CHAPTER 14: Plates of Woe
"You see that? that's the sight of victory in the distance," claimed Buck, looking ahead to the Plates of Woe.
Michael, water bottle in hand, quickly hopped up the small ascending bit of ground, and what he saw in front of him was like a complete divide of an environment between the jungly green, and the grey, entirely rocky vicinity in front.
The spot he and Buck he stood on was same spot Diego first spotted the clue as to where Sid and Momma Dino had gone shortly after Buck had invented his absurd theories regarding Sid's happenings and whereabouts.
In the distance, glowing like a lamp, was none other than the famous waterfall of lava. The orange colour emitted across the Plates of Woe from the lava in the far distance was as strong as the sunlight, and they could almost feel the heat of it. Michael looked to his side and noticed one of the trees broken in half, the upper half of it already collapsed onto the ground, but there weren't any footprints around it.
Nathan followed up, and looking ahead at the Plates of Woe as the grey cold stone nature of it drew a stark contrast to the brighter greenery of the jungles just behind. Michael looked at the ground and noticed that there seemed to be an indirect border between the Plates of Woe ahead and the jungle behind. All of the jungle bushes, palm trees, were all no longer scattered anywhere around the Plates of Woe. If you looked directly at the Plates of Woe with your hands besides your eyes, you wouldn't have thought a jungle was also down here.
Michael then noticed a much larger footprint on a smaller rock in front of the elevated level of terrain they were stood on, prompting his chest to ache for a moment.
"Nah don't worry about that, all of this was from when Rudy was stalking the herd, it's all comin' back to me now," Buck said, noticing Michael looking at the footprint.
"I thought so, we haven't heard any stomps or anything so I was confused for a moment," Michael said.
"That's Lava Falls over there, isn't it?" Nathan said, pointing directly to the middle of the Plates of Woe where the lava waterfall could be seen directly ahead in the distance.
"It is indeed, my friend. Now as I seem to recall, you were rather hesitant to make the trip across these here plates?" Buck recalled, looking at both Michael and Nathan one after the other.
"It's those Guanlongs more than anything. Even from seeing Lava Falls from this far out, the scale of its size is a LOT bigger than what we saw of it back at home on the tele, and it's lava, ultimately. I think...I think we're probably better keeping our distance."
"I know you both fairly well now, but I thought you wanted to take the whole hike down there?" Buck said to Michael.
"I know, but it's one of those things isn't it? you say you wanna do something but when you're actually faced with the choice or...the actual moment in time, you kinda don't realize what you're actually dealing with. I just wanna be sensible about it I think," Michael said.
Nathan nodded.
"I'm in the same boat, it's lava, and I think for you especially Michael, it's become a realization of sorts hasn't it? we're here, we can see it from here, Lava Falls, but in person it's a whole different ball game."
Michael and Nathan both seemed to agree on not taking their chances, not least because they were both on edge about encountering Guanlongs along the Plates of Woe, despite Buck's assurances. The scorching heat from before was suddenly in the air again, and the smell of coal burning, coming from Lava Falls ahead, made for an incredibly tropical atmosphere.
"Well how about this, you two take a few small steps along these initial plates of rock, and I'll stay put back here, just where we're standing now, and watch out? there'll be no Guanlongs over here at these early parts, and after all, you fellas wanted to go back home before night time struck, didn't you?"
"Yeah," Nathan said.
"So that's what we'll do. I'll watch your surroundings from here as you'll both only be going a couple of plates ahead, to get a closer look. Then afterwards, I'll escort you both back to the entrance and we can be on our way."
"Sounds good, I think."
"Good," Buck nodded, in reply to Nathan just now.
"Lemme just go get my bag off the table and we'll hop on them. Are the plates quite strong Buck?" Michael asked, asking about the rocky platforms which famously gave the Plates of Woe its name and their strength.
"You guys are featherweights, you don't carry much meat on yourselves like Manny and all that lot did. The plates won't tumble a single bit with you guys."
"Cool cool, I'll just go get my bag from over there then we'll take a few steps on."
