Chapter 8 Despair of the fallen

"It's difficult to ever go back to the same places or people. You turn away, even for a moment, and when you turn back around, everything's changed." ― Gabrielle Zevin, Elsewhere

The seven sharpteeth were huddled in a semicircle within the Secret Caverns. Each one had haggard looks as if their worries and confusion were crushing them under their combined weight. The situation was so impossible, so absurd, that none of the members of the gang even knew where to begin. The silence that had started moments before threatened to drag on.

Chomper took the moment and looked at his friends. He had been surprised to awake earlier that night to Ruby's startled cries...

...

Chomper had just been having a rather odd, yet pleasant dream. He was hunting with his father and all of this friends were there as sharpteeth! That would have solved so many of his problems, he thought upon awaking. He always knew in his mind that he would have to eventually leave the valley and trade in his fun-filled childhood for the harsh existence of his kind. He did not revel in that eventuality, but he knew that it was preferable to harming his friends. It would be far better for him to leave them behind to live their lives and to simply accept what fate had decided for him. If only he was a leaf-eater or his friends were sharpteeth, he reflected, then he would not have to leave his companions behind and his future path would not be so lonely...

Chomper blinked and he shook his head, sleep having left him as quickly as it had found him. No reason to think about the impossible. He reflected sadly. It was a nice thought, though.

His eyes then began to focus in the darkness of the cave. His attention shifted to the cave opening in the distance.

It is still dark outside! Chomper observed. Why did I wake up this early?

He then arose from his prone position and that is when he heard it.

Crying?!

Chomper immediately sprung from his position and looked about the cave. He could not see Ruby anywhere. He could simply hear the muffled cries from an adjacent chamber in the back of the cave. That disturbed him, but not as much as the smells that he could then recognize.

Fast biter! Chomper could smell the intermingled scent of Ruby and an unknown fast biter. How could a fast biter get in here without me knowing? Chomper thought in a panic. Maybe Ruby is hurt?

Chomper then ran into the adjacent chamber, ignoring the possibility of danger, and called out for his caretaker and friend.

"Ruby! Ruby!" He shouted with all of his might, "Are you okay? Talk to me!"

As his echoes permeated in the cave, he could hear the shuffling of feet and the mournful cries turning into fearful ones. He could definitely tell that the cries were coming from Ruby now. It made something in the small sharptooth break when he heard those sounds come from Ruby. She was one of the friendliest, most good-natured dinosaurs that he had ever known. To hear her cry like this...

"I am coming for you Ruby! Don't worry!" Chomper called out. He increased his pace to an outright sprint.

He ran through the opening into the next chamber and gawked at what he saw. A rose-colored fast biter lay in the corner of the chamber. Her violet crest and forelimb feathers obstructed her face. The smell of fast runner and the fearful cries were coming from this strange carnivore, but not from Ruby. Where was Ruby? Chomper thought. Unless... No.

"Where is my friend, sharptooth?!" Chomper roared in an imperious fashion. The thought that his friend could possibly have met her doom at the paws of this fast biter made something give in the sharptooth's mind. If he had enough time to reflect upon the matter, Chomper would admit that he could kill at this point. All thoughts about promises to the valley were absent from his mind.

The fast biter stood up, obviously afraid. Her mouth hung ajar and no vocalization left her mouth.

Chomper advanced in a stalking motion. The nictitating membranes of his eyes glowed red in the darkness of the cave. His teeth were bared and his forelimbs were primed to strike. Nothing remained in the demeanor of the purple sharptooth to indicate his normal friendliness; all that his outward expression showed was a hunter about to make a kill. It would have been a frightening sight to any dinosaur, but it was especially unnerving for Ruby.

"Ch... Chomper? It is me. It's Ruby." Ruby muttered in fear.

Chomper stopped in his tracks and hesitated for a moment, obvious confusion on his face. She almost sounds like Ruby. He observed. But then he scoffed and went back to his harsh demeanor from before.

"Ruby is not a fast biter." Chomper said matter-of-factly. "And if you don't tell me where she is then I will make sure that you pay the price." He finished as he stared at her with a murderous glare.

Ruby was panicked at this point and began to retreat until she made contact with the wall behind her.

"There is no escape." Chomper said tonelessly. "WHERE IS RUBY?!" He then roared without warning.

Ruby was petrified. She was seeing a side of Chomper than no one, Chomper included, had ever seen before. Part of her mind reflected that she should be honored that he cared enough about her to elicit this reaction, but since she was about to be Chomper's first victim in the valley this thought did not carry very far. She had to confirm her identity now.

"I am Ruby and I can prove it. Prove it, I can!" Ruby stated.

Chomper paused. The speech pattern was certainly a perfect replica of Ruby's, but fast runners simply did not turn into fast biters. That was impossible. Nonetheless, perplexed by the fast biters reaction, he decided to give it one last chance.

"Then prove it." Chomper said tonelessly, not changing his position or demeanor.

Ruby gulped. She then began her story by reflecting on what she and Chomper had gone through together.

"Remember when you were lost on the island and you couldn't find your parents?" Ruby began. "You had gotten lost trying to chase me, not realizing that I was too big of a catch! If you had realized I was too big then you would not have gotten lost." She continued humorously, "You began mumbling to yourself about how you wish you could speak to leaf-eaters so that you wouldn't be so lonely, not so lonely you would be!"

Chomper's demeanor began to change as he stopped baring his teeth and began to look at her with a stunned expression.

"I spoke to you in leaf-eater, which surprised you." Ruby reflected. "And I helped you get back to your parents. My daddy did not figure out about our meetings until I had already taught you how to speak!" Ruby continued. "He was not happy with me. My family went back to Hanging Rock after the cold time was finished there."

Chomper sat down on the rock floor, stunned at Ruby's confirmation.

"He was not happy when you and your parents decided to visit Hanging Rock." She reflected with an amused expression on her face.

"Eventually your mommy and daddy decided that you would be less of a target with me and the valley than with them." She continued. "My daddy thought that if the valley could unite with the mysterious beyond then perhaps we could defeat Red Claw and his allies. That is why he agreed to let me take you in."

Chomper finally replied. "Ruby... How?"

Ruby smiled sadly, tears resuming their path across her face. "I do not know, Chomper. Know, I do not."

The two then embraced as each tried to comprehend what had transpired.