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Tales of the Elias #1 The Black Mothra

Chapter Four - Lost in the Jungle

The larvae fell a great distance from the path they were walking on. They were aching and sore from the fall. But there was no time for rest; some of the remaining boulders and rocks were coming down. The Larva were quickly leaping out of the way, trying to avoid the rocks. It was hard to avoid them, because all the Larvae were dizzy after falling off the hill. But Battra was quick to recover; but no sooner than he had, he noticed that they weren’t out of trouble just yet. The raptors that survived the slide were now skidding down the slope of the cliff, coming after them.

“Let’s move!” Battra yelled. His words caused the other larva to notice the Raptors on their way. They began moving toward the brush of trees where the Virgo fell. But without warning, another Raptor came screeching out of the jungle near Pala.

“AAAAH!” she screamed when she saw it. The Raptor quickly jumped onto her back. Battra was quick to see his friend in peril. He rushed forward and jumped toward the dinosaur’s orange body. He rammed his head into the Raptor’s side. The impact knocked the Raptor away. “Thank you,” Pala said before quickly slithering alongside him as they fled the scene.

The class regrouped near where the Virgo crashed-landed. They surrounded her and formed a tight group. Some of the Larvae kept their eyes on the jungle incase more Raptors came along. The others, on the inside of the group – including Skelt – were tending to the Mothra. Battra and Pala soon arrived.

“She’s unconscious!” a male larva said. “She got hit on the head!”

“I think her wing is broken!” Skelt added.

Pala shivered, looking at the bruises and cuts along her body; the wound on her wing was already turning dark. “Oh no,” she said. “What are we going to do now?”

Suddenly a series of growls and snarls was heard from the thick jungle behind them. The group turned around in time to see another Raptor charge out of the jungle toward them. The group was frozen in fear when they saw him coming. But Battra suddenly lunged forward. He snapped his head, spitting a strand of black web at it. The web smacked the creature in the face, knocking it down quickly. Soon, two more raptors came rushing out near where the first one came from. Battra quickly dispatched them with his webs as well.

However, the rest of the pack emerges from the jungle – mostly behind the group. The Larva turned around and quickly saw how outnumbered they were.

“We’re surrounded!” a young female larva yelled, fear breaking her voice. But Battra soon took charge of the situation; he had a plan.

“WEBS – NOW!” he ordered. He shot his strands of black web into the sky – aiming for the canopy above the group. He slung his webs between the branches of the trees and the ground. The other larvae followed his lead and spat their webs as well. When the Raptors charged, there were some Larva that knew enough to spit their webs at them to slow them down as well. But Battra’s plan was working; through the combined efforts of the entire class, the group and the Virgo were surrounded by a net of moth silk. The web had them completely protected from the dinosaurs. The Raptors that did try to attack them, were tangled up in the sticky moth silk. They managed to free themselves, but they’d never get past the wall of webs. They soon backed off and retreated into the jungle.

Battra was panting hard; the stress of the whole ordeal was taking its toll now that the adrenaline wore off. He turned around and looked at the group. “Is anyone hurt?

“I think we’re alright, for now," a younger Male said.

“We’ve got to get back to the path," Pala said while looking about. She composed herself and spoke calmly. "Battra, which way back to the mountains? Which direction did we come from?

Battra was quiet for a moment after she asked the question. He looked about the area, trying to recall which way they came. He was beginning to look worried. He narrowed his gaze; trying to spot some sort of clue. “I…I don’t know. Everything looks the same in here.”

“Of course it does," Skelt said, trying to sound as condescending as possible.

“All we know for sure is the Raptors ran off in that direction,” Battra said pointing his tail.

“Great…" one female Larva said, beginning to panic. "We’re lost…in the jungle!”

“Don’t start panicking," Pala told her. "We need to stay calm. Now how long until someone comes looking for us?”

The third Male larva in the group turned and spoke to her, “They didn’t expect us back till near sunset. It could take until tomorrow for them to come looking for us.”

“Oh no – Oh no!” the second female larva began to panic.

