CHAPTER TEN: DRIVEN OUT

"How can they make me leave? I can fly for goodness sake!" Guido complained a few hours later.

"It's not so bad. You can get crawlers in the Mysterious Beyond as well as in the Great Valley. And luckily I can eat snapping shells and crawling slimies (snails) as well as plants so it's not that big a deal to me. What's more important is that we find a way to get rid of Haley. Problem is, if Littlefoot and Ali can't have kids, then there doesn't seem to be any way to get rid of Haley." Ruby replied.

"Where are we going to go, though?" Guido asked.

"I've been thinking on that and I keep thinking that maybe we should go to where Littlefoot sent Chomper."

"Which is?"

"The Land of Mists."

"I don't know if I want to go there. Ali told me that it wasn't a nice place to be."

"If we can find Chomper, we can be safer."

"Are you sure he won't just eat us?"

"No, th Chomper I know wouldn't do that."

"What if he's not the Chomper we knew anymore?"

"He seemed nice when he was last here."

"Maybe he's less forgiving after the Great Valley tried to kill him."

"I'm sure he'll be fine."

"If you say so."

Magnus watched the two. They had said that Chomper was in the Land of Mists. At last they knew where he was. "I can't wait to see mom's face when I tell her where that sharptooth's been hiding," he whispered to himself. A few minutes later Magnus told Haley what he'd overheard.

"The Land of Mists aren't very far from our valley," Haley said. A smile started to form on her beak.

"Um, but isn't it a dangerous place?" Magnus asked.

"We'll send a large group." Haley replied.

"So, you're just going to search the Land of Mists till they find him?" Magnus asked.

"Sure, why not?" Haley asked.

"A bunch of your search group could be killed by the monsters there while looking for them."

"As long as Chomper's dead, it'll be worth it."

"Why not have them follow Ruby, her family, and Guido there instead? I bet if they get near Chomper, he'll reveal himself to them."

"But what if they get killed there before they find Chomper?"

"Then we'd be no worse off than if we'd just taken your plan of searching the whole place for Chomper."

Guido, meanwhile, said to Ruby and her family "You guys go, I'm going to have some fun with them first."

"Be careful." she told him.

"I will." he replied. She continued on out of the Great Valley but the Glider remained. Guido approached a group of Clubtails and a Spiketail. "Hey, I thought you said if I didn't leave, you'd trample me. Well, I didn't leave. Come and get me." he taunted them.

"Let's get that green feather duster!" one of the yelled, charging at Guido. The Clubtails and the Spiketail tried to charge him, but he was always too quick for them. Their efforts only results in them colliding with trees and rocks, shattering them instead of his bones like they had wanted.

While his attackers were recuperating from their misses, Guido dove into a bush - one of several in a patch. A big tree with a wide trunk stood nearby; if what he was thinking of doing went awry, he could climb it and glide away.

"Hey, try and find me!" Guido dared.

Guido continued toying with them for several hours. Finally, as they started to wear down, he climbed up a tree and took to the air, flying out of the Great Valley. "So long fools!" he laughed at them. He flew to the place he'd prearranged to meet Ruby. The two had agreed that Haley's group might try and kill them when they were alone out there in the desert. They also considered that it was possible that they might be followed in the hopes that they were going to where Chomper was. However, the two had hoped that by taking the attention away from Ruby, who couldn't fly, and putting it on Guido, who could, that Haley's group would be foiled in their attempts of the two aforementioned endeavors.

Meanwhile, the Clubtails and the Spiketail returned to Haley. "We failed to trample the Glider. And we've lost track of both the Glider and the Fast Runners." the Spiketail said.

"Now that you idiots are back, I'd like you to get as many of those who want Chomper gone as you can together. We're going to go Sharptooth hunting." she laughed.

Isabelle and Jared, meanwhile, were off playing in the Land of Mists. They had found a dinosaur graveyard. Jared decided to explore it and Isabelle followed him.

They soon spotted tarpits, with several skeletons of dinosaurs stuck in them. "Ug, I don't like this place. I think we should go somewhere else." Jared said.

"Come on, don't be such a scaredy egg!" Isabelle scolded him.

"It's tar!"

"It's frozen. Look." Isabelle threw a rock at the tarp. It collided with the top and skidded several feet.

