Chapter 32: Cera is withering! The five young dinosaurs walked along the path for a fair while. It didn't seem to ever end though. Repeatedly, they had to climb more or less big boulders or walk over slippery rubble. The longer their hike took the slower, the weaker and the less careful they got. As Cera who was ranting the most of them eventually slipped on the wet floor, she simply remained lying, not moving any further. Ducky jerked out of the snooze she had been having on Spike's back, Petrie uttered a scream of dismay, Spike spectated Cera critically and Littlefoot wasn't even bothered to look at Cera nor to turn back to her at all. "Oh Cera, you can't rest now!" he called, almost begging. "We need to keep going on or we'll starve!" Yet Cera didn't make a move to get up again. She eventually uttered a distraught sigh. "What wrong with you?" Petrie wondered. "You strong and tough, usually..." "Look at her wound!" Ducky gasped in fright. Littlefoot turned around despite his earlier unwillingness and walked to Cera, utterly morose. "Yikes! That's an ugly sight..." he muttered, starting to show concern about Cera's wellbeing. Petrie tried to climb Cera's back to get a close look on the injury that had swollen to the size of a melon, being covered by foul-smelling pus. Though the nervous Flyer flinched already when his hands and wings hadn't really made any contact with Cera's skin as if having touched something really hot. "Cera veeeeery hot today," he squawked, visibly bewildered. Spike carefully poked Cera into her side; he too recoiled quickly. Since Ducky couldn't continue to doze anyway, she got up carefully. Slowly but certainly, exhaustion began to overwhelm the little Swimmer, though she wasn't the only one having that problem. Because of sudden dizziness, she sat down again abruptly. Instead of walking to Cera she crawled. Ducky stood up and leaned against Cera's body. In contrary to everybody else, her hands remained touching the Threehorn's skin since she hadn't had enough strenght to get back to Spike, all of a sudden. Spike was concentrating. He grabbed Ducky and carefully placed her on Littlefoot's back. In the meanwhile, the Longneck had touched Cera as well drawing the same conclusions as the others: Something was enormously wrong with Cera. Her body was so hot that they could hardly touch it, not to speak of her injury that looked awful. On a sidenote, it clearly wasn't in Cera's nature to resign. Cera wasn't the only one of their group having trouble... Ducky seemed to loose strength and Petrie was merely more than a skeleton. Littlefoot had to push himself and the others as well to keep going. Spike's only motivation was the possible food at the end of the path... if there was an end at all. A wail sounded. "My tummy hurts so much!" Ducky whined. Petrie gestured towards Spike; the Spiketail understood. He grabbed the Flyer and placed him on Littlefoot's back right next to Ducky. Petrie put his right wing around the sobbing Swimmer. "My tummy hurt too, Ducky," he said. "So does mine," Littlefoot declared and sighed. "Therefore, we must keep going or we'll starve to death!" "I do not want to starve, nope, nope, nope!" Ducky bawled. "Me no wanna starve too!" Petrie said and tightened his wing around Ducky. Spike tried to add something but the sounds got stuck in his throat thus he just merely nodded. "Fine, let's go!" Littlefoot exclaimed. "But what about Cera?" Petrie croaked. "We leave her alone? A-all a-alone?" "Well..." "Hey, don't worry 'bout me! I'll cope just fine!" Cera mumbled indistinctly. "But we no can leave you behind!" Petrie replied. "Hey! How about this..." Littlefoot announced. "I'm listening..." Cera muttered. "I see... Spike and I go along the path further, getting some food for you whereas Ducky and Petrie will stay with you, Cera, so you aren't all alone." "Now I feel muuuuuuch better, thanks!" Cera groaned. "Sound like good plan to me," Petrie stated. "Okay," Ducky sobbed. Spike nodded in agreement and washed Littlefoot's face with his tongue. "Thank you, Spike!" the Longneck answered, smiling. Petrie and Ducky climbed from Littlefoot's back and plopped to the ground on the opposite wall from Cera. Ducky weeped into Petrie's shoulder quietly, the Flyer comforting her. "Seeya!" Littlefoot called. Together with Spike, he walked away.