“Wait – we’ve got to be close to the wall," the first female Larva said, now that Pala had her calmed down. "Maybe if we yell loud enough, make enough noise, someone will hear us and come for us!”

“NO!" Skelt suddenly shouted. He began pushing his way to the center of the group to make sure all eyes were on him. "That is absolutely the LAST thing you want to do. You think Raptors are bad? Just try to imagine what else is out there. Besides, our voices wouldn’t carry over the mountains anyway.”

“…Should we stay here?" Pala asked. "Just wait it out here until someone finds us?”

“I don’t think so…We’re too exposed here," Battra said stepping forward. He looked around the area. The raptors could come back. I feel so surrounded here!”

“Welcome to the Jungle, kids," Skelt said with a grin.

“Then we’re agreed," Pala said. "We need to move. So…which way Battra?”

Battra was bewildered when she appointed him. “Me? Why me?” he asked.

“Why not you?" she asked moving toward him. "We saw you back there – calm in the face of danger, your take-charge attitude. You’re a natural leader.”

“Now hold on here," Skelt suddenly interrupted stepping between them. "If anyone should lead, it’s me. My father taught me about the jungle, how to navigate, how to survive, how to stay hidden. My knowledge and survival skills are what's going to help keep us alive.”

“How can you be sure?" Battra asked. "Just because your father gives you tips about what to do doesn’t make you an expert.”

"I don't recall asking your opinion, Freak!" Skelt said. "I’m the biggest and the strongest one here – and I say, ‘I’m in Charge’! Got it?!"

Skelt once again bullied everyone into getting his way. But Battra knew better than to argue with him now; starting a fight in this situation was pointless. He'd just have to go with it for a while. “…Sure Skelt…whatever you say," Battra said, rolling his eyes.

“Right," Skelt said, now turning toward the rest of the group. "Now Listen up; we're in a bit of trouble. But, I'm confident that I can get us home; but it's going to take some cooperation. I'm in charge until we get back; what I say goes. You follow that, and we'll all get out alright." Skelt then looked about the area they were in. He pointed in one direction. “This way everybody," he said now crawling off.

“What about her?” one of his two friends spoke up. Skelt turned and saw that he was gesturing toward the Virgo. She was injured and unconscious; she couldn't move herself at all. Skelt furrowed his brow looking at her unconscious state and the state of her broken wing. He cringed and turned away.

“Leave her," he said in a cold tone. "She’ll only slow us down.”

The group was surprised when he said that. Battra finally spoke out to question him. “What?!"

“She’s wounded," Skelt said. "She’ll attract Predators."

“She needs help," Battra protested. "We can’t just leave her."

“And how do you suggest we move her?” Skelt asked, once again in a condescending tone.

“We can get some logs together," Battra began. "String them up with our webs and make a sled for her.”

“And carrying her would slow us down," Skelt countered. He turned away, "We can’t wait for whoever falls behind.”

Battra suddenly rushed forward and stood in front of Skelt, blocking his path; he looked mad that Skelt was ignoring him now. “We don’t leave ANYONE behind, Skelt!" Battra hissed. "You might be in charge now; but the rules are rules. We all get out of this; TOGETHER! No one left behind! No one has to die out here! Or are you too much of a coward to accept that?!”

Skelt was mad that Battra had the nerve to stand up to him. He huffed about and considered just brow beating Battra down. His ego felt so bruised now that he'd been humiliated in front of everyone. However, he took a glance over at the rest of the class. It seemed like everyone was insistent on bringing the Virgo with them. Skelt gave a final huff and relented. "Fine...Gather your logs. And be quick about it."

"Right," Battra said. "Everybody fan out - look for some broken pieces of wood." Battra then pointed to a group of three other male larva. "You guys come with me. The rest of you; guard the Virgo." Battra passed by Pala as the four boys went off. "Pala - see what you and the others can do about splinting her wing."

"On it," Pala said.