"I guess it's safe."

"Well, as safe as something can get in a place like-" Isabelle said; when she turned her head away from her brother to look at where she was going, she found herself staring right into the face of a long-dead longneck. Her eyes widened, and her legs propelled her a couple feet back.

"Aeeeiiiiii!" she yelped.

The two ran for some time, heading, without meaning to, further into the graveyard. Finally, they stopped at a place where the bones were fleshless and all of the dinosaurs here had clearly been dead for years. Among these, Isabelle and Jared found several Threehorn and Spiketail skeletons.

"I wonder if some of those dinosaurs back there killed each other. From the damage to their bones, it almost looks like it." Isabelle remarked.

"I've got an idea." Jared said.

"What?"

"Let's use these for a slide."

"Sounds like fun."

Meanwhile, Chomper had received his first big injury. It wasn't life-threatening but it was was quite painful. His group had taken on two Threehorns. He'd tried the bite and slay method but the horns and armor made that harder to do than normal. He'd avoided getting impaled in the neck as he'd, just in time, moved, but they'd gotten his side instead. Luckily, they'd missed his vital organs. Whoosh and Ichy flew up to the creatures and began attacking their eyes, which were vulnerable to attack from the Sharp Beaks as the Threehorns had no way of assaulting them. Jessica, Dil, Screech, Sarco, Screech, and Thud used the opportunity to finish off the Threehorns. Chomper lay on his good side and tried to maneuver his head so he could lick his wound. He was not having much luck; his head could not quite reach the spot.

Whoosh and Ichy suddenly came under attack by two Threehorn children. However, the two Sharpbeaks simply flew up a tree and out of reach. "You stupid Sharpteeth! You killed our parents!" they shouted at them.

What should we do with the kids? They don't have any parents? Dil said.

We could kill them. Ichy suggested. The two spoke in Sharptooth so that the kids couldn't overhear them.

Jessica looked over to Chomper, who was still laying on the ground and trying to recuperate. Even without a good grasp on the language her peers and the two children spoke in, she had a feeling she knew what was happening.

The Longnecks were one thing, but there's no way we'll ever be able to take in the hatchlings of all of the leaf-eaters we hunt. she said.

Not taking them in is one thing. Killing them is another. Chomper replied, unsure of what to do.

We could dump them off onto the next trike herd we meet, they won't know the difference, a child is a child to them right? Dil suggested.

That should go over well. 'Here, we killed their parents and now we want you to adopt them for us so we don't have to take care of them.' Yeah, I can see it now. 'Kill those Sharpteeth, they killed their parents and they can talk too and so they're dangerous. Let's get the herd together and kill them!' That might work with Littlefoot as I know him. A random trike herd, I wouldn't. And considering the gift the last one left me just now, I don't know if I want to go playing with an entire herd. Chomper sighed.

As Chomper pondered on what to do, he felt a strong sharp poke in his side. One of the kids had rammed him, much as his father had done earlier. "Die you stupid vermin!" he yelled. It hurt and drew blood, but wasn't nearly as damaging as the adult's attack had been. It was more an annoyance than a real threat.

"Todd, you won't kill it that way. Aim for its cloaca. That way it wont be able to relieve itself or lay eggs and hopefully it will die." his sister said.

"Are you sure it's a girl, Trudy?"

"I don't know. I can't tell Sharpteeth apart. But let's deal with this punk and be done with it."

Chomper tried to think of something to say to calm the two Threehorn kids, but, before he could even open his mouth, a terrible pain shot through his veins: Todd had taken his sister's advice on where he should attack Chomper could react, Screech and Thud pounced at Todd and killed him.

Are you ok? Jessica asked him.

Probably, Chomper replied, gritting his teeth.

After their initial attack, Screech grabbed Todd by the frill and hoisted him up into the air and slammed him back into the ground, making sure that he had finished the job. Little brat! the blue Fast Biter snapped.

Chomper felt another powerful poke. Trudy had rammed him in the cloaca. She didn't seem to be afraid that Chomper and the others could kill her as they had done her parents and her brother. All she cared about at the moment was inflicting as much damage to Chomper as possible. She moved to ram him again, but he quickly moved aside and pinned her down with his feet. His claws didn't puncture her, but they were about a foot from her throat.

