The world spun without gravity as Branch was swiped aside through the air until his body crashed into one of the large bush trunks with a horrible slam, then dropped to the ground.
His chest felt like it was on fire and breathing felt impossible. He'd felt and heard something completely snap when he'd been whammed. He struggled to push himself up on his hands and knees, but his right leg wouldn't cooperate. And it hurt like heck! He fell back onto his bloody side and tried to crawl around, but he couldn't. Because his right leg was completely dead weight. He gritted his teeth, trying to breathe away the excruciating pain, but that only seemed to intensify it.
He fuzzily heard his friends yelling and shouting, screaming in sync with the Scrimps' yowls and frenzied scrambling. Oh no! His friends! He had to protect them! It was his job! They were depending on him. But how could he with this stupid, broken leg? Were they being eaten alive?Grunting painfully, he reached toward his back and with seething effort, he pulled out his spiked club. Leaning up on his elbow as hard as he could, he clumsily aimed and tossed his club directly into the pack of beasts. It nicked one of them, which caused it to go after one of its own. They were snarling and out for blood at each other's throats. And, stumbling blindly in his direction!
Not only that, but an enormous Scrimp was crouching toward him, licking its chops, lured by the scent of blood on Branch's wounded abdomen. Desperately clawing on the ground with his hands, he struggled to move his body farther under the cover of the bush. But his leg refused to budge and he couldn't force it a single inch. He was dead meat, literally!
Biggie and the others were screaming like maniacs as the carnivores scored the berry patch and trees, hungry for fresh meat. Cooper and his brother, surged by pure fear, snatched the berries in the branches beside them, and with all their might, pelted a cluster head on at one of the Scrimps. Caught it right in the eyes. The animal howled in rage, but ran in crazy circles unable to see where it was going. Cooper and Darnell tried again. It worked. The others joined in and began spitting, tossing, and kicking the berries at their enemies with everything they had.
The Scrimps did not appreciate being bombarded with splats of sticky, stinging berry juice in their ears, their eyes, and all over their bodies. Branch's friends went from screaming in terror to jeering evilly in their efforts to save themselves.
"Whistles!" Guy Diamond yelled in his auto tune voice. And he blew his whistle bracelet.
The ear-bleeding pitch stunned the Scrimps so badly that they flailed wildly on the ground, trying to relieve their ears from it. "Again!" Guy Diamond bellowed. The berry patch was painfully rendered unbearably screeching with everybody blowing their whistles as loud and hard as they could. The Scrimps were now in a horrible tizzy, and instead of a fresh meal, all they wanted was to get somewhere quiet.
Tiny Diamond, using his hair to lower himself down the tree, had grabbed the paint can from his dad's hair, and with a happy whoop, he yanked the lever back on full force and sprayed a shower of bright orange paint over the Scrimps.
That did it. They'd had enough, and fled! They fled as fast as they could, blinded and half-deaf. But, as they turned tail in retreat, two of them fighting each other off had backed into the large tree/bush Branch was under and not only had they stepped on top of him and cut him up with their twitching claws, they'd knocked a twig from the sturdy being, and it hard come crashing down...across Branch's face!
He became absolutely limp as complete darkness filled his eyes and mind.