--

It was about an hour later that the group finished. There wasn't much good wood to use lying about on the ground. Battra and the boys he brought with them had to get creative. They first used the sharp stingers on their tails to cut the bark on some large trees, before ramming into them - knocking them down. They broke off the branches and used the logs. They strung them together using their moth silk and made a sled. They matted down the floor of the sled with large fronds and leaves. When it was done, they gently carried the Virgo onto the sled and gently placed her down. She was still unconscious, which was good; to be awake would subject her to the most miserable pain. Luckily, Pala and the others did a good job of splinting her broken wing.

And now the group was off, following Skelt's lead and he crawled out front. The sled was pulled along by strands of Moth silk and some sticks harnessed to two of the male larvas. They pulled it along as it slid along the ground behind them; it was heavy and slowed them, but not too much from a Mothra Larva's normal crawling pace.

The group walked on for quite a while. The walk was a quiet one; everyone was so scared. The situation they were in was very serious that no one dare speak out of line. They all just wanted to be back home, safe and sound. It was a while before someone finally spoke up; it was Pala. For the past several minutes, she kept her eyes on the sky, hoping at some point to see the wall of the mountain come into view. But unfortunately, the sky was completely blocked out by a roof of green foliage.

"I can't see the mountain range," she said. She was far enough near the front of the group that Skelt could hear her. He turned around and looked at her.

"It's because the foliage is too thick," Skelt answered her. He looked forward and continued leading. "Don't worry; this is the right way. Soon we'll find the slope down the mountain, and then we'll find the path. We'll be back home in no time."

Battra was weary. He wanted to believe what Skelt was saying, because he was the most worried out of all of them. Battra didn't know how to describe it, but he had such a deep innate feeling down inside him, that he wasn't at all concerned for getting himself out of danger. Right now, all he cared about was that everyone else got home. He slowed his pace to fall back to the Male Larvas pulling the sled.

"How you guys holdin up?" he asked them with concern.

"It's heavy," the male closest to him said with a grunt. "But we can manage."

"Good," Battra said. "Thanks for volunteering guys. If you get too tired, tag out. We all need to work together if we're to get out of this alive."

--

It was sometime later - an hour or maybe two - and the Larvae were still walking through the jungle. Battra was very nervous now. He expected that they'd have ran into the mountain wall by now. But if anything, it looked like they were in DEEPER foliage than before. He quickened his pace so that he crawled up alongside Skelt. "Something's wrong..." he said quietly as not to start panic. "We should've reached the wall of the cliff by now."

"That's because we're not walking toward the cliffs," Skelt said calmly. "Predators are most likely to search for us there. It's too dangerous to go directly back. So we're walking parallel to the cliff until we reach the path."

This bit of information made Battra stop in his tracks. He froze still and expressionless, like what he'd just been told was completely devastating. The larvae behind him had to walk around him to avoid bumping into him. He was in a deep and stunned reflection. It was only just before the larvas pulling the sled reached him that he finally spoke up and ask, "Then how do you know if you're going the right way?"

The group stopped and turned to look at him, including Skelt. Battra thought that Skelt's plan was stupid. There was no indication that there were any predators near the wall. And the wall was their only indication of where they were, and how they could regain their bearings. To stray from it was more dangerous.

"I'm a Sagittarius," Skelt said proudly. He turned away and continued to crawl. "I am born with a sense of direction; I know where I'm going."

Battra suddenly sprang forward, slipping past all of the others. He once again got ahead of Skelt and looked at him face to face. "Skelt, enough about your heritage for a second," he pleaded in earnest. "It's going to be dark soon: we've been walking for hours and we still haven't found the path. Where. Are. We?"

Skelt sneered down at him for questioning his authority. He took a glance over his shoulder and saw the other larva were waiting to hear his response. He scoffed and said, “We’re right where we need to be.” He then pushed past Battra and said, “We’ll reach the path any moment now. Trust me guys: there is nothing to be worried about.”

