Chapter Eleven: Stolen
The rag-tag group of friends tracked through the Great Valley, doing their best to keep close to the Great Wall. Waking any of the slumbering residents would only get them into more trouble and slow down their chase. Petrie had already flown ahead of the larger dinosaurs to keep track of the egg stealers. The others struggled to even keep the egg thieves in their sights. Possessing powerful long legs and nimble feet, the two white-and-brown claw-hands were already slipping out of the Great Valley.
"I hope Petrie is having better luck tracking them," Littlefoot panted, stopping at the rocky pathway leading out into the Mysterious Beyond. He glanced behind. Cera stood next to his flank, breathing just as hard as him. Ducky, the fastest out of the four dinosaurs, was lagging behind. The swimmer had tumbled over nearly every loose rock, her mind too fogged with panic to pay attention to where she was stepping in the darkness. Spike also lagged behind as he was the heaviest of the three bigger dinosaurs and the least built for speed.
"Where were the Valley guards when those two slipped into the Valley in the first place?" Remy asked, leaning over Littlefoot's neck as if it would let her see the bird-legged egg thieves better. "Were Mr. Clubtail and Nod sleeping on the job again?" She clenched her fist. "I should have told someone earlier about those claw-hands."
"We can't do anything about it now, but I think they found a hidden entrance." Littlefoot turned to the secondary Valley entrance the thieves had slipped through, gazing into the darkness. It had almost been two moon cycles since he and his friends made the journey to the Great Valley. They had ventured into the Mysterious Beyond more than once since then, but he didn't know how far they would have to chase the egg stealers. Nonetheless, they had to rescue Ducky's unhatched sibling. Swallowing hard, he pushed onward, heaving his large body over each slab of rock which were situated like giant steps.
"Let's keep going," Littlefoot whispered over his shoulder, but the words weren't needed. Cera was beside him and Ducky just a tail-length away. Spike was the only one struggling, but he was just as determined as everyone else to get the egg back.
Ducky surged forward, charging into the moonlight. Her panic built as the claw-hands bounded ever further away from them, the precious object clutched in one of the thieves' clawed hands. "Bring back my sibling!"
The claw-hand brothers didn't stop, their bright yellow tails fading into the darkness of night. The desolate land of the Mysterious Beyond rose before the group of six. A chilly wind howled across the bare stone, kicking up dust and small rocks. The chill clawed down the dinosaurs' backs, and the light of the full moon was shut out by dense clouds.
"Maybe…maybe we should go back," Cera offered, her mask of bravery breaking by the fall of complete darkness. "The adults will know what to do."
Littlefoot shook his head and continued leading the group into the Mysterious Beyond. "It's too late now. They'll get away, and we won't be able to rescue Ducky's sibling. Besides, it was your idea, so are you coming or not?" He stopped mid-step, looking over his back at the hesitant three-horn.
Ducky had already surged past Littlefoot, frantic to find her mother's missing egg. Petrie was still in the sky, not visible in the darkness, but he hopefully still had his eyes locked on the claw-hands. Spike waited beside Cera, his magenta eyes just as stern as Littlefoot's.
"I…" Cera raked her paw through the dry earth, kicking up more dust. Bellowing in frustration, she charged forward, following Ducky's path into the wasteland.
Littlefoot and Spike followed. The five friends did their best to follow the thieves' tracks or spot Petrie in the sky. They trekked through rough stone and pushed past massive pillars, and wound around a narrow pathway up a steep incline. The ledge nearly gave out beneath the heavier dinosaur's feet several times, but they pushed on. Then, they were met with a massive gap in the earth.
"Do you think the claw-hands were able to leap over this?" Remy asked, leaning over Littlefoot's shoulder to stare into the black abyss, following the expanse to the other side.
"They leap over," Petrie's voice drifted over the group. "Me see them. They head to cave over there." He gestured with his beak to the rising cliffside surrounded by large boulders.
"Let's go." Littlefoot charged forward with a few earth-shaking steps and stretched out across the crevasse. His long body and powerful strides easily made the gap. There, he waited for his friends. Spike went next, having walked the length of the gap the moment he saw it in the distance. Grunting, he stepped across the much narrower gap. The rocks crumbled beneath his hindlegs, but his feet found solid ground. He watched the chunks of earth fall into the darkness then looked up at Littlefoot. The pair exchanged a relieved nod.
