When the sun rose over the eastern horizon, the mountain peak blocked the view. The sunlight streamed around the mountain, and cascaded into the valleys in the surrounding lands. As the little hedgehog yawned, he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. While the area around him was still a tad dark, Pudgy noticed that his cactus friends were missing. The soil was disturbed beside him, which meant that they had decided to leave during the night. Pudgy wiggled his nose with a small frown, “Pudgy didn’t get to say goodbye and thank you.” As he continued to wake up, the critter pondered as he remembered that they had reached their maximum distance. The cactus method of travelling through the earth was amazing, but defeated by rock. The mountain lay before the little critter, stretching far into the sky above. It was going to take him a long time to get to the top, but the journey always starts with the first step. He slung his backpack and mining helmet back on, and then started to scamper off.
The stone of the mountain was a pale brown, or light gray. The grass was short, and dried out from scant rain. It crunched under Pudgy’s paws, which made it hard to walk since it also poked him making ouchie paws. Moving at hedgehog speed meant that he had not travelled a far distance from where he had started. He did leave a little trail through the dry grass behind him, which made it easy to track his progress. As the hours passed, and the sun rose high into the sky, the intense heat of the day once more baked the area. Having to ration his water, Pudgy pressed on, until he could see the outlines of something over a small hill in front of him. With an overheated body, and a dry mouth, the critter found what he had spotted in the distance. It was a human built road. Two lanes of black top asphalt, with a double yellow line up the middle. The road meant that it would be much easier to traverse the distance up the mountain. Sitting down, the little critter slid down the dust covered smooth rocks, to reach the berm of the road surface.
Stopping a moment, Pudgy pulled out his canteen, and took a small sip of water. He really wanted to drink it all, but the hedgehog put his metal canteen away in his bag. The progress was slow, but steady, as the little critter followed the road. It was rising at a steep angle, which made sense, as it was heading up to the peak of the mountain. There were signs along the road, indicating this was a toll road. Speed limit signs, and race markers lined the two lane asphalt road. Unlike the other human structures and works, the road seemed to have escaped the notice of Gaia somehow. There were also signs indicating that in three miles was something called Devil’s Playground. It was listed as a campground, and mentioned a schedule for a bus ride. Apparently, you were not allowed to drive the whole way to the top on this road. Day turned into night, and a very tired hedgehog collapsed on the still warm road surface.
As he took another drink from his almost empty canteen, “Pudgy running out of water … this is not good.” More important than food, water was key, especially for a little hedgehog such as himself. There was no helpful plants or animals here to help transport him, which meant that he was on his own for the trip to the peak. Pudgy was going to have to be smart about this, and as he sat and thought, he started to form a thoughtful look on his face. He remembered a show on television he watched with Cobalt a long time ago. The desert peoples would travel at night, when it was much cooler out. They would rest during the day, when the sun would be the hottest. Inside of Pudgy’s backpack, he had enough material to form a lean to cover. Nodding to himself, thinking this was the best plan, he started to move once more.
The road snaked up the mountain, weaving back and forth. And by the time daylight was starting to appear, Pudgy set up camp beside the road between a couple of rocks. The exhausted critter stretched out his winter gear to form the cover, and then climbed underneath to fall asleep. It was still hot, but his winter gear made enough shade for him to be more comfortable. The little critter slept through almost the entire day, in blissful undisturbed sleep. When he awoke, the critter could see that the sun was starting to set behind the western mountain peaks. The plan was working, and even though it was still a bit too warm, the plummeting temperatures meant travel would continue to be easier than moving during the day. The winter gear was put back into his backpack, and the last sip of water taken. Once more the critter set off, and followed the road. The sun finally set, but the temperature remained stable due to the fact that the road surface retained heat.
