Chapter 27
The start of the Dinosaur Olympics came around and people and saurians from all corners of Dinotopia were there to watch. Croco and Sabrine would be going out on the third day of the Games and they would watch Nalina go out on the first official day of competition. And like she said in the letter, Kaala was there with Brock, Mira, Nobby and Riojay. Also there was Timbo and Robert from Waterfall City, and so was Bix. Cassie was right there by their sides as they watched the first race. The opening ceremonies for the event seemed to drag on forever, and Darren happened to be standing next them so Croco nudged his shoulder.
"With all these ceremonies and stuff, it's beginning to remind me of when my brother made the Daytona 500 a few years ago," Croco said to him. Darren remembered all that Croco had told him about Johnny and the races, and although he didn't finish the race he was still proud of him. Then Darren reminded him of the objective.
"You and Sabrine are going for the solid red rings," he told him. "Me and my partner are gonna be trying to collect the blue rings tomorrow." Croco told him that he and Sabrine would be cheering them on as a long trumpet note silenced the masses. A long period of silence followed and the deinocheiruses stood anxiously at the starting line. Then a cymbal crash sent them on their way as a dimorphodon circled the track just ahead of them to set the pace. Croco and Darren were screaming and cheering as the racers thundered around the track.
"C'mon Nalina!" Croco shouted as he caught a glimpse of her and her partner Wendell spearing a ring. The frenzied crowd cheered along with them as they circled the track several times before another cymbal crash ended the race. Nalina and Wendell had gotten four of the coveted rings, but it wasn't enough to win as the team representing the Northwest quadrant had one more than them. When they had gotten back to the holding area, a dejected Nalina fell into Croco's arms.
"We had it," she said sadly, "we were that close from winning." Croco put an arm around Nalina and offered her a little consolation, but then told her that she did an excellent job out there and she flashed him a smile as bright as the morning sun.
The next day saw Darren and his partner Lyelah, the daughter of a dolphinback who was from Chandara like Darren, run in the race. After another round of dancing and pompous celebration, the echo of the cymbal was heard and the race was on. Darren and Lyelah circled the track, grabbing rings on their first three successive passes. But then their mount pulled up with an apparent leg injury and they fell out of the race much to the disappointment of Darren. The only consolation that Croco could think of was that he didn't fall from the saddle Darren laughed it off and told him that he was looking forward to another year in Treetown, his third.
As day slowly turned to night, a lot of emotions were running wild through Croco. He was excited, as he knew that he would be going out tomorrow. Croco was also nervous...he didn't want to disappoint all the people that had made the long journey to Cornucopia to watch him compete. Finally, Croco was scared. He knew that the races were dangerous...he saw a deinocheirus fall in warmups a couple days before the opening ceremonies. The young woman only had a few bruises but the boy that was standing on the saddle had broken his leg and had to be helped off on the back of a wagon. The anguish he saw on his face still lingered in Croco, but now that he knew he would be racing, the thought of injury disappeared completely as he fell asleep.
Race day finally came and he was one of the first competitors to the holding area. A few minutes later, Sabrine showed up, wearing an identical red vest to Croco's bright red shirt. A couple more people came to assist them in preparing Swifty for the race. A special saddle was put on his back, with an area in the front for the person steering to sit and a platform for the person grabbing the rings to stand upon. It took them some time to prepare their mount, but they were ready for the parade before the race.
Croco, Sabrine and Swifty came out to the cheers of many thousands of spectators. They waved to the crowd and Sabrine blew kisses to her parents in the stands. After many hours of ceremonies, their mounts were guided to the starting lines. The adrenaline was starting to get to both of them, but mostly Croco. A natural thrill-seeker, he was waiting for this moment ever since he found out that he would be running in the races. But he also had an uneasy feeling in his stomach. There was something about standing on top of a fifteen-foot tall dinosaur that could run as fast as a race horse that made him unsure of what he was getting into. But when the cymbal crashed and the dimorphodon was released, all feelings of nervousness was left at the line when Swifty took off.
They started off four-wide, with Croco missing the first ring. Sabrine stroked the right side of Swifty's neck and he cut in front of another competitior. This time Croco scored his first ring and pretty soon, they were starting to show their strength. He and Sabrine were starting to sense victory after he grabbed his fourth ring and Croco was seeing his ambitions of starting Skybax training well within grasp when the unimaginable happened.
