving through the desolation. Bryan had his NODs over his head, and he was moving through the area with his rifle raised. Littlefoot was right behind him, cautiously scanning the area the human had missed. Nothing. No sound, no chirping, no snarls. Just the relentless rain pouring down on them.
Just as the area seemed clear, Bryan spots a silhouette to his right. It was that of an Apatosaurus. His heart sank. Was this Littlefoot's mother?
The youngling thought so. He charged to the Apatosaurus' side and nudged her in an attempt to wake her up. She did not respond. Bryan checked for breathing and pulse, nothing. At that moment, Bryan stumbled back in distraught. He felt as if he had failed his duties to protect Littlefoot's mother. Tears started to trickle down from his eyes and he struggled to contain his emotions.
"Mother!" Littlefoot shouted. "Mother, you have to wake up!"
Never once did the Apatosaurus, who Bryan identified as a female, regain consciousness or react to Littlefoot's pleas. She laid there in her final resting place, not even making a sound. It didn't take long for Littlefoot to realize the truth. His mother was gone and there was nothing he could do about it.
Littlefoot lies down beside his mother and starts sobbing uncontrollably. Beside him, Bryan also sat down, and he places the young Apatosaurus' head and neck on his lap to comfort him. Gently, he strokes the youngling.
"Shh." He comforted. "It's okay… It's okay…"
"Mother…" the youngling sobbed. "She's…"
"Aw, I know… I know…"
Despite the supposed death of a mother, the rain never stopped. It was relentlessly pouring cold liquid on top of the two deeply saddened friends but neither of them felt any change in the temperature. Littlefoot had lost his mother and Bryan, being a close friend of him and his mother, was hit hard emotionally. But the teenaged boy remembered something his own adoptive mother once said.
"If you feel sad, go to sleep. Sleep through the sadness and wake up in happiness."
He tells Littlefoot to do the same before closing his own eyes, dozing off to a not so peaceful slumber on a not so peaceful or happy day.
