Chapter 12

Sacrifice

As the original group parted ways with the splinter group, its members continued the trek to the Great Valley, still following the way of the "Great Valley Riddle". Morale in the group wasn't high but they were still doing okay. Littlefoot was a little sad after the departure of most of his friends. Richard was in the back, tending to his four hatchlings. Lima sat on Bryan's left shoulder, sleeping.

Everyone tended to themselves and very rarely did they chat. Even if they did chat, talking was usually between family members, not between families. Even Bryan and Richard, who were close friends, did not talk to each other very often. They were busy with their family and with navigating the land. The only time when they really talked was during discussions.

Trekking westwards wasn't the topic, it was how they did so. There were several paths they could take, all of them correct, and all of them filled with equal amounts of danger. Sometimes they would follow Richard's path, other times they would follow Bryan's. No one held the helm forever and whoever took the lead was based on votes. Democracy was the thing of the day and everyone in the group seemed to agree.

Two hours into the trek and it seems as though the Great Valley might actually be a myth. They had passed the monolith and the volcanoes were way behind them. Littlefoot lowered his head. All those things his mother told him were actually lies? How could that be? Fortunately the Great Valley does exist, they just haven't found it yet. By late afternoon, the group started its climb up a slope.

On top of the slope was a cave which they entered. Strangely enough, a cloud was "flowing" through the cave. Must have been the supermundane telling them to go through to the other side. They did so and found themselves in what appeared to be a dead end. A light shines down from the clouds above, revealing a small stream. It moves towards a boulder, revealing a waterfall.

Slowly the land started to be illuminated by the rays and before they knew it, the group had arrived at their final destination. Low and behold, right in front of them was the Great Valley. Their ultimate goal, the dream of their parents. Finally, after weeks upon weeks of travelling, the group was finally here. Sure, they were down a few members but at least they were here.

Speaking of the others, none of them actually remembered they had left some of their own behind. They had totally forgotten about Cera's group and Charlotte. All they could think of were the days of living in paradise, which were ahead of them. Everyone hugged each other in an embrace. Even the hatchlings have put their feud with Bryan aside and hugged him.

With Bryan at the lead, they slowly make their way down the ledge. They decide to cool off and take an old unused path which took them through the streams connected to the waterfall. It was refreshing for all of them as they gulped as much water as they wanted and cooled off in the stream. Bryan and Richard took the time to wash their faces while the four Deinonychuses and Lima caught lunch for the day.

"Oh I can't wait to get down there." Bryan chuckled. "No more predators, no more lack of supplies, and no more trudging tough terrain. Just eat, relax, and relax some more."

"You read my mind." Richard responded. He pulls his iPhone 6S out and activates the camera app. "Selfie anyone?"

"What's a Selfie?" Lima asked.

"Just come, all of you." Bryan ushered. "Memories will be stored forever."

Despite being confused at first, the young dinosaurs soon realized Richard was actually taking a picture with them. They all did their funny faces, with Littlefoot giving a raspberry, Lima lying flat on Bryan's head as if she was his hat, Blue and two of his siblings nudged side by side, and Charlie nibbling Richard. Several versions of the Selfie were taken before the members sat down beside the stream, enjoying the scenery.

"This my friends, is the happiest day of my life." Bryan said. "If only we had a bottle of Russian Alcohol."

"Hashtag Vodka." Richard replied. "Y'know… that could be the caption of the pictures when I post them on Facebook and Instagram."

"Add a Hashtag for Realm Of Dinosaurs too."

"Of course."

"Tag a few close friends of yours by the way."

"Oh I will… Wait a second…"

"Where in the name of god are Cera and the others."

Everyone had been so excited about reaching the Great Valley that they've totally forgotten about the other side. Richard suddenly felt nervous for his girlfriend Charlotte and Littlefoot felt worried for, ironically, Cera herself. Then, their worst fears come to life. An ear piercing scream came from the entrance from the valley, and it sounded a lot like Cera's scream.

Both teenaged boys perform brass checks on their firearms and make sure their equipment were still with them. Bryan also double checks to make sure the LAW Launcher he had slung over his shoulder earlier was still with him; it was. Lima and the young Deinonychuses squeeze onto Littlefoot's back. Despite their differences and earlier not so friendly encounter with each other, Lima and the Deinonychuses set aside their differences and ride into battle on Littlefoot's back.

Richard and Bryan were at the tip, charging ahead to scout the area. Though they still had no idea what they were getting themselves into, it didn't matter. All the members wanted to do was to rescue their fellow comrades and bring them to the Great Valley.

The group silently makes its way onto the battlefield, careful not to gain unwanted attention from other predatory dinosaurs. All they needed to do was to get the others and get the hell out of dodge before the mad mofo known as Sharptooth reappeared. Unfortunately for the group, Sharptooth was already onto them. The only reason Cera screamed was because her group bumped into Sharptooth, who was lurking just outside the valley.

As the group arrived near a pool of water with a tall ledge, they spot Cera and the others as well as Sharptooth, who was standing in the water. A part of the pool was deep enough to drown the beast should he fall in but the bugger was smart enough to stay clear. Richard and Bryan immediately begin planning their course of attack.

