ONE FINAL PUSH
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This was the end. It was all Gus could think about. His friends and himself would drown in the tar pool and die. He would become the first human found in the future as a fossil.
Frantic, Gus grabbed a hold of the broken tree and scrambled up on it. He reached out and grabbed Littlefoot by his tail and he pulled him to the tree, holding on with his legs. He had not come all this way with his new friends just to lose them now.
There was another scream in the distance and the group knew that Cera needed help. But first they had to help themselves!
Gus snapped his fingers again as hard as he could and this time it was on his left hand. Miraculously, the glow came and he quickly pressed it to the tree.
A few seconds went by before anything happened.
Then the tree began to grow and new branches sprouted.
Littlefoot, Ducky, Petrie and Spike watched in amazement at the spectacle that they were witnessing. They had never seen anything like it.
Gus kept his concentration on making the tree grow a bit more. No leaves appeared and the branches were crooked but they were thick and strong enough to grasp.
"Grab on!" Gus shouted.
The others did just that, with Petrie and Ducky scampering along the stretching branches and onto the shore. Littlefoot and Spike held on to the branch and pulled themselves out of the tar and slowly onto the shore, panting and shaking off the sticky goo.
They were safe. And it was all thanks to Gus.
But there was no time to relax or rest yet. Cera was still in danger.
Cera called out for help again as she ran through a dark cave. She was on the run from a group of angry Dome-heads. The four gangly beasts were not happy that a stray little Three-horn had come waltzing into their territory.
They soon circled her and hissed viciously.
Cera was on her rear, backing away on all fours. It looked like the end for her.
"Ah! Get away from me!" she shouted, eyes wide. "Somebody Help me! Help!"
And then there was another sound that filled the cavern. A tremendous echoing roar that shook cave and caused the dinosaurs to look around in surprise. Then the roar came again and all heads turned to look at the cave mouth. And standing within the cave mouth was a huge, ugly black tar monster. It let out another roar and the that was enough to make the Dome-heads run for the hills, leaving Cera alone.
The tar monster reached down and grabbed Cera by her tail and lifted her up, hanging her upside down. She shrieked and flailed about.
"Stop it! Let go of me!" she screamed. "Help! Help! Spike! Ducky! Petrie! Help!"
Then a voice from the monster spoke. "Cera! It is us!"
Confused, Cera twirled herself around to look at the monster more closely. It was really Littlefoot, Gus, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike. They were dripping with tar from head to foot and she could also see a few sticks attached as well.
"What are you doing, Cera?" Gus said with the hint of a chuckle. "Just hanging around?"
A bit of tar dripped off the human boy's face as he started to laugh. The others began to laugh as well.
Cera's relieved face quickly turned angry and her attitude became prideful again. She reached up and pried Littlefoot's tail off of her own. But this only made her fall down into a puddle of tar. Splat!
This made everyone laugh even more. Except Cera.
She got to her feet and glared at the lot of them.
"I knew it was you all along!" she shouted. "I know! I did!"
Petrie was laughing his head off and Spike chortled from underneath Littlefoot and Gus.
Cera had had enough. She stormed past Ducky but ended up slipping in a pool of tar and falling flat on her stomach. The others again laughed. Cera picked herself up and marched off, sticking her tongue out and keeping her tail erect. She did not watch where she was going though and ended up bumping face-first into a stalagmite.
"Oof!" she grunted.
The others laughed, but Cera didn't find it funny at all. She shook her head, glared at them, and continued on her way.
Gus detached himself from Spike and Littlefoot, wiping away the rest of the tar from his face and clothes. He watched as Cera stormed away. He could see that her head was down and tears were in her eyes.
He felt a little bad for the young Three-horn. He knew that her pride had been hurt and that she was too proud to admit that she had gone the wrong way.
Littlefoot and the others were no longer laughing as he joined Gus near a ledge that looked down near the entrance of the cave. They watched Cera leave outside of it as it began to rain.
"Cera! Come back!" Littlefoot called to her, his voice echoing in the cave.
But Cera didn't came back.
The dark and the rain had swallowed her up.
The next morning brought excitement and anticipation to the five kids as they made their way to the entrance to the Great Valley.
