Chapter 20:

Ambushed

Cera blinked her eyes open. After properly waking up and then yawning, the world appeared upside down to the threehorn. It took a minute for Cera to realize, for whatever reason, she was lying on the ground, flat on her back. She flipped herself over, groaned in pain because she inadvertently placed in foot on the ground harshly, and then noticed Thorn was still sound asleep at the back of the cave.

The last thing Cera remembered was being asleep up against the back of the cave with her ankle resting on a clod of moss, so how did she wind up sleeping flat on her back in the center of the cave? Guido's sleepwalking came to mind. Cera just hoped that if she had been sleepwalking, she didn't do it outside of the cave. Then again, they were both still alive, so she figured no one had seen her if she had. They probably had nothing to worry about.

"Oh, well," she yawned. Cera blinked, smacked her lips once, and then sat down on her haunches. An action that, like before, almost made Cera jump back up onto all fours, and cry out in pain. She kept forgetting how badly the bone in her foot was shattered. It clearly wasn't healing fast, either. Cera's little stunt of bravery against Red Claw, Screech, and Thud the other day didn't help it any.

Maybe I can squeeze in a few more minutes of sleep before Thorn wakes up, she thought sleepily. A little extra sleep never hurt anyone. Carefully, Cera rolled back over onto her back again. She'd realized how it was more comfortable to sleep on her back here since the ground was covered in a layer of tree fuzz (or rock fuzz, since they were in a cave). It also relieved the pressure she'd been feeling on her foot ever since she first injured it.

As soon as Cera began snoring lowly, Thorn woke up. After blinking his eyes to clear them, the first thing he saw was Cera's outstretched tail and hind legs. At first, he was confused about this. When the possible realization hit him like a rock, Thorn jumped up in alarm. "Cera!" He yelled.

Now it was Cera's turn to be wide-eyed with surprise. After getting back to sleep, she had been sleeping so well. "What are you yelling about?" she asked groggily. "I was sleeping so well…"

"You aren't hurt?" Thorn asked. There was a tiny bit of guilt in his voice now. It seemed as though he could have let Cera sleep on.

"Of course not," Cera growled. "What made you think I was hurt?"

"When I woke up, I saw you were on your back…" he whispered. "I didn't know what had happened."

"I only slept that way because it was easier on my back and foot," she replied, "with all the rock fuzz ground on the ground. It was better than sleeping against the wall of this cave if you ask me." She wouldn't mention that she still didn't know how she'd wound up in that position to begin with. Cera didn't want to worry Thorn with the possibility that she had been sleepwalking. The last thing anyone wanted to do was worry someone they were close to out here in The Mysterious Beyond.

This time, Cera was extra careful about sitting up on her rear. She didn't want to agitate her ankle anymore than she already had this morning. It had already been giving her a hellishly unbearable pain that still hadn't gone away since the day she shattered it. Cera wished day and night that her ankle would be miraculously healed, or at the least, the pain would go away. Walking on it probably wouldn't be so bad if it weren't hurting like it was.

Thorn came to Cera's side. "Should we get moving now?" he asked her.

Cera groaned, then lay down on her belly. She turned her head to look up at Thorn. "If you don't mind," she said, "I would like to rest my ankle for a little bit before we go anywhere. It's bothering me more than it ever has right now. Honestly, it's making me sick to my stomach…" Cera gagged. It was all she could do not to lose what little lunch she had eaten in the past few days. She covered her lips with her paws, and tried breathing through her nostrils, but it didn't do any good.

It was half an hour before Cera was able to bring herself to getting up from the ground. That half an hour was the worst time of Cera's life. But now, as she and Thorn headed east through the canyon like they had intended to yesterday before those fast biters showed up, Cera thought she was starting to feel better, aside from the pain. She was hungry now, though. After that terrible half an hour, her stomach was empty. Losing her lunch wouldn't be so bad if there was more food out here to be found than there was. But she and Thorn still seemed to be in the desert region of The Mysterious Beyond. Still, they hadn't even found a single oasis yet either. A part of Cera wondered if they were near the region she thought they were, where she and Littlefoot were born. She faintly remembered there being little food and even less water for dinosaurs there.

