Chapter 4

Book based on the lore of ARK: Survival evolved

 I pull the last strap through and fasten it to Aldranari’s chest. He leans his head down to me, eyes glowing with anticipation. A methodical stretch of his body and he nods to me signaling his preparation is complete. I grab onto the harness, preparing to swing my leg into place but am stopped by a thunderous bang at my gate. Aldranari tenses, curling his lip exposing his many razor sharp teeth. 

 

“Shhh, it’s okay boy, we’re fine..” I have never heard a noise like that outside my gate. It couldn’t have been a dinosaur I would have heard its footsteps. The banging repeats, this time with a more meaningful rhythm. With much hesitation, I approach my observation deck aside the gate, and make my way up. 

 

I peer a careful eye over the ledge and am frozen in shock. There, outside my gate, stood a woman accompanied by two men, a trio of wolves behind them. The woman raises her hand once more to knock. 

 

“Hello down there!” I shout my greeting without making myself seen. The snarling of wolves is quickly quieted by the hushing whispers of their owners. “What can I do for you?” 

 

A moment of silence is ended by a much missed sound. 

 

“We just wanted to say hello.” The Woman’s voice, clearly once soft and delicate has been hardened by the wilderness. Its once surely gentle tone replaced with that of calm confidence. She is quite the ambassador. 

 

“Well this is quite the surprise.” Curiosity killing me coupled with an over bearing excitement. I can’t help but want to meet them. “I’ll be right down!” Shivering, not from the cold breeze but from a melting pot of emotions, I slide down my ladder. As I do, the woman calls out once more.” 

 

“We mean you no harm.” The woman chuckles, her laughter drifting through the air. I approach my door fill my lungs with all the courage I can and walk through it. The door closes behind me with a thud, masking the twang of the crossbows string firing. I could barely feel the arrow hit me before I was unconscious. 

 

 

Groggy and fighting sleep, I manage to open my eyes. Vision clouded by the narcotics slowly leaving my body, I manage to make out a table surrounded by chairs, two of which occupied and a fire in the distant corner. Rhythmic pounding of footsteps falling on wooden floor approach from behind. Then that same enchanting voice. 

 

“We’re really sorry about that, friend.” I roll onto my side and turn around the best I can, realizing my hands are of course bound, pulling my legs into my chest to rotate in such a crammed cage. “We’ll let you out in just a bit, okay?” With this, she bends down to eye level and offers a sympathetic smile. 

 

“Sounds good, so, what do you need to know?” Eager to get the line of questioning out of the way.

 

“Well, first, what’s your name?” The same genuine smile and caring eyes await my answer. Then it hit me, I can’t even remember the last time I had been asked my name. My mind starts racing searching through the catacombs for any memory of what I was actually called. And, nothing. Shocked, I just stare blankly up at her and say the first name that comes to mind. 

 

“Joe. My name is Joe.” Saying that sentence out loud provided such a jarring realization, had it really been that long since I had seen another person? Seemingly satisfied, her smile grows with a nod. 

 

“Well, Joe, it’s a pleasure, my name is Jane.” With that, she reached through the bars of the cage, snapping the handcuffs from my wrist. “Now just a few more questions, first, what brought you to the Island?” 

 

“I don’t quite know; I just remember waking up on a beach, a long while ago.” Her brow raises slightly, processing the answer. “Isn’t that what happened to you and yours as well?” Dismissing my question, she continues. 

 

“What are your intentions here?” Scouring her expression for any indication of how the interview is going, I find none.   

   

“To survive. I haven’t put any thought into anything more than that, other than to try and figure out why I’m here.”   

   

“Alright fair enough. Lastly, What can we expect you to do once we return you to your home?” She’s just looking out for her people.  

   

“To just keep doing as I have been since I arrived. I’ve just been doing what I can to keep myself and everyone safe.” Her eyes focus. 

 

“Everyone?”  

