The Eye of the Storm

Littlefoot looked up to the trees towering over him and Aylene. They were some of the tallest trees he had ever seen in his life, and their bark was an unusual reddish brown. Their leaves thinned up at the top, creating a kind of point like an arrowhead.

They bent over in the strong winds, and created even darker shadows.

The sun had completely disappeared behind the storm clouds. The powerful wind blew against them, almost like it knew where they were going, and was trying to stop them. They trudged on, fighting against the storm.

Aylene opened her mouth to speak, but strong gust forced its way into her mouth and down her throat, making her gag and cough.

"You okay?" Littlefoot asked.

"I'm fine," Aylene coughed, shielding her mouth. "Let's just keep going."

Aylene looked ahead and squinted. Behind the veil of a thick fog stirring around them, a strange light was shimmering in the distance. Aylene's eyes grew wide. She glanced back and forth between her Time Stone and the light.

The Stone was pointing in the direction of the light!

"Littlefoot, look there!" she exclaimed.

"Did you see something?"

"Up ahead! Can't you see it?"

Littlefoot followed the direction of Aylene's pointing finger. Up ahead, through a gap between two tree trunks, was a ghostly blue glow. It waxed and waned in a rhythmic fashion. Littlefoot looked back at Aylene's Time Stone. A surge of hope leapt up into his chest.

"We're almost there!" he said with glee. "Hang on tight!"

Aylene leaned forward and clutched at the base of Littlefoot's neck, and he set out in a dead sprint toward the light. Their eyes never left it for a second. With each step, they got closer and closer. Despite the rising storm trying to push them back and slow them down, Littlefoot's stride didn't falter. Even when the full fury of the wind swirled around them, making it hard to breathe, he raced on through the wind with all the strength he could muster.

Then, out of nowhere, the light ahead of them flashed!

The Time Stone around Aylene's neck did the same!

The earth shook!

Littlefoot lost his footing and stumbled, throwing Aylene off his back. The two friends tumbled across the ground. Aylene hit up against the base of a tree, letting out a stifled cry from the painful blow to her back. Littlefoot skidded to a stop, and a sharp pain shot through his side.

Then, the earthquake was gone.

Shakily, Aylene rolled herself onto her front. She pushed herself up onto her knees, groaning and grimacing. She gripped her head until the dizziness faded away and looked over at her friend.

"Littlefoot, are you okay?" she asked.

"I think so," the long-neck answered. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

As Littlefoot got to his feet, something stung his side. He winced and sucked in air through his teeth.

There was wide cut in his left flank. Already, warm blood was seeping out, and a patch of ground underneath him was stained crimson.

Aylene saw it as well. Concerned, she hastily got her feet and ran over to her friend.

"Oh no, you're hurt," she said.

"I'm fine," Littlefoot replied. "It's not deep."

"Still…"

Aylene immediately took her bag off her back and opened it. She pulled out a water bottle and a clean rag. After dampening the cloth, she gently rubbed it over the open wound. Once it was clean, she ringed the blood out of it and put her things away.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Littlefoot said, glancing nervously at his injury. "It just stings a little, but I'll be fine. You don't need to worry."

"I know, but still…Wait."

It was now that Aylene noticed something. The furious wind they had been battling against was gone. The thick fog had completely disappeared, and sunlight was shining through the leaves high above.

Aylene and Littlefoot looked back the way they had come, and stared with disbelief. There was a wall of wind behind them that rose all the way up to the sky. All they could feel from it was a light zephyr.

"What's going on?" Littlefoot asked, astonished.

"I have no idea," Aylene said, in the same state. "This is new to me."

A glimmering light caught Littlefoot's attention. He looked forward.

"Aylene, over there. Look."

Aylene turned around. They were close to the edge of the forest. The light they had been following was now brighter than ever. Cautiously, they walked towards it, stepping over tree roots and pushing past bramble. Blinking, they stepped out into the sunlight and found themselves in a clearing.

There, they were met with a magnificent sight.

