CHAPTER II: Crossing over
It was surreal to think that they'd actually ended up in this situation. The two friends had no idea how this fissure came about or how it even ended up becoming a passage of sorts to the dino world from Ice Age 3, but they weren't questioning it.
Despite their excited giggling and aching hearts of shock a few moments ago, they became a lot more serious and casual about the discovery than even they would've expected themselves. And that was most likely down to the fact they were faced with somehow getting to the other side. If they can't get to the other side, they're not going to the dino world.
It was Michael who noticed the ledges on either side. The vines dangling above the dark and deep abyss in front of them were clearly the ones that held the skeleton dinosaur bridge, and there was a solid explanation as to why the bridge wasn't there anymore. Because the whole bridge was in the abyss itself now, thanks to Buck.
"You remember the end scene where Buck basically destroys the cave and cuts the bridge as he returns there?" Michael asked Nathan, pointing him up to the dangling vines above, "that's where it would've been hanging from."
Both he and Nathan were familiar with that scene, so it hadn't surprised them. But what did surprise them was the fact that this particular cave was still accessible, because it was also the case in that scene that Buck had not only destroyed the bridge but caused the whole cave to pack in with boulders and rocks, preventing anyone else from re-entering.
"Ahhh yeah, that's where it would've been. How the hell do we get around this then? and I'm pretty sure in the same scene in the movie, Buck had destroyed the cave as a whole by collapsing it in, yet we've managed to find this?" Nathan said.
Michael could only shrug. Neither of them wanted to get bogged down on the details of how any of this was possible. Their focus now was just getting to that other side.
They both switched off their phones and put them in their pockets as they didn't need them anymore. They briefly looked back behind themselves only to see nothing - the entrance to the fissure was long gone in the distant darkness, they must've been extremely deep inside the cave at this point.
"We'll have to gently balance our way over. Look at those ledges."
Michael pointed Nathan to the ledges on the left and the right. It hadn't been noticed that the bridge wasn't the only way into the dino world, but it was definitely the safer one. Those ledges were quite small and it'd only take one slip to fall off into the abyss, which would be fatal.
"How sturdy are they?" Nathan asked, unsure about using the ledges.
"They're rock solid, look underneath them, they're like shelves protruding from the walls of the cave."
Something that hadn't crossed Michael's mind was the fact that the ledges on the right side of the cave were barely inaccessible and they hadn't actually connected all the way to the lower ground on the other side. The left one did, but it had quite a somewhat vertical drop near the end, meaning they'd have to jump the very final bit to avoid slipping on that vertical section.
"I don't think it's worth the risk Michael, we've found this, we know it's here, but we've got to be smart about it mate."
Michael wasn't just going to leave here without trying. As an avid explorer of new cultures and new areas, there wasn't a chance he was going to pass up the opportunity to potentially get into the dino world from Ice Age 3 itself.
"Watch me do it and then you can follow me."
"Mate...honestly, it's not worth it." Nathan insisted.
"We'll just literally have a few steps onto it to get a good idea of how it is, you'd have to be daft to even nearly slip off this."
Michael's insistence meant he was going to attempt the risky ledges. He slowly took steps to the left of this part of the ground, and as he did there were skeletons of dinosaur claws and bones scattered over the place, most likely from the bridge when it was cut off by Buck.
He stopped at the wall, and studied the ledge in front of him. Dangling ahead of it was the big black abyss with a depth only hell would know about. Michael adjusted his bag and ensured it was secure on his back. He wasn't quite as fearless as he'd have expected himself to be, because when he got super close to the ledge and got a good idea of the scale and vastness of the depths below, he gained a small dose of apprehension.
And there was a cool gust of wind that patrolled the overhanging openness of the abyss below. Nonetheless, Michael was determined to make it to the other side.
"I'm gonna do it now, the other side is literally right there, it'll be about a minute or two at most?" Michael said, his voice echoing eerily in the isolated cave.