"I think I know this place," Cera said. "We've been seeing that great divide in the earth for days now." Thorn only looked at her. She knew what he was thinking. "I think we are close to where I was born. Oh, I hope we haven't gone too far from where I wanted to go. Unless the great earthshake split the ground apart much further away from my nest than I thought it did," she added.

"What do you feel in your heart?" Thorn asked.

Cera closed her eyes and thought deeply about it. "My heart says we may be going the right way," she said. "I hope we are anyway. There was a great split in the world just like this near my nest." She sniffed, then blinked away tears before Thorn noticed them. "The yellow bellies my friends and I lead to Berry Valley left us with this knowledge of theirs: 'Don't always think about things so much. Just feel it, when you are in doubt'. Sometimes I think that is a better way to go about living."

Thorn agreed with that. Sometimes thinking about something too hard didn't help a situation. "What way do you feel we should go, if this is not the right way?" he asked.

Cera frowned. She looked around since they were at the end of the canyon, where the two threehorns could now see in every direction for miles. She tapped one of her feet on the ground, then said, "This way. The way we've been going is the right way. That's what my heart is telling me." She paused. "I know you haven't met him, but my friend Littlefoot told me his mother left him with this advice, 'Some things you see with your eyes, others you see with your heart. Listen to your heart, because it speaks' before she died."

Everything Cera told Thorn about her friends and their losses made him realize he wasn't the only one to have suffered losses of family out here. It also made him wish he were in this "Great Valley" Cera kept mentioning, so he wouldn't have to worry constantly about something bad happening to Cera. With her busted ankle, she could only do so much to protect herself from dangers, or to get out of trouble. But with Cera feeling in her heart that they were so close to the destination she wanted to find, they couldn't afford to turn back now. Nothing could bring Cera's mom or sisters back, but although she had thought this too many times to count now, she at least wanted closure.

More than that even, Cera wished things could go back to how they were, when she could have fun without something splitting her up from her friends, and be on good terms with her dad again. She'd thought after he met Tria and they had Tricia, he'd never do anything to wrong her again. But keeping the secret he had kept from her, that he'd known all along what happened to the rest of their family, had put a rift between them that may never be fixed.

At least I'll always have Littlefoot, Cera thought, and my other friends. And now Thorn, too. They'll always be there for me no matter what happens.

"Cera?" Thorn called. "You may want to see this. Hurry."

"Huh?" Cera said. She limped over to Thorn, who had stopped at the end of a cliff. She almost asked "What is it?" but she saw what Thorn had called her over to see. "Oh no," she gasped.

"It's those fast biters again," Thorn said. "The same ones we saw back in the canyon last night."

Cera couldn't place why these fast biters, with their gray skin and dark stripes, seemed so familiar to Cera. She hadn't ever seen this kind of fast biter before now. After a minute of thinking, it came to her. She knew why these fast biters seemed so familiar. These were the same kind of fast biters described by Littlefoot's grandfather when the adults told Cera and her friends the story of why Pterano had been infamous among the adults.

"Not again," Cera complained. "I don't think I can outrun any more fast biters…not with how my ankle is bothering me. There's no way I can. What do we do?"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," Thorn said rapidly, but nervously. He looked beyond the fast biters, then in both directions to the side of them. He didn't see any way around them. Up here, they weren't any caves to sneak through until they found another way around the fast biters. "I don't see any way around them," he finally said, "I'm afraid. We may not have any ch…"

"I can't outrun them again," Cera pressed. "You know that as well as I do. My ankle is busted, there I said it. I'm useless for our survival!"

"Don't say that!" Thorn was aghast that Cera could talk about herself that way. "We'll think of something to get past those fast biters."

"What would be the point?" Cera barked. "They'll just find us again even if they do leave. Those same fast biters chased me on my first day out here. They'll remember me if they do catch us, and be even less likely to stop until they get me now that I'm hurt."

"What happened to listening to your heart?" Thorn asked. Cera noticed the annoyance in his tone. "Is your heart telling you to give up?" Cera was speechless. She just looked at her feet. "Well?"

"No, but…what can we do?" Cera asked. "Like you said, there's no way to avoid them."

"We'll just have to wait," Thorn said. "I'm sorry if I snapped at you."

"Don't be," Cera said. "I needed someone to talk to me that way. I wasn't thinking in my right mind because of all I've been through in the past few days."