Several meters away, towering over them like an impressive monument, bathed in the golden light of the sun, was a massive structure of rock. The base and flat like a plateau, and rising up out of it on the edge facing the human and Apatosaurus was a stack of jagged rocks, with a nearly-perfect flat, cubic one resting on the very top. Around the base of the column was a circle of rocks that greatly resembled T-Rex teeth.

The whole thing looked like one giant sauropod.

In the very heart of it, right between two T-Rex teeth, was the ghostly light.

"Wait," Littlefoot whispered, "could this be…?"

"Saurus Rock," Aylene said in wonderment, clutching her Time Stone in one hand. "I'm sure of it. It's exactly like the one I saw in my dream."

The two friends stared up at the landmark in silence. There was a strange presence about it. It was stunning for sure, but also terrifyingly ominous. The rocks were no more extraordinary than the small pebbles at their feet, but that pulsating light was a sure sign that this formation of rocks was anything but normal.

"We made it," Littlefoot said, relieved. "Now what do we do?"

"Well, to start, we need to get a closer look," Aylene answered.

Already, the girl was reaching for her monocular. She took it out of her bag and brought it up to her eye. After adjusting the lens, she got a good view of the light.

"It looks like some kind of rock," she said.

"Are you sure?" Littlefoot asked.

"Yeah, I can see a kind of surface. Strange. Looks more metallic than luminescent."

"Meaning…"

Aylene lowered her monocular and brought a finger to her chin.

"I'm pretty sure this is the same stone Doc after Grandma left," she said pensively. "The question is what is it, and what's its connection to the Time Stone."

The Time Stone still hovered out in front of Aylene. She reached up and delicately held it with her thumb and index finger.

"Well, at this point, I think it's safe to say they do have a connection of some kind," Littlefoot pointed out. "Going over what we know, your Stone reacted the same way the that one did just before that last earthquake. Plus, it led us here. And then this storm."

Aylene looked around. The wall of wind swirling around the area in a perfect circle made her shudder. She couldn't see anything beyond it. It was like it had cut them off completely from the rest of the world.

"I know," she said. "It's not normal. I think we can say that the stone up there is responsible for all of the bad luck in the Valley. Now, it's up to us to stop it."

"Agreed. And we should start by getting up there."

At that suggestion, Aylene felt her stomach drop. She looked up at the light with apprehension and dread. That meant they would have to climb up.

Up to a high place.

Littlefoot noticed the color drain from her face and frowned.

"You wanna wait here?" he asked. "I can go up by myself."

Aylene blinked and shook her head.

"No, I'll go with you," she moaned. "I've faced T-Rexes and Meg sharks. Compared to those, heights are nothing anymore. C'mon, let's go."

The two friends approached Saurus Rock. The closer they got, the more Aylene began to see how tall it really was. As soon as they reached the base, a feeling of regret threatened to take over her mind. She shoved it aside and followed Littlefoot up a narrow path. The best thing she could do was not think about it. She just had to do it.

Carefully, and with cautious steps, they neared the top of the plateau. For a while, everything was going smoothly. They were in the shade of Saurus Rock, the path they were on was relatively easy to climb, almost like a staircase, and they managed to keep their balance.

However, just as they reached the plateau, the blue stone and Aylene's Stone flashed!

The earth suddenly shook!

Aylene and Littlefoot screamed as the stones below their feet trembled and loosened. They only had a split-second to jump up and grab the edge before the platform below them gave out.

Then, the earth grew still.

Aylene and Littlefoot didn't hesitate. They hoisted themselves up to safety with all the strength they had. They both laid flat on their fronts, breathing heavily and fighting to calm their nerves.

"I'm really starting to hate this," Aylene groaned.

"Let's take a break," Littlefoot said.

Just then, a deep growling sound broke the silence. Both Aylene and Littlefoot tensed.

"Tell me that was your stomach," Aylene said.

Littlefoot shook his head fearfully.

Another growl followed. It was low and guttural, and it was coming from down below.

Aylene and Littlefoot looked down and saw something that sent a chilling cold through their bloodstreams.