Nearby, Screech and Thud were now eating the dead Todd while Jessica, Sarco, Dil, Ichy, and Woosh were helping themselves to the dead adults.

"Don't get cocky," Chomper warned, eyeing the little triceratops beneath him. She wriggled feverishly, trying to free herself from the Rex's foot.

"Wait, you're a boy! And you can talk? I thought your kind was as stupid as a pile of rocks." Trudy gasped, still trying her best to break free.

Chomper lay there, still wondering what to do. The other Threehorns were dead. His stomach made a loud growl. His group had had the bad luck to have not found any suitable food for a week. The Flatteeth tended to gather near where the plants that still survived the cold, so as to not have to walk far in the frigid air. As such, finding stray Leaf Eaters had been difficult. There were eight in his group after all and the two adult Threehorns plus the child, about age nine, would barely fill them. Sharpteeth needed to eat more in the winter to get extra fat to keep warm.

While he was loathe to kill hatchlings and had asked the group to refrain from it, a policy that they'd followed every time they had encountered children alone, though sometimes it had meant not eating that day as a result, the two children here had certainly left their mark. Now he would have a painful time taking a leak or a crap the next few days thanks to them.

As for the lone survivor, she was likely to die wtihout a herd to protect her out here in the cold. Another sharptooth that found her wouldn't have pity on her. And, most importantly, for him, he had to consider that letting her go could result in her going again at his cloaca, this time perhaps getting in a blow that could end up damaging a certain organ that he would need if he hoped to one day have offspring of his own.

He stood up, still holding down the thrashing Threehorn. Trickles of blood dripped from his cloaca where he'd been twice attacked now. He stared down at the Threehorn girl, who slightly reminded him of Tricia, though she was silver and had a different eye color than Tricia. She seemed too young to die; yet, as he knew all too well, Leaf Eaters wouldn't hesitate to kill a cornered Sharptooth child.

His stomach growled. Though his heart saw a young helpless child, his appetite kept bringing to his mind the smell of Threehorn and how good the hatchling would taste after so long without food. Surely the world would produce more Threehorns and wouldn't fall apart if this one perished.

He felt a wetness soak his claws. The Threehorn, hearing his stomach growl and fearing death, had wet herself in fright. She stared up at him, her eyes bulging with fear. Surely if he was going to do something, he'd better do it soon; the longer he took, the more tormented the animal before him became.

Animal? No, that was a leaf eater, not a mere animal. Animal! His mind told him, trying to persuade him to slay and feed. He hesitated a moment then drew one of the claws on his feet across her throat, ending her struggles forever.

He sighed. A young life cut short. He shed a tear, feeling remorse. Feed! His stomach told him. He sighed again. Yes, it seemed that he must.

He bent down and tore the corpse to bits, downing it in a few strong and powerful bites that tore flesh and bone. Finally, nothing remained of the Threehorn except a few stains of blood. His stomach growled contentedly, as though the deed he'd just committed had been nothing to feel concerned about.

Jared and Isabelle, meanwhile, heard something coming. Soon, a pack of Crownheads arrived. They didn't see the kids, but seemed to know that they were around there somewhere and were looking eagerly for them.

"Quiet. Don't many any sudden movements." Isabelle whispered to Jared. The Crownheads soon spotted Jared and Isabelle and began to move in their direction. Isabelle grabbed her brother's tail with her mouth and scurried under the ribcage of a skeleton, taking him with her. The Crownheads began to pull apart the structure of bones, trying to get at the kids. The children jumped from dead dinosaur to dead dinosaur, sending bones flying in every direction as they fled.

Chomper, meanwhile, still wondered if he had done the right thing. "Poor dear. My appetite got the better of me." he sighed.

"Nah. You were hungry. Besides, the little princess was trying to castrate you." Ichy replied.

"Besides, some Threehorn mother will just pop out more eggs and can make a Threehorn in this world to replace her." Dil said.

"Well, what's done is done." Chomper sighed. "I'm just glad that Jared and Isabelle weren't here to see this. Speaking of them, where are they?"

"I don't know." Ichy said. The others looked for the children while Chomper bandaged his injured cloaca with some leaves. When the others returned to him empty-handed, he grew worried. We need to find them. he said.

But you're still hurt. Jessica said.