Nathan and Buck nodded, as the two of them remained on the very subtly ascended bit of terrain which opened up the view to the Plates of Woe and Lava Falls just in the middle of all the giant stony plates. It was a sensible question to ask Buck considering the Plates of Woe were nothing more than flat rocks propped over dead trees, looking dull with all of their grey, lacking any vibrancy.
Michael returned to the famous stone table where Sid had tried to convince the T-Rex and the babies to become vegetarians in that scene. He kept his water bottle in hand as he grabbed his bag and gently threw the bag straps underneath both his armpits. As he did so, he did a quick scan of the ground where more of these vegetables remained scattered, and in the short distance a few frogs could be heard from the two ponds surrounded with thick green moss and leaves.
A strange echo broke out from the jungles far to the side of Michael. An echo he hadn't yet heard since being down here. All of this time, they'd only heard dinosaur screeches from above, the flying ones, and all sorts of insects in the jungle leaves and frogs around all the ponds down here. But this sound wasn't any flying dinosaur screech. The source of it was so strong and prominent that it sounded quite dangerous.
So much so, that Michael cautiously looked behind himself just as he put his bag straps underneath his armpits. Nothing but a still, nature-filled green jungle surrounded his eyes. Nathan and Buck didn't seem to hear the sound, and it was especially surprising for Buck to not have heard it.
It prompted Michael to curiously, but cautiously, once again approach the cliff edge just near the stone table where they got a good look over a lower portion of the dinosaur world, the lower jungle. Michael couldn't help but recall the scene where Sid had thrown that lifeless bird off of here, but as much as that was on his mind, something else was that he'd spotted.
It was like a giant ball of sorts was rampaging through the trees as one by one, with ever larger approaching thuds, they collapsed in a synchronized manner, at least that's what it looked like. Michael couldn't actually see what was causing the trees to collapse as something rampaged through them, but knowing what he knew about the movie and this place, he could have only imagined the most terrible possibilities.
Michael quickly backed away and gulped as a result, before quickly and somewhat rapidly hopping on over back to Buck and Nathan. They'd noticed the manner in which he returned, and his face looked a lot more solemn.
Internally, Michael had an everlasting ache in his chest from not only what he'd just heard, but what he'd just seen at the lower levels of the jungle from the cliff edge. He was hesitant to tell either Buck or Nathan though, out of fear.
"You okay mate?" Buck asked, noticing Michael's apprehensive looking expression.
"Yeah yeah yeah, I'm alright, I was just comprehending going across here, it's just nerve wracking, that's all."
"That's why you'll only be taking a few steps across, and then you can safely hop on back over, then I'll escort you both back home out of here."
"Just, really quick, you know that lower part of the jungle just over that edge there?" Michael said, pointing towards the open edge near the stone table with all the vegetables on the floor, "is that connected to this upper part where we are?"
"Ermmm...why, are you looking to go down there as well are ya?" Buck asked.
"No no, I was just curious, plus, I think after this we're definitely gonna go back, I reckon."
Michael looked at Nathan as he assured that they'd be going back home after this, before looking at Buck - something frantic was causing Michael to act entirely differently just now. Nathan hadn't really picked up on it.
"I don't think it does mate, I think eventually there is a way up here from there, but it's quite a while around. And there's nothing there that you haven't already seen."
Michael nodded, as did Nathan.
"Right boys, off you pop, and I'll stay put on here keeping watch until you decide you wanna come back, you're only going a couple of steps down anyways."
Michael was the first one to land his shoes onto the grey flat stone, the first one. Barely any movement whatsoever. He gently tapped his shoe against the hard surface of the stone, and not a single movement from it came. Next, was a second flat stone which was slightly elevated, but all it took was for both Nathan and Michael to climb up onto it.
They looked ahead to the Plates of Woe as the various flat stone platforms, all lined up on the edge leaving a big gaping open space besides them with nothing but clusters of boulders and pieces of collapsed flat rocks, with dead tree branches, became clear to see. No Guanlongs to be seen so far which was a bonus.
Michael climbed up and was now on the second flat rock surface, waiting for Nathan to climb up. After he did, the two friends ventured forwards as they carefully walked over the small gap between this second flat stone and the third one, slightly elevated but no bigger than a foot above the second. The tall stone cliffs which surrounded their left sides was tough to look up at.
