Chapter 37
Croco slept rather uneasily as the thoughts of Cassie lingered in his mind. He dreamed that he was flying over the Rainy Basin when he heard her call out. Upon arrival, he saw his friend being cornered against the wall of a cave by a pack of hostile Deinonychus. Jumping off his Skybax, Croco rushed to the scene only to be jumped by a pair of deinonychs. They gently picked him up by his arms and led him over to where the trapped protoceratops was. Then the alpha walked up to him with an evil glare in his eye.
"Foolish human," he said in human. "I should've known you would come for this leaf-eater." Eyes filled with rage, Croco tried to charge at him but was pounced.
"Let her go!" he shouted, "She's my friend!"
"All the more reason you shall enjoy this!" Then it happened...one by one the deinonychs danced around Cassie, slashing at her with their finger-claws while she cried out in agony. Croco tried to wriggle out but every time he tried, the deinonychs would pin him against a nearby tree until the alpha ordered his release. Upon this, he tried to rush at Cassie but was cut off by the alpha.
"Croco, save yourself!" Cassie bellowed.
"Shut up, leaf-eater!" The alpha bared his teeth and told Croco that if he tried anything he would die, to which he said, "take me...but just leave Cassie alone!" The alpha grabbed Croco and positioned himself so he could see Cassie. Then with a bob of the head, two large females attacked the protoceratops, digging deep into her and slashing with their toe-claws. Both human and saurian screamed out while the alpha laughed a sick, evil laugh as blood and organs spilled onto the ground.
"Cassie!!!" he cried out as he woke up in a cold sweat, still shaking as if the deinonychs were still holding him. Croco got up and walked around the small room, stopping to peek out the window. Seeing it was still dark, he sauntered back to his bed and closed his eyes. But the nightmare continued to haunt him, not allowing the young man to go back to sleep until he heard a knock on the door. Still groggy, he answered it and saw Alynna standing there.
"Looks like you saw the devil there lad," she joked. But Croco was not in the mood for sarcasm.
"Even worse," he replied. "I had a nightmare where I was forced to watch the protoceratops die at the hands of deinonychs." Alynna sighed and put an arm around Croco's shoulder, explaining the route they planned on taking. She was going to get to this, but decided to bring it up then to take his mind off the nightmare. Alynna told him that they would take the trail south and west to get around the mountains, then cut through the foothills while stopping in one of the villages to take on warmer clothing. After that, they would spend a day or so in a settlement called Sky City before making their final climb to the Tentpole of the Sky.
If everything went well according to Alynna, the trip would take about two weeks. To make things even better, Oolu arranged for a brachiosaur to pick them up when they left Canyon City so they could conserve their energy for climbing. With that, Croco threw on a change of clothes and his denim vest that he managed to hang onto from the day he landed and was out the door, backpack in hand as the first rays of sunlight crept over the faces of the Sentinels.
After a filling breakfast and receiving many good-byes from instructors, classmates and citizens alike, Croco and Alynna reached the outskirts of Canyon City. They walked a good ways before meeting up with brach caravan. To the young man's surprise, they would be riding with Darwin and his brachiosaur named Cloudtop. Darwin recognized him immediately and exchanged greetings with him. He knew Alynna as well and before long the three were engaged in a long, thoughtful conversation. But then the time came for them to continue their journey through the foothills. So Darwin ordered them on Cloudtop's back and clacked when he was on top of the saddle attached to her neck, and they headed southward.
They were making good time through the eastern foothills when Cloudtop stumbled, sending everyone into an alarmed state. When she started to limp, Darwin was lowered and with Alynna's help, they saw what her problem was. She had apparently stepped on a rock and cut one of her front feet, so they spent a good time patching it up by tying large towels over the wound. They were able to get going again, but she was still limping a little bit so their time was greatly reduced.
The first stop was in a small village near a trail intersection three days after they left Canyon City. There, Cloudtop's foot was looked at and Croco got to meet some of the locals as well. Upon telling them of their journey, he and Alynna received the cold-weather clothes that the Master rider had mentioned. After staying the night, Darwin and Cloudtop were on their way with Croco and Alynna. Clearing the southern tip was no problem as Darwin had led numerous expeditions to a well-known dropoff point for humans to reach Thermala on foot. The next day, they reached the dropoff point, which was at about 250 necks above sea level.
Croco and Alynna were greeted by an icy breeze coming from the north, to which they picked up their backpacks and started to walk into. About an hour later, they had reached the halfway point when Croco turned to his companion.
"Alynna, where are we going?" he asked. The response was simple.
"Thermala, then to Sky City...and then the Tentpole." They trudged on through foot-deep snow and negotiated large boulders. Finally they tackled a steep climb up the face of the mountain, but four hours after they left Darwin and Cloudtop, Croco and Alynna set foot on gentle terrain. A few minutes after that, they stood at the gates of Thermala where people and the first ancient mammals Croco had seen greeted them in typical Dinotopian fashion.
"Breathe deep, seek peace Alynna McRae and Croco Hallaway...welcome to the grand city of Thermala!" Croco looked around at the alpine wonderland they were in and was amazed at what he saw. It was like an enlarged version of Vail, which he had fond memories of from when he went to snowboard camp there the year before the crash. Most of the buildings were made of wood, with a few exceptions that were stone. There, they met up with a wooly mammoth and its "handler," a short, young, blonde-haired woman who appeared to be about Croco's age. She greeted the two fliers and introduced herself as Katya Braunn and the mammoth as Skytusk.
"Are you two heading for Sky City by any chance?" Katya asked. Alynna told her of their journey to the Tentpole, then they began to converse as they made their way towards the northern edge of the city. The wind began to die down as the three humans found a 'mammoth house' with adjacent human quarters to spend the night in.