Gus was equally excited because this time there was nothing to stop him from getting home. All he had to do was get a Star-leaf, use his green thumb, and then he would be home-free.
But first he had to get a little more clean then he was now. The rain from last night had not cleaned off all the tar from his body. The dinosaurs were fine because they were not in clothes like him, but he definitely needed another bath.
The group soon rounded a shoreline of a pool that lead to the cliffs by the entrance.
Littlefoot and Ducky dove in and swam across to the shore on the other side. There was a steep slope that they would have to climb and no one was in the mood to do more climbing. Spike took his time and swam around a bit in the pool just for fun. Gus decided it was the best time for a swim, too.
Littlefoot didn't mind. They all needed a short rest before they reached the Great Valley anyway.
Gus had taken off his clothes, save for his underwear and undershirt, and dove into the cool water. He splashed around a bit with Spike and even giggled when Petrie tried to join in. Surprisingly, none of the young dinosaurs minded that Gus had just taken off his own clothes, which they had mistaken for his own actual skin a few times. But that was partially on account of the boy telling the group days ago about humans wearing clothes to keep warm.
Gus floated on his back for a while after washing off the stickiness of the tar from his hair and let his mind think back that night in the cave. He had told the others about his magic thumb and what it could do. They in turn asked him how it was possible for a human to use magic and that if all humans could do it. He had told them that only he could use his green thumb to make things like flowers and stuff grow.
Suddenly, from out of the misty air, there was a shrieking roar.
Startled, Gus almost swallowed a mouthful of water as he gasped. He coughed as he heard Petrie let out a high-pitched scream.
"Sharptooth!"
Ducky screamed and leaped onto Littlefoot's back. Gus scrambled out of the pool and Spike dashed over to a large rock, ducking his head underwater.
The others huddled with the frightened Spike-tail, their hearts racing.
Littlefoot peeked out from behind the rock, glancing upward at the mountain. Ducky peeked over Littlefoot's head as well and gasped.
"It's Sharptooth!" she whispered.
Gus squinted his eyes a little and saw that it was indeed the Tyrannosaurus Rex all right.
"I think he's looking for something," he said. He turned to Littlefoot. "You don't think he's looking for the entrance to the Great Valley do you?"
Littlefoot didn't want to believe it but nodded grimly. "He wants to get at the herds," he said regretfully. "and we led him there."
Gus looked back at Sharptooth. The evil dinosaur continued searching for the cave where the entrance was.
Gus narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. This couldn't happen. Not now. Not when he and the others were so close.
He swam back to the other side of the shore where his clothes were, got dressed, and went back to the others.
"We have to stop him." Gus told Littlefoot.
Littlefoot nodded, his face set. He looked up and noticed a large boulder precariously propped up on a rock ledge, high above the pool. His face brightened with a sudden idea.
"We've got to get Sharptooth away from the high rocks before he finds the entrance." Littlefoot said. He turned to address the others. "So lets get rid of him once and for all."
Ducky asked, "What will we do?"
Gus added, "Yeah, he's too big."
"Not if we work together." Littlefoot said. He waded into the water and looked back up at the boulder. "Look! We'll coax him to the deep end of the pond. He can't swim with those scrawny arms."
Gus grinned and nodded.
"Gus!" Littlefoot continued. "Spike, you and me will go up there and we'll push that big rock right on top of his head. And then he'll fall off into the water."
He turned to Petrie. "You whistle, Petrie, when he's in just the right spot, where the water gets dark. Now, all we need is bait."
It was a good plan. And it could work to stop Sharptooth once and for all. But there was just one slight problem; who in the group was going to be the bait?
In unison, Littlefoot, Gus, and Petrie looked at Ducky with sly grins on their faces. Well, all except Spike.
"Me?" Ducky looked aghast. "Oh no… no, no, no, no!" The greenish tinge on her scales seemed to drain.
Gus, Littlefoot, and Spike had positioned themselves on the ledge. They were behind the boulder, ready to push. Petrie was in a crevices a few feet below them, ready to whistle when the time was right.
Gus felt uneasy. The thought of little Ducky facing Sharptooth made his heart pound. She was just a little kid after all. He should have been the bait, not her. But then he would have been eaten. He was not fast and Ducky was. He only hoped that she could get away and stay safe when the trap was ready.
