The threehorn's heart beat mercilessly in his chest as he heard the sharptooth’s steps growing ever louder. Only a few seconds ago, he was afraid of two fast runners as if they’d be the ones to threaten him lethally. Now that he was faced with a very concrete threat, such doubts seemed most of all childish now. However, none of that mattered as the threehorn realized his life could very possibly end on this day in the jaws of that massive predator. After hearing Aquarius’ alarmed cry, Rinen’s hopes increased slightly but soon enough, his distress grew only worse. The sharptooth hadn’t been diverted by the others’ dispersal: it was coming right after him!
That realization and the sight of the fast runners and Aquarius only getting further away from him nearly made Rinen panic completely. They were running for their lives as any sensible dinosaur would have done, leaving the young threehorn face his fate alone, just as he had expected before meeting Aquarius. There was no way a young, chubby threehorn like him could ever answer to the speed of the fast runners. In that sickening knowledge, everything turned into a blurred mess as the steps of the dark-grey predator approached him with an astonishing speed. Any second now, his body would be crushed to pieces by the beast’s jaws, ending his short life of failure and finally fulfilling the punishment cast upon him by the elders of his herd.
Yet, even in the middle of his nightmare, Rinen noticed something that caught his interest. To his side, there seemed to be a small trail leading up the hill inside which the vast network of tunnels was located. Rinen knew his idea was a far-fetched one but maybe, just maybe, the narrow pathway could offer him a window to escape or at least buy him some time to come up with some other plan. The path was surrounded by sharp formations of rocks and steep falls, probably making it difficult for the sharptooth to chase him effectively. Rinen took one, deep breath before he quickly turned around to a position in which he was nearly facing the sharptooth and then charged towards the hill, hoping he was quick enough to avoid the beast’s claws. No matter what, he’d give this one last shot before he’d resign to his early departure into the Great Beyond.