The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)

Chapter 61: Common Goal

Part 1/2

“Are you out of your damn mind, Deputy? You can’t just storm into a bar and incapacitate everyone in there, regardless if there’s a fight going on or not!” a man with a thick mustache was scolding Warren from his desk. Warren crossed his arms as he rocked himself back and forth on the stiff wooden chair.

“And what did you want me to do boss? Officer Sam was in danger.”

“You could have very well just tased them all. You were reckless out there and you were not even assigned to stop that madness. That was Officer Sam’s task, not yours,” Warren’s boss sternly said with a pointed finger, “We’re suspending you until further notice. You’re lucky you aren’t outright taken off the force.”

“Gee thanks a lot,” Warren replied while rolling his eyes. The mustached man shot him a glance, and Warren got up from his seat.

“Get out of my office now before I add another offense to your record.”

“Okay okay! Mr. Justice is leaving,” Warren said, raising his hands in surrender and exiting the office.

As Warren walked past police officers and sheriffs alike, and out to the reception area of the station, he saw a woman with long black-blonde hair that fell to her chest standing there with her arms crossed. She was wearing a black tee-shirt and black jeans. It was Sam.

“What happened to your hair?” Warren asked with scrunched eyes.

“Dying my hair was becoming a bit of a hassle…” Sam admitted. She put her hands in her pockets shyly, “Detective Darren finally forwarded the video footage. Let’s view it.”

“I’d love to do that, but I’m kind of starving,” Warren told her, “Can we grab some grub?”

“You really think grub-” Sam paused, and scoffed, “Fine. We can get something to eat. But you’re paying.”

Warren and Sam made their way to a local burger joint called “Nunya Buns”. As the two entered a bell rang, and they were greeted with the waft of fresh fried potatoes and sizzling meat. Sam’s eyes lit up as they entered, and her stomach grumbled.

“Haven’t been to a place like this in a while,” Sam muttered, her eyes getting droopy. Warren walked up to the stand and ordered something, and the two made their way to a two-seater, where they took a seat.

“Alright. Let’s get to business,” Warren said. Sam pulled out her phone and played the video. She sped the video up, until eventually they reached the part where the graduates mysteriously disappeared.

“I managed to find a specific camera that had Samuel on it, and there was something… interesting,” Sam explained. She tapped her phone a few times, and the camera was pointed at a man with black graduation robes. He had sparkling eyes and a soft smile. Samuel.

“Look. You know how the others kind of scream, and then they disappear? Look at Samuel. He doesn’t.”

Sam played the video, and it went just how it did the last time they watched it back at Terran High. The scream of the principal rang out, and everyone else followed. A tanned woman near Samuel fell into his arms, but Samuel made no groan. The enveloping light poured into the camera again, and they were gone.

“But what could it mean?” Warren asked, “And so what? We still don’t know why they disappeared or who could have been responsible for this.”

Just then, a waiter with a paper sailor’s hat passed by and dropped off a tray stocked with two big juicy burgers and a large bucket filled with thin stringshoe fries. Sam eyed the burger warrily, before grabbing it and taking a large bite out of it.

“Maybe the principal was keeping his eye on him, and chose to exclude him?”