Whispering winds

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Gus was still angry by the time he and Littlefoot had made it out of the crater and onto a lonely-looking plain. It was around dusk and the clouds above were thick and swirling in the wind. He hardly noticed the pink and wispy gray clouds. His anger was soon replaced with doubt again. And there was a dreadful feeling in the pit of his stomach, aside from the bruise he got from Cera in the fight.

What if he never reached the Great Valley?

He had come all this way with Littlefoot and the others and still they had not reached it. He was not ashamed to admit this, but he wanted his mom. He wanted to be sitting in front of the TV fighting for the remote with Rosie. He wanted to be with his Dad floating his boat at the park. Suddenly the things he had taken for granted in his short life felt very far away. He wanted to go home, but all he could do was keep his tears back.

He noticed that even Littlefoot could hardly take a few steps without stumbling because he was feeling depressed as well.

The young Apatosaur stopped and scanned the vast emptiness. And then he emitted a gut-wrenching bleat of pain and abandon.

Gus wanted to go to his friend's side and tell him that it was okay. But he too felt like crying. The tears in his eyes were welling-up and threatened to flow down his face.

Both boys didn't know what to do or where to go.

"I don't know what to do, Gus," Littlefoot sniffled. "I tried to do what my mother told me. But it's just too hard."

Gus, fighting back tears, walked up to Littlefoot and placed a hand on his back. Nevertheless, his eyes were brimming as he lifted his gaze to the sky above. "Maybe we'll never find the Great Valley. I'll never get home." he whispered.

Littlefoot nuzzled the boy and he in turn let his tears flow freely.

The wind suddenly picked up again but it was more gentle and felt warm this time.

Littlefoot looked to the sky and froze. Gus, wiping his eyes, wondered what his friend was looking at. He too looked at the sky and saw the clouds suddenly form themselves into one large shape. And not just any shape, but the shape of a dinosaur.

"Mother?" Littlefoot whispered, a lump in his throat.

Gus didn't understand what he meant by that. It looked like a regular cloud to him.

But then another gentle breeze caressed them both and Gus heard a voice. He didn't know what to make of it but it sounded familiar. It sounded like Littlefoot's mother. It was faint but it was her.

"Is that..." Gus began to say but felt the wind caress his face again.

They watched as the cloud drifted away.

"Mother! Don't go!" Littlefoot cried.

Gus felt himself suddenly moving forward, like he wanted to chase after the cloud. But Littlefoot was way ahead of him.

The both of them ran after the cloud across the wide plain as more whisperings surrounded them. The sounds seemed to change into singing, raising and falling like a choir.

The boys soon came upon a far mountain wall. Warm shimmering rays of light was spilling out through an opening. They both went in and found themselves within a tunnel. The light and the swirling cloud rounded a bend in the passage and they followed it.

The tunnel opened up and Gus and Littlefoot squinted as they came out onto a slope that went downward.

After a few seconds Gus and Littlefoot's pupils had finally contracted enough to let them see, and what was there waiting for them made their hearts swell.

The cloud in the sky had parted and the sun's ray broke through. And down below, shining like a beautiful painting, was an enormous green and lush valley.

Gus stared in wonder. No words could come out. Just a soft gasp.

"The Great Valley!" Littlefoot said in a hushed voice. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open in awe.

It was everything that they could have hoped for. And the best part was that there were other dinosaur herds already there. That meant that Littlefoot's grandparents were down there somewhere, waiting for their grandson.

And Gus knew that down in the valley somewhere was a tree star that would get him home.

Unable to contain themselves both boys began to cheer, whooping and hollering. They had done it.

Not wanting to waste another minute, Gus rushed down the hill. He nearly made it to the treeline when he suddenly felt Littlefoot grab him by the back of his shirt collar, bringing him to a stop.

"Hey! What are you doing?" he shouted. "We finally made to the Great valley."

Littlefoot let go of him and glanced back at the tunnel, his face worried with concern. "But the others don't know... they went the wrong way."