  

“My Dinosaurs, they’re all I have. You and your friends are the first actual people I’ve ran into since I’ve arrived here. I honestly had assumed I was alone.” A minute of silence passes which is then broken by the metallic click of the cages lock.    

   

“We’ll take you back now.” With that she walks to the door. One of the men rises from the table and accompanies me through the halls, following in Jane's footsteps. He reaches across his body, offering his hand. 

 

“The names, Bob.” His square jaw cracks a smile. After we shake hands, he offers me a nod then turns back to follow Jane.  

  

We wind through several more hallways lined in torches, casting shadows of their flames on the stone walls. Many halls cross our path, but we continue in a straight line heading for the exit. The ceiling towers over me, I can tell it extends even above what is immediately overhead. 

 

“Wow, you guys have quite the place.” Marveling in their architecture I had to comment on it. “I mean really; this place is breath taking. It must have taken forever.” 

 

“We’ve been here for 467 days now.” The hostess states poignantly. “Our home wasn’t always so grandiose, but, we’ve had much time to add to it.” 467 days, How long had I been here? Lost in thought I stumble on the last step. “Ready to go home?” Jane asks, turning to me and beckoning to her left. I hear a slow rumbling to my right as whatever Jane had gestured to approaches.

 

“Sure lets ge-…” The rumbling worsened then stopped. Heat crept up the back of my neck, what felt like a furnace towering over my head. A guttural growl slipped out of whatever it was and a burst of flames followed. 

 

  

Flames spun into the sky and dissipated into a cloud of smoke; ash fell like snow around my feet. I stare up at the behemoth before me. Scales black as night, pinstripes of oranges and reds poking through like lava burning through igneous rock. Sputtering flames flicker from the monsters opened mouth, rows of charred teeth forming a confident grin. 

 

“Is that a…dragon?” Childlike whimsy filling me with hope. 

 

“Wyvern, not a dragon. Meet Magma.” Jane rests her hand on the beast’s neck. “He’ll be taking you home.” Jane swiftly leaps up onto it’s back, Magma lowering itself as she does. She settles into a spot just above it’s shoulders. “Stand still.” 

 

With that, she digs a heel into Magma who takes flight. His massive wings clapping as they soar into the sky. They make a banking turn and swoop back towards me, Magma’s rear claws opening. *Oh god, it’s picking me up!?* Covering my head and doing all I can not to scream I feel the massive claws wrap around my torso as I’m yanked off the ground. All wind is pushed from my lungs as we race through the sky. 

 

“You okay down there?” Jane laughs. 

 

“Just great...” Wheezing my response, I work to position myself better. Twisting an arm free, I use it to rotate myself around. Looking down at the world below me, I get a better sense of just how fast we’re flying. This guy can move. The mountains and hills flash by in a blur of green. I can just make out the volcano off to the right as we soar up the western coast. Magma snaps a series of quick hisses and Jane calls out. 

 

“We’re going to have to land really quick, Magma needs a breather. I’ll find a good spot.” Jane circles towards the ground, heading for a clearing at the base of a small hill, I spot some ruins at the top and the glare of metal deposits. We make one last circle and magma carefully releases me from his claws, setting down beside me. Jane, still in position, pats his neck while he catches his breath. Looking at the duo I suddenly miss Freya and am overjoyed to be getting back to her. 

 

“Alright, are you all rested up sir?” Jane patting the top of his snake like head. Magma lowers his head in a slight nod. Jane readies to lift off but freezes. “Run!” She screams. “Find somewhere to hide!” Panic floods me. Stumbling to find something, anything to hide behind a thunderous roar tears across the hillside. Rex. Adrenaline courses through me. I see a boulder tucked under a cliff, and sprint to take cover. 

 

The ground begins to quake as a second roar reverberates through the air. Trees crash as they’re uprooted and tossed to the ground. The Rex approaches. I slide behind the rock and turn back to find Jane and Magma. They sat stoic in the center of the clearing, Magma’s hind legs primed for what I can only imagine is going to be a devastating attack. Trees at the edge of the forest sway and part like curtains as the Rex charges into the clearing, taking center stage with his opponent. The Rex offers one last roar before making his move, one that the two were apparently waiting for. 

