The next day as Spot and Arlo continued on, they heard the low rumble¹ of thunder in the distance. They could see the river and Clawtooth Mountain just up around the bend. "It's so close," said Arlo. "We're almost there, Spot." Arlo yelled with excitement and Spot joined in with a howl. After so much action, it felt great to laugh and howl together—just for fun.

 

But then... "Arrooowah!" Someone howled back!

 

Spot began looking around for the source of the noise. Almost immediately, he and Arlo saw a human figure on the ridge² ahead.

 

Intrigued³, Spot jumped down from Arlo's back and began to investigate. Arlo watched as Spot moved away from him, approaching the human. The possibility that Spot could leave him crept into Arlo's thoughts and made him extremely uncomfortable. He and Spot had been through a lot together and Arlo liked having him around. The idea of being without Spot was just too much for Arlo to take. So, when the human started to move down the ridge, Arlo quickly scooped⁴ Spot up and put him on his back. "We need to get home," Arlo said, moving back toward the river.

 

Arlo and Spot moved off the trail and above the tree line, heading up the river. Soon the wind started whipping through the trees and the sounds of thunder came closer. The storm was picking up.

 

Drip.

 

Drip.

 

Arlo eyed the sky, feeling the drops of rain. The big, gray storm clouds seemed to swell⁵ before his eyes. Lightning pulsed all around him and as the rain poured down, Arlo's feet began to sink into the soft mud. Once again, he was reminded of the day he had been in the wilderness⁶ with Poppa. All of Arlo's terrible fears rushed back to him and he began to crumble⁷. "I can't," he said, panicking.

 

He tried to get his bearings and looked up for some kind of help. Instead, he saw what looked like a shark fin⁸, cutting through the storm clouds. First there was one, then another, and another… they were circling—just like sharks who are about to attack.

 

Another flash of lightning lit up the sky and Arlo could see that the shark fins⁹ were actually large wings—the Pterodactyls were back.

 

They laughed and hissed¹⁰ cruelly as Arlo panicked. The dinosaur¹¹ lost sight of them for a second, and before he could even think of what to do next, they swooped¹² down, diving and beating Arlo, their talons¹³ and wings in his face. The Pterodactyls scratched and pecked, forcing him up a ridge. Arlo screamed, running backward as they attacked, pushing him to the very edge! With nowhere to run, Arlo stood as the Pterodactyls continued to strike, scratching him and beating his face with their giant wings. Spot growled¹⁴ and barked defensively, trying to protect Arlo.

 

Whoosh¹⁵!

 

Thunderclap swooped down and picked up Spot in his talons! Arlo grabbed onto Spot, too. The enemies struggled, tugging¹⁶ Spot in both directions.

 

"No!" Arlo screamed through clenched¹⁷ teeth. Spot reached for Arlo, but couldn't get to him. "Spot! Spot!" Arlo cried as he lost his grip. But it was no use. Arlo helplessly watched as Thunderclap carried Spot away.

 

The other Pterodactyls turned their attention to Arlo. He dodged¹⁸ and ducked, but the ground below him was squishy and soft from the fresh rain. Arlo tried to stay standing¹⁹, but he lost his footing and slid off the ridge. He landed in the sharp, tangled²⁰ brambles below. He tried to wrestle²¹ his way out, but every time he moved, the brambles seemed to tighten²² around him. He was stuck. The Pterodactyls tried to get to him, but they weren't able to get through the thick, thorny²³ shrub²⁴.

 

Finally, the other Pterodactyls gave up on Arlo, and headed toward Thunderclap and Spot. Arlo struggled, trying to keep eyes on Spot and yelling out his name. But the brambles held him back, tightening²⁵ around him like thorny chains. A large bramble was tangled around his neck and Arlo watched helplessly as the Pterodactyls took Spot away, disappearing into the storm clouds.

 

Thunder boomed as the storm continued to get worse. "Help me," Arlo cried weakly. Then he gave one last pull at the brambles. A big piece of rock came loose, hitting him on the head. Everything went black.

