Dododex

ARK: Survival Evolved & Ascended Companion

The Arks: Over Heaven

Chapter 49: Truth

Original Post Date: Apr 3, 2024

Note: Story starts in Wyvern, Aerial ABC backwards filter and has a Prologue. Last chapter in Lamprey, next chapter in Leedsichthys.

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One thing Loki noticed when he walked into the house was that all the bunk beds were gone. And so was Chloe. She, and many of the others who had to move into this home after the Tranq Darts Incident had moved out. It was a lot quieter there. There was no more snoring, and no more bad smell.

So why did Loki still feel like something was wrong?

Loki noticed Brad sleeping on his bed. For some reason he looked a lot less violent and smug when he was sleeping. For a second Loki saw some resemblance of a good person inside him.

Loki turned to his bed and saw his bag posted against the wall. Loki walked up to it and crouched down to inspect it.

It was wide open.

Loki rummaged around the insides. Everything seemed to be just fine: Food and water rations, basic essential resources, the artifact that gave him wings… Grenades.

Nothing seemed out of place.

Loki stared back at Brad and glared at him.

“Was he looking through my stuff?” Loki wondered as he clenched his fist.

He almost considered walking up to him, wrapping his fingers around Brad’s neck, and strangling him till’ he couldn’t breathe… But he stopped himself. It was probably just his imagination.

Loki crawled onto his bed and pulled the covers over him.

He tried his best to fall asleep, but he could not.

That haunting memory of Mr. Ma carrying the knife, its blade glistening within the reflection of his karambit, and that crazed look on his face. Loki couldn’t just lay there idly, and wait for something to happen. No, he had to get to the bottom of it.

It was his duty as a writer to know the truth.

As Loki waited for night to fall, he slowly got out from his bed, throwing the covers off of him. He reached into his backpack and took the Artifact and his two karambits. Hooking the two karambits on his cloth clothes, he clasped the Artifact and it disintegrated into dust, the dust transferring into his implant. He felt wings grow on his back once more, and he folded them shut.

Loki quietly tip-toed out the home, and began moving toward the complex. He would investigate Mr. Ma’s office first.

“Why did Mr. Ma react that way?” Loki asked himself as snow crunched under his feet. The complex’s lights were on, “Is it because of the implant? He never told me his implant power. Or is there something more?”

Loki stopped in front of the complex doors, and crouched down, peeking inside the complex at the bottom, a slit of air where there was no door. He saw still gray boots. Dr. Aston.

The boots didn’t move for a few minutes, and they seemed grounded. Dr. Aston had fallen asleep at his workstation again.

“Now’s my chance,” Loki thought. He got up and put a hand on the doorknob. He slowly turned it and pushed it open. A loud creaking noise echoed throughout the room.

CREAAAK!

Dr. Aston, who was snoring away, began to shift in his seat, blinking his eyes rapidly and moving his head up. Loki quickly dashed to a table and crouched under it. He masked his breathing, steadying his nerves and calming his heart. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears as Dr. Aston got up from his seat and blinked his eyes some more.

“What the- Did I leave the door open?” Dr. Aston asked himself. Dr. Aston let out a yawn and stumbled forward like a zombie. Loki’s eyes continued to chase Dr. Aston. Dr. Aston cleared his throat, coughing up phlegm.

“HWAKK!” Dr. Aston coughed, “Wow I’m thirsty. I should’ve drank some water before falling asleep…”

Loki looked at the water jar that was on his desk. Then Loki looked up at the desk that contained narcotics. With haste, Loki grabbed the narcotics, then rushed over to the water jar, unscrewed the cap, and poured the whole thing inside. He shook the jar around, screwed the cap back on, and retreated to his hiding spot.

Dr. Aston locked the door, went back to his station, and took a sip of the water.

“Mmm, that has a kick to it. Say, this water does look a little green.”

Dr. Aston’s eyelids began to droop, and he let out a yawn.

“Oh no…”

Dr. Aston collapsed, his head falling to the table. Loki smirked and got out of his hiding spot, making his way to Mr. Ma’s office.

“No interruptions,” Loki thought. He peeked into the window on the door, and as expected, Mr. Ma wasn’t in his office. He opened the door up and walked inside, closing the door behind him.

“Time to take a thorough investigation.”

Loki first noticed the knife on Mr. Ma’s desk. He had remembered Mr. Ma putting it in his drawer… So why was it out on his desk?

Loki walked forward and picked the knife up, inspecting it. It seemed like an ordinary hunting knife. Loki looked at his reflection on the blade, and then pocketed the knife.

Loki then eyed the crates scattered around the room. That would be a good place to look for anything unordinary. He rushed over and began to rummage through each one.

But alas, there was nothing but basic resources that were used to build many of the homes. Nothing but junk.

Loki let out a grunt of frustration and slammed his fist into one of the crates. It toppled over and its contents spilled onto the ground. And inside the pile of materials was an implant.

Loki’s eyes widened at his discovery. He gingerly picked the device up and stared at it. No glow came from it, and the glass was dim, dull, and had no life. Was this Mr. Ma’s implant?

Loki felt something soft and wet at the back. He turned it over and nearly barfed at the sight. It was soft, human tissue. The implant had been ripped right off of its owner’s skin.

“No way… NO WAY,” Loki thought as his green eyes wilted. He dropped the implant and it clattered on the wooden floor. What was that thing doing there?!

It didn’t make sense for someone to remove their implant. It was the source of their abilities. The source of their strength. It was the only way you could access a beacon, something vital for survival on this cursed island.

The question came to Loki again. Was it Mr. Ma’s? Mr. Ma didn’t seem to have an implant ability. Perhaps he had grown weary of his father’s “freak project”, so he chose to remove the implant on his own accord.

But that wouldn’t make sense. The skin color of this implant’s flesh was much more pale in comparison to Mr. Ma’s dark tan.

Memories of him and Mr. Ma the past few days in the tundra replayed in his mind. Mr. Ma’s eyes, his confrontation with Brad after he had accidentally lit a house on fire…

There was no doubt about it now;

Mr. Ma had murdered someone, and had taken their implant.

Loki’s thoughts began to race, and his heart began to beat faster, as his eyes darted around the room. Finally, his eyes lay on a long, obsidian pedestal that carried Mr. Ma’s prized red pike.

It was missing.

A haunting thought crossed his mind, as he recalled what Mr. Ma had told Loki before night fell.

“Great. Okay, thanks,” Mr. Ma had said, “Um. And one more thing. Get some good sleep, okay? The living quarters are pretty much done with construction. You won’t have to deal with the bad smell anymore.”

Mr. Ma didn’t want Loki to wake up.

And Mr. Ma didn’t want Loki to know he was going to take more lives tonight.

A cry for help suddenly shattered the air, and Loki’s ears perked up.

“Chloe?”