Chapter 6: The Getaway
Littlefoot's Grandparents and the Threehorn tried to calm the residents down but they were unsuccessful because the great heat and the nascent and weak earthshakes put the scared dinosaurs in a panic.
The Threehorn had had enough. He considered himself as the leading dinosaur of the herds since he was the strongest and the toughest in the Valley, and being the leader meant protecting those belonging to his group. Since they were panicked, they didn't know what to do but he kept his head cool.
He used his whole strength to roar louder than he ever did in his life.
"SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLEEEEEEEEENNCE!"
Abruptly, there was silence. Just the continuous grumbling out of the ground could be heard.
"We'll use the fire paths to leave the Great Valley as soon as possible! In case we get separated, we'll meet at the Great Water. There's a small oasis where we can stay for a while. Good luck everyone!"
Nobody asked questions. The herds walked in different directions as fast as possible.
"Mother? Why do the other herds take different fire paths?" Littlefoot asked.
"It's not very wise if all dinosaurs use the same fire path," Littlefoot's Mother explained to her little son.
Littlefoot didn't understand why the Great Valley let such odd things happen.
"Why is it better if we separate?" he thus asked. "You're always telling me that we have to stay together so Sharpteeth can't attack us?!"
"You know, Littlefoot, "his mother replied, panting since they hurried a lot. "We made this rule because..."
"LOOK OUT!" Littlefoot's Grandpa shouted.
Above them, something cracked due to the most recent earthshake. The Longnecks started to run. Suddenly some boulders broke off the Great Wall which the Longnecks just climbed. The boulders fell down. Littlefoot's Mother was the last of them. She ran for her life and for her son's. Littlefoot got panicky as he saw the boulders unstoppably flying towards him.
"Mother, run faster!" he shouted to his mother vigorously.
Littlefoot's Mother ran even faster. The little Longneck saw the boulders approaching. He covered his eyes with his front legs. Then the boulders crashed into the ground with a very loud bang missing his mother's tail only by hairbreadths. Littlefoot's Mother, as well as the other three Longnecks, stopped running to take a deep breath because Littlefoot's Father and Grandparents had to run very fast, too.
Littlefoot opened his eyes and looked down to the formerly friendly Great Valley. Around the formerly best watering place, some trees were already burning. Steam came out of the cracks in the ground. The multiple watering places of the Great Valley already started to boil away.
"That's just a very good example... You always have to keep your eyes open, talk only if it's necessary when you're in danger in order to react to dangers quickly and never travel alone, there you're right, little one,"
Littlefoot's Mother explained and slowly recovered from her sprint. Eventually, they went on their way.
"If Grandpa hadn't kept his eyes open, my tail would have been hit by the boulders. We wouldn't go on our way now..." she explained further.
"Right, plus, if all dinosaurs had chosen this fire path, your mother hadn't been able to run away that fast since there would have been a blockage," Littlefoot's Grandma added.
"Let's just bugger off as fast as we can," Littlefoot's Father proposed.
The four Longnecks ran along the fire path. Without a break, little rocks rained down from above. Meanwhile, the ground was trembling without an interruption increasing in terms of strength. When they had finally arrived at the top of the Great Wall, a big cloud of smoke rose above the Great Valley. Littlefoot looked back at his home getting very sad. He would never see the Great Valley again. Another earth tremor cleared his mind so he was able to concentrate on the danger from the Great Valley.
His parents and grandparents ran out of breath. Especially Grandma seemed to be at the end of her strength. Her advanced age made it even worse.
"Should we slow down a bit, dear?" Littlefoot's Grandpa asked, worried.
"Just a little bit," she wheezed. "If you need to, just leave me behind and safe your own lives."
"We don't leave anyone behind!" Littlefoot's Father shouted combatively. "We're a herd and a family so we gonna hold on together until the end."
"I think it's best if Grandma leads us," Littlefoot's Mother suggested. Everyone agreed.
Now they walked slightly slower. Littlefoot didn't dare to look back since a scary rumbling came from the Great Valley. But finally his curiosity was stronger than his fear. He turned around and looked at the Great Valley; they had already made a big distance.
Suddenly, the earth started to tremble stronger than ever before, the rumbling increased and then Littlefoot saw the catastrophy taking its course. The ground bursted open and an incredibly big
ball of fire, mixed with black ash, shot out of what was once their home with an inconceivable force. Littlefoot got panicky.
"It's happening!" he screamed in fear.
The Longnecks stopped immediately, turning around. They saw the huge ball of fire briefly before all of them were torn down by an impactful shockwave...