Before Spike could make his way to the long-neck, Ducky leaped across the fissure. Her front slammed onto the hard earth while her back legs scrambled for a hold. Littlefoot stooped forward, nudging Ducky until her entire body was on the earth. Breathing hard, she laid motionless for a few heartbeats as she gathered herself. By the time Spike was beside them, Ducky was standing. The spike-tail opened his beak to say something, but she was already limping in the direction the claw-hands had disappeared.
"Ducky!" Littlefoot shouted, but she wasn't listening. Nothing would stop her from getting her sibling back. He turned to the remaining member, who was shakily staring into the abyss. "Come on, Cera. We need to move."
"I know!" The three-horn snapped. "Just give me a moment." She backed further and further, and then, similar to the bellow she had given earlier, she charged. That bellow turned to a shrill scream when she launched herself across the chasm. Cera's front feet met the hard earth on the other side, but her back legs met nothing, scrambling in the air before they planted on the rough sides of the chasm.
"Help!" Cera gasped, struggling to find a foothold as she tried to hold herself up with the front half of her body. She was slipping, her heavy body not built to hold her body weight in such a way.
Littlefoot grasped her frill and pulled. Spike also rushed to Cera's side and pushed her hindquarters up and out of the air. Pulled a safe distance from the darkness, Cera lay on the earth, eyes squeezed shut. Slowly, she dragged herself to her feet, her entire body trembling.
"Cera, are you—" Littlefoot was cut off by her sharp green eyes, even as they shined with fearful tears.
With one sniff, the three-horn walked ahead of the group, following Ducky's frantic footsteps.
The rest quickly caught up to Ducky. Thunder rumbled overhead. The claw-hand brothers were precariously balanced on a mound of rocks. Oz hissed at Ducky, spreading his grey feathered arms and fanning the bright yellow feathers that adorned the end of his tail. "Sorry, but we've got to eat. Someone has to make the sacrifice."
Oz gave a sharp nod to Strut, and his brown-backed brother disappeared into the darkness of the cave, egg in hand. Oz followed footsteps behind, his tail feathers the last thing seen before the rain breached the clouds.
"They are getting away," Ducky gasped, stumbling over another loose stone. "I can't let them take my baby sibling." Her voice cracked as she tried to climb onto the ledge below the gaping mouth of the cave. She lost her footing on a patch of loose rocks and tumbled down the cliffside.
Ducky struggled to stand. "No! Come back with my sibling!"
Littlefoot was beside the swimmer, head pressed to her side. "Ducky, are you alright?" he asked, helping her to her feet.
"Oh, no, no, no. They have my sibling. Mama is going to be so sad. She has lost so many of us…" Ducky wiped a tear from her eye.
"Then we got to keep chasing them. We won't let them eat that egg." Littlefoot encouraged. However, the moment he spoke those words, the drizzle turned into a torrential downpour. Usually, the rain was welcomed, but when chasing egg-napping dinosaurs, not so much.
Thunder rumbled overhead, and Cera flinched. Littlefoot glanced at her, but she kept her gaze on the cave ahead, a silent curse slipping from her beak. When Ducky managed to only stumble forward, Cera pushed her, heaving the swimmer onto her snout.
"Petrie's back." Remy pointed to the sky, a dark shape slowly descending.
The flyer landed on Littlefoot's back and shook the water from his head. "They go in cave. No come out. Me can't fly in this rain." He stretched his wings and flapped, sending droplets into Remy's face. "Sorry."
The girl just wiped the rainwater from her eyes, though it wasn't much use as more streamed down her face and dripped from her hair. "How about we follow them into the cave so that we aren't standing in the rain anymore. I don't know about you guys, but I don't like being soaked."
Lightning lit up the sky, followed by a bone-rattling boom of thunder. Cera flinched again, pressing herself into Littlefoot's flank as she stared up at the sky.
"Cera?"
The three-horn withdrew with a sharp intake of breath. She glared up at Littlefoot as if he was the one that had been so close. With a snort and her head held high, she led the group, leaving Ducky to lean against Spike for support as she nursed her bruised legs.
As the others followed, another streak of lightning lit up the sky. Cera visibly flinched. She shook her head, her swear almost unheard by the others over the pounding rain. She charged forward, plowing into a pillar of rocks within the darkness of the cave. The others followed as quickly as they could.
"I can't see anything in here," Littlefoot muttered, squinting in the darkness.
"Me neither," Petrie said from Littlefoot's back.