He started slowly scrambling himself across the ledge. Seeing the dark abyss directly besides him made him struggle to look down directly. He had to look down for a brief glimpse to make sure he got his footing correct on the ledge, but that was all he'd do. He could see that this was easily achievable, but he'd have to be careful at the part where the ledge takes a much more obvious drop downwards as it linked up to the other side.
Nathan could only watch on with hesitation. He was slightly concerned for his friend's wellbeing, but even he could see that the ledge wasn't totally difficult to cross. It did them both good that the light from the other side meant they didn't need to be carrying their phones anymore.
Suddenly, a distant rumbling noise came creeping into the corners of the cave from the direction of the light. It sounded like a roar of sorts, causing Michael to stop where he was, to look at Nathan.
"You hear that?" Michael nodded, with a smile towards Nathan.
Nathan didn't even need to reply, as he too smiled. Hearing that roar of a dinosaur was enough for him to take off his shades, hang them off the top of his hoodie, and to walk over towards the ledge to join Michael in getting over it.
The roar sent a chill up the spines of both Nathan and Michael as the reality dawned on them of the impending dino world on the other side. There was no knowing which dino it was, but it was enough to bring Nathan from sitting on the fence about doing this. He was going to do this, full stop.
"It's dead easy Nathan."
"Yeah to be fair, this doesn't look so bad. Could you imagine if Manny or that lot tried to use this ledge in the movie?"
"They'd have collapsed the whole lot of it by that point, realistically. Would've fell right down there."
The two friends briefly chuckled, and Michael suddenly felt like he was no longer at the mercy of a dangerous abyss just besides him.
A few dusty pebbles continued creeping their way off the ledge as his shoes collided with the cold surface from the slow subtle steps he was taking to keep his balance. Now, he had managed to reach just over halfway of the ledge towards the point where it dropped down to link up to the other side. It helped Michael a lot that he could actually use some of the small pieces of stalagmites hanging from the rocky walls of the cave to hold onto them, enabling him to take more confident steps.
"You know what Nathan? I reckon we could probably jump this, it's literally about 6 foot from where I am now to the other side."
Michael held on to the wall as he looked behind to see Nathan already caught up directly behind him, taking Michael by surprise.
"Do you reckon?" Nathan asked, looking ahead to the other side of the abyss and seeing the drop that the ledge had took.
"Yeah, I don't think there's any other way. We can't climb down this drop because of how small the actual ledge is, and the other side is right there, just under 6 foot or so away, we can jump that from here."
They agreed on making the jump. Michael being in front meant he'd be the first one to make the leap. A distance of six foot was easily achievable. Michael jumped up and thrust himself off the ledge towards the descended ground, very very briefly above the abyss, but nonetheless he made the jump successfully. The drop that they'd jumped besides just now descended about a meter so it wasn't a terrible drop.
Nonetheless, when Michael hit the ground, he briefly collapsed to a knee. But as soon as he made the collision, he stood back up and turned to face Nathan who was creeping his way across the ledge towards the drop that it took.
"Didn't really hurt at all either, that's a good jump that is!" Michael proclaimed, chuffed with himself at successfully reaching the other side.
As he watched Nathan make his way over to prepare for the jump, looking at the higher side that they both had just come from was a daunting reminder of just how deep they now were. In the movie, the skeleton bridge descended quite deeply between that side and this side, and that was evident from Michael's perspective standing over here.
"Alright, I'm gonna do it, take a step back so I've got space."
Michael complied and took a gentle step backwards. He watched as Nathan took a gulp of air, and pushed himself off the ledge, briefly putting himself in the mercy of gravity as his body descended over the abyss and onto the rocky grounds. He landed on his bag, but it was another successful jump.
"God, that was actually quite terrifying," Nathan said, "because as you jump you can just see the pitch black below you, you briefly feel like you're gonna fall in. Never again."
Michael and Nathan both adjusted their bags on their backs as they looked around.