No sooner than Skelt finished saying that, a loud and bellowing roar was heard in the distance behind the larva. It was the kind of roar most definitely made by a large carnivore. The group jumped when they heard it. They slowly turned to look in the direction of the noise. They were so stunned by what they heard that they were frozen and pale. The only movement that came, was when they heard the booming vibrations radiating toward them; it was the footsteps of the creature walking in their direction. It was coming right toward them!

“C’mon, keep moving!” Skelt suddenly yelled. The group suddenly sprang forward, doing what could be called the Mothra Larva equivalent of running. It wasn’t much faster than their regular crawling, but their size allowed them to cover a great distance. Battra was very nervous now. He looked back only for a moment and could see a rustling in the trees behind them. Several trees began to fall over as the thing pushed through the foliage. Suddenly Battra felt the tremors become more frequent; the thing had spotted them! It was starting to quicken its pace!

Battra suddenly dropped off an edge. He was startled after the very short drop and the splash of water that followed the stumble. He looked about and saw that the group had run right into a river.

“Quick!” Skelt said still leading. “Across the River! We’ll loose our scent!” He dove forward – the river was wide but not too deep for them. The current was easy enough. The larvae quickly followed him across and came onto the muddy shores on the other side. They quickly scampered into the foliage beyond the shore. Unfortunately, the two larva pulling the sled encountered some difficulty. When the sled hit the shore, the mud was so thick that it stopped the sled. They kept pulling with all their might but were stuck there.

Battra turned back for a moment and saw the predicament the two were in. He quickly rushed back. He dove into the water behind them and got to the back of the sled. In one swift movement, he threw himself against the back of the sled and pushed with all his might. With his added strength, the sled came loose and began to slide onto the shore. The two males began pulling it and they quickly entered the jungle with Battra following them.

Skelt turned around for a moment to see what the commotion was. He saw Battra coming up from behind the sled. He looked up at the trees from the opposite shore. He saw their leaves begin to rustle; something was pushing through them.

“Hurry!” Skelt ordered. They continued to run into the jungle when they came to a large tree. The tree was so large that it’s roots were gigantic and strong. There was a portion where the roots tore up the ground, making a small drop-off. The group of larvae came to the overhanging ledge. “Quick – down here!” Skelt ordered. He quickly jumped down and took shelter underneath the ledge. The group quickly followed him down and pressed as far against the back wall as they could.

Battra and the other two males arrived with the sled, and they immediately perceived a problem. The sled was too large to hide under the ledge. Battra immediately motioned for the two males to slither down the small hill nearby and hide near a tree. They removed the harnesses and began to hide the Virgo and the sled underneath the large leaves. Soon she was completely obscured from view. The three then joined the rest of the group in the alcove.

“Stay quiet everyone,” Battra said softly to the rest. The group heard the rumbling footsteps of the creature coming toward them. And with each impact, dirt and debris began to fall from the roof of their hiding place.

The creature finally arrived on the scene. It was a huge bipedal theropod dinosaur. It was no average carnivore: it was a King of Carnivores. The forest was so dark and the foliage thick enough to where the Larvae could barely make out the features of the creature despite it’s largeness. A gap between the foliage shined light on the creature’s face, exposing its eye. The creature lifted its head and began to sniff the air. The action made the larvae tense up, worried that the creature might find them.

“It’s big,” a female larva said quietly.

The dinosaur quietly hissed, opening its mouth. The light breaking the foliage exposed its large and sharp teeth in the creature’s jaws. Spotting them made the group even more nervous.

“And terrible,” a male larva added.

“SHHH!” Skelt finally shushed them to keep from alerting the creature to their presence. Thankfully, the predator didn’t seem to have their scent: going through the river appeared to have worked. The dinosaur relented and bellowed. The larva flinched when he roared. The predator moved on. It turned away and began to walk off into the jungle, vanishing into the darkness of the thick foliage.

--

I am SO sorry guys. This took way too longer than I wanted it to. It really is inexcusable; considering that the last chapter was submitted on September 11th...almost a MONTH ago. I worked on this part on and off, but a stupid mistake caused all the work I made on the chapter to be lost, so I had to start it over. Then I got really busy; so I wasn't able to work on it too often.