The night passed, with no sign of any animal on the mountain. The little critter pondered why that would be, but then when he looked at the near desert conditions on the mountain, he had his answer why. He didn’t even hear any birds or owls in the night sky for that matter. Pudgy saw a familiar sight, but this time in reverse. A procession of star covered bears were walking slowly in a parade in the sky. They were heading from the north west, and were starting to branch out as they headed back to their respective homes. Wiggling his nose, the hedgehog wondered if Mr. Bear and Mr. Drew were heading back home too? Thoughts drifted to Cobalt, and while worrying about his dragon friend, the trip progressed at its slow but steady pace. As the sun was just starting to rise in the distance, Pudgy could see a sign. “Welcome to Devil’s Playground campsite, all cars turn here.” Following the sign’s big red arrow, the tired hedgehog could see a row of parked cars of all colors, makes, and models. There were also a couple campers parked, beside large pickup trucks. Wiggling his nose, “Maybe one of the campers has water?”
Pudgy headed for the camper, with his muscles burning all throughout his body. He hoped beyond hope, there would be some water inside of the camper. The closest camper was small by RV standards, and perhaps could have held two humans Cobalt sized inside. There was a set of bent aluminum steps extended down, and the door was flapping open and closed from the breeze that had begun to increase in velocity. With the sun now in full view, the little critter made it to the camper steps, and with the last bit of energy left in his body, climbed up them one at a time. Collapsing through the doorway, Pudgy wheezed as his body began to twitch involuntarily. At least his eyes still worked, and while looking around, he could examine his surroundings. The camper was a big white aluminum shell that smelled very heavily of cigarette smoke. There was an air mattress on one end, and a tiny kitchenette at the other end, with a flat of bottled water and soda pop on the floor. The need for water outweighed his need for rest, and with what little strength he had remaining, Pudgy pulled himself along the black indoor / outdoor plastic carpet to get to the flat of water.
They were child sized purified water bottles, which meant they were easier to move by hedgehog standards. But the key limitation of human food reared its ugly head once more: screw top bottles. Pudgy could never get them open, and would always ask his human friend for help. But the dragon was nowhere around, and the hedgehog was all alone. Desperately thirsty, his mind worked frantically, trying to figure out how to get into the bottle somehow. By a stroke of dumb luck, these bottles were a very flimsy plastic, which pushed inwards when the critter pressed on the exterior. The hedgehog started to bite on the plastic, repeatedly, to weaken it enough to be able to drink the precious liquid inside. After many long minutes of chewing, the water started to leak out of the bottle. Drinking deeply, Pudgy soon drained the entire bottle of water. He collapsed down once more on the metal floor, and immediately fell asleep. Pudgy was so totally and completely exhausted, even his dreams were void of any activity.
The critter slept through the entire day, and when he awoke, it was dark out. The camper was very dark, with scant light coming in from outside through very small slit windows that ran along the side walls of the structure. Wiggling closer to another bottle of water, Pudgy started chewing again to split the bottle of water. As the water began to seep out, once again the hedgehog drank deeply. This time, he did not finish the bottle, but drank far enough down so the precious water would not be lost. Sitting up weakly, he undid his backpack straps, and set it beside him. Taking out his provisions, the little critter started to eat anything he had packed. He was ravenous, and with enough water to survive, Pudgy was able to start making plans. Remembering the street sign he saw on the way into the camp, the top of the peak was about two more miles away. Unfortunately, since all the humans were gone now, the trolley service was not able to take him the remainder of the way up to the top of the peak.
However, what was at the peak awaiting the little hedgehog? The Moon dinosaurs had destroyed anything at the top of the peak when they landed their pyramid shaped base. Pudgy remembered that when he got back to the Earth, he was not able to move. Purple Lady and then the man in the center of the earth helped him recover. The critter whimpered softly, realizing that both had been sent away when the humans were removed from the world. He hoped he would see all of his friends again, but knew they would be very different when they returned. The critter laughed softly, “Pudgy wonder if Purple comes back as a bunny?” Having eaten, and a nice full belly once more, the critter leaned over to drink from the bottle of water once again. It was about this time, when he noticed shadows moving outside. The slit windows would temporarily be blocked by something, but the moonlight would start to stream in once more.
