A Message from the Mysterious Beyond by megacharizard
Before Ali even had time to blink, the raptor leapt into the air, claws brandished. One second later, the tail of one of the herd's Longnecks smashed into the beast, knocking it aside. Ali took this opportunity to run. As she zipped through the tees, she looked back to see four of the savage predators chasing after her. Determined to get away, she decided to try and weave in and out of the trees to confuse her pursuers and tie them up in knots. Being smaller than them, she would get through easily, while they would be slower than Clubtails. They would be separated and, in the time it would take them to regroup, she could easily gain enough distance to find a river which she could run along so there would be no scent to follow. She would then stand a fair chance of losing them for good. This would not be easy…
Running through the trees, Ali turned her head back to see if the Sharpteeth were still after her. They were. She slowed down a little to allow them to get draw closer. Her heart pounding uncontrollably, she saw a low branch up ahead. She ducked underneath it as she ran past, while the raptors behind smashed straight into the rotting wood, winding themselves. With some of the lead raptors down, the rest spread out, attempting to overtake Ali and ultimately surround her. Looking around her, she saw some Sharpteeth trip over roots and stones. Ahead of her was a large, thick clump of trees. If she could get them all tangled up inside, she could probably lose them all. But, in order to make sure that they would follow her in, rather than skirt around it, they would have to be right behind her. For that to be possible, she would have to slow down to make sure they caught up. Her heart pounding horribly against her chest, she reached the thicket and came to a halt. She turned back to see the pack closing. They were almost on top of her when she finally gave into instinct and leapt into the copse. Belly to the ground, she scrabbled frantically across the forest floor, zigzagging through the trees. Behind her, she heard the screeches and hisses which came from the pack's annoyance and frustration. At last, she saw the end of the thicket approaching. She was just about to burst free, when a Sharptooth lunged at her through the tangled vines, wrapped around him like the coils of a deep sea creature. She ducked underneath, as the beast was held back…yet she did not escape unscathed. As he saw his quarry escaping, he slashed a claw at her, catching her on the right hind leg, just grazing the muscle. Screaming in pain, Ali stumbled and slipped down a small slope. The Sharpteeth eventually freed themselves from the tree's grasp and headed back toward Ali's herd, having given up on her. Not knowing it, Ali had had an incredibly lucky escape. Standing up, she tried to put weight on her injured leg, only to have it give way immediately. Hurt and tired, she moved along, dragging her bad leg behind her until she reached a hill which lead down into a ditch. As she moved down the slope, she put her weight on a loose rock which gave way, sending her rolling down into the ditch where she finally passed out…
A few hours later, Ali finally awoke. Lifting her head out of the mud, she took a moment to recollect everything which had happened. She tried to stand up, but a burst of pain immediately shot up her injured leg. It collapsed under her weight and she fell back down into the mud. "This isn't good." she thought. "I'm in real trouble now." She twisted her head back and licked the wound. A new fear surfaced within her. What if other predators were around? She would not be able to run from them like this. For a moment, she panicked. But then she calmed down, realising that the ditch was covering her scent. She remembered how Littlefoot had used a ditch to satisfy his sleeping arrangements when he had been looking for her (her sense of smell reminded her more than anything else).She tried to cover some of the mud onto herself as a disguise, yet she took care not to get any on her wound so as not to add to the sting. Once she was sure she was completely covered, she laid her head on her paws and began to think. Looking back, she saw new blood surfacing from the cut. But now she felt too tired and weak to stop it, so she allowed the blood to run free. This was a fine situation! She could probably still survive like this. She could easily obtain food, not having to rely on speed or stealth like predators, and she could use ditches such as this to hide from them. But what if her leg never healed? What if she had now become a cripple? She would never be able to run or jump or play again. Even if she did make it back to the valley, she would have to spend all her time lying down whilst the other gambolled around in front of her. "Stop it?" she told herself. "There's no point in getting worked up about something that may not even be a problem. It's not time to worry yet." Despite her mind's comforting words, she felt, miserable and afraid. Feeling the last of her strength abandon her, she collapsed into an uneasy sleep…
It was dark when Ali finally stirred. The sky was now a navy blue and the trees were illuminated by the Great Night Circle's light. Utterly depressed, she closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take over her once more. However, the sound of a twig snapping opened her eyes again immediately. "Please don't let it be a Sharptooth." she prayed silently. Looking up the hill, she saw a figure standing at the top. Though silhouetted against the Night Circle's length, Ali could tell that it was the shape of a Flyer. She let out a sigh of relief. Flyers were nothing to fear. Hearing her sigh, the Flyer swooped down toward her.
"Are you alright miss?" he enquired, in an elderly sort of voice. Ali was going to say she was fine and let the Flyer be on his way. But she needed help and who knew when another opportunity would present itself?
"Not exactly." she replied. "I need help."
"Anything I can do?" the elder enquired, politely. Ali did not like the idea of burdening a stranger with tasks she needed done, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
"Well you see, my herd was attacked by Sharpteeth. I was chased by some of them and I only just got away. But before I could, one of them injured my leg and I can move it." she said, now starting to wonder what fate had befallen her herd and, more importantly, her mother. What if they had been caught?
"I'm sorry," the Flyer said, interrupting her thoughts, "but I fail to see how one such as myself can be expected to help. I cannot heal your leg."
"I wasn't expecting THAT. My leg will heal soon enough" Ali replied, trying to reassure herself more than him. "What I need is for someone to get a message to a friend of mind." She remembered how she needed to somehow get the whereabouts of the entrances to the cave of the 'Lost Souls' to Littlefoot. That was where the Flyer came in.
