Not much time passes before the possums start pestering me with questions about Rudy. The truth is, I don't mind answering them too much. It gets lonely down in this dino world. The dinosaurs don't speak mammal. "Why did you name the beast Rudy?" Crash asks.
"Well, 'e tore out my eye. That was quite rude, wasn't 't? Rudy, get 't?" I answer. The possums laugh. We carry on.
We're almost to the Chasm of Death. I have an odd little conversation. I talk into a rock to who knows who? I just made her up. I want the herd to think that I have someone down here. They look like the worrying types. I don't want anyone's pity. I ignore their skeptical glances as I talk. "'ello? Oh, I can't talk right now. I 'ave ta 'elp a herd locate a dead sloth. Funny, right? Yeah. No, 'm not bein' mean ta th' group. Yeah, I promise. Oh! Sorry, hun, I 'ave ta go. We're enterin' th' Chasm of Death. There's just no reception in that chasm. Yeah, I love ya, too. 'kay. Goodbye," I end my conversation admist the stares of the herd. I know they think I'm crazy. The good news is I learned a long time ago not to care what others think of me. I begin to lead the herd to the Chasm of Death.
When we get there, Eddie spits into the Chasm. He probably wants to know how deep it is. "So, why do they call it the Chasm of Death?" He asks.
"Well, we tried big smelly crack, but, uhhh…that made everyone giggle." I bring the ribcage down. "Madame," I call to Ellie.
"Whoa! She's not doing that!" Manny protests.
"Bup bup bup! Rule numbah one!" I remind him.
"Oooo! Oooo! Oooo!" Crash raises his paw.
"Ahh! Come on, mammoth! I thought yer kind nevah forget!" I tap his head.
"Always listen to Buck," Ellie says as she gets on the ribcage.
"Alright! 'old yer breath if ya wanna get outta this alive!" I warn. I ferry Ellie across the deep, deadly Chasm.
As soon as Ellie exits the ride, I bring the ribcage back to the others. "Alright! Get in! Soon, it'll get easier!" I call. They do as I say.
Unfortunately, the ribcage gets stuck halfway through. I pull and pull on the rope, to no avail. That's when they start laughing. First, it's the possum brothers that breathe it in. When the Saber joins in, I know I have to step in. "Stop laughing all of ya!" I shout.
My words are thrown back at me by one of the possums. I hear another voice. "What's rule number one?" Manny mocks me. He has his right eye closed to mimic my eye patch.
"They're just laughing. What's wrong with that?" Ellie asks.
"They died laughing!" I shout, pointing down to a group of dino skeletons.
Ellie gasps, before repeating my order to stop laughing. I look over to the ribcage again. I close my eye to a slit, thinking up a plan. Unfortunately, I only have one idea. "I've gotta get over there. Otherwise, they won't last long. 'old th' rope. I won't be long," I tell Ellie. I scurry across the main vine, hoping to help things along.
When I get there, I try to undo anything that's keeping the ribcage from moving. I see a knot in the main vine. I try to undo it. They continue to laugh just below me. I try to ignore all of their ridiculous antics. That's when Manny gets the idea to tickle me. Did I mention that I'm very ticklish? Well, I am. That's why I snap. "Stop that!" I yell, breaking off with a gasp. My eye is quite wide with realization. I know I'm gonna die. I lower myself to stare at them. "Don't ya see? We're all gonna die!" I shout, my voice getting noticeably higher. It doesn't take long before I begin laughing uncontrollably. I try to stop, but I just can't. I can feel fear coursing through me at the fact that I can't control what's happening to me. My mind is so raddled by the gas that I am no longer in reality.
Next thing I know, I'm looking up at the herd. Manny looks annoyed. Ellie and the others look more concerned.
"Are you alright, Buck?" Ellie asks.
I nod my head slightly at Ellie. I get up and brush myself off. I cough, nervously, into my paw. "Well, let's get goin'!" We start heading off again. I'm still a little embarrassed that I let myself be tricked into breathing in the gas. The embarrassment won't last long, though.