Croco and Sabrine were jostling with a couple of the other riders when one deinocherius bumped into Swifty, causing him to stumble. The impact threw Croco off and he hit the track surface hard, rolling over to the outside wall. The spectators gasped when they saw him fly off of Swifty and roll to the side of the track, fearing the worst. When Croco finally came to a stop, he felt a sharp pain in his left arm and let out an anguished scream.
"My arm!!!" he cried in obvious pain, clutching the injured arm, "I think it's broken!!!" When Sabrine came around, she had Swifty stop and jumped down from the saddle to rush to the aid of her fallen partner. Soon, medical personnel arrived to aid the injured Croco and they confirmed what he had feared: his left arm had been broken when he fell and with that, his dreams of going to Canyon City had been shattered for another year. He couldn't take it and started to cry as they loaded him into the wagon to be checked out at the hospital...not from the pain of his injuries, but from the pain of knowing that he would have to wait another full year before he could take flight again.
He got to the Cornucopia hospital where the doctors looked at him. They wrapped the injured arm tightly and put him in a sling, telling him that he would have to remain in the sling for another six weeks. When he came out, Brock and Nobby were waiting for him.
"I saw the fall you took out there," Brock said, putting an arm around Croco, "and you should be lucky that a busted arm is all you got out of it." Still that did nothing to console him.
"I was that close," he sobbed, "That close from reaching my ultimate goal and it all just went away. Like having a bottle of water extended out to you in the desert, then the person holding the bottle smashes it on a rock. That's how I feel right now." Nobby put a horn in and held him close in her huge front legs.
"I know Croco...I know," she said soothingly, "we all fall, sometimes very hard like in your instance. But are you going to accept defeat, or are you going to rise up and prove that you can still come through?" That seemed to be a wake-up call that Croco needed and he finally stopped crying and rode Nobby out of the hospital where Mira, Kaala and Riojay were waiting. Soon Timbo and Cassie had shown up, telling Croco that he and Sabrine did the best of all the teams out there. But that didn't satisfy Croco one bit...instead of getting up and riding the brach over to Canyon City, he knew that he would go to the breakfast tree just like he had done every morning for the past ten months and starting another year of life in the trees instead of a new life as a Skybax trainee.
The start of the Dinosaur Olympics came around and people and saurians from all corners of Dinotopia were there to watch. Croco and Sabrine would be going out on the third day of the Games and they would watch Nalina go out on the first official day of competition. And like she said in the letter, Kaala was there with Brock, Mira, Nobby and Riojay. Also there was Timbo and Robert from Waterfall City, and so was Bix. Cassie was right there by their sides as they watched the first race. The opening ceremonies for the event seemed to drag on forever, and Darren happened to be standing next them so Croco nudged his shoulder.
"With all these ceremonies and stuff, it's beginning to remind me of when my brother made the Daytona 500 a few years ago," Croco said to him. Darren remembered all that Croco had told him about Johnny and the races, and although he didn't finish the race he was still proud of him. Then Darren reminded him of the objective.
"You and Sabrine are going for the solid red rings," he told him. "Me and my partner are gonna be trying to collect the blue rings tomorrow." Croco told him that he and Sabrine would be cheering them on as a long trumpet note silenced the masses. A long period of silence followed and the deinocheiruses stood anxiously at the starting line. Then a cymbal crash sent them on their way as a dimorphodon circled the track just ahead of them to set the pace. Croco and Darren were screaming and cheering as the racers thundered around the track.
"C'mon Nalina!" Croco shouted as he caught a glimpse of her and her partner Wendell spearing a ring. The frenzied crowd cheered along with them as they circled the track several times before another cymbal crash ended the race. Nalina and Wendell had gotten four of the coveted rings, but it wasn't enough to win as the team representing the Northwest quadrant had one more than them. When they had gotten back to the holding area, a dejected Nalina fell into Croco's arms.
"We had it," she said sadly, "we were that close from winning." Croco put an arm around Nalina and offered her a little consolation, but then told her that she did an excellent job out there and she flashed him a smile as bright as the morning sun.
The next day saw Darren and his partner Lyelah, the daughter of a dolphinback who was from Chandara like Darren, run in the race. After another round of dancing and pompous celebration, the echo of the cymbal was heard and the race was on. Darren and Lyelah circled the track, grabbing rings on their first three successive passes. But then their mount pulled up with an apparent leg injury and they fell out of the race much to the disappointment of Darren. The only consolation that Croco could think of was that he didn't fall from the saddle Darren laughed it off and told him that he was looking forward to another year in Treetown, his third.
