Revenge
Chapter 5: Escape
'Like what you see?'
Cherry didn't answer as she slowly tried to back away but another pterandon landed blocking her path.
'Soon your flesh will feed these younglings!'
Cherry tried to get past the other pterandon but it forced her back with its flailing beak.
'KILL HER!'
Cherry glanced back at the nests of screeching younglings and held off the urge of throw up.
'KILL HER!' Longwing ranted dementedly, 'THE MASTER WILL BE PLEASED!'
A pterandon leapt forward trying to drive her off the rocky ledge. Cherry ducked but another attacked from the side. A third entered the fray and Cherry was in trouble. She lashed out with legs and fists ignoring the pain as pterandons pecked at her.
'FOOLS! Can't you do it?' Longwing leapt forwards as the other pterandons backed off. Cherry gulped as she face the huge dinosaur.
'Prepare to die!'
His beak flashed down and snagged her shirt. With almost no effort, he flung her over the side.
Cherry plunged over the side as the younglings screeched hungrily.
'NO! I can't die like this!' she thought, 'somebody! PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!"
"CRREEEEEEEEEEE!!!"
The youngling's voices were drowned out as another more powerful screech filled the cavern. Cherry felt rather than saw herself hit something. Something with long wings and a long beak.
"Sharpbeak!" she murmured in relief.
'I'm here,' Sharpbeak replied, 'I cannot let you die! You must escape!'
"I know that!" Cherry yelled frantically, "HOW?"
'TRAITOR!'
Longwing pursued them as Cherry held on for dear life. Sharpbeak performed swoops and dives as he swerved around the stalagmites and stalactites. Cherry risked a look behind her and almost let go. A huge flock of pterandons were now pursuing them.
"Can we out fly them all?" Cherry whispered.
'No. We have to stop!' Sharpbeak said wearily.
Sharpbeak dived and landed on a piece of flat ground. With cries of victory Longwing and the rest of the flock landed.
'TRAITOR! YOU MUST DIE!' Longwing snapped, 'AND AS FOR YOU...'
Cherry gulped as Longwing fixed her with his crazy stare.
'I challenge you,' Sharpbeak said quietly.
Longwing's head snapped around and stared at Sharpbeak.
'YOU? A WEAKLING?' Longwing laughed, 'I'll tear you to pieces!'
'I CHALLENGE YOU! IF I WIN YOU LET US GO, IF I LOSE...'Cherry held her breath.
'You can kill us...' Sharpbeak trailed off.
Cherry stood in fear. Her whole body was shaking. Her mouth was dry and she knew her knees would give way any second. The pterandons and her were standing to the side as Longwing and Sharpbeak faced each other.
'I WILL WIN!' Longwing crowed, 'AND YOUR BLOOD AND HERS WILL STAIN THESE CAVERN WALLS!'
'FIGHT YOUR SENILE FOOL!'Longwing hissed at Sharpbeak.
'LET'S BEGIN!' his voice filled with venom.
Without warning both dinosaurs lunged at each other. Their beaks collided as they both leapt forwards buffeting each other with their wings while trying to impale the other with their beaks. Longwing laughed insanely as his beak left a bleeding wound on Sharpbeak's chest but Sharpbeak retaliated slashing Longwing fiercely leaving huge wounds in his back.
'DIE! YOU WILL DIE!' Longwing spat.
They both took to the air lunging at each other. Diving, performing barrel rolls while still trying to land blows on each other. Longwing attacked viciously scoring wounds on Sharpbeak's chest and back. Longwing continued his attack laughing as more blood spurted from Sharpbeak's wounds. Sharpbeak screeched in anger and pumped his wing powerfully.
'WHAT?!?'Sharpbeak managed to fly above Longwing's head and with a fierce jab his beak slammed into his wing. Longwing hissed in surprise and slammed into the ground. He lay there stunned as Sharpbeak dived down slashing at his face with his beak.
'HELP ME!' Longwing cried, 'HELP ME!' He reared his head and roared in pain as Sharpbeak's beak ripped across his eyes. Blood poured from his eyes as Sharpbeak leapt back with a cry of victory. 'I win...' Sharpbeak said his voice low and dangerous. 'NEVER! KILL THEM!' Cherry ducked and rolled as pterandons leapt at her. Her hand hit something and she grabbed it without a second thought. "BAM!" The bone clutched tightly in her hand connected with a pterandon's chest. The dinosaur roared in pain and hit the ground. Sharpbeak attacked from the rear driving the pterandons away as Cherry lashed out with the bone. 'GET ONTO MY BACK!' Sharpbeak yelled. Cherry used one of the fallen pterandon's body as a boost as she leapt through the air. A beak narrowly missed grabbing her. She landed in front of Sharpbeak and hurled her bone into one of the pterandons. The flying dinosaur fell back as the bone smashed into its leg. Cherry grabbed Sharpbeak's back and leapt on. 'HOLD ON!'She felt the muscles in Sharpbeak's body move as he flapped his wings. Several pterandons managed to untangle themselves and took flight. Sharpbeak dived as the pterandons followed as best as they could.