Just to be safe, Pudgy packed up his gear once more into his backpack. Filling his metal canteen was a bit tricky, but soon it was full and tucked safely inside its pocket. Hesitantly the hedgehog moved towards the flapping door that led into the camper. Peeking around the doorframe, large shadowy creatures were walking around on two legs. They were quite tall, standing at about five feet or so by human standards. The shapes were familiar, which made the little hedgehog start to bounce happily. They were the Razar, the raptors from the pyramid base. The Razar were the soldiers, and were the advance forces for the dinosaurs. The dinosaur society was military based, with a gigantic Tyrannosaurus in charge of everything. Pudgy stepped a bit further out from the doorway, and watched as his camper’s aluminum door swung wide open and banged against the sidewall.
The shadowy creatures all turned one by to face the camper, and spotted the tiny hedgehog. They moved very slowly, almost labored, and with each step they started to come into focus. They were velociraptors, which meant strong hind legs with sharp talons. They had small front arms, with claws, which made grasping objects much easier than say a Tyrannosaurus. Dressed in black space suits, made of an unknown material, their heads were covered by modified space helmets that clung tightly to their heads. Glowing green circular goggles covered their eyes, and two rows of very sharp teeth could be seen pulling back into a grin. “Pudgy Hedgehog …” a very familiar hissing voice could be heard as one raptor strode forward. The hedgehog waved and bounced, “hello Razar! Welcome to Earth!”
The lead raptor looked down, and saw the hedgehog dressed in a metal helmet with a light source on its brim. There was a stuffed backpack, with tiny tools attached to its exterior, strapped to his back. “The Daedlus Claw sent us out to explore the landing site, and it is a good thing we did. What are you doing here, off on another adventure?” The little hedgehog looked up at the lead officer, “Pudgy was returning home from adventure. But Pudgy was knocked off course, and wound up in the desert near here. Pudgy saw the Moon dinosaur pyramid base flying over here, so Pudgy headed in this direction. Why did you return to the Earth?” The raptors hissed at each other, which the lead turned to hiss back. “That information is classified, but the Daedlus will be most interested to speak to you once more. We have observed changes to the planet, what is going on?”
The little hedgehog nodded, “all the humans are gone now.” The Razar forces all started to hiss in shocked tones, with even the lead stammering in her response. “All … the humans …. are gone? What? What happened? 8K, GET OVER HERE NOW!” Pudgy could feel the ground shaking, and soon he could see the reason why. A 6 foot tall, Tyrannosaurus was walking at an even slower pace than the raptors. Unlike the thin build of the raptors, this dinosaur was sturdy and more muscular. The black material was stretched, taught, and had already ripped in places to reveal a green striped hide underneath. On his back was a series of strange looking pieces of equipment, and soon he too spotted the tiny hedgehog in the camper. “Yes Razar Claw, how can I be of assistance?” The lead officer looked at the dinosaur she called 8K, “open a communication channel with the Pyramid.” The Tyrannosaurus nodded, and using his tiny arm, he used his claws to press a series of buttons located on a strap around his chest within reach.
Pudgy realized it was communication equipment, which all started to vibrate, and glow in various hues of red and green. A hologram started to form, and was cast into an empty spot between several campers. Very similar to a copying machine at an office, lines of light started to be printed in the sky. Over several minutes, a wireframe outline of a gigantic Tyrannosaurus appeared. “Razar, report your status,” a deep voice boomed over the speakers attached to 8K’s back. The lead rapor nodded, “Daedlus Claw, we have reached the human settlement located one pterocycle from the base. The surrounding area is desert, with scant signs of vegetation. We found a series of human objects here, and inside you will recognize someone.” The Daedlus hologram turned towards the camper, “My word ….Pudgy Hedgehog? Razar, this is indeed important, but have you found out anything urgent?” The lead officer nodded, “Pudgy has informed us that all the humans are gone.” The Daedlus’s voice boomed, “GONE? Pudgy, you will inform us what has happened immediately.”
Pudgy started to tell his grand tale of what happened since last he had visited the moon dinosaurs. All the adventures, all the horrors, he did not hold anything back. The Razar were speechless, especially as Pudgy relayed the dark stories about the Kaiser, and the demons’ defeat at the infamous camp. Even the Daedlus was taken aback at what had transpired, but it was when Pudgy started to tell the story of Cobalt disappearing in the woods, that snapped the dinosaurs’ attention back into focus. The destruction of the human world, all their structures and works disintegrating, was starting to bring back uncomfortable memories. Pudgy explained about the owls, the grand Parliament, and the leylines. At certain points in the story, the hedgehog would disappear into the trailer, and drink water. This was met by confusion, but served as a break between stories.