Description

Tales of the Elias #1 The Black Mothra

Chapter Four - Lost in the Jungle

The larvae fell a great distance from the path they were walking on. They were aching and sore from the fall. But there was no time for rest; some of the remaining boulders and rocks were coming down. The Larva were quickly leaping out of the way, trying to avoid the rocks. It was hard to avoid them, because all the Larvae were dizzy after falling off the hill. But Battra was quick to recover; but no sooner than he had, he noticed that they weren’t out of trouble just yet. The raptors that survived the slide were now skidding down the slope of the cliff, coming after them.

“Let’s move!” Battra yelled. His words caused the other larva to notice the Raptors on their way. They began moving toward the brush of trees where the Virgo fell. But without warning, another Raptor came screeching out of the jungle near Pala.

“AAAAH!” she screamed when she saw it. The Raptor quickly jumped onto her back. Battra was quick to see his friend in peril. He rushed forward and jumped toward the dinosaur’s orange body. He rammed his head into the Raptor’s side. The impact knocked the Raptor away. “Thank you,” Pala said before quickly slithering alongside him as they fled the scene.

The class regrouped near where the Virgo crashed-landed. They surrounded her and formed a tight group. Some of the Larvae kept their eyes on the jungle incase more Raptors came along. The others, on the inside of the group – including Skelt – were tending to the Mothra. Battra and Pala soon arrived.

“She’s unconscious!” a male larva said. “She got hit on the head!”

“I think her wing is broken!” Skelt added.

Pala shivered, looking at the bruises and cuts along her body; the wound on her wing was already turning dark. “Oh no,” she said. “What are we going to do now?”

Suddenly a series of growls and snarls was heard from the thick jungle behind them. The group turned around in time to see another Raptor charge out of the jungle toward them. The group was frozen in fear when they saw him coming. But Battra suddenly lunged forward. He snapped his head, spitting a strand of black web at it. The web smacked the creature in the face, knocking it down quickly. Soon, two more raptors came rushing out near where the first one came from. Battra quickly dispatched them with his webs as well.

However, the rest of the pack emerges from the jungle – mostly behind the group. The Larva turned around and quickly saw how outnumbered they were.

“We’re surrounded!” a young female larva yelled, fear breaking her voice. But Battra soon took charge of the situation; he had a plan.

“WEBS – NOW!” he ordered. He shot his strands of black web into the sky – aiming for the canopy above the group. He slung his webs between the branches of the trees and the ground. The other larvae followed his lead and spat their webs as well. When the Raptors charged, there were some Larva that knew enough to spit their webs at them to slow them down as well. But Battra’s plan was working; through the combined efforts of the entire class, the group and the Virgo were surrounded by a net of moth silk. The web had them completely protected from the dinosaurs. The Raptors that did try to attack them, were tangled up in the sticky moth silk. They managed to free themselves, but they’d never get past the wall of webs. They soon backed off and retreated into the jungle.

Battra was panting hard; the stress of the whole ordeal was taking its toll now that the adrenaline wore off. He turned around and looked at the group. “Is anyone hurt?

“I think we’re alright, for now," a younger Male said.

“We’ve got to get back to the path," Pala said while looking about. She composed herself and spoke calmly. "Battra, which way back to the mountains? Which direction did we come from?

Battra was quiet for a moment after she asked the question. He looked about the area, trying to recall which way they came. He was beginning to look worried. He narrowed his gaze; trying to spot some sort of clue. “I…I don’t know. Everything looks the same in here.”

“Of course it does," Skelt said, trying to sound as condescending as possible.

“All we know for sure is the Raptors ran off in that direction,” Battra said pointing his tail.

“Great…" one female Larva said, beginning to panic. "We’re lost…in the jungle!”

“Don’t start panicking," Pala told her. "We need to stay calm. Now how long until someone comes looking for us?”

The third Male larva in the group turned and spoke to her, “They didn’t expect us back till near sunset. It could take until tomorrow for them to come looking for us.”

“Oh no – Oh no!” the second female larva began to panic.