"You got a better view of Lava Falls yet fellas?!" Buck asked, keeping himself faced entirely towards the two of them as they carefully walked with ease across the rocky platforms.
"Yeah, we can see it a lot more now from here!" Nathan replied, "it's like we're in the movie itself, it looks so much taller and just bigger in person, and we're not even fully there."
Michael nodded, but didn't speak a word. He gulped, and looked back towards Buck's direction, with the weasel resting his elbow onto Rudy's tooth as he planted it into the ground as a sort of arm bar, keeping watch.
And then, out of nowhere, an all too familiar roar rumbled the air and the ground. The strong echo of it sent the ears of Nathan and Michael rumbling. It sounded like a devilish sort of roar, with the force of a storm as it broke across the air. Many flying dinosaurs around the vicinity took off from their hiding places in the trees and stony environments. The ground briefly felt like an earthquake.
"That's Rudy, that's him!" Buck yelled, looking behind himself as he struggled to identify the exact precise direction of the roar.
Michael and Nathan's body language and feelings changed, flipped upside down entirely from just now - not so much Michael because he was already apprehensive having seen what he saw down below, but his biggest fear of what it was seemed to be the case. It was Rudy, and judging from how loud the roar was and how much it hurt their ears, he wasn't far.
"We need to go home, we need to go home NOW," Nathan frantically said, to which Michael agreed.
"Yeah, let's go. We've come far enough, we've seen Lava Falls, let's go home."
"Hang on a minute fellas...Michael, I thought you looked a bit hesitant just now...you must've heard it before I did...and yes...it all makes sense, you asked me if there's a way for anyone to get up here from that lower portion of the jungle - did you see him?!" Buck asked.
Because of the distance between Buck and Nathan and Michael, they didn't quite have to yell but they had to talk a bit louder than usual.
"I...when I went to get the bag, I saw some trees getting smashed down, I didn't see the actual body though of what was causing it-"
"You didn't even tell us the MOMENT you laid eyes on that? and did you hear the roar first before we just heard that one?" Nathan asked Michael.
"I was literally frozen in fear, it's a fight or flight sort of situation."
"See, I was right, I was RIGHT all along mate, we shouldn't have come down here. It was going well and I calmed down, but I knew this was a pathetic idea. Because you delayed in telling us you heard what's clearly Rudy and what you saw, we're either trapped or we're gonna be chased down. What on earth are you doing?" Nathan asked Michael.
"Your gloomy tone earlier made me hesitant to tell you just now, you've been so downbeat about all of this that I felt like I had to walk on eggshells which is why I didn't-"
"WE ARE IN A PLACE WITH DINOSAURS, OUR LIVES ARE ON THE LINE, WHO CARES ABOUT WHETHER YOU HAVE TO WALK ON EGGSHELLS? YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD US RIGHT AWAY!"
"Tell you what, then," Michael said, as his frantic state of panic meant the two of them were once again in a quarrel, "I'll take my bag and stuff and I'll literally sprint through the jungle, I'll go myself, if you're gonna be a drag on the way back."
"Don't be stupid mate, you'd be committing suicide. You've no idea which way to go."
"You have been the biggest drag on this whole hike, and now look where it's led us. I'm panicking, I don't wanna lose my life down here, I wanna be able to go home and see my mum and family again, do you think I'd have done this in anything but good faith?"
"I've been the biggest drag?!" Nathan replied.
"Yeah, you have-"
"No, I've only been the most REALISTIC, we should've turned back when we-"
"FELLAS!" Buck yelled, instantly halting the back and forth Nathan and Michael were having amid their panic.
They were both sweating, feeling like they had an assassin on their backs, it was that type of fear, waiting in the shadows to come and kill them. Both of them turned to face Buck, who was still stood on the elevated bit of ground that was the middle point between the Plates of Woe and the jungle.
At this point, Michael was much closer towards Buck whilst Nathan was slightly behind Michael, as the two of them looked at Buck with fear, almost like they were glaring at him.
"You led us here...you've done this to us-"
"I didn't do ANYTHING mate, I simply accepted your request to lead you down here, don't blame me for it! I'm gonna guide you both back anyways!"