 

第二天，阿乐和小不点继续赶路时，听到远处传来低沉的隆隆雷声。他们看到河流和爪牙山就在拐弯处，“很近了，”阿乐说，“我们就要到啦，小不点。”阿乐兴奋地大叫起来，小不点也跟着吼了一声。经历了那么多的风风雨雨之后，哪怕只是为了开心而在一起大笑大叫，都是很棒的事情。

 

然而……“啊哦！”竟然有人回应了！

 

小不点开始环顾四周，寻找声音的来源。很快，他和小不点看到前方一个山脊上出现了一个人影。

 

出于好奇，小不点从阿乐的背上跳了下来，开始一探究竟。阿乐注视着小不点离开自己，走向那个人。他想着小不点可能会离开他，这个想法让他极度不安。他和小不点一起经历了风风雨雨，他喜欢有小不点常伴左右。没有了小不点，阿乐会很难接受。所以，当那个人开始走下山脊时，阿乐迅速地把小不点抱起，放在自己的背上。“我们要回家了。”阿乐说着往回走向河流。

 

阿乐和小不点离开小路，越过林木线，朝河流走去。不一会儿，狂风大作，鞭打着树木，雷声也越来越近了，暴风雨就要来了。

 

啪嗒。

 

啪嗒。

 

阿乐注视着天空，感受到了滴滴雨珠。大片灰色的风暴云像是要在他的眼前膨胀，闪电在他的周围闪过。随着雨水倾盆而下，阿乐的双脚开始陷入淤泥中。再一次，他想起了和爸爸在荒野的那天。阿乐所有的恐惧再度袭来，他开始崩溃。“我不行。”阿乐恐慌地说。

 

他努力弄清自己的位置，抬起头去寻求一些帮助。然而，他看到了像鲨鱼鳍一样的东西正穿过风暴云。一开始只有一只，接着一只接一只……他们围成一个圈——就像正要发起攻击的鲨 鱼群。

 

又一道闪电划亮天空，阿乐才看到这些鲨鱼鳍实际上都是些大大的翅膀——翼手龙们回来了。

 

阿乐有些害怕，翼手龙们则笑着发出了残暴的嘶鸣声。阿乐有那么一会儿没看到他们，可就在他还没来得及思考下一步该如何应对时，他们就朝阿乐猛扑过来，他们俯冲下来，用爪子和翅膀打他的脸。翼手龙们又抓又啄，把阿乐逼到了一个山脊上。他们攻击着阿乐，逼得他一步一步后退，直到退到悬崖边。阿乐无路可逃，只能站在那里任由翼手龙们继续攻击他，他们抓他，用翅膀扇他的脸。小不点抵抗着，他咆哮着、怒吼着，在尽全力地保护着阿乐。

 

嗖的一声!

 

雷霆飞扑下来，用爪子将小不点抓了起来！阿乐也抓住了小不点。这对对手扭打着，都把小不点拽向自己的方向。

 

“不！”阿乐咬紧牙关大叫道。小不点向阿乐伸出手去，但还是够不到到阿乐。“小不点！小不点！”小不点被夺走的那一刻，阿乐大喊道。却已无济于事。他只能无助地看着雷霆将小不点 带走。

 

剩下的翼手龙们将注意力转向了阿乐。阿乐东躲西藏，但因为刚刚的一场雨，他脚下的土地变得又黏又软。阿乐努力保持站立，却失足从山脊上滑了下去，掉到下面一片纠缠在一起的荆棘丛中。他奋力拼出一条路来，但他每动一下，荆棘丛就好像把他缠得更紧了。他被困住了。翼手龙们极力想抓住他，但却无法穿过茂密多刺的灌木丛。

 

最终，这些翼手龙们放弃了抓阿乐，朝雷霆和小不点飞去。阿乐挣扎着，奋力注视着小不点，呼喊着他的名字。但是，荆棘丛像带刺的链条一样，紧紧缠绕着他，阻挡着他。阿乐被一条巨大的荆棘缠住了脖子，只能无助地看着翼手龙们将小不点带走，消失在风暴云之中。

 

暴风雨愈演愈烈，雷声隆隆作响。“救救我。”阿乐无力地喊道。接着，他奋力一扯荆棘丛，一大块岩石掉了下来，砸到他的头上，他眼前一黑，昏了过去。

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