Chapter 15: A slice of danger
Two days later, the riddle around the footprints still hadn't been solved. Naturally, Bron and his herd had been following the trail ever since. It didn't divert from their supposed route at all but they hadn't been able to catch up to their targets despite Bron urging his herd to walk as fast as they could.
He still had no idea why he was so keen on getting involved with the other herd's matters, however he supposed that he was simply too kind a dinosaur to ignore the matter at hand. He had lost too much during his life to look away at the prospect of a longneck much like himself losing their home and, if Shorty's hunch turned out to be true, their child too. After all, the trails were still strongly suggesting that the adult was following the more washed out tracks of the longneck child.
Shorty's interest in the fate of the longnecks didn't waver either for, Bron surmised, the boy, unpopular as he was among the herd's youth and adults alike, was hoping to find a playmate at last. Frankly speaking, Bron wouldn't be unhappy if this hunch would turn out to be true. To think that Shorty would quit hanging out with him due to the sheer depth of his boredom… As a matter of fact, it'd mean Shorty wouldn't be pestering him half of the day and get up to mischief the other half of it.
Helping out these poor longnecks might actually improve his life significantly. They'd just have to find the longneck and its child before something bad happened to them. Bron doubted greatly that a lone child could survive a land like the one they were passing for long - and chances weren't too glorious for a lone longneck either to be fair. The only reason he could travel with relative ease of mind was the protection that their sheer numbers provided. A lone traveler, not to mention a kid, didn't have that sharptooth-repelling advantage after all and chances were rather slim that they possessed great combat abilities either. They were prime targets as a matter of fact.
As night was drawing ever closer that day, putting an end to another day of walking in tormenting, scorching heat across devastated landscapes, Will walked up to Bron just shortly after stopping for the night in the middle of nowhere, although the place was slightly elevated from the surrounding area. Immediately, it became clear that the tall and muscular longneck didn't drop by for a chunk of gossip.
"Bron!" he called rather loudly, drawing Shorty's attention as well who was sitting a little distance away gazing in the distance in apparent boredom.
Bron, who immediately recognized Will's agitation, hurried over to meet him halfway.
"What's the matter? Any trouble arising?" the brownish longneck inquired.
"Possibly," came Will's immediate response. "Intelligence has taken sight of two sharpteeth in the far distance."
"Sharpteeth, you say?" Bron's eyebrows rippled as his mind worked vividly. "What kind of sharpteeth are we talking about?"
"Can't say for certain," the deputy grunted. "Getting dark and they're far ahead. One good thing about this blasted flat desert - you can spot anything coming hours before it reaches you. Looks like big biters either way."
"Where were they spotted?" Bron asked casually as he reviewed his options.
"When I got a glimpse of them myself, they were headed the same direction as us though they were far to the right of our path." Will looked at the herd leader with an expression of concern. "How shall we act now that we know of these sharpteeth?"
Bron's forehead grew ripples as well.
"If it's just two of them, there shouldn't be a problem," he spoke slowly, still working on a thorough plan as he answered. "We should take all our usual precautions; increased night guards, a tighter formation, keeping children in the center of the herd and so on…" he elaborated while still obtaining his pondering expression.
"Obviously," Will grunted grumpily. "What about our path? I'd say let's stray somewhat to the left where the Circle rises in the morning."
Bron examined the suggestion carefully when Shorty, having overheard everything from his position, jogged up to the two adults.
"Bron, you're not going to abandon those trails, are you?"
Bron cast a quick look at the newcomer which was a mixture of a scowl and gratitude. Albeit clearly mingling with adult matters (Will sent a very unamused stare the green boy's way as Bron didn't fail to register), Shorty had voiced what he was afraid of suggesting. Deep inside, he knew that Will's suggestion was based on cold logic and facts - usually the best thing to keep in mind when making important decisions, however his heart was speaking a different language. These sharpteeth surely hadn't noticed them yet (or else, he surmised, they'd have turned around) but what if they had taken notice of something else? Yes, what if they were stalking the lone longneck from afar, waiting for the right moment to catch them off-guard? And even if they happened to take notice of his herd, what could they possibly do other than hope for a lucky miracle (or a thorough battering, Bron thought grimly)? Numbers were on his side whereas a single longneck would be an ideal target, especially after many days of travel without food and water. Bron felt responsible for the well-being of the lone longneck and its runaway child, thus arguing against his deputy's proposal.
"I surmise two sharpteeth can hardly cause any significant harm to the herd as long as we take all precautions and keep them where we can see them," Bron explained matter-of-factly to a disgruntled Will. "I'd like to keep the current course regardless of this new danger for it is a danger we can and will deal with if circumstances demand for it."
