Note: Because another of my stories contains a character named Dark "Eyes", if Dark "Eye" has an S after his name every now and then it's a typo, I tried to find them all but I probably missed a couple, sorry!
Part V
Ghost of the Past
Dark Eye had done few things in his life as dangerous as trying to escape Bone Valley with a herd of little leaf eaters.
Every day of Dark Eye's life was a dangerous one, he could be killed by a stronger predator, or a trusted member of his own pack, that was just the way life was for his kind, and he was used to it.
He could have gotten out of Bone Valley easily, even without Maim, so long as he was by himself with just his own life to risk, but with children, more than half of them leaf eaters, he could not take the necessary risks.
And so, taking up the rear and trying not to make any noise he followed Maim.
The youngsters made not a sound, so at least Dark Eye knew they weren't stupid. They were nearly to the exit, and the sun would soon rise when Dark Eye suddenly knew they were finished.
He couldn't explain it. He just knew their little game had ended.
Maim seemed to sense it too because she turned around angrily and snapped, "Just run!"
The children began to comply when Reaver's voice, cold and calm reached their ears, "Oh yes, do run. You see . . . they do not want to have to walk too far for their breakfast."
Dark Eye glared back, there was Reaver surrounded by more of his followers than Dark Eye could count. Dark Eye glared forward, and a large number of pack hunters of various breeds emerged from the bend in front of them, they snarled and salivated at the sight of the youths.
"We surrender." Dark Eye said, raising his hands.
"Surrender? Surrender!" Reaver laughed loudly, the assembled meat eaters laughed as well. "You had your chance to join me, and you Maim, betrayed me! Surrender?" Reaver repeated, "Oh I think not."
Quetzal looked back at her comrades, "Hurry!" She snapped, "We're almost there!"
"You hear that?" Neckbiter asked, and before Quetzal could ask him what he meant he sped on ahead.
The entire pack had lacked any sleep, but they were ready, eager to catch up to their leader and rescue him from whatever dangers the canyon held.
Quetzal heard Neckbiter bark the order to slow and stop, she ignored him.
How dare he tell her to stop? She needed to reach Dark Eye before—oh a cliff!
She would have kept running out into thin air had Neckbiter not reacted quickly, sinking his teeth into her tail and shoving her back.
She nodded up to him "Thank you, I don't want to drop down there!"
"Oh no?" Neckbiter grinned, and he pointed down the cliff face.
Quetzal looked down, there were more sharp teeth than she had ever seen before in her life!
But there was Dark Eye, in one piece and there were the children . . . and then some.
She would accept the presence of the strange female for now, assuming her to be a friend if Dark Eye wasn't ripping her throat out, and immediately recognized the extra children, or thought she did, but it didn't matter.
Dark Eye was in a fighting position, so was the nameless female, the predators advancing on them looked famished . . .
One Claw came up, Quetzal glared at her, "What are you waiting for?" The superior female demanded.
One Claw grinned an unfriendly grin, "The word, chief."
"Go!" Neckbiter roared, and the hunters threw themselves off of the edge of the cliff, landing hard on the steep slope. Quetzal dug into the rough ground with her claws to slow and direct her descent, when they came to a survivable height the hunters made a second more difficult leap, coming down on the canyon floor.
Dark Eye wanted Reaver, he needed to kill Reaver! After that nothing else mattered, the enemy's numbers were too great, he knew there was no escape for him or the children.
But if he could take Reaver he would be more willing to accept his end.
He roared, and was about to charge when another roar answered his! He blinked and looked up as Neckbiter sailed through the air, landing hard—but on his feet—right in front of him.
"Greetings brother! If my boy has so much as a scratch I'll kill you, but first we kill all these bone crunchers!" Neckbiter said quickly while the first enemy came towards them, no sooner had Neckbiter finished speaking than he struck out at that first opponent and claimed first blood, leaving a gapping and mortal wound in the red's stomach with his killing claw.