"We did it though, we're on this side. Can you actually feel it being hotter over here than over there?" Michael asked, pointing to the higher ascended side that they initially climbed over from.
Whether it was the light protruding from the distance behind themselves which was evidently the entrance to the dino world, or just the fact they were now closer to the tropical climate of that world with them now being on the exact same side as the entrance, it felt slightly hotter not just in the air but also on the rocky grounds.
"Come on, let's walk over there and see what we've got."
Michael nodded. They both looked towards the protruding light as it looked like the sun was guarding the hole. They couldn't see a thing beyond the light, and they actually had to slightly close their eyes as they got closer to it.
"Do you reckon we'll see anyone in particular?" Michael asked.
"Buck, or any of the other characters? nah, honestly. They're not gonna be talking for real, they're animals, hahaha."
"Yeah, it'd be cool though wouldn't it? the fact this place is even real at all is so cool, but you're probably right, the actual appearance and the dinosaurs won't resemble the movies at all."
The two friends continued walking cautiously. Bigger stalagmites and rocky pillars surrounded them, as well as medium to big sized boulders in every corner. The gigantic sun-like glows emitting from the hole ahead started to make itself covered on all the stalagmites the closer they were to it, and the same applied to Nathan and Michael.
"You remember that dinosaur, the one with the big spiky ball on its tail? can't remember the name of it."
"Ohh, the erm...the Anklyosaur?" Nathan said.
"Yeah yeah, that one. Imagine if we'd see that now? it was literally down here before Manny and the characters entered through, hahaha."
"Bloody hope we don't to be honest. I genuinely think this is gonna resemble Jurassic Park more than it does the actual dino world from Ice Age 3 you know."
"Yeah, for sure. It'd be cool though wouldn't it if we sort of saw the same things as they looked in the movie. Still, it'll be amazing for us to see it in person." Michael said.
They both reached the hole, consequently having to shut their eyes entirely as the light was far too bright. Nonetheless, Nathan and Michael walked through. They felt a sudden outburst in the temperature as they walked through the hole. There were some small collections of green leaves surrounding the hole.
Upon stepping outside, the monstrous glow vanished from their eyes and the tropical humidity of the calm winds hit them like a wave. And subsequently, unveiled before their persons, was a vast jungle with heaps of palm trees and cycads, all surrounded above by pink bright skies and gigantic rock stalagmites that extended to the heights of skyscrapers. The uneven terrain ahead was sprinkled with a few waterfalls and forests which had collections of steam in some cases coming out from the ground.
The smell had gone from a rocky smell to that of a burning one, most likely due to the extremely tropical temperatures. It was extremely warm. The leaves on the trees from this direction still had a silky shine on them, they looked as smooth as silk.
Upon feeling the warm temperatures rocking them, Nathan simply grabbed his shades and put them back on. The two friends could only smile as they looked out. They were on an elevated level here at the entrance which allowed them to get an overlook of the dino world. The temperature, the volcanic-like steam coming out from some of the grounds in the distance, the burning smell, the pink bright skies and the gigantic stalagmites akin to skycrapers only made the experience of entering here more magical.
Beaming smiles and all, Nathan and Michael looked at each other. They were grown men but they couldn't stop smiling. They were actually here, in the dino world, from the third Ice Age movie. And to make things even more exciting, the dinosaurs they expected to see were precisely here.
Brachiosaurus grazing on a couple of the trees, Quetzalcoatlus in big numbers flying through the skies with their chirps and singing, a couple of Kentrosaurus on the bottom levels just wandering around feeding on the trees, it was like a dream come true.
The whole dino world felt exactly like the two friends expected. Their smiles continued to get better as their heartbeats increased at the rate of a race car, their excitement was that high.
"It's like we've just gotten off the plane after arriving on holiday, doesn't it?" a gigantic smiling Michael said, as he continued looking around.
"I can't actually believe this," Nathan replied, stuttering as the surreal reality hit them both that they were actually here, "this feels like such a dream."