Emerging out of the woods was a large predator. Its skin was tannish red, and its nose was low to the ground. It sniffed the area intently.

Aylene grabbed her glowing Time Stone in a tight fist to douse its light. It was then that her ears picked the sound of a voice.

The predator's voice.

"I knew it,"he growled, his voice deep and gravelly. "It's long-neck alright. The runt's gotta be around here somewhere."

Aylene gasped. That predator had picked up Littlefoot's scent.

"Get back!" she whispered urgently.

Littlefoot and Aylene hurried to the base of the rock column, hoping it would be enough to conceal them from the biter down below. They huddled close together, crouching down close to the ground. They peeked around the edge of the column.

"A predator!" Littlefoot shuddered under his breath. "What's it doing here? I thought this was part of the Great Valley!"

"I don't know!" Aylene replied in a shaken whisper.

She swallowed hard. All of her attention was on the Allosaurus stalking the area below them. His red scales were speckled with black dots, and the claws on his long arms glinted white. His jaws were elongated, and filled with razor sharp teeth.

Aylene stared at the predator, trying to remember what she could about Allosaurus. What was its weaknesses? She breathed evenly, forcing herself to remember.

Then, her face slowly morphing into curious recognition. Something about this biter was familiar.

"What's that second smell?"the biter grumbled. "I've never smelled it before. Whatever it is, it's close."

A loud, angry roar suddenly echoed across the land.

"CLAWS OFF MY PREY, TRESPASSER!"

Littlefoot and Aylene both jumped in terror, each of them almost letting out a scream. They looked back down and saw another predator stomp out of the forest.

This one was Tyrannosaurus Rex.

The Allosaurus faced the intruder and snarled viciously.

"I told you, this is my territory!"he growled.

"And I told you I was here first!"the T-Rex roared. "Any prey that wonders in here is mine!"

"I smelled it first!"the Allosaurus shot back. "So back off!"

"You looking for a fight!"

"Bring it on!"

The two predators charged towards each other. Their maws opened wide, ready to bite.

Aylene and Littlefoot retreated back behind the column of rock, cringing and trembling from the battle roars, snarls, and bone-crunching chomps. The very sounds coming from the two carnivores seemed to vibrate throughout their entire beings.

Then it struck Aylene like a brick to the head! All at once, her memory cleared!

That night of the first earthquake, she had a strange dream!

Those biters were in it!

Saurus Rock was in it!

She brought her other hand up to her mouth, her eyes wide with fright!

"Oh, no!" she exclaimed, her voice muffled by her hand.

"What's wrong, Aylene?" Littlefoot asked.

"Littlefoot, we're in trouble!" Aylene said, raising her voice just enough for Littlefoot to hear her. "I couldn't remember until now, but that night the earthquakes started, I had a dream of two predators fighting for territory! It was here! At Saurus Rock! And we've wandered into it!"

Littlefoot stared with terror.

"This isn't good!" Aylene whined. "They picked up our scent! They're hunting us! Oh, this is all my fault! If only I had remembered that dream sooner! We should've brought one of the adults with us!"

"Aylene, calm down!" Littlefoot interrupted.

Aylene held her breath and stared at her friend. Littlefoot took a deep breath and looked back at the biters fighting down below.

"We have to keep our heads," he said, fighting back his own fear. "They don't know we're up here, and they're too busy fighting each other to notice. We're safe as long as we stay out of sight. If we wait long enough, maybe they'll get tired and go away. For now, let's think about what we're going to do next. Remember, we still have to find a way to stop that stone."

Aylene was silent for a moment. She shut her eyes and swallowed back her anxiety. Littlefoot was right. Now was not the time for regrets. What was done was done. She had to focus on the here and now. She and Littlefoot had to think of some way to stop the stone in Saurus Rock while they had the time. She took a deep breath and clutched her Time Stone. She relaxed her free hand and released the tension in her muscles.

"You're right," she said. "Sorry. For now, we need to think about our next move, and keep our heads down. I just hope they do leave soon."