One Last Shot

Aylene laid still.

Her heart pounded hard against her ribs, and her breathing was erratic. Her brain struggled to process what had happened, but she was too terror-stricken to think.

Beside her, Littlefoot rose to his feet and shook his head. He looked at the energy field surrounding him and Aylene.

It had saved them again.

He then hurried over to his friend.

"Aylene, you okay?"

Littlefoot's voice snapped Aylene back to reality. She blinked, steadying her breathing. She tried pushed herself up, but her arms felt unsteady.

"I-I think so," she shuddered. "Just shaken."

Littlefoot ducked his long neck under Aylene's arms and helped her sit up. As he did, he saw her scratches and bruises.

"You're hurt," he said, concerned.

Aylene wiped some dirt off her cheek, wincing as she stung a scrape on her cheek.

"So are you," she said.

The energy shield around the two vanished. Aylene placed a hand on her sword and sighed with relief.

"At least we survived," she said. "Thanks to this thing."

Littlefoot looked back up at Saurus Rock. The ridge to the Stone was completely gone. There was no way they could reach it now.

"What are we going to do?" he asked.

Aylene opened her mouth to answer.

"What was that?"

Aylene's eyes widened and her blood ran cold. She quickly became aware of the small tremors from the ground.

And it wasn't from Saurus Rock.

Littlefoot froze at the sound of a low growl.

"Hide!" Aylene yelped.

She looked around frantically. The rocks around them provided little concealment. Even hiding behind them wouldn't do much good. The path up Saurus Rock was too far and too open. They would be spotted before they reached the top.

Then, she saw a large hollow log a few yards away.

"There!"

Littlefoot and Aylene made a mad dash for the log and scrambled inside. Just when they were out of sight, the Allosaurus stomped out of the forest.

"I know I heard screams," he snarled, sniffing the ground intently

Aylene's right hand hovered above her sword hilt, and her left hand clasped her Time Stone. She breathed deep, quiet breaths, and her mind raced for a plan. It was only a matter of time before the Allosaurus found their hiding spot. She wanted to avoid a confrontation, but something told her that it was going to happen.

"Got any ideas?" she whispered to Littlefoot, hoping for input.

Littlefoot looked warily at the Allosaurus, then at Saurus Rock. They had to stop the Stone inside to save the Great Valley, but they had an Allosaurus in their way.

"We gotta get past him," he whispered back, "and get your stone back up to Saurus Rock."

"But the bridge is out," Aylene reminded.

Littlefoot looked at Aylene's arrows, and an idea came to him.

"We don't have to climb back up there," he said. "We can tie your stone to one of your arrows."

Aylene caught on.

"And shoot it up there!" she completed.

"But we gotta get past that biter first," Littlefoot replied.

Aylene turned back to the Allosaurus. She gulped as he sniffed the ground, treading close to their hiding place.

Suddenly, another set of tremors shook the ground.

Aylene and Littlefoot shrunk deeper into the shadows of the log as the Tyrannosaurus Rex stopped out of the forest.

"Back for round two!" he snarled at the Allosaurus.

The Allosaurus rose up and flashed his teeth.

"Back off!" he snapped. "I told you this prey is mine!"

"Not if I find it first!"

Aylene paled.

Now the T-Rex looking for them!

The two predators sniffed the air, searching for their prize.

"They're looking for us!" she squeaked.

Littlefoot shuddered. His mind scrabbled franticly for an idea. They had to get past those predators, but now there was no way they could do it without being seen.

Then, Littlefoot's eyes widened. Another idea came to him.

"Aylene, your sword!" he whispered. "We can use it to get closer!"

"How?" Aylene asked.

"It can put up shields, remember? I bet it can hold the predators back."

"But I don't know how to activate it," Aylene pointed out.

"It protects you when you're in trouble," Littlefoot replied.

Aylene bit her lip.

"I'll need more than just range," she said. "I'll need higher ground, too."

Suddenly, Aylene's necklace grew hot, and the Stone in Saurus Rock flashed again.

The two friends braced themselves against the tremors. The two biters struggled to keep their balance. More trees around them uprooted and toppled. Boulders from Saurus Rock rolled down, crushing shrubs and knocking over trees like bowling pins.

One very large rock headed straight for Aylene and Littlefoot's hiding place!

Aylene barely got out a scream when her sword vibrated and a forcefield appeared.

The boulder smashed into the field, shattering on impact, and causing the field to flash.

Then the quake stopped.

Littlefoot and Aylene froze. The girl's stone and sword continued to glow, and the field remained.

"What is that?" Aylene heard the Allosaurus say.

She peeked out.

The predators saw the shield!

They were coming their way!

Aylene drew Fierce Loyalty.

"New plan!" she shrieked. "Get ready to run!"

Just as the two biters got close, Aylene swung her sword. A beam of energy surrounded the blade, breaking through the log, and extending beyond the shield. The two biters yelped in surprise and stumbled back, losing their footing.

As the Allosaurus fell, the energy beam struck him across the mouth. He howled in pain as it sliced his tooth. It flew back and landed point-first in the ground, standing straight up.

The log splintered and fell apart.

"GO!" Aylene yelled.

She and Littlefoot bolted from their spot, and the shield dissolved. They hurried into the remains of the forest.

"GET BACK HERE!" the T-Rex roared.

The Allosaurus eyes flashed in anger. He got to his feet and charged into the forest after them.

Littlefoot and Aylene leapt over broken trees and pushed through brambles. If they could get to a heavily dense part of the forest, they could regroup and come up with another plan.