 

Springing forward Magma crashes into the Rex sending it reeling. The wyvern, terrifyingly agile for such a large creature, turned toward it’s downed prey and bellowed. Fire exponentially hotter than what was shown back at the base, ignites the air surrounding the Rex who let out an agonizing plea for mercy. Sustaining the inferno Magma closed in, only relenting when he was at the Rexes throat. Placing a massive jaw on either side and a winged claw on the cheek of the Rex, Magma closed his jaws around it’s windpipe. 

 

The Rex kicked in vain, the wyvern slowly circled away from them never letting go of its throat. Clenching his jaws more with each passing second, the Rex was reduced to a lifeless, charred heap. The final pop of the Rexe's bones snapping was Jane's queue. As Magma dined on his kill Jane lept from his back and made way to me, stuffing what looked like a bandana with some goggles into her satchel. 

 

“Sorry about that, I didn’t expect there to be Rex here.” Jane hands me a canteen and a piece of what seemed to be jerky. “Here, you could use a snack, it has been a while.” I sit quietly splitting off pieces of the jerky and chasing them with the cool water. Shoving the last bit into my mouth with a final swig I see Magma making his way back to us, seemingly satisfied with his meal. “Let’s get you home.”   

  

Once more I’m swept up by the beast and we’re on our way. Nibbling on the jerky as we fly, trees disappear behind us as we soar. Terrified pteranadons flee as we approach, landing on a nearby hill, they wait for us to pass before taking to the air again. The wind grows cold as the grass below turns to the frozen tundra that I’ve made home. I spot another rex below battling a herd of mammoth, their bodies falling into bloodied heaps as he kills them one by one. 

  

The Blue obelisk sits atop the northern most mountain of the island. Blue beams of light cut through the sky, casing the hillside below in their glow. We follow the river east, on one side, the frozen expanses of the ARK's northern regions. On the other, the mighty central volcano and the rolling jungle that surrounds it. Magma veers toward the ground as our destination nears.  

  

Passing by the small waterfall of the river before it carries it's way back north, we climb slightly to clear the treeline. The corner of my gate pokes out behind the trees as my base materializes through the forest.  

  

"We'll drop you outside the gate, don't want to scare your dinos!" Jane shouts down to me. Extremely considerate of her. Not sure how the crew would react to a wyvern. Other than Aldranari likely being over the moon about a bigger wrestling partner. We land a short distance from my front gate. Taking a brief moment to stretch, Jane jumps down beside me, sinking a good foot into the snow.  

  

"I don't understand how you live here. It's so cold." Jane shivers the sentence through a clenched jaw. Magma picking up on his owner's discomfort, lets out a continuous flame resembling the size of a campfire.  

  

"well, when I first woke up on the Island I was just up here, didn't really care to try and find a different place to live. As soon as I could I made my way up from the beach and hunkered down, haven't moved since." Not able to help but laugh at the now shivering Jane, I craft myself a torch using what I had and hand it to her.  

  

"W-w-well, I'm off-f-f-f. Ni-i-ice meeting yo-o-ou. W-w-will probably dro-p-p-p by again  some t-t-t-t....." Letting out an irritated scream, Jane jumps on Magma and takes to the sky. A fireball shoots overhead followed by yet another scream. "TIME!" And with that, the pair left toward the volcano.  

  

Rubbing my naked hands together to warm them, I walk toward my base. The crisp, unbeaten snow gives way to frozen grass as I near my gate. Freya flies out from within the base as she smells me coming. Before I can protest, she scoops me onto her back, spinning through the sky in excitement. "I'll allow this only because I missed you, but you know you're not supposed to leave the base without me." She snaps in acknowledgement but continues her solo air show. "I'm glad I'm home too girl."  

 

Author's Note

Please be critical of everything/anything. I want to make this as polished as possible. Thank you.