The grand tale of the Mother of all Bears began, which made Pudgy sad, since it featured Cobalt not returning with him. The descriptions of how the humans were being converted into animals drew many looks amongst the dinosaurs, who stayed silent during the stories. The Razar started to hiss when Pudgy explained the horrors that both himself and Alabaster saw at the ice bridge. Thousands of wolves amassed, and hundreds on the bridge, fighting the bears. When Pudgy finished his story, he immediately spoke about the lights in the sky, and the objects plummeting down. It was as he was jumping the leylines, when one of the pieces knocked him off course. The tale with cactus confused the dinosaurs, but were caught up to speed. Once his story was finished, Pudgy started to turn to head back inside the camper.
8K was the first to speak after the stories finished, “Pudgy …why do you keep going into there?” The little hedgehog bounced, “Pudgy found bottles of water. Pudgy going inside to get a drink, do you want water too?” The dinosaurs nodded in unison, which resulted in the hedgehog disappearing once more. One at a time, little bottles of water started to appear in the doorway of the camper. There were five raptors, one Tyrannosaurus, and one hedgehog. Eventually, the last 8 bottles of water were moved out. “Pudgy never can open these screw top bottles, so Pudgy had to bite through plastic. Do not eat the plastic shell, it will make you sick. Maybe Razar can use claws to get caps off? Cobalt could open bottles with his dragon claws.” The lead officer strode forward and leaned down, grasping one of the tiny bottles with her clawed paw.
Like Cobalt, after a bit of effort, the female dinosaur was able to open the bottle. However, a new problem was revealed, as the raptor’s arm was not long enough to position the bottle in her mouth. So she moved into position to a subordinate, and poured the bottle’s contents into their mouth. The subordinate swallowed, “it has a strange tassssstttte….not like our water.” Pudgy nodded, “it’s in plastic. It has been so hot here, the water might have boiled and cooled inside. Cobalt tells Pudgy that it is ok for a short time, but repeated boiling makes the water not good for you because of the plastic.” As the hedgehog narrated, the Razar were busy picking up their water bottles, opening, and then pouring into their fellow soldiers mouths. 8K shook his head, “I do not think I want to drink that stuff. Pudgy, what is plastic?”
Pudgy nodded, “Cobalt tells Pudgy that plastic is made from oil. Oil is a fossil fuel that humans used to drill deep down into the ground and pump out. Oil was used in everything, to heat homes, and could make vehicles like these move around.” The young Tyrannosaurus nodded, “a fossil fuel? Hmm, I suppose that the plants and animals from a long time ago could be compressed into such a substance. Gaia…..” The young dinosaur’s mouth dropped open, and he started to roar in anger. The Daedlus’s eyes had narrowed at the flimsy bottles, now laying on the ground scattered around the dry dusty ground. The Razar looked confused, and turned to face the roaring communications carrying dinosaur. The Daedlus’s voice boomed, “THE HUMANS ARE USING THE BLOOD OF OUR PEOPLE! WASTED UPON TRINKETS SUCH AS THESE! RAZAR, DESTROY THESE ABOMINATIONS AT ONCE!”
The soldiers having been given an order hissed, and then immediately began to attack the vehicles and campers. Their talons were sharp, and pierced the metal panels like they were made of paper. Pudgy scampered out of his camper, and then headed as fast as he could away from the rampaging dinosaurs. The soldiers attached hexagonal black metal plates to the vehicles, and started to run towards 8K. As Pudgy was fleeing, he soon found himself picked up by a Razar soldier’s claws, and was being carried. One by one the vehicles were soon disintegrated violently, and the remnant pieces were scattered onto the wind. The Daedlus looked at the dangling hedgehog, “you tried to escape? Why?” The little hedgehog whimpered, “Pudgy was scared. Pudgy needed to hide.” 8K nodded, “I am sorry Pudgy. My anger got the better of me, I am not normally like this. I am sorry Daedlus.”
