Left Behind
In the center of the lake bed, the herd was sound asleep. Aladar awoke and saw that Plio, Yar, and Zini were asleep on Baylene's tail, but there was no sign of Suri.
"Will you come out on three? One, two, three," he looked around and saw her at the entrance of a hole; the orphaned Triceratops were hiding from her. "Come on, come on out. No one's going to hurt you."
"Hey, hey, what's going on?" Aladar chuckled.
"The little Aladars haven't had anything to drink," replied Suri. "I think they're scared of me."
"Who wouldn't be?" Aladar laughed. "You are pretty scary."
Suri let out a pretend growl.
"Come on out, guys," Aladar told the orphans. "Take it easy, don't worry. She's just a hairball."
"And proud of it," said Suri. "Come on; he's going to find you some water. They both reluctantly left their hideout and followed Aladar and Suri.
Nearby, Neera watched as Aladar taught the youngsters how to get water through a seep.
"Okay," said the blue Triceratops. "Now, you take a foot and press,"
The orphans looked at each other and started fighting.
"Hey, hey, come on! Knock it off!" Aladar scolded them. "Let's work together, okay? A little teamwork. Ready? One. Two. Three. Press," he pressed down on the seep, creating a puddle for the orphans to drink from.
"Good job, Suri," Aladar told his little sister. "So," he turned back to the orphans. "Where are your parents, anyway?"
"They're orphans," Neera said as she approached him. "You like kids, I see,"
"Well, the skinny ones can be a little chewy," Aladar chuckled. "You're Kron's sister, aren't you?"
"Neera,"
"I'm Aladar, the "Jerkaceratops"
"Oh, sorry about that."
"You're probably right?"
"Dad, wake up," Plio whispered to Yar as she nudged him awake.
"Oh, I remember you helped those old ones. Why?"
"What else could we do? Leave them behind?"
Neera went silent.
"Oh, you mean you actually..."
"Well, that happens all the time; some don't survive if they're not..."
"Strong enough," Aladar finished her sentence.
"Well, yeah,"
"Is that you talking or your brother?"
Neera went silent again. "Everything's so different. I don't know what to think anymore."
"Look, Neera. If we watch out for each other, we all stand a chance of getting to your nesting grounds."
"You sound so sure."
"I'm not, but it's all I know. Oh, water," Aladar began digging again. "I'll get you some water."
"Can I try?" Neera asked.
"Sure, just press," replied Aladar. The pink Triceratops put her front foot into the hole that Aladar dug. The blue Triceratops tried to help her but accidentally stepped on Neera's front foot. "Oops."
"Sorry," Neera chuckled.
"No, no, you first."
"One down," said Yar as he and the other lemurs continued watching the romantic moment. "Well, one down,"
Meanwhile, Kron watched as Aladar and Neera drank from the seep; he didn't like the thought of the blue Triceratops courting his sister.
"Kron!" he heard Bruton calling his name.
"Tyrannosaurs!" said the brown Triceratops.
"What?" Kron said in shock. "They never come this far north."
"The fireball must have driven them out," Bruton groaned in pain and looked at his mangled leg.
Kron reared up and heard a T. rex roar in the distance.
"You led them right to us?" he said in anger. "Maybe you can feed them with your hide! Move the herd out! Double time!"
Bruton woke the herd up with a bellow while Kron got them moving with a second bellow.
"What's happening?" Aladar asked.
"My brother's moving the herd!" replied Neera.
Both Triceratops approached Kron.
"Kron! What's going on?" Neera got her brother's attention.
"Tyrannosaurs," replied Kron. "If we don't keep moving, they'll catch up to us."
"But, the others in the back," Aladar protested. "They'll never make it!"
"They'll slow down the predators!" replied Kron.
"You can't sacrifice them like this. Hold it!" Aladar yelled to the herd. "That could be you back there, or you!"
Kron pointed his horns at Aladar's throat: "If you ever interfere again, I'll kill you."
When Kron turned his back and nudged Neera away from Aladar, much to his anger.
"Aladar, no!" Neera warned. "Just go; I'll be okay."
Aladar then approached the others. "Let's go! Let's go! Tyrannosaurs!" he called to the others.
"Tyranno-what?" Yar asked.
"Tyrannosaur," said Eema. "A mouthful of teeth with a bad attitude, let's go!"
"Come on, you guys! Get on!" he said to the Purgatorius as they climbed onto his back. "We're going to get left behind." He tried to catch up to the herd. "Let's go! Hurry up! We're losing them!" he yelled.
"Aladar. slow down!" yelled Plio.
Aladar looked behind and saw that Eema, Baylene, and Url were struggling to keep pace before looking ahead and seeing Kron and Neera disappear over the horizon, along with the rest of the herd.