Croco slept rather uneasily as the thoughts of Cassie lingered in his mind. He dreamed that he was flying over the Rainy Basin when he heard her call out. Upon arrival, he saw his friend being cornered against the wall of a cave by a pack of hostile Deinonychus. Jumping off his Skybax, Croco rushed to the scene only to be jumped by a pair of deinonychs. They gently picked him up by his arms and led him over to where the trapped protoceratops was. Then the alpha walked up to him with an evil glare in his eye.
"Foolish human," he said in human. "I should've known you would come for this leaf-eater." Eyes filled with rage, Croco tried to charge at him but was pounced.
"Let her go!" he shouted, "She's my friend!"
"All the more reason you shall enjoy this!" Then it happened...one by one the deinonychs danced around Cassie, slashing at her with their finger-claws while she cried out in agony. Croco tried to wriggle out but every time he tried, the deinonychs would pin him against a nearby tree until the alpha ordered his release. Upon this, he tried to rush at Cassie but was cut off by the alpha.
"Croco, save yourself!" Cassie bellowed.
"Shut up, leaf-eater!" The alpha bared his teeth and told Croco that if he tried anything he would die, to which he said, "take me...but just leave Cassie alone!" The alpha grabbed Croco and positioned himself so he could see Cassie. Then with a bob of the head, two large females attacked the protoceratops, digging deep into her and slashing with their toe-claws. Both human and saurian screamed out while the alpha laughed a sick, evil laugh as blood and organs spilled onto the ground.
"Cassie!!!" he cried out as he woke up in a cold sweat, still shaking as if the deinonychs were still holding him. Croco got up and walked around the small room, stopping to peek out the window. Seeing it was still dark, he sauntered back to his bed and closed his eyes. But the nightmare continued to haunt him, not allowing the young man to go back to sleep until he heard a knock on the door. Still groggy, he answered it and saw Alynna standing there.
"Looks like you saw the devil there lad," she joked. But Croco was not in the mood for sarcasm.
"Even worse," he replied. "I had a nightmare where I was forced to watch the protoceratops die at the hands of deinonychs." Alynna sighed and put an arm around Croco's shoulder, explaining the route they planned on taking. She was going to get to this, but decided to bring it up then to take his mind off the nightmare. Alynna told him that they would take the trail south and west to get around the mountains, then cut through the foothills while stopping in one of the villages to take on warmer clothing. After that, they would spend a day or so in a settlement called Sky City before making their final climb to the Tentpole of the Sky.
If everything went well according to Alynna, the trip would take about two weeks. To make things even better, Oolu arranged for a brachiosaur to pick them up when they left Canyon City so they could conserve their energy for climbing. With that, Croco threw on a change of clothes and his denim vest that he managed to hang onto from the day he landed and was out the door, backpack in hand as the first rays of sunlight crept over the faces of the Sentinels.
After a filling breakfast and receiving many good-byes from instructors, classmates and citizens alike, Croco and Alynna reached the outskirts of Canyon City. They walked a good ways before meeting up with brach caravan. To the young man's surprise, they would be riding with Darwin and his brachiosaur named Cloudtop. Darwin recognized him immediately and exchanged greetings with him. He knew Alynna as well and before long the three were engaged in a long, thoughtful conversation. But then the time came for them to continue their journey through the foothills. So Darwin ordered them on Cloudtop's back and clacked when he was on top of the saddle attached to her neck, and they headed southward.
They were making good time through the eastern foothills when Cloudtop stumbled, sending everyone into an alarmed state. When she started to limp, Darwin was lowered and with Alynna's help, they saw what her problem was. She had apparently stepped on a rock and cut one of her front feet, so they spent a good time patching it up by tying large towels over the wound. They were able to get going again, but she was still limping a little bit so their time was greatly reduced.
The first stop was in a small village near a trail intersection three days after they left Canyon City. There, Cloudtop's foot was looked at and Croco got to meet some of the locals as well. Upon telling them of their journey, he and Alynna received the cold-weather clothes that the Master rider had mentioned. After staying the night, Darwin and Cloudtop were on their way with Croco and Alynna. Clearing the southern tip was no problem as Darwin had led numerous expeditions to a well-known dropoff point for humans to reach Thermala on foot. The next day, they reached the dropoff point, which was at about 250 necks above sea level.
Croco and Alynna were greeted by an icy breeze coming from the north, to which they picked up their backpacks and started to walk into. About an hour later, they had reached the halfway point when Croco turned to his companion.
"Alynna, where are we going?" he asked. The response was simple.
"Thermala, then to Sky City...and then the Tentpole." They trudged on through foot-deep snow and negotiated large boulders. Finally they tackled a steep climb up the face of the mountain, but four hours after they left Darwin and Cloudtop, Croco and Alynna set foot on gentle terrain. A few minutes after that, they stood at the gates of Thermala where people and the first ancient mammals Croco had seen greeted them in typical Dinotopian fashion.
"Breathe deep, seek peace Alynna McRae and Croco Hallaway...welcome to the grand city of Thermala!" Croco looked around at the alpine wonderland they were in and was amazed at what he saw. It was like an enlarged version of Vail, which he had fond memories of from when he went to snowboard camp there the year before the crash. Most of the buildings were made of wood, with a few exceptions that were stone. There, they met up with a wooly mammoth and its "handler," a short, young, blonde-haired woman who appeared to be about Croco's age. She greeted the two fliers and introduced herself as Katya Braunn and the mammoth as Skytusk.
"Are you two heading for Sky City by any chance?" Katya asked. Alynna told her of their journey to the Tentpole, then they began to converse as they made their way towards the northern edge of the city. The wind began to die down as the three humans found a 'mammoth house' with adjacent human quarters to spend the night in.