Chapter 12: The Great Escape
Littlefoot walked over to Grandma and Grandpa Longneck when he heard Grandma Longneck calling him. When Littlefoot arrived at their part of the Great Valley, he saw that his grandparents were standing in the exact place where he left them. Littlefoot pretended to be sleepy as he walked over to them, squinting and yawning, "I'm tired."
Grandma and Grandpa Longneck chuckled. "Okay Littlefoot," Grandpa Longneck smiled. The three of them then lay down, but Littlefoot could tell that Grandma and Grandpa Longneck still were wide awake. "So, how was Ali today?" Grandpa Longneck asked Littlefoot with an inquisitive tone.
"Did you enjoy your walk together?" Grandma Longneck asked.
"Oh, uh, it went all right," Littlefoot told them evasively. "We had a nice talk."
"And?" Grandpa Longneck asked, as he and Grandma Longneck looked at him eagerly.
"That's about it, really," Littlefoot told his grandparents. He knew what they really wanted to know about, but he couldn't bring himself to tell them what really happened.
"Oh…" Grandma and Grandpa Longneck said at once, looking at each other disappointedly. "Well, good night then, Littlefoot," Grandma Longneck told him.
"Goodnight Grandma, Grandpa," Littlefoot yawned. Littlefoot looked at his grandparents while keeping his own eyes half-closed as he pretended to fall asleep. Slowly, he watched his grandparents as their eyes began to close and their bodies began to relax. Littlefoot's heart, anticipating the plan, kept beating and ensured that he wouldn't fall asleep. It seemed to take hours, but at last, Grandma and Grandpa Longneck were both breathing deeply and snoring soundly, looking peaceful and content in their sleep.
Littlefoot then stood up, took a few steps, and looked back to see if his grandparents noticed that he moved. Luckily, neither of his grandparents noticed anything for they were both sound asleep. Knowing that they wouldn't wake up, Littlefoot took one last look at his grandparents sleeping peacefully before he snuck off and quietly walked alongside the outskirts of the forests. His heart raced as he walked, for he knew that if any of the grownups would catch him or one of his friends, the plan would be foiled altogether. As luck would have it though, nobody seemed to be awake as he drew closer and closer to the Great Valley's edge. Then with a jolt of relief, he saw the forest that led to the spot where he and his friends helped Chomper and Ruby escape.
Quickly and quietly, Littlefoot walked through the small, now familiar forest, and upon seeing the clearing by the cliff, he saw someone that made his heart leap instantly. Spike was already standing in the clearing, eating flowers while he waited expectantly.
"Hey Spike," Littlefoot whispered, smiling broadly, as he walked out of the forest and over to Spike. "It's me."
Spike turned, saw Littlefoot, and at once, he jumped for joy and he rubbed against Littlefoot enthusiastically.
"I missed you too, Spike!" Littlefoot told him happily as Spike gave him a big lick. Smiling, Littlefoot hopefully asked, "Have you seen any of the others?"
Spike shook his head, and Littlefoot and Spike stood and waited.
"We probably should build our escape route in the meantime," Littlefoot told Spike after a few minutes, and Spike nodded happily. Then he gently asked Spike, "Promise not to eat the log until we all get to the top, okay?"
Spike nodded, and gently laughing together, Littlefoot and Spike hurried over to a large, thick tree. Spike lashed at the bottom of the tree with his spiky tail, causing a crack to appear near the stump, which Littlefoot pressed down on to separate the log from the stump. After a little while of work, Littlefoot and Spike smiled as they saw that the log was fully separated from the stump.
"Great job, Spike!" Littlefoot exclaimed, and Spike nodded and smiled happily. "We'll wait for Petrie to hang it up," Littlefoot told Spike. Then Littlefoot looked at the log, and noticed how narrow it was for a four-footer to walk across it. "But…I don't know if that log would be wide and sturdy enough for us to walk across. I think we should get some more logs, what do you think Spike?"
Spike looked at how narrow the log was and nodded in agreement, so he and Littlefoot chopped down two more very thick logs and together they rolled them next to the first one. But just as they finished arranging the new logs so that they were perfectly lined up, they heard a voice coming from behind them.
"Hi Littlefoot! Spike!" the voice, brimming with enthusiasm, called out. Littlefoot and Spike turned, and their hearts leapt as Ducky came running toward them, her eyes welling up with joy.
"Littlefoot! I am so happy to see you, I am!" she exclaimed. Then she turned to Spike, hugged him and brightly told him, "Now we can be together again, big brother!"