“Wait – we’ve got to be close to the wall," the first female Larva said, now that Pala had her calmed down. "Maybe if we yell loud enough, make enough noise, someone will hear us and come for us!”

“NO!" Skelt suddenly shouted. He began pushing his way to the center of the group to make sure all eyes were on him. "That is absolutely the LAST thing you want to do. You think Raptors are bad? Just try to imagine what else is out there. Besides, our voices wouldn’t carry over the mountains anyway.”

“…Should we stay here?" Pala asked. "Just wait it out here until someone finds us?”

“I don’t think so…We’re too exposed here," Battra said stepping forward. He looked around the area. The raptors could come back. I feel so surrounded here!”

“Welcome to the Jungle, kids," Skelt said with a grin.

“Then we’re agreed," Pala said. "We need to move. So…which way Battra?”

Battra was bewildered when she appointed him. “Me? Why me?” he asked.

“Why not you?" she asked moving toward him. "We saw you back there – calm in the face of danger, your take-charge attitude. You’re a natural leader.”

“Now hold on here," Skelt suddenly interrupted stepping between them. "If anyone should lead, it’s me. My father taught me about the jungle, how to navigate, how to survive, how to stay hidden. My knowledge and survival skills are what's going to help keep us alive.”

“How can you be sure?" Battra asked. "Just because your father gives you tips about what to do doesn’t make you an expert.”

"I don't recall asking your opinion, Freak!" Skelt said. "I’m the biggest and the strongest one here – and I say, ‘I’m in Charge’! Got it?!"

Skelt once again bullied everyone into getting his way. But Battra knew better than to argue with him now; starting a fight in this situation was pointless. He'd just have to go with it for a while. “…Sure Skelt…whatever you say," Battra said, rolling his eyes.

“Right," Skelt said, now turning toward the rest of the group. "Now Listen up; we're in a bit of trouble. But, I'm confident that I can get us home; but it's going to take some cooperation. I'm in charge until we get back; what I say goes. You follow that, and we'll all get out alright." Skelt then looked about the area they were in. He pointed in one direction. “This way everybody," he said now crawling off.

“What about her?” one of his two friends spoke up. Skelt turned and saw that he was gesturing toward the Virgo. She was injured and unconscious; she couldn't move herself at all. Skelt furrowed his brow looking at her unconscious state and the state of her broken wing. He cringed and turned away.

“Leave her," he said in a cold tone. "She’ll only slow us down.”

The group was surprised when he said that. Battra finally spoke out to question him. “What?!"

“She’s wounded," Skelt said. "She’ll attract Predators."

“She needs help," Battra protested. "We can’t just leave her."

“And how do you suggest we move her?” Skelt asked, once again in a condescending tone.

“We can get some logs together," Battra began. "String them up with our webs and make a sled for her.”

“And carrying her would slow us down," Skelt countered. He turned away, "We can’t wait for whoever falls behind.”

Battra suddenly rushed forward and stood in front of Skelt, blocking his path; he looked mad that Skelt was ignoring him now. “We don’t leave ANYONE behind, Skelt!" Battra hissed. "You might be in charge now; but the rules are rules. We all get out of this; TOGETHER! No one left behind! No one has to die out here! Or are you too much of a coward to accept that?!”

Skelt was mad that Battra had the nerve to stand up to him. He huffed about and considered just brow beating Battra down. His ego felt so bruised now that he'd been humiliated in front of everyone. However, he took a glance over at the rest of the class. It seemed like everyone was insistent on bringing the Virgo with them. Skelt gave a final huff and relented. "Fine...Gather your logs. And be quick about it."

"Right," Battra said. "Everybody fan out - look for some broken pieces of wood." Battra then pointed to a group of three other male larva. "You guys come with me. The rest of you; guard the Virgo." Battra passed by Pala as the four boys went off. "Pala - see what you and the others can do about splinting her wing."

"On it," Pala said.

