Let Me Be Free || Guy! || ✔️

Chapter Three

After the Croods and Ila sucked the egg dry, Grug noticed a shadow cascading over his feet. He glanced up at the sky, the sun was setting behind the canyon wall. He held his hand in the air to see not much daylight is left. Gran walked over to him and screamed in his ear. "Two knuckle warning!"

"Come on, Croods. Go. Go." Ugga ushered her family back into the cave. 

"Come on. Darkness brings death! We know this." grug said as the family ran inside, except for the girls. 

"The moon is full. Bath night." ugga picked up a heavy stick from the floor. "You too, Mom." she added when she noticed the old women trying to hide. 

"Run from your life!" Gran exclaimed. Ugga caught her by her cane and dragged her back. "I don't want to lose my protective layer."

'You've got ants." Ugga said, hanging Sandy up. She took the stick and whacked the child with it, like she was cleaning a rug. Dust and bugs flew off her. "See? Sandy doesn't fuss." she clapped her hands together and Sandy let go, hitting the floor, and scampering away. 

Grug entered the cave, making sure everyone was accounted for. When he noticed the girls weren't there, he sighed. "Are they still out there?"

"You know they hate the cave, Grug." Ugga said as she began whacking Thunk clean. 

Outside, Eep and Ila were climbing the rock above the Croods cave. They steadied themselves on the side of the sheer rock. The wind blew against their faces and hair. Both girls raised their free hands, trying to catch a few more moments of the sun. "Please come back tomorrow." Ila murmured in sadness as the sunlight vanished completely. 

"Eep! Ila?" The girls heard Grug call for them. They shared an irritated look before climbing down the wall. They stopped in their tracks when they heard a sound in the distance. Ila glanced down before she bagn climbing up the rock. She was curious what the sound was and needed to know what it was. Eep followed after her, ignoring Grugs calls for them. 

"Come on. I gotta close the cave..." Grug stopped when a stick fell on his head. He glanced up and saw Eep helping Ila climb on a leafless hanging tree on top of the cliff. He gasped, eyes growing wide. "Eep! Ila!"

The girls glanced down from the hanging tree, frowns appearing on their disappointed faces. "Okay! Okay!"

"Come on!" Grug shouted, losing his patience. The girls knew not to go wondering off when the sun was gone. Behind the man, the bear owl appeared up the canyon. It's head shot up when it spotted Grug and the open cave. Grug noticed the Bear Owl in full attack mode causing him to panic. "EEP! ILA! COME DOWN!!!"

The bear owl launched forward, ready to attack. Grug then threw a rock which momentarily stunned the creature, allowing the girls to jump down and race into the cave. Grug barely got the cave closed in time, drawing in a long breath of relief. The creature pushed his paw through the narrow opening, trying to find signs of life. Grug checked the door, making sure the creature couldn't open it before turning to the girls with a glare. "THAT was too close!" he snapped. 

"We were watching. We were fine." Eep answered, rolling her eyes. 

"What were you two doing up there?"

Ila shrugged her shoulders, hanging her head. "I don't know." 

Grug eyed the girls. "What were you looking for?"

"Nothing." Eep pushed Thunk out of the way as she and Ila tried to get away from Grug. 

"Well then why did you go up there?" Grug followed them, not leaving them alone until he got an answer. 

"I don't know!" Eep yelled, rubbing her forehead in annoyance. Both girls sat on a rock, arms crossed. 

"Stop looking for things. Fear keeps us alive. Never NOT be afraid." he said, a saying he says way too often. 

Both girls ignored him and began climbing up on a ledge and huddled together in a corner. "What's the point in all this?" Eep mumbled. 

"Hmmm? What was that?" Grug looked up at them. 

Ila rolled her eyes. "Why are we here? What are we doing this for?" she asked, waving her hands in the air. The rest of the family groaned, knowing where this conversation would take them. As it did every night. 

"No one said survival was fun." Grug reminded them as he caught Sandy who was moving closer to the bear owls paw. That creature just wouldn't give up. "Would you two come down here?" the girls ignored him, rolling onto the other side. Grug tried to climb up to them but his wife pulled him down. 

"Grug. Off." she said. When he ignored her she pulled him down with more force. "OFF!" she yelled. 

The male raised his hands in surrender, walking away with Ugga following behind. She was obviously irritated at his behavior. "I just don't see why they need their own ledge. That's all." he stated, pacing around. 

"They're working through some things and need their own space." Ugga tried to explain. But a grown man never understands teenagers, especially females. 

"If they want to survive, they have to follow the rules."Grug hissed.

"How about a story? Everyone loves those." ugga suggested, trying to calm the situation down. 

This caused Gregs face to brightened, a smile forming on his face. "Alright. How about a story?" The Croods, minus the girls, gather in semi-circle in the middle of the cave. Grug walked up to Sandy,w ho was inside a bone-crib, playing with her bear dolls. Grug gently grabbed them from her, holding them up as he passed by the teenagers. "Your old favorites?" 

The girls glanced behind them and noticed the dolls. "We haven't played with those in years." Ila grumbled, turning her back to Grug. 

Grug sat down and cleared his throat. "Tonight we'll hear the story of two sisters, Krispy Bear and Krunchy bear." He pointed to the bears. "A long time ago, these little bears were alive. They were alive because they listened to their father...." he glanced back at the girls. 

"You're not my father." Ila mumbled, keeping her back to the family. 

Even though this comment hurt Grug, he continued on with his story. "..and lived their life in routine and darkness and terror. So, they were happy." The girls knew he was talking about them but they still listened. "But Krispy and Krunchy had one terrible problem. They were filled with....curiosity." He stated dramatically. 

The family gasped at this and Sandy growled. "Grug!" Ugga warned her husband, covering Sandy's ears. 

"Yes. yes." Grug took a handul of soil fro the ground, preparing to draw on the cave wall. "And one day, while they were in a tree, the curious little bears wanted to climb to the top." He waled to the nearby wall and drew the bears standing on a tree. "And no sooner then they climbed, they saw something new and- died." he swatted the painting, it covered with his hand print.

"Just like that?" asked his son. 

"Yes! Their last moments of terror still frozen on their faces." Grug held up the two little bears. their faces were horrible. No eyes and sharp teeth. The family gasped in horror at this. 

"Oh, same ending as every day." gran exclaimed, looking at the wall. The entire wall was covered with stories, all seemingly faced with all the same ending as this one. 

"I get it dad. I will NEVER do anything new or different." Thunk shuttered in pure fear.

"Good." Grug praised his son. "Alright everyone, sharpen your teeth and let's pile up." The family snuggled into one big heap, warm and comfy. Grug glanced at the girls, hoping they will join but they didn't move. Disappointed, Grug sighed and turned to the rest of his family. He pulled them into his arms and laid down with everyone on top.