Thorn looked back to the east. The threehorn saw a good sign. The fast biters were leaving, although in the way Cera believed they should go.

"They're leaving!" Thorn almost yelled. He suppressed the urge, though, not wanting the fast biters or any other sharpteeth to know they were here. "It won't be much longer before we can get out of their territory, from the looks of it, Cera." She didn't answer. "Cera?" Thorn turned around to see why she wasn't answering him and she wasn't there at all!

"Cera!" Thorn called out. "Where are you?" Still no answer, other than the blowing wind. "CERA!" he screamed, even though he knew better. He didn't care about sharpteeth right now. Thorn just wanted to find Cera now. He would accept the consequences of his yelling later, and do what he could to protect Cera, no matter what the cost may be.

"Psst," Thorn heard a low voice. He spun around. "Over here, Thorn. Be quick." He saw Cera sticking her head out of a hole in the canyon's walls. Thorn ran over to her.

"Don't ever worry me like that again!" he gasped.

"Sorry," Cera sniffed. "I just found this cave and thought it would be a way around the fast biters, but it's a dead end. Sorry if I worried you, I thought you'd seen where I went."

"Just promise me you won't wander off again," Thorn said. "I don't want anything to happen to you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Cera almost blushed in response to him saying that. She thought now would be a good time to tell Thorn what her heart had been saying for a few days. "Thorn, I…there's something I've been wanting to tell you," she said sheepishly.

Thorn cocked his head. "Yes?"

"I…"

Before Cera could say anything else, a snarl split the air. No, two snarls! Cera and Thorn spun around, almost forgetting the other was there, to see two enraged fast biters coming from the canyon behind them.

"Oh, no!" Cera screamed.

"Go!" Thorn ordered her. He poked his horn into her shoulder.

"What?" Cera gasped. "Come with me!"

"Just go," Thorn pressed. "I'll be right behind you after I distract them! I promise."

"But, Thorn—"

"This isn't a time for arguing," Thorn said. "I told you I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I'm not about to break that promise now, so go. I'll be right behind you before you know it."

Cera reluctantly turned away from Thorn, tears flowing from her eyes.

"Please be careful," she sobbed. "I don't want to lose you either." Then she half-ran, half-hobbled away as Thorn ran down a different path, with both fast biters following him. Cera tried moving as quickly as her foot allowed her to, but she had to be careful so it didn't suffer any more damage. Cera heard the fast biters barking and wasn't sure if they were following her or Thorn. She couldn't see them, thankfully.

No! Cera thought. She heard a scream come from the other direction where Thorn had stayed. "Thorn!" she screamed. It was a scream of terror, not one of pain, but that didn't relax Cera any. Her brain ran wild with thoughts of what was happening to Thorn that made him scream like that. It was a scream that made Cera's blood run cold. But she heard no more screams, which told her Thorn had gotten away. The fast biters were still barking and growling, so they must still be chasing something.

Cera stopped near a dead, burnt-up tree. "Oh, Thorn," she cried. "Please be alright…" The threehorn watched her tears drip down her face onto the burnt soil. "Please…"

She could no longer hear Thorn goading the fast biters to chase after him. Only the barks and growls of the fast biters, who sounded enraged at this point. They must not be able to catch him, Cera thought, if they are snarling like they are. But that did not reassure Cera any. Tears still flowed down her face despite that positive sign. Cera would not stop crying until she knew for sure Thorn was okay. That would be when he was with her physically again.

Where are you, Thorn? she thought. You said you wouldn't take long to lead them away. Come on, please, Thorn…

A scream split the air like a fast biter's killing claw split flesh. But it was not Thorn's voice, Cera realized after almost fearing the worst, and burying her face in the burnt soil. It was one of the fast biters screaming in agony. Although that gave her hope, Cera still wondered what could have made a fast biter scream like that…other than another sharptooth. Although it would not surprise her if he had, Cera didn't know how Thorn could have hurt a fast biter enough to make it scream like that when two were chasing him.