Quetzal and One Claw landed next, the others behind them, Dark Eye thought quickly and said, "One Claw, the children, get them to safety, guard them with your life! Quetzal you're with Neckbiter and myself, Maim lead the rest and cut down those in front of our exit!"
Dark Eye did not wait to see his orders carried out, did not question whatever power had brought him his comrades just when he most needed them, he hoped that three would be a sufficient number to keep the other bone crunchers from attacking the children from the rear, with the canyon's narrow width Dark Eye had some hope.
He threw himself at pack hunter like himself, knocking the larger female on the ground, he stomped on her throat, cutting down on her neck. He narrowly avoided a Cruncher as it charged past and slammed its head into the canyon wall, One Claw leapt onto it and sank her teeth into its neck before it could regain its senses and attack the children.
Dark Eye lunged forward, meeting another Cruncher and lunging for its neck before it could lower its head! He tore viciously and ripped it away, a red leapt on him but he shielded himself behind the bulk of the falling Cruncher.
The red sank its claws into the Cruncher and Dark Eye tilted his head to the side, came up from behind the Cruncher and took the smaller hunter's entire head in his jaws, he twisted sharply then hurled the corpse back into the throng just in time to be leapt upon by another.
He felt the red's claws tare into his stomach, and he roared in pain, he wanted to teach up and rip its throat out but he could not reach.
A black flash and the red was screaming! Neckbiter had it's neck in his moth and with a violent shake he silenced it forever.
"Your life is mine, brother, only I can take it!" Neckbiter said, then turned to another opponent.
Dark Eye grunted and got to his feet, he held his wounded stomach and lunged for another enemy!
One Claw was torn, she watched Dark Eye fighting behind her, she watched the others struggling to finish clearing her path.
Every time something got past the trio fighting the main body, One Claw quickly killed it, he had claimed three reds and a cruncher so far, how much longer would Pytor, Blaine and this Maim take clearing the path in front?
She heard a roar from Dark Eye and turned around, it was over, Neckbiter had saved him and nothing had gotten through, still it was unsettling. One Claw looked at the children, did they really need her?
Yes of course, and even if they did not Dark Eye had told her to guard them, trusted her to do so and she would.
Maim threw herself against a pair of reds, sinking her jaws into the neck of one, and knocking the other senseless with her tail, Pytor kicked both claws into a cruncher, toppling it.
There was a gap.
There were still two more enemies for Blaine, Pytor and Maim each, but there was a gap!
"Run, now!" One Claw told the children, but they didn't.
"M-me feel safer with Dark Eye." The little flyer said as she clutched tightly to the head of the long neck.
"I will be with you, Dark Eye wouldn't give you a weak guardian, now go!"
The leaf eaters and Slash rushed forward, but Ravener did not.
Ravener watched his father fight against impossible odds and was terrified.
His father was invulnerable of course, couldn't be killed, no way! And still . . .
One Claw frowned at him, "We do not have time for this, conquer your fear!"
"My father!" Ravener snapped at her, "I'll wait for him!"
One Claw's expression softened, "I said 'conquer your fear' little one, your father will probably finish with these ones and meet us before we are half way home!"
Ravener frowned, he looked at Neckbiter and somehow he felt as if he ought to say 'goodbye' or something. Instead he just turned and ran like a coward after Slash and the others.
Hating himself, he cought up to them, heard a scream from behind him and turned back.
One Claw had snapped the neck of a red pack hunter as she passed the battle, dropping it she carried on and rushed them along, "No time to play you brats, keep moving!" One Claw said, she looked back and her expression told Ravener that the sinking feeling in his heart was justified.
They wouldn't see those they were leaving behind ever again!
Littlefoot stood at the front entrance of Bone Valley, an ugly canyon.
There were so many long neck skeletons entering seemed absolutely ridiculous! "Petrie," Littlefoot said softly.
"Petrie on it!" The flyer said, and he took to wing.
Littlefoot walked into the valley, Alleria was there . . . he had to save her, and because of his foolishness she wouldn't even know why!
But that was over, he'd tell her everything once he found her.