A shaky breath sounded from Ducky as she leaned against Spike's side. "My sibling," she sniffed, wiping rainwater and tears from her face. "What about my sibling? Mama is not going to have a full clutch again. We moved to the Great Valley, so she did not have to lose any more children."
"We still look?" Petrie alighted between Spike's plates and patted Ducky's shoulder. "We don't know if egg got eaten yet. Maybe egg stealers save it for later."
"And, before we continue the search, I should get those bruises healed. We lost the claw-hands, so we may as well take a moment of rest. They won't be moving much in this rain." Remy slipped from Littlefoot's back. She paused to wring out her hair and wet shirt, flicking the water off her hands. Shard grasped in her hands, she slipped it over her head, and pressed it to Ducky's bruised legs and feet.
The swimmer only whimpered when the heat grew too unbearable, too distraught to mutter her usual 'ouch.' From where he rested on Spike's back, Petrie massaged Ducky's shoulders. She tensed when Remy pressed the crystal to her feet. Ducky cried out in pain.
"Sorry," Remy whispered, withdrawing the Shard from Ducky's feet. "You must have broken a toe or something. It did the same thing when I healed Petrie's broken wing during our travel to the Great Valley."
Remy inspected Ducky's injured feet. The skin under her scales had turned red and painful to the touch. When Remy prodded the wound, all Ducky did was whimper. She stared off into the darkness of the cave, wringing her paws.
"They are getting away," she sniffled.
"I have to patch you up first, Ducky," Remy said, still inspecting Ducky's feet. "You probably broke a toe when you fell. I know you want to find the egg, but you have to take care of yourself first. If you're too upset to look for your sibling in the darkness and keep tripping over things, you're going to keep injuring yourself, and it's not going to help anyone in the long run." Remy looked up, locking eyes with Ducky, making sure to convey her message. "Now, I'm going to try and heal your feet more. Sore feet are hardly any better than broken toes."
Ducky simply nodded.
Remy pressed the Shard to Ducky's feet again. The blue crystal glowed, growing hot in her hand as it healed Ducky's injury. Remy inspected Ducky's feet and legs one last time. "They shouldn't hurt anymore."
Ducky didn't even try flexing her newly healed feet. She just stared into the darkness, tears in her eyes. "They must have been eaten by now."
"Don't think like that, Ducky." Littlefoot nudged his friend with his head. "Maybe the egg is still okay. You never know."
"But it must have been! What egg stealers save the eggs they have stolen?" Ducky turned her furious, teary-eyed gaze onto Littlefoot, paws clenched into fists at her sides. "I do not want to see the remains of by unhatched sibling! I do not want to see eggshells or egg goo! I just want to go home and pretend it never happened. I want to pretend that I never saw claw-hands take my sibling away!"
She broke down.
Everyone surrounded Ducky, trying their best to comfort the grieving swimmer. Cera was the only one that hung back, uncomfortable with the sobs echoing in the cave. It didn't help that the storm outside seemed to only get worse as another terrible boom shook the earth.
As everyone was consoling Ducky, the three-horn ventured deeper into the cavern to get away from everything. It wasn't that she wanted Ducky to be sad, but Cera had been raised to never show emotions. It wasn't in the way of the three-horn to shed tears. Because of that, she had rarely been around those who showed sorrow so openly. For horn-faces, that emotion was always transformed into bellowing and charging horns. Cera didn't know how to comfort someone who was crying. It made her uneasy.
Cera trudged through the darkness, trying to block out the sounds of the storm and Ducky's crying. She squeezed her eyes shut when a flash of lightning lit up the opening ahead. Needing to escape everything, she exited the cave. The rain greeted her fire-colored scales. Her feet carried her down a slope as she released a shuddering breath after a rumble of thunder passed.
When she opened her eyes, Cera stared into a swamp of skeletons.
"Guys!" She cried, turning around to race back into the cavern. She stopped in her tracks, once again squeezing her eyes shut and cursing under her breath. "Three-horns don't fear anything. Three-horns don't fear anything." She muttered the mantra over and over until the earth quaking steps of Littlefoot vibrated through her legs.
"Cera, are you okay…?" the question was barely completed when Littlefoot looked up, his jaw dropping as he gazed upon the graveyard.
"There are so many bones," Littlefoot muttered, scanning the putrid waters. "Sharp-teeth and flat-teeth. Gosh… I don't like this." He lowered his head and slowly slunk forward with morbid curiosity. With a flick of his tail, the others crept forward, just as cautious as him.