"Are you listening to the insolent boy again?!" Will shouted in significant displeasure, his eyes flickering at innocent Shorty who was looking expectantly at Bron.
"Not exactly," Bron said evasively, avoiding Will's direct stare. "It just so happens that I share his thoughts and concerns about the dinosaurs these trails unmistakably belong to."
"Nonsense, you must do what is best for the herd and that's avoiding those blasted sharpteeth, not walking straight towards them!" Will took a heavy breath in his agitated state.
"The herd is hardly in danger," Bron said casually. "But I daresay that longneck whose trails we're tailing is significantly in danger. Who do you think those sharpteeth might be after? They're likely stalking, waiting for a chance to attack. I reckon we should… "
"No we ruddy shouldn't!" Will thundered, loud enough to stir nearby herd members. "Will you stop letting your ruddy emotions get in the way of making decisions you need to make? Will you ruddy stop endangering the herd's safety unnecessarily?!"
Bron's casual look vanished from his face.
"Why take risks when there's a safer way? Why risk a brawl with deadly sharpteeth when it can be avoided for a stupid longneck who mightn't even want our help?"
Bron gave a mighty sigh. Will was undoubtedly someone relying on cold, cruel logic. It was part of the reason why he was chosen deputy not soon after the herd had formed and, although his ideals often clashed with his own, they had always been able to make good decisions. It seemed to Bron though that Will was more irritating than usual ever since they had set off on their journey. Casting aside those musings, Bron spoke up.
"I stand firm in my belief that we should be following the trails. Those sharpteeth aren't likely to be a threat and if they indeed have any ambitions you know we'll crush them like we always do."
"Tomorrow we stray from the trails," Will grunted more quietly. "Last word's yours 'f course but know that I'll blame you for anything that'll happen." And before Bron could get another word in, he had stormed off. Exchanging shrugs with Shorty, Bron assumed that the deputy had given in, although reluctant, to his plan.
"Tomorrow we'll find that longneck, I surmise," Bron spoke quietly, a dark vibe mixing into his tired voice. Would they arrive in time to save them from the sharpteeth? Both longnecks had a rather restless sleep that night.
*thud*
A cloud of dust rose from the ground as the small pink longneck dropped to the ground under the watch of the rising Night Circle. The last remnants of daylight were vanishing at last; the heat was finally on the retreat. The desert had turned from a flat, rocky hellscape into an even more hellish sandscape. Dunes tall as mountains reigned mercilessly over the area and, after crossing one too many of those monstrosities, her legs could move no more. It had been another day full of pain and suffering.
Although nighttime was much more bearable than the scorching afternoon heat, Ali could still feel the relentless heat even now. The Bright Circle was still burning her weakening body after its disappearance from the sky, the irritating pain still present. Shivers ran through her body soon as the Night Circle fully took reign of the sky, bringing the cold of the night along. Ironic, wasn't it, that after being tortured by the heat of the day, she was now freezing. Freezing so bad that Ali found enough strength to shake, yet her body wouldn't rise.
Her mouth was dry, so dry in fact that part of the skin inside was cut and inflamed. Ever since dropping head-first into the dune, sand was filling it too. Ali couldn't seem to find the strength to spit it out.
Things had deteriorated alarmingly fast. Two days ago, the girl had been full of spirit, dreaming of the day she'd meet Littlefoot again whereas now she wasn't even sure if she'd be able to get up in the morning to come. Ali was hungry but that wasn't the problem. Her thirst was killing her and her whole body had begun to ache not only from exhaustion but from the scorching heat as well, joined by an ever worsening, pulsating headache. It was particularly pronounced on her back and the back of her head. Would she even be able to take another day out in the unforgiving desert?
As Ali lay there, unable to move, shivering and suffering from great pain, she finally began to allow a thought she had constantly blocked from her consciousness to reach the surface of her mind.
"It was a mistake!" Suddenly, a few hot tears shot into her dry eyes though her body almost immediately shut the supply as Ali wept quietly and drily for there was simply not enough water in her body for it to go to waste like that.
"Running from home, running from mother, it was all a big mistake! I will never… I will never see him again!"
Heavy sobs shook her battered body, causing additional pain and exhaustion. Panic and fear, not to lose Littlefoot but to lose her very life, was grasping her tight as if attempting to suffocate the little girl. Ali had walked too fast; she had walked too far to turn around, knowing that the distance was enormous and her resources drained. Her only chance was to keep going until her legs would break, leaning on the miniscule hope that, behind the dunes, water was waiting. However, even if it was there in reach, would Ali even have enough energy left to rise again?
"Littlefoot, what am I supposed to do? Help me!" she screamed though no sound escaped her mouth - it was all in her head. The image of Littlefoot didn't turn up this time; had even her best friend abandoned her? Ali only cried harder as despair did its frightening handiwork. Would she really die here in this hell, all alone? Would anyone ever know?
