CHAPTER FOUR: TRAGEDY FOR THE FLYERS

CHAPTER FOUR: TRAGEDY FOR THE FLYERS

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Meanwhile, a few hours later, Petrie was with his father. “Dad, me want to try flying today. Me think me could do it soon.” said Petrie.
Don got up and stretched, yawning. “It’s not even dawn yet. Eager boy, aren’t you?” Don remarked, patting his son on the head. “You seem to like climbing better than flying.”
“Yeah, me no fall as much when me climb.” Petrie replied.
“Don’t be afraid of failure son. Falling is just a part of life.” Don reassured him, patting him on the head.
The two went out to go fly. They moved out toward the edge. Petrie was on the edge. “Come on boy! I’ll be there to get you if you don’t make it.” Don reassured him. Petrie moved to go and fly, spreading his wings, a look of bravery on his face.
Petrie tried but became nervous. He fell but his father Don caught him. “Me fall again!” Petrie moaned, hanging his head in shame.
“It’s ok Petrie.” his father said gently.
“Me brother Pip can fly and me now the last one that can’t.” Petrie said sadly.
“Petrie, it took me a while to learn it too.” said Don. Petrie went out on a branch to go try again.
That’s when the unthinkable happened. The earth shook hard. Big cracks began appearing in the earth. The branch Petrie was on snapped.
“NO, PETRIE!” yelled Don in horror.
Don moved to get Petrie, but another branch came loose, whacking him. He was able to regain balance, but Petrie had disappeared. Dust had come up everywhere. And the earth kept moving. Don knew his son may well have perished, but, as much as it pained him, he had to save his wife and kids first before going to look for him.
“Phyra, Pterano! Get up! Help with the kids!” he yelled. They were able to get the kids out. The nest collapsed right after they left. Eventually, the earth stopped shaking. Many dinosaurs had perished.
Don saw with horror that the spot where Petrie had fallen now had a deep chasm. He clutched the stick that his son had held, believing it to be all that was left of his son.
“Don, where is Petrie? Why are you holding that branch?” Phyra asked.
“He’s gone. He fell. There is no way he could have survived. The branch broke. This is all we have left of him.” sobbed Don.
Sometime later, they were with other dinosaurs. Several had lost their kids for certain. Some still held out hope. As it was, some had gone off with Pterano, who had promised an easier way.
“Pterano, I don’t know about this.” said Phyra.
“Phyra, I’ll go with him. He’ll come to no harm with me there. Don’t worry.” replied Don. When he left with Pterano for a bit, as he thought, he gave the stick he’d kept, his, as he thought, last remnant of Petrie to remember Petrie by.
But Don was wrong. Petrie had landed in water, weak, but alive. He had come out of the Dark Underground and met Littlefoot, Ducky, and Cera. However, Don was the one who ended up being a casualty of the trip to the Great Valley.
When Petrie got to the Great Valley, he had heard that his father had perished soon afterward with a group that had been onset by Sharpteeth, which wasn’t Pterano’s fault, as Sharpteeth had even attacked Phyra’s herd. Petrie would never see his father alive again.
Phyra had been pregnant at the time of her mate’s death. She had her second batch of eggs in the Great Valley, where she had hoped to raise them with Don. Instead, she had to raise her 2nd batch of kids as well as her original batch as a single mother (she didn’t even have her brother Pterano to help as he had been banished from the Great Valley and remained banished for years.)
As the years went by, both Petrie and Ptero didn’t like to talk about the deaths of their fathers. That they could be friends ever was an idea that would never have occurred to either of them.