Ducky then noticed the logs in front of Littlefoot and Spike. "Oh goody! You have got the logs ready!"
Littlefoot nodded happily before saying, "Well, almost…" Then he asked, "Ducky, do you know of any way to bind these logs together?"
"Oh yes yes yes!" Ducky exclaimed. "The forest has plenty of trees with thick, long vines. I will go get some, I will."
"Great idea, Ducky!" Littlefoot exclaimed enthusiastically, and Ducky went into the woods where she began to look for vines. In a couple of minutes, Ducky came back with some vines, and she kneeled down to tie up the logs so that they would make one very wide log bridge.
"Have you seen Petrie?" Ducky asked Littlefoot as she began to tie up the logs.
"Not yet," Littlefoot told Ducky gently. "I'm sure he'll come though."
"I hope Mama Flyer does not give him a hard time," Ducky told Littlefoot worriedly. "I really hope he comes, I feel lonely without him…" Ducky told Littlefoot. Littlefoot could've sworn he saw a small tinge of pink on Ducky's face for a moment, before she hurriedly looked down and focused on tying up the logs.
"There, all done, yep yep yep!" Ducky exclaimed. She got up, revealing that the logs were neatly bound and connected.
"Great! Now all we need to do now," Littlefoot began, but before he could say another word, another voice called out from above them.
"Littlefoot, Spike, Ducky! You here!" Petrie called out happily as he soared over the forest, while Littlefoot's, Ducky's, and Spike's hearts soared along with him.
"Hi Petrie!" Ducky exclaimed delightedly as Petrie landed. She then rushed over to him, gave him a big hug, and giggled happily. "Yay! You are here! I missed you so much, Petrie!"
Petrie blushed and looked very thrilled, before he said, "Me miss you whole bunches too!" Littlefoot smiled at Ducky as he saw that she looked just as thrilled as Petrie did.
"Hi Petrie," Littlefoot told him happily. "Listen, we've got a plan. See these logs? Can you fly up to the top with them so you could form a bridge up just like last time?"
"Petrie try," Petrie replied nervously. "But three logs harder than one."
"Come on Petrie!" Ducky cheered. "I know you can do it!"
Petrie smiled at Ducky, nodded determinedly and began to try and lift up the logs. He pulled his hardest, and while he couldn't move the logs very high, Littlefoot saw that they were lifted enough so that a little crack between the ground and the logs appeared. Littlefoot bent down and stuck his head under the crack, and with all his effort, he lifted his head up, pushing the logs off the ground and up to the right position. Petrie continued to fly up while carrying the logs, until at last, the logs were finally put into place, connecting the ground and the cliff.
"Let us climb up to the cliff. That way we can get away faster, yep yep yep," Ducky suggested, and she, Littlefoot, and Spike climbed the logs up to the cliff, while Petrie flew up to join the others. When everyone got to the top of the cliff, they stood on the edge, and looked down at the empty clearing. "Now all we have to do is wait for Cera," Littlefoot told Ducky, Petrie, and Spike.
The four of them stood on the edge of the cliff and waited. They heard the wind blow, felt the breeze tickle them, and saw the leaves flutter across the ground. Time passed by, yet there was still no sign of Cera anywhere.
"I hope Cera's okay," Littlefoot said anxiously. "Petrie, can you go look for her?"
"I'm coming!" shouted a hurried voice in the forest.
A couple of seconds later, Cera came charging through the trees. Her eyes were wide with panic and she was thoroughly out of breath. "He's coming! My dad's coming! He didn't go to sleep!" Cera panted.
"Climb up the logs," Littlefoot told Cera urgently.
Cera nodded frantically as she kept running toward them, while the ominous rumble of Mr. Threehorn's footsteps drew closer and closer. Just when Cera put her first foot on the log…
"Cera!" yelled a booming voice in the woods, causing a chill to run up everyone's spine.
"Oh no!" Cera gasped. "He's here!"
They could hear Mr. Threehorn ramming his way through the woods as Cera tried to climb up the logs as quickly as she could. But then there was an ominous crack and Cera gasped as she felt her body fall a little bit, and suddenly, one of her legs had vanished.
"Aak! Guys, I'm stuck!" Cera cried out desperately.
Cera had lodged her back right foot through the log, causing it to get stuck. Cera squirmed desperately, trying to free her foot. Littlefoot stuck his neck out, and tried to pull Cera over by the frill, while Petrie tried lifting her up by the tail, but all they could do was move Cera a few inches, for her foot remained trapped inside the log.
