The next day, we are still traveling towards the exit to my paradise. My arm still hurts. I am still having a hard time hiding my pain from the herd. It isn't long before the pain starts to cause me to stumble. I bite my lip, concentrating hard on ignoring the pain. Ellie notices. "Buck, are you alright?" She asks.
"Yeah. 'm fine…" I lie. My arm is killing me!
"You don't look fine. Is it your arm?" Ellie asks.
I don't answer right away. That is because I feel tears pricking the corner of my eye. I'm too busy trying to hold them back. "Y…yes…" I groan. I look away, fearing the possibility of the herd seeing me cry. I don't want them to see me as weak. Especially Crash and Eddie. They do look up to me, after all.
I feel Ellie put her trunk around my shoulders. "It's okay, you know," she whispers, knowing that I'm about to cry. I shake my head. I don't want to cry in front of everyone.
Ellie turns to the rest of the herd. "I'm going to help Buck scout up ahead. Wait here," she says.
"What? No way!" Manny yells.
"I'll be fine," Ellie assures her worried mate. We head off further into the forest.
We reach the nearby river. Ellie turns to me. "It's alright, now. There's no one here but us." She picks me up and places me on her head. Ellie wraps her trunk over me.
I bite my lip and take a ragged breath. "I…I know we're alone, but…but I…I don't wanna cry…" I whimper softly.
Ellie looks up at me, her gaze shocked and questioning. "Why won't you cry? I mean, I know you want to, so why?" Ellie asks.
"I…'m s'posed ta be strong, ya know?" I whisper my answer.
Ellie pats my back with her trunk. "Oh, Buck, you are strong, but even the strong need to cry sometimes. It's not good to keep the tears from falling. Emotion isn't weakness. Quite the contrary. If you allow yourself to cry, you are showing everyone that you aren't afraid to show your emotions," Ellie soothes me with a knowing glance.
"Ya won't tell anyone?" I ask hesitantly, knowing that I won't be able to keep the tears at bay for very much longer.
"I promise, Buck. What happens at the river stays at the river," Ellie promises me.
It is at that confirmation that I finally feel secure enough to let my tears fall. I begin crying, softly at first. My cries turn into sobs. I grip onto Ellie's fur as I whimper and sob. The pain in my arm intensifies, making my sobs grow louder. I take ragged breaths, trying to calm down. Eventually, my cries die down. I sniffle and wipe my eye free of the tears.
I sit up. Ellie turns her face upward to look at me. "Are you okay now?" She asks.
I nod my head. "'m fine. My arm still 'urts, though," I whisper.
"Well, we can go find something to help ease the pain. How does that sound?" Ellie inquires helpfully.
"That sounds good," I reply. It only takes roughly a few minutes to find some poppy seeds. After I eat them, I start to feel much better. I grab some nearby aloe and smear the gel on my arm. I wince a little at the sting, my face relaxing when the sting subsides. "We should start headin' back," I address Ellie once I feel that my pain levels are low enough so as to not get in the way.
"Yeah, we should," Ellie agrees after seeing the determination twinkling in my eye. I wash my face in the river. Then, we start heading back towards the herd.
When we get to the herd, I address them. "We'll get ta th' exit in a coupla hours tops. Follow me!" I begin to lead the way again.
"Hey! You don't really expect us to believe that you and Ellie going off was about some scouting mission, do you? How dumb do you think I am?" Manny asks scornfully.
"Do I really 'ave ta answer that? By th' way, th' answer is…pretty dumb," I laugh.
"Oh…shut up!" Manny yells.
"Why don't ya shut up instead! Ya might not 'ave noticed, but I 'ave been helping ya through th' dangers of this world fer a coupla days already despite th' fact that I didn't 'ave ta! Th' least ya could do is trust me! I've 'ad 't up ta 'ere wi' yer distrust!" I shout, raising a paw above my head to illustrate my point. The red mist of anger is clouding my single eye.
"Well, why should I believe a crazy weasel like you?" Manny asks while rolling his eyes.