A short time later, there was a bellowing roar and a shrill scream that came from the cave entrance.
Littlefoot, Spike and Gus spotted Ducky sliding down the hill. And behind, crashing after her, was Sharptooth. Both he and Ducky splashed into the pool but Gus spotted her quickly swim to the center. Sharptooth got to his feet, roaring in anger of losing his prey. He slammed his tail down in the pool, sending great splashes of water everywhere.
Then a shrill whistle sounded through the air. Petrie had given the signal.
Up above, Gus, Littlefoot and Spike were now frantically trying to push the rock off the ledge and onto Sharptooth. But the blasted thing was hardly budging or even moving.
"Push you guys!" Littlefoot grunted. "Push with all your might!"
Gus, who was between Littlefoot and Spike, tried pushing as best he could. But his seven-year old strength wasn't enough, and neither were Littlefoot's or Spike's. The boulder was just too big.
Petrie tried his luck at being brave and threw a rock down at Sharptooth. It smacked the Tyrannosaur on his snout, and that got his attention fast. He narrowed his one good-eye at the now laughing brat and became enraged. He rammed his great head into the rock wall and that caused the young Flier to lose his grip.
"Petrie! Hold on!" Gus cried.
Suddenly the rocks gave way and Petrie fell into Sharptooth's waiting jaws.
"Petrie! Look out!" Littlefoot screamed.
The little flier flapped his wings in frantic frenzy, but he kept falling. Sharptooth snapped his jaws but missed Petrie by mere inches. He opened jaws again and let out a stream of hot breath right under Petrie's open wings. This caused the little Flier to tumbled into the air. And he stayed in the air, his wings still flapping.
Littlefoot, Spike and Gus watched in astonishment. Petrie was flying!
"I flying!" Petrie cried joyously. "I flying! I flying!"
Gus cheered. "Petrie! Yes!"
Down below in the pool, Sharptooth was now really mad. He roared in anger and began to search around for Ducky. It didn't take long to find her.
Ducky resurfaced, just in time to see Petrie fly. She was happy that her friend was now flying but they were still in trouble. To distract him, Ducky made a silly face at Sharptooth, sticking out her tongue.
The Tyrannosaur lunged at her in anger, snapping his jaws. Ducky gasped and quickly dove out of the way, just as Sharptooth missed her and ended up slamming his muzzle right into the wall.
"Help!" Ducky cried. She couldn't keep dodging forever.
Petrie, forgetting his fear, dive-bombed Sharptooth's head and started pecking him with his beak.
"He's buying us time!" Gus grunted, pushing with both hands on the boulder.
Spike pushed and so did Littlefoot once again. The rock was now wobbling a bit, but that was not good because Sharptooth was not in position yet.
Petrie's attack on Sharptooth's injured eye had now made the monster bellow with rage. He shook his great head, trying to dislodge the two nuisances off of him. Ducky had a hold on his nose and Petrie had a hold on his eyelid!
Enough was enough!
With one single bound, Sharptooth leaped high into the air and landed right on the boulder, snarling and snapping his jaws.
Littlefoot let out a yelp and Gus and Spike screamed. But they continued to push the rock, despite of the danger they were in.
They had to finish Sharptooth now.
And then there was another sound.
"Aaaaargh!"
Gus and Littlefoot turned and saw a welcoming sight charging right for them. It was Cera. She had come back to help her friends. She let out another battle cry and charged at the rock.
Gus, Spike and Littlefoot moved out of the way just as Cera rammed right into the boulder. It shook, come loose, and tumbled backward... with Sharptooth still on top of it!
The great beast let out a roar as it tumbled down, along with the boulder. With a tremendous splash, Sharptooth landed in the pool. The boulder struck him right in his belly, adding even more of a huge splash. A geyser of water erupted from the pond as the Tyrannosaur disappeared, sinking under the surface.
The last thing the six children saw was Sharptooth's unmoving body sink deeper and deeper into the dark center of the pool.
He was gone. Gone for good.
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Note: Yeah, I get it. It made no such difference when Gus helped the others push the boulder.