'DUCK!'Cherry pressed herself as flat as possible against Sharpbeak as Sharpbeak flew under an arch of weathered stone. With a squawk of surprise, one of the larger pterandons collided with the arch and landed with a sickening crunch on the ground below.
It was pure insanity. They were rushing along a neck breaking speed performing dives and rolls as they turned and veered to avoid rocky obstacles.
'HOLD ON!'Cherry gasped as Sharpbeak veered sharply to the right. The pterandon tailing him wasn't so lucky and with a frantic yelled it slammed into the sheer cliff face.
"Do you know where we are going?" Cherry whispered.
'Yes, we should be safe soon.'
She closed her eyes as Sharpbeak dived down so that his belly almost scraped the ground. The other pterandons followed closely behind. Cherry tried to make herself as flat possible as Sharpbeak swerved to avoid a stalactite.
'Almost there.' Sharpbeak said wearily.
Cherry nodded slightly but closed her eyes as the scenery around her blurred as Sharpbeak picked up more speed. She didn't want to think what would happen if they got caught.
'HOLD ON AS TIGHT AS YOU CAN!'
The girl perched on his back almost fell as he suddenly shot straight up as the other pterandons flew under him screeching in confusion and rage. Cherry was almost blinded as she caught her first glimpse of sunlight. With a final spurt of speed Sharpbeak flew through the cave mouth and flew into open air.
"We made it!" Cherry yelled, "Finally! Sunlight!"
Sharpbeak managed to squawk wearily and landed clumsily on the ground.
"Are you okay?" Cherry asked sliding off.
'I'm exhausted...' the pterandon managed to say before closing his eyes.
"Are the others going to follow us?"
'No, they're afraid of the sunstones.'
Cherry nodded and let Sharpbeak rest as she surveyed the area around them. They seem to be at the bottom of a huge canyon or ravine. She glanced to her left and gasped. Sticking out of the rock was some kind of carved stone. She squinted trying to make out the shape but her vision blurred. Wearily she rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn. She yawned again and realised for the first time she was exhausted. And her shirt was smeared with blood from Sharpbeak's wounds.
"Poor Sharpbeak," she murmured as she collapsed.
'Wake up... wake up...'
Cherry woke up. She shook the last remnants of her disturbing dream from her mind and stood up.
"What is it Sharpbeak?" she whispered, "Why are we whispering?"
'It is night. We better leave before the other pterandons decide to follow us.'
Cherry nodded and stretch. With a weary sigh she mounted Sharpbeak.
Cherry had the feeling that they were flying over some kind of city as she glanced down cautiously. She gulped. Imagine falling down from here...
"Don't think about it," she commanded.
'What?'
"Don't worry. I'm talking to myself."
Studded along the rocky ledges were buildings of some sort and small twinkles of light. What was that? It didn't look like fire. She glanced to her left and saw the rest of the statue. She had been right. It was huge. It towered over everything else and the statues were carved into odd shapes. It looked like humans with some kind of animal face. Cherry shivered in the night air and felt her eyelids close.
'I better keep awake,' she thought drowsily before drifting off to sleep.
"CREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!"
"Wha... wha... what? ARRGGGHHHH!!!" Cherry almost fell off Sharpbeak.
'What's going on?' Sharpbeak asked frantically.
"Jeez... I almost forgot I was flying," Cherry breathed a sigh of relief as she regained her balance.
"CREEEEEEEE!!!"
"What is that?"
'Skybaxes.'
"Huh?"
Two flying dinosaurs appeared into her line of vision. They were different from pterandons and Cherry gasped when she saw two people perched on the flying dinosaurs.
"Riders?" she muttered.
The two skybaxes lunged at them snapping their beaks. Cherry almost fell off as Sharpbeak dived. The two skybaxes wheeled gracefully around and took chase.
'I can't keep this up,' Sharpbeak muttered wearily.
"STOP!" Cherry yelled.
But the riders didn't seem to hear as the skybaxes lunged for Sharpbeak once more. Cherry felt one of the beaks hit her back and barely registered the pain but she could feel her body go numb.
"I can't hold on..." she murmured.
She winced in pain as another beak hit her.
'CHERRY!' Sharpbeak yelled using her name for the first time.
She was falling.