--

It was about an hour later that the group finished. There wasn't much good wood to use lying about on the ground. Battra and the boys he brought with them had to get creative. They first used the sharp stingers on their tails to cut the bark on some large trees, before ramming into them - knocking them down. They broke off the branches and used the logs. They strung them together using their moth silk and made a sled. They matted down the floor of the sled with large fronds and leaves. When it was done, they gently carried the Virgo onto the sled and gently placed her down. She was still unconscious, which was good; to be awake would subject her to the most miserable pain. Luckily, Pala and the others did a good job of splinting her broken wing.

And now the group was off, following Skelt's lead and he crawled out front. The sled was pulled along by strands of Moth silk and some sticks harnessed to two of the male larvas. They pulled it along as it slid along the ground behind them; it was heavy and slowed them, but not too much from a Mothra Larva's normal crawling pace.

The group walked on for quite a while. The walk was a quiet one; everyone was so scared. The situation they were in was very serious that no one dare speak out of line. They all just wanted to be back home, safe and sound. It was a while before someone finally spoke up; it was Pala. For the past several minutes, she kept her eyes on the sky, hoping at some point to see the wall of the mountain come into view. But unfortunately, the sky was completely blocked out by a roof of green foliage.

"I can't see the mountain range," she said. She was far enough near the front of the group that Skelt could hear her. He turned around and looked at her.

"It's because the foliage is too thick," Skelt answered her. He looked forward and continued leading. "Don't worry; this is the right way. Soon we'll find the slope down the mountain, and then we'll find the path. We'll be back home in no time."

Battra was weary. He wanted to believe what Skelt was saying, because he was the most worried out of all of them. Battra didn't know how to describe it, but he had such a deep innate feeling down inside him, that he wasn't at all concerned for getting himself out of danger. Right now, all he cared about was that everyone else got home. He slowed his pace to fall back to the Male Larvas pulling the sled.

"How you guys holdin up?" he asked them with concern.

"It's heavy," the male closest to him said with a grunt. "But we can manage."

"Good," Battra said. "Thanks for volunteering guys. If you get too tired, tag out. We all need to work together if we're to get out of this alive."

--

It was sometime later - an hour or maybe two - and the Larvae were still walking through the jungle. Battra was very nervous now. He expected that they'd have ran into the mountain wall by now. But if anything, it looked like they were in DEEPER foliage than before. He quickened his pace so that he crawled up alongside Skelt. "Something's wrong..." he said quietly as not to start panic. "We should've reached the wall of the cliff by now."

"That's because we're not walking toward the cliffs," Skelt said calmly. "Predators are most likely to search for us there. It's too dangerous to go directly back. So we're walking parallel to the cliff until we reach the path."

This bit of information made Battra stop in his tracks. He froze still and expressionless, like what he'd just been told was completely devastating. The larvae behind him had to walk around him to avoid bumping into him. He was in a deep and stunned reflection. It was only just before the larvas pulling the sled reached him that he finally spoke up and ask, "Then how do you know if you're going the right way?"

The group stopped and turned to look at him, including Skelt. Battra thought that Skelt's plan was stupid. There was no indication that there were any predators near the wall. And the wall was their only indication of where they were, and how they could regain their bearings. To stray from it was more dangerous.

"I'm a Sagittarius," Skelt said proudly. He turned away and continued to crawl. "I am born with a sense of direction; I know where I'm going."

Battra suddenly sprang forward, slipping past all of the others. He once again got ahead of Skelt and looked at him face to face. "Skelt, enough about your heritage for a second," he pleaded in earnest. "It's going to be dark soon: we've been walking for hours and we still haven't found the path. Where. Are. We?"

Skelt sneered down at him for questioning his authority. He took a glance over his shoulder and saw the other larva were waiting to hear his response. He scoffed and said, “We’re right where we need to be.” He then pushed past Battra and said, “We’ll reach the path any moment now. Trust me guys: there is nothing to be worried about.”