From behind, the thunderous footfalls and roars of the predators stalked them. Crunching bushes and shoving logs aside.

Aylene hacked through the debris with Fierce Loyalty. The blade shimmered a dim light, slicing through obstructions with clean ease. But the sound of the carnivores behind them drew closer with each second.

Aylene gave one more slash, and found herself facing the wall of wind. She and Littlefoot stepped back. The wind was too strong for them walk through.

Desperate, Aylene slashed at the wind. Sparks of light flashed between the blade and wind. Aylene pushed harder, but the wind refused to give way.

Then, there was a loud shriek, and a sparked lashed out. A sharp pain ran up Aylene's right arm and she cried out.

"Aylene!" Littlefoot shouted.

Aylene dropped Fierce Loyalty and gripped her arm, gritting her teeth in agony. Littlefoot approached her and gasped in horror.

Blood was seeping through Aylene's fingers!

She removed her hand to reveal a long gash in her arm!

"Aylene!"

"I'm fine!" Aylene cringed.

"What were you thinking?"

"I thought I could slash through the wind!"

From behind, the predators tore through the debris, getting closer with each horrifying second.

The friends were caught between two sets of teeth and a windstorm!

"Aylene!" Littlefoot said. "You gotta stop the Stone!"

"I know!" Aylene replied, picking up Fierce Loyalty with her good hand. "But those predators are on our tail!"

"I can change that!"

Aylene's eyes widened. "What?"

"I'll distract them, you stop that Stone!"

Without another word, Littlefoot ran into the forest!

"NO!" Aylene screeched.

But Littlefoot was gone.

Littlefoot darted through the trees and bramble, franticly thinking of a way to get the meat-eaters' attention, and where to hide long enough for Aylene to stop the Stone. He had to get them away from her for this plan to work.

Glancing this way and that, he saw a small hollow underneath a large tree. It was big enough for him to squeeze through.

"That'll have to do," he said to himself.

Littlefoot ran back towards the biters.

He realized with horror that they were closing in on Aylene!

Fighting through the debris, Littlefoot broke through a bush.

Only to find himself staring up at the Allosaurus!

The Allosaurus sensed the disturbance and looked down. Littlefoot cautiously backed away, making sure the predator had seen him. The moment the two made eye-contact, the Allosaurus lunged.

Littlefoot jumped out of the way and bolted.

"That's right, come and get me!" he taunted.

The biter behind bellowed lividly and gave chase. The T-Rex soon took notice and followed close behind, eager to capture the easy prey.

Littlefoot ran through the woods as fast as his legs could carry him. When he came to the hollowed tree, he scrambled inside. He had just managed to pull his tail in when the Allosaurus closed in, barely missing the long-neck.

Littlefoot huddled back in the tree, shivering at the sight of teeth chomping down at the entrance. The T-Rex approached and the Allosaurus rose up. Littlefoot listened as the two argued in their own alien tongue, the growls and roars making his very bones tremble.

Then, the tree began to rattle. And it wasn't from an earthquake.

Littlefoot cried out when the roots around him loosened.

The biters were trying to uproot the tree!

"Hurry up, Aylene!" Littlefoot said.

As soon as predators were lured away, Aylene ran back towards Saurus Rock. She clutched her injured arm, fighting off the stinging pain. All she could think about was stopping Saurus Rock and saving Littlefoot.

At last, she came to the clearing.

From behind, she heard Littlefoot cry out, and the horrible sounds of wood splintering.

"We've almost got it!" the Allosaurus growled, sounding like he had something in his mouth.

"That's long-neck's mine!" the T-Rex replied, his tone the same.

"Not if I get him first!" the Allosaurus snapped back.

"I gotta hurry!" Aylene whimpered.

She searched for a vantage point. Something that would give her good height and range.

Then, she spotted it.

Just a few yards away was a fallen tree braced against a taller one, making a ramp up to the top.

It was just the right height and distance from Saurus Rock!

Aylene hurried over and leapt onto the trunk. Carefully but quickly, she made her way up the fallen tree, half-walking and half-climbing, keeping an eye on Saurus Rock the whole time. When she got to right spot, she sat down, locking her ankles around the trunk for balance, and pulled out an arrow.

She took her necklace off and tied it close to the arrowhead.

"I've only got one shot at this," she whispered fearfully. "Please let this work."

The Time Stone around the arrow began to glow brightly. Aylene didn't have much time left.

She readied her bow and drew back. The pain her arm exploded as she tensed, but she fought it. Nothing would stop her from making this shot.

Wincing, Aylene readied her shot. She had to aim higher to compensate for the extra weight at the end. Her bow quivered and her arrow was unsteady.

"C'mon, Aylene!" she told herself. "You can do this!"

With one last deep breath, Aylene took aim.

"Hit the mark!" she shouted.

Aylene released the arrow. It curved up into the air before sailing back down toward its target.

The Time Stone flashed as it approached Saurus Rock, and the Stone in Saurus Rock responded in kind. The earth trembled and the wind screeched. Aylene dropped her bow and fell flat down on the tree, gripping the trunk for dear life.

The arrow struck Saurus Rock!

The two stones touched!

Time itself froze!

A blinding white light lit up the land, and the earth grew still in a racing heartbeat. The wind suddenly ceased, and the skies cleared.

The arrow ricocheted off Saurus Rock, tumbling through the air tip over end. As it hit the ground, the shining Time Stone faded.