Be that as it may, I am responsible for those two.

I've found their scent. They're some distance away from here. Sarco reported. They followed the scent to the dinosaur graveyard

Meanwhile, after five fruitless hours of searching for Ruby and Guido without a trace, Haley's goons returned to the Great Valley empty-handed. "I told you to follow them to the Land of Mists!" Haley snapped.

"We lost them." a Spiketail said.

"We don't know where the Land of Mists is either." said a Thicknose.

"I think I recalled that Flathead girl that married Littlefoot saying her herd had once lived there." Magnus said.

"Do you know where her herd is by any chance? A lot of good it would do for us to try and ask them if we can't find them." Haley said.

"I thin they passed the Great Valley earlier today. I could hear what's her face, Ali, saying 'There's Rhett's herd. I'd like to redecorate his face for what he did to us!'" Magnus replied.

"Find this herd. Perhaps they will lead us to the Land of Mists." Haley told her minions.

After some searching, they located Rhett's herd. Rhett looked at the non-Longnecks with skepticism. When it was clear that they were seeking the herd rather than merely passing by, he snapped at them "What do you guys want?"

"We wanted to hunt down and kill this Sharptooth, but the coward is hiding in the land of mist. Thought perhaps you might know where that is." a Spiketail said.

"Going into the Land of Mists to kill a Sharptooth?! You'll find plenty there all right! But 1,000,000 to 1, they'll end up killing you dumb pointybacks rather than you killing them!" Rhett scoffed.

"We're after Chomper the Rex. He killed my father and brother. I heard he was hiding out in the Land of Mists." Magnus replied.

"Chomper the Rex? That changes a lot. I've been furious at that son of a tarpit. He exposed me years ago when I was going to marry the girl I always wanted, Ali. She used to be reasonable, or so I've heard, till she met this loser named Littlefoot" Rhett spat.

"Chomper killed our leader's husband and son but Littlefoot helped him escape the Great Valley."

"So I've heard from Littlefoot myself. He tried defending the beast. Claimed Chomper was only defending himself."

"A boldfaced lie."

"I figured. So, I take it that you mean that Littlefoot sent Chomper to go hide in the Land of Mists to avoid being brought to justice by you lot. Yeah, I'll take you to the Land of Mists all right. In fact, I'll do better than that. My herd and i will help you rid the world of this Rex for good! I must admit, I've never lived there personally, so I only know what it's like based on the stories I've heard. You see, before I joined up with and took over this herd, they had left the Land of Mists. However, some of them stayed behind. We still consider them part of our herd, though we haven't heard anything from them since we left."

Magnus returned to the Great Valley for his mother had told him not to go to the Land of Mists. The others, however, went with Rhett and his herd toward the Land fo Mists.

Ruby, her siblings, her herd, and Guido, meanwhile, arrived at the cave that was the main entrance to the Valley of Mists. They found some bones littered about and even some dinosaur poop, some of which had bones in it, indicating that Sharpteeth had indeed been there recently and been there for a while. However, they did not find any Sharpteeth inside the cave at all.

"It looks like Chomper has been here, but he's clearly not here now. Perhaps we should wait for him to return." Ruby suggested.

"What if he doesn't recognize us and attacks us or what if his friends don't recognize us and kill us before they realize it's us?" her brother Ovus asked.

"I think Chomper would recognize us before he saw us due to his very strong sense of smell. However, it's his friends I'm a bit worried about. They might not realize we're Chomper's friends and only find out after they've picked their teeth with us." Ruby replied.

"Just great!" Guido moaned.

"We'll just have to try and find Chomper first and avoid the others."

"Any idea how to do that?" asked her father.

"Yes." She pulled off a feather from her back and left it on the ground near the bones. "If Chomper finds this, he will smell me on it and know I've been here."

"What should we do in the meantime?" Guido asked.

"Try and find a good place to hide, one where we can run from if the others turn up."

Isabelle and Jared, meanwhile, had run into a dead end. They were perched on top the skeleton of a dead Diplodcus, clinging to the head out of reach of the Crownheads. "Let's hope they can't get us up here." Isabelle said to Jared. Jared threw a bone at the Crownheads. It hit one and he rubbed his head in pain. Isabelle threw one too, but this time the Crownhead she was aiming it at caught it. He broke it in half with his arms. "Oh crap!" Isabelle cried.