As day slowly turned to night, a lot of emotions were running wild through Croco. He was excited, as he knew that he would be going out tomorrow. Croco was also nervous...he didn't want to disappoint all the people that had made the long journey to Cornucopia to watch him compete. Finally, Croco was scared. He knew that the races were dangerous...he saw a deinocheirus fall in warmups a couple days before the opening ceremonies. The young woman only had a few bruises but the boy that was standing on the saddle had broken his leg and had to be helped off on the back of a wagon. The anguish he saw on his face still lingered in Croco, but now that he knew he would be racing, the thought of injury disappeared completely as he fell asleep.
Race day finally came and he was one of the first competitors to the holding area. A few minutes later, Sabrine showed up, wearing an identical red vest to Croco's bright red shirt. A couple more people came to assist them in preparing Swifty for the race. A special saddle was put on his back, with an area in the front for the person steering to sit and a platform for the person grabbing the rings to stand upon. It took them some time to prepare their mount, but they were ready for the parade before the race.
Croco, Sabrine and Swifty came out to the cheers of many thousands of spectators. They waved to the crowd and Sabrine blew kisses to her parents in the stands. After many hours of ceremonies, their mounts were guided to the starting lines. The adrenaline was starting to get to both of them, but mostly Croco. A natural thrill-seeker, he was waiting for this moment ever since he found out that he would be running in the races. But he also had an uneasy feeling in his stomach. There was something about standing on top of a fifteen-foot tall dinosaur that could run as fast as a race horse that made him unsure of what he was getting into. But when the cymbal crashed and the dimorphodon was released, all feelings of nervousness was left at the line when Swifty took off.
They started off four-wide, with Croco missing the first ring. Sabrine stroked the right side of Swifty's neck and he cut in front of another competitior. This time Croco scored his first ring and pretty soon, they were starting to show their strength. He and Sabrine were starting to sense victory after he grabbed his fourth ring and Croco was seeing his ambitions of starting Skybax training well within grasp when the unimaginable happened.
Croco and Sabrine were jostling with a couple of the other riders when one deinocherius bumped into Swifty, causing him to stumble. The impact threw Croco off and he hit the track surface hard, rolling over to the outside wall. The spectators gasped when they saw him fly off of Swifty and roll to the side of the track, fearing the worst. When Croco finally came to a stop, he felt a sharp pain in his left arm and let out an anguished scream.
"My arm!!!" he cried in obvious pain, clutching the injured arm, "I think it's broken!!!" When Sabrine came around, she had Swifty stop and jumped down from the saddle to rush to the aid of her fallen partner. Soon, medical personnel arrived to aid the injured Croco and they confirmed what he had feared: his left arm had been broken when he fell and with that, his dreams of going to Canyon City had been shattered for another year. He couldn't take it and started to cry as they loaded him into the wagon to be checked out at the hospital...not from the pain of his injuries, but from the pain of knowing that he would have to wait another full year before he could take flight again.
He got to the Cornucopia hospital where the doctors looked at him. They wrapped the injured arm tightly and put him in a sling, telling him that he would have to remain in the sling for another six weeks. When he came out, Brock and Nobby were waiting for him.
"I saw the fall you took out there," Brock said, putting an arm around Croco, "and you should be lucky that a busted arm is all you got out of it." Still that did nothing to console him.
"I was that close," he sobbed, "That close from reaching my ultimate goal and it all just went away. Like having a bottle of water extended out to you in the desert, then the person holding the bottle smashes it on a rock. That's how I feel right now." Nobby put a horn in and held him close in her huge front legs.
"I know Croco...I know," she said soothingly, "we all fall, sometimes very hard like in your instance. But are you going to accept defeat, or are you going to rise up and prove that you can still come through?" That seemed to be a wake-up call that Croco needed and he finally stopped crying and rode Nobby out of the hospital where Mira, Kaala and Riojay were waiting. Soon Timbo and Cassie had shown up, telling Croco that he and Sabrine did the best of all the teams out there. But that didn't satisfy Croco one bit...instead of getting up and riding the brach over to Canyon City, he knew that he would go to the breakfast tree just like he had done every morning for the past ten months and starting another year of life in the trees instead of a new life as a Skybax trainee.