The hologram turned to face the distant horizon, “there are many things we have missed since we were last here. Perhaps the Great Spirit will grant us enough time to figure out what to do with this knowledge. For now, please return to the Pyramid, and bring our timid hedgehog friend with you. We need to ask him more questions, Daedlus out.” The hologram started to erase itself line by line, and soon was no longer visible. “Razar, you heard the Daedlus, move out. 472, please keep our hedgehog friend safe.” The subordinate soldier nodded, and then quickly tossed Pudgy up into the air. The little critter soon found himself landing on top of the back of the raptor. The space suit materials were very sticky, due to its interaction with the scant humidity in the air. It was also stretching with movement, so there was enough material to hold onto while the dinosaur moved around. One by one the Razar turned, and started to fall into double file formation.
Pudgy wiggled his nose and waved at the Razar beside him, “why did the lead Razar call a number out?” The soldier looked a bit confused, and grinned, “that is our designation. Eight thousand is too long, so we call our Engineering friend 8K for short.” The hedgehog nodded, and turned to look back at 8K, who was bringing up the rear of the formation. While he did not have any horns, his claws were painted silver. His space suit material was also covered in silver emblems, of a varying kind that Pudgy did not recognize. But he remembered from his last time amongst the moon dinos, that silver indicated engineering. Turning around once more to face forward, he could see the dinosaurs were following the toll road. Even at their reduced speed, their stride length was enough to result in a speed much faster than hedgehog. This meant they were making progress, up the ever increasing grade and winding road that cut up towards the peak of the mountain.
However, the looming sight of the pyramid was coming into focus. The Pyramid structure was gigantic, even at this distance. The exterior was smooth gray stone, almost glass like. Pudgy wondered if when it was built if it had been covered with various etchings? The atmospheric exit and entry most likely sheared off any ornate decorations. Rows of hexagonal windows stretched around the structure on all sides, and were now lit up from within. Dinosaurs could be seen looking out of the windows, which made the hedgehog smile. “Is the pyramid more amazing this time, Pudgy?” The soldier spoke beside Pudgy, as she looked up at their home. The hedgehog nodded, “Pudgy could not spend much time looking, since Pudgy only had limited oxygen the last time. The Bear Mother told Pudgy why the dinosaurs had to leave the earth … Pudgy … hope you are allowed to stay. Ever since Pudgy left the Moon …Pudgy worried about dinosaur friends.”
The dinosaurs did not say anything, but 8K was huffing, “I need to stop. This increased gravity is too much to bear.” The Razar nodded, and stopped moving, while the lead claw circled back from up front to look at Pudgy. “This Bear Mother, what did she tell you?” The little hedgehog looked sad, “she told Pudgy the ancient animals did things … bad things …made the world go bad. Then the great spirit did things to make the dinosaurs go away.” The Razar lead officer nodded, “I see. We will correct your thinking regarding that matter. This Bear Mother does not sound like she knows what she is talking about. But what do ….bearssssss …know?” The raptor hissed as she started to laugh, but noticed a large bear face made of stars looking from the skies above their position. Pudgy turned and waved, “uh oh …you better say sorry. Mamma Bear listening….” The Razar pointed with their claws, then started to head faster up towards the peak. “8K MOVE IT, this area is compromised. DOUBLE TIME!”
Pudgy held on, while the dinosaurs increased their pace into a run. 8K doing as ordered huffed terribly, as he tried to keep up. The Bear Mother’s face in the stars did not follow, but was turned to face towards the mountain peak. In a short period of time, once the Razar realized the face was stationary in the sky, they slowed their pace. However, the burst of speed resulted in their reaching the peak in short order. Pudgy looked around, and saw that the entire area of the peak had been flattened. The Pyramid had landed in the center of the newly created flat area. The Pyramid was huge, standing easily over four hundred feet tall. Each side of the Pyramid was eight hundred feet, and sloped smoothly of white stone all the way to the top of its peak.