Chomper, meanwhile, heard the kids yelling in the distance. He sniffed the air and locked onto their scent. What were they doing over there? Foolish place for them to be. They're this way! he told the others.

Meanwhile, a Crownhead taunted the children. "Come down kids, we won't bite...much!"

One of the Crownheads leaped up and grabbed a rib right below where the kids were at. Isabelle pried his hands loose and he fell. However, two more grabbed onto the rib near their level, though these were further away from the kids and had pulled themselves up before the kids could attempt to knock them loose. "Ut oh!" the kids cried in horror.

Before the Crownheads could reach them, the two children jumped.. Isabelle grabbed onto a bone and Jared grabbed onto her legs with his forelegs and kicked two Crownheads in the head with his back legs, knocking them over. Isabelle let go and the two landed on the ground. They quickly got up and ran past the fallen Crownheads. They quickly darted under the legs of one Crownhead that was still standing.

Rhett's herd and Haley's goons, meanwhile, had reached the waterfall in front of the main entrance to the Land of Mists. "Are you sure this is the place? It looks really pretty. Not like a scary place full of mist and Sharpteeth." Haley asked.

"I heard that the Land of Mists are on the other side." Rhett replied.

"Then let's get there as quickly as possibly. I want that Sharptooth dead before the day is over!"

Jared and Isabelle, meanwhile, had split up. Most of the Crownheads were after Isabelle but a few were after Jared. Jared climbed some bones of a tall Longneck and was out of reach of the Crownheads. However, some of the bones were brittle and they crumbled and he fell into a tar pit below. "Help!" Jared yelled, struggling in the tar.

Chomper heard Jared yelling and ran toward him. However, Jared was too far in for the reach of his small arms. He called Jessica over to him. Grab onto me and hold me so that I can reach out to him.he told her. Jessica grabbed onto Chomper, and he reached out over the tarpit toward Jared. He grabbed ahold of him. He was having trouble maintaining balance and, with Jared halfway to shore, he lost his balance and fell in himself. Jessica, still holding onto him, desperately tried to pull the both of them to safety. Jessica was having trouble not falling in herself when Dil and Ichy arrived. Hey guys, I could use a little help. she said.

Dil grabbed onto Jessica, helping to pull her Chomper, and Jared toward shore. Ichy, having more common sense than Petrie had had years ago during a similar incident, did not try and grab onto Chomper, Jessica, Jared, or Dil, but instead went to go get help, realizing that by trying to involve himself directly, if Dil and Jessica fell in, he'd likely go tumbling in too with them due to his small size.

The Crownheads, meanwhile, had cornered Isabelle and were about to begin tearing her apart when Woosh arrived and began flying around their heads, distracting their attention.

Go away you stupid bird! one of the Crownheads snapped at Woosh.

Woosh farted in the face of one of the Crownheads. The Crownhead gagged and swatted at her.

The other Crownheads moved forward toward Isabelle to attack her. However, they turned around and ran as they saw Sarco, Screech, and Thud approaching. "Thank you!" Jessica said to the four Sharpteeth, though none could understand her. "I wonder where Jared's gotten to." she said to herself.

She didn't have to wonder much longer, for Ichy soon arrived and said to her "I found your brother. He, Chomper, Jessica, and Dil are in trouble." Come on! he told the other Sharpteeth.

"Heeeelllp!" Jared wailed, trying to free himself from the tar and inadvertently making the situation worse in the process.

With a great deal of effort, Chomper pulled with all of his might and, with Dil behind him giving aid, he was able to pull Jessica and Jared to safety as well as free himself. His efforts were not without cost, however, as he had dislocated his shoulder from his hard pull.

"Ouch, that hurt!" he moaned, wishing he could rub his shoulder with his other arm, but alas it was too short to reach it. All four of them were covered in tar, Jessica and Jared especially so. Jessica saw that Chomper was hurt. Chomper, are you ok? Your arm sounded like it popped.

It did.

Can you move it?

Yes, but it hurts like being prodded by a Threehorn's horn.

"I am so sorry this happened. We shouldn't have wandered off." Jared said.

"I'm sure you didn't mean to get into trouble. Let's go find the others." Chomper replied.