Their plan was to deploy Richard and his Deinonychuses ahead to distract Sharptooth. Bryan would them fire away, a signal for Richard to fire his own weapon. Since Richard's gun was more powerful, Sharptooth would turn his attention back towards Richard, giving Bryan enough time to prep his LAW launcher and fire a sixty six millimeter rocket into the behemoth's chest.

Using hand signals to decrease their chases of being detected early, Bryan directs Richard and his pack towards the objective. He also directs Littlefoot to bring Lima and himself up to Cera before getting into the crouching position, his carbine in the low ready position. As Littlefoot ran, Richard and his Deinonychus hatchlings shout at Sharptooth, garnering the attention of the beast.

At once, Bryan unleashes hell from his carbine, prompting Sharptooth to turn in the direction of the bullets and get struck in the chest by several 5.56 caliber bullets. When Bryan notices the shift in attention, he stops firing and Richard follows up with his own shotgun. Surprised by the sudden shift in fire, Sharptooth turns towards Richard, who was now reloading. He grinned coldly at the teenager for his time has come.

TSSSSSSSSSSSSSH

WHAAM

From behind thick foliage on Sharptooth's nine o-clock, a sixty six millimeter rocket flies out of nowhere and strikes his chest, penetrating him and exploding. The shockwave sends his crashing into the water. His body was in the deep end, slowly dragging his head, which was lying on the shallow end, down. Blue and his Deinonychuses curiously approach Sharptooth, who begins to communicate with them.

Richard was shocked that Sharptooth could communicate with Blue and his siblings. He then realizes the truth. Bryan was right all along, Sharptooth was an Indominus Rex and not Tyrannosaurus Rex as previously thought. At the tail end of their conversation, Sharptooth snarls something to them before sinking under, bubbles emerging from his mouth and nostrils as he sinks deeper and deeper below the surface.

Blue and his brothers snarl aggressively at Richard but do not engage. They then turn their attention on Bryan and charge towards him. The older teenager, who was oblivious to their change of side, was tackled to the ground. Thanks to their intelligence, the hatchlings manage to strip Bryan of his chest rig, Dragonskin Armor vest, and MK18 MOD 0 carbine.

Now all that was left of the teenager was bare flesh, and the young ones wasted no time clawing into him. Bryan screams as he finds himself pinned and unable to retaliate. Teeth and claws sink into his flesh causing sharp pains and blood to pour out. Richard spots his friend being overwhelmed and fires his pistol into the air, causing Blue and his siblings to stop attacking and glare at him.

"Stand down, Blue." He warned. "What did teach you about NOT harming those who don't harm you?"

"Sharptooth said to avenge one's family is the greatest honor." Blue answered. "He killed our mom, dad, grandpa, and grandma. We kill him not because we want to harm him, but because of honor."

"Okay then, fine. Avenge your family then get eaten by some other creature due to karma!"

Blue noticed a frustrated expression on Richard's face. He orders his pack to stand down and approached his adoptive father.

"Look, Blue." The teenager spoke. "Imagine if we all took revenge. Would the world be in chaos right now?"

Those words hit Blue and his siblings like a ton of bricks. Suddenly they feel guilty for attacking the one who murdered their entire family in cold blood. They turn around and glare at Bryan, who was struggling to put on his armor. His FAST helmet was on the ground, having been violently ripped off by Delta during the attack.

Blood was pouring out from the wounds, several of them mortal. There was no way the older teenager was surviving his ordeal, and as Littlefoot and Lima made their way to him, Bryan reached into his pocket. If he wanted to do it, then he'd better do it now.

"Dad!" Littlefoot shouted.

"Are you okay?" Lima asks.

"Children." He smiles. "We are all lucky to be given a shot at life. Remember to cherish every second."

"W-What do you mean?" Littlefoot inquired.

"Take this." Bryan hands his personal will to Littlefoot along with his MK18. "And this weapon. Pass it to Richard or Charlotte, they'll know how to use them."

When he saw his adoptive father's personal will, Littlefoot knew, it was happening again. Loss had struck him twice, and now his adoptive father was about to leave his side. The young Apatosaurus broke down and cried beside the teenager, who was trying his best to comfort his adoptive son as he lay dying. At first Lima didn't quite understand why her older brother was crying but when she saw the personal will, she too broke down.

Richard glares angrily at his adoptive children and orders them to one side. They were about to have a little chat with each other. Littlefoot temporarily leaves Bryan's side as he hands the personal will and MK18 to Charlotte for safekeeping. When he returns, the teenaged boy was already on the verge of losing consciousness and he knew he didn't have much time left.

"Rich!" he shouts to his younger counterpart. "Lead them to the valley will ya? Leave before I die."

"What about you?" Richard asked.

"Leave me here. I need some peace and quiet during my final moments."

"Anything for a friend of mine, Bryan."

Richard takes command of the group and rallies them behind him. Littlefoot and Lima were reluctant to leave their adoptive father and Richard had to pull them away to get them on the move. Slowly blood loss took its toll on Bryan and he went over to the other side. For a moment, he found himself floating in a white void as images of his life flashed for several minutes.

Then there was darkness. He wasn't breathing but there was no urge to breath. Slowly the area around him became green and the image of the Illuminati triangle could be seen in the air.

"Thou hath arrived." A voice said.

"My lord…" the teenager greeted. "Can you tell me where I am?"