Littlefoot noticed something out of the corner of his eye, something big and green . . . what was it?
It moved like a flash, and Littlefoot barely had time to shout, "Petrie!" before it shot towards him like lighnting!
The nimble flyer rolled out of the way, the green flyer was suddenly accompanied by three comrades, four to one against Petrie.
Two soared high into the air above him, then dove, Petrie spun and dove as well, the sky cathers close on his tail! He banked hard to the left right before hitting the canyon wall and flew through the large skull of a long neck that must have been twice the size of Littlefoot.
One of the sky catchers followed Petrie, slamming into the skull, dislodging it and sending it falling to the canyon floor along with the doomed sky catcher, but the second as well as the two that had not been part of the dive and chase, continued after Petrie.
"Littlefoot go! Find children, Petrie show these Sky Catchers how to fly!"
Littlefoot steeled his nerves and rushed off after Alleria's scent, he had to trust Petrie.
Chomper arrived on the scene along with Short Tail, the two looked around and tried to pick up the scent of the bone crunchers. There was an abundance.
Chomper caught something vaguely familiar. He growled, "Murderers . . ."
He stormed off towards the source of the scent, "What's that?" Short Tail asked, following after Chomper.
Chomper scowled, "A scent . . . I don't know what it is but it was responsible for the death of my child!"
Short Tail said not a word and followed Chomper reluctantly. He did not care about the dead child, Chomper knew. But the other two-finger was not about to let himself be left by himself in this strange new territory.
One Claw hurried the children along, looking over her shoulder often to be sure they were not being followed.
They were.
A trio of reds led by one of One Claw's kind were hot on their trail, One Claw might have been able to outrun them herself, but with the children . . .
Worse she knew hunting tactics, sooner or later, when she least expected it a fifth bone cruncher would leap out, killing her.
She would have to turn and fight sooner or later, or they'd be overtaken. But where had these four come from, Pytor, Blaine and Maim had been finishing off what was left of their foes when One Claw made her escape!
Could Dark Eye's enemies have overpowered him and come after her and the young ones? One Claw shuddered at the thought.
She saw a narrow canyon passage, the children ran through it, she tried to flatten herself as much as possible before slipping through.
The larger female pack hunter was jammed however, and the reds leapt over her, one actually cutting her with its killing claw as it leapt from her back towards One Claw.
One Claw felt a tremor go through her body as she prepared herself to meet the attacker, but at the last second a huge tail came in and sent the red flying through the air!
A massive long neck stood above One Claw, the children were hiding behind his legs, One Claw shrank apprehensively, did the Bone Crunchers have long necks too? Why?
"We've got to get out of here!" The little long neck child said to the larger creature.
"All right, follow me!" Littlefoot said, for One Claw recognized him now.
She followed closely behind, the other pack hunter was still stuck and her two companions seemed reluctant to follow the massive Longneck on their own.
One Claw guessed they were home free, safe, she was about to turn back in fact to try to help Dark Eye escape when she noticed the stench of death in the air.
She frowned and looked forward, there stood three massive creatures. One looked as if it were a smaller, fatter cousin of the two-finger, another was like a two-finger but with longer more useful arms, and two great horns on his head. His scales were all red, his eye flat yellow, seemed almost to glow in his head.
The third, most impressive and massive of the hunters had a longish neck, and a mouth like a crocodile, it had a fan on its back, its deep brown and black scales reminded One Claw of Neckbiter's coloring.
It took a threatening step forward towards Littlefoot, One Claw looked about for some kind of escape, some kind of secret path.
There was nothing that Littlefoot could travel through, over or on that the trio of larger sharp teeth could not also. But the children and One Claw at least could be saved.
There was nothing, and the two reds that had bee n so nervous before were trying to sneak up behind them now, the fat female pack hunter was starting to come free of the rocks.
One Claw shuddered. Soon she'd know what it was like to die . . .