Meanwhile, Haley and her group plus Rhett's herd came across Ruby, her family, and Guido. "So, w e found the Sharptooth's lair. I see he's not home yet but we'll be waiting for them. We no longer need you." Haley laughed. "Kill them!" she ordered the others.

Ruby and her group ran for it, splitting up in the cave. By a good stroke of luck, they were able to get across the cave and make it safely to the waterfall that lead into the Land of Mists. Some of Haley's group was still right behind them, but others had gotten lost in the cave. Much to their horror, they had found that Rhett's herd seemed to have teamed up with Haley's thugs. They ran down into the Valley of Mists and hid in the mists where Haley's goons couldn't find them. We've got to hurry. We've got to find Chomper and his friends before Haley and Rhett find Chomper and his friends!" Ruby said.

"Ouch!" Ruby cried as something knocked her over.

"Watch where you're going!" a Crownhead snapped.

Ruby, her family, and Guido could hear a pack of the Crownheads running. "Where are you guys off to in such a hurry?" Guido asked.

"There's a pack of Sharpteeth over there plus a Longneck. Apparently they wanted the Longneck and chased us off. What is weird is that they were of different types. Never seen anything like it before." the Crownhead leader said before taking off.

"I think we now know where Chomper is." said Ruby's brother Ovus.

"Yes, but we don't know what direction they came from." Ruby's mother, Ova, replied.

The mist suddenly cleared, revealing a path of Crownhead footprints in the snow. "Now we do!" Ruby said.

Haley's group and Rhett's herd entered the Land of Mists. They began asking around, trying to see if anyone had encountered a pack of different types of Sharpteeth that worked together to hunt and fight off attacks. The first group that they had encountered that had seen them was a Swimmer herd. "Yes, we recall a Rex, a Bigmouthed Belly Dragger, and a Sharpbeak. They killed a young adult girl. What's more, they could talk." their leader said.

"We've come here to kill those Sharpteeth." Rhett said.

"Mind if we join in?" the Swimmer leader asked.

"Sure, why not."

Soon the group of herbviores came across the Crownheads. "What are you running from?" the Swimmer leader asked.

"A group of Sharpteeth of different types. We were about to get these Longnecks when they showed up and chased us off." the Crownhead leader replied.

"Where did you see them?" Haley asked the Halfteeth.

The Crownheads gave them directions to where they had last seen Chomper's group. When he was finished, he added "By the way, you weren't the first to ask us about the Sharpteeth. A group of Fast Runners and this weird blue and green flyer also wanted to know about them."

"Thank you for your time," Haley told the Crownhead, before she shuffled in the direction she saw them flee from, her group following suit. One of the Crownheads in the group looked at his leader and shrugged.

Ruby, her family, and Guido, meanwhile, heard something up ahead. "You think it's Chomper?" Ruby's mother asked.

"It might be, but it also might be one of his friends. And since they don't know us, they might not be nice to us." Ruby replied.

Ichy, Isabelle, Woosh, Sarco, Screech, and Thud walked by, looking for Chomper, Dil, Jessica, and Jared. Ichy paused, sniffing the air. I smell a bunch of Fast Runners plus a creature I've never smelled before. he said to the others.

No you don't. Ruby said.

Yes, I do! Ichy snapped.

"Fine, you smell us, but we are only here to warn you that some evil Flatteeth know Chomper is in the Land of Mists and are stalking him as I speak." Ruby said, not coming out just yet.

Who are you? How do we know that we can trust you if we can't even see you? Ichy snapped, looking around.

We are friends of Chomper, we don't mean you any harm. said Ruby's father.

Enough! Come out! All of you! If you mean to help Chomper then we won't eat you! Ichy snapped in impatience.

Ruby and her family and Guido came into sight. Good, now that we have your word promising our safety, we will be safe to tell you more. Ruby said.

Who are you and how do you know Chomper? Ichy asked.

He saved me from Red Claw many cold times ago and came to the Great Valley with us. The dinosaurs in the Great Valley that gave you guys trouble earlier have figured out that Chomper is here and have come to kill him. Ruby said.

Sometime later, Ruby had learned about Jared and Isabelle and about all that had happened with Chomper in the Land of Mists. She had also learned that Dil and Ichy knew Leaf Eater. "So, you last saw Chomper at a tar pit?" Ruby said.