A huge set of hexagonal doors were open, with around fifty Razar forces stationed outside. The dinosaurs were having a lot of trouble moving around, “Pudgy see you having trouble adjusting too? When Pudgy returned from the moon, it took Pudgy a couple weeks to get better.” The lead officer nodded, “we have started acclimation operations. Ours was the first group to explore the area … 600 report!” A subordinate officer strode up and nodded, “acclimation drills are on schedule 200. The Daedlus has ordered no entry within, to prevent biological contamination. The science teams are setting up …. wait….is that…Pudgy?” The little hedgehog waved, which drew a grin from the surrounding soldiers. Two Hundred nodded, “understood. Have the science team study that face in the sky, Pudgy says it is something called the Bear Mother.” The subordinate nodded, turned and strode back to a set of exterior controls on the outside of the pyramid.
8K huffed and puffed hard, having finally reached the staging grounds. He wanted to tell stories like Pudgy and make dinosaurs happy, not work in the military. But such was his lot in life, hopefully he could talk to the hedgehog some more. A dimetrodon strode up, with its huge fins on its back rigged with a variety of sensors. “8K, good job …The communications equipment worked perfectly. What is the surrounding area like?” The Dimetrodon was covered in a similar black space suit material, and had its head covered with a space helmet covered with all manner of wires leading to sensors. “Thank you 6K, the area is in desert conditions. There is no water, no plant life, only rock and sand. I suspect that if we were to descend to a lower altitude, we would find more hospitable conditions.” The science team Lead Claw nodded, “I have the same suspicions. We do not know how much time we will have here, so we will gather as much data as we can. Our hedgehog friend represents a desperately needed source of information.”
As the two science team dinosaurs looked towards the east, the sunlight started to appear and stream across the valleys below. Even the Razar stopped to watch the sunrise, and the myriad of colors that the light sent through the skies. 8K sighed, “never in my life did I think I would see the sunrise on Earth.” Pudgy watched too, but started to yawn terribly. He was trying to stay awake, watching the procession of bears in the sky fade away as the light appeared. The Bear Mother’s face began to vanish, and the dinosaurs came into greater focus. But the call of sleep was too much, and soon the tiny hedgehog had fallen asleep on the back of the raptor. 8K chuckled, “well …maybe Pudgy has the right idea.” The other dinosaurs chuckled amongst themselves, and headed to designated rest spots along the exterior of the pyramid.
The dinosaurs eased down, and laid carefully down to rest their bodies. The hedgehog was gently picked up from the back of 472, and placed onto an empty berth between her and the next Razar. He was fast asleep, so Pudgy was completely unaware. 8K could not lay down, due to the communications equipment strapped to his back. But the science team had rigged a tall framework that would allow him to sleep standing up. It was not very comfortable, but it served its purpose. As the tired tyrannosaurus started to drift off to sleep, the light of the dawn only increased. But exhaustion won the day, and soon the lead forces that had found Pudgy were asleep.
Far above them, in the center of the Pyramid, the Daedlus claw looked at the displays on his hexagonal shaped displays. Their kind has suffered so much, in their exile to the moon. Would they be granted the time to rest, before having to leave once more? Or would the Great Spirit deem them unworthy to stay once more, and persecute their kind once more? An often ignored segment of their society was working overtime now, searching the great texts. A small pack of historians, spiritualists, and scholars were trying to determine a way to prove to Unetlanvhi they had changed. If only for a brief moment, his pack’s spirits were raised, and no longer were they desperately short of oxygen.
The measurements from the science teams were encouraging, and soon they could begin using the exterior air. The Razar were tolerating it, and while they were not aware, the next experiment would be if they could tolerate the water here? Live experimentation was never desirable, but in desperate circumstances, it was necessary. It would not have been the first hard decision the ancient Tyrannosaurus has made. The Daedlus hoped that he would not have to make more desperate choices that would doom his kind to more suffering. How long would they have to pay the price for the decisions of their ancestors? When could they live in peace? Those questions continued in the undisputed supreme leader of the dinosaurs, while he monitored the displays. In the distance, a weather formation was approaching. It looked like what was once called rain was heading in their direction.
Pudgy's Adventures 
One reply on “Shadow Fall: Chapter 6: Pyramid”
Really enjoyed this, I LOVE the Moon Dinosaurs, so good to see them back and props to 8K for making it into a Pudgy Adventure.
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