No sooner than Skelt finished saying that, a loud and bellowing roar was heard in the distance behind the larva. It was the kind of roar most definitely made by a large carnivore. The group jumped when they heard it. They slowly turned to look in the direction of the noise. They were so stunned by what they heard that they were frozen and pale. The only movement that came, was when they heard the booming vibrations radiating toward them; it was the footsteps of the creature walking in their direction. It was coming right toward them!

“C’mon, keep moving!” Skelt suddenly yelled. The group suddenly sprang forward, doing what could be called the Mothra Larva equivalent of running. It wasn’t much faster than their regular crawling, but their size allowed them to cover a great distance. Battra was very nervous now. He looked back only for a moment and could see a rustling in the trees behind them. Several trees began to fall over as the thing pushed through the foliage. Suddenly Battra felt the tremors become more frequent; the thing had spotted them! It was starting to quicken its pace!

Battra suddenly dropped off an edge. He was startled after the very short drop and the splash of water that followed the stumble. He looked about and saw that the group had run right into a river.

“Quick!” Skelt said still leading. “Across the River! We’ll loose our scent!” He dove forward – the river was wide but not too deep for them. The current was easy enough. The larvae quickly followed him across and came onto the muddy shores on the other side. They quickly scampered into the foliage beyond the shore. Unfortunately, the two larva pulling the sled encountered some difficulty. When the sled hit the shore, the mud was so thick that it stopped the sled. They kept pulling with all their might but were stuck there.

Battra turned back for a moment and saw the predicament the two were in. He quickly rushed back. He dove into the water behind them and got to the back of the sled. In one swift movement, he threw himself against the back of the sled and pushed with all his might. With his added strength, the sled came loose and began to slide onto the shore. The two males began pulling it and they quickly entered the jungle with Battra following them.

Skelt turned around for a moment to see what the commotion was. He saw Battra coming up from behind the sled. He looked up at the trees from the opposite shore. He saw their leaves begin to rustle; something was pushing through them.

“Hurry!” Skelt ordered. They continued to run into the jungle when they came to a large tree. The tree was so large that it’s roots were gigantic and strong. There was a portion where the roots tore up the ground, making a small drop-off. The group of larvae came to the overhanging ledge. “Quick – down here!” Skelt ordered. He quickly jumped down and took shelter underneath the ledge. The group quickly followed him down and pressed as far against the back wall as they could.

Battra and the other two males arrived with the sled, and they immediately perceived a problem. The sled was too large to hide under the ledge. Battra immediately motioned for the two males to slither down the small hill nearby and hide near a tree. They removed the harnesses and began to hide the Virgo and the sled underneath the large leaves. Soon she was completely obscured from view. The three then joined the rest of the group in the alcove.

“Stay quiet everyone,” Battra said softly to the rest. The group heard the rumbling footsteps of the creature coming toward them. And with each impact, dirt and debris began to fall from the roof of their hiding place.

The creature finally arrived on the scene. It was a huge bipedal theropod dinosaur. It was no average carnivore: it was a King of Carnivores. The forest was so dark and the foliage thick enough to where the Larvae could barely make out the features of the creature despite it’s largeness. A gap between the foliage shined light on the creature’s face, exposing its eye. The creature lifted its head and began to sniff the air. The action made the larvae tense up, worried that the creature might find them.

“It’s big,” a female larva said quietly.

The dinosaur quietly hissed, opening its mouth. The light breaking the foliage exposed its large and sharp teeth in the creature’s jaws. Spotting them made the group even more nervous.

“And terrible,” a male larva added.

“SHHH!” Skelt finally shushed them to keep from alerting the creature to their presence. Thankfully, the predator didn’t seem to have their scent: going through the river appeared to have worked. The dinosaur relented and bellowed. The larva flinched when he roared. The predator moved on. It turned away and began to walk off into the jungle, vanishing into the darkness of the thick foliage.

--

I am SO sorry guys. This took way too longer than I wanted it to. It really is inexcusable; considering that the last chapter was submitted on September 11th...almost a MONTH ago. I worked on this part on and off, but a stupid mistake caused all the work I made on the chapter to be lost, so I had to start it over. Then I got really busy; so I wasn't able to work on it too often.