"Yes, but he's not there anymore."

"Did he sink?"

"I don't think so. There were tar covered footprints leading away from the place."

"Did you know where they led?"

"Negative. Lost the trail of them by a stream. Chomper must have gone into it to wash off."

"Well, it's going to be hard to find Chomper and warn him if we don't know where to look."

"Maybe they went back to the cave. It's getting late after all and starting to get really cold." Ichy said.

They headed back toward the cave and soon spotted a set of tar-laced footprints. "They must be around here somewhere." Ruby said.

"Good, then we'll get them when they show up." The group turned around to see Haley, Rhett, and also several herds of Swimmers, Threehorns, Flyers, and other Leaf Eaters that had had some of their members killed by Chomper's group and were now looking for payback.

"Run!" Ruby yelled. She and the others fled from the mob of Leaf Eaters. The mob of Leaf Eaters chased the group back into the dinosaur graveyard. They were near tar, which Ichy knew was frozen over with ice. He knew that the Flattooth mob didn't know this, however. He smugly flew across the tar and landed on the other side. "Over here!" he taunted the Leaf Eaters.

"What are you doing with them, Flathead?" Haley said to Isabelle.

"They're raising me."

"Preposterous!"

"No, it's not!"

"If you tell us where that stupid Rex is, we can get you hooked up with some Longnecks to raise you."

"Forget it!"

"Fine, then you'll die with the others!" Haley and her group advanced toward Isabelle.

At that moment, Chomper, Jared, and the others arrived, covered in tar. "Oh my, they're undead dinosaurs, returned from the dead!" several superstitious Leaf Eaters cried before running off in fright.

"That's right, so go away and don't disturb our resting place." Chomper said, quickly improvising.

"You idiots, that's Chomper! Get back here!" Haley snapped at her group. Several dinosaurs that had been about to leave halted.

"If you get killed like Hank did, who is going to watch Mangus?" Chomper asked Haley.

"He'll be fine, which is more than I can say for you. Kill these fleshburpers!" Haley cried. The reamaining group of Leaf Eaters, which was still quite large, advanced toward them.

Ichy, what are we going to do? Woosh said.

Get the heck out of here while we can. Ichy responded.

Chomper leaped through the air and landed on the ice, causing it to start to crack near the Leaf Eaters. "Back off Flatteeth. I kill Flatteeth for a living now so I suggest you just go back home and leave us alone." he said.

The Leaf Eaters paused but then Haley said "Have you forgotten all of your family and friends that they killed? Let's get them!" The Leaf Eaters began to head toward Chomper and his friends again.

As the leaf-eaters advanced, Chomper looked down at the surface beneath him. Under his feet, hard water was cracking and slowly starting to give out. If he were still a child, he would have warned the encroaching flatteeth - but, with him no longer being fazed by the thought of leaf-eaters dying, and with them wanting his blood, he chose to not say anything.

Several Leaf Eaters fell in and drowned. The Swimmers got out of the water, shaking and shivering from the cold. Haley and Rhett backed away from the ice.

"We'll have to leave here and go live elsewhere. It's no longer safe." Chomper said to the others. They fled, leaving Haley and Rhett glaring angrily at their retreating backs.

"They got away." Rhett grumbled.

"Well, they can't hide out here again or we'll get them.." Haley replied.

"Hopefully Red Claw will get them out there in the open, that is, if they aren't in league with each other."

"Negative. I told the Great Valley otherwise but I believe Red Claw to be Chomper's enemy."

"I thought you didn't like working with Longencks."

"I have been rethiking my views in light of how their side work together and always seem to best us. I believe that we lost in the Great Valley and here because we were foolish enough to waste our time with other inferior kinds like Flyers and Swimmers. Such small, tiny-brained, and useless creatures as them can only hold back the better kinds like Longnecks, Threehorns, and Clubtails. It was becasue of the weak kinds that we keep losing. If we recruit the strong kinds in large numbers, we can get rid of Chomper and his friends."

"But what are we going to do with the other kinds? The interiror kinds."

"Slowly get rid of them."

"I like the idea. Survival of the fittest. But how do we spread this idea without meeting resistance?"

"Leave that to me."