We stop when it starts getting dark. I put on a little puppet show for them using three skulls. Again, the herd thinks I'm crazy. What else is new? When the puppet show is done, Crash and Eddie come to me. "Can you tell us a story? I wanna know how you got that eye patch!" Crash shouts excitedly.
"Alright, fellas. As soon as this fire is set!" I get the fire started using two flint stones.
I climb up on a higher ledge and gaze around at the faces gathered before me. "There I was, my back against th' wall, no way out, perched on th' razors edge of oblivion, staring at th' eye of th' great white beast. 't was raining 'ard. 't was a great big storm. 'e came outta nowhere. 'e rose a claw before I could react. 'e tore my eye out. I was flung backward onto th' grass. I got up an' I ran through th' dark, cold forest. I climbed a tall tree, tryin' ta get away from th' beast. I tied a leaf ta my eye socket as an eye patch. I took a stick ta defend myself wi'. I waited fer th' beast ta come. 'e came, alright. 'e did. I 'ad no time ta react before 'is mouth closed around me," I pause.
"Were you killed?" Crash asks stupidly.
"Sadly yes, but I lived," I answer, deciding to humor him.
"Whew!" Crash and Eddie sigh in relief, causing me to subtly roll my eye.
"Nevah 'ave I felt more alive, than when I was so close ta death. Just before Rudy could suck me down 'is gullet, I grabbed onto that gross, pink fleshy thing that dangles in th' back of th' throat. I hung onto that sucker an' swung back an' forth an' back an' forth an' back…an' forth an' back an' forth until I let go an' I shot right outta 'is mouth. I may've lost an eye that day, but I got this!" I throw my knife up and catch it in my right paw.
Crash and Eddie are now worshipping me even more. Even Diego is on my side. I offer them another story, this one a lot more on the funny side. Unfortunately, Manny doesn't agree. Instead, the herd goes to sleep. I sit on a log to keep watch. The possum twins offer to help, but not long into our vigil, they fall asleep. I'm not angry with them. After all, we did travel a fair distance. I take up a piece of wood and begin to carve, passing the time in the long night.
A few hours pass. I'm starting to doze off. I jump slightly when I hear a shocked scream. I look over to see Manny getting up from his place on the ground. I figure he just had a nightmare or something. I don't know and I don't really care. Manny doesn't like me. He made that pretty clear. I don't know why he doesn't like me. I mean, me being crazy doesn't mean anything. Just because I'm crazy doesn't mean I'm unlikable. Okay…Okay…I get why he hates me. I didn't become crazy, though, because I've lost my mind. I became crazy because crazy weasels don't feel the pain of past experiences so much.
However, when Manny seems to blame himself for their friend's capture, I step in. "Betta friend? Wot? Are ya pullin' my whiskers or somethin'? Yer riskin' yer mate an' baby fer yer friend. Ya may not make th' best husband or fathah, but yer a darn good friend," I turn away from them, ignoring Manny and Ellie's skeptic glances, as I try to find something to keep me awake. I take up a new chunk of wood. I decide to carve something that I haven't carved before. Make that someone that I haven't carved before. My girl, Taisley. I miss her. There's no mistaking that. I carve her form into the wood, perfectly capturing her beauty. I sigh when I finish the carving.
"Is everything alright?" I jump at the sound of the voice. Ellie is standing on my left side.
"Um…yeah. I'm 'kay…" I lie unconvincingly.
"You're a terrible liar. Who are you carving?" Ellie asks.
"Oh…just a girl I met up there…hadn't seen 'er in a while…Gotta keep 'er memory alive, ya know?" I point out with a small, sad smile.
"Do you want to talk about her?" Ellie asks.
I shake my head. "No, not really…" I mumble.
"That's okay. You don't have to. If you ever do want to talk, though, you know where to find me," Ellie smiles before heading back for more shuteye. I sit some more, my head bowed. I look at the carving and think about Taisley long into the night.