"Maybe 'cause 'm not really crazy! I don't want 't! I nevah 'ave! I let ya all think that 'bout me 'cause it's betta than having all of ya showin' yer pity towards me!" I yell.
"Why would we pity you?" Diego is the one that asks this. Unlike Manny's, Diego's tone isn't accusing. The tone is laced with concern.
"My past isn't exactly a happy one. Before ya ask, no I won't tell ya!" I growl. I look up at the sky. "Now, come on! If we don't hurry, we'll end up spending another night down 'ere!" I continue leading the herd away.
In a couple of hours, as I said before, we reach the cave where the herd came from. I almost wish I wasn't leading them back. It has been lonely down here, with no one to talk do. The dinos aren't very good conversationalists.
"Well, 'ere we are. Back ta where ya started. This was fun! We should make 't a regular thing!" I suggest, keeping the hope out of my voice.
"Huh! I don't know about that!" Ellie laughs.
"Right! 'cause of all th' mortal peril. Well, th' Buck stops 'ere!" I turn to the herd.
The herd is grateful, to say the least. "We couldn't have done it without you," Manny thanks me, which surprises me, considering I didn't think Manny liked me. I guess he's finally warming up to me. I can dream.
"Well, obviously. But, good times all th' sa…" I break off when I feel a breeze at my back. A warm breeze, like someone breathing. "We're not alone, are we?" I ask rhetorically.
I turn around and stand in front of the herd. I see it now. I see the red eyes of my mortal enemy. One name passes by my lips. "Rudy!" The beast emerges from the cave. He roars. I wince slightly before turning to the herd. "Run!" I yell to them. It's an order and they know it.
They run away from the beast. Unfortunately, though, they are trapped by the trees. Rudy corners them. "Over 'ere, ya colossal fossil!" I shout. When Rudy turns, I yell, "Lookin' fer something?" Rudy licks the spot where his tooth once sat. "Why don't ya come an' get 't? Ta th' cave! Go!" I yell to the herd as I run, leading Rudy away.
I run, dodge, and swing through the trees. Rudy is close behind me, trying to eat me with each passing second. As I run, Rudy puts one of his front claws on top of me. My knife is knocked away. I let a few seconds of suspense pass before I pop up. "Pop goes th' weasel!" I sing. I run and grab my knife. As I try to run away, Rudy smacks his tail on the ground. I fly into the air. I scream as I begin to fall towards Rudy's open mouth.
Suddenly, I am shoved out of the way of the open jaws. I look to see that it was Diego that saved me. There's no time to process that, though. I look around for a way to stop Rudy. I see giant white moths on some plants nearby. "Shoo! Shoo! Go on! Move!" I swipe them away. The moths fly into the air and swarm around Rudy, effectively distracting him.
The herd and I start tying Rudy up. Once he is sufficiently tied, we pull on the vines. Rudy topples to the ground, knocking himself out. I place a paw on Rudy's snout. "Betta luck next time, Snowflake. This isn't gonna 'old 'im long! Let's go!" I shout to the herd.
We almost get away, when Sid trips over the vine. The vine snaps. Rudy wakes up and breaks the rest of the vines holding him. Sid screams out of panic and fear. Rudy is about to eat him when, out of nowhere, momma dinosaur appears. She shoves Rudy off a cliff to his certain death admidst my shocked gasp. Momma dinosaur, her three kids, and even Sid roar in triumph.
Sid is saying goodbye to the momma dinosaur and her kids. While the herd talk, I just stare at the spot where Rudy fell. "He's gone. Wot am I suppose ta do, now?" I ask to no one in particular.
"Well, that's easy! Come with us!" Ellie offers.
"Ya mean, up there? I nevah thought of goin' back. There's a reason as ta why I left, one that I'd rathah not tell ya. I don't think I'd fit in up there anymore. I don't 'ave a family…" I tell them.
"Then, let this herd be your family. That's what a herd is. It's a family, not necessarily of blood relations," Ellie explains.
I smile my first real smile in years. "Alright," I agree. We start heading off for the upper world.