"Ah!" he said. "Now I am with you. Where is the one you wish the message to be delivered too?"
"The Great Valley." she answered. "You know it?" The Flyer nodded.
"Yes I do. As it happens, I am heading toward a place named Three-horn Peak and the valley should not be too far out of my way. I will take the message."
"Oh thank you!" Ali sighed in relief. Everything would be alright. "Now the one you need to-"
"Now let's not get ahead of ourselves." the Flyer interrupted. The Great Valley is quite a distance from here I would make more haste if I start tomorrow refreshed. I assume this message is urgent or you would not require my assistance. I will return here at dawn to receive the message."
"Oh. Alright then." Ali replied, both disappointed and impatient to get him started. "Goodnight then. And Thanks." The Flyer nodded.
"Just happy to help." he replied. He bade her goodnight and flew away. "I just hope he DOES return." Ali thought…
When morning came, Ali awoke to sharp pain in her side. She looked behind her to see the old Flyer, who, in the morning light, turned out to be a dark blue colour with a short crest, poking his yellow beak into her side.
"Okay, okay, I'm awake!" she said, pushing him away slightly.
"A thousand apologies'" he said in a hushed voice. "You see, I was unable to use sound to waken you in case nearby Sharpteeth heard and felt like an early breakfast."
"I see." Ali said, keeping her voice low too.
"Now then," Blue Flyer began, "Who would you like me to give the message to?"
"There are two possible dinosaurs you can go to." she began. "The first is a Longneck like me. He's called Littlefoot. The other is a Swimmer called Ducky. Either will do."
"How did you come to be acquaintances with a Swimmer?" he enquired.
"That's kind of a long story. But maybe she will tell you." she said. She then went on to describe her friends. "Littlefoot is about my age and looks pretty much like me, except he's more of a greyish sort of colour and he has red eyes. Ducky would come up to my knees, she's a yellowy-green colour and she has blue eyes. They should be easy to find. They usually hang around with a yellow Threehorn, a green Spiketail and a brown Flyer. But you absolutely MUST make sure neither the Threehorn or the Flyer is around when you give the message."
"Right, I think I can remember that." Blue Flyer replied. "And the message?"
"This won't make much sense to you probably. Just say that I've discovered that there are two ways into the cave of the 'Lost Souls'. One is through a tunnel inside the Smoking Mountain; the other is through a tunnel in the river leading from the Thundering Falls." Ali had been lucky enough to meet a Flyer who knew nothing of the legend of the 'Lost Souls' and one who possessed and impressive memory. He repeated the message to her, practically word for word. One Ali confirmed that he had it right, he prepared to leave. "What shall I tell them of you?" he asked. Ali thought for a moment.
"Tell them…I'm on my way." Blue Flyer nodded and flew away, bidding her good luck. Once Blue Flyer had left, Ali felt very alone. She got to her feet and tried put weight on her injured leg. The blood no longer flowed, but it was still stiff and painful. Yet she noticed, with relief, it seemed to be healing. "Looks like I'll live to beat Littlefoot in another game of 'tag' another day!" she thought happily. She started to drag herself out of the ditch, and started to strike out for the valley. She slipped and stumbled a lot and accidentally stood on her injured leg a few times, bringing her to the ground. This was going to take a long time…
By the end of the day, Blue Flyer had finally reached the valley. Though it may take a long time by foot, a thousand footsteps takes a hundred second while travelling on the wind. Swooping into the valley, Blue Flyer landed to rest for a moment before returning to the air to search for Littlefoot and Ducky. Eventually, he saw a Longneck, a Threehorn and a Spiketail together, near the Thundering Falls. As he flew closer, he could make out the shapes of a Swimmer and a Flyer. "This must be the group." he thought. He landed on the ground and kept out of sight, remembering to stay away from the Flyer and the Threehorn. Eventually, the group broke up, bidding each other goodnight. Blue Flyer headed toward the Longneck, guessing that he would be Ali's first choice, seeing as she described him first. He stepped out in front of the Longneck, making him jump.
"Is your name Littlefoot?" he asked. The Longneck was taken aback by this sudden invasion on his solitude.
"Yes." he answered. "Who are you? And how did you guess my name?"
"Who I am is of no concern to you. I came here to bring you a message from a Longneck named Ali. Do you know her?" "The real question here, is does HE know ME?" Littlefoot thought.
"Yeah I do. Why? Is she in trouble?" he asked, getting worried.
"I'm afraid." Blue Flyer replied. "Her herd was attacked by Sharpteeth. She was separated from them and badly injured."
"What happened to her?" Littlefoot asked.
"She asked me to come hear to give you a message about the cave of the 'Lost Souls."
"'Lost Souls'?" Littlefoot echoed. "Okay, let's hear it."
"Ali says there are two ways into the cave. One way is through a tunnel in the river leading from the Thundering Falls, the other is through tunnel within the Smoking Mountain." he said. "So that explains why Pterano was near the Smoking Mountain before." Littlefoot realised.
"Thank you." he said. "What about Ali? Is she gonna be alright?"
"To be honest I don't know." Blue Flyer replied, hanging his head. "Last time I saw her, she was unable to stand." Littlefoot felt choked up. Last time HE saw Ali, she was full of energy and bounding around. To think that she was now lying somewhere unable to move…was unbearable. "I've got to help." he thought. "I've just got to." Littlefoot looked up at Blue Flyer.
"Where is she?" he asked…
TO BE CONTINUED…