Part II: The Journey/Chapter 19
823 Words
Arnor slowly opened his eyes to the bright mid-morning sun. What a strange dream he had had. The horrible Gorvosaurus with his smooth voice, his false friendliness, and his aura of evil. Arnor had heard that term in a book once, and he thought it suited this dream dinosaur very well. It was so terrible that it caused a tremendous throbbing in his head. Only, as he reached up to rub the sore spot, he realized from his tightly bound wrists that it was not a dream. It was only too real!
He tried to sit up, but found it quite uncomfortable. Instead, he turned his head this way and that to discern his surroundings. Wedged between his brother and sister, also bound and unconscious, he found they were laid out in a small, four-wheeled cart amidst some trees. It was broad daylight, but there were no other dinos in sight. He did not know where they were: only that it was not Saurahall, and he was immensely frightened.
Turning to his brother, he attempted to nudge him into consciousness.
“Freddie?” he spoke quietly. “Oy, Freddie!”
His nudging eventually worked, as Frederik’s eyelids fluttered open. Like Arnor, the first thing he noticed was the soreness in his head, followed by his bound foreclaws.
“Arnor?” he spoke with uncertainty. “Arnor, where are we?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, helping his brother sit up. “But I think we’ve been captured.”
“Captured?”
Arnor nodded. “Kidnapped.”
Frederik was stunned. Why would anyone want to kidnap them? What had they ever done to anyone? It simply made no sense, and confused him terribly. He wanted his home back and he wanted to cry. But he didn’t. He did not want to look weak in front of Arnor, so he asked, “Is Rose all right?”
“Sure,” replied Rose groggily, looking around in turn. She quickly figured out their situation as Arnor had. “We’ve been kidn*pped, haven’t we?”
“You act like that’s ordinary!” exclaimed Frederik. “Don’t you realize what’s happened? We might never see mum or dad or home again. We could die out here and they’d never know!”
“I know!” said Rose bitterly. “I know all that. I also know it’s all your fault!”
“What! How?”
“If it hadn’t been for you and Arnor, we wouldn’t be here.”
“Enough arguing!” ordered Arnor. “We’ve got to get away. There’s nobody around, so it should be easy.”
“Oh, shouldn’t it?” came a mocking voice that scared them half to death. They recognized it instantly as the wicked Gorvosaurus and his comrades emerged from the underbrush around them. “I fear I must disagree.”
“What do you want from us, you big bully?” asked Frederik.
“Big bully?” Oric laughed at this. “You’re too kind. I am Oric, leader of the Red Claw. As for what we want, it’s quite simple. As the heirs of Cardolin, you three are worth a fortune to me in ransom. So, I’m taking you with me. It’s as simple as that.”
“Our father will come after us, just you watch,” warned Arnor. “And when he catches up to you, then you’ll be sorry.”
“I doubt it,” replied Oric drily. “We covered our trail well, so he doesn’t even know where to start looking. And anyway, once we’ve reached our fortress, he won’t be able to get anywhere near us. So up on your claws, young uns. Now you’re awake, you can carry yourselves the rest of the way. We should move faster.”
“We’re not going anywhere with you,” stated Arnor boldly.
Oric sighed and casually drew one of his knives. Stepping up to the children, he placed the blade point right at Arnor’s throat. The youngster swallowed hard and tried not to let his fear show.
“Let me make this perfectly clear,” spoke the bandit leader. “You’ll either march along with the rest of us, or you’ll stay here dead. I never once gave up that which I stole, and you are no exception, understood?”
The siblings answered only with fierce glares.
“Good,” he said, slipping the knife back into its sheath. As he began to walk away he added, “Oh, and if I find you moving too slowly for my liking, I’ll have one of these upstanding dinosaurs give you a little prod, shall I?”
The young Saurahallers were lifted wordlessly from the cart and placed on their own hind claws. Glancing at each other, they realized how little choice they had in the matter and resigned themselves to following the bandit leader through the deep wilderness of the Elderwood Forest.
- Writer