"It's no use!" Littlefoot cried. "We need to get Cera's foot out of that log!"
"I will try doing it," Ducky told Littlefoot determinedly. "I am small enough to go down the log but strong enough to pull her foot up."
But just as Ducky hurried down the log to work on freeing Cera's foot, Mr. Threehorn charged through the forest, his eyes alive with rage, knocking trees aside with his head as he rampaged over toward them. "I knew you were going to try this, but it's not going to happen! You're coming with me, Cera," Mr. Threehorn told her threateningly.
"Ugh…done!" Ducky told Cera as she pulled Cera's leg out of the hole, and now free, Cera quickly ran up the logs and managed to get to the top.
"Get back here!" Mr. Threehorn roared, while Ducky began to follow Cera up the logs.
"I do not like this, no no no!" Ducky shouted as she tried her hardest to make it up the logs.
Then, Littlefoot, Cera, Petrie, and Spike gasped. Mr. Threehorn took a few hurried steps up the log, and he stretched his head out and managed to bite onto Ducky's tail, holding her in place. Gasping, Ducky tried to squirm away, but she couldn't free herself from Mr. Threehorn's very firm grip. Mr. Threehorn had a triumphant smile on his face, and he growled, "She won't be freed until you come down, Cera."
"No! Me won't let that happen!" Petrie shouted, and he blew an intense gust of wind that caused Mr. Threehorn to growl in confusion, let go of Ducky's tail, and fall off of the logs.
"You're not getting away!" Mr. Threehorn shouted furiously. But before he could get back on the logs, Spike stepped on the top end of the logs with all his might. The logs lifted up like a catapult, and Mr. Threehorn roared in anger as his only way to stop the kids flew away from him with the log. But then everyone noticed that Ducky wasn't there with them, and upon looking out, they felt a jolt of panic as they saw that Ducky was hurled up into the air as well, screaming with terror.
"Help!" Ducky squealed, now far away from the others, who gasped in horror, seeing only a small distant object flailing in the sky.
"Me coming, Ducky!" Petrie gasped, and taking a deep breath, he took off and began to soar towards her. With all the determination and speed he could muster, Petrie rocketed straight towards Ducky and got right next to her just when she began to fall. In one quick movement, he managed to carefully catch Ducky with his feet and flew on, panting with exhaustion.
"Thank you Petrie," Ducky told him, smiling brightly and affectionately petting his crest.
"You welcome," Petrie smiled back. Petrie gently tried to fly back to the cliff while carrying Ducky. But then Petrie looked below him and saw a sight that made his stomach churn. He was losing height with carrying Ducky's weight, and realized…
"Aak! There only big water below! Me… can't fly all way to land with your weight! And… Petrie will fall to big water! Petrie not make it!"
Then, a huge wave rose up and hit Petrie's wing, causing it to be covered with a thick coat of water. "Aak! Petrie can't fly now!"
"Hold onto me, and make sure I am below you!" Ducky gasped as they approached the water raging below them. "Do not try flying anymore!"
"Don't fly? But what good that do?" Petrie asked worriedly.
"Trust me!" Ducky gasped determinedly. "Now on the count of three, stop flying! One, two…"
And with that, they began to rapidly fall into the water.
"Hold on!" Ducky shouted. Then the two of them made a big splash as they crashed into the big water. Petrie was lying on top of Ducky, clutching her tightly, while Ducky began to swim on her back through the big water toward the beach that while nearby, seemed to be very far away from them.
"Aak Ducky, you kicking me!" Petrie shouted, as he got drawn closer and closer to Ducky by her kicking.
"Do not worry Petrie… we are almost there!" Ducky shouted. Then she looked straight ahead and gasped, "Petrie, watch out! A big wave is coming!"
Petrie gasped in terror as he turned and saw that a huge wave was rolling toward them, and before they knew it, the wave began to dump huge droplets of water on their faces.
"Ducky, me can't see no more," Petrie cried fearfully as the heavy downpour of the wave furiously crashed over them.
"Just hang on!" Ducky shouted through the roaring wave. And in only a couple moments later, the wave began to hurl Ducky and Petrie up into the air. Petrie was still grabbing onto Ducky for dear life, shouting in panic, while Ducky was also grabbing onto Petrie, trying to stiffen herself so that the waves wouldn't flip her over.
The intense torrents of water caused them to close their eyes, but as they began falling, Petrie and Ducky suddenly felt a surprisingly warm and comforting presence. Together, they fell with a thud on the soft sand, locked in a tight embrace, with her mouth against his…and then they realized what had just happened.