"You're gonna guide us back, are ya?" Nathan replied, chuckling sarcastically, "have you just HEARD what's in the distance? we're gonna be eaten alive."
"No, no you're not. Listen to me a moment and don't speak, I know this is a hard situation but trust me, I was expecting this to happen."
Briefly, Michael and Nathan looked at one another before looking back at Buck, as the weasel prepared to explain.
"I've been in this here world for so long now, it was only a matter of time before Rudy would come back up after being defeated by Momma T-Rex. To you guys, Rudy's a menacing predator, well, that's what he is technically - but to me, it's a game. All I've gotta do is get on his back and distract him."
"There's no distracting you can do, GET US BACK HOME WITHOUT HAVING TO DO THAT!" Nathan yelled.
"You gonna yell or are you gonna let me finish? I think, fellas, this is a lesson learnt, wouldn't you agree?" Buck asked them, rhetorically.
Once again, with open mouths and faces of worry, Nathan and Michael looked at each other, before once again looking back at Buck who was still on the middle point of terrain between the Plates of Woe and the jungle.
"You see, I knew it'd come to this. I figured you guys would know that coming down here was a grave mistake, heck I was under the impression the herd got the memo. You think Rudy's fast? you think he's dangerous? no, something is much more dangerous than him. Naivety, and overconfidence. They both have a mind of their own."
Buck suddenly got serious, keeping his Rudy tooth planted in the ground as he stood upright from it, leaving it by itself as he wandered ever so slightly forwards. Nathan and Michael had both of their attention hooked onto the weasel as he spoke.
"I don't know exactly when you both turned on each other, I just know that two of you came down here, and two of you are gonna make it back out alive, under my guidance and protection. You're both close friends...you work together from whatever shenanigans you do back where you come from. Cast iron assurance right there, for you fellas."
They continued watching the weasel, listening to his words as he spoke. Their faces were focused, solemn and also as serious as they could've been, in what was a dangerous situation. The assurances from Buck seemed to help them calm slightly. The distant light of the lava from Lava Falls behind the two men created a contrast between the shiny bright orange and the dark gloomy atmosphere now roaming their heads from fear of dying.
"Nature can be lethal, fellas, but it doesn't hold a candle to intelligence and smartness. Now you've seen my world, you've seen how bad things can get, and how quickly the stakes can change. They could potentially get a whole lot worse."
They both continued listening to Buck's words.
"So you're both not going to fight and argue...ANYMORE! we're gonna pull together, and I'm gonna get you fellas out of here safely. I've dealt with Rudy numerous times, I'll get on his back, I'll distract him, like I've done hundreds of times. First, we're gonna backtrack-"
A MASSIVE thump broke out on the ground as a giant, thick hided claw thrust itself around Buck's body, stomping the weasel into the ground before a long snout with menacing grey-white teeth, like swords, occupied with devil-looking albino eyes on the side of the face, snapped shut on his body as Rudy's tail smashed and hit all the trees around, his massive weight causing chunks of the rocks near the Plates of Woe to collapse, leaving heaps of dust in the air. A monstrous roar shortly followed from the apex predator that was Rudy.
Nathan and Michael both collapsed onto their backs, with horrified looks as their eyes widened out as massively as they could, their mouths gasping so big a tennis ball could be fit inside them.
Buck's horrifying screams of pain were the last they ever heard of his voice. His blood curling screams were almost as loud as Rudy's roars. There was no escaping the wrath of Rudy this time as the weasel's turned back became his downfall.
Both Michael and Nathan quickly crawled and slid to a small gap inside one of the rocks, to avoid Rudy's line of sight as the Baryonyx mercilessly destroyed his enemy, his tail, with as much strength as a hurricane, slamming into every tree possible as he turned around constantly in the midst of killing the weasel. Michael and Nathan started breathing heavily as Michael started to cry tears.
Buck was dead, just like that.
"Oh my god...oh my GOD, OH MY GOD!" Michael whispered in sheer panic, as Nathan too couldn't help but resist tears of fear running down his cheeks.
The Baryonyx, in his ever enraged state, finally outsmarted his enemy and finished him off with a painful vengeance. Michael and Nathan were now trapped and stranded in the dinosaur world with no help for the way out.