Follow the Light

Chapter 9

The Croods stand motionless before an open plain, deeply sculpted with meandering grooves which form a massive maze. Guy hands each of the family members a shell.

"Here you go, one for you, and this one's for you."

Everyone tests their shell by blowing through it, which annoys Grug thoroughly.

"Okay. Okay. That's enough. I don't see why the kids need their own shells."

"So if anyone gets in trouble, we can call the others."

Luna perks up at this. Independence? Self-reliance? In this family? It would be nice to do something on their own for once.

Grug doesn't like the notion of having them go alone. "Wait-- you're saying we should split up?"

"We can try more paths at once. It's the fastest way through." Guy reasons with the stubborn Grug. He does make a fair point in his argument.

"Croods stick together. Your way isn't safe." Grug stands steadfast in his opinion.

"They can handle it." Guy trusts in the family's ability to be able to get through on their own.

Eep drags Luna over to Guy, making her bump into his side.

"We can do it, dad."

Luna shrugs. "We've been through worse, haven't we? What's a maze to us?"

"No no no no no. It's my job to keep you safe. I'm still in charge and we are not splitting up."

At these words, Eep siddles up to Guy on the other side while Luna grasps onto Guy's arm.

"Except for you three. And that's final." He shoves them apart quite forcefully.

He sits down like a silverback gorilla just as a huge rumble is heard. The earth starts to shake violently, knocking them down into the maze. They all fall down into separate entrances and they disappear into the rift like a penny dropped down a drain.

As Luna slips down into her entrance, a random stray branch catches on the strip of cloth holding her hair up. Her hair flew open, no longer constrained. She rolls to brace for impact and lands back up onto her feet.

"Hello? Is everyone alright?" Was that Uncle?

"We're okay Grug." Auntie Ugga?

"Dad? I'm freaking out a little bit. Just tell me what to do. Just what do I do right now?" Thunk? Everyone really did get split up in the end.

"Stay where you are. I'll find you."

That'd delay both of their escape paths. Luna opens her mouth to voice her concerns. "No, keep moving forward. Both of you would be delayed."

"Exactly. Everyone, keep moving forward and we'll get out." Guy was thinking the same thing, he was actually more impressed that she took that into consideration.

"Dad?"

"Yeah. Okay."

He sounded defeated. Was this maze too much for his strength? Luna shook her head, getting rid of unnecessary thoughts. Moving forward was the only thing they could do in this situation.

Luna reached a beautiful cave with huge crystals and purple flowers floating down. Reaching into the water, she gathers some, feeling the smooth petals and smelling their soothing fragrance.

Soon realizing that the culprit behind the mysterious floating flowers was Guy and Belt, she started climbing discreetly to his location.

Hanging from a vine above the two, she leans down and whispers from behind him, "You dropped these."