Ali's despair grew to such heights that her body managed to rock, squeeze out some more tears and cry out for help despite the fact that she was injuring the skin of her dry mouth with every cry, despite the fact that the desert was completely devoid of life.
She was all alone; nobody could hear her pleas for help. Only when the Night Circle stood high above her, Ali passed out at last.
Another day had passed; another day of fighting her way through this blasted desert, another day seeing nothing but the footprints Ali had left on the rocky floor which was merely covered by a thin layer of powder-like sand and dust. The footprints didn't seem to lead her any closer to her dear daughter no matter how far she walked and no matter how much she pushed herself to increase her speed. There was no doubt that the trails belonged to Ali, but where was she? Her head start had been about a day, she reckoned, but, after a couple of days, shouldn't she have caught up with the small child by now? Ali was barely reaching the height of her knees; there was no way the girl could walk as fast as she could with those little legs of hers!
Regardless, she hadn't caught up. The trails were slightly washed out by the gentle breeze which meant they were at least a few hours old.
"I'd never have guessed that a little child could walk so fast… oh Ali." With a heavy sigh, Ali's mother collapsed onto the still warm floor, the last of her strength leaving her at once. No matter how much she pushed herself, she was too exhausted by the end of the day to walk into the night. Now if that was what the girl was doing each night… but where did she take the energy? And, surely, the girl couldn't keep it up forever? She was bound to crash from lack of sleep sooner or later, right?
It was only on second thought that the grown-up realized that she may have underestimated the amount of growth Ali had undertaken in recent time, possibly blurring her understanding of the speed at which Ali seemed to be traveling.
None of this really mattered at this point though. All she could do was to keep doing her very best catching up with Ali, hoping (or dreading?) that Ali would struggle with the harsh conditions before she would, allowing her to get closer at last. Although determined to rest well in order to be full of strength in the next morning, the thoughts about Ali and her well-being kept her from finding rest for a long time just like every night.
A fair distance from her, a pair of sharpteeth also settled down for the night - she hadn't noticed them whereas the predators had certainly taken notice of her.
And they were starving.
Here's chapter 15 everyone. Another two days have passed out there in the Mysterious Beyond and while this chapter is short, it comes with some interesting developments. While Bron and Will are clashing over the decision how to react to some sharpteeth, Ali's Mother could possibly be targeted by them but she isn't aware of the danger due to her worries about Ali overshadowing everything,
Meanwhile, Ali has reached her limits, realizing her folly. Everyone is in a bit of a tough spot, how are things going to play out? The next chapter will cover Littlefoot's journey again, however this storyline will continue in chapter 17, yep yep yep!
Guest chapter 15 . Aug 11
"I love how you've taken Fiona, a character with few lines in 4, and made her this developed in such a short amount of time. It was a brilliant idea to focus on her internal monologue here, both in regards to her search for Ali as well as her own self doubt. It makes her so much more three dimensional to know that she's not just an overbearing parent but instead acts that way because of her own insecurities, low self esteem, and past experiences. You've crafted a very interesting mystery regarding Ali's father and the life of their family prior to joining Old One's herd. What happened to Ali's father, how did it effect Fiona, and how much of this early life does Ali remember given how young she must have been at the time? So many opportunities for character development and I want to know all of it. I look forward to reading the answers to these and other questions as the story develops.
You handled the animosity between Bron and Old One well, with both maintaining some degree of civility despite their stark differences. This makes sense considering Old One is established as coldly formal and both occupy the same respected position as herd leaders. Speaking of leadership, Bron is incredibly charismatic here and it establishes a nice dynamic between him and Will. Bron appears to be the type that values diplomacy and could talk his way out of situations, giving Pterano a run for his money, whilst Will is more blunt and straight forward when dealing with situations.
As for Shorty finding the footprints, I'm intrigued to see how you elaborate on that later. The dialogue between him and Bron is great especially the banter between them when Bron openly acknowledges that Shorty usually isn't this nice. Having him show concern for others due to similar experiences is a nice side to his character that lightly alludes to his past.
Ali's section was short, but having an update on her condition was appreciated. Hopefully Fiona will catch up to her soon so they can finally make up and be reunited.
Looking forward to seeing the next chapter, evil swimmer."
Did I reveal Ali's Mother's name yet in this version? Well, I can't blame you for being used to her name by now xD
I'm afraid your thirst for more knowledge won't be satisfied all too soon as the mysteries around Ali and her family (as well as many other plot twists) won't be revealed until much later in the story. I'm glad you liked my characterization of her in this chapter!
I agree, both characters are widely different but terrifying as a team due to their complementing abilities in diplomacy. I'll try to keep those updates coming, yep yep yep :)