A shriek resonated through the bubbling swamp. Within the ribcage of a long-dead singer, a strange eel-like creature crawled. It hissed, revealing jaws filled with sharp teeth. The legged water serpent slipped into the foul water, murky green scales concealing it entirely in the thick bright green algae that grew on the surface.
"This place spooky," Petrie commented. "Me no like it." With a flap of his wings, he took to the pouring sky.
"I don't like this place either." Remy stared at the skeletal remains of numerous dinosaurs. "There's got to be a reason why there are so many skeletons here. Hopefully, it's just a natural graveyard where dinosaurs go to die. Or maybe the water's just bad. I just hope it's not something in the air. Either way, we better get out of here as soon as possible."
Littlefoot nodded stiffly in agreement.
"No egg stealers in sight," Petrie mumbled as he landed onto Littlefoot's back. "They gone. Me sweep swamp good."
Littlefoot sighed. "Well, we tried, anyway." He turned to Ducky with a sad smile. "I'm sorry, Ducky."
The swimmer sniffled, staring at the ground. "They were going to be the best sibling I could ever have." She mumbled. "I would have taken great care of them and make sure they were always happy."
"There are two more eggs at the nest," Cera off-handedly remarked, eyes locked on a sizeable horn-face skeleton.
"Cera," Littlefoot hissed, nearly lashing his tail at her. "Don't say that. That egg could have hatched into a wonderful hatchling and become an amazing adult. They could have been someone that would change other dinosaurs' lives. But now they can't because…" he trailed off, unwilling to say the next words with Ducky standing next to him.
"Yeah, well, life happens." Cera approached the skeleton as if trying to see who it may have been many years ago. "Sharp-teeth kill for food, dinosaurs get sick, dinosaurs get old, eggs get stolen, it's all the circle of life. Nothing you can change about it, Littlefoot. And you can't change the past."
The three-horn squeezed her eyes shut when lightning flashed overhead, and a soft rumble of thunder sounded a moment later. She released a breath, ignoring the others as she walked the length of the swamp.
"Well," Remy patted Littlefoot's water slick back. "I think I'll take a walk around, see what I can find. I know it won't be anything much, but maybe we can find footprints in the mud or something before the rain washes them away." She then turned to Spike, who was gazing at the cloudy sky. "Why not you sniff around, Spike? You have the best nose out of all of us."
The spike-tail simply grunted and shoved his nose close to the ground and sniffed.
Remy slipped off the long-neck's back and walked around the swamp. Cera was still off at the other edge, staring at another horn-face carcass, this one a bit too fresh for the others to stare at. Littlefoot, Ducky, and Petrie huddled just inside the cave, staying out of the rain. The two males did their best to comfort Ducky, but it seemed the emotional wound was far too raw.
"Well, this was a crazy day," Remy spoke to herself, running a hand through her sopping hair. "The dinosaur teenagers get grounded for getting into a fight, that night they leave the nests even though they know they aren't allowed to, they see a pair of dinosaurs steal an egg from Ducky's nest, we chase them, we lose them in a cave, it pours, and now we are in the Mysterious Beyond, staring at a swamp full of dinosaur bones. And Ducky's mom lost an egg." She nudged a rock into the murky water with the toe of her boot.
"Where could have those claw-hands gone… Where could they have gone?" She rubbed her hands together, peering through the rain at the muddy ground for any foot tracks. Even though she hadn't seen the dinosaurs up close, she had an idea what their feet looked like.
"Wait…" She paused, spying a three-toed, almost bird-like footprint. "Wait, wait, wait." She followed the tracks, careful not to step on them. Remy climbed a slope of rocks until she came upon a small opening on the other side of the swamp where Littlefoot and the others were. Just big enough to fit the bird-legged dinosaurs, Remy slipped into the opening.
It was humid, the air almost too thick to breathe. As Remy made her way through the narrow tunnel, glowing blue crystals provided her with a warm blue light. When her arm brushed against one, the Shard around her neck grew cool to the touch.
"More Shards?" Remy questioned aloud. "There's a lot more of them around here than I thought." She couldn't look at them any further, though. She was on a mission and had to see where the tunnel led.
She continued forward until she found the mummified foot of a large carnivore. It was as if the beast had plunged their leg into the cave ceiling then died where it stood. Even more peculiar were the bright glowing blue crystals that seemed to be growing around the large, three-clawed foot. Among the large crystals and the dried flesh of the predator were four eggs.
Remy struggled for words until she found her voice. "Guys! I found eggs!"