Gus, indecision on face, looked back at the tunnel as well. He then let out a breath and said, "You're right. They'll never find the Great Valley. Not without us."

"Then we better go back for them," said Littlefoot. "it's the right thing to do."

With that, they both rushed back into the tunnel, leaving the Great Valley behind.

Once they were out of the passage and on the other side of the wall they made their way across the plain. Gus rode upon Littlefoot's back this time and held on tight.

Littlefoot knew where he was going. The trail that Cera took led to the Burning Mountains. His mother had told him that herds who took that path to reach the Great Valley never made it out of that place.

And if Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike were going through the Burning Mountains...

Littlefoot quickened his feet to move faster. He and Gus had to find the others before it was too late.

Fire and smoke where all around them. Littlefoot and Gus coughed as they made their way through the dark, frightening maze of smoking volcanic mountains. Crimson fog and hot steam rose from simmering pools of lava. Gus tried not to imagine what was lurking in the black caves and deep ravines that they passed. Their only focus was finding the others.

Large, rotting dinosaur carcasses and skeletons loomed out of the clouds of steam, as if warning them to turn back.

Gus did want to turn back. This place was scary. He didn't like it. Back in New York at home there was sometimes danger. Particularly at night in Central Park. But this place was not like Central Park at all.

Gus began to call out for Cera and the others. Littlefoot did as well. Both their voices, however, were drowned by the roar and hiss of lava tubes and billowing smokestacks.

"Where can they be?" Littlefoot coughed.

"They have to be here," said Gus, his nose wrinkling. He got off Littlefoot's back and looked around, searching for any sign of their friends.

Then, from somewhere up ahead, they heard a cry for help.

"That was Ducky!" Gus gasped.

"This way!" Littlefoot said, rushing through the smoke.

The two eventually came upon a cliff that overlooked a river of lava. On the river, stranded on a rock, was Ducky and Spike. And the rock they were on was falling apart.

"Ducky!" Gus cried.

"Hold on!" Littlefoot yelled. "We're coming!"

They raced down the slope right to the edge of the lava river.

Ducky was on Spike's back, keeping her little feet away from the hot lava. Spike was on his belly, too afraid to move. Even if he did the rock would certainly fall apart even more.

Gus, with Littlefoot's help, pushed a large rock into the river. It fell in but remained afloat, forming a bridge. Spike quickly got to his and dashed across to safety.

Once they were on the shore with them, Gus asked Ducky on where Cera was.

"She left us behind." Ducky explained. "Then Spike stopped to eat and then we both got trapped and then..."

Another eruption from an angry fissure sent the four racing away in a hurry.

Littlefoot impatiently shook his head. "There's no time for that!" he panted. "We have to find her and Petrie!"

But their search didn't take long. From somewhere up ahead they heard a faint cry. Petrie's cry!

"He's down there!" Gus pointed.

They came upon a tar pit below under a rock ledge. In the pool was Petrie but he was sinking fast.

Littlefoot wrapped his tail around a tree by the shore as Spike waded into the pool, held by the tail by Gus. Ducky climbed along Spike's back and onto his head. She reached out and was able to grab Petrie by his beak and haul him up onto Spike's head.

Littlefoot held onto Gus's shirt and began to pull him. They were almost out when the tree suddenly snapped in two.

Littlefoot lost his foothold and tumbled right into Gus. He lost his grip on Spike and they fell into the tar pool. Struggling to get free, they suddenly heard Cera scream from somewhere nearby.

"It's Cera!" Gus yelled. "She needs help!"

"No! We need help!" cried Petrie.

He was right. They were sinking deeper into the tar with every second.

Gus waded through the hot goo, maneuvering past Littlefoot. He clung onto the broken tree.

It was time for him to use his green thumb again. Stanley had showed him how to make dead things grow back and now was the time to do it.

Gus lifted his hand, put his fingers together, and snapped them. But the magic didn't come. Nothing happened.

Gus peered closer at his hand and saw that his fingers were covered in tar!

"Oh no," he whispered, feeling his stomach sink.

In the distance was another shrill scream from Cera.

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