Dark Eye and The Pack are in danger, but Leopard and reinforcements arrive
Dark Eye knew his pack was in danger. The fact that they were experienced hunters and not starving exiles gave them an advantage but even Dark Eye could not believe that they would last much longer without losing somebody.
Once their three comrades in the rear finished their enemies there, they came to the front to help Dark Eye and the others, now six to who knew how many the fact that the canyon made the enemy's numbers easier to manage was little comfort.
That's when Dark Eye felt the ground tremble, he knew what it was, had experienced it often enough.
Even before the dark voice said joyously, "At last a chance to end it all!" Dark Eye knew Long Jaw and the tribe had arrived.
Reaver shouted a command at the four rexes, and when they didn't respond Dark Eye was certain he saw fear cross the creature's face.
"Leap onto their heads, run to the rear!" Dark Eye said.
"What?" Maim screamed, but Dark Eye demonstrated, leaping into the air and landing on a Cruncher's back he sprang again onto another back.
The pack followed, Dark Eye aimed for Reaver, meaning to make him his next leaping target, but the younger deinonychus disappeared into a wave of rushing Bone Crunchers who mean to overwhelm the rexes with their superior numbers.
Dark Eye thought bitterly, 'if they could not kill us . . .'
Long Jaw roared, needing little provocation to attack the swarm of smaller dinosaurs he charged in, trampling them with his massive feet, biting them with his enormous mouth.
Dark Eye leapt and leapt until he came to the rear of the Bone Cruncher's lines. He heard roars going throughout the canyon, how, he wondered had it come to this? What were the odds that both his pack and Long Jaw's would come here?
Perhaps fate had simply decided it was time for the end of The Reaver.
Dark Eye saw that Long Jaw and his tribe would soon be pushed back, would soon have to retreat for the number of Bone Crunchers was just too great. However the number they were killing was incredible too.
Reaver and Neckbiter fight, Reaver uses trickery, but Neckbiter isn't defeated, Reaver flees
Neckbiter shoved his way past the enemy dinosaurs and caught sight of The Reaver.
How like him this one seemed, how familiar he looked . . .
Neckbiter would swear he'd seen him before . . .
No matter, Neckbiter lunged forward, his jaws closing around the Reaver's neck for the kill!
Only he missed, the Reaver dodged out of the way and instead Neckbiter tore the neck from another dinosaur!
The pack hunter would not be denied though, and he lunged for Reaver who fell to the ground appearing helpless.
Neckbiter thought he had won, thought that this was his moment to finally slay the Reaver and end it all.
Reaver however sprang forward with a speed and strength that surprised the veteran hunter, Neckbiter roared in surprise as he was sent tumbling backwards, a deep gash going over his left eye, though he was relieved to find he could still see out of it.
The Reaver ran, Neckbiter got up to pursue and suddenly a red leapt onto his back and sank its teeth into the back of his neck.
Neckbiter expected the sweet embrace of death, expected some kind of pressure at least as jaws closed around his neck.
But it didn't come, he felt pain as the red's jaws were pried loose from his neck and looking back saw Dark Eye had killed the creature.
"Follow me, we'll meet up with your friend and the brats!" The female stranger said, what had her name been? Neckbiter hadn't paid any attention, wasn't sure that Dark Eye had even said it.
Dark Eye nodded, "Very well. Get us away from those two-fingers and lead us to the children!"
"How will she do that?" Quetzal snapped as she slammed her foot down on the neck of an injured Cruncher, burying her killing claw in its throat and ending its life with a gurgled moan.
"Hear those roas?" The dark female scoffed, "They're the roars of some of our larger hunters, and they say they've found food. What else could it be?"
Neckbiter roared in anger and snapped, "What are we waiting for? Let's go you lot of log legged old nest sitters!"
The others needed no second bidding, with all speed the six pack hunters dashed off towards the source of the loud and terrible roars.
To Be Concluded . . .
A/N: A truly epic story must never be rushed, which is why I wrote this chapter overnight . . . no just kidding, I took my time and made it good . . . so love it! Love it I say! And thanks to all who read it and reviewed! Next chapter is the final!