Unless he set a trap for those two, Cera thought, trying to remain positive. Oh, how she wished she could see what was going on. Cera was safe here, but she'd rather know what was happening right now. Was Thorn the cause of that fast biter screaming so terribly or was something else happening? The only other theory Cera had was Red Claw being in the area and recognizing Thorn, but going through the fast biters first to get to him. Cera knew Red Claw had to be angry—That's a damn understatement, Cera thought—after what she'd done to him, Screech, and Thud. They'd probably remember seeing Thorn with Cera if they were responsible.

Then there was an intense boom from somewhere in the canyon, followed by another terrible scream of a fast biter. It sounded as though the second fast biter had been caught in a rockslide and it did not end well for him (or her). Still, Cera had not heard anything that told her if Thorn was alright. Not another scream, or even his voice. Just nothing but the blood-chilling screams of the two fast biters she knew had to have chased after him.

"That is why you don't mess with a threehorn," Thorn said to the dying fast biters.

The first had fallen right into Thorn's trap, almost literally. It'd come running around the bend and fell off the ledge, right onto the pointed end of a dead, burnt tree. It'd be snapped off prior to this by a strong wind, and Thorn took advantage of it. The fast biter lay with the tree impaled into its belly, screaming as if it was calling for him.

The second fast biter had attempted jumping through the air onto Thorn when he'd ran away after the first fast biter was hurt, only to cause a rockslide when it landed on the cliff just right. A pile of rocks had broke free and rolled down into the canyon with the fast biter winding up buried underneath them. It had been crushed to death. All the blood made Thorn sick, though. He didn't like seeing any dinosaurs suffer, not even sharpteeth that could have killed him if they didn't die.

"I'm coming, Cera," he said to himself in a whisper. "Don't you…" He heard a growl from behind him. "…w-worry…" Oh, no, Thorn thought. Not another fast biter.

Thorn didn't know if he wanted to turn around. It was like he knew what was behind him, or would be. But eventually he convinced himself to turn around. When he did, the threehorn found himself snout-to-snout with a third fast biter. It showed its teeth at Thorn, who began to whimper. They were already stained with blood. He hoped it hadn't gotten to Cera. If he had to die, he couldn't die fearing he'd failed to protect Cera.

The threehorn turned to run, but as soon as his tail faced the fast biter, he felt a sharp pain in his hind leg. He ran in that moment, but Thorn still felt blood pouring from the wound in his leg. And, still, the fast biter was after him. It wasn't finished with him yet, Thorn feared. This third fast biter had to have been part of the pack the two dead ones belonged to, and it wanted to avenge their deaths.

Cera heard yet another scream.

But this time, it was not a fast biter. It was Thorn. Her heart began to beat a mile a minute and she ran, regardless of her shattered ankle, to the mouth of the canyon to watch for him. But she didn't see him. All she heard was him yelling for someone to "go away" or screaming like she'd never heard someone scream before.

"Thorn!" Cera cried.

Soon, the screams stopped. Now, all Cera heard were the satisfied snarls of a nearby fast biter.

"T-Thorn?" Cera wept. "No…this can't be. It just can't!" She collapsed and began to bawl her eyes out. She didn't care if some damn rock head found her. Cera only wished Thorn could be with her, but all she was hearing was the growls of the fast biter. Thorn wasn't screaming or yelling anymore. Soon, even the fast biter was silent.

"THORN!" Cera screamed. Then she lost it. "You stupid rock head. You'll pay for this if I ever see you again…I swear, you will. Any fast biter I see will wish they never crossed my path…" She snorted, then growled. Cera scraped her paws into the dirt, ran about like a mad dinosaur, crying all the while. Cera's tears left spots about the ground as if it was the aftermath of a sky water shower.

"No! This is just a bad sleep story. It has to be…it just has to be a bad sleep story," Cera bawled. "None of this is real…" She threw her body on the ground. "It can't be real…Thorn, you have to be alive. Please…"

The thing Cera regretted the most was she'd never be able to tell Thorn how she really felt about him. She had been so close to telling Thorn that she loved him, and now he may be gone from her life forever.

"Damn you…" Cera growled. "I'll make the fast biter that did this to you, Thorn, pay if it is the last thing I ever do."

Leaving a trail of tears wherever she walked, Cera scraped the dirt with one of her front paws again, then headed off in the direction her heart told her to go. Her broken heart…it was like the fast biter had ripped a part of her heart out when it took Thorn from her.