I think I'm getting absorbed into this story…or I wouldn't have updated so soon.
Disclaimer: I don't own Ice Age.
"Manny? Sid?" Ellie called out nervously. "Can you hear me? Are you there?"
No answer came.
"Mom?" a voice called out faintly.
Ellie whirled her head around toward the sound of her daughter's voice. Through the fog, she could barely make out the shape of Peaches standing a few feet away. She inwardly sighed in relief, glad that she finally found someone after minutes (though it felt like hours) of searching.
"Where are we? There was a sudden earthquake and we all fell into the crack in the ground, right?" Peaches asked, trying not to make her voice waver out of fright.
"I think so. I'm not a geologist, but I seriously doubt that that was natural," Ellie replied, equally bewildered. What just happened? Cracks don't just open up suddenly like sinkholes and have animals fall in…right?
"Eerie and spooky… I like it!" Crash spoke up. Ellie only then noticed him and Eddie still located on Peaches' back. She sighed in exasperation.
"Come on, you two, this is serious. We need to get back to the island. If we stick around here, we'll die. Notice the emptiness of this place?" She gestured to their surroundings.
"We'll have to find Dad and everyone else first, right?" Peaches reminded her.
"Of course, sweetie. There will never be a day when we leave any members of our herd for dead," Ellie reassured.
"Well, what are we standing around here for?" Eddie piped up. "Let's get going!"
Shira growled in frustration. Out of all the animals in the herd, why'd she end up with the wiener molehog and the cranky old sloth? She didn't hate them – they're fellow herd members, so obviously she couldn't bring herself to do that – and they weren't bothering her that much, but she had to face it – Louis and Granny weren't exactly the best to spend time with, especially when the former was slightly afraid of her and her species and when the latter was just plain irritating.
"Gah, NUTS!" Granny was complaining. "It's cold out here, I can hardly see anythin', and my teeth are still missin'!"
Shira fought back the urge to glare daggers at the older sloth, instead focusing at the scene before her, trying to walk in a straight line without getting the three of them lost; even her sharp eyes were confused by the density of the fog. Eventually, she stopped.
"I usually don't pay any mind to empty landscapes, but I swear that I've seen that dirt patch at least ten times already," she announced.
"So we're walking in circles?" Louis asked, voice clearly filled with despair.
"Great job, Sidney!" Granny barked harshly. "You got us lost, just like you did all those other times!"
She swung her cane at Shira, who ducked. If she actually managed to think I'm that smelly grandson of hers, the saber thought, this fog must be making her woozier than usual.
"What are we going to do?" Louis questioned helplessly.
"We'll have no choice but to stay put until the fog clears up," Shira replied. "If we wander more, chances are that things will get worse than they already are. So no walking any more distances for now. That means you, Granny."
"Bah!" Granny, who was just about to walk off absent-mindedly, waved her paw dismissively, but did not disobey.
"So thirsty…" Sid croaked.
Manny gave him a look. "Easy there. Remember the last time you were desperate for water?"
"How should've I known that seawater was so salty?!" Sid defended himself.
Manny was clearly not impressed. "Everyone knows that."
Sid ignored him. "Oh, I want to quench my thirst so badly now, I could drink my own pee!"
"Ugh, Sid, a little word of advice: only say something like that when no one else is around," Manny said disgustedly.
"I think the fog's starting to clear a bit," Ellie said optimistically.
Crash and Eddie groaned. "You've been saying that for the past hour!"
"Well, true…but I mean it this time! I can actually see you guys now!"
The possums looked at each other for proof, and gasped when they could indeed make each other out clearly.
"Oh my gosh, I missed seeing you, brother!"
"Me too!"
Both of them hugged tearfully. Ellie rolled her eyes at her brothers' silliness and turned to Peaches. "At this rate, we'll be able to find the others more quickly and find a way to go-"
She stopped short when she saw her daughter staring in horror at something behind her. Even the possums, who had pulled themselves together, were wide-eyed.
Ellie knew that whatever the other three were looking at, it couldn't be good. She took a deep breath, prepared herself for the worst, and looked over her own shoulder, meeting face-to-face with a hideous-looking head. Biting back a scream, she stumbled backwards. This face was the face of another mammoth, missing an eye and a few patches of fur. It had many scars all over, and its tusks were severely chipped. Its one good eye was pure red and dilated, showing signs of insanity. Ellie couldn't tell if it was a male or a female.
It suddenly gave a long shrilling scream, and lunged at Peaches. Nobody expected this, and only reacted a few seconds after. Ellie tore the freaky mammal off of her daughter with her tusks, only to have it turn on her, attaching its deformed trunk onto her head and begin sucking. In protest, Ellie tried to saw at it with her trunk, but to no avail. Peaches tried to help by pulling at the monster, while Crash and Eddie let out battle cries and started crawling all over the monster's body to make it feel twitchy. Slowly but surely, it lost its grip and scurried off, most likely to find a new victim that was less resistant.
"Mom! Are you okay?!" Peaches frantically cried.
Ellie, slightly dizzy, rubbed her head. "Generally speaking, yes. But what was that? When it attached itself to my head, it felt like it was sucking out my energy. I almost couldn't think anymore."
Sucking out energy? Couldn't think? When Crash and Eddie looked at each other, they could tell that they were both thinking the same thing. They spoke in unison, "That musta been a zombie."
And probably for the first time in their lives, they were being serious.
Shira had found herself more tired than she thought, and decided to take a nap to keep herself occupied during the time waiting for the fog to pass. She had actually fallen asleep for who-knows-how-long until Louis woke her.
"Miss Shira! Shira!"
Shira opened her eyes and yawned. "What is it?" she asked groggily.
Louis pointed. "The fog's gone."
Shira looked around, remembering the predicament they were in, which she had secretly hoped was a dream. But clearly it wasn't. She sighed. "Alright, let's get going."
The three made their way strolling across the land, thankfully without walking in full circles anymore. On their way, they noticed that they weren't the only ones stuck there. There were many other animals, though for some reason, they all looked physically damaged, ranging from having merely a few scratches to missing an entire leg. And all of them had bloodshot red eyes that appeared to be capable of burning a hole through you.
After walking for a while, Shira smelled a scent that made her stop in her tracks. She had sensed it for a while now, but had dismissed it as her imagination. She sniffed again to make sure she wasn't mistaken. Louis and Granny had stopped too, wondering why their friend was suddenly so alert. Shira didn't say anything, simply turning around and flinging herself at the animal that was apparently following them. The pursuer let out a surprised grunt, and looked up at his tackler. And that was the moment Shira found herself staring into the eyes of another saber-toothed tiger.
I…really don't think I need to say who this other tiger is. :L
I'm actually quite proud of this chapter. It turned out way better than I thought it would, almost to the point where I can't believe that I'm the writer of it…
Leave a review if you'd like!
